Budha Profile Joined October 2010 Canada 60 Posts Last Edited: 2011-11-22 01:30:13 #1



Hello Fellow TLers!



NOTICE: {Personal opinion and speculation in the following article will be enclosed within curly brackets}. The rest is fact (or at least nothing far fetched)



I had the joy, as many people, to attend MLG Providence this weekend, and WHAT AN EVENT!

The number of professional players and the quality of play was simply mind-boggling! The event was generally very smooth, on time, great coverage, everything you could hope for in an event of this caliber!



That being said, there was one slight hiccup in the tournament: Naniwa vs Nestea.

So lets set the scene:

- Naniwa had shown everyone at providence that he is a huge powerhouse and favortie to win the tournament. His play was exceptionnal, and he seemed to be unstoppable.

- He had started to get a bit of a "Bad Boy" reputation with comments like "I thought Nestea was a genius, but apparently he is an idiot." and thumbing down opponents. The crowd loved his slight cockiness and confidence! We wanted MORE! :D

- The final game of the best of 3 series was about to start, what an EPIC match this was going to be!



This is when it happened. The only technical difficulty of the tournament (I think, I wasn't watching the streams). A pause was requested. Then another one. Then the game almost un-paused with an admin in Naniwa's booth. Finaly, the game was restarted, and it was the wrong version of Shakuras Plateau: Naniwa was told it was cross-spawns only. He then paused the game to let the admins know, and while the game was paused, it happened. The comment that triggered the rest:



"Joke Tournament" from Naniwa. (



Now, this was not streamed, it was only on the first person view that was shown during the live event.



{ I personally think that this was completely out of place by Naniwa. Trash-talking the tournament that is about to offer you 50 000$ for winning it is just a bad idea. More on this later. }



The crowd was taken aback, not immediately reacting. But their thoughts were clear when Naniwa won the match and came crashing on to the scene with his hands up in the air. The crowd actually "BOO!!!"ed Naniwa.



{ For anyone who was there, there is no denying it. The crowd booed. Here is a post explaining that the booing wasn't aimed at Naniwa:



The rest of the tournament went on relatively uneventfully (beside some EPIC games of course), but Naniwa had clearly lost the heart of the crowd. Every following game he played, his opponent was a clear crowd favorite. The roars for his opponents were deafening.



{ This was great for Leenock Despite polite applause for Naniwa, the roaring crowd was just overwhelmingly in favor of Leenock! }



That night happened something that not many people witnessed. After the matches of the night were over, Naniwa was spotted in a nearby bar, having a heated discussion with the tournament director. ( Source: Myself, along with about 5-8 other witnesses). There is little doubt that the topic of the discussion was Naniwas comment on the tournament.



{



Did Naniwa really stepped out of line with that comment? The tournament altogether was exceptionably well organised and completely lag-free. I find that that single match was the only hiccup in an otherwise flawless tournament.

Additionally, trash talking the tournament who is offering such a large prize pool, good coverage and unheard of competition is just a bad idea (in my opinion anyways). I really think he should have had at least a slight punishment for this. We just can't let this slide off so easily can we?



Many people have actually already speculated on Naniwa cheating during that match.

Cheating?

I don't believe he tried to cheat. From my point of view, Naniwa just over did his showmanship. Over-confident, slightly stubborn, and very spontaneous.

So, I don't think his plan was malicious in any way, but his lack of self-control could have cost him. He was fortunate enough to get away with a slap on the wrist.



Naniwa got away with barely a scratch from his comment. It was certainly a misplaced comment that brought bad publicity to the tournament. How was he allowed to continue without any consequenses? A first-game loss? A next-tournament ban? A publicly announced warning? A "red card"? It's onw thing to trash talk other players (I actually enjoy it :D ) But I feel there should be some rules about publicly criticising the tournament. Maybe MLG should include a rule of the sort in their next season?

}



Besides the harsh actions of Naniwa and the complete reversal of the crowd, Naniwa has undoubtedly played some AMAZING Starcraft. He has also granted a post-game interview trying to clear his name and actions:

Interview

There is a lot of dispute on Naniwas subject.



