I usually don't do long tournament reports anymore, but I had such a good time at this event that I feel I need to give some feedback.
The venue
Without a doubt, it's one of the, if not the best tournament venue I've ever seen. There are some flaws, like the rooms being quite cold in the morning or many of the available showers not functioning, but everything else easily makes up for those details.
I usually feel like **** during the first of hours a tournament day, but thanks to the beds and showers, it didn't happen this time even though I woke up early (a bit before 8, to secure a free shower). This made the event way more enjoyable for me.
The organization (of everything but the tournament itself)
It was really good too : we had many TVs, and the staff was always there to make sure everything was alright. The food was awesome, not in itself as it was pretty bad (but what can you expect with £1 for 4 meals ?
), but the fact that everyone was eating in the same room at the same time made it really enjoyable. I really liked this friendly canteen, way better than having everyone being split into small groups like it usually happens at tournaments. Also, it saved A LOT of time, which was really important.
While it was good overall, I think it may have been better if some things had been given some more thoughts. For instance, the TVs : we had 50 of them, which was actually more than necessary. Yet, quite a few of them weren't working or weren't properly spaced and therefore useless. That's a bit too bad, since testing quickly the TVs could have been done before the tournament.
The tournament in itself
It was great too ! The seeding was a bit weird for pools. I was lucky enough to have Charles asking me for help about this, which meant I could give a rather accurate seeding to the people I knew (and not only the French) However, I think that a better knowledge of the attendants would have been a great help : Fuzzyness overrated some people (I'm pretty sure you can guess at least on of those persons
), and really underrated some others, who got the lowest seed and were still really close from making it to the bracket.
But overall, I guess it was pretty good. And more important, everything finished in time (except the crews). We didn't have to play any tournament game late in the night... that's not common and it should be noted
All in all, this tournament was excellent. You'll find a list of things that could be improved below, but even without that, I can say that I'll make my best to attend SNY2, and that I'll make sure to advertise the tournament as much as I can because it was amazing.
To be improved :
- Having keys for the rooms. It's not like I'd want everyone to isolate oneself in the rooms, but we often found our room open while all of us made sure to close the door every time, or while none of us didn't even go in the room. Qlex lost £40, which he probably left in the room, and even though we didn't make a fuss out of it because he wasn't 100% sure he left them in the room, it still reinforce my opinion that keys would be useful.
- Room repartition : As mentioned by many people, there were quite a few problems. I heard what you didn't have a plan of the venue and therefore didn't know how many beds there were in each room... which would explain why you didn't make the repartition in advance like it was supposed to happen. Oh well, for next year, you can use Jo3's idea too.
- Having a better knowledge of the attendants : I'm partly responsible for this as Fuzzy asked me to help for seeding. We failed to give a good regional seeding, as there were 2 Danes in my pool, and 2 Dutches in another one. Next time, I think it may be useful to prepare a document with everyone's nationality to avoid such things.
- Having a better knowledge of tio : could have saved some time.
- Using something else than a notebook to run the bracket : it sure is handy, but it's way to small. I got angry every time I had to use it
- TV testing and repartition, as mentioned above.
Also, I'm a bit concerned with the size of the venue for next year. While we had some space, I'm not sure the gym would be big enough if more people were to attend this tournament
The trip, and England in general
The first part of the trip went well, and we reached Kone's place pretty easily (and very tired, as I didn't get any sleep during the previous night because of the Apex live stream and our departure at 5am.
Staying at Kone's place was also great, even though the house was crowded. I don't go to pubs that often, but it was nice to go there both on Monday and Thursday. Just like Qlex somewhat disappointed Kone because of he was talking about Smash, I think me, Fortune Cookie and someone else depressed Kate when we began talking about DI while she was sitting between us
Another think I loved at Kone's place : the pets ! Not the dogs (one of them kinda stinks, yet he seemed to like us when we arrived on the first day
), but the cats were really cool. Especially when they were walking on the faces of asleep people
Among the negative points : Our return trip was ****ed up because of National Express being ***** to us. I'm pretty mad because of this and next time, I'll make sure to book waaaaay in advance.
Also, England is expensive ! The food was pretty pricy (and not that good, especially that chinese restaurant near Kone's place !), and the transportation tickets were ridiculous, especially in London. But I expected this, so it wasn't that much of the problem. No, the worse was...
