As you all know, Nazgul, Tyler, Jinro, TLO, HayprO, Ret and HuK are in Dallas this week to take part in the MLG Pro Circuit National Championship. Join us here on TL as the action unfolds live at the first SC2 event attended by the entire team. [More]
Ret and HuK to Korea, 7th/10th Nov 2010
Jos "Ret" de Kroon and Chris "HuK" Loranger leave for Korea this week after taking part in MLG Dallas. Stay tuned as we follow them to Incheon. [More]
TLO back to Europe, Early Nov 2010
Liquid is happy to announce that starting this month their European lineup will once again boast the presence of Dario "TLO" Wunsch. TLO will leave for Germany after returning to Korea from MLG Dallas and from his home town of Leipzig will represent Liquid at both continental and international events. [More]
As you all know, Nazgul, Tyler, Jinro, TLO, HayprO, Ret and HuK are in Dallas this week to take part in the MLG Pro Circuit National Championship. Join us here on TL as the action unfolds live at the first SC2 event attended by the entire team.
If you're in Texas that weekend you should definitely head over to the TL meetup. If you're not though, never fear, because thousands of us will be here on the forums and on IRC as Liquid takes to the tilesets. Will HuK return as MLG Champion? Will TLO's infestors rule the roost? Will Liquid flood the podium? We certainly hope so!
If you're going to make a cheerful though, you better get going - the games are only a few hours away. The Cheerful Contest is here as usual, but if you're looking for inspiration you need to look no further than this IRL cheerful designed by Tyler's biggest fan - his wife!
Ret and HuK to Korea, 7th/10th Nov 2010
Jos "Ret" de Kroon and Chris "HuK" Loranger leave for Korea this week after taking part in MLG Dallas. Stay tuned as we follow them to Incheon. Jos will leave on the 10th, which Chris will fly out directly from Dallas on the 7th.
While Ret has been there before, it's HuK's first time in Starcraft central and we look forward to bringing you updates from the duo as they join Jinro and HayprO at the Liquid-oGs team house. This move also means that for the first time Liquid has a Terran, a Protoss and a Zerg in Korea, and we're sure that this is going to be a major boon for the team as they get ready for the GSL Open #3.
TLO back to Europe, Early Nov 2010
Liquid is happy to announce that starting this month their European lineup will once again boast the presence of Dario "TLO" Wunsch. TLO will leave for Germany after returning to Korea from MLG Dallas and from his home town of Leipzig will represent Liquid at both continental and international events. Although a move that may come as a surprise to many, TLO's change of residence is a personal decision and one that the team stands behind.
"Family and friends are an important part of my life, and while Korea was a great learning experience, I think that being in Europe for the time being is the right decision for me," said Dario. "Due to a number of reasons I do not wish to go into at this time, living and playing in Germany is what will benefit both me and my team the most right now, and I'm thankful that my team understands this."
Team manager Liquid Victor "Nazgul" Goossens said that the team fully supported Dario's decision. "Ultimately, we just want our players playing at their best - whether they're playing the GSL or MLG or IEM" said Victor. Pointing out that Liquid's line up in Korea would soon be strengthened by Jos "Ret' de Kroon and Chris "HuK" Loranger, Nazgul said that TLO's departure also meant that the team continued to have a foot in Europe, and that this benefited them. "As an international team, our focus is on playing on every major stage worldwide. The GSL, as important as it is, is only a part of that vision, and with our other players in Korea we think it's a good opportunity for Dario to move back home and live and play well for us in an environment he is comfortable in."
Keep a close eye on future weeklies for more from Dario as he moves back home and gets ready to dish out domination like it's the beta all over again. Gogo TLO!
HuK wins EG Master's - Event Finished
HuK 3-1ed Slush this week in the Grand Finals of the EG Master's Cup to take away the 1000$ first prize. HuK cruised through ViBE, Drewbie and Machine to make it there, and put the finals away before falling to Idra 3 - 1 in the subsequent MSI Notebook showmatch.
HuK looks in great form and we look forward to seeing him bring the ownage at MLG Dallas this weekend and then give the GSL Open #3 quals his best in Korea.
