~Road Of The King~

As I've mentioned in my previous blog, Road of the King is a unique team tournament, considered quite different from WC3L and NGL because of its "Special Abilities" usage. Read on to find out more about this upcoming tournament!

Date: 30th April to 3rd May 2008

Attendants: 4 players for each team (Leader and extra players are allowed)

Prize:

1st: $10,000 Cash
2nd: $4,000 Cash
3rd: $2,000 Cash
4th: $1,000 Cash
5th-8th: $500 Cash

The 8 teams attending:

wNv TeamWork
MouseSports
fnatic
World Elite
MYM DreamTeam
SK-Gaming
Team Colorful
Beijing e-Sports Team

Tournament Format:

Team Members: 4 Players + 1 King (Leader or Team Captain)

Responsibilities of the King: Decide which ability to use. If the team has no leader, then the team captain will be the King.

Team Match Mode：Standard KOF Mode（1v1 BO1）with the ROTK Mode

Team Match Flow Diagram：

* Devote Order：Throw Coin for the first round, to decide who devote maps first. The following round will have the player in winner team to devote maps first. **Devote Map：BO3 Match will need both players to devote one map, and two maps for BO1. The maps will be devoted from 1v1 or 2v2 map pools depending on the player number.

Road of the King Mode

King’s Abilities: The King in each team will have six abilities. During the Team Matches, the King can use each ability once per Team Match. There are two types of ability, “Turn-over” and “Instant-cast”. For the “Turn-over” ability, it needs to be put on the table and turns over before use. For the “Instant-cast” ability, it can be used without putting on the table. For every “Special Time” before the Match Round, the King could put one ability card on the table, and the number of using instant-cast ability is not limited.

Special Time: As shown in the flow diagram, there is a Special Time before each Match Round. During the Special Time, the King will decide to use abilities or not, and following these steps:

King's Abilities

The six abilities that could be used are：

Split

Effect： Set the next Match Round to BO3

NOTE：
1. "Turn-over" ability, need to be put on the table before use.
2. The effect will not stack if both teams have used this ability.
3. For the BO3 Match，both players need to devote one map, and the rest three maps will be played by the following order:
Player who devoted maps first will choose the first map -> another player choose the second map -> the rest will be the third map.

Mirror Image

Effect： Set the next Match Round to 2v2

NOTE：
1. "Turn-over" ability, need to be put on the table before use.
2. The effect will not stack if both teams have used this ability.
3. The maps will be devoted from 2v2 map pool
4. Another player will act as reinforcement and could be select from"Dead"players
5. The result of the 2v2 Match will not affect the status of the reinforcing player.

Resurrection

Effect： Bring one "Dead" player back to life.

NOTE：
1. "Instant-cast" ability, cannot be put on the table.
2. This ability will be triggered when all players are out if it has not been used.
3. The resurrected player will be last one in the playing order.

Charm

Effect： Control the opponent to devote maps for you

NOTE：
1. "Turn-over" ability, need to be put on the table before use.
2. The effect will be cancelled when both teams use this ability in one Special Time.
3. The devote order will not be effected.
4. Control the opponent to devote two maps for BO3 Match and one map for BO1 Match

Phase Shift

Effect： Switch the players in your team

NOTE：
1. "Instant-cast" ability, cannot be put on the table.
2. The switching player needs to be ALIVE.
3. The playing order will be switched as well.

Anti-Magic Shell

Effect： Nullify one ability that the opponent team is using.

NOTE：
1. "Instant-cast" ability, cannot be put on the table.
2. This ability can only be using while the opponent team is using an ability.
3. This ability cannot be used against "Anti-Magic Shell" and "Resurrection".

Game Rules

Game Version: 1.21b

Map Pools:

1v1

(2)EchoIsles
(2)SecretValley
(2)TerenasStand
(4)LostTemple(ROC)
(4)TurtleRock
(4)TwistedMeadows
(6)GnollWood

2v2

(4)Avalanche
(4)LostTemple(ROC)
(4)TurtleRock
(4)TwistedMeadows
(6)GnollWood

Rules:
1． Game Speed: Fastest
2． Game Settings:

Lock Teams：Yes
Teams Together：No
Full shared unit control：No
Random races：No
Random hero：No
Observers：Full Observers
Visibility：Default

3． Player need to choose his race before the match starts, and cannot change their races during the count-down period.
4． The player need to save the replay after match。
5． If one player disconnects in 10 minutes, then the match restart. If it is after 10 minutes, then both players need to agree in order to restart the match. If any player does not agree to restart the match, the referee will judge the situation.

Tournament System:

The 8 teams will be divided into 2 groups - Group A and Group B. Groups will be determined by drawings on the night of 29th April 2008. The two top teams of each group will advance to the semi-finals, where A1 vs B2, and A2 vs B1. (Where A1 is first placing in Group A, A2 is second place in Group A, B1 is first placing in Group B, B2 is second placing in Group B.)

Tournament Schedule:

29th April 2008

Group Drawings (Night)

30th April 2008

Opening Ceremony
Group A Round 1
Group B Round 1
Group A Round 2

1st May 2008

Group B Round 2
Group A Round 3
Group B Round 3

2nd May 2008

A1 vs B2
A2 vs B1

3rd May 2008

Semi-Finals
Grand Finals

That's all the information for now. Please check MYM for LIVE coverage of Road Of The King Tournament!

WCG 2011

xiN_ — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 07:15:00 +0100

myMYM's resident columnist Frank "Mirhi" Fields wonders how successful will the Human duo of World Elite be in the future.

Two of the leading contenders for WC3L MVP just won first and second respectively at NSL finals: Xiaofeng "Sky" Li and Wang "InFi" Xuwen, both world class players for the Chinese organization World Elite.

It also appears the two have been creating strategies with each other. Each of them applied a unique new strategy versus Lyn that they had previously not used, involving executing a fast expansion with Mountain King, instead of the more conventional Archmage, afterwards teching to Tier 3 for griffons. A similar strategy is used by Humans on Lost Temple, but Sky and InFi both used strategies on maps such as Echo Isles and Secret Valley. This is just one of a few new techniques the couple used in the tournament.

It also appears the two have been creating strategies with each other.

