If you are what you say you are a superstar then have no fear the crowd is here and the lights are on and they want a show
To Bolt is to Boxer By Plexa Teamliquid Final Edits
The name Usain Bolt was only known within track and field circles up until these current Olympic Games. But then something extraordinary happened; his showmanship and charisma transformed the 100m final into a joke. Not only did he utterly destroy the world record for the 100m sprint, but he did it with style. After about 80m he stopped running as hard as he could, dropped his arms and began his celebrations; crossing the finish line sideways. This kind of showmanship is unprecedented within track and field. But his sheer brilliance coupled with his attitude made him an overnight phenomenon.
All around the world people were transfixed with the domination Bolt had over the 100m sprint. People who normally would only casually tune in to watch the final of an event, not really caring about who won or lost, found themselves tuning in just to watch Bolt tear up the world’s best sprinters and then watch his boyish antics as he paraded around the stadium – incredibly proud of his achievements. Track had found a star that it had desperately needed to revitalize the sport.
Indeed Bolt went on to make unprecedented history by winning the 100m and the 200m sprints both in world record time. In doing this he became the most sought after athlete for any track event purely because he was the best. Not only that, but the crowd loved him and his skill in working the crowd complemented this love perfectly. Bolt rescued track from obscurity and thrust it back into the lime light. The showman saved the day.
Change your dial back to Korea. Our beloved e-sport has experienced the grace of such a showman before. Cast your thoughts back to 2000 when progaming was still in its infancy and a non-mainstream television event. Then Boxer happened. Boxer’s brilliance in Starcraft thrust Starcraft into the mainstream and within a few years multiple TV stations were broadcasting Starcraft in prime time. Boxer is very similar to Bolt, they were both incredibly talented and far ahead of their peers in almost every respect. Boxer’s advantage over every other gamer was found in his ridiculously fast hands which weaved magic on the battlefield. Dazzling displays of micro and comebacks thought impossible by all won the crowd and indeed Korea over.
Boxer created the foundations for the modern Progaming scene through his showmanship and charisma. When YellOw tested him to his limit – fans were only more enticed as the best there has ever been was stretched to his limit but came out on top, cementing his status as the greatest. Obviously, Boxer could not last forever as the premier gamer and other gamers eventually had to take his place as the crowd puller.
Walking down through memory lane reminds me of the time that Nada destroyed Reach in an unprecedented 3-0 victory. The incredibly controversy surrounded that final and the hype around him. Then came Oov, who dominated Nada and with his natural showmanship embarrassed almost every other progamer with his ridiculous macro. Times like his mass ghost vs JJu stirred up the progaming scene and created the legend of iloveoov. Then we had the epic July vs Oov confrontations with people never knowing exactly what July might do. Savior emerged a little later and became the ultimate villain of the progaming scene. His dominance and flair was unmatched throughout history and people started to tune in just to watch how badly Savior would destroy his opponents. The desperate attempts to beat him from Midas, Daezang, Nal_ra and Iris created a legend that will never be repeated.
The natural charisma of the likes of Boxer, Yellow, Nal_ra, Nada, Reach, iloveoov, JulyZerg and Savior propelled the scene forward and attracted more and more viewers. With more viewers and the power of each of these gamers to draw a huge crowd resulted in OGN and MBCGame swelling in size to the point where they too could sponsor progaming teams. The success of the e-sports scene can be directly linked to Boxer’s initial flair and pizzazz which stirred up the masses.
Bisu followed on from where Savior left off. With his dazzling good looks and paramount PvZ he looked to be the next generation of the superstars. Then Stork happened – with his difficult to market image and high talent he posed a problem to both OGN and MBC as he would take out their golden boy Bisu. The GOMTV S2 finals went exactly as the script intended and Bisu walked away champion after one of the breathtaking finals from 2007 and things look to be well for the progaming scene.
In EVER 2007 the stage was set for Bisu to win his OSL, but then he got sick. After Stork destroyed Bisu 3-0 things turned from bad to worse for the superstar. He just managed to limp over UpMagic before falling into a small slump and dropping his grip on the Protoss throne. Stork continued his domination of the scene with uninspired play which promoted the stagnation of the Protoss race; where each game was a carbon copy of the next. Flash was able to defeat the stagnant Stork in both the GSI and Bacchus OSL finals but with equally boring and standard play. The scene had reached a stagnant point and ratings began to fall – despite Bacchus pulling the number 1 rating for the final.
People had dropped off from being hardcore scene followers into people who just watched the final, because as a fan they should, and not really interesting in the result. Just like the 100m and 200m sprints people had lost interest. Without a superstar to guide the scene things are looking dire for the game that has given us so much over the years.
It’s not that the flair has gone from the scene; one only needs to look at FireBatHero to see the flair and spark alive. Indeed at the moment FireBatHero is the one person who still manages to pull in the crowd despite his dwindling skill. People come to watch his ceremonies – not his games – which ultimately pulls in the crowd. But sadly, without the S-Class skill these kinds of players can’t save the scene from dwindling crowds as they simply aren’t playing in enough tournaments. Much has also looked promising in this regard, although from his recent games it appears that the infamous “heart” game was a one off. Nevertheless, temporarily Much was able to draw in more people and bolster his fan club.
So what is left? The scene needs a dominant figure with natural charisma and flair to boot.
Pictured above are your three contenders – Best, Jaedong and July. Each which has the potential to save the scene but just hasn’t quite gotten there yet. Best is the most striking candidate of the three purely because he exploded from nowhere from a sea of stagnation to become one of the most innovative and promising Protoss of 2008. Best’s spirit-esque macro style coupled with Bisu’s Dark Templar/Arbiter flair resulted in games that played out differently to the norm. With daring fast arbiter builds being used in PvT, people took notice as he wasn’t doing the normal fast carrier lame which killed PvT. With his advance to the EVER2008 Final he looked like he would be the face for a generation – but was cut short at the final hurdle.
Best was stopped by this man, July, who is another person who could potentially revive the scene. July has a long history in Starcraft – mostly thanks to his confrontation with Oov and his triumphs in the OSL over Reach and Goodfriend. His style is naturally charismatic. People come to watch July games because they know he is going to do something crazy, they know the strategies he has prepared are going to be lethal. But most of all they know he is a brilliant player with unequalled micro. July has featured in the pimpest plays many times because of this – and that means that people love to watch his play. Indeed, July performed exactly like July in the EVER08 Final against Best and with dazzling and off the wall strategies won 3-0. If July can keep this up, he will become the new face of progaming however if the OSL curse is anything to go by this won’t happen.
