#semifinals; sfs 2

[sonic-fankid-showdown]

Poll 1, Semi-Finals.

About Roxy: (by @somemismatchedsocks) Roxy is a Blue Mason Bee that is a part of Dr. Eggman Nega’s collection of rare exotics! They were made through an experiment by the doctor to create battle ready Mobians that do not exist yet. They love to fly and love hanging around people, although deaf! They were able to escape the Dr. Eggman Nega’s clutched thanks to team Chaotix and spend their time with them!

About Silhouette: (by @kingprinceleo) From my [Leo's] 1000YB au. Shes a bioengineering project that Shadow wants to discard, a combination of his DNA and DNA he scientifically determined was most compatible with his own, a harvest mouse. Though surrounded by love from other sources, she starts to become bitter and act out at the lack of fatherly love she receives from Shadow. He Created her. why doesnt he want her. why doesnt he love her. Very cute baby tho :] She also has some black arms DNA that causes some of her fingers and toe claws to be larger than others

[alacants]

juanki & ferru: the lore

(or, why i am so abnormal about them.)

they've known each other since they were kids in valencia - juanki played youth tennis with ferru's older brother (who was a junior champion) and later ferru spent a year at the academy

"Even when we were little we played together… we have been friends since we were small."

they're self-described best friends + were joined at the hip on the circuit

tennis club unveils a statue of juanki in his hometown? ferru is there. ferru's family throws him a surprise birthday party? juanki is there. holding clinics. going on retreats. traveling to and from tournaments together. coordinating which tournaments they enter so they can travel to and from tournaments together. ← YES, REALLY.

in ferru's own words, "it's always better with him." ok.

they didn't actually play each other that often - their h2h is 7-2 in ferru's favor. they did famously meet in back to back finals in 2010 - appropriately, juanki won one and ferru won the other. :)

in 2009 juanki was called up to the davis cup team for the first time in 4 years. first he was supposed to be a reserve, then he was supposed to play a dead rubber. then fernando verdasco melted down, the fifth rubber became very live, and he ended up single-handedly saving the day and sending them to the sfs.

so when in the final ferru came back from 1-6 2-6 down to beat radek stepanek he immediately raced over to throw himself in juanki's arms, rip alberto costa who got in the way. then of course he dedicated the win to juanki.

the davis cup is just… a whole thing with both of them. so it's appropriate that now etc.

speaking of tournaments that are a whole thing with both of them. after juanki bought the rights to the valencia open, he invited ferru to share them. true love is (checks notes) co-parenting an atp 500 tournament

so when juanki decided to retire he chose valencia as his last tournament 

he went out in the first round. ferru won the entire tournament in his honor. <- they said it, not me.

immediately after ferru's match winner he ran over to find juanki in the stands for a hug so long i had to split it into two gifs

then he dedicated the title to juanki. ("Este triunfo forma parte de ti, te lo dedico exclusivamente para ti.")

they also entered for doubles and made it all the way to the semifinals despite the fact that they had never played a doubles match together before

after their first doubles match (and surprise win) there was a big farewell ceremony during which ferru gave a speech about how juanki was destined by the stars to play tennis and visibly fought back tears as juanki stared soulfully into his eyes.

they got married three months apart, which could mean nothing

when ferru retired in 2019 juanki wrote him a lengthy open letter about his feelings

and threw him a personal tribute celebration. you know, in addition to his actual retirement ceremony.

specifically he held a day long festival of ferru at the jcf academy that included, in decreasing order of normality:

exhibition match feat. some 16 year old kid named carlos alcaraz

juanki/ferru match

unveiling of Pista David Ferrer, aka the new name of center court (and the start of an academy tradition…)

presentation of a PORTRAIT PAINTING juanki SPECIALLY COMMISSIONED of their valencia 2012 embrace

i can actually barely look at it without getting severe secondhand embarrassment but the academy uploaded like a hundred photos to facebook

to this day when they play each other in legends events ferru is out there saying things like I JUST HOPE I CAN PLAY AS WELL AS YOU <3 never mind the aforementioned 7-2 h2h. this man is down just as bad as carlitos and it's been TWENTY YEARS

meanwhile ferru is constantly dropping by the academy for funsies. and in carlos' box. and at his practice. and that's BEFORE you get to the davis cup. 

in summary: what if the royal spanish tennis federation paid you to co-parent a grand slam winner with your boyfriend <3 that's what we call a happy ending!

[sanji-outfit-tourney]

Alright! All the polls for Round 4 are out, which means there's only 2 more rounds to go! Semifinals and finals!! We're going to have to take a couple days off and scatter the polls a bit to let the matches from round 4 finish up, so here's the schedule for the semifinals:

Part 1 SF - Tuesday October 22nd

Part 2 SF - Thursday October 24th

Part 3 SF - Saturday October 26th

And then we'll have to take a break for a week to let the last semifinal poll finish up, so the FINAL three-way match will be on Saturday November 2nd!

[cloudsspoke]

#TODOSJUNTOS World Cup 2022: a review

8 years ago, I wrote a review for WC’14 to remind me that all of my fave teams won the medals; Gold for Germany, Argentina the silver, and the Netherlands got bronze. As for WC’18 I wrote none because of Argentina’s catastrophic result. And now after the La Scaloneta fucking finally became the World Champion I know I have to write how history is being made from my point of view.

And to write better I also know I have to sort out all information that I have before I put it into words. The problem is, tho it has been a week since the most stressful night, my emotion is still fucking raw from what happened, and my head is dizzy thanks to my PMS, but I want to write it soon while my memory is still fresh. So, pardon my messy review.

I start this by telling you what I did an hour before Qatar played their first game against Ecuador. I went to google to know the players who’ll play this year. I wanted to check how many familiar names I know since I am no longer an avid soccer/football fan like I used to be in the past.

For starter, Der Panzer. They still have Neuer, Muller, Kimmich, Gotze, and Gundogan. As for Argentina even though I claim myself as their fan but tbh I really am not familiar with them since their last 2018 squad, so I only know Messi, Dybala, Di Maria, and Otamendi. Netherland: Van Dijk, Depay, De Ligt, and Blind. Spain: Busquets, Morata, Asensio, Dani Carvajal, and Jordi Alba. France: Mbappe, Griezzman, Giroud, Lloris, Dembele, Varane, Pavard, and Coman. Some other familiar players: CR7, Pepe, Suarez, Cavani, Ochoa, Modric, Harry Kane, and Maguire.

And then I also looked out to which games that worth watching because my old body can no longer wake up at 02.00 am to see my fave teams play.

You’d be surprised if I tell you that as far as I can remember I only watched Qatar and England’s 1st game, Spain vs Germany, some Les Blues’ games but I forgot the opponents, Netherlands vs USA (Round of 16), Morocco vs Spain, Netherland vs Argentina (QF), Argentina vs Croatia (SF), and ofc the Final match between Argentina vs France. #shameonme to only watch the last 3 games of Argentina. But I remember that I said this to myself, 

I won't forgive myself if Argentina drops out of the tournament before I have a chance to watch one of their games.

Ironically the first game from La Albiceleste that I finally watched was when they went against the Netherlands. My heart is already torn into pieces because one of them will go home. Before Weghorst tied the game, I was confident for Argentina to face Croatia in Semifinal. But I wasn’t confident if they could beat Croatia since I heard news about just how marvelous Luca Modric’s team was (they brought tears to Neymar ffs!). But after Weghorst forced them to play extra time, my heart shifted direction toward Der Oranje. And so, they gave in to penalty shoot-out. Dibu Martinez blocked not one, but 2 penalty shoot-outs from the Flying Dutchman squad. 

Funny how I wasn’t that sad for the Netherlands maybe because I know they are all still young there’ll be next time.

Next game, Argentina vs Croatia. My only comment was just how lucky Alvarez was to play alongside Messi in this World Cup. Messi’s assist to his 2nd goal was just the absolute best. 