Although we hadn't heard much from Tyler in the past few weeks, it was great to see him back in action this week against Idra in the Gosucoaching Showmatch. Going 4 - 1, Tyler took the Bo7 with solid, aggressive play and we're certainly excited about his chances at MLG Dallas this week as he goes for the gold in his third MLG. If you haven't seen this showmatch already, grab the VODs and catch some high calibre Protoss vs Zerg action.
Ever wanted to sit down and talk about your race with three of its best? Well, now you can. Look below to eavesdrop on a group chat between TLO, HayprO and Ret and see what they have to say about being of the swarm in this day and age. When you're done, be sure to grab the attached replay pack as well.
Hello RetTLOprO! How have the Liquid sons of the swarm been doing lately?
TLO: I can't complain, it’s been great to be reunited with my brothers of the swarm again!
HayprO: Everything going according to my secret plans, both gaming wise and personal.
Ret: I’m good.
How do you guys feel about Patch 1.1.2 and the changes it brought the three races?
Rets: ZvZ is imbalanced.
HayprO: ZvT not impossible any more. ZvP I’m still having trouble vs different timing attacks. Jos told me that the key to ZvP is making banelings to stop the protoss first attack but I’m not having any success with that strat. Seems that every Protoss I play goes sentries.
"I still think it’s stupid that you can't build a barracks before supply anymore. It’s not like that entirely broke the game, but it seems to take away a lot of diversity... then again, that’s just my Terran heart speaking."
Jos: Yeah, cos I want you to lose to a Protoss at MLG Dallas so I won’t have to ZvZ you.
HayprO: That’s kinda mean.
TLO: I still think it’s stupid that you can't build a barracks before supply any more.It’s not like that entirely broke the game, but it seems to take away a lot of diversity... then again, that’s just my Terran heart speaking.
Jos: 2 Barracks marine is a good way for Terran to pressure still.
HayprO: Yeah I still feel that going fast expand vs Terran is risky.
TLO: Yea ... I don’t know, it seems kinda lame.
Ret: I don't think ZvP changed all that much but it's because I don't really do roach/ling allins early but it seems to work pretty well vs Protoss who wanna expand so I’ll have to start using it. And yes, ZvT seems pretty balanced now I think.
TLO: I think the roach range 4 helps a little against force fields at least, so that’s good.
Ret: All the whining about muta/ling/bane is pretty unjustified... because macro Terrans who go tank marine do fine vs it.
TLO: Yeah, definitely!
Ret: And people will continue to get better at marine spreading
HayprO: Yeah, that’s when Zergs needs to make a couple of infestors. Otherwise the banelings won’t be cost effective.
"ZvT muta/ling/bane vs marine/tank reminds me a lot of SCBW gameplay and I get into lots of long games with drops/infestors and lots of harass going on and I think that's great."
Ret: ZvT muta/ling/bane vs marine/tank reminds me a lot of SCBW gameplay and I get into lots of long games with drops/infestors and lots of harass going on and I think that's great.
TLO: I just build zerglings only vs that composition. If you hide that you do that it actually obliterates tank marines. It’s funny!
Ret: But sieged tanks own zerglings.
TLO: Not 250.
HayprO: Lol 250 zerglings.
Ret: If terran never attacks you gonna be maxed on lings who will all die.: D
TLO: Yea that’s true. That’s why you have to hide it.
Ret: You just have to make sure drop is ready by the time you are maxed so u can drop off the garbage and then resupply with useful units.
Haypro: I think you can play vs marine/tank without heavy banelings.
Ret: :D
HayprO: But I think you need infestor then, or really good flanking.
TLO: Anyways, zvt seems completely fine in later stages of the game now I guess.
Ret: Imo on a map like xel naga caverns or metapolis, if terran gets a pf on their 3rd base they can just camp and it becomes hard then. ;D
HayprO: You need to forsee that and already have hive done and 4th base done.
Ret: I have 6 bases done by the time you normally have your 3rd, Haypro. It’s still hard.
HayprO: Yeah, but you make too few drones. Only having hatcheries won’t get you the units.
Ret: True, thx for the tip.
HayprO: No problem.
TLO: And you make too many, Hayder!
