On the 5th of May 2, 500 StarCraft II fans gathered in le Grand Rex for a beautiful day of entertainment that ended up in apotheosis when MMA became champion by defeating the brave Symbol. The 1st edition of the IronSquid was well received and a solid base for a second one that was promised by Pomf & Thud at the end of the show.
(photo : Nicolas "Ushido" Dilain)
After several months of silence only interrupted by a mysterious tweet, it is time to officially introduce you to Iron Squid II
The squid is grown up and so is its tournament. Iron Squid comes back with a bigger tournament to amaze StarCraft II fans from around the world. It will not be 20 but 32 of the world’s elite players that will compete for the Iron Squid title. In addition to the 24 invited players, 8 will earn their spot through our four qualifiers.
The final four will be invited to Paris to play the finals in a prestigious venue that will be revealed later on.
The format of the main tournament:
There will be 8 groups of 4, played GSL style. Top 2 of each group will be seeded in the final bracket. Ro16 and Ro8 will be played online, the finals will be played in Paris in a venue yet to be revealed.
Prize Pool
Champion : $ 12,500
2nd : $ 6,250
3rd : $ 3,750
4th : $ 2,500
5th - 8th : $ 500
Want to be the new Symbol? Register now in the Iron Squid qualifiers, and try to get a slot to challenge the best players in the world.
There will be four qualifiers, the two players getting into the finals will win their slot in the main tournament and the winner of each qualifier wins $ 500. Registrations will open soon.
October 13th, KR only qualifier
Played on the KR server, open only to the players living in Asia or SEA.
October 14th, EU only qualifier
Played on the EU server, open only to the players living in Europe.
October 20th, NA only qualifier
Played on the NA server, open only to the players living in America (Latin America included).
October 21th, Open qualifier
Played on the NA server, open to players from everywhere.
The first four players invited are no strangers to the Iron Squid fans as they are the four who enlightened le Grand Rex during their journey to Paris.
Moon Sung Won, “ SlayerS`MMA”
The champion is back to defend his title. Crowned (or masked actually) in front of an audience that was totally under his charm, MMA conquered Paris. The Terran did what he does best, playing spectacularly showing some master class TvZ. Since he left Paris with the championship in the pocket, MMA went through rough times especially went his mentor left for SKT. The one who used to be called BoxeR’s heir found the strength in him to come back and is highly motivated about being back for the second chapter of the Iron Squid. MMA declined several invitations to foreign tournaments as he wanted to practice but he accepted to be in the Iron Squid with the firm intention to remain the only champion.
Kang Dong Hyun, “TSL Symbol”
First chapter’s breakout talent, Symbol is now a well established Zerg on the world’s scene. He traveled a lot since he came to Paris and also made a name for himself in Korea, where he is now one of the best GSL Zergs as he just secured a spot in the top 8 for twice in a row. Since he was revealed during the Iron Squid, Symbol has a special relationship with the tournament and the French fans. Even though he confirmed he is an amazing player, he has yet to win a major title. Maybe being back in Paris will inspire him.
Lim Jae Duck, “LG-IM NesTea”
One of the greatest players in StarCraft II history, NesTea has won a total of three GSL titles. Since the format was different from the other international tournaments where he gets tired because of the long days, Iron Squid chapter I was meant to be his first title out f Korea. But it eluded him and he ended up in the third place. NesTea has not been doing so well lately, and Iron Squid could be the opportunity for him to show the world that he is still one of the best in the business.
Han Lee Seok, “FnaticRC.aLive”
Even though he ended up in the fourth place, aLive really fought well during the finals. Each series was very tense and he lost 3-2 twice, on that day aLive was missing this “je ne sais quoi” that turns the game in your favor and makes the crowd go wild. Since May, aLive kept is discreet and hard working style but did not confirm his IPL4 performance. aLive has been given a rough time in GSL lately and Iron Squid might just be the breath of fresh air he needs to find his groove back.
Since you already knew beforehand that the four finalists were coming back, it is time to introduce you to the four first guests.
No grudge or hard feelings, Iron Squid only wants the best players in the tournament and as – arguably – the best foreigner in the business, Stephano is very welcome in Iron Squid. Leave all the stories behind, Stephano is ready and will be a contender in Iron Squid 2. The Zerg is on a very hot streak as he recently won the 3rd season of NASL and the WCS Europe. Stephano loves playing in front of a crowd cheering for him, over 3,000 fans in Paris should do the trick.
Mihaylo Hayda, “Empire.Kas”
The first chapter Iron Squid did miss the beast from the East, Iron Squid II will not. Kas has been around forever, since the beta he remains one of the best contenders in every tournament he enters. Even when the non Korean Terrans are struggling, Kas somehow manages to be a threat to his opponents. The Ukrainian knows how to put the necessary volume of practice to be in his best shape before a tournament. Although he has been complaining about TvZ on his twitter lately, he has plenty of time to fix it before the matches start.
Marcus Eklöf, “EG.ThorZaIN.RC”
Another great foreign Terran joins Iron Squid II and in ThorZaIN’s case, it is a comeback. A lot of things have changed for ThorZaIN since his first participation in the tournament. He won a DreamHack tournament, and he signed with EG stating it was an offer he could not refuse. The Swede also tried his luck in GSL Code S where he did fairly well with very little time to prepare. Few weeks ago, the King in the North was beaten on his own soil and did not qualify for WCS World, Iron Squid is definitely a great shot to make up for it.
