Update: The rest of the replays were released. Get them here. ASUS Cup WarCraft III is over. After a messy start, and a four hour delay the tournament picked up and finished up smoothly in an exiting series of games where Deadman managed to defeat Kemper (who sent him to loser brackets) in a two...

Update: The rest of the replays were released. Get them here.

ASUS Cup WarCraft III is over. After a messy start, and a four hour delay the tournament picked up and finished up smoothly in an exiting series of games where Deadman managed to defeat Kemper (who sent him to loser brackets) in a two BO3 series, winning his 7th ASUS Cup. In a row. Replays of both winnerbracket finals and grand finals can be found here. So far no other replays were released.


1st45’000 RUB(~1’700 USD) SK.apm70
2nd35’000 RUB(~1’300 USD) gmc.Kemper
3rd25’000 RUB(~930 USD) fnatic.Xyligan
4th15’000 RUB(~560 USD) fnatic.Abver
5th-6th10’000 RUB(~370 USD) es4x.Neytpoh
5th-6th10’000 RUB(~370 USD) mouz.Titan
7th-8th5’000 RUB(~185 USD) es4x.SDMK
7th-8th5’000 RUB(~185 USD) es4x.Dollar

And rent it is! The total prize pool for ASUS Cup Spring 2006 is a nice round number of 1’000’000 Russian Rubles (or ~37’000 U.S. Dollars), which surely will be enough to secure the immediate future of the victors in every discipline. But lets for a second focus on the game in question.

Total Prize Pool 150’000 RUB (~5’500 USD)
1st45’000 RUB(~1’700 USD)
2nd35’000 RUB(~1’300 USD)
3rd25’000 RUB(~930 USD)
4th15’000 RUB(~560 USD)
5th-6th10’000 RUB(~370 USD)
7th-8th5’000 RUB(~185 USD)

The money is five (yes, 5) times more then the last WarCraft 3 ASUS, which managed to raise only a puny 30’000 RUB prize pool, less than what a second place winner will take home this time.

Another thing that makes this ASUS special is how deep the money go, and how little the difference is from place to place. As opposed to tournaments such as WCG or WEG, where money usually cover only top 3 places, and the prize pool is distributed using the principle of multiplication by two, ASUS uses a model similar to ESWC, with 8 paid places and an as little as 23% difference between first and second prize money. Wondering why is that? Word to the manager of ASUS Cup series, Dmitriy 'c58’d1monn' Kuznetsov:

Very few are capable of placing in Top 3, but when it comes to Top 8 a lot of people stand a chance to get their money’s worth. This is completely different concept (then WEG): we either feed a selected few gosus, or give the taste of glory for amateurs striving for recognition... We also try to encourage people from other regions who spent money on traveling here to come.
Leaving out all the boring and really obvious things, here are the highlights:

The registration:
  • Open(no preliminaries).
  • Up to 128 players.
  • 500 RUR(18 USD) sign up fee

The brackets:
  • Double Elimination.
Winnerbrackets: Best out of 3.
Loserbrackets: Best out of 1

The maps:
Gnoll Wood Terenas Stand
picture picture
Lost Temple(RoC) Maelstrom
picturepicture
Twisted Meadows Secret Valley
picture picture
Turtle Rock
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Each player rejects a map until only one is left.
Second and third maps(if needed) loser picks.
When: May 28th

Tournament Schedule
08:00-09:00Player registration and draw
09:00-19:00Tournament launched
19:00-19:30Grand Final
19:30Award and closing ceremony


Where: Moscow, Russia. Gaming center «4GAME»

«4GAME» –The first and the only gaming center dedicated to the needs of professional gamers in Russia. A two-story building complex conveniently located next to the AEC (All-Russian Exhibit Center) is the ideal setting for a high-scale e-sports tournament.
On the first floor you can find a cafe/bar for 60 guests and a unique "Cybersport-Arena." The "Arena" is composed of 10 computers located on an elevated stage and 10 plasma screens, which ensures that the spectators will not miss a single bit of action.


Three days have passed now since the opening of the center, and by now we have a lot more information then we had when Counter Strike coverage was being put together(you can read more about that here).

