2012 was a great year for both StarCraft II and compLexity. While our StarCraft II squad may not have a ton of major tournaments, we can all agree that they preformed admirably and should be proud of all their hard work. With this in mind, we at compLexity wanted to take a look back at 2012 and coL.SC2’s performance.
In February, right before the start of the tournament season, compLexity made a major announcement; three Korean players signed on to join the team. The first player to sign on was Kim Min Hyuk aka Heart. After leaving the Korean team TSL, Heart was looking to join a “foreign” team that could help him travel to tournaments outside of Korea. After Heart signed on, his former TSL teammate Shin Sang Ho aka Killer joined up too. The last Korean player announced was none other than the legendary Brood War champion Lee Yoon Yeol better known to the world as NaDa. With the addition of these three players the compLexity StarCraft II squad, which now consisted of Heart, Killer, NaDa, goswser, Minigun, qxc, Ryze, TriMaster, CatZ, and Drewbie, was looking to be quite the power house.
This new roster was put to the test at the first major tournament of the year, the MLG Winter Championship. While NaDa, TriMaster, and qxc were unable to attend, compLexity was still able to send seven players from around the globe to Columbus, Ohio. In addition to the seven players from the main roster, compLexity also brought out two players from the compLexity Academy: Fallen and Nocreativity. At the end of the MLG Weekend it was Heart who really made an impression on the StarCraft II community with his amazing third place finish.
After the Winter Championship, compLexity surprised the SC2 community with the announcement of another player signing. This time it was the former SlayerS Terran player GanZi. This pick up was just in time for the next major tournament, the MLG Spring Arena 1. Taking place in April. this tournament was invite only based on the results from the Winter Championship. The only players from compLexity to qualify were Heart and GanZi. It was a thrilling weekend in New York City as eight of the best players duked it out for part of the $10,900 prize pool plus an invite to the next MLG event. At the end of the weekend both Heart and GanZi finished tied for third place, earning them a decent cut of the prize money and an invite to MLG Spring Arena 2.
During the down time between Spring Arena 1 and 2 compLexity made a major announcement. Their new sponsor, Gamma Labs helped open a training house in Houston, TX: The compLexity House. Here, compLexity players can train in an environment similar to those in Korea where players live with their team and focus on StarCraft one hundred percent of the time.
One month later Heart and GanZi flew out to New York City again for the MLG Spring Arena 2. This time they were joined by their friend and teammate Killer, who earned a spot through the North American Online Qualifiers. Unfortunately GanZi and Killer were taken out relatively quickly, putting all of compLexity’s hope on Heart. Not wanting to disappoint his teammates and his fans, Heart fought hard taking out players like Huk and inori. In the end Heart ended up falling to the second place finisher Symbol in Round 6 of the Lower Bracket. Heart preformed well enough to take home the fifth place prize.
Just after the Spring Arena II both CatZ and Drewbie decided not to resign with compLexity Gaming and reform their old team ROOT Gaming. This was an amiable departure and compLexity still stays on good terms with CatZ and Drewbie.
The start of June brought the MLG Spring Championship in Anaheim, California. Much like the Winter Championship, compLexity sent out seven players to put their skills to the test. This time it was GanZi, goswser, Heart, Killer, Minigun, qxc, and TriMaster carrying the coL flag. Hopes were high considering most of our players were at the compLexity House training before the event. In fact compLexity was so confident that they hired a film crew to make a mini-documentary about the event. Unfortunately this event saw our weakest results of the year. GanZi made it into the top 16, finishing in 13th place. Heart had the next highest placement on the team taking home 25th place. This event was an important learning experience for the team. They began to see that training in a Team House wouldn’t improve your results over night. It takes months before players begin to see any sort of improvement. Also, the team was riding a high after placing in the top 10 of the last three MLG events. While this was a humbling experience, it did not discourage coL.SC2. They returned to the compLexity House determined to put in long hours and hard work for the next event.
