this will be an awesome tournament! =)

Fantastic :) I'm really looking forward to this! GL Noctis and (hopefully) Fox!

I've heard about sl1p, but could someone be nice enough to recall his achievements?

cba to google

this

need someone invited that plays like jibo on top form or if-22 for the lulz. still havent forgotten jibo-av3k on ztn where jibo sat on the 50hp round the corner and av3k just passed by \o/

I like the if-22 idea. He is special :D.

dunno.. but got raped by him in ca yesterday badly
gl sl1p ^^

Incidentally, did anyone figure out yet who those "Games Solution" dudes really are? I'm still wondering where the money comes from ...

no one really seems to know, and no one really seems to care either.

Pretty sure it's just Stéphane Cosse's organisation since he was the one who purchased it.

Cosse was a lead figure in Adéclik who ran a $50,000 event called ClickArena back in 2003 where in similar circumstances to the CyberXGames the prize money turned out to be a hoax and no team received a penny.

As you can see, he's hardly reputable.

People have been quick to jump on CPL bashing, but for some reason feel that the new ESWC, which apart from name has no links to the previous, is perfectly respectable and safe.

Right, this strongly suggests that Cosse dude being behind "Games Solutions", given that he bought the rights to ESWC. Makes it smell even more fishy though.

Saying that, in view of recent history, I'd expect some transparency about who is who and how they do the financing. Where the ESWC web site, apart from some flashy sponsor logos and press releases, seems to obfuscate the situation rather than explaining it. Specifically, there's no page detailing "who we are" and "why things are going to be different".

Not that I care that much myself, but I'd really hate to see that bunch of great and dedicated players being fucked with once again.

At least this time there has been a guarantee taken out against the prize money...Should ensure that players / teams get paid.

You're never going to get the "how they finance it". A 'who is involved' would be nice though

Right, but generally I can look up the chairman and board of each fukin company on this lovely globe. I don't know where to look in this case though, but I'd really like to. If anybody knows, I'd sure appreciate the info.

Just that, in case some dumb company files bankruptcy prematurely, I know which names were attached to it. From my pov and by industry standards, it's totally weird that we see no single name taking responsibility on the ESWC web site. This seems to be hiding more than anything else.

http://www.eswc.com/contact/

knock yourself out

Dude, that's exactly what I'm going to do. Sending them a mail asking for detailed company info. And share here what's coming back.

Following mail sent:

Dear Sir or Madam

I'd like to ask a couple of questions regarding the Game Solution company, as standing behind the ESWC gaming brand.

Specifically, and as I'm unable to find any details on the ESWC web site, I'm interested to hear

* what the Game Solution company structure is (Llc, Inc, ...)
* who the CEO is
* who the members of the company board, if any, are.

I'm performing this inquiry to further some transparency regarding this year's ESWC event, scheduled to take place in Paris.

Thanks a lot for your answer.

With kind regards
R.B.

I'll keep you posted on what's coming back.

Stéphane Cosse is part of Games Solutions for sure, that's not a secret for anyone who can type some words on google. He was at the French ESWC Qualifier, but I didn't really get a chance to discuss with him (I ran the Quakelive tournament). The event was not really big and well prepared since they were running it in a shop inside a mall with some last minute problems. But it was still okay for a starter even if they got a big margin to improve now.

The thing most people have doubts about is the cash prize given that shameful ClickArena story. For the French ESWC event, the checks were given to the players right after the tournament. So you can try to ask strenx, l1nkje or sz if they cashed their checks and see how it went. That'd be a good idea... right?

I've been admin'ing Quake tournaments for a while and I NEVER saw prize money given that fast for a LAN event before (note that I don't include online cups here). I was quite impressed with that. I got told the same will be done for the 2010 Finals (remember that announcement about the bank account holding the prize money). It's a great step forward in my eyes, I wish they'd be that fast for the staff involved at the event :)

Also on the transparency side: Excepted for Matthieu Dallon who was interviewed a few times, do you know anyone from the company (Games-Services) who used to run ESWC before they went bankrupt? Frankly, I didn't know any of the guys there before getting involved in their tournaments, and I doubt anyone care to learn about them. But I agree that more transparency would be a good thing. ESWC 2010's communication wasn't good during the first months. It tends to get a bit better, but it's still not there :)

</wall of text>

"Didn't know anyone before" is no argument. Because there's trust to reestablish, which has been given in advance before.

