All it takes is one spark to burn an entire forest to the ground...
On Fire-The Miraculous Flame By DoctorHelvetica TeamLiquid: Final Edits
A Fresh Face
Leta exploded onto the scene seemingly out of nowhere in the 2008 Shinhan Bank Proleague. He was seemingly just another no-name player who occasionally stole games from some S-Class pro's on occasion. He was compared to gamers like Violet and Ruby, the kind of guy you could count on to beat your favorite player and get eliminated in the next turn. But it wasn't long before a young Shin Sang Moon became much more than that. In an explosive turn of events, Leta went on a 10 win proleague streak; taking down beasts like Kal, fOrGG, HiyA, Bisu, BeSt, and YoonJoong. While some of his occasional wins against top class players, such as a ridiculous victory against Stork on Tau Cross, could be written off as a fluke, a streak of this significance couldn't be attributed to any sort of dumb luck.
It wasn't too long before people began buzzing about this OGN terran and his amazing proleague results. Immediately, I knew this kid was going somewhere. Although he was eliminated in his MSL group, he continued to rip it up in Proleague, giving OGN fans hope that someday a starleague could be taken by one of their players. While he lived in the shadow of their star player, Luxury eventually left to the KTF MagicNs. With Chan Soo out of the way, it was his turn to shine.
Leta was the 'rookie to watch' of the 2008 year. With the likes of by.fantasy and EffOrt, Leta stood among those who had much potential and even more expected of them in the future. Leta had "future starleague winner" stamped all over his face. With every convincing win, more and more hype has been built. The hype reached critical mass, and there was doubt to whether he could live up to the standards he set for himself.
Secure as the Star of OGN Sparkyz, Shin Sang Moon gives a thumbs up to the camera.
Although the hype is strong, Leta has his share of anti-fans. Many people felt his hot streak was lucky, that his play style was cheap, and that soon he would fade into nothing. Just another huge disappointment in the pro-gaming world. Of course this is not the case. After the ProLeague off-season, Leta was back and playing more dominant than ever. Expectations were high, and it is rare in the world of pro-gaming that a player lives up to what is expected of him. His dominance in pro-league has been compared to the ridiculous power of Flash in the leagues but unlike Lee Young Ho, Sang Moon faced issue with the individual leagues.
How would he do in the next season?
A Force to be Reckoned With
Leta is playing absolutely out of control right now, if you don't believe me look at his record and watch his VODs. His style is ridiculous, turning games that seem like dismal failures, into a one-sided playground for Sang Moon to rampage on at his own leisure. With a passive early game, he watched diligently for the opponent to make a mistake, or unveil a weakness.
Without hesitation, Leta uses his excellent decision making, great mechanics, and flawless positioning ability to take total map control and turn that slight weakness into a game-breaking blunder. His pressure in TvT/TvP is amazing, as he slowly turns any game into a clear victory. His early-game is an enigma, often manifesting itself in what seems will become a build order loss, but is quite the opposite. His build is tailored to his meticulous push and timing attack. His nickname in Korea is the "Miracle Boy", for miraculously turning these early game disadvantages into mid-game dominance.
However, it is this same play style that causes StarCraft fans to lack confidence in his true ability as a player. His disadvantage in the early game is compensated by his extraordinary ability to locate and exploit a players weakness. However, it undeniably takes skill to pull off his incredible wraith control, his perfect unit positioning, his incredible macro, his sick army control, his relentless pressure, and his ability to identify and exploit weaknesses in an opponent.
The fact is, Leta is dominating. Whether or not you feel his domination is legitimate, doesn't change the results. While his play is rarely chock full of cute moves and 'pimp plays', it doesn't need to be. He does exactly what he needs to do to win a game, not bothering with anything that could be construed as unnecessary. No fluff, just results. He has transcended his status as the lucky victor, to an absolute victory machine.
This killer is about to claim another victim...
