Popular United Kingdom eSports team, Four Kings, today announced the expansion of their StarCraft 2 division with the acquisition of the former ElevenGaming roster.
Six players from ElevenGaming's roster will join the two current members of Four Kings to make an eight man squad. Additionally, Four Kings will bring in ElevenGaming's management to oversee the team. Former ElevenGaming Owner & SC2Manager, Leo "Domino" Brown, will now be the manager of 4Kings.SC2 while ElevenGaming co-manager, Justin "Nizzy" Ragghianti, will now be the team's Development Manager.
The new Four Kings Starcraft 2 team will not only compete in WCG, MLG, and online events, but also be accessible to their fans via custom stream pages on Four King's website (www.four-kings.com). On these stream pages, viewers will be able to ask questions and receive answers from the players. Here is a complete list of the new Four Kings StarCraft 2 team:
Four Kings StarCraft 2 Division
Sung "Warden" Choi Jason "Lost" Brand Adam "Gerbil" Venis David "ExO" Hart Scott "Slurgi" Penick ShiJie "DreAm" Zhu Glen "MyWa" Jul Hansen
Justin "Nizzy" Ragghianti (Player Development Manager) Leo "Domino" Brown (Starcraft II Team Manager)
And we aren't stopping just there. We will be hosting a series of online tournament events, with cash and product prizes. More information will be released regarding the schedule and tournament format.
New teammate, Jason "Lost" Brand, had the following to say: I'm really excited to be joining Four Kings as they've been one of my favorite teams since I followed wc3, so its a great honor to be playing under the 4K Banner. I'll try my best to live up to the name and truly become gaming royalty!
Team Manager, Leo "Domino" Brown, had the following to say: We are very excited to take on the new challenges and new opportunities this move creates for us. We hope that by joining 4Kings, we can continue to stay in line with the organizations' goal of improving eSports and the Starcraft II scene as a whole. With the history and reverence our new team has in eSports, we appreciate the new shoes we have to fill, and look forward to the new demands and successes that will coincide.
Operations Director, Jordan "JordanG" Goodman, had the following to say: It's a pleasure to have such a team a part of 4Kings. We have had multiple successes throughout our history and this will be another notch in the belt. We look forward to seeing our players compete at a high level, with participation in as many events as possible. I'd like to thank our sponsors ineo Technology USA, Bigfoot Networks & clanserver4u.de for making this all possible. See you all at DreamHack Summer!
if you guys knew anything about grubby you would know he would never go back to 4k...
The reason he left was that he never got payed the management was extremely bad. He was really loyal and they treated him pretty bad while he was there.
Elevengaming were a great team with a lot of potential. Nobody deserves something like this more than Domino and his crew. I for one support anything that means I get to watch more Gerbil matches.
On June 15 2011 05:37 laharl23 wrote: if you guys knew anything about grubby you would know he would never go back to 4k...
The reason he left was that he never got payed the management was extremely bad. He was really loyal and they treated him pretty bad while he was there.
Sorta like SK eh?
Hope the best for 4K... but this is concerning. I'm pretty sure Grubby doesn't need the money, he's got a crapload.
Awesome news! Been a fan of Eleven Gaming since you guys hosted the Midwest Championship. Best of luck to all parties involved, and I hope that everything works out well.
Slurgi fighting! (Even though you switched to Zerg ) I would also love to see Gerbil rematch (and beat) iNcontrol (goes back to that clan war from god knows how long ago).
On June 15 2011 05:53 Holcan wrote: Dream and MyWa are fucking awesome, Dream lives in the UK and probably the reason they picked him up.
Im confused now, is ExO going to coL academy or is he signing a contract with 4K?
I was wondering the same thing when I saw his name on the roster.
Elevengaming? But nice to see 4k make a splash into Sc2 I've heard big things of them in the past, they were one of the few teams I had heard of before I knew what Esports was.
I don't see any of the former team members ever rejoining 4K after their struggles getting salary paid. I remember Grubby having to go 1-2 years with barely any support from 4K before the team imploded.
4K was great during the first couple years, but things went sour near the end.
*chants 4k.Grubby over and over and over and over again*
It'd be amazing if they got their "big three" of ToD, Grubby and Fury back together (does Fury play SC2? I remember an old post on WCreplays.net about him talking about a switch...). I doubt they will, but yeah, the 4k clan tag makes me nostalgic.
