"He who blinded by ambition, raises himself to a position whence he cannot mount higher, must thereafter fall with the greatest loss."- Niccolo Machiavelli
A Familiar Scene
Consistency is the sanctuary I seek...
"Plagguuuu!", the all-too familiar cry of the MBCGame commentators rings throughout the hall.. Flash's science vessels have just been destroyed, and he quickly leaves the game. He leaves the booth with a disheartened expression, and the no-name zerg to which he conceded leaves his with a look of complete mirth. How could it be that a player such as him, who came so close to the title of "Bonjwa", could fall so hard, so fast, and so many times. This wasn't his first slump; ever since that damn loss to Luxury in the EVER 2008 OSL, things just haven't been the same.
One minute you're on top of the world, and in the next you feel like Atlas. His play-style shows the inconsistent emotion of a teen going through puberty; those delicate years in which your self-esteem is affected at the slightest event. Like I said, one win and you feel like the champion of the universe, and all it takes is one loss to bring you down to rock bottom. I know how Flash feels, I'm a teenager too. The invisible audience haunts me at every corner, my ego is either too large or too small. I just haven't had the time to discover my own emotional balance. Could one imagine discovering such a complexity, with as much pressure places upon you as is placed upon Lee Young Ho?
Pressure is the enemy that divides the strong from the weak. It is ones ability to act cool under fire that makes someone truly great. It's that consistent temperament that seems to conflict so naturally with the raging hormones of adolescence. How can our little monster fare? The better of the two Lee Young Ho's (Sorry Lucifer...) had fought this enemy his fair amount of times. Can he win? Will he win? Or will it defeat him again and again.
One thing is certain.
This "Ultimate Weapon" has not been living up to his own potential. Before you prepare your argument against my "Anti-Flash Propaganda", realize the point of my statements. I will say it now, and I will only say it once. Flash is the best StarCraft player in the world. But he's like me. He's a teenager in a big world, trying to figure out his place in this big mess. This is merely the story of a teenager, much like myself. Trying to find his place in the world, and overwhelmed by what he sees as the great achievements and failures of his lifetime. His little world amplified sevenfold, and his every action scrutinized by fans and media the pressure is enormous. What human being could live up to this, much less such a little monster?
When you feel the weight of the world on your shoulders, how can you be the best at anything?
Growing Up
"One day, I'm gonna be the best, and you'll all remember my name."
Flash burst onto the StarCraft scene as a young Terran player known for his cheesy builds and cute micro. While he was no top-5 material, he went 39-24 in his first year of professional StarCraft. Not too shabby, for a rookie. Flash did well; garnering love for his obvious skill, and hatred for what was perceived as his unfair play.
Flash showed enormous potential, being only 15 years old, and even more amazingly he had only played StarCraft for 3 years. He earned the title "Little Monster", and amazed his teammates. Within the walls of KTF, it was thought for sure that he would be the next big thing. And they were right.
Flash demonstrated the perfect balance between macro and micro, and the incredible timing sense that was necessary to be a StarCraft champion. While Flash is lauded more for his macro now, and his pioneering of many macro heavy TvP builds (and infamous attachment to the 14cc build), many forget how incredible his micro is. Every unit moves exactly where he wants it to, while he flawlessly streams units from all of his production centers.
But Flash was written off as just another lucky rookie, who would get lucky and disappear. We've seen many of those (BackHO comes to mind), but many people insisted that Flash would be a different story. There was a definite potential in his play, while it may have certainly been the play of a rookie, it was not the play of fortuna. As Machiavelli would say, virtue is far more valuable than fortuna, and Flash had plenty of virtue regardless of naysayers claims.
His elimination of Bisu and great games against GGPlay and others put him in the spotlight as one of those players you look for in the next season. Who just seemed as if they would be a household name among fans of the game. While other players walked away with the titles, Flash looked as though he was going to soon be able to live up to his true potential. (Leta and Thezerg remind me of Flash in this stage).
The young man couldn't wait to show his true stuff. Of course, the players on KTF knew what he was capable of. They took a fondness of the young player, and set about to reinvent him. To create a little monster. The results would be the same as the last "ultimate weapon" in history. Utter destruction.
These games demonstrate Flash's brilliant micro, and ability to execute risky builds flawlessly. The latter two more so than the first, which shows true balance between macro and micro, resulting in a great TvZ.
The Creation of an Ultimate Weapon
Who thought that one day he would hold his dreams in his own hands?
Bacchus OSL. GOMtv Star Invitational. Seemingly in a day, Lee Young Ho turned his play-style around and became more than anyone expected.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsDSMKny-7o Surprise. Flash just killed the best player in the world in a straight-up game. The only thing he needed was his own genius.
