EPTCJ Entus yet another team that managed to participate in all of the available Brood War ProLeagues throughout the years.
One of my favourite teams of all-time, this team has been responsible for developing the talents of some of the most memorable players in history such as TheMarine, XellOs, Midas, Iris, GoRush, sAviOr, EffOrt, Hydra, IntoTheRain, fOru, Nal_rA, and Movie. CJ Entus was probably the most proficient teams in terms of discovering and nuturing amateur talent into respected professional players in the scene regardless of race, era, and the meta-game.
As can be expected in a team with such deep rosters and multiple options as the ace players, it was rather difficult to allocate the stand-out players for each of the different eras, but instead of breaking it down season by season, I decided to go for a more holistic approach.
1. XellOs: The true pillar of CJ Entus
![[image loading]](http://young.hyundai.com/upload/oldUnvs/uploadFiles/STR/_8DbbryMWOfj7Kh9YZ2gt.jpg)
Duration as the ace player: KTF EVER ProLeague ~ SKY 2005 ProLeague Grand Finals
XellOs's one-versus-one record during this time-frame: 20-13 (60.6%)
One-versus-one record of the second best CJ Entus player (OversKy) during this time-frame: 12-7 (63.6%)
One-versus-one record of the best ProLeague players during this time-frame:
1. NaDa: 32-22 (59.3%)
2. iloveoov: 28-9 (75.7%)
3. Midas: 26-9 (74.3%)
4. JJu: 24-18 (57.1%)
5. Nal_rA: 22-12 (64.7%)
XellOs was actually more legendary for his exploits in MBC Game Team League (another team league with an all-kill format that died out in early 2005), where he was statistically the best player around, and was the main culprit for Greatest One's domination (out of the five MBC Game Team Leagues, GO won three of them, as well reaching the finals four times) in that realm.
XellOs was also the face of the team, being the champion of prestigious tournaments such as Ongamenet StarLeague and World Cyber Games. Despite being lured by other teams, XellOs remained faithful to his original team, and shared his prize money with his teammates.
While his former GO teammates such as Midas and Nal_rA enjoyed better ProLeague success during this era, both left the team for greener pastures after leading the team to their first and only ProLeague success in early 2004. XellOs tried his best to keep the team relevant at the top level despite being the only true superstar of the team, but his team had to be satisfied with merely making the play-off rounds multiple times.
2. sAviOr: The man who could not get things wrong in 2006
![[image loading]](http://cfile4.uf.tistory.com/image/21747E4E53CBB25E262ACD)
Duration as the ace player: SKY 2006 ProLeague R1 ~ SKY 2006 ProLeague Grand Finals
sAviOr's one-versus-one record during this time-frame: 16-4 (80.0%)
One-versus-one record of the second best CJ Entus player (XellOs) during this time-frame: 10-6 (62.5%)
One-versus-one record of the best ProLeague players during this time-frame:
1. Jaedong: 17-6 (73.9%)
2. sAviOr: 16-4 (80.0%)
3. Sea: 15-6 (71.4%)
4. GGPlay: 14-4 (77.8%)
5. NaDa: 14-10 (58.3%)
Before his meteoric rise to fame, sAviOr was merely a promising young zerg player, rather than a pillar for his team. Other zerg players such as OversKy were doing their part to support XellOs's endeavours to keep his team near the top of the standings.
However, when sAviOr replaced XellOs as the focal point of the team, CJ Entus became a true force to be reckoned with. With their serious firepower of various talents, CJ Entus were able to reach the finals of the ProLeague, but were thwarted by MBC Game HERO, another team with spectacular talent across the board.
sAviOr's tenure as the ProLeague ace for CJ Entus was relatively short lived for such a legendary player, but during this time-frame, he could do little wrong. He was joined by numerous other zerg players at the top of the ProLeague individual standings, in an era when the zerg race was astonishingly well represented.
3. Iris: The last ever great terran player from CJ Entus
![[image loading]](http://pds15.egloos.com/pds/200906/18/62/b0086762_4a3a23430b6b6.jpg)
Duration as the ace player: Shinhan 2007 ProLeague R1 ~ Shinhan 2008 ProLeague
Iris's one-versus-one record during this time-frame: 27-18 (60.0%)
One-versus-one record of the second best CJ Entus player (Much) during this time-frame: 27-22 (55.1%)
One-versus-one record of the best ProLeague players during this time-frame:
1. Stork: 43-19 (69.4%)
2. free: 42-31 (57.5%)
3. Sea: 41-15 (73.2%)
4. Jaedong: 41-21 (66.1%)
5. Anytime: 39-18 (68.4%)
Iris, Much, and DArKeLf were the new blood for the CJ Entus line-up, and were able to replace the previous ProLeague aces of the team such as XellOs, and sAviOr. Together, these players managed to reach the ProLeague finals for the last ever time in CJ Entus history (for pure Brood War ProLeagues at least).