To the questions regarding ExO - I can confirm that ExO has withdrawn from complexity's academy, as he is now under contract with 4Kings. He has contacted the appropriate parties to have his name removed from the list.
On June 15 2011 07:14 jeeeeohn wrote: *chants 4k.Grubby over and over and over and over again*
It'd be amazing if they got their "big three" of ToD, Grubby and Fury back together (does Fury play SC2? I remember an old post on WCreplays.net about him talking about a switch...). I doubt they will, but yeah, the 4k clan tag makes me nostalgic.
4k fighting!
Yeah, but Fury already plays for Rage as far as I know.
On June 15 2011 06:41 Liight wrote: Didnt grubby leave 4k because he got fucked over regarding money or something?
they all did, thats why they left.
I remember him talking about it in the esl documentary.
What happened? more info please.
well grubby just said that for awhile everything was great in 4k and then eventually the money just stopped coming and even though it made him sad he had to leave because he started to realize that he was never going to get payed.
Not the exact words but pretty much what he said in the esl documentary.
On June 15 2011 10:56 Axel.Bowex wrote: Honestly, I want the best for 4king, but seriously, I wish they had upped their roster ....
I've only heard of MyWa and DreAm from WC3. MyWa was a recognised amateur who stuck with the other Danish players. DreAm was in ieS Virtual Gaming's talent roster.
Interesting that 4K decides to focus on the american scene suddenly. Quite unexpected to be honest.
Especially considering how interested they were in getting a Danish player specifically when they accuired MyWa back around the time of the release of Starcraft 2.
That being said, interesting that more organisations are really getting into the Starcraft 2 scene for real.
But the real question is, when is SK Gaming starting to take StarCraft 2 serious? So far they don't have a very competitive line up. Odd for such a major team.
On June 15 2011 10:56 Axel.Bowex wrote: Honestly, I want the best for 4king, but seriously, I wish they had upped their roster ....
I've only heard of MyWa and DreAm from WC3. MyWa was a recognised amateur who stuck with the other Danish players. DreAm was in ieS Virtual Gaming's talent roster.
On June 15 2011 07:55 Holcan wrote: were Creo and FoV on 4K at the same time? Because if not Soju would be my counter, he was the most talented player, who never tried :p
If my memory serves me right they signed Creo when FoV left.
On June 15 2011 10:56 Axel.Bowex wrote: Honestly, I want the best for 4king, but seriously, I wish they had upped their roster ....
I've only heard of MyWa and DreAm from WC3. MyWa was a recognised amateur who stuck with the other Danish players. DreAm was in ieS Virtual Gaming's talent roster.
DreAm can definitely play, well at least I think he can, I did introduced him to sc2 :$
On June 15 2011 05:33 RyanRushia wrote: incredibly unexpected, as 4K has been huge organization in past and elevengaming has yet to do anyhting large HHOWEVER THAT BEING SAID
i feel elevengaming has great potential as players and a team so not disappointed at all! best of luck to the new fourkings!
"Has been" this is not the same 4K as before, they were bought out a few years ago and have never been able to reach previous success.
On June 15 2011 05:51 MyNameIsAlex wrote: bah... legendary 4k will never be back...
4K.Grubby 4K.Tod 4K.FoV 4K.Fury 4K.Creo 4K.Zeus
haha. Creo. He is from the same place I am. I played War3 vs him at a lan many years ago, he was terrible. Then at a lan a year later, he smashed so much face it was unbelievable. Jesus that guy was good at war3.
For those not aware, 4k was the greatest wc3 clan of all time. they dominated the scene for many years, and had a monopoly on the best players. A truly epic clan.
