EPT![[image loading]](http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c146/neoghaleon55/DRGfinals.jpg)
It was three in the morning on a Saturday that I found myself awake and screaming at the TV screen as I cheered for MVP_DongRaeGu, who at the time was down 0:3 to Slayers_MMA at the Blizzard Cup finals.
He's dead...I thought....and so did everyone who was watching.
DRG had tilted and lost a critical game on Belshir Beach, a map that he was hugely favored to win.
On the stage, you could see frustration on his face. It looked as if MMA had crushed not just his army one game earlier, but also his spirit. At this point, the fans of DRG no longer hoped that he would win, we were all hoping he wouldn't lose 0:4.
What transpired next was something no one had expected...and none will forget..
DongRaeGu fought his way back from the great deficit...closing the score at 1:3
...and then 2:3
...then 3:3 happened.
*****
![[image loading]](http://www.plu.cn/d/file/sc2/info/2011-06-24/dd5104ae77e9a9ed2926826ae034a26e.jpg)
I met DRG in person a few months back when I attended MLG Anaheim.
At the time, he had already gained a name for himself by winning decisive matches in GSTL team tournaments. Looking back, I remembered not being too impressed by his plays. Many games came down to DRG staying on muta-tech for far too long, with no Hive upgrade in sight. In his defense, Anaheim weekend was the first time many Terran players started abusing blue flame hellions to the fullest. In all games, of all matchups, BFH was the open. No one had seen anything like that before in North America. Thus, it is not too hard to conceive why DRG kept making mutas for so long. Many people I've talked to during this tournament thought DRG was overrated. It was no surprise, as DRG's performance in tournaments were no where as successful as other hero Zerg players during that time: Idra was the force in North America, Ret was the champion in Europe, and Nestea ate everybody for breakfast in Korea.
There were a lot of good zergs to cheer for...and DongRaeGu didn't seem like he deserved his own fan club, yet.
*****
DongRaeGu then went on to win Valencia and had many insane games during the GSTL season 1.
He gained my attention again during IPL Pro League Qualifier.
His match with MMA on Metalopolis was easily one of the best games of 2011.[1]
What was different about DongRaeGu's play?
Meticulous mutalisk micro and Ultrabanes.[2]
In fact, I'm not sure if there are any Zerg players in the world right now that uses mutalisks and ultralisks as well as DRG. The ebb and flow of his playstyle is very entertaining to watch and it beautifully demonstrates the power of the Swarm to remax within seconds.
I paid attention to DRG.
He has a really silly personality.
He jokes in interviews, acts like a rabid zergling, cat slaps Genius in the face....
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/OySuv.gif)
But I truly became a fan only after reading col_CATZ blog on his memorable Blizzcon experience with DRG as a roommate.[3] Thanks to CATZ, I learned that DRG is very genuine guy. He's super nice to everybody and is always quirky, awkward and funny. I recall then that DRG did sign many autographs to fans at Anaheim when most Korean players would not.
I learned a lot from DRG this weekend, he is not just mechanically ridiculous, he's also incredibly smart, and most importantly, an amazing person and a greaaat friend, DRG, to the 3-4 ladies that will read this, is the real deal.
The tender note from DRG to CATZ at the end of the blog was so cute it's almost tear-jerking.
Right then and there, I felt a connection to this player. I was going to cheer for him in all coming tournaments.
*****
How does DRG do it?
To find the mental fortitude to come back to 3:3 from a 0:3 defeat in arguably the most important tournament of his career?
![[image loading]](http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c146/neoghaleon55/DRG-1.jpg)
DRG as he looked going into the fourth game after a 0:3 defeat by Slayers_MMA
MMA played brilliantly that night, displaying some clutch strategies that nobody had ever seen in a professional starcraft game before. In fact MMA had gone through the entire Blizzard Cup dropping only one game against a group of world class players of 2011. At the moment when the score was 0:3, it looked as if the finals would end and become another disappointing lopsided GSL event.
But...
Dongraegu never gave up.
He played his heart out that night.
The final game was a rollercoaster ride for fans from both sides.
In a spectacular display of Starcraft prowess, MMA and DRG took 40 minutes pounding each other to pieces on the stage screen.
At many moments, DRG looked as if he could take the victory. But MMA held firm to his lead with excellent drop play. The battle finalized into a rising crescendo as a giant flock of broodlords, infestors, corruptors and zerglings marched across the map and crashed themselves into MMA's base. A fantastic hold by MMA ended the series as a handful of marines polish out the last of DRG's army.
Though DRG lost the tournament, I can't but notice how well he resonated with his fans more than ever. DongRaeGu had taken the worst beating on the tournament stage since Inca vs. Nestea, but came back with a 3:4 score, giving an incredible performance on a heavily Terran favored map in the final game.
The crowd that night chanted DRG's name out loud. Everyone who watched or ever will watch those games will see a player with the true heart of a champion.
****
So where do we go from here?
DRG won't be playing for a while in the GSL Code S, and he said he won't attend foreign tournaments as often in 2012 in order to practice more.
Zerg players....
I challenge you to win ZvT games on Shakuras Plateau in honor of DongRaeGu.
![[image loading]](http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c146/neoghaleon55/ForDRG-1.jpg)
This is the holy ground where the hero DRG fell in 2011 and we shall honor him with our battle cries!
![[image loading]](http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c146/neoghaleon55/Screenshot2011-12-1919_11_02.jpg)
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[1]http://sc2casts.com/cast5493-MMA-vs-MvPDongraegu-Best-of-3-IGN-Pro-League-Qualifier
[2]http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=187434
[3]http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=278940
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![[image loading]](http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c146/neoghaleon55/drgThumbnail.jpg)
Art by Fishuu, commissioned by neoghaleon55 (to be colored)
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