Invasion eSport staff : We are an association under the 1901 law, there is 5 people who are truly passionate about eSport and we want to create a pro team.
Aeromi : Ok, you are an association and you decided to create a team. How do you pay your players at the moment, you don't have any sponsors yet.
Invasion eSport staff : You are wrong, we have a sponsor but I think people did not understand that we had one. We are supported by a family office. The family office is supporting the team because they love eSport. We can't say much about them because they are selling alcohol and it's forbidden to promote alcohol in the eSport world and in France. We also have a sponsor, it's a French company working on open source website. The name of the company is LibrIT and here's the website : http://www.librit.fr We are also talking with other sponsors.
Aeromi : Ok ! So with the help of this company you are able to pay your players. By the way, what do you want to do in eSport in a year ? Invasion eSport played some French team leagues such as French ProLeague or Pandaria but I think that now with your korean players you aim to play in a better league.
Invasion eSport staff : Our objective is to help the french and european scene. Our korean team is for an other type of tournament. We can't say which is the next step but we can confirme that many of our players are going to play in a premier tournament. We are also talking with some tournaments to have our players invited.
Aeromi : Does that mean that korean players are going to have a gaming house ? Other players than Gumiho are going to play ProLeague ?
Invasion eSport staff : We are still thinking about it. Some players are going to live together and share a flat to focus more on the game. If we are able to bring our korean players to WCS Europe we'll consider the opportunity.
Aeromi : How do you plan to ask for a working visa with a proper contract when you are only an association ? Is this a serious projet or more a small talk ? And moreover, where do you want your player to live in Europe ?
Invasion eSport staff : Maybe we are not going to ask for visa but a partner/sponsor is going to do it. It's still a project and we think of renting a house if we can bring korean players.
Aeromi : Ok ! Let's focus on the french and european part of you team. What are the main goal for you team ?
Invasion eSport staff : We provide a stable environement for a proper training, we want them to be better at the game. We are giving a salary for some players and we are paying LANs. They are not as good as koreans but we think that they have potential. Theo, our Danish player is not really known but he's very talented.
Aeromi : Ok. What do you think of 99 % of French high level players who played against ImComingHome and they all told me that he's maphacking. Any thoughts ?
Invasion eSport staff : First, we trust our player. We looked his replays and we did not see anything obvious, he's not a maphacker. YoGo, who is the main caster of Millenium with a GM level, checked his replays and he did not found an obvious maphack. ImComingHome used to play on the korean server and he was GM ( he lived in Asia ). When he started to play on the european server, people where surprised to lose against an unknown player. A French manager tried to recruit him but ImComingHome did not find the team really friendly. The day after the rumor about him being a maphacker started. French players are insulting our player and we are really sad about it.
Aeromi : How do you explain the fact that the whole French scene is against him ? It's not only a French team, even some Polish players said that he's hacking. And the polish guy is not event playing for a French team.
Invasion eSport staff : It's a drama. People are mad to lose and easier to say than he's map hacking more than saying that he's a better player. If people want to prove that ImComingHome is maphacking feel free to find an obvious maphack by our player.
Aeromi : Some admins checked some replays and they said that he had some very suspicious plays. Let's talk about your website. Why is your website not updated ?
Invasion eSport staff : Our players are the main priority. We want them to be happy about the team and to feel good. We want them to play tournaments so we only focused on this point.
We are planning to do a new website, we are running late on the schedule but the O'Gaming webiste was very late too ( it's a running gag in the French community, Pomf & Thud always said that the websiteis coming next week end it was released 2 years after)
Aeromi : Ok. Let's talk about your official Facebook page and Twitter account. You had a 20 000 % raise of likes and it's mostlry mexican guy liking the page while your Twitter account if full of greeks/russian girls. You also bought RT and favs. Can you explain it ?
Invasion eSport staff : We are very ashamed of it. One guy on our team, a volunteer, wanted to help us and thought it was a good idea. We tried to contact Facebook and Twitter but we did not receiv anything. We have to admit that it was a mistake. We are sorry about it.
Aeromi : Do you confirm that you did it on purpose ?
Invasion eSport staff : Yes we do.
Aeromi : Can you talk abour your relationship with GEM ?
