TSL Bids Farewell, Korean StarCraft II Team Disbands

Team SCV Life (TSL) has announced its disbandment due to the loss of key players and a lack of sponsorship, reports Korean gaming news portal This Is Game.

Seeker from the TeamLiquid forum helpfully translates the article, which states that TSL’s head coach, Lee Woon Jae, said that it was “difficult” for the team to try and continue. He eventually revealed the reasons mentioned earlier.

The players in question are Kim “Revival” Dong Hyun and Choi “Polt” Seong Hoon. Revival, who plays Zerg, left TSL in late-November last year after losing 3:0 to VortiX at the IEM Singapore quarterfinals. He was quoted as wanting a “fresh new start” and now plays for North American team Evil Geniuses. Polt, a Terran player, departed for America in December to pursue his studies. As such, he is currently not associated with any team.

TSL has weathered major hits to its team roster before. Their first blow came when the team’s launch players, Kim “FruitDealer” Won Ki and Seo “TricKsteR” Ki Soo left in 2011 to join another Korean pro-gaming team, StarTale. This paved the way for other strong and promising players to come and go, ultimately leading to the team’s closure.

In a final statement, Coach Lee said that his players hold “tremendous” talent and sincerity, and expresses his hopes that they find new teams soon. For players like Seok Hyun “HyuN” Ko and Dong Hyun “Symbol” Kang, it’ll simply be a matter of time considering their recent performances at GSL. Others left stranded include Choi “Center” Jae Sung, Kim “Cyrano” Yong Jin, Choi “Shine” Kyung Min and Shin “RagnaroK” Hee Bum.

Rod “Slasher” Breslau, an eSports journalist for GameSpot, tweeted the following:

We’re two months away from Heart of the Swarm now so hopefully its release will reinvigorate sponsor interest in the Korean pro-gaming scene.

Sources: This Is Game, Team Liquid