EPTI thought about making this after MLG had ended, but I felt the things I were going to write wouldn't be changed on the next day, so why not just make it now. I may update this later if it's appropriate, but so far this has been my experience after 2 full days.
First of all, I'd like to say there were not nearly enough chairs. Not at any one point during the event was there an empty seat that you could just get without waiting/caming for it. All the seats are located at the main stage, and there is none to be found anywhere else except outside in the lobby where no games are held. I just absolutely have to say this was a bitch, and had they had enough chairs it would have made the experience 10x better. Maybe instead of doing this whole "if we get 100000 members thing we raise the prize pool thing" they should do something like "if we don't have enough chairs next time we give out free chalupas". Yeah sure, maybe they didn't expect this many people to come out, but what the hell, don't they count how many tickets they've sold? Good for them, bad for us at the live event. I would have gladly payed 25 extra dollars or more to be guaranteed a seat. Also to just let some people who don't like this particular rant and aren't sure if it's a legitimate complaint, there was PLENTY of room at the convention center, it just wasn't used as efficiently as it could be as there was a ton of empty space when you walk in, but got very crowded once you actually got to where the players would be playing.
Next up on things I wish to talk about, the koreans. Before the event started we decided to watch the players in the open bracket area, and suddenly, I turn around and it's MMA and MVP taking a photo with the luckiest person in the world. I didn't expect to be so starstruck, but I was and I was also, admittedly, ashamed for being such a huge nerd. I obviously knew they'd be at the event, but it took me completely by surprise and the two words that could best describe that moment was "holy" and "shit".
I have to say, and I don't blame anyone in particular for this (*cough* Milkis), but the koreans are very difficult to get a hold of. If you want a picture or autograph you have to be either at the right place or the right time, or you have to straight up stalk them and calculate the best opportunity. If they're on their way to their match, you will be denied, which is certainly understandable. However, there are not many other opportunities as they are either playing their game, or walking back to the player area or hotel (I'm guessing because they certainly aren't anywhere else at the event). The koreans in general just seem so much more focused on the tournament and winning than anyone else, and their priority is being prepared for the next match over meeting with the fans. If you wanted a picture or an autograph, you had to be aggressive and sometimes overstep your boundaries, that's just how it was. I settled for a picture with MVP (my number 1 goal at the event although I ended up looking like a drooling retard in the photo cause I was so happy) and utterly gave up on getting anything from Boxer or MMA.
This is understandable, but it is quite unfortunate for a lot of fans who traveled across the country to meet with their favorite player that they may never see again. I don't think it's that "koreans are just typically shy and they have a difficult time speaking english" because there were certainly a lot of fluent korean speakers at the event. A few exceptions would be Alicia and Rain, who to be completely honest, did not get as much attention as the rest of the players. Alicia seemed very upbeat and happy even though he did end up getting knocked out of the tournament, and Rain was just traveling the venue as he pleased as nobody really flocked him for autographs. I think I'll make it my absolute goal to strike up a conversation with either of them tomorrow as I am somewhat fluent in korean. I think at an event like this, talking casually with the players is one of the best experiences you could get even if they don't happen to be your favorite.
The foreigners on the other hand seemed much more open and were sighted much more often as well. Of course, that's not to say getting a picture with Huk was easy, but Huk was certainly much easier to sight and at least have an opportunity at than say MVP, MMA, or Boxer. Most of the foreigners would walk around the venue and talk casually with a lot of people. Even very famous and "in-demand" names like Jinro could be seen talking to 2 or 3 random fans for quite a while. I feel as though the koreans being avoidant would just compound and make them a bigger target the next day for those wishing to "complete" the experience.
I think this covers most of what I wanted to talk about. Everything else is either self-explanatory or seems redundant, but these things would be on my mind at the end of each day. Although I'm not completely satisfied with not being able to talk to my favorite players from Korea, I do understand they're working hard, and their dedication was what made me a fan in the first place. I saw Milkis close his eyes and take a deep breath in the player area, and I hope that he can "get used" to doing this eventually because it's a very demanding job. At the same time I hope he realizes how god damn lucky he is.