Lastly we have Jaedong – one of the more interesting and frustrating cases. Jaedong rose to stardom initially through his monstrous ZvT and his insane Proleague record. But in EVER2007 he experienced a meteoric rise to “superstar” with his new found ZvP talent and “ee han timing” mutalisks. Jaedong, however, was cut short in Bacchus by Flash which created a buzz about Flash but took a large blow at Jaedong’s “superstar” status. Jaedong won the GOMTV S4 MSL over Kal, but that victory was hollow so long Flash kept beating him, like he did in the GSI. After being frustratingly knocked out of the OSL by his team mate Backho, Jaedong appeared to be a mere mortal. This idea was perpetuated in his 0-3 loss to ForGG in the MSL final.
Jaedong however shows signs of staying around for a long time to come due to his innate skill. He managed to pick up his game and utterly destroy Flash in the GomTV Classic, but one has to wonder if the magic has gone. Jaedong is still a very talented player, but his play style has lost the charisma of July, Best or indeed himself in EVER 07. For Jaedong to revitalize starcraft he needs to have that charismatic element – but after his “superstar” status was assaulted by Flash and ForGG so ruthlessly, he doesn’t look like he will be able to return the charisma to his play.
The Korean scene seems to have realized that it needs a superstar to retain high ratings, and the change made by OGN to the OSL format seems to reflect this. Thus far the format change has resulted in only four new players in the OSL, and the players dropping out weren’t stellar to begin with meaning that the number of dropouts next season will probably be less. This means that Incruit OSL will most likely have a champion who also played in EVER 2008 OSL which increases the chance that players will post more consistent results season to season. Obviously this is an attempt to retain players for longer, like the OSL used to do in 2001-4, and hence create more superstars. Only time will tell if this ploy will pay off.
The MSL has suffered from a poor qualification system as well, following his defeat to Mind in the GOMTV S3 MSL, Bisu was eliminated in the Round of 32 thanks to the ODT style bracket. This rapid changing of players from season to season seems to be strongly connected to the stagnation of Protoss and Terran while cutting back the number of Zergs. Could it be that the qualifications systems for each of these tournament is directly responsible for removing superstars from the scene and hence killing ratings? It certainly seems so.
Even though July, Jaedong and Best are the most likely to save ratings at this point – the chances are it will be none of these. Indeed when Brood War turns on hard times thanks to difficult qualification systems and stagnant play there is really only two options – look for a new talent to destroy the scene or turn to Boxer.
Boxer returns from his air force duties very soon, and despite a heavily reduced practice schedule, has posted a 40% winrate against the top gamers of today. Indeed when Starcraft was in danger of becoming dry in 2004 with Oov destroying everything – Boxer stepped up and created the EVER2004 finals. When the fd reigned supreme and 2 gate power goon/dt threatened to destroy the entirety of the Terran race thanks to Pusan and Anytime – Boxer stepped up and created the comeback of 2005 and an amazing final. Every time Starcraft has needed someone, Boxer has answered the call. He is the Usain Bolt of Starcraft. Nay; Usain Bolt is the Boxer of sprinting.
The Emperor is returning with one goal in mind – winning the Golden Mouse. Boxer will show us the way forward through these dark times and revitalize the glorious Starcraft scene and preserve it for years to come.
That was an amazing read Plexa. Indeed, Broodwar is in need of a superstar. Whether it is Lim Yo Hwan, Do Jae Wook, or Lee Je Dong, or even dear Kim Yaek Yong, I am eagerly awaiting for someone to step up and take the crown.
On August 26 2008 11:41 Plexa wrote: obviously, Nada in olympic terms is without doubt michael phelps
But one would wonder if Phelps could be considered the greatest of all time. In that case, would Nada still be considered Phelps? The greatest of all time?
On August 26 2008 11:41 Plexa wrote: obviously, Nada in olympic terms is without doubt michael phelps
But one would wonder if Phelps could be considered the greatest of all time. In that case, would Nada still be considered Phelps? The greatest of all time?
Nada is considered the most successful of all time though
so plexa..... how is he gonna do this if he quits sc ^.^
really nice though; even though i just starting following the pro scene with the of savior and irse of bisu/flash i felt i could really connect with the write up
All hail the Return of the Emperor! (how badass would it be if Boxer returned for the incruit OSL and won it, seeing the map "Return of the King" in the mappool)
I sincerely hope he gets a golden mouse in the near future, and make us wet our pants again with ridiculous strategies and amazing micro.
On August 26 2008 11:59 YanGpaN wrote: wait didn't you say boxer should quit SC a few weeks ago? Just wondering did i miss anything in between?
He said boxer should switch to coaching, or something on those lines. Not quit SC altogether. And yes, boxer is freaking awesome, he's the reason I play Terran or got back into SC at all since like 8th grade (5 years ago)
On August 26 2008 11:50 Plexa wrote: yes; at heart i am a huge boxer fan and what i wrote in my blog didn't reflect what i truly thought merely the converse of my thoughts
Read please. This is Plexa's explanation, and it's totally acceptable. It really was to incite discussion and that is exactly what they did.
come on, jaedong is insanely entertaining. You never know what he's going to do next, and he's been extremely dominant since his OSL victory. He has something like a 70% winrate, and I think his ZvP is over 90% or something. He still plays great TvZ when he needs to, showed in his victories vs. hwasin and flash in the MSL and GSL. Ppl say he "slumped", but it was more of him just getting cheesed a few times and losing a game or two.
basically I strongly disagree with your viewpoint. Jaedong is an extremely dynamic player, with 4 major tournament wins in the past year. I think you're belittling his accomplishments
Edit: just to correct myself, jaedong has some 69% winrate in the last year, I think over 70% zvp and zvz, and 55% zvt
I also appreciate Boxer for his mark in the Starcraft gaming history but his time is gone. I don't see him coming back
Your post made it sound like Jaedong is forever beaten down by Flash and ForGG and will not come back to playing his monstrous games. He already showed he's better than Flash by 3-0'ing recently. Next is ForGG's turn.
"Jaedong however shows signs of staying around for a long time to come due to his innate skill"
Yeah don't make it sound like our Zerg God is barely able to stay around. He is on fire lately, and has been, and will probably make it to next month's PR #1 if I can guess right.
