EPTSo like I said before, I’ll be honest and say that this post was a little hard for me to write. I actually have had a draft floating around for more than a month but I didn’t want to finish it. So I’ll just be frank and say that this post is a goodbye to SeleCT. And it makes me a sad panda. In case you didn’t know, SeleCT was my favorite player in SC2. I probably refer to him in about every blog I’ve written.
I found out the sad news at work. Fallen texted me and said succinctly, “ya boi retired”. I was sitting at my desk and I moaned, “NOOOOOOO”, aloud, much to the confusion of my cube-mate. One of my three favorite players, Ryoo Kyung Hyun or dSeleCT, had announced his retirement from SC2.
SeleCT might not have been a superstar like MVP or Idra (He still did pretty good), but I like to think he made his own mark on the SC2 community and myself.
![[image loading]](http://wiki.teamliquid.net/starcraft/images2/d/db/SeleCTNASL1.jpg)
Remember this gem? Sup son.
In early 2011, I was in my SC2 formative period; I remember watching the GCPL Season 1. I didn’t know about MLG D.C. in 2010 so I didn’t get to see SeleCT play there. So the GCPL was my first chance to see SeleCT in action. I didn’t even know who he was; at the time I was following ROOT. What I came to find out was that this Terran player had this wild, all-out aggressive style. His 2rax bunker rushes, multi-tasked drops, and doom drops had me hooked. And his control showed me how micro could be used to inflict maximum amounts of damage. I was new to the game then and barely understood unit control. To see these ‘rine eke out every last HP they had while stuttering like mad would imprint itself on me.
But it was his personality that stood out to me. During the course of the GCPL, it seemed like SeleCT was the only one crazy enough to risk his team’s tournament chances on his initial rushes. Team counting on you to pull out a win? Double bunker rush for the win. And what happens if the double bunker rush fails? Go for a mid-game doom drop. How can you not like the sheer cheekiness of those decisions? The sheer balls on him…
He had such a distinct style; I felt like you could always instantly recognize his play. And I loved the banter and his hilarious character. I remember turning on his stream, expecting to watch practice matches, but instead I watched as opponents were introduced to the Trololol train. He’d call out ridiculous builds like all-hellions and try to win these slug fests. I always felt like his personality was directly reflected in his game play.
I spent the rest of the year trying to watch SeleCT play in different tournaments. I remember waking up at 0400 to watch the ASUS ROG Stars Invite and stayed up to watch the entire tourney. Half of me was upset that I stayed up to watch Idra hold off bunker rushes...and half of me laughed that my boy was true to form and tried the all-ins anyways.
Towards the end of 2011, I had the chance to go to MLG Providence. I remember I walked around with my head swiveling all over, recognizing so many people that I had only seen online. But I only really got giddy when I found out SeleCT was signing autographs at the Dignitas booth. I hadn’t eaten in about six hours (for those who’ve seen the Snicker’s commercials, I’m exactly like that if I don’t eat) but I told my friend I was going to try and get a picture. I don’t actually remember being in line or anything too much. I just remember a bunch of words rushing out of my mouth and SeleCT looking embarrassed. And I didn’t want a signature, just a picture haha.
That picture and getting to watch SeleCT play Haypro were probably the highlights of Providence for me. I got to meet SeleCT and watched Haypro play during his spectacular run through the tournament. Oh and it inspired me to start writing.
2012 was spent following a lot of other tournaments and players but I always kept an eye out for SeleCT. I was happy he was playing in NASL was holding out to see if he’d stick out the whole season. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case. I did watch him play a few matches though and I’m glad I did.
SeleCT played Hyun during week 8 of the NASL and of course he proxy 2rax’d. On the little scrolling ticker, I saw someone tweet, “One time I saw SeleCT build a rax in his main…then I woke up”. It’s so true! I loved how he stuck to his style to his last few competitive games.
I know my hero is moving on to DOTA 2 and will still be playing games competitively but I don’t enjoy MOBA games and don’t follow the scene. It’s just not for me. So personally, his retirement from SC2 means the end of my fandom. I really hope I still get to see him at a LAN eventually just to embarrass him again. And I’m sure that he’ll be amazing at DOTA2 like he was at WC3, Dawn of War, SC2, and whatever else I missed. So I guess this is goodbye? I’ll always miss the bunker rushes.
Thanks for Liquipedia and Zhang Jingna from Infinity Seven for the picture.