Ret: There is no such thing as too many drones, you wannabe Zerg. The amount of drones you make equals the size of your e-penis.
HayprO: I think more than 120 drones is not needed.
Ret: Lol, realistically you should never go over 90 I guess. 80 = good. TLO: Yea I think 80 is fine. 70 even maybe. I don’t feel like you need to saturate all bases
HayprO: 70 is 3 bases. If you take a 4th fast then you need more.
Ret: But only for geysers.
HayprO: Depends.
Ret: You have enough minerals already with 3 fully saturated base, especially if one of them is a gold!
HayprO: Sometimes you want the minerals.
TLO: I mostly want the gas. For the t3 units.
HayprO: It’s not all about the gas. You can play sc2 without gas but not without minerals, that’s something to keep in mind.
"It’s not all about the gas. You can play sc2 without gas but not without minerals, that’s something to keep in mind."
Ret: Thats a completely wrong approach to Zerg. Late game gas = everything. Never start a coaching business Hayder.....
HayprO: ... I guess you didn’t get it because you are too consumed by your gas need.
TLO: He is Dutch. He has needs.
Ret: Ya, I snort up the extra gas, it makes me feel goooooooooood. It’s the only legal drug in Korea, so gotta adapt.
So yeah, in short... Patch 1.1.2 is pretty good.
TLO: Protoss is still completely broken in pvt and pvz.
Ret: I think it’s all situational.
TLO: Yea it’s mostly turtle protoss that is extremely frustrating, but I just need to learn to deal with it a little better I guess.
Ret: Yeah, it’s hard to recognize in time but if you play greedy vs turtle toss and get to t3 while getting drop it’s possible to deal with it.
TLO: Yup, I need more experience.
Ret: That happens to me sometimes. Most of the time you are very worried about a timing attack. Then, it never comes and you’re way behind. xD
HayprO: Yeah, that’s the problem vs protoss. They can attack at 10 different times
TLO: Haha yea... I have my roaches. And they have like 10 immortals and 5 collossi. Fuuuuuuuuuuu!
Ret: It’s mainly a problem if you can’t attack off creep so if toss is far away. You can’t do much with your units and that’s why you need drop to unload supply and switch to broodlord ling or something. That way at least you get rid of your roaches somewhat cost efficiently and if you’re lucky you can take out a few key tech buildings as well.
TLO: Broodlord/Infestor is sick now that fungal blocks blink.
Players afk for a few minutes. Ret and TLO return.
HayprO?
Ret: He’s probably practising again now that he just found out gas is kinda good late game.
LOL
TLO: Haha, let me get him.
HayprO: Hi.
Ret: Hi, wb.
As a player, what is the bane of your existence at the moment? What do you find most frustrating about playing Z?
Ret: Immortal + storm combinations in late game that seem unbreakable and terrans who just sit behind their PF and drop you to death. +_+;;
HayprO: I need to get higher apm and I need to study replays more because as a zerg player you need to know timings. Terran and Protoss don’t really have that issue and can play the way they want.
TLO: Some guy built 8 PFs against me and slowpushed. Man, that was so frustrating! He split the map with turrets and vikings so I couldn't drop any more and just kept on building PFs.
Ret: Hayder you are so wrong. In tvz for example the baneling nest timing makes a huge difference for terran players and what they can afford to do and when baneling speed finishes etc.
HayprO: Jos, what are you talking about? You just ate so I forgive you. That’s timings for Z.
Ret: No it goes both ways.
TLO: Noooo you're both right! It goes both ways.
HayprO: Terran won’t know when you make your baneling nest.
Ret: Same thing with 3rd base in zvp for example. If protoss expanded and zerg is mass droning for their 3rd base. They can decide to do a 6 gate warpgate pressure bo and attack you before you start massing units.
HayprO: Yeah but they won’t know in advance.
Ret: Scouting hallucinated phoenix?!
HayprO: Only if they go really fast hallu phoenix.
Ret: Terran it’s the same tbh… sometimes it’s better to use your army to take a 3rd and sometimes, attack.
HayprO: Of course. I was talking about early game timings. You are somehow talking about every timing in the game.
Ret: I got it all written down man, to the second.
HayprO: I know.
Ret: This is how I play SC2.