On August 26 2008 12:34 Sunyveil wrote: come on, jaedong is insanely entertaining. You never know what he's going to do next, and he's been extremely dominant since his OSL victory. He has something like a 70% winrate, and I think his ZvP is over 90% or something. He still plays great TvZ when he needs to, showed in his victories vs. hwasin and flash in the MSL and GSL. Ppl say he "slumped", but it was more of him just getting cheesed a few times and losing a game or two.
basically I strongly disagree with your viewpoint. Jaedong is an extremely dynamic player, with 4 major tournament wins in the past year. I think you're belittling his accomplishments
I agree strongly. The thread maker is definately understating JD's amazing record and dominance this + last year. His ZvT is looking solid lately, his ZvP is untouchable, and his ZvZ is perfect
Meh, I don't think comparing SC players or even Boxer to a sprinter who is very probably doped (although it's yet to be proven, and maybe never will be) is entirely appropriate. Still a good read though, but that's guaranteed anyway, given the author
On August 26 2008 12:34 Sunyveil wrote: come on, jaedong is insanely entertaining. You never know what he's going to do next, and he's been extremely dominant since his OSL victory. He has something like a 70% winrate, and I think his ZvP is over 90% or something. He still plays great TvZ when he needs to, showed in his victories vs. hwasin and flash in the MSL and GSL. Ppl say he "slumped", but it was more of him just getting cheesed a few times and losing a game or two.
basically I strongly disagree with your viewpoint. Jaedong is an extremely dynamic player, with 4 major tournament wins in the past year. I think you're belittling his accomplishments
I agree strongly. The thread maker is definately understating JD's amazing record and dominance this + last year. His ZvT is looking solid lately, his ZvP is untouchable, and his ZvZ is perfect
I never belittled Jaedong's accomplishments so don't take it in that light. But if you compare Jaedong's games from his era of proleague domination or his ever07 run, at least from my perspective, his game just isn't as entertaining as it used to be. Sure, i don't like Jaedong at all - but i can appreciate an entertaining game when i see it (e.g. anytimes drunken rampage). Even Sea has lost a lot of his original charisma (remember when he played the blitzkrieg tvt agianst goodfriend on old peaks? or his mnm all in on 815 vs boxer?). Charisma is something which typically naturally deteriorates over time, with only a few notable exceptions (e.g boxer). Jaedong is still playing stupidly brilliant, but the question is are his games still as charismatic as they used to be (ie is he going the way of stork?)
On August 26 2008 13:00 Carnac wrote: Meh, I don't think comparing SC players or even Boxer to a sprinter who is very probably doped (although it's yet to be proven, and maybe never will be) is entirely appropriate. Still a good read though, but that's guaranteed anyway, given the author
I think that the buzz generated around Bolt and what that buzz meant for track and field is perfectly comparable to Boxer's effect on the scene. I don't know about the rest of you, but i found myself transfixed with what bolt was going to do next. I casually tuned into the 100m final - saw something magic - and followed all his other races in the olympics. This is the magnetic effect that boxer had on the original fans of stacraft you tune in to see, say, a final and you witness brilliance in it's purest form and then you follow him from starleague to starleague admiring his brilliance.
On August 26 2008 12:43 KimTaeYeon wrote: Brilliant read, however, I'm slightly offended as the #1 Stork fanboy I actually find his games more fun to watch than any other modern protoss
Well... Here is storks "revolutionary" game on 815 which later lead to anytime adapting this opening and defeating Xellos changing the balance of 815 to a protoss map. Watch the absolute genius build and his brilliant follow up. Compare that to this from some of his more recent games. The magic has quite clearly gone.
I don't know, seems like the concept of charismatic play is just too tainted by personal preferences and biases. I've watched Jaedong a lot recently and found his playstyle very entertaining, like his mass scourge+zergling attack on Luxury and owning Best's corsair/reaver to the point of sending Best flying out of his own seat. I have to wonder if you're confusing charismatic play with just plain individual charisma - on the one hand you talk about the gameplay style but then you talk about repeat champions and that doesn't necessarily mean a charismatic gameplay style. I also never found Best's play charismatic, but this is biased by my dislike of protoss players in general.
Somewhat agreeing with your article, I would say Boxer is the only one who is both personally charismatic while consistently maintaining a charismatic playstyle, but the latter is definitely aided by the fact that he plays Terran. There aren't that many cute things you can really do as a Zerg player to both be dominant and entertaining.
I don't understand the basis on which you're criticizing Jaedong's charisma and flair, Plexa.
Jaedong is an incredible asset in the proleague, and he's the winner of OSL, MSL, and GSL. His strategies are varied, innovative, often risky, and superbly executed. He's demonstrated tremendous skill in all three matchups, and he's also shown that he has the resilience to come back from defeat (trouncing Flash after losing to ForGG). He's the single most stellar progamer of the 07-08 stretch.
When I think of StarCraft's greatest players, I think: Boxer -> Nada -> Oov -> Savior -> (Bisu) -> (Flash) -> Jaedong July too, but he doesn't fit in the sequence.
Some of these names are negotiable *cough*. Jaedong is not. He's proven himself. If Jaedong doesn't fit the bill, I have to wonder what on Earth you're looking for in a progamer.
On August 26 2008 13:36 Djabanete wrote: I don't understand the basis on which you're criticizing Jaedong's charisma and flair, Plexa.
Jaedong is an incredible asset in the proleague, and he's the winner of OSL, MSL, and GSL. His strategies are varied, innovative, often risky, and superbly executed. He's demonstrated tremendous skill in all three matchups, and he's also shown that he has the resilience to come back from defeat (trouncing Flash after losing to ForGG). He's the single most stellar progamer of the 07-08 stretch.
When I think of StarCraft's greatest players, I think: Boxer -> Nada -> Oov -> Savior -> (Bisu) -> (Flash) -> Jaedong July too, but he doesn't fit in the sequence.
Some of these names are negotiable *cough*. Jaedong is not. He's proven himself. If Jaedong doesn't fit the bill, I have to wonder what on Earth you're looking for in a progamer.
Nice post. Seriously. I've also been extremely impressed and entertained by the brilliance of Jaedong's play -- and you mentioned thus but I really want to drive the point home: the man has an amazing, unparallelled, crazy amount of variety, and for him to be a Zerg player makes it all the more praise-worthy. It is extremely rare to see a progamer in the prime of their career, their dominant period, glide between stratagies, builds, and playstyles game to game so effortlessly as Jaedong has been doing this past year. He's hyper agressive zerg styles one game, at a level higher than July or any other Zerg, only to follow it up next game with a sAviOr-esque greedy macro build at a level higher than the Maestro. He cant be nailed down to anything (unlike Flash and his 14cc/macro overwhelming obsession) and I think this is what makes him so scary to his opponents and so entertaining to me.
On August 26 2008 13:59 spydernoob wrote: good article. anyone have a link to a vod of the iloveoov vs jju game where he goes mass ghost?