The official site have already been launched and with it a lot more information was released. Now we know that that the banner was infact lying, and there are not a hundred, but "only" 80 computers of the following specifications:

Proccessor: Athlon 64 3800+
Memory: 1024 Mb DDR400 PC3200
Graphics: nVidia GeForce 7800 GT
Internet: 100Mbps

Digital imagery also exploded all over the internet, exposing the very guts of the 4GAME gaming center.


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Exhibit A: The Cybersport-Arena
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Exhibit B: The Spectator seats
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Exhibit C: The Stage


Cosy, modern, professional. All you can wish for. Except maybe better seats for spectators.

All images courtecy cyberfight.ru
ASUS Summer 2003


Warcraft first appeared in the third ASUS, back then being the only other discipline along with Quake 3. Back then it was hot, just out of the store game, a what was supposed to be a successor to the legendary Starcraft: Brood War. And the results speak for themselves- every person in top 6 has made a name for himself playing SC:BW.picture

1st (orky)Asmodey 200 USD + ASUS v9950 Ultra
2nd c14'Maloy 250 USD
3rd FM.Ranger 150 USD
4th M19*BigMan 100 USD
5/6th SK.Insomnia 50 USD
5/6th FM.Assassin 50 USD


A Bulgarian delegation of Insomnia and DiDi8 visited this tournament. And although they did not succeed in the tournament itself, they performed brilliantly in a nationwar showmatch that was hosted right after ASUS was finished.
Bulgaria 2 : 1 Russia
Insomnia 1 : 0 BigMan @ Turtle rock
DiDi8 1 : 0 Soul @ Turtle rock
DiDi8 + Insomnia 0 : 1 Soul + BigMan @ Flood Plains

picture

ASUS Winter 2004


Patches, patches, patches! It was the period of imbalanced and fixes, and the picture turned upside down. Four humans in top 5 have changed into two on the bottom of top 6, signifying a slow and painful demise of human race. Ranger beautifully takes first spot, giving birth to the trend of ghoul-healing scroll undead. In final game against armor he superbly controls his army, bringing them back from the brink of death over and over again by what seemed to be an unlimited healing scroll, in the end losing only two ghouls. I’ll leave the flags out, as the top is all Russian this time.
1st FM.Ranger 300 USD + ASUS ATI 9800XT graphic card
2nd vWeb.Armor 350 USD + ASUS ATI 9600XT graphic card
3rd xL^Pips 200 USD + ASUS ATI 9600XT graphic card
4th [pB]Karma.FM 150 USD
5/6th M19*BigMan 50 USD
5/6th vWeb.Flash 50 USD

ASUS Summer 2004


Skip one. The Frozen Throne is finally out and everyone is anxious to finally show off their skills, and to determine who is the best in this same, but oh so different game. But what is it? What is it? It's Deadman! It's Caravaggio! The new talents who are soon to become biggest Russian stars emerge, pushing the oldschool players back. Perfect balance is to be observed- one of each race in top 4.picture
1st aT-Deadman.vWeb 200 USD+ASUS 9600XT graphic card
2nd 3wD.Karma-FM 100 USD+ASUS A8V Deluxe MBoard
3rd 3wD.Ranger-FM 175 USD
4th 64AMD*Caravaggio 125 USD
5/6th M19*pipS 50 USD
5/6th vWeb.Armor 50 USD

ASUS Autumn 2004

Name might have changed, but the results stayed the same. Deadman takes another ASUS victory. Cara follows right after, making it a 1-2 finish for 64AMD. The balance is gone, and so are orc players.
picture
1st 64AMD.apm70.vWeb 250 USD + *
2nd 64AMD.Cara 100 USD + *
3rd FM.aSSA *
4th [3wD]Flash 80 USD
5/6th SK.HoT.ua 60 USD
5/6th M19*Miker 60 USD
*-video ASUS V9520 Home Theater/P 128Mb

ASUS Winter 2005

The young Ukrainian elf star spreads his wings, placing second, only behind the invincible Deadman. Abver and Orangeman make their first appearance on the big scene. Nightelves dominate the tournament once again, and Flash is the last human standing, cornered, but fighting till death.
picture
1st 64AMD.Deadman 7000 RUB (~260 USD) + *
2nd SK.HoT.c-club 3500 RUB (~130 USD) + *
3rd [3wD] FlasH 1500 RUB(~55 USD) + *
4th RiF)Abver *
5/6th es4x.po1nt.ArsT 2000(~70 USD) RUB
5/6th Zebra_Orangeman.eT 2000 RUB(~70 USD)
*-ASUS EAX600XT HTVD