It makes you wonder how good these 2 top players can go, and the strategies they can come up with. With 2 Human players at the top of their game, training together constantly, is there any way people can prepare for them?

When 2 players of the same race play together for an extended period of time, they will always learn from each other and share strategies. I am sure Reis of SK Gaming could testify to this in the case of ReMinD and Soju, and Nordahl of MYM in the case of Lucifer and Susiria - both of which form the 2v2 pairs on their respective teams.

However, I cannot remember a time when 2 teammates came out in a tournament and employed such a display of skill and tactical mastery as Sky and InFi did this past weekend dispatching Lucifer, Moon and Lyn.

Sky victorious at NSL2 last week

Part of me wonders if they did it to silence critics about the fact they were "1 trick ponies", using towers as their only means to win. In multiple games they won without using many towers (or none), which in the online WC3L season has been an integral part of their strategies, in particular InFi's strategies versus both Undead and Night Elf. Maybe we will see similar strategies used by ToD, another premier player that was in the playoffs.

World Elite's feat is still more impressive doing it all with homegrown Chinese talent

One can only wonder what tricks they'll pull out of the bag in the offline finals. With this team it's entirely possible they could bring home the 2nd WC3L title in 3 seasons to World Elite - incredible as they lost ReMinD, Soju, Lyn and Reign just 1 season ago. World Elite's feat is still more impressive doing it all with homegrown Chinese talent; players like TeD, Like, Suho - all of which have been important to help out their 2 super stars.

At this point, I am glad World Elite beat Wicked; now I can see more of them. After watching NSL replays, I can't wait to see what strategies "The Twin Towers" will employ and how far they will go.

To get an idea into how World Elite has succeeded so well and to the shape of the stars, I sat down with Hotlips, World Elite's manager, for an interview.

Sky and InFi have been doing great in many leagues and tournaments lately, how do you think their shape is right now?

Sky and Infi are on fire at the moment. I believe that the Chinese New Year holidays back in February were really important for them as they returned with high motivation and a clear mind to be able to perform their best game at every point.

What is the training regimen like in World Elite? How often do your players train, and what do they do to train?

Actually the guys are practicing every day and depending on our schedule also up to 10 hours daily. But especially Sky, he had a lot of other events going on recently, for example a film shooting in Beijing, meetings with our sponsors as well as photo shootings. Right now there is also a European film crew in China to portray Sky’s life but still he is trying to practice as much as possible. At the moment we have our internal team match going on where every player has to play everyone, including our WE.09 talents. We also try to change the map pool and the rules from time to time to have a good preparation for the next big tournament. To answer your question, how the players exactly train, it is a mix of both strategy and micro-management.

Sky and InFi used some strategies at NSL that they hadn't used before, had they been working on those before and was it planned they would use them on this tournament?

Those strategies were definitely planned and practiced before the match. Of course every gamer wants to use the most powerful strategy according to the map and player he meets to have the best chances for the victory. It is also a question of confidence, if you feel much better using the Mountain King first against an Orc player because your latest practice results showed that you lost much more games using the AM, then you won’t choose an old strategy just because you used it many times before. I actually like it when gamers change their style and their strategies frequently, because it makes the game much more interesting these days. But still more people stick to old strategies for a couple of reasons.

Sky playing at IEF 2007

Does it bother you when people say that Sky and InFi aren't as skilled because of their use of towers?

No, it doesn’t bother me at all, because it is also part of the game and the fascination around it, that people talk about balance “problems” and it is quite natural that everyone thinks his own race is too weak in the game. To quote Infi here at this point: “Human can’t win without towers”, I think we can all agree on that he knows what he is talking about since he is one of the best 3 human-players in the world and it is really hard to understand how high the level of professional gaming actually is, if you never played against a pro yourself.

Do Sky and InFi have any new strategies planned for ROTK and WC3L?

There are new strategies in mind, but I don’t know whether they will use them at ROTK. But due to the map system of the match, you guys might expect one or two new strategies for sure. Especially when it comes to matches like Human v Undead or Human v Night Elf on Gnoll Wood since that map is really difficult to play for Sky and Infi, but we are preparing for this match and therefore we also think about how to handle this problem.

How do you think World Elite will do in ROTK? Are there any teams that you think will give you an especially hard time?

I am quite optimistic that we can reach the top 2 at this event. First of all the match is held in China, which gives us a natural advantage since there will be many fans to cheer for us. Secondly we don’t have a lot of trouble with traveling, jet-lag and things like that and last but not least we are just very well prepared and self-confident enough to beat very other team out there. Still matches against SK and MYM would be the hardest ones for us, but I am really looking forward to meet one of these 2 teams in the grand final.

Infi playing at NSL2

Do you think Sky or Infi deserve the MVP award of this season of WC3L?

I think their results speak a clear language. Infi didn't lose any matches this season and Sky only dropped one best of three on the first playday. Both did a great job and it would be nice to see them getting an award for playing such a nice season.

Are you looking to add any new talent or are you satisfied with your current roster? What about any WE.09 players that are ready to move up?

We are considering adding another player to the WE.09 team but yet there is nothing decided. Of course none of the talents are ready to move up yet. It definitely takes more time than just 2 or 3 months. But I am sure that one or two will be at the end of the year.

Any plans to add any talent from outside China, or are you sticking to Chinese players from now?

We thought about it, but our philosophy is that we want all players to live together and practice together. This aspect is quite important for us, because we can easily work together with the players and offer them good conditions to become one of the best in the world. And as you can see, it did work pretty well in the past with our WE.08 team, so I do believe that this way is simply the best for us.

How did WE manage to recover so quickly after losing 4 world class players like Lyn, Remind, Soju and Reign?

Due to our hard work with our WE.08 players we didn't have to buy new players from other teams because of talents like Infi, TeD and Like that turned into really strong players who are now able to take down almost everyone on a good day. I think that the idea with the WE.08 team was one of the best moves we made and naturally we founded the next talent team this year.

World Elite

SK and MYM have been at the top of WC3 for the past few months, do you think you can surpass them with your players playing so well recently?

Actually I don't think that SK and MYM were that dominant during the last months. There were also other players and teams who did really well and I would also count us as one of them. However, when it comes to finals, these 2 teams are for sure the ones to watch out for, but I am quite sure that we have at least a 50% chance against them right now and especially our human duo is almost unstoppable at the moment.

