This thread is to shed a bit more light onto the situation of a number of other threads and maybe make a bit more of a deal of certain aspects of the descion, i hope i have not done anything wrong, but alot of questions are in the other threads which are answered in the others...so i made this
The Coming Together
So, what we know is that EG Proposed to Team Liquid about merging together, as one big team, to take on the ProLeague, KESPA's (and arguably the world's) biggest and most renown Team League. The result, the birth of EG-Liquid a power house of foreign teams to take on the best from Korea in their backyard, on their turf all for a magical $275,000!!
The Manager's Statements
Liquid Nazgul Wrote;
Two huge steps forward are taken today. Not only is Liquid going to be a part of the Proleague legacy, but we will do so with Evil Geniuses. Throughout the past year, our relationship with EG has consistently grown, and when they presented us with this opportunity, we were more than intrigued. We are all very excited about beginning this new challenge and are both ready to make history.
The Proleague has been a mainstay of our coverage since its creation. It is the longest running team league in esports and has played host to the largest crowd in esports history. Many veterans on this site have grown up with Proleague, eagerly waking up early to follow their favorite teams from season to season. And now, after following Proleague for what seems like an eternity, Liquid becomes part of its legacy alongside Evil Geniuses.
Teaming up with our old enemy Evil Geniuses to undertake this incredible challenge is a new and exciting development. There is no doubt that we still see EG as our biggest rivals, but maybe that is exactly what makes it so appealing; the two biggest adversaries coming together to take on an even larger enemy on their home turf. It's an opportunity that makes us all very excited.
Liquid has gained considerable experience in team leagues over the past few years and have posted strong results in international team leagues like IPL TAC, EGMC and NASTL. And EG, who earlier this year struggled in teamleagues, has recently performed very well, placing highly in IPTL and - by some miracle of god - managing to take a match from us in the process. Proleague is a different beast and poses a greater challenge than anything either of us have done before; but we are both ready to rise to the occasion. We are quietly confident that in joining with EG we have a genuine shot at the championship and will work as hard as we can to live up to the expectations of the community.
Liquid will be adding our players that are currently living in Korea to the roster. These will be Zenio, Sea, HerO, and TaeJa. As the tournament progresses we will be exploring our options with regard to bringing over additional players.
Outside of Proleague, nothing changes. As much we'll enjoy fighting alongside Evil Geniuses to tackle the Proleague, we'll still relish taking them on in all other competitions.
Alex Garfield Worte:
It could be argued that Evil Genuses/TeamLiquid is the most storied rivalry in the history of non-Korean StarCraft. Whether you're talking about IdrA vs. HuK from late 2010 to mid-2011, PuMa vs. HerO in late 2011, EG's controversial recruitment of HuK away from Liquid last year, or IdrA's never-ending battle with the TL forum moderators, the EG and Liquid names have together created some of the most compelling storylines our sport has ever seen. And while our rivalry has always been fierce - and will always be - it has also always been mutual respectful, and has not been bitter for quite some time.
Obviously, Liquid's roster is excellent, and from a pure competition perspective, the addition of their players provides tremendous value to our partnership. However, to me, this joint participation represents much more than a mutual desire to win. To me, on the part of both organizations and their leaders, it represents mutual respect, reciprocal admiration, and a shared vision for the future of StarCraft as a professional sport. If I had approached Victor with this idea a year ago, he would've questioned my sanity. If I had approached him six months ago, he would've politely declined. But when I approached him recently, he was open to it, and we mutually worked out the details necessary to make the idea a reality. To me, on a personal level, that is as significant an accomplishment as having Evil Geniuses in Korea's most prestigious league.
Liquid has always been - and will continue to be - our fiercest rival. But rivalries do not have to be bitter; they do not have to involve mutual hatred and disrespect. We will continue to do battle with Liquid in individual tournaments and other teamleagues, but together, at this moment in time, we undertake this new challenge together. And I could not be happier or prouder to be partnered with Victor and TeamLiquid for the pursuit of the common goal of a Proleague championship.
What Else?
So with this being announced, many fans already got excited, but unless you clicked on the EG website or looked in a few other thread you will not know what else is happening on more of an EG front than anything else, i will explain;
The EG LAB!
EG Announces it will be opening a house in Korea, for its team!! Here's the announcement from their website.
Proleague is one of the most difficult, time-consuming, and emotionally demanding gaming leagues to have ever existed. That's why we've set up a brand new Korean training house, which will be titled "The Lab," in the same building as our new neighbors Incredible Miracle. This facility is designed to allow all of our players to practice more intensely, and get more out of their practice, than ever before.
We also recognize that the more casual methods used in the western world for training players will not yield the results worthy of the opportunity we've been given in Proleague. And that's why, while we'll continue to take our own, unique approach to training our players, we'll now be providing them with the professional coaches needed to help them improve their skills, think differently about their craft, and transform themselves into the best pro gamers they can possibly be.
But again, that is not all! There is more.
A Korean Manager...
They have a Korean coach/manager of this team house! And not only that he is an ex SKT1 coach. He will also be teaming up with Hwanni the EG Korean Operations Director to get the team in tip top shape for the proleague. Here is their statement;
Sung Jin Park, formerly a coach and manager for SKT1, has been hired as the new Korean Head Coach for Evil Geniuses, and will work alongside EG's existent General Manager, Cody "evoli" Conners, and Korean Operations Director, Sung Hwan "Hwanni" Kim, in developing and preparing the team for Proleague and other major teamleagues and tournaments.
We hope that EG and Liquid fans alike will embrace Sung Jin, both as a welcome addition to the Evil Geniuses organization, and as a perfect Head Coach for the EG-Liquid team in Proleague. We're confident that his personality and mindset speak to the type of coach and leader needed to maximize our players' performance and represent both organizations well.
Well We Know It All Now Right?....Or Do We
No that is not all, we need to know the Roster! And We have most of it, i shall reveal what we know and who will be on this ProLeague adventure for EG-Liquid;
So that about sums up what we know already. ProLeague starts December 8th and the fixture's were released for week 1 a moment ago, it is
EG-TL vs KT Rolster
Bad news for their first game vs KT Rolster; EG-TL are going to be minus HerOTaeJa and DeMusliM as they are all in California trying to win NASL! Stephano Also confirmed he is going to be "at home" for a 2 week break as of the start of this week.
On December 04 2012 22:19 Netsky wrote: Where's your "90%" source on Demu?
Seems to be many a rumour on ByuL after the GOM screw up and even Jaedong now for the last 2 slots.
