EPT![[image loading]](http://contents.dt.co.kr/images/201002/2010021202019971733001.jpg)
In the film series the Matrix, character interaction was often influenced by the hierarchy of the set power levels of the characters involved. However the hierarchy wasn't a fixed constant, and certain characters were able to defeat otherwise near invincible characters within their specific domain of comfort. The Trainman defeating Neo in a one-sided manner would be an example of that.
The professional Brood War scene was no different in this particular regard. Every player had their particular domain of excellence, especially if the circumstances involved was specific enough to emphasize their strengths as a competitor, while at the same time minimize their faults as a competitor.
Every platform of competition had different set of circumstances. Of course, the trick to being a truly great player was to find a way to excel under all given situations. However, this blog will not be about those players. This series will mainly focus on the incomplete geniuses who had to find the right set of circumstances to flourish.
For me, Sea's unrivaled proficiency at dispatching inferior opponents in the Survivor Tournament would be one of those cases, although Canata was often credited with being the "Emperor of Survivor Tournament", the crown actually belonged to Sea, whose stellar exploits in the lower leagues hosted by MBC Game studios sometimes goes uncredited.
Sea went under numerous labels during his long lasting career. Yeom16 was one of those labels, a mockery of his struggle to make it past the round of 16 despite having numerous chances to do so throughout his career. Sea played more televised professional games than most of the terran players that ever graced the scene, yet the times he progressed far enough to play a best-of-five series were incredibly rare.
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Sea was a regular participant for most of the individual leagues held in the more recent eras of professional Brood War, but never made it past the quarter-finals, not even once
However, Sea's ability to make quick work of mediocre players in a best-of-one setting was up there with some of the greatest players. Survivor Tournament, a tournament run by MBC Game studios, was the preliminary tournament for the MBC Game StarLeague, and since Sea rarely progressed far enough to be seeded directly into the competition, he had to battle his way into the MSL time and time again throughout his long career.
And Sea did so with aplomb, surmounting a record that oveshadowed the Survivor Tournament records of literally everybody else. Apart from a single instance in late 2005, when he was eliminated by Stork, Sea never had a moment of failure within the confines of the Survivor Tournament. That's eleven cases of successful Survivor Tournament performances out of twelve, an incredible number both in terms of raw numbers and success rate.
This is the all-time top five players with the most number of victories in the Minor League/Survivor League/Survivor Tournament:
1. Sea: 27-7 (79.4%)
2. Bisu: 25-7 (78.1%)
3. Hwasin: 26-10 (72.2%)
4. Stork: 23-13 (63.9%)
5. sAviOr: 21-8 (72.4%)
Canata: 21-9 (70.0%)
NaDa: 21-11 (65.6%)
The key to gaining fantastic numbers for this particular tournament was to place low enough in the MBC Game StarLeague to not be seeded directly into the following tournament, and being good enough to thrash the lower tier non-seeded players consistently.
The seeding system for the MBC Game StarLeague did change throughout the years, but by the time Sea established himself as one of the most prominent terran players of his era, MBC Game was sticking with seeding the top eight players of the MSL for the following tournament. The format of Survivor Tournament also moved away from best-of-three series, and stuck to double elimination best-of-one format for years to come until MBC Game went of business in 2011.
This is the all-time top five players with the most number of victories in Survivor Tournament after the MBC Game StarLeague stuck to giving out eight seeds from the previous season (Survivor Tournament for GomTV MSL S2 onwards):
1. Sea: 22-3 (88.0%)
2. Bisu: 19-3 (86.4%)
3. Light: 15-8 (65.2%)
4. Stork: 14-5 (73.7%)
5. Canata: 14-7 (66.7%)
![[image loading]](http://menu.mt.co.kr/mtasp/dailygame/2011/20110721_2cc1f62733954cfd806cc7d1a34ffbfd.jpg)
While Bisu was no slouch at defeating his foes in the Survivor Tournament to reclaim his rightful place in the MSL, his overall body of work within the confines of the Survivor Tournament cannot quite match that of Sea's
So strictly confined to the games broadcasted by MBC Game studios, in a double elimination best-of-one format against non-seeded players (9th place and below from the previous season of the MSL), Sea was the most accomplished player of all-time. Even if you extend the time frame further, and include all the lower leagues run by MBC Game, like I have already done above, Sea still holds strong as the ultimate boss of the lower leagues run by MBC Game studios.
Sea is known for a lot of things, and despite his noticeable flaws as a professional Brood War competitor, goes down in history as one of the greatest terran players to have graced the scene. While most associate Sea's ProLeague excellence to his name, I personally think his legacy in the Survivor Tournament suits his characteristics as a Brood War competitor a little better.
Sea was a player not known for his ability to take down big name players, or being meticulous enough to plan way ahead for a specific opponent. However, what he was tremendous at, was letting mediocre players know their place. The Survivor Tournament was an excellent platform for Sea to flourish, due to numerous factors.
First of all, due to the double elimination format, one could argue that there was less pressure overall. Sea was notorious for struggling with nerves, and perhaps he soothed himself mentally with the thought that the double elimination format gave him room to slip up once without immediately being affected by the consequences. However, this point does not hold much merit, because Sea's record versus tougher opposition, but with the exact same double elimination best-of-one format, does not compare favourably to his stellar record in the Survivor Tournament.
Secondly, Sea was not the type of player to swing above his weight class during his professional years. While he was extra-ordinary at shutting down inferior players, as seen by his impressive ProLeague numbers, Sea struggled heavily versus players who were regarded as the crème de la crème of the professional Brood War scene. Survivor Tournament automatically ruled out the possibility of facing a top eight player from the previous season, and success within this particular realm usually came down to how efficiently a player could reduce the chance of being upset by an inferior player.
Last of all, planning out a series with a specific player in mind was not a quality that Sea tended to excel at, especially during his professional career. The double elimination best of one format versus multiple opponents lessened the chance of an opposition digging deep soley for the purposes of knocking Sea out of the tournament. The free for all nature of this tournament, rather than the mano-a-mano nature seen in others, allowed Sea to shine even more in my opinion.
Sea was one of the most talked about professional Brood War players, especially due to the odd nature of his career. I believe his excellence in the Survivor Tournament best represents traits as a competitor, and no matter how flawed he was overall, not many can claim to have owned his particular domain of excellence as well as Sea did throughout their entire careers. Being hailed as the greatest Survivor Tournament player ever may be a backhanded compliment, but I feel like it is a title that suits Sea's professional career.
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