It has long been rumored that after Sen’s contract with Fnatic ended that he would join the young and mysterious Taiwanese professional league the TeSL. For quite some time now the Taiwanese community has speculated that last season’s team with the worst record, the Gamania Bears, would select Sen with the first pick in the TeSL draft this August. So no one was really surprised when earlier this month the Bears snatched Taiwan’s ZergKing up with the first pick, changing them instantly from the weakest team in the league to championship contenders. However it seems that the international community is not really aware yet of this development, so I decided to write the article. Sen in his new Gamania Bears uniform
What? Taiwan has a professional league? Yes, not only that but the first country in the world to broadcast games lively on television. I won’t spend a lot of time introducing the TeSL here, if you want to know more about it you can take a look at this article written at the beginning of TeSL’s last season: http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=203564 Also here is Artosis' video about TeSL:
Some things have changed, and some info is outdated (namely: Due to strict government laws on foreign workers the TeSL was not able to open up to foreign players as planned for the second season. It appears that this will have to wait until eSports become a recognized sport by the Taiwan government and rules for foreign players are relaxed) but most is still accurate. Actually I have been meaning to write a follow up to this article with all of the highlights of TeSL’s first season. It really is a shame that TeSL has not been able to get together an English stream, website and team of writers because their players and games really are very entertaining. Artosis with Gamania Bear's coach 4Leaf (a pretty well known Brood War player)
Sen will join teammates Croly (P), the teams former ace player, Slam (Z) a new addition to the team at the end of the first season, and Heero (T)(more commonly known as “Pencil”, his ID in the amateur days). TeSL is a team league, I will try to explain briefly the structure of the matches and how adding Sen will affect the dynamic. For every match each teams pick 3 players eligible to play a Bo5 match. The first 3 games of the match (all Bo3) have an arranged order. If there is a 4th game needed the coaches from each team select a player (again from the same pool of three players) to go out and play, and the same for the fifth match. So every player can potentially play twice in each match. Because, obviously, Sen is a level (or two) above the TeSL players (however to give credit where it is due, the players have improved a lot over a season and are still getting better. Players took games off of July and Whitera when they came to visit Taiwan) it is expected that teams will arrange their lineup so in the first three games they match their weakest player against Sen and hope to win both of the other matches. This way going into the 4th game with a 2-1 lead even if they have to lose another one against Sen they still have another game to take the match. http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150262186439024&oid=128498683541 This is a video released by the Gamania Bears of Sen introducing himself (in Mandarin) to the fans. Basically he is saying that he couldn't participate in the opening match of Season 2 last week because he was stuck in the Shanghai airport coming back from Assembly in Finland because of a typhoon (he refers to the typhoon as a force field wall), but this week nothing will keep him from playing, even if their are force fields he will do an overlord drop to get over them. Also the funny thing is, in his first ever TeSL match his opponent will be his uncle (they are only 4 years apart), the Tt Apollos protoss player Apro! After the Gamania Bears drafted Sen they stated that they plan to send him to every international tournament he wants to attend, so we don’t have to worry about not seeing Sen in major tournaments. As far as I know they even said that Sen’s international tournaments will take a priority over TeSL regular season matches (every weekend). Anyway, I guess that’s all the major points, if anyone has any more questions I’ll do my best to answer to the best of my knowledge. I’ll also try to find time to write a detailed recap of TeSL season 1, because there really were a lot of good stories. Cheers
PS, I guess Taiwan had a fanart contest recently, there are some really good ones of Sen in there. For those who don't know he is famous among the Taiwan community for loving Taiwan style fried chicken, that's why there is fried chicken in so many of the pictures And also those pictures of "Luway" you see is a female amateur player who has beat July and Moonglade (the latter in a Bo3). You can see Sen's new teammate Croly in #5, he got a funny nickname like "the guy smashes into the wall" because in his first TeSL game he tried to blink up to the high ground unsuccessfully seemingly going head first into the cliff. In #39 you can see Sen's new teammate Slam walking a pet zergling, because he is known for is love of speedling play. Haha, also in #7 you can see a picture of a TeSL player Hui of the Xpec Ironmen (their ace player and MVP of the TeSL championship match), in the picture his hands are being mind controlled by July like a puppet master, this is known as the "July Curse". When July visited Taiwan Hui defeated him on live TV using creative... wait for it... CARRIER play, but after he won that match he proceeded to lose I think 10 or so matches in a row. From looking at these I'm sure you can get a sense that the Taiwanese community (while unfortunately pretty secluded from the rest of the world) has a lot of good things going on! http://tw.battle.net/sc2/zh/blog/379774#blog
I watched some of the TeSL games, I really like the spirit and effort they're putting in the production and fans but truth be told they're not that good... I mean some things they do are just, well, bad. I'm only a top diamond but christ man, first suiciding in a zealot into bunkers, then missing the blink into the base, then blinking into the base and terran pulls scvs, and then he doesn't stop chasing the blink stalkers whilst the blink stalkers do a faulty stutterstep (only shooting with one or two out of 9 stalkers).
