Today, we are very pleased to announce the aquistion of Korean zerg player Kim "Soulkey" Min Chul to our Starcraft 2 team. Soulkey is one of the most respected and well-rounded players currently in SCII, recently departing Korean powerhouse team SKT T1.
Soulkey boast's a bunch of achievements in his Starcraft history inlcuding last years win at the World Cyber Games in China and most famously his WCS GSL Korea win, in which he recovered from 3-0 down to take the title!
This is also good news for international Soulkey fans as you'll be seeing alot more of him at European and North American events in 2015.
Quote from Craig Walker - Director, TCM-Gaming
"It is with great pleasure that we can confirm the signing of Soulkey. Kim has shown that he is one of the most consistent players around right now, and we feel that with our support we can propel him into competing on a global scale for 2015, by ensuring he can play outside of Korea.
The recent visa problems that have struck the Starcraft scene meant that we needed to reconsider our current plan for Starcraft and re-strategise for the new year. I am excited to welcome Soulkey as the first step in our new strategy and look forward to continuining our support for the Starcraft community as a whole.
This is intriguing more than anything. TCM just got rid of Yoda and First because of the new region lock, now they sign Soulkey? I'm not entirely sure what the difference in circumstance is here.
I'm pretty sure the announcement didn't say they released Yoda and First, so maybe Yoda and First decided they wanted to leave because of the region lock. That would make sense, if they have to compete in Korea they might as well join a team that plays proleague.
On December 15 2014 06:58 Mikau wrote: I'm pretty sure the announcement didn't say they released Yoda and First, so maybe Yoda and First decided they wanted to leave because of the region lock. That would make sense, if they have to compete in Korea they might as well join a team that plays proleague.
Yep, I guess they wanted to play proleague and Soulkey does not. He'd rather travel to foreign tournaments.
Soulkey is just way more marketable than First and YoDa, even Gumba forgave him already probably :> Best wishes, Kim Min Chul, hope you succeed there. <3
Well now most koreans can't compet in WCS, so YoDa and First aren't usefull, but Soulkey is much stronger so he'll probably have good result in tournament, probably even a win or two so even if he doesn't compete in WCS he can still be a good player for the team. I hope he'll finaly learn english, i'm waiting since WCS season 1 final 2013 ! KIM MIN CHUL FIGHTING ! <3
On December 15 2014 07:04 Clonester wrote: YoDa joint Prime just a Day after TCM. I think both want to play PL and thus left TCM which will nowhere let their player(s) play PL.
nu-uh, The announcement of Yoda leaving TCM came a day before the announcement of Yoda joining Prime. I want to make sure you are not thinking they signed a contract within 24 hours, obviously, all parties knew what was going on
Well as everyone is pointing out obviously the "can't compete in Europe" reason for First/YoDa leaving was BS. Which means YoDa/First left because they weren't doing well enough at European events (only finals appearance in a major tournament between the two of them was YoDa's loss in WCS EU finals). Only thing we don't know is if TCM kicked them out or they wanted to leave because they'd rather go to a Proleague team. I'm guessing the former.
On December 15 2014 06:54 Nazca wrote: I kinda dislike this. He sure said he wanted to attend more international tourneys, but really I'll miss him in Proleague
Looks like he has enogh losing to Shine in proleague lol
On December 15 2014 07:26 Yakikorosu wrote: Well as everyone is pointing out obviously the "can't compete in Europe" reason for First/YoDa leaving was BS. Which means YoDa/First left because they weren't doing well enough at European events (only finals appearance in a major tournament between the two of them was YoDa's loss in WCS EU finals). Only thing we don't know is if TCM kicked them out or they wanted to leave because they'd rather go to a Proleague team. I'm guessing the former.
TCM begun with "EU-centric" sc2, ofcourse Yoda and First are the best solution for this. They lived in EU, participated EU tournaments etc. Now, TCM changed their sc2-view from EU to worldwide, Soulkey is definitely the better player for this.
