With a 4 - 0 sweep of HyuN, Liquid`TaeJa takes his fourth championship of 2013.
The history of StarCraft 2 is short, but not so short that it hasn't developed some traditions. Traditions like the laid back and humorous casting at HomeStory Cup. Like the inevitable Liquid Team-kill deep in the bracket. Or the foreigner Terrans who almost make it, but are stopped in the end.
Now, we might want to add Liquid`TaeJa winning European tournaments to that list.
With an overwhelming 4 - 0 sweep against Quantic_HyuN in the finals, TaeJa claimed the HomeStory Cup VIII championship, becoming the first two-time HSC champion and first back-to-back HSC champion at the same time. The championship was the continuation of a marvelous 2013 campaign that had started in June with a championship at HomeStory Cup VII, followed by further titles at ASUS ROG Summer and DreamHack Bucharest. Combined with the three championships won during the famed "Summer of TaeJa 2012," TaeJa is now up to seven major championships in his career, with six of them won in Europe.
TaeJa's almost bored—no, actually bored—reaction after clinching game four against HyuN reflected the ease with which he won the final. HyuN's aggressive roach-based style had worked against lesser opponents but proved to be mostly ineffectual against the rock-solid Liquid Terran. An old TvZ staple in siege tanks made their way back into TaeJa's compositions as he crushed HyuN with walls of unstoppable firepower.
However, it was not all smooth sailing for TaeJa, as he narrowly escaped defeat against Symbol in the semi-finals. Symbol's clever all-ins saw him force a game five, where he seemed to have TaeJa in the palm of his hand with a maxed out ultralisk army and over 8000/2000 in the bank. However, a combination of excellent play from TaeJa and throwing from Symbol saw the game head toward an unexpected conclusion, with TaeJa massacring dozens poorly supported ultralisks to take an improbable series win.
At the end of the tournament, TaeJa stood alone with a 18 - 4 map record, 7 - 0 series record, one large trophy, and a $10,000 prize.
In an intriguing turn, TaeJa confessed at the award ceremony that he had considered retirement after losing some interest in the game, which had resulted in his poor performances at recent WCS tournaments. He expressed some surprise at his win, portraying it as something that "just happened." However, the year is not over for TaeJa yet, and his win at HomeStory Cup seems to have given him new motivation. Soon, he will head to DreamHack Winter in an attempt to take his fifth title of 2013.
Why I always win 10000$? I want get more money.
My highest earning is DH winter 2nd place Now time to win DH winter.
The European Terran Black Hole:Happy showed some great games against HyuN in the quarter-finals, but overly passive play in a potential series-clinching game allowed Hyun to make an unlikely comeback. With Happy's elimination, SjoW retained his title of most successful European Terran of HotS.
Changing of the Guard: This may have been overshadowed by the other events, but HSC saw a lot of Korea and Europe's old powers brushed aside by relative newcomers. TLO, DIMAGA, MaNa, Kas, Stephano, Ret, Nerchio, ThorZaIN, HasuObs, and HuK were all eliminated in the Ro32.
Something something BabyKnight: Foreigner BabyKnight also made it to the Ro8, only to get swept by Symbol. That deserves some applause, at least when we can force it out between our tortured sobs.
USA! USA! USA! For once, an American player managed to outshine Canadians in StarCraft 2. iNcontroL consistently carried a variety of casting partners and was easily the most entertaining personality of the tournament. On top of that, he even managed to win a map in competitive play! Sure, Scarlett made it to the Ro16, but we all know who the real winner is here.
The return of Jkajikiji Speaking of triple J, he managed to earn a 3rd place finish in his international tournament debut for mYi. Granted, any kind of result would have been better than burning in Code B, but it's a promising start for the newcomer to the European scene. In particular, his Code S finals rematch against Leenock was highly entertaining, and the two players combined to produce a fantastic series.
What Curse? Oh yeah, Stephano played in this tournament. He was eliminated by ToD.
when taeja loses it seems like a bizarre fluke. like, when he's knocked out of tournaments, i usually think "he's still better than the other guy, though; if they regamed the series two more times he would win both of them". so much more fun to cheer for than innovation too
The return of Jkajikiji Speaking of triple J, he managed to earn a 3rd place finish in his international tournament debut for mYi. Granted, any kind of result would have been better than burning in Code B
jjakji also made it to the RO8 in WCS KR last season... To me that's a much more impressive comeback than 3rd place at HSC.