And I was happy that Scaloni finally gave Dybala a chance to play for the first time when he replaced Alvarez 15mins before the game ended. Not only that, but I also read how Scaloni wasn’t afraid to let the young players take part by letting them play.

There was 2 days break before D-day. I used it to watch La Seleccion’s docu-series the one available on Prime. It tells about Argentina’s journey to win Copa America 2021, Finalissima 2022, and their Road to Qatar. By watching that docu I got more insight into this team and learned more about the players.

While watching Argentina I noticed they have Walter Samuel as one of their Assistant Coach. But from the docu, I just realized that they have Pablo Aymar and Roberto Ayala as well. I am familiar with the three of them, but I don’t remember their coach Lionel Scaloni as a player at all.

From the docu I believe we’re all agreed that one of the factors that this team looks pretty amazing is because of the camaraderie between the players and the whole Coaches/Staffs. It’s obvious. 

The players show so much respect towards Scaloni. And I love how the young players really look up to the senior players (to Messi, I mean) while at the same time the senior players seem like make sure these chicos are comfortable during the whole training sessions and thus, they create such a strong bond.

In one interview Dibu said he’d be happy to see the senior players win the title, seeing just how much pain Leo, Di Maria, Kun, and Otamendi had to face from all the previous losses (4x Runner Ups: 3 Copas, 1 WC), he also added that he’d die just to win the tournament on behalf of Messi. I think everyone on that team is more than willing to die just to see their captain lift that World Cup trophy.

Then I thought, my decision to watch that docu could backfire on me because now I know the inside story of this team, it’d crush me more if they lost for the 5th time. I mean, I’ve been there in all those devastating final games, I don’t think my heart can afford to see if Di Maria cries one more time, not when I know this final will be his last game with La Seleccion. That’s why I only watched 3 eps out of total 6 episodes from the docu series.

Everything about this final game is nothing but pressure. And without further ado, to the final game we go.

First of all, something I didn’t get it is when I read some fans said they don’t wish to see Di Maria in Scaloni’s starting lineup. Some fans said Di Maria only plays better as a replacement. 

But guess what? Scaloni did the opposite and Angelito was the reason behind Messi’s first goal, which was taken from a penalty kick after Dembele’s foul on Fide.

Not only that, he also showed us once again his magic. That this guy always scores a goal in every Final game that Argentina ended up winning. 2008 Olympic game 1-0, 2021 Copa America 1-0, and the latest 2022 Finalissima 3-0.

Then he was benched in the 2nd half. The pundit said there was a change once Di Maria was out because Acuna couldn’t play like him, and meanwhile, France got their chance to attack back and that’s how Mbappe tied the score with his 2 goals which led to the extra time. I wondered why Scaloni had to wait until ET to play Lautaro and Paredes. And oh boy, once he was in, Lautaro gave new energy for Argentina right away and that’s when Messi scored his 2nd goal,

 but the celebration didn’t last long when Mbappe scored his hattrick that made Di Maria cover his teary worried face with a towel. El Fideo cried already.

At last, a Penalty shoot-out would determine the winner.

I’m telling you this, I always feel like throwing up every time I get stressed because of watching a penalty shoot-out. That happened again in this game. And I always cover my ear and shut my eyes when it’s my fave team’s turn to kick. I did the same when Messi, Dybala, and Paredes kicked the ball. But I was aware when Dibu blocked Coman’s penalty and closed my eyes again when it was Montiel's turn.

Otamendi Kun is exactly me during the penalty shoot-out

Players marched toward 3 different points; Messi, Martinez, and Montiel.

    So that’s how history is written. One that will definitely live in our head rent-free. How Messi led his team to win the World Cup. Added 1 star for Argentina’s jersey, the 3rd title after the last one they had with Maradona in 1986. Everyone agreed this final is one for the book with all the dramas that happened on the field. Mbappe stole the Golden Boot with 8 goals, while Golden Gloves, Best Young Player, and Golden Ball all belong to Dibu, Enzo, and Messi.

What a night. What a memory.

 Interesting stories from this WC to name a few:

The host Qatar sparked controversies at the beginning of the tournament. One of the reasons, due to the weather FIFA delayed the tournament until December and put a temporary pause on the ongoing European Leagues, which caused so many star players couldn’t participate due to the injuries that happened during the leagues.

The most-shocking result came from German, who failed from the first start thanks to Japan. 

Marocco steals everyone’s heart by beating Spain (Round of 16) and Portugal (Ronaldo’s last World Cup, he returned to the dressing room walked in tears) as they marched toward semifinal, becoming the 1st African country ever to do that.

As from the Argentina squad, people from across the world unite as one to celebrate Messi made his dream come true. While haters talked about how this is a rigged tournament as they believed FIFA is in favor to let Messi win World Cup because half of his goals are from a penalty kick.

And then we got Emiliano Dibu Martinez who sparked controversies after controversies which later gave him this....

Are you #TeamDibu or not?

And Kun Aguero who retired last year due to his heart problem, came to Lusail Stadium (as per Messi’s invitation) with Otamendi’s #19 jersey, blended in just fine with the other ‘official’ squad when Argentina celebrated their winning over France.

People don’t get John Terry’s jokes istg something is wrong with those people. I mean, I even get the joke!!

As for Dybala, crazy how he played no longer than 30-40mins throughout this WC but ended up as one of the key players for his successful penalty shoot-out in the Final and his last minute’s tackle/clearance over Mbappe’s attempt.

Dybala later said Dibu gave him the direction to where he should point his shoot

And my personal favorite goes to the jokes of the year about how people nicknamed Rodrigo de Paul as Messi’s bodyguard, just because when there’s Messi, you’ll see De Paul right next to him. Always together, rarely separated.

Also, it’s a crime not to mention how Papu transformed himself into ‘Beckham’ with his new haircut which also began “the Beckham jokes”, all thanks to Kun’s Twitch streaming which took place a couple days before the QF game.

And again, thanks to Kun’s IG Live streaming, we saw all the crazy stuffs La Scaloneta squad did as part of their celebrations on their dressing room.

Messi gone crazy + Nico (one of their staff) took a dive into a trashbin

I can’t wait to see Messi goes back to France, meeting Mbappe on PSG after his whole squad did this to his clubmate 😂

+bonus pict: Kun & Beckham Gomez

The final night felt so magical. Maybe because everything is about Messi and his dream. Although this team started off badly, losing to Saudi Arabia in their 1st match but they came back stronger afterward. And people who believe in such a thing as fate will say that the stars have aligned for the Scaloni team. Copa America 2021 for instance, they should have played the 2nd game against Brazil in Argentina, but due to Covid19 they were forced to play the final in Maracana. It was later revealed from the Netflix Docu (the one I don’t watch yet because the series isn’t available on my country) that Messi's pep talk to his team was about how fate led them to win the long-awaited trophy against their long-time rival, Brazil, in their enemy’s own place.

De Paul also got his prediction correct for the 2nd time; first when he -while intoxicated- said in a video that they will win Copa in Maracana, and 2nd when he wrote “La Seleccion will win World Cup 2022” on his jersey.

As if all that Nostradamus prophecies isn’t enough, Di Maria’s wife also revealed the WhatsApp chat Fide sent to her a day before the final, for her husband who strongly believed they will win the trophy and for him to score another Final goal.

Now, can we talk about Di Maria?

This national team has been through so many thin moments ever since the Messi era, but I stay loyal since 2007 Copa America because I have my favorite players (Mascherano then, Di Maria now), and Fide was the reason I felt so overpoured with emotions. 

This is the feeling that, even though I cheer for Germany & Netherland NT, but with them I have no players I dote on. And I’m beyond relieved knowing both Fide and Leo stay for more games with their Argentina jersey, cuz I can’t afford losing the legendary trio (Leo - Fide - Kun) altogether in such a short time.