Do you have any plans to re-enter NGL?

No, not at the moment. We have a really tough schedule this year with one match after another and therefore we don't want to compete in another online league. We are happy with playing WC3L and that's also what our fans and sponsors mostly care about.

Anyone you want to thank or give a shoutout to?

First of all I would like to give a big shoutout to our new sponsor Kingston and I am really looking forward to a successful partnership. Then I also like to thank our fans for all the birthday greetings and gifts we received these days for our 3rd birthday. Last but not least thanks for the great support of our sponsors Intel, Razer, nVidia, Kappa, Replays.Net, Gigabyte, DxRazer and of course Kingston. Thanks for the nice interview.

GamesCom 2011

zeuSel — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 20:00:00 +0200

Hello dear readers and welcome back to this fantabulastic corner of the site, where you can spend 20 minutes doing absolutely nothing but not feeling the guilt that comes with sitting around like a parasite. I know it's been 2 weeks since I didn't bother to update my section, but since I didn't get any death threats or suicide threats, I consider you didn't even notice I was away. Hell, even my Chinese soldier helmet and green rubber duck with marker painted fangs are still on my desk (and also the people at MYM didn't change the lock), so I guess I'm still kinda welcomed to write here. Well anyways, it's been quite nice and I had the chance to study the world a bit more than I usually do:

I don't know if you haven't heard this (in which case I would be so happy to say "you heard it here first" - I just love doing that), but the Pope was bored one Saturday night and while he was watching his favorite movie "Se7en" for the 146^th time, he suddenly got mad and said - this is a more or less accurate quote - "What the hell, man? When's the sequel coming out?" and since sometimes you have to force destiny's hand, he added 7 more sins, which are called "social sins", by the way. Brace yourselves (yes, they are the real deal):

1. ‘Bioethical' violations such as birth control
2. ‘Morally dubious' experiments such as stem cell research
3. Drug abuse
4. Polluting the environment
5. Contributing to widening divide between rich and poor
6. Excessive wealth
7. Creating poverty

Ok, I'll give you some time to absorb the information.
...
...
...
Good. As you may have noticed, stupidity is still not gonna send you to the bloody pits of hell, so this is a great news. I for one know that I was so happy upon hearing that I'm saved that... well I was the happiest man, if I don't count that time when I discovered I can do more than wee-wee with that thing. Oh yea.

So basically Bill Gates, stem cell researchers, chicks that don't want to have sex AND a kid (or more) after that, McDonalds and that junkie that lives next door can kiss Heaven goodbye. Excessive wealth... what the hell does that even mean? I suggest the Catholic Church to post some signs saying "you must be this rich to go to hell".

A weird thing that happened lately was when I was playing a game of DotA since I had 1 hour to kill and 1 hour of StarCraft would lead me to suicide (seeing as how my skill is so laughably low to play it other than against the computer): one of my allies said that he knows I'm not a DotA player and that I'm a StarCraft player, more specifically a Zerg user. My first reaction was obviously to ask him if he's a fan of mine. No need to tell you I was wrong and that my sudden joy collapsed, cause he explained to me why he said that: I like to try and kill enemy heroes in the beginning of the game (Zerg rush?), then I like to lay low and get money (tech?) and then I overwhelm them with gosu items on my hero (Ultra+Crackling=love). Dude, I'm sorry I don't remember your nickname, but if you read this, I'm willing to get over the sexual obstacle that is present and get you into my universe, where Michael Bolton and Leonardo DiCaprio are no longer present. Call me.

Another thing that amazed me was this recent study according to which apes have a better memory than humans. I already knew (and didn't agree or understand why) about the elephants, so I ask myself again: why the hell do monkeys need good memory? Is it too hard to remember how to eat bananas and throw poop at the Zoo visitors? Sheesh... Also, another thing that amazed me was this recent study according to which apes have a better memory than humans.

By the way, to all the StarCraft haters, this is the moment when you and I separate. Seriously, how do you sleep at night knowing that you don't enjoy this game? I give up.

A2 wins Hauppauge Cup #4

Sure, Russia is known for the Mr. Kalashnikov (one of the key ingredients in Taliban Twister), the vodka (because of which we all have some embarrassing moments that wish to remain buried at that college party) or those funky reverse sayings (In Soviet Russia, column reads you!), but there's more to it than what ignorant bastards such as yourselves know: rock-hard Terran players! RoX.Advokate, or A2 (which is said to be the key move in Battle Boats - we all secretly play that game when the others are asleep) won the weekly Hauppauge Cup. For the second time. I would say greed is good but I will refrain for it (mainly since the RoX manager's nickname is Greed - hey man, how's everything? You never called that next morning...). Ah, I forgot to mention that it is a € 100 weekly tourney, but my allergy to this is slowly fading.

MYM/ESL KOTH: Gentleman vs Nony

The MYM King Of The Hill event is a weekly reminder of how much your StarCraft skills suck and that you (yes, you!) will never get rid of that god damn additional pylon issue (we all hate you, Aldaris, f*ck off and die!). The outcome of this week's edition had Gentleman as the loser, unlike previous editions, and that made people ask questions: was that really Gentleman playing? Did MYM rig the matches so it won't seem one of their player is winning cause of that? Do we have enough milk in the fridge? Apparently, Gentleman did not play, as he was later found dead from a combination of pneumonia and a hatchet to the head.

Interview with eSTRO coach

Whether it's a ping pong, poker, or a Korean StarCraft team coach, this is the guy that the sportsmen hate the most and Daniel Lee from eStro is no exception. In a recent interview, he revealed some of his coaching techniques: "I like to start the day with a good old washing machine hose beat-up to wake the boys up. I like to perform this naked and I also love all the N'Sync albums. I like to take the boys to camping each weekend, where I give them simple tasks such as chopping down trees (with their teeth) for the camp fire. My favorite drinks are teenager sweat and blood, by the way".

TG Sambo Intel Classic Season 1

Since it has StarCraft and South Koreans in it, it HAS to be world changing. And it was so far. So far, we got the chance to see some great StarCraft mummies, YellOw and ToSsgirL, so the crowd was obviously pleased. These two characters are attention magnets and it's no secret: put one of these at your window and you can still receive the pension once your grandma is dead, for example. One more thing: do me and yourself a favor and watch the related commercial. It's one of those things that VISA is talking about at the end of each own commercial: priceless.