Flash destroyed everyone in the OSL and GSI, convincingly and unexpectedly. He demonstrated not only his micro intensive builds from the season before, but his new skill in macro builds. His fast double armory and risky FE becoming staples of Terran play within weeks.
As a first-time watcher of StarCraft during the GSI, he never seemed to amaze me. His incredible comeback v.s sAviOr in the group phase, where he demonstrated the power of SK Terran and his own incredible micro, melting sAviOr's expansions like candlewax. his games were truly impressive, and he shut down opponents that no one thought he could beat in a million years. Destroying Jaedong with beautiful micro and highly agressive early game play, destroying Anytime, and narrowly beating out the best PvT in the world with an unstoppable TvP build proved that he was a serious contender.
Flash prison raped Stork, the best PvT in the world in the Bacchus OSL,a nd beat him convincingly in GSI, earning the Bird Toss two silvers, and flash a place in the hearts of fans across the globe. This is the kid that won two golds in one season, in more than convincing fashion. Is this your new bonjwa? Perhaps. He had all the elements of a true great. Not only were his mechanics flawless, but so were his game sense, and his psychological warfare. It didn't seem unlikely that he could perhaps command a real army to victory. People wanted to know where this genius came from, and it was only fitting that the GSI, the first officially english casted Korean tournament, was his introduction to the S-Class stage.
But one was always reminded the he was just a child. Could someone so young dominate so much? Could the new BoxeR be almost half his age? It seemed impossible, that a 15 year old high school kid, having played the game for only 3 years was suddenly the best in the world. There were certainly skeptics, for the most part those who didn't like his early style. But he proved them wrong again and again.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNff93znz18 If you want to see TvP, this is it. Flash heaped on the early tank pressure, forcing Stork into reverting to his standard PvT build. Safe, but unable to keep up with Flash's intense builds and play. In the end, Stork was raped, and he rode Flash's bus all the way to the end of the finals.
Damn it feels good to be a gangster.
It was clear that something was going to be stirred up in the world of StarCraft by this young one. People already thought he was going to be the next Bonjwa, forgetting the delicate nature of his age. And as peoples opinions of the player rose, so did their expectations. With rising expectations comes rising pressure.
KTF had found its new pride. The days of Hong Jin Ho, Kang Min, and Park Jung Suk were over. Lee Young Ho was the new star, the ace in the hole. The Magicians put their hopes in him, and it seemed he would not disappoint. He did incredibly well in the individual leagues, and just as well in proleague. However they had to act delicately, don't put too much on his plate, he's just a boy. How much can he chew? It didn't seem like it would be a problem, because he didn't just chew his enemies, he swallowed them whole.
Invincible?
Winning is like breathing for a baller like me.
The 2008 Summer Season Flash immediately exploded onto the scene, raping everyone left and right. He did it in every tournament, the level of his play on par with oov in his prime. In the eyes of his fans, he was invincible, and this was precisely the stone that tripped him on his path to becoming the greatest. While his utter dominance earned him the #1 spot in Kespa and the highest TvP record of all time, it wouldn't last.
I don't have to post his stats. I don't have to show you his games. There is no insightful analysis, except this. Flash is simply amazing. His timing was perfect, his macro was perfect, his micro was perfect, and his decisions were perfect. He caught the world off guard, and he changed the meta-game. There is no secret to his play. He won through pure skill and perfect mechanics. You were there, you saw the games. You know the utter annihilation of which I speak. This wasn't Flash. This was a weapon of mass destruction.
Flash took the matchup of TvP, and took it into a whole other dimension. Every noob on iccup was copying his brilliant fast armory build, and his gosu goliath play struck such fear into the hearts of protoss that carriers nearly disappeared from play. His vultures seemed just a bit faster than the other player's were and his marines seemed to shoot just a bit further.
If there was any ability Flash was known for then, it was his ingenious metal build (again the double-armory goliath, basically destroying every light tech Protoss), and his incredible sense of timing. He was able to take an expansion at the perfect time, like oov, and attack when he had exactly the right amount of units to do so. His scouting was supernatural, leading him to making timing decisions based on more information than his own supply count, which is a fairly common and useful way to do a timing push. His eyes and units were all over the opponent, and while his style was not ultra aggressive like Iris or NaDa, but rather his mental game was incredibly aggressive.
