He has performed admirably in GSL as a non Korean player. However, due to his long stay in Korea and many foreign tournaments coming up, EG and Greg have decided that Greg should return to US so he can better concentrate on growing non Korean tournaments.
GOMTV respects Greg’s decision and hope his experience in Korea will be used as an asset to him back home. GOMTV also wishes that Greg can contribute greatly to foreign Starcraft scene and will look forward to see him again in future GSL
Edit : Group B in Code S will not have IdrA and for all the matches which Greg is supposed to play, the opponents will get a free win.
Spotlighted; but Awesome support John ^^ I agree that his experience in Korea will help him dominate in the U.S looking forward to find out who will be taking his place
When can we expect any announcement as to who will take IdrA's place or how you will deal with IdrA's departure and who will take his spot, will he retain Code S, etc etc.
What the fuck is this?! Freaking GSL is the place to be! American tournaments don't pay shit! OMFG. If EG was involved in this then they are just complete shit!
On February 16 2011 15:28 G3nXsiS wrote: What the fuck is this?! Freaking GSL is the place to be! American tournaments don't pay shit! OMFG. If EG was involved in this then they are just complete shit!
Strictly prize money speaking there is less money to be had in Korea unless you can win the GSL. 1k+ tournaments happening constantly in NA. Local lan in March with 2k for first prize... there is a LOT of money amongst more tournaments in NA/EU than Korea at the moment. A good player like Idra can make more money by taking advantage of these if he's unable to take top in GSL.
On February 16 2011 15:28 G3nXsiS wrote: What the fuck is this?! Freaking GSL is the place to be! American tournaments don't pay shit! OMFG. If EG was involved in this then they are just complete shit!
Look at the amount people win. Yeah you can make more in GSL, but only if you win 1st/are consistent, like MKP, MC, etc. Otherwise you can make more by playing foreign tourneys simply because there are more of them. Some foreign players make more than players in the GSL. do your research.
To be honest he can probably make a ton more money in NA circuits/tourneys due to the lower skill-level and competition. Winning more smaller-prize pools frequently > Getting round 16 or 8 and or potentially winning a larger prize pool.
On February 16 2011 15:28 G3nXsiS wrote: What the fuck is this?! Freaking GSL is the place to be! American tournaments don't pay shit! OMFG. If EG was involved in this then they are just complete shit!
Strictly prize money speaking there is less money to be had in Korea unless you can win the GSL. 1k+ tournaments happening constantly in NA. Local lan in March with 2k for first prize... there is a LOT of money amongst more tournaments in NA/EU than Korea at the moment. A good player like Idra can make more money by taking advantage of these if he's unable to take top in GSL.
Subtract that money from travel fees and living course and you get way way less. Not to mention, the experience of having pros around you all the time to discuss the game with!
On February 16 2011 15:32 Talack wrote: To be honest he can probably make a ton more money in NA circuits/tourneys due to the lower skill-level and competition. Winning more smaller-prize pools frequently > Getting round 16 or 8 and or potentially winning a larger prize pool.
If inControl isn't bullshitting us, the NASL will have money that will rival the GSL. Only reason Idra would come back.
On February 16 2011 15:28 G3nXsiS wrote: What the fuck is this?! Freaking GSL is the place to be! American tournaments don't pay shit! OMFG. If EG was involved in this then they are just complete shit!
Strictly prize money speaking there is less money to be had in Korea unless you can win the GSL. 1k+ tournaments happening constantly in NA. Local lan in March with 2k for first prize... there is a LOT of money amongst more tournaments in NA/EU than Korea at the moment. A good player like Idra can make more money by taking advantage of these if he's unable to take top in GSL.
Subtract that money from travel fees and living course and you get way way less. Not to mention, the experience of having pros around you all the time to discuss the game with!
Except most of these tournaments are online and not LANs so relatively no travel costs except for the Major lans which for a player like Idra are covered by EG. Still more money to be had for a player who has been unable to crack the top 4 to stay in NA/EU tournaments and the connection to said tournaments is better in NA than Korea.
edit: Honestly I dont think this is why but just responding to your post about the GSL "being the place to be"
On February 16 2011 15:34 Meteora.GB wrote: So... what happens to IdrA's Code S spot now?
Who cares about IdrA's Code S spot--WTF is going to happen with IMBALANCED? Poor Artosis :[
I'm just sayin'. I'm disappointed that IdrA is moving out from Korea and heading back to the US, but I think everyone else is echoing those thoughts at the moment.
My question about the decision is with GSL starting next week...are there really any tournaments in the next 2-3 weeks that are worthy of leaving GSL for? I mean, wouldn't it in theory be more financially sound to finish this GSL, win some money, THEN return to NA instead of waiting another month for GSL 5?
Pretty exciting to know he will be back and closer to majority of us, specially because it is probably related to the "project' in the works. In a way though, it does make the GSL a little less exciting to watch with one less foreigner in the tourney Best of luck, regardless.
damn this is a double edged sword... GSL now lost a lot of appeal for me since the main reason I watch is to root for foreigners and IdrA is the main one i root for...
but excited for foreign sc2 scene... hope it grows to be as prestigious as the korean scene...
I like that this is even an option. It hints on the foreign scene growing so that no one has to go to Korea to play StarCraft 2 professionally. Korea has this one huge Tournament but you have to get far to make a lot of money and the top players you'll face in the late rounds are better than the top foreigners.
IdrA sees better chances making money in the foreign SC2 scene. Welcome back! The more players that think like IdrA, the faster the western SC2 scene will develop.
On February 16 2011 15:28 G3nXsiS wrote: What the fuck is this?! Freaking GSL is the place to be! American tournaments don't pay shit! OMFG. If EG was involved in this then they are just complete shit!
Strictly prize money speaking there is less money to be had in Korea unless you can win the GSL. 1k+ tournaments happening constantly in NA. Local lan in March with 2k for first prize... there is a LOT of money amongst more tournaments in NA/EU than Korea at the moment. A good player like Idra can make more money by taking advantage of these if he's unable to take top in GSL.
Subtract that money from travel fees and living course and you get way way less. Not to mention, the experience of having pros around you all the time to discuss the game with!
The pros that you don't share a common language with? I also assume he's moving to Cali, so Incontrol/Gretorp/that crew will be there to talk with.
On February 16 2011 15:34 Meteora.GB wrote: So... what happens to IdrA's Code S spot now?
Who cares about IdrA's Code S spot--WTF is going to happen with IMBALANCED? Poor Artosis :[
Artosis was my first thought as well. Poor guy D: He's going to be lonely now.
It seems like very few people are going to be heading to korea now for SC2 if even IdrA is coming back for "NASL". I think the only people left will be the current Liquid guys and a few foreigners randomly that just want to travel. And who knows how long they will stay. Like others have said, the opportunities to make real money in korea are pretty low and if a big league is going to be made in NA it's a deal breaker I think.
Otherwise, not many top pros went to the GOM team house and it's looking like it's only going to go downhill. GSL is also the only real big tournament in Korea so it's a shame.
I'm a little skeptic with how the SC2 scene will evolve from here. It's not huge in korea yet and now we are essentially going to be splitting the pro world even more with less foreigners risking the GSL if there are better opportunities in NA + more small tournaments and show matches. Guys like the Liquid guys and TorcH have to be pretty anxious to see how everything will turn out because they invested a lot to be part of the korean scene and hoping the foreigner scene would develop there as well.
Still, I'm going to keep watch the GSL because Artosis + Tasteless are the best casters. Whatever happens in NA, they won't be on top until they get those two IMO (and I assume they are under contract for a while). That's not a knock on other casters, it's just how fun it is to listen to Tastosis.
On the other hand, whatever the project is could also bomb (although from the information we got they are also associated with some top poker pros who I imagine don't mind burning a bit of cash to try it).
Well, it might seem like an excessive reaction to this news but IdrA moving is a large piece of the puzzle for me. Eager to see what happens in the next few days.
Wow... maybe this is more expected to everyone else here who has been stalking incontrol more than I have but this is pretty shocking to me, as I was looking forward to seeing IdrA making a run at the GSL again starting in just a few days.
Part of me thinks it is in his best interest, if the announcement is of the magnitude people are starting to expect. But... no one can argue that the top tier of players in the world is the Code S of GSL. I can't help but think that in some sense IdrA is giving up at being the best in the world, settling for a tournament with lesser players. I'm sure he'll be happier in the US and there isn't anything you can say against that, but it does seem like the end of a dream to me in some ways.
Question -> Say IdrA stays in US for 6 months, but eventually wants to go back to korea. He will have "points", right? That will allow him to get back to code S easier? Or will he just have to go through the up and down matches in code A?
Well, I think this proves it - if a player like Idra (after TLO, but I think he got kinda homesick) withdraws, it means that the future of esports lies maybe not in the West only, but in international events. Foreigners will always struggle because the environment is afaik so different at the GSL than at their home events. Maybe we will see even more Koreans in tournaments like IEM, too, and everything will balance? Otherwise, who knows. The future remains a mystery =)
On February 16 2011 15:57 Fa1nT wrote: Question -> Say IdrA stays in US for 6 months, but eventually wants to go back to korea. He will have "points", right? That will allow him to get back to code S easier? Or will he just have to go through the up and down matches in code A?
he will have to go through code A to qualify for the up and down matches
On February 16 2011 15:57 feaynnewedd wrote: Well, I think this proves it - if a player like Idra (after TLO, but I think he got kinda homesick) withdraws, it means that the future of esports lies maybe not in the West only, but in international events. Foreigners will always struggle because the environment is afaik so different at the GSL than at their home events. Maybe we will see even more Koreans in tournaments like IEM, too, and everything will balance? Otherwise, who knows. The future remains a mystery =)
Think about it like this
Jinro and IdrA have been in korea a few months now, yet they have made less money than the top european players who go to multiple 1-10k prize pool tourneys.
The GSL prize pool is so top heavy, that unless you make top 4 every single time, there is a good chance you are not making very much money..
Not only that, but this year, theres MORE giant tourneys over here that last year.
On February 16 2011 15:39 neo_sporin wrote: My question about the decision is with GSL starting next week...are there really any tournaments in the next 2-3 weeks that are worthy of leaving GSL for? I mean, wouldn't it in theory be more financially sound to finish this GSL, win some money, THEN return to NA instead of waiting another month for GSL 5?
I have the same question.
Btw, if Idra withdraw from GSL this month(i.e. GSL5), theoretically, he will be code A in GSL 6. And if he doesn't show up again in GSL6 he will be completely out of GSL.
On February 16 2011 15:39 neo_sporin wrote: My question about the decision is with GSL starting next week...are there really any tournaments in the next 2-3 weeks that are worthy of leaving GSL for? I mean, wouldn't it in theory be more financially sound to finish this GSL, win some money, THEN return to NA instead of waiting another month for GSL 5?
I have the same question.
Btw, if Idra withdraw from GSL this month(i.e. GSL5), theoretically, he will be code A in GSL 6. And if he doesn't show up again in GSL6 he will be completely out of GSL.
GSL has 4 reserved slots in Code A for foreigners
if Idra ever decides to come back to Korea for GSL, he is very likely going to be given one of those slots. it doesn't matter what GSL number it is as long as Idra is still a top foreigner.
