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[This column from Fomos' "Mania Column" section (10/19/09) - which showcases excellent articles by users - argues for one of the ideas of Bonjwa that has been around: the theory of Bonjwa has started and ended with Savior. It's one of the very well-written pieces on the theory of Bonjwa that I've read, hence the sharing. Pics not part of the original column.]
The Genealogy of Bonjwa
 BoxeR-OSL+MSL (3 Golds, 4 Silvers)
NaDa-OSL+MSL (6 Golds, 4 Silvers)
iloveoov-OSL+MSL (5 Golds)
 sAviOr-OSL+MSL (4 Golds, 2 Silvers)
Original article title: What's the Theory of Bonjwa?
It's time to think about where the theory of Bonjwa started.
The word "Bonjwa" first came around when JulyZerg's fans began calling him as such, after he beat Goodfriend to win an OSL. But the theory of Bonjwa wasn't around; it was just a nickname. Not a Bonjwa as we know it nowadays. The best Zerg? Something like that.
Although JulyZerg and GoRush beat a Terran for a championship, GoRush was weak against iloveoov and his dominance lasted little; and JulyZerg wasn't valued high because the opponent was GoodFriend (he was also weak against NaDa).
IOPS OSL. It was the age of the JulyZerg and GoRush duo. But Nada's reverse sweep against GoRush at the round of 4 and shutout against JulyZerg at the final inflicted a lasting wound to Zerg fans, and Terran seemed insurmountable to Zerg.
And a surprise came when sAviOr won the UZOO MSL.
He was valued low; the word of "winning after beating Protoss only" came around and he was thought to be lucky. More precisely, he was considered the one who ruined the return of a hero -  Reach; some unknown person who ruined the show. The attribute wasn't that wrong considering the mood of the time.
Maybe that's why Savior wasn't as welcome champion as JulyZerg and GoRush.
He became a champion without being glorified by the glib OGN commentator Um. MBC Game didn't totally feel satisfied with his win, thinking that the push for the return of the hero backfired.
When the hope of a Zerg champion was accomplished, the solution against Terran wasn't ready. In this weird time, Savior came to the experimental stage.
Bonjwas, in their shiny glories
Boxer and Nada, "I look so good..."
Iloveoov and Savior, "I AM so good..."
Iloveoov. The monster who began Terran's outmacroing Zerg. The one who beat YellOw to end the romantic age of strategy and open the age of macro.
CYON MSL. The result was Savior's 5:0 dominance. Including two event games earlier, it was an absolute dominance of 7:0. The championship went to ChoJJa, but Savior was given a due credit.
Thereby came the beginning of the "Savior assessment theory."
The following Pringles-1 MSL. Savior won the championship with an absolute dominance. Chojja and Nal_rA failed. The first assessment ended.
Since then Savior's every game came to a spotlight. Even his event games in his early days began to be analyzed and re-evaluated. The discussion on how to bring him down was omnipresent, and progamers who might beat him began to be mentioned.
In another word, after the Pringles 1, Savior's every game became a yardstick for the assessment.
The standard was high. Besides his fans, he had to satisfy the fans of the previously dominant Zerg progamers (especially Yellow) as well as meet the conditions required by the fans of Terran and Protoss:
Beat this guy.
How about this one?
Really? Win again? How about that one?
This guy on this map?
Really doubt you can beat him on that map?
Man, you're scary. If you can beat that guy on that map.
.........
Of course, Savior sometimes lost, but not to the point of not satisfying the assessment. Savior assessment theory started after the Pringles 1.
From then to the March 3 revolution, he didn't lose a single televized multiple-gamed match.
The lasting assessment continued to the last card of Protoss - Nal_rA. Savior won, and Nal_rA's fans gave up. The tranquility of Nal_rA's fans after the match was the silent acknowledgement. Savior went on to win his third MSL (fourth consecutive final and second consecutive win).
The jungle of the strong, MSL, was dominated by Savior's red flag, and he became the dictator.
The assessment went on to OSL. Although Terran fan's spiritual lord BoxeR and the genius Nada coming back were ready, their matchup seemed unlikely.
But an event tournament called 1st CJ Superfight was held. Savior was lucky in many ways. If Boxer went to the army without the Superfight, Savior the Bonjwa might not have existed. Really.
