Today is my last day at Team Liquid and Teamliquid.net in an official capacity.
I've had very special run at TL thanks to the incredible drive of everyone who has sacrificed their time, energy and sometimes sanity to make Teamliquid the most important website in professional Starcraft. I remember my early days on TL when one of the most important moments of the year was finding out which WCG USA competitor would get a sole chance to compete against our Korean heros at the finals - Koreans who were mostly unaware that a fan base existed abroad. These were the days when we banded together to watch choppy and unreliable 240p streams, scoured Korean sites for VODs and had multi day results spoiler rules, lest someone hadn't downloaded the vods (on torrent) yet. I feel truly blessed to have been able to watch this site grow into the powerhouse it is today. TL is a central hub of our industry and will enjoy an important place in esports history - i'm proud to have had helped out.
On May 21 i'll assume a new role at ESL in Cologne, Germany as a Product Manager for WCS EU (SC2) and Raidcall EMS One (Dota2) - projects i expect to be some of the most challenging and exciting in my esports career so far. I'm excited to join the rest of the ESL team in growing these great projects.
After evaluating my options around the industry, i was really impressed by the minds who are driving ESL forward and within just a few days we realized that it was a match that made sense. Moving to Germany is quite a large life change, and i hope it is demonstration of the confidence i have in the company going forward.
Since i will be working with the team on the WCS and EMS projects, Hotbid, Naz and I decided that it would be best if i became a regular user rather than retiring to blue (which is the usual course for step downs from active staff). I haven't not been able to ban someone since 2008 - i expect i will have favors to call in ;D .
There's a lot of important work to be done in both WCS and EMS One, and i'm really excited to be able to have a hand in the futures of both.
I look forward to seeing many of you at events in the future.
The fact that TL has been able to play a part in creating opportunities for you to explore the world and your talents makes me very proud.
But make no mistake, it is your dedication, work ethic, and talent that has created this new adventure. Because of that, I have no doubt that you will succeed. Best of luck and don't be a stranger.
On May 15 2013 20:08 Gowerly wrote: Thanks for your unending and superlative work on TL and good luck at ESL!
Huh, I said unending but it's coming to an end. REGARDLESS - TL.Net has become a place where everyone, not just liquid supporters, can come, chat, have fun, discuss games, etc while knowing that they are safe from random abuse and excessive moderation. The site and forums speak for themselves. It will hopefully be a pillar of the eSports community for a long time to come and I hope that ESL is a great opportunity for your to continue to do what you do.
wow didnt see that coming i hope youll feel at home in germany, cologne is a beautiful city and esl staff all seem like a cool bunch of people. I guess I'll see you at gamescom
Best of luck! Moving to another country is never easy, but with patience and resilience, and ambition for your new projects, you can definitely make a new home. GL & HF!
Well deserved! Grats to you and im glad to see ESL have made the right choice. I hope your new position wont limit your tweets though, i enjoyed the occasional poking into drama now and then.
I know you can't possibly remember everyone you meet but I had a chance to talk with you in the pro lounge (casually) at Anaheim back in 2011. We only really talked for a few minutes (don't remember what about) but you struck me as a honest and genuinely caring person. I know you wil do well in what ever you set your mind too.
Germany is a nice place to live. Most people here know at least some English (which they will use when you try to talk in German and they realize your German isn't perfect) so you shouldn't have a hard time.
Really happy to see this opportunity come your way. It was a pleasure meeting you in Dallas last year and I'm grateful I had the chance to grab your autograph before you went aboard! Thanks for taking the time to hang out with us Small Potatoes.
Congratulations and all the best; you've earned it mate. <3
I have never trully meet you Kennigit, but i can say that i'm in awe of what you and the rest of the staff have done with this website, now TeamLiquid is the beating heart of StarCraft in the West, and that is not easy feat, in the slightest.
