My name is Manuel Schenkhuizen, and I come from the Netherlands. I do some fitnessing and of course warcraft 3. I usually just play 1 game at a time so I don't play any other games currently.

I used to play a lot of different "simple" games when I was very young, but the good games I've played would be something called Fantasy Empires which no one knows, but apart from that pretty much all the Blizzard games :) ... starting from warcraft 2, then the dark portal expansion, starcraft, brood war, diablo, diablo 2, expansion sets of those and eventually warcraft3. :)

I wouldn't see myself as the best micro'er, nor with the best strategies. But somehow I win some important games so I think it might have something to do with a pretty much all-round efficiency. I'm a bit of a perfectionist so I don't like it if I have inactive peons for example or 1 grunt out of battle (forgotten). I train myself to NOT forget the little things...

I think I don't practice very much, I usually think a lot about my losses and am determined not to lose to the same strategy again, or losing by using a wrong strategy. So I watch the replays where I lose and also where I win, to compensate for practicing less.
I don't quite know why I play so little (as you can see by my stats added up compared to the rest of the top 20), but I'm pretty busy with school also at the moment.

Any match that I win is fun. ^^
But a good quality match is where I think to myself that a player has beat the odds. I'm not gonna begin about balance but when a player wins where the statistics say he shouldn't have, I can grin.

Intelligent ones... but I'm not gonna say I don't like good looks. But I've noticed I care a lot about intelligence.

Apart from all the obvious changes, I think the most important difference is how luck can change the outcome of the game.
I feel in classical warcraft, one creepjack or even losing a hero could totally ruin you. When watching games from replays or from observing, you could just hear the "oohhs and ahhs" when a hero died in the beginning, because you know that's very bad...
In TFT, I can't say what exactly has changed with regards to that, but you have a lot more chance to recover from what used to be fatal blows.

yeah, I think TFT has the same quality I had come to expect since BW.

I can't comment on match-ups that don't include an orc... it all depends a bit on the level of play that you engage on... I'd say for the average player, it's very hard to beat a Night elf using beastmaster or warden, but on pro level, human has a bit of an advantage over orc.

More viable use of the Dark Ranger, an increased effectiveness of earthquake (just compare it with stampede, same cost, practically 1/4th the effect in most cases), a lower stun rate of the beastmaster's spirit bears, the level 3 spirit hawk slightly less damage, shadowstrike with a +2 seconds cooldown, and maybe some vague possibility of ever being able to effectively use Gyrocopters or whatever they're called now. :)
And maybe a practical use, when you leave and re-enter battle.net, retain all the ignored people, and maybe being able to edit that list somewhere.

That's not the first thing that comes to mind, nope... but yeah you can't deny it's very powerful. But I don't know if it should be more expensive to cast, have a lower stun rate or deal less damage... I'll leave that to the experts @ Blizzard. ;p

Well I expressed my thought on neutral heroes, except how I like the idea... and I like the idea. Mercenaries are also very nice to play with because they mix with almost any army, but they should just remove any and all places where you can buy mercs without having to clear the creeps... and I think anyone would agree.

I think that would be 4K.KaJ. It could be Kiko or Zeus, but Kiko has a lag from here to nowhere, and Zeus is just messing around a bit usually, and has only recently started.

I can't totally be sure because I haven't played everyone, but I think my old friend Kawa a.k.a. eNvious on rank 2 right now is a pretty strong opponent. :)

Asia: Showtime of course on asia, for staying completely normal and friendly when I met him even though he's obviously a very good player and maybe even a celebrity in his country.
East: Apex on east for surprising me with his random skills, taking out some very good opponents with different races and doing excellent audio commentaries.
West: I don't know many people on west, but I'd have to say Myth.ShaMan for talking very funny (he's chinese?) and beating me twice with what was in ROC 1.6 a very special tactic against my Human, Headhunter / Shaman. Very cool. :P
Europe: On europe my home server, it would have to be uberelf for coming so high on ladder with BEASTMASTER ONLY (!!!), and still being able to whine about imbalance when he loses. :> See game vs Mimmox's orc.

I'll be practicing, but I don't really enjoy playing classic anymore. I don't expect to win much, but the journey and experience itself is worth it. Maybe I get lucky?

Yeah it's a matter, since people of my age (17) might have difficulties joining big tourneys because of school or dependance of parents. For example, I can't go to CPL Copenhagen because it would cost me 3 days of school in what is my exam year...

Nope. The main difference as I see it between the way SC:BW is so popular and WC3:TFT is not in Asia, is calculating in the crowd's understanding of the game. Starcraft is relatively easy to follow, even if you see it for the first time. A psionic storm may be called magic, but you can just guess what a crackling area of lightning bolts will do to zerglings. But what amateur is going to understand what effect a spirit link has ?
Also, starcraft has always been a bit more fast-paced game with more back and forth. I think that's not crucial for the players themselves to enjoy the game, but it is for the crowd. And that's why WC3 will never be what SC is in Asia... maybe starcraft2?

WC3:TFT will last as long surely, like diablo lasts still. But like I said it's not gonna reach the same level as brood war, so what shadow of its former self will WC3:TFT be in 3 years maybe? I don't think pro money tournaments will still be held in 3 years.

I will never become a full-time gamer because I don't want to, I really enjoy gaming but I will always do school or work. Some people have just stopped after school and it's not weird they can have a huge advantage in practice time over me, but that's the way it shall be. I'll try to get as far as I can, but I don't know if I will be playing any other games after warcraft3. :)

My pleasure :)

All right, my love goes out to 4K.KaJ, aT-Blatty, 4K.Kiko, 4K.FuRy, 4K.LaWn, all for not being able to come to WCG, I'm very sad about that. Then to my Dutch friends, Myth, Smurf, Linda, Konijn, Warthog, Zhafix, Azywascrazy (wannabe Dutch). And finally I could give a shoutout to all the people I met at ESWC, but I won't because I don't like "general shoutouts", they're too meaningless.
Anyone that comes whining for having forgotten him in my shout out, /ignore for you. :P

Thanks!