Tonight at 9:00 PM EST compLexity Gaming’s StarCraft II division will be facing off against Team Fnatic SC2 in Week 7 of the EG Master’s Cup. Fnatic comes into this match ranked 2nd overall in the league, while coL comes in ranked 6th.
| coL.SC2 | Team Fnatic SC2 |
 coL.TBD coL.TBD coL.TBD coL.TBD |
Fnatic.TBD Fnatic.TBD Fnatic.TBD Fnatic.TBD |
PC Hardware giant NVIDIA recently announced that it will be hosting a StarCraft II tournament. Dubbed the GeForce StarCraft II Pro/Am, the tournament will see both seasoned professionals and upcoming amateurs fight it out for the prize money. Split into two categories, the 1st place prize in the Professional Division consists of a GeForce GTX 590 graphics card and $4,725.00 cash. The amateurs will be vying for a GeForce GTX 590 graphics card and $1,800.00 cash.
The games will kick off on Thursday June 23rd. While the games will not be streamed live, VODs casted by Day[9] and Husky will be available on the tournament site.
The map list consists of:
GSL Crevasse (SzOmOru)
GSL Crossfire SE (SzOmOru)
Shakuras Plateau (Blizzard)
Tal’Darim Altar (Blizzard)
MLG Metalopolis
Xel’Naga Caverns (Blizzard)
GSL Terminus SE (MildCocoA)
MLG Shattered Temple
The competition is looking fierce with big names like: StartaleBomber, IMNestea, LiquidJinro, Sen, SlayerS_BoxeR, EGIdrA and many more. CompLexity fans will be pleased to see that coL.CatZ, coL.Minigun, coL.CrunCher and coL.Stalife all will be participating. For updates on how the coL crew is fairing, keep an eye on complexitygaming.com
Shashi “DetonatoR” Singh, the Esports Community Manager for S2, the creator of Heroes of Newerth, a science fantasy, action real-time strategy game, has been interviewed by Cadred.org. Shashi is the former Head of Staff at compLexity Gaming and has now made his way through the ranks at S2 to manage their competitive HoN scene.
An excerpt from the interview can be found below:
The game itself has one of the steepest learning curves of any title and its depth and complexity make it both suited for e-sports and casual play alike. S2 Games are aware of this and look to cater not only to the thousands of players who play the game simply for enjoyment but also look to make sure that those who wish to play the game at the highest level, with both prestige and prizes on the line, have a platform to do so. It’s a balancing act at times but anyone who has used the Heroes of Newerth interface and seen S2’s commitment to putting up prize money for tournaments around the world will be able to testify that they have delivered what both factions of the community want.
Tasked with care for the e-sports side of things is Shashi Singh, a name that probably won’t be immediately familiar to anyone but the most hardcore of e-sports historians. He currently operates as the e-sports community manager for S2 Games. This is no idle appointment either. Shashi has been involved with e-sports for years, starting as far back as twelve years old where he looked to cut his teeth as a staff writer with one of the biggest American brands in the industry, compLexity.
The full interview can be found by clicking here.
Yesterday, Dreamhack Summer 2011 concluded, with hundreds of matches being played over eight events. This year’s Dreamhack proved to be one of the most intense and exciting events in all of eSports.
Below is a breakdown of each game, with the winners for each.
1. HuK – $16,000
2. Moon – $8,000
3. Bomber – $4,000
4. July – $2,100
1. 
SK Gaming – €6,715 + hardware
2. 
mTw – €3,350 + hardware
3. 
Natus Vincere – €1,120
4. ESC Gaming
5/6. fnatic
5/6. 
Moscow Five
1. 
FnaticMsi
2. 
Against All Authority
3. 
Team Solomid (US)
4. Epik Gaming (US)
5. 
GameDe (German)
1. 
Cypher
2. Rapha
3. Cooler
1. Fnatic – $8800
2. Reason Gaming – $4800
3. TS Gaming – $2400
1. orz – $6000
2. Pubic Transportation – $3000
3. SK Gaming – $1000
1.