HayprO: That’s one of the things I’m looking forward to when I meet you. Your timing book.
"I look at the game timer, then look at my notebook to decide what to make. The in game timer solved all my problems!"
Ret: I look at the game timer, then look at my notebook to decide what to make. The in game timer solved all my problems! Move overseer to minerals, count scvs, look at gametimer, PRODUCE 10 ROACHES 4 ZERGLINGS 1 MUTALISK. VICTORY! :D
TLO: Ah, you zerg players, you're so cute.
HayprO: We Z players?
Ret; You’re one of us now.
TLO: I am standing above all of that. I am omniscient.
Ret: You either learn to be cute or we will have to remove you from our circle.
TLO: Haha.
Ret: You can be the ugly stepchild of the zerg.
HayprO: tt
Ret: Dario, tell us what problems you are experiencing. Infestors not having enough energy is probably what you hate the most, right? xD
TLO: Haha, well as I said, I mostly hate people who just do nothing all game long. Because I am an aggressive player, I wanna get into those tiny windows and attack, but if they just sit back with their PFs and FFS, I often infest into too much in the midgame.
Er, *invest, lol.
Ret: Hahaha.
TLO: I am a zerg at heart after all.
Which areas of your play do you think you have room to improve in the most, and which areas of Zerg play do you think are as yet largely unchartered?
Ret: For me, most improvement can probably be achieved in the micro aspects of the game, like how to break defensive setups efficiently. I also need to put some more aggression into my early game.
HayprO: For me it’s more about getting faster so I can do everything I wanna do, and also I need to get more experience so I know when to engage and when to wait.
This week, we've got a bumper replay pack featuring the very best of Liquid's Zerg players. Jump inside to have a look at TLO, HayprO and Ret as they take on Terrans, Protoss and fellow Zerg in ladder games.
Liquid is currently blessed with a sponsor that just keeps on giving, and we're now ready to share some of TLAF's awesomeness with you too! Thanks to The Little App Factory, we're going to be giving away a TL Winged Horse t-shirt every week.
The Winged Horse, as worn by Liquid and every TLer worth his or her salt.
To win yours today, try your luck at the
TLAF Cheerful Contest
This awesome canvas is courtesy of our favourite paintbrush, pachi!
How Do I enter? 1) Grab the cheerful template seen above.
2) Make a cheerful for Nazgul, Tyler, Jinro, TLO, HayprO, Ret or HuK (or many/all of them)!
3) Use it in the Live Report thread for MLG Dallas Day 1. Posting your cheerful in this (The Liquid Weekly) thread will not count as an official contest entry.
A Cheerful? What's that? Cheerfuls are fan made placards which Korean progamers traditionally display in their booths when they play on live TV. Here at TL, we use them in LR threads to support players and teams we like.
When will I know if I've won or not? The winner of this week's contest will be announced in next week's Weekly.
Is is true that wearing the Winged Horse will immediately increase my SC2 skills by 50%? Although we cannot confirm this, our users have claimed that the t-shirt has significantly changed the way they play the game.
Please pm 'riptide' on TL for more information on how to get your t-shirt.
Liquid` is proudly sponsored by The Little App Factory, makers of fine applications for Windows and Mac OS X and fans of great Starcraft! Their flagship program, iRip allows you to recover your music from iPods - a life saver if you, like many of us, do tech support for friends and family. In fact, for a limited time, you can use the coupon code TEAMLIQUID to get 25% off when you get TLAF products!
Wat? Wow that is out of left field. I was just reading an interview saying he planned to stay for another 7 months. =( Well maybe he'll return once his zerg gets in shape.
Pretty surprised TLO is leaving Korea so soon. Still, i know being so far away from your family and friends does take its toll so i can understand. Best of luck in europe TLO and i look forward to your zerg in future tournaments!
he's done a great job in korea by qualifying to gsl both times, i can't believe there are people saying he was overrated for losing at r32 and r64 in gsl.
qualifying to gsl in itself is already a great achievement. i'm sure we will still hear a lot from tlo
I have a feeling that if TL want's to be competitive in all the tourneys in Europe/America/Korea we could see a few more additions to the team. Currently with TLO moving back to Germany they have 4 players in Korea, 1 in America and 1 in Europe.