Kim Hammar, “Quantic.SaSe”
A Swede is followed by another one as SaSe is the first Protoss invited into Iron Squid II. SaSe has been training in Korea for months and his practice has been paying off lately, his performances have risen up as he was for instance the best foreigner in the MLG Spring championship beating the likes of Stephano and Leenock. The Protoss came really close to be the first foreigner to qualify for the GSL Code A but was stopped in semi-finals. In Iron Squid II SaSe will be looking for his first win in a major event, but the path will be tough.
Two Koreans are back and they are joined by two newcomers.
Kim Dong Hwan, "AZUBU.viOLet"
The fate of Korean players trying their luck in the foreign countries is not always rewarded with success, but for viOLet it was. The Zerg has scored several big performances topped with a win in a MLG Arena event, and has proved he was marketable enough to get his personal sponsorship. As a player that reached Code S, he could have surfed his wave to take the foreign money, but viOLet really improved his game since he left Korea. He was good enough to get a Code S seed usually given only to foreigners. It is now time for the Zerg to show how good he is in the Iron Squid.
Lee Dong Nyoung, "FXO.Leenock"
Invited to the first Iron Squid, Leenock had a very tough group but certainly did not do as good as he expected. Fortunately for him, he is still one of the best Zergs around. Leenock is on a heater lately as he conquered his second MLG title and managed to reach the Ro8 of the GSL Code S. He is back in shape, the skill level that brought him all the way to the GSL finals last November. It is no surprise to see such a player coming back for Iron Squid II and he will want to capitalize on his momentum to reach the finals and a first trip to Europe.
Lee Jung Hoon, "MarineKingPrime"
MarineKing was doing fairly well in Iron Squid, ending first in his group and then… Symbol. MKP got taken by surprise and annihilated by Symbol, this series was the first step of a rivalry in which battles were fought all around the world. 2012 has not been that nice to the Terran, having him struggle to get through the first rounds of GSL Code S, but he is back. MKP reduced his travelling time to practice more and reached the Ro8 of the Code S right away. He is now confident enough to enter Iron squid II where he will be trying to achieve his triple crown with a European title.
Won Lee Sak, "StarTale.PartinG"
It has been said that Iron Squid I was lacking Protoss players, luckily enough, Korea has seen the rise of several outstanding disciples of Aiur these last months. The rise of the Protoss was led by an infernal duo coming from StarTale, PartinG and Squirtle. PartinG was at some point nearly unbeatable in PvT, but got carried away by is cocky personality. The Protoss is a showman and one of the best of his race as he just demonstrated by manhandling Prime with a stunning all kill in IPTL. PartinG has rarely shown up in international events, and Iron Squid is his first opportunity to go to Europe and show his ceremonies to an overheated crowd.
Nerchio has always been among Europe’s finest. He was good enough to be invited in Iron Squid I and came close to get out of the deadly group D. This summer, the Polish has shown that he was also able to beat Koreans and had what it takes to win offline events. Home Story Cup, DreamHack and IEM Cologne, Nerchio remained consistent the whole summer and confirmed his reputation of top foreigner. Now that he knows he can defeat Korean, he has more confidence for this Iron Squid
Sasha Hostyn, "Acer.Scarlett"
The mysterious Canadian has been one of the biggest stories of this year. Scarlett picks the tournaments she enters very carefully but does well in every event she plays. Breakout player of the IPL, she proved she was no fluke by winning WCS Canada and WCS North America. Scarlett is the second WCS Continental champion to join Iron Squid II and she is as ready as it gets to fight with the big boys in Iron Squid II.
Grzegorz Komincz, "Mouz.MaNa"
Way too used to silver, MaNa has broken his European Kong curse by winning DreamHack Summer. Building on his momentum he managed to get into Code S through the Up & downs but was pretty unlucky with the draw, ending up in one of the toughest group ever. Even though he was eliminated from GSL he did learn a lot during his travel and it is an over trained Protoss that come back for Iron Squid II. Remember that he defeated MMA, the future champion, in the group stage of Iron Squid I, his expectations should be even higher this time.
Pedro Moreno Duran, "Karont3 LucifroN"
The “Spanish armada” has been one of the hottest topics lately. The two brothers competing together at the highest level is one of the good stories of StarCraft. As one of the best Terrans out of Korea, Lucifron the eldest of the two, joins Iron Squid II. The Spanish was one of the best players on WarCraft III and transitioned very well his skills on StarCraft II even if his studies prevent him to practice as much as he would like to. Lucifron often peaks at the end of the summer, and this year he will have to extend his practice period as he will compete in both the WCS World and Iron Squid II.
Iron Squid's fans wanted more Protoss? Tonight three of them are announced together with the best player in th StarCraft II history.
Jang Hyun Woo, "Creator.Prime"
Of all the Protoss players that have emerged lately, Creator is youngest and maybe the most promising one. He will enter the Iron Squid as both the TSL 4 and WCS Korea champion, no small feats. Smart and innovative, Creator plays sharply in every match up. Even if had success in brackets format, he is yet to shine in a GSL format tournament. Iron Squid will be the first international event he enters that proposes such a format. Needless to say that the Korean will be eager to show he can win in every format and even in front of a wild crowd.
Jeong Jong Hyeon, "LG-IM.Mvp"
They said he was done, that he could not overcome his injury, his answer? He quietly won a 4 th GSL title even though people gave his opponents favorite for each round. In the first Iron Squid, Mvp was eliminated at the round average, the king not going through the group stage was quite a shock to everybody. The other competitors better worry, it is not Mvp’s habit not to win something he runs for. Even though he has won nearly everything, the Iron Squid trophy is one worth addition to his huge collection, something he is definitely after.
