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2015-07-08 00"16: Updated with Day 4!
HSC XI Day 1 - See below!
HSC XI Day 2
HSC XI Day 3
HSC XI Day 4
Excuse the poor formatting - I don't really now much bbcode, and since i can't seem to find any working WiFi i can't use a lot of bandwidth, which also explains the low res pics
HSC XI - Day 1
I simply wanted to make a little thread with my experiences going to HSC - As the tourney will be moving (and inevitably changing it's flavour) it seemed like a good idea to just say what this tournament is like as a 'live' spectator (i haven't seen any threads about previous HSC's from this perspective).
And, let me tell you, even on day 1 it's not really like anything else. And not just because it's damn hot (35 C, probably a little more, during most of the day before 7pm).
Arriving at the scene, it's pretty much just like getting to a barcraft:
The outside...
...and the inside of the pub.
It turns out that most people would stay outside today:
Yes, that's a giant TV in the middle there.
The stream pretty much goes along, but so far it's mostly a gathering of like minded people. While the important moments are applauded for, it mostly goes unnoticed - A backdrop to what is basically a bunch of StarCraft and HSC fans trying to have a good time.
Some cheering is going on when a certain community member starts playing (name starts with a B) ,mostly by a couple of friends who came with him to HSC. Still, other people joined in, and very sadly had to go home empty-handed after this games...
The day goes on, and more people start flocking to the pub:
Lots of heat-resistant gamers be here.
And, inevitably, some people came down to have a look (ignore the dude with the beard, that's me buried somewhere under there):
The first selfie i ever took. Glad that Harstem was in it!
The guy making it all possible.
A picture of Tod being interviewed next to a picture of Tod being interviewed. Picseption!
As the day went on, the sky went darker and the temperature finally reached a level where Crematoria wasn't a more preferable location anymore. Suddenly something very strange became visible...
The lights go on!
Those windows above the pub, that's where the magic happened, at least as far as the stream is concerned. Still, it's surreal to see Take's place like that, live, in person. Of course, it might just be me - I've never been to any live SC2 event before, so it was just cool to see.
Honestly, i've been a bit starstruck a couple of times (Sorry Harstem for the stammering!). To most it might seem quite normal, but i kind of see most of these people as celebrities and it's a very interesting experience seeing them live, if not being so close to the place where everything happens.
It went on as it had before, the stream being the thing that brings people together, but it wasn't necessarily the focus, especially as a couple of people from upstairs mingled with the common folk to simply have a talk.
As the drinks piled on, my picture taking started to get a little slower (and more blurry), so sadly i can't show much more (lesson learned for tomorrow!)...
Still, i ended up spending most of the dark part of the evening with these guys:
"Die drei von der Tankstelle"
In before all the misspelling jokes - These guys really are gamers. Suits really don't suit them
Sadly my pictures of InControl, ToD and RotterdaM turned out to be very very dark - So i took one more selfie with the hero (or villain, depending on your perspective) of the day (who suggested to stand somewhere with light):
Yes, this handsome guy on the left is Broski!
He and his clanmates decided to come here as a (small) group. Apparently it was a spur of the moment thing - A true fan simply wanting to have some fun. For him, it was very much worth it and lets be honest - A lot of us would love to have taken his place if we had the chance!
So, then the day ended with lots of lightning, but no rain (very strange) as most people went home, or inside the pub. Or to the hotel, in my case.
I have to give some shoutouts to Kyung and Raj, for not really making too much fun of me when i mistook Kyung for Parting. ;p
And to Emmanuel for the car ride to the hotel!
Sorry for the post being a bit messy, but it was kind of a spur of the moment thing which i'm trying to get done on my laptop in a tiny hotel room on the limited bandwidth i have. I'll continue this for the next couple of days (will be editing this post probably, dunno yet), or i'll be shut down by the mods (sorry if i did something wrong!).
