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Here's a question I have. We've announced that 26 finalists will be attending. Two of them, Javdet and Rebellius, are facing some difficulties, but if they can make it, they're welcome. There won't be any problems with computers or accommodation.
Based on the information we have, players Vigo, Vitalic, Yama-Dharma, Marcon, Stinger, Preds, Roland, Asm, Mee, and Merlin will arrive on the 29th. That's 10 people, 6 of whom are from Moscow. Considering Alex, we can have 5 Muscovites play against 5 players from other cities in the first round, starting at 10:00 AM.
After that, players from St. Petersburg, Ukraine, and Siberia will arrive. That's 8 players from St. Petersburg against 8 players from other cities. The matches will start around 2:30 PM.
Therefore, in the first round, players from the same city won't be playing each other, and there's a good chance that the first five matches will finish on time.
And for those who arrive on the evening of the 29th, a buffet awaits. Please remember that the first round is on April 30th, so don't overdo it.
I'll answer all questions in one post.
Expenses. Accommodation will be free for the finalists and honored guests (if we can get it approved). Otherwise, it will be 800 rubles for the entire stay in the dormitory. The dormitory is decent; I didn't notice any cockroaches. We'll just be sleeping there, nothing more.
For the club – approximately 700-800 rubles per person for the tournament. Again, I might be able to negotiate a free rate.
Entry fee. 2000 rubles. Sorry, but to ensure the tournament isn't abandoned, the top four places will receive prizes.
The prize pool, with 26-28 participants, will be between 52,000 and 56,000 rubles. That's good, even more than in Krasnodar. This is the main expense for the players, sorry.
In total, the mandatory expenses for the final will be between 2000 and 3500 rubles.
Now, let's talk about optional expenses. You can easily have a good breakfast, lunch, or dinner at a pizzeria or cafe for 100 rubles, or 300 rubles per day. Or you can buy pizza, chocolate, water (or beer) and play – that's even cheaper. So, you can easily manage with 1000-1500 rubles for the tournament (5 days). Add the above-mentioned expenses, and the total will be 3500-5000.
Final Schedule.
April 29th (evening) – welcoming guests, accommodation, tour of the club, practice games. In the evening, a buffet at a cafe.
April 30th – welcoming the remaining guests, draw at 10:00 AM, the first part of the games begins, and at 2:30 PM, when the remaining players arrive, the rest of the games start. There might be games until late, I'm not sure if any cultural program is possible that day. Well, except for poker.
Players in HoMM2 will also play one round. Of course, they will finish it.
May 1st. 10:00 AM – Round 2 in the HoMM3 final and Rounds 2-3 in HoMM2. In the evening, a cultural program. A walk around the city, a nightclub, bowling – we'll decide on the spot.
May 2nd – Round 3 in the HoMM3 final and Rounds 4-5 in the HoMM2 tournament. Completion of the HoMM2 tournament. Sending off some of the guests home. Settling debts in the three-way tournament, if anything is left unfinished, the players will finish it.
May 3rd – Round 4 in the HoMM3 final. In the evening – barbecue, in the same place where we gathered in the summer. Near the city, by the river bend.
May 4th – The last round of HoMM3. We should be able to finish before the guests leave. Although, the winners (I'm almost sure that there will be players from St. Petersburg and Moscow among them) might be late for their train, but there are many trains in the evening, including express trains. Or they can just take a taxi for all of them, which will take them to Moscow in 5 hours, and it won't be too expensive, the same as a train ticket for four people.