EPTThe latest controversy surrounding the GSTL final has brought the topic of how to handle dropped games to the forefront. Thanks to Murphy's law, it's rarely at the very end of a game that there is a drop (think Fantasy-style floating builds on single digit supply), but instead at key moments in gameplay. Even drops very early in the game can cause controversy, I recall an incident between Nestea and Naniwa in which a dropped game led to claims that Naniwa was cheating by looking at the replay to determine strategy.
I myself faced this issue as a tournament admin for the Princeton LAN a while back. I was watching the UMBC-Brandeis match when the metric ton of computers at the event caused one of the power outlets to go out, and since the UMBC player was using a desktop, he was immediately dropped.
The match was a TvP on Antiga, cross positions where both players had established 3rds, but the UMBC terran player was ahead in tech and supply, having won all the earlier skirmishes, and was about to push out with ghosts to end the game. Watching the replay on the Brandeis protoss player's computer, he of course pointed out the equivalency in economy, even upgrades, and that the army supply disparity was not completely out of hand. Although the terran player looked like he would be able to end the game with the ghost push, the fact that the game dropped while his army was still at the watchtower instead of 20 seconds later after the major battle meant I couldn't give him the win.
In the regame the protoss player went for a proxy inbase gateway cheese which failed, and later won with a-move +2 armor chargelot-archon, pushing through 3 bunkers with scvs and even supply of MMM (no ghosts, only +1 bio attack, terran was building a third)
I'm a terran myself, and losing to that kind of push is pretty much the worst feeling in PvT, let alone given the whole regame situation. UMBC went on to win the match, and made it to the finals of the tournament, but the entire situation was pretty bitter for the UMBC player, you could see it on his face. They understood, of course, and there were no complaints or drama, but you couldn't help but feel sorry for him.
To even imagine being in a similar situation during one of the most high-profile matches of the year, during the most intense game... If I was a Startale fan I could certainly disagree with GOM's decision, but I could never be judgmental, given the immense pressure they must have faced. It's no wonder they spent ages behind the scenes before the next game.
Instead of drama, let's make something good out of the situation. Mike Morhaime and other Blizzard leaders were at the event, let's hope they use the experience for motivation in designing some way of getting around these unfortunate situations in the future, whether LAN or rejoining dropped games or whatever. And the community should continue to press the issue, with our own opinions and solutions, because it's not a question of whether it'll happen again to other tournaments, GSL-level or amateur college-level, but when, and whose hopes it will be that are crushed by technical decisions rather than the purity of the actual game.