ASUS Spring 2005

Flash is still fighting, defending the honor of his race, but he’s alone not for long, the help is coming. Deadman sports his new Schroet Kommando tag, and es4x clashes with eT for the right to be the best Russian clan.picture
1st SK.apm70 10 000 RUB(~370 USD) + *
2nd es4x.Flash 7 500 RUB(~280 USD)
3rd eT.Orangeman*Zebra 5 000(~185 USD) RUB
4th eT.M19-Miker 3 500 RUB(~130 USD)
5/6th es4x.Abver 2000 RUB(~70 USD)
5/6th es4x.Armor 2000 RUB(~70 USD)
*-unidentified ASUS graphic card

ASUS Autumn 2005

You don't have to be a prophet to guess it. It’s Deadman winning his fifth ASUS title. Humans launch in invasion, occupying half of the top 6. Orcs are back, as pipS barely makes it into the money, giving hope to little green hearts.picture
1st SK.Deadman 12 000 RUB(~440 USD)
2nd TmG)Caravaggio 7 000 RUB(~260 USD)
3rd play.Abver 5 000 RUB(~185 USD)
4th XyLigan 3 000 RUB(~110 USD)
5/6th es4x.Dollar 1500 RUB(~55 USD)
5/6th Arctica.pipS 1500 RUB(~55 USD)

The truth be told there is no intrigue. Ever since Deadman appeared on the horizon, no one has won. The only one who could possibly contest him, his teammate HoT is not in on the reservations list.
There are to date 98 registered players. But keep in mind that this only reserves and spot, and usually only around two thirds actually show up:

#RaceNicknameCity
1. ICT.RegTeFas Moscow
2. es4x.Crossnet.SdmK Krasnogorsk
3. Real Moscow
4. Point Moscow
5. Easyk[LDPR] Monino
6. SmileR/MeGA Kirov
7. CRueL. Kursk
8. RoW. Moscow
9. GhoST.MiV. Moscow
10. kotyaStiy. Himki
11. UNkaTE[off. Nizhniy Novgorod
12. JeroZ.Moscow
13. Fnatic.Abver. Moscow
14. Tcheslav. Ivanovo
15. Delly. Moscow
16. OoopS. Volgograd
17. MipT.Viggen. Moscow
18. td5.NutS.Odincevo
19. LanFan.Quai. Krasnogorsk
20. Alex. Kalininets
21. Delly. Moscow
22. FOXY. Konakovo
23. ecL)HackeR. Kaluga
24. Wa4A. Moscow
25. iDle.Dwc-vc. Kiev
26. Armor. Moscow
27. Fenya. Dolgoprudniy
28. Yalokin. Moscow
29. Caravaggio. Moscow
30. IQ-180^zelan. Zelenograd
31. SK^apm70. Moscow
32. C24'Moonman. Kerch
33. es4x.CrossNet.NapS.
34. Fabol0uS.
35. apply.
36. es4x.Crossnet.Spail.
37. FrenZy. Kursk
38. XyLigan. Volgograd
39. FanOfYoungBuck. Zarechniy
40. Onix]Poloska.Krasnogorsk
41. Alhont.
42. uTm.TYT. Tambov
43. M19*Miker. St.Petersburg
44. Filon. Moscow
45. Mg]Tereining. Kirov
46. es4x.Crossnet.Neytpoh. Vladivostok
47. kow3.big. Barnaul
48. es4x.Crossnet.Ginsash.
49. es4x.CrossNet.DoLLaR.
50. [3D]jedi. Dmitrov
51. Od1n. Yahroma
52. ecl.Avatar. Moscow
53. ew3f.vortex. Moscow
54. Snake[S2].Moscow
55. LikethegOd. Moscow
56. Kuznetsov Maxim. Penza
57. Mouz.BenQ.GeiL.TitaN.Rostov-na-Donu
58. ShaHu. Moscow
59. Arx0nt. Moscow
60. Infernal. Moscow
61. gmc.KemPeR. Izhevsk
62. ddm. Moscow
63. ImpuLsive.auLe. Moscow
64. Kow3.Swen. Moscow
65. elfsaresux. Vologda
66. NiC.Crash. Tver
67. Tokar. Moscow
68. LanFan.Swip. Moscow
69. Mihan.mx5. Moscow
70. Jin. Moscow
71. gmc.keks. Izhevsk
72. nonameelf. Tver
73. FeaNiN. Moscow
74. ]S1nneR[.Nizhniy Novgorod
75. NiGhTIlluMiNaTe. Moscow
76. Ak-74.GR1N.Moscow
77. G-Craft.DestroX. St.Petersburg
78. G-Craft.FoxXx. St.Petersburg
79. MG.CuCoH. Kirov
80. Domin1on. Naberezhnie Chelny
81. Liveralli. Moscow
82. es4x.Crossnet.Cherep. Moscow
83. sWp.elfsaresux. Zelenograd
84. NiceDay.Tver
85. yMHuca. Moscow
86. m0by. Tver
87. Best. Belgorod
88. cyber.KotG. Ivantsovo
89. Lord^Legalas. Odintsovo
90. ecL)MeF. Magnetogorsk
91. MegaTrade.Satan. Moscow
92. G-Craft.Hex. St.Petersburg
93. Diprest. Moscow
94. Megatrade.CRueLKursk
95. Lord^Den-superman.Odintsovo
96. Megatrade.BESTBelgorod
97. Hasu.iowa Elektrougli
98. Hasu.exQzme-. Elektrougli
Grand Final
SK.apm70[ 2 : 0 ] gmc.Kemper
SK.apm70[ 2 : 0 ] gmc.Kemper

