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Dear friends! I still have a debt to the forum – the CIS club championship. The tournament received support from the Heroes community, for which a huge thank you to all organizers and participants. At this moment, 6 qualifiers have been held.
As a reminder, the first qualifying tournament took place in the city of Michurinsk and gathered 17 participants. The top three who advanced to the final are Lexa, PReDS, Stinger. Mizrael and Scorp took 4th-5th place.
The second qualifying tournament was held in Kyiv, where 14 participants played.
According to information from the tournament organizer, Captain:
I would currently set up the resulting table as follows:
1. Aldegir - 3 games/3 wins and on time
2. Forrest - 4 games/3 wins
3. Volodimer - 2 games/2 wins
4. Javdet - 3 games/2 wins
5. Lider - 3 games/2 wins - Lider lost to Javdet...
So – the top three finalists are Aldegir, Forrest, Volodimer.
4th and 5th place go to Javdet and Lider.
The third qualifier was in St. Petersburg. 8 people played. According to a message from the organizer Vik, Napalm, TERM, and Bayazet advanced. 4th and 5th places went to Kral and Mike respectively.
The 4th qualifier was Siberian; 8 people played. It just ended, and participants are writing their impressions.
First place was taken by Mike, second by Van, 3rd-4th places – apparently Dust and Logistic.
The 5th qualifier ended in Kingisepp; AlexTheGreat, KobRa_Spb, and Roland From Gilead advanced.
The 6th qualifier is in Yekaterinburg (they are finishing the tournament). It is known that Mee has already definitely qualified for the top three.
One could say that all tournaments could have gone better, that there were shortcomings, but who cares?
If you want, you can find a bunch of flaws in every tournament and say that everything could have been much better – but there is no need. Because the qualifying tournaments fulfilled their main role: live communication between game enthusiasts from different cities. IMHO, only live communication is capable of overcoming the schism and misunderstanding in our environment, because friendly live interaction in real life is necessarily passed on later between people and on the forum; people become more tolerant, more inclined to find compromises during disputes. Alright, that's the lyricism, but here is the reality.
We have practically 18 finalists. There are also 12 people who took 4th and 5th place in the qualifiers, which by no means suggests they are worse than the prize winners. The final tournament should be formed from them.
By playing in the qualifying tournaments, a player accepted the conditions:
1. The final is held on TE-lite as a compromise between Te-players and SoD-players.
2. Tournament dates – beginning of May.
3. The winner of the final is recognized de facto and de jure as the best club player in the post-Soviet space.
The main question is – where to hold the final? As agreed – this is determined by a vote of the qualifier prize winners. At the moment there are 15 finalists – Lexa, PReDS, Stinger, Aldegir, Forrest, Volodimer, Napalm, TERM, Bayazet, Mike, Van, Mee, AlexTheGreat, KobRa_Spb, Roland From Gilead.
They will be joined by two more from the Yekaterinburg tournament and the third place from the Siberian qualifier. Total: 18 finalists.
They vote, either here or via ICQ – where they would like to play the club championship final. The city that receives the most votes hosts the final, and the organizer takes on all concerns regarding tournament organization, meeting and accommodating guests, and judging the final.
Naturally, all participants would want the tournament to be held closer to their place of residence, so it is quite possible that the voting will yield results like this (1 city – 4 votes, 2nd city – 3 votes, then ... 3, 3, 3, 2). That is, a city with only 4 votes would win, even though it would be much less convenient for the other 14 participants than any other candidate.
Therefore, I propose:
1. First determine the circle of candidate cities for the final.
2. If there are more than two cities, hold a vote to determine the two cities with the highest number of votes.
3. Final vote – players choose one city from the two candidates.
What happens if a person qualified for the final but is not satisfied with the choice of location?
Nothing can be done; players are very widely scattered across the planet, at huge distances from each other, plus different versions and different community rules. We have to find compromises within our community somehow. If a person qualified for the final but cannot come – then they must notify the organizer in advance. In that case, people who took 4th and 5th place at the tournament get the right to play. Those lower (7th, 10th or 12th place) make no sense to take; the tournament is viewed in advance as a live competition of the best players.
Of course, by the beginning of February, the final roster should be formed. A person planning to attend the final will need to resolve many issues during this time – at work, with family, and finally, simply save up money for May. Therefore, by February 1, the tournament roster must be determined.
Holding a final is difficult and costly, but if the championship is conducted properly, the organizer gets huge respect. Therefore, I suggest candidates write their applications for the final, honestly stating the pros and cons of their candidacies. Naturally, I propose my city, Michurinsk.
1. Convenient location – Michurinsk is a large railway hub; many trains come from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Ukraine, southern Russia, and the east. It is easy to find train schedules at the information bureau. The city is located 400 km south of Moscow, and almost all southbound trains from Moscow pass through our city.
2. Computer provision. The "Legion" club is literally tailored for playing Heroes. Experienced admins who know the game and the needs of participants. Three rooms, 25 computers. The club operates from 9:00 to 22:00, but for the final, we will agree on extending play (for as long as necessary); the club administration understands the significance of the tournament well. Just read how the qualifier went in this club.
50 meters from the club is a children's center with 6 computers and a separate room where Heroes can also be installed, and no one will disturb during the holidays. Two bus stops from "Legion" is a science city computer center with 25 computers; it is easy to arrange free play during the tournament, including at night.
Regarding legislation: Of course, it's not worth shaming oneself by violating current laws. But games are on licensed discs that will be patched to TE-lite. Profit extraction by the club? A solution can be found, say a sponsor paying for the computers' time.
If participants agree on a certain tournament entry fee – that is their personal, private matter.
3. Tournament organization. I have been running tournaments for many years without a single glitch. I have hosted many guests from different cities and always received excellent feedback. Tournaments were always brought to completion. Undoubtedly, my friends – Scorp and Mizrael, neighbors from Tambov – can provide the necessary assistance. Guests will definitely be met upon arrival.
4. Prices. On average for Russia – some of the lowest. Muscovites and St. Petersburg residents are always surprised (unless you eat at stalls near the station; walk at least 50 meters into the city). Near the computer club, there are at least 3 spots where you can eat well and cheaply.
Prices in the club are also inexpensive, and most likely we will agree with a sponsor, so free play is not excluded. The only downside is the hotel. I will house a certain number of people at my place. Practice has shown that 8 people on three double beds plus 2 folding beds fit easily. For others – a hotel. Near the club, there is a decent 4-story building, but the prices... Recently they were 400 rubles per day, then suddenly jumped to 800. Let's say, three days in a hotel (the fourth day is departure day, not counted) will cost 2400 rubles.
5. Cultural activities. In general, it's clear that the priority will be the championship itself and determining the best player. Poker is acceptable; some guests played cards for two nights during the qualifier and didn't complain about their leisure. We can go to a nightclub or bowling if desired.
6. Guests. Not tournament participants, just those wishing to watch the best players play.
Always welcome, provided people behave with decorum. Getting to know the living legends of the Heroes world is great in itself, and watching how they determine the best in real life is even better. I highly recommend it.
That's all for now; we await applications for the final from other cities and then the vote of the qualifier prize winners.