Damn, IdrA was one of the main reasons I kept buying the premium GSL tickets, enjoyed his matches a lot, my favorite player. He knows himself best of course. He's been doing good in GSL, now I'll be following him on the NA/EU tournaments. I'll still follow GSL, but maybe we'll get a bigger foreign scene soon where IdrA will dominate more (incontrol announcement?). :D
bout time code A pays piss poor so they are probably just losing money keeping him there. i think overall that this change for idra will be the best, it will give him some room to grow as a player. I am looking forward to seeing him return to the GSL in a year or so.
I hope a lot of Europeans come to the US for the nasl or whatever the secret team league is. Who knows, maybe even some Koreans in Code A or great players not in gsl, like Bomber, will come to the US.
JK I'm sure it will be nice for him to see his family and personal friends. With so many big tourneys coming up can't say I blame him. I gotta admit, I'd love to see him go back to Terran (like he was in BW) and dominate sc2!
damn, really sucks that he's leaving where the 99th percentile in terms of sc2 skill is, but hopefully this nasl shit is big enough for him to justify it
he's going to absolutely dominate everyone over here tho, should be fun to watch
On February 16 2011 15:39 neo_sporin wrote: My question about the decision is with GSL starting next week...are there really any tournaments in the next 2-3 weeks that are worthy of leaving GSL for? I mean, wouldn't it in theory be more financially sound to finish this GSL, win some money, THEN return to NA instead of waiting another month for GSL 5?
I have the same question.
Btw, if Idra withdraw from GSL this month(i.e. GSL5), theoretically, he will be code A in GSL 6. And if he doesn't show up again in GSL6 he will be completely out of GSL.
GSL has 4 reserved slots in Code A for foreigners
if Idra ever decides to come back to Korea for GSL, he is very likely going to be given one of those slots. it doesn't matter what GSL number it is as long as Idra is still a top foreigner.
yeah. you are right.
The key point is that, even if there are some, ASL(American Starcraft League..) for example, with similar amount of prize money as GSL, I still think GSL is way better since there are more top players in Korea than any other place (or more than the rest of the world combined).
This may really be a bad signal for the future of SC2 in Korea, on Sotg IdrA admitted that Star2 hasn't taken off much in Korea and having one of the 2 most successful foreigners leave is a step backwards. With TL, Torch, Spades, etc the trend was for foreigners to move East and to me having IdrA leave almost completely reverses this. If other foreigners such as TL and the foreigner house players leave, foreigner interest will wane and I'm pretty unsure about the future of Starcraft 2 in Korea.
Of course I'm just being chicken little here and forecasting impending doom, I'm sure that even without Korea Starcraft 2 will do fine.
Wow this is huge. Idra probably gonna be the favorite here unless Jinro follows suit. Hopefully we get some really good games and not idra just rolling over the competition.
This is actually sad, I was hoping the GSL would consolidate into being the top league of all players around the world... Idra leaving means and the soon to be announced big tournament means that a lot of top players are going to be split around the world.... meaning less overall high level games.
Surely it is in the best interest of the game's competitive scene for all of these competitions to talk to each other (GSL,MLG,IEM, Dreamhack, NASL), rather than run things completely separately from each other.
Whats with all the doomsayers? Wtf...one guy left the GSL to make more money (hopefully) elswhere.We have shitloads of foreigners to root for! Also Idra coming to the US and a possible NA sc league is fkin awesome for e-sports! More people watching NASL = more people watching GSL. They are not mutually exclusive. I actually like that pro players are splitting across the world. If all the pros would go to GSL that would suck major ballz imo. You cant have 50 pros fighting for the same 80k ... Maybe get them all together once a year in a tournament but not every month in the same tournament, same place, same prize money, same format.
I can't understand anybody posting on this forum saying this is a bad thing. Look, to me, I respect the fact that Idra has his ear closer to the heart of esports than I ever could. I have the exact opposite view of many of the comments I just scanned through.. If Idra believes that not being in Korea is better for his career and the growth of western esports then I'm going to take his word for it and be happy about it. Because I for one do want to see western esports grow.
OR someone/some ppl in higher places doesn't/don't like the idea of Korea being the ultimate goal for SC2 progaming. He/She/They want SC2 to be played professionally worldwide. So, the game won't die out of Korea like BW.
So known players of various nationalities playing the game and making it exciting within their respectable continent.
Thing that IdrA said that made me really do a double take is SC2 not really being as big as SC1 in Korea. I was getting mixed messages all the time about it, from it being dead as a doorknob to being as big as sliced bread. But I guess you have something that's 12 years established and something that's not even 12 months established. So it's bound to happen. And will probably stay like that for awhile still.
If he feels that this is the scene for it, if he feels that this is a better shot to make a comfortable living, and if he feels that this is the place he wants to be mentally and physically I'm all for it.
Though it is slightly disappointing to see Idra drop out of GSL, at least he will be doing great things to the e-sports scene in America.
Although the Korean scene is growing ever so slowly, the foreign scene has absolutely exploded to a point where the amount of support and popularity for SC2 outside of Korea rivals and perhaps exceeds that of Korea itself. As much as I enjoy staying up at 4 in the morning to catch Idra play in the GSL, it would be more awesome to see him play in the rumored "NASL" at a more convenient time.
Since he seemed to be doing more whining than playing lately I guess it only makes sense to do that back in US instead of in a tournament where you need to play so actively to stay in Code S.
Sad to see IdrA return to the states though. One less foreigner in the GSL. It's hyping me for the InControl announcement though.
I am a bit disappointed... idrA was really great in the korean scene and was showing what is up with the foreigners there. A real great player in korea and now moving to US..... I always thought he accomplished a lot. RIP Korean zerg </3
How will this affect the Up & Down matches? Will the Code A winner just get a free pass into Code S? Will there be a Code S player that won't have to play to stay in Code S?
Anyone wonder how this makes Huk/Ret/Haypro/Spades feel considering they're really committed to it, if this confirms that NA tournament is as big they should come back after all that time.
IdrA I am disappointed in your actions. Guess EGs shitty philosophy, Geoffs announcement and the $$$ mean more to you... GL HF but youve lost a fan. Stan.
On February 16 2011 16:42 SushilS wrote: IdrA I am disappointed in your actions. Guess EG and the $$$ mean more to you... GL HF but youve lost a fan. Stan.
???
He's coming back to his homeland, what's wrong with that?
On February 16 2011 16:42 SushilS wrote: IdrA I am disappointed in your actions. Guess EG and the $$$ mean more to you... GL HF but youve lost a fan. Stan.
???
He's coming back to his homeland, what's wrong with that?
Nothings wrong with it. Just like my not liking it isn't wrong either. -_-
he's not done in korea forever, probably just for a year or so.
also think about it....if all these tournaments are going to be as big as everyone is hyping...then koreans will be showing up in america a lot more often then they do now
On February 16 2011 16:47 eksert wrote: how can he train now?
Umm, much better than he could in Korea as now he'll have numerous practice partners and the ladder won't, likely, be mostly players cheesing him. He had little motivation to practice recently in Korea, partly likely due to the fact there were so many koreans who were just cheesing him for fun. In fact, even Jinro was encouraging guineapig (and calling him grack) when he was cheesing idra on ladder. He probably didn't mean anything by that, and it was indeed kind of funny if you didn't realize the implications. He can still ladder on the korean server, of course.
Best of luck to IdrA. Hopefully this also means good things for foreign SC2. It will be good for the sport if we can get tournaments to rival the GSL in NA/Europe.
On February 16 2011 16:50 McKTenor13 wrote: he's not done in korea forever, probably just for a year or so.
also think about it....if all these tournaments are going to be as big as everyone is hyping...then koreans will be showing up in america a lot more often then they do now
I had the same thought, and it's one of the most exciting aspects, IMO.
Maybe if the GSTL money is bigger or proleague style blowup to where its the biggest thing in korea happens, then EG will send the whole team at once to compete ;o
On February 16 2011 16:42 Pyrrhuloxia wrote: So does this mean no more Arizona EG house?
It means he's living there.
Someone said something about Geoff moving to LA and maybe EG doing something there. It'd be super sweet if there was a live event here in the Phoenix area that I could actually see, though.
Wow. I hope the tourneys here can compete with the money that he could be making in Korea. Pretty much Idra needs to do what is best for himself and his career. I defiantly will love that he is back in the states.
I rather have the big events which there are in the US/EU (MLG, Dreamhack, ESL, TSL, probably that EG "thing" and on top of that TONS of smaller tourneys like Go4sc2/Cyborg Cup....) than one bloated league that i never can watch live because it's in one of the worst possible timezones for people with a Job...
I was at first like a total sad face, but the more i think about it the better i am about this change
1) IdrA will probably stream at a better time (relative to me) 2) IdrA will be in more tournaments so that means i get to watch some more games 3) "Imbalanced" will probably end, so that humiliating show (imo) will be done with. 4) My love is closer to me!!
On February 16 2011 16:42 Pyrrhuloxia wrote: So does this mean no more Arizona EG house?
It means he's living there.
Someone said something about Geoff moving to LA and maybe EG doing something there. It'd be super sweet if there was a live event here in the Phoenix area that I could actually see, though.
That would be soooooo sweet! I am from gilbert, and if IdrA somehow was living anywhere near there it would be stellar to somehow meet up with him!! (and you too haha)
Wow... i think thats a huge risk for Idra. He's a giving up SO much..... I hope InControl and EG are worth it. I have my doubts. Seems to me most SC pro's want what Idra just gave away. Code S players can come to EU/USA anytime... but you can't just get into Code S.
GG.
Why the rush? He's been in Korea for years, why can't he at least stay for the March GSL?
i'm so sad to hear it. although, this could be just to buy some time in case zerg get better. although i was really looking forward to idra clide and idra zenio. intersting move nonetheless. i guess i see the reasoning to focus on foreign tournaments.
On February 16 2011 16:41 confusedcrib wrote: Anyone wonder how this makes Huk/Ret/Haypro/Spades feel considering they're really committed to it, if this confirms that NA tournament is as big they should come back after all that time.
This doesn't really change anything for them at all. Idra had it pretty bad to be honest. He lived by himself in an apartment with no team to practice with. The liquid guys on the other hand have the oGs house which has proven to be huge for them as you can see by their results in recent tournaments.
It's too bad that he never had the opportunity to live in a Korean team house for SC2. I'm sure he'll do well in US tournaments but him having EG as practice partners is more of a benefit to EG players then it is vice versa. I can't help but wonder how good he would have been had he lived in the IM house or even the oGs house.
On February 16 2011 17:03 Qzy wrote: That's very nice of you GOM, to wish him well and respect his decision - such a thread as this shows how great you are connected with your community.
Good job man - if only we had more companies like you.
so true, esecially considering the bad timing for this right before the start of th season. gotta wodner though, why did idra leave now and not after the season is over for him?
The Emperor is comming here?! We will double our efforts!
(Welcome back Grack. I expect multiple tourny victories from you between NASL and MLG)
One thing worth pointing out is this will probably hurt Idras practice regiment. Assuming he doesn't want to play the asian server from the US, he will be stuck playing on a less competitive ladder.
I'm curious to see how well he does on US ladder now that there won't be latency issues. Glad to see him back and here's to hoping he plays in all the big upcoming tournaments.
Surely there must be a thread on playxp or something by now. Would anyone do us the wonder of translating any comments by the Koreans about this? :D Pretty plleeasseeeee.
Imbalanced will continue, according to IdrA himself on State of the Game, though the format will change to accomodate the fact that he isn't in Korea with Artosis.