In the source code on the EG page for the announcement it says Demuslim. Also, he said on his stream a couple of weeks ago he was heading to Korea soon, but wasn't allowed to say much else. Pretty conclusive. He won't be there just yet though, he has to win NASL 4 first.
Byul or Zenio for last spot I guess. Also, no way of EG-Jaedong, do you remember when EG picked Huk? They hyped like no tomorrow. No way they're going to release a "Jaedong to EG" this easily.
On December 04 2012 22:19 Netsky wrote: Where's your "90%" source on Demu?
Seems to be many a rumour on ByuL after the GOM screw up and even Jaedong now for the last 2 slots.
In the source code on the EG page for the announcement it says Demuslim. Also, he said on his stream a couple of weeks ago he was heading to Korea soon, but wasn't allowed to say much else. Pretty conclusive. He won't be there just yet though, he has to win NASL 4 first.
And if that isn't enough, then the following is the image from which the player portraits are taken: + Show Spoiler +
On the EG Website there is the group of players they are sending to be apart of the roster, and he is shaded out but his name is in the source.
Cool thanks. He strikes me as someone that would really benefit from a real coach and structured training environment. Will be happy for him if he is able to improve.
Wait a second, who owns the team house in Korea, is it EG? EG has two team houses now?
What the fuck are the other teams doing wrong, seriously. We hear all the time how various so called "teams" opens up a team house and then some bullshit happens, like we lost the money, players aren't getting food or the staff in the house are idiots. Then we have EG which for some odd reason are competent enough to have two team houses. EG should hold courses to the other teams on how to operate a successful organization.
On December 04 2012 22:29 Integra wrote: Wait a second, who owns the team house in Korea, is it EG? EG has two team houses now?
What the fuck are the other teams doing wrong, seriously. We hear all the time how various so called "teams" opens up a team house and then some bullshit happens, like we lost the money, players aren't getting food or the staff in the house are idiots. Then we have EG which for some odd reason are competent enough to have two team houses. EG should hold courses to the other teams on how to operate a successful organization.
You could say they should...transfer curses. Also, not only do they have 2 team houses, they also have a real coach.
On December 04 2012 22:29 Integra wrote: Wait a second, who owns the team house in Korea, is it EG? EG has two team houses now?
What the fuck are the other teams doing wrong, seriously. We hear all the time how various so called "teams" opens up a team house and then some bullshit happens, like we lost the money, players aren't getting food or the staff in the house are idiots. Then we have EG which for some odd reason are competent enough to have two team houses. EG should hold courses to the other teams on how to operate a successful organization.
A lot of teams are JUST SC2 or JUST a couple of games and are relatively new with little experience. EG is a 13 year old multigaming organisation spread across several different games, with an insane number of sponsors and a group of management figures who take the "business" aspect of it very seriously indeed.
Simply put, they run as a proper business and have a long standing reputation and a lot of experience in esports. Thats how they're so successful; rather than just starting up and then operating on a wing and a prayer.
If Zenio, who already lives in Korea, isn't playing, I'm guessing he's retiring or moving to LoL or something. I mean, how could he possibly not play otherwise? Even Idra is playing.
I wonder why Stephano is in the rooster? He stated more than often in the past, that he has no plans to stay longterm in korea. Will EG fly him in for every match sperately or did he change his mind?
On December 04 2012 22:30 Caihead wrote: First game being played against KT is gonna be rough.
I dunno. KT didn't look that great against SKT yesterday. Granted, it was a show match. If TL-EG has most of their line up there, I would say they are actually the favorites in PL format.
On December 04 2012 22:39 TeeTS wrote: I wonder why Stephano is in the rooster? He stated more than often in the past, that he has no plans to stay longterm in korea. Will EG fly him in for every match sperately or did he change his mind?
He´s under contract, so he´s gotta do what´s in there. Also, the kespa-mlg-dreamhack partnership should enable Stephano to partake in plenty of foreign tournaments.
On December 04 2012 22:39 TeeTS wrote: I wonder why Stephano is in the rooster? He stated more than often in the past, that he has no plans to stay longterm in korea. Will EG fly him in for every match sperately or did he change his mind?
People seem to think that the people on the roster will stay in Korea permanently, but I really doubt that is the case. EG themselves wrote
In 2013, the following players will spend time in our new Korean training facility, refining their skills under Head Coach Sung Jin Park. They will be participants in our roster for Proleague, and will continue to participate in popular international and Korean independent tournaments as well:
"Spend time" may mean a month or two of the whole year.
However there is now a large break before the next big non-Korean tournament (except NASL) so now would be a perfect time to dedicate to training in Korea.
Ofc Naniwa is the going to join them ;-) He want to stay in Korea, he has lots of experience, and Incontrol talked a lot of him during ... DH:W or IPL or something like that!
This seems pretty awesome, but now the EG-Liquid logo looks like a horse trapped in a test tube >< (or maybe I just don't understand jokes and its meant to be a pun, seeing that its called 'the Lab' now?...)
On December 04 2012 22:29 Integra wrote: Wait a second, who owns the team house in Korea, is it EG? EG has two team houses now?
What the fuck are the other teams doing wrong, seriously. We hear all the time how various so called "teams" opens up a team house and then some bullshit happens, like we lost the money, players aren't getting food or the staff in the house are idiots. Then we have EG which for some odd reason are competent enough to have two team houses. EG should hold courses to the other teams on how to operate a successful organization.
They've done a ton of advertising, streaming, and lots of other content (like Machine vs. Food) in order to generate views and help their sponsors, which in turn makes the sponsors more likely to offer them money and helps them attract more sponsors. In other words, other teams are focused only on winning, EG understands that it's not only about winning but also about running a business. Winning is great, but shouldn't come at the expense of going dead broke and failing as a team.
Dissapointed that Liquid only throws in 4 koreans in this first FOREIGNER PL mix team^^. If the last eg guy aint Korean, at least it will be half a team of foreigners^^. I really like Sea and Hero though nevertheless TL|EG fighting!
Oh man! Is this going to be epic. Does anyone know if this is going to me a semi-merge like the EG-SlayerS back earlier this year or is it going to be a permanent merge of both teams?
On December 04 2012 23:38 Gosi wrote: Too bad Stephano is the only foreigner in this "foreigner team" that will be able to actually take games.
Except we've seen them taking games from Koreans in the very recent past lol. You almost made a good argument though...wait, no actually it was terrible.
Demu and Huk seem to be quite the tough foreigner as demu showed great tvz at NASL and Huk defeating ryung and YoDa at IPL5 Stephano definately is the main guy that everyone will be looking at but Demu and huk definitely perform well too ThorZaIN is the one that I am mostly worried about for his mixed results outside of sweden
On December 04 2012 23:42 Doodsmack wrote: Surprised there isn't an official announcement on TL for EG's house and coach news. Did not expect to get that info in this thread lol.
