Xbox marks the spot for local video game expert

By Staff
PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT Nicholas Swanner, pictured above, will compete tonight for the title of Project Gotham Racing 2 International Tournament XBox Live Champion in Charlotte, N.C. He could win $5,000 and a one-year subscription to Xbox Live the Microsoft-generated online video game system. Submitted photo.
By Penny Randall / staff writer
May 29, 2004
Nicholas Swanner has his game face on and speed on his mind.
Tonight at 7 p.m. in Charlotte, N.C., Swanner, a 2000 graduate of Clarkdale Attendance Center, will compete for the title of Project Gotham Racing 2 International Tournament Xbox Live Champion. The winner is awarded a $5,000 prize and a one-year subscription to Xbox Live a Microsoft-generated online video game system.
More than 750,000 auto enthusiasts, racing fans and gamers from around the world competed in an all-out online battle for racing supremacy in the first-ever international Xbox Live online video game tournament, which ran from April 17-May 17.
Swanner, 21, recorded the fastest preliminary time of the top seven competitors 45.084 seconds. He will compete against two gamers from the United States, two from Canada and three from Europe tonight.
Swanner is a logistics supervisor at OfficeMax in Meridian. He said he didn't get seriously interested in Xbox until last year.
In addition to his all-expense-paid trip to Charlotte, Swanner will also be attending the NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway on Sunday.
The son of Kim Vining of the Clarkdale community, and Keith Swanner of Moultrie, Ga., Swanner said his parents are supportive.
Swanner's mother joked that she hopes her son wins so he can move out of the house.
Swanner said he wouldn't know if he'll be nervous until the contest begins.