Here's a couple of the top of my head.

1. Getting right into apex legends with my 12 year old daughter. She's pretty good at it and carries my sorry ass in every game. We've never played anything online together against other people but we got right into apex. Anyways after tons and tons of failures we actually managed to win a game of 3s together. With our third man down, I rushed the final two guys, i did some damage then retreated to heal, she kept them on their toes despite being low. We got down to one bad guy left and just as she got down I did my usual spray and prey and luckily with only a slither of health left a stray bullet hit him and we won. I even clipped it. There was dancing, shouting and all sorts of scenes. Never forget it.

2. Rdr2 ride to Braithwaite manor with the full gang and every thing that happened up to and including the drunken party camp fire singing. Rockstar at its absolute finest for me.

I had an amazing moment just last night.


The Big Big Big bigboy mode in Ultimate Team is FUT Champions, also commonly known as the Weekend League. Before this year, you just earned a set number of points via online ranked matches, then entered and had 30 (yeah, sheesh) games over Fri-Sun to play, the more wins you got, the better rewards and guaranteed good-ish cards. But this year they changed it, there was now "playoffs" which you had to do first before entering it fully, and then just the twenty games in the same period.

In playoffs, you had to get 5 wins out of 9 of the sweatiest, cheesiest, nastiest most toxic games ever conceived. I'm no pro, and I don't mess about too much with skill moves. I just attack attack attack. People in there find the meta and stick rigidly to it. Each year, cheesy goal techniques show up and until their effectiveness is patched out, it's all you see. So, three times already since release, I've entered playoffs. And three times, I've been absolutely hammered. So bloody infuriating to see, twice going down to the last game needing a win, only to be sweated upon so badly, I'm needing a shower afterwards. Waste of time.

Last week, EA announced a change. Instead of 5 out of 9, you'd now need 4 out of 10. And given I'm working all of Xmas weekend and she's away to her sis' for it, I saw an opportunity..

Got home from work last night, wolfed down some dinner, and got to work. First game, win. Second game, win. Then... 4 losses on the bounce, again having the metasweat thrust upon me to the point I'm really losing the rag, which upon reflection, isn't good, to have a game affect me so much. Teams with multiple icons, meta players and tactics you'd be ashamed to pull. One guy going 3-0 up then time wasting passing among his back four and keeper. Infuriating.

I dust myself down, have a break whilst chatting with Chaz in a party. And we go again. Game 7, win. Game 8... I kick off, knock it about, it breaks to my new signing Ricardo Orsolini with an absolute wand of a left peg and ridiculous long shot stats. 25yd out, I ping it..



Yes! Come on! VAMOS!
We kick off again, he starts some skill moves, my DM Locatelli barges him off it and then I see the magical "xxxx has queued to pause the game" message. I go up the park and his keeper has been brought out. Is he?! Is he gifting me the win?? Am I doing it??? I knock the ball out for a throw, the pause screen comes up. I wait what seems like an eternity...

EPL_SWEATLORD HAS LEFT THE GAME



I done it. I finally done it. After being knocked down so many times, watching my peers breeze the playoffs week in and out, being sweated upon so badly it questioned my belief in my ability, and the game. They said it couldn't be done. Drink it in! I swear you'll never see anything like this ever again!



(this is all small fry but I was really happy. me and Chaz and a few other mates are really invested in it this year so to finally achieve that previously insurmountable task was a huge relief. Now to get all Greece Euro 2004 vibes and just enjoy being there! I'm a weekend league player now baby!)

And breathe.

These are lovely stories. I try to play the game the same way btw but refuse fut.

The number of games I have to face off against PSG with the borked Messi shooting rng-ing off the charts should put me off but it’s testament to the quality of the underlying game I’ll grit my teeth and get through these guys.

I also never ever rage quit. 8-0 down against a wannabe pro and I’ll still see the game out. Lack of respect otherwise, plus I might learn sommat from what they do.

Cheddar Res and Glasto Tor were used as markers for Bristol in WW2. Nobody needs Weston.

Quadruple Platinum on Demon's Souls.

So, that Weekend League I worked so hard to get to, how did it go? Well...

The Plan: finish work Xmas night, get home, do ten games. Go to bed, wake up, go to work Boxing Day, get home and play the final ten.

The aim: 9 wins. With the points accrued from those wins (and getting 1pt per loss) I'd be at the first rank where a "team of the week pack" would be among the rewards. There's also two "player picks", giving me one out of a choice of 4 totw players. All in all, a good haul, but more chance of something big.


