First we have TidesofTime checking out from Tempo Storm and heading to a stacked Cloud9 team.
Cloud9 HyperX is thrilled to welcome Andrew “TidesofTime” Biessener to the Cloud9 Hearthstone team. TidesofTime originally gained his competitive experience as a professional Dota 2 player on Team Dignitas and most recently as a pro Hearthstone player for Tempo Storm.
There’s been a bit of drama and intrigue surrounding Reynad and Tides as of late. Reynad has since denied that the lack of video content on Tides’s side has contributed to the break up. Reynad has also made some interesting comments regarding the departure.
https://twitter.com/AndreyYanyuk/status/528011677858803713
Reddit provided interesting reading on why legally Reynad might not be able to say.
And a message regarding the future of Tempo Storm:
https://twitter.com/AndreyYanyuk/status/528159735933960195
No matter the drama this puts Cloud9 clearly ahead of all other teams in Hearthstone, with three of the top 10 players: Kolento, StrifeCro, and TidesofTime.
Amaz Leaves Team Liquid
This is the news that kind of came out of nowhere.
After some discussion between myself and Amaz, we came to a joint decision to release him from his contract. From today, Amaz is no longer member of Team Liquid. This comes a little sooner than expected, as his contract was to run a while longer. When we sat down together to talk about the future, Amaz let us know that he wants to try to form his own team. As a fellow team owner, this is an ambition I can understand and respect. I’ve gotten to know Jason as a professional who knows what he wants and how to get there. If he has his eyes set on making this work, I expect him to do just fine for himself.
Under the Liquid banner Amaz took first place at the Millenium House Cup 4, IEM Shenzhen, and VGVN #1. Additionally, he finished second in both Dreamhack Summer and the Viagame House Cup. The months we have had together have been more successful than I could have hoped for. Unfortunately our time working together comes to an end here. We wish him all the best and hope that focusing on his new venture will prove worthwhile.
I’d like to add a short word about our participation in NEL as, without Amaz, we’ll need to make some changes there. We have now signed up as Liquid and Friends and will be playing with Savjz, monk, Thijs, and Neirea. It’s a stacked roster of players who can help each other to reach new heights. Look for us in the regular season and hopefully in the live finals in China after.
Amaz seemed to be a great fit at Team Liquid, and along with Savjz had created quite a powerhouse team. The idea that Amaz wants to start his own team is interesting, but I’m surprised at the appeal based on how it’s gone so far for Reynad.
NumberGuy Joins SK Gaming
SK Gaming has decided to enter the Hearthstone realm, and snap up a young up and comer to start them off.
To cut a long story short, we are extremely thrilled to announce the Danish youngster Filip ‘Numberguy’ Samuelsen as our first player in Hearthstone and are looking to expand the lineup as we move forward. Filip is currently 17 years old – about to turn 18 next month – extremely smart, passionate, talented and seemed to be the perfect fit for our venture into this fairly unchartered territory. He managed to qualify for the BlizzCon World Championships as one of four Europeans and is about to leave for Anaheim, California, to compete at the $250.000 USD tournament representing both Europe and SK Gaming.
We’ll see if this investment can pay off with a BlizzCon victory for Numberguy.
