CJ Entus - Going for Gold

I wrote most of this earlier today, only to find the servers down when I wanted to post it

Oh well, they are up now! This might be a bit longer than I originally intended (and packed full of pictures). If its too much, maybe I'll break it in to two posts. Anyways, enjoy CJ Entus fans!

I’m not going to lie, I'm relatively new to progaming compared to quite a few people. To give you an idea, I've been following the scene since around the time Bisu took down the Maestro in a 3-0 shutout. So try to understand, for me, being a fan of CJ Entus from that very moment on has been a hard road to choose.

They've made it into the playoffs multiple times, but haven't been able to take the gold.

They've had a representative in virtually every major individual league, and none have brought back the gold.

And the worst part is that they really should have been able to.

For a long time now, CJ Entus has had one of the scariest line ups progaming has ever seen. They have more aces than they could even send out over the course of all four 1v1s in a proleague match. Last year alone, the team had eight players break through qualifiers and enter an individual league. Hell, if you picked a random player from the Ro16 in the GomTV MSL S3, there was a 25% chance that it would be a CJ player.

And yet, silver was the best they could get.

But not this year.

Many teams this season have made improvements for their roster. Many have had young talent come into fruition. But none have had the extraordinary gains that CJ Entus has made. Not only is their lineup of experienced players holding strong and beating the qualifiers again and again; new talent is just about everywhere you look. Add on to this one of the best possible trades the team could have hoped for, and CJ Entus is looking at a fantastic year.

Among the biggest news in player trading is invariably GGPlay’s move from the Hanbit Stars to CJ Entus. Many people wonder how this will affect Hanbit which, after Daezang’s earlier departure for the Air Force, is left with a lackluster line up by all means. I find the trade immensely more interesting though in how it will affect CJ Entus.

Because it’s not quite as simple as another big name to throw out in the ace match. GGPlay is a force to be reckoned with. With management Zerg skills rivaled by few, GGPlay is easily in the top five Zerg players at the moment, and I would bet much higher. Both the ELO and KeSPA rankings will confirm that. If there were any doubt that CJ Entus had one of the best Zerg line ups in Korea with Savior and Kwanro on their roster, it has now been demolished.

This trio all boasts differing strengths, which is so much more important than you might imagine. Not only is each player a force on their own, should they learn anything from each other, each could become unstoppable. Savior may be in a slump, but he can still take down a clear majority of his Protoss opponents in a heartbeat. Kwanro hasn’t shown much flame aside from his recent stints in GomTV MSL S3 and S4, but he has still been able to maintain his impressive 66.67% ZvT win rate throughout. And GGPlay brings the team its only gold medal from 2007, along with a win rate of over 50% in all three match ups over a somewhat length career which is no easy feat.

And these three aren’t the only ones who stand to gain from the new Zerg friendly atmosphere either. The team’s Minor League sniper EffOrt will soon be ready to make his debut in the major leagues as well. His record amongst the minor league players is already stellar, and with an immensely powerful Zerg line up behind him as his guide, he stands at the edge of success with his transition to the majors. EffOrt is one of the players I’m likely to keep my eye on over the next year. It’s unlikely he will remain an exclusively minor league player, especially with his current results and the types of mentors he has to back him up.

The only teams that even comes close to having as many potential Zerg super stars is OGN Sparkyz with YellOw[ArnC] and Luxury and KTF with 815 and Haran. Even so, I believe neither can really compare to a Savior/GGPlay/Kwanro line up. If EffOrt manages to join this line up and live up to his potential displayed in the minor league, no team will be able to equal CJ’s swarm.

It’s clear to anyone that looks at CJ’s roster that they are not invincible. If there is one thing the club is lacking, it is a strong Protoss lineup. But they do have one, and he stands amongst the best of his race.

Much is a very unique progamer. He not only looks old, he actually is. At age 24 (Korean: 25), Much is the oldest gamer in the March top 30 KeSPA. And he’s good too, coming in at 15th place in the same rankings. By TL’s ELO rankings though, Much comes in even higher at 6th place, with the special note of being the 3rd highest Protoss player behind Anytime and Stork and just above Bisu.

While rankings certainly aren’t everything, there is definitely a reason Much is ranked so highly. In Round 1 of Proleague last year, Much earned a respectable 52.94% win ratio, with wins against some of the best players the other teams have had to offer including Boxer, Hwasin, Stork, Bisu, and his now teammate, GGPlay. It was in Round 2 that Much really began to become a Proleague star though. Clocking in at 14 wins to 7 losses (66.67%), Much had one of the best records in the league. His opponents had not become any easier either. Anytime, GoRush, Stork, Free, Chalrenge, and Light all fell to their elder adversary.

