[ 07072008 9.32pm thailand ]
first, let me apologise for the weird writing. my head doesnt seem to be working properly. the english is freaking weird and awkward to read. but i want to get the thoughts out quickly in case i forget them...
the drama begins.
after an entire work day, through which i was restless with anticipation, i set off in the pouring rain with my normal work bag, and a paperbag of stuff and headed to the airport, meeting ice who was wearing his shirt inside out on the way. dawn was jumping up and down too, because they were late in going out, and they were going to deposit the car at her place before going to the airport.
i made a discovery, airasia is at terminal 1, not the budget terminal. =D
ice and i check in first, and await their arrival.
apparently, cai, anna, ymt and ppx are bundled into one cab at 615, while dawn, xiaoma and xiaogui (the ony 3 of the entire bunch mentioned who can speak decent ENGLISH) are driven there by Bryan. upon reaching, no one can find anyone else, because all the hp lines are messed up. rofl.
so, anyway, they check in, and discover TO EVERYONE's HORROR, that YAMATEH'S PASSPORT HAS ONLY 5 MONTHS BEFORE IT EXPIRES. ie, he CANNOT FLY UNTIL HE RENEWS IT!
after much discussion and stress, he decides to renew it in the morning and catch another flight. so he goes back with Anna (thank goodness she came along with cai). IN THE MEANTIME, we were on the verge of missing the plane altogether because of the lengthy debate on "WHAT TO DO!!!". when we finally cleared customs, we discovered that OUR GATE WAS AT THE FURTHEST AWAY POINT OF THE ENTIRE TERMINAL. if you dont believe me, go check it out the next time you fly from terminal 1. D48. and man, it WAS FAR.
PWNED!
dawn and i run to the gate as the entourage of boys stroll slowly along behind us. and we all get mass yelled at by the staff for being the LAST TO BOARD THE PLANE. and yes, they REALLY scold you.
so after getting our large bottles and liquids thrown away, we board the plane to mass glares from the already seated passengers.
fyi, we entered the gate at 2026. 4 minutes before it was to close.
-
the ensuing flight was relatively painless, just that i had to fill in a bunch of immigration cards. upon reaching the airport, we managed to lose our way in the terminal before finally meeting up with Dome and other event staff.
we bundle into the van and check in to the hotel without incident. thankfully.
supper was at a noodle joint down the road, apparently its famous and was on some TV program. what i had was excellent, lots of veggie, flavourful soup, and the rice noodles were cooked perfectly.
we then went to visit a nearby lanshop and got some pictures taken for a local gaming magazine. i think its gsquare? i'm not sure. but i was promised some copies.
day 2
dawn and i wake up decently early, but we are overall LATE because of the boys who are impossible to awaken, and they share one bathroom. haha... 5 of them. we spend a large part of the day in the vip room at siam paragon 5th floor waiting, and doing interviews. we do manage to have lunch at MK restaurant though, while dawn goes off with Dome to wait for ymt at the airport.
so, fyi, Razer.Kingsurf will be on air on the 22nd April, channel 60 Truevision. the program name is "DOTA Mania" and it airs every Tuesday from 830pm-9pm.
i'll get the video of their interview up soon. its so strange to see them sitting there, looking so serious when usually they are koking around laughing at each other. it will be uploaded on the internet after the program airs on the 22nd april. i'll post the link once its up. ^^
there was also these bunch of chio basketballers in the vip room with us. they were fooling around with basketballs and getting their make up done. they were REALLY REALLY polite, like, when they walk by me, they greeted me, even though i was like stoning on the chair and we weren't introduced or anything. later on, i discovered that they were celebrities of some sort, for a basketball game called Free Style.
http://www.playpark.com/playgame/pgame_news_view.aspx?ContentID=36286
and while looking for a photo of those free style guys, i came across more coverage of the Ks guys here-
http://www.playpark.com/playgame/pgame_news_view.aspx?ContentID=36297
Let's now move on the their first match, which was a stage match. they were pitted against Trust, one of the top teams in Thailand. there were MASS problems with the setting up, keyboards and monitors, the match dragged for a good 3 hours before finally commencing at 6pm.
Top 32 Razer.Kingsurf vs Trust (thailand)
bans : ks- na, potm, lina // trust - bb qop puck
picks : ks - lina(ppx), ts(xiaoma), skele(xiaogui), sandk(ice aka cai), luna(iceiceice)
trust- treant(i think!), wl, antimage, zeus, ck
[there were initially 128 teams, if i'm not wrong, which played against each other prior to the event, and the top 32 teams made it to the event at siam paragon, which is called ESTC 2008 (E-Sports Thailand Championship), which was held in the Bangkok Interactive Game festival. Zenith, XcN and Razer.Kingsurf were seeded into the top 32, in brackets such that they wouldnt meet each other til top 4.]
