This November sees the return of MaxLAN, a LAN event in France that seems to fly under the radar for the most part, not attracting much oversee's attention. The event will take place on 20th-22nd of November.

Based in A small town called Epinal, just 100 miles from the German border and just south of Nancy it is a great location to host a LAN. The Centre des Congrès - Parc des Expositions is a large, modern building right in the heart of the city, there are several hotels within walking distance.

The perfect LAN location?

Hotels

Firstly you have the Etap hotel, from just 39 Euro's per person per night it is extremely well priced. Although not very fancy it is all you need for the weekend, with a bed, breakfast and a wi-fi connection. It is situated directly opposite the Parc des Expositions, less than a minutes walk.

For those who would like something a bit more upmarket, a 10 minute drive will take you to the Mercure Epinal Centre hotel. Equipped with Wi-Fi, Swimming pool, Bar, Restaurant and right in the heart of the city. A family suit costs 132.62 Euro's per night, sleeping 3 people it works out a decent price.

Travel

The nearest airport from the centre is the Épinal - Mirecourt Airport, just a 45 minute drive from the event. The airport is not a major international one so you will need to get a flight to Paris or another major city, and then a linking flight to Épinal. However if you can handle a long bus journey then there will be a shuttle bus provided from Paris to Epinal, costing just 50 Euros for a return ticket. It will be departing from Gare de Lyon parking opposite the Hotel Mercure in Paris at 5:00pm Friday November 20th getting there in time for the event on Saturday, on the return journey it will leave at around 4:00pm from the event and will arrive in Paris at 10pm on Sunday November 22nd. You can book your tickets by sending the payment with your registration for the event.

The Event:

Last year MaxLAN hosted a CS:S and a COD4 tournament, with a €4,000 prize pot for both tournaments, plus various hardware prizes from main sponsor 'Razer'. This year sees a return of CS:S in a 32 team tournament, however COD4 will be replaced by DOD:S, whilst there will also be a 12 team 1.6 tournament with a 2500 Euro prize fund.

Screens should be available for renting although as yet there is no confimation, you can keep up to date on the maxlan website posted at the bottom of the article. There will be a snack bar at the event to serve hot and cold food and drinks. The doors will open at 6pm on Friday evening

Prize Breakdown

Signup:

The cost to enter the event will be 40 Euros with managers going for free, as long as they don't have a PC. There have already been 64 sign ups, although only 19 have paid leaving 13 slots still up for grabs. Payment must be made by the close on business on the 1st of November and you can pay by bank transfer to:

ASS DECL Local Area Network As
Bank : AG. de Nancy Stan.
IBAN : FR76 1470 7000 2330 1194 8534 772
BIC : CCBPFRPPMTZ

You can also pay by credit card by clicking the link on "your account" on the website. (Sign Up)

(MaxLan Homepage)