How I risked everything to see the OSL finals...

... and how it was worth it !

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Previous blog entry :
http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?id=149404

This is a very long blog entry. If you are only interested in an OSL report and impressions from the bleachers, skip directly to "The D-Day".

I made it look like a diary, but I actually wrote it in one time.

It all started here.

August 13th
Holy shit ! A rumor saying that the OSL finals might take place in Shanghai. Most TLers are higly skeptical. As I am. But I am living in Shanghai and it is my dream to see a Starleague finals. I do not want to be too excited about this as it could be yet another hoax. The only facts that seems to be in agreement with finals in Shanghai is that EffOrt was standing on top of the Oriental Pearl Tower in the Ro36 opening. Very flimsy evidence.

August 14th
It's confirmed ! I burst out of joy ; only to realize a few seconds later that I will not be in Shanghai during the OSL finals.

I almost want to cry. My chinese visa expires on September 6th, my flight back to France is already booked on August 30th. I have to go back to France to get my working visa (I am currently working illegally with a business visa), and with the mandatory medical checkup, it should take around two weeks.

The working visa is quite hard to obtain, almost impossible for a recent graduate as you need at least a bachelor degree + 2 years of relevant experience. I've just made fake work certificates and applied for the "Alien Employment License", a mandatory document to get the working visa. Hopefully, the Chinese Ministry of Labour is not going to double check anything, so I will be eligible for a working visa.

I still have to perform the medical checkup. It consists of a very exhaustive examination : thorough blood test, ultrasound scan, lungs xray, EKG, etc. I am supposed to do it in Paris, and it's gonna be a real pain in the ass to make the appointments in such a short time. Plus, waiting for the results is gonna take at least a week. There is no way I can be back to Shanghai in time.

My only consolation is that the STX team is coming to Shanghai for a small tournament against chinese players. And it's held the day before I have to go to France. I won't miss everything.

August 19th
It occurs to me that I can do the checkup in Shanghai, there is a medical center that performs all the required tests with a single appointment. Usually you're supposed to go to this center once you got your working visa, in order to get the working permit. If I can do it, I can apply for my visa as soon as I arrive in France and be back on time for the OSL finals.

I'll avoid all the technical details to not make this blog too boring, but basically I have to make sure that this checkup is valid for the chinese embassy in France, and I have to get an appointment, but it's already August 19th and you usually have to book one week earlier.
After some online research it seems that I can do my medical checkup in Shanghai. The problem is that it's booked until August 30th. Luckily, someone at my company has very good contacts with this medical center and gets me an appointment for tomorrow. Awesome.

August 20th
I go to the center, make it through the whole process. It's incredible how fast it is. It takes me only one hour to perform all the tests. There is one room for each test, and nurses are like robots. They deal with around 50 people every hour !

As I am walking home, I'm starting to wonder if they do a drug screen. I've thought about it few months ago, and I even have stopped smoking pot for 2 weeks now, because I had planned to do the medical check up in France, in September, and they wouldn't be able to find a trace of drugs in my blood then.

I was so excited at the thought of the OSL finals that I've totally forgotten about it. If they do perform a drug screen I'm so screwed. I've got married last month with my chinese girlfriend, I have a great job, and I've just signed a lease for a huge duplex in Shanghai center. I could lose everything for a few joints. I'll receive the results by courier in 6 days...

August 21st
Online research is unfruitful. I suddenly become utterly paranoid. There is nothing I can do. They got my blood. It's too late.

August 26th
I receive the Alien Employment License from the Ministry, which brings me some relief. But nobody comes to give me the medical results. I go nuts.

August 27th
The courier eventually arrives at my office. I open the envelope. Holy shit ! I am clean as a whistle. I go from paranoiac to ecstatic. Does it really mean that I will be able to attend the OSL finals ?! Then, I also realize that I will have my working visa and that my life is not screwed - my first thought was for the OSL, really. I've just risked my life for the OSL finals ! I decide to celebrate in the G+ Club with my wife (it's the club where I organized the TL meetup in Shanghai btw).

