by Sören ‘Fantasy’ Vendsahm
The eyes of the Hearthstone world will be directed upon Krefeld, Germany this weekend. The small city in close proximity to Cologne and Dusseldorf might not be the center of the world, but it turns into the center of eSports every so often. The reason for that is the passion project Dennis ‘Take’ Gehlen has founded in Krefeld – TakeTV. Starting with the HomeStory Cup in 2010, the living room of Take has turned into one of the greatest places for an eSports tournament.
Since then a lot has changed, the production has become more professional, the equipment got upgraded and a different flat was turned into a studio apartment. With all that change one constant remains to this day – the tournaments in Krefeld, Germany are happening in a comfortable and unique environment.
That is also the staple of the entire tournament series, the fact that no one tries to fake anything. What you see on stream is what you get. The raw happenings of a large gathering of professional players. That includes a great amount of casting changes, a fun environment, occasionally people running through camera shots – all of that is what makes SeatStory Cup and HomeStory Cup authentic and a fan favorite.
This time all the attention will be focused on the cardslingers of Hearthstone, who get a standalone tournament in Take’s domicile for the first time. The first iteration of the SeatStory Cup was the first journey of TakeTV into the new game, but it was still bundled with a StarCraft 2 tournament as well. now the spotlight is on the virtual card table and 32 of the best players in the world followed the call to Krefeld.
Making their way over to represent compLexity.Hearthstone is Dog. As a lone wolf he had time to scout the opposition on Day 1 of the festivities, get used to the venue and shake off the jetlag. Tomorrow he will take part of the action in Group G. As one of the new players on the Hearthstone scene he will be one of the main attractions on that day, fighting to advance in the group with Cabrix, Powder and Yogg. On October, 17th at 3 PM CET the party in black and red will start with Dog and his first match in the GSL-style group stage. The road will then continue on Saturday with the second group stage and eventually come to a conclusion late at night on Sunday, October, 19th. On that day the remaining eight top players of the tournament will not only fight for the Lion’s share of the prize pool, but also for the ultimate honor to be named the second SeatStory Cup champion.
Not only will everyone in the world be watching the stream, but TakeTV is also offering a Fireside Gathering in the spirit of Hearthstone. The old Irish Pub just downstairs will host the gathered eSports crowd and give everyone a chance to not only see the tournament in a warm atmosphere, you will also get a chance to see the players and interact with them.
If you can’t make it to Krefeld to enjoy the stream with some Irish beer, you can still become a part of this by using twitter. Tweet us your support @compLexityLive and use #coLHS. To show your support for TakeTV and the SeatStory Cup be sure to tweet your opinions @TakeTV and use #SSCII and #TakeTV throughout the weekend.