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Hey guys, Homestory Cup 3 is over and it was a great success. Fragster.de held an audio-interview with Take after the cup. His german interviews tend to be a lot more insightful because he is not limited by the language i guess. I thought that it might be interesting for the international community so I just took the liberty to translate all of it. Credit goes to Fabian 'TeX' Held for the original interview.
btw: I tried to stay true to Take's words but it is not a word to word translation since it was an audio interview and there were some fractured sentences and german slang involved.
+ Show Spoiler + Hello Dennis. Homestory Cup 3 is coming to its end. Are you satisfied with the tourney? Yeah, you could say so. Everything went pretty well. We started later than announced every day but I don’t think it was that much of a problem. I mean the bigger it gets the harder it is to get everyone together and people gladly wait for something good. It’s the same way in concerts or similar events.
You have to consider that when it comes to streaming and it gets big with more than just one pc and one click to start a stream things can really get complicated. The technology isn’t fully developed yet. Often there are problems with the software or a few components are just not as compatible as you might have thought or they don’t run as well as they have in test runs the days before. This is still a very young industry and the technology isn’t perfected yet. With that in mind I think that we’ve done a pretty decent job so far.
Okay, that sounded a little negative overall . Did you have bigger expectations? No, not at all. Everything was great. It wasn’t meant in a negative way. It went pretty much the way I had expected.
Even though I started planning 3 months in advance, I knew that it would be hard to be on air in time. I kind of had that feeling from the start and I tried to do everything possible every day to make it in time but even Wednesday night we were still drilling holes and inserting a couple of lamps. Also Tuesday night we still did some things that you probably shouldn’t do at that time of the day.
I guess that’s just the way it is when you open up or create something new. You can plan as much as you want. If you have endless money it might work but that is usually not the case when you are starting something. Therefore I’m very happy with the way things went so far. Especially with the stream, which was very stable compared to last year and it didn’t have any downtime I believe. There might have been some small lags for some people but that’s usually a provider problem or I don’t know just some small lag problem. But there were no major problems, none at all.
Do you think that those little mishaps like not starting in time or someone walking through the picture added to the atmosphere of the Homestory Cup? Also for the stream user who is not here? Someone walking through the picture? Definitely. But I don’t think starting the stream late is cool. A little late is okay I guess but we had two days where it got extremely delayed. Once it got delayed because XSplit downloaded an update automatically and we couldn’t bypass it at first. That was really annoying. That’s something that’s not in our hands but we tried and did everything we could.
But yeah, starting late is never cool. I don’t like waiting for 90 minutes for a show to start either. I can only say sorry to those who were waiting but some things are just out of our hands and that’s annoying for the viewers and of course also for the people who are here. It’s just annoying for everyone.
Are you happy with the amount of viewers you got? Can you give us a rough number of how many people were watching? I think our peak yesterday was at about 35000 people on the streams at once with both streams included, premium and free stream. I think by my standards it’s great. Of course it can’t compete with DreamHack which had like sixty or seventy thousand viewers with Day[9].
But if I compare it to other Events around the ESL only the Cebit and maybe the Gamescom were at the same level. I think the Gamescom even had a little less viewers but that was probably because SC2 was still at the beginning. That’s probably going to change with the next Gamescom. Other than that I think no other event that we hosted with the ESL were on par with that. Of course the really huge events like Dreamhack are. But considering how much money was behind that and comparing it with the budget that I had then we are on a whole new level there.
If you had one wish what would you change for Homestory Cup 4? Longer cables for our cameras. Which isn’t that easy because HDMI just stops working at some point. I would like to switch to SDI because then we wouldn’t have any more problems. Well, I guess we could have used longer component cables but there just weren’t any and the specialist store around here didn’t have anything to offer either, otherwise we could have extended that. Also we could have done a little more in the Pub in terms of pictures then. This way we were very limited and couldn’t go further. That’s why most of the stuff in there was shown from the back and not from the front.
What we could improve as well is the whole production I guess. I mean what we did here was with a lot of people who are just having a good time and who enjoy what they are doing here. Most of the people here aren’t professionals. Either cameraman, recording director or I don’t know who. There were so many jobs where someone would just come and do it because he wanted to. And we just said before we don’t do this at all we’re gonna do it this way because it’s just impossible to hire everyone or to pay everyone to be on site. That’s just not in our budget. It’s too expensive. It’s impossible.
