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Finland931 Posts
Serral will start his mandatory military service in April of 2024.
Source in Finnish
He has applied and been accepted to a special unit that's made for professional and high level athletes so they can have a chance of keeping up with their careers during their service. Serral can apply to travel to various events, and these will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. His normal weekly schedule will have more extra free time than a normal conscript so he can keep practicing. There's still a very real chance he'll miss some events in 2024, possibly even in 2025. Normally the service lasts either 165 or 347 days.
Serral is only the third esports player to be selected into the unit. The other two have been Erik "EKI" Tammenpää, who plays NHL, and nowadays also streams a lot, and Lasse "ZOREE" Uronen, who has since retired from CS.
One of the more famous recent non-esports players in the unit was the basketball player Lauri Markkanen
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wait, so he cant play in DH Dallas and the Wolrd Championship? That would suck then.
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Finland931 Posts
On December 09 2023 22:28 tigera6 wrote:
wait, so he cant play in DH Dallas and the Wolrd Championship? That would suck then.
He might still get to play those events, he'll just have to apply separately each time he wants to travel to an event. There's also a chance that his application will be turned down.
Edited the OP for some clarificiation.
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I remember in 2018 there was an interview where Serral said he played about 5 hours a day. If that's still true I think he'll be able to maintain a high level (being tired from military duties will probably make his hours of practice lower quality though.)
Serral missing one of the major offline events would suck though. Scheduling time for online tournaments will also be difficult, I imagine.
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Oh that's cool that he got into a special unit, and it's only half a year or a year at most!
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TIL Finland has mandatory service
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OK, so that will probably be the end of SC2 watching to me, or at least it will largely destroy my interest in the esporst scene. I love Serral dominating and playing. Sad but unavoidable.
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You cannot be the GOAT in SC2 without mandatory military service apparently...
If that is the case ESL really shafted him with their "YOLO, we prolong the season for half a year so we can fit it into Gamers8"-move.
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On December 10 2023 02:29 HolydaKing wrote:
OK, so that will probably be the end of SC2 watching to me, or at least it will largely destroy my interest in the esporst scene. I love Serral dominating and playing. Sad but unavoidable.
Don't be so hasty. Whole purpose of Serral's entry to sports corps is to be able to continue his career somewhat uninterrupted. Finnish Defense Forces saw the value of his efforts in Esports when accepting him in to the Sports School. They also saw the PR-potential of SC2 GOAT.
Hell, it's practically unavoidable Serral will get Commands to participate and represent Finland when he is doing his military duty, as a part of that duty.
If there are any wise brass in the Finnish Army, multitasking Serral will spend and multitask most of his time with:
1) Practicing Drone operations command and control, and drone tech
2) Practicing StarCraft 2 and taking part to SC2 tournaments
Please delay your "end of SC2" at least some year, so you won't miss any GI Serral's match.
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Serral is the definitive korean starcraft player isnt he?
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On December 10 2023 03:02 Argonauta wrote:
Serral is the definitive korean starcraft player isnt he?
Merely the definitive "foreing" Starcraft player, but
from Finnish military's perspective, rifle shooting, moose hunting outdoors man, highly capable to handle with 'fog of war' and concentrating to multitask rabidly from a tactical level actions, through an operational level considerations all the way to a strategic level planning while keeping eye closely on a war economy, conscript Sotala* seems to be rather desirable type of personnel materiel for needs of the army.
* roughly translated as "a place of war", or "warsby", or "site of war" or "site where the war dwells".
Not that foreign for the Army.
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LOL! What absolute insanity.
RIP European SC2 
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GOAT Serral decided to let someone else in the SC2 scene to win
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On December 10 2023 03:48 M3t4PhYzX wrote:LOL! What absolute insanity. RIP European SC2
how is this "insanity" ?
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On December 10 2023 04:56 TossHeroes wrote:
GOAT Serral decided to let someone else in the SC2 scene to win
Pretty sure Reynor has won a lot of tournaments in the last couple years.
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thought it was april 1st for a second.
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huh, didn't know finland had mandatory service.
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On December 10 2023 07:47 lechatnoir wrote:
huh, didn't know finland had mandatory service.
With Russia right next door it's not surprising.
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On December 10 2023 05:32 Ikirouta wrote:Show nested quote +On December 10 2023 03:48 M3t4PhYzX wrote:LOL! What absolute insanity. RIP European SC2 how is this "insanity" ?
considering his career ofc
+ i was not aware that FIN had mandatory service laws. Is this a recent idea because of the RUS/UKR war or something I just missed about the country before?
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On December 09 2023 23:39 Cricketer12 wrote:
TIL Finland has mandatory service
Same. I was 100% that the post was a wierd April Fools joke
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Finland931 Posts
Finland has had a general conscription model for over a 100 years, technically even before Finland was an independent country.
Serral gets to join what's essentially a sports unit, so while it will have an effect on his practice and tournaments, that effect is still smaller than if he had just joined a normal unit. Now, he might not be able to pick whether he spends 165 or 347 days there, so that's something to keep in mind.