Jung Min Soo, "SlayerS`Genius"
Winner of the first Blizzcon on SC II and finalist of the first GSL in 2012, Genius rarely shows up in international events. This is a shame for people not watching enough GSL as he is one of the most entertaining players to watch. When he left team MvP to join SlayerS, he insisted on the idea of participating in more international events. Iron Squid will be the first event that could bring him to Paris if he does what he does best, crushing the soul of his opponents.
Ahn Sang Won, "LG-IM.Seed"
Over 500 days people have been waiting for him, there he is. Seed is the one that brought to Aiur the GSL title people have been craving for. After he was noticed in team league over a year ago, it took a while for the Korean to rise as one of the best Protoss if not the best. Seed also offered to LG- IM its 8th title, making it the only team to have a GSL title in each race. The Protoss now lures on an international title and as he scheduled conflicted, preventing him to go to Cologne, Iron Squid might bring him in Europe for the first time. In that case, he won’t just come to see Paris.
Last but not least, four more great players join the tournament.
Yoon Young Suh, "Liquid.Taeja"
Players have been on hot streaks all along the StarCraft II history, but Taeja’s heater can hardly be matched. For 2 months he has been killing everybody in every tournament, carrying Team Liquid in the IPL TAC 3 grand final were he pulled a first all kill against LG-IM before losing a map to Seed. Taeja was not just winning, he was crushing the competition, playing brilliantly and showing some amazing skills in every match-up. His spectacular plays with both great macro and outstanding control – at least top 3 – will be a real asset to compete in his first Iron Squid and qualifying for the finals in Paris would be a nice way to end up 2012 the “year of Liquid”
Song Hyeon Deok, "Liquid.HerO"
Even though his results have been shadowed by Taeja’s amazing run, HerO has been doing really well lately. He finally established himself as a Code S regular and even reached the round of 4 where he was eliminated by Squirtle. The Protoss scored his main accomplishments during his time overseas. HerO is a NASL finalist and a DreamHack champion. The arrival of Taeja on the team was good for him as he was a little less in the spotlights and it removed some pressure of his shoulders. In Iron Squid, it will be all lights on him as fans will really be expecting him to do well in a GSL format tournament.
Jang Min Chul, "SK.MC"
In the first Iron Squid and in many tournaments at that time, MC was the last Protoss hope to win it all. Sadly for him, aLive defeated him in the round of 8. The boss toss is back but this time the competition to be the best of his race will be tougher. MC does not want to be the best Protoss, he wants to be the best to remain the President. His title has been discussed recently since it has been a while since he won a major title. He came close when reaching the finals of the last GSL and is still in the run to be an OSL champion, but no trophy yet. MC is craving for more titles and would definitively be thriving in front of Paris’ audience.
Park Soo Ho, "MvP.DongRaeGu"
DongRaeGu was maybe the main big name missing in Iron Squid I, be sure he will not be absent of Iron Squid II. The Zerg is one of the most accomplished players in the world. He won a GSL, a MLG, the IEM New-York and is also known for being part of the astonishing finals of the Blizzard cup that he barely lost to MMA. DRG has been through tough times since he won his GSL title against his teammate Genius, but he remains a great Zerg and a real contender to be in the four players coming to Paris. Look out for him, Iron Squid might be his way to complete the Korea-America-Europe triple crown.
Awesome. First IS was one of the more memorable tournaments this year, with its own flavour, enthusiastic casters, concert-like atmosphere, and top notch high level play. Im sure next one will be just as good if not better.
On September 28 2012 04:34 quannguyen wrote: fuck yes. Hope Iron Squid II will be 10 times more awesome than the first
Wtf are you serious ?? The first Iron Squid is by far the best tournament of the year ! I dunno how it can be better o_o with more european players maybe
NA open only? No EU or KR opens? I know it's open to everyone but cross-server will screw up a lot of players and deter even more from even entering...
Yay, IronSquid is best Squid! Can't wait to know all the players, hopefully the online part has improved, the live event can't get much better (apart from English casters at the venue).
So looking forward to this - I was just starting to learn french around the time the first Ironsquid began back in March, and I spent hours listening to all the french Ironsquid casts even though I could barely understand anything, because I loved the energy and pomf&thud spoke very clearly so sometimes I could pick out little bits of what they were saying. And of course it was an amazing tournament.
Now something like 6 months later, most of the streams I watch are in French and I can understand 80-90%
On September 28 2012 04:59 TheBloodyDwarf wrote: Well. Tournament 1 had one huge problem. Stream was horrible! It was restream of restream right??
Apollo and TB couldn't be at the event(I believe) so their was many technical issues, the french stream that was streamed from the event itself was fine.
The best tournament of SC2 return and it will be Brutal !!! GG all Iron Squid crew ! I hope I will be one of the 3 thousand men in Paris for the finals.
On September 28 2012 04:59 TheBloodyDwarf wrote: Well. Tournament 1 had one huge problem. Stream was horrible! It was restream of restream right??
But I later found original stream,TBs secret stream and then everything fixed.
The group stages were pre-recorded videos, the playoffs were live casts of VODs. There were some minor issues for some people with the finals, and TB/dApollo weren't at the event and casted from another location. That stream was then being restreamed, to avoid too much lag. It went badly when people found the original stream though, and everything ended up lagging. Quality was slightly different between the restream and the original stream.
That was a bit of a mess, but to me it didn't really matter much. Still one of the best events I've ever seen, and easily THE best chat I've modded.
