On behalf of the Showdown LAN team and the crew at PC Gamer and Maximum PC, thank you to everyone who took part in, sponsored and helped plan the LAN in Worcester!! 

As you know, it was our first LAN in New England and we appreciate the local support we got from gamers in the area from LPANE and elsewhere who spread the word and showed up to have fun.

It was a great start to this year's Showdown LAN series (we still have two to go in California and Illinois)!

We hope all of you who were able to join us in person enjoyed the experience and met some new friends. We've been reading the feedback in the forums, so please keep sharing your suggestions and comments about Showdown LAN. You can also email us directly at showdown (at) futureus (dot) com to let us know what you think.

And thanks again to this year's sponsors for providing Showdown with such an AMAZING lineup of prizes:

Antec, BAWLS, BFG Tech, ET Game Hosting, Intel, Sacred 2, SLAPPA, TN Games and ZipZoomfly.com.

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 graphics 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.  

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.

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 Worcester but haven't bought your ticket yet, make sure to register by midnight on September 1st 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 DCU Center during Showdown, the cost for walk-ins is $60 per ticket. Make sure you select your seat before then if you have already paid.

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.

When we wrote about Antec's Skeleton case yesterday, we mentioned that Antec would also be contributing prizes as part of its Showdown LAN sponsorship. What we weren't able to share until now is that they're kicking in a whopping $10,000+ in gear for prizes this year!! Thank you to Antec!!

In addition to raffling off items like a must-have bundle that includes the Twelve Hundred case and 850 Signature series power supply, Antec will be providing the Twelve Hundred case to tournament winners in every Showdown LAN city. More details on exactly what prizes will be available to first, second and third place winners in all four official tournaments will be available soon. But you can't go wrong with one of these gaming cases. Check out Antec's site for specs.

As you may have already heard, Antec has been hard at work developing a new open-air case called the Skeleton that is unlike anything you've seen from them before. It's a radical new spin on enclosure design, and we're psyched to announce that Showdown LAN attendees will be able to preview the Skeleton at Antec's booth.

It includes four drive bays, seven expansion slots, a front 92mm fan, top 3-speed 250mm fan with multicolor LED customization and layered component trays. The photos below will give you an idea of what the futuristic design is like, but don't miss your chance to get an exclusive sneak peek upclose and personal at Showdown LAN!  As a Showdown sponsor, Antec will also be giving away some amazing prizes at the LAN.

Good news, MA Showdowners:

To make sure you're well-fed before the fragging begins, PC Gamer and Maximum PC will be kicking off Showdown LAN in Worcester with a pizza party on the opening night! It's our way of welcoming everyone to the first-ever Showdown in New England, and we hope to see you there.

Doors will open at 6pm on Friday, September 5th and we'll start serving slices at about 7pm,  so please plan to arrive in time to join us. You'll get a coupon at registration that is good for three free slices. And, in case you're wondering, yes...if you paid for two seats, you will get twice as many coupons.

We promised another announcement about prizes today, and here it is:

One of the items we will be raffling off at Showdown LAN is a fully-loaded ASUS U3S laptop worth over $1,500, courtesy of Microsoft Vista Ultimate! I was lucky enough to get my hands on one yesterday to preview it, and I wish I was eligible for the raffle because I want one!!  

It's a sleek ultra-portable machine that weighs less than four pounds, and comes packed with Intel's Centrino Core 2 Duo processor, Nvidia's GeForce 8400M G graphics card, 1.5G of RAM and other bells and whistles. Check out these specs for more info (it looks like the one in the photo, except it's white).

You get one raffle ticket for each Showdown LAN ticket you purchase, so make sure you're signed up to get a chance to take home this laptop -- and keep checking back for more updates on prizes and swag.

Swag Alert!

This just in...everyone who buys a Showdown LAN ticket will receive a free copy of Sacred 2: Fallen Angel, the new action RPG game from cdv Software Entertainment USA!! It's scheduled for release this Fall, and this is your chance to guarantee yourself a copy as soon as it becomes available -- compliments of cdv.

As an added bonus, someone from cdv will be on-hand at Showdown LAN to demo the game and give you an early look at what's in store for you in the world of Ancaria. Until then, you can check out these trailers featuring music by German metal band Blind Guardian, who perform the Sacred 2 soundtrack and even make a special appearance in the game.

Hardware hackers, get ready to show off your skills at Showdown LAN's case mod contest. We're going to be looking for the most creative, most bad-ass rigs we can find at each Showdown LAN city this September.

This contest is about more than demonstrating your skills to your fellow Showdown gamers, though...we want to share your masterpiece with hundreds of thousands of our closest friends as well. So, if our illustrious judges (aka the editorial team) decide your rig is the coolest at the LAN, it will be featured in all of its glory in an upcoming issue of both PC Gamer and Maximum PC magazines!

In addition to earning bragging rights, one winning modder at each of the three Showdown LAN locations will also walk away with a $250 gift certificate. Plus, we'll have some fun prizes for the runner-ups in each city.

See you, and your rig, at Showdown!