SCForAll: Open Tournament

If the site name didn't ring a bell, maybe this name, Open Tournament (come on, work with me!), will make you understand that this is a tournament in which every human being (yes, even you, or you, hmm...not sure about you...you, you, or you) can play. Besides the chance to be bashed by the real players (read: "manly men"), you can also win progamer stuff: a Boxer half-eaten schnitzel, a lip-gloss from IntoTheRainbow - a great Beyonce fan, the eStro coach's wallet, or a 3-month subscription to a small mammal-based restaurant of your choice. Remember to sign up and ask one of your friends to smack you with a garden hose until his hand gets tired in case you decide chicken out.

ArenaTv: fuSion vs F2F

The Romanians from StarCraft.ro and ArenaTv are at it again and this time they thought 2 players were not enough for all of us, great StarCraft critics who love to think we have a clue about this game and comment upon the game to impress girls, hoping that if we keep a steady/serious face while spewing crap strategies we might get a chance to go to that bowling event together. Now seriously, Ginger, I'm financially steady, do you want me? (Yeah? Well, I don't like you either!) Anyways, the 2v2 teams from fuSion and Face2Face were invited and it was pretty good overall, but not exactly fantastic. It's basically like getting hookers with missing teeth and bullet wounds at the bachelor party: it's better than nothing.

Interview with TSL-Manifesto7

Manifesto7, TeamLiquid's most famous redhead Canadian to live in Japan, was recently interviewed regarding the fantastic, fabulous, incredible, magnificent, amazing, in a word - pimptastic - tournament also known as the TSL. When asked of his opinion concerning TSL so far, he replied with "TSL met the expectations"; I guess you know that warm fuzzy feeling that you get when a leader is pleased: it's just like when the music industry officials announce they are rather pleased with the record sales and thus you can put your torrent-hosting site back on so you can share the Celine Dion or Will Smith albums with the whole world.

Tasteless to cast Proleague matches

You know what we all used to say when English shoutcasting was just taking its first steps: it's just a decoration, it doesn't compare to the Korean stuff. A decoration, yes! (by the way, do you know what a Christmas tree and a priest have in common? Their balls are for decoration! I am SO gonna burn in hell for this...) But we have Tasteless now, and this is a great thing, if we don't consider that the couple life will never be the same:
"She: Where were you last night?
He: Uh, uhm... I was at this bar and I met this girl and... uhm... I got really drunk... and I ended up at her place... I'm so sorry!
She: You went to your stupid friend's place to watch some Korean kids play on TV, didn't you?
He: "insert shame-depicting face"

BONUS: This is how the greatest video games came to life.

This is how another week ends and I thank you for having the nervous strength to read it till the end. Join me next week (hopefully) when I will prove to you why screwdrivers should not be inserted into all sorts of orifices. Yours truly, vhallee.

[LIVE] Intel SuperCup #8

Aremys — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 22:50:00 +0200

Mittlerweile gibt es für sehbehinderte Menschen ein breites Spektrum an nützlichen Dingen, die ihnen im Alltag helfen sollen. Blindenschrift in Fahrstühlen und speziell ausgestattete Computer sind da keine Seltenheit. Doch wie sieht es im Bereich eSport aus? Werden Blinde jemals in den Genuss von Computerspielen kommen können? Nun, viele Wissenschaftler haben sich an dieser Problematik versucht bzw. tun dies immer noch. Ebenfalls eine Gruppe von acht Studenten, im Studiengang Multimedia-Design an der Fachhochschule Augsburg, Fakultät für Gestaltung, die mit ihrem Projekt einen Schritt in die richtige Richtung gemacht haben. Mit dem "Projekt Sonus", welches im Folgenden vorgestellt wird, wurde ein vielversprechender Ansatz zum Thema "eSport für Blinde" geschaffen.

Das Projekt befasst sich mit der Entwicklung eines Computerspiels, das allein durch Haptik und Akustik für sehbehinderte und nichtbehinderte Menschen spielbar und erlebbar gemacht werden sollen. Als haptische Wahrnehmung (griech.: haptikos = greifbar) bezeichnet man das aktive Erfühlen von Konturen, Größen, Gewicht, Oberflächentextur usw. eines Objektes durch Integration möglichst vieler Hautsinne und der Tiefensensibilität. Die Gesamtheit der haptischen Wahrnehmungen erlaubt es dem Gehirn, Schmerz, Temperaturreize und mechanische Reize zu lokalisieren und zu verwerten. Die Spieler verlassen sich dabei auf ihren Tast- und Hörsinn, wodurch ein unmittelbares Zusammenspiel zwischen "Blinden" und "Sehenden" ermöglicht wird. Grundlage dieser Arbeit ist eine wissenschaftliche Auseinandersetzung der acht Studenten mit der Thematik des "blinden Spielens".

Der Novint Falcon

Es ist wohl klar, dass das Projekt Blinden das Spielen von Counterstrike und Warcraft nicht ermöglichen kann. Viele Jahre an Forschung und eine gründliche Auseinandersetzung wären erforderlich, um nur ansatzweise in diese Richtung vorzustoßen. Doch ein erstes Computerspiel wurde im Rahmen von "Projekt Sonus" bereits erstellt und erfolgreich getestet. Es handelt sich dabei um ein Labyrinth, welches der Spieler ohne etwas zu sehen durchqueren muss. Viele fragen sich bestimmt, wie das nun funktionieren soll? Nun, die Antwort ist beeindruckend.

Die Firma Novint hat nämlich ein neuartiges Eingabegerät auf den Markt gebracht, den sogenannten "Falcon". Er besitzt die Fähigkeit Eingaben über drei Achse (X-, Y-und Z-Achse) zu registrieren. Eine Möglichkeit die bisher in Spielen nur durch das Zusammenspiel von Maus (X-, Y-Achse) und Tastatur (Z-Achse) erreicht werden konnte. Der "Griff" besteht aus einer Art Kugel mit mehreren Eingabetasten. Er besitzt außerdem die Fähigkeit Haptik zu vermitteln. Das heißt virtuelle Gegenstände und Hindernisse können durch Rückmeldung vom Gerät ertastet und gefühlt werden. Das Gerät wurde umgehend an mit dem neuen Spiel getestet und das Ergebniss ist mehr als zufriedenstellend. Dem Durchqueren des Labyrinths steht nun nichts mehr im Wege.