On September 28 2012 04:10 IronSquid wrote: On the 5th of May 2, 500 StarCraft II fans gathered in le Grand Rex for a beautiful day of entertainment that ended up in apotheosis when MMA became champion by defeating the brave Symbol. The 1st edition of the IronSquid was well received and a solid base for a second one that was promised by Pomf & Thud at the end of the show.
Geez, thanks TL.net for forcing me to look up a word ('apotheosis'). Me talk smart someday.
It will not be 20 but 32 of the world’s elite players that will compete for the Iron Squid title. In addition to the 24 invited players, 8 will earn their spot through our four qualifiers
HOORAH, finally, a tournament going back to the better way to sell itself xD
Invite 24 decent players who are fan favorites, get 8 people in from qualifiers. G G.
It will not be 20 but 32 of the world’s elite players that will compete for the Iron Squid title. In addition to the 24 invited players, 8 will earn their spot through our four qualifiers
HOORAH, finally, a tournament going back to the better way to sell itself xD
Invite 24 decent players who are fan favorites, get 8 people in from qualifiers. G G.
Will watch ofc
Same as last time, but more qualified players in proportion this time. Hoping for Creator, Seed and Polt!
Fucking finally ! Last time was so freaking good,awesome mood,awesome players,awesome games... Can't wait for the second edition,also lineup will probably be godlike like last time^^
Iron Squid was excellent because it managed to build hype (as opposed to... TSL4 for example)
One of the most memorable things are : - the music. Damn that was good to have In Uchronia - the videos. There were some sick sick recaps of the games - the players. I hope you will have good players for the invites
First prize = $12,500, does that mean Stephano won't be participating or because it's a French tournament he would want to win the championship no matter what prize money he wins.
On September 28 2012 07:20 sighsigh wrote: First prize = $12,500, does that mean Stephano won't be participating or because it's a French tournament he would want to win the championship no matter what prize money he wins.
? I'm guessing you are referring to him pulling out of the MvP tournament cause of the $10k prize. Its not that he didn't think $10k was enough, its that its winner takes all, so he could play for 5 weeks, get second and not win a thing.
Great to see chapter 2 already, and it's not even late! Where's pomf & thud style? :D
I think Iron Squid was the European tournament with the biggest crowd, the Grand Rex was completely full so 2700 persons was there (including me :D ).
If we compare to WCS Europe for example, there were 5000 places but it was not even half filled...
On September 28 2012 08:03 Wry wrote: I wonder if the music for the first Iron Squid will be released (that is, not Youtube quality). I would gladly pay money for it.
Some albums were sold at the event in Paris, I didn't resist to buy one. :3
On September 28 2012 04:34 quannguyen wrote: fuck yes. Hope Iron Squid II will be 10 times more awesome than the first
Wtf are you serious ?? The first Iron Squid is by far the best tournament of the year ! I dunno how it can be better o_o with more european players maybe
And wouldnt it be a good thing if this one was 10 times better then?
on topic: nice nice, liked last one, will defo watch this
NEEEEEEEEEEED I'm so exiting about it, hope it will soon start =) Enjoy Quick list of the player i want (the must have): Protoss : Squirtel, Rain, MC, Alicia, Hero Creator Inoris Genius Parting Teran : MVP MKP MMA Taeja Supernova Forgg Polt Lucifron Thorzain Zerg : DRG Leenock Nestea Violet Symbol Curious Vortix Nerchio Stephano
Here 27 players i love bu who deserve it =) (I know most of the people will not be agree with me )
On September 28 2012 09:01 Leyff wrote: NEEEEEEEEEEED I'm so exiting about it, hope it will soon start =) Enjoy Quick list of the player i want (the must have): Protoss : Squirtel, Rain, MC, Alicia, Hero Creator Inoris Genius Parting Teran : MVP MKP MMA Taeja Supernova Forgg Polt Lucifron Thorzain Zerg : DRG Leenock Nestea Violet Symbol Curious Vortix Nerchio Stephano
Here 27 players i love bu who deserve it =) (I know most of the people will not be agree with me )
Seed, First & YongHua instead of Alicia, Inoris and Genius/Parting. But too many Koreans i think, more foreigners will attend this one i think.
PS : To achieve an Epic tournament, we'll need an Epic Grubby vs Moon showmatch :p
On September 28 2012 10:51 brokenLoL wrote: I'm going to register and then six pool everyone. I wonder what would happen if I won first place doing that.
Such a great tournament. Glad to see it back! I just wish the offline event had more people. I think 8 would be great, but I understand the reasons why that might not even be possible.
I really hope this one will get wayyyyyyy more coverage than the previous one. It was really a shame how the first one was covered by every Esports news site.
On September 28 2012 10:51 brokenLoL wrote: I'm going to register and then six pool everyone. I wonder what would happen if I won first place doing that.
Well now that you've posted it here i would assume it wouldn't work anymore, eh?
"In addition to the 24 invited players, 8 will earn their spot through our four qualifiers." THANKS! I am sick of tournaments without the big names. I think 3:1 ration is pretty nice, so we will still see some newcomers
French ppl doesn't always organize tournaments but when they does... It is the best tourney of the year and allmost nobody knows about it... The first edition was so underated hope this one will get all the attention it deserves! Gl hf for this amazing tourney !