Unless my memory is failing me, its this game, and this game is the one where jju pulls out the legendary ensare-wraith counter iirc
I must say i am heartened by the some of the points raised by the Jaedong fans. I don't have quite the time to properly respond to the points raise, as they are all very good points, but there is one point i want to address right now.
I've also been extremely impressed and entertained by the brilliance of Jaedong's play -- and you mentioned thus but I really want to drive the point home: the man has an amazing, unparallelled, crazy amount of variety, and for him to be a Zerg player makes it all the more praise-worthy. It is extremely rare to see a progamer in the prime of their career, their dominant period, glide between stratagies, builds, and playstyles game to game so effortlessly as Jaedong has been doing this past year. He's hyper agressive zerg styles one game, at a level higher than July or any other Zerg, only to follow it up next game with a sAviOr-esque greedy macro build at a level higher than the Maestro. He cant be nailed down to anything (unlike Flash and his 14cc/macro overwhelming obsession) and I think this is what makes him so scary to his opponents and so entertaining to me.
If you look at all Zerg players in their prime, no matter who the zerg is, the very best Zergs do have somewhat of a varied element about their play. July did, Luxury does, JJu certainly did etc so this aspect about variety isn't as exclusive as you might think. Zerg's readily have to adapt to maps more so than other races - thats just the fundamental nature of Zerg. Even players like Kwanro - who has a hyper aggressive style - needs to change it up depending on the map as he did vs Bisu on andromeda (iirc). I haven't seen Jaedong's WCG games yet, i've just been too busy. But i did catch most of the MSL games and the majority of the GOMTV games. The styles shown there were diverse, diverse as any zerg would be - and his mechanics were indeed sound. But really, there was nothing 'special' about what i saw other than a more gifted macro than most.
Sometimes in Zerg you look for those who refuse to adapt to the map and play it their own way. Kwanro at the start of his career was like this in ZvT. But the real example is Savior - no matter what you threw at him, his 3hatch build would destroy you very much unlike the rest of the Zerg race which had to continually adapt. I see Jaedong and indeed Luxury as talented gamers but not quite having that last bit to push them to superstardom like what happened with Savior.
On August 26 2008 12:43 KimTaeYeon wrote: Brilliant read, however, I'm slightly offended as the #1 Stork fanboy I actually find his games more fun to watch than any other modern protoss
Well... Here is storks "revolutionary" game on 815 which later lead to anytime adapting this opening and defeating Xellos changing the balance of 815 to a protoss map. Watch the absolute genius build and his brilliant follow up. Compare that to this from some of his more recent games. The magic has quite clearly gone.
Yes, Stork has choked time and time again in his finals appearances but I have hopes of him making it far into the OSL this time around and showing some interesting builds on Plasma.
On August 26 2008 12:37 Februarys wrote: I also appreciate Boxer for his mark in the Starcraft gaming history but his time is gone. I don't see him coming back
Your post made it sound like Jaedong is forever beaten down by Flash and ForGG and will not come back to playing his monstrous games. He already showed he's better than Flash by 3-0'ing recently. Next is ForGG's turn.
"Jaedong however shows signs of staying around for a long time to come due to his innate skill"
Yeah don't make it sound like our Zerg God is barely able to stay around. He is on fire lately, and has been, and will probably make it to next month's PR #1 if I can guess right.
Yeah, Jaedong lost a couple finals. Go back into the annals of starcraft history, every bonjwa has. A few minor bumps in the road doesn't show him as being mortal, that he isn't a bonjwa raping everyone, hes doing the same thing as everyone did. People are just overly nostalgic. However, I do agree with Plexa that Jaedong doesn't really have the Charisma a StarCraft Bonjwa has, hes just some guy that plays really well- but hes better than Stork, or some crap.
Incredible as always... I really hope it comes true. If Boxer makes a comeback after his Air Force duties, it will be the most incredible moment in Starcraft history. As a side note, I really think Jaedong will continue to be a powerhouse for a really long period of time.
Great write-up, Plexa. I always enjoy reading Final Edits and your articles/blogs.
You know what's sad? The fact that the only reason why Jaedong isn't a two-time MSL and OSL champ is because his teammates keep stopping him. If BackHo and ForGG weren't on the same team as him, there is NO WAY he would have lost. We all saw how even in prime bonjwas can be vulnerable to their teammates: Iris pushing Savior to the limit and Boxer almost overtaking iloveOOv. But in Savior and iloveOOv's case, they were able to overcome the psychological warfare waged upon by their teammates. Jaedong was not.
It's that tiny extra spark he was missing that kept him from attaining bonjwa status; that little edge that would have helped him beat those to who knew his most intimate weaknesses.
Amazing article, I agree with basically everything it says. Though the thing with Boxer that might make him different from Bolt (don't really know much about Bolt, just saw his awesome achievements) is that he has done so much for the scene outside his own game (which obviously is his biggest contribution). I remember reading that he even got invited to the Blue House (the Korean White House) to talk to politicians about the e-sport scene.
Boxers legacy far outmatches Bolts as it is now (though if Bolt keeps this up he might attain this highest of honors, to be the Boxer of your trade) and I think what Bolt has done now is that he revitalized tracks and gained attention for the sport, just like Boxer did, but he hasn't shaped the sport they way Boxer shaped SC.
I seem to remember someone writing that progamers became stars not despite the fact that they were imperfect, but rather because of that fact. I think that is a big part of the explanation, modern Starcraft has simply come too close to requiring perfection from the players. I do not think that Jaedong is perfect, however, which leads to the other major reason.
There was a thread some time ago, when people discussed the "smartest" progamer. It didn't really get anywhere, mainly since people didn't agree exactly what they were arguing. For the most part however, those named were those superstars that made Starcraft into what it is.
Going into that thread, I made a somewhat weak attempt at defining "smartness" in progaming, and somewhat simplified, divided it into the ability to create smart builds, winning through tricking the opponent (deceptive play) and adaptation, responding well do both smart builds and deceptive play. And to me it seems that most of the most popular players, as well as the most dominant, excelled in more than one of these. Boxer, for example, did not only create smart builds, and build that could catch the opponent totally of guard, but could also adapt and recover from very tight spots. To me he seems that maybe the "smartest" gamer, excelling in every area of progaming smart, making up for his far from perfect mechanics. But even the more "standard" players, like oov, Nada and Savior, excelled in more in intelligence, in their case the creation of game changing builds, and above and beyond all, the adaptation needed to thrive on the long game, confident that they could respond to anything their opponent could throw at them. To me, particularly oov and Savior stand out, seeing how their extraordinary gamesense and adaptation made up for their (compared to nada) imperfect mechanics and apm.