Invasion eSport staff : One of our player is a player from GEM. GEM contacted us to talk about Super and we decided to recruit him. We have a good and strong relationship with GEM even though we are not working with the company everyday.
Aeromi : How do you explain the fact that GEM decided to contact your team ? You were an underrated team, no social media, you were playing some french team leagues. Is there a hidden relationship between GEMand you ?
Invasion eSport staff : The eSport world is small in Seoul, Noblesse was looking for a team and we decided to recruit him. When he decided to retire he told to korean players that we are a stable and serious team. TAiLS and Super are friend with Noblesse because they used to live together when they played for MVP. Some really good players wanted to join our team but they were asking a big salary. For TOP and BBoongBBong we talked to them.
Aeromi : Ok, last question ! ImComingHome said during an interview that he was 22 but his Twitter and Facebook show that he's 28. Is he really 28 ? Or 22 ?
Invasion eSport staff : I can confirm that he's 28. We met him several times and he's 28.
Aeromi : Ok, the interview is over, feel free to say something.
Invasion eSport staff : We hope that with this interview people are going to know who we are. We are trying to be open to people. Feel free to ask us questions on https://www.facebook.com/invasionesport or https://twitter.com/InvEsport mexican and greeks girls are going to read your questions.
On November 12 2014 09:09 Aeromi wrote: Invasion eSport staff: [...] they are selling alcohol and it's forbidden to promote alcohol in the eSport world and in France [...]
Lol, pretty sure ToD had a blast filling Nathanias up in front of the stream!
On November 12 2014 09:09 Aeromi wrote:Invasion eSport staff : The eSport world is small in Seoul, Noblesse was looking for a team and we decided to recruit him. When he decided to retire he told to korean players that we are a stable and serious team. TAiLS and Super are friend with Noblesse because they used to live together when they played for MVP. Some really good players wanted to goin our team but they were asking a big salary. For TOP and BBoongBBong we talked to them.
The most encouraging thing in the entire interview.
You know what answer I would have liked re: Koreans staying in a gaming house? "Man, are you crazy?! Do you know how expensive that is?!"
Big problem here seems to be blind faith. Faith in their volunteer to handle their social media, something crucially important for any business in a 21st-century industry, faith in ImComingHome to be honest despite the claims against him, and most importantly, faith in their sponsor to stay consistent in their support of the team - faith enough that they were willing to keep that sponsor's identity hidden initially, leading to serious suspicions about the team's legitimacy. That kind of faith makes sense for brand new business owners, but these folks seem like they don't realize how far over their heads they've put themselves in.
As expected, the good doctor asked all the right questions. I'm cautiously optimistic, but the cloud of suspicion is certainly not lifted completely - not yet.
As long as they keep the lines of communication open, I think they will do fine.
I don't like the "family office is supporting the team because they love eSport" sponsor, because that love of eSports will not last forever. Why would someone sponsor a team, but they can't advertise that sponsorship? There is no roi.
The other sponsor seems promising. A software service company can put its name on a team (e.g. Bison), and esports is a great place to market software.
Thanks for doing the interview Aeromi, and thanks to Invasion for finally communicating with us.
Just fyi libriT is a 2man company, one of which is the guy which answered aeromi's questions (https://twitter.com/_r1_). Huge sponsor to pay lan travel for Gumi and Super I guess.
Other players than Gumiho are going to play play ProLeague ?
Well, that's kind of a bit reassuring, I could buy the "we're late on schedule and focusing on players" thing. This is interesting though, that one of their main sponsor is something they can't really advertise. That's cool to see sponsorship that's in it for the love of eSports.
It's cool also to see they're quite frank, especially regarding the fav/rt scandal. It would've been quite worrying if they'd try to deny or even distract attention from it.
On November 12 2014 01:38 BBali wrote: Hey guys! this is Based_Bali, I am the manager of GuMiho, I am taking care personally of him and he sign a good contract wich gives him what he wants, the team is trusted as far as I know, they were so nice with me and the other guys so at the mmomment there is nothing to worry, they will made a statement soon, also they will update a new webpage as soon is done, you willl see how Invasion eSport will not do anything bad to the guys and we will see them on tournaments.
and the fact that they bought rt/fav and one of their player maphacks is a sure sign they're legit? you don't know very far it seems.
