On September 09 2013 23:19 PIJAMA wrote: Bisu, I am pretty sure you are not going to read this, but 2006 was the most difficult year in my life. I used to work fixing computer, lived in a shitty hotel and barely had enough money to buy food. At that time, I had been watching starcraft for about an year and it was my only pleasure. Savior was the unbeatable dictator of the game. When you destroyed him at MSL finals, it changed my life. Your bisu build was just so perfect, it made me think nothing is impossible. You gave me inspiration and courage to move on. Today I have a good job and live in a nice place. I just want to say thank you. You will always be the best protoss ever! The only truth revolutionist!
On September 09 2013 23:19 PIJAMA wrote: Bisu, I am pretty sure you are not going to read this, but 2006 was the most difficult year in my life. I used to work fixing computer, lived in a shitty hotel and barely had enough money to buy food. At that time, I had been watching starcraft for about an year and it was my only pleasure. Savior was the unbeatable dictator of the game. When you destroyed him at MSL finals, it changed my life. Your bisu build was just so perfect, it made me think nothing is impossible. You gave me inspiration and courage to move on. Today I have a good job and live in a nice place. I just want to say thank you. You will always be the best protoss ever! The only truth revolutionist!
On September 10 2013 02:50 hifriend wrote: His PvZ was hands down the most awesome thing I ever saw in bw. In sc2, I just think he picked the wrong race.
Or maybe it wasn't fun for him while trying to make it a living. I mean he did have a choice to change race instead of retiring.
Well it's a lot of work switching at this point but I think he would have been more successful had he switched right away. But sure he might not have enjoyed the game at all, that's bound to happen with a few of those guys.
On September 09 2013 21:58 Caihead wrote: I initially wrote a 3 page reply but it went too off topic. Generally I think that it's too self indulgent and selfish for fans to assume that progamers who started their careers at 14-18 had the capacity and assets to make life long decisions regarding their education, career paths, and personal outlooks and responsibilities in life. It's also delusional to think that any hobby or sport should always be popular, especially with a mainstream audience. There are many problems with the esports industry right now which are common with the vices of the entertainment industry, namely that there isn't any "way out" or plan being offered to retiring progamers at all, and not enough attention is given to the personal development of progamers/athletes outside of their one technical field.
There is something futile in the effort to debate fans on a website dedicated to fandom around the specific industry I'm forced to be skeptical of, but right now in terms of making rational responsible decisions esports is still not a field that I would ever recommend to anyone to participate in. Bisu is one of those players who's enjoyed success and shows genuine passion so it's an easy sell for a feel good story, but I don't agree with the attitude of some of the response here. That's all.
I think you're wrong. All A-team players have their board paid for them and a small salary they don't have to touch and can let grow while they're playing. For someone like Bisu, he's going to have a lot more in the bank (especially being popular enough to have done advertisements).
All of them know the path of a progamer is hard, and had that beaten into their head by their parents for ages until they finally convinced them to let them have a chance. b-teamers who don't make it lose a few months to a year of their life and give up.
It is like traveling. It's a hell of an experience and it looks ok on your resume, but it doesn't directly advance your long term career options. That doesn't make it bad. What's bad is being told to go to a country you didn't want to go to for a year ;p Now Bisu can go back to his life and figure things out.
With his looks and popularity tho, he could honestly go into k-drama or the like after his military service. Bisu is one person who had a lot of options. The time to feel sorry for these players was a year ago ;p Now as their contracts expire they get to choose what they want to do. I don't have the insight to say whether or not bisu put his heart into practicing SC2 and it just didn't click, but I do know if I were dominant player in BW who'd paid all my dues and come out of a slump with such convincing play, I'd have a hard time forgiving my luck that made all that hard work unusable. So again... if there's anything to feel sorry about, it's that he had to waste so much time the last year instead of starting the next stage of his life sooner. Him being free from that and people being happy for him is not necessarily self-indulgent. He doesn't necessarily have to play BW, but if he does it'll be like all the other expros playing BW... mainly as a hobby and for fun. Nothing tragic about that.
