EPT![[image loading]](http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/8927/leve1.jpg)
"...it was him; he had amazing Dropship control and Dropship play overall; yes, very nice." - besiger
![[image loading]](http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/4101/leta1.jpg)
"Everyone is a rookie at some point" said old dude from Pokemon Silver.
Leta's first serious try for a Starlegue was in early 2006, when he lost 0-2 to
wOOng. He spend the entire 2006 trying to qualify for either OSL or MSL, but paid the price of newcomer, despite scoring some notable results, like 2-1 against BackHo and 2-0 against 
HyuN. The experience he gained allowed him to take the revenge on wOOng at Spring 2007 MSL Preliminaries. However, he was unlucky to meet very strong players at that period, and lost the Starleague opportunities to JangBi and 
iloveoov, both possesing monstrous 'vs T' matchup. The spring has ended, and the only asset Leta had was his Proleague debut, made on forgotten battlefield of 
Geometry. Yes, losing to CuteAngel was a little upset, but this could hardly discourage Sparkyz coach from putting Leta into regular lineup of his team. Shin Sang Moon was so thankful, that he scored 1st PL win in his 2nd game; and he made it against Stork himself! + Show Spoiler +Leta <Tau Cross> Stork
One of the earliest delightful displays of Leta'sTau Cross' superiority. After rather unsuccessful timing attack, he uses 2 Dropships and minimal number of Tanks/Vultures to bring Protoss economy into crysis comparable with Great Depression. 100% of map layout abuse here: keep your eye on sneaky air force flying around Protoss camp; entertain yourself with blue goo squeezed from Dragoons by Spider Mines' splash; watch a beautiful win scored with risky Factory+Starport build!
(For some 'poor Stork' pictures, see spoiler below).
+ Show Spoiler +
![[image loading]](http://img710.imageshack.us/img710/8683/stork1.jpg)
"I wonder if it's gonna rain today..."
![[image loading]](http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/9836/stork2.jpg)
"Uhhh... Vultures falling from the sky??"
![[image loading]](http://img708.imageshack.us/img708/6888/stork3.jpg)
"Ah. Bad weather for Executors."
Leta <Tau Cross> StorkOne of the earliest delightful displays of Leta's
Tau Cross' superiority. After rather unsuccessful timing attack, he uses 2 Dropships and minimal number of Tanks/Vultures to bring Protoss economy into crysis comparable with Great Depression. 100% of map layout abuse here: keep your eye on sneaky air force flying around Protoss camp; entertain yourself with blue goo squeezed from Dragoons by Spider Mines' splash; watch a beautiful win scored with risky Factory+Starport build! (For some 'poor Stork' pictures, see spoiler below).
+ Show Spoiler +
"I wonder if it's gonna rain today..."
"Uhhh... Vultures falling from the sky??"
"Ah. Bad weather for Executors."
That was quite shocking performance, yet, despite decent entry, Leta kept struggling to deliver results in 2007. In a tight OSL competition, he destroyed three strong Zergs (
great, ChoJJa and Kwanro) only to end up losing to fourth (YellOw[ArnC], his OGN teammate). In MSL Prelims, he fell victim to another relatively unknown player, who got much better recently (Han). Leta also participated in 2007-2008 Minor League with some old B-Team companions, but he was clearily one step from being legitimate Sparkyz representative.![[image loading]](http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/6238/leve2.jpg)
"He plays by the book, and he does it well." - FakeSteve
![[image loading]](http://img534.imageshack.us/img534/9426/leta2.jpg)
Extreme concentration; that's how you climb on top.
In 2008's spring, Leta was still far from being successful in individual leagues: he dropped out from MSL after disappointing series against
hyvaa and got crushed by Mind's TvT only one step from Group phase of OSL. However, Sparkyz trouble with Terran lineup allowed Leta to play more and more games in the Proleague. Impatient to prove that OSL elimination was just a cause of bad day, Shin Sang Moon ended April with three TvT wins in a row; and his victims were HiyA, BoxeR and Goodfriend - all well-known names among progamers. That was a huge boost of confidence: over three next months, Leta scored victories against Light, Kal (twice), Bisu, sAviOr,fOrGG and BeSt, suddenly catapulting himself into elite of Terran players. + Show Spoiler +Leta <Andromeda> sAviOr
With cross-map positions onAndromeda, Leta comes up with innovative wallin that isn't Ling-proof, but allows him to deny Drone scout and withdraw Marines without lifting off.. Not certain what's coming, Savior ends up going 3 Hatch Muta versus pretty standard Marine/Medic play. Suddenly, reckless Sunken break costs Maestro all his Mutas and the torture begins. Against Savior's impeccable Muta control, Terran throws decent Marine micro and insane unit production. Brave till the end, Leta uncorks one of the best anti-Lurker micro moves in record, never allowing Savior to really get out of his base. Watch Ma Bonjwa sweating!