So I take then that you're vouching for this event. Duly noted.

"So you can try to ask strenx, l1nkje or sz if they cashed their checks and see how it went."

You do that and make yourself your own opinion.

a great step forward would be to look back and compensate those who won money in 2008 but got screwed (like they said they would). ignoring those people isn't exactly what i call a "great step forward". but it seems like they don't have to care since most of the teams and players accepted their invitations...

I have no idea what they plan to do about that, and I don't think there is anything forcing them to pay these prizes. However if they wanna do that, I guess it's not that easy to start a first year and having to pay that kind of debt so quickly.

Getting the checks right away still is a big improvement though. And I'm sure you would have preferred that over waiting 10 months after the event, right?

Too bad you're not attending this year, I hear Lign won't come as well : /

there's nothing forcing them but dont you think it's wrong that they can buy the ESWC brand, announce a huge prize pot (and btw no one seems to know where that money is coming from) and completely ignore the people that got screwed?

honestly i think it's really weird that i'm the only one who haven't accepted the invitation. im pretty sure the other winners also got lots of problems with unpaid prize money in the past. by accepting their invite they essentially agree on being screwed again. coz it WILL keep happening. and honestly im just too tired of it to not care anymore.

i really wish i could attend, but i just cant. hope you understand :)

It's wrong, yes, and I wish that paying the players of the previous events was part of buying the ESWC brand. It's wrong to see players, who sacrificed a lot to go to the events, train and become the best, left without their rewards. I wish they'd also pay what they owe from that old ClickArena event, there is a huge ethic problem there.

Now, I'm still giving them a chance and I'll be there to run the quake tournament. As long as I see players are interested and motivated in that competition, they at least deserve it's properly run. I'll do my part, as usual, and I hope the organizers will do the same. I just asked strenx yesterday about that prize money, and he told me he cashed the check without any problem, that sounds like a good thing already.

Most of the players aren't coming only for the money anyway, that would be silly. There is still a lot to learn and get by attending such events. It remains a great experience.

I understand your point, I'm not blaming you at all. I hope as much as I enjoyed watching you playing that you'll get your due reward :)

"Most of the players aren't coming only for the money anyway, that would be silly. There is still a lot to learn and get by attending such events. It remains a great experience."

believe me, it's not just about the money for me either. at WCG 2009 i paid the license and trip almost all by myself just because i wanted the experience. you can imagine how expensive that was. what i want is that i don't want people to get screwed over money, and i want the events to take their responsibility so we can develop esports in the right direction. that's my ultimate wish. sadly the future doesn't look very bright.

i could also have that attitude of "hey, it's at disneyland, whatever, ill just go and have some fun", but i honestly believe i would be fooling myself if i did that. it just wouldn't feel right. i can totally understand why people have that attitude though.

but anyway, ESWC is not the only event there is. ill keep supporting those events that are doing it right.

Sadly there is not such thing as that e-sport or pro-gaming you have in mind in Europe/America. We might get there at some point, I'm not sure how or when.

If the new ESWC are screwing around, I'd be the first to mention that so the players would know what to expect.

I can already say that when they bought ESWC/Cyberleagues, the code/database of the websites that manages the leagues/tournaments/matches system was not in the package (they thought it was). As far as I know, they won't have the time to develop a new fancy tool for that in time and we might have to go back to good old paper/pencil :)

It doesn't matter much for the tournament. But the people doing the coverage might have a hard time if that's the case:(

"Sadly there is not such thing as that e-sport or pro-gaming you have in mind in Europe/America. We might get there at some point, I'm not sure how or when."

it's true, but you gotta start somewhere, and im starting with myself.

