ESFI World

Korean Zerg player Seong Han "Sleep" Kim has signed with North American-based team CheckSix Gaming, Curt “KeyHunt” Carter told ESFI today. Carter, the team's business development director, said that the two parties were speaking for some time, but that negotiations had made a turn for the better in only the past couple of weeks.

Kim has been without a team as of October of last year when he announced that he had left SlayerS in order to search for a foreign team. Prior to his time with SlayerS, he had a stint with another Korean powerhouse, Incredible Miracle.

Sleep at IPL 3: Origins, where he was eliminated in the round of 16 by MMA

Sleep will be joining a roster consisting of primarily Americans and Canadians, headlined by players like ThisIsJimmy, WinDy (MajOr), Mystik and Suppy. As of this month, the organization houses a total of twelve StarCraft 2 players. According to Carter, the signing of Sleep is more than just about results. "We want to invest long term into all of our players," he said. "We did not pick up Sleep to just be a player. He will also be involved heavily in playing with all our other players that will attend events regularly."

To that end, CheckSix will be housing Sleep in southern California with the team's creative director, Bernie Catalan, beginning in the middle of February. "We have purchased him a computer, desk, webcam and all the essentials for any budding StarCraft star [...] we've made sure that he is comfortable in the house as well by upgrading his bedding at the house, clearing our closet and pantry space..all the basics." Although plans for a full-on team house aren't yet in the works for CheckSix, Carter did not rule out the potential for a partnership with a Korean team in the future, much like Quantic's current partnership with Startale.

The announcement video for CheckSix's signing of Sleep

Kim's presence and success in the GSL's 2011 circuit was limited. Since his elimination in the round of 32 of GSL Open Season 3, Kim has attempted to qualify for GSL October, GSL November and most recently, GSL 2012 Season 1, never being able to make it through to Code A each time. In international competition, the grandest stage he participated in was at the IPL 3: Origins tournament in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Still with SlayerS at the time, he was eventually knocked out by then-teammate MMA after having defeated Minigun in the first round of the playoffs.

Curt Carter told ESFI that the 19-year old is more interested in participating in North American and European events, and that the team has no plans to send Sleep to Korea to compete in GSL in the near future, though it would never be ruled out for the future. On the topic, Sleep stated, "Although I do think about competing in GSL, I haven't been able to experience a lot of tournaments. To expose myself to these experiences, I would like to start off in North American competitions and from there compete in GSLs, North American and European competitions."

Interview with Seong Han "Sleep" Kim

Since Check Six picked you, what do you think made you enticing compared to other currently teamless Koreans?

Among the Korean players who are teamless, I believe I attended the greatest number of online foreign tournaments, in which I didn't display bad results.

You announced you wanted to join a foreign team after you left SlayerS. Why did you choose CheckSix over other options? Did you speak with many other teams?

I've spent quite a long time teamless, talking to different teams and contemplating a lot. I wanted to join a team that would need me, and CheckSix's manager also spent quite a long time helping me out a lot. In the end, I believe the help I received was the greatest reason why I chose to be recruited into CheckSix.

You've had limited success in the GSL. Is that something you want to compete in again or will your goals shift to success in North American and European tournaments?

Although I do think about competing in GSL, I haven't been able to experience a lot of tournaments. To expose myself to these experiences, I would like to start off in North American competitions, and from there compete in many GSLs, North American, and European competitions.

What would make this year a success for you? Are there certain milestones, specific tournament wins maybe, that you want to reach?

My goals are to win MLG and IPL in the States; even if I don't win, my goal is to engage in entertaining competitions.

Interview with Curt "KeyHunt" Carter (x6 Biz Dev Director)

Lots of other Western teams have already picked up Korean players. Why did Check Six decide to join the bandwagon? Were you look specifically for a Korean free agent for your first big signing of the year?

Well, I could ramble on this subject for quite some time. However, I will try to keep it short and sweet. All of us at CheckSix were very interested in finding a player that is deserving of a chance to shine. However, also a player that we could see a return on as well..and by that I mean event placements, stream numbers, etc..not money. We looked around, spoke to many after deciding that we were going to bring one over to the US and Sleep was our first choice so we are incredibly glad to have him.

Why did you pick Sleep over another Korean player?

I think this is the easiest question to answer. In the end, based on both what we could spend, on personality, on results and potential..sleep was the perfect choice for us. Hopefully, no one is disappointed in our choice and realized just how much thought goes into every decision we make..including this one. Can I see into the future? No. However, I do think it will be a bright one for us and Sleep.

Sleep announced he has been looking to team up with a foreign organization since his departure from SlayerS this past October. Has this deal been in the works since then or was it only a recent opportunity for CheckSix?

This was a fairly new thing. We have been talking to him for quite some time, but most recently took a turn for the better within the past 2 weeks. Now I am proud to call him a CheckSix member.

It’s quite a significant change for Sleep to move to the US; how will CheckSix help him adjust to living in America?

It is a big change for him..and it's a big change for us. However, we have been working on this idea like I said for quite some time so we have tried to make everything as comfortable as possible for him. We have purchased him a computer, desk, webcam and all the essentials for any budding  StarCraft star and also made sure that he is comfortable in the house as well by upgrading his bedding at the house, clearing our closet and pantry space..all the basics. We also plan on having a translator on hand for a while until Fujikura and him get used to each other's habits and all to make things go as smooth as possible with the transition.

Where will Sleep be staying? Is a CheckSix team house in the works at all?

So, for now Sleep will be staying with Bernie Catalan aka Fujikura who is the Creative Director with CheckSix Gaming. We have been planning to do something similar to this for a few months at least, and he has been preparing his place ever since to make it as comfortable as possible for him. A team house I would say is something we would love to eventually do, maybe even in a partnership with other teams? But for now, it's not in the immediate future.

Since Sleep will be living in the US, can we assume x6’s focus for him are events like MLG and IPL this year? Will x6 invest in having him travel back to Korea for future GSLs? What about European events?

That would be a good assumption. Sleep is more interested in US and Euro events right now, and we're more interested in him participating in those events. So for now, he will be staying in the US and will not be going back to Korea to try and compete in the GSL. I would never rule it out though for the future.

How does Sleep's signing fit into the plan for development of the other members of the team?

One of the main reasons behind this was because we want to invest long-term into all of our players. We did not pick up Sleep to just be a player. He will also be involved heavily in playing with all our other players that will attend events regularly. We plan on bringing back old-school Counter-Strike terminology and doing bootcamps at Fujikura's house with Sleep before every major event for our players to get in as much practice time as possible with Sleep so everyone is prepared for the gauntlet known as the open bracket.

You can follow Sleep on Twitter at @92sleep and his new team Check Six at @Check6Gaming.
Translation credit: Yuna D.