Ryan Hart – $1900 + Products from Energizer and Madcatz
2.
Chokolo – $800 + Products from Energizer and Madcatz
3. Yagami – $470 + Products from Energizer and Madcatz
Any opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of compLexity Gaming or its parent company.
Coaches are an integral part of sports culture.
Coaches are an integral part of sports culture. It is possible to enjoy, appreciate and participate in sports without coaching, but anyone looking to improve their game turns to a coach. A young boy can kick a ball around a yard, improving his soccer skills on his own, but he will not perfect or refine his skills without the guidance of a soccer coach. In order to perfect their skills in Starcraft2, gamers are turning to coaches, and the eSport is developing like a sport with both coaches and those wanting to be coached. SC2 coaching is becoming widespread among the community and is becoming a profitable business.
It seems silly to have video game coaches at first look. If I introduced the idea of video game coaches to my father, he’d think it was absolutely absurd. To an extent, though, all gamers have had gaming coaching at some point whether it’s their older brothers showing them how to play console games as a child or their friends giving them tips on how to beat the last campaign of the latest PC game. In our quest to become a better SC2 player, we are constantly turning to our support networks to coach us whether it’s by asking our friends for help or posting questions on Team Liquid. But as gamers become more serious about Starcraft as an eSport and move away from casually playing, gamers are proving that they are more than willing to pay for coaches to help improve their game.
Businesses and players alike are recognizing the profit value in coaching. Professional players can use their name and reputation to make money through coaching, and business are getting involved to connect coaches with students. Gosu Coaching is a site dedicated to connecting students with gaming coaches. The roster of coaches boasted by Gosu Coaching is impressive with legends like Greg “EGIdrA” Fields and Shawn “FXOSheth” Simon, and rates are just as impressive ranging up to $300/hour. Six Pool Gaming is an upcoming site with similar aims to connect professional players’ tips and training tools to eager gaming students, most likely for cost, although the site details are vague. Less expensive coaching can be found in abundance on team sites and Team Liquid for any players looking for more affordable coaching rates. A quick search for “coach” on TL provides a number of results for those looking for coaching and those offering both paid and free coaching.
Not everyone can be a great coach, though, and it is crucial that any gamers wanting a SC2 coach understand that. A professional player who wins MLG is an incredible player but may lack the skills to effectively coach students. Not everyone has the ability to effectively communicate and teach in a way to help a student learn, develop and grow as a gamer. Sports communities have associations, training and guidelines for coaches, and the SC2 community may consider adopting a similar system. At the moment, any player can call themselves a coach and charge students money for their services. It is up to the student to be a smart consumer when considering purchasing coaching services, but it would help to develop eSports professionally to have more strict guidelines and governing bodies. Coaching businesses like Gosu Coaching is one way to ensure you will be getting quality lessons as smart businesses would not endorse a poor coach.
“Not everyone can be a great coach, though, and it is crucial that any gamers wanting a SC2 coach understand that“
Coach preparation and personalized coaching is crucial for a successful coaching session. Shaun “Apollo” Clark from Team Dignitas has a coaching method that I consider impeccable. I’ve never taken coaching for him, but I love what I’ve heard about how he approaches lessons.
Although Shaun is known more for his casting than his playing in SC2, from what I’ ve seen, he is serious about being a coach and does not approach it as an easy way to make money from gaming. He prepares for each student individually by watching replays, going over basic statistics and listening to what the student wants to achieve. This is the kind of coach that students should learn from: someone who is truly invested in his students’ learning and growth. When looking for a coach, ensure you find someone who is invested in helping you learn, develop and grow as a student and not just someone who is looking for an easy way to make money off of their own SC2 abilities. You may gain more from lessons with a lesser known player who is an effective coach than you would with a big name player whose coaching skills are lackluster.