On February 16 2011 17:23 Tachion wrote: Surely there must be a thread on playxp or something by now. Would anyone do us the wonder of translating any comments by the Koreans about this? :D Pretty plleeasseeeee.
Antoine posted a thread there and there are a few smaller ones as well. It looks like they are mostly sad about it
My first thought was "oh damn! That's too bad! Another foreigner giving up" Cause that'd be the natural thought process if this was BW.
Then I remembered, this isn't BW. And we actually should be really happy about this. The aim of all this is to make the foreign e-sport scene so big that.. well.. that we'd stop refereing to it as the "foreign scene".
Great! The first great step towards creating something comparable to the GSL over here. Who knows, with big tournaments like the TSL coming up, maybe we'll have your own GSL soon.
For Idra's former group, I think this is what is going to happen:
Zenio vs Byun -> winner advances Loser will have to beat Clide twice (with Clide having to win once) to advance.
I'm also a bit sad with this announcement, although the NASL is something to look forward to. Maybe one day there can be a Champions League type format with the best from the leagues competing.
Well, I'm sure he made the best choice for him and his team. I wish him luck.
For myself, I'm sad. He was "our guy" in Korea since the start. Now he's another NA progamer. Still a great one. Of course. And I hope he tears through the tournament scene. But it's the end of an era.
Idra tried for years to triumph in Korea, first at Entus in Broowar and now in SC2. I thought he was doing fine in GSL with some pretty consistent results but he seems to have grown frustrated because there was a wall that he couldn't break. It's kind of disappointing as Korea is the most competitive country for SC2 today. Ret and Shinro, beating everybody in the most important foreigner tournaments, have shown how good you can become thanks to the gaming environment and the korean-style training. It's a poor decision for sports, but i guess he will win more money beating sub-par foreigners pros.
Well this is perfectly undersantable from Idras perspective.
Outside of korea he will win a lot of tourneys and make much more money.
Sure all the other leagues will not be considered as difficult or competitive as GSL but at the end of the day Idra is a professional player looking for making money.
I expect the other non koreans to follow his footstep.
On February 16 2011 17:37 Annq wrote: I feel sad for Tasteless and Artosis, dont they want to commentate together with Day9 the new (possible) League?
Not so fast my friend. We still need to leave some people behind in Korea to gather information about metagames and stuff from the Korean scene.
Indeed. Tastosis is our English-speaking bridge to the entire Korean scene, and it would be infinitely more difficult for the Korean scene to get more recognition in the West without them.
I think this is sort of sad, idra will dominate the western scene which makes western players play better - but also it will put idra out of practice. Having watched the current "top" players from the west play and GSL/idra, i think skillwise they are leagues apart and they'll just end up meeting somewhere in the middle.
Did not read the entire thread, sorry. My question: If he returns to Korea in order to participate in the GSL, he has to go through the entire qualification process, right?
On February 16 2011 18:00 ICA wrote: Did not read the entire thread, sorry. My question: If he returns to Korea in order to participate in the GSL, he has to go through the entire qualification process, right?
It would be a bit odd if any player could just "freeze" their status, take a year break and then just go "hey Im back, can I just have my spot again in the main code s tourney?".
I think this is sort of sad, idra will dominate the western scene
That is not true at all, you give way too little credit to the western scene, last MLG Idra lost plenty of games and did not go far in the tournament.
He will undoubtly be one of the big favorites to win tournaments, but he wont simply go undefeated and steamroll everyone. Especially not at a EU event where competition is stiff.
He looked far happier being at MLG with his team, talking to them and just being himself than he does in Korea, at least just by looking at his face. When he plays in GSL he looks like someone killed his puppy dog. So i am sure the social aspect + chances at winning money = good reason to go back home for a while.
i like this alot! no offence to koreans, but it think its time to take Starcraft 2 to other places then korea. And with the new MLG to europe and south amerika, this ar all steps in the good direction.
A shame that such a skilled and prolific foreigner comes back from Korea, but I'm really pumped about things that'll be happening on the western scene now :D
I think there is one important thing to say about this:
SC2 is not Korea-centered and thats good. Look at all the big and small tournaments going on the last months, how many good non-korean players coming out of it. Korea is not the same for SC2 as for BW! WE are NOt the "foreigners"! We can change our thinking to a global SC2-Scene. Like in the one and only global sport football (soccer), there will be national leagues and competions and then, hopefully a really nice and big world-cup or so...grow some visions, ppl! )
And for IdrA coming back: its been three years in Korea, thats huge time of his life...so the urge to come back home when its seems good, thats a thing that everyone who lived abroad can understand. You have to see you family and friends again...and then, wow, imagine an EG-House in Cali or so...and more Houses all around the world...e-Sports growing, thats the plan!
I was hoping that idra would stay till the end March season because he and jinro did so well last season and now with the 5 foreigners in code A I was real pump for this season of GSL. However if he and people around him feels that he should go back to US than good luck to him in the future and I hope he will continue to do well if not better than before.
I think this is sort of sad, idra will dominate the western scene
That is not true at all, you give way too little credit to the western scene, last MLG Idra lost plenty of games and did not go far in the tournament.
He will undoubtly be one of the big favorites to win tournaments, but he wont simply go undefeated and steamroll everyone. Especially not at a EU event where competition is stiff.
He looked far happier being at MLG with his team, talking to them and just being himself than he does in Korea, at least just by looking at his face. When he plays in GSL he looks like someone killed his puppy dog. So i am sure the social aspect + chances at winning money = good reason to go back home for a while.
I don't think his performance at MLG Dallas is a good representation of his skill.
Liquid'Nazgul pretty much sniped Idra with a build specifically made to counter Idra's style, though Idra later devised a build to counter this style. His poor MLG Dallas performance seemed to be a result of lack of luck.
Nevertheless, Idra is still a solid player and a definite favorite for winning whatever tournaments he enters. Given a ton of tournaments to play in, I'm sure he will win in more of them than any other player despite probably losing in a few. I would definitely choose him on my Liquidbet if he was available.
On February 16 2011 18:07 Skrelt wrote: i like this alot! no offence to koreans, but it think its time to take Starcraft 2 to other places then korea. And with the new MLG to europe and south amerika, this ar all steps in the good direction.
*nasl.tv*
Yeah, expand to the EU and SA before the west coast of the US. *cough*
Idra leaving is very sad, but with inControl’s coming announcement I am really excited to see what might happen in the future. This will not mean that I will stop watching GSL though as other people seem to think the show will be bad from now on. I can understand that a fan favourite that is leaving will cause people to feel bad, but the show itself is still awesome and has more foreigners in it now then ever before. I mean, 10 bucks for a whole season of guarantied great matches, you don’t even spend 10 bucks on a movie ticket now days. So please continue to support GomTV and continue to learn from the pros play.
There's not a doubt in my mind that he will eventually become a worse player from leaving Korea due to playing worse players. Earn more money sure, but still become a worse player overall. And no, I don't think having the other EG members available to practice with will help him much. They're not good enough.
I'm pretty disappointed, but whatever, good luck to you Idra.
From a financial standpoint, yeah this is probably for the better for him personally. Playing in several tournaments instead of playing in just the one where you sporadically have to play the games of a life time to even get further in the competion, it's not a healthy investment really.
Also for EG it surely must be better to actually have one of the top contenders playing in tournaments that has viewers who knows your team and actually live in the markets you primarily are marketing for.
For him as a player though in terms of his skill, who knows. Maybe we'll get players of the same caliber as in korea but it doesnt seem to be happening anytime soon. There's still a gap between the skill you see in GSL/GSTL and what can be seen in western tournaments. But that is secondary really.
Overall though this seems like a logical choice and very understandable. gl idra!
Makes sense with all the new/big things happening in non-kor sc2 scene. Wonder if there will be a mass exodus of other top players like the liquid boy's with all the money out there in smaller events and upcoming big events.
I'm starting to think EG actually is a giant corporation of secret underground evil geniuses plotting to dominate and "westernize" the Korean-esque Starcraft Esports scene.
I wonder what the impact on the gsl will be. I mean, with Idra leaving the gsl loses like 50% of the reasons why most foreigners watched the last seasions. If Ret, Huk and Haypro cant make in into code S, it will be a tough time for GOM in terms of non korean viewership. South korea realy needs more small/medium sized tournaments. The "only one, but huge tournament"-situation wont work for long.
Bad PR move in my book... I think Idra had a great number of people who cheered and respected him simply because he was a foreigner representing the rest of us in Korea, playing with the big boys. And personally I enjoyed the GSL much more than I have any other foreign tournament, because of their format, consistency, availability of VODs and the quality of games which seemed to me way above what I've seen in MLG and other tourneys.
So I feel that Idra will lose some of the spotlight he currently is in.
But then again, if playing in the US will grant him more money, coupled with the fact that he is back home and not among strangers I can see why he made that decision.
On February 16 2011 19:09 Grummler wrote: I wonder what the impact on the gsl will be. I mean, with Idra leaving the gsl loses like 50% of the reasons why most foreigners watched the last seasions. If Ret, Huk and Haypro cant make in into code S, it will be a tough time for GOM in terms of non korean viewership. South korea realy needs more small/medium sized tournaments. The "only one, but huge tournament"-situation wont work for long.
I dunno about other people, but the GSTL was the most entertaining starcraft 2 i have ever watched and that had exactly 0 foreigners. Jinro is the fucking man but i dont really care for IdrA one way or the other.
Sucks for the foreign scene in korea, losing 1 of only 2 code S players but good decision financially speaking. Idra should be able to make much more money here, not to mention being able to practice with his teammates and live in an english speaking environment again.
I think this is sort of sad, idra will dominate the western scene
That is not true at all, you give way too little credit to the western scene, last MLG Idra lost plenty of games and did not go far in the tournament.
He will undoubtly be one of the big favorites to win tournaments, but he wont simply go undefeated and steamroll everyone. Especially not at a EU event where competition is stiff.
He looked far happier being at MLG with his team, talking to them and just being himself than he does in Korea, at least just by looking at his face. When he plays in GSL he looks like someone killed his puppy dog. So i am sure the social aspect + chances at winning money = good reason to go back home for a while.
I'll just go out on a limb and assume the last MLG was several patches ago, and i presume he lost matches primarily against stuff like 5 rax reaper. Having seen QXC win online tournaments with 0 losses and then get 3-0'ed by idra, demuslim in IEM europe finals, recent dimaga vs namaa matches etc - i stand by my statment, GSL is miles ahead of anything the other scenes have to offer (except now that idra returns).
On February 16 2011 18:56 m3rciless wrote: Im pretty sure idra took one look at his bracket and was like out in ro16 again? fuck that shit im going home.
Nope. He decided beforehand he was leaving.
That's why he picked Clide for group B, to fuck him over in the Ro16 for some epic trolling.
The fact clide picked Zenio made it 5x better.
Idra - "MVP / MC vs Zenio/Clide, HAVE FUN KOREAN BROS, IM OUT OF HERE."
On February 16 2011 19:09 Grummler wrote: I wonder what the impact on the gsl will be. I mean, with Idra leaving the gsl loses like 50% of the reasons why most foreigners watched the last seasions. If Ret, Huk and Haypro cant make in into code S, it will be a tough time for GOM in terms of non korean viewership. South korea realy needs more small/medium sized tournaments. The "only one, but huge tournament"-situation wont work for long.