On November 18 2013 13:30 Dodgin wrote: Taeja won four tournaments this year, Innovation won one. Taeja's four wins are worth the same amount of prize money as Innovation's one
But Asus rog and homestory have lesser competition than wcs season 1. Taejja is clearly above everyone at hsc even the Koreans as these are the has beens or tier 2 guys (hero's good but lacks self confidence)
i was checking out sc2 earnings recently and was pretty shocked by taeja's highest win being a 2nd place as well. guy has won so many tournaments, it just seems wrong. maybe he can take down dreamhack winter and change that
On November 18 2013 13:30 Dodgin wrote: Taeja won four tournaments this year, Innovation won one. Taeja's four wins are worth the same amount of prize money as Innovation's one
But Asus rog and homestory have lesser competition than wcs season 1. Taejja is clearly above everyone at hsc even the Koreans as these are the has beens or tier 2 guys (hero's good but lacks self confidence)
Jjakji isn't a has been or really tier 2 (anymore lewl) he was in the ro8 in the last code S. Nor is Symbol or Hyun. Had Symbol just suddenly decided not to shit his brains out of his ears in that last game, Taeja wouldn't even be holding the trophy.
In an intriguing turn, TaeJa confessed at the award ceremony that he had considered retirement after losing some interest in the game, which had resulted in his poor performances at recent WCS tournaments.
It was realy cool with incontrol on the coutch. I hope we see all this players next time again specially Scarlett.
iNcontroL HeRoMaRinE Scarlett TitaN jjakji Symbol TLO ToD TaeJa DIMAGA rotterdam HasuObs Take Dayshi Sponsors Ret production crew Socke MaNa Kas HyuN MC ThorZaIN MoMaN NightEnD Happy TargA Zenio HerO Nerchio BabyKnight Leenock Harstem Stephano StarDust HuK
On November 18 2013 18:07 BathTubNZ wrote: Does MoMan do anything else other than attend HSCs?
Afaik he is very active in the french scene, playing and casting local tournaments, but I don't really follow that since I'm not French. Maybe Aeromi or Boucot could share some insight about that.
Also congratulations to TaKe, the TaKeTV crew and external helpers for running the most well-produced HomeStory Cup ever. Great filler content from start to finish that puts major tournament organizers to shame, great flow overall, good balance between advertisement and keeping the viewer entertained. Small problems with Internet in games which can never be fully solved by tournament organizers as long as there is no LAN-mode. Personally, I had very few problems with Twitch, something very rare since a long time.
On November 18 2013 17:52 JokerAi wrote: It was realy cool with incontrol on the coutch. I hope we see all this players next time again specially Scarlett.
iNcontroL HeRoMaRinE Scarlett TitaN jjakji Symbol TLO ToD TaeJa DIMAGA rotterdam HasuObs Take Dayshi Sponsors Ret production crew Socke MaNa Kas HyuN MC ThorZaIN MoMaN NightEnD Happy TargA Zenio HerO Nerchio BabyKnight Leenock Harstem Stephano StarDust HuK
On November 18 2013 17:52 JokerAi wrote: It was realy cool with incontrol on the coutch. I hope we see all this players next time again specially Scarlett.
iNcontroL HeRoMaRinE Scarlett TitaN jjakji Symbol TLO ToD TaeJa DIMAGA rotterdam HasuObs Take Dayshi Sponsors Ret production crew Socke MaNa Kas HyuN MC ThorZaIN MoMaN NightEnD Happy TargA Zenio HerO Nerchio BabyKnight Leenock Harstem Stephano StarDust HuK
grea event, unfortunitely the finals were too boring (for my taste)… thx taeja for stomping and giving us the least entertaining finals i've seen recently...
Pretty crazy that he has won 7 premier tournaments and isn't anywhere near the top in earnings. Jaedong's second place at Blizzcon earned him more than 4 of Taeja's premier wins combined.
On November 18 2013 21:02 slowbacontron wrote: Gratz to Taeja! I can't believe he was considering retiring :O Easily one of the most accomplished players in 2012-2013!
Congratulations to jjakji as well 3rd place is really good, he's climbing back to the top!
He's considering retiring because he keeps winning only $10000.
This guy is a beast, He was about to advance 1st place from a group with MC, Jjakji and Happy and he basically threw 5 games in a row (1 being impossible-to-lose game ending in a forced tie), to fall in ro16.
He threw 7 games in total and got really close to 8, all by turtling and not using his advantage.
On November 18 2013 18:07 BathTubNZ wrote: Does MoMan do anything else other than attend HSCs?
Afaik he is very active in the french scene, playing and casting local tournaments, but I don't really follow that since I'm not French. Maybe Aeromi or Boucot could share some insight about that.
yep Moman is pretty much active only on the french scene playing local LAN/tournaments and co-hosting on a french web tv called O'Gaming. That's why you barely see him outside of HSC if you're not a french speaking audience.
That counts Huk's earnings when he was on TL as EG's, and doesn't include the earnings of Idra, Jinro and other former players of both teams. So it's imprecise, but still kinda cool, I guess.
Taeja ruined it by stating like "oh hell I won who cares" that's like the worst thing that could ever happen to the spirit of that tournament. Taeja pulled a "faceless korean" i guess.
