Posts from Club championship of the CIS countries.

Even though my opinion might not matter, and attending this event is questionable, traveling to Kyiv involves unnecessary hassle with documents and a foreign passport, which is an additional problem for me personally. According to feedback, everything was well-organized in Kyiv, but the local organizers still lack experience. You, on the other hand, have a lot of experience – the event in Michurinsk will be organized much better, and I have no doubt about that. The key issue is clear organization if we want to witness a truly epic final.

P.S. I really want to attend the final event and chat with old friends.

As it turns out, I'm not the only one interested in this question: WHO EXACTLY will play in the final? There are two possible scenarios:
1) If only the finalists from the qualifiers play (even if it's 4-5 places in case someone from the top 3 declines), the final risks being small in number due to many people refusing to travel...
2) If some people who didn't participate in the qualifiers are invited to the final tournament (for example, Pit LM, who would be happy to play, but two qualifiers in Moscow were canceled, or other highly respected players and personalities), then the final will be local, meaning we invite those without a qualifier, and we don't invite others, even if we invite everyone who wants to travel and play in the final. In this case, the status of all previous qualifiers will be reduced to

simply becoming a friendly meeting, like in Kингисепп

.
What will actually happen?

I don't know where this nonsense about Russians needing foreign passports to travel to Ukraine came from :(

I checked with our Ministry of Foreign Affairs:
http://www.mfa.gov.ua/mfa/ua/509.htm

Entry for Russians into Ukraine is VISA-FREE with INTERNAL passports.

It was like that in December, and I traveled there myself – and it's still the same for this year :)

I don't understand why the location for the final is being discussed. :confused: If Nagan-4 was the main organizer of this tournament (at least with the ideas), then it would be fair to let him host the final. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Yes, this passport thing is something new. I travel to Russia periodically, and many acquaintances travel there as well; what foreign passports are they talking about? Maybe it's just in the planning stages? I also didn't understand the poker and wake-up call thing. There definitely wasn't any poker in Kyiv. No one even suggested it or thought about it. Isn't there enough online poker? Cards in general are evil. The idea of waking up respected players made me smile. If they realize what's going on, they'll just sleep in peacefully, waiting for the "morning attention." Waking someone up isn't serious, in my opinion. I don't know how it is with discipline where you are, but in Kyiv, everyone was ready and had breakfast by 10:00 AM, without any need for wake-up calls. Without a serious, individual approach to the tournament, it shouldn't even be organized. If someone doesn't show up, that's it; there are no other options, because it's a kind of sporting competition, right?

Kyiv has an advantage in terms of its geographical location....

Added 1 hour 57 minutes ago
It's strange why the question about the organizer is being raised so sharply... Judging by Sasha's (Captain's) posts, he wouldn't mind organizing another event, and everyone who has been to Kyiv will confirm that he is the "father" of this endeavor. It would be great if a cool team of organizers could be formed in the end - Sasha/Eric :) The main task of the final is to gather as many people as possible, and the main reason why people won't come is the distance... And Kyiv is better suited for this than the others - Belarus, Ukraine itself, St. Petersburg, Moscow, Tambov, etc. are all in roughly equal conditions, only it's difficult for people from Siberia... but Michurinsk and St. Petersburg are not close to them either...

I would be all "FOR" Kyiv for many reasons. I wanted Aldegir to play, for Sam to gain experience in running tournaments, for the Siberians and Ural residents to see a truly beautiful city. And frankly, I'm not too eager to take on the hard work myself – talking to each player individually, handling diplomacy with sponsors, meeting, seeing off, entertaining, refereeing... in principle, I've earned my share of respect for what's been done, I could take a rest, especially since the guys are so eager to run a tournament.

I've already written what worries me. When there are many organisers - strangely enough, it's worse than having one: the temptation to rely on partners is too great. For example, suppose the tournament fails in the format it was conceived in – whose fault is it? The organisers will do everything possible, I have no doubt, but... Captain is leaving with his family, Sam has little practical experience in running a serious tournament, Gorbik is an admin and forum member, but not a tournament player. After all, at the final, the organiser and referee need to be there from the first to the last minute, because the tournament can stall at any moment, the most unexpected one – even when the players aren't playing (sleeping until noon, lingering in cafes, etc.). How Alan Prost ran the Krasnodar tournaments – from morning until late at night for several days in a row, he knew that however he ran it, that's how it would be. That's why those tournaments became legendary.

