World Union vs RUSSIA Sunday, Aug 28 6:00pm GMT (GMT+00:00)
Introduction
This is the match which will decide the final pair of teams for the last battle. World Union made its way into the playoffs while suffering from inactivity and lack of players. They managed to win not an easy battle against Germany with 3:2 and got seeded into the semifinals. So far success, but now comes the real challenge.
Russia is one of the grand teams with very successful season and are one of the favorites for the 1st place. However the team has shown weakness against Poland in the quarterfinals. Could it be just a momentary occurrence because they felt sure about their grand final spot regardless of the result in the quarterfinals? Whatever the reason, that definitely bring the hopes high for World Union and once again they have to strike for the elimination of yet another team, while Russia have to prepare for real war this time.
Schedule
Semifinals: World Union vs Russia — Sunday 28.08.2016, 19:00 CEST
- winner advances to Finals, loser gets 3rd place.
Casts will begin one hour after the tournament start - 20:00 CEST
Format The core format remains untouched for playoffs, however there’s a tweak or two. In order to keep the schedule intact and provide a better viewing experience, there will be no wildcards, thus NO POSTPONED matches for the playoffs. That means, if a team fails to provide enough players, it will be penalized with a tech loss for unplayed matches. For the playoffs the rules are a bit restricted: starting maps cannot be changed in agreement and categorically no double maps for the same match (you must change maps at every game).
cats_paw, you just keep criticizing players' play for no good reason it's almost impossible to enjoy watching a cast of yours. remember that players don't have vision like observers/casters, and that people who watch the game don't necessarily want to be thinking non stop about whatever else the players could have done differently according to you. I feel like you're doing this in order to pose as the smart guy who knows better tbh you keep dragging casts in fictitious directions and detract the attention from the action and focus on the mistakes, real or not. The tone of your voice is constantly like "oh this isn't good enough this should be better like this and that and this come on" which is not what we're watching. T_T its really irritating to me, so many times I don't watch can't enjoy
I think cats_paw is one of the better casters in a long time. He is very analytical and that is helpful to the viewers in understanding why the players are doing what they are doing as opposed to just describing what they are doing.
No one person is perfect. Sayle is not perfect. Bisudagger is not perfect. Hacklebeast was not perfect. And breaking news: Cats_paw ain't either. Everyone has something they can work on to become better, but at the end of the day for that to happen they need to be given support and your post Prometheus doesn't have much of that. Accusing Cat_paw of "posing as the smart guy" is just disrespectful to be honest with you (and in all honestly just plain ridiculous). I think you should rephrase your criticism and issue it in a supporting way. I am not saying that he cant handle criticism (who am i to speak for him anyway), but what i am saying is that presenting any criticism should be done in an respectful manner. I am sure you are able to do that and that your post just got too influenced by a case of hot headedness. Happens to all of us my friend. Good luck!
thanks tanngard just my honest opinion I don't expect perfection in this case it just makes it really annoying because I'm actually really perceiving it this way, like he's making efforts constantly to appear like the smarter guy (almost non stop trying to create openings for criticism sometimes out of thin air), and I actually can't enjoy the casts so I don't watch the games. If you think about that the players don't have vision like the casters do, and he as a caster constantly criticize what players do sometimes even as if they could see what he can see, that almost defeats the point of casting a match. I mean it's actually detrimental to how you may value the players game and how you can enjoy the match itself, on top of that I feel like this may be done on purpose. Why do you think it's ridiculous, because you think it couldn't possibly be true that someone would do that ? What if it is true, should I be supportive? I don't think so. But if I'm wrong, and I could be, then maybe he can show that^^
Completely agree with ProMeTheus112. This caster constantly laughing about players mistakes etc. I just turn off the sound, listen to music. Never hear anything like this from any professional caster.
You guys care about the players feelings which is good by you and honest opinon can be important
Cats_paw is not a professional. He is just a guy that loves BW and he is putting himself out there with his personality and all. I think he is doing a good job! He is the most analytical and knowledgeable commentator right now imo
He is not a bully. That is not correct. But reading your posts can make it seem like he is. He seems like a nice and intelligent guy. He is not arrogant towards his co-casters etc. Maybe he can be nicer towards the players for their mistakes and see more the positive in what they are doing. I can agree. He is probably just not thinking about it and focusing on the game and not the people behind always.
I'm not saying you guys are wrong in in feeling irritated. All people have bad habits that can irritate, but most of them are not bad people remember? Give people credit for the positive they are doing and then after you have shown this respect you can make some suggestions for where they can improve. Have faith in them and they will want to improve I am sure you guys already know and and do this a lot of times, but it is easy to forget when we are infront of our keyboards, i know.
And Promotheus you have good point in what you say about the players are not able to observe like the caster and this is the kind of suggestions that cats_paw can work to improve on. And making him aware of that is what counts. Thank you.
I really like Catspaw's critique tbh, it usually echoes my thoughts. Also, no one can play BW flawlessly. Mistakes will be made, even Korean pros make them all the time, but generally at a lower magnitude. Foreign BW's charm lies within the mistakes if you ask me. You're supposed to laugh about it, enjoy it. It's not meant disrespectful.
Cats_paw is probably the best currently active caster with the most in-game knowledge. But I agree with ProMeTheus112, that he has the habit of pointing out how he would react to something and because the player doesn't do that, he more often than not classifies it as mistake or bad idea of the player. I think it would be better to more commentate in the players shoes, who can only react to something they scout (aside from the openings). What the players might want to achieve with their choices is probably more interesting than the occasional remark of bad macro. His style is good to watch and he can stay true to it. It only really irks me, when his analysis is just way too off (be it timing wise or strategic) and then he says player A makes a mistake, when in fact his decision making is correct and everything is as it should be. Then I can understand people being unhappy about that.