That was a great event, very well managed by Take & his crew. IncontroL really nailed it, also huge applause to RotterdaM for coming to Europe especially for HSC (I <3 u Rotti :D). Wish I'll be in the pub for the next one because the atmosphere of this tournament is really awesome! Good job Dayshi, maybe next time Ro8 ! We believe..
edit : I couldn't watch every single cast, but I think it would have been fun to see more Korean casting games in English on the stream. But that's only my opinion.
Is it true that Nerchio immediately went home as soon as he lost in the first round? Poor guy, he really needs to relax from time to time, his performance wasn't that horrible...
On November 19 2013 00:16 JustPassingBy wrote: Is it true that Nerchio immediately went home as soon as he lost in the first round? Poor guy, he really needs to relax from time to time, his performance wasn't that horrible...
On November 19 2013 00:16 JustPassingBy wrote: Is it true that Nerchio immediately went home as soon as he lost in the first round? Poor guy, he really needs to relax from time to time, his performance wasn't that horrible...
On November 18 2013 17:52 JokerAi wrote: It was realy cool with incontrol on the coutch. I hope we see all this players next time again specially Scarlett.
iNcontroL HeRoMaRinE Scarlett TitaN jjakji Symbol TLO ToD TaeJa DIMAGA rotterdam HasuObs Take Dayshi Sponsors Ret production crew Socke MaNa Kas HyuN MC ThorZaIN MoMaN NightEnD Happy TargA Zenio HerO Nerchio BabyKnight Leenock Harstem Stephano StarDust HuK
wait... HuK was there?
Guy wasn't happy with his performance so he wanted to leave early which is fair.
I get that these guys are fighting for a prize, but I lost a little respect for Taeja today. His ambivalence over 1st place, thinking retirement for now good reason, complaining about winning 10K for playing a videogame, the best videogame in existence mind you.... idk it just rubbed me the wrong way, I like a little more humility in my champs. Even when they are a Terran lol.
On November 18 2013 13:30 Dodgin wrote: Taeja won four tournaments this year, Innovation won one. Taeja's four wins are worth the same amount of prize money as Innovation's one
But Asus rog and homestory have lesser competition than wcs season 1. Taejja is clearly above everyone at hsc even the Koreans as these are the has beens or tier 2 guys (hero's good but lacks self confidence)
Jjakji isn't a has been or really tier 2 (anymore lewl) he was in the ro8 in the last code S. Nor is Symbol or Hyun. Had Symbol just suddenly decided not to shit his brains out of his ears in that last game, Taeja wouldn't even be holding the trophy.
Only player I saw that didn't have any major missteps was TaeJa. Then again I didn't watch the whole tournament and when I did my stream was stuttering constantly, so who knows. In my eyes he was the only player truly on and what do you know. Many people had him as their favorite.
On November 19 2013 00:47 Deep Cocoa wrote: "Why I always win 10000$? I want get more money."
I get that these guys are fighting for a prize, but I lost a little respect for Taeja today. His ambivalence over 1st place, thinking retirement for now good reason, complaining about winning 10K for playing a videogame, the best videogame in existence mind you.... idk it just rubbed me the wrong way, I like a little more humility in my champs. Even when they are a Terran lol.
I didn't see the interview for myself, but it almost sounds like you're jumping the gun. Oh yeah, it wasn't the interview so to speak. It was some silly text message you read on twitter. Cool beans. -_-
On November 18 2013 14:22 FrostedMiniWheats wrote:
On November 18 2013 14:12 johnnyapplec wrote:
On November 18 2013 13:30 Dodgin wrote: Taeja won four tournaments this year, Innovation won one. Taeja's four wins are worth the same amount of prize money as Innovation's one
But Asus rog and homestory have lesser competition than wcs season 1. Taejja is clearly above everyone at hsc even the Koreans as these are the has beens or tier 2 guys (hero's good but lacks self confidence)
Jjakji isn't a has been or really tier 2 (anymore lewl) he was in the ro8 in the last code S. Nor is Symbol or Hyun. Had Symbol just suddenly decided not to shit his brains out of his ears in that last game, Taeja wouldn't even be holding the trophy.
Only player I saw that didn't have any major missteps was TaeJa. Then again I didn't watch the whole tournament and when I did my stream was stuttering constantly, so who knows. In my eyes he was the only player truly on and what do you know. Many people had him as their favorite.
On November 19 2013 00:47 Deep Cocoa wrote: "Why I always win 10000$? I want get more money."
I get that these guys are fighting for a prize, but I lost a little respect for Taeja today. His ambivalence over 1st place, thinking retirement for now good reason, complaining about winning 10K for playing a videogame, the best videogame in existence mind you.... idk it just rubbed me the wrong way, I like a little more humility in my champs. Even when they are a Terran lol.
