FXOpen E-Sports

FXOpen says Farewell to Kevin “QXC” Riley

It has been a long time since QXC joined the ranks of FXO. Travelling with the team to Korea to compete in GSTL to acquire his famed All Kill on Incredible Miracle. Unfortunately we have recently had to say goodbye to QXC as his commitment to his school must take precedence over pro gaming. All of us here at FXO wish [...]

FXOLeenock Wins vs IMMVP will go to GSL Finals!

FXOLeenock has defeated IMMVP 3-2 to scrape by with the victory to secure himself a place in the GSL November Code S finals. It was a very close and intense series easily being one of the most exciting ever seen! FXOpen are very proud of Leenock and will be sending multiple staff to support him [...]

FXOLeenock advances to the GSL November Round of 4!

FXOLeenock has defeated TSLAlive to the score of 3-0 on the 24th of November to advance himself to the round of 4 for GSL November. This is Leenock’s furthest progress in any GSL to date and coming fresh off a championship title from MLG providence. Can Leenock continue his momentum to push aside IMMVP? Leenock [...]

FXOz advances to the GSL November Ro4!

FXOz has defeated SlayersMMA 3-2 to advance to the round of 4 for GSL November! He will face off against NSHoSeo Jjakji which will undoubtedly be his toughest match to date. Jjakji showed very impressive TvP in his ro8 match vs Puzzle. All of FXO congratulates Oz on his recent success especially since he was unable to [...]

FXOLeenock wins MLG Providence

FXOpen e-Sports’ Dong Nyung ‘Leenock’ Lee has won the MLG National Championships held in Providence from November 18-20. Along with the giant trophy, Leenock has won $50,000 and the recognition and hearts of many fans and players worldwide. Coming from the open bracket on his first MLG and first international event ever, Leenock took home the [...]

The return of the FXOpen Invitational Series

Posted by FXOfrequency on December 5th, 2011

It seems like only yesterday that we started our first invitational series.

Taking a trip down memory lane, I remember our first event – a very unorganised pain in the ass in which Capoch defeated Sheth in the final. With poor organisation on my own part, Unstable on the mic (and ripping me a new one during breaks for making organisational mistakes) and no tournament organiser, it was one of the most daunting experiences of my e-Sports career.

We have come a long way since then if I do say so myself, and our events are amongst the smoothest run to date. I credit deL and frequency for that, and our caster team for keeping things in line.

After much trial and error with formats and what not, we decided that we missed our invitational series (and MarineKing taking all our money), so we decided to put the KotH series on temporary hold and bring back the invitational series.

Being as transparent and see through as I can be, I am going to go over the reasons why.

The international King of the Hill series was becoming a failure. The games were becoming a little uninteresting and the feedback we got was neutral at best. We don’t want to dump the foreign community, but we also don’t want to spoil them. We were not making a return on the international King of the Hills, even with such a little overhead. The KR King of the Hills were picking up the slack, but you do not run events to pick up slack
The KR King of the Hills were becoming the same players and same scenario regularly, so we are looking to spice things up.
The amount of broadcast time was not quite high enough to reach our goals and we needed to come up with a solution to reach our targets
The broadcast quality due to live online broadcast was getting to a point that couldn’t be improved (I will get into this more later)
The viewership numbers was consistent but not growing
The format was difficult to hype/promote

With the above reasoning in mind. We have decided to do the following.

32 man invitational on the KOREAN server for cross server matches. If matches are players from the same region, it can be played on EU/NA. Double elimination with bo7 finals.
Increased production quality due to pre-broadcasted content
EVERY match of the bracket broadcasted to the community providing the players comply with their obligations
$5000 in prize money
Highest possible quality from FXOpen e-Sports for FREE
Points going towards our LIVE event in Malaysia (as per the KoTH series)
Random prize give-aways to viewers from our sponsors and partners
Potential to win an access pass to the FXOpen e-Sports Korean team house (Details to be included later)
MORE TO COME

I am sure the above is an interesting concept to most. We are shifting the monthly budgets for KotH into the invitational series. The event will be run in January and we will be creating many items of media for the event over the coming month.