Flash made sure that every opportunity to gain a small advantage he took, and he rode his momentum not only to victory but complete rape. If he won the first game in a series, it wasn't long before he left his opponent questioning their own ability to play the game. He was an intimidating figure, and at only 15 years old, it must have felt amazing and extraordinary to be the one and only bane of protoss players everywhere. It seemed that no protoss could even give him a run for his money, much less challenge him. After his complete rape of Stork in the Bacchus OSL, the best PvT player in the world, what Protoss could seriously feel confident in playing this monster?
But it wasn't just TvP that Flash dominated in. TvT and TvZ were by no means weak. His micro ability was very vast, and as such he could use the powerful SK Terran build with ease. Almost no Terran could challenge Flash at this time and come out on top. Only one player posed a serious threat to Flash during this phase, and it's too bad that by the time they met this phase was done. You'd think it would take an army to stop this monster.
But all it took was one match...
I'm just a kid
No one ever told me it would be this hard...
I can imagine myself in his place. Losing a series to a zerg no one thought would beat you in a million years. Losing the next few proleague matches after that, I just don't feel like the same player. Surely it can't be bad luck. There must be something wrong with me.
How am I supposed to go to High School while I do all this? I'm expected to win this OSL and this MSL? I can't practice for all this, I don't have enough time. I don't even know who I am. I'm just a kid, and now I'm scared. This fame and power, it came too quickly. Now I don't know what to do when I don't live up to the expectations of my fans. I just need experience. Is that the problem? Is it puberty?
It isn't a scenario that has been ignored by anyone. The field of psychology dedicates an entire field, solely to development. The change of a psyche over time captures the interest of many professionals, many of whom have studied situations much like Flash's. The downfall of child actors, young musicians, trust fund kids, and many others in comparable environments have been analyzed through and through by developmental psychologists.
Erik Erikson, world reknowned developmental psychologist describes the teenage years as a stage of Identity v.s Role Confusion. The teenager tries to establish himself a role or identity in terms of society. Flash had been established, in an alarmingly short period of time as the best player in the world. However, according to Erikson, role-confusion occurs when that identity is proven false in some situation. His loss to Luxury and ForGG, his streak of bad luck in Proleague, is exactly that confusing situation which seems to the very identity he had established for himself.
One may think that such a simple situation could not cause such a downward spiral, and a long standing period of inconsistent play. Let's look at yet another profession beyond psychology. Politics.
Recognize this guy?
President-Elect Barack Hussein Obama, is entering the office in January with unprecedented high expectations. This can only set him up for dissapointment. No President has ever left office with the same approval ratings he had when entering. The leader of any state must face the demons of dissapointment, that he or she cannot satisfy the needs of the state that they lead. How they deal with this reality is telling.
Barack Obama has the cool temperament necessary to understand this. But does Flash? Certainly, he doesn't have the emotional stability of a 47 year old senator, but Flash seems pretty cool-headed for his age. Is it enough?
Do I have the extraordinary maturity that I need?
Focused on the stress of highschool, family, friends, girls, and trying to find his niche in the social structure, how can Lee Young Ho confront the demons of his loss? It all seems to blend together for the lad, it seems overwhelming. Isn't this what I have been told I was the greatest at? I was the hope of my team, and I let them down. I let myself down. I let the fans down. How can I win with this shattered confidence? With this shattered dream...
What's the cause, exactly?
Erikson would say "Role Confusion".
Or what is holding him back? Is it too much on his plate to eat? Maybe, he is still a young boy after all, inexperienced and unused to such pressures in life. You can blame Luxury for starting the chain reaction, the coaches for overworking him, or puberty for confusing him and amplifying the stress of being a progamer.
Anyone who looks back upon their teenage days can remember that sense of confusion that Flash may feel. Psychologists describe teenagers as experiencing the "invisible audience", a conviction that every action is judged by those around them, amplifying their self-consciousness to extreme ends. One slip-up seems like an incredible failure, and a simple win seems like a championship title. Self-consciousness cannot exist in the world of a successful progamer. Confidence must overrule completely, mistakes must be educational nor heartbreaking. That kind of cool temperament is easier talked about then had. It is not the temperament of the young.
StarCraft is the game of the youth, but one will note those players who are incredibly young experience an alarming rate of inconsistency. (Flash, inter.Mind, Sea[shield], and now even Jaedong) Whatever caused it, one thing is painfully clear. This is no "Ultimate Weapon". This is just a kid. A kid who feels the stress of Atlas, the stages of Erikson, Kohlberg, and Piaget in all the wrong ways. A kid who just dreamed of being the best, and now must face his failure to become what he wanted to be.
Don't get me wrong. Flash is still a very good player. Even now, he went on a five game win streak after his embarrassing loss to GGPlay in the OSL, and at the time of writing this he is tied for top 1v1 in PL. Flash is again showing the monstrosity he is capable of demonstrating. One must ask, however, how long will it last? Even now, the game is still not living up to the potential of the player. Those in charge of him need to learn why. Stress of time or stress of life, it must be eliminated.