Drop the speculation, here comes a translation! (shit that rhymes) *edit: ALSO THIS WAS MY 6K POST NOOOOO BISU YOU BETTER MAKE UP FOR IT
Source: Fomos Article by Reporter Myung-Hoon Kang Pictures not included because go click that link above and give the poor site some traffic.
The Reasons Behind the Retirement of Bisu, the 'Revolutionist'
Immediately following the retirement of Taek-Yong 'Revolutionist' Kim (Bisu) on the 9th, many have been speculating his reasons for doing so.
While on a break after the conclusion of SK Planet StarCraft 2 Proleague 12-13 Season, Bisu confirmed that he will not continue his career as a progamer. It is truly unfortunate, but this has been somewhat expected for a while now.
When Bisu did not attend the recent progamer ethics education seminars or general events, fans have been worrying about a possible retirement. They all knew that Bisu's career was on a downhill ever since the transition from StarCraft BroodWar to StarCraft 2. Again, Bisu was nowhere to be found in the most recent SKT1 volunteer activity. No longer a rumour, Bisu has indeed retired.
To the point, what are his reasons for retirement? The first thing to come to mind is the salary negotiation. As a top star/ace who enjoyed 6-figure (in dollars) salaries before, he would have a tough time dealing with his massively deflated value. It is only natural for any player to consider retirement if he cannot handle such a downfall. However, it was confirmed with SKT1 management that all player salary/contract negotiations and renewals are typically completed by the end of September, and that they have not started the negotiations with any of their players. In other words, Bisu announced his retirement prior to any salary/contract negotiations.
If money is not the problem, then we can turn to other common themes around the retirement of old boys' of the scene: declining motivations and military service. In fact, Bisu's teammate Best announced his retirement in July, saying that "it's hard to play like before" and also acknowledging the military service obligation. Bisu's situation is not too far from Best's, which brings some understanding to his retirement reasons. Ever since the switch to SC2, Bisu has mentioned in several interviews that "motivations are hard to come by."
In the midst of the hardship, we also must acknowledge that the trademark game of Korean eSports is now League of Legends. Even without drawing comparisons, it's not hard to see that the popularity of SC2 has declined severely. After the complete transition, the stats from SK Planet SC2PL 12-13 season show a grim picture. The number of live attendees is embarrassingly low, especially for weekday matches scheduled in the Shin-do-rim center. There are supposedly a decent number of viewers online, but it doesn't even come close for the star players who enjoyed immense success and recognition from SC1. To be blunt, there is no way that another PL finals can be held in Gwang-ahn-ri with SC2.
An insider from SKT1 confirmed that "the steep decline in the number of fans had a negative effect on the motivation of players, including Bisu." He added that "regrettably, at the current state, it will become even harder for the players who still remember the glorious past to continue their progaming careers."
On September 10 2013 07:25 OpticalShot wrote: Drop the speculation, here comes a translation! (shit that rhymes) *edit: ALSO THIS WAS MY 6K POST NOOOOO BISU YOU BETTER MAKE UP FOR IT
Source: Fomos Article by Reporter Myung-Hoon Kang Pictures not included because go click that link above and give the poor site some traffic.
The Reasons Behind the Retirement of Bisu, the 'Revolutionist'
Immediately following the retirement of Taek-Yong 'Revolutionist' Kim (Bisu) on the 9th, many have been speculating his reasons for doing so.
While on a break after the conclusion of SK Planet StarCraft 2 Proleague 12-13 Season, Bisu confirmed that he will not continue his career as a progamer. It is truly unfortunate, but this has been somewhat expected for a while now.
When Bisu did not attend the recent progamer ethics education seminars or general events, fans have been worrying about a possible retirement. They all knew that Bisu's career was on a downhill ever since the transition from StarCraft BroodWar to StarCraft 2. Again, Bisu was nowhere to be found in the most recent SKT1 volunteer activity. No longer a rumour, Bisu has indeed retired.
