[Breaking News: Noel Announces Tentative Retirement...] - HaveADrink
Since she's scheduling surgery right after LCK, I thought she'd control the side effects and recover in time to compete with both eyes at the World Championship.
But looking at HLG's changed roster, it seems Noel won't be participating this time...
- ttihwakjjit: Yeah, I saw that... Seems like CryingSSD is retiring too and they're bringing in completely new players
- SilverPanthea: Considering her mental health issues too... taking a break seems good for the long term
└ OddOz: HLG definitely has their strongest lineup ever this season... it's such a shame she can't be part of it
└ EndRunner: What can you do when it's about a player's personal health...
- Phaze: The roster changed? Any info on the new player?
└ HaveADrink: No, nothing yet except their nickname is ETBHDD
└ InviteMe: 2 Terabyte HDD? Haha what could be inside that?
└ Tonz: Isn't it obvious what's inside? Hahaha
- LexiaQueennim: Ah... thanks to Noel, this LCK season was truly happy... the championship she couldn't achieve in baseball...
└ Paraly: Yeah, the other players were in amazing form too, but if Hyunseok had just locked in Odin and Kin, I don't think there would have been any variables to flip the game
└ KTC014: Still, looking at CryingSSD's Raven form, wasn't this season set up for a comeback? It's really sad he had to retire due to injury
└ Sistato: For real, in an alternate universe, CryingSSD could have had one hell of a last dance before retirement haha
[I searched the 2Tera player's match history] - Quentina
(photo)
Seems to be a tank player.
Their performance with assassin champions is also good, but
since there aren't many games, I can't tell if they just used those while climbing from lower tiers or if they actually have a wide champion pool.
Recent matches are all tanks, but they don't play that many games per day.
But as you all know, climbing with top lane tank users this season is incredibly difficult.
I'm wondering if this might be someone's alternate account...
But besides Coach Do, what amateur could park an alt in Grandmaster? With that skill level, they'd be a pro already.
- Dedica: But they're only Grandmaster? That's good, of course, but isn't that a bit low for becoming a pro?
└ Quentina: Yeah, I think so too, but didn't Noel get scouted when she was only Love Call Master? I think they probably recruited based on potential
└ CRCE: If they're Grandmaster with tanks in the current meta, the team probably thinks they could easily reach Challenger when the meta shifts in their favor
- ttihwakjjit: I think people's suspicion is this: why recruit an unknown player instead of other pro team top laners or proven names?
└ GFE2047: Can they recruit players from other pro teams?
└ ttihwakjjit: Yes, according to World Championship special regulations, if a team that earned a seed in the regional league loses a player unavoidably, they can recruit mercenaries from competing teams
└ Tasimula: Ah, I was worried about whether they could go to Worlds after Noel collapsed, so that's a relief
└ Bakery: Yeah, the team probably wants to give Noel a break rather than risk sending her overseas where something might happen
└ KTC014: Noel is young, so proper management now would be good for her long-term career
└ Hexdrinker: That's exactly my point. I understand Hyunseok and Noel taking breaks or retiring due to physical and mental issues... but why recruit an amateur?
[Has anyone met ETBHDD in solo queue before?] - TofuDefense
I've never seen this nickname anywhere before.
- DevinePunk: Yeah, I met them in Grandmaster tier and they play very solidly and precisely
└ DevinePunk: They don't create wildly creative kill opportunities or overwhelm with mechanics
└ DevinePunk: Their playstyle feels like facing an impenetrable fortress. They just stand there, but you can't break through
└ Paragon: Isn't that CryingSSD's style too? Holding like an unbreakable inhibitor
└ DevinePunk: Yeah, that's why I think they recruited someone with a similar playstyle
- wangguineachimyeongta: I felt the same as the comment above
└ wangguineachimyeongta: They're not a game-changer who flips unfavorable situations, but conversely, when they have an advantage, it's absolutely impossible to turn things around against them
└ TofuDefense: Oh, so the prevailing theory is they were recruited because their style is similar to CryingSSD's
[I guess HLG doesn't need to gamble when all their players are already in top form] - jadongkwontongrullet
Noel was fine as an upgraded version of Hyunseok, providing a high floor while also being a game-changer.
But thinking about stability, looking at available top laners from other teams, they all have strong egos.
Sacrificial play for the team? They can do it if they try, but
truly giving up personal advantage for the team like Hyunseok or
making plays that break through encirclements like Noel, whether by reading or intuition?
They just can't do it, if only because of pride or fear.
What if the play I just made becomes meaningless?
What if my presence diminishes because of the losses I took here, and I get benched?
Even in solo queue, there are plenty of players who try 1v2 or 1v3 because they don't want to deal with politics,
but in the pro scene, where you get flamed hard if your mistake costs the game, how many players can sacrifice themselves while lowering their contribution?
That level of teamwork is only possible after years of building synergy.
And while Hyunseok gets called washed up, was there any top laner who could match his unbreakability?
Everyone else broke and crumbled against Odin and Kin, creating top gaps.
Only Hyunseok withstood them, and only Noel actually turned the tables on them.
So I think they might have recruited an amateur who can kill their ego and perform the tank role.
- ttihwakjjit: For real haha, even first-team pro players would struggle if told "don't show off, just play tanks" - not many would swallow their pride and follow that
└ Sistato: But it's Worlds, wouldn't it be sweet to just ride the bus to victory?