I dunno about other people, but the GSTL was the most entertaining starcraft 2 i have ever watched and that had exactly 0 foreigners. Jinro is the fucking man but i dont really care for IdrA one way or the other.
On February 16 2011 15:28 G3nXsiS wrote: What the fuck is this?! Freaking GSL is the place to be! American tournaments don't pay shit! OMFG. If EG was involved in this then they are just complete shit!
I'll just go out on a limb and assume the last MLG was several patches ago, and i presume he lost matches primarily against stuff like 5 rax reaper.
Nobody made a single Reaper that entire tournament, he lost to Tyler who did a few Blinkstalker builds if i remember correctly, then he went to the losersbracket where he lost to another Protoss i believe.
My point is that foreigners are no pushovers, we saw 2 korean players at the latest Dreamhack and they didnt even reach finals.
People need to stop looking down on their own, they are much better than people give them credit for, i think Idras move back to the states will open alot of peoples eyes.
Everyone seems to want to remember Idra winning MLG, but forget him losing several times and disregard it as "fluke", just like the GSL losses.
Anyway good luck to him, i think this is the right decision for him, not just in terms of his progaming career but also his life, going to back to his family and friends etc
I'll just go out on a limb and assume the last MLG was several patches ago, and i presume he lost matches primarily against stuff like 5 rax reaper.
Nobody made a single Reaper that entire tournament, he lost to Tyler who did a few Blinkstalker builds if i remember correctly, then he went to the losersbracket where he lost to another Protoss i believe.
My point is that foreigners are no pushovers, we saw 2 korean players at the latest Dreamhack and they didnt even reach finals.
People need to stop looking down on their own, they are much better than people give them credit for, i think Idras move back to the states will open alot of peoples eyes.
Everyone seems to want to remember Idra winning MLG, but forget him losing several times and disregard it as "fluke", just like the GSL losses.
Anyway good luck to him, i think this is the right decision for him, not just in terms of his progaming career but also his life, going to back to his family and friends etc
Hmm several times? He only attended twice, and swiping the floor the first time and losing the next time to builds/maps he wasn't aware of.
Lost to Nazgul's blink stalkers 2-1 Upperbracket Lost to Select's 2rax pressure 2-0 Lowerbracket
Also GSL won't be the same without IdrA , also nice trolling of Clide/Zenio hahaha
I believe he has good reasons to do so. As a fun, tbh, I watch almost every game he played in the past 4 GSLs (90 percent on live). Now I am just so sad.
Well this came as a bit of a surprise, I would have thought he'd at least stick around for the new season given it starts in what, 5 days? Some guaranteed participation money, new maps, good starting group etc. Ah well, i guess this means he (and presumably EG) feels whatever is going on in NA is worthwhile enough to commit to supporting.
Shall have to hope some of the liquid guys/moonglade make it through Code A so we keep the foreigner presence up ^^
I'll just go out on a limb and assume the last MLG was several patches ago, and i presume he lost matches primarily against stuff like 5 rax reaper.
Nobody made a single Reaper that entire tournament, he lost to Tyler who did a few Blinkstalker builds if i remember correctly, then he went to the losersbracket where he lost to another Protoss i believe.
My point is that foreigners are no pushovers, we saw 2 korean players at the latest Dreamhack and they didnt even reach finals.
People need to stop looking down on their own, they are much better than people give them credit for, i think Idras move back to the states will open alot of peoples eyes.
Everyone seems to want to remember Idra winning MLG, but forget him losing several times and disregard it as "fluke", just like the GSL losses.
Anyway good luck to him, i think this is the right decision for him, not just in terms of his progaming career but also his life, going to back to his family and friends etc
Hmm several times? He only attended twice, and swiping the floor the first time and losing the next time to builds/maps he wasn't aware of.
Lost to Nazgul's blink stalkers 2-1 Upperbracket Lost to Select's 2rax pressure 2-0 Lowerbracket
Because blink stalkers and 2 rax are completely unheard of and he would most definitely be unaware.
We get it that you like Idra and think he's awesome, but honestly, stop making excuses.
This news is extremely exciting for the state of Western esports with one of the top players from North America coming home due to the increase in opportunity. I feel that with Idra coming back he will attract Korean players to some of our events which is great for EVERYONE. Ultimately small wins like this and the potential for international attendance should help Starcraft II rapidly grow with stuff like MLG in the US
I'll just go out on a limb and assume the last MLG was several patches ago, and i presume he lost matches primarily against stuff like 5 rax reaper.
Nobody made a single Reaper that entire tournament, he lost to Tyler who did a few Blinkstalker builds if i remember correctly, then he went to the losersbracket where he lost to another Protoss i believe.
My point is that foreigners are no pushovers, we saw 2 korean players at the latest Dreamhack and they didnt even reach finals.
People need to stop looking down on their own, they are much better than people give them credit for, i think Idras move back to the states will open alot of peoples eyes.
Everyone seems to want to remember Idra winning MLG, but forget him losing several times and disregard it as "fluke", just like the GSL losses.
Anyway good luck to him, i think this is the right decision for him, not just in terms of his progaming career but also his life, going to back to his family and friends etc
Hmm several times? He only attended twice, and swiping the floor the first time and losing the next time to builds/maps he wasn't aware of.
Lost to Nazgul's blink stalkers 2-1 Upperbracket Lost to Select's 2rax pressure 2-0 Lowerbracket
Because blink stalkers and 2 rax are completely unheard of and he would most definitely be unaware.
We get it that you like Idra and think he's awesome, but honestly, stop making excuses.
Yes they where unheard of back then . (On a side note you don't need to react so defensively I was just stating the fact).
Blinkstalkers were famous in the beta but were not seeN after beta specially the way Nazgul did it. (Even Nazgul admited that he used the build to snipe IdrA, hence he picked kulas ravine(cliff) and used the same strategy 3games in a row!).
Also the 2rax pressure build wasn't common back then.
You think I am trying to downplay Nazgul / Select but I am not. Just stating how he lose and the scores..
Wait he wont even play his last tournament?... I dont agree with that EG. That's alot of money and secondly he really has a shot at winning it. He can defeat anyone in the tournament so why not let him have one last shot?...
Did he go US just to participate in more, smaller, tournaments to win more money? Cause that would suck.
Seriously though why wont he play one last tournament?
On February 16 2011 20:07 MorroW wrote: sad news T.T idra should stay in korea imo i hope its just temporary
just when zerg starts to get winnable and new maps he go home, i dont understand
IdrA would have no reasons to cry over imbalance, so he decides to leave and move where he can dominate + Show Spoiler +
just a joke, please dont ban me
Nevermind, I am really sad that IdrA is going home, was rooting for him since he started to get better in BW, loved the controversy ;D but I hope he brings more BM now he is "more" allowed to^^
So, if two players in group B advance and one doesn't, what happens in the up-and-down matches, since there'll be a missing 4th place spot? Does the winner of the code A tournament get to pick Idra as the Code S player to challenge and get a free Power Crystal, or do the players who made it to the Ro16 have a wildcard tournament to take "Idra's" spot in the up-and-down group?
On February 16 2011 20:36 Ribbon wrote: So, if two players in group B advance and one doesn't, what happens in the up-and-down matches, since there'll be a missing 4th place spot. Does the winner of the code A tournament get to pick Idra as the Code S player to challenge and get a free Power Crystal, or do the players who made it to the Ro16 have a wildcard tournament to take "Idra's" spot in the up-and-down group?
Hmm.... my guess is that the winner of Code A automatically gets seeded into the next Code S.
Noooooooooooooooooo, ah. At first glance I feel its the wrong decision, from my perspective having the foreign presence in Korea is what makes GOM.TV so appealing, wishing one day that Greg will one day win it all. For him to Win a US tournament is like meh so what, or a European one its still meh.... but the skill cap on GSL is so much more awesome and he is so close.
I'm sure this is such a hard decision to make, and one that has taken a lot of time and thought put in, considering the positives its probably the right time to come back to the west while the game is still young and take advantage of the skills he has to hopefully increase the competition over here and as he says help grow e-sports for the west....
Not too sure how I feel about this. It would be awesome if he stayed and just won the GSL but I can't help just feel that if this NASL thing is true then he will be the only one winning it.
On February 16 2011 20:15 Krehlmar wrote: Wait he wont even play his last tournament?... I dont agree with that EG. That's alot of money and secondly he really has a shot at winning it. He can defeat anyone in the tournament so why not let him have one last shot?...
Did he go US just to participate in more, smaller, tournaments to win more money? Cause that would suck.
Seriously though why wont he play one last tournament?
He said himself in an interview (was it during sotg iono im blanking out) that he's only played the new GSL maps twice. Doesn't seem like he'll get enough practice by himself in korea to win anything. Smart move imo to come back and finally get some teammates to practice with.
Strange decision, I mean all the prestige and money are in Korea. Yes there are few good and big enough tournaments in NA or Europe, but going to R16 in GSL just bring so much money.
On another note I can understand if its for personal reasons, he has been in Korea for so long and may wish to come home and relax a bit and be in a different environment.
Anyways good luck to him, even though I don't really respect him.
Idra made the right choice, people shouldn't really give him shit for this decision when he toughed it out in Korea for so long as back when he was a BW B team player. Also it's not like he will never return again if he does want to, it will be a pain to regain a Code S spot though.
Who gives up a Code S spot? No amount of foreign tournaments is going to make up for the $85k he's taking himself out of the running for. The NASL's prize pool better be freaking huge.
This is great news now I won't have to stay up to watch the gsl^^ Was only really interested in the foreigners success and particularly idras. This has to have something to do with incontrols announcement about a huge tournament. Absolutely fantastic gl gg
It is understandable since the upcoming tournaments will have huge prizes with possibly lesser competition. However, I don't think he will dominate the western scene at all, he will be a top contender for sure but not much more than that. Also, code S is quite hard to get into, but not as hard to stay in, so it won't be an easy way back if he ever intends to try again...
Furthermore, not to sound like a hater, but I do believe he realizes that GSL is a lot harder for him to make money in, and that he is unlikely to actually win a GSL. Winning MLGs etc however has a higher possibility so, overall an understandable choice to make.
sad :/ want our 2 foreigner heroes fighting for us in gsl.
and nothing can rival gsl in prestige,skill and most likely money. sure it might be better for him, maybe its better for eg or whoever. but i wouldve preferred our bm nerd to stay where he belongs.
Probably a wise decision but really, chill out on the "he'll win everything" hype. This is not a "best player wins guaranteed" game and I could imagine many players who could take BO3 or BO5 off him.
"However, due to his long stay in Korea and many foreign tournaments coming up, EG and Greg have decided that Greg should return to US so he can better concentrate on growing non Korean tournaments."
You mean like the North American Starleague? (iNcontroL's big secret thread O_O)
I'm really excited to see IdrA back in the American scene and looking forward to actually getting replays of him in tournaments!
I doubt you're actually gonna read this thread, but good for you. If it makes you happier and makes you more money to be in America, go do it, and you can do wonders for the community here. Especially now that you're doing Imbalanced, which I think is quite a good show, I think you can do great things. Smash some skulls at MLG for us
It's interesting because it sets a pretty strong precedent -- one of the absolute top Western progamers is leaving code S in the #1 tournament in Korea because he or his team can make more money if he plays in the 'States. It doesn't bode well for foreign participation in future GSLs, but it will be good for the NA and possibly European SC scenes.
Kind of lame that the people in the group simply get a free win. I'd almost have preferred they filled the spot with someone who performed well in Code A from last season.