Thank you DJ (twoeightsix) for the incredible banner. The fading is a pretentious visual metaphor for Mister Lee Young Ho's ever fading dominance. Thank you also to my friend Richard for giving me some good ideas for this article. Thanks to Flash for being the reason I play Terran.
Flash got robbed last OSL. If GGplay didn't have lings from god, Flash woulda swept and had a very very real shot at a title. It's a shame. It's a true shame Stork got a gold. LSDJFLKSDJF
Flash is young. He is too young and strong to not accomplish much. He has already accomplished more than Baby, Sea, Ruby, any other terran that came around his time.
He has put up consistent results. There is zero reason to believe Flash is declining. He made it past the OSL group of death - with EASE. He brushed past everyone til GGplay lucked plasma and had a very high level metagame Ultrabuild. -_-;; If not, he could beat Fantasy just as likely as Fantasy him, and then it's finals vs Stork.
No way... if I was a KTF fan, god forbid, I would still put my full support behind flash and still be very smug in the fact he is the very best terran to be clicking away right now.
Flash losing games might not have to do with puberty. It might have to do with, oh, the fact that his opponents are also professional gamers who who are really fucking good at StarCraft? Ro8 in OSL, semifinals in MSL, finals in GSL, and most-wins in PL, *all in one season*, not good enough for you?
On November 07 2008 12:33 Djabanete wrote: Flash losing games might not have to do with puberty. It might have to do with, oh, the fact that his opponents are also professional gamers who who are really fucking good at StarCraft? Ro8 in OSL, semifinals in MSL, finals in GSL, and most-wins in PL, *all in one season*, not good enough for you?
Give the guy a break.
I'm not denying that his opponents are good and that there is anything wrong with losing games. Upsets are so common these days. This is not an anti-flash article, this is just a different perspective on his inconsistency problem.
It's definitely good enough for me, I'm a huge Flash fan. He's a motherfucking beast.
But his games have declined in quality, there is definitely more to it than the level of competition. I'm just looking at trends of other younger progamers, and taking what I know of psychology and experiences in my own life to give an alternative explanation. Don't be so defensive!
Did you read the whole thing? I levy some pretty heavy praise on the guy.
On November 07 2008 12:32 anch wrote: Flash fighting in PL and GOM
on a side question, how does Flash play Proleague when its 14:00 Korea time? Does he get to leave early in school or take the whole day off?
I believe they have worked out a deal with his highschool. I would imagine it is similar to how a child actor finishes their learning, but I'm not sure.
I would be very happy if anyone could shed some light on this, by no means am I the Flash guru.
Then perhaps ex-coach Dan, among other Koreans making similar statements, is wrong to frown at the potential of older players, like Nony. In the Spirit Tournament, Nony and Cloud, the oldest players, came on top with solid play, while most others' play disappointed, looking like drunken teens in a rebellious patch, regardless of their talent (remember Terror's play, anyone? mass wraith with no cloak, for God's sake!). No wonder none of them made it to Korea.
I don't think Flash is finished, far from it, but we've seen the best of him for the moment. I'm no longer betting systematically on him, even when he faces a nobody.
On November 07 2008 12:26 heyoka wrote: Maybe he discovered girls.
Yeah, but I wanted this article to be longer than that. ;o
I didn't mean it at the time, but I just realized that your entire article can almost be summed up with that sentence. Nice writeup, though I think the applications of development theory sound a little forced.
On November 07 2008 12:26 heyoka wrote: Maybe he discovered girls.
Yeah, but I wanted this article to be longer than that. ;o
I didn't mean it at the time, but I just realized that your entire article can almost be summed up with that sentence. Nice writeup, though I think the applications of development theory sound a little forced.
Did they really?
I didn't intend that, perhaps it's the style in which I wrote that. I'll definitely try to make it seem more in place.
On November 07 2008 12:26 heyoka wrote: Maybe he discovered girls.
Yeah, but I wanted this article to be longer than that. ;o
I can totally imagine flash being awkward at a high school dance with girls. How precious.
Great writeup though. It was a good read.
I don't want to continue the trend, but Flash has a GF. There was a video about Flash's high school in Jon747 (or Baezzi). It was right before his OSL win I think.
Flash actually goes to school? I mean, I know he should considering he's like 16. But where does he find the time to practice? That's insane pressure. And I hated my parents when I had to take piano lessons on weekends.
