EPTCM From Ogaming response
On December 08 2018 04:08 Orphal wrote:
Hey guys, @OGSC2 CM here. I wanted to clarify things a little bit, because all of this is well-known within the French community, but maybe not so much internationally.
O'Gaming recruited INnoVation on May 24th (that's about 7 months ago) after we reached our 2400 Subs goal (which we call "Road to Poutre", basically "Road to Awesomeness" if you will). It was a deal made with our community: reach 2400 Subs, we recruit a player.
During Nation Wars V, we were already talking with some players, but we had the opportunity to talk with INnoVation directly when he came to Paris for the finals. Both parties were interested (and to be honest, O'Gaming's crew was just ecstatic), and remained in contact. It took a while to draft the contract (especially because it has to be translated in Korean, by an official translator etc etc BORING), but here we go: on May 24th we announced him officially (with a video that personally still gives me nerdchills to this day after watching it dozens of times):
(I'm bad at timer, check from 1:56:02)
(watch after the video, the reaction of the crew)
Since the very beginning (even said like 30 seconds before showing the video announcement), the deal was to sign with him up until BlizzCon, and then see what's up. Most importantly, O'Gaming did not get any sponsorship for INnoVation, and solely relied on Subs, therefore on money earned by the channel itself, to pay for INnoVation's contract. This is why we couldn't just sign him for 3 years or something, because Subs go up and down, and it's just too complicated to see too far in the future, especially in StarCraft II.
Obviously we were sad that INnoVation didn't manage to qualify for BlizzCon, but this did not prevent us from cheering for him in all other smaller tournaments, the last one being HomeStory Cup XVIII which he almost won, against arguably the strongest player out there right now. When we said we would recruit a player, we never imagined we would be able to sign such a legend as INnoVation. So his performance is not in question.
Near the end of his contract, INnoVation expressed the will to look for another team, pursue other ambitions. Remember that O'Gaming is not able to give INnoVation everything a more conventional team could give him: we are a WebTV, and not equipped to help him with a coach and support staff.
On O'Gaming's side, we just signed OG_MarineLorD for his return to the SC2 scene.
It seemed only natural to just part ways, in a very friendly way, and wish him good luck for the future.
The connection between INnoVation and the French community is very strong, and even though he's not officially under O'Gaming's colors anymore, we will definitely continue to cheer for him so he can show us good games. I can guarantee you that in our hearts, he's only going to be second to French players.
Hey guys, @OGSC2 CM here. I wanted to clarify things a little bit, because all of this is well-known within the French community, but maybe not so much internationally.
O'Gaming recruited INnoVation on May 24th (that's about 7 months ago) after we reached our 2400 Subs goal (which we call "Road to Poutre", basically "Road to Awesomeness" if you will). It was a deal made with our community: reach 2400 Subs, we recruit a player.
During Nation Wars V, we were already talking with some players, but we had the opportunity to talk with INnoVation directly when he came to Paris for the finals. Both parties were interested (and to be honest, O'Gaming's crew was just ecstatic), and remained in contact. It took a while to draft the contract (especially because it has to be translated in Korean, by an official translator etc etc BORING), but here we go: on May 24th we announced him officially (with a video that personally still gives me nerdchills to this day after watching it dozens of times):
(I'm bad at timer, check from 1:56:02)
(watch after the video, the reaction of the crew)
Since the very beginning (even said like 30 seconds before showing the video announcement), the deal was to sign with him up until BlizzCon, and then see what's up. Most importantly, O'Gaming did not get any sponsorship for INnoVation, and solely relied on Subs, therefore on money earned by the channel itself, to pay for INnoVation's contract. This is why we couldn't just sign him for 3 years or something, because Subs go up and down, and it's just too complicated to see too far in the future, especially in StarCraft II.
Obviously we were sad that INnoVation didn't manage to qualify for BlizzCon, but this did not prevent us from cheering for him in all other smaller tournaments, the last one being HomeStory Cup XVIII which he almost won, against arguably the strongest player out there right now. When we said we would recruit a player, we never imagined we would be able to sign such a legend as INnoVation. So his performance is not in question.
Near the end of his contract, INnoVation expressed the will to look for another team, pursue other ambitions. Remember that O'Gaming is not able to give INnoVation everything a more conventional team could give him: we are a WebTV, and not equipped to help him with a coach and support staff.
On O'Gaming's side, we just signed OG_MarineLorD for his return to the SC2 scene.
It seemed only natural to just part ways, in a very friendly way, and wish him good luck for the future.
The connection between INnoVation and the French community is very strong, and even though he's not officially under O'Gaming's colors anymore, we will definitely continue to cheer for him so he can show us good games. I can guarantee you that in our hearts, he's only going to be second to French players.
