For those of you who said there was too much drama going on in the WCG Ultimate Gamer 2 house, this week it was strictly gaming – with some added twists, of course.
The Gauntlet is a series of video games that the remaining six contestants had to compete in. Each gamer who came in last place during each video game round ended up getting eliminated.
The contestants entered a warehouse. The first challenge was in a dark room with a spotlight highlighting a Pacman arcade machine. All the contestants looked shocked when they stepped up to the classic game, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. Jake Pfister had the advantage after winning a mini-challenge by getting the highest score in the house on Invincible Tiger 3D. He won a mysterious blue box, which had two quarters inside to play PacMan twice. (All the other players got a black box containing a single quarter.)
Alas, we had to say goodbye to Rachel Quirico. Kat Gunn edged her out of last place. It was something that could be predicted, since as soon as Quirico entered the Pacman challenge she said, “There’s nothing that scares me more than Pacman.” Though she had tears in her eyes right after the challenge when being interviewed about her exit, she seemed positive looking back at the experience weeks later. “I tend to favor Mrs. Pacman,” she said. “I really got myself trapped in the corners.”
“As I was being told it’s down to me and Kat, I didn’t want to be the one to knock Kat out,” Quirico said, adding that she’s rooting for Gunn to win. “She’s got the skills. She’s been to Samsung stadium three times. She’s proven that she’s good at 100 different games. She does it all as a girl and not a wussy girl. She doesn’t roll over or bat her eyelashes.”
However, she was happy to go home. Still covered in bruises from the paint balls from the Battlefield Bad Company 2 real life challenge, she said the first thing she did when she went home to New Jersey was get on Twitter.
“I got home, I got on Twitter, I got on Xbox and I passed out,” she said laughing. “I missed my computer, and I missed the internet.”
She’ll always remember winning the Battlefield Bad Company 2 isolation challenge as the best moment in the competition.
“I was really proud of how we did because it was (mostly) all-girl gaming,” she said. Her team consisted of Faye Mata, Gunn and Yaz Ammari. “All girl gaming is my platform.”
“If I could change one thing, I would have played more Pacman,” Quirico admitted. “I am not a huge Pacman fan it gives me more anxiety than the more (violent) games I play. All you can do is runaway from ghosts. It freezes my heart to play that game.”
Justin Wong came in first place in the Pacman challenge, which surprised him greatly. He was so surprised to find out that he won the challenge because his friends at home normally beat him at the game. But, the bragging rights weren’t his for long, as he was sent home in the second challenge.
The second leg of The Gauntlet was Forza Motorsport 3, a game that the gamers had previously competed in. Wong, who doesn’t even have his driver’s license said he was scared when he saw the challenge. Back in the real life challenge for Forza Motorsport 3, Wong memorably crashed his car into every obstacle in a memorable episode. As an added twist, the gamers raced with their hands handcuffed behind their back to the steering wheel. And then to top things off, the next round they were forced to steer with their feet since they were tied up in straight jackets. “Kat came in first in both rounds,” Wong said. “It’s like she said, ‘I’m going to stay home one day and learn how to drive with my feet.’ She destroyed everyone.”
As for whether or not he’s going to finally get his driver’s license, he’s leaning towards no. “A couple weeks after I got into a car accident with my friends,” he said. “I’m kinda scared after that. So I don’t really think I need a driver’s licence right now.”
He’s rooting for Caesar Noriega to win the whole thing. Even though he’s pretty good friends with Ammari and Gunn, he hopes that Noriega will get the money since he’ll use it to propose to his girlfriend. “I really want Caesar to win to propose to his girlfriend,” he said. “I really think Caesar will win, but I think the best gamer is Kat overall.”
What both eliminated players didn’t know was the next game was Splinter Cell. The gamers had to play the game while looking at mirrors that were constantly spinning. Ammari, who had never played the game, won the first round while episode ended in a cliffhanger as the remaining gamers battled it out for the last spots.
Quirico and Wong are currently at the WCG Grand Finals to watch all gaming madness go down and find out who is the WCG Ultimate Gamer. “We’re getting married Justin and I,” Quirico joked. “Seven asian-white babies,” Wong added.
In reality, these two gamers will continue their foray into the professional gaming world. “I want to continue to bring competitive gaming to the mass media and the average gamer,” Quirico said. “It’s something that can appeal to the average person if presented in the right way.”
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