TheOverclocker Issue 35 | Page 21

but we managed. Having started slow, toptog brought his A game to the event on Sunday and he needed it. Team midlifegamer. co.uk's very own nickolp1974, who had dismissed Massman from the competition in the first round, continued to pile on the pressure and blow all away who dared to stand before him. Narrow defeats by one point seemed to be Gavbon’s destiny as he was beaten once more by a single point and eliminated. Kitfit1, an old school bencher from BenchTec. uk and a good friend, carried the fight to the young guns and only fell in the semi-final. As was the hope, new talent in the UK was certainly identified. ObscureParadox, a young student from Wales, and Jumper118 showed that they had what it takes in the heat of battle, and that they are ones to keep an eye on for the future. However, it was experience in the form of topdog against the rising force in UK benching nickolp1974 who fought out the final. From the get-go it was Nick who took the lead with a solid first score in Cinebench R15 and did not look back. Dewi fought hard and got close, but it was not meant to be on the day. nickolp1974 was a very popular winner, benching in front of many of his team mates from midlifegamers. co.uk. The team has recently taken the UK number one slot from benchtech. uk and are now looking at a global top twenty place. Well done to Nick and to all the guys who participated. MSI UK very kindly presented the winner with a Z97 MPower motherboard in recognition of his achievement. The one aspect of the event that stood out was apart from all the issues that we just could not legislate for, the UK guys just got on with things and enjoyed themselves. 8pack and de8auer did not participate in the head to head for their own reasons and seemed to enjoy themselves doing their own thing while the competition was running. Maybe next time the world’s best will join in with the rest. I think these kind words that one of the benchers sent to me after the event sum up the entire experience, and tell me that the MSI OC Academy UK tour event in Cambridge was a huge success. “I never thought the competition part would get me so bad, it put a feeling of excitement into me that I cannot describe, it has left me wanting more. One thing that was really nice was even though we were competing against each other help was given and offered, a really nice team spirit. We can’t wait for the next one. You have created something magical here, thank you.” The UK benching scene is strong, and with MSI’s continued support it will only get stronger. [ HiVizMan ] Issue 35 | 2015 The OverClocker 21