I've been travelling around country for amateur touranments since I was 16-17 years old and in blink of an eye, I've now spent more than half of my life playing Starcraft supported by my fan's loves.
Personally, while I was riding the bus back to Seoul today, memories of me sleeping on bus challenging to be progamer came back so I was really happy.
Although it is a shame that I could not deliver great results, I do not have any regrets since I had been practicing skipping streaming just like in the old progamer days.
I have been under pressure due to my deteriorating skills despite the efforts and I participated this tournament for the fans as my last. I am sorry i wasnt able to show better games
I hope Stork will still hang around for spongames like Proleague and KCM though, just like what Effort is doing now. He's still miles better than the "new blood" which is frankly, almost nonexistent.
Well Stork stood out as one of the best Ps in various eras of BW. Maybe he wasn't #1 too many times but he still did great and got his own style. So he contributed a lot. I remember seeing him play at WCG Koln. GG Stork.
There are so few old-school players left, and there are no new interesting ones. I think our favorite game will last a couple of years, and then the end of more or less large tournaments (such as ASL) will come and they will play less and less.
Stork's Gomtv finals against Flash (where he went Carriers every game and lost) were some of the first professional Starcraft matches I ever watched. Protoss was my favorite race, Carriers were my favorite unit, and underdogs were my favorite narrative, so I was hooked from there.
Throughout my years of watching professional BW, Stork was consistently my favorite player, and pretty much single-handedly made me a fan of (in no particular order) Proleague, Jangbi, Samsung KHAN, Reavers, Roro, and Starcraft. I'll never forget how happy I was when he finally won his gold by all-killing SKT1, or how much fun I had jumping around my parents' living room at 2 AM when Jangbi came back to avenge him against Fantasy. In reading interviews and articles, I also came to enormously appreciate his honesty, his sincerity, and his kindness, and to relate to his struggles to practice, stay consistent, retain a positive mindset against adversity, and overcome the Kong curse.
Really, when I think of middle school and high school, when I think of BW, when I think of Starcraft and ESPORTS, Stork is one of the biggest parts of what made me a fan and has kept me watching all these years.
It's been a number of years now since I've actively followed BW--and honestly I don't know how many TLers there still are around here from the old days when we would shitpost in LR threads and complain about Roro ruining our Fantasy Proleague teams. Still, even in recent years it was comforting to know he was still playing (and winning, occasionally).
I hope he's able to find a good life for himself post-ESPORTS; and in-game out of game, I'll always be cheering for Song Byung Goo.
Not super suprising as Stork must be one of the oldest active players. Impressive how long he has stuck around and remained relevant.
Stork is an absolute legend. Second best toss of all time, and at several points was best (esp. ~2008). One of the four best players of the Kespa era. A mainstay of the OSL. Arguably the best PvT of the Kespa era. Carried Samsung Khan in proleague for years (even when Jangbi was in better individual form, Stork still had to carry in the team league).
Stork is one of the most enigmatic players of the KeSPA era and I really don't know what to think of him.
On one hand, his use of arbiters in PvT during the mid 2000's helped establish the foundations of modern day Protoss against the economic-focused Terran playstyle which began to supplant the heavy aggression seen prior to that era.
Once he brought up his Zerg and mirror match-ups to an acceptable level, he eventually became one of the lynchpins of Samsung's rise to success (they were fucking awful before 2005) and eventually became an OSL champion.
On the other hand, he's one of the most vocal and surprisingly (at least among Korean progamers) one of the most whiniest players out there. Everyone knows of the nickname "Commander of No Mistakes/Immaculate Commander-in-Chief" (무결점의 총사령관) for his attention to detail, but one name that sticks out to me for him is an off-shoot of that nickname "Commander of Excuses" (forgot what the exact Korean wording for it was) because he kept bitching and whining passively aggressively about his losses in his interviews. This attitude has been seen quite frequently in the post-KeSPA era and has divided many people over how to feel about him.
An aspect I want to put particular praise towards is his longevity. He came around the scene around the time the WCG 2003 qualifiers were happening, so for him to carve out a professional playing career over two titles (BW and SC2) for over 15+ years is downright incredible.
One quote from former Protoss great, fellow Australian and ex-progamer Legionnaire always makes me laugh.