If they really want to be a force to be reckoned with on all 3 continents I think they could use 1 extra player in both Europe & America.
Too bad, wanted TLO to have a deep run into GSL3. He did qualify the previous two times, so he certainly was able to do that with a bit more luck & stability. Ah well, then he has to inspire us from Germany...
well probably a smart decision on his part, europe will have much lower competition levels and he'll have a chance to make some money. but disappointing that he wont be competing at the highest level nonetheless
TLO really made me sad by his decision. It seems that after not going deep in GSL 2 he simply fell apart first changing his race and suddenly returning home.
I wonder why TLO is leaving. Personal reasons is oh so vague. Just spill the beans, jinro's been molesting him at night.
Gogo TLO I wouldn't want to sleep in a bunk bed in a roomful of nerds for that long either. As fun as it sounds, a man needs his own space. I hope they stop running training houses like that it can't be good for the players to live like soldiers lol.
Surprising to see TLO leave since he's got the best shot at S class of all of teamliquid since he's already made Ro64 twice, and the others have yet to qualify once.
Very odd to see him leave so soon with the new GSL league starting up soon. Oh well. I have faith in Jinro Haypro Huk and Ret to hopefully get to A class and move their way up later on.
As much as I loved cheering TLO on in the GSL I''ll be happy to support him no matter where he decides to compete. Best of luck to all the Liquid players at MLG this weekend!
I find it kind of funny and ironic that TLO was complaining about mass PF as Zerg, when he himself was one of it's earliest pioneers back when he mained Terran.
On November 05 2010 23:10 Reason.SC2 wrote: I wonder why TLO is leaving. Personal reasons is oh so vague. Just spill the beans, jinro's been molesting him at night.
Gogo TLO I wouldn't want to sleep in a bunk bed in a roomful of nerds for that long either. As fun as it sounds, a man needs his own space. I hope they stop running training houses like that it can't be good for the players to live like soldiers lol.
That's just how korean's have been doing it for years and years, even if they aren't forced to, they do it like this.
On November 05 2010 23:23 FarbrorAbavna wrote: TLO gonna get back at the very top playing zerg and go back to korea and win the GSL. Just a matter of time, TLO HWAITING!!!
As much as I love watching TLO in the GSL his friends and family are more important than him entertaining us. We will still see lots of TLO! Also don't count ret and HuK out. There will be Liquid in the GSL.
i can understand the benefits of having someone like tlo playing in european events instead of just leaving that stage for the others to take, and it is a good thing if that coincides with his own personal decision to withdraw from korea. i am still very disappointed every time i see a foreign player leaving korea though. i know there are many difficulties and more information about the reasons might lift that disappointment, but we lack presence there, a proud, enduring bastion of guys holding up our flags so to not be drowned out by the enormous dedication and skill koreans are putting up. so far only idra has managed to stay there (i discard previous, 'real' progamers because the game was a lot different and less competitive then), but im confident in the rest of the team. haypro and jinro dont seem to want to leave yet and ret and huk certainly are an experienced force.
Best of luck TLO! It must be tough having never been away from home and adjusting to a new culture. I bet TLO's play will improve alot when he's back at home.
On November 06 2010 01:03 fean0r wrote: omg readmore.de is such a fail
why is that?
just visit the comments of the news of tlo
well, i dont think people flaming each other on the internet happens rarely enough to be worth mentioning. even a more actively moderated tl doesnt get rid of it completely. :/
I'm looking forward to a dominating performance form our boys in blue in Dallas. I think there is a good chance of a Liquid member walking away with gold.
Sad that TLO won't be in korea for a while, but i can understand. In sports often a player will go play in a foreign league for a while and then come back and be much better than they ever were before. I think playing in games that aren't as high pressure will help him out more in the long run and hope to see TLO back in gsl action in the future.
