|
|||
Yoan "ToD" Merlo has been disqualified from the E-Stars tournament following a dispute with the administrators of the event in Seoul ![]() Details are sketchy at this point but people in the press area are being informed that ToD was unhappy with the mapsystem and that a misunderstanding arose that led to him being disqualified. "Describing it as a misunderstanding is a very light way of putting it," Merlo says. The player informs Gotfrag that he was invited to the tournament some time ago. During this conversation with the organizers Merlo explained that he did not wish to participate. "I told them no thank you. They came back to ask if I had any suggestions to changes that would entice me to compete." Apparantly E-Stars was asked to ensure airconditioned booths for the players as well as change the way the maps were selected. According to Merlo his requests was taken under consideration before they were finally granted and ToD traveled to Korea to play. "When we got to the venue the aircondition was not fixed, furthermore when I was ready to prepare for my match I discovered that the map selection process had indeed not been altered." Merlo says he opted to discuss these matters with the organizers on site. He is unhappy about how the situation was handled. "I'm not difficult or the only one that disagrees. There was an argument and a disagreement about which maps to use. I tried to enter into a compromise with them without any luck." The French superstar claims he was put before an ultimatum without being able to confer with his teammate Manuel "Grubby" Schenkhuizen. "They told me I had 1 minute to decide whether I wanted to play or not. I wanted to call Grubby to hear what he thought about the situation but couldn't. This is really disappointing to me. I came here to play." Upon not deciding to play within the sixty second time frame Merlo was disqualified from E-Stars Seoul 2007. At present time he is sitting in the tournament area pondering his next move. "I told them that I want to fly back home earlier now, but I'm not sure if they will grant that request after everything that has happened so far." Mr. Paul, who is involved with organizing the event thinks the entire situation is sad. "This is regretful for the tournament," he said. "The player complained about the regulation. It had already been changed to accommodate the requests of several of the players and he still complained about it. In addition the official regulations of this tournament were made available to all players some time ago." |






User Comments
But to be honest if they agreed to his demands then took back there word, says f'd up.
Damn!! It is very unfair for admins... They should've grant ToD's requests on map selection!
/interested to hear more
Do these tournament organizers realize that their dealing with mainly teenagers?
You are representing your sponsors, your affiliates, your team, but most importantly yourself. If your request's arent met, you don't whine, you act professional and you play because you are representing the name and your sponsors name.
It's unfortunate but ultimately you are a player and the admins are the admins.
Whilst there does seem to be a conflict of facts, ToD claiming one, whilst the organizers claiming the other... so I'm not sure who to believe.
I also agree how hot it can get, I have a computer running in a significantly larger room to the booth's and it gets pretty hot in here. Imagine that in a more limited room.
Besides that he's French, ToD always loves to whine at first best occasion.
Like 18 posted, a proplayer has to accept the odds like all the other players do, because he has to representate his sponsors and plays for the audience. Maybe ToD should make a Sponsorship-Deal with Whirlpool so he could get an airconditioned-suite ;-).
Imagine every player on the tour would request his own playing conditions, map choices etc. in every tourney played! Tournament-orgas will have to decide well if to invite ToD in the future! If he isn't able to play under asian conditions, then he schouldn't play there at all.
And why should the admins give him more time to negotiate, why talk to Grubby??? This is prosports not a union meeting. Grubby wasn't complaining officialy as far as I got it, nor any other player did.
Tod no doubt is a great player, but he is just behaving like a Diva with no respect for his fans and no commitment to his sponsors.
So, grow up ToD or go clubbing and quit WC3 :-)
P.S. sorry for bad english
And why shouldn't they grant him more time to negotiate? What harm can that cause? Oh no, I wasted an extra 30 seconds, my tournament is doomed!? It's not a union meeting, as you like to exaggerate, he wanted to consult Grubby because he was unsure of his mentality.
Well you mention ToD having no respect for his fans, what about the organizers respect for the players? Without them, there would be no tournament. This is of course, assuming ToD's story is correct.
Not trying to pay out on him, I seriously think he would be a good looker with a nose job.
He then flies however many miles to find that nothing has been changed and that he had just been tricked into attending the event, more or less. He could have said "I'll go" and then complain when he got there, he didn't. He was prepared to sit this one out and when they offered to change things around he gave them plenty opportunity to do so.
If it's true then I definitely think he has a right to complain, I guess we'll just have to wait and see whether or not it's true.
The only difference between ToD and the rest of them is that he says what they all say in public. He tells us what happens and it turns into a big spectacle where everyone has their own opinion and wants to make sure that opinion gets posted. The chances of problems at an event being repeated when ToD has facilitated such bad press is unlikely, he's doing himself and the rest of competitors a favor.
I know what I'm talking about :x
Submit Comments
Registered Users Only
In order to post comments, you must be a registered member. If you have not registered, it's free and easy!