And when we come to recent times, and look at Jaedong, do we really notice these abilities as strongly in him? I know full well that his fanboys will defend him, saying that he is the smartest ever, but it seems to me, that he could be, and I would never notice, since he doesn't need to be to win. His mechanics are simply that good, that he doesn't need to be smart, doesn't need to create revolutionary builds, doesn't need to trick his opponent to win. He will dominate the games he win so thoroughly, he doesn't need to adapt. He simply bulldozes over them.
And maybe this is the only flaw, the only imperfection, that is unforgivable in starcraft. The ability of being so good you win through not out-thinking your opponent, but simply playing the game better.
I really liked your write-up and your summary about Starcraft and the emperor etc., but regarding Usain Bolt I couldn't disagree more.
Due to him I lost the last grain of respect and faith in the olympic idea, the cleanliness of sports and the spirit of sportmanship. I believe that he will be the cornerstone of a unprecedented demise of the olympic spirit and many many people look with disgust at what he did and what he stands for. Probably, a lot people will stop watching Olympic Games and stop seeing them as fair, respectful and full of performances achieved by sheer dedicated training alone.
The way he not only pulverized the records, all other sprinters and the aforementioned spirit without giving a shit about the other contestants (he didn't even look at them), felt like a clap in the face of all clean athletes.
He didn't even bother to run 100m full speed, probably saving later world records for better paid meetings....
Even Jacques Rogge complained about his arrogance and I personally really disgust it. Even though he is quite young, his behavior is not acceptable.
I for one will never watch 100m live again (I used to be a sprinter myself), and I know many people who feel the same.
Good read. Thanks. There definitely had to be done something to build up some names in progaming lately.
Personal charisma combined with champion is hard to find these days. I dont really get how you're comparing BeSt with July. The two have completely different starting points. July has tons of titles, while BeSt has none.
Theres a huge difference between these two. Gameplaywise July has the "it", while BeSt doesnt have that extra. BeSt mixes up his play way to seldomly, his scouting isnt that great, he doesnt adapt very well, he doesnt harass enough, his micro isnt close to his macro, and he lost to Really on Katrina. Hes very consistent though, and has arguably the best economy mechanics right now. July has weaknesses too of course, but they arent that apparant, such as bad decisionmaking, and consistency.
Also, BeSt doesnt have the personal character of July. He does not dispell the same confidence July does. July is the buff guy with sheer determination in his eyes when he plays. BeSt is the thin guy with long arms, glasses and with a dent of nerves coming from his eyes. You can see this when they celebrate after their games, giving high fives. Oov pretty much had an optimal personal appearance with his height and intimidating face, followed closely by Reach. Jaedong displays confidence, and I think he sticks out as a champion with charisma opposed to many of his other recent championcompanions. This is of course from my perspective, and everyone has their own opinion about this.
Keep in mind Im talking about individual leagues, BeSt is surely one of the most solid/dominant players in terms of consistency, and will for sure continue having nice records in proleague atleast in the upcoming seasons, but he wont win any titles.
You forgot Anytime when you listed up champions with natural charisma.
Lastly if I had to make a pick between those three about who Id think win most leagues in the upcoming season Id pick Jaedong for sure, but if I had to pick who would have the best winning % Id pick BeSt. I guess that comes down to what you define as "dominant" though.
The olympics are corrupt...we all know this ...especially everything that went on this year...bolt is prolly on the juice. boxer is cool though and I look forward to him coming back he makes me think about playing terran sometimes
On August 26 2008 22:42 XinRan wrote: Thanks for the article, great read on a boring summer day. Can anyone link me to the mass ghost game between oov and Jju?
I think it was mass wraith, and just search JJu's games vs oov in the TLPD on the right tool bar.
On August 26 2008 22:42 XinRan wrote: Thanks for the article, great read on a boring summer day. Can anyone link me to the mass ghost game between oov and Jju?
I think it was mass wraith, and just search JJu's games vs oov in the TLPD on the right tool bar.
Mass ghost would have been awesome I found the game, it was on Rush Hour 2 (link). Thanks anyway!
He makes Best literally jump out of his seat (skip to 10:40 if you want). Jaedong has style, man.
On August 26 2008 14:09 Plexa wrote: Sometimes in Zerg you look for those who refuse to adapt to the map and play it their own way. Kwanro at the start of his career was like this in ZvT. But the real example is Savior - no matter what you threw at him, his 3hatch build would destroy you very much unlike the rest of the Zerg race which had to continually adapt. I see Jaedong and indeed Luxury as talented gamers but not quite having that last bit to push them to superstardom like what happened with Savior.
You seem to criticize Flash and praise Savior for doing the same thing: repeatedly using a strong build and winning with it. You see Jaedong as "not quite having that last bit" that would make him so good he could use the same build over and over? With all due respect to Savior, I personally prefer watching someone who mixes things up and can play various styles well.
Boxer is not to Bolt, Bolt used skill and training to become the fastest runner their straight up. If boxer was running the olympics he would have desquised himself with a fake mustache and snuck ahead of everyone halfway through the race
Legendz speak of a Starcraft player whos skillz were the stuff of legendz. Hes so awesome, in fact his opponents would be blinded by the overexposure to pure awesomeness.
Go go boxer, crush these pathetic n00bs like jaedong, bisu, flash and forgg. Dominate the Starleagues and show em whos real pwner of the house!!
On August 27 2008 03:13 Machine[USA] wrote: Boxer is not to Bolt, Bolt used skill and training to become the fastest runner their straight up. If boxer was running the olympics he would have desquised himself with a fake mustache and snuck ahead of everyone halfway through the race
Umm.. Boxer practices a LOT. Has always been known.
On August 26 2008 14:09 Plexa wrote: Unless my memory is failing me, its this game, and this game is the one where jju pulls out the legendary ensare-wraith counter iirc
I watched the first game and I couldn't find the mass ghost by iloveoov Am i just not seeing it or was it a different game?
Good article! I guess you don't think Boxer should retire after all
Jaedong's WCG games versus BeSt and GSI final versus FlaSh definitely lead me to think that he can be the dominant player everyone wants. Making BeSt jump out of his seat was awesome. All he needs now is a good bo3 or bo5 rematch with ForGG.
I seriously can't wait until Boxer comes back and starts playing televised matches more regularly. TBH I haven't been watching as much SC as usual, everyone I become a fan of seems to disappear from the active individual leagues...
i think forgg has enough flair to get some interest going. His games against jaedong in the msl were some of the best tvz i've ever seen. however, i would love to see boxer make a comeback
On August 26 2008 21:14 Drazzzt wrote: The way he not only pulverized the records, all other sprinters and the aforementioned spirit without giving a shit about the other contestants (he didn't even look at them), felt like a clap in the face of all clean athletes.