Well, We are trying to fix the followers/likes thing, they told mme they didn't buy it and someone do, sent an email to facebook and twitter but didn't get a replay yet :/ About the maphacking thing, they are aware of it and will take care as soon as possible
And here Invasion's manager (we don't even know who he is btw, he doesn't even give his name/ID or role in the team lol. How professional) is saying his player is not a maphacker. Something's wrong here.
Second thing that worries me is the family selling alcohol thing. Yes, French laws forbid publicity for alcohol/tobacco brands when it's through a sponsorship, but it's not a Prohibition era-level of forbidness. Which means that it wouldn't be problematic to give away the name of the sponsor in a small interview like that, and that also means that they could still show their sponsor with a modified logo, like alcohol and tobacco companies have been doing in France since this law was voted. It also means that in other countries than France, it would be OK to show their sponsor ; so unless I'm missing something here, it would be OK to have this sponsor on their team shirts etc when travelling to non-French events (unless Twitch forbids alcohol too?). I think either they are saying straight-up bullshit here, or the family behind this is really really shady
Thanks for the interview though. I wonder what are your personal thoughts on Invasion now?
On November 12 2014 01:38 BBali wrote: Hey guys! this is Based_Bali, I am the manager of GuMiho, I am taking care personally of him and he sign a good contract wich gives him what he wants, the team is trusted as far as I know, they were so nice with me and the other guys so at the mmomment there is nothing to worry, they will made a statement soon, also they will update a new webpage as soon is done, you willl see how Invasion eSport will not do anything bad to the guys and we will see them on tournaments.
and the fact that they bought rt/fav and one of their player maphacks is a sure sign they're legit? you don't know very far it seems.
Well, We are trying to fix the followers/likes thing, they told mme they didn't buy it and someone do, sent an email to facebook and twitter but didn't get a replay yet :/ About the maphacking thing, they are aware of it and will take care as soon as possible
And here Invasion's manager (we don't even know who he is btw, he doesn't even give his name/ID or role in the team lol. How professional) is saying his player is not a maphacker. Something's wrong here.
Second thing that worries me is the family selling alcohol thing. Yes, French laws forbid publicity for alcohol/tobacco brands when it's through a sponsorship, but it's not a Prohibition era-level of forbidness. Which means that it wouldn't be problematic to give away the name of the sponsor in a small interview like that, and that also means that they could still show their sponsor with a modified logo, like alcohol and tobacco companies have been doing in France since this law was voted. It also means that in other countries than France, it would be OK to show their sponsor ; so unless I'm missing something here, it would be OK to have this sponsor on their team shirts etc when travelling to non-French events (unless Twitch forbids alcohol too?). I think either they are saying straight-up bullshit here, or the family behind this is really really shady
Thanks for the interview though. I wonder what are your personal thoughts on Invasion now?
meh that guy in Gumiho's thread didn't say they think the player is a maphacker, he just said they know he's being accused
On November 12 2014 18:44 OtherWorld wrote: In the Gumiho thread Gumiho's manager said :
On November 12 2014 01:51 BBali wrote:
On November 12 2014 01:40 sAsImre wrote:
On November 12 2014 01:38 BBali wrote: Hey guys! this is Based_Bali, I am the manager of GuMiho, I am taking care personally of him and he sign a good contract wich gives him what he wants, the team is trusted as far as I know, they were so nice with me and the other guys so at the mmomment there is nothing to worry, they will made a statement soon, also they will update a new webpage as soon is done, you willl see how Invasion eSport will not do anything bad to the guys and we will see them on tournaments.
and the fact that they bought rt/fav and one of their player maphacks is a sure sign they're legit? you don't know very far it seems.
Well, We are trying to fix the followers/likes thing, they told mme they didn't buy it and someone do, sent an email to facebook and twitter but didn't get a replay yet :/ About the maphacking thing, they are aware of it and will take care as soon as possible
And here Invasion's manager (we don't even know who he is btw, he doesn't even give his name/ID or role in the team lol. How professional) is saying his player is not a maphacker. Something's wrong here.