The answer as to why he is so dominant, lies in his incredible ability and skill, and no-fluff playing style. His results have proven that he is good at one thing above all. Winning. Unfortunately his nerves have been an issue in the individual league. Much like Sea, Leta hasn't found a way to pull it off in the prestigious OSL and MSL. However, the upcoming Batoo OSL will be Leta's chance to prove naysayers wrong.
His play has been steadily improving, which is a dangerous fact. Steadily improving from complete ProLeague dominance should do nothing less than strike fear in the hearts of every progamer who may face this young star. There is no player on earth who could be said to easily be a favorite against Leta. He has defeated the likes of BeSt, Bisu, Stork, Mind, UpmagiC, fOrGG, and Sea; all fairly recently, showing no signs of giving up.
If you have any question about just how good this kid is playing, then just take a quick glance at his record. The amount of bolded wins on the TLPD chart is staggeringly impressive, especially when you realize the caliber of many of the players who have fallen to it. I recall a classmates jaws dropping when I glanced at his record in the library. I recall my own jaw dropping when I saw it for the first time as well.
Shin Sang Moon is over 70% in TvT and TvZ, dominant statistics even for a newer player. His TvP is lacking, only at 50% wins. However, his proleague record is essentially uncontested. He is #2 in the individual ACE match ranking, and number 2 in general individual play. He is 18-5 in the 08-09 proleague. 11-1 vs T, 3-1 vs Zerg, and 4-3 vs Protoss with an ELO of 2151; the 4th highest in the league. If he does well in the individual leagues this season, his ELO will soar and he could easily beat the peak ELO of 2336. These spots on the rankings are of incredible magnitude for such a new player, especially one who will obviously get much better within the next few seasons.
This game is an excellent example of Leta transitioning from a weak early-game into a dominant mid-late game. His mistakes are non-existant and the commentators are left in disbelief. Frankly, so was I.
RuBy was the player Leta was most compared to. If you still think they're in any way similar, this game will change your mind.
Leta proving that he is not a one match-up wonder. Luxury is in top shape, but no match for our young Terran. Pay particular attention to his wraith usage, it's very educational.
This sight is all but too common these days...
Future Flame
What can we expect from our dear Leta in the future? If his dominance continues to grow as it has, he could easily be a StarLeague victor by this or next season. I predict he will win an OSL/MSL by the end of this year and cement himself as one of the most valued players in the entire proscene. The korean commentators have compared his play to the dominant and flawless style of Lee Young Ho and the resultant victories have only proved them right. With players like Leta and Flash around, there will still be a favorite. There will still be a dominant player.
He is one of the sole aces of OGN Sparkyz, Leta and Yarnc essentially hold up the entire team. With the loss of Luxury, there is little chance for the player depth they need to be a dominating team. Although as long as they keep a player like Shin Sang Moon around, they will continue to prosper and salvage victory from the pure might of Leta's gosu ProLeague play.
Leta is no longer just a rising star. He's no longer just a flash of dominance who is doomed to disappear in the next season. Leta is here to stay and succeed. We haven't seen the best of him and until we do, we can only settle for calling him merely one of the greatest players in the world. Leta has earned his membership to the that special club, that elite group of gamers who seem to be invincible; something stronger than the 6 dragons. Leta is a rookie no more. He's on fire and he may just burn everyone else up too.
Future Bonjwa? Maybe...
Leta is one of the few faces of the new generation of Progamers. He walks with Lee Young Ho, Lee Jae Dong, Do Jae Wook, and Heo Young Moo. With limitless potential, Shin Sang Moon hasn't shown us the best of his play and that is a frightening prospect. This is a player who won't disappear on us anytime soon. Leta is here to stay and dominate. Shin Sang Moon Fighting!
As always, thanks to my good friend Dave (twoeightsix) for the sick banner. Thanks also to the entire TL.net staff for doing such a great job at maintaining the best community on the web. Thanks to Fomos for taking such excellent photos, as well as neverGG for taking the time to send me some excellent photos of Leta as well. Of course, thanks to Leta for inspiring me to write this article. Shin Sang Moon Hwaiting!