To the point, what are his reasons for retirement? The first thing to come to mind is the salary negotiation. As a top star/ace who enjoyed 6-figure (in dollars) salaries before, he would have a tough time dealing with his massively deflated value. It is only natural for any player to consider retirement if he cannot handle such a downfall. However, it was confirmed with SKT1 management that all player salary/contract negotiations and renewals are typically completed by the end of September, and that they have not started the negotiations with any of their players. In other words, Bisu announced his retirement prior to any salary/contract negotiations.
If money is not the problem, then we can turn to other common themes around the retirement of old boys' of the scene: declining motivations and military service. In fact, Bisu's teammate Best announced his retirement in July, saying that "it's hard to play like before" and also acknowledging the military service obligation. Bisu's situation is not too far from Best's, which brings some understanding to his retirement reasons. Ever since the switch to SC2, Bisu has mentioned in several interviews that "motivations are hard to come by."
In the midst of the hardship, we also must acknowledge that the trademark game of Korean eSports is now League of Legends. Even without drawing comparisons, it's not hard to see that the popularity of SC2 has declined severely. After the complete transition, the stats from SK Planet SC2PL 12-13 season show a grim picture. The number of live attendees is embarrassingly low, especially for weekday matches scheduled in the Shin-do-rim center. There are supposedly a decent number of viewers online, but it doesn't even come close for the star players who enjoyed immense success and recognition from SC1. To be blunt, there is no way that another PL finals can be held in Gwang-ahn-ri with SC2.
An insider from SKT1 confirmed that "the steep decline in the number of fans had a negative effect on the motivation of players, including Bisu." He added that "regrettably, at the current state, it will become even harder for the players who still remember the glorious past to continue their progaming careers."
On September 10 2013 07:25 OpticalShot wrote: Drop the speculation, here comes a translation! (shit that rhymes) *edit: ALSO THIS WAS MY 6K POST NOOOOO BISU YOU BETTER MAKE UP FOR IT
Source: Fomos Article by Reporter Myung-Hoon Kang Pictures not included because go click that link above and give the poor site some traffic.
The Reasons Behind the Retirement of Bisu, the 'Revolutionist'
Immediately following the retirement of Taek-Yong 'Revolutionist' Kim (Bisu) on the 9th, many have been speculating his reasons for doing so.
While on a break after the conclusion of SK Planet StarCraft 2 Proleague 12-13 Season, Bisu confirmed that he will not continue his career as a progamer. It is truly unfortunate, but this has been somewhat expected for a while now.
When Bisu did not attend the recent progamer ethics education seminars or general events, fans have been worrying about a possible retirement. They all knew that Bisu's career was on a downhill ever since the transition from StarCraft BroodWar to StarCraft 2. Again, Bisu was nowhere to be found in the most recent SKT1 volunteer activity. No longer a rumour, Bisu has indeed retired.
To the point, what are his reasons for retirement? The first thing to come to mind is the salary negotiation. As a top star/ace who enjoyed 6-figure (in dollars) salaries before, he would have a tough time dealing with his massively deflated value. It is only natural for any player to consider retirement if he cannot handle such a downfall. However, it was confirmed with SKT1 management that all player salary/contract negotiations and renewals are typically completed by the end of September, and that they have not started the negotiations with any of their players. In other words, Bisu announced his retirement prior to any salary/contract negotiations.
If money is not the problem, then we can turn to other common themes around the retirement of old boys' of the scene: declining motivations and military service. In fact, Bisu's teammate Best announced his retirement in July, saying that "it's hard to play like before" and also acknowledging the military service obligation. Bisu's situation is not too far from Best's, which brings some understanding to his retirement reasons. Ever since the switch to SC2, Bisu has mentioned in several interviews that "motivations are hard to come by."
