NaDa joins Complexity Gaming
Yoon Yeol 'NaDa' Lee, the former Brood War professional and current StarCraft 2 Terran player who's been without a team since January 31st, has signed with Complexity Gaming. Lee is the first of three players that are joining the North American e-sports organization, as the team plans to announce one player each night through Saturday.
NaDa is now a part of Complexity Gaming (Photo: Zhang Jingna)
NaDa's first appearance for the organization will be with partner team MVP in the GSL Team League. He gets started immediately, as MVP faces FXOpen E-sports Friday morning in their Group A GSTL match.
ESFI World spoke with Complexity Gaming owner Jason "1" Lake about the acquisition on Thursday night:
NaDa is due to serve in the military in 2013. How much did that weigh on your decision to sign him? Do you think that after his military service, NaDa will consider staying with Complexity or going back with a Korean team? Was that discussed at all?
Of course, we're a bit sad his mandatory military service is coming up but we'd rather have the opportunity to work with him for a year than not at all. He's a legendary player and a consumate professional. We're honored he chose to join our organization. Moving foward, we hope to keep him on as an advisor and mentor but it will really depend on his availability.
How confident are you in showcasing his skills in the international scene? In 2011, he appeared in two international events. He finished 4th at MLG Raleigh 2011 and got knocked out in Assembly Summer 2011 in the Ro16.
The competition out there is pretty strong right now but I'm confident his years of experience and wealth of knowledge about proper training, etc, will enable him to compete with the best in 2012. He personally expressed to me a sincere desire to make a big statement during this final year before the military. When a player like NaDa says something like that, the sky is the limit.
How much input did MVP coach Choi have on NaDa's acquisition?
Coach Choi was instrumental in the negotiations and we greatly value the partnership we have with Team MVP. Mr. Choi is also very excited to have NaDa join his guys in GSTL.
What is the first major event that NaDa will attend as part of Complexity (outside of Korea)? How many events and which events do you plan on sending him to?
NaDa has an open ticket to attend any major event in the world. We will give him a good deal of flexibility in choosing what those events are and can't wait to see him at international events.
Will NaDa live at the MVP house as a full team member or are there other plans?
The door is certainly open but as of right now I believe he will train from home. I'm sure he'll spend a great amount of time training directly with MVP players.
Does this mean anything for the coL players living the west? Why hasn't coL made more of an effort in the western scene? Were you turned off because of what happened with NaNiwa and Stephano?
I think we've made a strong effort. We acquired ROOT (one of the top performing NA teams at the time). We signed Stephano, and had Naniwa on the team for a period. We also have the compLexity Academy from which Goswer was promoted while receiving a new Origin PC. We haven't given up on the West but right now the players we admire are committed to other organizations. We're not done in the West.
Can you give us any details on the deal itself? Will NaDa be a salaried player? Do the MVP players get a salary or does the deal only constitute covering their travel to foreign events (from coL's side)?
Yes, NaDa is absolutely salaried! Asking a legend like him to play for you in exchange for travel would be like asking President Clinton to speak at your business for a cake (smiles). As far as the MVP arrangement, I'll hide behind the "it's confidential" answer because it wouldn't be appropriate to comment without speaking with Coach Choi.
Thanks very much for the interview! Love ESFI. Thanks to our fans and our sponsors - SoundBlaster, PNY, Origin PC and QPad - and thanks to NaDa for joining our family. Years from now he will be remembered alongside the other legends who have worn our jersey and that makes me smile.
Source: Complexity Gaming