I know starcraft careers can't be long, but when you're making executive-type money, who cares if you're behind on your education for a couple of years? Flash is actually likely to make LESS money once he gets out of starcraft and get a normal job.
Omg I'm sorry but really all these articles are so overdramatic...
When I started reading the article, I saw Machiavelli and Atlas and I thought, I bet this is gonna get so crazy and overassuming about Flash that he's going to compare him to Barack Obama...
I like the analyzation, but a lot of these articles seem to be repeating the same exact themes over and over now and never really present anything new. Instead, they make broad, definitive statements of absolute truths and player psyche just to approach it from a highly dramatic view. Starcraft is Starcraft, Flash is Flash. This aint Moses parting the Red Sea here.
On November 07 2008 14:15 Insane Lane wrote: Omg I'm sorry but really all these articles are so overdramatic...
When I started reading the article, I saw Machiavelli and Atlas and I thought, I bet this is gonna get so crazy and overassuming about Flash that he's going to compare him to Barack Obama...
I like the analyzation, but a lot of these articles seem to be repeating the same exact themes over and over now and never really present anything new. Instead, they make broad, definitive statements of absolute truths and player psyche just to approach it from a highly dramatic view. Starcraft is Starcraft, Flash is Flash. This aint Moses parting the Red Sea here.
I know I'm gonna get flamed haha...
Well it's all in good fun.
I agree that it's a bit melodramatic, but what's wrong with a bit of drama?
On November 07 2008 14:15 Insane Lane wrote: Omg I'm sorry but really all these articles are so overdramatic...
When I started reading the article, I saw Machiavelli and Atlas and I thought, I bet this is gonna get so crazy and overassuming about Flash that he's going to compare him to Barack Obama...
I like the analyzation, but a lot of these articles seem to be repeating the same exact themes over and over now and never really present anything new. Instead, they make broad, definitive statements of absolute truths and player psyche just to approach it from a highly dramatic view. Starcraft is Starcraft, Flash is Flash. This aint Moses parting the Red Sea here.
I know I'm gonna get flamed haha...
I agree with you, Flash is a young kid, there is no need to make such a big deal out of a semi-slump with such an over-exaggerated article. If this was done as a hype/aftermath article for a finals then it would make more sense. This article didn't add anything new to other than OMG FLASH IS A TEENAGER. He will be back in his ultimate form, he has plenty of time and has proven himself more than once already of his ability to win a finals series.
On November 07 2008 14:15 Insane Lane wrote: Omg I'm sorry but really all these articles are so overdramatic...
When I started reading the article, I saw Machiavelli and Atlas and I thought, I bet this is gonna get so crazy and overassuming about Flash that he's going to compare him to Barack Obama...
I like the analyzation, but a lot of these articles seem to be repeating the same exact themes over and over now and never really present anything new. Instead, they make broad, definitive statements of absolute truths and player psyche just to approach it from a highly dramatic view. Starcraft is Starcraft, Flash is Flash. This aint Moses parting the Red Sea here.
I know I'm gonna get flamed haha...
I agree with you, Flash is a young kid, there is no need to make such a big deal out of a semi-slump with such an over-exaggerated article. If this was done as a hype/aftermath article for a finals then it would make more sense. This article didn't add anything new to other than OMG FLASH IS A TEENAGER. He will be back in his ultimate form, he has plenty of time and has proven himself more than once already of his ability to win a finals series.
I didnt read all but the thing I read so far (Flash is in a small slump, he needs to get older to pwn more) I agree with.
I've always said it. Flash is like at 75% of his total skill, when he gets older like 2-3 years. He will dominate like Iloveoov did. Unstoppable.
On November 07 2008 14:38 meegrean wrote: Flash was the best player in the world. He could be the best player again in the future; only time will tell.
Excellent article, by the way. I prefer adding more psych theories though
Too bad he is ranked #1 at KeSPA last month and he had the highest ELO until yesterday, when Bisu defeated Firebathero and got #1.
Goddamnit I need to rewatch some Jaedong/Flash games to make myself feel better.
On November 07 2008 14:38 meegrean wrote: Flash was the best player in the world. He could be the best player again in the future; only time will tell.
Excellent article, by the way. I prefer adding more psych theories though
true only time will tell... Hopefully flash will do better next season, maybe do a repeat of this year's Bach OSL/GSI repeat? Ahh I can hope
edit: As a KTF fan, I agree almost everything you said on this article. The kid is so young yet so many people felt "disappointed." My god hes 16 people give him some time
You write that Iris and NaDa are ultra-aggressive. Iris is, but NaDa is the opposite. Also you compare early-Flash with TheZerg, and Leta, which I disagree heavily on. There has been no newcomer like Flash since NaDa, and no newcomer like Flash after Flash. He qualified for MSL and OSL in his first attempts, and has qualified everytime since that for both leagues. And his 39-24 record is actually very good by progaming standards, and extremely good by rookie-year standards.