+ Show Spoiler +![[image loading]](http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/1562/savior.jpg)
Savior: But... But, there were like 10 lurkers there!
Leta <Andromeda> sAviOrWith cross-map positions on
Andromeda, Leta comes up with innovative wallin that isn't Ling-proof, but allows him to deny Drone scout and withdraw Marines without lifting off.. Not certain what's coming, Savior ends up going 3 Hatch Muta versus pretty standard Marine/Medic play. Suddenly, reckless Sunken break costs Maestro all his Mutas and the torture begins. Against Savior's impeccable Muta control, Terran throws decent Marine micro and insane unit production. Brave till the end, Leta uncorks one of the best anti-Lurker micro moves in record, never allowing Savior to really get out of his base. Watch Ma Bonjwa sweating!+ Show Spoiler +
Savior: But... But, there were like 10 lurkers there!
This level of improvement was quickly recognized in Power Ranking:
On August 07 2008 14:41 FakeSteve[TPR] wrote:
Leta is playing some of the finest StarCraft I've seen lately. If looking at his string of victories isn't enough for you, watch the games. He's seamless and powerful, smart and confident. Leta has become a very good player(...)
Leta is playing some of the finest StarCraft I've seen lately. If looking at his string of victories isn't enough for you, watch the games. He's seamless and powerful, smart and confident. Leta has become a very good player(...)
Very true. And not only that: by beating some of the finest players around, Leta gained incredible momentum; it seemed like the only thing kept him from winning earlier was lack of confidence. Now, all of the sudden, he wasn't only a player who performs well - he was also a Terran hope for the whole Proleague! It looked like
Flash, Hwasin, FBH and friends have left some free space for another T by underperforming - and skinny Leta fit in that place at the right moment.Leaping forward, Leta again met his ugly fate of individual league choker.
fOrGG and Iris kicked him out of the MSL and in OSL, he was forced to play tiebreakers despite going 2-1 in Group B. He lost two decisive games in unimpressive style and left the field wandering how he could be beaten by hero, who earlier lost their 'regular' Group Match.But things were about to change.
![[image loading]](http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/482/leve3.jpg)
"Right now, Leta has it all. Fear him." - Manifesto7
![[image loading]](http://img685.imageshack.us/img685/1306/leta3.jpg)
Leta: carrying the towel and never throwing it.
Six appearances in Power Ranking. An unofficial title of Ace Match Bonjwa. Impressive TvT record. Crap ton of enemy workers killed. Thousands of fans screaming in joy. Those were Leta's scalps in 2009. But to explain this nuclear bang of form, we must swing back into 2008/2009 MSL. That was truly impressive run of little Terran, who dismantled Zerg after Zerg and then went on to beat
Flash in 1/8 Final. Then it was Luxury, who popped out. "Just another Zerg". Maybe.![[image loading]](http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/8214/solskjaer.jpg)
They called this dude "Baby-faced killer". Got the analogy?
Let me show my bias for a while: Leta was better player back then. If Luxury played straight-up games, he would probably die like 1-3 or 0-3. Yet, he went for unorthodox strats: 4-Pool, one game miraculously saved with Muta harass and one (beautiful, I admit) fake that might have been revealed if Leta put some more thought into that game. Luxury won by outsmarting Leta, but this doesn't neglect the fact that he played medicore games; frankly speaking, it's strange that he eventually won that tournament. Maybe because+ Show Spoiler +
...in that particular MSL, every player sucked?
+ Show Spoiler +Leta <Byzantium 2> Luxury
Byzantium is a map we can expect only one thing from. Cross map positions and a handbook macro game. Leta's standard play is strong enough to keep Luxury contained despite the distance between the bases. Extra points for Shin Sang Moon for pulling off firebathero in the end. Yes, firebathero. NOT firebathero!
+ Show Spoiler +![[image loading]](http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/6352/firebat.jpg)
"Is something burnin'?"
Leta <Byzantium 2> LuxuryByzantium is a map we can expect only one thing from. Cross map positions and a handbook macro game. Leta's standard play is strong enough to keep Luxury contained despite the distance between the bases. Extra points for Shin Sang Moon for pulling off firebathero in the end. Yes, firebathero. NOT firebathero!+ Show Spoiler +
"Is something burnin'?"
Meanwhile, in the Proleague...
