The most well known Finnish StarCraft 2 player Samuli “elfi-” Sihvonen has resigned from his old organization Team Acer today. His contract with Acer was about to expire in three months and Sihvonen had informed that he was not going to stay in the team with the current terms. Due to the contract negotiations, Acer was not planning on sending him to the upcoming DreamHack Open events in Jönköping, Valencia and Bucharest because the main event at DreamHack Winter would fall outside the contract’s time frame.
The result was that both Acer and Sihvonen agreed to terminate the contract early, at the end of May, so that Sihvonen might have a chance to participate to the already mentioned events. Sihvonen will be backed up by personal sponsorship. ASUS ROG, SteelSeries and SETT.fi will enable Sihvonen to remain as a full time StarCraft 2 player. To recognize his main sponsor ASUS Republic Of Gamers, Sihvonen’s player id will henceforth be ROGǂelfi.
SETT.fi also found out what Sihvonen is doing besides gaming.
Hello elfi-, many are familiar with you in the gaming arenas, but what else are you up to?
Most of my time is spent learning and practicing StarCraft 2. The game is still evolving so much, and you must constantly follow the best players to be able to keep up with the tactics. Otherwise, I’ve been trying to shape up a bit by jogging at least twice a week. The rest of the time I like to read manga books, and of course I also play for fun with my dota2 friends, and every once in a while there might be something else going on.
How did you start playing PC games? When did it turn out into a profession?
Well, of course at first I played just for fun with my friends. I developed fast and at some point I was told about competitive gaming which totally got me excited and I started playing more. I’ve now been playing PC games professionally for about 1.5 years and competitively for about 6 years.
What has been your greatest achievement? What event has left the best tournament memories?
My greatest achievement is absolutely the second place at IEM Guangzou. Event gotting in the tournament is a good achievement in itself and many were surprised by it. Going to the tournament was easy because no one expected me to do well, and I was sceptic even myself. But surprisingly, everything started to go smoothly and I won my group 3-0. Then I got a bit lucky with my opponents as I managed to avoid all the Koreans and went all the way to the grand finals which was a complete surprise to all, me included.
My best memories of a tournament are probably of the ASUS ROG Invitational in Helsinki. It was great to get into an invitational tournament where the players were treated outstandingly, and it was good to play in front of a Finnish crowd and get surprised by the number of live spectators in Finland. Of course the championship would have been great, but winning the bronze match in front of the home audience was also tasty.
During your gaming career you have represented a number of world class organizations like Fnatic (WC3), Power Gaming (SC2) and Acer (SC2) - How has being in an organization affected your playing? Do you think the situation will change now that you are under several personal sponsors instead of an organization?
This surely will have a huge boost to my motivation. It affects my gaming by giving a chance to show that you are counted on, and it’s always nice to be the star in your team (well, in this case there is no one else in the team but anyways ). Likewise, during my WarCraft 3 times I got the most motivation when I was the star of my team Hoorai, so at least I appreciate the feeling it brings. Coming back to the current situation, I believe that this is an excellent opportunity for me to develop. Even though the demands of the sponsors are now dedicated directly to me instead of an organization, it makes setting and following your goals much easier.
In which events are you attending in the near future?
My first tournament as an independent player will be Vectorama in Oulu, Finland. A week after that I will go to DreamHack Summer. The qualifications for HomeStory Cup V and TSL4 are also starting soon, and my goal is to qualify to both to them. In a long term, I’m attending all of the DreamHack Open tournaments and trying to get enough points so that I can get into the final event in DreamHack Winter.
Shoutouts
Firstly, I want to thank Team Acer for our co-operation. I especially appreciate their support at the start which enabled me to attend the Intel Extreme Masters and ESWC tournaments. Also, thanks to my team mates for awesome memories in different events, see you in future tournaments!
Now it’s time to get my Twitter and Facebook accounts running, so please start following me! Thanks to ASUS ROG, SteelSeries and SETT.fi for their support.
So because he wasn't going to sign the same contract, Team Acer wasn't going to send him to events that happened during the contract he was currently on? Not cool Team Acer.
On June 02 2012 08:34 jmbthirteen wrote: So because he wasn't going to sign the same contract, Team Acer wasn't going to send him to events that happened during the contract he was currently on? Not cool Team Acer.
It makes some sense. He wasn't going to agree to a new contract, so wouldn't be contracted for the main DH event, so they didn't want to send him to sub events/qualifiers when he wouldn't be attending the main event for them. It's easy to understand why they wouldn't want to send him, especially when they have other players they probably could/will send, who will still be with them when the main event happens.
