Slayers to disband - Page 79

HEre ya go: LG-IM Coach Hirai explains his side of the Ganzi/SlayerS ordeal. It's not really too important in the big picture of what Jessica is saying, but it's somewhat relevant since she brings it up as the beginning of poor S2con/eSF vs SlayerS relations.

http://www.inven.co.kr/webzine/news/?news=48786

Before I start, I would like to say I apologize for worrying everyone with the bad news. Also, I admit that the team environment on IM was not good right after the team was founded.

Because I was running an amateur StarCraft 1 house before I founded the StarCraft 2 team, about half of the players at the house were still playing StarCraft 1 at first. Also, there were some members who were paying a fee to stay in the house [Note: Common amateur SC1/SC2 house practice. At present, a team cannot receive a membership fee from its players if they wish to be recognized as a pro-team by eSF or GomTV]. However, I could not just kick out all the SC1 players because I started running a SC2 team.

Thus, I gave the amateur SC1 players a certain amount of time so that they could either join a pro-team or move to another house. So during this period, it's true that every day life and the practice environment weren't that good. Also, it was a period where funds were lacking, and the team was being run in a very difficult situation. Some of the players even came to me and offered 50,000 won, 100,000 won ($45~90) for the food budget. I want it to be clear that this was the situation.

In October of 2010, not long after the team was formed, I saw Mvp and Ganzi talking. Ganzi had only played SC2 for about one or two days. There was one seat left in the house, and the SC1 amateurs were starting to leave one by one, and there was one player I wanted to accept once I could handle an extra player. Around that time, he was one of the top level players in the business. However, I trusted Ganzi and gave him that spot. And I informed him beforehand that the team house situation wasn't very good. Ganzi told me that all he needed was a place to play, and he joined the team.

Though Ganzi had only started SC2, I knew that Ganzi had been a diligent player since he was a SC1 amateur, and I believed that he would do well alongside Mvp with time. And it was so, as he gained a lot of skill and took #1 on the ladder in 2.5~3 months.

Because he had improved so much, I wanted to give him a chance in tournaments, so I sent him out in the Danawa tournament as my 'coaches pick' player. The problem was that the night of the tournament, Ganzi suddenly said he wanted to go to SlayerS. I asked him if it was confirmed, and he said he had been informed that it was cleared.

Honestly, from my standpoint, I was very hurt. So I called then SlayerS coach Seong Sang Hoon immediately to see what was going on, and got a reply that they had never agreed to take in Ganzi. I told him that there must have been a misunderstanding, apologized, and ended the call. The next morning, Ganzi packed his things and left the house in the morning.

As he left, Ganzi didn't apologize or leave a word of thanks. The only thing he did after leaving was to contact SlayerS and said that he had left the team. And then the sent me a text. I thought maybe it would be a word of thanks or apology, but instead it was to tell me that because I had called SlayerS to check, he hadn't been able to join, and that he wanted me to clear things up.

I hadn't signed a contract with Ganzi, and it was his decision to go to a team with an environment where he thought he could play well. So it might seem a funny that I'm criticizing his decision, but I think he didn't keep proper etiquette. I had taken on a player who had only played StarCraft for a few days, and I had done things to help him, and that hurt me more. What kind of coach would have taken in a player who had only played for 2~3 days?

I think this misunderstanding became deeper because it became seen as Ganzi moving to SlayerS through shady methods. Also, while Ganzi was at the house, his complaints about the poor environment caused one or two players that I was prepared to accept to go to other teams. This I've confirmed directly from those players. Even if he doesn't bash the team directly, saying things about the team environment or negative things about the team off record, I think is an insult to the team. I don't think it was right to do those things.

Because of this, I brought up Ganzi's behavior at an S2con meeting to the other coaches. At that meeting, Mr. Lee Jun Ho (?), Mr. Won (Startale), Mr. Choi (MVP), Mr. Yoon (ZeNEX), Mr. Park (PRIME), Mr. Kim (fOu, not Choya), and Mr. Lee (TSL) were present. Also, SlayerS coach Mr. Seong was there as well.

I absolutely did not request a suspension for Ganzi there, and I never have asked for one. All I wanted to do was talk to the other teams, and make sure something like that didn't happen again. The main agenda of the day was to make rules regarding transfers, and 'protection of players between coaches.' (??). At that meeting, I told coach Seong that there would be no problem with SlayerS taking Ganzi.

But there was another hurtful event to come. Not long after, Ms. Kim Ga Yeon requested a three way talk regarding the Ganzi case, with all the team coaches and Ganzi present.

According to SlayerS and Ganzi, I had 18 SC1 players in the house, and had received 500,000 won a piece from each of them. Also, they claimed that no one practiced and just goofed off, that the environment was bad, and that I was not qualified to be a head coach.

Additionally, Ganzi was disappointed in me, and had to move to an environment where he could practice properly. That day, I first learned that Ganzi had those kind of feelings. I asked him then, why he hadn't told me those things earlier.

At that meeting, I said that I never made money running a SC1 house. I offered free spots to players who came from poor families, and there were a lot more times when I wasn't able to collect money from the other players. At that time I had 12, not 18 SC1 players in the house, and I hadn't received that much money from them. Of the players who were in bad financial situations I didn't receive any money from, while I received about 400,000 a piece from 6~7 players. Also, I received smaller sums from some of the other players.


I gave the SC1 players time to leave the house, whether it was to return to studies, find a new team house, or join a pro team. If you ask those players now, they will all confirm it as well. Some of them I even called recently to make sure that was the situation at the time. After that period, there were a few players who were at the house, paying house fees.


I acknowledge that as mentioned before, because we shared the space with SC1 players, the environment wasn't the best overall, and general mood wasn't that good. And I admit that I received fees from the players. All those things contributed to a poor environment. But if he really couldn't stand staying in such an environment, I want to ask why that never reached my ears.

Also, I checked Ms. Kim's prepared chatlogs about Ganzi saying negative things about the house, and it was all things that could be easily misunderstood. I personally think that telling a player planning to come to our house to choose carefully, telling him about the environment directly led to him choosing a different team. On this part, even Boxer (who was at the meeting) said it was something that could be misunderstood. All of this was witnessed by the coahes there.

I clearly admitted the things that I should have, and did not object at all to Ganzi going to SlayerS. That was the conclusion of the day. I never asked for a suspension for Ganzi, and I don't believe I have any reason to be sorry to Ganzi even now. Nor do I have any reason to be sorry to SlayerS, who acquired a teamlessGnaiz. This is simply a problem between Ganzi and myself.

Also, it's a misunderstanding that this was start of s2con coaches grouping together to criticize or hate SlayerS, and relations continued afterward. I just hoped that something similar to the Ganzi case wouldn't happen to other teams.

To the end, there's no apology or thanks for Ganzi. Maybe this all happened because no one wanted to speak frankly. Hearing Ganzi say that I was not qualified to be a coach and that the team environment was a mess gave me the motivation to make things better, and it was a turning point for me.

Honestly, I don't know who was the 'victim.' I was hurt at that meeting in front of everyone, and I even considered quitting this business. I'm thankful to my players who stayed on through those bad conditions until now, and I will work even harder for them. I want to do more for my players in the future.

That is all I have to say about Coach Kim's allegations about Ganzi, IM, and SlayerS.