In short, this World Cup is really a happy ending story for so many souls. Most notably, as I said previously, this triumph belongs to the trio Leo - Kun - Fide who’ve been side-by-side since the 2008 Olympic games, bestfriend from that moment, although club-wise the three of them once a rival in La Liga -before Kun finally moved to Barca only for Messi to leave him to play with Fide in PSG for a while (Kun only has a roommate priviledge but Fide won the prize for being a clubmate with Leo)-. Within a year, the trio helped their National Team to win all 3 prestigious tournaments.

 p.s: I cried watching the crowd erupted when Fide-Leo hugged each other 😭

Such an unforgettable moment for us to live by as we are all so lucky to witness this World Cup final game :’)

[stateofsport211]

NextGen F SF: Joao Fonseca [8] def. Luca van Assche [6] 4-2, 4-2, 4-1 Match Stats

📸 Tennis Channel

It was a total masterclass from J. Fonseca despite L. van Assche's best efforts to hang on, even at the latter's slightest chances. The eighth seed's more balanced appearance became evident thanks to his 22-9 winners-unforced errors ratio (+13), where 13 of his shot winners came from his forehand, which helped him controlling the flow, starting from the pressure points in the first two sets. As a result, the Brazilian generated overwhelmingly 14 break points, converting 4 of them compared to L. van Assche's non-existent break points.

To add, this was also a decent serving day for J. Fonseca to back up his returning, winning 84% points on serve as a confirmation. Landing 71% of his first serves, he won 85% of his first serve points, where most of his service games were unreturned serves (at least 47% of them) as he dominated the match from there. However, there was a stark contrast in both players' second serves, as L. van Assche's 42% second serve points won only made it more vulnerable for him under pressure.

Fifth seed Learner Tien awaits in the final, who stunned second seed Alex Michelsen 2-4, 4-2, 1-4, 4-0, 4-1 in the semifinals earlier that night. This 2023 US Open Junior Boys' Singles final rematch would be their second professional meeting in this tournament alone, but considering J. Fonseca's dominant victory (bar the third set) in their group stage match, Learner's ability to match his rhythm (and to some extent, power) would be tested as this match progressed. This could be intriguing to close this tournament, as well as putting 2024 to a close before the next season starts with the United Cup the upcoming week!

[theshillongtimes]

Paris Olympics: ‘We wanted to play Germany in final’, says Harmanpreet ahead of hockey SF

Paris, Aug 5: After scripting a heroic win against Great Britain in the Quarter-Final of the Paris Olympic Games, a charged-up Indian men’s hockey team led by Harmanpreet Singh will take on a familiar foe in Germany on Tuesday in their quest to ‘change the colour of the medal’, here at the iconic Yves-du-Manoir Stadium.

For India, Harmanpreet (22’) netted a goal, while Lee Morton (27’) was on the scoresheet for the Great Britain as the match ended with score tied at 1-1 in the regular time, thus forcing the game into the shootout, where India converted all their chances and denied their opponents twice to win the match 1-1 (4-2 SO) and make it to the semifinals, where they face world no 2 Germany.

[rafaelnadalfans]

Roland Garros SF: What time does Rafael Nadal play against Alexander Zverev?

Roland Garros SF: What time does Rafael Nadal play against Alexander Zverev?

Rafael Nadal and Alexander Zverev will be going head-to-head for the tenth time in their careers when they meet in the semifinals of the French Open on Friday. Date: June 3, 2022 Match time: Rafa is first match on Court Philippe Chatrier. 2:45 PM local time / 8:45 AM EDT –  New York, Montreal /  1:45 PM BST – United Kingdom / 2:45 PM CEST – Spain, France, Germany, Italy / 10:45 PM AEST –…

[losangelesvalorant]

old/historic matches to watch while owl is cancelled

here’s a list (with links to the vods!) of a bunch of important/my favorite matches i made for lucy and i to watch while everything is shut down, check a few of em out if ur also bored and pining for owl. not a comprehensive list, just the ones i remember being cool and also a few random ones thrown in for context and nostalgia. bolded are must watch matches, bolded and italicized are REALLY must watch matches. ive also spoiler marked concurrent matches. feel free to add on as well!

2016

[EnVyUs vs. Rogue semifinal at atlantic showdown]

[FaZe clan vs. Cloud9 final during august monthly melee]

Apex Season 1

[reunited vs. runaway]

[rogue vs envyus]

[kongdoo panthera vs. LW Blue]

[Kongdoo uncia vs. NRG]

[Conbox vs. lunatic-hai] 

world cup 2016

[Australia vs. South Korea]

[russia vs france]

[US vs South Korea]

[misfits vs fanatics grand final at dreamhack]

Intel Extreme Masters

Afreeca Freecs Blue vs. Lunatic Hai - semifinal

[Set 1] 

[Set 2 ]

[Set 3] 

[Set 4] 

LW red vs [SPOILER] - final

[set 1]

[set 2]

[set 3]

[set 4]

[immortals vs c9 during monthly melee december]

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2017

Apex season 2

[BK Stars vs envyus]

[LW Blue vs. misfits]

[lunatic hai vs runaway]

[and bonus clip which isnt in the vod]

[Afreeca freecs blue vs. c9]

[Kongdoo Panthera vs LW Blue - quarterfinal]

[Runaway vs. [SPOILER] - semifinal]

[meta athena vs lunatic hai - semifinal]

[[SPOILER] vs [SPOILER] - GRAND FINAL] please watch this match its so good

[immortals vs LG Evil - carbon series grand final]

Rivalcade

[Selfless vs. BK Stars]

[Splyce vs. envision eSports]

apex season 3

[Lunatic hai vs. mighty AOD]

[runaway vs Afreeca freecs blue]

[Conbox spirit vs. flash lux]

[meta athena vs. bk stars]

[lunatic hai vs lw blue]

[[SPOILER] vs [SPOILER] - GRAND FINAL] imo the best match of pro ovw ever played

contenders season 0 EU

Laser kittenz vs eunited

[set 1]

[set 2]

[set 3]

[set 4]

contenders season 0 NA

couldnt find vods of any of their matches but if u can find any watch fnrgfe, kungarna, and lg evil’s matches

Contenders season 1 EU

Misfits vs. c9 - semifinal

[part 1]

[part 2]

contenders season 1 NA

faze vs envision - semifinal

[part 1]

[part 2]

world cup 2017

[UK vs taiwan - couldnt find the full match, only highlights]

[south korea vs austria] the only real must watch map of this is volskaya but please watch it its SO fucking funny

[south korea vs canada - final]

apex season 4

im gonna be real i only watched the final of this season so i cant rec specific matches but ive heard it was pretty good

[[SPOILER] vs. [SPOILER] - GRAND FINAL] the second best match of ovw ever played

[Lunatic Hai vs. Miraculous Youngster - OGN SuperCup] couldnt find an english vod but this match was SO good

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2018

i was super tapped out for like all of 2018 so im probably forgetting a ton of good matches, pls add the ones i missed!

OWL stage 1

[sf shock vs valiant]

[dynasty vs fuel]

[nyxl vs outlaws]

[mayhem vs spitfire]

[dragons vs fusion]

[nyxl vs dynasty]

[outlaws vs spitfire - semifinal]

[nyxl vs [SPOILER] - final]

OWL stage 2

[valiant vs mayhem]

[outlaws vs gladiators]

[shock vs outlaws]

[fusion vs valiant]

[nyxl vs fuel]

[dynasty vs dragons]

[fusion vs spitfire - semifinal]

[nyxl vs [SPOILER] - final]

contenders korea 2018 - season 2

Runaway vs. Kongdoo Panthera - final

[part 1]

[part 2]

OWL stage 3

[shock vs gladiators]

[uprising vs nyxl]

[dragons vs fusion]

[fuel vs mayhem]

[spitfire vs dynasty]

[uprising vs spitfire]

[uprising vs nyxl - final]

OWL stage 4

[nyxl vs valiant]

[uprising vs fusion]

[fuel vs spitfire]

[nyxl vs shock]

[valiant vs gladiators - semifinal]

[fuel vs nyxl - semifinal]

[[SPOILER] vs [SPOILER] - final]

OWL Playoffs

the playoffs format in s1 was super fucking confusing i dont understand how it worked honestly. [heres where u can find all the vods] just watch all of the matches tbh

[OWL All-Stars Weekend - link to all the vods]

world cup 2018

[UK vs. USA - quarterfinal]

[South Korea vs China - final]

[[SPOILER] vs. canada - bronze medal match]

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2019

OWL stage 1

[fusion vs spitfire]

[spitfire vs justice]

[defiant vs reign]

[spark vs gladiators]

[dragons vs uprising]

[valiant vs outlaws]

[hunters vs titans]

[mayhem vs justice]

[dynasty vs nyxl - quarterfinals]

[shock vs titans - final]

contenders NA 2019 - season 1

[FUni vs mayhem academy]

OWL stage 2

[reign vs nyxl I]

[reign vs nyxl II]

[hunters vs spitfire]

[outlaws vs fuel]

[dragons vs shock]

[valiant vs dynasty]

[justice vs uprising]

[dragons vs shock - quarterfinal(?)]