Bad move.. if you ask me, winning the toughest tournament out there like the GSL stomps any amount of MLG tournaments with inferior competition. If we really want the SC2 esports scene to take off outside korea, a foreigner winning GSL would make the biggest impact.
This is undoubtedly linked to iNcontrol's big announcement. He must have something pretty amazing lined up for IdrA to leave Korea at a time like this.
I think the theorycrafting in this and the other (NASL) threads is getting a bit out of control but nonetheless if Idra doesn't even wait for this season to conclude there must be something up.
On February 17 2011 00:16 Tenks wrote: Kind of lame that the people in the group simply get a free win. I'd almost have preferred they filled the spot with someone who performed well in Code A from last season.
Well unless you create an actual tournament with that spot as number 1 it would be unfair compared to the other code A. And since GSL will restart just to fast they got no other choice then to give it a free win.
Very VERY disappointed in this annoucement, especially after all that Idra has chirped about Korea being the place to be if you want to be considered one of the best.
If this was a money hungry move by EG, then that's quite shameful, even if its related to their "big announcement" next week. If it was a decision by Idra, I would really love to see him comment and try to explain this one
On February 17 2011 00:38 ffadicted wrote: Very VERY disappointed in this annoucement, especially after all that Idra has chirped about Korea being the place to be if you want to be considered one of the best.
If this was a money hungry move by EG, then that's quite shameful, even if its related to their "big announcement" next week. If it was a decision by Idra, I would really love to see him comment and try to explain this one
Listen to the SotG, it was definitely Idra's decision.
omfg Idra's going to win every single tournament ever. I don't this is a money-hungry move, and I certainly don't think this was a decision made for Idra by EG.
Idra's too strong-willed to do anything other than what he wants to do (like ignore a full ride through university to play Starcraft professionally).
On February 17 2011 00:38 ffadicted wrote: Very VERY disappointed in this annoucement, especially after all that Idra has chirped about Korea being the place to be if you want to be considered one of the best.
If this was a money hungry move by EG, then that's quite shameful, even if its related to their "big announcement" next week. If it was a decision by Idra, I would really love to see him comment and try to explain this one
I think it may be time to realize that Korea is not the definitive capital of sc2 competitive gaming like it was for BW. Even if the money is there now, I have a feeling it won't be like that for much longer. We have tournaments exploding worldwide with top players coming from all corners of the globe.
On February 17 2011 00:38 ffadicted wrote: Very VERY disappointed in this annoucement, especially after all that Idra has chirped about Korea being the place to be if you want to be considered one of the best.
If this was a money hungry move by EG, then that's quite shameful, even if its related to their "big announcement" next week. If it was a decision by Idra, I would really love to see him comment and try to explain this one
I think it may be time to realize that Korea is not the definitive capital of sc2 competitive gaming like it was for BW. Even if the money is there now, I have a feeling it won't be like that for much longer. We have tournaments exploding worldwide with top players coming from all corners of the globe.
On February 17 2011 00:58 rapier7 wrote: Idra couldn't cut it in Korea so now he's coming back. Big whoop.
So very wrong.
Actually dunno why i'm replying, ill just wait for your temp ban.
obv the real reason behind idra's return is artosis mispronouncing his name the whole time. If he stayed in korea any longer he would have just cracked (gracked?) and killed him.
I'm personally dissapointed as he wont be seen in GSL anymore, although this most likely means that he will be seen at more tournaments than before which is on the other hand exciting. The thing i dont quite understand is that people are saying how big it is outside of korea and i doubt anyone can disagree about that being true, however the difference in skill and the amount of GOOD players with refined timings/builds is just way in favor of korea. Which means there sure are money to pick up outside of korea but once it all settles down a bit in foreign contries then the skill gap will be even more in favor of korea.
basicly the point im trying to get forward is that you can certainly play a lot and make a lot of money in NA/EU but ultimately the players in korea will just improve in a more rapid rate which has already been seen, and if he decides to return to korea in 6 months/ a year he might be so far behind that he will never reach code S status again. While if the liquid players stay in korea they will have a better success rate in the future.
Kinda like being up 1-0 in the GSL Ro8 and gg'ing cuz you get bunker rushed.
More FREE wins for Idra opponents.
EG has been a disaster for Idra, he's going to go from being peers with Nestea, MVP, MC, Boxer, July.... to hanging around with Incontrol trying to show how funny he is.
EG... has big announcement... EG is going to Korea..... i've seen some crazy posts by the manager/owners of EG.... its sad to think that Idra's career is in their hands.
Liquid..... please save Idra.... he's in with a bad crowd.
Idra disappoints me as a fan with this. But obviously it is his decision and I will follow him nonetheless. I think we shouldn't speculate about his reasoning, just embrace it and hope he will amaze us here in foreign land.
For the record I completely understand Idra's reasoning behind leaving...
That being said, from a fans POV, I can't help but be EXTREMELY disappointed. Regardless of prize money, nobody argues that Korea is the place to be as far as prestigious tournaments goes, and having Idra help represent the foreigners was awesome. Also the fact that he's leaving after being seeded for GSL March (seeded quite well might I add) is lame. It's not that I have a problem with him leaving, I have a problem with WHEN he's leaving.
All that aside, I wish him best of luck and I do look forward to western eSports growing and Idra doing well. I will continue to be a fan as always, I just really felt Idra was going to have a great GSL this season :/
I wonder why they he doesn't wait until after GSL March to move back, as he's already Code S. See how far he can get in one last tournament before leaving, and maybe win some big bucks too.
i dont understand how anyone can be disappointed that's a foreigner. He is moving back to the US because the western part of the globe is going to be bigger than korea. I recommend watching SotG he explains exactly why, and how its more beneficial for him.
I'm all for it. I want eSports to grow in the west. The west is a community that shares a common cultural background and a common language whether it be your first or second. Korea has a very foreign culture and there is a huge language barrier. We can identify with and get to know the personalities of the western players far better. These are people we can actually interact with, joke around with, actually meet at a LAN, etc.
I'm really pumped for the future of eSports in the west.
idra needs a new pc heh. Just kidding, whatever reason it is it will bring some fun in the western scene. Seems like korea doesn't like zergs atm, because they are underpowered maybe one reason dunno ? (this is not my opinion by the way i think zerg is still the strongest sc2 race :3 )
On February 17 2011 02:23 Proto_Protoss wrote: This actually might help raise the level of play in the foreign scene. Everybody is going to have to match up to IdrA or just get rolled.
yeah this will be scary. ill beat him if he comes to a michigan tourney for sure. haha?
Idra is a top 3 zerg in the world. i really think its hard to argue with that, even for IdrA haters... moving home isn't moving away from korea cause he can't handle it, thats nonsense..... did everyone give TLO this hard of a time when he wanted to go home?
I'm disappointed. I don't hold anything against Idra, with the prize pool of every international tournament going up so drastically, and GSL actually only being good money if you win, not to mention being the hardest to win, it's a good choice for him.
But for me, the villain of the GSL is gone. here is hoping Losira or Ace make it to code S because those guys seem like total dicks. Where Idra drew the ire of the Koreans by being indifferent, they are so in your face, will they be better than Idra time will tell, but s5 is for me
As a casual fan, this makes me sad. I only have time to follow one starcraft tournament consistently, and for me that is the GSL. I pay the monthly fee, watch >50% of the games, and follow the players. I enjoyed rooting for Idra. Still, this might make me more aware of the NA tournaments. Here's hoping that either Ret or Huk do well in Code A and break into code S so there can be more foreign players.
On February 17 2011 02:29 photomuse wrote: As a casual fan, this makes me sad. I only have time to follow one starcraft tournament consistently, and for me that is the GSL. I pay the monthly fee, watch >50% of the games, and follow the players. I enjoyed rooting for Idra. Still, this might make me more aware of the NA tournaments. Here's hoping that either Ret or Huk do well in Code A and break into code S so there can be more foreign players.
Something tells me if those guys don't break through, they will be following Idra back.
On February 16 2011 20:15 Krehlmar wrote: Wait he wont even play his last tournament?... I dont agree with that EG. That's alot of money and secondly he really has a shot at winning it. He can defeat anyone in the tournament so why not let him have one last shot?...
Did he go US just to participate in more, smaller, tournaments to win more money? Cause that would suck.
Seriously though why wont he play one last tournament?
He said himself in an interview (was it during sotg iono im blanking out) that he's only played the new GSL maps twice. Doesn't seem like he'll get enough practice by himself in korea to win anything. Smart move imo to come back and finally get some teammates to practice with.
I feel this quote needs to be seen by more people.
This is probably a very big part of the reason he left. Not having teammates to practice maps is a deal breaker. You cannot win if you cannot practice. IdrA even said recently that practicing SC2 is useless so he was probably already feeling unmotivated when the new maps came out and he realized the only person he could practice with was ret who's in another team...
As most people know IdrA pretty much only ladders for practice. Living alone with no teammates to help you (either with practice or comments), it's a giant handicap vs people living in team houses and probably one that would make the difference 10-fold clearer on non-ladder maps.
I think all the other factors still apply (more tournaments, NASL, etc) but this one flew over my head and it's probably the biggest one.
My question is this: What does this say about the EG house that was supposed to go up in Korea? It seems the chances of that happening were just reduced.
On February 16 2011 20:15 Krehlmar wrote: Wait he wont even play his last tournament?... I dont agree with that EG. That's alot of money and secondly he really has a shot at winning it. He can defeat anyone in the tournament so why not let him have one last shot?...
Did he go US just to participate in more, smaller, tournaments to win more money? Cause that would suck.
Seriously though why wont he play one last tournament?
He said himself in an interview (was it during sotg iono im blanking out) that he's only played the new GSL maps twice. Doesn't seem like he'll get enough practice by himself in korea to win anything. Smart move imo to come back and finally get some teammates to practice with.
I feel this quote needs to be seen by more people.
This is probably a very big part of the reason he left. Not having teammates to practice maps is a deal breaker. You cannot win if you cannot practice. IdrA even said recently that practicing SC2 is useless so he was probably already feeling unmotivated when the new maps came out and he realized the only person he could practice with was ret who's in another team...
As most people know IdrA pretty much only ladders for practice. Living alone with no teammates to help you (either with practice or comments), it's a giant handicap vs people living in team houses and probably one that would make the difference 10-fold clearer on non-ladder maps.
I think all the other factors still apply (more tournaments, NASL, etc) but this one flew over my head and it's probably the biggest one.
I feel Idra is the only one to blame for him not having any practice partners. He ridiculed the Koreans so much that in the end no one wanted to play with him, and all he had was his practice with ret.
To me, this is like a favorite NBA player of mine deciding he can get more money in Europe, so he goes to play there. Unfortunately, that means he won't be playing against the best competition and aiming for the larger (more meaningful) championship.
The impression the announcement lead me to believe, was that this was a choice based on money. I would have rather it been a choice because he was homesick or not adapting to cultural challenges of Korea.
I am extremely disappointed to hear that Idra is leaving Korea. I heard that he had a hard time finding practice partners. I put the blame squarely on EG's shoulders. They promised that they would have an EG team house in Korea. It seems Idra had no choice but to return to NA .
I'm pretty sure that the speculated NASL is the reason for this. "eSports in NA is getting ready to blow up" - a paraphrase of what IdrA repeated as his reason for moving.
I wonder whether GOMTV is aware of (assuming speculation is true) NASL.
