This entire blog is a spoiler, with my thoughts on the OSL finals after I watched the games and made my rounds around various SC communities.
Although there weren’t any back and forth games, the Lose-Lose-Win-Win-Win scenario easily made up for all of it. This really surprised me, since in the old days, I used to be such a stickler for game quality that I actually cared more about how well played a series was than its actual result. It seems that I’ve devolved from a gamer into a fanboy, ever since I stopped playing Starcraft regularly. This is a cause of arguments I see on the forums a lot, because the hardcore gamer types really enjoy ruining everyone’s good time by coming in, nonchalantly declaring so and so was flawed in this and that way, and thus overhyped (and they are right sometimes).
The opening was rather modest, compared to the hilariously cringe-worthy MSL intro. I’m not sure if there’s a video anywhere, someone please link it if there is one! Basically, it was a stage performance where a variety of “warriors” from different periods and cultures, such as a ninja, cowboy, etc, came out and performed some very awkwardly choreographed fighting and dancing (Jangbi and Luxury jumping up behind the stage was awesome, though). The Korean internet slang for this kind of thing translates roughly to “it made my hands and feet shrivel up,” which is something like “it made me wince/cringe” in English, but with the obvious exaggeration.
Oh right, the intro itself. There was some strange flower imagery, followed by some strange nature imagery, interspaced with some random quotes about challenges, victory, fear, and things of that nature. The funny part was that all these quotes were attributed to “The Book of Batoo Starleague,” with chapter and verse notations like the Bible. Something like “The Book of Batoo, Chapter 5, verse 1.” Anyway, it was typical OSL schmaltz, but there was one bit that would turn out to be fist-pumpingly poetic later.
The tag-line for this final was “Save yourself.” Okay, that’s the closest I can get in vernacular English. A perfectly literal translation with additional explanation for nuances would go something like “(Only you can save yourself, so) Save Yourself.” Substitute ‘redeem’ for save as you wish. That’s pretty damn appropriate for a series where Jaedong literally saved himself from the pits of hell and its ravenous vultures (Aha! I can make SC jokes too). For me, that was the cherry on top of the entire comeback victory saga.
I wonder who could be credited with that “Save Yourself” business. Maybe Um Jae Gyung, the main caster at OGN? He used to write comic books/manga for a living, after all, and he does happen to be responsible for half the progamer nicknames in use. I used to hate Mr. Um for forcing some really implausible storylines simply in order to create drama and excitement, but I’m starting to see his side of the story as of late. These days, I’d rather have any kind of story going on, rather than rely solely on my ever-declining BW skills to extract meaning from this evolving game.
In any case, he set some narrative framework during the opening stages of game three that I found rather compelling. For the first two games. Fantasy had succeeded in keeping Jaedong from using his greatest strength: his mutalisk micro. He achieved this with valks in game one, and his high level of aggression prior to mutalisks in game two. Now that he had taken two games, he was ready to let Jaedong play the way he wanted, while he would reply in kind. This could be ridiculous for many reasons; the notion that Fantasy was preparing for Jaedong so one-dimensionally, or that he would actually let Jaedong back in the game after he had taken the lead. But still, it’s fun to think about, and maybe there’s a little bit of truth to it.
Speaking of preventing your opponent from using his strengths, Mr. Um revealed an interesting tidbit from Coach Choi, aka ILoveoov. When asked was it really plausible to expect a 3-0 from Fantasy, Iloveoov replied “If we can seal off his strengths, and exploit his weaknesses, then it’s possible.” Not sure about the weaknesses part, but Fantasy did happen to win all the games where mutas were unable to play a big part (yes I know this is a dumb argument, but I really like the above story).
Another tidbit from Mr. Um! He had gone and asked the Hwaseung OZ players about Jaedong’s godly ZvT, and how often Hiya and Lomo are able to beat him during practice. Not surprisingly, very rarely .
The gender ratio for Jaedong fans seemed rather male heavy. When the crowd broke into “Lee Jae Dong!” chants during the introductions, the voices were rather low pitched. It kind of surprised me, as Jaedong doesn’t seem like that “manly” a player. The most overwhelmingly male crowd chant I’ve heard to date is still the roaring chorus of “Kim Dong Su!” after Garimto defeated Boxer in the OSL final. With Garimto, you can really understand this, as he was the TRUE man-toss before Reach. He was manly in that old-fashioned, rugged way, unlike Reach’s makes-you-question-your-sexuality handsomeness. As proof, his nickname was actually ‘Farmer Toss.’ Maybe Rock will make a final one day, so I can relive that memory.
The finale and closing ceremonies are some of my favorites in a long time. Jaedong’s tears, somehow, they felt more real than the many others I have seen. Then again, I was rooting for him all the way, so there is some bias there. Most importantly, the camera always had timely shots of Jaedong’s mom reacting extremely emotionally to every single moment. Feverous prayer at one moment, to ecstatic cheering in another. When she ran up on stage to hug her son, and tried to offer him a piggy-back ride – that really took the cake for me (they settled for a very awwwww-hug). Without her, his interview and tears wouldn’t have meant nearly as much.