Whether or not paying for coaching is worth it or not is up for debate, and I’ve heard both sides of the argument. Some say it’s absolutely absurd to pay to learn how to play a video game while others have sworn that paying for coaching has improved their game drastically. I strongly encourage my friends who’ d like to learn how to snowboard to pay for professional lessons, but it is strictly because of safety. If someone learns bad habits or improper techniques on the ski hill, the results could be disastrous. If someone learns bad habits or improper techniques on Battle.net, the results are just a few lost ladder points. I would never tell a friend interested in playing SC2 that they had to get lessons because there is no real harm in just hopping on the ladder to play casually.
I have never paid for SC2 coaching, and it is not something that I can budget for, but if I won the jackpot lottery, SC2 coaching from professionals would be on my list of things to purchase after a Nissan GT-R. A close friend of mine, Tomasz “SolidWolf” Lang, has paid for SC2 lessons. He took three coaching sessions from Chad “coLMinigun” Jones earlier this year and says that his coaching sessions with Chad gave him the skills he needed to get from Diamond to Masters. Stuck in a rut in his game, he wanted to have a pro player help him overcome hurdles and identify issues in his game play. Coaching helped Tomasz pinpoint what exactly he needed to improve on which was something that he had difficulty doing on his own. Tomasz hired Chad as his coach simply because he liked him as a player and enjoyed watching his stream. If Tomasz’ scheduled allowed for it, he would take more lessons from Chad, and he recommends coaching to any players wanting to improve their game. On the issue of paying to get a video game coach, Tomasz scoffed and compared paying for SC2 lessons to paying for lessons for any other sport.
Thomas “ tQArchaic” MacPherson
It is easy to get help from higher level players if you have friends who are higher level players, but if you’re a low level player without the connections to better players, it may be hard to overcome hurdles on your own. There are dozens of ways to improve on your own from reading advice on Team Liquid to watching the Day9 Daily, but sometimes a gamer needs a bit more help. I’ve personally overcome huge hurdles with coaching from my friends, and I don’t know what I would I have done without their wisdom and patience. Coaching does not have to be a formal 1 on 1session or scheduled with a pro player, though. Thomas “tQArchaic” MacPherson, a Canadian Masters League Terran player, has started a great coaching program in his area, which connects low level players with high level players, that could be run in any local SC2 community. Every two weeks, Thomas hosts a coaching session at his local LAN centre to help players improve by identifying, isolating and working on problems in pairs. While playing on the ladder does help players improve gameplay, with 6 different match-ups and eight different maps, it’s hard to focus on specific problems like stalker micro in PvP or TvZ build orders on Xel’Naga Caverns. The bi-weekly sessions connect local players and gives low level players the opportunity to focus on specific problems. Players are matched up into pairs and spend the evening trying to improve on one aspect of game play. The incentive for higher level players to attend is the opportunity to connect with local players, meet new people and have fun in a social gaming environment.
As SC2 moves forward as an eSport, coaching is becoming more mainstream practice and a viable business. Gamers eager to move up the ladder are turning to professionals to help them improve and are more than willing to pay. If you are a SC2 player looking to improve your game, coaching is a phenomenal way to do it. And if you can afford to pay for a professional player to coach you, why not? At the very least, it would be a good story to tell your friends and a great way to support the community.
After years of playing World of Warcraft, a friend introduced Jacqueline to Starcraft early last year. Jacqueline’s relationship with Starcraft started out slowly: a handful of casual dates, a little bit of flirting but nothing serious. She took her relationship with the game to the next level after BlizzCon 2010 where she experienced eSports magic first-hand and realized that Starcraft was the one. Despite being a mediocre player, she has been clambering the ladder at a glacial pace and has spent more time watching Starcraft online than she’d like to admit. In March, Jacqueline made the leap from eSports fan to eSports professional when she was hired by the Handsome Nerd as their Art Director, combining her design skills with her love of Starcraft. Since its start in April, Jacqueline has been a contributing writer for the North American Star League, writing coverage for Division 1. Offline, Jacqueline is a bookworm, a runner, a freeride snowboarder and has a Human Ecology degree with a Clothing and Textiles major.