On November 08 2008 01:26 Guybrush wrote: You write that Iris and NaDa are ultra-aggressive. Iris is, but NaDa is the opposite. Also you compare early-Flash with TheZerg, and Leta, which I disagree heavily on. There has been no newcomer like Flash since NaDa, and no newcomer like Flash after Flash. He qualified for MSL and OSL in his first attempts, and has qualified everytime since that for both leagues. And his 39-24 record is actually very good by progaming standards, and extremely good by rookie-year standards.
Really well-written article. I've always thought that KTF playing him for two games every Proleague match (including the ace) while he was playing in the late stages of Gom, OSL, and MSL was a form of child abuse. That constant pressure of practicing late into the night, worrying about his matchups, gave him those big black bags under his eyes that I saw in every game from the summer. He was more overworked than a 15 year old Olympic gymnast, and it showed in his unstable decline. Plus, I think since he was so good everyone studied his play for places to exploit it (ForGG v Flash in the Arena MSL was a great example). I think with some rest and refitting, and some time to make new builds, Flash will be back to challenge, and perhaps beat, the best players in the world (Stork and Jaedong) in the near future.
After the semis against Bisu in the OSL some seasons ago I hated the kid so badly, his upgrade heavy passive TvP was soo annoying and boring to watch but slowly and surely Flash won my heart for his cause. I hope he starts raping stuff left and right, but what I want to see the most is Bisu destroying him with the gayest cheese possible
On November 08 2008 01:26 Guybrush wrote: You write that Iris and NaDa are ultra-aggressive. Iris is, but NaDa is the opposite. Also you compare early-Flash with TheZerg, and Leta, which I disagree heavily on. There has been no newcomer like Flash since NaDa, and no newcomer like Flash after Flash. He qualified for MSL and OSL in his first attempts, and has qualified everytime since that for both leagues. And his 39-24 record is actually very good by progaming standards, and extremely good by rookie-year standards.
Nice article, and thank you
NaDa pioneered Tornado Style, which I feel is extremely aggressive.
I compare Leta and Thezerg, just because I want to give modern examples of great rookies.
On November 08 2008 01:53 gg_hertzz wrote: started off good then you started to sound like East noobs when you started using 'rape' and 'fucking' so damn much.
huk i said started too much.
Thanks for pointing that out. I edited out 'fucking' in one version, but I guess I posted the wrong one. I corrected this.
I think 'rape' is an acceptable term.
On November 08 2008 00:52 Wurzelbrumpft wrote: you should be staff
That would be nice, but I hope that TL has a more arduous process for picking staff than writing 2 articles. Especially when you're as new to TL.net as I am.
On November 08 2008 01:26 Guybrush wrote: You write that Iris and NaDa are ultra-aggressive. Iris is, but NaDa is the opposite. Also you compare early-Flash with TheZerg, and Leta, which I disagree heavily on. There has been no newcomer like Flash since NaDa, and no newcomer like Flash after Flash. He qualified for MSL and OSL in his first attempts, and has qualified everytime since that for both leagues. And his 39-24 record is actually very good by progaming standards, and extremely good by rookie-year standards.
Nice article, and thank you
Fantasy = Boxer Flash = nada ForGG = oov
This is how I feel whenever I see them play
Sea/ForGG/Mind/Midas/Light/Xellos/Skyhigh(none of these are worthy ofc) = Oov Flash(not worthy yet) = NaDa UpMagic/Lomo/Casy/Leta/FBH(none of these are worthy ofc) = Boxer
That was a really good read, like an essay. But I felt like the developmental psychology didn't weave in too smoothly... Flash is one of my favorite terrans, too =D
On November 07 2008 12:31 SuperJongMan wrote: Flash got robbed last OSL. If GGplay didn't have lings from god, Flash woulda swept and had a very very real shot at a title. It's a shame. It's a true shame Stork got a gold. LSDJFLKSDJF
A truly inspiring article! I am also saddened by how flash turned out, but he will once again be a monster, as he still is young and has the potential. =) go Flash!
I understand you, but I highly disagree with this statement. Stork deserves that gold.
EDIT: if you were being sarcastic, ignore my remark and my apology for not considering it.
Hmm, very interesting. I had always dismissed Flash's slump as being wrought through exhaustion by how ridiculously overused/scheduled he was (he clearly was not 'bonjwa flash' when he played Luxury in either game, as well as Lux did Flash still sucked). This is definitely an interpretation I hadn't considered and will certainly need to take into account when I write specifically about Flash's strategy later on. Well done!
