Adam at Space Wolves has been posting some excellent bat reps from his strong finish at the UKGT this month, and I've been enjoying them. He does a great job of making sense of the game via text, and the pictures are always helpful. Along with Xaereth, I think he does the best bat reps on the blogosphere.
Anyway, in Round 4 he played against a Nid player named Tim King. According to Adam, Tim had narrowly drawn with him at previous events, and he has beaten some of Adam's friends in previous events. Plus, he was near the top tables at a major GT.
This time, though, Adam blew him out of the water. It wasn't a close game. How odd. What happened? Apparently, Tim showed up to the table blitzed drunk. Good game.
Let's be clear, I drink alcohol. I have a good time and I do like to get drunk occasionally. It's all fun. I get that tournaments are a good occasion to have a few drinks with friends from across the country you don't get to see a lot. But really, have some respect for the game and your opponent and not drink DURING the freaking tournament. Wait until the end of the day and hit up the bar with your buds, don't get wasted during the actual event.
It really does come down to a lack of respect for your opponent and the game. People who attend tournaments like the UKGT run the gamut from competitive to hyper-casual, but I know that none of them enjoy playing against a guy who can barely stand and communicate. It's frankly rather embarrassing.
If I was a casual player, who is there to enjoy some fun games with nice people, the last thing I would want to do is waste one of my few matches on a dude who is totally obliterated.
From a competitive standpoint, when you're in round 4 at a major GT and near the top tables you expect to get a tough game against a good opponent. How fair was it to everyone else that Adam essentially received a bye for the round? I'm sure even Adam would have preferred to play a sober opponent, even if it meant that he would be jeopardizing his high finish. I bet everyone who lost in the 4th round against a strong opponent was real excited to see a staggeringly drunk guy get blown out.
So the moral of the story is be responsible and respectful. Have drinks and have fun, but don't let your drinking cross the line into ruining the fun for others.
I don't drink at events.
ReplyDeleteAlcohol is unpredictable in its effects; it might make me gregarious, it might make me sleepy, it might make me obstreporous and vulgar, or it might just make me throw up (happens sometimes - my alcohol tolerance is not what it once was). Three out of four likely outcomes are bad = not a wise gamble. If I didn't like the taste of most boozey drinks I probably wouldn't drink at all, to be honest - it's too unpredictable for company who don't know me well, and I'm not sad enough to drink alone.
It's not like you need to get totally wasted. What happened to just having a few?
ReplyDeleteRespect? Like the respect you have for other players on your blog?
ReplyDeleteAre you joking?
ReplyDeleteLol, zealot seems like a nice guy.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the compliment, I think batreps are my favorite part of blogging, lol.
As to drinking, if people want to drink and it doesn't affect the game, go for it. If it gives me an edge- the point is to win, right? If it affects the game to the point that we can't finish because he can't handle dice, we have a problem.
I've drank exactly once during a tournament, and that was a single beer at a tournament that I was essentially out of- I even bought a beer for the guy I was playing against.
I just don't get why people get drunk at events like this. I don't pay hundreds of dollars just to get wasted and lose every meaningful game- I pay those dollars to get quality games in. I can get drunk anytime I want, I CAN'T get in games vs. good opponents from across the country every day.
Tim wasn't drunk during that Game.
ReplyDeleteIt was Game 4 - first of the Sunday Morning.
Tim spoke to Adam Saturday evening and gave his tactics away while speaking to me post game after I played against him.
Tim was perfectly sober the Sunday morning, but Adam was smart.
But other than that you are right.
Ah, my mistake. After you said it, I re-read it a few times before it stuck.
ReplyDeleteWe all do it, don't worry.
ReplyDeleteIt just stuck in my head cos I played with Tim and we teamed up for the pub quiz that night, and somehow he's was stone cold sober Sunday morning!