I am sure, Yoda and First werent kicked or whatever, their contracts haven't been extended.
On December 15 2014 07:26 Yakikorosu wrote: Well as everyone is pointing out obviously the "can't compete in Europe" reason for First/YoDa leaving was BS. Which means YoDa/First left because they weren't doing well enough at European events (only finals appearance in a major tournament between the two of them was YoDa's loss in WCS EU finals). Only thing we don't know is if TCM kicked them out or they wanted to leave because they'd rather go to a Proleague team. I'm guessing the former.
TCM begun with "EU-centric" sc2, ofcourse Yoda and First are the best solution for this. They lived in EU, participated EU tournaments etc. Now, TCM changed their sc2-view from EU to worldwide, Soulkey is definitely the better player for this.
I am sure, Yoda and First werent kicked or whatever, their contracts haven't been extended.
So they only had like a 4-month contract?
The point is as everyone is pointing out there is no difference between YoDa/First on one hand and Soulkey on the other except potentially for skill level. They're all Koreans only eligible to play in Korea. So the only reasonable explanation for TCM's actions is they just think Soulkey is better than YoDa and First. Now that's a legitimate decision and may turn out well, but their statement in effect blaming the region lock was obviously BS and doesn't make me feel good about the team's transparency.
On December 15 2014 06:57 KatatoniK wrote: This is intriguing more than anything. TCM just got rid of Yoda and First because of the new region lock, now they sign Soulkey? I'm not entirely sure what the difference in circumstance is here.
On December 15 2014 07:35 SuperHofmann wrote: for sure better than Invasion
Why do you say that? That's a serious question--is there something that's known about TCM that makes them more legit than Invasion, or say, D.Pix? To me they're all teams that very little is known about but they've had Koreans on their roster for at least a few months and have legitimately sent them to foreign events, which is more than you can say for truly "shady" teams like LYGF and its ilk.
On December 15 2014 07:26 Yakikorosu wrote: Well as everyone is pointing out obviously the "can't compete in Europe" reason for First/YoDa leaving was BS. Which means YoDa/First left because they weren't doing well enough at European events (only finals appearance in a major tournament between the two of them was YoDa's loss in WCS EU finals). Only thing we don't know is if TCM kicked them out or they wanted to leave because they'd rather go to a Proleague team. I'm guessing the former.
TCM begun with "EU-centric" sc2, ofcourse Yoda and First are the best solution for this. They lived in EU, participated EU tournaments etc. Now, TCM changed their sc2-view from EU to worldwide, Soulkey is definitely the better player for this.
I am sure, Yoda and First werent kicked or whatever, their contracts haven't been extended.
So they only had like a 4-month contract?
The point is as everyone is pointing out there is no difference between YoDa/First on one hand and Soulkey on the other except potentially for skill level. They're all Koreans only eligible to play in Korea. So the only reasonable explanation for TCM's actions is they just think Soulkey is better than YoDa and First. Now that's a legitimate decision and may turn out well, but their statement in effect blaming the region lock was obviously BS and doesn't make me feel good about the team's transparency.
I think Soulkey doesn't mind to being stable in Korea. So he is free to travel, thing that First and YoDa have done but he didn't.
On December 15 2014 07:26 Yakikorosu wrote: Well as everyone is pointing out obviously the "can't compete in Europe" reason for First/YoDa leaving was BS. Which means YoDa/First left because they weren't doing well enough at European events (only finals appearance in a major tournament between the two of them was YoDa's loss in WCS EU finals). Only thing we don't know is if TCM kicked them out or they wanted to leave because they'd rather go to a Proleague team. I'm guessing the former.
TCM begun with "EU-centric" sc2, ofcourse Yoda and First are the best solution for this. They lived in EU, participated EU tournaments etc. Now, TCM changed their sc2-view from EU to worldwide, Soulkey is definitely the better player for this.
