Team Alien Invasion announces team house

On November 24 2012 02:59 Torte de Lini wrote:
Who will be using the team-house?
What facilities does it offer?
Who is sponsoring or supporting the team house?
What schedule or regiment will you set to keep the team-house as it is intended?
Why Duisberg, Germany?

etc etc

On November 24 2012 03:04 myRZeth wrote:



use their link to their website

On November 24 2012 03:12 nGBeast wrote:


this. dont need it spoon fed too everyone

On November 24 2012 03:13 rems wrote:
To be honest, this looks like an appartment in which a few gamers happen to live. Not a teamhouse.

The article names only 2 Alien Invasion players actually living there, there are open spots for 300 euro's a month (heat, electricity, internet and heating inclusive).
Players have to take care of themselves.

What makes this a teamhouse rather than 2 teammates living together and still looking for housemates?
Its more like the ministry of win house, minus the being taken care of and a lower price.

On November 24 2012 03:54 Torte de Lini wrote:


Should be more of an excerpt on the topic to be honest. Just feels so plain when this is a big step for them ._.

During the last few weeks Alien Invasion secretly built the dream every team has at one point: an own team house. Everyone heard the stories about the Koreans being so good because of the infrastructure they created since Brood War. We’ve asked Heiner “AiTotoro” Knüppel, team owner of Alien Invasion, what his vision is for the brand new Alien Invasion team house.

Team Alien Invasion: Hey Heiner, alright how big is the new Ai team house?
Heiner “AiTotoro” Knüppel: All in all the whole apartment measures around 110 square metres spread over 6 different rooms. A sleeping room, living room, guestroom, kitchen, bathroom and last but not least the practice room.

Is the apartment already finished for daily use ?
Generally speaking, yes. Some parts are still missing here and there. If you want to help us and have spare furniture, we would be happy when you message us. At the moment we desperately search for a dishwasher.

Who will be living there ?
Oh “AiReal” Jin Shil and Fabian “AiHanfy” Kattner will be definitely living there. Patrick “AiTarra” Dann will visit the house during his semester break for one or two months.

Other pro-gamers are also welcome to live in the apartment, right? How much will the rent be?
Of course. The apartment is open for every pro-gamer. Alien Invasion member or not the monthly rent will be 300 €. Water, electricity, internet and heating included.

How do the players in the team house finance their living?
Salary, tournament prize money, stream revenue and some pocket money

Is this the offensive of Alien Invasion? The challenge against all the teams at the peak?
For us there are no “teams at the peak”. I would say three different kinds of teams exist: The ones with a lot of money like Evil Geniuses or Millenium, then those with a bit of money, like ourselves Alien Invasion, and at last the teams which have to survive without any money. Nowadays the money is a big factor for success, because whoever has the money also has the power to spend it on the best players. But we will just pursue our own way.The team house is the chance for our players and possible others to get the best environment to play full time and aim for perfection and success.

The last team house in Germany just vanished from the landscape at one point. What will you do differently ?
The Type II team house was created for profit, to give the founder a financial advantage. Regarding our house there is no such thing and it’s financially secure. No player will be forced to give us his stream revenue or prize money. We created the team house for the players not to be better off. Potential money from sponsors of the team house will be used directly to improve the apartment.

Fascinating question: Why Duisburg?
Better question: Why not ? Any downsides? I’m just kidding. Duisburg looks kinda strange as a place for a team house at first. But like many things in life, it turned out like this in the end. Our Korean hope AiReal wanted to live in Nordrhein-Westfalen again, because he knows a lot of friends from his past there and as luck would have it a relatively cheap apartment was available in Duisburg and Real’s wish to live in Düsseldorf or Krefeld was just to expensive. Real’s new neighboor is also Korean, perfectly fitting for a Starcraft team house, which is a big plus for Real and the whole team because in difficult cases he can help communicating between German and Korean. Furthermore the next transport connection, Duisburg central station, is only five minutes away by foot so Real has an easy access for travelling.

The Ministry-of-Win house is mostly known for the bad meals during the last few months: Will you only provide wholefood products for the house ?

No, the players can decide what they want to eat at the house as long as they cook for themselves. The team house is no hotel, the residents are mature and know how to take care of themselves. The players live healthier than you would think at first and also visit the gym multiple times a week. They find everything in a near distance from the apartment like a grocery store or a bakery. The idea to provide meals for everyone in a team hose with 300 € is needless, because every player has a different taste and nobody would be happy in the end. Last weekend we sat together in the apartment and ate very well for a reasonable price. I think the residents will continue this routine in the future. And whoever loses in Rock-Paper-Scissor has to do the washing up which happened to be Real the last few times.

On November 24 2012 03:13 rems wrote:
To be honest, this looks like an appartment in which a few gamers happen to live. Not a teamhouse.

The article names only 2 Alien Invasion players actually living there, there are open spots for 300 euro's a month (heat, electricity, internet and heating inclusive).
Players have to take care of themselves.

What makes this a teamhouse rather than 2 teammates living together and still looking for housemates?
Its more like the ministry of win house, minus the being taken care of and a lower price.

Personal statement by Alien Invasion owner Heiner Knüppel:

Project Mothership or: Let's make a shared apartment for real progamers. And not those 'wash my clothes and cook for me or I can't play' types but actual young adults, who lead independent lives, who have goals and want to achieve something in the world of eSports.

Players who make their own food, wash their own clothes and clean up after themselves.

Many other team bosses said to me that this is impossible, that you must offer "Full Service", so that a good training atmosphere develops.

As far as I know, there are very few such team houses in Europe for StarCraft II. There are reasons for this, of course: too high cost, too much of a risk, etc.