I think that most of the good players put money pretty much behind anyway and they care more about the titles as well as the experience they get from competing at higher level

;(

[+] for sad :-(

That G sucks.







cba to finish :(

Also, the letters need to be higher, they look kinda disproportional now.

G and N kinda fuck it all up, N always looks crap and G needs to be 4x5 minimum :(

very nice list :)

Careem will take it tho ,Go Slovenia \o.

Ye Careem ftw !! :P

nice that they enlarge geography

gl sl1p :D!

looking forward to it :)

Congrats Sl1p and Good Luck, :).

'About the English qualifier I still cannot find any informations.'

rizzah is selling his selling his body on the streets of newcastle to pay for his plane ticket. I'm sure there will be an announcement soon.

He's some size leyk.

DEMON POWAH!

gl mate!

<3

go cooller!

13 - Poland #1 = prox/tox1c
17 - Sweden #1 fox(if he plays)
18 - Sweden #2 TOX!! =))))))
19 - Sweden #3 fazz/madix
20 - United Kingdom #1 garpy

18 - Sweden #2 TOX!! =))))))

Not gonna happen

20 - United Kingdom #1 2GD

FTFY

y ruin

i want my toxjqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqq

























qq

imo garpy needs smth to change, I'd say at a guess his speed is not quite top notch (not enough training, maybe?)

toxic, that sounds like a good dream.
I wish I still had it ;d

Am I the only person that thought that zsx was more impressive then GaRpY in some of the recent g-data/ZOTACs?

nope
did not follow their evolution on zotac cups but I find zsx playstyle "most impressive"

It's that age old problem with QL dueling I think.

zsx = more styleish, less wins
GaRpY = more boring, more wins


Not that GaRpY was boring to watch, but I just found zsx to have a more interesting playstyle (it was kinda like Strenx, but not... gay)

how the participant like dem0n or sl1p are choose ?

How you could miss that part in the news in the first place is the question that keeps banging into my cranial bones.

But how! tell us how demon got on the list please!
Ill grind thoose gears until they are smooth like wet rubber.

eswc invited him, that's how

obviously, but im asking xou!

Ask the ESWC committee if you want more details. Because I don't have more details than what was written in that announcement.

wow, pertinent anwser, as usual xou

yw

[inbeforethehaters]

Noctis :)

[/inbeforethehaters]

dem0n is nice i really wanna see how he does on a big lan where everyone pings the same he does.

About sl1p.. he's like top 3 spanish player .. but i would prefer to see allter or phoenix there.

You missed IEM Euro finals?
He wasn't able to win even a single map.

hes talking about allter, if anyone wonders

Who?

you.. because no other player occultum mentioned played at the IEM-EU finals or did not won a single game

Wut? Allter wasn't in finals, you stupid. I'm talking about dem0n.

Yes.. i actually missed it.. so it seems there's no need to see dem0n there anyway :<

'a horse never wins its first race' (c) 2gd

heh... Now I dont know if I will be better than in Cologne even if the conditions will be same: no proper practice due to exams and boozes etc =] But atleast I get to see Bob Sinclar irl! :D

I'd like too see guard playing on lan too -it seems his shape is better than ever

he got a dreamhack spot =p

seen DH finals but I thought he won't go
go guard!
and go noctis! of course :p

i was being a bit sarcastic, of course we will never see him on lan ;/

I've heard that his lg is nothink on the lan; is it true?

we wont see him on lan, will never happen

kick his ass and make him go

I like watching guard play, and there's not too many I say that about these days

Were you watching his Cooller games or did you fall asleep?

haha CAREEM ftw :D

No Mojo for Trackmania :(

I think it might be time to retire!

was hoping for sum ZeRo4 appearence
z4 and cooller played against each other in q3 only, if I am not mistaken -would be pretty interesting to see if cooller's dodging skills would be able to face z4's ql rockets

whoa this looks REALY nice

I wan't to see noctis destroy rapha again

Yeah again like many previous times in QL

hihihi