Auch wenn das Ganze nur ein kleiner Schritt in die richtige Richtung ist. Irgendwann ist es hoffentlich auch sehbehinderten Menschen möglich, auf die ein oder andere Weise im eSport aktiv zu werden. Viele Jahren intensiver Forschung wären dafür nötig, damit es irgendwann soweit ist. An die acht Studenten aus Augsburg wird man sich dann vielleicht erinnern.

MYM wins Darer Finest !

zeuSel — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 15:20:00 +0200

Managing is a discipline often forgotten in E-Sports. Counterstrike teams cannot function with 5 awp specialists. Dota teams cannot flourish with a team of farmers. Similarly, Warcraft 3 teams need diversity. And once you have it, you need planning. With WC3L Playoffs and Playdowns coming up, team managers will be doing thorough research into their opponents and making sure they know the state of their own players.

It is true that what the players do in game is most important, but who would want to put Undeads versus Orcs on Lost Temple as the starting map? No one.

This is an obvious example, but as you will see, sometimes there is more subtlety that goes into managing than outside observers can see.

WC3L or Standard Format

In the well known WC3L format, 4 solo matches on randomly assigned maps are played, and a 2v2 match with a random map is played. Each player chooses to veto one map that their opponent cannot choose. After each game, the loser chooses which map to play on next. Best 2 of 3 games wins a match. Best 3 of 5 matches wins the round / playday.

The player can take tactical control of a match by either:
A) Winning on the opening map so that they can lose on their opponents map choice and still win the match just by winning their map choice.
B) Winning on their opponents map choice, seizing the opportunity of A from his or her opponent.

Beyond that it all depends on map matchups. Take WC3L Season 12 finals in a classic match between SK and MYM

XlorD

Susiria

Secret Valley

ReMinD

Lucifer

Gnoll Wood

Lyn

FoCuS

Lost Temple

SoJu

Moon

Twisted Meadows

ReMinD
SoJu

Susiria
Lucifer

Gnoll Wood

Here the limitations of MYM’s lineup this season really shone through.

SK was extremely overconfident to put Lyn against FoCuS where Orc Mirror on LT is both Focus’s best matchup on his best map for that matchup

It was almost guaranteed that Focus would be playing on Lost Temple for MYM because Undead and Night Elf are put at a severe disadvantage on this map. MYM really couldn’t know what SK would put on LT, it could have been Insomnia, Miou or Lyn. As far as this though, I think SK was extremely overconfident to put Lyn against Focus where Orc Mirror on LT is both Focus’s best matchup on his best map for that matchup

The other 3 maps each manager just picked for the players' strengths, and it went about even.

Susiria is one of the best Undead mirror players in the world, conversely Soju is probably the best Night Elf mirror player in the world. Remind v Lucifer on GW is about even.

Looking at this lineup, you would probably expect the match to be determined by the 2v2 and the GW match.

Expected results would be Susiria > Xlord, Focus > Lyn, Soju > Moon, giving us a score of MYM over SK 2-1. In fact, this is exactly what happened, except Xlord beat Susiria and Moon beat Soju. MYM up 2-1 over SK.

The memorable image of Xlord's upset over Susiria

Soju / Remind won the 2s and Remind won the GW match. Every match went the full 3 games except the 2v2.

It's important to note that Soju / Remind is widely regarded as the strongest 2v2 team in the world, granted that Susiria and Lucifer have also always been amazingly solid as well. It's still an obstacle stacked against any team that plays against SK.

What if SK put Miou or Insomnia against Focus, and put Lyn on Gnoll Wood against Lucifer? It would have given a much better chance for Lyn to win, with it being his best matchup on the best Orc map.

To MYMs credit, they were banking on the fact that Susiria would defeat Xlord as most would expect

To MYMs credit, they were banking on the fact that Susiria would defeat Xlord as most would expect, and that Moon would overcome Soju. However Soju has a great history versus Moon (in fact beating him in the Grand Finals the next day 2-0), and that matching Moon against Soju is likely wasting his talent, where he could be better used elsewhere.

You can see where better management might have helped SK, or where a more diverse team could have helped MYM.

- Photo taken from readmore.de

NGL or Elimination Style

In the lesser known NGL style, there is a starting map chosen at random for each round / playday. Both teams submit a pool of 4 players, one of which is a starter for the first map. Each set is best of 1. The loser is eliminated from the match. After one team loses, they choose which player from their pool to put in next, and this player gets to choose which map the game will be played on. Each team may only use the same map once (with exception to the starting map). There is also a limited number of “Jokers” that you can use to “revive” a player who has already lost to play again.

While WC3L is based on diversity and versatility, NGL is based purely on the skill of your players, and the planning of your manager.

While WC3L is based on diversity and versatility, NGL is based purely on the skill of your players, and the planning of your manager – the matchups mean very little. The reason behind this, is that with any managerial planning at all, with the exception of your starting player, your players will get to play their favorite map against their favorite matchup.

To view the difference, we will show you again the classic SK v MYM matchup in last Seasons NGL Finals.

Starting Map:


SK.SoJu	vs	MYM]Susiria
	Twisted Meadows

This is an interesting first map for this matchup as MYM and SK each have plenty of NE / UD to put on this map. Soju has a nearly unstoppable NE mirror, so I think SK wanted to get Moon out of the way if they happened to put him first on a map Soju is comfortable beating him - Soju is also a very good player against UD. Susiria has a great UD mirror, and a pretty good Elf matchup, so it would make sense to start him here.

Susiria wins game 1.

What does SK do now?

SK opts to put in Reign to try to take down Susiria. Why didn’t SK put in Lyn? My guess they were holding him back in order to take down Moon on Lost Temple.

SK.ReiGn

Australia, and uploading some of them to my MYM profile. Been looking at them quite wistfully, I guess I really had a lot of fun there! :)

For the next few blogs, I shall share with you pictures of some of the places I've been to, and my experiences in Australia.