It's interesting because even in his slump he would show some flashes of brilliance: ForGG game 3 was extremely good thinking by Flash. Then he'd go right back to being stupid or complacent and not trying to outthink to win. Any thoughts on this? (Savior showed the same thing during his slump).
Btw Flash's TvT was statistically his best matchup during his streak at 16-3, but it was the one matchup where he innovated the least. I guess it just wasn't as defined because he never fought a terran equivalent of Jaedong/Stork while he was in his prime. It's pretty crazy that 5 out of his 7 tvp losses in that period were to Stork/Bisu, and 5 out of his 6 TvZ losses were to Jaedong.
As for Terran comparisons...Flash is the closest Terran to iloveoov there will likely ever be since both rose by creating huge innovations and relying on intelligent economic pressure. Savior is quite similar in some ways (defensive control style; strong mental game) and not so in other ways (prioritizing army control). Comparing ForGG to oov is like only looking at a tiny part of their game: their total disregard for controlling their armies at the expense of producing units. But ForGG is really a timing attacker type player ala Hwasin and Iris, while oov is his own totally unique self.
It's the same for Nada too. The only people who can be remotely compared to Nada are Jaedong and Bisu, as both have transcendant mechanics along with a strong will (this is questionable for Bisu). Nada just happens to have the strongest will in progaming, which is why he can come back and own no matter what era.
Fantasy is so obviously iloveoov lol because...iloveoov is directly coaching him and feeding him builds! Boxer would never pull a hidden expansion when getting owned (Fantasy Stork game 5), that's an iloveoov thing.
On November 08 2008 09:28 Ver wrote: Hmm, very interesting. I had always dismissed Flash's slump as being wrought through exhaustion by how ridiculously overused/scheduled he was (he clearly was not 'bonjwa flash' when he played Luxury in either game, as well as Lux did Flash still sucked). This is definitely an interpretation I hadn't considered and will certainly need to take into account when I write specifically about Flash's strategy later on. Well done!
It's interesting because even in his slump he would show some flashes of brilliance: ForGG game 3 was extremely good thinking by Flash. Then he'd go right back to being stupid or complacent and not trying to outthink to win. Any thoughts on this? (Savior showed the same thing during his slump).
Btw Flash's TvT was statistically his best matchup during his streak at 16-3, but it was the one matchup where he innovated the least. I guess it just wasn't as defined because he never fought a terran equivalent of Jaedong/Stork while he was in his prime. It's pretty crazy that 5 out of his 7 tvp losses in that period were to Stork/Bisu, and 5 out of his 6 TvZ losses were to Jaedong.
As for Terran comparisons...Flash is the closest Terran to iloveoov there will likely ever be since both rose by creating huge innovations and relying on intelligent economic pressure. Savior is quite similar in some ways (defensive control style; strong mental game) and not so in other ways (prioritizing army control). Comparing ForGG to oov is like only looking at a tiny part of their game: their total disregard for controlling their armies at the expense of producing units. But ForGG is really a timing attacker type player ala Hwasin and Iris, while oov is his own totally unique self.
It's the same for Nada too. The only people who can be remotely compared to Nada are Jaedong and Bisu, as both have transcendant mechanics along with a strong will (this is questionable for Bisu). Nada just happens to have the strongest will in progaming, which is why he can come back and own no matter what era.
Fantasy is so obviously iloveoov lol because...iloveoov is directly coaching him and feeding him builds! Boxer would never pull a hidden expansion when getting owned (Fantasy Stork game 5), that's an iloveoov thing.
As far as strokes of brilliance during slumps, I think of it like this. Flash's play is an inconsistent animal. He started out on the top, and a course of events damaged his confidence and ruined his ability to play consistency. Now he kind of jumps all over the place. Winning a game, losing a game, going on a lose streak, win streak, etc.
On November 08 2008 10:40 LightRailCoyote wrote: Wow, this shit is long and crazy. There's been an upsurge of long long articles recently 0.o
I wrote a little expose' on firebathero, and suddenly BW seemed to explode with articles.
I don't care if I started it or not, it's been great. I plan on writing articles for a long time. I should have a new one in the works soon, I'm still brainstorming.
If there is anything you'd like me to write about PM me, and that goes for anyone. I'm looking for some ideas. So far I'm considering writing an article about:
Great article Doc, I loved it. Its easy to relate to Flash because he is so young. The entire article reminded me of that question, "What if Atlas shrugged?"