Reason i made it :D
In the other threads there is similar peices of news in each of them, so i made a mash up. Put all the information together and make everyone realise HOLY CRAP today is a big day.
On December 04 2012 23:38 Gosi wrote: Too bad Stephano is the only foreigner in this "foreigner team" that will be able to actually take games.
Except we've seen them taking games from Koreans in the very recent past lol. You almost made a good argument though...wait, no actually it was terrible.
Proleague that is everything for KeSPA teams, with better players, coaching staffs and preperation =/= weekend tournament with jet lags and mass gaming in tight time frames.
Didn't that online MvP tournament give you a pre taste of what it will be like? I guess you just have to wait and see for yourself then.
If I had to guess, I would say that TaeJa, HerO, and Stephano would make up the core. As far as who else is best, IDK. They're going to give Sea some play. JYP is solid, but not the strongest pick for anything. Zenio is a solid zerg. IdrA might see more play than you'd expect to play ZvZs. DeMusliM has a vacation in Korea.
I think with all the players there, being included on the roster simply means "while we're in Korea, we will compete" not that they will be staying in Korea to compete.
Hmm, I'm not liking this team all that much. They could do well in an all-kill format with Taeja and Stephano as the backbone and HerO, JYP and the rest as the meat, but they might not do well in Proleague. Do they have a player for each matchup? Proleague format puts a lot of importance in race picking for maps, so having a matchup ace for all matchups is more important than having all-around strong players.
TvT: Taeja TvZ: Taeja TvP: Taeja DeMuslim is okay in TvT and TvP though, esp if he brings his NASL form. Not sure how Thorzain is right now. Sea is showing potential but not sure what his best matchup is. PuMa had eye surgery or something (read it on NASL LR thread explaining his triple bunker rush), so I wonder how much he has been practicing.
PvP: HuK / Coinflip PvZ: JYP? I guess PvT: HerO? No real choice. Their Toss lineup of HerO/JYP/HuK look good on paper, but do any of them have a really strong matchup? They are all players that are good in everything but don't have a specific great one. JYPvZ used to be solid but I don't know about now, esp with all the late game PvZ tears.
ZvZ: Idra / Zenio ZvT: Stephano ZvP: Stephano The Zerg lineup seems ok, with Idra showing really strong ZvZ recently. Stephano is historically weakest in that matchup but thankfully Zenio and Idra might be good enough to fill that role. Picking up ByuL might be a good idea though. I liked the look of his ZvT.
Actually that's better than I thought. However they're going to need someone to step up in the TvX (Taeja can only play one game lol) and PvX matchups (more specialty, less all around) before they will really be a threatening team. Hope they do well.
Edit: Forgot to mention they could get counter picked really hard. Stephano doesn't like ZvZ, JYPvT is legendary, HerO's pretty weak in PvP, HuK's PvT is sub-50. Taeja is the only one without a weak matchup among their staples.
TLO and Ret are my hopes, though that's gonna be a stacked house either way. DeMusliM in Korea is the greatest news ever. And maybe IM can kidnap Stephano and force him to play Code S now!
On December 04 2012 22:29 Integra wrote: Wait a second, who owns the team house in Korea, is it EG? EG has two team houses now?
What the fuck are the other teams doing wrong, seriously. We hear all the time how various so called "teams" opens up a team house and then some bullshit happens, like we lost the money, players aren't getting food or the staff in the house are idiots. Then we have EG which for some odd reason are competent enough to have two team houses. EG should hold courses to the other teams on how to operate a successful organization.
Sponsors. THey have the big guns when it comes to sponsors.
Anyway, this sounds awesomely amazing. With that lineup I could definitely see them taking games off anything KeSPA throws at them. And another training house, in Korea, enxt to IM? Damn!
On December 05 2012 00:04 lichter wrote: Hmm, I'm not liking this team all that much. They could do well in an all-kill format with Taeja and Stephano as the backbone and HerO, JYP and the rest as the meat, but they might not do well in Proleague. Do they have a player for each matchup? Proleague format puts a lot of importance in race picking for maps, so having a matchup ace for all matchups is more important than having all-around strong players.
TvT: Taeja TvZ: Taeja TvP: Taeja DeMuslim is okay in TvT and TvP though, esp if he brings his NASL form. Not sure how Thorzain is right now. Sea is showing potential but not sure what his best matchup is. PuMa had eye surgery or something (read it on NASL LR thread explaining his triple bunker rush), so I wonder how much he has been practicing.
PvP: HuK / Coinflip PvZ: JYP? I guess PvT: HerO? No real choice. Their Toss lineup of HerO/JYP/HuK look good on paper, but do any of them have a really strong matchup? They are all players that are good in everything but don't have a specific great one. JYPvZ used to be solid but I don't know about now, esp with all the late game PvZ tears.
ZvZ: Idra / Zenio ZvT: Stephano ZvP: Stephano The Zerg lineup seems ok, with Idra showing really strong ZvZ recently. Stephano is historically weakest in that matchup but thankfully Zenio and Idra might be good enough to fill that role. Picking up ByuL might be a good idea though. I liked the look of his ZvT.
Actually that's better than I thought. However they're going to need someone to step up in the TvX (Taeja can only play one game lol) and PvX matchups (more specialty, less all around) before they will really be a threatening team. Hope they do well.
Edit: Forgot to mention they could get counter picked really hard. Stephano doesn't like ZvZ, JYPvT is legendary, HerO's pretty weak in PvP, HuK's PvT is sub-50. Taeja is the only one without a weak matchup among their staples.
ThorZaIN can be a monster TvP and TvT, although his TvZ is frequently weak.
On December 04 2012 23:38 Gosi wrote: Too bad Stephano is the only foreigner in this "foreigner team" that will be able to actually take games.
Except we've seen them taking games from Koreans in the very recent past lol. You almost made a good argument though...wait, no actually it was terrible.
Proleague that is everything for KeSPA teams, with better players, coaching staffs and preperation =/= weekend tournament with jet lags and mass gaming in tight time frames.
Didn't that online MvP tournament give you a pre taste of what it will be like? I guess you just have to wait and see for yourself then.
1) it's bo1s, 2) those foreigners have taken games code A/S, 3) unless you believe Kespa players are more intelligent people than GSL players (since again, the foreigners took games off GSL players in a preparation environment) and those foreigners, I see no reason why preparation would give them a unique advantage over everyone else. SC2 is a volatile game.
On December 04 2012 22:29 Integra wrote: Wait a second, who owns the team house in Korea, is it EG? EG has two team houses now?