The result was a shutout. Savior couldn't be stopped, crushing Starcraft's icon with a low race like Zerg. 3rd CJ Superfight came. MSL champion vs OSL champion matchup was established for the first time. Savior beat Nada by 3:1, and no Terran fan could deny him.
Bonjwas, in their downtimes
What remained was OSL. And the new season began.
Zerg totally failed on Longinus and on the Reverse Temple. Savior survived and went to the finals of both individual leagues. At the OSL final, he beat Nada and ended the assessment theory.
[Translator's addition: the OGN commentator Um's remark right after Savior's win captured the mood of the time, "Nada is a human, human! How can a human beat a god?"]
No Stacraft fan could deny him.
The theory of Bonjwa started as the Savior assessment theory, and he passed all the assessments and finalized the theory of Bonjwa.
Let's summarize the assessments that he passed.
1. Surprise
- A newcomer winning a championship
2. The dark age of Zerg
- Rise as Zerg's hope. Made other Zergs look same. The glorious triumph over Longinus and the Reverse Temple.
3. Overcame Terran, especially Boxer, Nada, and Iloveoov
- Win rate incomparable to other Zergs. Totally dominated the Terran trio.
4. Continuous dominance
- Win rate, most wins, ProLeague record. Three championships in a year. Five consecutive MSL final. Swept event matches.
5. Dominance over strong contemporaries
- Beat every dominant progamer of his era of every race in a multiple-gamed match (Bisu was rather a newcomer than a dominant progamer at that time).
Other aspects might exist...
But it's hard to meet the kind of circumstances that Savior was in. The dark age for a race doesn't come often. Neither does a demand as that race to beat someone. Dominating pretty much all tournaments in a year and meeting the strong progamers of the era at important matches are impossible without luck (Bisu and Jaedong have yet to meet each other at a multiple-gamed match at OSL or MSL).
The theory of Bonjwa has started and ended with Savior.
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United States1655 Posts
Good read. Thanks for the translation. 
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good read, thanks.
i don tthink your pictures are working well
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What, did he get to 5 consecutive MSL finals?
good read, pictures not working for me though
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NICE. Savior MSL CHAMP AGAIN!!!! in 2009...
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On November 07 2009 17:24 StylishVODs wrote:
What, did he get to 5 consecutive MSL finals?
good read, pictures not working for me though
Yes, this insane fact is forgotten sometimes nowadays!
Also not losing a BoX for basically an entire year.
But with Savior I'll always remember the MSL semifinals against Mind, where he lost 3-2. It was his last gasp and Mind was better, but he still could have won, and faced Bisu in what would have been probably the biggest final in SC history. I think he would have lost to Bisu but you never know.
Once he lost to Mind there it seemed clear that it was over. In my mind it'll always be the one that got away. The one that could have been...
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Awesome read! Something to link now when people throw that word around too much.
Savior 4 life!
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Great article. Brings us back when monsters roamed the SC world. I just love someone assessing and talking about history of SC.
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Savior was a true BoX master...
Then Bisu came. 
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good read, thanks for translation.
The "end of Bonjwa" part was not convincing though. Jaedong seems as strong nowdays as Savior was then
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Thanks for the translation! the word bonjwa is getting really annoying though...
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On November 07 2009 18:08 araav wrote:
good read, thanks for translation.
The "end of Bonjwa" part was not convincing though. Jaedong seems as strong nowdays as Savior was then
That's not really the point though. It's an article written to define bonjwa as a set of criteria (assessments) that only savior meets. One could easily define bonjwa in a different manner. Jaedong could probably pass assessment 1, 4, and 5, but not 2 and 3. 3 is debatable on whether the assessment can be met simply by defeating strong terran or if the specific trio of boxer, nada, oov must be defeated. Author's intent is kinda murky here.
He even admits "But it's hard to meet the kind of circumstances that Savior was in." Jaedong could win the next 10 OSLs, but unless he invents a time machine, he cannot become bonjwa by this author's standard.
Similarly, if someone's definition of bonjwa states that you MUST have a golden mouse, then savior would not be one by definition. The arguments over bonjwa are not so much about the players, but about the criterion that ought to be used.
