Remembering WCG Poland & SEC

Author: mki

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10.10.2011, 16:26 PM

WCG Poland and the Samsung European Championship have finally ended and as a result most of Team Acer is either on the way home or already home. Without a doubt, both events were successful for the team as a whole as well as individually. Team Acer, represented by a League of Legends team and two StarCraft II players, really showed the European community why they should be an organziation to be reckoned with. For those that might not be as updated as the rest; our League of Legends team placed third at the Samsung European Championship while Acer | Nerchio placed second in the StarCraft II portion. In addition to this Acer | Nerchio was crowned the champion of WCG Poland and his teammate, Acer | ParanOid, took fourth place in the same competition.

WCG Poland unfortunately left everyone with much to desire. From the spectators to the players and back to the media everyone felt the event could have been better planned. Spectators had no schedule for matches, players didn't know when to come to the event. StarCraft II in particular raised many questions. With the group play being played in the best of one format, many players were concerned about "random games". Following this best of one system there was a single elimination bracket instead of a double elimination bracket which just added to this randomness. Although a lot of times referees agreed with the players the main organizers had their own plan in mind which was not negotiable in any way. Unfortunately this didn't turn out well for WCG Poland as many left day 1 of the entire event feeling disappointed and cheated out of 20 PLN. Results wise the tournament was great for Team Acer. Acer | ParanOid shocked the community finishing first in a group with two of the favorites to win the entire event while Acer | Nerchio won the entire event. In addition to poor planning of the StarCraft II format, the days for the event were also bogus. The event was played on Thursday during school and work hours which meant the event hall was NEVER full which was kind of embarassing for everyone involved. Hopefully the WCG Poland organizers (Headshot.pl) will look back at this event and learn from their mistakes.

The Samsung European Championship turned out to be much of the same. The event was plagued with the fact that players were really left out to dry. Although SEC did come through on catering for players, the hotel and shuttles to and from the event many things just didn't work out. First off, few players used the catering due to the fact that not many knew in fact where it was. Also, players were not treated as VIP's as they are at most events. In fact, players didn't even have access to VIP areas. Players had to share a bathroom with the public which during the weekend days was probably somewhere over a thousand people. Also, players had to leave through the same main entrance and enter through it as well where they were frisked when leaving and where bags were checked. Although I understand the procedure for the public, players should be treated as absolute VIP's and be trusted. Many players expressed disgust about this fact. The most memorable moment I had regarding this was when Natus Vincere and AGAiN were playing the Counter-Strike 1.6 Grand Final on stage. Na'Vi decided to go outside to talk about strategies and tried to leave through the closer VIP exit instead of going through the entire event hall. They were not allowed to, even after the begging of referees and managers.

This doesn't mean there weren't positive sides of SEC. The final day was truly amazing with the event being packed for every final. The Polish crowd was great, singing and chanting throughout many of the matches. However, this was the crowd which Poland has become famous for since the European Battle.net Invitational and it can hardly be credited to the SEC organizer. Unfortunately, the event didn't impress as the last one that took place in Warsaw.

For Team Acer the event was a success although it did leave a bitter taste in everyone's mouth. The League of Legends team was obviously irked after losing their semi-final match-up to Team Gameburg. You could tell that the third place finish did not satiate their desire and that they will practice more for the WCG Grand Final. Acer | Nerchio fell in his final match to ToD however the event was still a success for the young Zerg. Throughout SEC he showed utter domination which will only give him more confidence on LAN ahead of the ESWC Grand Final and WCG Grand Final. All in all, although the organizers have a few kinks to work out, Team Acer can't complain. With another successful event under our belt we will continue to expand and do our best to take over the European e-Sports scene!