EPT![[image loading]](/staff/disciple/TLpro/HSTLart3.jpg)
The Biggest Little Lan
![[image loading]](http://wiki.teamliquid.net/starcraft/images2/5/5f/DennisTaKeGehlen.jpg)
The benevolent patron, TaKe.
It may sound like just a faint dream, but Take is turning that dream into reality. We're not kidding; the wealthy aristocrat Take actually invited 35 Starcraft 2 progamers to his apartment (Video (German) for a giant four day LAN tournament (and when we say LAN, we mean they'll have an equal disadvantage if Battle.net wants to act up). Yes, we're jealous. Luckily, Take realizes that many of us would kill (and more) for the kind of opportunity he's getting, so he decided to stream it for all of us to avoid an angry riot.
Here's the rundown:
Duration
June 23rd - 26th
Prize Pool
5,000 Euros
Player List
+ Show Spoiler [Players] +
Group A:
Jinro
MoMaN
NightEnD
SaSe
Group B:
ThorZaIN
HayprO
ToD
HasuObs
Group C:
IdrA
Grubby
Delphi
ClouD
Group D:
Ret
Jimpo
Socke
Adelscott
Group E:
Merciless Korean Prize Money Monster MC
Tyler
XlorD
DeMusliM
Group F:
HuK
Stephano
Naama
iNSoLeNCE
Group G:
NaNiwa
Bischu
DIMAGA
Tarson
Group H:
DarKFoRcE
Machine
White-Ra
GoOdy
Format
Group Stage - 8x four player groups, top two players from each group advance to the next round. All matches are best of three.
Double Elimination Tournament - The top sixteen players compete in a double elimination tournament. All matches are best of three, the winners' finals and losers' finals are best of five, and the grand finals is a best of seven.
Resources: Homepage (German) - Official TeamLiquid Thread - HD Stream Order
June 23rd - 26th
Prize Pool
5,000 Euros
Player List
+ Show Spoiler [Players] +
Group A:
Jinro MoMaN NightEnD SaSe Group B:
ThorZaIN HayprO ToD HasuObs Group C:
IdrA Grubby Delphi ClouD Group D:
Ret Jimpo Socke Adelscott Group E:
MC Tyler XlorD DeMusliM Group F:
HuK Stephano Naama iNSoLeNCE Group G:
NaNiwa Bischu DIMAGA Tarson Group H:
DarKFoRcE Machine White-Ra GoOdy Format
Group Stage - 8x four player groups, top two players from each group advance to the next round. All matches are best of three.
Double Elimination Tournament - The top sixteen players compete in a double elimination tournament. All matches are best of three, the winners' finals and losers' finals are best of five, and the grand finals is a best of seven.
Resources: Homepage (German) - Official TeamLiquid Thread - HD Stream Order
Or as some might call it - DreamHack II : Some dude's apartment.
Since TL's very own Zatic will be there to
Can Huk Repeat?
Some may say that winning Dreamhack propelled Huk into #1 non-Korean spot, but I beg to differ. The guy has spent more than half his career in Korea at this point. So when I think about Huk and his accomplishments at Dreamhack, I'm not thinking of him as some protector of foreign pride - He's another Korean come to show the world what's up.
And when you consider the performances of Koreans in foreign tournaments so far, I'd be surprised if Huk finished outside of the top four. Two big tournaments wins and advancement to the next round of Code-S? This could easily become Huk's best two weeks as a progamer.
Will MC continue to increase Korea's national wealth?
As long as we're speaking of Koreans, how about the scariest one of them all? Let it be known that MC has only been eliminated from an international tournament by a non-Korean ONCE (Thorzain in TSL3). Basically, if a fellow Korean doesn't knock him out, he wins the tournament.
Now, all due respect to the remaining Koreans Jinro and Huk, but MC's gotta be pretty damn relieved that Bomber, July, and Moon decided to skip this cup. So while I like Huk's chances to win this tournament, I like MC's even more.
Who is the best foreigner?
The obvious question, now that I've dismissed all your claims about HuK being a foreigner (I'm not even going to argue about it). Well, damn, this is a hard one! I thought it was Thorzain for a while, but two early stage knockouts from Shoutcraft invitational and DreamHack hurt his cause. How about Naniwa, with his consistently solid play and high tournament finishes? Or maybe it's someone not even in the cup, an online monster like Nerchio who has yet to reveal himself in larger competitions.
In any case, with none of the foreigners actually winning in the non-Korean tournaments, it seems like the best foreigner spot is up for grabs. While another Korean victory would continue the chaos, any foreigner who wins this tournament would have an extremely strong case to be declared the best amongst his brethren.
