AZUBU’s StarCraft 2 division is set to expand its lineup yet again for its participation in 2013 GSTL Season 1.
Officially established on January 9th, AZUBU SC2 began its first official match endeavor with Jung ‘Genius’ Min Soo’s GSL up-and-down matches, and will participate in upcoming GSTL with its current 8 members; ex-oGs players TOP, InCa, and VINES, ex-NSHS player San, ex-CheckSix player Sleep, ex-SlayerS players Eve and Genius, and lastly AZUBU’s first player viOLet. Player manager Lee ‘NaDa’ Yoon Yeol and coach Byun ‘Berserker’ Hyung Tae will join forces with head manager Lim as well.
Manager Lim, however, hinted during a short interview with Korean e-sports media outlet ThisIsGame.com that the team is looking to acquire at least two additional players to compete in the GSTL with a more fluid roster. Citing that the current roster is not sufficient for team leagues, manager Lim stated that he will interview potential players by next week and announce new players by the beginning of February.
He also said he is still actively looking for a training house for the team. “Not many good places are available as of this moment due to harsh weather. We have a few places in mind, but we will decide the location after searching for a few more in order to find the best place for our players.”
He also explained the reason for AZUBU to participate in GSTL rather than SPL, saying, “Since AZUBU is a global company, there are more opportunities to attend various foreign tournaments. We chose GSTL based on more flexibility and time gaps than Proleague.”
Included in the original announcement of the formation of the full Azubu SC2 team was that there would be one additional player joining, not specifying if this player would be a part of their GSTL squad. (Source) This led to many fans speculating that former TSL player Polt may be joining the team. This new announcement clarifies that it will be not one but two players, and that they will both be recruited with the intention to play in GSTL for Azubu.
My personal opinion is that one of them is probably Hyun or Symbol, the timing of this lines up well with TSL's disbandment.
On January 10 2013 14:56 Lunareste wrote: Didn't Slasher already report on this? Heart joining AZUBU, and MMA joining them in GSTL?
Axiom is not Azubu, Axiom is sponored by Totalbiscuit and Husky, and managed by Genna Bain. Azubu sponsors two big League of Legends teams ( Azubu Blaze & Frost ) and also sponsors the CSL, as well as some other things. This is a brand new team.
Let's face it: having your former teammate/practice partner as the coach really helps.
It's not a bad thing considering VINES, SuperNova, STC and even TOP are all known to be great players (VINESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS) and practice bitches, but all having trouble getting past the Code A / Code S barrier and the runner up curse.
It'll be cool to see how their lineup operates, as oGs had a huge problem not being able to field any decent Zerg players.
On January 10 2013 15:28 NoGasfOu wrote: If Axiom joins it would be 9, one more team would be a perfect 10.
Last season had: FXO, Prime, Startale, MVP, NSH, LG-IM, Fnatic, TSL, and Slayers. TSL and Slayers disbanded and Fnatic has like 3 players left in Korea (J, Oz, and aLive). Add in AZUBU and Axiom and that still only gives you 7 complete teams, or 8 if Fnatic reloads their roster
On January 10 2013 15:28 NoGasfOu wrote: If Axiom joins it would be 9, one more team would be a perfect 10.
LG-IM-, Startale, MVP, FXO, Prime, Hoseo, Azubu, Axiom would be 8.
I don't think Fnatic is going to join again, isn't their roster too small now?
Fnatic would need to sign at least 2 more players in Korea or have 2 of their 3 international players move to Korea in order to meet the 5 player minimum. Their Korean roster currently consists of aLive, Oz, and J.
On January 10 2013 15:40 a9arnn wrote: Oh man I wanna see Iris play
Pretty sure he's the coach so I doubt we'll be seeing him play.
They only have 2 Zergs and 1 Terran. Polt and Hyun/Symbol would be amazing additions. They could also turn to Supernova, TheSTC or ForGG . I don't see PartinG joining them, since they got so many Protoss.
A partnership with Fnatic would be awesome as well
I dont think it will be both HyuN and Symbol since they already announced they were picking up 1 more player before TSL disbanded. I suppose it's possible that they had insider information and were prepared but I think it was they had 1 player in mind and then after TSL ended they decided to get one of their players.
On January 10 2013 16:06 Iodem wrote: Isn't Polt going to America for school though? Why would he join AZUBU for GSTL if he's not going to be in Korea?
Expecting either 2 TSL zergs, or 1 TSL zerg and supernova or parting.