I am sure, Yoda and First werent kicked or whatever, their contracts haven't been extended.
So they only had like a 4-month contract?
The point is as everyone is pointing out there is no difference between YoDa/First on one hand and Soulkey on the other except potentially for skill level. They're all Koreans only eligible to play in Korea. So the only reasonable explanation for TCM's actions is they just think Soulkey is better than YoDa and First. Now that's a legitimate decision and may turn out well, but their statement in effect blaming the region lock was obviously BS and doesn't make me feel good about the team's transparency.
They had a contract for this season I assume and it would most likely have been extended if they could've played WCS Premiere next year. Since they can not, they are forced to play in Korea and if they have to be in Korea anyway, my guess is they'd rather be on a Korean team and have the possibility to play Proleague too. Now Soulkey on the other hand seems to have enough of Proleague and team houses and wants to do a Jaedong instead.
That doesn't change the fact that if WCS had not been changed, Yoda and First would still play WCS EU and most likely still be on TCM.
On December 15 2014 07:26 Yakikorosu wrote: Well as everyone is pointing out obviously the "can't compete in Europe" reason for First/YoDa leaving was BS. Which means YoDa/First left because they weren't doing well enough at European events (only finals appearance in a major tournament between the two of them was YoDa's loss in WCS EU finals). Only thing we don't know is if TCM kicked them out or they wanted to leave because they'd rather go to a Proleague team. I'm guessing the former.
Why is it bullshit? It would have been bullshit if they had been kicked, but nowhere was it mentioned that they were. They just mutually agreed to end the contract, which could as well have come from Yoda/First saying "we want to compete in proleague if we have to compete in Korea anyway, let's part ways".
Why do you automatically assume TCM decided to kick them and lie about the reasons instead of the much more logical reason that this was a mutual thing. Occam's Razor and all.
On December 15 2014 07:35 SuperHofmann wrote: for sure better than Invasion
Why do you say that? That's a serious question--is there something that's known about TCM that makes them more legit than Invasion, or say, D.Pix? To me they're all teams that very little is known about but they've had Koreans on their roster for at least a few months and have legitimately sent them to foreign events, which is more than you can say for truly "shady" teams like LYGF and its ilk.
TCM is way bigger team than Invasion/DeadPixels, lol. It's not like they're some newfags either, so in case someone comes from other scenes, they would have recognise name and follow it closely.
On December 15 2014 06:57 KatatoniK wrote: This is intriguing more than anything. TCM just got rid of Yoda and First because of the new region lock, now they sign Soulkey? I'm not entirely sure what the difference in circumstance is here.
Glad to see him on a legit team at least.
Quite weird indeed. Hard to think of a player forfeiting WCS but it seems that's exactly the case.
On December 15 2014 07:26 Yakikorosu wrote: Well as everyone is pointing out obviously the "can't compete in Europe" reason for First/YoDa leaving was BS. Which means YoDa/First left because they weren't doing well enough at European events (only finals appearance in a major tournament between the two of them was YoDa's loss in WCS EU finals). Only thing we don't know is if TCM kicked them out or they wanted to leave because they'd rather go to a Proleague team. I'm guessing the former.
TCM begun with "EU-centric" sc2, ofcourse Yoda and First are the best solution for this. They lived in EU, participated EU tournaments etc. Now, TCM changed their sc2-view from EU to worldwide, Soulkey is definitely the better player for this.
I am sure, Yoda and First werent kicked or whatever, their contracts haven't been extended.
So they only had like a 4-month contract?
The point is as everyone is pointing out there is no difference between YoDa/First on one hand and Soulkey on the other except potentially for skill level. They're all Koreans only eligible to play in Korea. So the only reasonable explanation for TCM's actions is they just think Soulkey is better than YoDa and First. Now that's a legitimate decision and may turn out well, but their statement in effect blaming the region lock was obviously BS and doesn't make me feel good about the team's transparency.
