Mien

This happened 8 months back in Monza, Italy. Well it is the global WCG finals, so yes, it's really old stuff but I still remember it pretty clearly.I wasn't able to watch the live stream because it is held during 16th to 19th October, and that's when my O levels are. What a pity. Something else other than gaming took place on stage.
*Disclaimer to all : Don't read any further if you are turned off by gaming stuff right away.*
Here's some background info.The top 32 emerged from the group stages to form the brackets. At one corner of it, Gostop (korean) faced off with Syc (china), while the next pair was Sky (china) against some other unknown guy. It's pretty obvious Gostop would be up against Sky next anyway, simply because this is the first time Syc is playing an international competition. Both Sky and Syc play the same race. The competition is in a best of 3 format, first to 2 wins.Also, the staff who runs WCG consists of alot of koreans, because one of the major sponsors is Samsung.
Gostop against Syc : Syc won the first match, Gostop won the next, and the third match was to be played on a map called Echo Isles. Gostop followed a distinct creeping (killing neutral stuff) plan in order to seize an advantage to be on the same footing as Syc. On this map, Syc's race enabled him to expand early, and so it's pretty sickening to fight someone who has twice your income unless you're on level in another way. Gostop had it because of his creeping plan, and won subsequently through a long drawn fight. (shan't bore any of you with the exact reason why, it's irrelevant)
While waiting for the next match, Sky apparently obtained the replay of the that match from Syc (fellow countryman mah, so must help) and analyzed it. It is stated in the rules that replay watching is not allowed, and it is punishable by disqualification. One official of the WCG happened to see Sky and Syc staring into a laptop with the replay ongoing, and is a korean too. He quickly alerted the "relevant authorities" as well as Gostop. Obviously, Gostop was fuming mad. When the official reprimanded Sky, he gave the excuse that he didn't know it was not okay to watch replays since there wasn't any restriction during competitions back in China. Sky was given a "yellow card" for this, but obviously it couldn't harm anyone unless it's handed out in pairs. As both players were walking towards the stage (this match happened to be one of those that the event wishes to highlight, and thus having it broadcasted), Gostop smiled a little bit at Sky and said "You no manner, Sky". Sky asked "Why?" And Gostop replied "Because you watched mine replay."
(Can't blame the broken english because he's a korean, but manner in gaming refers to professional behaviour, and more oftenly refers to how much you whine about things)
Gostop vs Sky : It became a 1:1 after 2 matches, and once again, the deciding match as to who would proceed on to the quaterfinals is played over the same map, Echo Isles (I don't like it personally). Gostop called for the referee and told him what had transpired before, but the referee only asked him to play on. For some silly reason, Gostop simply repeated his routine and continued on the same creeping route. At this one very crucial creep camp, Sky had earlier planted a farm there as a lookout. He had already done his fast-expanding, and was en route to this spot. What I couldn't understand was why Gostop actually bothered to destroy the farm when he could have begun to creep right away. If Sky was really going to "cheat" after watching the replay, he was going to come and bother Gostop, whether the farm did see Gostop walk past it or not.He wasted a full ten seconds, and as a result, Sky arrived on the spot with his men before Gostop hardly finished killing all the creeps. Sky smartly attacked Gostop's men, and doing finishing hits on the creeps just to gain the gold and experience. Obviously Gostop was fighting 2:1 at that time, and it sucks having to keep your own guys alive while trying to guarantee creep kills (imagine doing homework with your pen running out of ink every 5 seconds).
Since his plan is disrupted, he retreated and build up as per normal. Sky finished came to his base and starting pushing (to buy time for your extra income to kick in). Gostop just seemed to stop controlling his units and lost several of them before he ....typed "pppppppppp" and paused the game (which is illegal, unless permission is obtained before pausing). A referee rushed to his side and asked what happened. Gostop told the referee what happened earlier, but he was told to play on AGAIN. He left the game promptly without typing "gg".
Sky was told by his team manager to shake hands with Gostop, since it's part of courtesy. Sky reluctantly walked towards Gostop's booth, and Gostop just went berserk and screamed "F*** YOU SKY" twice with his middle finger in the air. All these were caught on cam, live on video stream, on stage, with hundreds of viewers on hand. Gostop went on to file a complaint with the committee, but was told that he should have reported this before the match started to have any effect. Sky proceeded on to win the finals, being champion twice in a row (would have placed my $$ on him anyway).
The repercussions were there. Gostop had to apologise to his country for his disgraceful behaviour, and he had also unwittingly incurred the wrath of the Chinese fans, which is silly on foresight. Most of the tournaments are held in China anyway because it soon becoming the biggest thing there just like how Starcraft simply thrived in Korea. Imagine playing in a country whereby the fans on hand actually hate you to the core. That sucks.
After knowing what happened, I just thought, hey, why on earth are you that stupid to blow up on the spot in front of cameras and lose your rep? On the other hand, how is it easy to keep your cool when 25000 euro is on the line, and to lose sight of it in such a fashion that can only be blamed on your opponent? To qualify even for the global finals in Korea, it takes ALOT OF LUCK to do it. It's simply because nearly everyone there is a favourite who stand a chance of winning the global finals. If WCG was based on skill alone, Korea would take up 70-80% of the spots, or even more. Obviously nobody in Korea ever guarantees one out of that 2-3 spots for representation in the global finals. That being said, Gostop probably lost his one big chance to win the the most prestigious competition, partly because his opponent already had everything under control even before the match started. It is just too tempting for anyone to blow up on the spot, and not just any bad tempered guy (I doubt Gostop was, anyway). Put yourself in his shoes. What if your dream is shattered in an instant, because someone else was selfish in the course of chasing one similiar to yours? On a side note, I'll give Sky the benefit of the doubt because he's a good guy and he does have the skill to win the whole thing with or without watching the replay.
When things don't go our way and pushes us to the edge, we act on impulse so quickly before oxygen actually reaches our brain. There goes "think before you act". And once you blow up, you can't reverse the consequences. It's an impression, there for everyone to remember how loser-fied you are over something.
To me, it's actually fine. It's human to err anyway, who doesn't ever get angry and screw up his/her reputation? What matters more is if the person is remorseful about his actions, and has intentions to ameliorate his behaviour and reputation all over again instead of letting it fade in dust. And Gostop did that. So yes, he's a man after all. Reflecting on and paying attention to one's bearing does help. Keeps you in check so that you do feel guilty enough to change =D Obviously for the better. Fortunately for me, I've never imploded in my whole life, ever. Maybe it's because I'm too lazy to try.
*begins to wonder how different is it between watching a replay, and having other players watching the big screen or standing next to you while you're playing*