Yeah!Invasion is the right word :D WE wins WC3L against 4K in the finals, and the next thing you know:their whole team transfers to SK(except Sky).Soju,Remind,Lyn and Reign...Then there was some incident with Xlord,never rly figured out what heppened there...

Except Sky, Infi, Ted, Like and suho ;) World Elite was quite big back then, and it was a good thing they split up to give more excellent players a chance to shine.
Xlord got fired cause of the new squad, just like Hot, Insomnia retired, Deadman got kicked before, that's all. They just kept miou out of loyalty, and maybe cause he's Human, while they got a new Ud with Reign.

Infi,Ted,Like,and suho didn't get to play a single game in that season's play offs,that's why I didn't mention them.I know Xlord got fired cuz of the new squad,but I distinctly remember there were statements flying back and forth from xlord and sk for a while after that...Can't remember why though.

Ok,maybe I exaggerated a little bit...It's not like didn't get to play at all,but Sky was their big gun back then,and the rest of the line up was usually a variation of Soju,Lyn,Remind and Reign

http://www.sk-gaming.com/content/15859-SK_responds_to_XlorD

Reading the first passage of the SK's official statement was enough...Xlord was obviously a brat

xlord is noob!

Glad that SK isn't wasting money on blademastercraft anyway

They just don't have the money to recuit an all Orc player team

theres still one left lol : SK.Angels [orc]

Awww...so many forgotten names pop up when u take a closer look at ancient times of Wc3 : )

I have always opposed the buying-korean-mercs policy that the euro teams had.Imo, this was one of the reasons for the downfall ot the euro teams.Paying overmuch salaries that never really paid back + depriving the euro players from the chance to develop.I never got the idea of hiring a bit better player for way higher salary than for a bit worse, but with a way lower salary

The Question is: why should one of the biggest Clans in the world like SK have a second class team? If they compete, they claim to be the best team. 4K proved that fulltime european pros are equal full time asian pros. What I don't like about SK-gaming is their lack of spirit and faith in their roots. Wc3 made them big (and cs) and now they close the whole team. For me this sk without wc3 team is dead. I don't care a shit about this clan anymore. And I probably wont visit their site anylonger ( which might be happy news ;)).

Would you rather see the good name of SK being dragged through mud until ultimately,nobody even remembered what a privelege it used to be to play for SK.WC3?I think not.What players could they have picked up after Lyn left?I keep seeing ppl talking about Check not being a full time pro any longer(focusing on studies).And then we have WhO.Even if he is a top5 orc(possibly top6) in the world,he is not the kind of player that's going to bring titles and medals to the team.SK doesn't settle for average.

They might have been able to acquire some new talent,but let's be realistic-is this the right time for such moves?

dont forget that SK had RohJinWook & Violet
they kicked Michael when his results were not on the level of lyn for some clanwars
and they kicked Violet when he wasnt able to train cause his house burned down..

now both Michael & Violet become stronger and stronger, like Violet 2-0 Lyn today, Michael 1-0 Lucifron today
and they both would have been kinda cheap if SK just kept them in their team..
now they could have a lineup with Violet, Michael & add 3d korean talent, for example Believe.. cheapt, strong, motivated, imba!

Don't make the mistake of thinking that Violet is better than Lyn just cuz he won a bo3.Releasing Michael was a bad move,i've said so countless times.

But,maybe releasing violet was a detrimental move too...After all,he is the most talented player

fixed.

Though I agree, if only for PR reasons. Sk wanted one star player to carry the team, which is obviously Lyn. Hiring the 2 pretty much lowest profile players of their race (not talking achievements, but popularity etc.) Check and Who was in no way an improvement, they only made the team more expensive.
All that aside, it's funny to see many teams doing well with their reliable non-superstar players, like srs and Ies while SK and EG performed way below their expectations.

Could you tell me what was the point of your post ?

After owniretard ruined the old SK by uniting SK.int with SK.germany, SK should have invested in talented euro players, not wasting a bunch of money on koreans.2008 was tragic for Remind and Soju and WC3L was not the same thing as it used to be in the past.The adding of Lyn was a good idea ,but the Remind-Soju investment never paid back (Remind won 800 $ in 2008 from tournaments).After Enrique's leaving SK turned to something very hard to describe - some wannabe wc3 form of Chelsea.Anyway, it's all over now.SK management totaly failed together with MYM and 4K

Too harsh, man. Sk was a stable team for a long time, Lyn dominated a whole year under the Sk tag, and most important of all, SK is still alive as an organisation, unlike 4K and the old MYM.

wasnt SoJu won at least ESWC 2007, was he already under SK tag then?