I just wanted to share the experience :>
Feedback is appreciated! Even if it's about that i should refrain from posting this nonsense
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United Kingdom10443 Posts
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It's a gold level Terran beard. *flex*
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Germany3128 Posts
I'm looking forward for more awesome beard pictures... and pros of course :D A bit sad to see that it wasn't that crowded but I hope that alot of the fans will arrive with the beginning of the weekend Have fun!
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Awesome pics and Awesome beard ! I am a beard owner myself haha :D
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have fun man! looks great
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I wish I could go to a HSC T_T
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Nice pics, looks like you had a blast!
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1001 YEARS KESPAJAIL22271 Posts
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United States97244 Posts
Thank god you met Broski. This is the first thing j was going to come ask
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Man you totally stole my idea! But i forget to take pictures after two beer in the heat anyway, so well done!
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Thank you for creating this topic. I was always curious how does HSC look from attender perspective. I wish I could gather few frends and just go there...
I hope you will post your impressions from day 2 as well!
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Thanks for the report. I was there 4 times already and this Saturday its time again. Hope to see you then.
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United Kingdom35804 Posts
On July 03 2015 11:30 lichter wrote: not enough drunk pics ^
Enjoyed the read nonetheless
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On July 03 2015 11:30 lichter wrote: not enough drunk pics
If he makes a saturday blog you will get them .
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HSC XI Day 2
So, day 2 arrived, and i arrived a little late...
This will see some use later on i bet.
Life is simply going on. The first group has started, but complaining about the heat is the most popular topic - As it was yesterday, It's significantly less warm though, which is appreciated.
Some people take the opportunity to express their reasons for coming to HSC in another way:
I wonder who this is for.
Inside the pub, not much is going on. It's technically cooler, but it doesn't really feel that way - People are taking advantage of the fact that it's not as hot as yesterday (still 30+ degrees C though) to sit in comfort outside.
Only the die-hards are inside.
Still, inside the speakers are louder and one can actually hear what's going on on the stream.
Yesterday's heat also had some consequences for the gadgets people took with them...
IN. THE. FACE.
MORE IN THE FACE.
Some other activities also made people able to express their competitiveness outside of StarCraft:
This is quite fun, really.
And, as usual, the pros were coming out as well. I finally managed to catch one of the Koreans:
The beard is back! Hyun doesn't seem afraid though.
I asked him a few little bits, and it was very strange to hear - In contract to the other Koreans attending HSC, Hyun was rather confident in his abilities (as the group results show), whereas the others i managed to ask were far more humble. Still, fun to see him being rather enthusiastic!
And, more selfies - I managed to catch InControl and Rotterdam again outside. Proper pictures instead of portraits of princes of darkness!
A wide smile from InControl!
Double Dutch, second go!
The floodgates opened thereafter, where it seems Dennis' appartment was getting hotter and hotter and more people started going outside for a breather. The next one is of particular note.
Without a doubt, the best beards at HSC.
The place started filling up again as it got later. As a funny sidenote, when Stephano arrived he basically got a standing ovation. I'm not sure whether it's because of being Stephano or his pink shirt.
More players came out, or were going back in again. This one though, he had the stare of death on him all the time. He barely managed to turn it into an expression that merely killed in the most humane way possible"
Seriously though, Lilbow is a cool dude.
I managed to catch Dayshi next - And i have to be honest, aside from Harstem he was the most personable of the 'celebrities' i met so far. Though, i understand why, most were exhausted from the heat and needed a breather. They respected their fans (obviously i wasn't the only one asking for pictures), but most of them did look like they needed a proper breather (which i fully respect!). Dayshi however seemed almost unfazed by the heat - I got to talk to him longer than i expected, but it did give me a new perspective of a player i honestly knew very little about beforehand. Just something i wanted to share
The cool dude with the fugly shirt. Sorry Dayshi!
Things started heating up as people literally got thrown into the pool soon afterward:
Not the first, and not the last...
And, let me just say, Scarlett is one of the sneakiest people in Krefeld. All the time, she appeared out of nowhere and dissappeared just as quickly. I don't know if it's her ability, but maybe there's something in her eyes she didn't want captured from up close...
Get well soon Scarlett!