Good luck Kennigit, but i feel you are not gonna need it anyways ^.^
I don't understand. Why are you becoming a regular user rather than a blue one? Are TL and ESL not supposed to be affiliated? Or are you just choosing to step down because you feel that working for both TL and ESL will be too much?
Thank you so much for everything Kennigit. Best of luck in your future endeavors!!!
On May 15 2013 23:31 Seeker wrote: I don't understand. Why are you becoming a regular user rather than a blue one? Are TL and ESL not supposed to be affiliated? Or are you just choosing to step down because you feel that working for both TL and ESL will be too much?
Thank you so much for everything Kennigit. Best of luck in your future endeavors!!!
As Kennigit will be speaking for ESL on behalf of certain things (most likely) we want to avoid possible confusion between his role on ESL and position on TL. I'll be sure to make sure he regains his star which he earned from his contributions from the tracker
If there's one person from the staff team who helped me more than anyone else in my personal life without even noticing it, it was you. Thanks for being awesome and best of luck. =)
Since i will be working with the team on the WCS and EMS projects, Hotbid, Naz and I decided that it would be best if i became a regular user rather than retiring to blue (which is the usual course for step downs from active staff). I haven't not been able to ban someone since 2008 - i expect i will have favors to call in ;D .
I don't understand the logic here. Why is it best for you to not become a blue poster and why will you have favors to call in?
Since i will be working with the team on the WCS and EMS projects, Hotbid, Naz and I decided that it would be best if i became a regular user rather than retiring to blue (which is the usual course for step downs from active staff). I haven't not been able to ban someone since 2008 - i expect i will have favors to call in ;D .
I don't understand the logic here. Why is it best for you to not become a blue poster and why will you have favors to call in?
He would be involved in another organization. I think thats a conflict of interest or some shit.
Oh, that's actually really cool, I'm sure we will be able to meet you live at the WCS EU events then? Looking forward to that, I hope you will enjoy your work and stay in Germany
I'm jealous, Schnitzel, Spaetzle, and eSports. Keep being one of those paragons we can look up to as someone who's position we can be in one day if we work our tails off. Congratulations!
Good luck to your new job! It was a blast having you on Teamliquid.net and being part of the community for so long, and its awesome to have these opportunities being presented to you! I wish you the best of luck to you for the future and the projects you will be handling.
One time I waved to you while you were in line at Tim's the morning before NASL in Toronto. It was an exciting moment for me, and an uncomfortable one for you.
GL Kennegit. I'm glad that you found such an awesome next step in your E-sports journey. The guys at ESL (and at Turtle) are awesome, passionate, and hard working folks.
On May 15 2013 20:09 Manifesto7 wrote: The fact that TL has been able to play a part in creating opportunities for you to explore the world and your talents makes me very proud.
But make no mistake, it is your dedication, work ethic, and talent that has created this new adventure. Because of that, I have no doubt that you will succeed. Best of luck and don't be a stranger.
I once drunkenly made a thread. You closed it and banned me for a week. I must have sent you around ten PM's. i'll look forward to seeying you work at/with ESL. Best of luck.
Man I wish I was part of TeamLiquid back in BroodWar. I just watched sporratic vods on channels like Klazart or Diggity without ever getting too much into the scene.
Anyway, awesome opportunity you're getting Kennigit, congrats! We'll miss you here but best of luck in the future.
Haven't banned someone since 2008 :O Best of luck in your future career and enjoy Germany! Hope you start posting more now that you're a regular user ^^
I'll really miss you, dude. I remember representing a quality, small vodka company providing drinks for a TL "break room" of sorts in MLG Anaheim and getting to chat with you on the off hours. I wish you all the best in your future pursuits. Maybe if liquor sponsors make a bigger breakthrough into eSports I'll see you again, but I can't have many hopes to go to Europe in any capacity.
For the entirety of my time at TL, I remember Kennigit wearing his blue hat. He has been a fixture on TL for a long time and I can't imagine the ABL will be the same without him.
