EPT------------------------------
Summer hasn't arrived yet, if you consider the weather over here in Middle Europe but the summer slump already did apparently. In terms of news, not really that much has happened. But hey, the new GSL season has started! [Warning: Spoiler Alert!]
Sweden aka the country that saves our faces
![[image loading]](http://taketv.net/uploads/55255.jpg)
The first week in the newly started third GSL season was also the deciding week for our (more or less) foreign contenders. Thorzain and once again Naniwa had to carry the burden of our entire hopes. It's a little much to expect them to win, but we can expect them to make us look... less bad, maybe? Unfortunately, both had to win 2 games in very hard, respective groups, although that is to be expected in Korea's most competetive league.
Albeit losing the first game against creator, Naniwa managed to clutch it out and beat TheSTC and Creator in a rematch straight to advance in second place in group B behind Nestea. The sigh of relief from fans all around the world were probably even audible in the player booth.
Success or great success?
![[image loading]](http://taketv.net/uploads/seoswedenTL.gif)
Thorzain in group C had the chance to turn the first week into an even greater success. He, too, had to face an early elimination after losing to Squirtle. In what was a remarkable showcase of skill in TvT, Thorzain turned around a 0-1 against GuMiho in the loser's match and ran the set back. The outcome: 2-1 Thorzain. What followed was a rematch against squirtle, who made a rather strong impression in the first series before falling to the mighty hands of Keen.
The decider match ended 2-0 victory in Squirtle's favor and was well deserved, even though that is a little sad to admit. Thorzain's adventure in Season 3 is not over yet, though. He is going to face the winner of JYP vs. Miya in Code A. Will he claim another Code S spot for next season? We will see.
![[image loading]](http://taketv.net/uploads/ThorZaIN_site.jpg)
EvilGeniuses.Thorzain
Until then, Naniwa may nurture our dreams for just a little more. Besides him, Nestea, Keen and Squirtle, the other advancing players so far are Byun, Seed, Genius and Mvp. The latter, while easily being one of the favorites, had to endure a beating by Genius, who wants to show that his appearance in the final of Season 1 was not just a fluke.
This week, the remaining 4 groups will be played out, sporting big names such as MC, MarineKing and DongRaeGu. We will keep you informed about the results in our newsflash!
Talking about Sweden...
![[image loading]](http://taketv.net/uploads/EIZODreamhackTL.jpg)
It is as though Sweden was the e-sport superpower of the west. Well, it may in fact be that. Supporting this notion is the DreamHack Summer 2012, which is currently still in progress. Better check out the streams before it's too late.
Although talking about an unfinished event is kind of moot, we can definitely record that the EG curse is in full effect yet again. Of 4 EG players, Thorzain, JYP, Puma, Huk, not a single one of them managed to get in the round of 16. JYP didn't even make it to the third group stage. They played well for the biggest part, though, but they just lacked that tiny bit of luck that you need sometimes.
Anyway, more about the DreamHack in the next newsflash!
Oh you, Blizzard
![[image loading]](http://taketv.net/uploads/HotS_Logo2TL.jpg)
Getting progress updates from Blizzard is always fun. The most fun parts are certainly the predictions about a release date, those are classics. At least Blizzard learned from their mistakes and stopped giving us bad extrapolations, instead coquetting with a „When it's done“ attitude. But hey, it's Blizzard.
In an interview with Kotaku, Dustin Browder assures us that Heart of the Swarm is already 99% done. More to the point: 99 Blizzard-%, as the remaining 1% do not seem to scale very well. The major stuff is supposedly already in place but still needs to be fine-tuned. Knowing Mr. Browder, some destructible rocks might have to be erected in order to present us a good end product. That could take a while.
Jokes aside, the announcement stirs up hope. Might we even get a real release date soon? In normal time I mean, not Blizzard time.
Could I interest you in some rocks, perhaps?
![[image loading]](http://i.minus.com/iA51kjRXdn52Q.gif)
Posted by Garmer HERE
Speaking about Heart of the Swarm: A sheer flood of interviews with the developers has swept over us. Check out this thread to read up on the newest information. It's a lot of interesting stuff and hard to fit in here. New units are discussed as well as the problem of balancing them. A creep spreading nydus? Balancing Widow Mines? More destructible rocks?
Also, we will probably get a feature, with that we can resume a crashed game. It's a bit curious that we didn't have that earlier, but better late than never. According to Chris Sigaty, we might even be able to hop into a replay and assume control of one of the players, the other being controlled by a bot. If that is really going to happen, we could feel like MC or MKP and replay their epic battles or even find different outcomes to games with the right strategy. How cool is that?
Just a warning, though: You know Blizzard, so everything they tell us today could be void tomorrow. Unfortunately, I hadn't had the chance to play the newest multiplayer build myself, so I'm lacking a bit of insight. As soon as the information we receive is final, we will talk about it in more detail.
HomeStory Cup V – The first players have been announced!
![[image loading]](http://taketv.net/uploads/HSC%20V%20powered%20by%20XMGTL.png)
Yes, guys. We are slowly approaching the HomeStory Cup V powered by XMG, which will take place from July 5-8th. But we don't just want to come out with names. So take this picture and figure out, who it is!
![[image loading]](http://taketv.net/uploads/hsc_player.jpg)
Original news is HERE!
Every week I'm hustlin'
Our newsflash is weekly, so check out our blog every monday! Also make sure to read the e-sports manifesto, whoch will be updated every friday!
To keep you entertained for the time being, you can farm some ladder points, as the 8th season just started!
You can find news about our events, as well as all our blog entries on taketv.net. See you!
Lotsa love,
the TaKeTV crew