And here we have mister grumpy (though rightly so). Seems he's staying at the same hotel as me, and enjoying the same excellent service (amongst other things). Still, he was managing to stay calm.
Bly aka Mister grumpy, maybe, but still nice and joking around
Now, we have some lesser known names, sort of, Zanster and Namshar. Zanster just came off of winning his group, against all expectations, after the winner's match against Bling.
Yes, Bling was in the winner's match after playing Patience.
Seriously! Outside, not many people were able to follow the stream as the TV wasn't very loud, but suddenly a wave of WTF's erupted through the crowd when the realization set in that Bling actually won 2-0. Wtf? What happened? Bling won and is in the winner's match? Funny moment.
Still, back to the others: Zanster came hot off his wins, but didn't seem too confident - He feared playing against Patience, or any Korean protoss. I tried to cheer him up, hopefully it helped! Namshar did seem quietely confident in his group, though sadly it didn't come to be....
Zanster and Namshar, both pretty cool dudes.
The next people don't need any introduction. They're nuts and proud of it.
From left to right, Stephano and DeMuslim.
From here on, more and more pros came out and mingled and suddenly HSC came together as the tournament it was meant to be.
It really is cooler outside than inside.
I felt i had to also include some of the people making it all possible for you to enjoy the shennanigans of HSC:
Nicholas - I hope i got the name right!
Then we get the comeback king, just having beaten Bling (after all) in the final match of group:
Patience looking rather happy!
And someone else whom i managed to nab a picture without before he got pulled away:
Parting was rather quick on his feet, but took the time for his fans!
And, well, sometimes fans don't have to be from the non-pro public:
Seems like Patience has new biggest fans! Sort of. No clue what's going on here.
And, of course, some things from earlier in the day are taking shape in the mean time...
Can you see what it is yet?
And the next pic i was kinda hunting for, as JD is also rather quick on his feet:
Awed by the presence of the Tyrant!
So, in a hurry, he proceeded to take his place amongst the plebs, together with others. I rather like HSC, really.
Can you name the handsome Dutch guy in the pic?
And , catching Targa in between!
Of course, some people can't really help themselves and want to continue to compete outside of the game... Honestly, the next picture captures HSC to a tee - What it is really like for the people visiting:
There are other games outside of SC2?
And next i catch the hero, or villain, of the day:
Bling is ebil. But cute.
More and more people gather and mingle, adding to the atmosphere. Strangely enough the evening is getting hotter - Literally i mean. Still, people are having a good time:
I know some of these people.....
Some people have moved inside, but outside there's still a nice vibe going.
The inside of the pub.
More gatherings! Seriously, coming up with new captions is hard.
And quickly, filling up again. Or emptying out. Whatever.
Of course, TakeTV wants to capitalize on so many dedicated fans:
Of course, i'm also wanting a piece of that pie!!!
Sadly, for personal reasons i had to leave at this point - Earlier than i hoped, but still managed to catch most of day 2. Though i suspect some action is going on at the pool thing as i write this.
I hope this gave a decent impression of HSC and, if you guys want more, let me know! Feel free, for the people at HSC, to poke me when you see me for whatever, as long as it's not a lapdance. Not from me anyway. ;p
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Germany3128 Posts
Yes more pics pls Are you there all 4 days?
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great pics thanks for sharing, looks fun!
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I'll be there untill the end, hoping to get some more pics from the event. And to catch a glimpse of Gumiho, who I seem to be missing a lot
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HSC XI Day 3
Sorry for the delay in posting this, i kinda collapsed after getting home yesterday.
Honestly, i slept most of the day anyway because of the extreme heat. Couldn't really function. At about 7pm i started heading towards Limmericks again.
The street on the way to Limmericks
And right away, i saw a few people sitting outside, especially this guy whom i didn't know was even there untill i saw him briefly on the stream the night before:
Needs no introduction. Mr. Awesome.
Today more of the pros mingled than the days before, probably because of the heat - It seemed like it was quite close to hell in Take's appartment.
Just some people outside.
Some others also noticed White-Ra being here.
Smile for the picture!