I mean I love starcraft and all that, but it's just so sad being spoiled by the excellent games of GSL, can hardly watch NA streams/tournaments thanks to it
EDIT:
That said, more teams should fucking promote their clan wear the same was as the TW! They use vibrant colors and awesome designs, cmon westerners/koreans stop having boring clan wear and get with the program !
Wow , after checking some more TeSL stuff it's amazing how engaged they are in the whole concept, why the fuck can't we like hire 2 Taiwanese translators who can just send tons and tons of love messages from the western worlds to them and tell them that they're not alone ! The art contest was wicked awesome
I mean seriously look at this shit I don't even know what the hell this is but I wan't one on these forums, we need this!
That chicken
And apparently they REALLY like this "Linda" fellow, who is she?
On August 13 2011 21:22 Krehlmar wrote: I watched some of the TeSL games, I really like the spirit and effort they're putting in the production and fans but truth be told they're not that good... I mean some things they do are just, well, bad. I'm only a top diamond but christ man, first suiciding in a zealot into bunkers, then missing the blink into the base, then blinking into the base and terran pulls scvs, and then he doesn't stop chasing the blink stalkers whilst the blink stalkers do a faulty stutterstep (only shooting with one or two out of 9 stalkers).
I mean I love starcraft and all that, but it's just so sad being spoiled by the excellent games of GSL, can hardly watch NA streams/tournaments thanks to it
EDIT:
That said, more teams should fucking promote their clan wear the same was as the TW! They use vibrant colors and awesome designs, cmon westerners/koreans stop having boring clan wear and get with the program !
This. Taiwanese "Pros" really are not Kr standard by any means. But I have no idea how Taiwan "spawns" good Starcraft players like Sen. There are a few TLPD entries for BW Taiwanese players who played in Korea.
After the Gamania Bears drafted Sen they stated that they plan to send him to every international tournament he wants to attend, so we don’t have to worry about not seeing Sen in major tournaments.
On August 13 2011 21:36 Krehlmar wrote: Wow , after checking some more TeSL stuff it's amazing how engaged they are in the whole concept, why the fuck can't we like hire 2 Taiwanese translators who can just send tons and tons of love messages from the western worlds to them and tell them that they're not alone ! The art contest was wicked awesome
I mean seriously look at this shit
And apparently they REALLY like this "Linda" fellow, who is she?
Sen's new team, the Gamania Bears, is seriously the coolest logo/design in eSports. They have a sick colorway, really good design and their mascot is a fucking raging BEAR! How badass is that????! Anyways, really happy for Sen and hope we can see him in more foreign tourneys (ie. MLG).
On August 13 2011 21:16 turdburgler wrote: when the rumour post hit TL last week xeris said Sen hadnt left, now im all confused
As far as I know (first hand intel form TeSL employees) TeSL players can not have "dual team citizenship". I guess there is a possibility Fnatic might be trying to work out a partnership with Gamania like that of oGs and Team Liquid, but honestly I've heard nothing about it from the Gamania people and it seems really unlikely. But, you never know I guess. Actually I think technically Sen's contract with Fnatic may have a couple weeks left, maybe thats why Xeris said he has not left.
