EPT
Translated from Chinese by wooyeon: http://s.163.com/13/1001/01/9A2JU1DD00314Q8T.html
When it comes to the shining stars of esports, one can not simply look past
Bisu. There is no Protoss player that can match his experience and notability, some even call him the "Post BoxeR".![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/T6GKPEd.jpg)
But now he has become a "legend", because he announced his retirement not long before. What will Bisu do and go is what fans are suspecting. Finally Bisu decides to speak up. He isn't a person that likes interviews, and he has very high self-esteem, so doing the retirement interview under the impression of no significant results in Starcraft II would only bear a huge burden on him. So after some time for him to collect his thoughts, the journalist dialed his number.
Surprisingly, Bisu sounds calm. He accepted the interview without second thought, "I understand." Before his retirement, the journalist asked Bisu for an interview but he declined, but he thinks it would be very unpolite to the fans if he doesn't say something now.
Three weeks after retiring, Bisu now has no burdens, he talked very openly during the interview, in a very different atmosphere.
"I don't want to just talk about the past"
Bisu refused to talk about his retirement for a reason, he doesn't want to just talk about BW because his results in SC2 was disappointing, and he hasn't settled down his mood yet, and doesn't know what to say.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/RMW3474.jpg)
"As a pro-gamer, you can't just talk about the past, for fans and himself, it isn't a good thing. And the interview would be very limited if you do that. I need time to think about the future and the present."
"Please don't misunderstand me (laughs). Sure because of my character someone might misunderstand, but I don't really meant to stay a lurker. I was just having a headache about what to say to my fans, how to explain my current situation. Yeah my worries hasn't really settled down but at least I can say what I want to my fans."
The journalist was worrying about the interview going into something too formal, but Bisu calmed him down. He was more honest than ever, speaking about his stories one piece by one piece.
"My heart went away with the fans."
Bisu loves Brood War more than anyone. But he had to move on to Starcraft II, which made him tired, the fans' support kept him going.
"I'm not a person who excels at impressions, but honestly I thank my fans from the deepest of my heart. My heart would ponder going into the stadium full of fans, how happy would it be to play in a stadium filled with cheers of the fans. So I kept up my career going despite the obstacles. The fans are the stim that keeps me going."
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/vS2SsfI.jpg)
But Proleague rapidly loses fandom after transitioning into SC2. After less than a month, there were only half the fans coming to watch the games.
"Not only me, the other players felt this too. Seeing the emply stadium, the motives of playing just isn't there anymore. Without an audience in sight, we lose our meaning to play the matches."
A lot of people, including Bisu, were surprised by the declining of viewership. At first Bisu thought fans might come back slowly, but one day he realized they left for good. The players with the most fans like him, knows about this feeling more than anyone.
"Fans are leaving, what's the meaning of me stay here to play? I feel hollow in my heart, a feeling I never had during Brood War times, being a pro-gamer no longer ignites the fire in my heart."
Bisu came up with the thought of retiring near the end of the the season. He finally realized, the support of fans is what keeps him continuing his career.
Being part of TBLS, the burden is massive.
Interestingly, before Bisu announced his retirement, Flash, Jaedong and Stork gave the same response, no one asked "why". Because they understand this "why" better than anyone, so no one persuaded him to stay.
"To be honest I won't be surprised if Flash hyung and Stork hyung retire right now. Anyone who knows them won't be surprised. The burden on us is beyond imagination."
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/T1iNuaa.jpg)
If Bisu is just a practice partner or an average A-Teamer, he might not retire. But as a member of TBLS, the most elite among esports players, he receive huge attention from his numerous fans.
"I'm under the pressure of proving myself. Even losing a single match stresses me and frustrates me, thinking about going forward like this make my heart heavier. I can't see hopes of improving, just the increasing pressure, it was really painful."
Not only him, Stork, Jaedong and Flash were facing the same thing, they were disappointed with themselves as well.
"I retire because I can't deal with the pressure, but I hope the other three can perform better. I think the fans are hoping this as well. I hope the fans could give them more support and less blaming, because the love of fans is what keeps pro gamers alive."
"I'm happy, I hope fans are happy too."
Bisu doesn't cry a lot. But after deciding to retire, when teammates and others say "it was hard for you these days", he cried. Bisu understands that showing them the happy Bisu is what's best for the fans and esports.