{ He looks like a very nice guy. He was very nice with the crowd throughout the event, and I think he has just over-done his showmanship, really crossing the line this one time. I think he needs maybe a bit more experience and is prone to collapse to his emotions, but I think his intentions are in the right place Plus, he's an amazing SC2 player! }



Open up the debates on Naniwa! Edit: I guess there are already too many of these. So stop commenting, and close it. Sorry.Hello Fellow TLers!NOTICE: {Personal opinion and speculation in the following article will be enclosed within curly brackets}. The rest is fact (or at least nothing far fetched)I had the joy, as many people, to attend MLG Providence this weekend, and WHAT AN EVENT!The number of professional players and the quality of play was simply mind-boggling! The event was generally very smooth, on time, great coverage, everything you could hope for in an event of this caliber!That being said, there was one slight hiccup in the tournament: Naniwa vs Nestea.So lets set the scene:- Naniwa had shown everyone at providence that he is a huge powerhouse and favortie to win the tournament. His play was exceptionnal, and he seemed to be unstoppable.- He had started to get a bit of a "Bad Boy" reputation with comments like "I thought Nestea was a genius, but apparently he is an idiot." and thumbing down opponents. The crowd loved his slight cockiness and confidence! We wanted MORE! :D- The final game of the best of 3 series was about to start, what an EPIC match this was going to be!This is when it happened. The only technical difficulty of the tournament (I think, I wasn't watching the streams). A pause was requested. Then another one. Then the game almost un-paused with an admin in Naniwa's booth. Finaly, the game was restarted, and it was the wrong version of Shakuras Plateau: Naniwa was told it was cross-spawns only. He then paused the game to let the admins know, and while the game was paused, it happened. The comment that triggered the rest:"Joke Tournament" from Naniwa. ( Screenshot Now, this was not streamed, it was only on the first person view that was shown during the live event.{ I personally think that this was completely out of place by Naniwa. Trash-talking the tournament that is about to offer you 50 000$ for winning it is just a bad idea. More on this later. }The crowd was taken aback, not immediately reacting. But their thoughts were clear when Naniwa won the match and came crashing on to the scene with his hands up in the air. The crowd actually "BOO!!!"ed Naniwa.{ For anyone who was there, there is no denying it. The crowd booed. Here is a post explaining that the booing wasn't aimed at Naniwa: Not Booing The rest of the tournament went on relatively uneventfully (beside some EPIC games of course), but Naniwa had clearly lost the heart of the crowd. Every following game he played, his opponent was a clear crowd favorite. The roars for his opponents were deafening.{ This was great for Leenock Despite polite applause for Naniwa, the roaring crowd was just overwhelmingly in favor of Leenock! }That night happened something that not many people witnessed. After the matches of the night were over, Naniwa was spotted in a nearby bar, having a heated discussion with the tournament director. ( Source: Myself, along with about 5-8 other witnesses). There is little doubt that the topic of the discussion was Naniwas comment on the tournament.Did Naniwa really stepped out of line with that comment? The tournament altogether was exceptionably well organised and completely lag-free. I find that that single match was the only hiccup in an otherwise flawless tournament.Additionally, trash talking the tournament who is offering such a large prize pool, good coverage and unheard of competition is just a bad idea (in my opinion anyways). I really think he should have had at least a slight punishment for this. We just can't let this slide off so easily can we?Many people have actually already speculated on Naniwa cheating during that match.I don't believe he tried to cheat. From my point of view, Naniwa just over did his showmanship. Over-confident, slightly stubborn, and very spontaneous.So, I don't think his plan was malicious in any way, but his lack of self-control could have cost him. He was fortunate enough to get away with a slap on the wrist.Naniwa got away with barely a scratch from his comment. It was certainly a misplaced comment that brought bad publicity to the tournament. How was he allowed to continue without any consequenses? A first-game loss? A next-tournament ban? A publicly announced warning? A "red card"? It's onw thing to trash talk other players (I actually enjoy it :D ) But I feel there should be some rules about publicly criticising the tournament. Maybe MLG should include a rule of the sort in their next season?Besides the harsh actions of Naniwa and the complete reversal of the crowd, Naniwa has undoubtedly played some AMAZING Starcraft. He has also granted a post-game interview trying to clear his name and actions:There is a lot of dispute on Naniwas subject.{ He looks like a very nice guy. He was very nice with the crowd throughout the event, and I think he has just over-done his showmanship, really crossing the line this one time. I think he needs maybe a bit more experience and is prone to collapse to his emotions, but I think his intentions are in the right placePlus, he's an amazing SC2 player! }Open up the debates on Naniwa! If it's worth killing, it's worth overkilling.