Soju won ESWC under the SK tag and I just checked his profile here:he also won NicegameTV Season 2.And if memory serves,he beat Lyn in the semis,one of the most dominant players of the last couple of years.Conviniently,he also beat the very Check somebody mentioned as an average player in the finals.

While soju was still active,WC3L was still the premier team league of WC3 and one of the most prestigeous competitions out there.Throughout their time in SK,Soju/Remind were one of the strongest 2v2 teams in the league,Rivaled only by Shy/Focus and Grubby/Moon in those times.After recruiting practically the whole roster of the former WE,SK made it to the playoffs of seasons XII,XIII and failed to qualify last season,right?
As for Lyn-it's pretty obvious.

To sum up,I wouldn't exactly say that it was a bad investment

SK also won the WC3L once and came 2nd once or twice.

WhO also won the ESWC once, although not under the SK flag.

I just gotta say this...Michael vs Lucifron on MV-possibly the sickest game you'll see in 2010.It doesn't get much better than that.Michael is without a doubt one of the most wicked players ever to play the game.Unbeliaveble

some people think since EG is struggling (kicked happy, failed in wc3l playoffs)
that grubby might be the replacement for lyn
SK.Grubby ... one of the most famous teams combined with one of the most famous players.. would surely make a lot of biased fanboys register here. I think Sk was trying to get him earlier, remember when cassandra used to post here a lot.
I don't know if SK still has to money to invest, but surely would be a fitting option.
(I myself like SK, but dislike grubby so I wouldnt be to glad at all, but seems a reasonable option)

Hohohohoho, what a sinister scenario. I'd say let him come and battle it out with me.

Lyn said in his last ivew that he prospected WMF because he had "troubles" with SK. That means SK didnt pay him period.

Look at all the staff lay off, BDS calling it quit, WC3 lay off, some also say rapha out, poor dumb accounting guy posting as "Jon Doe" to desperately get some hits, Addidas stripped from sponsored (after intel/AMD last year), look at the remaining sponsors and compare Acer and Steelseries to Addidas Intel and AMD, I mean cmon! :)

SK is broke; for the moment at least, don't think a smart guy like Grubby would move in even if they were prospecting him...

the korean invasion is the best thing happened to the european scene ,the skillgap between Koreans & Europeans would still be lightyears if the Korean wouldnt come to play in WC3L. Talented europeans who ? there has been always just only 5 good europeans (anyone can name them easily). Come invest in XlorD and he could win some euros in EPS lol

SK is not broke at all, they have always paid what they promised, youre just making bullshit assumptions as usual. Its not always ppl or sponsors dropping a team, thats just what people love to make up, its often the other way around aswell so no, i definitely think its not the money

Soju didnt win ESWC under SK tag - http://www.mymym.com/en/news/8208.html

Dont be fucking kidding me about WC3L.When we talk about sports on professional level we talk about MONEY.I am not sure that WC3L's first place prize could pay off for SK.WE.kor's salaries for 1 month.Get serious.Yes, in the end of the 2008 Soju won 1 tournament and so what, does that make it up for a whole fail year.Well, he still performed better than Remind.

The bad management of SK is the reason why the team is in a situation like that.

About Grubby - yup, he is a whining bitch who makes lame excuses all the time and never misses the chance to show off in a way that can take you out of control.What goes around comes around, so I am sure that vengeance one day shall fall on him

God! The SK staff guy says "it's not the money!", Everything I wrote must be just plain "bullshit" I made up!

Mate, I just state facts. If you think it's just coincidental and has no influence on your "employer" cash flow, you must have a real blind faith...

It's certainly not to put SK's good will at stake either, imho it's just what the e-Sport industry is meant to be. Hopefully that can change in the future...

So people who are actually on-staff (or recently have been, in immo's case) no less about the money situation than you? Righto!

Have you heard any staff members complain about their money in the past months? Have you heard any players complain (since the Remind incident, which was proved to be a misunderstanding)? Has Rapha actually left? Nope.