On July 31 2003 09:58 Legionnaire wrote: i saw his reps to, below average for a korean i think he should possibly take up playing pokemon =]
Maybe I might record a video highlighting Stork's career because as I said before, I don't know what to truly think of him in terms of his place as one of the best Protosses of the KeSPA era (along with Jangbi - those two Samsung Protosses have so many stories and drama bites between the two). If I were to rank it, I'd probably do 1) Bisu, 2) Reach, 3) Nal_rA and 4/5 toss up between Stork and Jangbi.
One of the all-time greatest strategic minds of SC. Always humble and very thoughtful and also very admirable in his efforts. Stork was at times able to push players like Flash to desperation, resulting in a perfectly even 10-10 score. He also pulled off a 12-11 score against Jaedong. And against Bisu he ended it with a lead of 15-9. It can't be overstated how much skill and determination that takes. He's cemented himself as one of the most feared players in the game.
I hope Stork keeps finding success in life, be it in his private life or at work; and also a good dose of happiness and health
Stork and his wife informed me a month ago that this will be his last tournament he is going to be in - they are following me on IG (which they rarely do for fans) and giving me that kind of information is a highly class act to do so; they even offered me a meet up if I might be in Korea again.
It is really sad to see him go competitively - all those games that I was watching and even meeting him various times was the best thing that could ever happen to me;
I will never forget Stork. I look back very fondly on memories of the good ol days, going to a PC Bang in Suwon, watching people watch a Stork replay to figure out what he is trying to do.
They'd point at the screen, argue, rewind, pause, discuss.
One in particular stands out, it was him vs T, I forgot the T now but for some reason XellOs or Midas is standing out. But either way, he pushed a tank line with just goons. The bois we're crowded around one comp, doing their thing and when one said something amounting to the most probable reason for Stork doing what he did, they scattered left and right to get into a game.
I did too, ordered my ramyeon, and got a T practice match to try and emulate Stork's idea.
Damn. He played well in his group too. Thank you for a great career Stork. I am sad you are retiring but I am glad you had such a long and good career. GL with everything else you do. Cheers.
The first ever professional games of StarCraft I saw were the Incruit OSL 2008 finals. That finals cemented my love for FanTaSy and the games he played vs Stork were always amazing.
It's a shame Stork was never able to recapture past successes in the streaming era, but he's still going to be streaming so we'll still see him play. He's just not going to play ASL anymore.
On October 05 2021 18:24 Qikz wrote: The first ever professional games of StarCraft I saw were the Incruit OSL 2008 finals. That finals cemented my love for FanTaSy and the games he played vs Stork were always amazing.
It's a shame Stork was never able to recapture past successes in the streaming era, but he's still going to be streaming so we'll still see him play. He's just not going to play ASL anymore.
Yess!! We still have a chance to see Commander Stork playing , but not in ASL!
Remember there are other players who are doing the same thing: Larva , effort, sometimes even Rain, Sea (saw him a couple of days ago playing on the ladder and facing Snow twice )
Stork has been one of my favourite players for a long time so I'm sad to see him retire. It is amazing he's been around for so long though, he was one of the first players I began rooting for when I got into the pro-scene in 2007. I often forget that that's not recent any more.
On October 05 2021 10:49 GTR wrote: He's one of the most vocal and surprisingly (at least among Korean progamers) one of the most whiniest players out there. Everyone knows of the nickname "Commander of No Mistakes/Immaculate Commander-in-Chief" (무결점의 총사령관) for his attention to detail, but one name that sticks out to me for him is an off-shoot of that nickname "Commander of Excuses" (forgot what the exact Korean wording for it was) because he kept bitching and whining passively aggressively about his losses in his interviews. This attitude has been seen quite frequently in the post-KeSPA era and has divided many people over how to feel about him.
I did not know this about him, I know very little about most of their personalities though it turns out.
On October 05 2021 15:15 itsdaniel wrote: Stork and his wife informed me a month ago that this will be his last tournament he is going to be in - they are following me on IG (which they rarely do for fans) and giving me that kind of information is a highly class act to do so; they even offered me a meet up if I might be in Korea again.
It is really sad to see him go competitively - all those games that I was watching and even meeting him various times was the best thing that could ever happen to me;
That is awesome!! I remember seeing you in the crowd when streaming that game and your blog after about the whole experience after, but I had no idea that you had any contact with him since, that is really cool!