Australia is such a nice place to go on holiday. I remember the first time I ever visited Australia was when I was 15 years old. It was on a Geography field trip together with my school to the city of Perth - we visited rainforests, sand dunes and deserts, and we barbequed our food in the wilderness, stayed in chalets with fireplaces (where we would chat happily till late night) - it was all such an adventure!

Since then, I visited Australia about 4 to 5 times more. Most of the time it was with my family, and we'd visit my aunty's cousin who lives in Melbourne. We'd spend time together, explore, go sight-seeing, as well as find some nice relaxing activities to do. Due to the fact that Australia is only a 6 - 7 hours flight from Singapore, it was always easy for us to plan a short trip there.

The last time I went to Australia was for a 6 weeks holiday - July and August 2006. That time I went without my family, as no one else could take 6 weeks off from work. I was working as a model, so it was easy for me to plan my own schedule and not accept assignments during that period of time. I was independent, went around by myself, visited my friends in different cities - Melbourne, Sydney and Tasmania - and had helluva lot of fun!

For this blog, I'll share my experience of being upclose and initimate with the animals in Featherdale Wildlife Park, Sydney.

This park is a pretty nice place to visit - they have lots of different Australian animals, and you are also able to get upclose and interact with them.

An albino Kangaroo! - It's pretty rare, but you can see them almost at any little Zoo in Australia. Looks kinda like a BIG white rat right? Beautiful!

What's that Kangaroo doing? Sun-tanning his under-side! :D

So many Kangaroos, they are everywhere! They are very happy here, but in the less urban areas, they often get killed in the process of getting knocked down by cars. Now the fine of knocking down/killing a Kangaroo is $4000 AUD. Drivers do not want to run into a Kangaroo, not only because of the monetary fine, but also it could damage their car quite badly (not to mention the kangaroo doesn't like it either). I rented a car and drove long distances from place to place. It's very common that they hop near the roadside or sometimes they cross the road, but it's easy to slow down and avoid them if you do not drive too fast. It's much harder to drive at night as the vision will not be as clear - thus making it easy to knock down Kangaroos and Wombats or other wild animals. Luckily for me, I didn't hurt any animals. :)

I feel as happy as a Kangaroo! :p

I grabbed one of the big Kangaroos to pose for a picture with me.

"Oh no.. don't run away! I want one more picture!"

I love this picture with the sunlight shining from above. Do you see the baby Kangaroo in its mother's pouch?

The Koala bear! So fur-ry and hug-able. They are endangered now. Bad guys hunted the Koalas almost to extinction in the early 20th Century, largely for its fur.

Some interesting facts about Koala Bears:

The Koala lives almost entirely on eucalypt leaves.
Like wombats and sloths, the Koala has a very low metabolic rate for a mammal and rests motionless for about 18 to 20 hours a day, sleeping most of that time.
The fossil record indicates that before 50,000 years ago, Giant Koalas inhabited the southern regions of Australia.

A smart looking penguin! Almost looks like he's wearing a tuxedo.

I remember the second time I visited Australia, we went to Phillips Island to see the penguins. We had to wait in the cold at the beach for like 1 or 2 hours. When evening comes, you will see the very first penguin swimming to shore, followed by the rest! They will dig holes and lay eggs, then swim out to shore before dawn. The experience was really nice, so the wait was worth it! :)

This extremely cute creature here is a Wombat! I remember being 15 years old in Perth, hugging a very cute wombat in my arms and posing for the picture. I believe it was quite a bit smaller than this one. (It was quite heavy too!) Sadly for wild Wombats, they often get run over by cars on the road at the less urban areas.

Hope you enjoyed this blog. For the next blog I'll write about Port Arthur in Tasmania, Australia. Pictures will of course be included!

By the way, Happy First Day of Spring!! :D

HomeStory Cup III

Kieturakis — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 17:30:00 +0200

Hallo Daniel, stell dich doch mal kurz vor, damit sich diejenigen, die dich nicht kennen, ein Bild von dir machen können.

Hi, mein Name ist Daniel Zuzanski, wohne in Laatzen (in der Nähe von Hannover), bin 17 Jahre alt und spiele für das Team RAPTOR-GAMING.

Du musst am Freitag gegen miou von SK-Gaming ran. Es ist zwar ein normales EPS-Spiel, allerdings findet das Ganze vor live Publikum auf dem Intel Friday Night Game in Berlin statt. Ändert diese Tatsache etwas an der Art und Weise, wie du dich auf ein solches Match vorbereitest?

Hmm, eigentlich nicht. Ich werde versuchen, mich so gut wie es geht auf das Match vorzubereiten, um meine beste Leistung abrufen zu können. Für die anderen Spiele mache ich nichts anderes. Sicherlich gibt es ein paar Spiele in der Saison, für die man sich nicht vorbereiten kann, weil man keine Zeit hat. Vor einem Intel Friday Night Game sollte das aber nicht passieren, da man ja auch was zeigen will. Vor einem live Publikum spielen zu dürfen motiviert da natürlich noch einmal extra. Aber sonst ändert sich an der Vorbereitung eigentlich nichts. Ich werde trainieren, gewisse Taktiken und Situationen durchspielen und hoch konzentriert in die Matches gehen.

Es ist ja nun üblich geworden, sämtliche Matches auf der Bühne ausgetragen werden, so dass die Leute die Spieler und deren Reaktionen bzw. Emotionen genau beobachten könnne. Was hältst du davon? Motiviert dich das noch mehr oder bist du der Ansicht, dass die Konzentration darunter leidet?

Ich glaube, wenn man ins Spiel vertieft ist, kümmert man sich nur wenig um die Zuschauer. Sicherlich ist man etwas nervöser schon zu Beginn der Partie, da es halt eine ungewohnte Umgebung ist. Trotzdem ist man natürlich noch motivierter, da man unbedingt gewinnen will.

Man kann miou wohl zurecht als Veteran der ESL Pro Series bezeichen. Allerdings hört man in letzter Zeit eher wenig von ihm. Wie schätzt du ihn und seine aktuelle Leistung ein?

Er ist immer noch einer der stärksten Spieler Deutschlands und weiter der Vorzeigeprofi schlechthin. Er hatte schon ein paar schwere Spieler in der laufenden Saison, daher sind seine Leistungen in der EPS auch nicht schlecht. Wenn er seine normale Tagesform erreichen kann, wird er auf jeden Fall ein Kandidat für die Finals sein.

