EPT
Bisu fighting 
Flash’s eSports and Future
Original Article by Park Sang Jin of Xsports News
Source: http://game.xportsnews.com/?ac=article_view&entry_id=697371
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9 Years. 1 year is too short a time for mountains and rivers to shift, but such a short time is an eternity in the world of eSports. There is one person who worked harder and produced better results than any other person. That person is KT Rolster’s Starcraft player
Flash.As well as producing the best results, Flash also experienced the most as a person. However, he says he always tried his best and enjoyed those times. He’s already given much back to us, and he’s shared a lot of things at the time of his retirement. However, as I was preparing this interview, I wanted to hear things only Flash could answer.
Flash led progamers when he was the center of eSports, and he continued to lead even when the focus of eSports shifted to other places. What was it like experiencing those moments for Flash? We were curious what eSports was like through the eyes of Flash. We also wanted to know what his thoughts were on the future.
Flash calmly recollected his past throughout our long time together. He also shared his disappointments and regrets. But his face lit up when he talked about his future. As he shared about his dreams of becoming the best coach (even if it’s in a different game/field) like he was at one point the best player, I could see the Gamer Flash and not the BJ Flash.
Continuing from part 1, this interview discusses Flash’s important moments of his career, his thoughts on eSports, and his own future.
You’ve returned as a normal civilian after your retirement last December. How do you feel when you see your fellow peers who have continued the path of progamer?.
They’re truly extraordinary people. I’ve walked that path before, and I know how hard that path is. Normal people question how hard playing games could be, but people who say those things don’t know how hard and challenging the task is to work at one thing harder than any other person. Those friends would excel in whatever field they enter.
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You were at the peak of popularity during the Brood War days. However, there was some struggles transitioning to SC2, and a lot of fans moved over to League of Legends. How did you feel as you saw all of these things.
About that … (sighs) I don’t think I was at the wrong place in the wrong time. I played both Brood War and SC2 and then I retired. It’s the players who came after me who are having a hard time. The decision of the higher ups (I’m guessing Kespa) was unfortunate, and League took that timing as a window to become Korea’s premier eSport. I wonder if things would have ended better if SC2 had a smoother transition or if the BW league continued for a bit longer.
We needed more communication. People working at Kespa and Blizzard are great people, but I think there was just a lack of communication. I wonder what would have happened if more people and the players’ opinions were fully heard and understood before action was taken. But I think the current situation is a lot better because there’s more communication. Communication with all parties involved is very important.
You had an especially heated rivalry with your Lee Ssang counterpart Lee Jae Dong of the Taek Bang Lee Ssang quartet. Jaedong went abroad while you stayed in Korea. Did seeing Jaedong have success overseas ever make you want to go abroad as well?
I’ve envied
Jaedong hyung when I saw him have such success outside of the country. I think it attests to differences between my and Jaedong hyung’s style. He likes to challenge himself with new things; I don’t have such confidence. If you left me alone overseas, I have no idea what would happen to me (laughs). I also wanted to bring KT to the greatest of SC2 heights like I did during the Brood War days.That being said, I didn’t not go overseas. I left the country close to 20 times. The most memorable tournament was 2014 IEM Toronto. It was a hard time for me because I was constantly being compared to my Brood War self. The victory at IEM Toronto gave me hope, and it reassured me that I would be able to continue.
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Your last match was the 2015 proleague semi-finals against the Jin Air Green Wings. You had just won 3 games, and then you lost to
sOs. You’re team got reverse sweeped shortly thereafter. Do you regret ending your career on a loss?I’m really sad that Coach Kang couldn’t be there due to an illness which forced him to be at the hospital. After the 3 wins,
Stats and Wooki told me to trust them and take it easy. I hadn’t practiced separately to play against sOs. On top of that the two of them normally don’t say such things, so when I saw them confidently tell me to play comfortably, I trusted my friends. They play well, but that day was unfortunate. But that turned out in our favor because KT is starting really well. No one can play perfectly every time, so I think it was ok as long as KT became a better team through the experience.![[image loading]](http://game.xportsnews.com/contents/images/upload/article/2016/0227/1456511997247.jpg)
There were a lot of noteworthy/controversial events during your gaming career. One such event was the 2010 Nate MSL where the generator died and caused a blackout during the 3rd set. Thinking back, how do those events make you feel?
When I think about it now, I see how I couldn’t have done anything about those events. After the game, the referee who called the events post blackout came and apologized to me. I was pretty down at the time, but now that time’s passed, I don’t really think much about it. The Samsung coach told me she was sorry, and coach Lee who was watching the game in our practice rooms came to Yongsan in a hurry for support.
Referee Oh met with me afterwards and apologized to me. I told him I understood, and I apologized for throwing my earphones in frustration. I think we reconciled pretty well. Due to my popularity and public scrutiny, I think the refs also felt the pressure.