dinner following the game was in chinatown "yaorawat", near nam sing. seafood! which was fresh and sooo cheap. on the way back, ymt and xiaoma, who took a tuk tuk, got lost for the good part of the night, ended up in another hotel (mandarin hotel, for the record, called up our hotel recep telling them that 2 of their guests were lost HAHA) and stumbled into the room while we were playing cards. (20SGD cards ok! wtf...)
i had chivas+coke and was pretty hyper. so the night felt good. waited for XcN to arrive, said hi to them, then went back to the 15th floor with dawn to our hot room to sleep.
day 3
Dome met us again in the hotel and escorted us to our 3rd day at ESTC where they vs HoW, ranked top 4 team in thailand which they won pretty easily. the day started slowly, and we spent a large amount of time in the VIP room relaxing and sleeping before the game.
bans : ks- na spec potm // HoW- lina bb qop
picks : Ks- beastmaster(ppx), ts(xiaoma), sf(teh), mag(iceiceice), thd(cai)
HoW- puck, wl, skele, viper, treant.
we took a train to MBK, (mabookong?) and spent our evening there. dinner was some eeky local fast food place (bad choice by teh) and i got two imitation bell and ross watches for my colleagues.
what happens next PISSED ME OFF!!!
i took a cab with xiaogui, xiaoma, and teh, and WE GOT LOST FOR ABOUT 2 HOURS. halfway through, the cab driver got off to ask for directions, and teh went to get some street food and got scared by a bunch of fighting dogs. lame. and xiaogui's contact lens dropped off. the journey was so long that we were tired out from singing long before we even caught sight of the hotel.
back at the hotel, dawn went down to sleep, and discovered that the telephone wire was plucked out when she tried to call room service. she freaked out and came back up to join us in our card games and chivas. ppx got pwned (like the previous 2 nights) and had to mass drink til he puked. haha...
the finale. ie. yesterday.
bans : ks-na mag sf // trust- bm sandk bb
picks : ks- potm(teh), lina skele(cai) tms tb(iceiceice) >> starting to forget who was what
trust- qop puck razor luna es
***
am too tired to continue... i shall finish this tomorrow. haha...
first, let me apologise for the weird writing. my head doesnt seem to be working properly. the english is freaking weird and awkward to read. but i want to get the thoughts out quickly in case i forget them...
the drama begins.
after an entire work day, through which i was restless with anticipation, i set off in the pouring rain with my normal work bag, and a paperbag of stuff and headed to the airport, meeting ice who was wearing his shirt inside out on the way. dawn was jumping up and down too, because they were late in going out, and they were going to deposit the car at her place before going to the airport.
i made a discovery, airasia is at terminal 1, not the budget terminal. =D
ice and i check in first, and await their arrival.
apparently, cai, anna, ymt and ppx are bundled into one cab at 615, while dawn, xiaoma and xiaogui (the ony 3 of the entire bunch mentioned who can speak decent ENGLISH) are driven there by Bryan. upon reaching, no one can find anyone else, because all the hp lines are messed up. rofl.
so, anyway, they check in, and discover TO EVERYONE's HORROR, that YAMATEH'S PASSPORT HAS ONLY 5 MONTHS BEFORE IT EXPIRES. ie, he CANNOT FLY UNTIL HE RENEWS IT!
after much discussion and stress, he decides to renew it in the morning and catch another flight. so he goes back with Anna (thank goodness she came along with cai). IN THE MEANTIME, we were on the verge of missing the plane altogether because of the lengthy debate on "WHAT TO DO!!!". when we finally cleared customs, we discovered that OUR GATE WAS AT THE FURTHEST AWAY POINT OF THE ENTIRE TERMINAL. if you dont believe me, go check it out the next time you fly from terminal 1. D48. and man, it WAS FAR.
PWNED!
dawn and i run to the gate as the entourage of boys stroll slowly along behind us. and we all get mass yelled at by the staff for being the LAST TO BOARD THE PLANE. and yes, they REALLY scold you.
so after getting our large bottles and liquids thrown away, we board the plane to mass glares from the already seated passengers.
fyi, we entered the gate at 2026. 4 minutes before it was to close.
-
the ensuing flight was relatively painless, just that i had to fill in a bunch of immigration cards. upon reaching the airport, we managed to lose our way in the terminal before finally meeting up with Dome and other event staff.
we bundle into the van and check in to the hotel without incident. thankfully.
supper was at a noodle joint down the road, apparently its famous and was on some TV program. what i had was excellent, lots of veggie, flavourful soup, and the rice noodles were cooked perfectly.
we then went to visit a nearby lanshop and got some pictures taken for a local gaming magazine. i think its gsquare? i'm not sure. but i was promised some copies.
day 2
dawn and i wake up decently early, but we are overall LATE because of the boys who are impossible to awaken, and they share one bathroom. haha... 5 of them. we spend a large part of the day in the vip room at siam paragon 5th floor waiting, and doing interviews. we do manage to have lunch at MK restaurant though, while dawn goes off with Dome to wait for ymt at the airport.