On February 17 2011 03:22 STALLONEZONE wrote: I seriously think IdrAs style is going to get completely and utterly crushed by aggressive American/European players, especially Terrans.
You talk like he hasn't won anything in America ever.
On February 17 2011 03:22 STALLONEZONE wrote: I seriously think IdrAs style is going to get completely and utterly crushed by aggressive American/European players, especially Terrans.
Yea, because koreans are known for being the defensive players? I'd say he is used to dealing with agressive terrans.
Well seeing how successful he has been in the Korean tournaments, he'll be quite dominant in the American ones. Means that if people want a chance of beating him, they're going to have to practice hard, meaning the general skill ceiling of the US server hopefully improving.
On February 17 2011 03:22 STALLONEZONE wrote: I seriously think IdrAs style is going to get completely and utterly crushed by aggressive American/European players, especially Terrans.
This was like a "through the looking glass" moment for me. Reading this post, I mean. I can't tell if you're being sarcastic.
The big stereotype of the Korean server that, judging from Idra's stream, is at least to some degree true is that there are a lot of players who literally got to the top 200 by being really, really fucking good about executing very specific, very aggressive timing attacks and all-ins. This is the county that brought you MarineKing.
On February 17 2011 03:22 STALLONEZONE wrote: I seriously think IdrAs style is going to get completely and utterly crushed by aggressive American/European players, especially Terrans.
This was like a "through the looking glass" moment for me. Reading this post, I mean. I can't tell if you're being sarcastic.
And Koreans are about 1000x more aggressive than NA/EU players. Its like he's never seen Idra play or something.
On February 17 2011 03:05 Isomer wrote: Why would IdrA stay in Korea just to lose to VR/Coloss in GSL? I totally agree with his choice.
theres a thread for that, keep it there.
I think his choice must be more beneficial than to potentially win big big money. I always though korea was overrated, the NA/EU scene is by far so much better (imo)
On February 17 2011 03:22 STALLONEZONE wrote: I seriously think IdrAs style is going to get completely and utterly crushed by aggressive American/European players, especially Terrans.
From what I understand it is the Koreans that are the most aggressive and with all the time Greg spent on the Korean ladder he's going to have more than enough experience with aggressive or cheesy builds. His mechanics are as good if not better than any EU/NA player so I don't think he's going to have any problems whatsoever.
As far as his choice to leave Korea goes I back him one hundred percent. I feel that Starcraft2 is going to be Globally HUGE and I don't feel that being caught up in the GSL is right for him. considering that EG will support him in whatever he wants to do.
idra has been a progamer in Korea for a very long time, I'm sure he misses his country and all his friends back home. And with the explosion of SC2 in NA/EU Korea is no longer the place to be for starcraft.
On February 17 2011 03:30 xza wrote: yeah I agree he should atleast finish this season's GSL, or rather he can't because the GSL duration collides with the alleged NASL schedule?
Nah, I think that would be impossible. Even if rumors about NASL turn out to be true, you can't have a really big tournament on such short notice. It would need several month between the announcement and the beginning.
I think its good news. He's a high profile players so him coming back to NA helps push the scene in the NA. He'll be on the NA ladder. Tournaments will probably get bigger in the NA. Why play in Korea when he can dominate the Western scene as the korean gsl is so competetive.
I'm sensing idrA just don't really want to admit that he's homesick as well. Being a progamer for all those years in a foreign country takes a huge toll. Even though Greg isn't my favorite player, I still have nothing but respect to his skills and professionalism. Here's to a brighter future Greg!
On February 17 2011 04:15 hmsrenown wrote: I'm sensing idrA just don't really want to admit that he's homesick as well. Being a progamer for all those years in a foreign country takes a huge toll. Even though Greg isn't my favorite player, I still have nothing but respect to his skills and professionalism. Here's to a brighter future Greg!
I'm sure this is true. He never learned Korean either, which makes living there kind of rough at times I'm sure, even if he spends a substantial amount of time training.
On February 16 2011 15:28 G3nXsiS wrote: What the fuck is this?! Freaking GSL is the place to be! American tournaments don't pay shit! OMFG. If EG was involved in this then they are just complete shit!
User was temp banned for this post.
Oh dear... But I agree with this post, in terms of content, not tone, of course.
I wish his spot could be given to someone. If he's not replaced, we'll be missing out on not just his games from his group, but also the up/down matches. I'm guessing the 1st place winner of code A will get to pick Idra and hence get into code S for sure.
Well Korea has one tournament that's very competitive... Probably more practical to have US as your base as of right now... I feel sorry for the other guys in Korea who loses a good friend, I also assume the EG prohouse has been canceled?
Anyways, GSL will be great regardless and if the US scene gets stronger as well it will only be awesome
I'm really sad, b/c I loved seeing the Leather Gracket (tm) on the main stage, but hopefully we can get all of that and more with the new Western tournaments coming up
In terms of amount of tournaments, US is the place to be, however, in terms of learning and competition, korea is clearly better, not because players in US/EU aren't good, but because of the practice culture and competition ambience that is present there.
I think his korean training will give him a massive plus over other players so good for him though. Hope to see him playing at his best soon enough.
On February 17 2011 04:40 mordk wrote:I think his korean training will give him a massive plus over other players so good for him though. Hope to see him playing at his best soon enough.
He did say on sotg though that he thought many koreans overtrained...
Best of luck to him! This shows that people very much involved (team EG) have a lot of confidence that North American e-sports will get huge this year. Looking forward to it.
On February 17 2011 04:15 hmsrenown wrote: I'm sensing idrA just don't really want to admit that he's homesick as well. Being a progamer for all those years in a foreign country takes a huge toll. Even though Greg isn't my favorite player, I still have nothing but respect to his skills and professionalism. Here's to a brighter future Greg!
He has Artosis and Tasteless to accompany him. But it is actually a good move on his part because im pretty sure if he returns to Korea he will get an invited code A spot
Hopefully more foreigners will get into Code S to fill the void. And I hope the tournaments in the west are excellent. I am sure they will be, especially with Idra in them.
I'm very surprised by the timing of this. I know he's eager to get back to the US but he's skipping out on a chance to win a lot of money. He's leaving in the beginning of march right? Why not hold out for 2 more weeks just in case you go deep in the tourney and then head back? It seems to me like he is giving away free money.
On February 17 2011 03:36 dsousa wrote: NASL vs GSL
is like the WNBA vs NBA.
Its like a 6'2 and under basketball league...... and beauty pagent for fat chicks.
gg Idra..... you'll be the hottest fat chick!
This post is so much win, I cant help myself quoting it for truth. I feel that the skill difference is pretty big between Korea and the rest of the world and by leaving the scene of the GSL he will lose a lot of respect and the spotlight he is in right now. Especially as he was one of the few zergs having success in that harsh league.
Anyway, gl to you maybe his presence in the NA will bring more spectacle to the SC2 tourneys over there.
On February 17 2011 01:45 dsousa wrote: All-time blunder......
Kinda like being up 1-0 in the GSL Ro8 and gg'ing cuz you get bunker rushed.
More FREE wins for Idra opponents.
EG has been a disaster for Idra, he's going to go from being peers with Nestea, MVP, MC, Boxer, July.... to hanging around with Incontrol trying to show how funny he is.
EG... has big announcement... EG is going to Korea..... i've seen some crazy posts by the manager/owners of EG.... its sad to think that Idra's career is in their hands.
Liquid..... please save Idra.... he's in with a bad crowd.
Gotta admit, my interest in GSL just went down quite a lot. I loved watching it when it was available at a reasonable time zone live (EST), but now the majority of foreigners are in Code A and I don't really relate to most of the Koreans. Blrgh.....
hrmmm so Clide will probably run into MC and MVP in the second round because of Idra's practical joke... Doesn't that kind of backfire though because he gets a free win vs. idra, helping him stay in Code S for at least 1 more season? I dont think anyone in the world thinks clide can win one, so idra still did him a favor by dropping out.
On February 17 2011 04:40 mordk wrote:I think his korean training will give him a massive plus over other players so good for him though. Hope to see him playing at his best soon enough.
He did say on sotg though that he thought many koreans overtrained...
He's also said before that he feels many non-Koreans undertrain. He still plays like 6-8 hours a day or something.
I'm pretty sure IdrA looked at Assembly results and was like "fuck that imma go wreck some shit"
More seriously though, i think IdrA is going to see if he is better than all the foreigners for real, and to consider the career options outside of Starcraft 2 assuming it doesn't take off.
Monetarily, for IdrA, I'm pretty excited for him. But due to the new map pool in GSL and the fact that he made it farther than before in the last GSL makes me question it. I think he'll generally suffer as a player for leaving Korea because the competition isn't as stiff, and he's losing some of the prestige of being a foreign player competing in the largest Korean tournament. But, I'll still be a fan of him in America.
Lots of you guys act like if Korea will be the place to be for esport FOREVER ! Why cant a similar scene devellop in NA/Europe ? Its really possible and it will result in players with the same skills as the Korean.
Just take that move as an opportunity to esport out of korea to grow and catch up !
On February 17 2011 06:16 XDsCrazy wrote: Lots of you guys act like if Korea will be the place to be for esport FOREVER ! Why cant a similar scene devellop in NA/Europe ? Its really possible and it will result in players with the same skills as the Korean.
Just take that move as an opportunity to esport out of korea to grow and catch up !
Well its is the best place for E-sports because of the culture that embraces e-sports and supports it and not considers it to be some sort of weird teen unhealthy obsession...
as well as the fact that from what I've learned about the Korean culture, they are extremely dedicated to their work and are able to put countless of hours into practice and improving their skill. This can only mean that the skill level will always be higher than in NA.
i think the very top-heavy prize money distribution of the gsl is really making it an unattractive choice compared to all the small and midsized tournaments going on in NA/EU.
even the best player in the world cant expect to make it to the code S finals on a regular basis; every 3rd season is probably the highest any player can reasonably expect.
but maybe his decision does not only have to do with opportunities to earn money but also with personal reasons. maybe he was finally starting to get sick of sitting in his lonely appartment grinding games on the ladder without too many online friends or practice partners day in day out.... the liquid guys have each other aswell as the ogs guys and the ogs guys´ friends to practice and discuss - but who does idra have? the EG house didnt make it into reality and most koreans hate him and dont want to practice with him. ret and artosis wont have too much time for him and what about T or P practice partners? it must have been an extremely lonely time for him, being isolated not only in rl but also online.
On February 17 2011 11:31 cca1ss1e wrote: I wonder if he would have a different mindset if he was taking GSL titles currently.
I'm 100% positive that he would still be staying there. At the end of the day, it's all about the dough. This new NA league that will spring up probably won't have the same level of prizes throughout the year as the GSL (I highly doubt that they can rival the 1.5 million total USD the GSL has this year), but the competition will be much weaker at the top. IdrA obviously has a much bigger chance of making more money in that environment. If there is one thing to blame, it's the top-heavy prize structure of the GSL code S, and the lack of other secondary tournaments in Korea.
It is also an intelligent decision, because it doesn't seem like SC2 is going to take off in Korea any time soon. BW still commands 80-90% of the corporate sponsorships, and that's where the real money is.