What the fuck are the other teams doing wrong, seriously. We hear all the time how various so called "teams" opens up a team house and then some bullshit happens, like we lost the money, players aren't getting food or the staff in the house are idiots. Then we have EG which for some odd reason are competent enough to have two team houses. EG should hold courses to the other teams on how to operate a successful organization.
A lot of teams are JUST SC2 or JUST a couple of games and are relatively new with little experience. EG is a 13 year old multigaming organisation spread across several different games, with an insane number of sponsors and a group of management figures who take the "business" aspect of it very seriously indeed.
Simply put, they run as a proper business and have a long standing reputation and a lot of experience in esports. Thats how they're so successful; rather than just starting up and then operating on a wing and a prayer.
This puts it about right, structurally speaking EG is excellent and they seem to do an amazing job with player management relative to the"so called, 'teams'," to which the original quote had originally alluded.
On December 05 2012 00:04 lichter wrote: Hmm, I'm not liking this team all that much. They could do well in an all-kill format with Taeja and Stephano as the backbone and HerO, JYP and the rest as the meat, but they might not do well in Proleague. Do they have a player for each matchup? Proleague format puts a lot of importance in race picking for maps, so having a matchup ace for all matchups is more important than having all-around strong players.
TvT: Taeja TvZ: Taeja TvP: Taeja DeMuslim is okay in TvT and TvP though, esp if he brings his NASL form. Not sure how Thorzain is right now. Sea is showing potential but not sure what his best matchup is. PuMa had eye surgery or something (read it on NASL LR thread explaining his triple bunker rush), so I wonder how much he has been practicing.
PvP: HuK / Coinflip PvZ: JYP? I guess PvT: HerO? No real choice. Their Toss lineup of HerO/JYP/HuK look good on paper, but do any of them have a really strong matchup? They are all players that are good in everything but don't have a specific great one. JYPvZ used to be solid but I don't know about now, esp with all the late game PvZ tears.
ZvZ: Idra / Zenio ZvT: Stephano ZvP: Stephano The Zerg lineup seems ok, with Idra showing really strong ZvZ recently. Stephano is historically weakest in that matchup but thankfully Zenio and Idra might be good enough to fill that role. Picking up ByuL might be a good idea though. I liked the look of his ZvT.
Actually that's better than I thought. However they're going to need someone to step up in the TvX (Taeja can only play one game lol) and PvX matchups (more specialty, less all around) before they will really be a threatening team. Hope they do well.
Edit: Forgot to mention they could get counter picked really hard. Stephano doesn't like ZvZ, JYPvT is legendary, HerO's pretty weak in PvP, HuK's PvT is sub-50. Taeja is the only one without a weak matchup among their staples.
Lol this is such a bad 'analysis'. Hero just 4-0d Taeja and you're calling hero meat.. Right
On December 05 2012 01:10 GenesisX wrote: Wow stacked team... Just add in Scarlett lol
There is no need for her here, she would give no addition to the team.
I aso think that there is still something behind this, maybe the EG guys like Stephano taking part in the next OSL, which would be a huge blow to GOM, who tried countless times to bring Stephano in code S.
I'd love it if there was a complete breakdown of team KT Rolster. I mean, they've got Flash, and I can see in their PL history in Liquipedia that Stats seems to be a key player for them in SC2. The MvP invitational terrified me with how many more games the Kespa players won than the "MLG Players," but nobody other than Flash has an SC2 liquipedia page. Anyways, what else can you guys tell me about the first matchup of TLEG vs KT?
shame it's not all-kill format, stephano would be more than happy to. even so, this is very exciting. hopefully vods and all aren't too pricey or difficult to come by.
On December 05 2012 01:28 theseraph wrote: shame it's not all-kill format, stephano would be more than happy to. even so, this is very exciting. hopefully vods and all aren't too pricey or difficult to come by.
That would make it Winner's League and not Proleague.
On December 05 2012 01:33 NightOfTheDead wrote: Stephano and Demuslim going Korea? That is some exciting news indeed. Hoping Demuslim shows his TvZ skills at the highest level.
Agreed. On a side note, if Stephano is staying in Korea long-term, he has no reason to not attend GSL at least. I could see before when he figured it would be too time-consuming to spend all that time in Korea, but he's already there. He really should take that Code S seed lol.
Are people forgetting how bad some of the KESPA players were at SC2 last season? Ok they are practising only SC2 exclusively now, but this TL/EG team is more than good enough to get at least a decent placing.
On December 05 2012 01:10 GenesisX wrote: Wow stacked team... Just add in Scarlett lol
There is no need for her here, she would give no addition to the team.
I aso think that there is still something behind this, maybe the EG guys like Stephano taking part in the next OSL, which would be a huge blow to GOM, who tried countless times to bring Stephano in code S.
It wouldn't make any sense for Stephano to play only in OSL. It's just as much preparation based as GSL. Now if he did both I would cry tears of ecstasy.
On December 05 2012 00:04 lichter wrote: Hmm, I'm not liking this team all that much. They could do well in an all-kill format with Taeja and Stephano as the backbone and HerO, JYP and the rest as the meat, but they might not do well in Proleague. Do they have a player for each matchup? Proleague format puts a lot of importance in race picking for maps, so having a matchup ace for all matchups is more important than having all-around strong players.
TvT: Taeja TvZ: Taeja TvP: Taeja DeMuslim is okay in TvT and TvP though, esp if he brings his NASL form. Not sure how Thorzain is right now. Sea is showing potential but not sure what his best matchup is. PuMa had eye surgery or something (read it on NASL LR thread explaining his triple bunker rush), so I wonder how much he has been practicing.
PvP: HuK / Coinflip PvZ: JYP? I guess PvT: HerO? No real choice. Their Toss lineup of HerO/JYP/HuK look good on paper, but do any of them have a really strong matchup? They are all players that are good in everything but don't have a specific great one. JYPvZ used to be solid but I don't know about now, esp with all the late game PvZ tears.
ZvZ: Idra / Zenio ZvT: Stephano ZvP: Stephano The Zerg lineup seems ok, with Idra showing really strong ZvZ recently. Stephano is historically weakest in that matchup but thankfully Zenio and Idra might be good enough to fill that role. Picking up ByuL might be a good idea though. I liked the look of his ZvT.
Actually that's better than I thought. However they're going to need someone to step up in the TvX (Taeja can only play one game lol) and PvX matchups (more specialty, less all around) before they will really be a threatening team. Hope they do well.
Edit: Forgot to mention they could get counter picked really hard. Stephano doesn't like ZvZ, JYPvT is legendary, HerO's pretty weak in PvP, HuK's PvT is sub-50. Taeja is the only one without a weak matchup among their staples.