This is one of the most exciting things we have done in the growth of our business. It is not going to be the same old same old. We are going to broadcast the BEST (not FXOTheBest) but THE BEST players from around the world in 1 event.

And then another and another.

Lets start the hype train!!!

I hope the week coming is good for everyone!!

FXOBoSs

The risk FXOpen took in acquiring fOu

Posted by FXOfrequency on December 2nd, 2011

Flash back to the past. FXO was in Korea for GSTL, the first foreign team to do so. It was sickly hot, and we were having some issues adjusting the climate. The GOM house was so packed we had Haksu (FXOz) sleeping on the balcony (on a bed, but on the balcony).

Freezing aircon, not enough blankets, people getting sick once a week. 10 people to 1 bathroom because some picky people preferred one of the bathrooms over the other. Arguments about rage. Time watching brood war at the gym whilst on a treadmill. Awesome practice. Heaps of good times at Korean BBQ. A Karaoke night that made FXOUnstable sound like an off balance version of Slipknot. And us convincing Choya that tgun was a transvestite.

On the final day, Mingyun (MoONaN) and Andy (SLoG) dragged me down to a corner bar with Choya at 1 am, to talk about something, which I had immediately picked up on as to be money. Choya was in a desperate situation. fOu wasn’t doing too well, the players were relatively unhappy, and they were on the brink of bankruptcy. Choya had been pumping money into the team for a long time and it was not paying off. He also had an excessive personal attachment to the team which made him a hard person to get along with as a player on the team because it meant way too much to him.

I was hesitant to do business with Koreans so quickly. It was never my intention to buy a Korean team, nor was it my intention to even invest in one, but my gut told me that it was the right thing to do.

The risk was enormous. A contract based payment system which forced us to pay certain monthly amounts to cover certain things (undisclosed) and then the traveling obligations. On top of this, sC had requested a change in scene to try to allow himself to get to the next level, with which I quickly complied

If I were to analyse my investment, it would have been a bad one, initially a very bad one. But a few fortunate things happened;

The new income allowed Choya to chillax and focus on coaching properly and making the right decisions not fueled by monetary passion.
I had an argument with sc2con which showed the players that I cared about them and nothing else. It helped gain some early brownie points and allow them to start to trust me
We had a great Code A qualifiers that saw Lucky, Weekend and GuMiho in Code A, Oz qualified soon after.
Lucky came 2nd in IPL3 (he really is brilliant)
Oz, GuMiho and Leenock got into Code S
FXOpen increased its investment in the team by 100% and the players are now truly happy. You can check recent Leenock interviews to understand that the change in environment was a large part of the success of the team.

A series of fortunate opportunities allowed the investment to mature properly. I think that if the sc2con argument didn’t happen the team would be in a lot of trouble.

So now for the future. FXOpen has shown its dedication, pride and approval of the investment in the team by doubling its holdings in the venture. Now we are looking to get multiple sponsors to cover the remaining conditions that need to be changed in the team to maintain future success.

The formula of myself, Unstable, Choya, Haksu (Oz), GuMiho, Supreme has complimented the future of the team. Sharing responsibilities is always a good way to get a job done quickly. So to compliment that we are looking to get PC sponsors (ever paid for 14 pcs before? Ouch), food sponsors (For extra nom noms) and travel sponsors (biggest expense for any player is player travel, especially since it’s’ always a 10 hour flight).

The future of FXOpen will contain announcements of such sponsors. It will also contain announcements of new events, new formats and of course new players. We are just unsure which players, and we base our opinion on player skill, not race, in our selections. If you want to be racist in e-sports that’s fine, but we will pay for skilled individuals who are able to be professional and dedicated.

TLDR: FXO took a huge risk acquiring fOu, that paid off by a bit of luck and a lot of hard work. But the work is not yet over.