This past weekend saw DreamHack Summer 2011, Sweden’s largest StarCraft II Tournament and LAN party. Progamers from around the globe gathered in Jönköping to try their luck at the 100000.0 SEK (~$15600 USD) prize pool. Almost everyone was betting on the Koreans to win, and with names like July, MC, Moon and Bomber there who could blame them. Shattering everyone’s predictions, it was Team Liquid’s Chris “HuK” Loranger who took home the prize money after beating Moon in the finals with a score of 3-2.
CompLexity’s own Darthozzan (on site working for DreamHack) was able to get a few minutes with the champion.
Congratulations to HuK who had a phenomenal run taking down players like PredY, Socke, July and ultimately Moon.
The Syndicate would like to wish a very Happy Birthday to Nicholas “NubbyPoohBear” Harlan as he turns 21 today!
Nicholas is the team captain for coL.LoL and has proven to be extremely confident and strong as a leader. coL.LoL have proven that they are one of North America’s best LoL teams and continue to prove themselves on a daily basis. They have their finals match in the WCG qualifiers this Thursday against Unrestricted E-Sports and plan to win.
Once again, we’d like to wish a very Happy Birthday to Nicholas “NubbyPoohBear” Harlan and best of luck this Thursday!
Tonight, one of coL’s newest members, Andrew “Drewbie” Moysey will be a guest on King of Tin. Kings of Tin features hosts djWHEAT and WackSteven as they take on all challengers alongside members of the StarCraft 2 community, and some of the top players in the game today. Each show features interviews, discussion, and Q+A with players of all calibers, and provides everyone with an opportunity to show off their skills or get taken to school!
The brackets have been released for Sunday, June 26th. Click here to see the bracket!
Bracket Seedings
1. Lizzuma 4-0 (8-0)
2. Cheech 4-0 (8-1)
3. Goswser 4-0 (8-1)
4. XxElitexX 3-1 (6-3)
5. OpticalRH 3-1 (6-3)
6. Lagrangian 3-1 (6-4)
7. Gensulitor 3-1 (6-4)
8. Damncats 2-2 (6-3)
9. Catechin 2-2 (5-4)
10. Strength 2-2 (5-5)
11. Fallen 2-2 (5-6)
12. Jedigamer 2-2 (4-5)
13. Orb 2-2 (4-6)
14. Railgun 1-3 (4-6)
15. Jhammy 1-3 (3-6)
16. Brobocop 1-3 (3-6)
Pool A
1. Lagrangian 3-1 (6-4) : Wins over Recon (2-1), gensulitor (2-0), Strength (2-1) / Lost to Damncats (0-2)
2. gensulitor 3-1 (6-4): Wins over Strength (2-0), Damncats (2-1), Recon (2-1) / Lost to Lagrangian(0-2)
3. Damncats 2-2 (6-3): Wins over Recon (2-0), Lagrangian (2-0) /Lost to Strength (2-1), Gensulitor (1-2)
4. Strength 2-2 (5-5): Wins over Damncats (2-1), Recon (2-0) / Lost to Lagrangian (1-2), Gensulitor (0-2)
5. Recon 0-4 (2-8): Lost to Strength (0-2), Lagrangian (1-2), Gensulitor (1-2), Damncats (0-2)
Pool B
1. Cheech 4-0 (8-1): Wins over Jiyan (2-0), Catechin (2-1), Jhammy (2-0), Jedigamer (2-0)
2. Catechin 2-2 (5-4): Wins over Jedigamer (2-0), Jiyan (2-0) / Lost to Cheech (1-2), Jhammy (0-2)
3. Jedigamer 2-2 (4-5): Wins over Jhammy (2-0), Jiyan (2-1) / Lost to Catechin (0-2), Cheech (0-2)
4. Jhammy 1-3 (3-6): Wins over Catechin (2-0) / Lost to Jiyan (1-2), Jedigamer (0-2), Cheech (0-2)
5. Jiyan 1-3 (3-7): Wins over Jhammy (2-1) / Lost to Cheech (0-2), Catechin (0-2), Jedigamer (1-2)
Pool C
1. Lizzuma 4-0 (8-0): Wins over Orb (2-0), Brobocop (2-0), echuchee (2-0), XxElitexX (2-0)
2. XxElitexX 3-1 (6-3): Wins over Orb (2-0), Brobocop (2-0), echuchee (2-1)/ Lost to Lizzuma (0-2)
3. Orb 2-2 (4-6): Wins over Brobocop (2-1), echuchee (2-1)/ Lost to Lizzuma (0-2), XxElitexX (0-2)