Did you like the feedback that you got for your “Public viewing”? You were down there a couple of times. How did you like it? The atmosphere etc. I think what we created here with the whole team is mirrored in what is going on down there. The people are just awesome. Everything I had on my shows for the past twelve months. It’s amazing how many things have made a mark like the “overlord bauen” from DarKFoRce (editor’s note: some inside joke I guess), or all the jokes and signs that you can see or the way the people reacted when someone like Tarson was winning. Just shouting ”Fucking Tarson” and going crazy and all that. That is really cool. Also a Goody who made a name for himself here. That’s mainly because of my stream. People are watching regularly and we kind of give them the image and when you go down there you can see that the image is there. People are just talking to you because they heard you on the stream and I think the good mood and excitement is unmistakable. People are just shouting up for HasuObs to come down and stuff like that. It’s just so awesome and a lot of fun to talk to people and to see what you have created.
So are you proud of what you have accomplished? Definitely.
Will there be a Homestory Cup 4? I certainly hope so. I didn’t rent this apartment to host one Cup and then stop. Everything is very expensive here. So I’m assuming that there most probably will be a Homestory Cup 4.
I think the feedback of this cup is very good. It was a very big tournament of course. I don’t know whether I’m going to invite 32 players again or if it’s going to be fewer players next time because it really is a lot of work. Also I’d like it to be a little bit bigger next time (editor’s note: probably meant in terms of impact or relevance) which is in the end also reflected in the prize money where we could change up things a little bit. But that is up to the sponsors because to be honest we are really working on a very low budget to do what we do and I hope the sponsors are satisfied. Maybe some other sponsors who want to support us are going to come up as well. I think as a sponsor supporting us and seeing what we have done here you have definitely made the right decision.
The advertisement that you get as a sponsor here is great I think. This is as good as it gets. Brands just make much more of an impression here than in any other tournament because you can see them in use everywhere in the picture all the time. You got a lot of moving pictures, we are talking about everything a little bit and you can see the notebooks everywhere, also the screens. It’s just a different feeling that we convey. We are thankful for our sponsors because it’s all still very small and at the beginning. It’s not like MLG or the ESL which created something big like the Intel Extreme Masters with a huge budget. There you are just one of many sponsors. Here it’s something special because the sponsor is supporting something that is just at the beginning.
Are you still surprised sometimes at how crazy the fans are? They just brought cigarettes and burgers over. Actually that wasn’t a fan but a friend of mine. But no matter if fan or friend, in the end I’m happy about the respect that I get for my work. I think most of the people only know half of what I’m really doing because they only see the things in front of the camera. But my friends do know how little I have slept the last couple of months to realize all this. I have also infected some of my friends. My buddy Paul for example was here every day for ten weeks without wanting any payment. Some people who helped me were just happy to appear in a video but everyone mostly helped just to be a part of this.
When the lights go out tonight, are you going to sleep 3 days straight or start planning Homestory Cup 4? For me Homestory Cup 3 hasn’t ended until every player is safely on his way home. I have to take some of them to the airport on Monday. Also I have to clean up the apartment and return some equipment. A few microphones I borrowed, tables, chairs etc. I think it’s gonna take one or two weeks. Also wrapping up the event for the sponsors is pending. They want to be informed about numbers, pictures and videos of course.
I’m gonna take my time with (HSC4) because the EPS-Relegation in SC2 is going to take place here as well next weekend. Also I received two requests of other tournaments. I think it’s not a big secret anymore that the World Cyber Games would like to host a qualifier at my place. I think that’s great. People are going to be here on location again and it’s going to be an amazing qualifier.
Can you tell us how much money this whole thing has cost you? Did you make any losses? I didn’t make any losses with the cup itself. Otherwise I wouldn’t have hosted it. It’s so much fun and I’m investing all my private money into this whole project. And I mean really everything. I think I invested about 50000 Euros - without the costs for the cup itself. Only the food for the cup was about 1000 Euros. Then we had to rent cars and pay gas. Also the hotel rooms for everyone cost more than 2000 Euros. But the Homestory Cup itself definitely didn’t make any losses. It didn’t make such a profit that I can repay a large chunk of the debt I have taken either though. But it was worth it because we started with a very successful event. If anything major would have gone wrong our first impression would have been crap. I think in the long run it’s going to be profitable or else I wouldn’t do all this. All in all it’s not a loss-making business. I earn a little bit of money which is really needed though. I hope it will be more in the future. It has to profitable at some time. I have to be able to live comfortably from that.
One last question: When are you going to move to a 400qm² apartment for 64 players? In five years, but it will be more than 400 qm² (laughs)
Thanks for the interview.