2 Sam.

In Kyiv, there is no such organiser, no sufficient experience to hold such a significant event!!!
Of course, there is a small plan that's been worked out, a bunch of ideas and suggestions. But no matter how you look at it, the main thing is missing: meticulous calculations and full respect, to wake up the old man at 7 AM)))

Sam, I have immense respect for your heroic work. Don't be offended by what I'm writing. Though maybe I'm wrong.
If we meet, in Kyiv or Michurinsk – I'll challenge you to wake up the old man after a night of poker (at exactly 7 AM). Invaluable experience, IMO will come in handy.

2 Captain.

I don't quite understand why a parallel was drawn between Kyiv and poker?
No one played poker last time.

Well, the Kyiv qualifier and the upcoming final are two different tournaments with different player lineups. How many people from the Kyiv qualifier will be in the final? 3 to 5 people maximum. How many poker players will there be? Almost everyone else.
I'm not against poker. I don't like that it's much more attractive to a young, gambling person. I've seen more than once how a person who sat down to play for a couple of minutes ended up playing poker for days. And Heroes players – they're normal people, with normal reflexes, they'll sit down for an hour – and stay until morning as a result. Tested.

2 Forrest.

And that Kyiv is beautiful and you can relax – I don't think that's a minus for the city as the venue for the CIS final.

A huge plus, I wrote, especially for those who will travel from far away.

2 Captain.

In Kyiv, everything was simple – couldn't play, got a tech loss
Besha even managed to get two tech losses. The same system will be in place at the final (I hope). So poker players who wish to exchange the title of the best CIS Heroes player for a poker game should use their heads (and everyone has bright heads

You write to me about my authoritarian style, but I am resolutely against tech losses. I saw how Alan Prost conducted politics in Krasnodar – instead of fear, he appealed to people's conscience. He immediately arranged things humanely, that people were coming to play Heroes. In the morning he would go around to everyone, wake them up – at least that group of players I lived with in the house, until we all flew out (there was an Olympiad) – then he let us sleep as much as we wanted.

And everyone played – every single one. Cobra can confirm, in 2003 he played 4 games and took 2nd place in the strongest tournament. And there were plenty of card players and night owls back then too. And Alan Prost himself was no stranger to a game of seka or drinks. But with him, everyone played not out of fear, but out of conscience.

A simple situation that could arise – 3-4 well-known players partied over cards, they weren't woken up – they were late for the round. They got tech losses, got offended – dropped out of the tournament. Who benefits from 3 or 4 of the best masters of the game leaving the tournament? But if you arrange things in advance, check in the morning, get them up – they will play. And then they'll thank you for a good tournament.
That's why people always play all matches at tournaments. Although… a tech loss still happened – specifically at the last tournament, with Matrosov. I really didn't know what to do, and it didn't occur to me to immediately transfer him to the status of honorary guest of the Michurinsk qualifying tournament.

2 Samurai.

As it turns out, I'm not the only one interested in this question: WHO EXACTLY will play in the final? There are two situations:
1) if only the finalists from the qualifiers play (even 4th-5th places in case of refusals from some of the 1st-3rd prize winners), then the final risks being small in number due to mass refusals to travel somewhere...

Without people, the tournament loses its meaning. Perhaps I would do this.
1. First – talk to the most legendary personalities among the players, such as Stinger, AlexGreat, Cobra, Forrest, etc. I would tell them that with entry fees from participants of, say, around two thousand and sponsor help, the prize fund of the final could amount to somewhere around sixty thousand (alas, not dollars and not even hryvnias – rubles). Maybe more, but unrealistic numbers won't fly. And here it's pure arithmetic.
Plus the title of the best tournament player of the CIS, no less legitimate than what the Muscovite Andre had in 2004. For a true tournament fighter, that means something.
As a bonus – an interview and photo of the winner in a well-known and large magazine, which is quite possible with proper implementation of cooperation with sponsors.