[titans vs [SPOILER] - final]

[OWL all-stars weekend vods]

OWL stage 3

[outlaws vs nyxl]

[outlaws vs shock]

[hunters vs shock]

[valiant vs titans]

[fusion vs dragons]

[dragons vs nyxl - quarterfinal]

[titans vs [SPOILER] - semifinal]

[shock vs [SPOILER] - final]

OWL stage 4

[mayhem vs spitfire]

[justice vs titans]

[nyxl vs hunters]

[nyxl vs titans]

[charge vs fuel but like only for the unkoe pause]

overwatch contenders EU 2019 - season 2

Clockwork vendetta vs HSL - semifinal

[part 1]

[part 2]

OWL playoffs

[fusion vs dragons]

[spitfire vs [SPOILER]]

[charge vs dynasty]

[shock vs reign]

[spark vs [SPOILER] - loser’s bracket]

[winners’ bracket final]

[losers’ bracket final]

[GRAND FINAL]

the gauntlet

[talon vs element mystic]

[runaway vs element mystic] the match is somewhere in the middle of the vod

[ATL academy vs. [SPOILER]] again somewhere in the middle of the vod

world cup 2019

[france vs south korea group stages] the vod is dead but theres at least highlights

[france vs china - semifinal]

[usa vs south korea - semifinal]

[sonic-fankid-showdown]

Poll 2, Semi-finals.

About Maria: (by @6larosie9) Maria was a lab baby made by Eggman as a way to collect and protect the chaos emeralds. He used Sonic and Shadow's DNA so she would be extremely strong and fast, and a very difficult challenge to anyone who tries to get in her way. Maria, Sonic, and Shadow are unaware they're related for the time being. She's a very determined hedgehog, competitive and cocky, and quite loyal to anyone she deems friends or family. Also, she secretly adores the outdoors and nature, but she'd never tell Eggman that.

About Blake: (by @st4rrzyy) A ruthless, apathetic tool in the eyes of Dr. Starline. Created to finish what Surge couldn't, and to prove that Dr. Starline's vision was underestimated by Eggman.

[hannawatchesesc]

So hi! I wrote that rant few days ago, and decided to watch Eurovision: The Story of Fire Saga just for… fun(???) This is my edited live reactions, and serious not spoiler free nit picking.

Here you go, so you don't have to watch it. These are in the order of appearances.

This is made with EBU???

Why the fuck Americans cannot play Europeans without terrible accents

Not really sure if Iceland has this terrible electric grid? If the power will cut if you use two keyboards and disco lights, maybe you should be worried about your infrastructure…

Picturing Icelanders as wool/fur dressing people living in the 1950’s, seriously.

Yep, for sure the Nordic way of life, living with your parents as 50-year-old.

I think these names aren't Icelandic

Iceland: whales, wool, fur, knitting, Vikings, glaciers, and icebergs. Elves. Lava fields. Northern Lights. So many jokes about being relatives and everyone knowing everyone.

I think only thing they forgot is Blue Lagoon and the football chant.

The after recording of the dialogue is terrible????

 

Ja Ja Ding Dong is really kinda good. It should have been in Icelandic, and it could have been "the iconic national winner which never qualified for finals, but everyone back home loves”.

What is that 1950’s buss? This movie makes Iceland seems like a third world country, not the 16TH RICHEST in the world based on GDP per Population.

People not caring about national final…

I'm going to die of second hand embarrassment.

I don’t understand this “Iceland is in the middle of nowhere, so they have never seen modern stuff” narrative. I’m surprise they didn’t travel to Scotland in Viking ship.

Like Icelandic people, have you seen minifridge and hotels before? Based on this movie, you haven’t.

There aren’t any pre-Eurovision things at all for performers.

Oh god I hate these accents.

Why they talk like toddlers all the time? It's like adult people in Europe don’t use adult vocabulary when speaking English. (Like, they just used word "club dancing"?)

 

I feel like this Russian song isn't really the song Russia would send...

I see the homophobia commentary, but he is so stereotypical Russian oligarch type of character.

Pls. Shouldn't there be a little more people in rehearsal? Press and audience maybe?

They haven't rehearsed at all? Have they sat at home for two three months doing nothing?

They just casually decided remix their song and start rehearsing it DAYS before semifinal.

No costumes, no staging, no choreography?

"Everyone hates UK so zero points" à THEY EVEN MADE A JOKE ABOUT THIS, AND STILL ESC IS HELD IN UK

I think Iceland has champagne glasses.

How they don’t know other competitors? Lars is supposed to be ESC superfan.

 

I this sing along part was kinda fun.

In the bigger context just a fan service kind of feeling, like “see, these people are legendary right, here you go, have Alexander Rybak for like 5 seconds.”

And why they started it with Madonna and Cher? Very Eurovision related. Not at all used for Americans to understand even something. How about using ABBA and Celine Dion if you wanted something familiar for US audience?

Think how amazing this could have been if they would have talked their own languages!

Mark "second hand embarrassment" as my cause of death.

These American tourists are like one jab on Americans, and rest of it is making fun of Europeans being mean to them.

This movie is sooooo slow

 

Why Scottish hosts are from Eastern Europe?

As a Finn I'm not going to accept that cheap copy of Lordi was representing Belarus, mixed with 2015 Belarus???

And as a Finn I can say for sure Wonderfour would never qualify from our National Final.

Didn't they read the rule book first? Anyone? I think you can find it in PDF in Google (you can)

The staging is so underwhelming. And this audience wtf?

As if they wouldn't stop the music when performer could be hurt.

I think it's almost insulting to say, that audience would laugh at anyone in Eurovision.

Lars is super selfish all. The. Time.

Nobody checked if they were alright after that accident.

 

This voting system? Spain, Italy, UK, Germany performing? Too many performers on stage? I though Finland was in this semi, but hey, I think they just guess starred and never made it to voting part even though they performed.

Did the Icelandic delegation just leave Sigrid alone in the green room?

How the fuck this movie can lasts 2 hours?

Now Switzerland and France are giving points, and they are not in this semi?

Russia was one of the countries in the scores, but he said that he wasn't performing in this semi?

He is going to die to hypothermia before reaching the shore. Water is super cold if they are dressed like that.

Aand after saying that. Why they are dressed like that? It's supposed to be May? They were dressed like in the middle of winter when they were in Scotland. Even Northern Europe has spring in May.

 

Where are modulations? Wind Machine? Pyrotechnics?

How Finland is now in on final, when they didn't qualify from the semi WHERE THEY PERFORMED? Or where they moved to another semi? Was firs SF overbooked?

I don't know if this final confession would be allowed in Eurovision

And suddenly they changed the song?

Thank you, Graham Norton, for pointing them being disqualified.

So they had rulebook after all.

And everyone is like well this super basic ballad is so touching. I can most definitely name 50 similar songs

Language change, why.

Also, this movie had one ballad. That is the most unrealistic thing.

 

End thoughts

This whole movie seems like unnecessary prolonged version of this America Is So Winning Eurovision Next Year from The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. I can't even choose which one is more offensive.