They had a contract for this season I assume and it would most likely have been extended if they could've played WCS Premiere next year. Since they can not, they are forced to play in Korea and if they have to be in Korea anyway, my guess is they'd rather be on a Korean team and have the possibility to play Proleague too. Now Soulkey on the other hand seems to have enough of Proleague and team houses and wants to do a Jaedong instead.
That doesn't change the fact that if WCS had not been changed, Yoda and First would still play WCS EU and most likely still be on TCM.
I guess this can be debated forever since we just don't know but somehow I doubt that First and YoDa chose to stop going to international tournaments and instead go back to SPL. Maybe if they had an offer from one of the top SPL teams, but Prime? And First doesn't even have a team (yet) that we know of. To me it feels like a TCM statement of "you guys didn't do as well as we expectd, let's try someone else."
On December 15 2014 07:35 SuperHofmann wrote: for sure better than Invasion
Why do you say that? That's a serious question--is there something that's known about TCM that makes them more legit than Invasion, or say, D.Pix? To me they're all teams that very little is known about but they've had Koreans on their roster for at least a few months and have legitimately sent them to foreign events, which is more than you can say for truly "shady" teams like LYGF and its ilk.
TCM is a very well known organization in the european scene. If I'm not wrong they have one of the best european Call Of Duty teams and they are in the scene for long time, that's why lots of people know that they are a good organization.
Dpixels are in close relation with mYinsanity, and mYi staff confirms that Dpixels is a good organization, and I personal belive in mYi. And thay have already worked with Axiom paying to TRUE the gaming house, and TB confirmed that there were no problems with them.
On December 15 2014 07:37 Yakikorosu wrote: So they only had like a 4-month contract?
The point is as everyone is pointing out there is no difference between YoDa/First on one hand and Soulkey on the other except potentially for skill level. They're all Koreans only eligible to play in Korea. So the only reasonable explanation for TCM's actions is they just think Soulkey is better than YoDa and First. Now that's a legitimate decision and may turn out well, but their statement in effect blaming the region lock was obviously BS and doesn't make me feel good about the team's transparency.
The thing is that YoDa and First are not good enough to make good result appart from WCS. If TCM wants result it can't count on those two. Soulkey can't play WCS BUT he is good enough to do well in any tournament he goes. So the decision to take a better player is an effect of the region lock, not because this player will be able to play in WCS but because he will be able to make good result in europe and NA.
On December 15 2014 07:35 SuperHofmann wrote: for sure better than Invasion
Why do you say that? That's a serious question--is there something that's known about TCM that makes them more legit than Invasion, or say, D.Pix? To me they're all teams that very little is known about but they've had Koreans on their roster for at least a few months and have legitimately sent them to foreign events, which is more than you can say for truly "shady" teams like LYGF and its ilk.
They had the best CoD team in Europe for a while, have teams for Halo/Fifa/WoT and used to be involved in LoL, CS, Dota 2 and TF2. TCM are a pretty well known team, have been around for a long time and they have a good reputation. Redeye even worked for them in the past and had nothing but nice things to say about them when they first got involved with sc2.
So, they traded in a couplee of mid to low-tier koreans and they got an actual champion. Very understandable imho. I think if you add just the plane tickets and hotels of all the places TCM has sent those two, around EU and the world and if you compare to how much prize money they've made at said events, the balance would be negative. And i don't even talk about what salary they probably had. As many people above put it, Soulkey is a champion plain and simple and he is much more likely to win your random DH-RedBull-IEM etc and prove himself economically viable, while bringing himself the glory that he deserves and the traveling and exploring that he wants. GL Soulkey and TCM, great pickup great choice
On December 15 2014 07:26 Yakikorosu wrote: Well as everyone is pointing out obviously the "can't compete in Europe" reason for First/YoDa leaving was BS. Which means YoDa/First left because they weren't doing well enough at European events (only finals appearance in a major tournament between the two of them was YoDa's loss in WCS EU finals). Only thing we don't know is if TCM kicked them out or they wanted to leave because they'd rather go to a Proleague team. I'm guessing the former.