Having obtained the consent of the legends, I would talk honestly with the players, saying everything I said to the "fathers"; adding that the fathers had agreed to play. Many would simply be interested in seeing both Tems or Alex, playing live with them. I don't think there would be many refusals from the European part, people are all seasoned. A different story is the Urals or Siberia.
Although if you remember Veks in Krasnodar, Dust in St. Petersburg, Dreamcatcher in Michurinsk – people travel no matter what.

Therefore, gathering 13-15 actual finalists is possible. Whether in Michurinsk or Kyiv. The rest – to be taken only from people who took 4th-5th places in qualifiers, fortunately all excellent players. If we don't have a quorum of finalists by February – invite them.
In the end, a final of 18-20 people maximum, after all the tournament should be elite. Guests can be accepted as many as you want, but players in the final are only the best, who passed the selection.

2) If some people who did not participate in the qualifiers are invited to the final tournament (for example, Pete LM who would be glad to play, but two qualifiers in Moscow fell through, or other highly respected players and personalities), then the final will be a local affair, meaning we invite those without selection, but don't invite others, well, even if we invite everyone who wants to go and play in the final. In this case, the status of all previous qualifiers will be reduced to…

Two people (not Pete) have already written to me asking how to get into the final without a qualifier? I couldn't tell them anything – if you allow entry without selection, then the final immediately loses all meaning.

2 Captain.

I don't know where this nonsense about Russians needing foreign passports to travel to Ukraine came from

I checked with our Ministry of Foreign Affairs:
http://www.mfa.gov.ua/mfa/ua/509.htm

entry of Russians into Ukraine - VISA-FREE with INTERNAL passports.

So I was misled, sorry for the misinformation. A seemingly serious person told me.

2 Dirty.

I don't understand why the venue for the final is being discussed? If Nagan-4 was the main organiser of this tournament (at least the ideas), then it would be fair to let him host the final. Correct me if something is illogical.

Thanks, but the players should decide. I immediately wrote about Michurinsk to show that I'm not building a castle in the air, but a serious project, that in the worst-case scenario there is always a place where the final can take place. And generally it's great when there's a choice to be made. It's bad when the argument is pointless.

2 Piterius.

The part about waking up authoritative Heroes players made me smile. If they are aware of it, they'll deliberately sleep carefree waiting for "morning attention". Waking someone up is not serious, IMO. I don't know how discipline is with you, but in Kyiv at 10:00 everyone was sharp, already having breakfast, without any wake-up calls.

Just remembered a story. Sometime in 2004 or 2005, St. Petersburg. A bunch of players sleeping at Horn's apartment. We were celebrating the meeting until about 3:30 AM, which isn't too long by Heroes standards.
Horn wakes us up at 7:30, get up. I understand that Sasha hasn't slept for a whole week, running a big tournament with qualifiers and a final, and I absolutely have to get up. But my body won't obey, after all, I'm a guest, I have to play two important matches all day, perhaps it would be good if I just lay down for a couple of minutes. With this noble thought, I fall asleep. Out of the corner of my consciousness, I feel Horn fussing about…

Suddenly it blasted out: "Oh, it's good to live in the Soviet country! … Oh, it's good to dig holes in the tunnel!... Oh, it's good..."…

Horn dragged a rare gramophone from somewhere and put on a record by the Big Children's Choir of USSR Radio, a recording from somewhere in the 50s. I'm not sure the lyrics were exactly like that, but they had the most invigorating effect on us. It drove sleep away instantly, everyone jumped up and cheerfully ran to wash up and brush their teeth.
And this is far from the funniest moment of wake-up calls, sometimes it was funnier.

2 Javdet.

The main task of the final is to gather maximum people, and the main reason people won't travel is distance... And Kyiv is better suited for this than others – Belarus, Ukraine itself, St. Petersburg, Moscow, Tambov, etc.. are roughly in equal conditions, only Siberians have it bad... but for them Michurinsk and St. Petersburg aren't close either...

Let's look at the map. Only closer for Minsker Roland and Ukrainians. For St. Petersburg residents, by eye, it's the same, for Stinger and Preds - Michurinsk is closer, Lekha lives there. For Urals residents or Siberians... although in their case, indeed, the word "closer" takes on a vague meaning.
Geographically, the cities are roughly in equal positions, objectively.