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Great interview, major thanks to TaKeSeN for hosting the tournament and all the time, effort, and money that went into it. Can't wait for the next one!
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On June 27 2011 14:13 Xivsa wrote: Great interview, major thanks to TaKeSeN for hosting the tournament and all the time, effort, and money that went into it. Can't wait for the next one!
A huge thank you to Take. HSC3 was one of the most entertaining tournaments yet in SC2, and Take didn't have the resources that tournaments like the GSL, MLG, Dreamhack, or even TSL had. He made it happen through dedication and passion for eSports- it's people like Take who make me hopeful for the future of SC2. It's amazing what one man can do if he truly puts his mind to it
Thank you Take!
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ive never watched one of those before, but it was pretty awesome
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On June 27 2011 14:21 Kazragore wrote:Show nested quote +On June 27 2011 14:13 Xivsa wrote: Great interview, major thanks to TaKeSeN for hosting the tournament and all the time, effort, and money that went into it. Can't wait for the next one! A huge thank you to Take. HSC3 was one of the most entertaining tournaments yet in SC2, and Take didn't have the resources that tournaments like the GSL, MLG, Dreamhack, or even TSL had. He made it happen through dedication and passion for eSports- it's people like Take who make me hopeful for the future of SC2. It's amazing what one man can do if he truly puts his mind to it Thank you Take! Yeah he's pretty amazing. Thanks so much for everything you did TaKe!
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Good job take! U are Europes answer to day[9] (heart and dedication)
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Awesome tournament, really cool environment and it just seemed incredibly personal, great job and thanks TaKe!
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Thank you for such a great interview. Thank you TakeSen for suck great determination and effort you put into this. We had a great time, I'll definately check back on any touney you host from now on.
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awsome tournement
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It was an awesome event, very unique chill atmosphere. I think in a player perspective, it's the best event so far, with the warm up room, the food, the dedicated admin, the atmosphere, etc. Congratz Take, i hope you will succed with your project.
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I'm happy to hear that he made a little profit with this tournament.It is quite a feat for a new business endeavor to start with positive results, and on this case, it was totally deserved. The tournament was amazing. Thank Take!
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I can definitely see this growing and making a solid profit next time. The infrastructure needed is already there, and he's right, sponsors make a far bigger impression at an event like this. A company I never heard of sponsored HSC3 and now I'm buying their headset ^^ The formula for casting and everything is perfect, and the fact that it's so personal and authentic gives it the touch that makes it not just another event.
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Yeah this was a great event, top 5 in sc2 for me. I would buy a HD pass again for the next one for sure.
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one question, where do we donate? :O
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On June 27 2011 14:21 Kazragore wrote:Show nested quote +On June 27 2011 14:13 Xivsa wrote: Great interview, major thanks to TaKeSeN for hosting the tournament and all the time, effort, and money that went into it. Can't wait for the next one! A huge thank you to Take. HSC3 was one of the most entertaining tournaments yet in SC2, and Take didn't have the resources that tournaments like the GSL, MLG, Dreamhack, or even TSL had. He made it happen through dedication and passion for eSports- it's people like Take who make me hopeful for the future of SC2. It's amazing what one man can do if he truly puts his mind to it Thank you Take!
/signed!
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that's so cool to see that despite all the praise heaped onto him, all he can talk about is how he could have improved the tournamnet, improved the quality, made everything better. rather than settle for "very good", Take wants the best.. that's awesome. I really hope it becomes profitable for him because he deserves it. awesome tourny
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On June 27 2011 14:21 Kazragore wrote:Show nested quote +On June 27 2011 14:13 Xivsa wrote: Great interview, major thanks to TaKeSeN for hosting the tournament and all the time, effort, and money that went into it. Can't wait for the next one! A huge thank you to Take. HSC3 was one of the most entertaining tournaments yet in SC2, and Take didn't have the resources that tournaments like the GSL, MLG, Dreamhack, or even TSL had. He made it happen through dedication and passion for eSports- it's people like Take who make me hopeful for the future of SC2. It's amazing what one man can do if he truly puts his mind to it Thank you Take!
I could not agree more. Hopefully HSC4 will get the hype and viewercount it deserves. Huge thanks to everyone who made this happen, especially take.
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On June 27 2011 18:23 Warrice wrote: one question, where do we donate? :O
He has a youtube channel called TaKeTVTaKeSeN with a paypal link on his profile.
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What, did I get that right that he paid the hotels and the food for the players? Arent the teams supposed to pay for accomodation, food and travelling costs?