Later, at the medal news conference, Bolt said it was obvious that the hamstring injury Gay sustained this summer at the United States trials in Eugene, Ore. — which kept him from running the 200 meters here — had hampered his preparation for the 100. Bolt, 21, graciously said he wanted to wish his rival godspeed, and to see him challenging soon.
In this interview, Bolt says that he is friendly with Asafa Powell and has fun with him during training.
Asafa Powell and Tyson Gay were his two biggest rivals going into Beijing and these two pieces of evidence demonstrate that he does care about them. Failing to look at his opponents after a race is absolutely not strong evidence to the contrary.
I didn't quote any other part of your post because there were really no other arguments. Feel free to give strong evidence that contradicts mine, but in the meantime, do not publicly say so many negative things about Usain Bolt.
On August 27 2008 13:36 NonY[rC] wrote: Asafa Powell and Tyson Gay were his two biggest rivals going into Beijing and these two pieces of evidence demonstrate that he does care about them. Failing to look at his opponents after a race is absolutely not strong evidence to the contrary.
I didn't quote any other part of your post because there were really no other arguments. Feel free to give strong evidence that contradicts mine, but in the meantime, do not publicly say so many negative things about Usain Bolt.
As I endorse freedom of opinion, I can definitely utter such strong opinions, even if they are negative towards Usain Bolt. I expressed my feelings about the olympic races and the role Usain Bolt played and I know from discussions with others that I am not alone with these feelings. Of course, I don't have evidence that he doped or anything like that. No one has, and perhapse he doesn't dope and is a talent which is born once in a thousand years. But for my taste, there are too many such talents born on an island with 2.7 million inhabitants that has an almost non-existent anti-doping system. As there is no evidence, it is a question of faith, which I simply lack. And I know, I am not alone.
BUT: doped or not. This was not my main point. It's not up to me to decide. I just judged the way he behaved during the olympic games and the impressions I MYSELF got from it.
The only evidence you are giving is that he says that he likes his opponents. Come on... Of course, he likes his training partner Asafa Powell and of course he wants Tyson Gay to be fit in order to avoid the discussion of being the fastest if the main rival was injured (I read he was...but who knows).
Anyways, that's only of medium importance. Because I judged his behavior before and after the races. I mainly criticize his defiance of fairplay-behavior. Jogging during the semi-finals without even warming up, stopping his 100m race after 80-90 m, and performing an unprecedented dominance ritual afterwards. For me, paired with the doubts I mentioned above, Usain Bolt _for me_ is an anti-hero and someone who probably harms more than he is a messias.
AND I love Boxer, so comparing him to Bolt is hard to stand (at least for me).
On August 26 2008 21:40 Guybrush wrote: Good read. Thanks. There definitely had to be done something to build up some names in progaming lately.
Personal charisma combined with champion is hard to find these days. I dont really get how you're comparing BeSt with July. The two have completely different starting points. July has tons of titles, while BeSt has none.
Theres a huge difference between these two. Gameplaywise July has the "it", while BeSt doesnt have that extra. BeSt mixes up his play way to seldomly, his scouting isnt that great, he doesnt adapt very well, he doesnt harass enough, his micro isnt close to his macro, and he lost to Really on Katrina. Hes very consistent though, and has arguably the best economy mechanics right now. July has weaknesses too of course, but they arent that apparant, such as bad decisionmaking, and consistency.
Also, BeSt doesnt have the personal character of July. He does not dispell the same confidence July does. July is the buff guy with sheer determination in his eyes when he plays. BeSt is the thin guy with long arms, glasses and with a dent of nerves coming from his eyes. You can see this when they celebrate after their games, giving high fives. Oov pretty much had an optimal personal appearance with his height and intimidating face, followed closely by Reach. Jaedong displays confidence, and I think he sticks out as a champion with charisma opposed to many of his other recent championcompanions. This is of course from my perspective, and everyone has their own opinion about this.
Keep in mind Im talking about individual leagues, BeSt is surely one of the most solid/dominant players in terms of consistency, and will for sure continue having nice records in proleague atleast in the upcoming seasons, but he wont win any titles.
You forgot Anytime when you listed up champions with natural charisma.
Lastly if I had to make a pick between those three about who Id think win most leagues in the upcoming season Id pick Jaedong for sure, but if I had to pick who would have the best winning % Id pick BeSt. I guess that comes down to what you define as "dominant" though.
It's not about the confidence you're showing outside the game, it's about the confidence you show in your gameplay, that defines a charismatic player in my opinion.
On August 27 2008 13:36 NonY[rC] wrote: Asafa Powell and Tyson Gay were his two biggest rivals going into Beijing and these two pieces of evidence demonstrate that he does care about them. Failing to look at his opponents after a race is absolutely not strong evidence to the contrary.
I didn't quote any other part of your post because there were really no other arguments. Feel free to give strong evidence that contradicts mine, but in the meantime, do not publicly say so many negative things about Usain Bolt.
As I endorse freedom of opinion, I can definitely utter such strong opinions, even if they are negative towards Usain Bolt. I expressed my feelings about the olympic races and the role Usain Bolt played and I know from discussions with others that I am not alone with these feelings. Of course, I don't have evidence that he doped or anything like that. No one has, and perhapse he doesn't dope and is a talent which is born once in a thousand years. But for my taste, there are too many such talents born on an island with 2.7 million inhabitants that has an almost non-existent anti-doping system. As there is no evidence, it is a question of faith, which I simply lack. And I know, I am not alone.
BUT: doped or not. This was not my main point. It's not up to me to decide. I just judged the way he behaved during the olympic games and the impressions I MYSELF got from it.
The only evidence you are giving is that he says that he likes his opponents. Come on... Of course, he likes his training partner Asafa Powell and of course he wants Tyson Gay to be fit in order to avoid the discussion of being the fastest if the main rival was injured (I read he was...but who knows).
Anyways, that's only of medium importance. Because I judged his behavior before and after the races. I mainly criticize his defiance of fairplay-behavior. Jogging during the semi-finals without even warming up, stopping his 100m race after 80-90 m, and performing an unprecedented dominance ritual afterwards. For me, paired with the doubts I mentioned above, Usain Bolt _for me_ is an anti-hero and someone who probably harms more than he is a messias.
AND I love Boxer, so comparing him to Bolt is hard to stand (at least for me).