On June 15 2011 18:31 L3g3nd_ wrote: For those not aware, 4k was the greatest wc3 clan of all time. they dominated the scene for many years, and had a monopoly on the best players. A truly epic clan.
for those not aware, this guy spreads inacurrate fanboyism but yes 4K was pretty good
On June 15 2011 05:33 RyanRushia wrote: incredibly unexpected, as 4K has been huge organization in past and elevengaming has yet to do anyhting large HHOWEVER THAT BEING SAID
i feel elevengaming has great potential as players and a team so not disappointed at all! best of luck to the new fourkings!
thats basically how I feel. I just hope everyone speaks fluent english (looking at the two older 4k members myself) and that there can be some effective practice amongst all the players
It's odd that Grubby is staying a lone wolf, similar to White-ra. Maybe it's because of steelseries? Seems off in my opinion, Best of luck to 4K though! :D
On June 15 2011 05:51 MyNameIsAlex wrote: bah... legendary 4k will never be back...
4K.Grubby 4K.Tod 4K.FoV 4K.Fury 4K.Creo 4K.Zeus
Indeed So sad
Don't forget 4k.Tillerman and 4k.CrazyAssasin . Kings of ROC.
It's odd that Grubby is staying a lone wolf, similar to White-ra. Maybe it's because of steelseries? Seems off in my opinion, Best of luck to 4K though! :D
My theory on Grubby(and it is just a theory, as he has said nothing on the matter), is that he is waiting until he proves himself to choose a team. He has had successful histories with many of the largest esports organizations in the west, and even with his comparatively limited level of success so far in WC3, should have no trouble finding a team. He probably has plenty of money saved up, and he has a personal sponsorship from Steelseries, so he is in no hurry to take a contract until he has established himself to his full potential.
I'm excited to see how 4K will do in sc2. It will be hard to repeat their success from wc3 though. It would be interesting if Grubby and Tod would rejoin them
On June 15 2011 18:31 L3g3nd_ wrote: For those not aware, 4k was the greatest wc3 clan of all time. they dominated the scene for many years, and had a monopoly on the best players. A truly epic clan.
for those not aware, this guy spreads inacurrate fanboyism but yes 4K was pretty good ...
I always rooted for SK Gaming since Insomnia was on that team and I remember vividly how depressing it was to see 4K dominate over and over again. Looking at the wc3l, the most prestigious clan league for wc3, it's fair to say that 4K was the "greatest clan of all time": team : gold : silver : bronze 4K: 4/3/2 SK: 3/1/5 MYM: 2/4/0 Those are the three most accomplished teams in the wc3l. By the way, the wc3l had 13 seasons. 4K and SK made it 9 times in the top three, but as you can see 4K had more golds and silvers. In addition, there was that one season when 4K entered the finals with only 3 players , thus starting every match with a 0-1 disadvatage, but still managed to win it all.
"monopoly on the best players" however, is rather inaccurate. Grubby and Tod were truly amongst the very best for a long period of time, but there were other equally great players in other teams.
On June 15 2011 05:51 MyNameIsAlex wrote: bah... legendary 4k will never be back...
4K.Grubby 4K.Tod 4K.FoV 4K.Fury 4K.Creo 4K.Zeus
Oh god, I loved that lineup. I followed pro WC3 pretty heavily and 4k was always my fave. Loved everyone and when Creo won at Blizzcon before retiring i was estastic !
I saw that 4k was trying to expand into sc2 so i been on the forums hoping they would have open tryouts too bad lol. one of the few teams that i would of actually TRIED to tryout for.
Grats though 4k has a reputation so i hope they bring the heat!
Aiaiai, hoping that ToD and Grubby joins them again! Just spoke to Creo, doesn't live far from me, and he says he'll start up SC2 now in the summer, since he's done with his 5years of study. Hoping he'll find it interesting and continue after the summer, then hopefully join 4K again!
On June 15 2011 05:51 MyNameIsAlex wrote: bah... legendary 4k will never be back...
4K.Grubby 4K.Tod 4K.FoV 4K.Fury 4K.Creo 4K.Zeus
I dont even follow war3 and i did not, however those were all names that i knew of....thats a rediculous team...it feels like that is the war3 equivalent of ToT)( stacked roster, yet not in sc2
On June 16 2011 10:31 ggrrg wrote: I'm excited to see how 4K will do in sc2. It will be hard to repeat their success from wc3 though. It would be interesting if Grubby and Tod would rejoin them
On June 15 2011 18:31 L3g3nd_ wrote: For those not aware, 4k was the greatest wc3 clan of all time. they dominated the scene for many years, and had a monopoly on the best players. A truly epic clan.
for those not aware, this guy spreads inacurrate fanboyism but yes 4K was pretty good ...