Uns erwartet ein Spiel mit Human gegen Orc. Ist das für dich eher ein ausgeglichenes Matchup oder siehst du irgendwo Vorteile für eine andere Rasse?

Ich habe jetzt nicht so Lust über die Balance in WC3 zu philosophieren, da sowieso der Patch vor der (weit entfernten) Tür steht. Ich selber beherrsche das Matchup nicht so gut, was nicht zwangsläufig auf Imbalance zurückzuführen ist. Sicherlich hat Human den Vorteil des frühen Towerrushes. Als Orc kann man sowas aber durchaus kontern. Daher würde ich sagen, dass das Matchup relativ ausgeglichen ist. Ich werde vor den Matches sicherlich auch noch das ein oder andere Wort mit meinem Teammate iNSoLeNCE wechseln, vielleicht hat er ja noch einen Tipp für das Matchup.

Auf was dürfen wir uns deiner Meinung nach am Freitag freuen: Ein spannendes Match mit unerwarteten Taktiken oder eher ein solches, wo der allerseits beliebte Tower zum Einsatz kommt?

Ich denke, dass die Spiele dem heutigen Standard entsprechen. Beide wollen gewinnen und hier werden wohl kaum völlig neue Taktiken gespielt. Aber vielleicht hat Miou ja auch was ganz anderes vorbereitet.

In der Tabelle der ESL Pro Series Season XII stehtst du momentan auf Platz neun. Welche Chancen rechnest du dir für den weiteren Verlauf der Saison ein?

Nach meiner Niederlage im letzten Spiel gegen yaws, rechne ich mir eigentlich keine Chancen auf die Finals mehr aus. Ich versuche der Relegation zu entgehen und will einen Platz in den Top8 erreichen.

Wer sind deine heißesten Favoriten für die Finals?

Die üblichen Verdächtigen. Natürlich Hasuobs und Miou. Außerdem glaube ich, dass die beiden Topaufsteiger HLA und Xlord auf die Finals fahren. Persönlich gönnen wurde ich es noch yaws.

Zu guter Letzt darf eine Frage zum brisantesten Thema der Warcraft-Szene natürlich nicht fehlen. Wie findest den Teil der Änderungen von Patch 1.22, der bis jetzt bekannt ist? Glaubst du, dass für die Horde auch noch ein paar Veränderungen bekannt gegeben werden oder bist zu im Großen und Ganzen zufrieden?

Ich selbst habe die Änderungen noch nicht getestet, hoffe dennoch, dass es vielleicht noch ein paar neue Sachen gibt. Ein bisschen Schwung in das Spiel der Orcs dürfte nicht schaden.

Möchest du zum Schluss noch etwas sagen?

Ich möchte hiermit alle Fans und Leute, die mich unterstützen, grüßen :)

Vielen Dank für das Interview und viel Erfolg am Freitag auf dem Intel Friday Night Game in Berlin!

DreamHack Summer 2011 - HuK champion

Kieturakis — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 14:10:00 +0200

Es ist Halbzeit in der ESL ProSeries und wir bieten euch die Analyse!

Der achte Spieltag ist vorbei und wir analysieren für euch die derzeitige Situation in der ESL Pro Series und auch das "Drumherum" darf natürlich auch nicht fehlen. Empfehlenswert ist unsere Coverage zur aktuellen Saison , auf der unsere Halbzeitanalysie basiert und nach der wir uns auch orientieren. In unserer Pre-Coverage haben wir die Tabelle in vier Teile aufgeteilt, welche namentlich folgende sind:

Finalsaspiranten mit Zuwachs: mousesports - Alternate - hoorai - TBH

Viele Wechsel prägen das Mittelfeld: faculty - mTw - pod - a-Losers

Der Kampf um Platz 9 und 10: Zykon - Competo - ESC Gaming - gamed!de

Der Abstieg: Hardware4u - KomaCrew - myRuSh - DkH

Diese vier Gruppen waren unsere Analyse zur aktuellen Saison. In unserem Artikel wollen wir euch die aktuellen Entwicklungen der Teams etwas näher bringen,vor allem deren Verfassung und die Ambitionen, die einzelne Teams an die Spitze der Tabelle, andere wiederrum auf die Spitze treiben. Auch ein paar interessante Interviews erwarten euch! Klickt also einfach auf die nächste Seite und erfahrt mehr. Es lohnt sich!

Euer myMYM.com Team wünscht euch viel Spaß beim Lesen.

Finalskandidaten? Als ob!

Der Satz scheint bei einem Blick auf die Tabelle gar nicht so abwegig, wie anfangs gedacht. Finalskandidaten heißen nicht umsonst Aspiranten auf den Titel. Nur gibt es diese neben mousesports und Alternate wirklich? Letzte Saison konnte man dies klar mit einem "nö, gibts nicht!" beurteilen. Diese Saison auch? Wir haben den Teams auf den Zahl gefühlt und einige Löcher entdeckt.

Aber liest selbst!

Die derzeitige Situation der beiden Haupttitelanwärter gleicht einer bösen Untersuchung beim Zahnarzt. Fällt doch schon beim ersten Blick auf die Tabelle gleich, dass Alternate nicht einmal in der Nähe eines Finalsplatzes ist. Eine schlechte Verfassung und schlechte Vorbereitung sind wohl die meisten Ausreden, die die meisten bisher gehört haben. Der VfB Stuttgart der ESL Pro Series hat sich von seiner Talfahrt erholt und konnte wenigstens gegen die Abstiegsriege durchsetzen. Die empfindlichen Kariesstellen, namentlich ID Gaming, faculty und Competo sind noch längst nicht behandelt. Sollte man hier weiterhin auf einem laschen Trip durch die Saison schliddern, steht eine Nicht-Finalteilname vor der Tür. Zahnlücken sieht keiner gern, daher sollte sich Alternate schnellstmöglich gut erholen und für die nächsten Spiele die Zähne schön sauber halten. Im Sinne von Extratrainingsschichten wohl bemerkt, denn auf dem Restprogramm steht mit TBH.eSports auch noch pod, a-Losers und hoorai. Immerhin konnte man am achten Spieltag mousesports in Mannheim in die Schranken weisen, womitsie mit einiger Anstrengung dann doch noch die Finalsplätze erreichen können.