so, fyi, Razer.Kingsurf will be on air on the 22nd April, channel 60 Truevision. the program name is "DOTA Mania" and it airs every Tuesday from 830pm-9pm.
i'll get the video of their interview up soon. its so strange to see them sitting there, looking so serious when usually they are koking around laughing at each other. it will be uploaded on the internet after the program airs on the 22nd april. i'll post the link once its up. ^^
there was also these bunch of chio basketballers in the vip room with us. they were fooling around with basketballs and getting their make up done. they were REALLY REALLY polite, like, when they walk by me, they greeted me, even though i was like stoning on the chair and we weren't introduced or anything. later on, i discovered that they were celebrities of some sort, for a basketball game called Free Style.
http://www.playpark.com/playgame/pgame_news_view.aspx?ContentID=36286
and while looking for a photo of those free style guys, i came across more coverage of the Ks guys here-
http://www.playpark.com/playgame/pgame_news_view.aspx?ContentID=36297
Let's now move on the their first match, which was a stage match. they were pitted against Trust, one of the top teams in Thailand. there were MASS problems with the setting up, keyboards and monitors, the match dragged for a good 3 hours before finally commencing at 6pm.
Top 32 Razer.Kingsurf vs Trust (thailand)
bans : ks- na, potm, lina // trust - bb qop puck
picks : ks - lina(ppx), ts(xiaoma), skele(xiaogui), sandk(ice aka cai), luna(iceiceice)
trust- treant(i think!), wl, antimage, zeus, ck
[there were initially 128 teams, if i'm not wrong, which played against each other prior to the event, and the top 32 teams made it to the event at siam paragon, which is called ESTC 2008 (E-Sports Thailand Championship), which was held in the Bangkok Interactive Game festival. Zenith, XcN and Razer.Kingsurf were seeded into the top 32, in brackets such that they wouldnt meet each other til top 4.]
dinner following the game was in chinatown "yaorawat", near nam sing. seafood! which was fresh and sooo cheap. on the way back, ymt and xiaoma, who took a tuk tuk, got lost for the good part of the night, ended up in another hotel (mandarin hotel, for the record, called up our hotel recep telling them that 2 of their guests were lost HAHA) and stumbled into the room while we were playing cards. (20SGD cards ok! wtf...)
i had chivas+coke and was pretty hyper. so the night felt good. waited for XcN to arrive, said hi to them, then went back to the 15th floor with dawn to our hot room to sleep.
day 3
Dome met us again in the hotel and escorted us to our 3rd day at ESTC where they vs HoW, ranked top 4 team in thailand which they won pretty easily. the day started slowly, and we spent a large amount of time in the VIP room relaxing and sleeping before the game.
bans : ks- na spec potm // HoW- lina bb qop
picks : Ks- beastmaster(ppx), ts(xiaoma), sf(teh), mag(iceiceice), thd(cai)
HoW- puck, wl, skele, viper, treant.
we took a train to MBK, (mabookong?) and spent our evening there. dinner was some eeky local fast food place (bad choice by teh) and i got two imitation bell and ross watches for my colleagues.
what happens next PISSED ME OFF!!!
i took a cab with xiaogui, xiaoma, and teh, and WE GOT LOST FOR ABOUT 2 HOURS. halfway through, the cab driver got off to ask for directions, and teh went to get some street food and got scared by a bunch of fighting dogs. lame. and xiaogui's contact lens dropped off. the journey was so long that we were tired out from singing long before we even caught sight of the hotel.
back at the hotel, dawn went down to sleep, and discovered that the telephone wire was plucked out when she tried to call room service. she freaked out and came back up to join us in our card games and chivas. ppx got pwned (like the previous 2 nights) and had to mass drink til he puked. haha...
the finale. ie. yesterday.
despite having drunk alot the night before ppx was up early and assisted in getting all the slugs out of bed. dawn's a really good alarm clock btw. she simply hops out of bed and gets everyone going in the morning. im so not a morning person... zz.
we meet Dome again, the last of the 3 teams (xcn, zenith, ks) to assemble in full force in the lobby and drama ensues when cai's psp cannot be found. dawn and i run up, search the room and return with it to find that most have left for siam paragon already. we scuttle there as fast as we can, register and start the games early. there are 3 rounds in total, should they win all.
Underminer creates a live update thread on lowyat http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/667582 and then its up to me to update him as best as i can as the day goes by. good thing for my black berry, which can go online... or i'd have an enormous phonebill cos he was threatening to call me up often.
Top 8 match - Ks vs SIM.XL
bans : ks-na skele treant // sim- bb sf mag
picks : ks - qop(teh), lina(ppx), thd(cai), rk(xiaoma), panda(iceiceice)
bans : ks-na mag sf // trust- bm sandk bb
picks : ks- potm(teh), lina skele(cai) tms tb(iceiceice) >> starting to forget who was what
trust- qop puck razor luna es
***
am too tired to continue... i shall finish this tomorrow. haha...
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