Here’s a quick and wildly inaccurate summary of his interview. Q: “What were you thinking after you were down 0-2?” A: “My mind was just in a blank, and I was determined to get my shit in order.” Q: “How about after you made it 2-2?” A: “Well, you know, I was sitting in the booth, and I took a look out into the crowd….” *Silence as Jaedong tears up* Fans Chanting: “Don’t you cry!” Q: And your parents were there. (GOOD JOB KILLING THE FUCKING MOMENT by saying what we all knew. Still, Jeon Yong Jun is still my favorite announcer ever). *Jaedong proceeds to sob through the rest of the interview, thanking his parents and everyone he ever made material contact with*
Meanwhile, Fantasy looked absolutely devastated with the loss, and I thought his dead expression and voice were even tinged with a hint of self-loathing. None of that “it’s okay!” and a mini champagne ceremony from the rest of the team and coach Choi like when he lost to Stork last OSL. No more coddling crap, welcome to the jungle, kid. And he’s only seventeen, Jesus Christ!
Real emotions from real people, isn’t that why we’ve loved sports and competition from the beginning of time?
(Boxer’s tears after losing to ILoveoov is still the greatest OSL final moment ever, however. Not only do we have Boxer’s sadness in loss, but the bittersweetness in ILoveoov’s face reveals a world of emotions with a level of depth and complexity rarely seen this side of Dostoyevsky.)
The lesson is: Progamers should bring their emotional relatives to games. Although, that might depress me severely if they lose.
The emotional aspect of last night's finals were also what made it so amazing to watch for me - especially after reading so many interviews of Jaedong's where he just sounded so ... almost robotic to an extent (because of how exhaustively he practices and whatnot), seeing him cry and be human was just incredibly moving.
That bittersweet expression caught on oov's face said so much... sorry Fantasy =(
The camera shot of the champagne ceremony of Jaedong with Fantasy holding his cheque and oov next to him at the back was one of the best emotional e-sports captures I've seen.
I think the PL provided much more tears of joy and sorrow so far. Losing or winning for your team is always much more emotional than doing this for yourself. Thats why I love watching the Davis Cup tennis tournament, so much drama, especially in the finals... 4 years ago when I still trained football we had an important match against the local rival. And we lost because I scored an owngoal in the last minutes. I think I've cried for 2 hours straight after the game...
For me the ending of the boxer/oov final is the greatest moment the korean pro sc scene will ever see. On topic, I think JD got so emotional because its been a while since he won his last major
hi, i thoguht the piggy backing woman wasn't his mom but jaedong's aunt or some relative! i thought jd's mom was just sitting down most of the time haha
On April 05 2009 19:26 GTR wrote: The camera shot of the champagne ceremony of Jaedong with Fantasy holding his cheque and oov next to him at the back was one of the best emotional e-sports captures I've seen.
Yeah, Oov sees Fantasy as a young version of himself! I bet he helped Fantasy as much as Fantasy practiced for this.
On April 05 2009 19:23 Smix wrote: The emotional aspect of last night's finals were also what made it so amazing to watch for me - especially after reading so many interviews of Jaedong's where he just sounded so ... almost robotic to an extent (because of how exhaustively he practices and whatnot), seeing him cry and be human was just incredibly moving.
That bittersweet expression caught on oov's face said so much... sorry Fantasy =(
I agree. Since Jaedong usually has the "im going to tear you apart" face when playing, it was really something to see that he too has emotions and cries. I also felt really sorry for Fantasy, especially in that little hype video, where it shows Bisu and BeSt being interviewed while Fantasy is off to the side in gray.
On April 05 2009 20:02 alffla wrote: hi, i thoguht the piggy backing woman wasn't his mom but jaedong's aunt or some relative! i thought jd's mom was just sitting down most of the time haha
nice write up blog anyway
Yeah I was pretty confused by this I always thought the piggy backing woman was his mom, but then in the finals when the announcer talked about whether JD had to say something to his mom the camera didnt show her, but that other woman that generally was more calm than that crazy crying clapping woman so then I also thought the latter was his aunt or something.. ?
On April 06 2009 02:36 Warrior Madness wrote: Man I'm so sad that I missed JD's win live. The VODs are awesome but they didn't show JD's tearful interview.
Interesting read. The post-match interview was indeed very moving and that is a very positive thing for the game, the emotional part that makes the fans even more invested in the game/player. Another touching moment was that game when sAviOr beat Yarnc in PL and nearly broke down when he was celebrated by his team.
And:
On April 05 2009 19:12 Waxangel wrote: (Boxer’s tears after losing to ILoveoov is still the greatest OSL final moment ever, however. Not only do we have Boxer’s sadness in loss, but the bittersweetness in ILoveoov’s face reveals a world of emotions with a level of depth and complexity rarely seen this side of Dostoyevsky.)