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HSC3 was a really nice event to watch. I'd probably rank it in the top 3 SC events so far. Looking forward to the next one.
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TaKe and his crew did an AMAZING job with the stuff they had, it really can't be emphasised more. The minor inconveniences were just that - minor - and didn't significantly take away from the whole experience on stream. It was an amazing event, the games were excellent, and I laughed so hard at so many points (white-ra SPECIAL TEKTIKS GG! <3).
Thank you so much for doing this, TaKe. Looking forward to more.
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TaKe is so awesome for hosting these tournaments!
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Thank you TaKe, it was awesome. As he said there were some very small mishaps, but this happens in every tournament and there was nothing major. I find it amazing what he did. If you watch his Youtube videos you can see all the effort he (and his family/friends) put into this. And the production value was really great in the end.
I am looking forward to HSC4.
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This was for me one of the most enjoyable events to watch. The friendly atmosphere around the house with players just wandering about chatting, BBQ'ing, drinking and player Poker, the AWESOME commentary provided by the players and hosts, the in between shots of everything going on around the house, the high calibre of players and the great games. Loved it.
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On June 27 2011 18:52 Titorelli wrote: What, did I get that right that he paid the hotels and the food for the players? Arent the teams supposed to pay for accomodation, food and travelling costs?
Just my thoughts about it:
Even big teams like EG, mouz or dignitas have a travel budget. And from a business standpoint, HSC is not more than a little tournament, definitly not on a MLG, Dreamhack or GSL scale. I bet if most of the players weren't in Europe for Dreamhack, TakeSen wouldn't get those big names for HSC3.
Dont get me wrong, HSC3 was one of the best, if not the best tournament in SCII until now, but it didn't get that much attention as a major tournament (also until now). I hope that changes for the next HSC
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This was one of the few tournaments i watched, loved it. Will defiinitly be buying an hd pass for the next one! TY Take!
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On June 27 2011 19:12 acidbean wrote:Show nested quote +On June 27 2011 18:52 Titorelli wrote: What, did I get that right that he paid the hotels and the food for the players? Arent the teams supposed to pay for accomodation, food and travelling costs? Even big teams like EG, mouz or dignitas have a travel budget. And from a business standpoint, HSC is not more than a little tournament, definitly not on a MLG, Dreamhack or GSL scale. I bet if most of the players weren't in Europe for Dreamhack, TakeSen wouldn't get those big names for HSC3. Dont get me wrong, HSC3 was one of the best, if not the best tournament in SCII until now, but it didn't get that much attention as a major tournament (also until now). I hope that changes for the next HSC So youre saying that the big teams probably just refused to pay for their players because the HSC3 was "too small" for them and therefore Take had to bear all the costs?
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It was a very refreshing and chilled out tournament, but the players put everything into the games despite the relaxed nature of the setting. The casting was incredible and you always learned something new every game because you were constantly receiving analysis from pro-gamers. I was getting no stream issues at all and I loved every minute of it. I hope next year will be an even greater success!
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Huge props to Take, great tournament.
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GG Take, well done
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On June 27 2011 19:21 Titorelli wrote:Show nested quote +On June 27 2011 19:12 acidbean wrote:On June 27 2011 18:52 Titorelli wrote: What, did I get that right that he paid the hotels and the food for the players? Arent the teams supposed to pay for accomodation, food and travelling costs? Even big teams like EG, mouz or dignitas have a travel budget. And from a business standpoint, HSC is not more than a little tournament, definitly not on a MLG, Dreamhack or GSL scale. I bet if most of the players weren't in Europe for Dreamhack, TakeSen wouldn't get those big names for HSC3. Dont get me wrong, HSC3 was one of the best, if not the best tournament in SCII until now, but it didn't get that much attention as a major tournament (also until now). I hope that changes for the next HSC So youre saying that the big teams probably just refused to pay for their players because the HSC3 was "too small" for them and therefore Take had to bear all the costs?
I really dont know if thats the case (will edit my first post to clarify that), but HSC has some "disadvantages". You don't earn points for a bigger events (MLG) and the prizepool is relative small for a four day offline event. I really dont know how many people outside of Germany and/or Europe known Take. So maybe that was another point, so that Take had to compromise.
Elseway I'm really, really happy that Dennis did take that risk and invest that much money for this HSC, the next one will be a lot more popular for a lot of sponsors, teams and viewers.
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What TaKe does is so great! He's in it with all his heart, he works hard and takes huge personal financial risks. I hope he will be rewarded in the end, he totally deserves it.
