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So, there are quite some rumors flying around about my WCG participation. Im quite annoyed that the german WCG staff is spreading information that is simply incorrect.
Here is my side of the story: After I qualified, I was notified that the WCG would be in charge of my Visa tramits for China. A few weeks ago i got the Visa document i needed to fill out by email and i was asked to send the document filled out, a biometric picture and my passport. I sent that within 24 hours and notified them. Then i didnt hear anything from them anymore for some time.
Then on the 14th of November, i got an Email from them, saying that they werent able to get my Visa, because i am from Bavaria, and you cant hand in Visa applications from Bavaria in at whatever consulate they were at. I was then told they would Expressmail it back to me and it would be there on the next day. It didnt come the next day. The mail arrived on the 16th of November when i was not at home, but i guess the mailman was told to only hand it personally or whatever because they didnt drop it in my mailbox or give it to a neighbour. They took the mail back to the center in Nuremberg (like 20 km away from where I live). I checked if I could pick it up for unfortunately it was too late on that day and they didnt open on weekends.
Now, in hindsight i should have contacted WCG staff at this point, thats my mistake.
On monday the mail came around 11 AM. Now, in hindsight, i made another mistake, i didnt open it immidiately but like an hour or two later. I then read that i have to go to the consulate in munich to get my visa, and that the visa service center is only open until 3 PM (I need about 3 hours to get there). So it was too late to go on that day. On tuesday morning i emailed the visa service center whether i can still get my visa because I started getting worried about time. Unfortunately something private got in the way and i immidiately emailed Josh Vögeding (WCG germany head or so) that i couldnt make it to the visa center on tuesday and that i probably couldnt get the visa anymore on wednesday. Shortly afterwards I got an answer from the Visa service center that i wouldnt have even gotten the Visa in time if i had come on tuesday (i would have wasted ~100€ for the trainticket, as WCG would only pay for the visafee). I also asked whether there is any kind of expressvisa, but i was told that they dont offer that at the moment.
Just so you know why it was too late: The Visa needs 4 full workdays for processing, and i would have needed to pick it up on monday 26.11 at the latest, because my flight would have went on 27.11 at noon (in frankfurt).
After i wrote Josh i wouldnt get my Visa in time, he reacted generally very rude and made it look like its all my fault. First he said that i would then have to pay for the expenses i caused, but later backed out (i think) - im not sure whether i wil get any demands here, but i will certainly contact a lawyer if i do. In the contract i signed for WCG national final it says if i "cancel" my participation on short notice i have to pay it, but i didnt cancel it. On Wednesday morning I talked with him on skype, and he asked me tro try to contact the Visaservice on the phone and explain them my situation. I called them and the person I talked to confirmed that it was too late to get it.
I was actually very much looking forward to the event and the trip to China (i love Asia!), and despite what people like to spread about me, i was practising for the event and was actually somewhat optimistic that i would have a shot at getting a decent placing, despite my bad shape.
I think its pretty shitty that there are statements released that simply give a very biased and untrue story..
I am willing to prove my point with emails and skype logs.
Greetings, Jonathan Belke
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WCG has been ran like shit for the last year, i'm not surprised by this at all. Sorry to hear this.
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Well, shit happens. Sometimes it turns bad. It gets worse when people presume negligence on each other's part..
I can off the cuff recall a few other non-participation incidents of similar nature related to players going to China or leaving China.. The visa system there can be a bitch.
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On November 27 2012 03:21 ReachTheSky wrote: WCG has been ran like shit for the last year, i'm not surprised by this at all. Sorry to hear this. Exactly, no idea why the koreans still value it that much. Perhaps it's organized better over there, but WCG went from the best tournament (for WC3 when it was still popular in europe) to a side event.
Sucks to hear that you had and still have problems Dark.Force, and especially that you can't go.
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I didn't even know there was an issue between WCG and you. Personally, I wouldn't blame you to begin with because WCG is a horrible tournament that hasn't been ran very well since I first saw it. Last years tournament I couldn't even hardly watch...
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That sucks. Do you know if someone will be replacing you in China?
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To be completely honest I didn't realize WCG was still running, much less that you couldn't attend. It's been a poor tournament since the glory days of Counterstrike 1.6.
