With several hours to spare, the astonishing has been achieved: The Natural Selection 2 World Championship is funded, and will go ahead. Astonishing because $31,090 is a significant sum of money - And it has been raised to fund a gaming competition. A contest that will see players from all over the world engage in a battle of reflexes, strategic thinking, teamwork and tactics through the tunnels of Tram, the halls of Summit, the corridors of Biodome - Broadcast for all to see. Twenty four players will fly across the world to play in person. 'eSports' is a loaded word. It is often used as a mechanism for developers, publishers and media to use gameplay to achieve one goal or another. That goal is seldom the simple celebration of the game itself, nor the provision of an arena for a contest's sake. Like real sports, esports features intrigue, subterfuge and hidden motives. The NS2WC does not. By virtue of its smaller size, diverse and transparent funding, and community inception this event is one we can all get behind. It is going to generate smiles, drama, disappointment, rivalries, friendships, and brilliant NS2 gameplay. It is a contest of amateurs in the truest sense of that word - Players who play NS2 for fun, players for whom NS2 is not an esports job but a passion. With a bit of skill, planning, hard work and good fortune this thing is going to go off with a big bang. At this stage, it is worth thanking a few people and groups for getting the NS2WC to this point:

WasabiOne, Reddog, Zefram, ItsSuperEffective, Virsoul & Rantology for organising Charlie & Max for agreeing to UWE's funding and support Nvidia & Intel for being the primary and pivotal event sponsors 306 NS2 players for contributing generously to the funding effort

The fundraiser will be closing very soon. Any further support is very welcome: Any funds left over after paying for the transportation of players will go directly into the event prize pool. This is also the last chance ever to get your hands on NS2WC supporter badges - They will never been seen again, and later today they will cease to be available!