Your "facts" are nothing but unfounded rumours and hearsay, which have been shot down by two people who actually work/ed for SK. And if you paid attention to the WoW coverage from EM last weekend (i know most WC3 fans hate the game, but anyway...) you'd see why the adidas adverts aren't here any more ;)

no = know* ewww :s

ive probably been involved alot more than you think as being part of SK for almost 4,5 years and yes, i can state you the fact it is not the money where you make up your fact "SK didnt pay period".
all you do is make assumptions and none of them are true at all

Okay, what the hell SK's financial situation has to do with the fucking topic ?

Basicly everything. Lot of cash = Good players. Lacking cash = Kick 'em!

Just out of curiosity: Why are they gone?
I know SK switched to Nike instead, though I don't see their tag yet. But was there any other reason?
I'd like to hear more about that sponsor swap and who decided it, cause dropping/losing adidas which is associated so closely with German soccer while also boasting the FIFA twins... doesn't make sense.

Oh and that Lyn left cause of non-paid salaries is bullshit. Sk always paid up, and when even the lower level orgas get their money you know they still pay. Also Sk basically build their team around Lyn, which means he and his salary comes first, no matter what. There are other reasons, maybe SK wanted to drop their wc3 squad, maybe Lyn thought he deserves a raise, maybe SK thought he deserves less...

I dont mean to be harsh on you two, but that's the point: you work/ed for SK, what impartiallity would you have in judging or going on public on the same site's forums? I wouldn't expect anything else but you opposing strongly to me, or just stay quiet... The fact you work/ed for SK doesn't give you any credit on the matter, quite the opposite is true.

The fact I mentioned to recap: (except rapaha which I obviously said from start wasn't one)
- Intel AMD Addidas are no more. (I didn't follow WoW coverage ofc, but I'd love to see you pull a great move on sponsors which I believe is essential to you guys. Now whatever was said on WoW coverage is rumors and hearsays for the moment ;p)
- BDS moves on
- The pathetic Jon Doe stuff (now that involves my sole judgment OK)
- Staff lay-off, mentioned by yourself Zech in that WC3 forum somewhere (or Iam I wrong)?
- And last but not least, back to the topic, Lyn quoted: "I had some problems with my former team, SK, so I thought of joining a stable Korean team". It's not money? No? What then? You gonna say me stuff like "incompatible personalities" or would you like some "different views on long term forecasting" or "bad WC3 team management". Gimme a break LOL... Maybe I'm wrong assuming this, but this is what Lyn said...

Anyway, the best of luck to you guys to recover, and I'd really love to see a big sponsor comeback sincerely. GL.

- Intel/AMD/Adidas - See Funplayer's comment.
- BDS moves on - he's a guy who likes to set himself new challenges, like carmac. It was a blow for SK but not an unrecoverable one.
- John Doe, well... i'm not going to defend that so let's leave it there ;)
- Staff lay-off - they weren't laid off, they left of their own accord. Immo will tell you that himself if he reads this post again.
- I haven't spoken to Lyn very much so i don't know what that is. All i know is that WC3 players expect a very very big wage so maybe it was a contact disagreement (this is very common in January across all games/teams) but it definitely was not unpaid wages

@Funplayer: why is what/who gone?

adidas, repsectively why did adidas leave, or why did Sk chose to repalce them with Nike, or why didn't they officially replace them with Nike yet?

I don't honestly know about that but i guess i wouldn't be allowed to say even if i did know :P

i know its difficult to be impartial as being or have been SK, i was just saying that im pretty sure it had nothing to do with "SK not paying" which you said is a fact. Im not involved in the WC3 team so yes, I cant tell for sure, but i guess its safe to say its not the reason of "SK not paying". They have always paid me over the past years as well as the other players and staff i have worked with. The SK management have also always offered to make emergency transfers if someone happened to be low on money and needed help.

so apart from that, i dont know why SK dropped wc3 or if the players decided to leave themselves, thats none of my business either and wc3 never was. Lyn saying he had trouble with SK couldve been anything. Maybe he feels more home in a Korean team? I cant answer you that.

Also none of the (paid) staff got kicked, I dont think anyone got kicked for the past months unless they were simply inactive and not returning for whatever reason (job, studies w/e).

OK I shouldn't have said that, and maybe it is not true... I do believe it's a money issue though which is what I meant, even though was not what I said... Something along the line of no agreement on contract renewal or w/e... Also Check / WhO let out right after and all the dark late news from SK...