TCM begun with "EU-centric" sc2, ofcourse Yoda and First are the best solution for this. They lived in EU, participated EU tournaments etc. Now, TCM changed their sc2-view from EU to worldwide, Soulkey is definitely the better player for this.
I am sure, Yoda and First werent kicked or whatever, their contracts haven't been extended.
So they only had like a 4-month contract?
The point is as everyone is pointing out there is no difference between YoDa/First on one hand and Soulkey on the other except potentially for skill level. They're all Koreans only eligible to play in Korea. So the only reasonable explanation for TCM's actions is they just think Soulkey is better than YoDa and First. Now that's a legitimate decision and may turn out well, but their statement in effect blaming the region lock was obviously BS and doesn't make me feel good about the team's transparency.
They had a contract for this season I assume and it would most likely have been extended if they could've played WCS Premiere next year. Since they can not, they are forced to play in Korea and if they have to be in Korea anyway, my guess is they'd rather be on a Korean team and have the possibility to play Proleague too. Now Soulkey on the other hand seems to have enough of Proleague and team houses and wants to do a Jaedong instead.
That doesn't change the fact that if WCS had not been changed, Yoda and First would still play WCS EU and most likely still be on TCM.
I guess this can be debated forever since we just don't know but somehow I doubt that First and YoDa chose to stop going to international tournaments and instead go back to SPL. Maybe if they had an offer from one of the top SPL teams, but Prime? And First doesn't even have a team (yet) that we know of. To me it feels like a TCM statement of "you guys didn't do as well as we expectd, let's try someone else."
It's just that Yoda seemed happy to me on twitter and thanked TCM for everything, no complains at all. So I think they decided things together and it was a mutual agreement.
But you are right, we can't really know and it would make sense for them to offer Soulkey more than they did Yoda/First. It's really expensive to fly a player out of Korea and chances are high that Soulkey will do much better. It still does not mean that they wouldn't have kept First/Yoda if thy could've kept competing in WCS EU from Germany. The costs would've been way lower to send them to tournaments and they would've done well in WCS. Now the risks is too high and the return too low to keep them. Either way TCM seems cool to me and the main reason for Yoda/First leaving/being kicked is still the WCS changes.
Uh... I thought for sure that when TCM let go of Yoda and First, they were gonna pick up foreigner talent...but I guess it's nice to see SK finally get picked up
I hope he pulls an Innovation and eventually returns to Kespa, where he belongs. After getting that 'I want to go to foreign tournaments' bug out of his system.
wow, um...I don't understand why they would have kicked Yoda / first then, I guess only because they can't afford soulkey AND first + yoda...SoulKey is the best out of the 3, but still....kinda shocking...
Not as surprised as I should be though, so many random pick ups recently. :-p
So TCM thinking they are trading up in talent per salary I guess. Sucks that basically 1/3 of the last Proleague finalists are gone from Proleague this season.
On December 15 2014 06:57 KatatoniK wrote: This is intriguing more than anything. TCM just got rid of Yoda and First because of the new region lock, now they sign Soulkey? I'm not entirely sure what the difference in circumstance is here.
Weird huh, maybe yoda and first wanted to return to Korea.
Soulkey hasn't been getting great results of late, individually. Always feel weird saying something like that, he's still a great player.
YoDa and First get better and more stable salaries with Proleague team. Now that they can not win tournaments anymore, why care about oversea exposure.
Soulkey gets his chance now. Glad that he does not return to BW T.T
All is right in the world if tomorrow Prime announces First.