Out of all European countries they chose Iceland and Greece (super popular tourist destinations), Russia (well you know US-Russia relations) and UK to be the center of the story. I guess it could have been Germany and France instead of Iceland and Greece to be more even more obviously “European”

Making the semi look at least somewhat correct could have been so easy. How it is even possible to mess that up so badly.

ALL EUROPEANS HAVE VERY STRONG ACCENTS!

Here is actor from UK, Sweden, and Greece! And all these Icelandic extras. Europeans!

Can we talk how problematic is the fact that 1) Will Farrell is 10 years older than Rachel McAdams (why Hollywood cannot cast actors that are same age and equally attractive?), 2) TWO attractive female characters are all over him like he’s the most amazing, charismatic and beautiful man in the Europe, 3) This movie isn’t passing Bechdel test

All the dick/incest/fart jokes are super American type of humour.

[eurovision-song-contest]

It hasn’t happened yet that a participant I voted for in the semifinal didn’t pass. So Brendan and NaviBand, please don’t disappoint me.

[borisbubbles]

ESC2019 Preshow #18

18. ROMANIA Ester Peony  - “On a sunday” SemiFinal 2, #06

~Oi see da smøk rrrrrrrois freummmm deeeee eshhhhdrrrrreyyyyy ~

ENTRY ANALYSIS

You can forgive me for posting the NF version here, but “On a sunday” is one of those songs which comes alive ONLY during the live performance. I just love how she sllllllllrs her wrrrrrrds; See above. It’s funny to me that Ester, who is Canadian, has such questionable English diction but then I remember she’s from the FRENCH-speaking part of Canada 😍😂

Anyway, “On a sunday” is an interesting song to me for many reasons. A of all, it’s probably the closest thing we had to a genuine shock NF winner in this season, which is always exciting. B of all, um hello it’s a dark, vindictive gothic powerballad and I’m only gay, after all. 

Personally I quite love the theme Romania are going for: I can definitely get ~Bride of Dracula~ vibes and you can FEEL the overwhelming anger and pain and thirst for revenge in Ester’s voice, which I think are very powerful attributes. Having said that though, the song itself is sorta weak lol. I mean, it has potential, which is already capitalizes with its Mrs. Havisham-themed styling, (there’s a reason it won Selectia Nationala and that’s because it GLEW UP), but “On a sunday” gives me less in terms of actual replay value and fun factor. It’s a curious entry and my interest is piqued but as if yet not fully retained.

NF CORNER

Time for the longest part of the write up because of all the shit I need to address here. 🙄

Well FIRST of all, I will NOT be addressing Laura Bretan because i don’t give a fuck about “Dear Father” and never have.  Yes, she’s probably not gay-friendly, but I don’t give a care, honestly. I care about entertainment value and “Dear Father” was a BORING FUCKING SLOG to get throug. I’m happy it lost to something which i actually cared about. :-)

Who will I address? Let’s start with my faves. Nearly everyone favourited either Laura or Bella, but not I. I loved Trooper with their exquisite pirate rock:

Lol this almost literally sounds like “Yo Ho A Pirate’s Life For Me!” but I Adorez It anyway <3 It’s so cheesy and gimmicky but I enjoyed it and YOU WOULD HAVE TOO, DON’T LIE. 🍺

And of course there’s also Bella Santiago, half-Philippina, half-Romanian biracial butterfly 🦋

AN ARMY TO FIIIIIGHT FOR LOOOOOOOOVE!!!!!! Adding some lines in Tagalog <3 Everyone compares it to “Fuego” but this sounds way more like a mashup of “My Number One” and “The Balkan Girls” to me? I”Army of Love” is a fun-dispenser from start to finish. She should have won (literally. She was TVR’s chosen one.)

Sigh, I suppose this is where I also address the meltdowns after Ester won? Oh man, I don’t want to fucking address ... all of this, but the jist of it is this:

Laura Bretan was, as stated previously, boring and was rigged out because of it. Emmelie de Forest then ruined Bella with her TerribleDanishTaste™. The Laura Fans blamed, in increasing order of severity: TVR, Ester and “The Evil Wiwibloggs Gays” and even tried to get Ester DQ’d because the result wasn’t what *they*, fewer than 4000 people in a country of seven million, wanted. 🙄

(the funniest/saddest comment I ever read on the debacle and perhaps the entire internet period calls out William and Deban as -wait for it- ‘HOMOPHOBICPHOBICS’ lmfao how even. How dare those evil homos be phobic towards those poor homophobes!!!! #StopHomophobicphobiaNow #JeSuisBretan). 

(and if anyone had any doubts Laura actually did make a public statement saying she still supports the message of the anti-lgbt marriage vid she appeared in 🙃)

Shit got SO BAD Ester refused to appear on public television for WEEKS, afraid of being badmouthed and attacked. Poor woman. Vile, toxic BULLYING by Wild Jokahs On A Gold Throne is NEVER the answer. Remind me to quote this when we get to Italy, a bit later in this ranking.

Qualification Odds: Borderline (+)

Obviously, after the entire ordeal she had to ensure I ABSOLUTELY WANT Ester in the finale even if she’s barely in my own top 10 for said SF. I don’t dislike Laura, but I do hate her fans and every instance which proves them wrong counts as a moral victory against cyberbullying to me :-)

I wish I could say with confidence that she qualifies though, but the reality of the matter is that Ester is Borderline at best. Romania’s best chance is if they go ALL OUT on the ~Gothic Vampire Queen~ idea they’re currently preparing and make it dramatic, powerful and visually enthralling (without taking themselves too seriously, obvi). If they manage that or similar, they should pull of qualification or at least come very close without embarrassing themselves. 

Projected Placement: 6th-12th in the SemiFinal. If she qualifies, 12th-20th in the Grand Final. 

Link to the masterpost

[brazilvision]

Ok so who do you think will qualify in the first sf?

Ooooh interesting question!! So, looking at the rehearsals, my personal predictions for semifinal 1 are the following:

To NOT qualify:

- Montenegro- Finland- Estonia and Belgium (rip, I love these songs… Belgium is actually my favorite song from SF1! But to be honest I don’t think they were memorable enough in the clips I have seen so I think they will be kinda forgotten and won’t receive enough points to qualify :/)- San Marino (I hate to say that about king Serhat but personally I don’t see this song qualifying as of now… but I hope I am proven wrong!!)

Certain qualifiers:

- Australia and Greece (I think that either one of these songs is going to win the semifinal btw!)- Iceland - Cyprus

Most likely will qualify:

- Portugal (this is kind of a risky entry that people either love it or hate it; but to be fair I think that when it comes to televoting, it is better to have 50 people who has a song as their last and 50 people who have it as their first rather than 90 people who have it at like 12th place; also, Spain and France are voting in this semifinal and that benefits Portugal)- Czechia (I was more confident on this before the rehearsals but I still think that it will be a qualifier and possible dark horse for the left side of the table/bottom top 10; but let’s see)- Slovenia (different from Portugal and Czechia, I thought that this would be a NQ before the rehearsals – even though I love the song. However, after seeing the first rehearsal clips, I think that this song will qualify!)

So, as of now I have picked 7 finalists and 5 NQs; but we still have other 5 countries left, which I’ll call them borderline qualifiers: Poland, Hungary, Belarus, Serbia and Georgia. My thoughts on those countries are the following:

- I think that Hungary and Serbia are qualifying. Hungary because it has been a permaqualifier since 2011, and the staging is looking pretty good, so I think this will be a qualifier. I am not so sure on Serbia because they are a pretty borderline qualifying country (since 2013 they have placed somewhere between 9th and 11th in the semifinal, and that is PRETTY borderline qualifying imo)… but I think they will be able to pull through because Montenegro is on their semi (and that means 24 points coming to them) and also I can see the song having enough points from other countries (especially the juries) to manage to get the magical 110 points to qualify. So yeah, I think Serbia is qualifying too.

- I think that Georgia is still a NQ, BUT after today’s rehearsal it could be a shocking qualifier and we must watch out for it. Honestly that staging REALLY elevates the song.