On October 05 2021 15:15 itsdaniel wrote: Stork and his wife informed me a month ago that this will be his last tournament he is going to be in - they are following me on IG (which they rarely do for fans) and giving me that kind of information is a highly class act to do so; they even offered me a meet up if I might be in Korea again.
It is really sad to see him go competitively - all those games that I was watching and even meeting him various times was the best thing that could ever happen to me;
Nice that he is sharing with you!
I must say , I think you are a bigger Stork fan than I am a JD fan and trust me, this is hard !
If JD loses a game and somehow I see spoilers I simply cannot watch the game, I swear
On October 05 2021 21:56 BLinD-RawR wrote: pretty sure streaming is still his dayjob, we might still see him do 4:4 proleagues and KCM matches.
I informed BLinD-RawR about the importance of this ASL game, the background and he still did an honest write up about the match - nethertheless didn't he spill any beans... and I can't thank you enough for that! I really have much respect for that, I was the same opinion! I always wanted to see a stable fam life for Stork, working for Samsung like Xellos did for CJ and leaving the scene caring for his family...
On October 05 2021 04:58 tankgirl wrote: spoiler alert? this info spoiled the ASL Ro16 Group C
I added a spoiler to the thread. I'm not sure why people were being jerks to you when we have had a decades long policy of not spoiling results in other threads. AfreecaTV has been down for me in the last 24 hrs and this was an unfortunate spoiler for me too. @Everyone giving tankgirl a hard time, we've all loved Starcraft a long time. Let's use that passion to treat everyone who is still here with respect, especially in a thread regarding one of the greatest SC players ever.
stork is just such a nice pal... I have a huge image collection over the years and gave him a thumbnail screenshot of these, he saw that picture with him and his parents and a huge trophy... he rly wanted me to send it to him by email because he did not know that image even existed and I did ofc... He was rly happy about that...
On October 05 2021 04:58 tankgirl wrote: spoiler alert? this info spoiled the ASL Ro16 Group C
I added a spoiler to the thread. I'm not sure why people were being jerks to you when we have had a decades long policy of not spoiling results in other threads. AfreecaTV has been down for me in the last 24 hrs and this was an unfortunate spoiler for me too. @Everyone giving tankgirl a hard time, we've all loved Starcraft a long time. Let's use that passion to treat everyone who is still here with respect, especially in a thread regarding one of the greatest SC players ever.
can't really withhold actual news because of spoilers, A retirement of this level takes precedence always.
On October 05 2021 22:32 itsdaniel wrote: stork is just such a nice pal... I have a huge image collection over the years and gave him a thumbnail screenshot of these, he saw that picture with him and his parents and a huge trophy... he rly wanted me to send it to him by email because he did not know that image even existed and I did ofc... He was rly happy about that...
On October 05 2021 04:58 tankgirl wrote: spoiler alert? this info spoiled the ASL Ro16 Group C
I added a spoiler to the thread. I'm not sure why people were being jerks to you when we have had a decades long policy of not spoiling results in other threads. AfreecaTV has been down for me in the last 24 hrs and this was an unfortunate spoiler for me too. @Everyone giving tankgirl a hard time, we've all loved Starcraft a long time. Let's use that passion to treat everyone who is still here with respect, especially in a thread regarding one of the greatest SC players ever.
I was also surprised people were being shitty about this, afreecaTV was being really slow for me so I didn't watch it as soon as I'd have liked, before watching game 3 of the losers match I also saw this thread title and assumed it was a spoiler. I did discover though that using a Korean VPN I was able to watch afreecaTV normally even in high quality.
On October 05 2021 04:58 tankgirl wrote: spoiler alert? this info spoiled the ASL Ro16 Group C
I added a spoiler to the thread. I'm not sure why people were being jerks to you when we have had a decades long policy of not spoiling results in other threads. AfreecaTV has been down for me in the last 24 hrs and this was an unfortunate spoiler for me too. @Everyone giving tankgirl a hard time, we've all loved Starcraft a long time. Let's use that passion to treat everyone who is still here with respect, especially in a thread regarding one of the greatest SC players ever.
can't really withhold actual news because of spoilers, A retirement of this level takes precedence always.
As staff we can spoiler or change titles :D and regardless, it doesn't excuse giving someone a hard time for no reason.