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Aotearoa39261 Posts
That sucks DF
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Its not just the fault of WCG, i made some mistakes aswell, i just dont like when people spread rumors about me that simply arent true. I think both sides made mistakes and a couple of things came together which made it not work in the end. The Visa service center for example have only opened very recently, so i guess WCG didnt know about different rules they have.
On November 27 2012 03:26 bokchoi wrote:That sucks. Do you know if someone will be replacing you in China?
No, there wont be a replacement, as the flighttickets are non flexible (at least thats what i was told). Also noone could have gotten a Visa in time i guess.
On November 27 2012 03:25 Stress wrote: I didn't even know there was an issue between WCG and you. Personally, I wouldn't blame you to begin with because WCG is a horrible tournament that hasn't been ran very well since I first saw it. Last years tournament I couldn't even hardly watch...
This only came up today when someone started spreading rumors. I just wanted to counteract immidiately thats why i made this post.
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On November 27 2012 03:21 ReachTheSky wrote: WCG has been ran like shit for the last year, i'm not surprised by this at all. Sorry to hear this.
You mean the last two to three years.
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Everyone should just boycott the WCG until they update their practice.
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On November 27 2012 03:30 StarStruck wrote: Everyone should just boycott the WCG until they update their practice.
Na, i think WCG is still a nice tournament. I mean the format (Bo1 in groups, SE Bo3 after) is oudated, but players at the grand final are treated really well. WCG Korea last year was one of nicest events (maybe even the best) i have been at in my whole SC2 time.
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On November 27 2012 03:30 StarStruck wrote: Everyone should just boycott the WCG until they update their practice.
Not all WCGs are the same in terms of ineptitude. You shouldn't really blurt out these remarks.
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On November 27 2012 03:32 DarKFoRcE wrote:Show nested quote +On November 27 2012 03:30 StarStruck wrote: Everyone should just boycott the WCG until they update their practice. Na, i think WCG is still a nice tournament. I mean the format (Bo1 in groups, SE Bo3 after) is oudated, but players at the grand final are treated really well. WCG Korea last year was one of nicest events (maybe even the best) i have been at in my whole SC2 time. I think he also meant spectator wise, i don't think the last WCG was a pleasure to watch. I don't remember much though.
Although, now that i think more about it, i think to remember why. They don't show many matches, afaik they have only one stream and show a variety of games, so that you'll be forced to watch other types of games and will miss plenty of Starcraft 2. Not sure if that's still like it this year, but i think to remember it was always like that. Someone correct me fast if it's wrong, but that's what i remember. ^_^ Perhaps it was only for the last day though, but i remember a lot of downtime and needing to watch other games.
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Hopefully you don't have to pay. Don't worry about WCG, most people don't value it highly.
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On November 27 2012 03:21 ReachTheSky wrote: WCG has been ran like shit for the last year, i'm not surprised by this at all. Sorry to hear this. WCG has been ran like shit forever bro. This is nothing particularly new.
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On November 27 2012 03:33 darkness wrote: Hopefully you don't have to pay. Don't worry about WCG, most people don't value it highly.
I would bet alot of money on not having to pay. At very bad odds also :D.
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On November 27 2012 03:30 StarStruck wrote: Everyone should just boycott the WCG until they update their practice. didn't some people also boycotted it in 2010?
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On November 27 2012 03:35 DarKFoRcE wrote:Show nested quote +On November 27 2012 03:33 darkness wrote: Hopefully you don't have to pay. Don't worry about WCG, most people don't value it highly. I would bet alot of money on not having to pay. At very bad odds also :D.
What expenses did you cause lol? If they couldn't get the VISA then why would you cost them any money at all? Seems like a major failure on their part anyway if they were supposed to get your VISA for you, which does sound weird, but I guess it is possible.
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On November 27 2012 03:33 Torte de Lini wrote:Show nested quote +On November 27 2012 03:30 StarStruck wrote: Everyone should just boycott the WCG until they update their practice. Not all WCGs are the same in terms of ineptitude. You shouldn't really blurt out these remarks.
Actually they are. Whether it be regionals, national finals or the WCG Finals. They are way behind the times and their administration has always been abysmal. That's me being nice.
Ask any player who's competed in the WCG over the years. They will tell you horrid stories.
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