+ Show Spoiler +Leta <Byzantium 2> GuemChi
The same map, the same race of his enemy. Pretty similiar strategy as against Stork, but this time applied in a desperate situation. Still, Protoss dude certainly hasn't done his homework. Let me use a quote again:
+ Show Spoiler +![[image loading]](http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/1141/probe.jpg)
"Guemchi, YOU MUST CONSTRUCT ADDITIONALPYLONS PROBES!!"
Leta <Byzantium 2> GuemChiThe same map, the same race of his enemy. Pretty similiar strategy as against Stork, but this time applied in a desperate situation. Still, Protoss dude certainly hasn't done his homework. Let me use a quote again:
On February 02 2009 10:20 Manifesto7 wrote:
After getting his expo shoved back in his face, Leta used a single dropship, handful of vultures, and a swig of devil juice to harass Guemchi to little pieces.
After getting his expo shoved back in his face, Leta used a single dropship, handful of vultures, and a swig of devil juice to harass Guemchi to little pieces.
+ Show Spoiler +
"Guemchi, YOU MUST CONSTRUCT ADDITIONAL
...Leta was raping. It was like watching chess Grandmaster, who keeps examining lesser players by constantly applying the pressure till they can't take it anymore. Except that Starcraft isn't chess. It's a fast-paced game. And fast-paced games with Terran seizing the initiative and never relinquishing it - that's what we could watch as long as this guy was on fire.
(Below: list of Progamers beaten by Leta in 2008 SPL Ace Matches.)
+ Show Spoiler +
![[image loading]](http://img63.imageshack.us/img63/2112/leve4.jpg)
"The two Starport Wraith into bionic build is really ahead of its time." - UpMagic
![[image loading]](http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/820/wraith1.jpg)
Multiply this x2. And then x4. And then substract some workers in your base.
On May 12 2009 03:27 Smix wrote:
Q: What do zerg have to do in order to block this?
A: They’ll just have to practice a lot in order to properly block it. (laughs)
Q: What do zerg have to do in order to block this?
A: They’ll just have to practice a lot in order to properly block it. (laughs)
Yeah, it easy to say that. But in fact, Leta did the unthinkable: he turned awkward "paper planes" into big-gun weapon. Maybe because he regrets he didn't picked Zerg as his main race. But as long as maps were good enough to play it, he kept 2-Porting The Swarm. When finally his era of dominance ended, all top-tier Zergs were already schooled how to deal with Wraiths. And those who weren't... They kept losing. Just as
ZerO: real hotshot Zerg of today:+ Show Spoiler +Leta <Outsider> ZerO
Outsider requires special measures for TvZ, as Zerg can grab additional Gas easily and abuse their Overlord-drop abilities later in the game. But who cares about that if you have Gosu Wraith control and superior multitasking? Yeah, Shark invented Muta stacking, but Leta re-invented Wraith stacking...
+ Show Spoiler +![[image loading]](http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/2998/wraith2.jpg)
Leta in Marine powersuit. Below, his another nickname.
Leta <Outsider> ZerOOutsider requires special measures for TvZ, as Zerg can grab additional Gas easily and abuse their Overlord-drop abilities later in the game. But who cares about that if you have Gosu Wraith control and superior multitasking? Yeah, Shark invented Muta stacking, but Leta re-invented Wraith stacking...+ Show Spoiler +
Leta in Marine powersuit. Below, his another nickname.
And trust me: 2-Port is only for ballers. ONLY! Everytime, I tried to be as tricky as Leta with it, I got raped. This build is really for Gosus, so I can imagine how hard it was to master, even though Sang Moon hyung was preparing it for years. Talk about the difference between Progamers and us, mortals.
Now that this build was figured out by the Zerg, we were quickly approaching the sad curve...
![[image loading]](http://img718.imageshack.us/img718/5443/leve5.jpg)
"Recently when I fell into a slump I came to realize how valuable a win really is." - Leta
![[image loading]](http://img203.imageshack.us/img203/5408/leta4.jpg)
Stoicism: Leta in a good mood despite the loss.
When it all went wrong? When Hite turned from PL silver medalist to average mid-table team?? Well, I'll tell you: it was the moment Leta stopped performing. Following his disappointing tracks, players like
HoGiL, Horang2 and YellOw[ArnC] went into slump, depriving Sparkyz from top league spots. But why Leta wasn't such a beast anymore? Simply speaking, the other teams kept sending Protoss against him. And TvP is his only major weakness: 48.28% of wins won't impress any other progamer, maybe with an exception of firebathero...![[image loading]](http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/5522/slump.jpg)
This image is self-explanatory.