Second thing that worries me is the family selling alcohol thing. Yes, French laws forbid publicity for alcohol/tobacco brands when it's through a sponsorship, but it's not a Prohibition era-level of forbidness. Which means that it wouldn't be problematic to give away the name of the sponsor in a small interview like that, and that also means that they could still show their sponsor with a modified logo, like alcohol and tobacco companies have been doing in France since this law was voted. It also means that in other countries than France, it would be OK to show their sponsor ; so unless I'm missing something here, it would be OK to have this sponsor on their team shirts etc when travelling to non-French events (unless Twitch forbids alcohol too?). I think either they are saying straight-up bullshit here, or the family behind this is really really shady
Thanks for the interview though. I wonder what are your personal thoughts on Invasion now?
meh that guy in Gumiho's thread didn't say they think the player is a maphacker, he just said they know he's being accused
at least that's what I get from it
Hmm yeah you could interpret it that way. I see "they will take care of it" as "they will punish the incriminated player" personally, because he didn't deny ImComingHome was maphacking, but it's up to the interpretation
I'm still sospicious about them. "We are 5 guys that love eSport and we want a team"... meh.
Usually teams don't grow in this way... Look mYi, they started with 1 korean (not a superstar-StarDust), he won a DH then jjakji joined, results were better and better so Sacsri joined, then they won 1 DH and 1 WCS Eu so also another korean, Rain, joined. This is the way for a team with korean to grow and be better and better. Starting with 5-6 koreans without experience in management is worrying.
On November 12 2014 19:09 SuperHofmann wrote: I'm still sospicious about them. "We are 5 guys that love eSport and we want a team"... meh.
Usually teams don't grow in this way... Look mYi, they started with 1 korean (not a superstar-StarDust), he won a DH then jjakji joined, results were better and better so Sacsri joined, then they won 1 DH and 1 WCS Eu so also another korean, Rain, joined. This is the way for a team with korean to grow and be better and better. Starting with 5-6 koreans without experience in management is worrying.
Who said there's one way to build a team? It's not because there's an example of a way to do it that every team has to follow it.
We all think Inv is shady, but let's not go overboard and prevent them from accomplishing something if they're able to... (that, we still don't if they are).
This is probably one of the best interviews I've read on an esports page. Big props to Aeromi for asking hard questions and actually getting information rather than the empty hyperbole we usually get.
On November 12 2014 19:20 Heartland wrote: This is probably one of the best interviews I've read on an esports page. Big props to Aeromi for asking hard questions and actually getting information rather than the empty hyperbole we usually get.
On November 12 2014 19:20 Heartland wrote: This is probably one of the best interviews I've read on an esports page. Big props to Aeromi for asking hard questions and actually getting information rather than the empty hyperbole we usually get.
This, this so much
Yeah, It felt like an interrogation to me, I can imagine Aeromi being like
On November 12 2014 14:02 sAsImre wrote: Just fyi libriT is a 2man company, one of which is the guy which answered aeromi's questions (https://twitter.com/_r1_). Huge sponsor to pay lan travel for Gumi and Super I guess.
This is definitely worth taking note of. They spoke of libriT being like a big sponsor or something, working on an open source website. But the fact was that the guy interviewed was one of the only two persons in that company.
I'm not sure guys... well, all the best I guess, I just hope the Koreans know what they're getting themselves in to.
On November 12 2014 19:20 Heartland wrote: This is probably one of the best interviews I've read on an esports page. Big props to Aeromi for asking hard questions and actually getting information rather than the empty hyperbole we usually get.
I'm glad that they owned up to the Twitter thing. Still a little worried about what's going to happen but hoping for the best. Thank you for doing the interview!
Well, after reading this I have to say that I don't think this team is shady or a scam, but I do think that they don't really know what they're doing and will inevitably fail... All the questions that had to do with "so what are you plans for..." this guy basically just said "well we don't really know, but we'll see what happens." LOL that's not a good plan :/
On November 12 2014 22:43 SC2Towelie wrote: Well, after reading this I have to say that I don't think this team is shady or a scam, but I do think that they don't really know what they're doing and will inevitably fail... All the questions that had to do with "so what are you plans for..." this guy basically just said "well we don't really know, but we'll see what happens." LOL that's not a good plan :/
One can hope after the koreans they picked up, they won't have a hard time finding help for that.
That would seem easier than if this was a team of completely unknown dudes I feel....
Why do people keep thinking that you can run an esports team without any idea what you're doing and how do they think it's appropriate to answer interview question with things that basically say "we have no idea what we're doing"?