I wish Kennigit great things at ESL and hope he will still be relatively active on TL in the future. (Will he have withdraw from not accessing the blue forum? heh)
PS: Too bad the TL search-by-post only shows the last 500. Kennigit's post history chronicles the history of TL these past 7 years, even if the more flagrant language has been nuked xP
SOPhorrific was just temp banned for 2 days by Kennigit.
That account was created on 2010-10-05 02:16:40 and had 20 posts.
Reason: completely unnecessary bump of thread. Please learn how this site works before posting further.
I remember one year at Blizzcon where everywhere I turned, I happened to see you. We exchanged a hello once or twice, but never really knew each other. Thanks for everything you've done for the community and good luck in Germany!
I'm a long time user of TL.net and remember the old days Kennigit. Feel free to check my join date. Glad to hear you're making a passion move into eSports. Best of luck!
I tried to remember what nickname you played under in newbleague, Kennigit. I found the old forums for the league, gracefully abandoned around the start of 2009, but still couldn't remember which one it was. I found this old thread though from about 4 years ago where you explain your role in TL and funny stuff from back then:
On May 16 2013 20:10 zatic wrote: I bet every mod was super excited to ban you and then super disappointed that you still have staff armor on ... I know I tried.
On May 16 2013 20:10 zatic wrote: I bet every mod was super excited to ban you and then super disappointed that you still have staff armor on ... I know I tried.
You're an amazing guy, James. I'm not gonna wish you good luck, because I know someone with your talents and personality sure as hell doesn't need it! All the same, I wish only the best for you in your future endeavors.
Its sad to see you retire as staff but when I read the title I was afraid you would step back from Starcraft / esport alltogether. Its good to see you dont. Welcome to Germany and I guess we will meet in the future at least a few times
I think ESL will help you out greatly with your travel and all other stuff you need but if you need a stay in Germany, I have a big apartment near cologne (30 minutes) and could offer a place to stay etc! Enjoy a new part of your life!
Im one of the people who get to and have been modding for ESL and I can say it is a solid place that I see rivaling the GSL with the level of play and innovative thinking from the production ends. I'm stoked to see someone who knows, but cares too going into one of the best tournaments in the world. Good luck in the hard times, AND you got this NP. ^_^
A long time ago, during the initial SC2 beta, when the key hype was at its loudest, this poster was lucky enough to be in the same IRC channel as Kennigit during a generous moment.
I will never forget. Best of luck in all of your endeavors!
Cologne is a very nice city and its close to Bonn and Düsseldorf. Bonn is a beautiful city where I studied for three years. If you can get a "work-ticket" for subway and bus from ESL you should take it. It allows you to take regional trains, subway and buses in North Rhine-Westphalia for free.
Although I have been around for a relatively short time, and thus have only experienced part of your efforts, I really enjoyed your contribution. Good luck and all the best wishes.
Wow what, I though this moment would never come....I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors Kennegit, you were always one of my favorite posters and people here on TL, you will be greatly missed here at TL, I hope to see more of you in the near future. Thanks for everything~ peace
To me you're an esports legend yourself, Kennigit. big word I know. But you're synonymous with TL (along with hotbid, wax and Victor) in my head and I've enjoyed all the content you have provided. Cool as fuck that this is not the end, but a new beginning, I wish you best of luck.
I joined TL back when it was only SC:BW and people only argued in a gentlemanly fashion lol. Your stepping down post brings back truly bittersweet memories of those times. But still it's good that instead of quitting esports, you'll be a part of its growing development like you were part of TeamLiquid's. You'll be going up to a higher plane of esports existence, so best of luck to you, Kennigit.
I feel no sadness for your departure because everything you've done for TL and the bright future that lies ahead of you serves as a consolation. Best of luck to you Kennigit, and may you live long and prosper!
EPT
gl gl 
![[image loading]](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/42425448/sk8rboi.jpg)