On October 05 2021 22:32 itsdaniel wrote: stork is just such a nice pal... I have a huge image collection over the years and gave him a thumbnail screenshot of these, he saw that picture with him and his parents and a huge trophy... he rly wanted me to send it to him by email because he did not know that image even existed and I did ofc... He was rly happy about that...
On October 05 2021 04:58 tankgirl wrote: spoiler alert? this info spoiled the ASL Ro16 Group C
I added a spoiler to the thread. I'm not sure why people were being jerks to you when we have had a decades long policy of not spoiling results in other threads. AfreecaTV has been down for me in the last 24 hrs and this was an unfortunate spoiler for me too. @Everyone giving tankgirl a hard time, we've all loved Starcraft a long time. Let's use that passion to treat everyone who is still here with respect, especially in a thread regarding one of the greatest SC players ever.
I was also surprised people were being shitty about this, afreecaTV was being really slow for me so I didn't watch it as soon as I'd have liked, before watching game 3 of the losers match I also saw this thread title and assumed it was a spoiler. I did discover though that using a Korean VPN I was able to watch afreecaTV normally even in high quality.
I switched to Chrome today and it seems to be loading the web pages where Firefox was just a blank page. So hopefully switch browsers can work for others too.
On October 05 2021 16:11 jaytep wrote: I will never forget Stork. I look back very fondly on memories of the good ol days, going to a PC Bang in Suwon, watching people watch a Stork replay to figure out what he is trying to do.
They'd point at the screen, argue, rewind, pause, discuss.
One in particular stands out, it was him vs T, I forgot the T now but for some reason XellOs or Midas is standing out. But either way, he pushed a tank line with just goons. The bois we're crowded around one comp, doing their thing and when one said something amounting to the most probable reason for Stork doing what he did, they scattered left and right to get into a game.
I did too, ordered my ramyeon, and got a T practice match to try and emulate Stork's idea.
This sounds like a story by itself.. what an interesting sounding scene that is, an active lively PC bang culture is such a foreign idea in most places.
Stork feels like a real natural talent player, could play outside of the meta expectations so often. Hopefully he still stays involved with SC in some way. As it seems like BW can stand the test of time at this point.
On October 05 2021 22:32 itsdaniel wrote: stork is just such a nice pal... I have a huge image collection over the years and gave him a thumbnail screenshot of these, he saw that picture with him and his parents and a huge trophy... he rly wanted me to send it to him by email because he did not know that image even existed and I did ofc... He was rly happy about that...
Do you think you'd be able to share a collage with us as well? I'd love to see them :D
Aw... a huge blow to Protoss, but happy for him that he's able to retire. His PvT was inspirational, so many contains and siege lines broken where I would have never expected.
With Stork bowing out, that leaves all of TaekBangLeeSsang inactive? Truly an end of an era.
I'm very sad to see him go! Stork has been a legend in the game since the early days, and still continued to keep up with the younger generations. He's always had such a manly style of play as well. When he won it was usually utter domination, complete unquestionable destruction of his opponents.
On October 05 2021 05:37 Sonic_md wrote: This is the beginning of the end of SC:BW??
There are so few old-school players left, and there are no new interesting ones. I think our favorite game will last a couple of years, and then the end of more or less large tournaments (such as ASL) will come and they will play less and less.
sry for my bad english
Soma, Sorry, Barracks, JyJ, Rush.. Not new players, but they have gotten way better. I think it's a matter of taste if you find them interesting or not. I think it's a good thing that younger players shows good results as they most likely gain younger audience which keeps bw alive.
This is sad. An era has ended. Stork has been my favorite Broodwar player since 2006 and he surpassed my first encounter with Korean Progaming in 2004 where JulyZerg battled GoodFriend in some final.
Stork has been the best strategist of all players. His PvT was unstoppable until FlaSh dethroned Stork with his anti-carrier build that tricked Stork in the Gom TV MSL finals. There is so much to say, but I am so thankful for all the excitement and joy Stork has given me with his games.
Just heard this and goosebumps everywhere. It's hard to believe that TBLS isn't around while BW tournament is going on. Legendary pro without any doubt. Being much older generation pros it's fascinating that he still managed to go toe to toe with best of the best. Think he could enjoy even more sucess if he switched back to BW from SC2 earlier, he was the latest of TBLS to switch back. I'm going to miss your unbeatable carriers Song Byung Goo... Wish you the best especially in these tought times!