THE WEATHER
Alright, I know about all the stereotypes about the English weather. While in France, I even spend a lot of time in Normandy, which is well-known for it's rainy weather... but come on ! It's freaking summer ! I checked the weather forecasts before leaving, and it said it would be nice. And yet, it rained pretty much every hour ! We couldn't even visit while being in London because there was so much rain
Shoutouts :
UK
I really loved the English community. I can't remember who said that, but you are definitely one of the best community to chill with (though you were a bit too loud during the crews =/)
Enjoy your victory on our crew, our revenge will be nasty =D
Kone & Kate : Thank you soooooooo much for everything you did, it was fantastic ! You made a gigantic effort to run this tournament, and you managed to make the first European tournament in England one of the best Europe has ever seen.
Housing so many people at your place was nothing but foolishness, and yet it seems it went rather well.
Both of you really deserve your vacation. Once again, cheers !
Gary : Thanks for always being ready to help, and for taking care of most TV-related issues at the tournament. Your contribution to this tournament was huge, and very appreciated.
Charles : Thanks for running the tournament in itself (+ everything else you did). I know how much work it is, and yet you also managed to place 5th. Good job ! I hope that if I ever face you in a tournament set, I hope I'll be as lucky as I am in freeplay
Also, I hope I'll be able to taste some some of you cooking, it was pretty good.
SDB : Thank for running this event, it would not have been that good without your help !
Jo3 : Nice meeting you... for the first time, because I wasn't there at RoX4 or SVAR7
Also, sorry if we began talking in French while you were there. I usually try to make sure everyone can understand when we speak, because I hate to be the one who can't understand ****. It just seems that we kinda failed, this time.
Deathgazer : Keep improving like that, it's really encouraging !
Beast : Don't worry, we'll beat Fuzzy's Falco on FoD. He was lucky this time, but it won't last =D
King NDJ & PMS : I loved those freeplays against you guys, I hope to see more of you in the future !
Yuichi : Bowser > all. You got all my respect for having the guts to main him. He's my favourite character, but don't dare using him in tournament. Be prepared for some more Bowser dittos next time we meet
Fortune Cookie : Hey, ******** !
I believe I didn't play against you, but it doesn't matter. I really enjoyed our discussions, and I hope to see you again, at SNY2 at least.
Willz : Lol Justin Bieber. Nice to meet one of the most infamous European trolls. Also, your Falcon is pretty sexy
Retroking : Stop teleporting with Marth, that's not normal !
Blinky : Before we played, I had a memory of Fuzzy telling me that you were a really bad player. I'll make sure never to trust my memory anymore, because I was wrong for sure. You got me so scared with your almost-comeback on the decisive game of our set. It really could have gone either way ! I hope to see you again :D
Swizzy, Pro Pro, Coey, Yeniths, and the other Brits : I didn't have the opportunity to discuss a lot with you guys... and I wish I did. Pretty much every Brit I met was really nice and contributed in making this tournament great. Sorry if I didn't lever a shoutout for you while we discussed a lot, I'm really bad at remembering names and faces so I can't say a many things as I'd want (<== john)
Sweden
Aniolas : Haha, short hair = 5 years younger ! Now you look like you do on the JST5 pics
Anyway, great to see you again, blah blah, usual stuff
Armada : I'm starting to want you to lose (in PAL) ! There's no more suspense at Euro tournaments !
I hope you'll find the way to beat hbox and Mango, it's time for a claim the world's #1 rank.
Rocky : Great to meet you again. I haven't played against you or even seen you play, but I heard nothing but good things about your Falcon. I hope you'll keep improving like that.
Smasher89 : Aniolas says Ashura's better than you against Sheik, he's wrong :o
Smakis : Nice meeting you ! But the next time we meet, I won't lose =p
AJP : It's good to know that there is someone reliable to take care of videos. I don't know how we'll do without you !
C : Thanks for allowing me to multiply my swedish vocabulary by 2 :D
Netherlands
Zgetto : I'm actually really happy not not have been 4-stocked in crews
VBM : Meh, every time I wanted to ask you for some freeplay like you promised me after our pool set, there was always someone waiting to play against you =(
I'd love to have your advices, because I really hate the Falco matchup.