August 29th
I go to see the STX Masters at the world expo with Kaolla and have an incredible afternoon. (It turns out very well, see previous blog entry). I make sweat dreams of Tossgirl all night long, and wake up early to take my plane to France.

September 1st
I meet up with my family. I haven't seen them for a while since I am expatriate. My mum tells me that my grandparents, uncles and aunts and cousins are coming for my brother's birthday on September 11th and that's they are all glad to drive 6 hours to see me.

I can't tell my mum I have to fly back to China earlier to watch a Starcraft competition. It's just inconceivable. I say that I am not on holidays and that I only came for my visa, and I want to have my weekend to rest because I will have a very busy week in office when I'll be back to Shanghai. It's actually true. Except that if there wasn't OSL finals I would definitely stay a few days more to see my family. I'm not even affected by jet lag and don't need rest. I feel terrible, but I don't have much choice. Can I miss the opportunity to see the first platinum mouse award ever ?

September 7th
I eventually get my visa at the chinese embassy and book my flight to Shanghai on September 11th. I'll arrive a few hours before the OSL starts. I might even meet Flash or JD at the airport. Fuck yeah !

September 8th
Terrible news. According to various sources, there will be only 300 tickets for the finals. And none of them will be sold. Emlary makes an interesting but very pessimistic blog about it. I refuse to believe that it is because it takes place on a 9/11 and that Chinese government is evil enough to restrict the OSL finals to a small audience.

But whatever the reasons are, she is right about the fact that there will only be 300 tickets. Some chinese Brood War websites organize draws to get tickets. I even find people online selling tickets 1500RMB (~220USD). It's gonna be almost impossible to get tickets. If we arrive early we may be able to watch standing, assuming they will not put too high fences between the seats and the standing area.

September 9th
I PM Kaolla to see if he's still in to try to see the finals since we probably won't be able to get in. He is. True fans never die.

September 10th
I fly back to Shanghai. I worry because my SKT shirt is dirty and I need to wash it before going to the OSL. I forgot my portable player in France. That sucks. I am bored as hell. I switch on my laptop and watch VODs of previous OSL finals that I downloaded there (<3 Roffles).

September 11th, the D-day
Christ on a stick ! I'm stuck in Moscow. What a terrible idea to travel with Aeroflot. The plane to Shanghai is missing. They don't provide any information. A russian guy opens a bottle of vodka and starts drinking, russian guys drinking vodka everywhere ! After a 3 hours delay, we can finally board in.

I arrive home at 3 pm. I take a quick shower, drink a coffee and wash my SKT shirt. Because of the flock printing, I can't use the washing machine. And it's pouring outside. The air is fucking wet, there is no way it can be dry on time.

I suddenly remember MightyAtom's blog "'Up in the Air' Quick & Dirty Guide to Biz Travel" (amazing series of blogs btw !), and use a simplified version of the washing and drying technique he describes there.

MightyAtom says :
Lay flat, 1 long bath towel on the bed, then lay flat your wet dress shirt on the towel for the full length, then lay 2 wash towels over it that as as sandwich, then proceed to tightly roll up the towel shirt sandwich from the bottom until it becomes this single roll of a thick towel sheet, then you put it on the floor, then you STEP ALL OVER IT, putting your full weight on it, until the towel's surface becomes completely wet through, then it should look like a slightly flatten roll. Then take out, and do it again, but this it, it is likely, it won't soak all the way through, now find the driest place you can find the room,by the heater or whatever and leave it there.

This works incredibly well. My wife is looking at me during the whole process, disbelieving. I've never expected to teach a woman how to do laundry, but well thanks to MightyAtom I can wear a perfectly clean SKT T1 shirt now ! (note : I regret I haven't taken any pics of this, but I had other things in mind at this moment. Too bad.)

I arrive at the venue. I am excited but fearful of not being able to get in. There is quite a big queue at the Orient Pearl Tower cashier. I assume that people are getting tickets to the garden which will work as a ticket for the standing area. It's only 35RMB (~5USD). I got one for Kaolla as well. He is late and I need to wait for him to give him a ticket.

