EPT
In 2011 and 2012, a storm was brewing. Foreigners and Koreans alike were growing worried of a beast, drawing nearer and nearer: KeSPA players. These were the kings of Brood War, monsters with blistering APM, brilliant mechanics, and years of experience behind them. Even for eSF players (many of whom were former KeSPA B-Teamers themselves), they were an incredible foe. Foreigners lamented that the arrival of players the likes of Flash, JaeDong, Bisu, Fantasy and others would mark the end of any foreign presence, and the beginning of complete Korean Domination. Mr. Bitter proclaimed that 2013 would be the Year of Hitman. As Brood War drew to a close, the giants stood tall.
In September 2012, KeSPA published its final ranking of Brood War players. The top 10 was as follows:
1. KT.Flash
2. Smasung.JangBi
3. SKT1.Fantasy
4. SKT1.Sun (Rain)
5. WJS.ZerO
6. WJS.Soulkey
7. Samsung.Stork
8. T8.JaeDong
9. STX.Trap
10. CJ.effOrt
The names alone were enough to strike fear in the hearts of most players. Terrans had long worshipped Flash as God himself. JaeDong, though in a slight slump, was feared for his monstrous upsets and legend slaying abilities. Rain, a relative newcomer to the scene, was making a big splash, winning KeSPA’s Rookie of the Year award. Fantasy and JangBi were going into the finals of the Tving OSL. effOrt had recently come out of a brief retirement and had performed well in ProLeague and WCG. The switch seemed it would be but a formality for them, simply giving them a new platform to exert their dominance on.
However, this was not exactly how things worked out. Coming to the present, as their first full year of SC2 play comes to a close, the results are less than stellar. Two have joined a host of other KeSPA players in retiring from competitive play. Two find themselves in Code A. FlaSh is eternally stuck in the Ro16 of Code S, and despite a strong start at MLG, has been performing poorly abroad. effort finds himself with a poor ProLeague record, and an inability to make a splash in individual leagues, with his highest finish being a 3rd/4th place at IEM Singapore. Only 3 have truly hit their stride in SC2 and have been able to take home titles.
Flash: Last of the Bonjwas
Towards the end of Brood War, one player stood above all others: KT.FlaSh. Anyone in the scene knew of him and his incredible mechanics, decision making, and sheer inability to lose. A love of mech had propelled him to multiple WCGs and a legendary 3 OSLs. However, in Starcraft 2, Flash has failed to make a similar splash. At first, things were promising. Flash started his career in SC2 with a bang, placing 3rd/4th at the tournament, showing excellent games against Life and Naniwa. Though it wasn’t the domination people expected, Flash himself admitted that he expected a delay in his victory. In an interview with This Is Game, following MLG he said, “I want to slowly raise my level of performance” and went on to discuss his plans for a strong performance in GSL and SPL.
Unfortunately, only one of those predictions would come to fruition. Over the course of the SK Planet ProLeague, Flash looked like his old self, leading the league in wins and ace match performance. Individual leagues, however, would tell a different story. Again, despite a strong debut into the OSL, placing in the Ro8, Flash’s performance faltered over time. He found himself being knocked out of Code A twice in a row, before finally placing in the Ro24, setting himself up for a Premier League debut the next season.
Fans around the world prepared for Flash to come out of the gates with a run, hoping to see the Golden Mouse winner take to the GSL in the same way he did the OSL in Brood War. Instead, what happened was the Terran form of Curious. While Flash would always play well in Ro32 and Ro16, he has yet to go further than that. Eternally caught in the Ro16, fans shifted their hope to foreign tournaments.
Sadly, all that came were more letdowns. With the exception of a brilliant 2nd place finish at MLG Fall (again falling to Life), Flash found himself falling in early rounds. He was knocked out of Dreamhack Bucharest’s Ro32 following a 2-0 knockout from Dimaga and a beating from MMA. At IEM New York, he fell in group stages, after long fought battles with DRG and his Ro16 contemporary Curious, as well as coming dangerously close to be 2-0’d by State, an American.
All of these sets highlighted Flash’s major falling in SC2: his attempt to adopt mech. Famed for his mech play in BW, Flash has stated numerous times that he wishes he were able to utilize the style in HotS. Lamenting an inability for defensive, positional play, Flash seems to be chasing the rabbit. With mech buffs recently implemented, perhaps we are on the verge of a new age of Flash. Only time will tell.
Sun/Rain: No Brakes on This Hype Train
Perhaps no other player has taken the world of SC2 by storm more than SKT1.Rain. With an explosive debut taking the 1st SC2 OSL, Rain quickly followed it up with impressive performances at WCS Korea, Season 4 GSL, BWC, and numerous other WCS events. Rain relies on his strong macro play, focusing on defensive strategies and superb mechanics. His prowess with microing gateway units, a carry-over from Brood War, gives him the opportunity to break out the occasional timing attack as well, with deadly efficiency.
However, Rain’s success isn’t stuck in SC2. Rain was a favorite of Coach Park’s in Brood War as well, as he showed great promise. Though he never made it into a major individual league, he showed great prowess in team leagues and placed in minor tournaments. He made a strong run in the 2010-2011 Shinhan Bank Proleague, netting a total record of 15-4, with wins over players like TY, Calm, and Soulkey. This, combined with his all-kill of Hwaseung Oz in the STX Masters Cup, led to him being awarded the KeSPA Rookie of the Year.
Rain’s is a story of slow and steady wins the race. His reliable and steady improvement can be tracked through Brood War team leagues, the Hybrid Proleague, and then SC2 individual leagues, as well as Proleague. His climb to the top is seemingly unstoppable.
JangBi: Going out not with a bang, but with a whimper
JangBi was on fire towards the end of Brood War. After a career of 2nd place finishes, he had finally managed to take an OSL over Fantasy. He had revitalized his Proleague record, taking impressive victories in PvP. And in a brilliant run, he took the final Brood War OSL. Things were looking good for him as he approached the transition to SC2.
However, the once mighty Dragon’s rise took a terrible turn for the worse. Despite a solid Ro16 finish in the OSL, JangBi would falter when vying for a GSL position. After not qualifying for Season 4, he narrowly scraped through into Code A, only to fall in the Ro48. Future individual performances yielded similar results. JangBi would only appear in Premier League a single time, falling to LosirA in the OSL Ro32.
However, JangBi still maintained a surprisingly strong performance in Proleague. With a 32-34 record in the 2012-2013 regular season, JangBi was the 5th strongest performer. With this success, fans were hoping to see JangBi’s fighting spirit reignite. Sadly, they would never see the day.
JangBi qualified for Season 3 Premier League, but would never play out his matches. On August 29th, JangBi retired, joining a number of other BW progamers who have left SC2 in favor of streaming and competing in Brood War tournaments. Only time will tell whether the rest of KeSPA's former stars will join him.