On August 13 2011 21:46 tyCe wrote: And now Fnatic has shifted from being one of the top 3 international teams to being one of the most mediocre (imo, and with all due respect).
Although not having Sen is a pretty big hit to their team, they still have rain/TT1/nightend who arent too shabby. Although I think Sen was their only zerg (nightend is P right?)
Also didn't Xeris say he was going to make an official announcment "soon"
Hrm, the Taiwanese scene seems to be very formally structured around teams, which is really cool. Add in the fact there is both money and exposure available and I can see the Taiwanese scene really growing. I hope they can sort out the international players issue, I know White-Ra is actually signed to Tt.Apollos but he most be caught in a grey zone atm.
On August 13 2011 21:22 Krehlmar wrote: I watched some of the TeSL games, I really like the spirit and effort they're putting in the production and fans but truth be told they're not that good... I mean some things they do are just, well, bad. I'm only a top diamond but christ man, first suiciding in a zealot into bunkers, then missing the blink into the base, then blinking into the base and terran pulls scvs, and then he doesn't stop chasing the blink stalkers whilst the blink stalkers do a faulty stutterstep (only shooting with one or two out of 9 stalkers).
I mean I love starcraft and all that, but it's just so sad being spoiled by the excellent games of GSL, can hardly watch NA streams/tournaments thanks to it
I really want to make a comment about this because it needs to be said. So fucking what. Korea is a country with twice the population where StarCraft has become an ingrained part of the entire population's culture for over a decade. Taiwan is a much smaller country often referred to as a "desert for RTS games". 95% of Taiwan gamers play mindless RPG ripoffs and think that RTS games require too much brain power. Under these harsh circumstances Taiwan has still managed through the selfless efforts of many individuals (think Asian Day[9]s) to develop a very dynamic amateur scene and have produced enough talent to have pro league. The US's population is over 10 times that of Taiwan but what would the talent look like if there was a league of 20 players that were required to be US citizens? Honestly I aside from a few star players I don't think it would be much higher than the TeSL. And the important things the most talented league is not necessarily the most entertaining. The players all have unique personalities which they not only show on camera (they will do little "mini skits" every week during the introductions) but also in-game (Tt Apollo player HRU is known for spelling out words with pylons during games), and there are lots of intricate story lines going on. The talent level has a ways to go til it catches up to Korea, but players continue to improve, the production value could be better, but its hard to draw investors in Taiwan where like I said very few people play/watch RTS compared to Korea where everyone knows StarCraft, BUT I will say one thing, the players and matches really have "heart", and thats fun to watch.
Anyone else really interested in following the Taiwan scene if there were translations? I feel sad that there's a barrier between the Taiwan scene and the rest of the world.
Good news for Sen and good news for us too. Hopefully he will still be active in the big tournaments when he has the time because I love watching him play.
And Taiwan may not have the best players overall in the world, but they do have the absolutely best design/logo/outfits of them all. Gamaberas, TTApollos etc. are way better than any design/logo I've seen from any Western team and Korean teams as well.
On August 13 2011 21:22 Krehlmar wrote: I watched some of the TeSL games, I really like the spirit and effort they're putting in the production and fans but truth be told they're not that good... I mean some things they do are just, well, bad. I'm only a top diamond but christ man, first suiciding in a zealot into bunkers, then missing the blink into the base, then blinking into the base and terran pulls scvs, and then he doesn't stop chasing the blink stalkers whilst the blink stalkers do a faulty stutterstep (only shooting with one or two out of 9 stalkers).
