Quick Tribute to Avon

[Rambo]

I was 20 years old, life was chaotic, the only online game I had ever dabbled in up to this point was MMArmy. I was completely new to the online gaming community. I joined 6-09-09, went on a 10 fight win streak, ended up sticking around because I needed something to occupy my time (I literally had nothing but a computer 'to play with' and was lucky to have internet access) & I was hooked. I couldn't tell you the exact date Convicted Inc was created but it was the 66th alliance ever made, so it wasn't very long after I joined & went VIP.

 

So I make the alliance and the very first thing I do is ask the best manager in the game to join (forgot what kind of sales pitch I gave him) and he had an insane record of something crazy like 40-2; he was so good that people thought he was a hacker... and to my utter disbelief, having never had a conversation with him prior to this point, he said yes and accepted the invitation. As weird as it may sound and nobody will understand this, there's a small strange chance that this event went on to eventually save my life.. like some type of butterfly effect or ripple in destiny...

 

Anyway haha, this post will reek with a bit of nostalgia, took a trip down tycoon memory lane to the early days of Convicted and our alliance chat. Just wanted to make a quick tribute to the original king of this game, the co-founder of Convicted Inc

 

Avon Barksdale

His name has the Great White Buffalo effect. He's a legend, you know it, they know it, everybody knows it. You hear it. You read it. Only handfuls of people actually remember the greatness. Most people only get to read about it and never actually know the impact he had on the game. The only person to come close to his aura of greatness is LT. Nobody else has ever or will ever experience what he did. What people also don't remember were all the glitches and BS we went through early in this game. 100% counter era, TD spamming era where the TD spammer was actually regaining energy instead of losing it, the glitch where a fighter might shoot for a takedown on the first move regardless of what your sliders were set to. There were no private gyms. Game guides. There was no "follow to ground or stay standing slider". There were no mentors, private jets, 160 supplements... it was pretty much a wild wild west version of tycoon.

 

 

Like I said, a lot of people remember Avon, a lot of people know his body of work and what he's accomplished in this game. Very few people had the opportunity to talk to him as much as I did. As far as this game goes, couldn't of been more fortunate^*. Not sure I ever got to thank you for joining Convicted and helping establish our legacy. I went inactive late October 2009 and didn't return until early January 2010 and Avon was still around. That's some loyalty right there because there was only three of us then lol. Without Avon, Convicted would of never been what it is now. If you ever read this, thanks dude, you're still the man.

 

 

* p.s... most fortunate events after that was Tarmo Heiskanen joining May 6th 2010, Dace Killian joining shortly after that, and my DBA (Drunken Bum Alliance - MMArmy days) buddy for life, Lance Templeton on June 14th.

 

 

 

http://www.mmatycoon.com/images/manager_avatars/avon.jpg

Chapter 1: WINNING!

Avon established himself as the best in the game very early. He was the #1 ranked manager forever and went on huge streaks to open his career going 34-2, followed by 33-4, and then capped off 2009 with another 29-3 streak. 96-9 record going into 2010. Unanimous 2009 Manager of the Year. Avon Barksdale was the first manager to ever get the #1 P4P Manager Trophy, and he held on to it til 3-21-2010.

 

Avon Barksdale [Avon] [2010-03-21 01:27:18] Haha congrats on #1 Chris.. Not sure I deserved to go from #1 to #6, I mean Chico lost 2 fights also and only dropped 2 spots.. But I'm really glad you're the guy who finally dethroned me

 

For the record, it didn't take him too long to get it back haha. But I was honored to be the second manager ever, to get that #1 trophy, because of how great Avon was and the pedestal that #1 spot had been placed upon back then, all because of his success.

 

http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/14/14b7.jpg

Chapter 2: Legends & GOATS
Fighters + P4P #: Fidel Puno #1, Tor Nansen #1, Hakuin Ekaku #2 (he was 24-0 at one point), Manu Okoro #2, Evangelisti #3, and he had other guys like Zakarova #7, Babbage #12, Valhall #17, Kaiser #22... and these were all fighters that he created and trained. He wasn't scooping the best free agents off the market who had beastly hiddens and would win most of their fights regardless of their asshat manager. He legitimately created and trained some of the best fighters this game has ever seen. These guys are the Fedor, Gomi, Gracie, Wanderlei of MMATycoon. Pioneers and legends.

 

 

http://www.mmatycoon.com/images/posters/1268974864syn10006.jpg

Chapter 3: Graphic Master & Design Guru

Okay, I admit, I could of came up with a better chapter name. But it's 5:59 AM and I'm tired. So I'm wrapping this up. If you never got to see Avon's work, especially early in the game, than you wouldn't understand the extra levels of creativity it took, or how much more flavor it added back then. He made some of the best posters we've ever seen. AMAZING fighter videos for Syn, that were just awesome, iirc first video previews ever. His poster quality was second to none back then, and he was simultaneously the best manager the game had ever seen. His Fidel videos were hilarious.