I always rooted for SK Gaming since Insomnia was on that team and I remember vividly how depressing it was to see 4K dominate over and over again. Looking at the wc3l, the most prestigious clan league for wc3, it's fair to say that 4K was the "greatest clan of all time": team : gold : silver : bronze 4K: 4/3/2 SK: 3/1/5 MYM: 2/4/0 Those are the three most accomplished teams in the wc3l. By the way, the wc3l had 13 seasons. 4K and SK made it 9 times in the top three, but as you can see 4K had more golds and silvers. In addition, there was that one season when 4K entered the finals with only 3 players , thus starting every match with a 0-1 disadvatage, but still managed to win it all.
"monopoly on the best players" however, is rather inaccurate. Grubby and Tod were truly amongst the very best for a long period of time, but there were other equally great players in other teams.
and then world elite came and tore apart the wc3l and NGL
4K was very very good, but they were not dominant in a way they could not be beaten or smthn
yikes. apparently i've missed something because I've never heard of any of the members of this squad. gl hf, though, to the bunch. hopefully we can see SC2 continue where W3 ended for 4K
Never heard of anyone on this roster but gl I guess? I'm curious, why did 4k acquire a team with unknown players who haven't won anything? They're a fairly large and legitimate organization and I'm sure they could've at least picked up some other lower-level team like vVv or NrG right?
* Reached round 4 of the open upper bracket * Lost 1-2 to Liquid'HayprO and dropped to the open lower bracket * Advanced to round 8 of the open lower bracket * Defeated 1-2 by LzGaMeR)
This thread made me nostalgic. Was kinda hoping 4k would recruit more known players. Hopefully these guys will live up to the 4k-name. Other great wc3 teams (at certain timelines):
Sk - Madfrog, HeMan, Insomnia, FaTC, Zacard, Deadman, Sweet 64AMD - Caravaggio, SaSe, Elakeduck, Creolophus, Deadman, WinneR mouz - Shortround, Romeo, Spell, Rainbow, Giacomo aT - FoV, Deadman, ToD + lots of other good frenchies mYm - GoStop, Susiria, Bjarke, Lucifer, Moon, Storm, Ciara
Just reading these legendary nicknames makes me nostalgic about wc3. Such great times. I hope that the RTS team at Blizzard will start working at wc4 after they finish with the sc2 expansions.
Thanks alot for the support guys ! Special thanks to you Holcan for the nice words <3. Keep following us. Ill be attending Dreamhack summer so stay tuned
4K has been trying to pick up a SC2 team by offering ridiculous salaries for over a year now (£20 a month ftw!!). I'm not surprised they end up with random players like this. What does surprise me however is that TL decides to highlight this. I wish you would follow the European clan scene and give them as much attention as you give NA.
On June 16 2011 19:44 RouaF wrote: I don't want to offend anyone but who the hell are those guys ?
4K. was arguably the best WC3 Foreign team. Grubby and DeMusliM were part of it, among others.
I'm not sure you understood me... I know 4K, I know the wc3 scene very well. I was talking about those players they recruited in their SC2 section. Never heard of any of them.
Im danish and ive never heard of any of these guys, not even MyWa. Hope he will do good with the rest. Only "famous" danish player we got, is ActionJesus lol.
On June 16 2011 19:44 RouaF wrote: I don't want to offend anyone but who the hell are those guys ?
4K. was arguably the best WC3 Foreign team. Grubby and DeMusliM were part of it, among others.
I'm not sure you understood me... I know 4K, I know the wc3 scene very well. I was talking about those players they recruited in their SC2 section. Never heard of any of them.
Warden is good, I know that much. The other guys are high ranking as well, but I have not seen them in many tournaments. Oh, and MyWa...
On June 16 2011 19:44 RouaF wrote: I don't want to offend anyone but who the hell are those guys ?
4K. was arguably the best WC3 Foreign team. Grubby and DeMusliM were part of it, among others.
I'm not sure you understood me... I know 4K, I know the wc3 scene very well. I was talking about those players they recruited in their SC2 section. Never heard of any of them.
Oh I see. Sorry for the misunderstanding. I have not heard any of them either.
