Bereits Anfang vergangener Woche hat die Korea e-Sports Association erste Informationen für die neue Proleague veröffentlicht. Dabei wurde das achte und letzte teilnehmende Team geheim gehalten. Beim heutigen Pressetag wurde dieses aber enthüllt, dabei handelt es sich um eine Partnerschaft zwischen Evil Geniuses und Team Liquid.

Mit einer Zusammenarbeit von Evil Geniuses und Team Liquid hatten wohl die wenigsten gerechnet, so sind doch beide Teams große Rivalen. Unter anderem sorgte der Wechsel von Chris 'HuK' Loranger Ende 2010 von Liquid zu EG für viele Gespräche. Besonders Victor 'Nazgul' Goosens hatte für den CEO von Evil Geniuses, Alexander Garfield, keine guten Worte übrig. Vor wenigen Monaten wäre solch eine Partnerschaft auch noch nicht möglich gewesen, so Alexander Garfield. Die Allianz soll die Wogen zwischen den beiden Teams aber nicht glätten. Abseits der Proleague werden beide Clans weiterhin versuchen den anderen zu übertreffen.
Aber nicht alle Spieler beider Teams werden Teil der Partnerschaft sein. Team Liquid stellt die ohnehin in Korea lebenden Akteure Song 'HerO' Hyeon Deok, Yum 'Sea' Bo Sung, Yoon 'TaeJa' Young Seo und Choi 'Zenio' Jung Min zur Verfügung. In Zukunft sollen aber auch die restlichen Spieler die Möglichkeit bekommen nach Korea zugehen um an der Proleague teilzunehmen. Evil Geniuses dagegen geht mit ganzen acht Spielern ins Rennen, darunter unter anderem Greg 'IdrA' Fields, Marcus 'ThorZain' Eklöf und Ilyes 'Stephano' Satouri. Zwei dieser acht Spieler wurden bisher aber noch nicht bekannt gegeben. Als Coach für das Team wird Sung Jin Park fungieren, welcher nun auch der Korean Head Coach von Evil Geniuses ist. Sung Jin Park war bereits Manager und Coach bei SK Telecom T1.
Damit sich die Spieler optimal auf ihre Spiele in der Proleague vorbereiten können, wurde auch ein neues Traininghaus ins Leben gerufen. Dieses befindet sich im gleichen Gebäude, wie auch die Wohnung des Teams Incredible Miracle.
Alexander Garfield, Evil Geniuses CEOStatement
"It could be argued that Evil Genuses/TeamLiquid is the most storied rivalry in the history of non-Korean StarCraft. Whether you're talking about IdrA vs. HuK from late 2010 to mid-2011, PuMa vs. HerO in late 2011, EG's controversial recruitment of HuK away from Liquid last year, or IdrA's never-ending battle with the TL forum moderators, the EG and Liquid names have together created some of the most compelling storylines our sport has ever seen. And while our rivalry has always been fierce - and will always be - it has also always been mutual respectful, and has not been bitter for quite some time.
Obviously, Liquid's roster is excellent, and from a pure competition perspective, the addition of their players provides tremendous value to our partnership. However, to me, this joint participation represents much more than a mutual desire to win. To me, on the part of both organizations and their leaders, it represents mutual respect, reciprocal admiration, and a shared vision for the future of StarCraft as a professional sport. If I had approached Victor with this idea a year ago, he would've questioned my sanity. If I had approached him six months ago, he would've politely declined. But when I approached him recently with this idea, he was open to it, and we mutually worked out the details necessary to make the idea a reality. To me, on a personal level, that is as significant an accomplishment as having Evil Geniuses in Korea's most prestigious league.
Liquid has always been - and will continue to be - our fiercest rival. But rivalries do not have to be bitter; they do not have to involve mutual hatred and disrespect. We will continue to do battle with Liquid in individual tournaments and other teamleagues, but together, at this moment in time, we undertake this new challenge together. And I could not be happier or prouder to be partnered with Victor and TeamLiquid for the pursuit of the common goal of a Proleague championship."
Victor 'Nazgul' Goosens, Team Liquid ownerStatement
"Two huge steps forward are taken today. Not only is Liquid going to be a part of the Proleague legacy, but we will do so with Evil Geniuses. Throughout the past year, our relationship with EG has consistently grown, and when they presented us with this opportunity, we were more than intrigued. We are all very excited about beginning this new challenge and are both ready to make history.
The Proleague has been a mainstay of our coverage since its creation. It is the longest running team league in esports and has played host to the largest crowd in esports history. Many veterans on this site have grown up with Proleague, eagerly waking up early to follow their favorite teams from season to season. And now, after following Proleague for what seems like an eternity, Liquid becomes part of its legacy alongside Evil Geniuses.
Teaming up with our old enemy Evil Geniuses to undertake this incredible challenge is a new and exciting development. There is no doubt that we still see EG as our biggest rivals, but maybe that is exactly what makes it so appealing; the two biggest adversaries coming together to take on an even larger enemy on their home turf. It's an opportunity that makes us all very excited.
Liquid has gained considerable experience in team leagues over the past few years and have posted strong results in international team leagues like IPL TAC, EGMC and NASTL. And EG, who earlier this year struggled in teamleagues, has recently performed very well, placing highly in IPTL and - by some miracle of god - managing to take a match from us in the process. Proleague is a different beast and poses a greater challenge than anything either of us have done before; but we are both ready to rise to the occasion. We are quietly confident that in joining with EG we have a genuine shot at the championship and will work as hard as we can to live up to the expectations of the community.
Liquid will be adding our players that are currently living in Korea to the roster. These will be Zenio, Sea, HerO, and TaeJa. As the tournament progresses we will be exploring our options with regard to bringing over additional players.
Outside of Proleague, nothing changes. As much we'll enjoy fighting alongside Evil Geniuses to tackle the Proleague, we'll still relish taking them on in all other competitions."
Proleague Lineup von Evil Geniuses:

Park '
JYP' Jin Young

Chris '
HuK' Loranger

Lee '
PuMa' Ho Joon

Marcus '
ThorZain' Eklöf

Greg '
IdrA' Fields

Ilyes '
Stephano' Satouri

TBA

TBA
Proleague Lineup von Team Liquid:

Song '
HerO' Hyeon Deok

Yum '
Sea' Bo Sung

Yoon '
TaeJa' Young Seo

Choi '
Zenio' Jung Min