I thought Leta was going to royal road/bonjawa status, but currently he's going along the same path as Sea (being eliminated early) We'll see how this season turns out. He's still in the OSL and MSL and I look forward to his games.
I'd like to add that TvP of Leta is greatly improving Most of his loses to protosses were before the summer 2008. And since summer he is 12-4 in TvP (75%) He is really on fire in all three match-ups.
On January 11 2009 09:48 Bifur wrote: I'd like to add that TvP of Leta is greatly improving Most of his loses to protosses were before the summer 2008. And since summer he is 12-4 in TvP (75%) He is really on fire in all three match-ups.
Yeah, all of his match-ups are improving, and his TvP isn't at all bad.
It's just the weakest of all his match-ups.
He's taken down the likes of BeSt and Stork, so ofc it isn't weak in general. just relatively, I suppose.
On January 11 2009 10:24 n.DieJokes wrote: Still not impressed wiht leta strong TvT and TvZ but weak toss reminds me of FBH and I HATE FBH, but fantastic write up, thank you.
He isn't weak vs Toss at all. It's just his weakest match-up, but his TvP is leagues better than FBH's.
On January 11 2009 10:42 Empyrean wrote: By the way, the front page link mouse-over is broken. There's no picture that appears.
Yeah I noticed. I don't know how to fix this. Mod help?
Leta's very good, but I have some doubts unless he wins a title. For me, Leta is kinda like FBH and Sea.. good players with a lot of potential but never actually get there.
Ehh Leta is really good but let's not go nuts and say he could "easily beat the peak ELO of 2336" so quickly. It's stuff like that that makes it hard to take Leta fans seriously.
Was wondering when someone was going to do an article on Leta, very nice. I didn't like Leta for a while when he was surfacing as a force in OGN. The first time I saw him in his match vs Stork, he was amazing to watch, but I got pissed at how hard he abused Blue Storm vs Kal in the playoffs. Now I <3 him because I chose him for my fantasy proleague .
I really don't think he will become dominant but there is an extremely high possibility of him becoming a starleague regular. When I saw his proleague tear, he reminded me alot of Free. He has explosive play at times yet can't pull out the extra strength required to win a starleague. I think at the least he will make it into a starleague quarter within the next 2 seasons.
Leta has loads of potential and watching his games is like watching textbook progaming. But until he steps up to the plate and starts performing in the individual leagues he's just another Sea[Shield]. He has to show he's got his head screwed on tight enough to claim a starleague gold medal and that means more than mere talent. He has to be able to stand firm under the pressure and not be psyched out by mind games. If Leta manages to do that he is indeed the next big thing.
cool stuff. but.... even if the arguments against his stardom are slowly disappearing (he hasnt played enough S class gamers, let's see how he does vs mind/flash whatever), let's wait just a bit more till he shows some individual league results. I think he deserves more attention then he's getting, and slowly people are swinging towards his favor, but right now Leta is like a terran Best... dominant, talented players that haven't won anything.
On January 11 2009 11:53 d_so wrote: cool stuff. but.... even if the arguments against his stardom are slowly disappearing (he hasnt played enough S class gamers, let's see how he does vs mind/flash whatever), let's wait just a bit more till he shows some individual league results. I think he deserves more attention then he's getting, and slowly people are swinging towards his favor, but right now Leta is like a terran Best... dominant, talented players that haven't won anything.
imo, he's proven that he can easily beat S-Class players (BeSt, Luxury, FlaSh, Stork, Sea)
He just needs to perform very well in the individual leagues. I think he will, as long as he gets over his nerves. We'll see, the OSL/MSL awaits!