Yes, he's going to America, and dropping out of GSL. The reason people thought he was joining before is because they didn't say the one more player they were recruiting was going to play in GSTL, so Polt could join and represent them at international ( NA ) competitions. Now that they have clarified the two new players will play in GSTL It's highly unlikely that Polt will be joining.
Speaking of which, this years GSTL (if all pans out well) seems to be looking like it'll have these 8 teams.
LG-IM PRIME Startale FXO MVP NSHoseo Axiom Azubu
Hope they do a solid year long team league. Or at least half a year and really expand the prize pool for the team leagues. It's hard to not feel that some teams are on the brink of disbandment given their financial situations and their talent leaving and putting more emphasis on team leagues will help these teams at least stay afloat for one more year.
On January 10 2013 15:28 NoGasfOu wrote: If Axiom joins it would be 9, one more team would be a perfect 10.
LG-IM, Startale, MVP, FXO, Prime, Hoseo, Azubu, Axiom would be 8.
I don't think Fnatic is going to join again, isn't their roster too small now?
Its silent around fnatic, but they ve announced new players last year, so still waiting for the bomb to explode. I guess and hope they sign the three TSL Aces...
All due respect to Azubu/Axiom but I hope that GOM chooses the teams carefully so that there wont be such case like players playing for pride cuz the team disbands midway.
Well i kinda think it s strange that no one noticed that EG is capable to play in GSTL due to their increase in roster:Revival, Puma, JYP, Huk, Thorzain, JD, Stephano, maybe Idra. Ofc, some players might leave Korea when GSTL will start but as long as they have 5 players it s pretty much ok. Although i would like to see EG-TL in GSTL too would be cool for sure!
I wonder if its just going to be two more old OGS players (Supernova/TheSTC) or will the pick up some good zergs (Hyun/Symbol) I would guess 1 of each.
On January 10 2013 17:43 TRpredator wrote: Well i kinda think it s strange that no one noticed that EG is capable to play in GSTL due to their increase in roster:Revival, Puma, JYP, Huk, Thorzain, JD, Stephano, maybe Idra. Ofc, some players might leave Korea when GSTL will start but as long as they have 5 players it s pretty much ok. Although i would like to see EG-TL in GSTL too would be cool for sure!
Seeing EG-TL in GSTL aswell as PL would be amazing, they have got some much depth between them :D
Any chance we can get an Azubu Icon for favorite team soon™? Love them in LoL and with NaDa, IntoTheRain, Genius, some old oGs guys, Eve, viOlet and fucking Iris, I think they'd also become my favorite SC2 team :p
On January 10 2013 17:46 scCassius wrote: How can Azubu afford this?
They have two top league of legends teams, which is basically the next Broodwar in Korea. So they're rich from that. And I believe Azubu is a fairly large company itself.
I love Inca, Sage and Genius, I hope they'll recruit TheStC and Supernova to boost their terran side, and maybe Yugioh as a good new zerg. if so, I'd have to change my favorite team from MVP to Azubu...
Azubu vs Axiom in a heated free agency battle. Axiom has the slightly better team on paper but only time will tell. Really hoping that both of these two teams don't get ahead of themselves and run into financial trouble.
This is such a sick team IMO. Not a single player I don't like on this team. If they get Parting and Hyun, I will self implode. Edit: I also think adding Supernova would be a good idea. Any chance of an Azubu logo to put on our pages soon? Haha.
We soon will need an Azubu team icon here on TL! So long as they get the start everyone is anticipating, they will be my new favorite team since TSL disbanded.
I hope that they acquire HyuN, SymboL and Center! They said 2 or more, but if it's only 2 then I hope for HyuN and Center.
No offence. foreign players might not be as good as koreans, but team management wise i feel that foreign teams do it a lot more professional and better efficiency.
On January 18 2013 17:46 gengka wrote: No offence. foreign players might not be as good as koreans, but team management wise i feel that foreign teams do it a lot more professional and better efficiency.
Can't fucking wait for the new GSTL
You have to distinguish between kespa teams and esf teams
Kespa teams are basically a department of each company behind the team. They have much better funding and players are employees with salaries. Esf teams are amateur organizations that are thus not properly organized
Does anybody else believe these signings are pretty bad? Hm I don't know with all the free agents out in the korean market they picked up a bunch of ex-oGs players, and it seems like they are past there primes. If i was Azubu i wouldve picked up
Genius Symbol Hyun San SuperNoVa Top Eve
Those would be the main players i would pick up if i was azubu that is for sure.