Die Mäuse begannen die Saison mit fünf Siegen in Folge und konnten auch von der Höhe der Ergebnisse durchaus überzeugen. Die ersten Niederlage gegen n!faculty lies sie noch nicht ganz erwachen, als dann das Unentschieden gegen ESC Gaming folgte, befand man sich schon in einer misslichen Situation. Beflügelt durch den ESL Extreme Masters Sieg sollte man aber immernoch gestärkt genug sein und wie Manager django ankündigte, war dies der Weckruf, um die Spieler daran zu erinnern, den Kariesbefall nicht weiter fortschreiten zu lassen. Auch die Niederlage gegen Alternate schmerzt empfindlich, so dass in den nächsten Spielen ein Paukenschlag folgen muss, ansonsten droht vielleicht doch noch eine Zitterpartie wie die des FC Bayern bei Getafe. Wollen sie ihre Position in der Tabelle weiter verstärken, müssen die Siege gegen die direkte Konkurrenz her und das nicht zu knapp. Die Jungs von gamed!de konnten schon für die ein oder andere Überraschung sorgen, kann mouz nur hoffen, dass es ihnen anders ergeht.

Bei den bayrischen Herzbuben läuft es auch nach den teuren Einkäufen vom Roman Ausserdorfer eher dürftig in der aktuellen Saison. Anfangs als Finalskandidat gelobt, streben sie zur Zeit eher den Weiterverfall in die Mittelklassigkeit an. Wie auch bei den anderen Kandidaten ist das Restprogramm die schwierigste Situation in der ganzen Saison. Mit Alternate, mousesports, pod, mTw und gamed!de warten noch die schwierigen Brocken auf sich, die eine Finalteilnahme wohl durchaus gefährden können. Zwar stehen sie zur Zeit noch oben in der Tabelle, was sich durch die geringe Punktedichte aber schnell ändern kann.

Bei hoorai lief zu Beginn der Saison alles wie geschmiert. Erst die letzten zwei Spieltage brachten das Team ins wanken. Die schwierigen Gegner, wie TBH und Competo brachten ihnen die unerwarteten Niederlagen ein.

MYM Champions League - DeMoN is the King

Angeee — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 19:40:00 +0200

Schach und eSport haben im Großen und Ganzen nicht wirklich etwas miteinander zu tun. Das eine ist nämlich eine offiziell anerkannte Sportart, das andere nicht. Allerdings sehen die meisten eSportler das überhaupt nicht so, wo sie doch aus eigener Erfahrung wissen, dass die Aktivitäten im elektronischen Wettkampf nicht nur, wie von vielen unwissenden Politikern, besorgten Eltern und selbsternannten Experten behauptet wird, auf bloßes Geballere mit der Maus und sinnloses Starren auf den Bildschirm hinauslaufen.

Die Anerkennung des eSports als offzielle Sportart ist seitens des Deutschen Olympischen Sportbundes (DOSB) noch ausgeblieben, wohingegen die meisten Schachspieler sich selbst ohne schlechtes Gewissen als Sportler bezeichen dürfen. Doch warum weigert sich dann der DOSB beständig, wenn sogar Schach eine Sportart ist, dem eSport eine solche Anerkennung zuzusprechen? Nun, die Antwort der hochgelobten Organisation ist relativ einfach gestrickt. Zuminderst wenn es nach DOSB-Pressesprecher Harald Peiper geht, welcher verlauten ließ, dass dem eSport, genauso wie vielen Denkspielen, eine gewisse "motorische Aktivität" fehle, um als Sportart zu gelten. Schach genieße, so Peiper, aufgrund seiner Gründungsmitgliedschaft einen Sonderstatus und werde als historischer Ausnahmefall gehandhabt.

Die motorische Aktivität fehlt

Doch wenn dies das einzige Argument des DOSB zu dem Thema ist, fängt das Ganze an zu bröckeln und die Glaubwürdigkeit zu verlieren. Aber nun gut, wollen wir es aus diesem Blickwinkel einmal betrachen. Denn spätestens dann wird klar, dass die Begründung mit der "fehlenden motorischen Aktivität" alles andere als stichhaltig ist. Jeder eSportler weiß, dass der Körper - vor allem im professionellen eSport - eine Menge zu leisten hat und nicht jeder in der Lage ist, konstante Höchstleistung an den Tag zu legen. Dem richtigen Sport entsprechend hat sich auch schon vor langer Zeit eine eSport-Elite herauskristallisiert, welche sich durch überduchschnittliche Leistung vom Rest der eSportler hervorhebt.

Die Begriffe Hand-Augen-Koordination, Reaktionsgeschwindigkeit und Durchhaltevermögen sprechen dabei wohl für sich und dürfen nicht einfach als selbstverständlich abgetan werden. Und nicht selten sieht man es den professionellen eSportlern auch an, dass sie nach einem anstrengenden Spiel mit den Nerven am Ende sind. Schweißperlen auf der Stirn und rasender Puls sind im heutigen eSport keine Seltenheit. Die geistigen Anforderungen (räumliches Orientierungsvermögen, Spielübersicht, Spielverständnis, vorausschauendes und logisches Denken) seien einmal nur am Rande bemerkt. Mittlerweile ist ebenfalls nachgewiesen, dass "Progamer" unbedingt auf ihre Gesundheit achten müssen, um langfristig konkurrenzfähig zu bleiben. Vielleicht ein zusätzlicher Aspekt, der durch diverse neu auf den Markt gekommene "Pillen" mehr und mehr an Bedeutung gewinnt.

Ist es nicht vielmehr die fehlende Akzeptanz in der deutschen Gesellschaft (in Bulgarien, Brasilien, Amerika und China gilt der eSport schon seit einiger Zeit als offizielle Sportart), die dem eSport die Bezeichnung Sportart verwehrt und so in der Weiterentwicklung erheblich einschränkt? Ist die Gegenwehr seitens des DOSB gerechtfertigt, nur weil Deutschlands 50+ Generation immer noch nicht mit einem Computer umgehen kann? Warum auch, über Killerspiele zu schimpfen ist stets leichter als selbst einmal Hand anzulegen.

MyMYM coverage feed

MYM.LoL at the Gamers Assembly