TheWorld Cyber Games holds a special place in the pro-gaming circuit'scalender, the event itself is more akin to the olympic games than astandard gaming tournament. The WCG's strength lies in its promotion ofthe gaming lifestyle; an element that exists centrally in its ideology.From the opening ceremony including the flag procession and speeches,to the players enclosure and the sheer wealth of activities availablefor the participants - the WCG sets itself apart from every othertournament. As unabashedly proclaimed by its slogan, "beyond the game",the WCG encapsulates the very idea of professional gaming: the comingtogether of players from far flung corners of the globe, to competeagainst one-another in the games they love, for cold, hard currency.Oh, and the sustaining glory of one's victory over his opponents.

WCG: The First Day

Generallythe first days of WCG are rather more eventful than those that followit; the players are still adapting to Singapore's heady climate andcuisine, those that're visiting for the first time usually suffer fromexhaustion and nerves. Not to mention the south-western monsoon seasonthat lasts from June to September, resulting in frequent afternoon andearly evening thunderstorms: it can be an intimidating environ toinhabit.

This year's first day was no exception to the rule, thetournament has only progressed into the third group stage and we havealready seen numerous upsets and rule infractions - perhaps as a resultof the contentious random seeding system - along with controversysurrounding a match between the Turkey and Malasia representatives, butmore on this later.

Thefirst upset of the day came in the form of Polish Pentagram's decisivevictory over the Sweden's Speedlink, on a map proclaimed by the Swedesas one that plays host to their better performances. With both teams'recent results taken into account (Speed's WCG qualifier victory overSK.swe, Pentagram were certainly the underdogs in this match. Fought onde_cbble - a map notorious for the prevelance that a good CT half canbring - the Poles showed their natural tenacity in their defensive playas CT; keeping the bombsites locked down against virtually all ofSpeedlink's attempts to capture the site.

Ending the first half13-2, Pentagram were looking in great shape for the rest of the match -could Sweden's representative possibly hope to come back from such animposing margin? In the second round of next half, Speedlink were ableto eliminate two members of the Polish force via an accurate grenade,this looked like it could be the turning point of the match, butunfortunately for Sweden, Pentagram's deagle prowess was just too muchfor them to overcome.

Speedlink's future in the tournament nowrests upon whether or not Pentagram can defeat Lithuania's Reset in thefinal games of this group. While Reset may surprise the poles, it isunlikely that they will be able to defeat Poland's finest Source team.For Speedlink, at least, it appears that their WCG is almost over.

Thesecond upset of the day happened during the match between thePhilippines's HoA and Finland's Astralis. Depending on who you talk to,Astralis were either predestined for bronze or were bound to beeviscerated before the global audience. However, going by pastperformances and reputation alone, it seemed that although the matchwould be a close one, Astralis would emerge victorious. This however,was not to be the case. The Finnish team's initial momentum broughtthem to a 4-0 lead over HoA, nevertheless the Philippino spirit wasundoubtedly high as they brought back the match, ending the first half9-6. HoA continued their domination in the second half, some greatindividual performances brining the final score to 18-12, in favour ofHoA.

TheDanish team, Level, were tipped for big things at this year's WCG.Their almost uncontested domination of the .dk WCG qualifier set thestage for a triumphant entry into Singapore's premier e-Sports event,however, Romanians The Elder Gods showed their omnipotence in thismatch. Starting with an early lead, Level ended the first half with animpressive 10-5 score against the ascended masters, could TeG turn thetables in the second half? They most certainly could! Starting inconvincing fashion, TeG took the pistol and continued to steamrolltheir opponent, shutting down the bombsites and allowing Level only tworounds, finally ending the match 18-12. A decisive victory for anundoubtedly salubrious Romanian side. TeG advance into the finalsixteen and will probably face Virtus.Pro in the next round of thecompetition.

Apartfrom the above upsets, there is yet more drama to emerge fromSouth-Korea. The WCG rules are very strict - and clear - on ghosting;it is something that is not tolerated within the tournament. In recenttimes ghosting (generally defined as a player speaking whilst dead) hasbecome a contentious issue, online and with the use of programs such asVentrilo and Teamspeak, it is as prevailent as ever. Since most teamspractice online, the urge, and indeed the habit, can become a hardthing to suppress.

The rules on ghosting vary from tournament toevent, but generally speaking, it is frowned upon and in certaincircumstances (recent WCG UK qualifiers in mind) can lead todisqualification of the offending team. The majority of day one's ruleinfractions are ghosting related, both Greece's and Mexico'srepresentatives were charged with the offence, and both, resulting inthe issue of a yellow card - two of which amount to a red card,resulting in a much harsher penalty. Spain was also the recipient of ayellow card, due to a player not being in posession of a WCG badgeduring play. Humorously, Switzerland's representative was issued ayellow due to an unnamed player attempting to steal a WCG mouse fromthe tournament area, their clan leader was aproached for comment, buthas declined, instead prefering to remain neutral. (ba-dum-ting!)

Ina debate that lasted over two hours ending with the filing of a protestwith the ICM - the WCG's governing body - India was accused by Turkeyof 'giving up' once victory was made impossible by the round differenceduring their group match against FMJ. This giving up allowed Malaysia'steam to pickup more rounds - ending in a 26-4 drubbing - thuspropelling them into the final sixteen. Whether or not this was thecase, from here at least, is a hard call to make. It is unlikely thatthe ICM will issue an overruling on the situation, but should any moreinformation appear, we shall endevour to cover it.

So that's day one of the World Cyber Games done and dusted. Stay with HLTV.orgin the coming days for coverage and the HLTV IPs for the forthcoming games. Check HERE to view our WCG coverage area.