Much did not shy away from the individual leagues either. Taking home the gold in the 2007 OSC S2, Much quickly secured himself a spot in the 2008 Bacchus OSL. Unfortunately for him, once he broke through the group stages undefeated, he was pitted against a vengeful Bisu hoping to take his destined OSL victory (although he too met only disappointment in the end). Still, Much had already proven he could run with the best of them. He was also invited to the GomTV Star Invitational. He made it to the Quarter Finals in the special league, only to be knocked out by another Protoss of legend, Anytime.

While he is alone amongst a sea of Terran and Zerg, Much is still one of the most valuable players to the team. He is their Protoss hope, the only person they can look to when the need for Victory after Victory arises.

CJ’s strength may emanate from its Zerg roster, but it is only amplified by its Terran lineup. With three ace level Terrans, the line up is far from weak. It should be noted though that none of the CJ Terran lineup has been as strong as their potential indicates in recent years. Regardless, CJ’s Terran players have carried the team to victory many times before and show no signs of stopping now.

Xellos was the Perfect Terran during his prime. He has the OSL Trophy to prove it. And yet, he has never quite been able to make it back up to the top. But that’s not to say he is down for the count either. As you may quickly learn about the CJ Entus players, none of them can ever be discounted when it comes down to it. Xellos may have demoted himself to the B Team, but he wasn’t there for long. His recent entrances into leagues left and right prove he is not ready to give up.

Iris is to this day one of my favorite players. His matches versus his own teammate Savior in the Shinhan S3 OSL are still among the best games ever seen around the world. He has always managed to put up a fight and has the stats to prove it. His TvT and TvP in particular are quite strong considering his lack of an individual league title. He made it even farther than his teammates Much and Savior in the GomTV Star Invitational, finding his way into the semifinals before he was taken down by the monster that is Stork. Like Xellos and Savior, Iris is never to be discounted. It may seem a common theme, but it is true none the less.

And then there is one of last year’s Proleague stars, Darkelf. Darkelf is an interesting character. He can be a powerhouse or a doormat, and it is hard to tell who he will be next. One thing is for sure though, if you don’t think he’s got a chance, he’s sure to prove you wrong. His match with Sea in the extremely crucial ace match that topped off Round 2 of the Shinhan 2007 Proleague will prove that. Darkelf did most of his shining though last season as a TvZ star, with the aid of Baekmagoji and a ridiculously strong mech build. If Darkelf can replicate his success even slightly this year, CJ is sure to have a strong season.

And what about the new talent? Two names in particular stand out on CJ’s rookie Terran roster: Memory and sKyHigh. Admittedly, sKyHigh has not started out his progaming career as strongly as he may have hoped, but he still certainly has potential. If he is able to cultivate it this season, he will hopefully be able to save his record from falling into the ranks of anonymity and obscurity that are those of all the other failed progamers.

Memory is not quite as new. Having played 29 games according to the TLPD, he has already proven he belongs in progaming. He just needs to find a way to break through the crowd, and at the moment, it is not his TvT. At an unimpressive 1-10, it’s the only stat that really doesn’t speak well of Memory. His TvP is roughly even, with wins against some fair opponents in Rock and rA. His TvZ is slightly better with victories against July and GoRush. Still, nothing about him really speaks extraordinary – at least yet. There is still hope that he may find his element at some point, but it is not what I’m banking CJ’s success on this season.

But to be clear, I am betting on CJ’s success. Their roster may have some holes, but it is better than the vast majority of their competition. And most of all, it should be noted that the team has made nothing but improvements over the season change. They may have lost Jy and Devil, but neither were exemplary assets to the team. GGPlay however, is almost certain to be. Much, Xellos, and Iris all made relatively good gains on the individual league spectrum late last year, each only being knocked out by some of the strongest of opponents possible. Savior is of course Savior. His recent games versus Flash in the All Star Skins Bo7 were proof that the Maestro will never stop conducting the swarms.

CJ Entus’s strength in the proleague format of course lies in its incredibly strong 1v1 lineup. This season, it has gotten even stronger. With GGPlay on the roster, CJ could field a line up of stars for every game and still need to rotate players. Much, Iris, Xellos, Darkelf, Savior, Kwanro and now, GGPlay are just so many strong players that their opponents will not be able to prepare for all of them.

