Chaos and confusion has struck the tournament area at WCG. While the buffet of high level matches got underway on time, the internet and network is causing all kinds of problems. The difficult conditions are really testing the grit and concentration of the players, as servers crash and computers fail. his is our eye-witness account of the all the action, drama and controversy from inside the tournament area in Seattle.

12:07

PGS are on the ropes at WCG. It looked like they would be totally dominated on de_train as Finish Roccat were on a hot streak. The Poles refused to go down without a fight though and took the game back. It even looked as if they would win the map but the Fins denied them the first point.


It’s hard to say what’s wrong with the defending champions, but they look tired. Lukasz “LUq” Wnek is not standing up to scream and cheer his teammates on at every occasion and the level of communication is not up to their usual standards. Beads of sweat are visible on Filip “Neo” Kubski as he realizes he is in the fight of his life. PGS could not get anything going for them on the offensive side of de_train and have to pull back 12 rounds to force the tie-breaker.

12:15

It’s 7-1 for PGS as Roccat just saved. The Poles are playing better but they don’t have the aura of victory surrounding them as they have had in the past. Roccat are sharp today but this is a fight if I have ever seen one. 8-1 now, 12 all in total as “Kuben” and “LUq” gets the two first frags in a round PGS end up taking.

12:19

"Emulate” from France is winning against team Germany. The French took the first map and are up 12-6 on de_nuke. Their approach to the competition is very low key; they are not screaming like all the other teams, and they seem to just focus on each and every in game situation. That might earn them a spot in the semi-finals.

12:21

PGS have ten rounds now, 14 in total as Roccat win their second of the half. “Neo” is playing aggressively on the yard and gets shut down early. Lukasz “LUq” Wnek replies and falls back to cover the ramp with his AWP before he is forced to retake the upper site on his own, as his teammates die.

It’s not the first time in this match that PGS lose control, and they are forced to save in the fourteenth round, giving the Fins an excellent chance to tie the game. Some Polish deagle shots later and PGS has game point for de_nuke.

12:25

NIIIIICE, yells “Neo” as PGS takes down two Fins early. In the end he almost pulls another extreme play out of his hat in the one on two situation, but ultimately his efforts fail and overtime awaits.

12:28

A headset hits the ground as the Germans are eliminated by Emulate.

12:32

MYM had to rally against eSTRO, but won de_inferno after some impressive play. Right now they are up 6-2 on the offensive side of de_train.

Aleksey “LeX” Kolesnikov is still deliberating with a number of referees as the server crashed in their game against Holland. The score was 15-14 for the Russian’s and the admins just said they would look at the server logs to determine the restart conditions.

12:36

Finally PGS can be heard screaming as Wiktor “TaZ” Wojtas clutches the last round of the first half of overtime. The Polish team got two rounds defending and the players are running to the toilets to relieve themselves of, at least, some of the pressure they are bound to be feeling at this point.

The next twenty minutes will decide whether the second giant falls early, as Fnatic were eliminated yesterday.

12:39

MIBR are making light work of their opponents. They won the first map and got 11 rounds in the first half on de_train – this should be over.

“Neo” screams as he misses his first shots of the second over time. Despair creeps across his face; in the end it can decide the outcome of their game. “Loord” is all alone against three on the lower bombsite and can’t get the job done, 2-2 now. PGS decides to rush and the Fins scream “RAMPPI” while “LUq” enters the upper site. Kuben face three Roccat players and can only take out two. It’s do or die for PGS in the last round.

12:44

“Neo” hits his shot outside but “Conte” replies as “LUq’s” screen is white, white and white while the others work inside – to no avail. Roccat scream with joy as they take out Kuben to win the game, beating the champions and progressing to the quarter finals.

12:48

PGS exchange handshakes as Wiktor “TaZ” Wojtas stands up calling for a referee. “I think they did a flashbug, he says and avoids repeating Fnatic’s mistake of signing the scores.

There seems to be no dispute though, and PGS are out of the tournament.

12:58

After one hour of deliberation, the KPOBb match is ready to go live with the score 15-14 for the Russian’s. They are at a money disadvantage, defending de_train, so they will need all the crazy deagle skills they can muster to avoid the dreaded overtime.

13:00

C-O-N-T-R-O-V-E-R-C-Y!
Apparently eSTRO is contesting the result against Meet Your Makers. The Korean’s feel MYM was exploiting the duck-jump bug and refuse to sign the official match report.

13:02

“LeX” is standing up, shaking his head as KPOBb are still waiting to go live. “Sally” is amusing himself by drawing stars with the muzzle flame from his weapon, as the game is still paused.

Lex asks the 20,000 dollar question in message mode 1; “When go?”

13:06

The Dutch team wastes no time in tying the game up, and the wait is on again as KPOBb prepare for overtime.

13:07

Sondre “REAL” Svanevik is shaking his head, laughing at the Korean dispute. The admins will apparently go over the demos.