On February 17 2011 11:56 Black Gun wrote: i think the very top-heavy prize money distribution of the gsl is really making it an unattractive choice compared to all the small and midsized tournaments going on in NA/EU.
even the best player in the world cant expect to make it to the code S finals on a regular basis; every 3rd season is probably the highest any player can reasonably expect.
but maybe his decision does not only have to do with opportunities to earn money but also with personal reasons. maybe he was finally starting to get sick of sitting in his lonely appartment grinding games on the ladder without too many online friends or practice partners day in day out.... the liquid guys have each other aswell as the ogs guys and the ogs guys´ friends to practice and discuss - but who does idra have? the EG house didnt make it into reality and most koreans hate him and dont want to practice with him. ret and artosis wont have too much time for him and what about T or P practice partners? it must have been an extremely lonely time for him, being isolated not only in rl but also online.
I'll refrain about imagining another guy's personal life.
The actual distribution of money in the GSL seems fine. It's the commitment and length of the seasons are that severely limit players options. Not to mention how long players have to wait to just qualify.
If the GSL massaged their schedule so players had time to play in multiple tournaments (either spread the season out longer or make the tournaments faster) than it would be less of an issue. If they just wrapped up the Code A and Up and Down tournaments in a couple of weekends, it would probably give players the option of flying in to compete versus having to sacrifice their whole life just for a shot at Code S.
1. People are giving IdrA way too much credit. NO he wont steamroll any tournament at all, be realistic. Yes he's been to Korea, but this doesnt make him some sort of fucking demigod. THere are ALOT of good non korean player who could easily place good in the GSL.
2. Why is everyone assuming this is about money? Everyone isnt a greedy bitch, some people do things for other reasons.
3. People saying they will stop watching the GSL because ONE FUCKING PLAYER is leaving cant be a real SC fan.. GSL has by FAR the overall best quality of games still. No it's not at BW level YET. But neither is the EU/US scene. Korea is still number one, and dissing that due to ONE player leaving is just ridicilous. PLayers like MVP, MC, Marineking etc by far exceed any foreign player atm.
On February 17 2011 12:34 Rylaji wrote: 1. People are giving IdrA way too much credit. NO he wont steamroll any tournament at all, be realistic. Yes he's been to Korea, but this doesnt make him some sort of fucking demigod. THere are ALOT of good non korean player who could easily place good in the GSL.
2. Why is everyone assuming this is about money? Everyone isnt a greedy bitch, some people do things for other reasons.
3. People saying they will stop watching the GSL because ONE FUCKING PLAYER is leaving cant be a real SC fan.. GSL has by FAR the overall best quality of games still. No it's not at BW level YET. But neither is the EU/US scene. Korea is still number one, and dissing that due to ONE player leaving is just ridicilous. PLayers like MVP, MC, Marineking etc by far exceed any foreign player atm.
1. IdrA is the most successful foreign player yet.
3. GSL and Korea also have the most amount of 1 base timing pushes/all ins of all the servers.
On February 17 2011 12:34 Rylaji wrote: 1. People are giving IdrA way too much credit. NO he wont steamroll any tournament at all, be realistic. Yes he's been to Korea, but this doesnt make him some sort of fucking demigod. THere are ALOT of good non korean player who could easily place good in the GSL.
2. Why is everyone assuming this is about money? Everyone isnt a greedy bitch, some people do things for other reasons.
3. People saying they will stop watching the GSL because ONE FUCKING PLAYER is leaving cant be a real SC fan.. GSL has by FAR the overall best quality of games still. No it's not at BW level YET. But neither is the EU/US scene. Korea is still number one, and dissing that due to ONE player leaving is just ridicilous. PLayers like MVP, MC, Marineking etc by far exceed any foreign player atm.
1. IdrA is the most successful foreign player yet.
3. GSL and Korea also have the most amount of 1 base timing pushes/all ins of all the servers.
your just wrong. jinro has gone further and regardless of the type of play on the server/gsl, it is still much better quality.
On February 17 2011 12:34 Rylaji wrote: 1. People are giving IdrA way too much credit. NO he wont steamroll any tournament at all, be realistic. Yes he's been to Korea, but this doesnt make him some sort of fucking demigod. THere are ALOT of good non korean player who could easily place good in the GSL.
2. Why is everyone assuming this is about money? Everyone isnt a greedy bitch, some people do things for other reasons.
3. People saying they will stop watching the GSL because ONE FUCKING PLAYER is leaving cant be a real SC fan.. GSL has by FAR the overall best quality of games still. No it's not at BW level YET. But neither is the EU/US scene. Korea is still number one, and dissing that due to ONE player leaving is just ridicilous. PLayers like MVP, MC, Marineking etc by far exceed any foreign player atm.
1. IdrA is the most successful foreign player yet.
3. GSL and Korea also have the most amount of 1 base timing pushes/all ins of all the servers.
3. That's only because the maps almost promoted it because it was the most sure-fire and quickest way to win. The new maps being used in the GSTL which will be used for GSL5 are much more macro-orientated
Either way, that is a huge shame, especially for the viewers as, at least personally, the zerg matchups are amongst the best to watch. However, there is a huge amount of zergs in Code A and a lot have a good chance to go up.
On February 17 2011 12:34 Rylaji wrote: 1. People are giving IdrA way too much credit. NO he wont steamroll any tournament at all, be realistic. Yes he's been to Korea, but this doesnt make him some sort of fucking demigod. THere are ALOT of good non korean player who could easily place good in the GSL.
2. Why is everyone assuming this is about money? Everyone isnt a greedy bitch, some people do things for other reasons.
3. People saying they will stop watching the GSL because ONE FUCKING PLAYER is leaving cant be a real SC fan.. GSL has by FAR the overall best quality of games still. No it's not at BW level YET. But neither is the EU/US scene. Korea is still number one, and dissing that due to ONE player leaving is just ridicilous. PLayers like MVP, MC, Marineking etc by far exceed any foreign player atm.
1. IdrA is the most successful foreign player yet.
3. GSL and Korea also have the most amount of 1 base timing pushes/all ins of all the servers.
3. GSL and Korea have the best executed 1 base timing pushes/all-ins in the world. They're games may be less entertaining than non-Korean games, but they still play at a much higher skill level than the rest of the world. They're inherently aggressive because aggression is the best way to win against passive players. The Koreans who macro actually macro quite well, yet they also play with the trademark Korean aggression that make the games more action-packed and less passive compared to non-Korean games.
No matter what, Korea will always be at the forefront of skill and the metagame due to their environment and culture, though non-Koreans are catching up in skill. It has been beneficial for Idra or any other Westerner to experience and be immersed in what is arguably one of the best cultures in the world for competitive gaming, and hopefully he will disseminate his newfound knowledge and experience with the rest of the NA scene.
Best of luck to Greg in the US, hopes he wins lots of tournies and gets lots of coverage looking forward to watching him play a lot more tournies, hopefully now his mic wont cut out on sotg :D
On February 17 2011 13:51 DystopiaX wrote: The best part of this is how he intentionally trolled Clide and Zenio so that they have to play MVP/MC/July Ro16.
He also guaranteed that Clide and Zenio probably won't have to play the up/down and risk dropping to Code A since they get a free win from Idra.
On February 17 2011 12:34 Rylaji wrote: 1. People are giving IdrA way too much credit. NO he wont steamroll any tournament at all, be realistic. Yes he's been to Korea, but this doesnt make him some sort of fucking demigod. THere are ALOT of good non korean player who could easily place good in the GSL.
2. Why is everyone assuming this is about money? Everyone isnt a greedy bitch, some people do things for other reasons.
3. People saying they will stop watching the GSL because ONE FUCKING PLAYER is leaving cant be a real SC fan.. GSL has by FAR the overall best quality of games still. No it's not at BW level YET. But neither is the EU/US scene. Korea is still number one, and dissing that due to ONE player leaving is just ridicilous. PLayers like MVP, MC, Marineking etc by far exceed any foreign player atm.
1. IdrA is the most successful foreign player yet.
3. GSL and Korea also have the most amount of 1 base timing pushes/all ins of all the servers.
Why is it that people assume Koreans can't macro and can only all in? They all in because they're good at it. I have never seen aggression on the US Ladder the way I see it in Korean games. Most Koreans CAN macro very very well. I can believe Mvp macros better than say Jinro, who has amazing late game but not very good early game. Thing is, the best way to kill off a passive player is to hit him constantly with harass early on. Take Ret for example. The guy has very good macro. But what good is that when you literally make 40 drones before any lings? Just because you see Koreans rushing more than foreigners doesn't mean koreans can't macro. It means foreigners can't be aggressive. Watch some mlg games and notice how alot of the players can't even handle a simple poke early game.
Either way, that is a huge shame, especially for the viewers as, at least personally, the zerg matchups are amongst the best to watch. However, there is a huge amount of zergs in Code A and a lot have a good chance to go up.
He means that can stand up to the Koreans. I think July would do okay and Moonglade/ret have a chance but NesTea FD and idrA were the only ones who could stand up to the top players
July sucks at ZvZ but he still took a game off of MC. We'll see how he plays, no idea how a Z is apparently better at ZvP than ZvZ.
I don't feel that Fruit Dealer is a particularly powerful player anymore. I'd put him as an A-class(not Code A) Zerg. Very good, just a step below where he should be to truly be one of the absolute greatest.
Out of all of the Code A Zergs, my hope lies in Losira. Dude's a boss.
I am saddened that he won't be in the GSL, I watch the GSL for players like him but it's cool I think it will be sick to see him come back home and do well.
On February 17 2011 14:25 Turgid wrote: July sucks at ZvZ but he still took a game off of MC. We'll see how he plays, no idea how a Z is apparently better at ZvP than ZvZ.
I don't feel that Fruit Dealer is a particularly powerful player anymore. I'd put him as an A-class(not Code A) Zerg. Very good, just a step below where he should be to truly be one of the absolute greatest.
Out of all of the Code A Zergs, my hope lies in Losira. Dude's a boss.
On February 17 2011 18:31 Krehlmar wrote: As a avid IdrA fan I want to know why the heck he wont stay one last time and fight for the prize money and fame?!
It seems he has a bigger shot than ever, huge macro maps and IdrA is a fucking macro player... godamnit I had been looking forward to this so much.
That's what I don't get. He can't stay a few more weeks? Whats the big hurry to make it to the US? Hell, why couldn't he just can't fly to Korea to play in the GSL.
The only thing I can think of is that he's homesick/sick of Korea, and this is a really good chance for him to come home.
On February 17 2011 18:31 Krehlmar wrote: As a avid IdrA fan I want to know why the heck he wont stay one last time and fight for the prize money and fame?!
It seems he has a bigger shot than ever, huge macro maps and IdrA is a fucking macro player... godamnit I had been looking forward to this so much.
I don't think he has too many quality practice partners with whom to practice those maps. On the other hand the players on Korean teams / Liquid do.
I don't know how much that factored into his decision, but to me it has always been a mystery why he would join EG *and* stay in Korea. I guess he expected a team house there at some point, and now it seems that wont happen.
He lived in korea for 4 years straight before leaving, i highly doubt that its homesickness. And afaik, there are no upcoming events that clash with the gsl timetable and has bigger prizepool than it.
Gom should have trolled Idra one last time and called him 'grack' in their press release :p.
Seriously though, as I said in the other thread - best of luck to Idra! This NASL.tv thing must be big, because I don't doubt that it's partly responsible for pulling Idra back to the USA.
fair enough. it must be pretty tough living in korea, when you dont know that many ppl, nor the language, culture...etc plus you have to base ur whole life in that country. itll b much easier for idra just to do everyday stuff in USA, and if he can earn a similar amount to in korea then its all gud. As long as i still get to watch the games on youtube or something, then its all gud!