TGIF

FXOBoSs

FXOpen says Farewell to Kevin “QXC” Riley

Posted by FXOUnstable on December 2nd, 2011

It has been a long time since QXC joined the ranks of FXO. Travelling with the team to Korea to compete in GSTL to acquire his famed All Kill on Incredible Miracle. Unfortunately we have recently had to say goodbye to QXC as his commitment to his school must take precedence over pro gaming. All of us here at FXO wish him the best and have no hard feelings about his need for a more relaxed environment and will continue to support him in any of his adventures.

Interview with FXOLeenock!

Posted by FXOUnstable on November 29th, 2011

On the 28th of November 2011 FXOLeenock played an amazing series against IMMVP to see who would go to the GSL November finals.After His victory over MVP FXOpen was able to sit down with Leenock to see how he felt about the games and other subjects.

Unstable: First of all Congratulations on making the code S final!
Leenock: Thank you I am very happy!

Unstable: How does it feel to be going into your first GSL final so soon after winning providence, do you think you can ride your momentum to another victory?
Leenock: The experience I had from MLG is a good experience it felt like the start of more things to come so I see myself having a good run in future.

Unstable: You were expecting your teammate and friend FXOz to advance to the finals with you. Unfortunately this was not the case, how has this affected you and have you had time to console FXOz on his loss?
Leenock: I really wanted to meet Oz in the final so we could both represent our team we both practiced very hard for our matches, but that did not happen and I’m extremely sad especially since he was so close to winning. Oz has asked me to get revenge for him in the final and I will do so.

Unstable: Only having a few days between coming home from MLG and the long flight that comes with it. How did you cope with the fatigue that comes with it moving into your matches this week?
Leenock: I prioritized sleep and rest over practice. Without good rest I could not perform good games no matter how hard I practiced. I was able to get in good health early this way and it allowed me to practice effectively for the match.

Unstable: In your second game vs MVP you took a big lead but took some time to finish MVP off, what do you think caused this and how could you do things better for next time?
Leenock: MVP is such a good player that I was so frightened that I would be caught off-guard and lose and he would make a comeback, but from the 3rd game, I decided to be more patient and play safe.

Unstable: In game 3 vs MVP you used a very unique strategy, can you explain where you got the idea to use this build from? Was it planned specifically for that map or more of a reaction?
Leenock: I had spoken to TeriusPrime in detail about this build as it is unique and not anticipated; I had planned it only if my opponent had gone 2 factory hellions (which he did) so it was a reactionary move.

Unstable: During the series MVP was very aggressive in his drops. Games 1 and 2 you had lots of trouble dealing with them. In game 5 you seemed to predict them perfectly how did you do this!
Leenock: First 2 games, I did not spread overlord’s well, the last game I focused on spreading them in advance in common places that are used on that map. I caught all the harass, so it was much easier to defend and gain a lead.

Unstable: Your finals opponent will be NSHoSeo_Jjakji how do you feel about facing him in the finals? You lost to him in a recent FXOpen King of the Hill #12 0-2 but defeated him GSL Ro.32 will this have any effect on you?
Leenock: I cannot remember the FXOpen games too well; In our GSL Ro.32 match I won easily so I feel confident going into the finals

Unstable: What you doing to prepare for the finals? After your MLG performance you mentioned the fans fueled your desire to do well. Do you think that you will be affected by nerves or will it be the same as MLG Providence?
Leenock: After experiencing a crowd and stage from MLG (which was huge). I feel I have overcome my nerve issues that have been haunting me in the past. I look forward to performing well for the fans at the final. I will be training hard with my team for the match.

Unstable: You have gained a great amount of respect from both Korean and foreign fans for your recent success, how does this make you feel?
Leenock: I feel that it many might be because I’m the only Zerg left. But I will perform better to have them cheer for me as a player not just my race. I want to thank all the supporters, Your cheers make me fill with confidence and determination I will not disappoint you.

