On January 04 2013 02:58 NOOBALOPSE wrote:
Not surprised...
IM is the only Korean team that is really doing well right now, and funnily enough they don't even have a website (afaik).

What about StarTale? I figure Redbull being their lead sponsor probably keeps them in decent shape financially, but who knows the details behind things and who gets a salary or whatnot. Ignoring Parting departing for the time being of course (could be a number of factors though, but most would assume it's possibly a salary as well as travel costs).

Nuclease

United States1049 Posts

January 03 2013 18:07 GMT

#484

Just your friendly neighborhood reminder to CHILL THE FUCK OUT. All of these players are still playing as far as we know, and they will continue to fuel eSPORTS. No need to flip out about the death of SC2, just like people do at every other news article.

Stay classy, and stay calm.

Ichabod

United States1659 Posts

January 03 2013 18:10 GMT

#485

On January 04 2013 02:58 NOOBALOPSE wrote:
Not surprised...
IM is the only Korean team that is really doing well right now, and funnily enough they don't even have a website (afaik).

TLPD lists http://www.imteam.co.kr as their website, but it seems to be under construction.
They've been linking their facebook page in the threads they post on TL, I guess they use that for foreign fans.

IM certainly has been making more of an effort than most of the korean teams and hopefully more will follow in their footsteps (landing a huge company like LG certainly helped, but getting to that point definitely wasn't easy).

farvacola

United States18869 Posts

January 03 2013 18:11 GMT

#486

Boom and bust, up and down. Ain't no reason to decry the falling sky. A sad loss nonetheless.

SolarJto

United States260 Posts

January 03 2013 18:12 GMT

#487

Dang! This is sad

.Wraath

United States262 Posts

January 03 2013 18:15 GMT

#488

Would of never guessed that TSL would disband before NSH. Sad news is sad.

babylon

8765 Posts

January 03 2013 18:16 GMT

#489

I'm shocked about the salary news. I thought TSL was one of the "well-off" teams (relatively).

Well, good luck to the players.

PhoenixVoid

Canada32755 Posts

January 03 2013 18:19 GMT

#490

I can't imagine how painful disbanding TSL must have been for Coach Lee. TSL was his brainchild, and he put all his money and time into the project. He even refused to change the name when Millenium wanted to create a partnership because of how important the name was to the team. I guarantee this was not a decision done easily, or without some tears. I doubt HyuN and Symbol will find it difficult to find a premier team, but the lesser known players like Center, Shine and RagnaroK is what worries me. They have potential and skill, but losing a top team like TSL is a huge blow to their practice, and their lack of results might lead some to think they won't have much point in a team. Hopefully they find a team at least.

Novalisk

Israel1818 Posts

January 03 2013 18:19 GMT

#491

Things are REALLY tough for ESF teams right now. Interest in WoL is at an all-time low due to HOTS, and interest in ESF teams is dwindling due to Proleague.

renaissanceMAN

United States1840 Posts

January 03 2013 18:23 GMT

#492

so sad, I always loved TSL, I hope they'll all be able to find a new home.

LeeDawg

United States1306 Posts

January 03 2013 18:23 GMT

#493

the sky.

it is falling.

Scoggerbot

United States21 Posts

January 03 2013 18:24 GMT

#494

I wonder if these guys will look to find another team in Korea or seek out a foreign team... is there any appeal for Korean SC2-ers to play for a foreign team?

Plansix

United States60190 Posts

January 03 2013 18:24 GMT

#495

It’s not really shocking at all for me. I remember when Coach Lee freaked out when Puma was snapped up by EG and floated the idea of rules to prevent future Korean players from leaving. I am sure he is a great guy who loves the game, but it is clear they cannot adapt to the modern Esports or not being on TV. Having one winning player will not get sponsors when other teams offer more exposure just through streaming.

People need to stop with the who “SC2 is dying.” Poorly run teams are failing, because unlike SunDance, they don’t get it.

jmbthirteen

United States10734 Posts

January 03 2013 18:42 GMT

#496

On January 04 2013 03:23 LeeDawg wrote:
the sky.

it is falling.

nah not really. the esf teams in general have some pretty terrible business practices. i mean they went up through 2012 without paying their players even with Kespa teams now in the scene, TSL will not be the last ESF team to fold. TSL was holding out hoping for a sponsor to come in, but now TSL didn't look good at all with the Kespa teams as competition.

natural selection.

Imbu

United States903 Posts

January 03 2013 18:48 GMT

#497

I've always wondered how the ESF teams consistently seem to do such a poor job of finding sponsors. They have some of the best talent in the industry, and yet the never seem to be able to transform that into sponsorships. How could a team like that not be able to give any of their players a salary

.

I hope that the other ESF teams will be able to adjust quickly, since it would suck to see them all fall apart.

Swords

6038 Posts

January 03 2013 18:50 GMT

#498

As much as it pains me to say this, I sort of see MVP and Prime going the same way, and I imagine Startale and IM might end up in Proleague or something to that effect after the year long trade ban ends. ESF teams just don't have that much money (aside from ST and IM). Prime has already basically been fundraising on Reddit and TL with their streaming.

That being said I don't know a ton about these teams sponsors or financial situations. Things just look kind of grim for the ESF. Hopefully Azubu joins and FXO/MVP/Prime can stick around. That probably will keep things going.

Jaaaaasper

United States10225 Posts

January 03 2013 18:51 GMT

#499

well crap. With the team disbanded, can the players go to kespa teams?

SupLilSon

Malaysia4123 Posts

January 03 2013 18:53 GMT

#500

It's really sad to see teams go like this but people can't be expected to continue supporting SC2 purely for the sake of Esports. Interest in SC2 surely peaked and stagnated long ago and HOTS is not doing much to revitalize it. People are expecting HOTS to be a huge game changer for SC2 but it's simply not going to be. Blizzard will be lucky as hell to sell more HOTS copies than WoL with the way things are shaping up and the scene simply hasn't been growing in a looooooooong time.