└ grogigogi: Getting ridiculed for just breathing at Worlds vs. trying to show and prove
└ Tasimula: As a pro gamer, you can't help but crave recognition
- LexiaQueennim: But then they're going back to the old HLG style... top lane just holds while mid and bot create variables
└ RollingHead: Yeah, the strategy becomes a bit predictable... but foreign teams mostly study SKY and Genji, not HLG, so it should be fine haha
[Noel's artificial cornea surgery schedule is up] - LexiaQueennim
Looking at the cost, it's partially covered by insurance so the surgery isn't too expensive.
Overseas it would be $10,000-30,000, but in our country it's just 1-1.5 million won haha
And the team is covering that cost, so there's no financial burden.
Plus, they're using stem cells to create corneas with her own genetic material, so there won't be rejection issues.
The only potential side effect might be astigmatism...
But having both eyes open with glasses is definitely a win.
- Tasimula: Why do you know so much detail? Are you in the medical field?
└ LexiaQueennim: Just a little Googling and it all comes up haha
└ Tasimula: It doesn't though...?
└ LexiaQueennim: That's because you're not searching properly
└ Zljonnabi: "Neoga" is correct, not "Neoga"
└ LexiaQueennim: Sorry
- dutongtongsengitongen: Isn't stem cell technology for lesbian pregnancy? Why is stem cell mentioned here?
└ LexiaQueennim: It's technology that expresses necessary cells using your own genetic material
└ LexiaQueennim: While ethical issues prevent human cloning, creating specific organs is possible
└ LexiaQueennim: It takes too long to make something like a heart, but creating small tissues like corneas is quite stable now - just takes two weeks
└ dutongtongsengitongen: Oh... so heart disease patients could just copy their hearts in advance?
└ LexiaQueennim: That's possible, though there are cost issues with preservation, so you'd need to schedule surgery and wait a while
- ttihwakjjit: HLG made a smart move. A few hundred thousand won isn't small for individuals, but it's pocket change for a company
└ ttihwakjjit: Spending that money to save a player and win fans' hearts? Great PR effect haha
└ CRCE: But what's the point of PR for them...? They're a tech development company, not selling to general consumers, right?
└ YesClip: ??? That's true
└ ttihwakjjit: Well, having a better corporate image can't hurt haha
[2TeraHDD's identity revealed] - Coolpiss
(photo)
She's a woman?
Just because they had some success with Noel, they're hiring another woman and ruining the atmosphere.
Public opinion suggests she's an unknown amateur probably recruited for her looks.
Seems like HLG is determined to crash out of Worlds after finally making it.
- ttihwakjjit: A GIRL!!!
- Sistato: Wow look at that beauty
- LexiaQueennim: Gasp haha haha
- Coolpiss: Why are you all just excited about her looks? A female player is coming to your favorite team to cause trouble!
└ Paragon: Where did you come from that you can't even measure angles before claiming she'll cause trouble? haha
- SilverPanthea: As long as she plays well, does it matter if she's a woman?
└ KTC014: Exactly! Noel became a pro because she was good at the game. Gender doesn't matter
└ Coolpiss: But why use an unknown amateur when there are already proven players and well-known amateurs available?
└ TofuDefense: Why are you picking a fight when people who've played with her say she's good? We don't even know if she's good or bad yet
- Reself: Leave it, maybe they just wanted to give allowance to someone new because they were tired of only giving it to Noel
[There's a jinx on HLG's top lane] - topshinbyeongjayunnongneu
Hyunseok injured his hand for the team
Noel pushed through her illness for the team, destroying her mental health to force herself to play
With both previous players developing or worsening physical or mental issues,
the next player will...
- SilverPanthea: AAAAAAHHHHH
- ttihwakjjit: It's only two players who've retired, but I am a bit worried...
└ nongneuusungkeopdoduk: For real, it feels like HLG's top laners are cursed this year
[Her name is Kang Hyunseo?] - Average
Isn't CryingSSD's real name Kang Hyunseok?
Could she be his sister or relative?
- ttihwakjjit: I thought the same seeing the name, but looking at the photo, they look completely different
- HS2000: Usually siblings of the same generation have different name patterns. The generational character is different for boys and girls
└ ttuittaittuitta: Oh really? I didn't know that
└ HS2000: Yes, since men carry on the family line, traditionally only men used the generational character, though some say
└ HS2000: Some families also had separate generational characters for women. If you didn't give them a generational character, they might feel they weren't part of the family
└ HS2000: Of course, many families these days don't care about generational characters when naming children
└ naeganugunyago: I learned something new
- LexiaQueennim: Their most played champions overlap so I wondered if she might be Hyunseok's alt account haha, but they're just meta tank picks so the overlap makes sense
└ KTC014: Yeah, both CryingSSD and 2Tera just play meta tanks with occasional assassins in solo queue
└ Sistato: CryingSSD plays Raven quite a bit, but 2Tera hasn't played it once. They're definitely different people
[Upvote if you feel bad for the commentators now haha] - chikinposikja
"Joker," "Kin," "TrueLock," "Odin"
After commentating with cool nicknames of at most three syllables,
now they have to say "ETBHDD" or "2 Terabyte HDD" - upvote if you feel bad for the commentators with headaches haha
- ttihwakjjit: Haha the same commentators who used CryingSSD's full name are going to be really confused now
- papyeongju: Looking at it this way, that nickname is truly evil haha
- juicesskul: Now that you mention it, that's so true haha. How are they going to abbreviate that?