On September 28 2012 17:55 Orange_BuD wrote: French ppl doesn't always organize tournaments but when they does... It is the better tourney of the year and allmost nobody knows about it... The first edition was so underated hope this one will get all the attention it deserves! Gl hf for this amazing tourney !
you always have to prove yourself to get the attention you want, we are fine with it and don't hold any grudge on anybody! This time Iron squid got featured right when we announced it, so I guess it will be easier for us to promote the tournament to the TL community
On September 28 2012 17:55 Orange_BuD wrote: French ppl doesn't always organize tournaments but when they does... It is the better tourney of the year and allmost nobody knows about it... The first edition was so underated hope this one will get all the attention it deserves! Gl hf for this amazing tourney !
you always have to prove yourself to get the attention you want, we are fine with it and don't hold any grudge on anybody! This time Iron squid got featured right when we announced it, so I guess it will be easier for us to promote the tournament to the TL community
On September 28 2012 17:55 Orange_BuD wrote: French ppl doesn't always organize tournaments but when they does... It is the better tourney of the year and allmost nobody knows about it... The first edition was so underated hope this one will get all the attention it deserves! Gl hf for this amazing tourney !
you always have to prove yourself to get the attention you want, we are fine with it and don't hold any grudge on anybody! This time Iron squid got featured right when we announced it, so I guess it will be easier for us to promote the tournament to the TL community
On September 28 2012 08:03 Wry wrote: I wonder if the music for the first Iron Squid will be released (that is, not Youtube quality). I would gladly pay money for it.
On September 30 2012 07:39 StaplerPhone wrote: It's a shame that it's 24 invites and 8 qualifiers instead of the other way around Oh well still looks to be a great tournament!
On September 30 2012 07:39 StaplerPhone wrote: It's a shame that it's 24 invites and 8 qualifiers instead of the other way around Oh well still looks to be a great tournament!
Lol not many foreign tournaments can claim to have MMA ,Symbol,Nestea,Alive as former finalists , and symbol wasnt even invited at the time , the first iron squid was his first big performance if i remember well ...
On October 02 2012 18:55 Orange_BuD wrote: Lol not many foreign tournaments can claim to have MMA ,Symbol,Nestea,Alive as former finalists , and symbol wasnt even invited at the time , the first iron squid was his first big performance if i remember well ...
On October 02 2012 18:55 Orange_BuD wrote: Lol not many foreign tournaments can claim to have MMA ,Symbol,Nestea,Alive as former finalists , and symbol wasnt even invited at the time , the first iron squid was his first big performance if i remember well ...
really nice and shy! It was a treat to have them in Paris, wouldn't mind if we have them again! (even though I'm still a huge Mvp fanboy!)
On October 02 2012 18:55 Orange_BuD wrote: Lol not many foreign tournaments can claim to have MMA ,Symbol,Nestea,Alive as former finalists , and symbol wasnt even invited at the time , the first iron squid was his first big performance if i remember well ...
really nice and shy! It was a treat to have them in Paris, wouldn't mind if we have them again! (even though I'm still a huge Mvp fanboy!)
On October 02 2012 18:55 Orange_BuD wrote: Lol not many foreign tournaments can claim to have MMA ,Symbol,Nestea,Alive as former finalists , and symbol wasnt even invited at the time , the first iron squid was his first big performance if i remember well ...
really nice and shy! It was a treat to have them in Paris, wouldn't mind if we have them again! (even though I'm still a huge Mvp fanboy!)
I don't think they'll invite Nerchio, he kinda has a bad rep of BM and haven't won anything special, he's basically a lesser Stephano without a personality(unless you believe BMing is part of personality) which doesn't add much to the lineup. I believe they'll invite Mana(from Poland) instead.
On October 04 2012 04:27 Rhaegar_tar wrote: I don't think they'll invite Nerchio, he kinda has a bad rep of BM and haven't won anything special, he's basically a lesser Stephano without a personality(unless you believe BMing is part of personality) which doesn't add much to the lineup. I believe they'll invite Mana(from Poland) instead.
Nerchio is so bm he will qualify to it as random and win the free 500$.
On October 04 2012 04:27 Rhaegar_tar wrote: I don't think they'll invite Nerchio, he kinda has a bad rep of BM and haven't won anything special, he's basically a lesser Stephano without a personality(unless you believe BMing is part of personality) which doesn't add much to the lineup. I believe they'll invite Mana(from Poland) instead.
Iron Squid did invite Idra last time, and we all know Idra. Also, they reinvited Stephano (which I think is a logical invite) even though Stephano disappointed many people when he didn't show for his match vs MMA (a lot of people, me included were looking forward to that).
On October 06 2012 06:42 IronSquid wrote: I don't like to crush your hopes guys, but MLG got the exclusivity on the KeSPA players regarding the foreign events.
On October 06 2012 06:42 IronSquid wrote: I don't like to crush your hopes guys, but MLG got the exclusivity on the KeSPA players regarding the foreign events.
Reminds me of the "Animal farm" of Gorge Orwell. Funny how people criticize the injustice as long as they're not in a position to perpetuate them for their own business.
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS mkp and parting this is so good, the only thing i could possibly ask for more is squirtle as he is the remaining most popular player out of my favorites
On October 06 2012 06:42 IronSquid wrote: I don't like to crush your hopes guys, but MLG got the exclusivity on the KeSPA players regarding the foreign events.
I'm pretty sure Scarlett and Nerchio have a high chance of being invited. They play for Acer which is managed by Kaoru who is also a part of iron squid. And mostly they are beast foreigners
I hope I will be there for the finals, but my bank account will have the last word.
On October 06 2012 19:18 Trashman420 wrote: Needs more foreigners. Vortix, Lucifron, Naniwa, Fraer, Titan, Scarlett, Nerchio etc. Don't let me down, dawgs.