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GG Take, great interview
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50k €, damn
huge huge props to take for making this happen
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Thanks Take! Awesome tournament.
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I watched this the whole 4 days and it's probably already been said 1000 times, but it was really the most entertaining thing i ever watched tournament wise. Where else do you see the players you wanna see, but also see them have fun inbetween games.
So huge thanks to Take for making this all possible and hope to see HSC4 with even more epicness.
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Take is the king! keep up the great work man ! :D
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Mark my words, in 15 years at home story cup 29, Take will buy Luxembourgh.
Amazing event, really cool atmosphere and caster switching (!)
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I took classes for Music Business/promoting shows.. and the teacher had a slideshow for the first lesson and the first slide was "If you plan on getting into promoting shows, the first thing you need to do is take a pile of cash, and light it on fire."
The point being; The first few times you host events like TaKe did here with the HSC, you dont have enough sponsors to cover all the costs and make a profit, but you gain networking and experience, and the NEXT time you make an event, you will likely lose a bit less.. Gain afew more sponsors, and lose abit less.. Around the 4th or 5th time, you might actually make a profit.
Thats what TaKe has to do.. Now that companies see this HS cup isnt a joke, its very real, there will be much more sponsors from companies next time, and combined with the mistakes TaKe learned, it might actually be profitable in the future.
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Had to give some donation for him for not having HQ stream, since he did such an incredible job there.
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I have to say I really don't like the casting of Take but the organisation of that tournament was awesome! Huge props to him! I had a good time!
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Awesome tournament.
Props to Take and everyone involved. More success in the next one!
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Thank you Take for such an awesome experience! GL in the future!
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something like this rly deserves respect to invest all your money in something like "esport" is not a easy risk to take
the best part for me was the casting its just something else yeah tb,day9, archon are fine but to hear hasu,hayder,grubby, tod etc. its like mourinho,wenger,ferguson casting a soccer game
thx for such a great tournament and thx for being different
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He's such a hero.
The sc2 community got some many professional, mature guys pulling the scene ahead its unbelievable.
Dennis ftw.
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Take, you are a boss!! Thank you for the hard work and thank you for bringing one of the best event to date.
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What an awesome guy, TL has to support people like this as much as possible, they are what make this community great!
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Thansk for everything Take!
I hope you can figure out a way to stop people from watching the HD stream without paying for it before the next HSC. I'd bet you lost some money you could've invested the next time, because of it.
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He spent something like 45,000 out of his own pocket?
thats amazing
watched it all weekend, was brilliant, didn't buy HD pass but donated, really want to see it happen again
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HSC3 was amazing and I hope everything goes well for you Take. People like you are one in a million.
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TaKe, thank you for this amazing tournament. I had so much fun watching it, thank you!
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An amazing production worthy of all the praise it has received.
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<3 TaKe, thanks for making this happen you sexy devil. HSC3 was absolutely amazing - from the greatness of having the pros casting, to the relaxed feel of the event to the awesome games.
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I absoloutely LOVE the webcam throughout the apartment and the entire LAN feel of this event. I would definitely donate next time. I just wish the time zone was better for me in Australia. It was just really great - I hope the pros enjoyed it (someone should ask them)
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The best tournament I've watched and paid for by far. It was really amazing,I still have in mind a lot of stuff, White Ra and ToD casting together, MC doing the Male and Female GSL Voices, Naama making fun of the queuing of Goodie ^^, Idra laughing (still can't believe it), Carmac interview and I still could go on .....
Awesome job Dennis, I remember the first SCII IEM in Köln I think where everyone was making fun of your english, you've come a long way.
PS : Please make ToD the official caster of HSC, he did an amazing job.
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Hello Take! I hope you or someone of your team wil have some time soon to name everyone who was involved in this project so we can thank everyone (especially because so many people worked for no money)! Final credits on the stream in the next homestorycup would be great i think!
Anyway: Thank you and your whole team very very very very much and good luck in the future!
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TaKe is very much an e-sports hero. Thank you very much Take, for putting on this event, it was easily the best I've watched in SC2 so far. It appeared that everyone whom attended had a blast, players were able to be themselves and spend a good deal of time socializing with each other.
Having the Pros cast matches was also amazing and fun. Between MC's "HuK no play broodwar, Idra no like HuK" and White-Ra's "Special BBQ tactics" there were lots of laughs.
10/10 would watch again.
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Being an esports entrepreneur sounds like a dream job. Very cool interview! Wish I had time to watch the actual event though
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Thanks for translating this and thanks take for the event take! Awesome fun to watch your streams.
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