On a UK Based team expanding into NA- 4Kings was interested in expanding into NA because they believe it is currently experiencing the biggest growth in eSports, and currently has the most potential. Compared to the EU and KR scene, there may be less major "established" tournaments and scenes, but the growth of the scene has and is attracting the attention of organizations and sponsors alike outside North America's borders.
On people who make it a point to say they haven't heard of some or all of our players- For those in Europe, I apologize. The new players on this team have not yet made a big splash on the international scene. We will be splitting our time on the EU ladder in the coming weeks, and in the future attending select international events. While this deal was inked too late for our North American friends to attend Dreamhack, MyWa - as well as some of the organization management will be attending the event later this week. Get acquainted! You will hear from the rest of us soon.
On people who say 4K wasn't what it was, speculate about their finances, say we're undeserving- I don't think you'll get any arguement that 4Kings is not as "large" an organization as it was 5-6 years ago, financially or otherwise. Promises, deals, offers and letdowns of olde are at best hearsay, and more likely speculation and misunderstanding. The fact of the matter is both the players and the organization are pleased with the deal in place, and don't owe speculators and naysayers an explanation in regards to said deal.
Part of the reason we ex-elevengaming players decided to make this move were the opportunities that joining a larger organization would open. I shouldn't need to reiterate what's been said in other recent mergers - getting full sponsorship is incredibly difficult. Continuing to go at it alone, paying for trips out of pocket, in hopes of a pile of money falling out of the sky has proven a burden, and limited our prospects for advancing as a team. Some of you have made our point for us - winning local events and sending 2-3 people to MLGs just wasn't cutting it as far as getting "established" on the national and international scene. With this move, we hope that some of you who haven't heard of the players or the organization - will, and those who have see us advance to former and new heights.
I don't get why people are being so negative of xi/4kings when people know nothing of the players. Many place highly in online tournaments and offline lans (xi had/has done well in the texas lan scene), furthermore many of the players are on the top of the ladder. Oh and the Lost vs Haypro game on XC from MLG dallas is a must see, one of the most intense baneling wars of ZvZ i've ever seen.
lol @the guy that says vVv. They are already a multi-gaming organization.... Peeps don't even know the community yet and talk. Oh well. I'm loving the warcraft 3 discussion. I played that game way too much. So many good times. Clan wars were so friggin' awesome in it. It definitley would be cool to get some old school 4K wc3 members into sc2.
Eleven Gaming's Midwest Championships was my first LAN casting experience and I'll always have great memories from that weekend. All the guys on the team really impressed me. I'm expecting big things in the future from 4Kings.
Other than 4Kings counter-strike team, no one else is from the UK. How does a British team acquire non-native players for their team and call themselves a British team is beyond me.
On June 17 2011 03:30 ElysiumUS wrote: Other than 4Kings counter-strike team, no one else is from the UK. How does a British team acquire non-native players for their team and call themselves a British team is beyond me.
On June 17 2011 03:30 ElysiumUS wrote: Other than 4Kings counter-strike team, no one else is from the UK. How does a British team acquire non-native players for their team and call themselves a British team is beyond me.
Do you watch european football?
He watches no sports or has any clue about them, obviously.
While unfortunately the UK doesn't have the talent to perform at the level 4Kings are looking for, it is still a long standing UK organisation.
On June 17 2011 03:30 ElysiumUS wrote: Other than 4Kings counter-strike team, no one else is from the UK. How does a British team acquire non-native players for their team and call themselves a British team is beyond me.
Do you watch european football?
Perfect analogy.
In other news, would be interesting to see how they can 'get in' to the inner circles of the super stacked tournament settings, and achieve fame.
On June 17 2011 00:20 v1dom wrote: Thanks for all of the well wishes and support.
On a UK Based team expanding into NA- 4Kings was interested in expanding into NA because they believe it is currently experiencing the biggest growth in eSports, and currently has the most potential. Compared to the EU and KR scene, there may be less major "established" tournaments and scenes, but the growth of the scene has and is attracting the attention of organizations and sponsors alike outside North America's borders.