Agreed, half top foreigners and half top koreans + qualifiers would be very cool.
I was looking back at the first Iron squid and realized something. The two players who made it in through qualifiers were a couple unknown "faceless" korean zergs that nobody gave a shit about. They turned out to be Symbol and Life O_O
On October 06 2012 19:32 Gevna wrote: I'm pretty sure Scarlett and Nerchio have a high chance of being invited. They play for Acer which is managed by Kaoru who is also a part of iron squid. And mostly they are beast foreigners
I hope I will be there for the finals, but my bank account will have the last word.
I'm sure that Scarlett will decline the invitation, she seems to forfeit all the "interesting" tourneys.
On October 06 2012 19:18 Trashman420 wrote: Needs more foreigners. Vortix, Lucifron, Naniwa, Fraer, Titan, Scarlett, Nerchio etc. Don't let me down, dawgs.
Agreed, half top foreigners and half top koreans + qualifiers would be very cool.
On October 06 2012 20:13 red4ce wrote: I was looking back at the first Iron squid and realized something. The two players who made it in through qualifiers were a couple unknown "faceless" korean zergs that nobody gave a shit about. They turned out to be Symbol and Life O_O
Iron Squid = Hipster tournament.
life was absolutely not faceless lol, he was quite known for being the only zerg using hydras in vT......... but yes, symbol was completely hipster
On October 06 2012 20:13 red4ce wrote: I was looking back at the first Iron squid and realized something. The two players who made it in through qualifiers were a couple unknown "faceless" korean zergs that nobody gave a shit about. They turned out to be Symbol and Life O_O
Iron Squid = Hipster tournament.
life was absolutely not faceless lol, he was quite known for being the only zerg using hydras in vT......... but yes, symbol was completely hipster
Only to the few hundred people who watch the weekly online cups. For the general fan nobody knew anything about Life other than that he was really young.
I think you underestimate the number of people who watch weekly online cups. Back in 2011, there were the KSL weeklies and there were way more ESV than recently, and those player were always around and winning sometimes. I remember my brother telling me how impressed he was by Symbol when he won his ESV (it was still Iccup I think at this moment). At this moment of time, there was a period when almost no zergs were at the top, you had maybe Coca before the incident, DRG, Nestea and Leenock. I remember the zerg that people had in mind to be the next big thing were Life, Line, Annyeong, Symbol, Sniper or Monster. My point is that it's not because you only heard about a player after his big breakout in a foreign tournament that the player was a nobody before that. Life's reputation as a potential great zerg comes back to mid/late 2011, and Symbol was definitely not a walkover in ESV and KSL.
On October 06 2012 06:42 IronSquid wrote: I don't like to crush your hopes guys, but MLG got the exclusivity on the KeSPA players regarding the foreign events.
Reminds me of the "Animal farm" of Gorge Orwell. Funny how people criticize the injustice as long as they're not in a position to perpetuate them for their own business.
It would be sick to have Flash and Rain.
not sur I get your meaning so just ti be sure there's no misunderstanding: we do not say anything is fair or unfair! I was merely explaining the situation. The line up will be sick enough, don't worry
On October 06 2012 06:42 IronSquid wrote: I don't like to crush your hopes guys, but MLG got the exclusivity on the KeSPA players regarding the foreign events.
Reminds me of the "Animal farm" of Gorge Orwell. Funny how people criticize the injustice as long as they're not in a position to perpetuate them for their own business.
It would be sick to have Flash and Rain.
not sur I get your meaning so just ti be sure there's no misunderstanding: we do not say anything is fair or unfair! I was merely explaining the situation. The line up will be sick enough, don't worry
I'm sure the IronSquid will be good no matter what. Last one was clearly one step ahead of all other tournaments in terms of casting and enthousiasm.
My point was that a lot of foreigners, foreigner organizations, in fact pretty much everyone, were very critical of Kespa monopol on Brood War players back in the BW days. A lot of people asserted that foreigners would never accept such a system and so on. But still, at the second MLG got the opportunity to have a monopol, they choose to have it.
On October 06 2012 06:42 IronSquid wrote: I don't like to crush your hopes guys, but MLG got the exclusivity on the KeSPA players regarding the foreign events.
Reminds me of the "Animal farm" of Gorge Orwell. Funny how people criticize the injustice as long as they're not in a position to perpetuate them for their own business.
It would be sick to have Flash and Rain.
not sur I get your meaning so just ti be sure there's no misunderstanding: we do not say anything is fair or unfair! I was merely explaining the situation. The line up will be sick enough, don't worry
I'm sure the IronSquid will be good no matter what. Last one was clearly one step ahead of all other tournaments in terms of casting and enthousiasm.
My point was that a lot of foreigners, foreigner organizations, in fact pretty much everyone, were very critical of Kespa monopol on Brood War players back in the BW days. A lot of people asserted that foreigners would never accept such a system and so on. But still, at the second MLG got the opportunity to have a monopol, they choose to have it.
Monopolies are bad for a culture, good for a business.
IS is getting sicker and sicker. Please tell me it will be pure and original p&t casting, I like anoss and moman but p&t is and will stay the best duo ever.
Guessing the last 8 invitees: Polt Seed Taeja mvp Life MC Squirtle DRG
It would be the sickest of the tournaments if this list is true. :D
On October 06 2012 19:32 Gevna wrote: I'm pretty sure Scarlett and Nerchio have a high chance of being invited. They play for Acer which is managed by Kaoru who is also a part of iron squid. And mostly they are beast foreigners
I hope I will be there for the finals, but my bank account will have the last word.