I think it's good they let him go rather than treating him "badly" because he wasn't going to stay by holding him to his contract but not sending him anywhere. It's the best choice for both parties really.
On June 02 2012 08:34 jmbthirteen wrote: So because he wasn't going to sign the same contract, Team Acer wasn't going to send him to events that happened during the contract he was currently on? Not cool Team Acer.
It makes some sense. He wasn't going to agree to a new contract, so wouldn't be contracted for the main DH event, so they didn't want to send him to sub events/qualifiers when he wouldn't be attending the main event for them. It's easy to understand why they wouldn't want to send him, especially when they have other players they probably could/will send, who will still be with them when the main event happens.
I think it's good they let him go rather than treating him "badly" because he wasn't going to stay by holding him to his contract but not sending him anywhere. It's the best choice for both parties really.
i don't like it. its bad for teams to operate this way. EG was talking to Thorzain pre DreamHack Stockholm, and mouz still sent him there knowing they may might not resign him and it wasn't the main DH event. There is still a lot of value in sending a player to the upcoming DH events.
And they better let him go, they weren't going to send him to any events! Bad move from Acer to operate this way. Seems very childish.
On June 02 2012 08:34 jmbthirteen wrote: So because he wasn't going to sign the same contract, Team Acer wasn't going to send him to events that happened during the contract he was currently on? Not cool Team Acer.
It makes some sense. He wasn't going to agree to a new contract, so wouldn't be contracted for the main DH event, so they didn't want to send him to sub events/qualifiers when he wouldn't be attending the main event for them. It's easy to understand why they wouldn't want to send him, especially when they have other players they probably could/will send, who will still be with them when the main event happens.
I think it's good they let him go rather than treating him "badly" because he wasn't going to stay by holding him to his contract but not sending him anywhere. It's the best choice for both parties really.
i don't like it. its bad for teams to operate this way. EG was talking to Thorzain pre DreamHack Stockholm, and mouz still sent him there knowing they may might not resign him and it wasn't the main DH event. There is still a lot of value in sending a player to the upcoming DH events.
And they better let him go, they weren't going to send him to any events! Bad move from Acer to operate this way. Seems very childish.
Well, there are slightly different circumstances if you ask me. Thorzain was a highly rated Swede competing in a big tournament in Sweden. This includes two things: low travel expenses and big exposure for him and Mousesports. From a business standpoint it made way more sense for Mouz than it would be in Acer´s case.
Wow, nice move to support him with individual sponsors but it's a shame, he's really become more than just a PvP gosu and he still has so much potential.
On another note, I´m really wondering, if he will stay solo like White-Ra and Grubby or join another team. At least in EU I see no top team with a real need of a strong Toss at the moment, maybe Millenium and Empire to increase their depth of the roster.
On June 02 2012 08:34 jmbthirteen wrote: So because he wasn't going to sign the same contract, Team Acer wasn't going to send him to events that happened during the contract he was currently on? Not cool Team Acer.
Why does someone always try to spin this in a negative light? It makes perfect sense. Elfi didn't want to extend his contract, probably to try and find a better opportunity, and therfore, ACER is unable to pay expenses for Elfi during the mentioned tournaments as Elfi is no longer under contract during these events. ACER will probably be looking to send a player representing their team to these tournaments instead. Because of that, they negotiated a deal that satisfied both parties. Elfi can find a new team before these tournaments because ACER terminated his contract early and ACER will be able to decide his replacement.
This seems like an standard situation to me with no ill will on either sides. It's ridiculous to pretend otherwise.
Elfi has the best PvP in the world, with all the Team leagues around, it would be REALLY smart of a team to pick him up and use him as there protoss sniper.
On June 02 2012 09:00 Balgrog wrote: Elfi has the best PvP in the world, with all the Team leagues around, it would be REALLY smart of a team to pick him up and use him as there protoss sniper.
The bold: No, but he is exceptional good in this matchup.
On June 02 2012 09:02 Nomzter wrote: MouzElfi??? ElfiElfi LiquidElfi??? idk
The first one is extremely unlikely. I´m pretty sure, that the next player Mouz signs will be a Terran. They already have with Hasu and Mana two Protoss, who are at least on Elfi´s level.
Liquid is also not likely. I believe, that they would strengthen their GSTL-roster, if they want to invest, so unless Elfi plans to spend a long time in Korea, I see little chance to be recruited.
On June 02 2012 08:34 jmbthirteen wrote: So because he wasn't going to sign the same contract, Team Acer wasn't going to send him to events that happened during the contract he was currently on? Not cool Team Acer.