There is the big team house for Millennium in France, where up to 40 people live. There is the small NrS house in Bucharest. Then there is the well-known MoW house, that you hear a lot about, a lot of disturbing things to be honest.
And now we have the new AI house - well you can hardly call it a house, it is an apartment with 4 rooms and a small kitchen.

So is our team house better than the others? In many respects no. We can not offer the players 3 warm meals a day, we are not in proximity to the Mediterranean sea and we can not compare with the super cheap environments like Romania.

So then, what can the new Ai house provide? Or better asked, what makes a pro house?
We believe that it needs the following:
A place to sleep
A place to train
Good Internet and everything that is needed for the players to cater for themselves
This we offer to the players.

There is a bedroom for up to 5-6 players to sleep, a training room with space for 8 PCs, a guest room and Internet connection, good enough that games can be streamed and played. There is also a lounge area with sofas, which are old but all the more comfortable, as well as a full HD video projector for shared viewing of TV series, events and such.

We provide everything a modern pro needs to exercise his profession.

The apartment is not huge, but comfortable (110 sqm). We have a South Korean landlord who actually surprised us with pretty damn good food that he brought several times. And he has lovely son, who also lives in the house and helps us a lot as well. In less than 5 minutes walk there are supermarkets, gas stations and pharmacies. And just as close is probably the biggest plus, the Duisburg central station. In a very short time one can reach Cologne, Krefeld and Düsseldorf. A pro gaming location in the middle of Europe's largest metropolitan area with a population of over 30,000,000. One wants for nothing.

People might wonder, why would we engage in such a idiotic adventure?

First, I want to make very clear, we do not do this project for any financial gain. If good PR comes out of this, that is of course nice for the team and our reputation. But to earn money with it, is simply not realistic and not our goal at all.

We simply want to offer the players what they need, and we do that I believe.

The idea of opening a pro gaming shared apartment had lingered in my head for quite some time now. And 2 months ago when we got our new Korean player ReaL under contract, we took this opportunity and started this project.
We needed an accommodation for Real anyway. But neither have him live alone in a small apartment somewhere nor get him into one of those expensive other houses seemed like good solution, so we decided to open a house of our own.

For now ReaL lives there and soon the current EPS champion Hanfy will move in.
So there is still space for three or four more players. ( To apply for a free spot write to: totoro@alien-invasion.eu)

Condition is, of course, that the applicant is at the skill level of the inhabitants (or higher) and that he only plays StarCraft II. To be able to play in mid-masters you really don't need a pro gaming apartment. But if you are looking for a small gaming house where you can fully concentrate on SC2 you are welcome to apply.

We will probably organize some community events later, where people can stay for a weekend in the house or some meet-and-greet in one of the many Korean restaurants here or some raffles in cooperation with sponsors.
We are going to set up a live stream camera in November, so you can watch them.

There is still much to be done at the moment, the photos are only meant as a first impression.

How is the project funded?

At the moment, like everything else in AI, the project is still privately financed. Sponsors and partners.
We are currently in negotiations with several companies which are close to the eSports world.

Can the community help?

Of course we are very thankful, whenever someone from the community is willing to support us, either through donations or items that are missing in the flat.

You can imagine that the move-in has devoured some financial resources. Currently we are desperately looking for a used dishwasher so that the player don't have to wash everything by hand. So if you can help us out, please write to: totoro@alien-invasion.eu

Thank you,
Heiner „AiTotoro“ Knüppel

On November 24 2012 12:34 JackReacher wrote:
Umm you don't charge people to rent out a progaming house. What is with all of these people thinking they can have a few random unknowns move into an apartment then call it a "progaming house" and put a price tag on it? You pay players and give them accommodation if you're running a real game house in return for promotion, results, etc. If you can't make money doing this, you aren't a gaming team. It's insulting to ask people for money to move into some house you are renting out so they can think they are a "pro gamer".

On November 24 2012 03:04 myRZeth wrote:



use their link to their website

On November 24 2012 11:53 BathTubNZ wrote:


Heh yeh I was reading and thinking 'Oh so it's just like my old student flat'.

On November 26 2012 16:37 TypeLex wrote:
I quite like the fact that "Type Gaming house was for profit" when we gave it for free to the players in order to increase promotion and proximity to ESL/TakeTV.
On the other hand, Ai charges their players for rent? So it's like sharing a flat.

On November 27 2012 02:40 SpikeStarcraft wrote:
Its a very down to earth approach.
They signed Real, he wants to live in Germany but doesnt have an apartement. So instead of getting a flat on his own he shares a place to sleep and work with his teammate and possibly others.

Calling it a team house might be an exaggeration. Atn Cloud and XMG Monchi live together in a flat too and work at the TakeTV flat (homestory cup flat). I would just call it a progaming flat share.

On November 24 2012 02:52 tbeen wrote:Koreans are still the best during the last few weeks of Starcraft 2 and will probably continue with their lead.

On November 27 2012 04:35 emc wrote:


the hell does this mean? is Korea dropping SC2 in a couple weeks? this is worded very strangely.

On November 24 2012 12:34 JackReacher wrote:
Umm you don't charge people to rent out a progaming house. What is with all of these people thinking they can have a few random unknowns move into an apartment then call it a "progaming house" and put a price tag on it? You pay players and give them accommodation if you're running a real game house in return for promotion, results, etc. If you can't make money doing this, you aren't a gaming team. It's insulting to ask people for money to move into some house you are renting out so they can think they are a "pro gamer".

On November 27 2012 04:24 AiTotoro wrote:



Well, ofc its not a 300q²m House like others own. But with 110q²m its way to big for just 2 People, we decided to take a big apartment that provide the possibility for up to 6 Players to live and train there.

And yes its not a house like a REAL House, but neither are most of the Koreans and noone calls them "ProApartment".
So we just use the common word for it ♥