I start snooping around, trying to evaluate how many people got official tickets for the seating area. It seems there are more than expected. I am so jealous... I ask compulsively to every person holding tickets where he got them. Most replies I got are "someone gave them to me". I read somewhere that only 90 tickets were given away in the draws, the rest must have been shared between SiTV and PLU staff.

As I am going to renounce, I see a couple holding four tickets. Once again I ask them how they got the tickets, and also why they got four. They only reply that they are supposed to watch the finals with two of their friends but they might not come. The guy says he's gonna ring his friends to know if they're coming, and if they're not, he's gonna offer me the tickets. I can't believe it, he didn't say "sell" he said "offer". The phone rings. I am an atheist but I can swear I am praying to God that his friends are not coming. After fifteen endless seconds, the tickets are mine.

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My OSL ticket, or what's left of it

I get my phone, ring Kaolla
Me : " HOLY SHIT I GOT OSL TICKETS HAHAHAHA ! "
Kaolla : " ?! "
Me : "HAHAHA I'M THE LUCKIEST GUY ON EARTH LOLOLOL, GET A MOVE ON !"

It must be our lucky day, because it stops raining exactly when we are taking our seats. It looks quite packed yet we can get decent seats (between 12th and 15th I'd say). A staff gives us a pair of thundersticks - blue ones because we are sitting in the Flash supporters area. We haven't made any TL shoutout, so we plan to use our thundersticks to make a huge blue "TL" in case there is a close up on us ! There is a speach in chinese, nothing very interesting.

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Let's get this party started !

It's 6 pm now, the broadcast on OGN starts. There is a short movie to celebrate the OSL 10th birthday. It's a compilation of the most emotional moments of the last 30 OSLs. BoxeR, NaDa, Reach, Oov, Nal_ra, July, Stork, and all our favorite players are shown to the already very hyped audience. I expected some kpop bands as in most OSLs and the stage looks quite small. Some more speach.

The screen now shows two fighters, representation of the Tyrant and the Ultimate Weapon. We don't really see what they are driving at, until the screen switches to Flash and JD facing each other at the bottom of the Pearl Tower, which is only 10 meters behind us ! JD looks as angry as usual, but Flash is not impressed.

Then, they proceed to go down the stairway. The latter splits the bleachers between the JD fans area and the Flash fans area. (note : we can see this scene very clearly in the VOD) We all suddenly stand up to see who we came for. The two best players ever are standing in front of us.

Yes, they do wear blank badges.

I have no words to describe what I feel. A mix of exaltation, euphoria, and respect maybe. There is a short introduction. Flash says a few sentences in chinese. I think he gets a big psychological advantage here, because first the audience loves it, and second, it's like telling JD : "Yo dawg, while you were practicing like your life depended on it, I spent hours to learn by heart chinese sentences !".

Let's get ready to rumble !!!

The set 1 is incredible. We don't know if Flash has the best game sense ever, or if he's just lucky not to move his m&ms in the burrowed lings. Probably both. He waits to reach the critical mass with +1 upg to move. He destoys the mutaling forces.

[...] Flash is moving a few controls of m&ms towards JD's third. JD looks in a very bad position, but he uses a genius trick to defend it, he stacks 3 lurkers at the very narrow choke. In most games, the zerg players who tries to stack lurkers fails miserably against the siege tanks. But when Jaedong uses stacked lurkers, it's very efficient ! (someone should make .gif of these few seconds lol !) One lurker is traded against 15 marines ! [...] JD has teched to hive and now has a nydus canal in his third.

Flash attacks it again, but this time with two tanks and a vessel. Jaedong makes the terrible mistake of putting his defiler in the nydus canal before consuming a zergling. He has to consume a zergling before being able to swarm, and that allows Flash to snipe the defiler. Jaedong loses his third and tries to ninja expand in the bottom right corner, but it's spotted. GG !!!

Some SiTV staff are giving away gift packs. We expect some shitty stuff like a discount coupon to subscribe SiTV channel. I grab one and open it. Holy shit, it's a Starleague 4GB USB stick !

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How could it be better than that ? We even get souvenirs !