Shortly after the MLG Spring Championship NaDa parted ways with compLexity and StarCraft II. He retired from the game due to family and health problems. While it was hard to say goodbye to a legend like NaDa, we understand that some things are bigger than the game and that many of life’s challenges require one’s full attention. We wished NaDa all the best in overcoming these challenges and released him from his contract.
After the Spring Championship, MLG would host the Summer Arena in New York City. Again compLexity was able to send three players, however they were not the names most of the SC2 community was expecting. GanZi was joined by qxc and coL.Academy player Sasquatch, both of whom were invited through North American Online Qualifiers. Unfortunately both of coL.SC2’s American players didn’t do as well as their Korean teammate, with qxc taking 25th-32nd and Sasquatch taking 17th-24th. GanZi on the other hand preformed well, breaking into the top 10 and finishing in 9th place.
Again, compLexity’s North American squad returned to the compLexity House with renewed focus and a desire to improve. After a month of hard work, it was time to put their skills to the test, this time at the MLG Summer Championship at Raleigh, North Carolina. Again compLexity sent seven players: GanZi, goswser, Heart, Killer, Minigun, qxc, and TriMaster. Joining these seven was Sasquatch from the compLexity Academy. Not wanting to repeat his results from the MLG Spring Championship, Heart brought his A game. After plowing through players like Grubby, Alicia, and Crank, Heart lost to TheSTC in the Championship Bracket, earning him a 7th place finish. Along side Heart’s fantastic run, the big news from the tournament was Sasquatch‘s play. While Sasquatch had done well in online tournaments, he was still looking for his big breakout performance at a major LAN. He found his stride at MLG Raleigh. After taking out players like IdrA and Goodie, Sasquatch ended up being the second-highest placing foreigner at the tournament (13th-16th place). He was recognized for this accomplishment by MLG when they gave him the “Breakout Player of MLG Summer Championship 2012” award. After this amazing performance we promoted Sasquatch to the main coL.SC2 roster.
Soon after the MLG Summer Championship compLexity and Killer parted ways. Killer felt that he was not performing up to his standards and wished to change his environment to improve his skills. In an interview Killer stated: “I believe I am not fit to play in foreign teams at the moment. My priority right now is to regain my skills rather than gain money, so I hope to join a Korean pro gaming team that can bring back my form.” We at compLexity wish him all the best as he continues his progaming career with the Korean team MVP.
After the success at the MLG Summer Championship coL.SC2 returned to the compLexity House in preparation for the next tournament, the MLG Fall Championship in Dallas, Tx. Being the last major tournament of the year compLexity was looking to finish strong. The team sent eight players to Providence: GanZi, goswser, Heart, Minigun, qxc, Ryze, Sasquatch, and TriMaster. It was a hard fought weekend with amazing players from all over the globe coming to compete for the $76,000 prize pool. Ultimately it was Heart who made it the furthest by taking out players like ThorZaIN, Scarlett, Golden, and Polt. In the end, Heart finished in 5th place.
After the MLG Fall Championship, compLexity said goodbye to two more of our friends. Both GanZi and goswser decided not to resign with the team. It was hard to say goodbye to our friends, but we understand that each player has their own goals and must do what they have to in order to achieve them. We wished both GanZi and goswser the best of luck in the coming year.
2012 was an amazing year for StarCraft II as well as compLexity. The team saw fantastic results at the MLG tournaments, ending up with a total of six top-10 finishes. We produced a mini-documentary, opened a team house, and had 38 appearances at MLG tournaments. Outside of the MLGs, compLexity appeared in numerous tournaments including the IPL, GOMtv’s GSL, the NASL, and the Intel Extreme Masters. The team also took home a first place finish The Evil Geniuses Master’s Cup Series VII.
We wanted to say thank you to our players, our fans, and everyone involved with eSports for making this amazing year possible. With hard work and determination, we at compLexity are hoping to make 2013 an even bigger year for StarCraft II and eSports.