In the midst of the hardship, we also must acknowledge that the trademark game of Korean eSports is now League of Legends. Even without drawing comparisons, it's not hard to see that the popularity of SC2 has declined severely. After the complete transition, the stats from SK Planet SC2PL 12-13 season show a grim picture. The number of live attendees is embarrassingly low, especially for weekday matches scheduled in the Shin-do-rim center. There are supposedly a decent number of viewers online, but it doesn't even come close for the star players who enjoyed immense success and recognition from SC1. To be blunt, there is no way that another PL finals can be held in Gwang-ahn-ri with SC2.
An insider from SKT1 confirmed that "the steep decline in the number of fans had a negative effect on the motivation of players, including Bisu." He added that "regrettably, at the current state, it will become even harder for the players who still remember the glorious past to continue their progaming careers."
On September 10 2013 07:25 OpticalShot wrote: Drop the speculation, here comes a translation! (shit that rhymes) *edit: ALSO THIS WAS MY 6K POST NOOOOO BISU YOU BETTER MAKE UP FOR IT
Source: Fomos Article by Reporter Myung-Hoon Kang Pictures not included because go click that link above and give the poor site some traffic.
The Reasons Behind the Retirement of Bisu, the 'Revolutionist'
Immediately following the retirement of Taek-Yong 'Revolutionist' Kim (Bisu) on the 9th, many have been speculating his reasons for doing so.
While on a break after the conclusion of SK Planet StarCraft 2 Proleague 12-13 Season, Bisu confirmed that he will not continue his career as a progamer. It is truly unfortunate, but this has been somewhat expected for a while now.
When Bisu did not attend the recent progamer ethics education seminars or general events, fans have been worrying about a possible retirement. They all knew that Bisu's career was on a downhill ever since the transition from StarCraft BroodWar to StarCraft 2. Again, Bisu was nowhere to be found in the most recent SKT1 volunteer activity. No longer a rumour, Bisu has indeed retired.
To the point, what are his reasons for retirement? The first thing to come to mind is the salary negotiation. As a top star/ace who enjoyed 6-figure (in dollars) salaries before, he would have a tough time dealing with his massively deflated value. It is only natural for any player to consider retirement if he cannot handle such a downfall. However, it was confirmed with SKT1 management that all player salary/contract negotiations and renewals are typically completed by the end of September, and that they have not started the negotiations with any of their players. In other words, Bisu announced his retirement prior to any salary/contract negotiations.
If money is not the problem, then we can turn to other common themes around the retirement of old boys' of the scene: declining motivations and military service. In fact, Bisu's teammate Best announced his retirement in July, saying that "it's hard to play like before" and also acknowledging the military service obligation. Bisu's situation is not too far from Best's, which brings some understanding to his retirement reasons. Ever since the switch to SC2, Bisu has mentioned in several interviews that "motivations are hard to come by."
In the midst of the hardship, we also must acknowledge that the trademark game of Korean eSports is now League of Legends. Even without drawing comparisons, it's not hard to see that the popularity of SC2 has declined severely. After the complete transition, the stats from SK Planet SC2PL 12-13 season show a grim picture. The number of live attendees is embarrassingly low, especially for weekday matches scheduled in the Shin-do-rim center. There are supposedly a decent number of viewers online, but it doesn't even come close for the star players who enjoyed immense success and recognition from SC1. To be blunt, there is no way that another PL finals can be held in Gwang-ahn-ri with SC2.
An insider from SKT1 confirmed that "the steep decline in the number of fans had a negative effect on the motivation of players, including Bisu." He added that "regrettably, at the current state, it will become even harder for the players who still remember the glorious past to continue their progaming careers."
but thats actually just more speculation?
to be fair, the part about the contract probably wasn't(if it was indeed end of Sept for negotiations and such).
Article as a whole may be a speculative kind of thing, but it does present a number of factors that are based on observations, facts, and past interviews. I guess that's the point.
EPT