- Now, for the last spot of my SF1 qualifiers’ prediction we have Poland and Belarus left… it could go either way between those two honestly. However, since Poland usually does well enough with the televoting to be able to qualify (except last year, but even then it placed among the top 10 of the televoting) and most of Belarus’ voting partners are in SF2 (except for Georgia), I think I will give my last spot of the SF1 qualifiers to Poland.

So to sum up, those are my SF1 qualifiers prediction (sorted by probability of qualifying):

CERTAIN QUALIFIERS:

1. Australia (possible semi winner)2. Greece (possible semi winner)3. Iceland4. Cyprus

MOST LIKELY QUALIFIERS:

5. Portugal6. Slovenia7. Czechia

BORDERLINE QUALIFIERS:

8. Hungary9. Serbia10. Poland

----11. Belarus12. Georgia

NOT QUALIFYING (rip)

13. Belgium14. San Marino15. Estonia16. Finland17. Montenegro

[stateofsport211]

Helsinki Ch SF: Kei Nishikori def. Max Hans Rehberg [Q] 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-2 Match Stats

📸 ATP official website

M.H. Rehberg had some fair opportunities as he broke K. Nishikori when the latter should have served for the match, but the moment went away after his game points were fumbled in the beginning of the second set. By then, K. Nishikori regained his rhythm and went after M.H. Rehberg's shots, eventually landing some crucial shot winners as he dominated the third set. As a result, the German qualifier might have had 13 break points, but K. Nishikori optimized his 12 chances to break by breaking 5 times in this match.

Furthermore, K. Nishikori also appeared more solid on his serves. Even though both players scored 2 aces, the unseeded Japanese had the slight edge on his first serves as he won 68% of his first serve points, 6% more than M.H. Rehberg, which helped him to control the flow from. On the other hand, M.H. Rehberg risked a lot more of his second serves as he double-faulted 4 times, where his rushed follow-ups also faded his second serve winning percentage 10% below K. Nishikori at 41%.

In the ongoing finals, which will be K. Nishikori's first since his Palmas del Mar Challenger title last year, he faces fifth seed Luca Nardi, who survived another rollercoaster after defeating Denis Yevseyev 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(4) in the semifinals. This possibly dynamic match could test their return depth and aggression, while balancing should be the key for either of them to stand out in this match. This could be tricky even barring their respective semifinal marathons, but this could also deliver even better goods!

[nesiaslife]

Ginting 2014

Pernah enggak kalian selama ini ngefans sama seorang idola lalu melihat agamanya apa? Kalau iya, berarti sama dengan gue di masa lalu. Jadi begini ceritanya. Alkisah di masa gw masih SD-SMPan gw dah suka banget sama namanya badminton sepaket dengan atlet-atletnya. Gue suka ama Taufik Hidayat, Lilyana Natsir, Maria Kristin, Simon Santoso, dan Sonny Dwi Kuncoro. Tapi ada perasaan gimana gitu pas beberapa idola beda keyakinan ternyata sama gue. Perasaan seperti tidak memiliki lagi ketika berbeda. Kenapa mereka enggak seagama aja sama gue. Aneh ya, emang aneh, tapi ini nyata guys.

Then gue masuk kuliah pada 2013 di Universitas Indonesia. Saat itu gue bertekad untuk mempelajari semuanya dan keluar dari lingkungan yang begitu homogen. Ya bayangin aja, TK di RA, SD di MIN, SMP di MTS, SMA di MAN, gimana ga homogennya lingkungan gue. Semua temennya Islam dan Jawa dari lahir. Ga bisa bayangin lagi kalo gue kuliah di UIN kek kebanyakan temen SMA gue, pasti temen gue akan masih homogen. Eh ini kok gada kaitannya ama Ginting dah? Sabar ya sabar.

Oke, lanjut ketika kuliah di UI emang ternyata lingkup pertemanan gue mulai berwarna-warni. Gue punya teman Kristen pertama bernama Flo yang sejurusan. Gue punya temen main badminton bernama Nando yang keturunan Tionghoa dan beragama Katolik. Ada juga dulu yang namanya Sherly yang sering gue tanya-tanya seputar bahasa Mandarin. Juga ada Memey yang adalah seorang Budhis dan Jay dari Bali yang beragama Hindu. Pertemuan dengan mereka nyatanya membawa perasaan baru di hati gue. Mereka semua baik, mereka menghargai keyakinan gue. Dari perkenalan gue dengan mereka itu justru menguatkan tesis gue akan ayat Alquran. Bahwa, manusia di Bumi yang berbeda-beda, berbangsa-bangsa ini diciptakan untuk saling mengenal. Perspektif gue pun semakin luas. Dan ini pun berdampak signifikan pada hal yang gue sukai, yaitu badminton.

Medio 2014 gue ikut acara pelatihan jurnalis yang diadakan Djarum. Tempat latihannya di Kompas Gramedia, Palmerah. Cukup ribet untuk dijangkau untuk anak yang masih newbie di Jakarta macem gue. Tapi tak apa, kadar ambi gue masih mendominasi kala itu. Nah, salah satu tugas terakhir di acara tersebut adalah meliput gelaran Sirnas di Gedung Asia Afrika. Sewaktu di Gor, gue yang masih cupu ihwal jurnalistik--ya gini aja sih gue ini kuliah sejarah, sedangkan peserta lain mostly anak komunikasi dan jurnalistik haha--sekarang juga masih cupu sih, crawling next step lah, mendengar ucapan peserta lain yang nyebut Ginting Ginting. Dalam batin gue, sokap itu Ginting semacam pemuda Batak ini kedengarannya. Tapi nama Ginting entah kenapa langsung nyangkut di hati gue. Kok gue langsung banyangin ni orang yang namanya Ginting pasti mainnya sangar. Nah setelah gue tanya senior yang selalu baik dan mau gue tanyain, Kak Abi, Ginting-Anthony Sinisuka Ginting-ini adalah ternyata andalan Indonesia saat itu. Tahun 2014 doi dapat perunggu World Junior Championship dan Olympic Youth Games.

Di Gor Asia Afrika itulah gue melihat Ginting untuk pertama kali. Kalau ga salah pake jersey putih merah. Gue lupa pastinya. Tapi dia emang masih young kala itu. Remajalah, sama kek gue. Ya gue ama Ginting cuma beda setahun gengs. Ginting dikerubutin banyak wartawan, keknya dia menang deh. Tapi dari situ keknya semesta menakdirkan gue jadi fansnya Ginting, jeder. Gue mulai seneng kalau denger kabar dia menang dan jadi penasaran gimana sih pola mainnya si Ginting ini.

Gue baru berkesempatan nonton Ginting live di Istora itu 2015 silam. Itupun gue masuk enggak beli tiket. Ya because gue lagi ikut lomba supporter Indonesia Open. Ini ceritanya gue dan 19 orang temen gue dandan yang rame dan yel yelan yang rame buat ngedukung pemain Indonesia. Masuk gratis, dikasih makan, dan dikasih Rp 1 juta setim buat beli peralatan. Jadi, kalao kalian lihat di TV ada penonton yang dandannya aneh dan mereka ada 20 an orang nyanyiin lagu supporteran, niscaya mereka sedang ikut lomba supporter guys. Gue pun niat banget ikut dan rela bolos kelas sejarah Turki pertama kali. Keknya juga bolos gue pertama sebagai mahasiswa. Sehingga dari bolos itu gue mendapat stigma negatif dari sang Dosen. Hahaha tapi sekarang CS dong, dan doi selalu inget gue. Sering kirimin info beasiswa juga.

Dan di sela-sela gue teriak itu, Ginting yang masih 18 tahun main di court 1 lawan Kidambi Srikant. Menang dong. Dan dari kemenangan itulah nama Ginting mulai naik. Padahal di turnamen itu dia cuma ditargetin lolos ke babak utama (R1). Secara doi merangkak dari babak kualifikasi guys.