First night does not go well. You thought the qualifiers were sweaty? This is another level altogether, sonny. In the first 5 games, there were at least two where we were tied going into the final 15mins, only to lose it in the final mins. We had it all: cut backs, skill moves ripping me apart, cheesed corner goals, teams full of meta players, the lot. At the end of the night, with ten played, I was 4-6. Not great, but not the worst. I knew that if I had a better night the following night, I could easily make 5-5 and get my nine wins. We go again, great bunch of lads, game of two halves, etc. Spend the quiet moments at work the next day reflecting on tactics, what worked, what didn't. You will Beat The Sweat, Gav. You can do it.



Night two. The final ten. This is what we worked for. No backing down now.

We start.... Not well. Couple of losses. Tension building. Gonna have to pull something out the hat here.

Wins come and go. Eventually, I'm left with two games left, and again just like the quallys, I need to win both. By this point, I've tinkered. I've switched from my early-2000s calcio 352 to a more safe and steady 4231. I'm needing to shore it up at the back and still be sharp in attack, the back 3 was leaving me wide open at times. Can't be all swash and no buckle, right? It's crunch time now.

Penultimate game was a battle, but I pulled away in the final third. My Flashback Morata card came off the bench to bang a couple in and there I was, one game left. Do or die. Glory or failure. I had The Battle Fever. Let's go.

Loading screen... French flags and icon cards aplenty. I had hoped that lady luck would shine on me and I'd get paired with a kind soul already done with their own wins target and out there gifting wins, but alas not. It was another sweatlord. This time, for all the marbles.

We begin. They're skilling me hard, they're box-dancing, cut-backing. They're on the sweat and I am perspiring. They go one up. I fight back. Get a deflection off a long shot and Goran Pandev, the North Macedonian King, the Serie A legend, is there to slot it home. 1-1 at HT.

We come out second half and soon enough, it's more of the same and they go 2-1 up. Time is running out. It can't end like this, can it? Another glorious Scottish failure? It can't. It just can't. I won't let it. Or, should I say, my Serbian Prince won't let it.

87th min, thankfully this is the kind of Sweatlord that doesn't rest on his laurels and is looking for a third. But this leaves him open.. The ball breaks outside his box...



WE'RE BACK IN THIS BITCH NOW BOYS. WE NEVER GIVE UP. FINO ALLA FINE FORZA GAVENTUSSSSS!!!

My captain. My midfield Maestro. The Sargent. El Sergente. Big Serg. Serg Milly 21. The boy. The lad. My friend, my mate.

Extra Time. Time to make some subs, but wait a minute, there's a problem... I didn't know this until after, but there's a bug that sometimes occurs when you pause it where the game thinks you're constantly inputting right on the stick, meaning you can't get from the resume match icon to the subs screen. What? The? Fuck? My boys are out on their feet, I need fresh legs, but I'm getting bumped out of it when I need them most? Fffffffffffuuuuu-

We struggle. We fight. Yer man Woj in goals pulls off a couple of miracle saves. I'm really holding on, then the ref blows... It's pens.

Now, historically, whether it be vs people online, or Chaz or other mates, or even against AI, I fuckin suck at pens. If the keeps chooses the side I shoot at, it's getting saved, every time. If I was going to win this, I was going to need a miracle.

I go second. I miss the first one. Great start. But luckily, my opponent is as gash as I am. Honestly, a honking set of pens all in. After 5, we are tied.

Sudden death.

I think of all the players that got me here. Of all the losses. All the times I was ripped apart, left shouting at the TV berating the sweaty nonsense. Of all the highs too, all the times I've grinded out wins. It's all down to this. One man, one ball, one kick away from immortality.

His man steps up... SCZESNY SAVES!!



(we pick it up here with Lorenzo Insigne at match point...)


HE'S DONE IT! SERGEJ MILINKOVIC-SAVIC RIFLES IT THROUGH DONNARUMMAS HANDS, AND GAVENTUS WIN!! THEY SAID THIS WOULD NOT HAPPEN. THEY SAID THIS COULD NOT HAPPEN.

THIS. IS. HAPPENING.







And then I packed some okay cards. Which was nice.

Until next time. WATP.

Enjoyed that.
Top work Gav.

Super stuff.

In late November I decided to cancel my Ps Plus sub. Id had it years and the monthly games are now pants. Two days ago I get the blue lights of death. Long story short I had to factory reset my PS5 and Ive lost whatever game progress since I canceled PS Plus. Ill resubscribe for a month and grab my saves and cancel again though.
Other than that my most personal gaming moment and triumph this year was actually obtaining a PS5. I had quite the time trying to get one. So many near misses and frustration. Im sure most of you know the feeling. But walking out of that shop with my PS5, such a proud moment.

Cheers squire