I'm sure that Scarlett will decline the invitation, she seems to forfeit all the "interesting" tourneys.
Nah she just only accepts the best of the best.
On October 08 2012 07:09 Foudzing wrote: IS is getting sicker and sicker. Please tell me it will be pure and original p&t casting, I like anoss and moman but p&t is and will stay the best duo ever.
Guessing the last 8 invitees: Polt Seed Taeja mvp Life MC Squirtle DRG
It would be the sickest of the tournaments if this list is true. :D
Nah I'm pretty sure it will be half Korean half foreigner, but if you are right that would be SUPER sick.
The lineup looks great thus far. Taeja will be added, I just know it. Add more protosses like liquid`hero, mc, squirtle, creator and just shut up and take my money! I just cant wait to watch Iron Squid II.
It looks like they're aiming for getting 12 of the best Koreans and 12 of the best Foreigners with 4 of each race, respectively (which would be perfect imo.)
Foreigners: VortiX Titan (edit: no, not this titan, tlpd!) Fraer
Hmm... Sad to say I actually can't find a decent contestant for the final foreign terran invite. At least I can't think of anyone with a chance of winning it. Maybe Major on a good day .
Anyway, can't wait to hear who the final invites are! Also greatly looking forward to qualifiers!
meh, im already into this tournament with mkp mma and parting in it but yeah, having squirtle will make me watch basically everyday of this tourny, not like i wont even if he wasnt participating
Polt is not invited he is playing in the qualifiers.
Regarding the announcement schedule so far, it seems that the 4 last korean players should be announced tonight. I hope it will at least because I can't stand it anymore ! It would make sense because the first qualifiers are in 4 days, so there is time for 2 more announcements.
I think MC will be invited because of the reassuring message from the IronSquid account a few pages ago and the fame of the player. I'd love to have Mvp in there but I think he may refuse the invitation if it happened. Squirtle is definitely one of the last protoss that I'd love to see, and Seed would make me happy as well. Taeja would be great too. I need to know !
Sick line-up I'm so hyped for this event ! I don't know how you do, Iron Squid, to invite only insane players among the koreans but I'm just happy you do. Only MMA, Nestea and Alive seem to be a little weaker than the other player at the moment but it is only because all the others are so freaking good and they could perform well if the conditions are there.
Now we only need Life and Polt to qualify and we are ready for a crazy tournament.
MMA Symbol NesTea aLive Stephano ThorZaIN Kas SaSe MarineKing viOLet Leenock PartinG Nerchio Scarlett MaNa Lucifron Mvp Seed Genius Creator
I really hope the last 4 aren't foreigners, at least not all of 'em (as the list above suggests)! Mc, life, squirtle, taeja, drg, by.sun.. Only foreigner I'm missing is vortix atm. This is like GSL World Championship but more skillwise! Just awesome!
MMA Symbol NesTea aLive Stephano ThorZaIN Kas SaSe MarineKing viOLet Leenock PartinG Nerchio Scarlett MaNa Lucifron Mvp Seed Genius Creator
I really hope the last 4 aren't foreigners, at least not all of 'em (as the list above suggests)! Mc, life, squirtle, taeja, drg, by.sun.. Only foreigner I'm missing is vortix atm. This is like GSL World Championship but more skillwise! Just awesome!
Can already say no about by.Sun, he is a KeSPA player!
creatooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooor of the universe vs creatooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooor
and seed of course is pretty good too.
and mvp.
i question genius instead of hero/squirtle, but meh, genius CAN be pretty good sometimes
Squirtle and Rain over Genius and Creator imo but otherwise looks great so far.
Also as I saw someone else say, Life and Taeja too. =) Life is too crazy not to invite I think, one of the few zergs making entertaining games at the moment.
Lol, People still asking for Rain when it has been mentioned numerous times in this thread that MLG has exclusive rights for Kespa players in terms foreign events...
Why do people keep on saying they want By.Sun in the IronSquid, when it already has been said confirmed that he won't play the qualifiers because of MLG-KeSPA ? Seems wierd to me ! Anyway, definitly gonna watch this, the line-up for this is pretty sick, although i miss Liquid players + MC
Oohh, going the more Koreans than foreigners route, didn't look like it from the announcement scheduling but I approve. Would've been a shame to miss these players in such a big tournament.
I'm only a bit sad because I'd have liked to see Titan play in here, but I guess you chose other foreigner Protoss players as invites.
i guessed, but i'd like to know how he can pull this submit link out of his hat like that, never noticed it, i'm usually the one giving links to the newcomers (puzzle piece link to liquipedia)
On October 13 2012 09:01 LeapofFaith wrote: That is SO sick. If they add the player-specific music they had last season this is a tournament I'll be watching every moment I can.
omg saying MC is the best starcraft 2 player in history because of insane amount of foreign money earned is almost like saying david beckham is the best football player in history :l mc has to do ALOT more to surpass mvp
On October 13 2012 10:27 vinsang1000 wrote: Well, can we call this tournament the true 2012 world championship ?
I think yes.
It's still online for the most part which devalues the games a lot. I'll watch because they're damn fun to watch but not because the tournament will decide who the best player in the world is.
DRG already has the Europe, Korea, America triple crown. GSL, 2 MLGs and 1 Dreamhack and won both of his MLGs since his GSL win...but thats irrelevant, im so pumped about the player list.