I mean I love starcraft and all that, but it's just so sad being spoiled by the excellent games of GSL, can hardly watch NA streams/tournaments thanks to it
The TeSL players are may not the best players in the world, but they are no doubt improving. Most Taiwanese don't play RTS games, it is a big accomplishment already to create a pro Starcraft 2 league in Taiwan. With Sen joining the league and the recent TW+KR server merge, it is only a matter of time that TeSL players catch up in the level of play and compete in the international scene. Give us some time and maybe you will start seeing a new reinforcement join the foreign scene to help defeat the "Evil" and "Mighty" Koreans soon lol.
On August 13 2011 21:22 Krehlmar wrote: I watched some of the TeSL games, I really like the spirit and effort they're putting in the production and fans but truth be told they're not that good... I mean some things they do are just, well, bad. I'm only a top diamond but christ man, first suiciding in a zealot into bunkers, then missing the blink into the base, then blinking into the base and terran pulls scvs, and then he doesn't stop chasing the blink stalkers whilst the blink stalkers do a faulty stutterstep (only shooting with one or two out of 9 stalkers).
I mean I love starcraft and all that, but it's just so sad being spoiled by the excellent games of GSL, can hardly watch NA streams/tournaments thanks to it
The TeSL players are may not the best players in the world, but they are no doubt improving. Most Taiwanese don't play RTS games, it is a big accomplishment already to create a pro Starcraft 2 league in Taiwan. With Sen joining the league and the recent TW+KR server merge, it is only a matter of time that TeSL players catch up in the level of play and compete in the international scene. Give us some time and maybe you will start seeing a new reinforcement join the foreign scene to help defeat the "Evil" and "Mighty" Koreans soon lol.
Most TeSL players already had KR accounts, so KR/TW merge doesnt really change much for the TeSL players. Even then, the best TW player (not including Sen) was only top 500 on KR ladder (300~ masters). The China scene even before they had their own server was already ahead of the TW scene (there's 4-5 guys in KR GM level).
However, TW skill level aside, they are currently the most advanced starcraft2 league in the world
Wow that's quite surprising! Sen could probably get a spot in most top international teams and he chose an unknown (apparently terrible according to OP) Taiwanese team instead??? Could someone explain this logic please?
Good thing he will still be able to attend the big events, but won't this affect the quality of his training? Fnatic isn't top of the line, but they're certainly better than the average jobber team...
On August 14 2011 00:54 CursedFeanor wrote: Wow that's quite surprising! Sen could probably get a spot in most top international teams and he chose an unknown (apparently terrible according to OP) Taiwanese team instead??? Could someone explain this logic please?
Good thing he will still be able to attend the big events, but won't this affect the quality of his training? Fnatic isn't top of the line, but they're certainly better than the average jobber team...
i will eat my hat if sen got as good as he is by practicing against TT1 and KawaiiRice. i doubt anything will change, he'll just continue to practice on KR server and whatever practice partners he knows outside of the fnatic team.
On August 14 2011 00:55 ptbl wrote: I thought Xeris said Sen hasn't left fnatic last week.
3 days ago he said he'd release a statement soon, i think there's been enough time by now
I speculate that we'll see a deal similar to the one SK made with OGS; Sen will represent the Gama Bears while in Tawain, but Fnatic while competing around the world.
It seems like Sen is a bit of a hero to the TW scene, I think it will be good for the quality of players if there is one guy who everyone wants to get good enough to beat.
Thank you for the glimpse into the TeSL. I didn't know anything about it apart from what I saw in the tour that Sen did, but it looks really promising. If only all SC scenes combined the TeSL televised... (err?) ness and uniforms (so awesome), the Korean skill, and the foreign money. What are the viewing figures like in TW?
On August 14 2011 00:45 TOCHMY wrote: OP u better check with all sources so that some parties doesnt go out and call you out for breaking the journalist code or smt. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Just went back and reread everything I wrote. Nope, didn't speculate on anything I wasn't sure about, everything is fact or else first hand information from Sen himself or people at Gama or TeSL, and all of it is common knowledge to everyone in the Taiwan community, nothing confidential, I just thought it was kind of ridiculous that no one knew about this outside of Taiwan. As far as if Fnatic is still trying to work out some sort of cooperation deal that no one knows about, I'm not sure about that, so I didn't mention it. From everything I have heard, however, it seems very unlikely, but I guess nothing is impossible.
