Final vote for the location of the CIS-2017 tournament.

I keep saying, this Merlin is some kind of dark type. Why do some people love him so much? Can anyone explain?
And that massive support for him during the WCG was, to say the least, not very nice.

The Dark Lord, yes. Why is he loved? Maybe it's for his straightforwardness?
My massive support for him during the WCG started after the first vote, when some dissatisfied individuals decided to cause a stir on the forum, which ultimately resulted in a loss of 10 days. Because of this, the organizers of the WCG and Ekb were put in an unequal position during the second vote, with Vigo interfering. Since the organizers of the venues were expecting confirmation or rejection of the booking, and a 10-day delay in such cases is often critical.
I've always believed that if you vote, it means you've accepted the rules of the vote (especially since they were transparent and the vote was open for a week). But some dissatisfied individuals decided otherwise, and then the "strange games" began.

When the respected Eric says that the Heroes players used to be great, but now they're terrible... That we should all worship the old-timers and we should just be their servants... Well, that's strange again.
And he went off on a tangent about students who play and live on credit. Although, if these students pay their debts on time, then welcome... We could have held the CIS tournament in a hostel with cockroaches (and organize races at the same time)... Invite some semi-poor students. Squeeze the last kopecks out of them for a bed. But. The target audience, thanks to which the CIS tournament is held every year (and may it continue to be held), clearly indicates its preferences: comfort and quality, even if it costs a lot of money. And if the Michurinsk dormitory option worked in 2011, then in the last 6 years people had the opportunity to compare - and the choice is made in favor of comfort.
And regarding sportsmanship: even in the conditions of the St. Petersburg Blue Hall, the competitive part was played, and a very high level of play was demonstrated (because there is practically no other level at the CIS tournament). And when they talk about the old-timers, you can answer that there are plenty of good players today. And it doesn't matter who started playing when. What matters, if we are talking specifically about sportsmanship, is only the current level of play. Therefore, if the players from 2004 want to, they can come and show their level of play. Or see that the next generation of players plays just as well (or even better). But demanding some special privileges for themselves... we're not in the Soviet Union...