Why does someone always try to spin this in a negative light? It makes perfect sense. Elfi didn't want to extend his contract, probably to try and find a better opportunity, and therfore, ACER is unable to pay expenses for Elfi during the mentioned tournaments as Elfi is no longer under contract during these events. ACER will probably be looking to send a player representing their team to these tournaments instead. Because of that, they negotiated a deal that satisfied both parties. Elfi can find a new team before these tournaments because ACER terminated his contract early and ACER will be able to decide his replacement.
This seems like an standard situation to me with no ill will on either sides. It's ridiculous to pretend otherwise.
It actually is pretty strange.
They didn't want to send Elfi to the Dreamhack Opens (which happen while he would have still been under contract with Acer) because the MAIN Dreamhack Winter event happens AFTER his contract with Acer expires and would not be renewed at it's current terms.
On June 02 2012 08:34 jmbthirteen wrote: So because he wasn't going to sign the same contract, Team Acer wasn't going to send him to events that happened during the contract he was currently on? Not cool Team Acer.
Why does someone always try to spin this in a negative light? It makes perfect sense. Elfi didn't want to extend his contract, probably to try and find a better opportunity, and therfore, ACER is unable to pay expenses for Elfi during the mentioned tournaments as Elfi is no longer under contract during these events. ACER will probably be looking to send a player representing their team to these tournaments instead. Because of that, they negotiated a deal that satisfied both parties. Elfi can find a new team before these tournaments because ACER terminated his contract early and ACER will be able to decide his replacement.
This seems like an standard situation to me with no ill will on either sides. It's ridiculous to pretend otherwise.
I'm not spinning in a negative light. I'm saying what happened. What if this happened the other way. What if Elfi wanted a bigger contract and Acer didnt give it to him. So Elfi then said he wouldn't play in any tournaments for Acer while still under contract for 3 months because they didn't pay him what he wanted. He would get called a prima donna and such.
On June 02 2012 08:34 jmbthirteen wrote: So because he wasn't going to sign the same contract, Team Acer wasn't going to send him to events that happened during the contract he was currently on? Not cool Team Acer.
It makes some sense. He wasn't going to agree to a new contract, so wouldn't be contracted for the main DH event, so they didn't want to send him to sub events/qualifiers when he wouldn't be attending the main event for them. It's easy to understand why they wouldn't want to send him, especially when they have other players they probably could/will send, who will still be with them when the main event happens.
I think it's good they let him go rather than treating him "badly" because he wasn't going to stay by holding him to his contract but not sending him anywhere. It's the best choice for both parties really.
i don't like it. its bad for teams to operate this way. EG was talking to Thorzain pre DreamHack Stockholm, and mouz still sent him there knowing they may might not resign him and it wasn't the main DH event. There is still a lot of value in sending a player to the upcoming DH events.
And they better let him go, they weren't going to send him to any events! Bad move from Acer to operate this way. Seems very childish.
It's not like they retained him till the end of the contract, and wouldn't let him out. From what I understand they mutually agreed to end the contract early, so it seems fair to me.
On June 02 2012 08:34 jmbthirteen wrote: So because he wasn't going to sign the same contract, Team Acer wasn't going to send him to events that happened during the contract he was currently on? Not cool Team Acer.
Why does someone always try to spin this in a negative light? It makes perfect sense. Elfi didn't want to extend his contract, probably to try and find a better opportunity, and therfore, ACER is unable to pay expenses for Elfi during the mentioned tournaments as Elfi is no longer under contract during these events. ACER will probably be looking to send a player representing their team to these tournaments instead. Because of that, they negotiated a deal that satisfied both parties. Elfi can find a new team before these tournaments because ACER terminated his contract early and ACER will be able to decide his replacement.
This seems like an standard situation to me with no ill will on either sides. It's ridiculous to pretend otherwise.
I'm not spinning in a negative light. I'm saying what happened. What if this happened the other way. What if Elfi wanted a bigger contract and Acer didnt give it to him. So Elfi then said he wouldn't play in any tournaments for Acer while still under contract for 3 months because they didn't pay him what he wanted. He would get called a prima donna and such.
But he also isn't the one paying the bills obviously. Don't really get the need to create drama around this sending someone to a tournament who is not going to represent your team anymore doesn't really strike me as the obvious choice in that case. It may have been a nice gesture of goodwill but that's about it.
So he become the second player sponsored by Asus ROG and playing under the RoG tag (the first one being MoMan, even if he is part of Team LDLC) . At this point they could really start their own sc2 squat, with one or 2 other players.
On June 02 2012 08:34 jmbthirteen wrote: So because he wasn't going to sign the same contract, Team Acer wasn't going to send him to events that happened during the contract he was currently on? Not cool Team Acer.
