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TaKe

From Liquipedia StarCraft 2 Wiki
[e][h]Terran TaKe
Commentator Information
Name:
Dennis Gehlen
Nationality:
Born:
March 7, 1986
Krefeld, West Germany (age 38)
Race:
Alternate IDs:
TaKeSen, BecomeAPro
Years Active:
2013
Years Active (caster):
2010 - 2011,
2013 - 2023
Links
History
SK.Wc3, Alternate.Wc3, Alternate.sc2, Type

Dennis "TaKe" Gehlen is a German StarCraft II caster who worked for ESL TV. He was a high-level Human Warcraft III player and is now active as a StarCraft II caster and content producer, running his own company named TaKeTV.

Biography[edit]

TaKe is interested in the growth of eSports and therefore talks and acts passionately about it. He works as a caster and has worked as a host, but now mainly produces live content from his studio and organizes TaKeTV. As the founder of the company he has also branched out into various other eSport games (namely Heroes of the Storm, Counter Strike: Global Offensive and Hearthstone[1]). TaKe took a loan to open a new and bigger (>2000m²) location (still in Krefeld), which is scheduled to open at the end of July 2015.[2]

He has a girlfriend who works for his company and for NeedForSeat.[3]

Playing[edit]

TaKe was an active player during the StarCraft II beta where he played a lot of ladder games and was placed in the Platinum League. Although he was a top-player in Warcraft III he did not try to go this way again in StarCraft II, stating that he preferred to manage teams and find new talent. He still occasionally plays the game, as Terran, and in January 2011 he started the YouTube series "Become a Pro" to document his goal to reach GrandMasters League.[4] But, as TaKeTV kept growing, time constraints forced Dennis to abandon this untertaking.

Casting[edit]

TaKe's entertaining casting style has allowed him to become very successful in Germany. His stream TakeTV had its own channel on ESL TV, but still covers events in German for the ESL. One of the distinguishing characteristics of his shows was that nearly every broadcast featured its own co-caster. He often invited pro players to his studio/apartment where they cast some games with him, giving a strong analytical edge to the casts as well as showcasing the players' personas. This formula is expanded during events like the HomeStory Cup where many pro players are invited to his flat to compete in a high-stakes tournament in a casual atmosphere.

Since NarutO took over the main casting job for Starcraft II in January 2014, TaKe doesn't feature in every show, although he still is passionate about the game and casts as much as he possibly can. Progamers and other personalities still join the casting couch occasionally. Among others, KnowMe, HeRoMaRinE and Honor appeared.

HomeStory Cup[edit]

The HomeStory Cup started as a small invitational tournament that TaKe held in his flat in Krefeld, Germany. He invited the top players from Europe to come and compete for a small prize pool. The format of the tournament was an ordinary double-elimination bracket but it was the production and casual atmosphere that gave this tournament a unique feel. It has been likened to a reality TV Show in that the interactions of the tournament players are shown all throughout the tournament. Cameras are set up in the relaxing area, the players themselves are invited to join in casting (one of its most famous features) and accommodations such as an in-house chef and a poker table provide a relaxed atmosphere. The initial HomeStory Cup was merely a trial and most of these features were not implemented until the later HomeStory Cups.

The second HomeStory Cup is when the tournament started gaining more international attention for having a bigger prize pool and more participants. In HomeStory Cup IV, South Koreans participated for the first time and the players had specifically come from Korea to participate. Stream numbers for the event broke into the 60,000 concurrent, around the same as most premier tournaments at the time.

Regarded as one of the most fun tournaments of the scene, the string of HSCs continued and reached a pinnacle at his tenth anniversary where HSC X was held in a local club named "Königsburg" allowing for a big live audience for the first time. The latest edition (HSC XI), in part crowdfunded and strained by a heatwave, was held July 2-5, 2015.

Curiosities and worth knowing[edit]

  • In one show, William came to bring TaKe a Pizza after he jokingly told the stream he is hungry. Then he casted with him and "Willi" was liked much by the community which led to the decision that he could help TaKe on a regular basis. He is for example helping him with his YouTube account and the videos on it.
  • He made so many shows with Kevin "RotterdaM" van der Kooi that Kevin was asked to move to Germany in order to work for ESL TV. Also RotterdaM wanted a stripper in the show which led them to open donations and the community gave him over €400 to get the stripper dancing live in the show.
  • When playing the song "Waka Waka" by Shakira in the time of the World Cup 2010 a user in their IRC Channel #esl.tv started to spam "WAKAWAKA" which caused a mass spamming by nearly every user and a huge lag of the whole channel, TaKe's PC and the stream. The channel client counter instantly dropped down because almost every IRC Client crashed.
  • He also is often seen as the "mentor" of XlorD, who was a top WC3-Player and was often involved with TaKe's stream and events. He later managed to take third place at the HomeStory Cup VI TaKe organized, where he went first in his group and managed to beat MMA and Stephano, though he has since retired.

Trivia[edit]

  • Was a high level WC3 Player and a manager for teams such as SK-Gaming.[5]
  • Works occasionally for Turtle Entertainment, ESL's parent company, as a host and caster.
  • He previously tried to reach Grandmaster League in order to obtain a free trip to Las Vegas[6]
  • He despises onions.[7]

Notable events casted and organized[edit]

Notable Events Hosted[edit]

DateTierTournamentPositionPartner List
2022-12-18PremierHomeStory Cup XXIIHSC XXIIHost
German Commentator
2022-07-24PremierHomeStory Cup XXIHomeStory Cup XXIGerman Commentator
2019-11-24PremierHomeStory Cup XXHomeStory Cup XXHost
2015-12-20PremierHomeStory Cup XIIHomeStory Cup XIIHost
2015-07-05PremierHomeStory Cup XIHomeStory Cup XIHost
2014-11-16PremierHomeStory Cup XHomeStory Cup XHost
2014-07-26PremierNationWars II by O'Gaming TVNationWars II by O'Gaming TVOther Language Commentator
2014-06-08PremierHomeStory Cup IXHomeStory Cup IXHost
2013-12-07PremierASUS ROG NorthCon 2013ASUS ROG NorthCon 2013Host
2013-11-17PremierHomeStory Cup VIIIHomeStory Cup VIIIHost
About achievementsBroadcasts from any Tournament

Gallery[edit]

Interviews[edit]

2014[edit]

2012[edit]

2011[edit]

External links[edit]

References[edit]