Honestly, I think the return to Germany is favourable form him and TL/Tlaf. For some reasons the korean scene can just be reduced to the GSL which means that if you don`t go to far you will not make a lot of money and you will eventually be forced to do nothing else but practice inhouse as there are no other cups to compete. Besides as everyone knows if there are no concrete tourneys to prepare for, your motivation might also struggle. In NA/Europe there are a lot more opportunities to prove himself and we tend to pay more attention to those events anyway. I mean seeing TLO facing Bratok, Kiwikaki, Socke, Sjow or WhiteRa surely will be very exciting. I think the three months were still helpful for TLO as he prolly has learnt a lot about training mechanisms and improved his knowledge about the game.
most ppl who go to make it in korea breaks down quite fast under the living condition and longing for friends and family im not shocked or disappointed, i think tlo made a good decision to go home and i think he will do well in the foreigner scene. it will be interesting to see how the other liquid players will do in korea now after seeing this happen to tlo
TLO leaving Korea isn't surprising to me after reading another recent interview. It sounded to me like he was trying to live a normal life on top of pro gamer life in the team house. He said he did a lot of things on his own because the other teammates weren't as social as he was. Kudos to him for having good social skills while still staying on top of his game. You can game anywhere, so why not be able to see your family as well?
Good luck on your way back home Dario, I hope It makes you feel better. Maybe you could join TL roster in Korea in a better time, I respect you decision
TLO is paid money to play Starcraft, accommodation provided in the mecca of Starcraft, able to practice with truly top flight players, and compete in THE Starcraft 2 tournament...
Yeah, his hearts not in it. Let's face it the GSL really is where it's at, and he had the opportunity to compete on a platter. Bye TLO!
I'd rather have the GSL (and Blizzards tourney money) try and branch out and better accommodate the international scene than have players all have to move to Korea and live in a completely different culture if they want to compete. We want to be moving AWAY from the whole foreigner/korean thing.
It seems like TLO just couldn't really handle living in another country. I think everyone who lives in another country where they can't speak the language goes through a time where they just wanna go home. I moved to Germany, not being able to speak the language, and after about 3-4 months I just wanted to leave and see all my friends and family..purely because I just felt so alienated, it's a very bizarre feeling.. I can't really blame him to be honest, I imagine going from Germany to Korea must have been such a huge culture shock..
It's a bit of a pity, as he was already qualified for a-rank, with a good shot at s-rank still. Anyway, Europe is really lacking some top tier Zerg players at the moment, so I am really looking forward to him tearing up the European tourney scene again. Has the benefit of him getting a lot more cast time as well, more TLO on air is always good. All the best.
surprising amounts of malice aimed at TLO I get that some people didn't think that he was a top player but active dislike is strange. Trolls will be trolls I guess.
I moved countries for work to Canada when I was 21, and for 2 months I was so lonely and sad. Try moving to a different country and culture where you don't SPEAK the language and see how sick of it you get, and how much you miss your family and friends.
TLO, don't mind the haters. Keep playing good Starcraft!
On November 06 2010 06:26 calin wrote: It seems like TLO just couldn't really handle living in another country. I think everyone who lives in another country where they can't speak the language goes through a time where they just wanna go home. I moved to Germany, not being able to speak the language, and after about 3-4 months I just wanted to leave and see all my friends and family..purely because I just felt so alienated, it's a very bizarre feeling.. I can't really blame him to be honest, I imagine going from Germany to Korea must have been such a huge culture shock..
I agree with this. Many who go to college, especially in a foreign country, have a terrible time adjusting. You land in a totally new place, new people, new culture, and after the initial excitement wears off, all you want to do is run home. But college is 4 years long, so you just fight through it till you like your new place. I have no idea how long TLO has been having a hard time, but I can't help but think that it's a bit soon for him to leave. It took me 6 months to stop being miserable when I first moved away to college, and another 6 to actually be happy. And I moved only 90 miles away from home lol.
Anyway, sorry to hear that TLO is leaving Korea. I hope he keeps inspiring us with his amazing play from home, though! Gogo TLO, you're still my favorite player!
Wow, as many TLO surprises outside as ingame nowadays. Welcome back though, should always do what makes you feel best. Plus now we get more Dario over here and that's always good. And who knows, maybe some day (see Ret).
So that's a bed freed in the house, HuK/Ret match to settle who gets it?
wat? no more TLO in korea? the money will be made there young padawan. learning you must the playstyle of korea.
but best of luck in germany and other foreign tournaments and i hope you can profite from your connections to korea to mantain and improve your level of play.