Svanevik is confident; “- eSTRO duck jumped, we didn’t.”

13:09

Danny “Zonic” Sørensen from NoA is also wandering around with a resigned smile on his face. Their game against wNv from China crashed at 12-6 for the Danes.

“- They admins will go over every server log for every player to determine the correct startmoney,” he says. So far it has taken the officials over one hour.

13:11

KPOBb gets two rounds from their overtime defense on de_nuke.

13:14

“Mosk” comes up big for Russia in the first round. He takes out three people in the first round and KPOBb have two attempts to take the map. “Mosk” is on fire again but can’t come through, leaving everything riding on the last round.

KPOBb rush ramp and plant in the lower bombsite. Their bomb defense is solid and “LeX” claps his hands in praise of his teammates. After 2 hours, the first map is finally over with.

13:21

NoA’s Sunde wins the award for the strangest gamer. He has a backpack on while he’s sitting down and playing. The spectacle is more interesting than their match against wNv, that just got back underway after the server crash.

It looks as if NoA's margin from the first half will be enough to win them the first map.

13:35

"- I don't want any trouble, now lets get this match over with", one of the referees is rushing NoA back to their seats as they just won the first map against wNv. On lookers whisper "Amen" to his words in what's really shaping up to be one of those days.

13:37

Number of the nerd.

13:40

"1 health point man!" Danny "Zonic" Soerensen screams as "Sunde" win a one on one situation to earn NoA's first point on the offensive side of de_train. The score is 2-1 for wNv.

13:43

Team America, eMazing gaming, are catching some shut eye on their keyboards as they await the outcome of the marathon match between Russia and Holland.

13:46

Roccat is currently playing their quarter final against A-Gaming. The Ukrainians are up 4-2 on the defensive side of de_train.

13:55

8-5 for NoA. The Chinese defense leaves a lot to be desired. Maybe they should try screaming less and concentrating more?

13:57

Russia won their first half on the second map 11-4 and are up by 3 to 1 now. This match is all over folks, Mother Russia prevails!

13:59

Roccat found all the traction in the world and dominated A-Gaming to the tune of 11-4 on the offensive side of de_nuke. Can anyone stop the PGS slayer in this tournament?

14:02

C-O-N-T-R-O-V-E-R-S-Y

At 8-6 for NoA the steam connection was lost (again). Apparently the teams will play out the rest of the match, and if the unplayed round will matter for the end result, it will be played.

14:04

wNv rush yard on their pistol round and win. It looked unlikely early on in the round, but somehow a Chinese player won a one on two situation during the commotion.

14:07

The admins are charging eSTRO with reviewing the demos to try and warrant the dispute over their MYM-loss. So far they have not found evidence of foul play but six Koreans (!) are watching every second of the replays.

14:10

Guess what? C-O-N-T-R-O-V-E-R-S-Y!

With the score 14-9 for KPOBb, the steam connection went AWOL again. The Russians are currently debating the money situation with the referees.

14:12

wNv are up 4-1 against NoA who are saving money. The next round will be deciding for their efforts and money situation.

14:14

A slow wNv attack to the outer site is shut down, NoA's tally is now at ten rounds.

14:17

Play it again Sam; C-O-N-T-R-O-V-E-R-S-Y!

The Chinese team is disconnected. The score was 5-2 in their favor and the bomb was exploding, supposedly earning them another round, but the situation is extremely difficult to call for the admins.

14:26

Chaos does not begin to describe the unfortunate situation, the technical problems are taking their toll on the players as well as the poor administrators charged with making difficult decisions based on less than ideal information. Frustration rules the tournament area at this point.

14:29

Finland's finest, Roccat, are up 6-3 on the second map de_inferno. They are defending well and won the first map fairly easy.

14:30

Russia against Holland restarted. Lexs' boys are at match point, while the Dutch have 11 rounds on the defensive side of de_inferno.

14:32

An attack up the banana hallway to the B site is successful and the Russian's can defend the bomb to earn a spot in the quarter finals.

14:33

NoA's manager "Guddo" says the admins have reviewed the money situation for both teams and the match is likely to restart with a score of 6-2 for the attacking Chinese.

14:45

The NoA match just restarted and wNv take the first round to push their score to 12-10. NoA are broke and have to play with mixed weapons. This causes wNv to take their 13th round of the match.

14:48

The Koreans are still reviewing demos. Time to blame Lee Harvey Oswald maybe?

14:49

A-Gaming is mounting an impressive comeback. Flawless CT play has produced 8 rounds for the boys from Kiev. Roccat simply can't find the answer.

14:50

Game point for A-Gaming.

Roccat rush B but "lurrpis" is left alone against three players. He loses the round and the Ukrainians prove to everyone that everything is in fact possible at this year's WCG.

14:51

15-10 for wNv as they rush inside to overwhelm Muhamed "Mje" Eid. The Chinese defend the bomb well and tie the game up. The players break as they await the final map.