And yes, Leta lost so much confidence, he suddenly started failing against Zerg! Losing OSL Quarterfinals to his teammate
type-b, being eliminated from Korean WCG Qualifiers by Kwanro and getting smashed by Jaedong in both PL Matches and MSL group, where Leta also faced his another nemesis - fantasy.The Failure Tendency continued in late 2009 and early 2010: but this time, it was different. You can't really blame Leta: his opponents were just plainly decent. Just look at this entertaining picture from EVER OSL 2009, where it was
Pure, who stopped Hite Terran in a tight encounter:+ Show Spoiler +Leta <Heartbreak Ridge> Pure
A must-watch game.Heartbreak Ridge as a venue of TvP madness, with both players giving their best and showing off pretty much everything their races have in arsenals. Even though the ending is anti-climatic, this fight deserves big recommendation.
+ Show Spoiler +![[image loading]](http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/8756/kaboomk.jpg)
Quoting Pure: "I didn't even realized that I was Nuked. Suddenly, my 5 o'clock base has disappeared and I was like: WTF? I thought the Tanks raped it"
Leta <Heartbreak Ridge> PureA must-watch game.
Heartbreak Ridge as a venue of TvP madness, with both players giving their best and showing off pretty much everything their races have in arsenals. Even though the ending is anti-climatic, this fight deserves big recommendation.+ Show Spoiler +
Quoting Pure: "I didn't even realized that I was Nuked. Suddenly, my 5 o'clock base has disappeared and I was like: WTF? I thought the Tanks raped it"
2010 saw Leta going out of both MSL and OSL against
hyvaa and Hydra. Both series were truly interesting and full of surprising Zerg play, showing that Shin Sang Moon gets in trouble once things are going in strange direction. But let me say this as a fanboy: dealing with weird play is something you learn way easier than polishing your 'straight-up' skills. When Leta will learn from his mistakes, he will come back stronger than ever. And when he does...![[image loading]](http://img691.imageshack.us/img691/6348/leve6.jpg)
"Leta drinks a lot. He always brags about how he never gets a blackout." - UpMagic
![[image loading]](http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/4095/leta5.jpg)
Beauties? Hell yeah, let me have a photo with you. Goin' straight to my wallet...
...he will rape again. I BELIEVE! Yes, I am true fanboy. Let me explain you why: because Leta is awesome. He is rollin' with second-most-cool-Terran-in-Korea -
UpMaGiC. He can drink more alcohol than me. He hangs out with cuties. And when he wants to pause a game, he types 'pp',, not giving a sh*t about dumb KeSPA rules. Sometimes, he is being accused of cheating. Sometimes, he loses by disqualification. I don't care. For God's sake, how one can not cheer for a dude, who is accidental hero of this interview:On September 18 2009 08:01 l10f wrote:
Leta: I never was ashamed of being Upmagic's friend.
Upmagic: You're destroying my image once again.
Leta: That was the point of the statement.
Leta: I never was ashamed of being Upmagic's friend.
Upmagic: You're destroying my image once again.
Leta: That was the point of the statement.
And just to stres it: he still is capable of dominating after walking into the booth:
+ Show Spoiler +Leta <Neo Moon Glaive> Flash
What can I say? This game was the sole reason Leta made it into last Power Rank. A revenge for previous defeat against Flash, that occured after dramatic turn of events. Yeah, maybeMoon Glaive has some positional imbalance in it, but you can't deny that Leta did 110% in this game and in the match, delivering ALL-KILL!
+ Show Spoiler +
Leta <Neo Moon Glaive> FlashWhat can I say? This game was the sole reason Leta made it into last Power Rank. A revenge for previous defeat against Flash, that occured after dramatic turn of events. Yeah, maybe
Moon Glaive has some positional imbalance in it, but you can't deny that Leta did 110% in this game and in the match, delivering ALL-KILL!+ Show Spoiler +
UPDATE: Leta just won two sexy games against
great and firebathero in Proleague. I'm telling you, he will comeback and destroy everyone with his ...and *cough* Jaedong *cough*
Jaedong *cough*You just sit and watch!
+ Show Spoiler [Closing Notes] +
Thanks for Zatic, Baezzi, NeverGG, Konadora, p4NDemik;
Without you, this one would not be possible.
C'mon, give me a Beta Key ;-)
If you won't, I will keep writing huge articles till your servers explode kekeke...
But if you will... Well, I'll do the same.
FOR THE COMMUNITY!
Without you, this one would not be possible.
C'mon, give me a Beta Key ;-)
If you won't, I will keep writing huge articles till your servers explode kekeke...
But if you will... Well, I'll do the same.
FOR THE COMMUNITY!
(ofc I'm CJ fanboy but there was this 
