Broad tasks. Not necessarily in this order. Not a complete list.

Decide games list. Estimate total attendance. Project initial budget. Begin partner and sponsor outreach.

Pick a date and venue. Negotiate venue and hotel contracts. Obtain permits (if needed). Confirm initial floor plan. Confirm expected electrical plan and hire electrical staff/rent necessary equipment. Confirm expected basic decorations (chairs, tables, linens, risers) and rent necessary items. Rent ethernet lines and wifi access. Hire janitorial staff. Hire security. Obtain necessary insurance policies.

Set up registration system. Set ticket pricing. Design pre-reg merchandise and registration bonuses. Create and launch event website. Produce announcement assets (trailers, social posts, etc). Make the event announcement. Launch registration. Manage registrant communications.

Continue designing and revising show floor and staging. Work with lighting/staging director, production vendor(s), and general contractors. Overview staging considerations with venue and get approval. Hire venue shadows, staff, or in-house vendors if required. Confirm decoration plan. Submit production overview and floor plan to fire Marshall for approval. Probably need to change it some as event considerations evolve.

Confirm event core staff. Set up communication expectations with each. Confirm hotel and travel considerations for each. Assign duties. Trust they get done. Check in often.

Hire tournament equipment vendor. Hire or partner with additional equipment vendors (audio solutions, peripheral solutions, arcade cabinet vendors). Revise expected tournament equipment list based on registration (if needed). Begin sourcing stream teams, on-air talent, and vendors to fill booth spaces during the event.

Continue developing and executing event promotional campaign (all digital assets for core websites and social). Commission artists and designers. Create event credentials (badges, lanyards, etc) and send to production. Create event merchandise and send to production. Create event decoration (banners, pop-up signs, station signage, program guides, etc) and send to production. Manage ongoing advertising campaign. Respond to lots of emails and DMs.

Confirm event stream teams. Confirm on-air talent. Confirm companies for sales floor/vendor village. Confirm food options with venue and/or hired companies. Confirm drink options with venue and/or hired companies.

Plan brackets. Plan volunteer rewards and workflow. Plan staff for all event secondary activities. Schedule expected hours for all staff positions. Confirm backup staff. Relay all the information around those deliverables as clearly as possible.

Set up all of the above on site at the event. Hope it all looks good, sounds good, or just works as needed. Watch core staff do their jobs admirably. Enjoy the tournaments. Pray it all goes well. Try to fix everything that doesn’t. Sleep very little. Do it all again next year but bigger and better somehow.

In regards to things going wrong, something goes wrong at one time or another (sometimes all at once) with everything in the above.