So because I'm not from Singapore, unlike some people, I have to get Visa every time I go to China. Luckily, the process of applying for visa for China is extremely simple. It's basically just a matter of filling in a few forms and paying the price and I can get it like that.

The only downside is that I'd have to travel about 2 hours, leave at 7 or 8 AM in the morning, wait for 2 hours at the embassy and travel 2 hours back. That would eat up almost about half a day of practice, something which I usually can't afford to lose when I'm preparing for a tournament in china :D So this time, like last time, I hired the services of a Visum Application Service company. Paying a small amount of money, I can save on the costs of 2 tram tickets, 2 train tickets and more importantly save myself the time to practice.

Yesterday they delivered my passport, but I slept right through the door bell. Unfortunately that meant I had to go pick it up today. Fortunately I applied enough in advance to have that kind of leeway, so that my flight to China does not come into jeopardy.

The schedule for IEM has been released, and it looks as follows:

Thursday, October 1:

• Group A
• Group B

Friday, October 2:

• Group C
• Group D
• Quarter Finals 1
• Quarter Finals 2

Saturday, October 3:

• Quarter Finals 3
• Quarter Finals 4
• Semi Finals 1
• Semi Finals 2
• 3rd Place Decider
• Finals

I'm in group D with Infi & ReMinD. Everything's BO3, maps are TS TR TM EI SV AI MV. Play-offs is Single Elimination. The opponents are TeD, Focus, Lyn, Fly, Moon, Check, Remind, TH000, Sky, Infi and DemusliM. I've practiced the most against Human I think, followed by Orc, then Elf, then Undead. The reason I didn't play Elf as much, is because I was still in good shape for Elf after BlizzCon. But Human needed more working on, and also Orc mirror is a match-up that always requires a lot of practice for timings and so on.

Well, we've prepared as best as we can for Chengdu's spicy cuisine. Been eating spicy at home to get adjusted to it, and cassandra also got a lot of food supplies like healthy cookies, chocolate breads, just things to keep me alive if there's nothing else to eat :)!

That's all for now, going into the last day at home,

Greets,
Grubby

Warcraft Short-story written by myself

Heh, here's a little something I wrote about the Orc's race origins. I got inspired by The Dark Tide and Beyond the Dark Portal, as well as other Blizzard books on the universe of Warcraft. I like to read those books to enjoy the Warcraft lore, especially if it's being written by entertaining writers like Richard A. Knaak or Christie Golden. Anyway, hope you like to read this short-story I wrote and can appreciate the analogies for my upcoming IEM tournament!

Regards,
Grubby

Read the story here:

http://myeg.net/blogs/user_blog.php?blog_id=649

VOD of Grubby on Gamer01

Hey guys,

The VOD of Grubby on Dutch TV (Gamer01) is now up on the website. Everyone will be able to watch it. It's in Dutch though, and there are no subtitles yet, but it will come later.

Here's the link: http://www.101.tv/page/gamer01/video/217a2d5cd638e553b9c79ea32a19d868

Grubby will be on Dutch TV (Gamer01) tomorrow!

Yet again, Manuel "Grubby" Schenkhuizen will be on Dutch TV! This time, he's being interviewed by Gamer01. Dutchies can watch this on digital TV tomorrow (Sunday 20th September - 9pm CET) on BNN channel. The name of the programme is Gamer01.

Good news is that it can also be watched online by people and fans all over the world. You can watch it online at http://www.101.tv/page/gamer01/
English Subtitles will be added later on to cater to the international viewers.

The interview is about Warcraft III, e-Sports, Blizzcon, "Beyond the Game" documentary, Manuel's proposal, and more!

So guys, remember to tune in tomorrow (Sunday 20th September) at 9pm CET!

IEM Groups drawn!

http://myeg.net/blogs/user_blog.php?blog_id=632

IEM Drawings 17.30 today!

Greaaaaaaaaat news! At 17.30 CET on thursday, ESL will announce the groups for IEM chengdu!!
They'll do so on their internet TV channel "ESL TV", which you can find at http://tv.esl.eu/de/

Going to watch that for sure.

For me that's great because I can get more specific with who I should practice against. There's only 10 days left of practice now. I'm playing pretty well but it could definitely be better...well I like to know what I'm up against, good preparation is half the work :)

Greets,
Grubby

Vote for Grubby for IEST!

Calling out to the fans and community! If you would like to see Grubby in IEST tournament.. please vote for him here once everyday:

http://iest.gamespot.com.cn/news/2009/0722/52.shtml


Hereby, Manuel give thanks to anyone who votes / voted for him. Cheers!

12 days left

12 days of practice left before I go to IEM. Today was fruitful... practiced vs Orc and Human. Want to make the most of tomorrow as well.

You know how there may be increased risk of getting mugged /robbed on the street, right after you come from an ATM? Because they know you're loaded with cash? Something similar happened in my dream last night..

I had a dream last night that I won WCG 2009 and overtook Lyn in the prize money listings. Lol. The only problem was, I received the first prize in cash... and there was someone who wanted to mug me! I was running around for god knows how long (probably a few seconds in real time, but seemed hours in dream time). Funny dreamworld ;)

Warcraft 3 Rollercoaster

Finally something to write about again, as the Warcraft 3 scene is propelled into a rollercoaster of events again!

NGL ONE's been a constant source of entertainment for me personally. Day-in, day-out, there were interesting games to be seen. Now sometimes I wake up, look at the day's match ticker and think: what the hell, no matches to watch today? Boring! But I think back to the year 2005 or so, and I remember there would sometimes not be online match coverage for a whole week or so. And it'd just be waiting and looking forward to the next big LAN event (which I'd usually be part of). So in a way, we as an eSports community have come a long way, and it's changed for the better. Now a match-less day is the exception!

How has 2009 been so far? Events-wise, we had a very slow start. I remember it's been one of the longest lulls of my tournament history yet, where in the months February & March I had nearly nothing to play at all. After that, the pace started picking up and the summer has been quite filled. The most recent tournament was one of the most important to me, namely BlizzCon. Unfortunately, I made it to be only 2nd place. Fortunately, I made it that far even after dropping to LB in Round 2 already. My game against the Korean Elfs was up to my expectations, but I failed myself a bit in the Orc vs Orc matches.

2009 hasn't disappointed me so far. My goal at the start of the year was, to make it my year. I'm going to have to step it up and take no prisoners for the coming tournaments to make that true. I feel like the hardest part is yet to come. The end of the year is going to be very interesting indeed, with IEM Chengdu coming up first. There's a sick player list, namely: Sky, Lyn, TeD, Moon, FoCuS, ReMinD, DeMusliM, Check, Grubby, Fly100%, infi and TH000. (4 humans, 4 orcs, 3 elfs and 1 undead).

I'm still anticipating WCG Netherlands Qualifications, WCG world finals, possibly a WEM (it was said that the eStars champion will be automatically invited), and possibly more.

September is free from tournaments. Time to get in monster shape as the rollercoaster starts riding in October. My break (Las Vegas holiday + recuperation time from wisdom teeth extraction) is come to an end, and preparations start in earnest.