Korea 2011: Falling in love with eSports

I was late to the studio and missed the first 10 minutes. As fate would have it, Bisu played first, stomped his way through skyhigh, and was leaving the booth just as I got there. It's okay though, because it was still an awesome experience, and I made it on camera.


But then I saw him. Was it worth the 3 hours that I stood there watching some game I didn't even understand? Totally.

This was the last time I ever went to the MBCGame studio. The notice of closure was released not too long after ;___; RIP MSL

Being part of a crowd of 8000 people cheering and watching Starcraft... is pretty indescribable.


That day I picked up my SKT flag, and I'll never put it down. T1 fighting, forever!


FBB <3


My boys :D


Alas, KT defeated us again. They all look so happy, except for Action who looks like he always does - a mafia boss.

The Korean War Memorial was a beautiful, epic, and extremely fitting place to hold the finals.


OSL casting trio is probably my favorite. Kim Carrier, Um Jaekyung, what I would give to hear your voices again.


Being a part of the roaring crowd this time was different from before. I could finally understand why they cheered when they did, and I joined them. It was exciting, tense, and unforgettable.


Jangbi made me so proud


Glory at last.

Fortunately, I was given a reprieve from my ennui: IEF in Yongin. It was 2 hours away by subway, but life knows how to tempt me. Of all the players, of course it had to be Bisu and Stork (who had, during this time, quickly become my 2nd favorite player).

Starved for BW for so long, I ravished the chance to watch these two mighty dragons face off in a Bo5. Game 5 was fantastic. I could watch PvP forever, as long as it's Taekbang.

Not going to bother with lots of photos, as they're all here, but these are my two favorites <3




Haha, you all know this one. My pride and joy. It's not too hard to get a picture with Bisu or Stork, but to get one with them BOTH? Hell, they're never even around each other except in SKT vs. Khan games (where obviously someone has to lose). I honestly felt like the happiest girl in the universe, to be standing between the two of them.

Watching SC2 at OGN (with the regular BW casters) was a little strange, but also pretty awesome. Sadly, Nada didn't deliver, and I sat there through 2 hours of TvTs just to watch him get eliminated 0-2. God I hate TvT. On the other hand, that day I became kind of an Oz fangirl. I'm always willing to root for cute Protoss boys ^^


GSL November Code S Ro32. My first time at the GSL studio. 3 hours of lame TvTs, but with a really great game between Taeja and Coca, and a little magic from Oz. Once again, Nada was knocked out 0-2.

At this point, I was starting to wonder if I'd ever get a picture/autograph with him. Eventually I resigned myself to the fact that I was bad luck or something, and ended up not attending his Code A matches. He subsequently won his games and advanced back into Code S. Thankfully, David was sweet and got me an autograph anyway ^^

Originally I wasn't going to go to these finals. But then Leenock won me over with his adorableness. That, and I actually enjoy watching good TvZs.


Pleasantly surprised at the finals venue/turnout. I was, however, disappointed that there weren't any organized "fighting!" cheers. It seems that's something the Korean SC2 fans still have to work on.


One young cute boy versus another. I got to high-five Leenock as he walked up to the stage :D


But I suppose I'm bad luck because he lost anyway. David was in pain after these results, because he spent all week calling Jjakji a baddie.

Later that night, I went to my first Barcraft at yaletown, where I reached my SC2 career peak: defeating a KR Gold leaguer in PvP without 4 gating. Yes, I'm proud.

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After many months, I finally went to go see the Emperor himself play. I was determined to get his autograph and a picture, but tragically, the evil MarineKing thwarted those plans.


Boxer was still sweet enough to give me an autograph, but he seemed pretty crushed, so I didn't want to bother him for a picture ;__;

First night: PROLEAGUE AT WCG! ^^ SKT vs. KT, finals rematch!


Few things are more awesome than seeing SKT flags and banners waving everywhere. T1 fighting!!


So I heard BW was dead, and nobody watches it.


Found the CDE guys playing their Ro8 match. Nice glasses, Xpecial.


Lunchtime with the casters? Haha, they just happened to go to the same restaurant as us. You eat that sandwich, Artosis! EAT IT!


Lyn winning the Warcraft 3 tournament. I was sad that Moon got knocked out so early :\

The next three pictures are part of my "I spend all day stalking Stork" collection.