>_< I want the snorlax icon. great op. too bad for fantasy. he is crestfallen. were any of his teammates even at the match? JD is OZ. You could really feel the way his coach and team depend on him.
On April 05 2009 19:12 Waxangel wrote: With Garimto, you can really understand this, as he was the TRUE man-toss before Reach. He was manly in that old-fashioned, rugged way, unlike Reach’s makes-you-question-your-sexuality handsomeness.
I thought the opening was hilariously bad. It's a shame they couldn't broadcast the Winners League finals opening (sadly there were too many time constraints according to my contact in Kespa.) I saw the b-boy crews/beat boxer rehearsing and we also got to see them performance before the finals began - it was really cool seeing a team for Hwaseung and one for CJ squaring off - the same style as the Club Day finals.
I didn't go to the MSL finals (was sick) and I couldn't go to OSL finals (Screw $100 train tickets to Busan.) I'm not too bothered though because neither seemed as though the photos would have been particularly good. I prefer team finals.
Fantasy just looked angry. I don't know what you mean by "no more coddling". The dude didn't even say anything to his fans when the announcer directly asked him to. He was only concerned with himself. Yes I myself and probably most others would feel similarly in his situation, but it still came across as rude. Those people came all the way just to support him, and all he could say was "I'll win next time." He didn't even mention the teammates who practiced with him, or his coaches who were obviously playing a huge role in giving him advice throughout the series. He should have said *something* more, even if it hurt some to do it.
Man, oov looked so smug during game 2 when fantasy was crushing Jaedong. Then Jaedong just took Fantasy out so easily. Game 5 was insane, Jaedong's muta micro was just astounding and Fantasy didn't have a ghost of a chance.
great writeup! LLWWW is truly amazing. it shows that fantasy really seemed to take it easy after game 2, while jd was playing extra hard to stay alive. then by game 5, jd had the momentum to win it. game 5 looked really bad on fantasy's part.
nice to hear your thoughts on this series, we really needed this type of blog from someone every time there's a finals. i especially enjoyed the little tidbits only someone who understood korean could get from the broadcast.
i think game 3 of this series is the most impressive game i've seen from a pro in a long time. jaedong stared the grim reaper in the face and didn't blink, finding courage deep down somewhere to pull that game out despite just about everything going against him.
that hydra muta attack was otherworldly not because of its impeccable execution but because of the courage and mental strength behind it.
On April 07 2009 18:26 latent wrote: Courage and mental strength...? Stared the grim reaper in the face?
Where can I get one of those fancy licenses for hyperbole?
Well, I would like to ask you this then.
Do you simply underrate the seriousness of professional gaming compared to other competitions, or are you just a cynic in general about the emotions involved in human endeavors in general, be it sports or whatnot?
On April 05 2009 15:48 Jaeden wrote: stop crying anti-fans. That vulture was way before mutas so he could do some pretty good damage and delay the mutas. What's really extraordinary is how JD spotted, and took care of it xD
No I don't think it would have done enough damage to make a difference. Two vultures maybe, but not one. And if fantasy had A-moved instead of right clicking he would have easily taken out the oh-so-scary group of 1 zergling + 2 drones Jaedong sent at it. And it still wouldn't have mattered.
someone once said...
On March 16 2009 13:28 latent wrote: If you have watched any of the Starcraft classes at the University of Berkeley (videos are online...google 'em!), you'd understand how insanely important it is to keep all of your mining units and keep pumping probes nonstop early on. The loss of probes results in damage that grows exponentially as time goes on. It's quite fascinating stuff. ...
You should have the courage and mental strength to listen to this man!
On April 07 2009 18:26 latent wrote: Courage and mental strength...? Stared the grim reaper in the face?
Where can I get one of those fancy licenses for hyperbole?
Well, I would like to ask you this then.
Do you simply underrate the seriousness of professional gaming compared to other competitions, or are you just a cynic in general about the emotions involved in human endeavors in general, be it sports or whatnot?
well, it was the seminal moment of the most recent OSL finals and one of the most epic comebacks by a player many consider to have reached the greatest level of zerg play ever against a player who has a team and coach both of which have a significant and compelling history
On April 06 2009 05:10 WaxAngel wrote: Q: And your parents were there. (GOOD JOB KILLING THE FUCKING MOMENT by saying what we all knew. Still, Jeon Yong Jun is still my favorite announcer ever)
On April 09 2009 05:21 Rekrul wrote: 1k/game and 2k/series but i had to give 1.25:1 odds, 2-3 won 2.5 if i lost 0-3 i would have lost 6.25k that would have sucked
when the person proposed the odds to me i snap called, i was ready to call 1.75:1 to be honest lol
EPT
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so then I also thought the latter was his aunt or something.. ?