It makes some sense. He wasn't going to agree to a new contract, so wouldn't be contracted for the main DH event, so they didn't want to send him to sub events/qualifiers when he wouldn't be attending the main event for them. It's easy to understand why they wouldn't want to send him, especially when they have other players they probably could/will send, who will still be with them when the main event happens.
I think it's good they let him go rather than treating him "badly" because he wasn't going to stay by holding him to his contract but not sending him anywhere. It's the best choice for both parties really.
i don't like it. its bad for teams to operate this way. EG was talking to Thorzain pre DreamHack Stockholm, and mouz still sent him there knowing they may might not resign him and it wasn't the main DH event. There is still a lot of value in sending a player to the upcoming DH events.
And they better let him go, they weren't going to send him to any events! Bad move from Acer to operate this way. Seems very childish.
Well, there are slightly different circumstances if you ask me. Thorzain was a highly rated Swede competing in a big tournament in Sweden. This includes two things: low travel expenses and big exposure for him and Mousesports. From a business standpoint it made way more sense for Mouz than it would be in Acer´s case.
How much do you think it costs to travel from Finland to Sweden and vice versa?
On a side note - accordind to liquipedia Acer now has only 5 players, including Mondragon. So we might get to see him play more, atleast in temleagues.
On June 02 2012 08:52 7mk wrote: Acer is a weird team...
Why is Acer a weird team? We did everything we could to keep Samuli, unfortunately we couldnt come down to an agreement. We were well aware about his eventuall plans, as hes a person that sets everything straight. Of course, we're not happy about Samuli departing, but we hope a bright future is awaiting for both parts. I also think that its the best solution for either Elfi, Team Acer.
Im not sure if Im allowed to say this, but we tried to negotiate with Elfi and offered him to extend his contract, thus sending him to LANs everywhere he wants, but he refused.
On a personal note, I really got along well with Samuli, from all my might I hope that his plans will work out well and he will be able to achieve what he's planned. I love you Samu, no matter what clan you are in <3 :D.
On June 02 2012 08:52 7mk wrote: Acer is a weird team...
Why is Acer a weird team? We did everything we could to keep Samuli, unfortunately we couldnt come down to an agreement. We were well aware about his eventuall plans, as hes a person that sets everything straight. Of course, we're not happy about Samuli departing, but we hope a bright future is awaiting for both parts. I also think that its the best solution for either Elfi, Team Acer.
Im not sure if Im allowed to say this, but we tried to negotiate with Elfi and offered him to extend his contract, thus sending him to LANs everywhere he wants, but he refused.
On a personal note, I really got along well with Samuli, from all my might I hope that his plans will work out well and he will be able to achieve what he's planned. I love you Samu, no matter what clan you are in <3 :D.
ParanOid has spoken. Haters gonna gate, potatoes gonna potate
Pretty sad now when steelseries is sponsoring elfi becouse i think now he has to get rid of his very old logitech keyboard that he has been using since WC3 XD But im really pleased to see elfi getting this big sponsors behind him this fast. And i also hope that sponsors agreement with rog dosent keep him away from joining to other teams
On June 02 2012 17:46 mjava wrote: Pretty sad now when steelseries is sponsoring elfi becouse i think now he has to get rid of his very old logitech keyboard that he has been using since WC3 XD But im really pleased to see elfi getting this big sponsors behind him this fast. And i also hope that sponsors agreement with rog dosent keep him away from joining to other teams
I've asked Samu the very same question earlier today, unfortunately: [08:56:07] Rafał - AcerParanOid: u gonna be using steelseries gear from now on?:D [08:56:13] Rafał - AcerParanOid: what about your old keyboard, it was awesome :D [08:57:35] Samuli"elfi" sihvonen: im already using razer keyboard but will have the chance to steelseries would want to use my old but it bugs too much because have to use adapter :/
On June 02 2012 08:52 7mk wrote: Acer is a weird team...
Why is Acer a weird team? We did everything we could to keep Samuli, unfortunately we couldnt come down to an agreement. We were well aware about his eventuall plans, as hes a person that sets everything straight. Of course, we're not happy about Samuli departing, but we hope a bright future is awaiting for both parts. I also think that its the best solution for either Elfi, Team Acer.
Im not sure if Im allowed to say this, but we tried to negotiate with Elfi and offered him to extend his contract, thus sending him to LANs everywhere he wants, but he refused.
On a personal note, I really got along well with Samuli, from all my might I hope that his plans will work out well and he will be able to achieve what he's planned. I love you Samu, no matter what clan you are in <3 :D.