On people who make it a point to say they haven't heard of some or all of our players- For those in Europe, I apologize. The new players on this team have not yet made a big splash on the international scene. We will be splitting our time on the EU ladder in the coming weeks, and in the future attending select international events. While this deal was inked too late for our North American friends to attend Dreamhack, MyWa - as well as some of the organization management will be attending the event later this week. Get acquainted! You will hear from the rest of us soon.
On people who say 4K wasn't what it was, speculate about their finances, say we're undeserving- I don't think you'll get any arguement that 4Kings is not as "large" an organization as it was 5-6 years ago, financially or otherwise. Promises, deals, offers and letdowns of olde are at best hearsay, and more likely speculation and misunderstanding. The fact of the matter is both the players and the organization are pleased with the deal in place, and don't owe speculators and naysayers an explanation in regards to said deal.
Part of the reason we ex-elevengaming players decided to make this move were the opportunities that joining a larger organization would open. I shouldn't need to reiterate what's been said in other recent mergers - getting full sponsorship is incredibly difficult. Continuing to go at it alone, paying for trips out of pocket, in hopes of a pile of money falling out of the sky has proven a burden, and limited our prospects for advancing as a team. Some of you have made our point for us - winning local events and sending 2-3 people to MLGs just wasn't cutting it as far as getting "established" on the national and international scene. With this move, we hope that some of you who haven't heard of the players or the organization - will, and those who have see us advance to former and new heights.
Domino
Well ill quote it so maybe more will see.
Its not hearsay if you have interviews with players saying they werent paid at least not regularly and when they were supposed to be. It wasnt just the WC3 team either. Still I wish you well for the future as a former 4K fan and we all learn from our mistakes.
On June 17 2011 00:20 v1dom wrote: Thanks for all of the well wishes and support.
On a UK Based team expanding into NA- 4Kings was interested in expanding into NA because they believe it is currently experiencing the biggest growth in eSports, and currently has the most potential. Compared to the EU and KR scene, there may be less major "established" tournaments and scenes, but the growth of the scene has and is attracting the attention of organizations and sponsors alike outside North America's borders.
On people who make it a point to say they haven't heard of some or all of our players- For those in Europe, I apologize. The new players on this team have not yet made a big splash on the international scene. We will be splitting our time on the EU ladder in the coming weeks, and in the future attending select international events. While this deal was inked too late for our North American friends to attend Dreamhack, MyWa - as well as some of the organization management will be attending the event later this week. Get acquainted! You will hear from the rest of us soon.
On people who say 4K wasn't what it was, speculate about their finances, say we're undeserving- I don't think you'll get any arguement that 4Kings is not as "large" an organization as it was 5-6 years ago, financially or otherwise. Promises, deals, offers and letdowns of olde are at best hearsay, and more likely speculation and misunderstanding. The fact of the matter is both the players and the organization are pleased with the deal in place, and don't owe speculators and naysayers an explanation in regards to said deal.
Part of the reason we ex-elevengaming players decided to make this move were the opportunities that joining a larger organization would open. I shouldn't need to reiterate what's been said in other recent mergers - getting full sponsorship is incredibly difficult. Continuing to go at it alone, paying for trips out of pocket, in hopes of a pile of money falling out of the sky has proven a burden, and limited our prospects for advancing as a team. Some of you have made our point for us - winning local events and sending 2-3 people to MLGs just wasn't cutting it as far as getting "established" on the national and international scene. With this move, we hope that some of you who haven't heard of the players or the organization - will, and those who have see us advance to former and new heights.
Domino
Well ill quote it so maybe more will see.
Its not hearsay if you have interviews with players saying they werent paid at least not regularly and when they were supposed to be. It wasnt just the WC3 team either. Still I wish you well for the future as a former 4K fan and we all learn from our mistakes.
yea idk that was kind of a dumb statement by them.
A bunch of players have said they never got payed for years and years, why else would the wc3 4k team just stop playing/disband if it wasn't about them not getting money?
it might just be heresay, but its A LOT of heresay from a lot of players.
On June 17 2011 10:45 Shankapotamus wrote: where is lith???
Lith became inactive due to a very difficult school schedule plus testing for I believe doctorate school. He was usually doing his own thing when on the roster.
Trust me watching Warden stream its like candy compered to other players streaming. Fun, educational, with surprises (like answering to question can get you to play Warden 1v1) and yeah did i say fun already?