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This week in Wuhan, China, the World Series of Video Games will be hosting its first event of 2007. It will also be the first time that World of Warcraft will see competitive LAN play on an international level.  Team Pandemic - The Newcomers The first WSVG event in Wuhan consists of 61 Chinese teams, two North American, and one European team. Team Pandemic from North America, the most widely known team attending Wuhan for WoW, is eager for the tournament. The team flew to Los Angeles International Airport before heading off to China to meet with manager Mark Dolven late last week. While in California, they played at the Phatloots LAN center. With manager Dolven over their shoulders the team played a couple games for the first time in an actual LAN environment. It is something the team will have to get used to very quickly. LAN events in China have a reputation for being very loud and exciting. The teams are always cheering and trying to psyche their opponents out before the match even begins. Pandemic has shown they are one of the best teams in North America, holding the top spot in Blizzard's 5v5 ladder and preforming very well in the regional qualifiers going on currently. But will they be able to perform under the pressure of a LAN event? Team Pandemic Roster  Jared "Vhell" Coulston (COACH) Joseph "Noktyn" Romano Greg "Ecilam" Risselda Nathan "Kintt" QuinnFnatic.WoW - The Veterans Fnatic, the only European team at the event for WoW, sends three veterans of eSports. The well known Quake 4 players Jay “2GD” Harding and Alex “Ztrider” Ingarv will be in attendance as well as the Painkiller legend Sander “Vo0” Kaasjager. Between these three players they share 22 top 3 finishes in tournament play, a staggering accomplishment and a true testament to the LAN experience they possess. These three veterans of eSports will be making up Fnatic.WoW. One thing these three have over other teams such as Pandemic is experience. They have been all around the world playing their respective games in intense LAN environments. Being used to the pressure and showing they can handle it quite well will be a great advantage. However, they have not preformed as well as Pandemic has online. They are currently sitting at 66th place on their battlegroup for 3v3, not very high for a team looking to compete professionally. Will these three be able to play at the skill required to be the best? Fnatic.WoW Roster  Jay “2GD” Harding Alex “Ztrider” Ingarv Sander “Vo0” KaasjagerMoB Turtle Power - Console turned PC MoB Gaming is a relatively unknown name amongst the competitive PC world. However, they made their name at Major League Gaming events. Now they have taken their first step into the PC world. With their new sponsors, Turtle Beach, they have set up a 3v3 World of Warcraft team to compete in the WSVG 2007 tour. The team has only been practicing for two weeks together. With teams such as Pandemic having players practicing together since the start of WoW, it will indeed be a challenge to overcome. Regardless, in the past the team has preformed well at MLG and past WSVG events, but only in the console arena. Now in the PC world, will their experience and skill transfer over? MoB Turtle Power Roster Jesse "Killercrank" Cranker Zack "Malthrinn" Jeyakaran Louis "Thoranous" ShefnerThe Chinese - Hometown Heroes The Chinese are known for being super engrossed into the World of Warcraft. They are so engrossed that the Chinese government implemented a law stating that you can only play the game for three consecutive hours. After five hours, players will have their abilities of their in-game character severely limited. Players will then be forced to take a five-hour break before they can return to a game. Also, World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade just recently was released in China. With such strict laws implemented, as well as the limited time playing with the expansion pack, will the Chinese teams be below the skill curve for the tournament? Prizes for WSVG Wuhan 1st $9,000 * 2nd $4,500 * 3rd $3,000 * 4th $2,400 * 5th $500 6th $500 7th $300 8th $300 * Also receive $3,000 Travel Stipend These three teams, as well as 61 other Chinese teams will be grinding their way through tournament group play and brackets this week for a chance at the $9,000 first place prize and a travel stipend. Below you can find the complete prize list. GotFrag's very own editor-in-chief Mark "jESUIT" Cheben and Warcraft 3 department head Jaclyn "JacziE" Lo are on-site this week and will be providing up to date scores and features from the event itself. Stay tuned for updates in the following days! |
Tuesday November 24 2009 | |||||
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User Comments
Really sucks for the Chinese btw. Looking to see good things from Pandemic, interesting this from Fnatic, and "where did they come from?" from MoB. Also, who is casting/streaming this all? I sorta do want to watch coverage.
So he's semi out of retirement then? Cool. Wish he'd go to Q4 even though I know he won't. VoO always had the best PoVs
They're ALL newcomers. This is the first WoW Arena tournament of this size and kind... New gear, new rules. etc. etc.
Just because they are in fnatic or pandemic doesn't mean they're automatically favored to win. I expect team no-name to win..
Noktyn - warrior
Ecilam - mage
Kintt - priest
For turtle power: Killercrank - warrior
Thoranous - mage
Their 3v3 team is only rated in the 1800s on the ladder with these two and a priest that I'm not sure whether he is Malthrinn or not. That's not a very strong ladder rating, not even top 1,000 US.
I don't know anything about fnatic's team comp.
"The Chinese are known for being super engrossed into the World of Warcraft. They are so engrossed that the Chinese government implemented a law stating that you can only play the game for three consecutive hours. After five hours, players will have their abilities of their in-game character severely limited. Players will then be forced to take a five-hour break before they can return to a game."
http://www.gotfrag.com/wow/story/37436/
So wrong. No one will watch it. Its like golf, its very fun to play but on television most people find it boring.
I dont see the point in a game that has alot of luck to it, may as well toss a coin to decide winners. You could dominate, play the best, etc. but lose because you were unfortunate enough to get resisted etc. loads of times. Wheres the fun in that?
Im not saying that skill isnt a factor to the gameplay, just that sometimes luck can overpower skill which imo should never happen in a true competitve game.
And when the wind knocks away a seemingly chip-in field goal kick to just shy of the right post to win the game? What's that then, the kickers fault for not compensating the shot mid-air? Luck is an ever-present and important factor in all competitive games/sports. The better team is the one that doesn't put themselves in a position to get beat by luck.
There will always be a lucky seemingly random out-of-nowhere headshot. But one of the first things I learned while competitively playing CS was to avoid putting myself in the open, or in a place where that could happen as much as possible.
Even with the factor of wind, theres probably 25 TIMES more luck involved with WoW. The entire game is based on luck. All RPGs are and always will be. Guild Wars is probably the closest to balanced and less luck because of the small numbers involved. In WoW, however, the difference between a hit and a crit is such a significant value, not to mention between a crit and a resist. 4k compared to 0.
WoW is almost entirely based on luck. I play it, but i don't support it as a competitive sport. Sure it takes some skill to push the right buttons but thats all. It's a competitive game for people who don't have what it takes to hack it in the FPS and RTS world.
GF looking for any help on the WoW side?
Hope there is a good way to follow the matches as well.
its not about the cards my friend! its about the face -_-
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