Lol this is such a bad 'analysis'. Hero just 4-0d Taeja and you're calling hero meat.. Right
I don't think he means meat as in Hero will get beat up, more "backbone" sort of thing. Meat and potatoes rather than minced meat sort of deal.
That said, it IS a bad analysis. No choice in PvT? HuK took out Ryung and Yoda last weekend. His PvT isn't so bad. Hero's PvZ is on the mend now too. It's still not the best and indeed might not be as good as JYP, but it's something at least.
Thorzain's TvT has seemed pretty solid, he just hasn't had enough opportunity to show it off in the last few months, his TvP has been pretty good as well.
All in all I prefer this analysis I found on reddit:
Assuming we have Byul this is how the roster plays out: Puma (Has been a strong player in the past, but has been quiet lately. Very hard to rate, but he has always done well for EG in team leagues in the past.) Idra (Stay away from P, keep him to ZvT and ZvZ) Stephano (Clutch, ace prospect) Huk (Stay away from Z, good for PvP and PvT) Thorzain (Good all around, possible clutch ace performer -He brang mouz to runner-up in IPL TAC 1, scoring multiple wins and even all-killing team Q-IM in the first set of the finals 5-0) Byul - Good zerg that's fallen off a bit since Fnatic's first GSTL appearance. Won't rate him as there's not enough data. TL: Zenio/Sea: Sea is too new to judge exactly where he lies. Zenio we have a lot of information about, but not recently. Both are ambiguous and Zenio was said to always have some nerve issues. Won't rate them. Hero: Good all around, but not someone I would use in an Ace. TeamTaeja - It's fucking Taeja. The only guy in the world I might want more than him in the team league is Yonghwa who was the only IM player to have a win last GSTL.
On December 05 2012 01:37 Gingerninja wrote: Are people forgetting how bad some of the KESPA players were at SC2 last season? Ok they are practising only SC2 exclusively now, but this TL/EG team is more than good enough to get at least a decent placing.
Perhaps more people are remembering the Kespa domination of the MvP invitational where only a single non-Kespa player was able to score a positive record (Naniwa), and even then only barely.
On December 05 2012 01:37 Gingerninja wrote: Are people forgetting how bad some of the KESPA players were at SC2 last season? Ok they are practising only SC2 exclusively now, but this TL/EG team is more than good enough to get at least a decent placing.
Perhaps more people are remembering the Kespa domination of the MvP invitational where only a single non-Kespa player was able to score a positive record (Naniwa), and even then only barely.
Beating up on Americans and some decent Europeans isn't exactly going to strike fear into the hearts of Taeja, HerO, Stephano, JYP, etc.
Just read the EG announcemnet on their site as well. This is just sickening! In a good way! I cant hold back the excitement! Really excited how the EG foreigners step up their game with the new coach!
On December 04 2012 22:30 Caihead wrote: First game being played against KT is gonna be rough.
I dunno. KT didn't look that great against SKT yesterday. Granted, it was a show match. If TL-EG has most of their line up there, I would say they are actually the favorites in PL format.
Players are still warming up to the maps and like you said. Show matches don't mean much of anything.
On December 04 2012 22:29 Integra wrote: Wait a second, who owns the team house in Korea, is it EG? EG has two team houses now?
What the fuck are the other teams doing wrong, seriously. We hear all the time how various so called "teams" opens up a team house and then some bullshit happens, like we lost the money, players aren't getting food or the staff in the house are idiots. Then we have EG which for some odd reason are competent enough to have two team houses. EG should hold courses to the other teams on how to operate a successful organization.
EG treats their sponser very well. They don't just put a logo on their jersey and forget about them, they promote the fuck out of them at every chance they get. I think this has a lot to do with how well they are doing financially.
This is beyond awesome and will get me caring about Pro League. I love the format, but the production has always been a little less than awesome. Now they I just need Tasteosis-quality and I am good sold for all of 2013.
I hope that the coaches force the players to focus on Proleague too, and not dive into GSL. As much as I love GSL, their qualifers and league are to much of a time sink for players who are doing more than one thing. Players who are established in GSL can split their time, but breaking in is takes 100% from a player.
On December 04 2012 23:53 ggrrg wrote: Does anyone know what time the EG-TL vs KT match will be?
Not that it matters much. For this game I'm willing to get up at 5 am like in the good old times
- Games will broadcast at mid-day on OGN during weekends, while SPOTV begins their broadcast at 5pm KST on Monday and Tuesdays.
-GTR
Does mid-day mean 12:00?..... 4 am it is then...
Yes, noon apparently from what I read in another thread. Works for me since that is like 10PM or so. I always watched the last Proleague at that time.
I hope Korean casting is available. It isn't Proleague without having people shouting things I don't understand into my ear. I grew accustomed to it watching the last BW only Proleague.
On December 05 2012 02:26 KillAudio wrote: Where did Coach Park went after leaving SKT1? Was it a long time ago?
I can see he joined SKT1 in 2008, but it doesn't say when he left, the history on there website only goes up to march this year (i think it's 2012 anyway) So you would have to think it was after that?
On December 04 2012 22:29 Integra wrote: Wait a second, who owns the team house in Korea, is it EG? EG has two team houses now?
What the fuck are the other teams doing wrong, seriously. We hear all the time how various so called "teams" opens up a team house and then some bullshit happens, like we lost the money, players aren't getting food or the staff in the house are idiots. Then we have EG which for some odd reason are competent enough to have two team houses. EG should hold courses to the other teams on how to operate a successful organization.
EG treats their sponser very well. They don't just put a logo on their jersey and forget about them, they promote the fuck out of them at every chance they get. I think this has a lot to do with how well they are doing financially.
this is a good point. i think liquid also is pretty good about endorsing their sponsors. I don't even know who is sponsoring some other teams.
On December 04 2012 23:53 ggrrg wrote: Does anyone know what time the EG-TL vs KT match will be?
Not that it matters much. For this game I'm willing to get up at 5 am like in the good old times
- Games will broadcast at mid-day on OGN during weekends, while SPOTV begins their broadcast at 5pm KST on Monday and Tuesdays.
-GTR
Does mid-day mean 12:00?..... 4 am it is then...
The schedule sounds just like it was with broodwar for a long time. Matches on weekends in Europe started 4-7am and 10am-1pm on weekdays. Depending where in Europe you live of course.
On December 05 2012 02:26 KillAudio wrote: Where did Coach Park went after leaving SKT1? Was it a long time ago?
I can see he joined SKT1 in 2008, but it doesn't say when he left, the history on there website only goes up to march this year (i think it's 2012 anyway) So you would have to think it was after that?