Thank you Samsung for sponsoring this, because it meant Stork was doing promotional activities :D


Charity auction for progamer gear. Here, Stork is selling Bisu's signed shirt. I couldn't afford it, because everyone and their mother loves Bisu and wants his clothing T__T


So I bought Stork's jacket! He was ridiculously sweet and adorable, and he gave me a hug when I asked him for one ♥


Some guy in the crowd during the SC2 finals was wearing MC's murloc costume, haha.


Nuclear launch detected.


One of my favorite photos :3 They all just look so happy!


GAH. As much as I resent MKP for robbing me of a photo with Boxer... I just couldn't resist his cute charms ;~;


Team CDE wins the LoL first prize! USA represent!


But of course, it means nothing because Korea wins overall anyway. Korea always wins.

David made me come by luring me with IU. I ended up missing her performance anyway, because I was too busy hanging out with the amazing NeverGG. But it's okay, since I caught the tail end of the games and they were pretty great.


Yay MMA! :D In my world, the cuter boy will always win! ^^

I actually already wrote an opening weekend blog, so I'll just summarize it here in one sentence: I fucking love Proleague. Free food, cute boys, good games, and an excellent time. Okay, maybe 2 sentences.

Here are two gems I didn't get a chance to really share before though:

#1 Why I love Khan:

January, you are the best. Kim Ga-eul, so beautiful.

#2 Why I love KT:

Wooki: Mmmmm, Reach, you look so delicious. I want a piece of that fine man meat.
Reach: i dont even know how to caption his faces, they are just so strange and priceless.

Kal's first time on the ACE bench. I was sad they didn't send him out, as it would be rather amusing if his first game of the season were to be against STX.


GUYS I DIDN'T SEE THIS ONE COMING. Actually no, I really didn't; at least not in set 1. I lost my seat in the crowd and ended up having to watch the game on my tiptoes, and my sign didn't get shown T_T


But it's okay, because the guy (one of them anyway) I wanted to see it the most saw it. He told me I drew well, which caused me to immediately melt into a puddle at his feet. Stork, I love you. & ty NeverGG <3


I got the pleasure of watching NeverGG come out of retirement for 1 day to give us an impromptu photoshoot of Khan's 2 cutest boys. She's amazing and commands such authority. The players listen to everything she tells them to do.


It was Turn's birthday, so we all sang to him. The Khan fanmeeting was quite fun (cheered me up from SKT losing, haha). Roro was really popular with the girls, but Shine not so much, so Shine would always tag along with Roro and try to join in with his fangirl circle LOL. It was hilarious and cute.


Korean commentators are what make up half the fun and experience. I respect these guys more and more with every game I watch.


Effort and his godawful blond hair. Ugh.


Free earning his MVP award for beating Bisu and ruining my anti-team ;__;


Jaedong being ridiculously popular. He got so many presents from girls that he couldn't even hold them, and kept dropping them, even as they stuffed his arms with more.


This was the best photo I could get. There were too many fans, so I couldn't get a picture with him (dammit, there goes my complete TBLS pokedex) T_T

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12/20: My last day in Korea


At the KT Rolster fanmeeting, I had won a 20,000 won gift certificate to a mall. I met up with qt Sayle and we searched for something to spend it on, eventually settling on a really pretty chocolate cake. Originally, I was going to save it as a gift and give it to Bisu, but Sayle convinced me that it would be cruel and evil to use KT's money to buy a present for an SKT player, lmao. So we ended up going to Starbucks and eating it ourselves :3


There's nothing better than Christmas at Proleague <3


As I bid my farewell to the OGN stadium that I had come to love so much... the last thing I saw when I left, was of course the glorious OSL wall. It pains me that I didn't get to see another OSL start, although I'm happy to have seen the last one end. Although they still hadn't added Jangbi to the wall.


Our Proleague watching group! I took them out for all-you-can-eat chicken later that night, followed by Karaoke. It was a total blast. I miss you guys :<


That night, I also said my farewells to Bisu for the last time. I kind of almost cried at the moment. He was the beginning of this story, my first link to this world. I wish I could have gone up to him and said, "Thank you. I love you. I'll always support you." But T1 is a strange team sometimes and they left pretty quickly after winning, so I just waved sadly as he descended down the elevator out of sight. Goodbye.

- Autographs from Bisu, Stork, Flash, Boxer, Nada, Jangbi, FBH, Effort, Hydra, Leta, Movie, Horang2, Skyhigh, and Tastosis (they have this funky fusion signature thing going on lol).
- SKT Scarf, Bisu mouse ears, and other various SKT support gear. GO T1!
- Stork's signed leather jacket ♥
- CJ Entus shirt and support banner.