I wouldnt be surprised if there's a few more retirees. A lot of the old school sc bw players are all into their 30s now and early to mid 30s seems to be the breaking point for most of these pros.
Surprised to see how young people like Soulkey, Zero, Mini (especially!), and guys like Jyj/Soma are since they will be carrying sc:bw forward, since theyre all late-mid 20s to late 20s
On October 05 2021 05:22 abuse wrote: goddamnit... all the best to Stork.. bw really is slowly dying, isn't it...
i hate to sound like an ass but im ready for bw AND sc2 to die at this point
once that happens hopefully the powers that be can focus on a starcraft 3 that's universally accepted by both communities
Blizzard is not the company that made either of those games. The brand is there, but the people that actually did it are not. Given the current state of the company, I would expect whatever the next great RTS to come from somewhere else.
Sad news all around. While I can't say I'm a fan of his personality (from what I've heard), he has accomplished quite a bit during his career. He also played well this ASL, but it was unfortunate that he ended up in the group of death. Best of luck Stork!
On October 05 2021 04:58 tankgirl wrote: spoiler alert? this info spoiled the ASL Ro16 Group C
I added a spoiler to the thread. I'm not sure why people were being jerks to you when we have had a decades long policy of not spoiling results in other threads. AfreecaTV has been down for me in the last 24 hrs and this was an unfortunate spoiler for me too. @Everyone giving tankgirl a hard time, we've all loved Starcraft a long time. Let's use that passion to treat everyone who is still here with respect, especially in a thread regarding one of the greatest SC players ever.
can't really withhold actual news because of spoilers, A retirement of this level takes precedence always.
As staff we can spoiler or change titles :D and regardless, it doesn't excuse giving someone a hard time for no reason.
Indeed. The retirement news could have been withheld for a day or two to give viewers a chance to watch the group, especially considering it's our policy to avoid spoilers for a brief period after the games, but I also can't fault the OP for posting it since we do encourage information sharing here. I too was spoiler-ed by the title and figured he must've lost and retired right away. Thankfully, I was also surprised to see him take the fight to Snow and grab a nice victory on Lemon so it was the best way to retire, with his head held up high.
What a career... some ~15 years ago the first ever professional BW game I watched was of Stork, its kinda emotional to see it all come to an end. I hope the guy has a successful future somewhere gaming-related.
Stork was one of my favorite players for a long, long time. If you read this, thank you for all great games over the years and good luck in the next chapter of your life.
On October 05 2021 04:28 ProMeTheus112 wrote: Well Stork stood out as one of the best Ps in various eras of BW. Maybe he wasn't #1 too many times but he still did great and got his own style. So he contributed a lot. I remember seeing him play at WCG Koln. GG Stork.
Yeah, remember the ole "Sack the natural and win with carriers on a non-carrier map" strategy he used in ASL 11?
Stork was an amazing player but beyond that he was always super nice to his fans and to foreigners (like me, or itsdaniel) whenever he went abroad for wcg or even in korea when foreigners travelled. He was also always super respectful to tournament staff and referees. A genuinely great person. All the best!
On October 10 2021 10:27 BigFan wrote: Sad news all around. While I can't say I'm a fan of his personality (from what I've heard)...
Of course I am biased... All I wanna say is that I met him a couple of times and he was such a funny and down to earth guy, after his Bacchus OSL 2010 game vs Mind he waited outside just for me because he wanted to see me and shake my hand... He could've just left but he didn't... Stork was making fun of me because my hand was shaking when I was holding the camera... it was hilarious. My korean female entourage was a little bit older than him and I left them some space for a chat after the meet up ^^ I think he really enjoyed that evening
Goodbye Stork ! I have watched 100's of your games, one of the greatest BW players of all time ! Despite his lower apm, he managed to stay at the top of the Bw scene for almost 15 years thanks to his smart plays. Thank you for the great times watching you play !
On October 15 2021 10:12 RowdierBob wrote: Honestly a bit meh about this. Was never a big fan of Stork and rumours are he’s a bit of a dick.
New players will come through. Not the end of the world.
BW can end tomorrow and it's not the end of the world. You're wrong though, in that no new (exciting) players have come through despite all these years.