I expect a long second set. But as soon as the game starts, we can see that JD is not making his first drone. 4 Pool incoming ! JD is a baller. But thirty seconds later, Flash sends an SCV out of his base. After the display of his amazing game sense on set 1, is he going to scout that early JD's base ?

No, he's going for a proxy rax ! Flash is so screwed. The crowd is crazy. I am wondering if the boothes are soundproof. Can't the players hear the commentators or the crowd ? I mean when the whole audience goes crazy during the 10 first seconds of the game, what can it indicate other than the zerg not making a drone and thus going for a 4 pool ? Whatever, Flash scouts JD's lings at the natural. He instantly starts a bunker in his main. He can then put one marine in the bunker just before zerglings start harassing the mineral line. But Flash is afraid that the zerglings go for the bunker, so he attacks with his SCVs and loses more than he should have. At the meantime he builds another barracks in his main.

Flash is now on 2 barracks with a very low SCV count while JD has been pumping drone and taking his nat. It's one of the rare cases where a player defended a 4 pool and is not clearly ahead. It is extremely tense. Flash is far behind, but he pumps marines and attacks JD. JD has no larvas available and starts a sunken at his nat.

Both players are geniuses. Flash attacks the sunken and does not move inside JD's main as he is afraid of drone drill + zerglings. He is almost going to kill the natural when JD makes a perfect move with the few zerglings he has to kill the marines on the way to reinforce Flash's forces. He gets speed upgrade and makes a perfect surround arround Flash marines. Flash ggs.

I am astonished by what I've just witnessed. I know I would have loved this game if I had watched it a home, but seeing it live, knowing that there was either a platinum mouse or a golden mouse at stake, and that one of the two players I have in front of me will be in the next hour remembered as the best BW player ever is thrilling. It sends shivers down my spine.

We can't still believe what we just saw as the third game starts. JD 4 pools again. What a baller. Is Jaedong able to mindfuck Flash this time ? Flash has always been better than JD at mindgames. And what about JD's fate to lose the first set then win the three next ? The suspense is unbearable.

This time it's a 4 players maps and JD sends his overlord in the wrong direction. Flash scouts well, but JD's zerglings take an unsual path, Flash doesn't see them. But JD makes the mistake of blocking his choke with 2 extra zerglings. Flash understands that 6 zerglings are already on the way.

JD could have let Flash enter his main, and Flash would have needed 2 or 3 seconds more to figure out it was a 4 pool. Plus, the two zerglings who were staying at the choke would have arrived earlier in Flash's base. Flash blocks his ramp perfectly but loses his first marine. The bunker next to the command center is built. Flash manages to put a marine inside. JD concedes.

The atmosphere is tense. Both players are concentrating. Their are trying to read each other's mind. Who is going to abuse the quite short rush distance ? Is JD going to use the very short air distance ? It's a veritable poker duel before the game even starts. I repeat inwardly for the 20th time today "Fuck me I love this game." Flash opens with a 5 (?) barracks at his natural, while JD opens with a 12 hatch. Looks like the jig is up for JD.

Flash moves out with three marines and two SCVs. JD reacts perfectly, using almost all his drones to prevent Flash marines to reach his natural. [...] Bunker is done, there is one marine on the way. He dies a few pixels away from the bunker. Holy shit that was close ! [...] Both players macro up, JD goes for lurkers. [...] JD is far behind. I can't see how he can win the game. He still has one cartridge.

He prepares a doom drop with 5 overlords. Flash forces are in the middle of the map and at his natural. He hasn't scanned the loading overlords, and JD is already getting hive tech, which means he probably hasn't had time to upgrade both overlord speed and drop ability. There is no way he can know about what JD is preparing.

But Flash is god. He's not maphacking, he's reading Jaedong's mind as you are reading my blog. He starts turreting his main and bringing back some forces. JD deals quite a lot of damage, but not as expected. At the same time, Flash is using his dropship to wreak havoc on Jaedong's expands. [...] Flash pushes with a shitload of tanks, JD snipes some vessels but has no way to defend against such an army. He types out.