Of course, i also managed to nab the birthday boy for a quick aside (and a firm handshake of course!
Happy birthday Gabriel!
I also found some other German sitting around...
Hello mister Socke.
And by god, this place is German infested!
Ferrari's biggest competitor.
But, all of a sudden, the Germans ran out... And yes, all of these guys were sitting together. This was kind of a little treasure chest for me, that table :>
All hail Welmu!
It seemed like the pros did have their own little corner in the place.
Gathering of overheated gamers!
Still, the evening went on smoothly. I seem to have missed some pooldiving shenanigans, but oh well. People steadily got more and more inebriated, but some successes were celebrated, even on the barely audible stream outside of the pub.
All is well in Krefeld, Germany.
I learned that i missed MarineLord's group victory - Which was a surprise in itself. Lilbow's victories surprised the crowd even further, with the final game in group C (Huk vs Rain) keeping the crowd quiet and focused on the stream, cheers erupting when Huk won a game, bringing it to 1-1 - The last game was tense for a while, but sadly Huk tapped out, saving us from 2 upsets in a single game (sorry if that sounds a little mean, just kidding).
The evening went on, the camera appeared a few more times as the last group was going on.
Flashing the stream!
Parting won, as expected, but suddenly the group started getting pretty tense. While Zanster lost 2-0, it was much closer than the score indicated, Ryung having to work for his victories and keeping us on the edge of our seat.
People were suddenly focusing on the screen.
Also, Take appeared with a Zerg logo axe at random.
I came here to conquer.
The French Connection.
It was getting late as the last game moved inside (to reduce noise, it's a Krefeld thing).
And the match goes on...
PtitDrogo was giving it his all, cheers erupting from the crowd after this first won game, and a loud applause after he won the match, creating yet another upset for the day. 3 foreigners in the top 8!
The appartment started emptying at this point as we were getting ready to head to the party at the Kulturfabrik. I managed to catch one of the Canadians:
Huk, making time for the fans!
Somewhere close, another Liquid player was sitting and being harassed by Stephano (i think), so i saved him (i hope) for a few moments:
Snute or Snuh-teh, doesn't matter to him apparently!
The floodgates opened, and i managed to take a pic with the current GSL champ!
Quiet and cool.
Back in the pub, the finished product from day 2 was also still waiting...
The line on the bottom right is so bad, it had to have come from Harstem.
People started gathering outside again, preparing for the trip toward the club for the afterparty.
We had to go inside, but could wait outside and still make noise while waiting to go to another club. Germany is strange.
Xenocider also decided to go outside, and after a small fight with Targa (just drunken fun) i managed to steal his soul, i mean, take a pic:
Quite an underrated guy.
More and more people gathered.
And then the hero of the day emerged:
PtitDrogo, going for the win!
Finally we went on to the party location, about 20 minutes walk from the pub. Strange and eerily close couple sightings: Rain and Patience, and Stephano and Dayshi. Also, lots and lots of broken glass (including the obligatory applauses) on the way.
The exodus begins!
After a 20 minute walk we had to stand in line to get thoroughly searched by several burly men at the entrance, so everyone decided to pose just before i had a chance to take out the camera...
Say cheese! Oh, too late... Dammit.
The party, when finally inside, was beach-themed.
Beware of the sand.
The party was not exclusive to HSC visitors and participants. It was a normal party - sort of - with a lot of nerds strewn in between. Even outside there were some incredibly drunk people already. Somehow i expected more from the native germans!
Inside the building there was the Twitch/HSC area:
Only cool people allowed up there.
Loud music all around....
The party went along just dandy, nothing major to report.
Can you recognize anyone?
Something cool that happened to me, and reminded me why it was worth coming... I ran across Zanster (whom i only had a short talk with the day before), and he remembered my name! Butterflies in my stomach. Sort of. Still, just a tiny but really cool moment.
I didn't stay at the party for too long - I left at about 2:30-ish - while it was cooling down, the heat still took it's toll. A good sleep was ahead, and hopefully a nice surprise for today! Just one more day to go...
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