BERLIN -- It was Jan. 31 at 9 a.m. and the streets were coated with layers of snow -- the cold oppressive outside a Berlin apartment complex. Paris Saint-Germain esports had opened its doors to the press on this day, a couple of days before their European Challenger Series spring season opener against Schalke 04.
The warmth and cosiness inside PSG's new gaming house, l'Appartement (the apartment), would make anyone forget about the frigid air outside as several members of the press lined up to be taken on a house tour.
Undeniably, PSG decorations were all around the house. The entrance featured l'Appartement's logo near the coat hangers. Bedrooms were adorned with PSG logos and merchandise, and so was the living room, with a huge billboard featuring the team's motto, "Let's Dream Bigger."
At first glance, it was hard to think that the organization opened its esports division just three months earlier considering how well put together the apartment appeared. But PSG brand diversification and development manager Fabien Allègre noted that the organization had been planning for its jump into esports for far longer.
"We have been looking into the topic of esports for three and a half to four years," Allègre said. "Just like every project, and especially since it reaches so many people, we took ... the time to analyze, to meet a lot of people and to talk to them before positioning ourselves [in esports].
"Esports is a topic that the club, on a brand standpoint, could not ignore, given our president [Nasser El Khelaifi]'s ambition is to build one of the biggest sports franchises in the world and, at the same time, [it being] an actual brand development project."
The PSG brand needed guidance venturing into the unknown. To that effect, the team partnered with Bertrand Amar and Sasha Brodowski from Bang Bang Management, as well as Webedia, a company with several internet-based media under its wing (including French esports portal Millenium). However, filling the team house required more than intent.
"It was important to seek players with a relatively well-built project, whether it [includes] the living space of the League of Legends players, the coaching staff, as well as the monitoring that the club can do," Allègre said.
Bora "YellOwStaR" Kim's retirement was just what they needed.
YellOwStaR has been a busy man since his appointment as PSG's esports director, and the press tour was no different as he welcomed media members to the gaming house. However, it is fundamentally different from the type of business that allowed him to reach the League of Legends World Championships semifinals three times and the finals once. He's not behind a computer screen anymore, but in front of it as the central figure on team PSG.
His role is varied and complex. Initially welcoming the press to the gaming house, YellOwStaR switched gears during the morning to deal with management matters, exchanging information with head coach Hadrien "Duke" Forestier, glancing inquisitively at a player's screen as a 1v1 matchup trial was in progress, and then responding to interview requests.
Three months ago, his sole task was to build a roster and ensure the foundations were set. PSG's full vote of confidence was important.
"As a person who evolved in esports, [PSG] gave me free reign over how we wanted to proceed [with the project]," YellOwStaR said. "I advised them not to start too fast, to give us the time to immerse ourselves, and to be able to evolve together as a team. I had to take care of the apartment search and of the squad. Thanks to PSG's monitoring, they were able to help me."
The former Warcraft III and League of Legends professional player is attuned to the way esports works; YellOwStaR has been in it since 2007 and experienced its rise over the years. But with the rise came increasing expectations from managers and players wanting to perform on the highest level to his coaching staff tasked with motivating the players.
YellOwStaR understood that rushing the process of building a squad would be detrimental; chemistry issues could plague a roster's long-term success, but a lack of structure would shoot the project dead in its tracks. He decided to debut his team in the lower-level Challenger Series and build from there.
"We wanted to start at the Challenger Series also to show that the Paris Saint-Germain is in line with its values, humility being one. We ought to familiarize ourselves with this new ecosystem [esports] and make sure that the foundation is there," YellOwStaR said.
YellOwStaR set out to secure the gaming house, and he sought players with a specific profile. Unexpectedly, his first two hires, Na "Pilot" Woo-hyung and Jin "Blanc" Seong-min, solicited him.
"In Jin Air, I saw PSG's official [announcement] with Bora Kim [as a] head coach. I like PSG, and I like Bora," Pilot said. "I sent a message on his Facebook [saying that] I and Blanc wanted to go to [the club.]
"I respect [Bora as a] player, and I trust him."