Seems really good terms between both teams, as in no bad blood. Sad to see the contract could not be renewed, but good luck to Sen, Fnatic, and Gamania Bears. Will be interested to see if it affects Sen's participation in foreign tournaments at all or his practice.
On August 14 2011 01:59 Eufouria wrote: Thank you for the glimpse into the TeSL. I didn't know anything about it apart from what I saw in the tour that Sen did, but it looks really promising. If only all SC scenes combined the TeSL televised... (err?) ness and uniforms (so awesome), the Korean skill, and the foreign money. What are the viewing figures like in TW?
I'm not sure how the ratings translate into actual numbers, but... pretty good? About the same or a little higher than Taiwan's professional baseball games broadcasted on TV. According to TeSL the Finals match's ratings were quite a bit higher than the Taiwan pro baseball allstar game shown on the same day.
On August 14 2011 00:45 TOCHMY wrote: OP u better check with all sources so that some parties doesnt go out and call you out for breaking the journalist code or smt. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Just went back and reread everything I wrote. Nope, didn't speculate on anything I wasn't sure about, everything is fact or else first hand information from Sen himself or people at Gama or TeSL, and all of it is common knowledge to everyone in the Taiwan community, nothing confidential, I just thought it was kind of ridiculous that no one knew about this outside of Taiwan. As far as if Fnatic is still trying to work out some sort of cooperation deal that no one knows about, I'm not sure about that, so I didn't mention it. From everything I have heard, however, it seems very unlikely, but I guess nothing is impossible.
There was a post about this a week ago and Xeris said it was wrong which is why people stopped talking about it. Not to say this is wrong, just explain the lack of talk on TL.
Is there a way to watch and support their league? I don't care about there being nothing in English for the time being. Any official Taiwanese broadcasts online or something?
Yay I'm really glad Sen finally joined a TeSL team, I wish my Chinese were better so I could translate and watch the casts better but I think they've done a fantastic job so far. Sen seems like an extremely likeable and personable guy within the Taiwan and Chinese-speaking Starcraft community and he'll do a great job at the TeSL surely
Hopefully the TL community can garner up enough native speakers who can keep doing translations and reports on the TeSL like the OP did here, thank you very much
As long as Sen is still going to play in international tournaments that's all that matters to me. Good luck in the TeSL. Hopefully Sen's involvement will spur a greater interest in SC2 in Taiwan so more elite players emerge eventually.
On August 14 2011 04:28 Primadog wrote: Official friday morning broadcast is available here http://www.twitch.tv/tesllive
There are unofficial restreams for the Saturday and Sunday broadcasts and also rumors of new English initiatives from TeSL, so watch out for that.
Thanks, this is perfect. Maybe if they get a boom in their stream numbers (from foreigners), it might help to push the scene and allow for more foreigner opportunities.
And I agree how cool would it be if the TeSL could be submitted to the calendar and the stream put up live when its on, similar to BW or GSL or anything, then at the wee hours of the morning more foreigners can watch it and support the scene
On August 14 2011 04:36 Zlasher wrote: Hopefully the TL community can garner up enough native speakers who can keep doing translations and reports on the TeSL like the OP did here, thank you very much
Happy for Sen, probably my favorite player, (top 3 for sure), but a little sad to see him leave fnatic, probably my favorite team. But happy overall. Glad to see he will be around for the big tournaments still.
On August 14 2011 01:59 Eufouria wrote: Thank you for the glimpse into the TeSL. I didn't know anything about it apart from what I saw in the tour that Sen did, but it looks really promising. If only all SC scenes combined the TeSL televised... (err?) ness and uniforms (so awesome), the Korean skill, and the foreign money. What are the viewing figures like in TW?
I'm not sure how the ratings translate into actual numbers, but... pretty good? About the same or a little higher than Taiwan's professional baseball games broadcasted on TV. According to TeSL the Finals match's ratings were quite a bit higher than the Taiwan pro baseball allstar game shown on the same day.