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Katowice25012 Posts
This is pretty cool, thanks for the translation
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Interesting, though I guess this just proves that the definition of bonjwa is different depending on who you ask. Personally, I thought savior's dominance was more rooted in his game management and star sense than anything else. Just about anyone who is even remotely considered bonjwa fits some of this criteria, after all.
Being a newcomer when winning a championship?
This is obvious. Boxer, GARIMTO, Nada, July, Anytime, Savior, and Jaedong have all been royal roaders. oov surfaced not only with wins, but a ridiculous style of play. Bisu came out of nowhere to win his first MSL. Flash was an unknown beating all kinds of people (including Bisu himself). Pretty much everyone who wins a starleague has made a splash on the scene - it's just a matter of whether or not they stayed.
Better than the rest of your race? Wins on unfavorable maps?
These even fit today's dominant players like Jaedong, Flash, and Bisu. All have been unquestionably the top of their race, and have found ways to reverse the trend on various maps (Jaedong and Flash on Katrina, for example). Jaedong is probably the best example here, since it's taken other zergs ages to finally catch up to where he was at, and a lot of that has to do with zergs having maps in their favor now.
Overall dominance?
Savior was at about 69% for his span of 4 starleague wins and 2 MSL silvers.
Jaedong was also at 69% from EVER2007 to Bacchus 2009 (and surprisingly higher if you were to end it at Batoo instead). That's also 4 starleague wins in almost exactly the same amount of time. He also won GOM Classic 1, WCG Korea, GOM's special match vs Bisu, and had an MSL silver.
Flash is right at 70% from Bacchus to GOM Classic 3, and over 70% if you include his current streak. Of course, this only includes one starleague win and some GOM league ownage.
Bisu was actually a bit lower at 65% for his span of 3 Starleague wins, though his were over a slightly longer period of time (a little over 2 years, while the others are all a little under 2 years). He also won GOM Classic 2 during this time and had an MSL silver.
Interesting notes:
- Savior played around half the matches the others did in the same amount of time
- Flash and Jaedong destroyed Proleague (and really still are)
- Bisu's lower win % has a lot to do with the fact he started off shaky in proleague, even though he fared very well in individual leagues
Winning multiple game matches?
Savior was 9-2 in bo5 matches during the period of dominance mentioned above.
Jaedong was 13-2, and has beaten Bisu so I'm really not sure what the poster is talking about (I counted Savior's win vs Nada in Superfight, too). Maybe he means only bo5s that took place in the MSL or OSL, because Jaedong also won a bo3 they played in the MSL.
Bisu was 13-3 (1 loss to Jaedong, 1 loss to Flash).
Flash was 9-3 (2 of those losses to Jaedong).
These are ridiculous numbers when you consider that they're happening at very much the same time as each other.
So yeah, I don't think these are the factors that made savior bonjwa. Sure, it's part stats, but it's also feeling. Feeling in the same way star sense is feeling. When Savior played, you knew he was going to somehow find victory, regardless of what his opponent was doing at the time. Despite being one of the best and closest games of all time, it somehow wasn't that surprising when Savior beat Iris during Shinhan 3. That was what he did - he found victory no matter where it was hiding.
It's that type of feeling where a player knows the game so well you sense as if he'd be no better if he were actually maphacking. Savior had it, and we've seen glimpses of that only a few times since (for me, a huge one was Jaedong's comeback vs fantasy during Batoo).
Having said that, the stats I listed above are pretty crazy, and do merit discussion if we're going to go along the path this poster would suggest.
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it is universally agreed that the 4 bonjwa's are BoxeR, NaDa, Iloveoov, and sAviOr
It's a title given by the community. Bonjwa arguments are worthless because if you're arguing about whether or not someone is bonjwa, then they probably aren't bonjwa. The difference between sAviOr and Jaedong is when sAviOr was dominating, that was it, no one could touch him and no one else was even close.
When Jaedong is dominating, so is FlaSh, so is Bisu, etc. Jaedong isn't really alone, even though he might be above the others.
