On behalf of the Showdown staff and the team at PC Gamer and Maximum PC, thank you to everyone who participated in Showdown LAN in Peoria! You helped make it the biggest, and dare we say best, Showdown yet!

We hope you had a blast at the LAN, and that you left with great memories (and some cool swag and prizes). The forums are still up and running, so please let us know if you have any comments or suggestions on this year's Showdown. You can also email us directly at showdown (at) futureus (dot) com.

Thanks also to all of the sponsors: Intel, Antec, BFG Tech, cdv/Sacred2, ET Game Hosting, BAWLS, FSP Group, SLAPPA, Topower, TN Games and ZipZoomfly.com.

The crew from PC Gamer and Maximum PC recorded a live podcast at Showdown LAN in San Mateo last Sunday featuring Dan Stapleton, Andy Salisbury, Norman Chan, Nathan Edwards, Evan Lahti and podcast producer Andy Bauman.

They fielded questions from Showdown attendees and interviewed Dylan Fitterer, the developer of Audiosurf. Check it out here!

Showdown LAN in Peoria officially reached capacity a few days ago with 528 seats sold (that's after reaching our goal of 500 and adding as many extra seats as we could)! w00t! 

Thanks to everyone who helped us sell out early. Hopefully, you already reserved your seat because it's definitely shaping up to be the biggest and best Showdown LAN ever! 

If you didn't buy your ticket in advance, please note that there will be absolutely NO TICKETS available at the door. Unfortunately, there are no exceptions to this rule because Showdown LAN is completely full.

Also, while guests and spectators will be allowed inside to check out the sponsor booth area, they must be accompanied by a badged attendee at all times (if you paid, you'll receive a Showdown LAN badge at check-in). We're implementing this policy to make sure that the LAN area is secure for everyone, so please spread the word if you or your friends are planning to bring along a guest. We appreciate your cooperation and look forward to seeing you in Peoria!

p.s. We'll email you a reminder note with last-minute details about the LAN later this week. It will be sent to the email address you used when you registered, so please keep an eye out for that.

Cdv Software Entertainment USA will be hosting a pizza party this Friday night to help kick off Showdown LAN in Peoria!!

The LAN will be jam-packed and we expect lines at the door, so make sure to arrive on time so you can join us for some free pizza before you start gaming.

Doors open at 6:00pm and the pizza feast will begin at 7:00pm. Cdv will also be giving every Showdown LAN attendee a voucher for a free copy of their new action RPG game Sacred 2: Fallen Angel, which you can check out at their booth.

See you soon!

Even though we've already announced over $60K in prizes, we're not done yet because FSP Group has also signed on as a sponsor of Showdown LAN. Which means even MORE GREAT PRIZES!

FSP will be hosting a Power Plug N' Play contest at Showdown that will be open to all LAN attendees. We'll explain the contest rules on-site, but it'll be a fun way to win FSP logo items and power supplies -- including their Kingcraft 1000W power supply and their Everest 900W model.

As of right now, there are only 10 seats left at Showdown LAN. Once we reach 528 sold, the LAN will officially be closed. So, make sure to sign up now to join us!

As of right now, 504 people have bought tickets for Showdown LAN later this month! Thanks to everyone who's already signed up. We're very excited about returning to the Midwest and look forward to seeing you at the Peoria Civic Center, September 26-28

Since the demand for tix has been so great, we bumped up the number of available seats in the LAN to 528, but that is the maximum number of seats we can sell. Which leaves two dozen lucky people who will get a chance to be part of the fun and prizes.

These tickets will go quickly, and there won't be any more available after they're gone. So if you've been waiting to buy tix or have a friend/teammate who still hasn't committed, now is the time to make your move! Register here!

We're happy to announce that BFG Technologies, makers of NVIDIA-based graphics cards and premium power supplies, will once again be sponsoring Showdown LAN!

BFG will be on-hand to show off the latest power supply and graphics technology in top-end demo systems, so be sure to stop by their booth at Showdown to learn more (and pick up some free BFG swag and prizes while you're there...t-shirts, flashlights, etc.)

BFG will also be sponsoring the Call of Duty 4 tournament, and will be kicking in BFG GeForce(r) GTX 260 OC(tm) 896MB PCI Express 2.0 graphics cards worth over $300 each for all of the first place CoD4 winners (that's on top of the Intel processors)!!

That's not the only chance you'll have to win cool BFG gear though! BFG is hosting a Showdown LAN scavenger hunt that everyone can participate in as well. First place in the scavenger hunt will win a BFG ES-800 800W premium power supply with frequency conversion technology and second place will score a BFG LS-680 (680W) power supply.

Raffle winners can get in on the action too because BFG will be giving away another BFG GeForce(r) GTX 260 OC(tm) 896MB PCI Express 2.0 graphic card in the raffle, along with two more ES-800 power supplies and six more LS-680 power supplies. Plus, those prizes include BFG's 24/7/365 technical support and their True Lifetime Warranty coverage.  

There are now over 500 people registered for Showdown LAN in Peoria!!

While that's great news, it means that it's more important than ever to pay for your ticket and pick your seat as soon as possible.

