Theo Epstein appointed Epstein to replace interim general manager (GM) Mike Port. Epstein is credited with initiating the trade of Nomar Garciaparra and making key contract acquisitions including those of Kevin Millar and Curt Schilling during his first tenure as Red Sox GM. The new players were regarded as instrumental in breaking the so-called "Curse of the Bambino" when the Red Sox defeated the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2004 World Series. It was the Red Sox' first World Series championship since 1918, ending what remains the third longest championship drought in the history of any Major League team, after the Chicago
Team Curse was given a sponsorship by Curse Inc., and became Team Curse. The team's initial roster was Steve "LiQuiD112" Arhancet, Brandon "DontMashMe" Phan, Yiliang "Doublelift" Peng, Thomas "SYDTKO" Oh, Eugene "Pobelter" Park, Luis "Lapaka" Perez, Chenglong "Nyjacky" Wang, and Justin "Jsura" Nguyen. Two days after they were sponsored, Team Curse attended their first major event, MLG Raleigh 2011. After losing all of their group stage matches against Counter Logic Gaming, Epik Gamer, and Team SoloMid, the team finished the event in fourth place. They attended their second North American LAN, IGN Proleague 3 (IPL 3), in October 2011, where they fell