I didn't see the interview for myself, but it almost sounds like you're jumping the gun. Oh yeah, it wasn't the interview so to speak. It was some silly text message you read on twitter. Cool beans. -_-
leave him with his pitchfork, he will clearly mishandle it and trip on it, thus smiting himself
On November 19 2013 00:16 JustPassingBy wrote: Is it true that Nerchio immediately went home as soon as he lost in the first round? Poor guy, he really needs to relax from time to time, his performance wasn't that horrible...
On November 19 2013 00:47 Deep Cocoa wrote: "Why I always win 10000$? I want get more money."
I get that these guys are fighting for a prize, but I lost a little respect for Taeja today. His ambivalence over 1st place, thinking retirement for now good reason, complaining about winning 10K for playing a videogame, the best videogame in existence mind you.... idk it just rubbed me the wrong way, I like a little more humility in my champs. Even when they are a Terran lol.
Nah nah, dude is upset cause the prize money has shot down. These dudes work hard, don't mistake the game as being this fun thing all the time and playing it all day every day is some form of paradise.
It's a job to them. Regardless of what anyone does, try and do it for 12 hours a day for 5 days straight while constantly trying to improve your skill and you'll quickly understand that it's not just some super fun thing to do for them.
On November 19 2013 00:47 Deep Cocoa wrote: "Why I always win 10000$? I want get more money."
I get that these guys are fighting for a prize, but I lost a little respect for Taeja today. His ambivalence over 1st place, thinking retirement for now good reason, complaining about winning 10K for playing a videogame, the best videogame in existence mind you.... idk it just rubbed me the wrong way, I like a little more humility in my champs. Even when they are a Terran lol.
Nah nah, dude is upset cause the prize money has shot down. These dudes work hard, don't mistake the game as being this fun thing all the time and playing it all day every day is some form of paradise.
It's a job to them. Regardless of what anyone does, try and do it for 12 hours a day for 5 days straight while constantly trying to improve your skill and you'll quickly understand that it's not just some super fun thing to do for them.
Yeah - I can't fault him for the statement. I make more than that every 2 months as a mid-level engineer. If they're were engineering rankings in the world I'd probably be around 10,000,000th best in the world...
On November 19 2013 00:47 Deep Cocoa wrote: "Why I always win 10000$? I want get more money."
I get that these guys are fighting for a prize, but I lost a little respect for Taeja today. His ambivalence over 1st place, thinking retirement for now good reason, complaining about winning 10K for playing a videogame, the best videogame in existence mind you.... idk it just rubbed me the wrong way, I like a little more humility in my champs. Even when they are a Terran lol.
It initially rubbed me the wrong way too but when I think about it, english isn't his first language so what he wrote might not accurately express what he wants to say.
I'd honestly argue that the "why always $10000" comment has the opposite effect of the "Faceless Korean" syndrome. That's Dennis Rodman level ballsy for a Korean. I approve.
Yeah I retract what I said earlier guys sorry--it's easy to forget how this is not a "game" to any of these professional players. I love SC2 as much as anyone buy playing 9 hours a day to compete must get tedious and frustrating at times.
When Taeja was asked what it would mean to win Homestory Cup 8, he should have said something like "2x Dreamhack champion, 2x ASUS ROG champion, 2x Homestory Cup champion, now I only need 1 more MLG champion so I can have 2 of each tournament I win"
On November 18 2013 17:52 JokerAi wrote: It was realy cool with incontrol on the coutch. I hope we see all this players next time again specially Scarlett.
iNcontroL HeRoMaRinE Scarlett TitaN jjakji Symbol TLO ToD TaeJa DIMAGA rotterdam HasuObs Take Dayshi Sponsors Ret production crew Socke MaNa Kas HyuN MC ThorZaIN MoMaN NightEnD Happy TargA Zenio HerO Nerchio BabyKnight Leenock Harstem Stephano StarDust HuK
HSC was missing Fuzer ;( The most entertaining player and always laughing and betting :D
Ive have no idea how its possible to play against players like hero and hyun at hsc and look like your in a different class. Very impressive play by Taeja.
EPT
Liquid`TaeJa winning European tournaments to that list. 
Quantic_HyuN in the finals, TaeJa claimed the HomeStory Cup VIII championship, becoming the first two-time HSC champion and first back-to-back HSC champion at the same time. The championship was the continuation of a marvelous 2013 campaign that had started in June with a championship at HomeStory Cup VII, followed by further titles at ASUS ROG Summer and DreamHack Bucharest. Combined with the three championships won during the famed "Summer of TaeJa 2012," TaeJa is now up to seven major championships in his career, with six of them won in Europe. 
BabyKnight also made it to the Ro8, only to get swept by Symbol. That deserves some applause, at least when we can force it out between our tortured sobs. 
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/FY86Spv.jpg)