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On December 09 2023 23:39 Cricketer12 wrote:
TIL Finland has mandatory service
What sharing a massive border with a territorial fascist does to a motherfucker.
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On December 10 2023 03:48 M3t4PhYzX wrote:LOL! What absolute insanity. RIP European SC2
I think its much the other way around. Ppl will work harder knowing theres a much higher chance to win EU and international tourneys for a period o time.
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Its gonna be rather interesting
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As someone who's also gone through the Finnish military service, and knowing something about the "athlete school" system they have, it's probably not going to affect his playing as much as the service does for the Koreans. Also it's nice to hear he can still travel to events
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On December 10 2023 19:01 M3t4PhYzX wrote:Show nested quote +On December 10 2023 05:32 Ikirouta wrote:On December 10 2023 03:48 M3t4PhYzX wrote:LOL! What absolute insanity. RIP European SC2 how is this "insanity" ? considering his career ofc + i was not aware that FIN had mandatory service laws. Is this a recent idea because of the RUS/UKR war or something I just missed about the country before?
As hexhaven pointed out, this has been a thing for a long time. Being next to Russia with such a small population makes it a much more viable option than having a PMC
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On December 10 2023 19:01 M3t4PhYzX wrote:Show nested quote +On December 10 2023 05:32 Ikirouta wrote:On December 10 2023 03:48 M3t4PhYzX wrote:LOL! What absolute insanity. RIP European SC2 how is this "insanity" ? considering his career ofc + i was not aware that FIN had mandatory service laws. Is this a recent idea because of the RUS/UKR war or something I just missed about the country before?
Mandatory military service has been the case for pretty much Finland's entire existence as a country.
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Well. That makes me very sad
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Really nice that they admitted him into that special unit. Military is pretty easy in Finland and should be even easier in that special athletic unit if athletics means e-sports in this case. Hopefully Serral only has to serve for 180 days.
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United States33388 Posts
On December 10 2023 20:40 hexhaven wrote:
Finland has had a general conscription model for over a 100 years, technically even before Finland was an independent country.
Serral gets to join what's essentially a sports unit, so while it will have an effect on his practice and tournaments, that effect is still smaller than if he had just joined a normal unit. Now, he might not be able to pick whether he spends 165 or 347 days there, so that's something to keep in mind.
No details on the duration in the article?
In the case of Lauri Markkanen, I think they let him split it up over two summers so it wouldn't interfere with his national team and NBA games, but I doubt they'd give that much consideration to an esports competitor. Even with the shorter ~7 month service, feels like missing out on DreamHack Dallas + Gamers8 will be very likely for Serral?
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On December 11 2023 11:05 Waxangel wrote:Show nested quote +On December 10 2023 20:40 hexhaven wrote:
Finland has had a general conscription model for over a 100 years, technically even before Finland was an independent country.
Serral gets to join what's essentially a sports unit, so while it will have an effect on his practice and tournaments, that effect is still smaller than if he had just joined a normal unit. Now, he might not be able to pick whether he spends 165 or 347 days there, so that's something to keep in mind. No details on the duration in the article? In the case of Lauri Markkanen, I think they let him split it up over two summers so it wouldn't interfere with his national team and NBA games, but I doubt they'd give that much consideration to an esports competitor. Even with the shorter ~7 month service, feels like missing out on DreamHack Dallas + Gamers8 will be very likely for Serral?
I think Serral said that he'll prolly miss Dallas but not the "world championship" event.
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United States33388 Posts
On December 11 2023 12:18 Luolis wrote:Show nested quote +On December 11 2023 11:05 Waxangel wrote:On December 10 2023 20:40 hexhaven wrote:
Finland has had a general conscription model for over a 100 years, technically even before Finland was an independent country.
Serral gets to join what's essentially a sports unit, so while it will have an effect on his practice and tournaments, that effect is still smaller than if he had just joined a normal unit. Now, he might not be able to pick whether he spends 165 or 347 days there, so that's something to keep in mind. No details on the duration in the article? In the case of Lauri Markkanen, I think they let him split it up over two summers so it wouldn't interfere with his national team and NBA games, but I doubt they'd give that much consideration to an esports competitor. Even with the shorter ~7 month service, feels like missing out on DreamHack Dallas + Gamers8 will be very likely for Serral? I think Serral said that he'll prolly miss Dallas but not the "world championship" event.
Hmm, maybe he has info that it's happening later in the year? Or perhaps he did get a special dispensation after all.
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Finland931 Posts
On December 11 2023 11:05 Waxangel wrote:Show nested quote +On December 10 2023 20:40 hexhaven wrote:
Finland has had a general conscription model for over a 100 years, technically even before Finland was an independent country.
Serral gets to join what's essentially a sports unit, so while it will have an effect on his practice and tournaments, that effect is still smaller than if he had just joined a normal unit. Now, he might not be able to pick whether he spends 165 or 347 days there, so that's something to keep in mind. No details on the duration in the article?
