Computer cafe Playground is one of the last asylums for Starcraft: Brood War in Russia and, for that matter, the whole world. Lead by firm hands of Odd_Ulvar[S2], Playground is holding monthly StarCraft: Brood War tournaments, with a small prize pool generated from the entrance fees.
April's tournament gathered crème de la crème of Russian StarCraft: Brood War community. Among the attendees such bright names as three times Russian WCG Representative
mYm.Advokate[S2], two times Ukranian WCG Representative 
mYm.Yan[S2], 4th place WCG Russia 2005 and the winner of the March tournament 3D.Escape were to be seen.This tournament brought us quite a few surprises, with two of the favorites
mYm.Yan[S2] and 3D.Escape getting knocked out early on, a rising russian star fake.MaMoN ending up 2nd after very close games with Advokate, and an oldschool Russian legend, R^MCA(mostly known for placing 6th in the first TLTour) coming out of his hideout. And the biggest surprise of all is without a doubt the fact of four Zergs in top 6. When was the last time that happened?Loser Bracket Semi-Final Notforu[S2] 2-0 Potrax[S2] R^MCA 2-1 3D.teCh
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Final Standings
| 1st. mYm.Advokate[S2] ~55 USD (1500 RUR)2nd. fake.MaMoN ~26 USD (700 RUR)3rd. R^MCA-~15 USD (400 RUR)4th. NotForU[S2]5/6th. Potrax[S2]5/6th. 3D.Tech |
I could not miss this opportunity and got ahold of a couple of players and asked them a few questions about the tournament.
Unfortunately at the moment there are no replays available, but I hope it will be changed soon, because according to eyewitness reports the games were really exciting.fake.MaMoN
Did you expect yourself to do that good in this tournament?
- Yes, I did. I knew that my ZvT and ZvZ are in no way weaker then NotForU's or Lammerman's, and the only people from Moscow who posed a threat for me were A2, Escape and Ex.
In the last season of PGT you have played over a thousand games. Do you plan to continue this craze, or now, that you have achieved success maybe you will allow yourself to relax a bit?
- I think I will play a little less then before, and mainly try to improve my ZvT, so that I have a shot at WCG.Ru this year. For a zerg player it’s most important to know ZvT and ZvZ. ZvP is rather easy, and besides there are very few good protoses in Europe, and even in Korea.
What are your plans for WCG?
- None yet, I will train hard, and we’ll see how I do.
Can you tell us about the games with A2?
- In the games against A2 I was making a lot of mistakes and lost despite having an advantage in almost every game. I think I was a bit nervous.
How did you like the tourney itself?
- I think everything went well.
Potrax[S2]
Are you happy with your performance?
- I think I did pretty well. Lost to my teammates, NotForU 0-2, and Advokate 1-2, which is not bad at all. I’m very happy that I managed to defeat top 4 WCG.Ru 2005(3D.Escape) 2:0. Overall everything went according to plan.
What do you think about MaMoN’s surprising 2nd place finish?
- MaMoN displayed exceptional knowledge in ZvZ, and his victory over 3D.Tech was also very impressive.
Does the zerg domination in this tournament surprise you?
- No it did not surprise me. Finally, a tournament with well balanced maps, where equal in skill players have equal chance of winning.
Do you think zergs will stand a chance at WCG.Ru 2006?
- I think they will have 30% chance to get one of the three spots.
What are you plans for WCG?
- I spend most of my time on studing and work, so I can afford to train only 1-2 days a week for 4-5 hours.
mYm.yAn[S2]
I enjoyed only games vs Lammerman(R^MCA). They were fun and reminded me of battling it out with him in different tournaments two years ago.
R^MCA
I stopped playing seriously after WCG 2005, and since the beginning of 2006 I didn't play more then a hundred games.
Links
Playground.ru - Home of Playground Internet Café
