Academician of "Club of creative companies" of MERLION sounds proud!

The final of the first season of intellectual game "Club of creative companies" of MERLION has been held in November 18, 2011. Qualifying stages were held throughout the year in various regions of Russia, and the final tournament gathered objectively the smartest, most charismatic and most creative members of the Russian IT industry. The "Radisson Royal" yacht was the venue for the final, and the route was laid along the Moscow River in such a way that one could from the board have spectacular views to the major sights: the Kremlin, Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, monumental bridges and many other beautiful sites.

Before the game, a banquet was organized for the guests, during which representatives of the teams were able to get to know each other more and interact with MERLION representatives and participating vendors AOC, BenQ, Brother, HP, Lenovo, Samsung. HP was represented by Natalia Ushakova, the company's partner relations manager. EPA was represented by Andrey Samoilov, the company's business development manager in Russia. Vadim Homyakov represented BenQ, while Andrey Bulatnikov, partner relations manager, represented Lenovo. Brother in the final tournament was represented by IT troops in the person of Ildar Khasanov, the company's sales channel development manager, and Sargis Baseyan, head of the department of sales channel development. Stanislav Erofeev, partner relations manager, traditionally represented Samsung in the finals.

After the banquet, the intelligent teams took their game place. The representatives of the vendors, who in turn were awarded letters of appreciation, delivered welcoming remarks.

And then came torrents of tricky, unexpected, funny questions and tests directed towards the participants. As a result, the final table got an unexpected appearance, primarily because the bronze was shared by as many as four teams! A break of points between the finalists "Igr Razuma" (meaning – 'mind games') was extremely minimal. And the banner of leadership this time around was really passing as the winner changed from competition to competition. The game itself was reminiscent of the intellectual and creative "shootout" in which the best man won. But as you know, only the final score matters, and not the intermediate result.

The participants are always many, while the winner is always one – St. Petersburg's team "Troe za stolom ne schitaya Romy" (meaning – "Three at the table, not counting Roma") with an impressive result - 48 points to end the game! The St. Petersburgers once again confirmed their status as the intellectual capital of Russia, and the number 7 (table number) was truly lucky for them! The second placed team "Tekhnostil" was also of the metropolitan team from Central Chernozem - Voronezh (44 points). Here, truly "you can’t catch up with Voronezh!" Four bronze medalists of intelligent all-round (43 points each) could not catch up with Voronezh: Chelyabinsk team "V fokuse" (meaning – "In focus"), Kuban's "Krepkie Oreshki" (meaning – "Die Hards"), team at the qualifying stage at Lake Seliger "KreM" (meaning – "Cream"), and Ufa's "KKK Ekspressiya" (meaning – "KKK expression"). "Slavyanskie Govoruny" (meaning – "Slavic talkers") throughout the game went neck and neck with the prizewinners of the intellectual competitions, who eventually earned 42 points. Samara's "Buek" (meaning – "buoy") (35 points) and Perm's "Megatron" (meaning – "Mega throne") (27 points) both stood the test of intelligence with honor.

The most erudite team received honestly earned cash prize of $2,500, and the traditional cake and certificates of academicians! Prizes and gifts were awarded to all the participants in the creative contest. The "Golden Voice" of the competition was also rewarded – Evgeny Kulakov from the "KKK Ekspressiya" team (Ufa). The organizers also appreciated the individual achievement of intellectuals who showed ingenuity, creativity and erudition. The "Die Hard" Dmitry Solovyov (from Stavropol) was named the best player of the tournament. He received a special prize in the form of a Globe, konfederatka (a peaked cap), which is a hat of an Academician, and the tournament diploma.

Congratulations to the winners! See you next season!