The duration is probably not decided as of yet, we'll just have to wait and see. Serral might get to visit all big tournaments and still spend 347 days in uniform, or he might not visit any events and spend only 165 days. It'll depend on what happens in 2024, since I assume the military still has specific quotas to fill in case of moblization.
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They have like 45 days of Sports related vacations to use within the service if it lasts 165 days so I think participating in weekend events would be easy for Serral.
And that is just the basic, beyond that there is always vacation per request which can be approved.
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On December 11 2023 04:25 Akio wrote:Show nested quote +On December 10 2023 19:01 M3t4PhYzX wrote:On December 10 2023 05:32 Ikirouta wrote:On December 10 2023 03:48 M3t4PhYzX wrote:LOL! What absolute insanity. RIP European SC2 how is this "insanity" ? considering his career ofc + i was not aware that FIN had mandatory service laws. Is this a recent idea because of the RUS/UKR war or something I just missed about the country before? As hexhaven pointed out, this has been a thing for a long time. Being next to Russia with such a small population makes it a much more viable option than having a PMC
Did not know that, thanks for clarifying.
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Germany339 Posts
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Russian Federation391 Posts
This is good for other players as they will be able to take the trophies. Besides, there will be some intrigue for the viewers instead of knowing that one player will always win.
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On December 10 2023 21:09 Mikau wrote:Show nested quote +On December 09 2023 23:39 Cricketer12 wrote:
TIL Finland has mandatory service What sharing a massive border with a territorial fascist does to a motherfucker.
It's also not uncommon across neither the Nordics, or in mainland Europe, to have conscription armies. That has tended to be related to defense against Russia and/or the Soviet Union in general, of course, but before then it was in relation to other strategical interests.
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The hardest part is the two first months in the army - after that getting training leave and travel permissions is easier. Dallas is right at the end of his 2 first months, so he might be able to be there but in what shape is anyones guess.
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Bump because this is right around the corner.
Also out of curiousity I was revisiting the link in the OP and there I found that Serral actually has his own company "Serral Oy" (Oy means stock corporation I think)
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On March 18 2024 22:43 Harris1st wrote:
Bump because this is right around the corner.
Also out of curiousity I was revisiting the link in the OP and there I found that Serral actually has his own company "Serral Oy" (Oy means stock corporation I think)
The company is there just for invoicing tournament winnings. You pay less tax if it goes to company first.
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Does anybody know when does his military service end?
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Shortest one is 165 days. I dont know if its still confirmed how long service he will have?
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On August 19 2024 03:19 kajtarp wrote:
Does anybody know when does his military service end?
Should be sometime in October, early November the latest depending on the actual date he started.
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United States33388 Posts
On August 19 2024 03:21 TheBloodyDwarf wrote:
Shortest one is 165 days. I dont know if its still confirmed how long service he will have?
tsk tsk, it was confirmed way earlier that he got approved for the short duration: https://www.is.fi/digitoday/esports/art-2000010534216.html
I guess UnLarva is the only true Serral fan on these forums 
So April 15th start + 165 days is September 27th—not long at all now!
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United States1870 Posts
On August 19 2024 06:12 Waxangel wrote:Show nested quote +On August 19 2024 03:21 TheBloodyDwarf wrote:
Shortest one is 165 days. I dont know if its still confirmed how long service he will have? tsk tsk, it was confirmed way earlier that he got approved for the short duration: https://www.is.fi/digitoday/esports/art-2000010534216.htmlI guess UnLarva is the only true Serral fan on these forums So April 15th start + 165 days is September 27th.
Can I post drunk santa?
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United States33388 Posts
On August 19 2024 06:42 Mizenhauer wrote:Show nested quote +On August 19 2024 06:12 Waxangel wrote:On August 19 2024 03:21 TheBloodyDwarf wrote:
Shortest one is 165 days. I dont know if its still confirmed how long service he will have? tsk tsk, it was confirmed way earlier that he got approved for the short duration: https://www.is.fi/digitoday/esports/art-2000010534216.htmlI guess UnLarva is the only true Serral fan on these forums So April 15th start + 165 days is September 27th. Can I post drunk santa?
No
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On August 19 2024 06:42 Mizenhauer wrote:Show nested quote +On August 19 2024 06:12 Waxangel wrote:On August 19 2024 03:21 TheBloodyDwarf wrote:
Shortest one is 165 days. I dont know if its still confirmed how long service he will have? tsk tsk, it was confirmed way earlier that he got approved for the short duration: https://www.is.fi/digitoday/esports/art-2000010534216.htmlI guess UnLarva is the only true Serral fan on these forums So April 15th start + 165 days is September 27th. Can I post drunk santa?
do it do it
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Serral has confirmed in his DIscord a while back that he'll conclude the service on September 26, 2024.
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Wow! Back already, nice. And did he ever do well as an Airforce ACE. ;]
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EPT