Iris represents the transitional phase in terran history, when the old guards such as NaDa, iloveoov, and Midas were slipping away into mediocrity or even retirement, and new generation of terran players such as Flash, FanTaSy, and Leta had yet to establish themselves firmly as the top dogs around. Iris was one of the few terran players during this era to perform admirably in both the individual leagues and the ProLeague.
4. EffOrt:
![[image loading]](http://img.sbs.co.kr/sbscnbc/upload/2015/07/08/10000496341.jpg)
Duration as the ace player: Shinhan 2008/2009 ProLeague ~ Shinhan 2009/2010 ProLeague
EffOrt's one-versus-one record during this time-frame: 78-49 (61.4%)
One-versus-one record of the second best CJ Entus player (sKyHigh) during this time-frame: 54-39 (58.1%)
One-versus-one record of the best ProLeague players during this time-frame:
1. Flash: 115-37 (75.7%)
2. Jaedong: 115-47 (71.0%)
3. Leta: 92-50 (64.8%)
4. Bisu: 85-38 (69.1%)
5. Light: 85-49 (63.4%)
EffOrt was the only ProLeague superstar for his team during this era, and was the second best performing zerg in the ProLeague after Jaedong. He had a decent side-kick in sKyHigh, but other teams had much more impactful ace cards, and CJ Entus had to be satisfied with merely making the play-off stages while EffOrt pulled his magic before his temporary retirement from the professional scene in 2010.
5. Hydra: The man who filled EffOrt's shoes
![[image loading]](http://menu.mt.co.kr/mtasp/dailygame/2012/20121017_7d038a9171ea40d0f93fe4b2e5321af3.jpg)
Duration as the ace player: Shinhan 2010/2011 ProLeague ~ SK Planet ProLeague S1
Hydra's one-versus-one record during this time-frame: 50-34 (59.5%)
One-versus-one record of the second best CJ Entus player (Leta) during this time-frame: 39-28 (58.2%)
One-versus-one record of the best ProLeague players during this time-frame:
1. Bisu: 79-22 (78.2%)
2. Flash: 79-24 (76.7%)
3. Jaedong: 63-29 (68.5%)
4. Stats: 62-40 (60.8%)
5. Stork: 58-35 (62.4%)
Ask any CJ Entus player who the best player on the team was towards the end of professional Brood War, they'll answer that it was Hydra by far. Even when EffOrt returned to the professional scene, he wasn't quite polished as he once was, and Hydra ruled the CJ Entus household with an iron fist with his great results during practice sessions.
Hydra represents the last ever KeSPA draftee to win a major individual league championship, and was the one to knock Jaedong off his perch as the top rated zerg player in the KeSPA rankings for the first time in 43 months.
Although his Brood War career was cut short, I believe Hydra made something out of himself in the Starcraft 2 scene also. Truly one of the great what-ifs in history, since Hydra was the best performing individual league player out of players who made their professional debut from 2008 onward by some distance. Stats was another stand-out player who made his debut alongside Hydra, and had stellar ProLeague results towards the end of professional Brood War, but struggled to do anything of note within the individual leagues.
The thing that stands out for CJ Entus is that they never quite had an all-time ProLeague great despite their glorious line-up of fantastic players throughout the years. It was the case for XellOs, who was more of a MBC Game Team League all-time great rather than a ProLeague all-time great. It was the case for sAviOr, who outside of his brief stellar ProLeague form, was basically a non-factor within the ProLeague setting for his team. It was the case for Iris, who was outshone by Sea within the ProLeague even at the peak of his powers. Even EffOrt, despite being the second best performing zerg in the ProLeague, wasn't even a top five ProLeague ace during his peak years. Hydra, despite being widely acknowledged as the best player of his generation, failed to outperform his contemporary peer in Stats within the ProLeague realm.
In fact, there are zero players from CJ Entus who can boast having over one hundred ProLeague victories earned under the CJ Entus brand. Leta does have over one hundred ProLeague victories, but most of it was done while he was the superstar ace for Ongamenet Sparkyz. It is a trivia one would expect from mediocre teams such as Estro or Air Force ACE, but interestingly enough, it is rather hard to pinpoint ProLeague all-time greats from the CJ Entus household. Perhaps it was due to the team's philosophy to rely on multiple ace players rather than one overwhelmingly strong ProLeague player. It certainly is a topic worth exploring, but I'll leave that for another day.