The video is pretty cool. It's hard to remember that he's a normal kid sometimes, with school and friends his age that are willing to mess around with him. I guess his parents are still either trying to get him to have a normal childhood, or they're still hoping that he goes to college >.>
Great article. It's really hard to say much about the fall of Flash yet though, because he's so young. He hasn't been in the scene for that long, I think in a year or two, he should be a lot better.
On November 08 2008 12:26 vsrooks wrote: Great article. It's really hard to say much about the fall of Flash yet though, because he's so young. He hasn't been in the scene for that long, I think in a year or two, he should be a lot better.
I wouldn't use the term "fall". I agree that he'll improve with age.
Nice read but I don't necessarily agree with your argument. You pretty much made up the cause of his inconsistency out of thin air, something sort of like inconsistency = puberty (teenage confusion, etc.). Since you are attributing all the ones who slump the same cause of puberty (Sea, Mind, and even Jaedong).
I think there must be a lot of more factors coming into play, such as the fact that nowadays all S class players are so good that just by not being in your top slightly can cause you to fail, note that that doesn't necessarily mean puberty nor mental confusion. I'm pretty much sure adults also have these ups and downs, but in broodwar competition those can really be determining.
Flash was born to play BW. Just see FCUK's great thread http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=65727 for one of many examples. Stubborn 14CCs notwithstanding, he has transcendental talent - probably the most of any gamer out there, and the ability to just CRUSH other players in every matchup. He'll be back, and he'll win at least one of both leagues in the upcoming year.
On November 12 2008 17:57 kemoryan wrote: Nice read but I don't necessarily agree with your argument. You pretty much made up the cause of his inconsistency out of thin air, something sort of like inconsistency = puberty (teenage confusion, etc.). Since you are attributing all the ones who slump the same cause of puberty (Sea, Mind, and even Jaedong).
I think there must be a lot of more factors coming into play, such as the fact that nowadays all S class players are so good that just by not being in your top slightly can cause you to fail, note that that doesn't necessarily mean puberty nor mental confusion. I'm pretty much sure adults also have these ups and downs, but in broodwar competition those can really be determining.
actually Daniel lee in one of the SC4all vids did say Sea wasn't doing good because of his late puberty
Flash said in a recent interview translated by MrHoon that he would not be overconfident and he has said many times that he will be the greatest Starcraft player ever. I can actually believe it, he has the skill, and so far he's only 16. Imagine how good he will be when hes ~18.
And the thing that really amazes me is that the winning streak that FlaSh has set and the immense amount of games he's been winning recently is all against top notch players.
On February 15 2009 08:33 SilverskY wrote: And the thing that really amazes me is that the winning streak that FlaSh has set and the immense amount of games he's been winning recently is all against top notch players.
Plus, he's played like 15 games this past week. Must be such a toll on him. I really hope it doesn't send him into another slump.
As a long-time flash fan, this was the first great article in TL written about him. Thanks again DrH for writing this. And even though, I never stopped being a fan (which was painful during flash's 1.5 years of fail), I did have my doubts of whether the kid could really live up to his potential. So great he proved me wrong
On September 13 2010 06:56 darktreb wrote: I think this deserves a bump, because it really does a great job covering what every Flash fan was thinking from summer 2008 through summer 2009:
Since flash is again on the spotlight with broodwar experiencing a revival, I thought that this masterfully written article would be great to share to everyone who does not know the story of Lee Young Ho after he won his first championship but struggled for the better part of almost 2 yrs before finally becoming the player he was meant to be. Flash hwaiting!!
I can't remember what the interview was, but Flash said the reason for some of his bad results in late 08-09 was he was holding builds back for later in the tournament to beat other top players. He stopped doing that and that was his second period of dominance (which didn't ever truly end)
EPT![[image loading]](http://img184.imageshack.us/img184/2008/roughvi3.png)
![[image loading]](http://i468.photobucket.com/albums/rr47/DoctorHelvetica/Flash/1225262321_1.jpg)
Flash's science vessels have just been destroyed, and he quickly leaves the game. He leaves the booth with a disheartened expression, and the no-name zerg to which he conceded leaves his with a look of complete mirth. How could it be that a player such as him, who came so close to the title of "Bonjwa", could fall so hard, so fast, and so many times. This wasn't his first slump; ever since that damn loss to 
Luxury in the EVER 2008 OSL, things just haven't been the same. ![[image loading]](http://www.1worldglobalgifts.com/images/Awards/AtlasAwardLG.gif)
![[image loading]](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v122/JadedEnmity/Flash.jpg)
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![[image loading]](http://www.judiciaryreport.com/images/barack-obama-5-14-08.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/Manifesto7/flash.jpg)
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