Marc : It was good to see you again... in better conditions than last time
UchihaJP : I was sooooooooooo happy to see you again ! Next time I see you (most likely this year, at a Dutch tournament), I'll try to bring a chocolate cake.
Jimmy : When asking about your level for the seeding, Zgetto told me that you sucked, but less than me. And I must say he was right, your Doc really impressed me. I don't have a lot of experience against him, so our friendlies were not only enjoyable, but extremely useful to me. Keep improving
Ryuker : Always a pleasure to see you. Project M looks very interesting, I'm kinda sad I couldn't play it more.
Exalador, Mind Trick, Ivo, Utto : Didn't talk a lot to you guys, but it was nice to see you again.
Denmark
D1ll1ng : Nice games in pools
I'm sorry you were not the only Dane in your pool.
Oni Nick : I saw you play at TSL4, and I played you at this tournament. I may be wrong, but I'm under the impression that you improved a lot ! If I'm not mistaken, keep doing that
Also, same thing as D1ll1ng for the pools.
Finland
Neutroni : Good **** for 5th place, I didn't expect that.
NamiNami : Good games too. If I remember well, it was your first tourney abroad... good stuff for making it to the bracket, then !
Italy
I really didn't expect you guys to be so good (especially Vincent !). You were also really nice, so I hope I'll see more of you in the future.
Dax : Meh. Sometimes, **** happens and you just proved it. You are very good, and hopefully, you'll have the opportunity to get your revenge (though I'll make everything to beat you again
)
Melt : Nice Samus you got there ! I'm lucky to have some experience against her, because I'm pretty sure our freeplays would have been one-sided otherwise.
Germany
Es ärgert mich so viel, nicht mehr auf Deutsch mit euch zu sprechen ! Seit Berlin hab ich mein Deutch nicht geübt, und hier könnte ich die Folgen sehen. Jetzt bin ich motiviert, auf Deutsch besser zu werden, um mit euch nur auf Deutsch zu sprechen !
Tero : Gutes Pool Set. Ich bin nicht zufrieden mit diesem Matches, aber auch wenn ich gut gespielt hätte, hättest du gewonnen.
Yomi : Tech-chase FTW ! :D
Also, ich hab nix gesehen, aber ich hab gehört dass du jetzt einen krassen Doc spielst. Die Matches hätte ich gern geguckt.
Usleon : "Hiiii guyzzz !" Wie kann man so gruselig sein ?
Es freut mich, dass ich dich kennen gelernt habe. Samochan hatte mich über dich vor lang viel geredet.
Friendlies waren cool, deine Spacies sind gut. Ich habe also das Gefuhl, dass es ein lateinamerikanisch Stil gibt : der Mexikaner und der Kolumbianer, die ich gespielt habe hatten den selben aggressiven und schnellen Stil.
Phex : Ich habe gesagt, dass ich nur auf Deutsch mit den Deutchen sprechen/schreiben wurde. Aber warte mal ! Mit dir klappt es nicht ! Trink mal ein Bier, und dann.... on passe en Français !
J'étais très content de te revoir à ce tournoi. Je ne suis pas content de notre match en bracket : j'ai progressé contre Peach depuis ma défaite contre toi en crews au TSL5... mais tu as progressé encore plus
Bravo pour ta victoire, elle était bien méritée.
EN plus de cela, c'était super de discuter avec toi en dehors du tournoi, en particulier au bar où tu nous as bien fait marrer avec l'histoire de Black Soul, et avec ton Français qui nous a tous fait halluciner.
A la prochaine
To everyone :
If you were expecting to get a shoutout from me but didn't get any... don't worry, I'm pretty forgetful, but I still love you
Important : I'm missing a Melee disc. I lent it to the Italians on Thursday night while we were at Kone & Kate's place. I don't know who had it now, but it's easy so see it's mine : there a sticker on it reading "Slhoka". If you have it, please send me a PM. Thanks !
Also important : A few months ago, I created a map featuring the location of every single player I played. I'd like to continue this project, so if you've played against me (in freeplay or in tournament, singles or doubles, it doesn't matter) and are not on this map, please send me a message with your location so I can add you. No need to give the exact location, I just need the city (or the borough, if you live in a very large city). Thanks !