[MLG] Ultimate HOTS MouseMat

On June 24 2014 15:16 CursOr wrote:
MLG Anaheim

So MLG was a blast. I had a lot more fun than I imagined. I had a friend playing in the open bracket, and went with my brother in law. The games were awesome, but the crowd was more awesome. Everyone was polite, everyone was conversational and I met a lot of perfect strangers that I talked to for half an hour or more. I was very impressed by how mature and friendly everyone was, not that I didn't expect that, but it did come as a bit of a surprise.

I got to meet and chat with Tempo, Nathanias, iNcontrol (a tiny bit), Livin' Pink, WinterSC, GillyweedSC2, McDuff (imbaTV, super cool guy), and a good few other people who I forget the name of but were super cool as well. Everyone was very approachable and friendly.

Gotta catch em all, Zerg Mouse Mat

So my goal for the weekend was to get my Collectors Edition HOTS mouse-mat autographed by a bunch of great Zergs, being that I play Zerg myself and that there were an abundance at this event. Things went really well as you can see in the pictures below. (I plan to frame this thing of course)

All Zerg Players who signed the Ultimate HOTS MouseMat:

JaeDong
Scarlett
Life
Leenock
Violet
Liquid'TLO
Nestea
Hyun

Needless to say, I was super happy. I got sigs from everyone I really wanted.




Long Boring part about each sig, should probably be spoilered.

Hyun was the first to sign, super nice guy and more than willing to come say 'hi'. I don't think its a coincidence I got him first, he seems really outgoing and definitely not shy to make eye contact and come chat.

Next I was able to get Nestea, who didn't seem as terribly surprised that someone recognized him as Hyun did. Next I got Leenock ... who is just as adorable IRL. I told him he should 10 pool his way to pool play, but he didn't seem to think that was the best of ideas.

Next was Scarlett. I had been sharking around quite a bit to try to get this one. She was obviously a bit wary of approaching the edges of the player area, for obvious reasons. When I finally got within range, she took a few pictures, signed a few other things, I asked her if she "could do me a favor, and bring this to Leenock to sign" for me. She was totally going to do it!! ... apparently I was nervous enough that my sarcasm was a total failure. She sat on the ground right there in front of me, chatting with Polt (obviously they are good friends by now), untill security came along to shoo them away

Next I caught Life leaving the player area, this is another that seemed surprised that he was recognized, but also seemed very happy to give his autograph. I asked him if he was still in the winners bracket (yes), and told him I thought he was going to win the championship. On a side note, I think his signature looks the best - I love the full Korean characters.



This was all in the first day, and on day 2 the only one I was able to come by was TLO, who I talked with a little bit as well. TLO is of course, the nicest guy you could imagine. I just stood awkwardly next to him as to not interrupt his conversation (which seemed to work for sigs most of the weekend).

I needed to get the Dong. This little project would not have been complete without his signature. On day 1 I caught him, all by myself, but he let me know he had to go and he was sorry. No problem, plenty of weekend left. Day 2 was difficult in this regard, I saw him all day in the player area, but he stayed clear of the edges. I am sure he is wary to sign anything, lest be caught for 5 hours or seem like a jerk to a good group of people by leaving "early". Sadly, he was eliminated on this day and was understandably a bit upset (it seemed). As he left he took a couple of pictures and didn't sign anything, letting us know he would get us "next time".

Day 3 came and I wasn't able to spot him anywhere. I wandered off between matches to see if I could find him anywhere, but the player area was basically vacant this day as most matches were main stage and he was already out. On a whim (because I had seen other EG players there) I decided to wander around the Hilton to see if I might be able to catch him somewhere. Then, behind the bar, I saw him sitting talking to Liquid'Hero. In probably the most awkward, ridiculous request for an autograph that has ever occurred, I asked if he was Jaedong and if he would sign my mat. Score. I was sure to bow about 1000X which probably ended up making it worse :/



Lastly was Violet. At this point, he was my last hope for a Zerg to take the tournament. Scarlett had just been eliminated and was signing on the left side of main stage, serving as a huge nerd magnet, leaving the side with Violet's booth completely vacant. I caught him on the way to the booth, and got his signature just before the epic series with Polt.

Finally, I felt it was complete.





Terrible Selfies, low quality pictures, and other randomness

I hate pictures of myself. I avoid being photographed at any cost. This is why there are no pictures of me with any of the pros. I much rather would have had the autographs. But I did take one to prove to my brother where I was at, that I couldn't pick him up when he needed a lift on Friday. I'm the noob on the left.




I'd like to thank everyone who went to this event, and MLG for putting it on. I am sure I will remember it for a very long time. Thanks to all the pros who took the time to sign my mouse mat, it means a lot.