He left a while after the BW/SC2 hybrid ended afaik.
I'm surprised not many people are talking about the fact that this may lead to an extended stay in Korea for Stephano. Maybe a Code S seed in GSL 2013 S1?
On December 04 2012 23:43 PandaCore wrote: A little sad that TL only sends out the koreans :/ Apart from that I'm curious how the team will do
Sheth doesn't like living in a team house and TLO JUST moved back to Germany 2 weeks ago. Ret I'm not so sure about - maybe he just doesn't want to go to Korea right now.
On December 05 2012 02:29 Plansix wrote: This is beyond awesome and will get me caring about Pro League. I love the format, but the production has always been a little less than awesome. Now they I just need Tasteosis-quality and I am good sold for all of 2013.
I hope that the coaches force the players to focus on Proleague too, and not dive into GSL. As much as I love GSL, their qualifers and league are to much of a time sink for players who are doing more than one thing. Players who are established in GSL can split their time, but breaking in is takes 100% from a player.
But how about HerO / TaeJa / JYP / etc? Are they just gonna drop straight out of GSL? I would hate to see that.
On December 04 2012 23:53 ggrrg wrote: Does anyone know what time the EG-TL vs KT match will be?
Not that it matters much. For this game I'm willing to get up at 5 am like in the good old times
- Games will broadcast at mid-day on OGN during weekends, while SPOTV begins their broadcast at 5pm KST on Monday and Tuesdays.
-GTR
Does mid-day mean 12:00?..... 4 am it is then...
The schedule sounds just like it was with broodwar for a long time. Matches on weekends in Europe started 4-7am and 10am-1pm on weekdays. Depending where in Europe you live of course.
I didn't really watch the hybrid league, so I cannot recall when those games started, but if I remember correctly the seasons before that had the games start at 13:00 KST, which meant 5/6 am for me (depending on winter/summer time). I'm not sure I like 4/5 am better...
On December 04 2012 23:53 ggrrg wrote: Does anyone know what time the EG-TL vs KT match will be?
Not that it matters much. For this game I'm willing to get up at 5 am like in the good old times
- Games will broadcast at mid-day on OGN during weekends, while SPOTV begins their broadcast at 5pm KST on Monday and Tuesdays.
-GTR
Does mid-day mean 12:00?..... 4 am it is then...
The schedule sounds just like it was with broodwar for a long time. Matches on weekends in Europe started 4-7am and 10am-1pm on weekdays. Depending where in Europe you live of course.
I didn't really watch the hybrid league, so I cannot recall when those games started, but if I remember correctly the seasons before that had the games start at 13:00 KST, which meant 5/6 am for me (depending on winter/summer time). I'm not sure I like 4/5 am better...
Yes, i was talking and referring the broodwar proleague. I never followed hybrid, so i don't know when those games started. But around same as back in Broodwar, i'd assume. Not really the best you could ask for, but what you can do.
On December 04 2012 23:53 ggrrg wrote: Does anyone know what time the EG-TL vs KT match will be?
Not that it matters much. For this game I'm willing to get up at 5 am like in the good old times
- Games will broadcast at mid-day on OGN during weekends, while SPOTV begins their broadcast at 5pm KST on Monday and Tuesdays.
-GTR
Does mid-day mean 12:00?..... 4 am it is then...
The schedule sounds just like it was with broodwar for a long time. Matches on weekends in Europe started 4-7am and 10am-1pm on weekdays. Depending where in Europe you live of course.
I didn't really watch the hybrid league, so I cannot recall when those games started, but if I remember correctly the seasons before that had the games start at 13:00 KST, which meant 5/6 am for me (depending on winter/summer time). I'm not sure I like 4/5 am better...
Yes, i was talking and referring the broodwar proleague. I never followed hybrid, so i don't know when those games started. But around same as back in Broodwar, i'd assume. Not really the best you could ask for, but what you can do.
I was thinking about starting a petition to make OGN show PL at more me friendly times :p I think it would be great for players' discipline to play at 4 am, the added benefit is that I could watch PL before going to bed.
I hope that the coaches force the players to focus on Proleague too, and not dive into GSL.
Stop trying to reinforce the idea that kespa players should be slaves. They should be free to do whatever they want. Unfortunately, they can't because fans like you want and expect them to be slaves to kespa with no free will.
OMG I dont mind Jaedong in either of these teams, BUT PLEASE GIVE US JAEDONG. GIVE US JAEDONG PLZ!!!! GL HF Liquid_EG, my heart and soul is with yall. Give us great games, LETS WIN THIS S.... OMG OMG !!!!! So excited.... ^_^
I think the most unrecognized thing out of all of this, yes the teams are together, yes they have a new house ... but coaching from Coach Park?... probably the most important thing of all, one of the most famous/recognized coaches in SC history helping these guys out is going to help everybody out big time
On December 04 2012 23:55 -Kaiser- wrote: DeMusliM has a vacation in Korea.
You're clearly not up to date on Demuslim's play. I would rate him right behind Taeja Hero and Stephano at this very moment. I'm a huge Idra fan but I'm far more intrigued with Demuslim's upcoming performances which might just elevate him to the top.
Watch his stream, watch his nasl games... he's amazing right now.
WTF??? This is madness... Hopefully this will be a more successful adventure than in GSTL but okay its proleague so they cant fall out in the first round or something. This is big news!!! Awesome.
Will the liquid players be able to play in "the lab" or is it only for EG players? It would be a bit strange if they were one team but had different houses.
On December 05 2012 06:26 MyFirstProbe wrote: Will the liquid players be able to play in "the lab" or is it only for EG players? It would be a bit strange if they were one team but had different houses.
"EG has a house, it's in their announcement. Everyone on Liquid is keeping their current digs."
On December 04 2012 23:55 -Kaiser- wrote: DeMusliM has a vacation in Korea.
You're clearly not up to date on Demuslim's play. I would rate him right behind Taeja Hero and Stephano at this very moment. I'm a huge Idra fan but I'm far more intrigued with Demuslim's upcoming performances which might just elevate him to the top.
Watch his stream, watch his nasl games... he's amazing right now.
On December 04 2012 22:29 Integra wrote: Wait a second, who owns the team house in Korea, is it EG? EG has two team houses now?
What the fuck are the other teams doing wrong, seriously. We hear all the time how various so called "teams" opens up a team house and then some bullshit happens, like we lost the money, players aren't getting food or the staff in the house are idiots. Then we have EG which for some odd reason are competent enough to have two team houses. EG should hold courses to the other teams on how to operate a successful organization.
Yeah this always makes me wonder what is going on.