Loserbracket Finals
SK.apm70[ 1 : 0 ] fnatic.XyLigan

Winnerbracket Finals
SK.apm70[ 0 : 2 ] gmc.Kemper

LB Round 6
fnatic.Abver[ 0 : 1 ] fnatic.XyLigan

LB Round 5.5
fnatic.Abver[ 1 : 0 ] mouz.Titan
fnatic.XyLigan[ 1 : 0 ] es4x.Neytpoh

WB Round 5
SK.apm70[ 2 : 0 ] mouz.Titan
gmc.Kemper[ 2 : 0 ] es4x.Neytpoh

LB Round 5
fnatic.Abver[ 1 : 0 ] es4x.SDMK
fnatic.XyLigan[ 1 : 0 ] es4x.Dollar

LB Round 4.5
Arxont[ 0 : 1 ] es4x.SDMK
ecl)Avatar[ 0 : 1 ] fnatic.Abver
fnatic.XyLigan[ 1 : 0 ] ecl)Hacker
es4x.Dollar[ 1 : 0 ] es4x.Koshey


LB Round 4
es4x.Naps[ 0 : 1 ] es4x.SDMK
ecl)Avatar[ 1 : 0 ] Point
fnatic.XyLigan[ 1 : 0 ] LanFan.Quai
cyber.kotG[ 0 : 1 ] es4x.Koshey

WB Round 4
SK.apm70[ 2 : 0 ] ecl)Hacker
mouz.Titan[ 2 : 0 ] es4x.Dollar
gmc.kemper[ 2 : 0 ] Arxont
fnatic.Abver[ 0 : 2 ] es4x.Neytpoh


LB Round 3.5
Highlight Matches

kow3.Swen[ 0 : 1 ] Point

WB Round 3
SK.apm70[ 2 : x ] swp.elfsaresux
ecl)Hacker[ 2 : 0 ] kow3.Swen
mouz.Titan[ 2 : 1 ] es4x.SDMK
MegaTrade.Cruel[ 0 : 2 ] es4x.Dollar
gmc.Kemper[ 2 : 0 ] Petrik
Arxont[ 2 : 1 ] es4x.Relige
fnatic.Xyligan[ 0 : 2 ] fnatic.Abver
MegaTrade.Best[ 0 : 2 ] es4x.Neytpoh

LB Round 3
Highlight Matches

kow3.Flash[ 0 : 1 ] idle.Dwc-vc
Armor[ 0 : 1 ] cyber.kotG


LB Round 2.5
Hightlight Matches

es4x.Naps[ 1 : 0 ] Runo
es4x.Ginsash[ 1 : 0 ] Delly
Yalokin[ 1 : 0 ] MegaTrade.Satan
Armor[ 1 : 0 ] Foxy