There are only 500 seats available at the LAN, on a first-come, first-served basis. So, if you have registered but haven't yet paid, now is the time to secure your spot!

Tickets are only $40 each if you pay by the September 22nd deadline. If there are any tickets available after that, the price will be $60 at the door. If you're undecided and need a little encouragement to pull the trigger, just check out the list of prizes we announced earlier this week.

Thanks to TN Games, three lucky raffle winners at each Showdown LAN will be going home with a free 3rd Space FPS gaming vest! 

The vest, which sells for $169, uses cutting-edge technology to allow you to experience the impact, motion and speed of your game play in a realistic, intense way. And it's compatible with over 20 game titles, including CoD4, F.E.A.R. and Bioshock!

TN Games has built in eight active zones in each vest that simulate the direction and forces of bullet fire, crushing explosions and even finger taps as they occur in the game. It's mind-blowing gear that is designed to make what happens in the virtual world seem eerily real. 

It's just another reason why you won't want to miss this year's Showdown LAN. 

Here's the announcement many of you have been waiting for:

The prizes for the four official tournaments are lined up, and you and your teammates will have a chance to win over $20,000 in prizes at each Showdown LAN -- including high-performance Intel Core 2 Extreme processors that retail for more than $1,000!! 

Just check out the specs on Intel's QX9650 quad-core processor running at 3GHz: 12MB of total L2 cache, 1333 MHz front side bus, LGA775 package, cutting-edge 45nm technology.

Thanks to sponsors like Intel, Antec, BFG, ETGameHosting.com, ZipZoomfly.com and others, this year's tournament prizes rock! Below is a look at exactly what you can win.

Call of Duty 4 - Sponsored by BFG

1st prize: Each team member will receive an Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650 processor. In addition, BFG will give each 1st place winner a special prize that will be announced on-site.

2nd prize: Each team member will receive an Antec Twelve Hundred case.

BONUS: The 3rd place team will receive free game server and voice server rental for three months from ETGameHosting.com.

Team Fortress 2 

1st prize: Each team member will receive an Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650 processor.

2nd prize: Each team member will receive an Antec Twelve Hundred case.

Counter-Strike: Source 

1st prize: Each team member will receive an Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650 processor.

2nd prize: Each team member will receive an Antec Twelve Hundred case.

StarCraft: Brood War

1st prize: Each team member will receive an Antec 1200 case AND an Antec Signature 850 power supply

2nd prize: Each team member will receive a $100 gift certificate from ZipZoomfly.com

There will also be additional prizes for third place winners, on top of the thousands of dollars in items that we'll be giving away in the raffle and other contests. Great stuff like ASUS laptops, cases of BAWLS, free games, SLAPPA gear and more!

ETGameHosting.com has signed on as a Showdown LAN sponsor and will be offering an awesome prize package that includes free game server and voice server rental for three full months! This prize, valued at $470, will be awarded to one of the teams in the Call of Duty 4 tournament (more details will be available when we announce the complete prize line-up).

ETGameHosting.com offers affordable, reliable game servers for players around the country, and we're happy to have them join us as a Showdown LAN sponsor. Every Showdown attendee will be given a special discount at the LAN, so check out their Web site to learn more about ETGameHosting.com's servers.

Great news!

Topower Computer has signed on as a sponsor of Showdown LAN in Peoria and will be providing five of its PowerTrain 1000W power supplies -- valued at $280 each!

They'll also be hosting an old-school Simon Says contest. So if you want to have fun and win cool prizes, Simon Says make sure to register for Showdown LAN today.

As many of you already know, BAWLS + gaming = highly caffeinated fun. Which is why we're psyched that BAWLS is now an official Showdown LAN 2008 sponsor! 

They'll be providing each Showdown LAN with over 25 cases of their BAWLS Guarana energy drink to keep you bouncing. So, stay tuned for more info on how you can get your hands on cases of BAWLS (we'll be announcing more details on the prizes soon).

A brief but important announcement:

If you're planning to attend Showdown LAN in Peoria but haven't bought your ticket yet, make sure to register by midnight on September 22nd to take advantage of the discounted rate of $40. That will be the last day to sign up online and, while you'll still be able to register in person at the Civic Center during Showdown, the cost for walk-ins is $60 per ticket.

See you there!

We're excited to announce that SLAPPA has signed on as a Showdown LAN 2008 sponsor, which means you'll have a chance to win some awesome prizes to protect your digital gear!

SLAPPA will offer the grand prize winner of each Showdown LAN case mod contest a $250 gift certificate that can be used to purchase ultra-cool products at SLAPPA.com, including laptop bags, headphone cases, and CD/DVD cases (we'll also include a photograph of the winning rig from each Showdown LAN in upcoming issues of PC Gamer and Maximum PC magazines).

In addition, SLAPPA will give away the following items to lucky winners at each Showdown LAN party:

• HardBody PRO headphone cases (Two winners per city)
• HardBody PRO 160 d2i CD cases (Two winners per city)
• 17" Ballistix laptop sleeves (Two winners per city)
• HardBody PRO 40 d2i DVD cases (Two winners per city)

Learn more about SLAPPA online, and stay tuned for more swag alerts and sponsor announcements.