Kilcloon gamer wins place in Irish cyber final

A Kilcloon student has made it to the Irish final of the World Cyber Games, considered the equivalent of the Olympics for computer gamers. Diarmuid Ryan from Collistown, who is 15, will compete against three of Ireland's top computer gamers next week to be in with a chance of representing Ireland at the international finals of the World Cyber Games, which take place in China in November. Diarmuid beat off stiff competition in an online tournament to gain the fastest lap-time in the car-racing game 'TrackMania Nations Forever', thereby bagging himself a place in the Irish final. He has just completed his Junior Certificate at Scoil Dara in Kilcock and will start fifth year there in September. The final will take place in The Digital Hub in Dublin on Tuesday next, 18th August. Four gamers will compete in the final, but only one will be chosen to represent Ireland at international level. Dr Stephen Brennan, director of marketing and strategy with The Digital Hub, said the competition is one of the highlights of the year for Ireland's gaming community. "Thanks to the generous sponsorship we have received from Samsung and Eircom this year - and the support of the leading gaming organisation LanParty.ie - we are delighted to be able to send an Irish team to the World Cyber Games again," he said. "Computer gaming is growing in popularity in Ireland all of the time. And it is becoming increasingly competitive: in some countries, computer gamers are now on a par with major sporting heroes and the World Cyber Games gain as much attention and media coverage as long-established sports events. "In Ireland, a small number of computer gamers have made the leap from playing games as a hobby to competing professionally, and participating in the World Cyber Games often helps them to do this. Hundreds of Irish gamers take part in the qualifying rounds for the World Cyber Games, so it is a great achievement for Diarmuid to have made it to the final this year, and I wish him all the best next week," Dr Brennan said. This is the fourth consecutive year in which The Digital Hub has hosted the Irish final of the World Cyber Games. It is the first year in which Diarmuid has taken part in the competition. "I just came back from the Gaeltacht last weekend and found out that there was only one day left for people to try to qualify for the Irish final of the World Cyber Games," Diarmuid said. "So I gave it a shot and, luckily, I made it through to the final. I'm looking forward to the competition next week. "I really like computer gaming and I love messing around with computers - figuring out different things to do with them. I've written a couple of websites in the past and I'd definitely like to do something with computers after I finish school," the young Kilcloon man said.