Regarding the international passport, I apologize, we were also misled, and I fell for it. One less problem.
St. Petersburg and Kyiv are beautiful cities, and there's plenty to admire for more than just a day, but on the other hand, the final stage involves a tight schedule of games and organization, so there's no time for daily sightseeing and walks around the city.
Whatever you decide, that's fine ;-))) I'll find a way to make it work and go wherever.

Nagan asked me to write here about the tournament in Kyiv.
I received the following questions:

1. Accommodation - where and how much?
Accommodation - apartments = 200 UAH or shared among 8, which is $25 per person. On average, an apartment can accommodate about 4 people.

2. Club - where is it, how much does it cost, and how many computers are there?
It's the same club we used before - in the city center, with three halls of modern computers. The prices were very good; we bought two subscriptions for everyone, which cost about 850 UAH - or about $100. That's about 70 UAH per person for two days, which is less than $10.

3. Sponsors - how much can they contribute?
I didn't deal with this issue; Gorbik had some connections.

4. Other details.
You can read about what happened in Kyiv (in the neighboring thread).

After Michurinsk, when discussing with Stinger where they would like to play in the final, both were in favor of Kyiv. Artem is currently unavailable due to real-life commitments, and it's unclear if he will be able to make it at all. I am still in favor of Kyiv. But I can go anywhere, as long as I am given advance notice – I will try to make it even to Magadan.

The city voting is close. Both candidates turned out to be strong, and the poll generated a response from the participants; whichever city wins, the heroic movement will still be the ultimate winner. So.
Six people slightly preferred Michurinsk - Leha, Term, Dust, and three from Yekaterinburg.
Six people are more inclined towards Kyiv - Aldegir, Forrest, Volodimer, Preds, Stinger, Cobra.

Two are ready to travel to both cities equally - Van and Napalm (I spoke with Vik about Napalm).

Four have not voted yet - Roland from Minsk, Mike from Siberia, as well as AlexGreat and Bayazet from St. Petersburg. We are waiting for their votes; the poll needs to be completed by the end of the week.

Regarding the list of maps. There will probably be 5, and the players will determine the most suitable template for both using a random selection method. I will write later which templates are leading.

Here's the question. Stiky decided to organize a Moscow qualifier – will it be considered an official qualifier?

2 SpiriTT.

Here's a question. Stiky is planning to hold a Moscow qualifier – will it count towards the overall selection?

Of course, it will count. But since it will end in February or even March, the winners won't have time to participate in the voting; they'll just travel to the city that's chosen.

If you hold it, then we'll have 21 finalists from 7 qualifiers.

But the lineup will need to be adjusted, as some people might not be able to travel to the winning city, and some might not be able to participate at all due to real-life issues. So, we'll have to adjust the list of finalists and ask people who placed 4th or 5th in the qualifiers to play.
We'll discuss it.

P.S. If anyone has contact with Mike, Roland, AlexGreat, or Bayazet, please ask them if they will be able to play in the final in May and which city they prefer. Otherwise, we might be waiting for an answer and they might not be able to play.

AlexTheGreat should be online on ICQ tomorrow, then I'll ask him.

Good day, dear comrades! Yekaterinburg is on the line... I have a couple of questions: 1. Considering that May is not so far away, I would like to clearly understand which version the championship will be held on. 2. And how can I find the tournament regulations? Regarding the players from Yekaterinburg, we have been playing on the test server for a long time, as there are many random elements in the classic Heroes of Might and Magic (SoD) at the start (two stacks instead of three for the heroes, scrolls with various flight spells and weak protection, etc.), plus the imbalance of the factions. I myself am a veteran of the Heroes League of Yekaterinburg, participating in the Club Championships for about 10 years (or maybe more - I don't remember anymore :cool:). And I remember the classic SoD well, when the start of the game was delayed by 2-6 hours due to objective restarts. On the other hand, Competitive events on the classic SoD could receive more attention and support. In any case, it is necessary to have a clear decision on the game version and rules, as it is time to start preparing. Sincerely, MERLIN.