Dang, I was hoping for a hilarious, convoluted Azubu-esque story about the team. Seems like it's just a few people who are in way over their heads. Hopefully I'm wrong about that, though. I will seriously buy a bottle of whatever French alcohol they're sponsored by if Super and Gumiho are able to go to some tournaments and start doing really well again.
On November 13 2014 07:10 sugarmuffinpuff wrote: Dang, I was hoping for a hilarious, convoluted Azubu-esque story about the team. Seems like it's just a few people who are in way over their heads. Hopefully I'm wrong about that, though. I will seriously buy a bottle of whatever French alcohol they're sponsored by if Super and Gumiho are able to go to some tournaments and start doing really well again.
I second this......I bet french alcohol is good too
Wow, Aeromi asked really hard questions. Impressive.
As for the answers we got... still a mixed bag, really. Some good, but mostly cloudy and inconclusive... and this family office... until the members of said office are made clear, it will forever sound shady.
Some stuff in it: GenjiTakya (aka Risk), Quent (who gratified us of a wonderful 1st post on TL meaning I'm hard in french) and Theo have the same potential as Gumiho, DRG or Super for their manager.
Their alcohol stuff/familiy office sponsor no longer sponsors them. According to Inv staff he still donates since it allows him to deduct a part of his donation from his taxes in his country.
Their finances are set up by these donations, Librit which is a 3 man B2B company that employs one of Inv managers and Inova entertainment. More sponsors to come.
The koreans want to play in Korea and since Inv is popular in Asia (according to the itw) they'll stay there for the moment.
Problems with KeSPA prevented their koreans to play as mercenary in PL.
sAsImre makes it sound like that on purpose to fuel drama The complete interview is a bit long for a full translation, but doesn't sound that bad.
Yes, their "family office sponsor" is leaving, but new sponsors have been signed and 2015 year is secured. They are actively prospecting new sponsors, with ambitions for MOBA/FPS teams (HOTS and CS/GO named) in 2016. The new sponsors for 2015 will be presented on their korean shirts for their next matches.
For the koreans staying in korea, 2 messages in the interview: - their initial plan was a team house in europe with all their players, but WCS rules for 2015 somewhat changed the game. - they still intend to have koreans in international tournaments in 2015, next target for international participation is DreamHack.
On February 18 2015 19:18 sAsImre wrote: Problems with KeSPA prevented their koreans to play as mercenary in PL.
Sad to learn of that, but in no way surprised that KeSPA is being KeSPA. Thanks for the summary and translation (to both of the posters above me!) I hope that information like this will continue to help people to feel less skeptical and more welcoming and embracing of the team. It makes me feel that way, at least. Which is good, because I really want the best for these players, too.
On February 18 2015 19:18 sAsImre wrote: GenjiTakya (aka Risk), Quent (who gratified us of a wonderful 1st post on TL meaning I'm hard in french) and Theo have the same potential as Gumiho, DRG or Super for their manager.
So they "fired up" Ana for a manager with lot of knowledge about Sc2
On February 18 2015 19:18 sAsImre wrote: GenjiTakya (aka Risk), Quent (who gratified us of a wonderful 1st post on TL meaning I'm hard in french) and Theo have the same potential as Gumiho, DRG or Super for their manager.
So they "fired up" Ana for a manager with lot of knowledge about Sc2
The girl who said that GEM was shit has been fired? When and why?
On February 18 2015 19:18 sAsImre wrote: GenjiTakya (aka Risk), Quent (who gratified us of a wonderful 1st post on TL meaning I'm hard in french) and Theo have the same potential as Gumiho, DRG or Super for their manager.
So they "fired up" Ana for a manager with lot of knowledge about Sc2
The girl who said that GEM was shit has been fired? When and why?
Recently, she put it on twitter. No explanation and she's still working with Gumiho. (there is an itw in French with aAa from her)
On February 18 2015 19:18 sAsImre wrote: GenjiTakya (aka Risk), Quent (who gratified us of a wonderful 1st post on TL meaning I'm hard in french) and Theo have the same potential as Gumiho, DRG or Super for their manager.
So they "fired up" Ana for a manager with lot of knowledge about Sc2
TOP was supposed to have potential in previous interviews, in this one he's still there since he helps with the team spirit and stuff. Reasons and sponsors change you know.