The Starcraft Pub - Video (German)
It turns out that there's an Irish pub (in Germany, go figure) in the same building as Take's apartment, so he's arranged a unique viewing experience for any fans who want to show up and watch the games. Obviously, he can't let everyone into the apartment itself, but he's worked out a deal where the games will be shown on TVs at the pub! As someone who's watched Starcraft at venues across multiple continents, I can tell you that this is really up there in awesomeness. So head on over to:
Limericks Irish Pub
Wiedenhofstr. 60
47798 Krefeld, Germany
That's not all. In a fortuitous turn for the fans, Take, for all his magnanimosity and love of e-Sports, lacks common sense. From what I gather, he is actively coaxing the gathered progamers to go hang out in the aforementioned pub to get a drink or nine after the games, and hang out with the fans. This is a terrible, terrible, wonderful idea.
Hopefully, the stories from HomeStoryCup III will be the stuff of Starcraft legend.
Drama
32 progamers are gonna be chilling together at some guy's apartment. What could possibly go right? For God's sake, Idra's there. By this point, who hasn't Idra pissed off, and who doesn't enjoy pissing Idra off? Imagine this scene:
After a particularly egregious loss to a cheese rush, Idra heads to the bathroom to wash his face with cold water. As he hunches over the sink, droplets of water falling off his face, he feels an arm coming to rest along his shoulders. Idra looks up. It's MC.
"Are you angry?"
Some may say that winning Dreamhack propelled Huk into #1 non-Korean spot, but I beg to differ. The guy has spent more than half his career in Korea at this point. So when I think about Huk and his accomplishments at Dreamhack, I'm not thinking of him as some protector of foreign pride - He's another Korean come to show the world what's up.
And when you consider the performances of Koreans in foreign tournaments so far, I'd be surprised if Huk finished outside of the top four. Two big tournaments wins and advancement to the next round of Code-S? This could easily become Huk's best two weeks as a progamer.
Will MC continue to increase Korea's national wealth?
As long as we're speaking of Koreans, how about the scariest one of them all? Let it be known that MC has only been eliminated from an international tournament by a non-Korean ONCE (Thorzain in TSL3). Basically, if a fellow Korean doesn't knock him out, he wins the tournament.
Now, all due respect to the remaining Koreans Jinro and Huk, but MC's gotta be pretty damn relieved that Bomber, July, and Moon decided to skip this cup. So while I like Huk's chances to win this tournament, I like MC's even more.
Who is the best foreigner?
The obvious question, now that I've dismissed all your claims about HuK being a foreigner (I'm not even going to argue about it). Well, damn, this is a hard one! I thought it was Thorzain for a while, but two early stage knockouts from Shoutcraft invitational and DreamHack hurt his cause. How about Naniwa, with his consistently solid play and high tournament finishes? Or maybe it's someone not even in the cup, an online monster like Nerchio who has yet to reveal himself in larger competitions.
In any case, with none of the foreigners actually winning in the non-Korean tournaments, it seems like the best foreigner spot is up for grabs. While another Korean victory would continue the chaos, any foreigner who wins this tournament would have an extremely strong case to be declared the best amongst his brethren.
The Starcraft Pub - Video (German)
It turns out that there's an Irish pub (in Germany, go figure) in the same building as Take's apartment, so he's arranged a unique viewing experience for any fans who want to show up and watch the games. Obviously, he can't let everyone into the apartment itself, but he's worked out a deal where the games will be shown on TVs at the pub! As someone who's watched Starcraft at venues across multiple continents, I can tell you that this is really up there in awesomeness. So head on over to:
Limericks Irish Pub
Wiedenhofstr. 60
47798 Krefeld, Germany
That's not all. In a fortuitous turn for the fans, Take, for all his magnanimosity and love of e-Sports, lacks common sense. From what I gather, he is actively coaxing the gathered progamers to go hang out in the aforementioned pub to get a drink or nine after the games, and hang out with the fans. This is a terrible, terrible, wonderful idea.
Hopefully, the stories from HomeStoryCup III will be the stuff of Starcraft legend.
Drama
32 progamers are gonna be chilling together at some guy's apartment. What could possibly go right? For God's sake, Idra's there. By this point, who hasn't Idra pissed off, and who doesn't enjoy pissing Idra off? Imagine this scene:
After a particularly egregious loss to a cheese rush, Idra heads to the bathroom to wash his face with cold water. As he hunches over the sink, droplets of water falling off his face, he feels an arm coming to rest along his shoulders. Idra looks up. It's MC.
"Are you angry?"
Anyway, I don't know enough German to really tell you any more. Take it away Zatic, it's up to you!