 

http://www.mmatycoon.com/images/posters/1268117900Poster%20Convicted%201.jpg

Chapter 4: Leadership & Loyalty
He lead by example. You can tell he was a pretty good dude. Just by dealing with him, he genuinely seemed like a great person. He was like Fedor. He was dominant. He was calm, quiet, humble. He didn't have an elitist personality, he was active in alliance chat and talked to everybody, helpful if needed, Avon was the man. Thank dear lord baby New York Jesus that LT came around haha, because coming out of the shadow that Avon left behind was no easy task. Throughout the years, he's always remained loyal to Convicted. Still holds an alliance gym. Signs on and says what's up every now and again. The loyalty is, and will always be appreciated. Avon helped build Convicted. He silently set the standards and expectations of the alliance. I may have been more vocal, but he lead by example, and he set the bar really fucking high. Once again man, thanks for everything. I owe you a lot of credit for Convicted Inc's success, and I think everybody should remember how monumental you were to the alliance's rise to the top.

 

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If you guys have any experience of Avon's history that you'd like to share, please do. Be it a fight, a thread, a video, poster, event, etc. Personally his KO win over Cee Digits prolly goes down as one of my all time favorite victories.

[KingEpicity]

I love threads like this. Avon was always a guy I wanted to know much more about but I was not around when he was the man.

[bjornmma1]

I sadly enough wasn't around yet when he was, but heard nothing but good about him. Love the threads you are making Rambo!

[Guest]

i didn't even know the guy and this brings a tear to the eye lol

[markyosullivan]

Noticed yesterday that he posted on Buzz, would love to see the guy return Excellent write up CK! Sadly I think Dante Evangelisti is the only fighter I remember well

[coton81]

love threads like this hopefully see more about more managers and orgs etc

[stpierrecanada]

I miss Avon like crazy, I considered him a very good friend in this game and have always looked up to him, class act and the best manager to ever play this game hands down in my mind.

[madbob]

very interesting stuff to read. out of my time in this game, but would be great if he makes a return. i see one young gun on his roster.

[JLP]

Chapter 2: Legends & GOATS

Fighters + P4P #: Fidel Puno #1, Tor Nansen #1, Hakuin Ekaku #2 (he was 24-0 at one point), Manu Okoro #2, Evangelisti #3, and he had other guys like Zakarova #7, Babbage #12, Valhall #17, Kaiser #22... and these were all fighters that he created and trained. He wasn't scooping the best free agents off the market who had beastly hiddens and would win most of their fights regardless of their asshat manager.

I agree with this sentiment. Taking a guy from creation to the top is the pinnacle of achievement. Farming elite hidden FA's is kind of boring imo, I wouldnt want to play the game if I was going into every fight as a pretty big favorite. Kind of cheapens any achievement you have imo.

 

I only got to fight Avon once, but it was a huge fight. It was probably the last fight McDermot had in his prime and the 3rd biggest win of his career. McDermot's was easily the fastest fighter decline I've ever experienced.

[SonnyMuchacho]

Avon was the shit. Probably the nicest guy to ever have a dominate this game for a time.

 

He bought a bunch of my crappy 140 recovery (not too bad at the time actually) with his #1 fighter so I could do a press release. He helped make the game more fun for a lot of people.

[Turbodave222]

when i first joined mmatycoon years ago (played for like 6 months, and went inactive then for 4 or 5 years ), i wrote him to talk about sliders. how many people on the nr 1 spot would answer a random newb's questions about sliders? he did i wrote him regurlaly and every time he answered. very nice guy

[duphus]

Just noticed I fought Avon in his final fight for now.

[JoeLang]

When i first started paying i had just finished watching The Wire so seeing some dude named Avon Barksdale as the #1 manager for what felt like an eternity as i was learning the game was pretty cool.

 

Awesome read CK!

[LanceTempleton]

Avon is the man. One of the best guys I ever met and keep in contact with from the internet.

 

Smart guy, great guy, and all class...

 

I don't have enough nice things to say about him...

[DeadDisney]

Any chance one of you guys can get Avon to drop in on this thread? I've been playing for years and have heard many good things about him, but I feel almost like we are talking about Bigfoot or Nessie.

 

Would be nice to hear what he has to say about his playing days.

 

Seriously, somebody?

[markyosullivan]

Any chance one of you guys can get Avon to drop in on this thread? I've been playing for years and have heard many good things about him, but I feel almost like we are talking about Bigfoot or Nessie.

 

Would be nice to hear what he has to say about his playing days.

 

Seriously, somebody?

 

He posted on Buzz a couple of days ago, did you not see it?

 

edit

 

I linked him to a thread on the forums, not sure if he'll come on but if he does, hopefully he'll see this

[LanceTempleton]

Any chance one of you guys can get Avon to drop in on this thread? I've been playing for years and have heard many good things about him, but I feel almost like we are talking about Bigfoot or Nessie.

 

Would be nice to hear what he has to say about his playing days.

 

Seriously, somebody?

 

I'll tell him.

