Bisu has retired! - Page 11

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

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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."