Tapi sayang, cowok asal Cimahi itu kalah sama Kento Momota di Quarter Final. Rame sih orang sempet rubber. Ginting emang masih kalah jam terbang karena baru mentas dari junior. Dari Indonesia Open itu, virus streaming Ginting mulai menjalar ke tubuh gue. Ini maksudnya setiap Ginting main pasti gue selalu streaming di Inet. Ga peduli apapun. Nah virus itu mulai parah di tahun 2016. Ya iya, soalnya performa Ginting mulai menanjak. Apalagi pas Thomas Cup. Omegod itu dia kek selalu menang terus tapi kalahnya di final sama Jan Ojor. Asli gue sakit hati banget pas itu. Saksinya si Reni n Ida-temen kost-, kalau gue nangis pas Indonesia kalah ama Denmark. sakit sih.

Di balik kepedihan nyata dari Thomas cup, prestasi individu Ginting mulai menanjak. Ya tahun 2016 doi pertama kali masuk semifinal setelah di QF berdarah-darah ngalahin Chen Long. Harapan terpampang nyata saat di babak SF ketemu wakil Korea yang juga masih bau-bau junior, Jeon Hyok Jin. Seinget gue pertandingannya ketat banget. Si Jeon ini bahkan pelatihnya cewek. Tapi, belum rezeki Ginting guys. Australia Open ini  ibarat Ginting dah mulai masuk tunggal putra leveel menengah. Sayangnya poin belum cukup untuk ikut Olimpiade Rio.

Nah masuk 2017 harapan pada Ginting tetap membara. Berharap di usia Ginting yang menginjak 20 dia bisa menggondol gelar super series pertama. Ya, secara gini aja, Taufik Hidayat jadi pemain tunggal putra peringkat 1 dunia di usia 19 tahun. So, ga salah dong kalo gue berharap Ginting bisa menyamai prestasi A' Opik. Tapi, belum rezeki. Ginting masih muter di ranking 20-30 dunia.

Sampe peertengahan 2017, saat gue lulus jadi mahasiswa hahaa, Ginting belum juga juara Super Series. Raihan terbaiknya adalah SF di Singapore Open. Ya, ya gue tetap masih setia mengharap Ginting dapat juara. Gue pun dari awal nazar kalau setiap Ginting Juara, pasti akan gue post di Instagram gue. Gue ingin mencatat perjalanan Ginting dengan IG gue hahaa. Dan, akhirnya Tuhan mengizinkan gue melaksanakan nazar pada November 2017. Omegod Ginting akhirnya masuk final di Korea Open setelah mengalahkan andalan tuan rumah di SF, Oppa Son Wan Ho.

Sayangnya, di final Ginting harus ketemu sama Jonatan Christie. Tapi maaf Jo, tanpa rasa galau atau bimbang sedikitpun, gue langsung mendukung Ginting untuk menang. Set awal Ginting menang, gue tenang. Tapi set dua Ginting kalah dan gue panik haha. Set ketiga keduanya sama-sama gontok-gontokan. Ga ada yang mau ngalah. Sama-sama pengin menang. Kaki gue kaki dan tangan gue dingin lihatnya. Sampe deuce-deuce-an. Dan, alhamdulillah, Ginting juara men. Gue loncat-loncat sendirian di kost dan tereak ga jelas. Rasanya pengen nangis. Ya gimana guys, mungkin Ginting emang tidak serupawan putra bulan, tapi gue ga pernah mikirin. Bagi gue, selagi dia main badmintonnya bagus dan menghibur, kegantengan itu akan mengikuti sendiri. Iya kan lihat aja nettingnya Ginting, halus n tipis banget. Keindahannya sampe ke hati. Apa lagi kakinya Ginting, omegod kelincahan berirama yang sungguh elok dipandang mata. Plak plak, tapi ini emang real opini gue ya.

Kebahagiaan tak terkira juga dateng pas Indonesia Master 2018. Ini tahun pertama super series dihilangkan guys. Diganti sama level. Nah Ina master ini levelnya 500 same as super series. Nah ini diadakan di Istora untungnya. Jadi gue bisa nonton. Nah, berhubung di tahun itu gue udah bekerja jadi jurnalis di kumparan jadinya kalau mau nonton gue harus izin sama editor gue tercinta, Mpok Salmah. Ya gue jujur aja izin ganti libur mau nonton badminton. Bagi gue ga ada salahnya kok izin jujur. Ga perlu gengsi haha. Gue ambil hari Kamis dan Sabtu. Kamis, ya karena itu masih banyak pemain yang tanding. Sabtu, ya karena temen nonton gue liburnya hari itu, Tria, Riandi, n Kak Tiara. Di kedua hari itu secara live gue menyaksikan Ginting main. Di Kamis dia menang lawan Kantanpon dari Thai, relatif mudah. Nah di SF ini yang agak deg-deg ser. Doi menang dong lawan CTC (sorry gue ga bisa nulis lengkapnya karena masih mengalami trauma hati). Ginting menang rubber. Padahal kaki gue dah panas dingin euy.

Di babak final gue ga bisa nge-live Ginting di Istora. Secara gue masuk kerja. Hah masuk? Ya dung. Sebagai anak baru yang baru 3 bulan, gue masih menerima sistem libur 2-1-2-1. Dan, misal minggu itu ada 2 libur, ga bisa dua-duanya diambil di hari wiken. Satunya harus wikdey. Tapi itu dulu guys. Sekarang gue dah libur 2 hari di semua wiken. Hamdalah.

Nah jadi gimana final Ginting? Jadi saat itu Ginting akan lawan Kazumasa Sakai asal Jepang. Gue sangat optimis Ginting bakal menang. Gue dah ngeset jam 2 siang untuk menghentikan pekerjaan dan sejenak menyaksikan Ginting. Eh karena gue seperti biasa salah jam, sering banget ini, ternyata Ginting mainnya jam 1. Ya Allah, jadi pas gue dah siap-siap mau ke pantry nonton Ginhting, beberapa temen gue WA, selamat ya suaminya menang. Lah apaan nih. ternyata Ginting dah main dong. Menang dua set langsung. Gue nyesel dan mo nangis rasanya ga lihat secara live. Oh iya ihwal suami itu gue ga pernah mendeklarasikan diri ya. Ya karena gue ngefans Ginting sampe titik nadi ya itu yang membuat temen gue memberi julukan demikian. Ya padahal ga mungkin juga ya Ginting jadi suami gue hahaha.

Tahun itulah Ginting mulai masuk 10 besar. Udah mulai elite lah ni si kumis tipis. Tapi sayang bet, doi  masih naik turun prestasinya. Abis menang, besoknya kalah di R1. Kan seperti dipermainkan ya harapan ini haha. Tapi gpplah, gue yakin juga pasti  dah berusaha keras.

Tahun 2018 juga jadi tahun yang gue tunggu2 selama ini. Yak, Asian Games. Ajang olahraga multievent terbesar se Asia yang bakal dihelat di Jakarta. Pengennya sih Ginting juara. Tapi, ngelihat ada Yuqi, Kento, kok rasanya agak berat. Emang AG 2018 ini terdrama.

Drama dimulai dari pertandingan beregu. Ginting jadi tunggal pertama secara peringkatnya emang paling bagus dari keseluruhan tunggal Indonesia. Emang sempet kalah sama Kemot, tapi di partai lain kita berhasil buat keok Jepang. Alhasil jadilah Indonesia masuk final. Ketemu China di sana. Feeling gue sempet optimis ni. Mengingat skuat kita jauh lebih mateng daripada pas Thomas Cup.

Drama dimulai ketika gue kehabisan tiket untuk nonton di Istora. Saat itu hari libur Idul Adha, tapi gue lagi piket masuk kantor. Nah, gue ajak aja temen kos gue, salah satu temen terbaik gue, Ida , untuk nonton ke GBK karena di sana disediain layar tancep gedhe hahahaa. Magrib Ginting dah mulai main. Set satu mulus bak jalan yang baru diaspal. Ginting menang tanpa ampun. Tapi, set dua doi kalah. Gue pun memutuskan caw dari kantor (Pasar Minggu) menuju Istora karena Ida dah nunggu di pos pantau. Alkisah gue ga sanggup menyaksikan pertandingan itu dan berharap sesampai GBK dapat kabar baik kalau Ginting menang.