On November 06 2010 06:58 Redmark wrote: surprising amounts of malice aimed at TLO I get that some people didn't think that he was a top player but active dislike is strange. Trolls will be trolls I guess.
Were you surprised when people supported him when it was announced he was going to Korea? If people were happy about that, then they'll obviously be disappointed when he leaves. Double edged sword...
A part of me died, TLO have been one of the biggest reasons for me to embrace SC2, sometimes he felt like a young Boxer. I feel it is pretty obvious it will go downhill from here on, since it must mean he will get less practice, and fade from the scene. TL lost their diamond, and he still had the youth to keep improving. Saddest day of SC2 so far.
I'm very sad TLO is retreating to Europe, but I very much agree with the people talking about how hard it is to adjust to life in another country (let alone adjust to the Korean progamer lifestyle). They call it "culture shock" for a reason. It's hard to imagine how challenging it can actually be. That plus a few losses and changing race, I can easily imagine his batteries may have run down.
I do believe for the really top-tier players Korea is probably still the place you want to be, at least for the time being. The game is developing great in NA and Europe which is wonderful to see, but the truth is the infrastructure for sc progaming, all that institutional knowledge and the culture and so on, is already well-established in Korea and that does make a difference.
Having said that though, however much it improves your game being able to spar against oGs members every day, being depressed will most definitely not improve your game. It must have been a hard choice for him, but ultimately he knows best.
There's no reason he can't return to Korean tournaments or even move to Korea again in the future.
I'm not surprised that TLO would leave Korea, when I see pictures of the way they live it looks awful, fuck that shit with 5 bunkbeds in one room, I couldn't stand sharing a dorm room with even 1 roommate. But I am sad that he won't at least stay for GSL season 3 And I think he was almost S-class already!
And I'm glad he pointed out how absolutely ridiculous it the depot req is.
Is is true that wearing the Winged Horse will immediately increase my SC2 skills by 50%? Although we cannot confirm this, our users have claimed that the t-shirt has significantly changed the way they play the game.
I specifically want to thank you guys for the great replay packs every week! They're always great study material and I've enjoyed casting more than a couple of them as well! Another reason I'm happy to plug TL to anyone I meet that plays SC.
Looks like an oGs member translated a bit of this for an article over on playxp http://www.playxp.com/sc2/news/view.php?article_id=2300948 from the comments, it seems there are already quite a few Korean Huk fans! they are also quite sad to see TLO go, but are wishing him luck back in Germany.
Well, I just honestly think TLO needs some time to mentally regroup and compete using Zerg at the highest level. There's always bound to be some time before you get everything down pat mechanically, and doing that in the oGs house, while very intense, could have burnt him out much faster than we realize. I'd also have to say that given he's at the brink of qualifying for a Code A status (we're not sure at all if he is completely qualified though IIRC), we'll probably see him in Korea for the 2011 GSL season as a Zerg. And hopefully, TL can get a couple of more members in NA/EU to represent themselves there while their core line are in Korea.
TLO realized that there will be a good 10 foreigners going over to Korea for GSL3 and realized that he can't afford all those freebie korean BBQ meals that he promised
Seriously though, gonna miss TLO in the gsl... Hopefully the incoming foreigners will step it up in his place.
given he's at the brink of qualifying for a Code A status
Given 32 S players and 64 A players, it means that anyone who won one match is automatically at least A-class, because there are 192 entrants over the 3 GSL open events.
To be honest he should of given GSL 3 a shot. I mean hes got nothing to lose and everything to gain from the experience. Seriously I mean whats the harm? Play in GSL 3 Have fun do you're best and then when its done you go back!
Liquid played so well in MLG Dallas. As Tyler said though it's no surprise, the players they have are some of the best around. I really hope to see more showings from all of the players, was awesome to see all of them playing in the same tournament!!
Another great weekly, as usual filled with all kinds of info on tl and whats going on. The zerg chat was both fun and educational(well almost ). good stuff!
TLO should be staying in Korea for GSL. He is such an inspiration to esports in europe and everywhere else and was one of the few non koreans who made it deep in the GSL. He will deeply be missed.