On January 18 2013 21:25 naux wrote: Does anybody else believe these signings are pretty bad? Hm I don't know with all the free agents out in the korean market they picked up a bunch of ex-oGs players, and it seems like they are past there primes. If i was Azubu i wouldve picked up
Genius Symbol Hyun San SuperNoVa Top Eve
Those would be the main players i would pick up if i was azubu that is for sure.
You would seriously rate TOP and Eve over San and VINES? It's a good thing you actually weren't Azubu in this circumstance then. TOP hasn't been relevant in forever, while Eve hasn't been relevant AT ALL, EVER, AT ANY POINT IN TIME. On the other hand, San has shown somewhat of a resurgence in 2012, winning some weekly online tournaments in korea, qualifying for an MLG (or was it an Arena?), barely missing out on the qualification for IPL 5 (but beat some really good dudes in it) and made it to Ro16 of the OSL. Hey, it's not much, but it's something. VINES almost all-killed SlayerS early on in 2012 before dropping off. Again, it's not much, but at least they DID SOMETHING last year, is what I'm trying to get at.
That isn't to say I don't agree with Azubu's choice of getting TOP and Eve on their roster, I'm just pointing out the humongous flaw in your logic whereby you claim the signings are bad and then arbitrarily pick VINES and San as the weakest links while keeping TOP and Eve on your hypothetical "what I would do" roster. Seems absurd to me.
At any rate, I think Azubu are still testing the waters with regards to SC2. Surely they wouldn't want to hire a beefy roster of HyuN, Symbol, SuperNoVa only to find out a few months later that their investment has amounted to nothing, or close to nothing. It's a cautious move and honestly I think it's creating an interesting dynamic. On the one hand we're hyped to see where HyuN, Symbol and SuNo go and on the other hand it creates this curiosity of "hmm these old oGs players are still worth something? I guess I got to watch their matches now, maybe they've been secretly good all this time!"
Interesting times ahead of us, that's for sure. ^^
On January 18 2013 21:25 naux wrote: Does anybody else believe these signings are pretty bad? Hm I don't know with all the free agents out in the korean market they picked up a bunch of ex-oGs players, and it seems like they are past there primes. If i was Azubu i wouldve picked up
Genius Symbol Hyun San SuperNoVa Top Eve
Those would be the main players i would pick up if i was azubu that is for sure.
You would seriously rate TOP and Eve over San and VINES? It's a good thing you actually weren't Azubu in this circumstance then. TOP hasn't been relevant in forever, while Eve hasn't been relevant AT ALL, EVER, AT ANY POINT IN TIME. On the other hand, San has shown somewhat of a resurgence in 2012, winning some weekly online tournaments in korea, qualifying for an MLG (or was it an Arena?), barely missing out on the qualification for IPL 5 (but beat some really good dudes in it) and made it to Ro16 of the OSL. Hey, it's not much, but it's something. VINES almost all-killed SlayerS early on in 2012 before dropping off. Again, it's not much, but at least they DID SOMETHING last year, is what I'm trying to get at.
That isn't to say I don't agree with Azubu's choice of getting TOP and Eve on their roster, I'm just pointing out the humongous flaw in your logic whereby you claim the signings are bad and then arbitrarily pick VINES and San as the weakest links while keeping TOP and Eve on your hypothetical "what I would do" roster. Seems absurd to me.
At any rate, I think Azubu are still testing the waters with regards to SC2. Surely they wouldn't want to hire a beefy roster of HyuN, Symbol, SuperNoVa only to find out a few months later that their investment has amounted to nothing, or close to nothing. It's a cautious move and honestly I think it's creating an interesting dynamic. On the one hand we're hyped to see where HyuN, Symbol and SuNo go and on the other hand it creates this curiosity of "hmm these old oGs players are still worth something? I guess I got to watch their matches now, maybe they've been secretly good all this time!"
Interesting times ahead of us, that's for sure. ^^
I did put San in my lineup. The reason why i would pick TOP and Eve over VINES is clearly i believe TOP has more potential as a player then VINES does. VINES is in the same situation as TOP but i just believe TOP has more of a upside then VINES and for EVE i believe you need something to market the opposite sex of course that's why. TOP has some good results in the smaller tournaments but its still something then what VINES has done lately. Don't know why you keep saying VINES and San i did already mention San in my lineup look at it i didnt even edit it or nothing. I think you just got to read it more then just skimming through what people read..
YugiOh is a beast in GSTL and would be a clear choice for me at least. and he needs to be reunited with Eve for nr. 2 HyuN
So many good free agents right now kinda hard to say since we still have SuperNova TheStC GanZi Symbol Arthur and a lot more that i dont feel like listing hell you can make a whole new team with the free agents that are available and it would be a pretty solid one at that..
