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The former Warcraft III & Starcraft II world-class player Yoan “ToD” Merlo has joined the *aAa* Heroes of the Storm team.
Here is its statement regarding his choice regarding the Blizzard new MOBA:
"After playing a long time at Starcraft II, I decided to stop competition on this game, at least for a while. I played at Heroes of the Storm for fun at the beginning, but it turned out that I have finally played 1 000 games in two months. Naturally I decided to try to play in a team, for the first time in my life. That’s why today I’m joining aAa, a team that is pretty much as old as I’m in esport, looking forward seeing what we will be able to accomplish on this very young game."
Yoan "ToD" Merlo
More infos here.
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Does this mean he'll continue to cast?
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I want to force Blizzard into bringing out a Siege Engine Hero now. Kinda sad though ToD was always so fun in Sc2.
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Whaaaaaaat? So what is XMG going to do now? And btw: I didn't know that Sjaak switched over to Heroes as well.
But ToD please, come back at least for LotV or continue at least with casting! That's a big loss for sure for the whole scene...
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goodbye to another foreign hope!
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ToD fighting :D
and obligatory
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/WKbhwZg.png)
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Wut? That was quite unexpected. If he keeps casting SC2 it will be fine though, I never saw him playing in tournaments.
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He said he is done for now... Calm down people.
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United States97276 Posts
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United States1225 Posts
Huh. Didn't really see this coming. I knew he played some Heroes, but not enough to justify a full switch. Makes me wonder if Grubby is gonna go over to aAa as well. He's been teasing the switch for a while now, and it would make sense to go with ToD.
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I dont blame him for trying something new. After playing this game since 2000, it would be nice to try another viable Blizzard game. Diablo III sucked so I'm looking forward to something new instead of a continuous loop of Sc2. The mass hacking on ladder doesn't help the current STOG either.
Also, somewhat on, but also off topic. How hard is it to get a Heros Beta? I only see progamers or casters have them.
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Well good luck ToD, but I just know we will still see plenty of him in sc2  .
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United States340 Posts
Interesting news! Best wishes and good luck to le ToD!
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Never thought I'd see European scene people transitioning to Heroes.
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On January 06 2015 04:48 peanuts wrote:
Huh. Didn't really see this coming. I knew he played some Heroes, but not enough to justify a full switch. Makes me wonder if Grubby is gonna go over to aAa as well. He's been teasing the switch for a while now, and it would make sense to go with ToD.
4Kings will live again
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On January 06 2015 04:48 peanuts wrote:
Huh. Didn't really see this coming. I knew he played some Heroes, but not enough to justify a full switch. Makes me wonder if Grubby is gonna go over to aAa as well. He's been teasing the switch for a while now, and it would make sense to go with ToD.
Grubby seems to be playing Heroes as well (until LotV at least) according to his chat.
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Gl ToD you're a great caster.
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Don't get me wrong, I respect ToD, but it's so unlikely he's going to return to the competetive SC2 scene as a player I really don't think he should say that. Or he thinks that after being mainly a caster and playing 1000s of games casually and then trying professionally makes for a good practice for his SC2...
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On January 06 2015 05:33 KeksX wrote:
Don't get me wrong, I respect ToD, but it's so unlikely he's going to return to the competetive SC2 scene as a player I really don't think he should say that. Or he thinks that after being mainly a caster and playing 1000s of games casually and then trying professionally makes for a good practice for his SC2...
Without a doubt his Sc2 career is done now. The people who will stick with Sc2 til LotV launches will be much better than anyone who thinks they can come back and compete in LotV after taking a prolonged time off.
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ToD´s been such a pleasure as a caster and a player. He´ll be just as cool in another game.
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I just want to see him go to EG and have him and Greg duo lane. Maybe have Kiwikaki join in as well and tri-lane.
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Heroes of the Storm: the retirement home for SC2-progamers who can no longer keep up.
Or that's what it looks like at least.
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O M F G. I'll miss the guy for sure, the best SC2 caster to me. GLHF in HotS ToD.
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On January 06 2015 05:43 LimeNade wrote:Show nested quote +On January 06 2015 05:33 KeksX wrote:
Don't get me wrong, I respect ToD, but it's so unlikely he's going to return to the competetive SC2 scene as a player I really don't think he should say that. Or he thinks that after being mainly a caster and playing 1000s of games casually and then trying professionally makes for a good practice for his SC2... Without a doubt his Sc2 career is done now. The people who will stick with Sc2 til LotV launches will be much better than anyone who thinks they can come back and compete in LotV after taking a prolonged time off.
I think it was over a long time ago when he stopped posting big results? A break of a couple months won't necessarily kill your career. It's just people don't usually quit and come back with even more fire.
Tod has had an illustrious sc2 career. I'll never forget his DH run. His casting, analysis, and hosting is top notch. I think he's a real asset to the scene. I just hope if he continues casting SC he at least plays 10 random games or so a week to keep up with the meta. I'm sure he can ride his current skill for a while. Good luck in Heroes.
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On January 06 2015 05:43 LimeNade wrote:Show nested quote +On January 06 2015 05:33 KeksX wrote:
Don't get me wrong, I respect ToD, but it's so unlikely he's going to return to the competetive SC2 scene as a player I really don't think he should say that. Or he thinks that after being mainly a caster and playing 1000s of games casually and then trying professionally makes for a good practice for his SC2... Without a doubt his Sc2 career is done now. The people who will stick with Sc2 til LotV launches will be much better than anyone who thinks they can come back and compete in LotV after taking a prolonged time off.
I disagree, I don't think sc2 has high enough of a skillcap that a pro can't come back from a hiatus and find a spot in the meta that they can position themselves for "success." I put that in quotes because foreigner success in sc2 isn't even a real thing at this point.