You can have freedom of opinion but there is no such thing as freedom of expression. If you are going to publicly slam someone on TL.net without having good reasons for it, then you will be stopped (either by members or, if it's more serious, then by mods). If you want to draw conclusions when there isn't enough evidence, if you want to form strong opinions about someone you hardly know, or if you want stubbornly cling to your first impression in the face of evidence to the contrary, then you can do those things privately. Plexa is incredibly patient and will probably give you a nice response when he gets to it, but you've basically given him nothing to respond to. A guy named Drazzzt from Germany has the opinion that Bolt has poor manners... so what? Anyone who has read the news knows perfectly well that there are people who disapprove of the way Bolt acted. The point of you reminding Plexa of this fact, by giving yourself as an example, is trivial. And since it's so trivial for the discussion, the way your post comes off is just as a sounding board for you to blast Bolt.
If the moderators stop anyone, they should first stop you, Nony. Whereas Drazzzt mady a clear writeup with good arguments, you first of all get quite offending towards him.
He lacks charisma?? No way. His plays are crisp and entertaining. They showcase his brilliant skill and handspeed. He doesn't always have to have a plan. He is a spontaneous, free-wheeling, and creative player.
Jaedong is perhaps more entertaining than July, who at one point, kept executing the long-forsaken 2-hatch build, losing over and over again.
I just want to say, that JD will be recognised as the Hero only by the zerg players, simply because his dominance began when basically everybody were slumping and EVERY fucking time when JD faces a serious rival and some competition he fails. Yes, Jaedong is a damn good hot player but there will be almost always a guy who is hotter than him (Flash, ForGG). I dont like him , but he better prevails cause it will kinda suck if goes out of the MSL in the group stages, cause going off- season so early is depressing for every champ.
Indeed if Boxer comes back to seize the golden mouse it would be an enigmatic and exciting time for the SC scene. And if Boxer manages to become dominant once more, aren't there two more mouses to earn (Platinum and something else?) after the Golden mouse?
If there was ever a progamer capable of it, it is Lim Yo Hwan!
On August 28 2008 05:50 WhatisProtoss wrote: You're downplaying how good Jaedong is.
He lacks charisma?? No way. His plays are crisp and entertaining. They showcase his brilliant skill and handspeed. He doesn't always have to have a plan. He is a spontaneous, free-wheeling, and creative player.
Jaedong is perhaps more entertaining than July, who at one point, kept executing the long-forsaken 2-hatch build, losing over and over again.
What you say is definitely true, but you have to admit, Jaedong is not a consistent player. He's doing well now, but not great. There is no single dominating player, which is what Plexa is saying SC needs in order to revitalize it. There's no hero for everyone to either love or hate.
I will try to respond to most of the points raised tomorrow.. im swamped with work atm and i have a test in ~6hours wtf t.t and an assignment due tomorrow which i havent started... fuck!
If Boxer wins the golden mouse, I shall betray Aiur and play terran again. Boxer was the reason I started playing starcraft competitively :p. Great writeup Plexa.
Whats about this hype on Best? He's a Macrogamer like Flash but for some reason you talk one of em up and the other down. My call on them? Both boring, kinda killing Starcraft.
Do we need another *Star*? No. What actually would be good for SC/BW are 5-10 consistent Top-Players were you never know who will win. Players which are not kinda *caught* in theyr style (like savior was and Flash is). The new OSL-Format is kinda forcing this whitout completly cancelling out newcomers.
The best games i saw in a long time were the July vs Best series, why? All 3 games were diffrent, yes, they were pure domination by July and Best did some stupid moves (game 1... late Proxgates to counter 4 Pool into Fastmuts? WTF was he thinking?). The second one was pure brilliance on Julys part, *standart* BO --> Scout --> See weakness --> Exploit weakness --> Win. Thats what Starcraft is and should be about. I saw many commends feeling that this games were to short to be really exciting, i say, these games were exciting because they were short. The problem with for example Flash's playstyle is, that the games tend to go the same road over and over again. The players that win against Flash basically don't beat Flash, they beat a build Order (Savior vs Bisu was the same, it just took terribly much time until someone figured out how to beat saviors built). Now if i look at Jaedong (probably the dominant player right now, if not he, who then?) he is not all about his *built*. He goes 2 Hatch Muta, he goes overpool, he goes 3 Hatch. This is what makes a player exciting. He can do Saviorstyle and he can do Low-Econ/Julystyle. He also is able to do things, you don't see often like his use of burrowed units vs Best (which seems to be every good Z's punching bag :p).
I know, switching gamestyles is way easyer for Zerg then for the other Races, especially Terran is kinda *stuck* into M&M/Vessel/evtl. Tanks vs Zerg and Tank/Vulture/evtl. Gholiat vs Shuttle/Carrier against Toss. An exciting Terranplayer really has to be at leat a little like Boxer, doing crazy stuff like sending John Rambo and 3 Medic's on rampage against 100 Lurkers or.. uhm.. using Ghost(s) . The excitment of a Protoss player for me also directly boils down to his Reavers or Psidrops and pure Micro. I mean, what is there else to Protoss? There are Zeals and Goons in every game, the *only* question is Reaver or Templar and how fast Arbiter or/and Carrier. This is just not as exciting as seeing *diffrent* stuff in every game (i know there are huge diffrence's, but theyre just kinda *hidden* in the P and T builds while Z shows em all over the place).
Probably this is changing a little again, Toss player seem to FE a little less which makes fast techs and with that little microbattles more frequent which is a very good thing.
What would be good for SC/BW? Sending those 200/200 Macroplayers down the drain and bringing in more offensive earlygamers in. Why? 2 Macroplayers that slug it out will end in a Macrofest. 2 offensive earlygamers will, if on equal footing, also end in a Macrowar but with a way more exciting first half of the game.
On August 28 2008 00:31 NonY[rC] wrote: You can have freedom of opinion but there is no such thing as freedom of expression. If you are going to publicly slam someone on TL.net without having good reasons for it, then you will be stopped (either by members or, if it's more serious, then by mods). If you want to draw conclusions when there isn't enough evidence, if you want to form strong opinions about someone you hardly know, or if you want stubbornly cling to your first impression in the face of evidence to the contrary, then you can do those things privately. Plexa is incredibly patient and will probably give you a nice response when he gets to it, but you've basically given him nothing to respond to. A guy named Drazzzt from Germany has the opinion that Bolt has poor manners... so what? Anyone who has read the news knows perfectly well that there are people who disapprove of the way Bolt acted. The point of you reminding Plexa of this fact, by giving yourself as an example, is trivial. And since it's so trivial for the discussion, the way your post comes off is just as a sounding board for you to blast Bolt.