Their 2v2 teams are a different story. Last season’s pairing of Jy/Memory did well coming in at 5-3 for Round 2 of Proleague and that team is no longer an option with Jy out of the picture (who by the way was 8-6 in team games taking into account his different pairings). But this is not to say that there is any need to lose hope. If there is one thing that CJ is not lacking, it is competent Zerg players. With so many strong 1v1 players, it is not unlikely that CJ will field Savior in the 2v2 format even more often than they did last year. Even Kwanro did fairly well in the spot, coming in at 2-3 for the entirety of the round with his various different partners, so he is likely to see some action in the spot as well. I don’t believe there is any real need to worry about CJ’s 2v2 pairings just yet.

With all of that in mind, recall CJ’s placement at the end of Proleague R2 last year: 2nd place. What else is there to get for this consistent team but a 1st place finish? Last season, they managed to push Lecaf Oz, which at the time had an aura of invincibility, to their very limits. If CJ can do that again with its improved line up, they stand as much a chance as anyone at getting the first place finish.

By no means does CJ Entus have an easy road to the finals though. Many of their opposing teams have changed some very fundamental values in their line ups over the off season. For some, this is good, for others, bad. Some remain roughly the same. These are the teams that I think CJ will have to train hard for this season to make sure they can stay ahead of the pack.

1. Lecaf Oz – It’s no secret that Lecaf Oz is the team to beat. They were the ones that in the end stopped CJ’s growing strength last season, and they capitalized on the win with a win in the R1/R2 playoffs as well. While CJ has many strong 1v1 players, Lecaf has only a few. But each of them is ridiculously strong, which does not spell good news for CJ. Jaedong and Anytime are of course the biggest threats, and unless CJ can come up with an answer to them quick, they are likely to remain CJ's fiercest competition.

2. MBCGame Heroes – Last season I wouldn’t have hesitated to call MBCGame CJ's biggest rival. MBCGame had the strongest Zerg killing line up out there. With Sea, Light, Bisu, and Ruby as opponents, it is no wonder they did so well last season. But in the end, CJ managed to win. They were able to do so because it is important to remember, CJ is not solely a Zerg team. They fielded a strong line up that MBCGame did not seem prepared for, and, even though the match was still brought to Ace, CJ did win. This season, MBCGame has gotten much weaker with the loss of Bisu, but they are still going to be a force to be reckoned with. Most of their strength will invariably rely on their Terran players this season though, and with GGPlay to assist, this near rivalry may not be as hotly contested as it was last season.

3. KTF MagicNs – This team’s outlook is so much more positive than I would have ever suspected last season. I still don’t believe they are in a position to take the gold home, but they can certainly give the best teams a run for their money. Flash, 815, and Haran in particular are likely to be key factors in KTF’s success. As long as CJ can prevent the team’s growing Zerg stars from gaining too much strength, they should still have the advantage. As much as I’m sure he’d like to, Flash cannot play all the games for KTF.

You may notice I did not include either Samsung Khan or STX Soul, among other teams that have shown recent strength. Samsung was definitely one of the best teams in Proleague last season. They won Round 1 after all. But they just have not been able to break through since that point. Their morale seems low, not only at a team level because of their loss in the R1/R2 playoffs, but also with individual players. Stork has had numerous recent failures, none of which I’m sure are helping his ego, and FBH’s clutch loss in the playoff game only capped off his recent struggle to remain a competitor. Jangbi is the progamer definition of a failure to launch. If the team can pick up its morale and really show its talent, than I’m sure they will be a fierce competitor with Stork, FBH, FrOzean, and Jangbi at the helm. But I’m just not sure its going to happen.

STX on the other hand does seem to be picking up steam, with a story somewhat similar to KTFs. Plexa’s recent article will give you all the facts to support that. But I just don’t think they can really stand up against CJ Entus at this point and come out the victor. I’m sure they will do well this season, maybe even achieving a playoff position, but I don’t think they are going to be the team that takes CJ down.

The rest of the teams are mostly in the same boat. SKT in particular I think may begin to show strong play once again, especially with Bisu now on their team. Still though, they are not likely to be as large a threat as the other three teams listed.

CJ started this season off on the right path too. In their first match, CJ was pitted against WeMade’s premier line up and they stood the victor. My Liquibet season may not have started out so well, but this was one vote that didn’t have me doubting for an instant.

So here is to CJ Entus, the team on the road to win the Proleague. I hope their road is a successful one, riddled with the most entertaining games ever played.

CJ Fighting!

CJ Entus - Going for Gold

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