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On November 07 2009 19:25 QibingZero wrote:
Interesting, though I guess this just proves that the definition of bonjwa is different depending on who you ask. Personally, I thought savior's dominance was more rooted in his game management and star sense than anything else. Just about anyone who is even remotely considered bonjwa fits some of this criteria, after all.
Being a newcomer when winning a championship?
This is obvious. Boxer, GARIMTO, Nada, July, Anytime, Savior, and Jaedong have all been royal roaders. oov surfaced not only with wins, but a ridiculous style of play. Bisu came out of nowhere to win his first MSL. Flash was an unknown beating all kinds of people (including Bisu himself). Pretty much everyone who wins a starleague has made a splash on the scene - it's just a matter of whether or not they stayed.
Better than the rest of your race? Wins on unfavorable maps?
These even fit today's dominant players like Jaedong, Flash, and Bisu. All have been unquestionably the top of their race, and have found ways to reverse the trend on various maps (Jaedong and Flash on Katrina, for example). Jaedong is probably the best example here, since it's taken other zergs ages to finally catch up to where he was at, and a lot of that has to do with zergs having maps in their favor now.
Overall dominance?
Savior was at about 69% for his span of 4 starleague wins and 2 MSL silvers.
Jaedong was also at 69% from EVER2007 to Bacchus 2009 (and surprisingly higher if you were to end it at Batoo instead). That's also 4 starleague wins in almost exactly the same amount of time. He also won GOM Classic 1, WCG Korea, GOM's special match vs Bisu, and had an MSL silver.
Flash is right at 70% from Bacchus to GOM Classic 3, and over 70% if you include his current streak. Of course, this only includes one starleague win and some GOM league ownage.
Bisu was actually a bit lower at 65% for his span of 3 Starleague wins, though his were over a slightly longer period of time (a little over 2 years, while the others are all a little under 2 years). He also won GOM Classic 2 during this time and had an MSL silver.
Interesting notes:
- Savior played around half the matches the others did in the same amount of time
- Flash and Jaedong destroyed Proleague (and really still are)
- Bisu's lower win % has a lot to do with the fact he started off shaky in proleague, even though he fared very well in individual leagues
Winning multiple game matches?
Savior was 9-2 in bo5 matches during the period of dominance mentioned above.
Jaedong was 13-2, and has beaten Bisu so I'm really not sure what the poster is talking about (I counted Savior's win vs Nada in Superfight, too). Maybe he means only bo5s that took place in the MSL or OSL, because Jaedong also won a bo3 they played in the MSL.
Bisu was 13-3 (1 loss to Jaedong, 1 loss to Flash).
Flash was 9-3 (2 of those losses to Jaedong).
These are ridiculous numbers when you consider that they're happening at very much the same time as each other.
So yeah, I don't think these are the factors that made savior bonjwa. Sure, it's part stats, but it's also feeling. Feeling in the same way star sense is feeling. When Savior played, you knew he was going to somehow find victory, regardless of what his opponent was doing at the time. Despite being one of the best and closest games of all time, it somehow wasn't that surprising when Savior beat Iris during Shinhan 3. That was what he did - he found victory no matter where it was hiding.
It's that type of feeling where a player knows the game so well you sense as if he'd be no better if he were actually maphacking. Savior had it, and we've seen glimpses of that only a few times since (for me, a huge one was Jaedong's comeback vs fantasy during Batoo).
Having said that, the stats I listed above are pretty crazy, and do merit discussion if we're going to go along the path this poster would suggest.
I love how you did an analysis of "multiple game matches" and didn't include BO3's
The analysis was nice but come on - BO3 is part of the deal here
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"He was valued low; the word of "winning after beating Protoss only" came around and he was thought to be lucky."
lol. Hi ZvP, Starcraft in easy mode ;D
PS. Sky_slasher, you should get more credit. Awesome translation, thanks! Someone, give this man a blue star
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jaedong is bonjwa, face it :o
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On November 07 2009 20:16 reit wrote:
jaedong is bonjwa, face it :o
nope, bisu is!!!
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EPT![[image loading]](http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs116.snc3/16337_850114556459_842572_48868957_6007865_n.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs116.snc3/16337_850114551469_842572_48868956_7066612_n.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs116.snc3/16337_850114546479_842572_48868955_6205631_n.jpg)