"Now, think about it, the love I receive is truly unimaginable, I can't possibly repay that with my entire life, that's really something big (laughs). How would I repay that? So I started to stream, so I could be closer to my fans, lets have some fun before I leave. And I can play the Brood War I love, so the fans would be happy too isn't it?"
Bisu isn't fully getting used to BW yet, but he will improve for the fans that want to see the old him. After recovering a bit he might consider playing in SSL.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/xDHtM6L.jpg)
"Fans would be disappointed if I attend tournaments now with my current skill. I will practice hard to deliver exciting games, that's why I'm streaming. Some people say I might came for money, but I came here to deliver my heart so I don't really care about those comments."
At the beginning of the interview Bisu said because he was underperforming in SC2, he worried about not having much to say, but he spoke his true thought bit by bit.
"I'm really happy to be able to leave with all these sweet memories. Whatever I do from now on, is probably gonna be accompanied by the memories of Bisu the pro-gamer. Fans would be happy knowing I'm happy now. Before you heard from me again, I hope everyone a health and happy life, thanks everyone for caring and loving me."
Additonal interviews translated by juki:
Kim Taek-Yong: "Coach Lim Yo-Hwan, I'm very sorry"
+ Show Spoiler +
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/TNpI1O4.jpg)
Kim Taek-Yong (Bisu), who retired recently, expressed his apologies to former SK Telecom T1 coach Lim Yo-Hwan (Boxer).
He said, "Shorty after my retirement, I heard that coach Lim Yo-Hwan had left the team. It felt like he had left because of me, so I felt bad about it."
Lim Yo-Hwan's care for Kim Taek-Yong was extraordinary. Placing importance on elements beyond just match results, he placed great expectations upon Kim Taek-Yong. He had even given him the title "Post Lim Yo-Hwan".
When Lim Yo-Hwan took the role of SK Telecom's head coach, his most urgent priority was to get Kim Taek-Yong back on track. Last season of Proleague, in order to improve Kim Taek-Yong's results in Starcraft 2, he told him, "I won't send you out in rounds 2 and 3, so prepare well for Heart of the Swarm."
Kim Taek-Yong was well aware that Lim Yo-Hwan was investing a great deal in reviving him. In order to respond to this trust, he stayed up late practicing for Heart of the Swarm.
However, the results were not good, and even up to the moment of retirement, Kim Taek-Yong was very sorry toward Lim Yo-Hwan who had placed so much trust in him. He was not able to tell him, and it stayed in his mind even after leaving the team.
Kim Taek-Yong said, "To coach Lim Yo-Hwan who invested so much in me without hesitation, I am forever grateful and sorry. I hope that he will do well in whatever he chooses from now on."
Original Article by Lee So-Ra sora@dailyesports.com
Kim Taek-Yong: "Don't ignore individual leagues"
+ Show Spoiler +
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/j8YqUzF.jpg)
Kim Taek-Yong told us of his regrets and advice regarding e-sports.
Prior to his retirement, as a member of "TaekBangLeeSsang" leading the world of e-sports, Kim Taek-Yong had feelings of sadness regarding the current league system. He had the opinion that the current problems were due to an inability to satisfy the content-hungry fans.
Kim Taek-Yong's first point was regarding Proleague. He said, "It's not that I don't understand the sponsors' and Kespa's point of view, but playing so many matches, the players slowly lose their personality and the fans get bored easily."
Kim Taek-Yong believes that if Proleague had just one round with an appropriate number of games, StarCraft: Brood War could also have lasted longer. With a five round Proleague requiring so many games, the players tired quickly, which lowered the quality of play and also tired out the fans.
Another point was, "Focusing on Proleague so much at the expense of individual leagues also caused problems." He said, "Progamers define their unique styles in individual leagues, not Proleague, so when teams and Kespa de-emphasize individual leagues, it's difficult for memorable games or unique players to come out."
Kim Taek-Yong also had many regrets about the switch to StarCraft 2. Players, sponsors, and organizers all shifted their concentration to future plans, which ended up making the present situation worse and worse.
"Right now, everyone needs to unite and work together, but instead they only speak outwardly about how to revive the scene, while inwardly they think, 'What will we do once everything falls apart', and so the current problems remain unsolved."
"In order to overcome the current crisis, everyone working in e-sports needs to combine their strength. I hope that e-sports and StarCraft 2 events will receive so much love as to make me regret retiring."
Original Article by Lee So-Ra sora@dailyesports.com