On October 13 2012 12:05 TommyP wrote: DRG already has the Europe, Korea, America triple crown. GSL, 2 MLGs and 1 Dreamhack and won both of his MLGs since his GSL win...but thats irrelevant, im so pumped about the player list.
the DH valencia invitational was nice, but not really a premier ;p
On October 13 2012 09:01 LeapofFaith wrote: That is SO sick. If they add the player-specific music they had last season this is a tournament I'll be watching every moment I can.
Every moment, word ? ^^
Every. Moment. I can't wait, this tourney's gonna blow minds!
Iron Squid is just such an awesome tournament. Bringing back even better players than last time which is already an impressive feat! I'm glad to see viOlet and Scarlett in there too, feel like i don't see enough of them (or maybe i really just like watching viOlet play =p)
edit : i don't know wtf is going on but the links seems to be the same yet kaoru's one redirect you to the no permission page and mine to the normal one,oh well.
I just wanted to say this tournament is crazy stacked and I'm super excited. I can literally count the number of tier 1 players left out on one hand: Rain, Polt, Hyun, Squirtle.
This might be the most talent heavy sc2 tournament ever.
Soo... Since we know its gonna be bigger than the rex and have 3000 spectators.
It leaves us the ''Zénith'' or the ''Palais des sports'' tbh i think its gonna be the Zénith since the other seems a bit to big/expensive. Also the zénith seems well fitted for those kind of events : + Show Spoiler +
Insane line-up, seriously the best foreigners in the world, not missing ANYONE. Really cannot ask for anything more, perfect line-up, amazing production value, STOKED!
I think they have the best 24 players on the planet there, (or at least the top foreigners and top koreans, nobody is missing)... The only two people I can think of that should be there and are not is Life and Hyun. But who cares, STILL STOKED.
I'm gonna post this to hype this awesome tournament, and maybe to explain why so many top tier players accepted the invite.
This is Game interviewed Nestea about a week ago, and when they asked : "Tell me about your most memorable tournament if you have one."
He answered: "[...] My most memorable tournament was the first Iron Squid tournament. Four players were selected after an online qualifier, and when I went to France, people took care of everything for me. They accomodated everything I wanted. The soundproofing was good as well, as they cared about it more than in Korea."
they said on ironsquid.tv that group will be announced this week. I assume the group will be 1 foreigner / 1 qualified players and 2 Koreans. This will be awesome !
Edit : and they tweet the date of the final !
ironsquidgaming Iron Squid II grand finals will be live in Paris on January 26th...but which place will host the 3000 squiddies?
On November 15 2012 01:27 WigglingSquid wrote: Hopefully they will manage to fill the seats. Their last event had some crowd-magnets (the actor), I wonder what will they manage this time around.
The actor was a surprise, nobody knew when purchasing the ticket that he was coming. Hopefully fans enjoyed it enough to be willing to come back, it's a cool show to attend ^^
On November 15 2012 01:46 Sephinor wrote: When will tickets be available for purchase? I cannot miss this event again!
Can't say it yet as the date is not certain, late November/ early December should be about right (this is just my estimation, don't hold Iron Squid to these words!)
On November 15 2012 01:46 Sephinor wrote: When will tickets be available for purchase? I cannot miss this event again!
Can't say it yet as the date is not certain, late November/ early December should be about right (this is just my estimation, don't hold Iron Squid to these words!)
Hey Clément, do you know the groups will be announced ?
On November 15 2012 01:46 Sephinor wrote: When will tickets be available for purchase? I cannot miss this event again!
Can't say it yet as the date is not certain, late November/ early December should be about right (this is just my estimation, don't hold Iron Squid to these words!)
Hey Clément, do you know the groups will be announced ?
veryveryveryvery soon, I might or might not be doing the OP of the TL thread right now
I recently developped a great android application about the ironsquid.
Wherever you are, follow the news about the Iron squid tournament, composed of the best world players of starcraft 2. You can also browse the players profiles, the bracket, and watch the stream in your language (fr/en).
It works on all version of android and all devices. If you want to watch the stream, you will need to have flash player installed.
For those that don't speak french: 35.95 euros : only a place (first come first placed) (~500 places remaining) 61.50 euros : place (first come first placed) + collector t+shirt (~1100 places remaining) 92,25 euros : better positioned place (golden square) + collector t-shirt + album with (35 places remaining)
EPT![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/H2sK7.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://www.ironsquid.tv/data/img/season2/is1_MMA.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/6B9X5.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://www.ironsquid.tv/data/img/season2/is2_pa1.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://www.ironsquid.tv/data/img/season2/is2_pa2.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://www.ogaming.tv/sites/ogaming.tv/files/upload/news/IS-2-PA3.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://www.ogaming.tv/sites/ogaming.tv/files/upload/news/IS-2-PA4.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://www.ironsquid.tv/data/img/season2/is2_pa5.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://www.ogaming.tv/sites/ogaming.tv/files/upload/news/IS-2-PA6.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://www.ironsquid.tv/data/img/season2/is2_pa7.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://ironsquid.tv/data/img/season2/IS2_qualif_NANAO.jpg)
I've been away from SC2 since sunday, but was practicing in BW, maybe i'll be able to go past the first round of qualifiers xD
![[image loading]](http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/271235_480595481974038_1635519262_o.jpg)
SlayerS`MMA
TSL.Symbol
MMA![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/dT6BG.jpg)
SaSe
![[image loading]](http://www.ogaming.tv/sites/ogaming.tv/files/upload/news/IS2-casters.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/0VPQs.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://www.canaltheatre.com/France/Paris/Salles/PhotosSalles/Zenith_Gabriel_Huguet.jpg)