On January 10 2013 15:16 Corrosive wrote: HyuN/Symbol/Parting/TheStC
two of those four.
Parting already got taken . I think it will be more than 2, despite what they are saying, I have a feeling that if they don't pick up the TheSTC, he will want to join to be with his friends . That said, I think it will be Hyun and SymboL (unless TheSTC kicks his game back into high gear).
On January 18 2013 21:25 naux wrote: Does anybody else believe these signings are pretty bad? Hm I don't know with all the free agents out in the korean market they picked up a bunch of ex-oGs players, and it seems like they are past there primes. If i was Azubu i wouldve picked up
Genius Symbol Hyun San SuperNoVa Top Eve
Those would be the main players i would pick up if i was azubu that is for sure.
You would seriously rate TOP and Eve over San and VINES? It's a good thing you actually weren't Azubu in this circumstance then. TOP hasn't been relevant in forever, while Eve hasn't been relevant AT ALL, EVER, AT ANY POINT IN TIME. On the other hand, San has shown somewhat of a resurgence in 2012, winning some weekly online tournaments in korea, qualifying for an MLG (or was it an Arena?), barely missing out on the qualification for IPL 5 (but beat some really good dudes in it) and made it to Ro16 of the OSL. Hey, it's not much, but it's something. VINES almost all-killed SlayerS early on in 2012 before dropping off. Again, it's not much, but at least they DID SOMETHING last year, is what I'm trying to get at.
TOP is actually pretty damn solid! i only say this since he's actually knocked creator out of two online qualifiers this year already lol TT (OSL and MLG iirc). which is pretty damn solid since both were 2-0's.
On January 19 2013 18:22 wptlzkwjd wrote: I'm curious, could someone explain what AZUBU is? Like, what are they a company of...?
Found this on the internet: Azubu Europe AG is a video games media company based in Berlin. We focus on video games across all console and PC platforms by providing reviews, previews, news, guides and articles about the gaming industry, and gaming culture. Our video games webzine is dedicated to bringing insightful and interesting content to our readers.
I too am confused to how they have so much money to throw around, and if they're sustainable or just have a really rich CEO with money to throw around or something. I hope they dont just suddenly collapse one day.
On January 19 2013 18:22 wptlzkwjd wrote: I'm curious, could someone explain what AZUBU is? Like, what are they a company of...?
Found this on the internet: Azubu Europe AG is a video games media company based in Berlin. We focus on video games across all console and PC platforms by providing reviews, previews, news, guides and articles about the gaming industry, and gaming culture. Our video games webzine is dedicated to bringing insightful and interesting content to our readers.
I too am confused to how they have so much money to throw around, and if they're sustainable or just have a really rich CEO with money to throw around or something. I hope they dont just suddenly collapse one day.
I suppose they're like a bigger [?] version of Curse (who also sponsor stuff, mainly LoL)
On January 19 2013 18:22 wptlzkwjd wrote: I'm curious, could someone explain what AZUBU is? Like, what are they a company of...?
Found this on the internet: Azubu Europe AG is a video games media company based in Berlin. We focus on video games across all console and PC platforms by providing reviews, previews, news, guides and articles about the gaming industry, and gaming culture. Our video games webzine is dedicated to bringing insightful and interesting content to our readers.
I too am confused to how they have so much money to throw around, and if they're sustainable or just have a really rich CEO with money to throw around or something. I hope they dont just suddenly collapse one day.
Thanks for this. I went on their website too but just for a brief look. From what I could gather in that short time, it seemed like azubu was a sort of facebook for gaming? I tried to open the other links down at the bottom of their homepage but it couldn't load for me so I sorta gave up.
Azubu is also planning to open up a streaming service to compete with Twitch.tv in the future, I guess that's a way to get back some of what they've invested into esports so far.
AzubuTV and CLG We are also excited to announce that Azubu has long been hard at work on developing its own state of the art, next generation streaming and video on demand platform which will be the new home of all CLG livestreams and video content. The platform is still in the development stage, with CLG working closely with Azubu to make sure its release is the best it can be. At launch, expect regularly scheduled livestream sessions from players and new content series with great emphasis on production value.
On January 20 2013 11:26 Dodgin wrote: Azubu is also planning to open up a streaming service to compete with Twitch.tv in the future, I guess that's a way to get back some of what they've invested into esports so far.
