The WCG 2008 in Cologne will be go down in history as the best WCG since the finals held in Singapore in 2005. Who should we thank for that? That is debatable.

The organisation brought its old problems with it to Cologne and it is painful to see the same mistakes made over and over.

Why do we keep having to deal with the same things over and over?
WCG has the kind of magic that comes with long years of history and with being a name that television stations in every country know about. Where are the rules, though? Why do we have to keep talking about problems that cost nothing to be fixed? Why is there no seeding? Why are the players still given the opportunity to dodge each other in the play-off bracket? Why are players treated without the respect they are given in other tournaments? Why do we keep having referee scandals?

While the needs of the players are not taken care of, the spectators could not be fully satisfied either. The Warcraft 3 tournament had about 170 matches but out of those you could see only the handful that was displayed on the main stage. Leaning over a fence with other people in an attempt to see something on a screen two or more meters away over a player's shoulder was your only other option.

Moreover, there was no way of knowing what the current scores and standings were and whether or not there was an interesting match going on at a given time. Trying to watch CS games was, at times, literally painful. The small, walled off CS stage could not fit everyone that wanted to watch the important games. Half of those that were lucky enough to watch the final had to sit on the floor.

The camera is more important than you are
Those issues are permanent fixtures when it comes to World Cyber Games finals events. Let's face it - none of that is difficult to fix. The fact the that the very same problems reoccur every year begs the question: "Why do they go unnoticed?" The answer is that ICM, the organisers of the WCG, are not even looking in that direction.

Which direction are they looking in? The hall for the grand final in Cologne was built to look pretty on television, not for you and I to enjoy. That is where the emphasis and the attention is being placed at a WCG. It has to look good in pictures and on television spots and whether or not it is genuine is not always a primary issue.

Appearances seem to be the most important thing at the World Cyber Games, even it is at the expense of parts of the WCG being a sham.

I would know because I was one of those that picked up a silver medal and a cheque at the WCG Samsung Euro Championship in 2007 for PGS Gaming, who had to miss the decoration ceremony in order to play the Extreme Masters tournament. The organisers preferred to have five random men on the podium in order for the pictures to look good, instead one person that actually represented PGS.

This year, many WCG referees carried the flags of various countries during the opening ceremony. The bearer of the Egyptian flag was actually Dutch and the one who carried the Chinese flag looked quite much like a Spaniard.

WCG 2008 in Cologne was a success
The WCG 2008 Grand Final was hardly a perfect event but I must admit: it was a resounding success. The shortcomings of the event have been overcome by an atmosphere so unique and spine shivering that I could only come to next year's final hoping that the same will happen again.

I thank the gamers for that. Those that brought their stories, their hopes and their dreams to the WCG, those who we cheer for and whom we pity when they have to go home defeated. And thousands of those that came to the WCG because they appreciate talent, because they wanted to follow the stories and be there to vicariously experience the emotions of the champions.

WCG's magic comes from its history and from the emotions of the people that are there to see it. What good is a theater without the actor and the audience? The faces of SK Gaming's CS players after they had realised that they had reached the final, the story of the Danes of mTw and how they finally climbed to the very top.

Most of all, the captivating clash between Jang "Moon" Jae Ho and Manuel "Grubby" Schenkhuizen and how the Dutchman somehow elevated himself to the kind of heights he may have forgotten he was able to rise to... And the tears of joy in the audience. That is what was genuine about the WCG. There is a lesson to be learned from that.

That is why it was a success, because in ten years I will not remember the scandals, the problems and the shortcomings of the WCG in Cologne. I will not remember the names of most of the games that were played.

I will remember Grubby punching the air in mad joy after defeating his opponent.