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On January 06 2015 06:07 johnbongham wrote:Show nested quote +On January 06 2015 05:43 LimeNade wrote:On January 06 2015 05:33 KeksX wrote:
Don't get me wrong, I respect ToD, but it's so unlikely he's going to return to the competetive SC2 scene as a player I really don't think he should say that. Or he thinks that after being mainly a caster and playing 1000s of games casually and then trying professionally makes for a good practice for his SC2... Without a doubt his Sc2 career is done now. The people who will stick with Sc2 til LotV launches will be much better than anyone who thinks they can come back and compete in LotV after taking a prolonged time off. I disagree, I don't think sc2 has high enough of a skillcap that a pro can't come back from a hiatus and find a spot in the meta that they can position themselves for "success." I put that in quotes because foreigner success in sc2 isn't even a real thing at this point.
That doesn't make any sense.
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On January 06 2015 06:14 Broodwurst wrote:Show nested quote +On January 06 2015 06:07 johnbongham wrote:On January 06 2015 05:43 LimeNade wrote:On January 06 2015 05:33 KeksX wrote:
Don't get me wrong, I respect ToD, but it's so unlikely he's going to return to the competetive SC2 scene as a player I really don't think he should say that. Or he thinks that after being mainly a caster and playing 1000s of games casually and then trying professionally makes for a good practice for his SC2... Without a doubt his Sc2 career is done now. The people who will stick with Sc2 til LotV launches will be much better than anyone who thinks they can come back and compete in LotV after taking a prolonged time off. I disagree, I don't think sc2 has high enough of a skillcap that a pro can't come back from a hiatus and find a spot in the meta that they can position themselves for "success." I put that in quotes because foreigner success in sc2 isn't even a real thing at this point. That doesn't make any sense.
Yes it does. It means that when LOTV comes out it will be a new game, and people who spend their time perfecting tactics and strategies in Hots won't really have any inherent advantage once all the new units and new economy is implemented into the game.
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On January 06 2015 04:19 FeyFey wrote:
I want to force Blizzard into bringing out a Siege Engine Hero now. Kinda sad though ToD was always so fun in Sc2.
Haha, so true. I remember him, I believe he was not even 16, playing the World Cyber Games, building more towers than there were creeps on the map and attacking with siege engines. When the casters where joking about his APM, they actually showed him sitting on his chair with his feed on the table and using only his mouse hand.
As much as I didn't like him back in the day, I really like him now. So I hope he will be doing well with the new game. I hope to see him around eSports a little while longer and I have a feeling SC2 wont do it for him any more.
TL;DR: Good luck, ToD!
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Hots is indeed extremely fun but i wonder if it can make it on the competitive stage.
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On January 06 2015 04:19 FeyFey wrote:
I want to force Blizzard into bringing out a Siege Engine Hero now.
There is one, and it's broken as hell.
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It makes sense for him to do so, lots of fun wished upon thee! But I sure hope you'll stay to cast ToD! Always greatly entertaining!
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Well that sucks, but good luck I guess :/
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I don't think heroes will be a successful game after playing it, but if it is I don't think these former RTS players like idra and Tod and sheth will stand a chance against former league and dota pros and that has already been demonstrated.
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On January 06 2015 05:10 OtherWorld wrote:Show nested quote +On January 06 2015 04:48 peanuts wrote:
Huh. Didn't really see this coming. I knew he played some Heroes, but not enough to justify a full switch. Makes me wonder if Grubby is gonna go over to aAa as well. He's been teasing the switch for a while now, and it would make sense to go with ToD. 4Kings will live again
I wouldn't mind this to be honest 
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ToD and Grubby were legends in WC3 so their foray into SC2 was just fan service for me. If they want to move onto Heroes, then all the best to them. Hopefully they rock it like Duran bros!
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United States340 Posts
On January 06 2015 06:38 shid0x wrote:
Hots is indeed extremely fun but i wonder if it can make it on the competitive stage.
There is already a number of people trying to make it happen.
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On January 06 2015 07:33 afreecaTV.Char wrote:Show nested quote +On January 06 2015 06:38 shid0x wrote:
Hots is indeed extremely fun but i wonder if it can make it on the competitive stage. There is already a number of people trying to make it happen.
The chosen few... 
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On January 06 2015 06:02 maartendq wrote:
Heroes of the Storm: the retirement home for SC2-progamers who can no longer keep up.
Or that's what it looks like at least.
They should have their own league. Before long it will probably have more players than Sc2.
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Wish Tod the best in Hots, but I do hope he continues to cast SC2. One of my favorite casters.
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As long as ToD keeps casting it's ok for me. Also Sjaak is a huge beast in HotS Hopefully Sjaak comes back to Sc2 with LotV though!
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JUST GIVE ME KEY TO PLAY THAT GAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Russian Federation262 Posts
Wow, such news =(
I've missed the scene for some days-week maybe and now get back for this one...
Btw nice to see him made exactly this choice!
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GLHF Tod! hope he keeps doing the sc2 casting.
Is HOTS really fun to play? i find it less fun to watch than sc2.
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i just hope he continues to cast
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On January 06 2015 08:51 NervO wrote:As long as ToD keeps casting it's ok for me. Also Sjaak is a huge beast in HotS Hopefully Sjaak comes back to Sc2 with LotV though!
I don't remember Sjaak retiring...
Forgot to read article
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HOTS is pretty fun but 1000 games fun? IDK Kev. I'm sure ToD will still cast SC2, gotta get dat caster dolla bill
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EPT![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/2SGYi2R.png)