AzubuTV and CLG We are also excited to announce that Azubu has long been hard at work on developing its own state of the art, next generation streaming and video on demand platform which will be the new home of all CLG livestreams and video content. The platform is still in the development stage, with CLG working closely with Azubu to make sure its release is the best it can be. At launch, expect regularly scheduled livestream sessions from players and new content series with great emphasis on production value.
On January 20 2013 11:26 Dodgin wrote: Azubu is also planning to open up a streaming service to compete with Twitch.tv in the future, I guess that's a way to get back some of what they've invested into esports so far.
AzubuTV and CLG We are also excited to announce that Azubu has long been hard at work on developing its own state of the art, next generation streaming and video on demand platform which will be the new home of all CLG livestreams and video content. The platform is still in the development stage, with CLG working closely with Azubu to make sure its release is the best it can be. At launch, expect regularly scheduled livestream sessions from players and new content series with great emphasis on production value.
I'll stay with Twitch.
Don't you think it's a bit premature to say things like that? We don't even know anything about it yet.
Though you know, if youtube introduced a 'play ad' button, twitch and other streaming sites would probably die over night.
On January 20 2013 11:26 Dodgin wrote: Azubu is also planning to open up a streaming service to compete with Twitch.tv in the future, I guess that's a way to get back some of what they've invested into esports so far.
AzubuTV and CLG We are also excited to announce that Azubu has long been hard at work on developing its own state of the art, next generation streaming and video on demand platform which will be the new home of all CLG livestreams and video content. The platform is still in the development stage, with CLG working closely with Azubu to make sure its release is the best it can be. At launch, expect regularly scheduled livestream sessions from players and new content series with great emphasis on production value.
I'll stay with Twitch.
Don't you think it's a bit premature to say things like that? We don't even know anything about it yet.
Though you know, if youtube introduced a 'play ad' button, twitch and other streaming sites would probably die over night.
Eh, maybe. Am I going to try their new streaming site? Sure. Is it gonna replace twitch for me? Most likely not.
On January 10 2013 16:49 Proseat wrote: Well, AZUBU growing fast. Good stuff.
As for Axiom in GSTL, even with four players they are still too small for a GSTL team, aren't they.
I guess they could recruit more players or partner with Fnatic perhaps.
They're partnered with Acer. Scarlett and MMA, the latter of which is in their home, are lending a hand.
As for the announcement, there's a crap ton of good, well-known and unemployed players now. The market is even more oversaturated than usual, with several world-class players looking for a team. It's hard to say who Azubu is going to pick up, especially since it's also hard to tell which players want to push for the high pay they deserve or play it safe with a low salary.
On January 20 2013 11:26 Dodgin wrote: Azubu is also planning to open up a streaming service to compete with Twitch.tv in the future, I guess that's a way to get back some of what they've invested into esports so far.
AzubuTV and CLG We are also excited to announce that Azubu has long been hard at work on developing its own state of the art, next generation streaming and video on demand platform which will be the new home of all CLG livestreams and video content. The platform is still in the development stage, with CLG working closely with Azubu to make sure its release is the best it can be. At launch, expect regularly scheduled livestream sessions from players and new content series with great emphasis on production value.
Eh? It doesn't sound like they're opening a streaming service, just a place for their players to stream at scheduled times. I guess I could see how the statement comes off a bit ambiguous, however.
On January 20 2013 11:26 Dodgin wrote: Azubu is also planning to open up a streaming service to compete with Twitch.tv in the future, I guess that's a way to get back some of what they've invested into esports so far.
AzubuTV and CLG We are also excited to announce that Azubu has long been hard at work on developing its own state of the art, next generation streaming and video on demand platform which will be the new home of all CLG livestreams and video content. The platform is still in the development stage, with CLG working closely with Azubu to make sure its release is the best it can be. At launch, expect regularly scheduled livestream sessions from players and new content series with great emphasis on production value.
Eh? It doesn't sound like they're opening a streaming service, just a place for their players to stream at scheduled times. I guess I could see how the statement comes off a bit ambiguous, however.
No, the streaming service is open for anyone to use.
I hope its Yughio. He was a such a bad ass (in Slayers gstl) untill that damn Sniper came along. Though really. Slayers really looked down on him, and there was just so much turmoil with slayers in general. I think in a more consistent environment he could still be really good.
EPT![[image loading]](http://www.esfiworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/team-azubu.jpg)
TOP, 
InCa, and 
Sleep, ex-SlayerS players 
aLive, 
Oz, and 
J.
. I think it will be more than 2, despite what they are saying, I have a feeling that if they don't pick up the TheSTC, he will want to join to be with his friends 