Sampai di GBK ternyata relaitas menampar gue. Beberapa penonton meneteskan air mata. Ginting tampak diobati di pinggir lapangan. Kakinya pincang. Doi cedera. Omegod. Pengobatan pun berjalan lama. Ginting sempat bangkit dan melanjutkan pertandingan yang mana dia kurang satu angka aja supaya bisa menang lawan si juki. Tapi fisik ga bisa boong. Ginting ga bisa jalan. Ya Allah kalau ingat momen itu gue pun masih sedih dan bisa berlinang air mata. Ginting kalah tapi bagi gue itu sangat terhormat. I love u Ginting.

Hati gue kalut. Gue takut Ginting ga bisa maju ke babak individu dengan fisiknya yang demikian. Apalagi di R2 dah ketemu Kemot aja yang rank 1 dunia. dah gue hanya bisa berdoa saat itu.  

Oke hadangan pertama berhasil diatasi, dari mana ya gue lupa, apa Maladewa ya keknya. Nah, tibalah R2. Ini ketemu kemot bang. Udahlah gue pasrah dan hanya bisa berdoa dalam hati, please Ting, please. Dan beneran dong, Sinisuka Ginting ngamuk. Kemot dibabat 2 set langsung. Dari situ asa gue akan Ginting juara AG mulai membungbung tinggi. Di QF dia ketemu Chen Long yang juga berat tapi menurut gue anti bat ama permainan Ginting. Ya, Ginting akhirnya ke SF. Ketemulah dengan CTC. Dan gue berkesempatan menyaksikan langsung ke Istora. Gue semangat 45 neriakin Ginting dan pake iket kepala segala. Tapi CTC asli jahat. Kemenangan Ginting di depan mata, saat set 2 dia pupuskan begitu saja. Gue lemes dong. Dan saat itu gue beneran terpukul. Ah lebay...tapi emang ini bakal kejadian gue rasa ke kalian saat idola kalian terluka. Ya gak? Apalagi lukanya begitu pedih. (Itu sejarah kenapa gue segak suka itu ama CTC). Oke gapapa dapet bronze, turnamen lain masih banyak.

Ya betul, ga jauh dari itu, akhir September Ginting juara di China 1000. Gue sempet pesimis karena lawan pertama adalah Lin dan. Tapi doi menang. Nah R2 lawan Viktor, berat juga karena doi juara dunia. Tapi sayang gue ga bisa lihat karena lagi liburan kantor ke Bali. Dapet kabar kalo Ginting menang mudah gue seneng bat. Malang sih di QF lagi2 ketemu Chen Long. Gue juga masih di Bali kegiatan jadi ga bisa streaming. Doi menang.

Besoknya lawan CTC, asli ge pen bat ginting balas luka itu. Gue untungnya dah dalam perjalanan ke JKT. Di jalan menuju ngurah rai gue mulai streaming Ginting. Didukung dengan pesawat delay akhirnya gue streaming Ginting di bandara. Saat itu gue nonton ama Brian, rekan kantor yang paham kalo gue suka bultang. Gue teriak2 pas Ginting main. Omegod pake rubber segala. Gue takut luka lama terulang. tapi tidak begitu ferguso, Gintinglah pemenangnya. Pas final gue dah sampe JKT. Gue nobar ama temen, Tukijah. Tak dinyana, Ginting menang mudah atas Kemot. Kemot dibuat bingung tak berdaya dengan netting lettipis setipis helai rambut dan juga smes setajam silet.  Ah senengnya. Ini salah satu dari 3 gelar prestisius dari World Tour.

Masuk 2019, gue berharap Ginting langsung ngegas kek 2018. Tapi sayang, dia gagal mempertahankan juara di Indonesia master. So far tahun 2019 doi belum juara sampe Juli ini. Dua kali jadi runner up di Singapore Open kalah ama Kemot dan di Ausie Open kalah ama Jojo. Gue berharap Ginting lekas juara di masa pacekliknya kini. Gue berharap Ginting bisa dapat medali Emas di Olimpiade Tokyo nanti. Aamiin. Tapi, di tahun ini Gue berhasil bertemu Ginting secara langsung dan dekat. Awalnya pas di Bandung Februari lalu, tapi doi lagi buru2 jadi ga bisa diajak foto. Nah yang kedua kejadian April lalu pas di Malaysia. Itu gue emang sengaja main ke hotel pemain Indonesia nginep. Tapi harapan gue ketemu Ginting dan minta foto begitu kecil mengingat Ginting dah kalah di R1 dan mungkin juga dah terbang ke Sgp. Secara gue datang pas hari Sabtu which is itu dah babak SF.

Tapi Tuhan maha baik gengs. Pas gue mainin kucing di teras hotel, Nana, partner liburan gue bilang kalau Ginting lewat. Fix gue langsung mengumpulkan niat untuk manggil dan minta foto. Ginting mau dong. Omegod gue ga boleh gemeter. Gue pun cekrek cekrek foto ma doi. Gue juga sempet bilang "Ginting semangat ya, semoga juara di Singapur." Dia pun tersenyum. Oh Tuhan. Ya setelah gue semangatin itu nyatanya doi emang langsung ngegas ke final haha.

Nah pas gue post foto ama Ginting banyak netizen merasa lega karna akhirnya gue bisa foto bareng idola. Keknya hampir semua orang yang kenal gue, tahu kalau gue nge-die hard fans Ginting hahaha. Bahkan adek gue yang 13 tahun dari Kediri sampe tahu kalau gue ngefans ama Gin. Tapi, ada satu pernyataan adek gue yang menurut gue gimana gitu pas gue mudik kemaren.

"Coba Ginting Islam ya."

Nah dari empat kata itu gue langsung ceramah PxL. Gue memberi pengertian ke adek gue kalau selagi seseorang berjuang dan berprestasi bagi Indonesia, tak peduli agamanya apa, kita tetap harus menghargai. Berbeda tak masalah. Adek gue hanya diem. Mungkin dia ga ngerti ya hahaa. Secara doi baru naik SMP dan lingkungannya masih homogen banget kek gue  dulu. Jadinya gue memahami , oh itu apa yang diucap adek gue masih wajar karena dia belum banyak mengenal dunia ini. Makanya gue jelasinnya ga pake gas atau marah-marah.

Nah, Ginting nyatanya turut menjadi figur dalam perjalanan spiritualitas gue. Gue yang sekarang enggak peduli orang agamanya apa. Asal dia berjuang dan berprestasi bagi Indonesia, menginspirasi anak bangsa, pasti akan gue hargai. Bahkan dalam suatu hari, salah satu rekan kerja gue bilang kok Nesia sukanya sama yang beda. Dalam konteks macem Ginting ya. Ya karena itu guys, lingkungan yang berwarna itu yang membuat gue bisa demikian. Ya yang gue fans-in selain Ginting, ya macem Yuta watanabe, Jerome Polin, sama Roger Danuarta (udah convert baru2 ini).

So, tulisan ini apa artinya? Ya gue selalu percaya setiap manusia punya perjalanan masing2 yang akan membawa dirinya pada suatu perubahan. Perubahan versi gue ditempuh lewat badminton. Kalau kalian apa? Bisa kalian tuliskan atau rekam atau apalah, supaya apa? Supaya kita ingat dan bisa memperbaikinya. Mantappu....

[rafaelnadalfans]

Indian Wells SF: What time does Rafael Nadal play against Carlos Alcaraz?

Indian Wells SF: What time does Rafael Nadal play against Carlos Alcaraz?

21-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal will take on 19th seed Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals of the Indian Wells Masters on Saturday. The pair met in the second round of the Madrid Masters last year, with our champ winning 6-1, 6-2. Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images Date: March 19, 2022 Match time: Around 3 PM local time / 6 PM EST –  New York, Montreal / 10 PM GMT – United Kingdom /…