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StarCraft 2's most storied rivals have come together. Chris "HuK" Loranger has joined forces with Greg "IdrA" Fields on Evil Geniuses. Beginning in October, both players will train alongside EG.PuMa at an undisclosed practice facility in Seoul, South Korea.
One year ago, when HuK became Liquid`HuK, we at EG were left wondering what could've been. We spent the past twelve months watching from the sidelines as HuK, thanks in large part to excellent support from Liquid, went from MLG Champion, to Code A, to Code S, and most recently, became Champion of DreamHack and HSC III.
With his Liquid contract expiring, we decided that we didn't want to spend another year looking in from the outside. After receiving permission from Victor "Nazgul" Goossens, the owner of Liquid, we entered negotiations with HuK, and quickly came to a verbal agreement. After several weeks, and multiple discussions with HuK, his new contract with EG was finalized. Subsequently, after speaking with Nazgul, EG purchased the remainder of his current contract from Liquid.
"I'm excited about my future with EG, and I'm looking forward to training with all of my teammates, especially IdrA and PuMa in Korea. I know that some of my fans might be upset that I'm joining EG, but I hope that most will continue to support me regardless of what shade of blue I'm wearing ^^;;."" -Chris "HuK" Loranger
From Liquid's side, HuK's decision was difficult to take, but it was handled with only the utmost mutual respect and professionalism by both Liquid and EG.
"We're sorry to see Chris go. Not only is he an excellent player, but he was a close friend to the team. We did everything we could to keep him on Liquid, but in the end Chris made the choice he thought was best. We respect his decisions regarding his career, and wish him luck with Evil Geniuses." -Victor "Nazgul" Goossens, Owner of Liquid
For EG, this is a very big moment. We're adding an amazing player to our team in HuK, and we're looking forward to the amazing results that the combination of HuK, IdrA, and PuMa training together in Korea will undoubtedly produce. It's definitely cause for some excitement. But at the same time, we're well aware that, to some - especially fans of Liquid - this announcement will be as shocking as it is upsetting.
"Everyone knows that Nazgul and Liquid treat their players extremely well, and HuK was certainly no exception. We at EG want to publicly recognize and applaud the instrumental role Liquid has played in the progression of HuK's career up to this point. While EG and Liquid` players have intense rivalries, and our teams compete fiercely, the two companies have always had a mutually respectful relationship on the management level - hence EG purchasing the remainder of HuK's expiring Liquid contract. But at the end of the day, EG has two continual obligations: to field the best team that we possibly can, and to support professional gamers as well as we possibly can. In signing HuK, we're fulfilling both of those obligations, and I don't think that either needs to be apologized for.
I understand that this announcement will be upsetting to much of the TL community. I'm very well aware that Liquid fans don't tend to be the biggest EG fans. But I would like to request that, regardless of how you feel about EG, you please don't think differently about HuK because of this change - as you can see, his former teammates and management at Liquid certainly don't. I'm sure some of you may think that you'll never be able to see EG.HuK the same way you saw Liquid`HuK. But, before you jump to any conclusions, please, just give it a try. He's still HuK. And after all, the concept of him, IdrA, and PuMa competing together in Korea should spark at least a little bit of intrigue in even the most ardent of EG anti-fans." -Alexander Garfield, Owner of EG
HuK will make his EG debut later this week alongside EG.PuMa at the Intel Extreme Masters GamesCom tournament in Cologne, Germany, after which he will return to Korea to continue his Code S run under the EG flag/travel to EG's North American training house to prepare for MLG Raleigh with IdrA, PuMa, and the rest of the team. The details of EG's Korean training facility will be released in the weeks leading up to October - and don't worry, we won't put you guys through another countdown for that announcement
.-Evil Geniuses
Photograph by Zhang "zemotion" Jingna
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