4. Brobocop 1-3 (3-6): Wins over echuchee (2-0)/ Lost to Lizzuma (0-2), Orb (1-2), XxElitexX (0-2)
5. echuchee 0-4 (2-8): Lost to Lizzuma (0-2), XxElitexX (1-2), Orb (1-2), Brobocop (0-2)
Pool D
1. Goswser 4-0 (8-1): Wins over Fallen (2-1), OpticalRH (2-0), Hpthegreat (2-0), Railgun (2-0)
2. OpticalRH 3-1 (6-3): Wins over Fallen (2-0), Hpthegreat (2-0), Railgun (2-1) / Lost to Goswser (0-2)
3. Fallen 2-2 (5-6): Wins over Hpthegreat (2-1), Railguin (2-1) / Lost to Goswser (1-2), OpticalRH (0-2)
4. Railgun 1-3 (4-6): Wins over Hpthegreat (2-0) / Lost to Goswser (0-2), Fallen (1-2), OpticalRH (1-2)
5. Hpthegreat 0-4 (1-8): Lost to Goswser (0-2). OpticalRH (0-2), Fallen (1-2), Railgun (0-2)
The compLexity Academy’s first Qualification Tournament is set to begin on Saturday, June 25th. From the tournament, the final 10 Academy members will be solidified. This compLexity Academy tourney is sponsored by PNY.
The tournament will begin with a group stage, in which all 20 players have been randomly placed. At the end of the group stage, the players from each group with the worst record will be eliminated from the tournament, while the rest will move on. The remaining players will be seeded in a double elimination bracket according to their group record. Record ties will be broken by using overall records (map wins and losses). If a tie still remains, a head to head matchup will determine the winner.
Damncats gensulitor Recon Strength Lagrangian
Jedigamer Catechin Cheec[h] Jiyan Jhammy
Orb Brobocop Lizzuma echuchee XxelitexX
Goswser opticalRH Fallen hpthegreat Railgun
MLG Metalopolis (Group Play)
MLG Xel’Naga Caverns (RO16)
MLG Shattered Temple (RO8)
MLG Metalopolis
MLG Shakuras Plateau
MLG Shattered Temple
MLG Tal’darim Altar
MLG Testbug
MLG Typhon Peaks
MLG Xel’Naga Caverns
1st – $100 CASH
The tournament is set to kick off at 5PM EST on Saturday, June 25th and will run until completion. If, at the end of Saturday night, the tournament is still underway, it will continue at 2PM EST on Sunday afternoon.
View the tournament LIVE on our Justin.TV stream by clicking here.
Also, the sub-site of the compLexity Academy is officially LIVE. Here you’ll find up to the minute rankings of the soon-to-be determined top 10, as well as the latest news, forum threads, blogs and information about the compLexity Academy. To visit the sub-site, click here.
Today compLexity Gaming is thrilled to announce our move into the fighting game community. It has long been our wish to enter the vibrant scene but we wanted to do so in the best way possible. We now have found that way and are thrilled to launch our new fighting division- compLexity: CrossCounter.
In order to create a dominant global presence we have brought in some of the best known figures in the community. Mike “MikeRoss” Ross has come on board as the coL.cc Player Manager and Ryan “Gootecks” Gutierrez has joined as Media Manager for the division.
In the coming months we will be announcing the lineup of players who will represent the squad. In the meantime we encourage the compLexity Community to follow and support Mike and Ryan and their channel CrossCounterTV, which will now be sponsored by Creative SoundBlaster and presented by compLexity Gaming.
Tonight the guys board a flight to Australia for the Shadowloo Showdown. Stay tuned for some video coverage of the trip and be sure to follow their Twitters HERE and HERE.
Welcome the guys here!