On December 05 2012 08:43 TBone- wrote: Sea will carry this team so hard. An absolute monster/legend in BW Proleague.
...what?
http://wiki.teamliquid.net/starcraft/MBCGame_HERO Look at his record for all those seasons, he's really good in teamleagues. Now it's just a matter of waiting for his skills to transfer to SC2 lol (if they haven't already)
It's bad news that They're minus HerO and TaeJa against KT Rolster of all teams? I thought KT's only good player was Flash... Or am I missing something? ~_~
On December 05 2012 08:59 Elite_ wrote: It's bad news that They're minus HerO and TaeJa against KT Rolster of all teams? I thought KT's only good player was Flash... Or am I missing something? ~_~
Imo KT will tear them apart in the first round, just because they probably practiced on the new maps much more than EG-TL guys. And with the player shortage (seriously, no Taeja, HerO, Stephano, so basically all possible aces gone), they cannot even count to win on experience/skill only. Not to mention, that if it comes to ace match - who can take out Flash? Maybe JYP? But that's a big maybe...
On December 05 2012 09:24 MCXD wrote: Not having the team's 2 best players ready for the first match is suicidal. x_x
I dunno. Thorzain and Stephano are more than capable of taking down KESPA players. Thorzain went even with the lot of them and that was before they changed TvZ to suit his playstyle and if anything he's even stronger now (after all, he did go toe to toe with Taeja and actually had him beaten had he not gotten shy all of a sudden). As for Stephano, well, I watched Stephano cleave through an entire MVPless roster of GSL champions.
Somehow I don't think Bisu and Stork are going to cause him any real difficulties.
Is Stephano even in Korea? Or Idra for that matter? Stephano tweeted earlier about resting at home and playing in IEM qualifiers / prepping for the Millenium tourney thing thats upcoming, so that would suggest that he is not. I have no idea about Idra.
It's safe to say Huk and Thorzain at least should be available (judging from their recent tweets), as well as all the Koreans that aren't at NASL (Sea, Zenio, JYP, Puma), but that's a fairly sparse lineup and is honestly missing a pretty big majority of the heavy hitters from this partnership (Hero, Taeja, and Stephano especially). Their first match may be a bit rough.
On December 05 2012 09:24 MCXD wrote: Not having the team's 2 best players ready for the first match is suicidal. x_x
I dunno. Thorzain and Stephano are more than capable of taking down KESPA players. Thorzain went even with the lot of them and that was before they changed TvZ to suit his playstyle and if anything he's even stronger now (after all, he did go toe to toe with Taeja and actually had him beaten had he not gotten shy all of a sudden). As for Stephano, well, I watched Stephano cleave through an entire MVPless roster of GSL champions.
Somehow I don't think Bisu and Stork are going to cause him any real difficulties.
The roster for the first match is probably Sea, Zenio, Puma, JYP, HuK, and Byul. It has been heavily suggested that EG will be picking up Byul, so he will prob make his EG debut here. It's very hard to predict how much success they will have because, other than Flash, we haven't seen much sc2 gameplay from KT's other players.
On December 05 2012 09:24 MCXD wrote: Not having the team's 2 best players ready for the first match is suicidal. x_x
I dunno. Thorzain and Stephano are more than capable of taking down KESPA players. Thorzain went even with the lot of them and that was before they changed TvZ to suit his playstyle and if anything he's even stronger now (after all, he did go toe to toe with Taeja and actually had him beaten had he not gotten shy all of a sudden). As for Stephano, well, I watched Stephano cleave through an entire MVPless roster of GSL champions.
Somehow I don't think Bisu and Stork are going to cause him any real difficulties.
Realistically I think Stephano is the only player who you can favour against a random KT player, the rest of them need to show their better play on the day and hope they get favourable matchups.
Will be fun to see how EG-TL do first up with a few players missing, will be fun to see next year how they handle the big NA events that normally have the entire roster to.
On December 05 2012 08:43 TBone- wrote: Sea will carry this team so hard. An absolute monster/legend in BW Proleague.
...what?
http://wiki.teamliquid.net/starcraft/MBCGame_HERO Look at his record for all those seasons, he's really good in teamleagues. Now it's just a matter of waiting for his skills to transfer to SC2 lol (if they haven't already)
Yeah let's just hope he doesn't repeat his performance that he had with T8. This should be... interesting. I think people are, however, underestimating the skill of the KeSPA players. I suspect some of the Koreans on the squad as well as definitely the foreigners will have more trouble with these players than they have seen in the past. Proleague is just a different animal entirely.
On December 05 2012 10:19 Nazeron wrote: when does idra leave for korea? cuz he was just streaming
While streaming he mentioned that he would be taking a vacation sometime in December, so he won't be going to Korea until sometime in January most likely.
On December 04 2012 22:19 NeWeNiyaLord wrote: Calling it The last member from EG is EG-Jaedong! I'm sure he will get picked up now
Why Team 8 is still in proleague right? And that would be a huge dick move by EG. Not just because it's Jaedong but because then Team 8 would seriously be hurting for players. I don't even know if they would be able to field a team.
Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if one of the conditions for joining proleague means EG/TL can't poach Kespa or at least Team 8 players.
On December 05 2012 10:40 DwD wrote: So like half the players aren't even there for the start? Seems a bit rushed.. But they got HerO so they are fine!
On December 04 2012 22:39 TeeTS wrote: I wonder why Stephano is in the rooster? He stated more than often in the past, that he has no plans to stay longterm in korea. Will EG fly him in for every match sperately or did he change his mind?
I doubt too, maybe his presence rate could be a qustionnare.
On December 05 2012 09:24 MCXD wrote: Not having the team's 2 best players ready for the first match is suicidal. x_x
I dunno. Thorzain and Stephano are more than capable of taking down KESPA players. Thorzain went even with the lot of them and that was before they changed TvZ to suit his playstyle and if anything he's even stronger now (after all, he did go toe to toe with Taeja and actually had him beaten had he not gotten shy all of a sudden). As for Stephano, well, I watched Stephano cleave through an entire MVPless roster of GSL champions.
Somehow I don't think Bisu and Stork are going to cause him any real difficulties.
Stork and Bisu? you help KT handled two more players?
On December 05 2012 09:24 MCXD wrote: Not having the team's 2 best players ready for the first match is suicidal. x_x
I dunno. Thorzain and Stephano are more than capable of taking down KESPA players. Thorzain went even with the lot of them and that was before they changed TvZ to suit his playstyle and if anything he's even stronger now (after all, he did go toe to toe with Taeja and actually had him beaten had he not gotten shy all of a sudden). As for Stephano, well, I watched Stephano cleave through an entire MVPless roster of GSL champions.
