SK Planet PL S2 June Roster

On June 14 2012 13:20 Moridin wrote:
WTF Rush why?

On June 14 2012 13:30 GTR wrote:
Oh, and Ggaemo is on waivers due to being on Hwaseung before going to ACE. Don't think anyone is going to pick him up, effectively making him retired.

On June 14 2012 13:57 2yph0n wrote:
Woah both Grape and Rush gave up on ProLeague and now they are even unlisted from the bench. I always liked Grape, he looked so handsome from the OSL intro. Rush displayed some sick Terran vs Protoss strategy against Mini a la Iloveoov. Why are Rookies leaving the scene left and right? They are still young!

On June 14 2012 14:38 rOse_PedaL wrote:
isnt Grape the guy who defeated FlaSh?

On June 14 2012 13:38 OopsOopsBaby wrote:
surprised to see rush and grape. considering they are potential royal roaders.

On June 14 2012 15:56 ninini wrote:

How well they play in BW is irrelevant. It makes a lot of sense for them to retire, since they worked so hard in BW and just got their break. They did all that hard work for nothing. Grape, Mini, Rush, Reality, Last, Soulkey, Snow etc are the big losers in this switch, since they were the next generation. I'm surprised that not more players are retiring, we've had like 5 major retires now after the switch, but more of them will retire when this season is over. The question is how many more.

On June 14 2012 15:56 ninini wrote:

How well they play in BW is irrelevant. It makes a lot of sense for them to retire, since they worked so hard in BW and just got their break. They did all that hard work for nothing. Grape, Mini, Rush, Reality, Last, Soulkey, Snow etc are the big losers in this switch, since they were the next generation. I'm surprised that not more players are retiring, we've had like 5 major retires now after the switch, but more of them will retire when this season is over. The question is how many more.

On June 14 2012 20:41 Sawamura wrote:
Happy times I guess ?

On June 14 2012 21:31 Kittan wrote:
Grape and Rush? Guess they did not achieve as much as they wanted in the OSL... Or have they decided that it would be their last one regardless of achievements? Sad for them either way.

WHY GGAEMO, WHY? Who will lost infinite hydras to mines now

On June 14 2012 13:41 MountainDewJunkie wrote:
GGaemo too? This is pretty much the worst news since Killer retired. Which was the worst news since Hiya retired, which....

On June 14 2012 22:38 Kanil wrote:

... was the worst news since Hwaseung disbanded, which was the worst news since BackHo retired...

I think we all expected more retirements, and it seems we're getting them. Sad news, but all the news is sad these days.

On June 14 2012 13:59 Rain... wrote:
LOL BONG

On June 15 2012 00:30 StarStruck wrote:


Bias.

I can think of at least five other things within the last 12 months that have had a bigger impact or stink of stupidity.

On June 15 2012 07:06 Kiett wrote:
To think I spent all that time writing about how Grape had to step it up to be Khan's 3rd Protoss in line this season with Brave gone... and then this happens.

Khan's mighty Protoss line has declined to half its previous size. Gone are the days where they can send out P in 68% of the games they play :<

On June 14 2012 15:56 ninini wrote:

How well they play in BW is irrelevant. It makes a lot of sense for them to retire, since they worked so hard in BW and just got their break. They did all that hard work for nothing. Grape, Mini, Rush, Reality, Last, Soulkey, Snow etc are the big losers in this switch, since they were the next generation. I'm surprised that not more players are retiring, we've had like 5 major retires now after the switch, but more of them will retire when this season is over. The question is how many more.

On June 15 2012 09:51 bokchoi wrote:
c) Removed players don't like the hybrid system and would like to focus their full attention on SC2 and leave the KeSPA system, and join perhaps a Korean SC2 which offers much more freedom

On June 15 2012 10:18 Ribbon wrote:


There's no reason to leave a KeSPA team (which pays) for a GOM team (which doesn't), and none of the people who retired are likely to be able to join foreign teams.

It's either

1. Removed players don't like SC2, and have decided to step down rather than play it
2. Removed players are not good at SC2, and have been demoted to B-team until they shape up.
3. Removed players are thinking of retiring anyway, and it has nothing to do with SC2 (this is unlikely, but who knows)

On June 15 2012 10:30 Gosi wrote:
Yeah I hope not all of them are retirements. Maybe some players just can't handle the hybrid league format and stepped down from the PL lineup to cool down a bit and just practice sc2 instead of having the stress to compete and put up results in both BW and sc2. But it feels like this is wishful thinking.

On June 15 2012 13:31 GTR wrote:
So uh, I just read on FOMOS that Grape is going to retire from BW and move into a house with Brave and Point to play League of Legends or some shit.

On June 15 2012 12:32 Ribbon wrote:


Could be that some teams are saying this format is so stupid they're not going to take it seriously anymore, and just focus on being the next season winner.

Plus practicing for OS2L. Very few KeSPA players have a chance of qualifying with the GOM players able to compete. It would be humiliating if the Ro32 in the OS2L were entirely non-KeSPA players. Naniwa's in Korea, and Thorzain might be, and even Stephano might be attracted by a his-if-he-wants-it Code S invite alongside an OS2L. SC2 is a different game from BW, but for a KeSPA player to be knocked out of the qualifiers by a foreigner would be so bad.