14:59

No controversy in the last half hour. Knock on wood.

15:01

Wooha! Belay my last...

Danny "Zonic" Soerensen from NoA are complaining about wNv bunny jumping and the admin answers that they have been yellow carded. Still, the teams will be tied at 1-1 going into the last map.

15:03

There are now 25 people surrounding eSTRO's monitors. It's unclear if they have found anything though. MYM's Mats "nOla" Nygren is bopping up and down like a rabbit in a creative attempt at describing to everyone that he was NOT duck-jumping.

Naturally the Koreans do not look convinced, but that might have something to do with Nygren's unusual approach.

15:07

A-Gaming is up 4 to zero in the tiebreaker vs. Roccat. What's more, the Ukrainians are on the attacking side of de_train - it's usually the more difficult side to play.

15:09

Again, poor admins. If I had the striped referee shirt on right now I would take it off, then make like a tree and leaf. Norwegian player KF3 is the only one walking around the tournament area smiling right now, for reasons that pass understanding - this event turned into a farce two hours ago.

15:13

C-O-N-T-R-O-V-E-R-S-Y!

The boys in the striped shirts convene on Roccat as the game is paused. You guessed it, the steam connection was lost in space as A-Gaming were up 4-1. Money disputes are sure to follow.

15:15

wNv gathers around an admin who is physically showing them what's allowed ingame movement. The Chinese claim they had problems understanding the English explanation of the rules.

15:19

More Koreans seem to be coming out of the woodwork by the minute as the MYM-dispute will not go away.

15:20

All the Counter-Strike matches at WCG 2007 are currently paused as there are disputes galore.

15:26

De_inferno is the last map for NoA and wNv. The Chinese won their defensive pistol round but NoA replied in kind by taking the deagle save that followed. NoA's manager shrugs and grins as he explains how both "Zonic" and "Sunde" got off one shots while completely blind from Chinese flashbangs.

15:29

While I was typing in the last update wNv erupts. The Chinese won a save round of their own, and the following. The score is 3-2 for the defensive wNv team.

15:31

Make that 4-2.

15:40

Roccat is coming back. They took the first two rounds, which forced the Ukrainians to save for 4-3.

15:41

"Lurrpis" is screaming as Roccat and A-Gaming exchange frags on the outer bombsite. The plant is inside though, and "ruuit" can't find the magic he needs to win the round.

15:43

Apparently, eSTRO found something. It might've been the holy grail or their second win because the Norwegians look concerned.

15:45

Roccat vs A-Gaming: 7-6
wNv vs NoA: 10-5

15:50

Sondre "REAL" Svanevik is pissed off. "- They're lying", he exclaims as an admin sits down with the demos again.

15:52

eSTRO and MYM's team captains are called to a meeting with the head referee.

15:57

NoA are up 5-1 defending de_inferno. This brings the total score to 11-10 for the Chinese.

15:58

Another discussion between the two team captains from eSTRO and MYM. This is turning into the O.J. Simpson trail of gaming.

15:59

Roccat seems to have their match under control, as they are attacking A-Gaming's defense. The Fins are comfortably in the lead looking to take the match.

16:01

The Koreans and the Norwegians are not liking each other right now.

On the bright side of things, there hasn't been a system crash in what seems like an eternity (or roughly 40 minutes).

16:03

NoA shuts down a partial buy as "ave" and "Sunde" win a two on one to get 13 rounds.

16:07

A-Gaming has found 14 rounds somewhere, the tables turn quickly and Roccat are ripe for the picking after dropping the 15th round as well.

16:09

NoA are up 14 to 13, but wNv ties it up again.

16:10

The world is completely mad!

A-Gaming beat Roccat in 3 maps. Still, their victory is stained by a Roccat complaint at the infamous duck-jump exploit.

16:15

The Danish camp explodes as they finally put the final nail in the Chinese coffin. NoA beats wNv 16-14 on the third and final map.

16:16

About the only thing in Seattle that is uncontested right now, as pandemonium follows the last two matches, is the strain on Gotfrag employees!

16:36

It looks as if there's a decision on the MYM-eSTRO soap opera. The teams have the choice of contesting each other and if their complaints are not sustained they will be eliminated. The other choice is to play a third map.

At this point, it's unclear what anyone will do as tempers are flaring. Meanwhile Roccat are building their case against A-Gaming based on what they feel was a rule violation by the WCG.

When the steam connection was lost at the end of a round that Roccat won, it was discarded. According to "lurrpis'" interpretation of the rules, this is wrong as three players need to drop for a round to be discarded. In this case only two did. The match ended with a 16-14 victory for A-Gaming and had the round not been discarded it would be 15-15.

Again, it's going to be some time before any final decision is made. This is it for our live blog from the tournament area, be sure to look for additional features on all the controversies a little bit later.