[MrClean]

The BHP had some of the most dominant players this game has seen. Estefan Chiscano "Chico" creator of The BHP is mentioned twice in this thread. He was easily the second most dominant manager in the game at the time. His win percentage is still ridiculous and two of his old fighters are still tearing up the competition, recently being ranked in the top 10 p4p Stack Shillings and Joaquin Fortunado. He was not the only member of our alliance to camp in the top 5 for the early years of the game. Many people forget Quint Chingo whose profile is longer here, had some pretty bad ass fighters and spent a lot of time with Avon and Chico owning the top ranks.

 

I dont say this as a comparison. I say it to put my next comments into perspective. I was going back through The Broken Halo Pride's alliance chat last week myself. I was reading what these legends had to say about the game and sliders. These guys were dominating, but more than once I came across posts like "we have to quit letting Avon kick our asses."

That is when I realized Avon was a legend to the legends.

[BigTree]

Any chance one of you guys can get Avon to drop in on this thread? I've been playing for years and have heard many good things about him, but I feel almost like we are talking about Bigfoot or Nessie.

 

Would be nice to hear what he has to say about his playing days.

 

Seriously, somebody?

 

I started playing as Avon was in the infancy of his reign on this game. Interesting enough DD, he still is very much like a mythical figure to me. We never had a fight (mainly because my guys stunk) I believe he and I only spoke one or twice when I was trying to sign one of his fighters to a fledgling org I created in Sydney. He declined the contract because his fighter was promised to someone else and offered me a new fighter as replacement. I was actually pretty shocked how the great Avon Barksdale was really cool and humble with his prestige. Just like Barns says, many a topic was written about Mr. Barksdale in alliance chat.

[Goon]

On my old account LamarCard I can still remember being matched up against Avon and thinking ohhhh shit this is going to end badly ( and it did lol ).. Messaged him after the fight and was given so many tips and pointers. That guy is a class act. Along with PBR who I believe is a mod now.

[Tycooner]

This is great stuff best thread i have read in awhile !

[Rambo]

Most people never remember this. iirc we did bring Syn back to #1 a few different times.

http://i.imgur.com/JO44Q9m.png

 

 

Here's a link to all of the Syn / MMATycoon video previews:

 

https://www.youtube.com/user/kesammannen/videos

 

 

 

Greatest smack talk/hype build up ever:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGPU2jQWo-I

 

 

http://i.imgur.com/gvUuSnu.png

[HimSc]

I remember signing Okoro to UEC back in the day, Avon was always a stand-up guy and I've always had the utmost respect for him. I hope he comes back like I did, this game is too fun to stay away.

[HimSc]

Good write up CK!

[MrClean]

 

Most people never remember this. iirc we did bring Syn back to #1 a few different times.

http://i.imgur.com/JO44Q9m.png

 

 

Here's a link to all of the Syn / MMATycoon video previews:

 

https://www.youtube.com/user/kesammannen/videos

 

 

 

Greatest smack talk/hype build up ever:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGPU2jQWo-I

 

 

http://i.imgur.com/gvUuSnu.png

 

 

I have always associated the Syn org with Convicted because of all the time and great work put into it by the likes of Chris Karter and Avon Barksdale. The Syn organization has recently changed hands and is now under control of The Broken Halo Pride. I was very concerned with the direction that org is going due to rumors I have been hearing. I did not want The Pride to be responsible for it's failure. Before I allowed Syn to be managed by a BHP member I was assured by Syn's new management that they would do everything in their power to ensure Syn returned to its former glory.

 

Unfortunately it has come to my attention that a group of high level managers in this game have other plans for Syn which are not nearly so glorious as i had hoped. Those managers are backed by a lot of money and prestige. Word is they are offering large contracts to the managers of syn fighters in order to get them to leave and bad mouthing the new management at every opportunity.

 

So what? This game is called MMATycoon. If a cabal of managers wants to throw money at a company they don't like and put it out of business then that is just part of the game.

 

So I dont want The Broken Halo to be blamed for the failure of a legendary Convicted organization. I want everyone to know that the forces secretly working to destroy Syn are lead by a former member of the Convicted alliance.

 

It seems there may be more to the story than just a manager deciding to leave the Convicted alliance and create his own. Qlimax is supposed to be there to help noobs but we will know them by their works. So far what i am hearing is more like a manager who went rogue and is now, it appears, on questionable terms with his former alliance.

 

I don't know if Dinoo has been radicalized by the gingers but it sure appears that way. Just like a teenager who falls in with the wrong crowd and his grades begin to drop, so goes it with Dinoo's manager rank. He is losing fights to guys he should have beaten, is arguing in public with his old mates, and has been seen on video stealing ponies. I haven't seen his rank this low in a probably 2 years. It seems he has also decided to destroy the institution which the Godfather of Convicted spent much of his time building. It's as if Dinoo and his crew are trying to destroy Convicted's very legacy right at it's roots.

 

Like I said above, this game is called Tycoon and if you want to play it that way then I guess that's within the rules. I just want it to be clear that if the walls of Syn fall to Dinoo's trumpets and his minions overtake the citadel that it was not the fault of The Broken Halo Pride. It was a radicalized member of the Convicted alliance gone rogue and bent on destruction of his former family.