Dear NonY[rC] from the USA, I would prefer if you would argue a little bit more to the point without affronting me just because you are most probably closer to the mods than I am. It was never my intention to attack Plexa (and I am strongly convinced that I haven't, as I already wrote in my first post, I really enjoyed the SC part). Apart from that, I really cannot believe that you are fully aware of what you are saying with your last post. You sell your Bolt interview as hard facts (just think about all evidently doping athletes swearing that they of course never ever doped....), cast aside what many ppl feel about the topic and even claim that without hard facts, no one may be even _criticized_ ??? We are not speaking about convictions or legal actions, just opinions. Maybe you take a deep breath and another close look at the basic democratic law of freedom of opinion . Anyways, the topic is not important enough to argue on.
Plexa, keep up the good work and if you want to discuss with me after your exams, I will be glad to answer. If not (which would probably be better due to the strong feelings of some ppl involved) it's okay for me.
I realise that it's really really really too early to tell but maybe SC2 being less macro oriented opens up a lot more options for entertaining micro gameplay. It could be a really good thing =)
heh stork the unmarketable. man, this FE makes me want to switch to terran. Btw, what's with the empty superman face? From how the chronology looked to me, it was right to left (beginning to now), so who's supposed to be before Boxer?
I really liked your write-up and your summary about Starcraft and the emperor etc., but regarding Usain Bolt I couldn't disagree more.
Due to him I lost the last grain of respect and faith in the olympic idea, the cleanliness of sports and the spirit of sportmanship. I believe that he will be the cornerstone of a unprecedented demise of the olympic spirit and many many people look with disgust at what he did and what he stands for. Probably, a lot people will stop watching Olympic Games and stop seeing them as fair, respectful and full of performances achieved by sheer dedicated training alone.
The way he not only pulverized the records, all other sprinters and the aforementioned spirit without giving a shit about the other contestants (he didn't even look at them), felt like a clap in the face of all clean athletes.
He didn't even bother to run 100m full speed, probably saving later world records for better paid meetings....
Even Jacques Rogge complained about his arrogance and I personally really disgust it. Even though he is quite young, his behavior is not acceptable.
I for one will never watch 100m live again (I used to be a sprinter myself), and I know many people who feel the same.
I feel totaly different, because of him olympic games are so much more interesting.. To me, he did his job, and he did it perfectly.. He is payed to run, to win, he is not payed to chit chat and honor other people.
And the way u say how he didnt even look at other people.. What i saw at 100m run, he was soo fast, then he went on the ground, and everyone , second, third, went his own way.. Why should he stand up and go back to congratulate others ? Why shouldnt they come to him , and congratulate him ?
Probably, a lot people will stop watching Olympic Games and stop seeing them as fair, respectful and full of performances achieved by sheer dedicated training alone.
Noone will do that, please dont make me laugh at you.. Olympic games, not fair anymore because of bolt? Sport that involves money will never be fair.. People will always use drugs, dont kid yourself.. But until they are caught -> u know, innocent until proven guilty?
Bolt said that he want do records here, because he can get much more money else where.
I dont understand why Flash isn't included in the possibilities to revitalize things look at his summary of achievements recently. He's got to prove that he can keep doing what he's doing and that he won't just fade into the background once people start to counter his builds but if he does manage to evolve with the rest of them I think he could easily be someone who comes up and takes control.
Plexa, you're a great writer, but there is something in your articles that usually prevent me from making a connection with them. I've never been able to pinpoint it.
For whatever reason, that wasn't the case with this article. Beautifully written (as usual) and made a connection with me (first time!)
So, thanks for writing this article! It was a real pleasure.
On August 26 2008 11:41 Plexa wrote: obviously, Nada in olympic terms is without doubt michael phelps
For a second I was trying to imagine NaDa doing the michael phelps super saiyan victory... no it doesn't quite work.
On August 28 2008 01:16 ThePhan2m wrote: When I read about Bolt celebraiting early, I instantly thought of this video i saw on youtube. Hillarious! [youtube video]
LOL!!!
and lol at Stork's unmarketable image (and the pic above this post).
Overall this was a great article to read and though I wasn't sure about some things mentioned, there wasn't really anything I could disagree with. It's also interesting how July pretty much fits in between all the other super star progamer's reigns.
I also really hope that boxer comes back and stirs up some excitement again. As I said before in some other boxer thread, I don't really care if boxer doesn't have the ability to completely dominate every single match up and go undefeated and uncontested while being able to use any build he wants. He doesn't have the fastest hands, or the raw power, or the best balanced macro/micro... but what he has is experience and understanding of the game that is so very rare in so many progamers today. The rock solid training routine and business-like attitude of gaming teams completely dissipate and make devoid of originality and creativity. Sure when a new build appears to knock out a pre-existing dominating one is hollered as revolutionary, but how many players can boast a history of being at the top of not only creating insanely complex and gutsy builds but also having the ability and sense to make it happen. I want to see boxer make other gamers say "maybe ghosts really are useful in many scenarios" "maybe ultralisks really aren't that imba" "maybe valkyries are worth it in regular gameplay" "maybe optical flare & restoration are a must-have" "nuking can be used regularly straight up in their face without needing to cloak or use a dropship" ... okay, i'm just spamming now, i'll stop.
Any speculations on who will become the next super star? Place long-term bets? lol
Great article Plexa, and sure hope it's going to go as you predict, too!
Well, I wouldn't mind seeing NaDa instead of BoxeR of course - what with the chances for a Diamond Mouse and all - but the Emperor's comeback would be epic as well.
On August 26 2008 13:00 Carnac wrote: Meh, I don't think comparing SC players or even Boxer to a sprinter who is very probably doped (although it's yet to be proven, and maybe never will be) is entirely appropriate. Still a good read though, but that's guaranteed anyway, given the author
Comparing a professional video game player to a mere athlete is indeed silly.
The maps are the problem moreso than the players. The modern maps encourage macro too much with their 1 or 2 easily defended expansions, resulting in everyone fast expanding into a long macro war. It also kills the viability of most low econ builds.
I am very excited about Boxer returning though. I wonder what team will pick him up, and how quickly he'll get back into shape.
Can't believe we're so close to SC2 while starcraft Pro gaming has yet to achieve so much more.
SC2 is biblical, kind of a judgement day upon release : Either we get to heaven or it all goes straight to hell T_T.
Fact that some users stated it was faster paced than Starcraft is, kind of keeps hopes up.
However, only thing we can be certain of, is that the game that will keep pro gaming going, will anyway be truely awesome, just like the players that keep pro gaming alive.
EPT
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I found the game, it was on 
boxer must win! BOXER WILL WIN!! 
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