On February 17 2011 18:31 Krehlmar wrote: As a avid IdrA fan I want to know why the heck he wont stay one last time and fight for the prize money and fame?!
It seems he has a bigger shot than ever, huge macro maps and IdrA is a fucking macro player... godamnit I had been looking forward to this so much.
That's what I don't get. He can't stay a few more weeks? Whats the big hurry to make it to the US? Hell, why couldn't he just can't fly to Korea to play in the GSL.
The only thing I can think of is that he's homesick/sick of Korea, and this is a really good chance for him to come home.
He's not the type to abandon because of homesickness all of the sudden. He stuck it out in Korea this long, and it's become his home.
I believe the only explanation is that something big is about to go down over here.
1. IdrA is the most successful foreign player yet.
What are you basing success on? He has not made more money, nor gotten further in GSL than Jinro, and he has lost to Jinro in their head to heads.
I'd say there are plenty of other contenders to the "most successful foreign player" as well, SjoW and White-Ra, among others, that have placed well in/won lots of tournaments.
imo.. prolly alot of ppl in korea hates him.. this seems weird after all this time.. he could be making dosh just from being in the gsl and living comfortably at least for some time...
he could have been threatened.. but i really doubt he is trying to make the scene grow outside korea..
edit: does it look like he is declining into nothing?? if i recall he was with eStro a top professional team then slowly got downgraded to eG... yes eG now has to compete in lowly tournaments
Fact is... IdrA, or EG as a whole would know a bunch load of shit that you and I wouldn't. Prize pool for NASL is going to be "comparable" to MLG masters and the GSL.
1. Be able to play in more clan games, to support EG more 2. Be able to cuddle his mummy goodnight. 3. Be able to be HOME. 4. Be able to compete in MORE competitions. Theres a decent sized tourney on each week. There is practically no "down time." 5. Have less competition for the big bucks. IdrA has contenders in NA. TO say otherwise is plain stupid, however I think the pool is less shallow in NA right now. 6. Have team mates to practice with. 7. Bid time until zerg gets buffed....??
Makes Sense to me. FXOmOOnGLaDe Is my only foreign zerg now, with or without IdrA
.... TL is trolling me. I realize IdrA is zerg now.... :S
On February 17 2011 12:34 Rylaji wrote: 1. People are giving IdrA way too much credit. NO he wont steamroll any tournament at all, be realistic. Yes he's been to Korea, but this doesnt make him some sort of fucking demigod. THere are ALOT of good non korean player who could easily place good in the GSL.
2. Why is everyone assuming this is about money? Everyone isnt a greedy bitch, some people do things for other reasons.
3. People saying they will stop watching the GSL because ONE FUCKING PLAYER is leaving cant be a real SC fan.. GSL has by FAR the overall best quality of games still. No it's not at BW level YET. But neither is the EU/US scene. Korea is still number one, and dissing that due to ONE player leaving is just ridicilous. PLayers like MVP, MC, Marineking etc by far exceed any foreign player atm.
1. IdrA is the most successful foreign player yet.
3. GSL and Korea also have the most amount of 1 base timing pushes/all ins of all the servers.
1. Based on waht? Jinro had better placement in GSL two times in a row. And he prolly won more money aswell. People like SjoW and White-Ra and MorroW also had some success.
3. What does that have to do with anything. You stop following a particular sports league because some of the players dont play like you want them too? Or even the manager for your team doesnt do waht YOU wnat?
The GSL bastion is under siege. The swells of popularity and glassy eyed fan-boys are aching for this game to take root and flourish in their own countries. The days of distant flashes, subdued blasts from distant conflicts are over, the war is on the home front now. Korea is the old world, established, prestigious, stagnant. The new world of e-sports is breaking through the soil of fresh enthusiasm and it will be the foreigners who reap the benefits. This is the most exciting time to be a gamer as technology and recourses pave a path to a future that seemed impossible even 2 years ago. Across the world new pioneers are plotting the course for the rise of SC2, and we will follow them in their endeavors. As the Gods and Heroes return to their homes, they will find the world they left embracing them and pleading for more. Now is the time that the very idea of foreigner is abolished. Titles and prize money are nothing compared to the sheer passion we all have. It is the rest of the worlds waking that will put the longstanding dominance of Korea to sleep. Although this is a process, not instantaneous, it cannot be stopped. Prepare for the new world.
I'm kinda confused by the timing of the move (right before what could build up to be the macro GSL?) but other than that I can understand why he'd want to come back home. The NA pro-scene just got a LOT tougher.
As a side note, anyone know what's going to happen to the proposed EG house?
hmm, i support the expansion of e-sports in the west and i support greg's decision. Not going to mention anything about his performance in SK GSL, which was admiral at best.
On February 23 2011 03:26 Ponyo wrote: hmm, i support the expansion of e-sports in the west and i support greg's decision. Not going to mention anything about his performance in SK GSL, which was admiral at best.
What? A Ro8 and two Ro16's along with a Ro32 is only admiral?
On February 23 2011 03:26 Ponyo wrote: hmm, i support the expansion of e-sports in the west and i support greg's decision. Not going to mention anything about his performance in SK GSL, which was admiral at best.
What? A Ro8 and two Ro16's along with a Ro32 is only admiral?
Really, a better way to sum up his success is that he is the 3rd best Zerg in the world, which I would say is way beyond admiral?
he's participating in an ESL Event (named IEM World Finals or something like that) next week, so i guess that would have made GSL pretty much impossible
On February 23 2011 03:32 awu25 wrote: just wondering: if NASL starts in April, couldn't he have participated in this GSL without any conflict
Well organizing and performing a move from SK to the US is I guess a rather stressfull experience and it would seem logicall to not have that stress while he is participating in the biggest western SC2 league
On February 23 2011 03:26 Ponyo wrote: hmm, i support the expansion of e-sports in the west and i support greg's decision. Not going to mention anything about his performance in SK GSL, which was admiral at best.
What? A Ro8 and two Ro16's along with a Ro32 is only admiral?
Really, a better way to sum up his success is that he is the 3rd best Zerg in the world, which I would say is way beyond admiral?
Just to give my 2 cents about Idra. I'm not by nature a great fan of him BUT the guy did something very brave by moving to Korea for a long time. During the SC1 era, he trained hard , in a difficult environment for quite not much reward. But he stayed there and kept practising. Most of us would have come back home way earlir than him and for that, he has my full respect.
On February 23 2011 03:26 Ponyo wrote: hmm, i support the expansion of e-sports in the west and i support greg's decision. Not going to mention anything about his performance in SK GSL, which was admiral at best.
What? A Ro8 and two Ro16's along with a Ro32 is only admiral?
Really, a better way to sum up his success is that he is the 3rd best Zerg in the world, which I would say is way beyond admiral?
who is the second?
I'd say JulyZerg, Zenio, FruitDealer, and Ret are all Idra-level players.
Can someone post the link to the GOM "Goodbye IdrA" video. I'm trying to look for it, but I can't find it on the side. Where on the GOM site is it located? I can't find it under "Videos" or "Gomcam"...
On February 23 2011 14:56 Kahuna. wrote: Can someone post the link to the GOM "Goodbye IdrA" video. I'm trying to look for it, but I can't find it on the side. Where on the GOM site is it located? I can't find it under "Videos" or "Gomcam"...
Game 2 of the series he was meant to play in - it's shown at the very start.
EDIT: It's actually the first game, it's just listed under Game 2 because of course Game 1 did not happen.
On February 23 2011 06:40 BetterFasterStronger wrote: idra realized he could make more money on the NASL where he doesn't have to face people like MVP. + all the MLG's. Good choice by him.
Also, he finally has teammates to have proper practice with. Some might argue that ladder is great practice but if you actually watch his stream he doesn't exact get a consistent amount of quality games.
Clide : I hope he did not leave the country because of me. I was very rude to him. I hope he did not get a bad impression of Korea because of me. If he comes back to GSL and I have a seed to give, I would defintely choose him.
Not that I think it has anything to do with Idra actually leaving. Found it very weird though, did I miss some incident or ceremony?
On February 23 2011 03:26 Ponyo wrote: hmm, i support the expansion of e-sports in the west and i support greg's decision. Not going to mention anything about his performance in SK GSL, which was admiral at best.
What? A Ro8 and two Ro16's along with a Ro32 is only admiral?
Really, a better way to sum up his success is that he is the 3rd best Zerg in the world, which I would say is way beyond admiral?
who is the second?
I'd say JulyZerg, Zenio, FruitDealer, and Ret are all Idra-level players.
Not trying to derail here, but I don't think July, Zenio, or Ret have anything on Idra. They're good players, but definitely not as solid and refined yet. To be fair to Ret I haven't seen him play in ages. He could be a monster that is a little late to the party like Jinro.
On February 23 2011 03:26 Ponyo wrote: hmm, i support the expansion of e-sports in the west and i support greg's decision. Not going to mention anything about his performance in SK GSL, which was admiral at best.
What? A Ro8 and two Ro16's along with a Ro32 is only admiral?
Really, a better way to sum up his success is that he is the 3rd best Zerg in the world, which I would say is way beyond admiral?
Hey, despite how he performed, he was definitely an admiral for the zerg army. You just cannot dispute that.
About his performance being admirable though, I would probably say so, you don't accidentally get into two ro16s and one ro8.
On February 23 2011 03:26 Ponyo wrote: hmm, i support the expansion of e-sports in the west and i support greg's decision. Not going to mention anything about his performance in SK GSL, which was admiral at best.
What? A Ro8 and two Ro16's along with a Ro32 is only admiral?
Really, a better way to sum up his success is that he is the 3rd best Zerg in the world, which I would say is way beyond admiral?
who is the second?
I'd say JulyZerg, Zenio, FruitDealer, and Ret are all Idra-level players.
Not trying to derail here, but I don't think July, Zenio, or Ret have anything on Idra. They're good players, but definitely not as solid and refined yet. To be fair to Ret I haven't seen him play in ages. He could be a monster that is a little late to the party like Jinro.
Zenio beat Idra, and July just took down MVP. I'll agree Ret is a bit behind.
On February 23 2011 03:26 Ponyo wrote: hmm, i support the expansion of e-sports in the west and i support greg's decision. Not going to mention anything about his performance in SK GSL, which was admiral at best.
What? A Ro8 and two Ro16's along with a Ro32 is only admiral?
Really, a better way to sum up his success is that he is the 3rd best Zerg in the world, which I would say is way beyond admiral?
who is the second?
I'd say JulyZerg, Zenio, FruitDealer, and Ret are all Idra-level players.
Not trying to derail here, but I don't think July, Zenio, or Ret have anything on Idra. They're good players, but definitely not as solid and refined yet. To be fair to Ret I haven't seen him play in ages. He could be a monster that is a little late to the party like Jinro.
Zenio beat Idra, and July just took down MVP. I'll agree Ret is a bit behind.
Zenio beat IdrA in season 2 when IdrA admitted he didn't understand ZvZ. Can't take too much away from games played so long ago IMO.
I think its Nestea in the top tier, IdrA and FD in the second, July, Zenio and arguably Ret and Leenock in the 3rd.
EPT
![[image loading]](http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/8528/temp32068952664.gif)
![[image loading]](http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/3964/idraleaving.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://rakaka.se/images/148-artosis%20idra%20ep3.jpg)