Brood War was never patched by Blizzard, so the players and maps had to do most of the balancing. On the other hand, SC2 is constantly being patched with units other changes from Blizzard. Having experienced both scenes, how do you feel about Legacy of the Void’s balance?
I think the patches post-release for LotV have been in a good direction. But I also think they’re missing a crucial something to achieving good game balance. I don’t think it’s something that I, as a retired gamer, should be talking about. I just feel sad as a spectator. It’s important to identify what that missing something is.
Korea became world champions in 2013 in LoL after long dominance in Starcraft. As a former progamer, and now as a normal civilian, how do you see LoL progamers’ activities.
Incredible. Regardless of game, it’s something to cheer for. Those players achieved all they did through hard work, and seeing that work pay off, I cheer for them. I hope Korean teams continue to do well on the global stage. In the domestic league, of course I cheer for KT Rolster. KT’s SC2 and LoL teams have practice rooms on the same floor, so we get to see the other team often. I wouldn’t in my wildest dreams have guessed that Someday would be my fan. He would always avoid eye contact with me, so I thought I had done something wrong to him (laughs). But I found out he was a fan, and that he watched all my games. I was so surprised when I found out. Knowing this, I thought it was cute that he was such a shy fan.
When you say “jungler”, Kakao or Insec comes to mind. And “mid” and Faker are basically the same. For one person to become a star in a 5 mean team game like LoL is probably a very hard thing, and that these players possess such skill is amazing.
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As Korea’s central figure in eSports for 9 years, you’ve seen and experienced much. Knowing as much as you do, what do you think Korean eSports needs to grow? What do you think you can contribute to that growth?
I think the first thing is to gain recognition from non-eSport viewers. Other countries are a lot more open to eSports, but Korea has a very shut-down mindset. Today’s day and age is dominated by computers and smartphones. To continue to reject eSports will allow others to become better than us. If IT technology advances, then eSports will advance, but if nothing changes, then other countries will catch up and surpass us shortly. LoL players, BJs, and other great personalities are all leaving to China. We need official recognition as well as more investments.
I want to do anything it takes to help the recognition change. I think interviews and public ads/campaigns will help. Showing that many are interested in eSports through broadcasts like yesterday’s is good as well. I can’t consider my personal stream as eSports, but as a former gamer I can show that there’s still a lot of interest. I had no clue so many people would gather for my first stream.
I’ve heard you still have after effects from your surgery. Does that exempt you from the army? And what other plans do you have (I’m guessing about the army)?
I had surgery on my arm, and I got a 3rd level on my conscription examination (which puts him in active duty). I’ll have to get my examination again to know more. If I can overcome all processes, I’d love to come back to eSports. I want to become a coach. Since I was the best as a player, I think I’d have a lot to share to other players. I also thinking being a coach will bring a unique type of fun. Whatever I do, the challenge to have fun exists. Even though it’s in the future, I already look forward to it. If time passes, and I become involved in a different game, I’m still confident. I’ve tried and played every game considered an eSport--LoL of course, Kart Rider, Sudden Attack, Special Force, even FIFA online. And I follow leagues of sports and other eSports all around the world.
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Just as you say, there are instances of people becoming coaches in a game they didn’t play as a player.
Reach is one such example of a BW player becoming a LoL coach. He’s had good results as a LoL coach. What do you think his strengths are as a coach? And what kind of coach would you want to be?Reach hyung is very hardworking. He’s different from me. I’ve learned basically everything from Reach. He’s so straight and firm. That solidness transcends any specific game, and I think it’s helped him a lot as a leader. Reach never does anything bad, and he faithfully does his own work. I think I’m a bit more daring that Reach hyung; I wonder how that’ll manifest itself in a different style when I’m a coach.
If I were to become a coach, I think I would want the progamers to enjoy life. I’d set a time for practice, and then I’d give them a lot of free time to do what they want. People who truly are set to achieve greatness don’t achieve it becomes someone else tells them to do certain things. This is especially true for gamers who speak through their results.
As a player, I’d meticulously prepare for every game in the same way. I practiced hard and tried my best in preliminary games as much as I practiced for finals. I can confidently tell this to anyone. I’ll tell this to my fellow teammates in the future if I’m ever on a team.
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You had a lot of fans as a pro. Many of those fans came to watch and showed us all how popular you are. As we draw this interview to a close, do you have anything to share with your ever-supporting fans?
I want to continue practicing Brood War while interacting with my fans. I plan on slowly but surely increasing my broadcast times, and soon I’ll be showing various games. Just watching the chat in the first broadcast was hard. I’ll work on steadily increasing my broadcast time.
Even though I never was able to meet all my fans during the 9 years, they feel like long time family to me. I was a source of pride for the fans, and the fans were the same for me. The decision to start streaming was heavily influenced by the fans’ trust. I ask once more to cheer me on, and I want to thank all of you.
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