The debate is currently raging over which of two English cities will host the 2011 European Mega Drive Championship:
LONDON: The capital city of the United Kingdom and global financial powerhouse. There is something for everybody in this vibrant metropolis and is the desired location for the 2011 Tournament. The City of Westminister offers an array of tourist attractions including Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament, Westminister Abbey, The Supreme Court, Downing Street and Trafalgur Square, the shopping zone of Oxford Street, Regent Street and Bond Street, and the dizzy, endless, nightlife of Soho and the West End. London costs a bloody fortune and none of the above actually offer an arena for 16-bit battling!
OXFORD: Follow the Thames upstream and you shall find Oxford, one of the most prestigious cities outside of London. Possessing the oldest University in the United Kingdom and the second oldest in the world, more tranquille than London, Oxford boasts the Bodlean Library, Sheldonian Museum and the Christchurch Meadow, with punting down the Cherwell a recreational pursuit for tourists. North of Oxford is Blenheim Palace, birthplace of Winston Churchill and the only palace in the United Kingdom not owned by the monarchy. Oxford is connected to London via excellent and frequent public transport links, it is easily commuteable from the capital.
STRUCTURE
The European Mega Drive Championships are a team based event with three members per nation making up a team. Points are awarded to the team and not the individual. If less than six-nations compete, the Championship will run as a league with two-points are awarded for a win, one for a draw and none for a defeat. The winning team is crowned the Mega Drive Champions of Europe. If six, or more, nations compete, there will be two elimination-leagues followed by a semi-final and grand-final.
GAMES
Over one-hundred fixtures have been contested in the European competitions with the battle to be crowned champions raging across numerous Mega Drive titles. The participants are responsible for selecting the majority of the games used in the tournaments, subject to restrictions in order to add variety and open up the competitiveness of the tournaments. Gameplay become poetry as Europe's finest gather to show off their skills on 16-bit masterpieces.
Individual team members will select 'home' games subject to the following conditions:
· No team can select the same game more than once
· No player can select more than one game of the same genre
Following that the teams must distribute their 'away' games subject to the following conditions:
· Each team member must play the same number of away games
· No individual can play an away title if he has selected the same game in his home picks.
Additionally, the Tournament Administration will include a number of 1-player, 2 Vs 2 and multi-player titles to add to the spice of the competition. Their challenge is to include something as brilliant as Pedro Bragança's incredible run on Sonic the Hedgehog; collecting 223 of the 225 Green Hill Zone 1 rings in less than 90 seconds - any excuse to show this video again:
HISTORY
Beginning in 2007 when teams from England and Ireland faced off in an Anglo-Irish Mega Drive Tournament, the latest bout of European action took place in Nuremberg, Germany, where Team Portugal overcame challengers from England, Germany and Hungary in order to win their third successive European title. Will 2011 see a fourth trophy head back to Portugal?
COFFEE
Dallmayr Prodomo - "A quality German roast" - sets the standard of coffee that will have to be bettered by the English in 2011. Coffee is always the true winner of every Mega Drive Championship, so, in a way, everyone who participates is a winner.
