EPT
It all began back in early 2012. After noticing my diligence with creating and maintaining GSL LR threads, Wyatt "wattabeast" Cook contacted me on TL and asked if I would be willing to join http://wiki.teamliquid.net/starcraft2/User:TeamaiR to manage the Korean players. That was pretty much where my eSports management career started.
I was given the task of recruiting Korean players to Team aiR, so I logged on to the Korean b.net server, hit all the known Korean clan channels, and posted recruitment messages everywhere. One day, I got a response back from "Aurora" (now known as Acillea) and Team aIR recruited him. After some time with aiR, Aurora asked if he one of his dongsaengs (korean term for a friend who is younger) could try out for Team aiR. That dongsaeng turned out to be a very young and talented Terran player who was skillful and full of potential.
He joined Team aiR under the name "Absolute" and instantly became the ace for our team. Later on, another friend of theirs, "DemOn," joined Team aiR, and we had our Big Three. Things were going pretty darn well for a while, but unfortunately, Team aiR suffered internal issues and we had to disband in the end. I would have preferred to have kept Acillea, Absolute, and DemOn after I went over to
Team Legion, but unfortunately, Legion was also experiencing internal issues so it was not the best time to recruit new players.Eventually, I had to message each and everyone one of them to let them know that this would be goodbye. But I made sure to let each of them know that I believed in them and that I knew they would go far. I especially emphasized to Absolute that he had sick potential and that if he really believed in himself, he would achieve great things. (I even had to speak to his father at one point through a skype call because his dad was all like "how good is my son really?")
2013 rolled around. Of the three, Acillea was the only one who kept in contact with me. One day while we were talking, Acillea notified me that Absolute had joined
Incredible Miracle as a trainee. I was freaking blown away. I knew he was good, but holy crap, IM good?Then just last week, I checked IM's liquipedia and what do I see? http://wiki.teamliquid.net/starcraft2/Incredible_Miracle#Player_Roster
He changed his ID to "UngNim", but I did see "Absolute" on there at one point. Then, just when I thought I couldn't be prouder, I see this: http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=438332 (see Samsung vs IM)
Not only did Absolute become a pro player, he got to perform for the Pres-Season of Proleague along with Ruin as an IM representative!
Honestly, right now I just feel like a father who is so proud to see his son perform on stage with the "big boys." I invested a lot of time and effort into taking care of these three, so it feels so amazing to see Absolute doing so well. He's got a liquipedia page, a TLPD profile page, he's on a notorious, prestigious team like IM, and he got to perform for Proleague. I truly hope this kid goes far. Best of luck Shim Jae Hyun!
Cherry on the icing: (WARNING! Proleague Pre-Season spoiler)
+ Show Spoiler +