This is not "entirely" true. The pro-baseball allstar game was aired on a few different channels. The TeSL Final was only aired on one channel. The channel which aired TeSL final also broadcasted the pro-baseball allstar game previously. In that specific channel, the rating of TeSL final games was higher than the baseball allstar game. However, TeSL is indeed slowly acquiring more attention from the general public in Taiwan. Hopefully, competitive gaming will be more recognized in Taiwan in the future...
This is not "entirely" true. The pro-baseball allstar game was aired on a few different channels. The TeSL Final was only aired on one channel. The channel which aired TeSL final also broadcasted the pro-baseball allstar game previously. In that specific channel, the rating of TeSL final games was higher than the baseball allstar game. However, TeSL is indeed slowly acquiring more attention from the general public in Taiwan. Hopefully, competitive gaming will be more recognized in Taiwan in the future...
Thanks for the correction, I did not know the exact numbers I just know that TeSL used this as a promotion point the day after. And like you said, TeSL is indeed gaining more attention from mainstream viewers, but its a slow process, as StarCraft viewing definitely has a steeper learning curve (compared to the other games TeSL broadcasts).
We need to get the TeSL on the calendar, and with English casters. I've always wanted to watch it, hopefully with Sen playing in it it'll get more attention internationally and this can happen.
huge hit for fnatic, they still have really good players but losing a player like sen would be pretty bad for any team. Wish him the best though, sen fighting!
On August 14 2011 13:59 RedHelix wrote: huge hit for fnatic, they still have really good players but losing a player like sen would be pretty bad for any team. Wish him the best though, sen fighting!
Is he totally off Fnatic, or is there some kind of arrangement? Look at http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=252619#8 ,either Xeris basically lied or I guess more likely there is something else going on? He is still listed on Fnatic's roster on their website by the way.
On August 14 2011 13:50 Ruscour wrote: We need to get the TeSL on the calendar, and with English casters. I've always wanted to watch it, hopefully with Sen playing in it it'll get more attention internationally and this can happen.
This. Calendar and English casters, maybe some LR threads. Calling on all active Tawainese TL members lol.
I'm not too sure of this but does anyone in TL stream these games?? I think it'll be cool if we can all jump into this, like how we do it with bw and gsl
Basically he is saying that he couldn't participate in the opening match of Season 2 last week because he was stuck in the Shanghai airport coming back from Assembly in Finland because of a typhoon (he refers to the typhoon as a force field wall)
On August 14 2011 18:04 JustPassingBy wrote: Fnatic still has Rain, don't they? He performed far better than anyone would've thought of last MLG!
Not really. After you get past Artosis's bias "HE CHEESED NESTEA SO HE'S TERRIBLE" you could see he was still code S before he got banned and was therefore quite good.
Sen is now on TESL live! I am glad he is allowed to play in international tournaments, when I first heard that he joined a Taiwanese team I was worried that he might not be allowed to go to those events. The recent merge with the KR server will make our pros even better for sure, and Sen playing in the Taiwanese league is a big move that shows faith and growth in the Taiwanese scene. I'm surprised that he didn't join team TT Apollo.
If you subscribe to the training begets players that are korean good, here comes the TeSL. They have houses, tv broadcast and from the looks of it sponsors. Sen will raise everyone's level of play and give the Taiwanese someone to cheer for in the international arena leading to more interest.
I'm jealous that we do not have this in America. Closest is EG...hope it changes soon.
Sen just beat Softball (one of the strongest Taiwan Terran player) in a awesome macro game in today's TeSL. TeSL still has a long way to go, and hopefully Sen will bring the league and players to another whole new level. oh btw Sen practiced with anyproprime.WE the whole afternoon today b4 TeSL. Always wonderful to watch Sen's game. SEEEEENNNNNNNNNNNNNNN~!
EPT![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/etSlD.jpg)
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wish I knEw more about the tiawanese scene. Would love to see some of their players play in other leagues!
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