Somehow I don't think Bisu and Stork are going to cause him any real difficulties.
Ehhh did you mix up KT Rolster for KT (KESPA Team)?
it is alot of investment but I think it will pay off immensely. Anytime foreigner did anything good was when they trained in korean pro housing environment.
I can see them taking the league. maybe not GSTL but proleague? y not?
On December 05 2012 11:03 garlicface wrote: Hoping that last player is Suppy...
I wish that would happen but at the moment he is in school and no way would he be able to stay in korea unless its summertime and he doesn't have school
On December 04 2012 22:24 antilyon wrote: Also, no way of EG-Jaedong, do you remember when EG picked Huk? They hyped like no tomorrow. No way they're going to release a "Jaedong to EG" this easily.
I would just like to say, this thread was not all I needed to know because I find Jaedong being on this squad the single most need to know thing out of the entire deal.
On December 04 2012 22:34 {ToT}ColmA wrote: gl to them, surprised that zenio isnt in the lineup as he is in liquid and in korea, last guy as topic said is EG so no zenio
the day EG will get jaedong as a player will be the day i will stop eating rice
I feel really bad for this person, who shall never eat rice again. T_T
So it seems that this partnership is designed with players being out of Korea every week for other events in mind. Otherwise it wouldnt really be necessary, EG has plenty of players if they were all going to be there for every match.
On December 04 2012 22:34 {ToT}ColmA wrote: gl to them, surprised that zenio isnt in the lineup as he is in liquid and in korea, last guy as topic said is EG so no zenio
the day EG will get jaedong as a player will be the day i will stop eating rice
I feel really bad for this person, who shall never eat rice again. T_T
HA HA HA.
If it were me, I wouldn't put Zenio in either to be honest.
On December 04 2012 22:34 {ToT}ColmA wrote: gl to them, surprised that zenio isnt in the lineup as he is in liquid and in korea, last guy as topic said is EG so no zenio
the day EG will get jaedong as a player will be the day i will stop eating rice
I feel really bad for this person, who shall never eat rice again. T_T
On December 05 2012 08:43 TBone- wrote: Sea will carry this team so hard. An absolute monster/legend in BW Proleague.
...what?
http://wiki.teamliquid.net/starcraft/MBCGame_HERO Look at his record for all those seasons, he's really good in teamleagues. Now it's just a matter of waiting for his skills to transfer to SC2 lol (if they haven't already)
Yeah let's just hope he doesn't repeat his performance that he had with T8. This should be... interesting. I think people are, however, underestimating the skill of the KeSPA players. I suspect some of the Koreans on the squad as well as definitely the foreigners will have more trouble with these players than they have seen in the past. Proleague is just a different animal entirely.
yeah. Pretty much what I said earlier. I know people are like "zomg foreigners in proleague" but they are clearly not at the same level as the KT players tonight.
On December 05 2012 08:43 TBone- wrote: Sea will carry this team so hard. An absolute monster/legend in BW Proleague.
...what?
http://wiki.teamliquid.net/starcraft/MBCGame_HERO Look at his record for all those seasons, he's really good in teamleagues. Now it's just a matter of waiting for his skills to transfer to SC2 lol (if they haven't already)
Yeah let's just hope he doesn't repeat his performance that he had with T8. This should be... interesting. I think people are, however, underestimating the skill of the KeSPA players. I suspect some of the Koreans on the squad as well as definitely the foreigners will have more trouble with these players than they have seen in the past. Proleague is just a different animal entirely.
yeah. Pretty much what I said earlier. I know people are like "zomg foreigners in proleague" but they are clearly not at the same level as the KT players tonight.
Only player I've been really disappointed by is TZ. I expected flash to rape Zenio, and I was sort of meh about the fail from JYP, but I knew it was coming. I completely expected TZ to bring the fight to the battlefield though. This was disappointing.
On December 08 2012 13:54 plogamer wrote: What, where is Taeja? Where are players that have produced better results than the ones thrown into the match?
HerO, Taeja and Stephano are currently not in Korea
Wow, that was a shocking performance. Hopefully when the better players are back things will go better, unless this means Liquids been cursed too now.....
lotta heavy hitters and high records, lotta champions. popular theory would hold that they'll either be stellar or have some trouble. too many chiefs and not enough Indians, as the saying goes. still, if they do fall into a groove, this team will be damn near unstoppable. can't wait to see where this takes us.
Guys dont blow this overboard. Zenio was outclassed, he has never been one of the best koreans, hes just good enough to be in Team Liquid.
JYP is a bit better than zenio, but him building an obs while he was getting attacked made no sense(he could have cancelled it into an immortal he had the gas and the minerals) unless he tought the 3rd warping building was a robo, so basically he tossed the coin and guessed his oponent was doing the same build as him, he guessed wrong, standard pvp, specially when u go for a greedy build and your opponent is doing an all in.
Thorzain played against a zerg, which happend to be one of the very best BW zerg of the last times. He got over run by a 2-2 + 1 muta armor + lingbling, when he was trying to counter infestor play (early tanks, and going up to 3 factorys). Also note who beautifully action makes thorzain have to spread the very few marines that he has between his main, his front, his third, and the drop he just happened to be doign as he was getting attacked, the lack of scans to realize army composition and positioning also played a factor as thorzain never new what was comming until... well it came.
And last, Jaedong... zerg... vs... protoss... ohana... do i need to say more ? its immortal all in heaven for protoss, he got speed for roaches instead of burrow which is much more realiable for all ins, as you already have creep that its gonna help with speed, but burrow its a much more effective tool to denie the effectiveness of burrow. He scouted the all in, he made army inmediatly, he stayed at 53 worker count, and still lost. Maybe he was a bit unlucky with the first army which was sup to force some forcefields just as toss moved out and he missed it by few seconds, but other than that he just got smashed by immortal all in in ohana, which is nothing to be trully worried about.
Overall, I think it was just really bad luck for the team, the matches were not really favorable for EG-TL this time around. But as the stronger players join (stephano, taeja, hero and ofc incontrol) and replace lower tiered players like zenio and JYP (btw im not trying to bash this guys, they did played amazingly good specially zenio, they are just not there) there will be more exciting and close games for the team.
Be patiente that EG-TL is actually the best foreigner representation we could ever hope for. If they are not to succeed, then i dont think theres any other foreigner team or alliance that can actually do so.
A rough start, but I'll keep faith. No point being pointlessly pessimistic, PL is a tough tourney. Besides, I love these teams, how can I stay mad at y'all?
EG-Liquid Fighting! It's an uphill fight, but that makes the recovery more epic!