On June 02 2012 09:00 Balgrog wrote: Elfi has the best PvP in the world, with all the Team leagues around, it would be REALLY smart of a team to pick him up and use him as there protoss sniper.
He 4 gates pretty well I guess, but best PvP in the world? Lol. Ok.
Hahaha, I would love to see him on a team like EG. Imagine him going to the SlayerS house and owning Alicia/Puzzle all day long and the expression on their faces when they look at the APM tab. xD
On June 02 2012 22:55 KvltMan wrote: Hahaha, I would love to see him on a team like EG. Imagine him going to the SlayerS house and owning Alicia/Puzzle all day long and the expression on their faces when they look at the APM tab. xD
I would love to see puzzle vs elfi, fastest hands vs slowest hands.
On June 02 2012 14:42 Zythus wrote: So many changes right now. Even Stephano may change his team to Evil Geniuses
Come the end of his contract this fall.....maybe.....just maybe. I can already picture EG making room in their budget to make Stephano an offer he can't refuse. If EG has the money, I see no reason for Stephano to turn down it down since he's in this for the money ultimately.
I don't mean to derail the thread. Best of luck to elfi. He's shown some pretty sick shit in the past, and hopefully he will again soon.
On June 02 2012 22:55 KvltMan wrote: Hahaha, I would love to see him on a team like EG. Imagine him going to the SlayerS house and owning Alicia/Puzzle all day long and the expression on their faces when they look at the APM tab. xD
That "look" would come from the fact that the Blizzard APM tab actually says that elfi is playing faster than Puzzle.
I didnt even know he was on Acer. I thought they had some all-zerg lineup. Well anyways good luck to Elfi and his future in SC2. Talents like him need a strong team and need to play in good tournaments. So thumbs-up to asus-rog for helping keeping him fed :-p
Well this won't last that long I predict. It is hard to show good results with the amount of good players there is now. And I assume they want to see some good results of him. I hope he succeed.
On June 02 2012 08:52 7mk wrote: Acer is a weird team...
Why is Acer a weird team? We did everything we could to keep Samuli, unfortunately we couldnt come down to an agreement. We were well aware about his eventuall plans, as hes a person that sets everything straight. Of course, we're not happy about Samuli departing, but we hope a bright future is awaiting for both parts. I also think that its the best solution for either Elfi, Team Acer.
Im not sure if Im allowed to say this, but we tried to negotiate with Elfi and offered him to extend his contract, thus sending him to LANs everywhere he wants, but he refused.
On a personal note, I really got along well with Samuli, from all my might I hope that his plans will work out well and he will be able to achieve what he's planned. I love you Samu, no matter what clan you are in <3 :D.
Good Luck to Elfi, We tried to get him to stay at Acer, but different views and things that are not meant to be in the light.
On June 04 2012 08:54 Nuclease wrote: Ah, the many mysteries of Acer.
Really don't like that team anyways, I can't stand the "er." Why not just Ace?
I'm aware it's too close to Airforce ACE, but if you're gonna have the name Acer, Ace, or a different name completely, I choose the last option.
Or maybe it is Acer because the company that does computer stuff is named Acer ? Has nothing to do with Airforce ACE. Well maybe Acer should name their company as something else, because you don't like it?
How interesting to see this happen after I just finished watching 2GD on JP's show Real Talk, 2GD talks quite a lot about how personal sponsorships might be the way of the future for esports and that teams may not be the best thing for pro gamers. In truth the concept of teams in an individual sport is kind of strange.
On June 04 2012 16:41 OPL3SA2 wrote: Acer and Asus is the same company, both subsidaires of ABIT international. This is like leaving team Coca Cola to join team Sprite
On June 04 2012 16:41 OPL3SA2 wrote: Acer and Asus is the same company, both subsidaires of ABIT international. This is like leaving team Coca Cola to join team Sprite
yep. funny most dont realize that.
I do not know if the original post is trolling or not but that is not correct. ASUS (or Pegasus as it were called at that point) were founded in 1989 by four engineers that left Acer to found a new company. ASUS have never been related with Acer or ABIT.
EPT![[image loading]](http://sett.fi/sites/default/files/uutiskuvat/elfi_banner.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://sett.fi/asus/teamliquid_elfi.jpg)
). Likewise, during my WarCraft 3 times I got the most motivation when I was the star of my team Hoorai, so at least I appreciate the feeling it brings. Coming back to the current situation, I believe that this is an excellent opportunity for me to develop. Even though the demands of the sponsors are now dedicated directly to me instead of an organization, it makes setting and following your goals much easier.