WB Round 2
SK.apm70[ 2 : x ] cyber.kotG
Foxy[ x : 2 ] swf.elfsaresux
ecL)Hacker[ 2 : x ] FanOfYoungBuck
MegaTrade.Satan[ x : 2 ] kow3.Swen
mouz.Titan[ 2 : x ] Alex
Ghost.MIV[ x : 2 ] es4x.SDMK
MegaTrade.Cruel[ 2 : x ] ICT.RegTeFas
LanFan.Quai[ x : 2 ] es4.Dollar
gmc.Kemper[ 2 : x ] ecl)Avatar
Petrik[ W.O ] NiceDay
Arxont[ 2 : x ] ecl)MeF
es4x.Relige[ 2 : x ] Point
fnatic.Xyligan[ 2 : x ] es4x.Ginsash
fnatic.Abver[ 2 : x ] ecl)Censored
Stickman[ 2 : x ] MegaTrade.Best
es4x.Naps[ x : 2 ] es4x.Neytpoh

LB Round 2
Runo[ 0 : 0 ] BYE
Filon[ 0 : 0 ] BYE
G-Craft.Destrox[ 0 : 1 ] Jin
Delly[ 0 : 0 ] BYE
Snake[S2][ 0 : 0 ]BYE
Nic.Crash[ 0 : 0 ] BYE
Frenzy[ 1 : 0 ] Shanu
MG.CuCoH[ 0 : 0 ] BYE
Feanin[ 0 : 0 ] BYE
G_Craf.HEX[ 0 : 0 ]BYE
Nightilluminate[ 1 : 0 ] Easyk[LDPR]
TiM[ 0 : 1 ] yMHica
Yalokin[ 0 : 0 ] BYE
idle.Dwc-vc[ 0 : 0 ] BYE
Fenya[ 0 : 1 ] Armor
IQ-180^Zelan[ 0 : 0 ] BYE

Round 1
SK.apm70[ 0 : 0 ] BYE
Runo[ x : 2 ] cyber.kotG
Foxy[ 2 : x ] Filon
swf.elfsaresux[ 0 : 0 ] BYE
ecl)Hacker[ 2 : x ] G-Craft.Destrox
FanOfYoungBuck[ 2 : x ] Jin
MegaTradeSatan[ 2 : x ] Delly
kow3.Swen[ 0 : 0 ] BYE
mouz.Titan[ 0 : 0 ] BYE
Alex[ 2 : x ] Snake[S2]
Ghost.MIV[ 2 : x ] Nic.Crash
es4x.SDMK[ 0 : 0 ] BYE
MegaTrade.Cruel[ 2 : x ] Frenzy
Shanu[ x : 2 ] ICT.RegTeFas
LanFan.Quai[ 2 : x ] MG.CuCoH
es4x.Dollar[ 0 : 0 ] BYE
gmc.Kemper[ 0 : 0 ] BYE
Feanin[ x : 2 ] ecl)Avatar
G-Craft.HEX[ x : 2 ] Petrik
NiceDay[ 0 : 0 ] BYE
Arxont[ 2 : x ] Nightilluminate
ecl)MeF[ 2 : x ] Easyk[LDPR]
es4x.Relige[ 2 : x ] Tim
Point[ 2 : x ] yMHica
fnatic.Xyligan[ 0 : 0 ] BYE
es4x.Ginsash[ 2 : x ] Yalokin
fnatic.Abver[ 2 : x ] idle.Dwc-vc
ecl)Censored[ 0 : 0 ] BYE
Fenya[ x : 2 ] Stickman
Megatrade.Best[ 2 : x ] Armor
es4x.Naps[ 2 : x ] IQ-180^Zelan
es4x.Neytpoh[ 0 : 0 ] BYE
The spring season is coming to an end, and it is time once again to put away our pens and book packs and wipe that dust off your good old mouse and keyboard. The ASUS Cup is here.


It has been long six month since the last time we saw WarCraft 3 in the list of ASUS Cup official disciplines. The most recent Cup, ASUS Winter was dedicated solely to FPS genre, and it is certain the WarCraft players are hungry for money. With ASUS money coming in only twice a year (ASUS Summer 2005 was missing WarCraft 3 as well- in favor of one of its modifications, DOTA) the victory has become twice as important- hey, somebody got to pay the rent!