Blanc, who wanted to play alongside Pilot, followed his teammate to Paris Saint-Germain. He seems happy with his decision and his position on PSG. It wasn't always that way, as he struggled on his previous team, the Jin Air Green Wings.
"I had many troubles in Jin Air with coaching and teammates," Blanc said. "In PSG, our members [are] good. The coach and Bora Kim [are] very kind, [and it's a good thing]. The PSG apartment [is] good, and food is good too. My teammates are very kind. I'm having [lots of] fun. I enjoy it."
The two have been undergoing as smooth a transition as possible; English lessons are available to them twice a week, focusing on day-to-day interaction and terms used during the game. But some of their happiness stems from YellOwStaR's decision to build the roster around them.
"We especially prioritized acquiring [Pilot and Blanc]," YellOwStaR said. "We wanted to build around them, know their personalities, and what would fit with their playstyle, team chemistry, the drive to improve, their willingness to make concessions to have good team play."
When Paris Saint-Germain reached out to prospective recruits Hampus "Sprattel" Abrahamsson and Etienne "Steve" Michels, two months removed from their participation as members of the now-relegated Schalke 04, they initially asked questions about the project.
For Sprattel, it was also about YellOwStaR's involvement in the squad -- beyond that of a regular team manager.
"I'm really learning a lot from YellOwStaR," Sprattel said. "Seeing how he plays with the team and how he dictates the play is really valuable for me as a player; you don't get that anywhere else."
Upon arriving to the gaming house, the two players experienced a different lifestyle on PSG from what they had previously experienced. Steve, in particular, saw radically different team spaces. He liked ROCCAT's separation between workplace and living quarters, but PSG's environment still won him over.
"We wanted to start at the Challenger Series also to show that the Paris Saint-Germain is in line with its values, humility being one." Bora "YellOwStaR" Kim
"The environment [right now] is the best right now, but it's not only because of the separation between the living place and where we sleep," Steve said, sitting in the living room, not far from the kitchen. "[There's] the food; we have a catering service. We have a strict schedule. Everything seems really professional, more so than in the previous environments.
"We wake up around 11 [a.m.]. We eat lunch at [1 p.m.], and then at 3 [p.m.] we start team practice. From 3 to 6 p.m., we play one scrim block, then we have a break to eat, then another scrim block from 7 to 10 p.m., then we have free time or solo queue."
Per the schedule, the team began practice at 3 p.m. that included scrim sessions. After a pick-and-ban phase that the squad's head coach, Hadrien "Duke" Forestier, prepared alongside YellOwStaR that morning, the time had come for "the gaming house symphony" as a chorus of key presses and frantic clicks echoed through l'Appartement.
Duke and YellOwStaR discussed and noted the moves the players made in real time, away from the gaming area. The two shared feedback and jotted down notes that they want to tackle during scrim review.
"Bora has the title of being the head manager, but he's heavily [involved] in the team's performances," Steve said. "We have a head coach as well. They both work together. Every game, we review the game all together, [and] they discuss between each other when we're out of the game."
The two also discuss the squad's approach to League of Legends, and the top laner found that it greatly differed from the way it was with his previous team, Elements.
"We're more focused on win conditions, whereas in Elements we were kinda given the win conditions by our own plays -- 'We got a kill here, let's see what we can do around this play,'" Steve said. "[In PSG] we have a more strict game plan. We would go into a game, and we know what we want to do from the start."
Forty minutes later, the squad emerged from the scrimmage session. Players initially talked about their first impressions, then headed to the scrim review area -- the living room with the big screen. YellOwStaR connected his laptop to the big screen, and the review commenced. Pick usage, strategic calls and individual decision-making underwent analysis, with players providing feedback and adding to the discussion, in an effort to learn and refine team play.
During that moment, the former professional player-turned-esports manager played a central role in the process of turning PSG's vision into reality.
"It has mainly been my choices: Start in the Challenger Series and hire these specific players," YellOwStaR said. "I am very satisfied with [the players'] behavior, their motivation, their drive to learn, and their openness to criticism -- positive or negative."