Also if you don't have something decent to say, then don't. For posting like this you have proved yourself to be more of a dick.
On October 15 2021 10:12 RowdierBob wrote: Honestly a bit meh about this. Was never a big fan of Stork and rumours are he’s a bit of a dick.
New players will come through. Not the end of the world.
BW can end tomorrow and it's not the end of the world. You're wrong though, in that no new (exciting) players have come through despite all these years.
Also if you don't have something decent to say, then don't. For posting like this you have proved yourself to be more of a dick.
Thats kinda sad...he did really well considering. He went 2-0 in his first round and then got placed in the group of death. If he was in most groups he likely would have made it to final 8
On October 05 2021 05:22 abuse wrote: goddamnit... all the best to Stork.. bw really is slowly dying, isn't it...
i hate to sound like an ass but im ready for bw AND sc2 to die at this point
once that happens hopefully the powers that be can focus on a starcraft 3 that's universally accepted by both communities
Blizzard views it too risky. When all the former BW pros banded together and quit SC2 to return to BW they realized BW is just too good to have a successor. I find it more likely in 20 years there will be ASL 32 than starcraft 3
On October 05 2021 05:37 Sonic_md wrote: This is the beginning of the end of SC:BW??
There are so few old-school players left, and there are no new interesting ones. I think our favorite game will last a couple of years, and then the end of more or less large tournaments (such as ASL) will come and they will play less and less.
sry for my bad english
Remastered barely came out a few years ago and there was a huge gap. No one trained or played competitive from 2012-2016. I'm hoping give the new players a few years and they can get there.
I wish you nothing but the best of luck with your retirement Stork sad to see you retire though. Good luck friend. Good bye buddy. I'm going to miss you pal. I wish you weren't retiring Stork im going to miss you.
After many years out of watching starcraft, log in and saw this sad news. Another one down!
Stork is my favourite progamer, followed him since the long game against gorush in requiem and GGplay in Andromeda, then the heartbreaking losses against jd and flash, then winning incruit osl finally. Although sometimes he is being a douche and bm in games, his humour is great and control is clean.
Most solid in build order timings out of many progamers. Often he win games by economy and catch opponent mistake/weaknesses fast, expanding when his opponent don't know yet in Bo5 he isn't so strong as progamers prepare specifically against him. His macro game is weak against timing push, could have been bonjwa level if he had more APM to micro.
Logged in his stream and saw his reactions were not as good before causing him to lose ASL against the young progamers, probably that's the reason retiring. 30+ with kids and wife as well. Nevertheless, its only worth to be top at the right moment which was 10+ years ago.
SC1 is dying in a couple of years for sure, have not seen TBLS dominating in recent years. But given the lack of $$$ and motivation its normal. By playing in casual streaming, they probably made more than progamer days. This seems the ex-progamer's motivation to stream nowadays.
We will never know whether baby, mini, last, larva are really better than prime TBLS, probably not but i hope SC1 return with sponsors one day.
I guess it's fine if you want to somehow celebrate his career and achievements and the memories that came with it but these guys hardly ever go away unless life really calls for it: family or just getting old (40+)
I, for one, am happy that I managed to witness Stork having a minor-resurgence two years ago and going toe to toe with Flash on the new maps at the time. Now THAT was fun.
Yeah agreed these guys won't go away permanently, there is only so much they can do outside starcraft. When opportunity call for it, he will be back competing. Otherwise his work is streaming.
Ex-pros who are way more "retired" than Stork, like Nal_ra and Pusan, still compete for the last ASL qualifier. Maybe it'd be a different story if the qualifiers were held offline, but for now all they have to do is log in and play some games, so they can't resist the urge to participate in the biggest BW event currently.
Btw this is his wife video explaining Stork's "comeback" for the last ASL qualifier:
EPT
![[image loading]](http://wiki.teamliquid.net/starcraft/images2/1/1d/ProtossIcon_30x30.png)
![[image loading]](https://liquipedia.net/commons/images/thumb/c/c9/Stork_anaheim2.jpg/249px-Stork_anaheim2.jpg)
![[image loading]](https://supply.defiler.ru/chat/pics/1-koreans/stork2.jpg)
![[image loading]](https://i.imgur.com/Tp0z0Ai.jpg)