On December 15 2014 07:35 SuperHofmann wrote: for sure better than Invasion
Why do you say that? That's a serious question--is there something that's known about TCM that makes them more legit than Invasion, or say, D.Pix? To me they're all teams that very little is known about but they've had Koreans on their roster for at least a few months and have legitimately sent them to foreign events, which is more than you can say for truly "shady" teams like LYGF and its ilk.
TCM is a very well known organization in the european scene. If I'm not wrong they have one of the best european Call Of Duty teams and they are in the scene for long time, that's why lots of people know that they are a good organization.
Dpixels are in close relation with mYinsanity, and mYi staff confirms that Dpixels is a good organization, and I personal belive in mYi. And thay have already worked with Axiom paying to TRUE the gaming house, and TB confirmed that there were no problems with them.
Invasion. Mh. Nobody really know them
Thanks. I don't follow any e-sports except SC2 so I had no idea TCM is a known team in other games.
Will be interesting to see how well Soulkey does at weekend tournaments. I don't think he's even competed in one since HotS came out. The only one I'm seeing he even attended MLG Fall in 2012 where he finished in 9th-12th place, losing to CranK and TaeJa. Though I guess he did well at the WCS 2013 S3 Finals, which were in effect a weekend tournament.
oh wow I honestly thought this was for TSM the LoL team I always see in streaming side bar lol...stupid me....I dunno TCM at all then except for that they had YoDa and first previously....
On December 15 2014 12:19 GunPaladin wrote: Should've used his whole name: Neo[G] Soulkey
On December 15 2014 12:45 dyDrawer wrote: Uh.... Logic? What happened to the region lock?
The region lock just means he can't play in "WCS." Nothing prevents him from traveling to Europe or anywhere else to play in IEM, DH, MLG, etc in between his participation in the two Korean leagues (GSL/SSL).
Good move by TCM trading 2 mid tier koreans for a top tier one ; good move by Soulkey dodging Invasion / Dead Pixels / worst and still getting a get out of Kespa free card.
I'm happy he went to TCM and not to Liquid or EG or Acer for the sake of competition.
People who only watch sc2 have no clue about the teams without sc2 squads. They are probably thinking too that Navi, Empire, Fnatic etc are "shady" nowadays.
On December 15 2014 21:33 SC2Toastie wrote: Well, can you blame them? It's quite hard to keep track off. You can attempt to educate people in a slightly less passive-aggressive way...
No but they should stop thinking "never heard before, it is a shady team". I only watch sc2 nowadays but before sc2 I followed wc3, cs1.6, Quake.
When a new team shows up in the Sc2 Scene you always think about how long will it go? or do they pay?... I tought it was over after Yoda+First left the team. But this is a good pickup. But you need some more players so he can practice better ^^
Did First or Yoda qualify for SSL and/or GSL? TCM want a player with results. I am sure that First and Yoda had stayed longer for TCM without region lock. I think the regionlock did a "complete change" in TCM's sc2 business, even with positive effect afterwards.
wow. im shocked. i thought soulkey was rumored to be considering retirement, and now: "This is also good news for international Soulkey fans as you'll be seeing alot more of him at European and North American events in 2015."
Oh mon dieu! I hope Soulkey wont waste his potential with such a low thier team.... Honnestly TSM probably giving him a shit tonne of $$ to get him on the team! Anyway gl Soulkey with your next year conquest of the world...
On December 16 2014 05:55 GoSuTemplar wrote: Oh mon dieu! I hope Soulkey wont waste his potential with such a low thier team.... Honnestly TSM probably giving him a shit tonne of $$ to get him on the team! Anyway gl Soulkey with your next year conquest of the world...
Yes I believe in the power of Zerg.
I guess TCM will recruit more players next year. They said that it just the beginning of their support.
TCM MC could be fun ! Min Chul's power !!
Good news for SoulKey i wish him the best out of Korea
EPT![[image loading]](http://www.tcm-gaming.net/uploads/article_images/soulkeybanner.jpg)