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This is the end
My only friend, the end
Of our elaborate plans, the end
Of everything that stands, the end
No safety or surprise, the end
I'll never look into your eyes...again

Flash is relieved. Jaedong is angry, probably at himself. He said before the finals that he was training for this OSL as if his life was depending on it. I've been cheering for Flash, but I'm not a hardcore Flash fan either. I suddenly feel terribly sorry for Jaedong.

Korean Air general manager comes to shake hands with both players, and delivers the checks. Flash gets his OSL trophy as well as his golden mouse. I am attending the crowning of the fifth bonjwa. I will always remember it.

I get my mobile phone to take some photos, but I put it back in my pocket. I want to enjoy the moment. I want to focus on every detail to keep this memory as vivid as possible. The scene is very colorful, we can feel Flash's intense joy. It's perfect.

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I know, Fomos made better pics than this one. But I took it with my mobile phone, and I'm proud of it.

Flash takes a pose, kissing his trophies. I take a few shots. I think Kaolla makes a joke about taking the golden mouse and running off with it ! Hoejja and Hiya are here, but no one gives a shit about them, they are mere mortals.

Flash has a one minute break in the tent next to the stage. Fans follow, myself included. KT coach shakes a few hands, I wonder if he's gonna shake mine since I am wearing an SKT shirt. He leaves the tent, escorted by 30 chinese security guards ! It sounds I am exagerating but I'm not. Chinese fans are crazy. I happen to be on Flash's way. Slow motion. He looks at me... with a wtf expression. I assume he didn't expect too see a white fan, let alone wearing an SKT shirt. I almost shit my pants and stare at him blissfully. I try to say something like "Hello Flash, I'm your fan", but words don't come. Real time resumes. Guards are pushing people around, I move away. Everyone is trying to touch God. They are heading toward the service entrance. I can't help but think of a marine chased by a hord of zerglings, with medics trying to wall ! They open the gate and Flash disappears in a van.

Thank you for reading !

I'd like to make some extra comments regarding the organization of this OSL. It wasn't as bad as I expected after reading Emlary's blog. It sure wasn't as big as in Korea, but I think there was at least 2500 people attending.

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The atmosphere was incredible. Hiya is eating his fingers in the foreground, when seeing Flash play : "Why isn't JD raping Flash like he rapes me at the Hwaseung House ?!"

I know that only 300 tickets were supposedly available. But as the picture shows very well, the official OSL bleachers was composed of 20 rows, with a capacity of around 50 people each. That makes 1000 people just for the official bleachers. As you can see on the picture as well, the fences were quite low, so anyone sitting around could see very well.

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Here is an accurate sketch of the venue. In green, the official bleachers, in yellow all the place around where people could sit or stand for 5 USD. They even had more Starleague USB sticks than there were people in the official bleachers, so we gave the extra ones over the fences ! In the end, it wasn't that important to get the OSL tickets.

But I didn't appreciate at all the lack of communication about the event. There were only rumors, no official tickets selling points. We spent two weeks speculating on how to get to the OSL finals, to finally realize it was really easy. I assume many fans didn't even try to get there, while they could have seen the finals perfectly for 5 bucks. I guess the poor guys who paid tickets over 1000rmb online must have been pretty pissed to see they could have entered for 35rmb...

And seeing how crazy were the fans in the end, I believe the safety measures the organizers took were totally appropriate. They only focused on the players safety and nothing else. I saw some people passing over the small fence to sit on the official bleachers. I expected the security guards to catch them but nothing happened.

According to an interview I read on a chinese website, they interviewed OGN's director about his feelings after the first OSL abroad, and he said he wanted to organize more OSL finals abroad. I know it's a pretty big news, I'll translate this interview if I have time tomorrow.

TL;DR
I did everything I could to attend the OSL finals in Shanghai and I succeeded. I took some risks but it was worth it ! And I got a Starleague USB stick yay ! And I made a chart to sum up the blog for you lazy guys :

I used some pictures from wfbrood.com and Fomos, so thanks I guess D:

PS : Please no bonjwa discussion here. Thx !

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