Unstable: Are there any Shout out’s you would wish to give?
Leenock: I want to thank to all my teammates for their support and help during training. I would also like to thank FXO for making this all possible. Also to Razer for their support to the team.

Unstable: Thank you for your time Leenock I think I speak for everyone when say I look forward to watching you play in the finals!

Thanks to FXOSlog for the translations

FXOLeenock Wins vs IMMVP will go to GSL Finals!

Posted by FXOUnstable on November 29th, 2011

FXOLeenock has defeated IMMVP 3-2 to scrape by with the victory to secure himself a place in the GSL November Code S finals. It was a very close and intense series easily being one of the most exciting ever seen! FXOpen are very proud of Leenock and will be sending multiple staff to support him onsite during the finals on the 3rd of December.

FXOpen Korean KOTH#15 VODs now up!

Posted by FXOUnstable on November 29th, 2011

We had another amazing series of games this weekend in the FXOpen Korean King of the Hill. without spoiling it for anyone below are the VODs from youtube.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

FXOLeenock advances to the GSL November Round of 4!

Posted by FXOUnstable on November 25th, 2011

FXOLeenock has defeated TSLAlive to the score of 3-0 on the 24th of November to advance himself to the round of 4 for GSL November. This is Leenock’s furthest progress in any GSL to date and coming fresh off a championship title from MLG providence. Can Leenock continue his momentum to push aside IMMVP? Leenock won a series against MVP at MLG Providence however GSL is a completely different field and story. MVP considered by many to be the best player in the world currently however Leenock which has many fans saying the exact same thing. This match up will be a MUST SEE for any Starcraft viewer.

FXOz advances to the GSL November Ro4!

Posted by FXOUnstable on November 25th, 2011

FXOz has defeated SlayersMMA 3-2 to advance to the round of 4 for GSL November! He will face off against NSHoSeo Jjakji which will undoubtedly be his toughest match to date. Jjakji showed very impressive TvP in his ro8 match vs Puzzle. All of FXO congratulates Oz on his recent success especially since he was unable to use his regular equipment for the match due to his return flight from MLG misplacing his luggage. Oz vs Jjajki will definatly be a match to not miss and FXO hopes you can all join us in cheering for Oz during his match on the 28th of November on GOMTV

FXOLeenock wins MLG Providence

Posted by FXOfrequency on November 25th, 2011

leenock win

FXOpen e-Sports’ Dong Nyung ‘Leenock’ Lee has won the MLG National Championships held in Providence from November 18-20. Along with the giant trophy, Leenock has won $50,000 and the recognition and hearts of many fans and players worldwide. Coming from the open bracket on his first MLG and first international event ever, Leenock took home the gold defeating Col.Naniwa 4-1 in the finals. With a total record of 32-5 in individual games, the most played of any player at the event. FXOpen could not be more proud of Leenock especially due to the early stress of the event due to airline ticket problems.

Leenock defeated many notable opponents during his run to the finals, these include EGHuk, EGIdra, IMMVP, SlayersMMA and SlayersBoxeR just to name a few! His impressive run is a long time coming and we look forward to what he can do in the upcoming GSL November season where he is currently in the round of 8 with his next opponent being TSLAlive

FXOLucky

Posted by FXOUnstable on November 25th, 2011

Name:	이인수 Lee In Soo
Team:	FXO
Race:	Zerg
Alternate IDs:	LuckyfOu, KT.MGW)Lucky, NsP_Lucky
Country:	South Korea
Birthday:	December 2, 1991 (age 19)

FXOLucky has only recently come into the limelight due to his impressive play in IPL3 although it took mixed reactions from fans of slayers with a kneejerk reaction and those who recognise lucky’s ability to analyse his opponents play. Lucky has also had a good run in CodeA of GSL unfortunatly not reaching codeS status just yet. However in GSL November his chances seem better than ever. Lucky is extremely humble as a player and supports his team in any way possible. While he attended IPL3 with little to no english speaking ability he has dedicated himself to learning the language for when he competes in interational events in the future.