So, it's entirely possible, I guess, that they're just going to focus on a full switch now, and try to be ahead of the curve.

On June 15 2012 16:26 Ribbon wrote:


This post has been invalidated, apparently. KeSPA doesn't want their precious stars having to play SC2 pros in the qualifiers. ಠ_ಠ

That's humiliating, honestly. If I were a KeSPA player, I'd be pretty embarrassed about being babied like that. For all the Elephant in the Room talk, no one seems to have much confidence in the KeSPA players right now. Must be a bummer. Not only are you forced to play a new game, but you're expected to fail.

On June 15 2012 16:26 Ribbon wrote:


This post has been invalidated, apparently. KeSPA doesn't want their precious stars having to play SC2 pros in the qualifiers. ಠ_ಠ

That's humiliating, honestly. If I were a KeSPA player, I'd be pretty embarrassed about being babied like that. For all the Elephant in the Room talk, no one seems to have much confidence in the KeSPA players right now. Must be a bummer. Not only are you forced to play a new game, but you're expected to fail.

On June 15 2012 17:24 baubo wrote:


I disagree. I think it's smart to do this. One advantage that Kespa players have over most current SC2 pros is their experience in practicing specifically for particular matches. The PL/SL format focuses a lot on preparation. Whereas qualifiers are more about basic skills. I think it's much more likely for a BW veteran to beat an SC2 pro in the ODTs than in the qualifiers.

You are right, in the qualifiers where you have to beat multiple players you don't know anything about, Flash may not be able to advance out of it. But put him in a Bo3 against a Code A player where he has a week to prepare? Flash has a good shot at winning.

On June 15 2012 17:43 Funnytoss wrote:


Until Kespa players are playing SC2 full time, I wouldn't expect them to be consistently better than SC2 pros. It's just an unreasonable assumption.

On June 15 2012 21:36 figq wrote:
I keep wondering how long will it take for Starcraft fans to recognize the true BW killer, which isn't SC2, but LoL.

On June 15 2012 21:36 figq wrote:
I keep wondering how long will it take for Starcraft fans to recognize the true BW killer, which isn't SC2, but LoL.

On June 15 2012 23:19 nighcol wrote:


It was never relevant because, as you can see, the BW pros have to have their own learning time with the game even when they can look at the current SC2 pros and see how it's supposed to be played.

Still, I'd bet a lot more on them having what it takes to be at the top in SC2 than in LoL.

On June 16 2012 04:33 SpeaKEaSY wrote:
Hyuk to become a coach? I wonder how long this will last considering the SC2 transition.

On June 16 2012 04:56 figq wrote:
Yes, I am. Isn't it obvious that it was LoL that pushed aside both BW and SC2 actually. If not for LoL, there were going to still be BW leagues on OGN. But the share of RTS in Korea shrunk drastically with the invasion of LoL, and so BW was forced out, urgently. LoL also accumulated and keeps accumulating legendary champions from BW and SC2.

/as a side note, they even call their wiki "Leaguepedia", how far can they go with the mimicry of established brands/

On June 16 2012 04:56 figq wrote:
Yes, I am. Isn't it obvious that it was LoL that pushed aside both BW and SC2 actually. If not for LoL, there were going to still be BW leagues on OGN. But the share of RTS in Korea shrunk drastically with the invasion of LoL, and so BW was forced out, urgently. LoL also accumulated and keeps accumulating legendary champions from BW and SC2.

On June 16 2012 05:12 jpak wrote:If you're just butthurt because LoL is becoming huge in Korea while SC2 has been stagnant, then take a good long look at what Blizzard did wrong and what Riot did right in Korea.

On June 16 2012 06:42 Ribbon wrote:


Riot had a game with a F2P model and fronted the prize money for tournaments themselves. (Indeed, this is why MLG doesn't carry Dota)

Blizzard had a game with a standard "buy it" model (though, honestly, F2P Starcraft would be horrifically bad), and didn't care about the professional scene at all for about a year beyond going "e-sports!" on occasion.

There was definitely some ball-dropping from Blizz there. In fairness, when LoL came out the Western "e-sports" scene had appeared and it made more sense to cater to it. Blizz only cared about pro SC2 because "Koreans love Starcraft!" is a meme. I think everyone's going to have to step their game up, though, as the competition for a good Pro Game is getting more heated.

I sincerely think a legitimate successor to BW is going to arise in the next 5 years or so. There's so much more reward for it now, that everyone's going to try.

On June 16 2012 07:17 jpak wrote:


I will just say one thing: PC Bangs. PC Bangs are at the center of Korean gaming and Blizzard screwed up big time by alienating them in the beginning of SC2.

Riot, on the other hand, catered to them by having everything unlocked when someone plays in a Korean PC Bang.

On June 15 2012 21:36 figq wrote:
I keep wondering how long will it take for Starcraft fans to recognize the true BW killer, which isn't SC2, but LoL.