On January 11 2009 11:53 d_so wrote: cool stuff. but.... even if the arguments against his stardom are slowly disappearing (he hasnt played enough S class gamers, let's see how he does vs mind/flash whatever), let's wait just a bit more till he shows some individual league results. I think he deserves more attention then he's getting, and slowly people are swinging towards his favor, but right now Leta is like a terran Best... dominant, talented players that haven't won anything.
imo, he's proven that he can easily beat S-Class players (BeSt, Luxury, FlaSh, Stork, Sea)
He just needs to perform very well in the individual leagues. I think he will, as long as he gets over his nerves. We'll see, the OSL/MSL awaits!
... that's why i said those arguments are slowly disappearing.
On January 11 2009 11:58 90125 wrote: I like keeping my post count low... otherwise I might be a decent writer DERRR
How's that for a sick second post kid
There is no way you're stupid enough to start posting like that right off the bat and not expect to be banned. I put a lot of effort into this article, you don't have to be a dick.
On January 11 2009 11:53 d_so wrote: cool stuff. but.... even if the arguments against his stardom are slowly disappearing (he hasnt played enough S class gamers, let's see how he does vs mind/flash whatever), let's wait just a bit more till he shows some individual league results. I think he deserves more attention then he's getting, and slowly people are swinging towards his favor, but right now Leta is like a terran Best... dominant, talented players that haven't won anything.
imo, he's proven that he can easily beat S-Class players (BeSt, Luxury, FlaSh, Stork, Sea)
He just needs to perform very well in the individual leagues. I think he will, as long as he gets over his nerves. We'll see, the OSL/MSL awaits!
... that's why i said those arguments are slowly disappearing.
?
No, I'm agreeing with you. There are those who think Leta will fail in the leagues, and others who think he'll perform pretty well. I'm of the opinion he'll be at least a quarter/semi-finalist this season, if not next season.
and i'm not sure what you mean about nerves... do you have a source for this? I mean, yeah, sea's nerves are well documented and stuff, but Leta has a nerves problem as well?
On January 11 2009 11:53 d_so wrote: cool stuff. but.... even if the arguments against his stardom are slowly disappearing (he hasnt played enough S class gamers, let's see how he does vs mind/flash whatever), let's wait just a bit more till he shows some individual league results. I think he deserves more attention then he's getting, and slowly people are swinging towards his favor, but right now Leta is like a terran Best... dominant, talented players that haven't won anything.
imo, he's proven that he can easily beat S-Class players (BeSt, Luxury, FlaSh, Stork, Sea)
He just needs to perform very well in the individual leagues. I think he will, as long as he gets over his nerves. We'll see, the OSL/MSL awaits!
His most recent game against BeSt was a loss, Luxury has been slumping hard, he hasn't played Stork since 2007, and Sea...is Sea. For that matter, when did he even face Flash?
I'm not saying he's not shown himself to be a top player, he definitely has, however I think you're painting him as more successful than he has been.
Nice article though, very well written. My Flash fanboyism just makes it hard for me to ignore that comment.
On January 11 2009 12:02 d_so wrote: and yeah i'm just saying in terms of getting a TLFE or whatever... or to declare him to be "more than a rising star" and to imply that he's already arrived as a star... it's just too much, even if I totally agree with you about Leta's ability (http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=84778, http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=84174)
and i'm not sure what you mean about nerves... do you have a source for this? I mean, yeah, sea's nerves are well documented and stuff, but Leta has a nerves problem as well?
Well, when a players wins in proleague don't translate over to the starleague, it's usually a nerves problem. Most Proleague superstars who don't do well in leagues have a problem with nerves and just choke a lot.
Otherwise they usually end up performing in the StarLeague within 1-2 seasons. It's a matter of what you expect Leta will do.
I think he is more than just a rising star. Dominating an entire league and carrying your entire team is star material, imo. Will he be a StarLeague champion? We've yet to see.
On January 11 2009 11:53 d_so wrote: cool stuff. but.... even if the arguments against his stardom are slowly disappearing (he hasnt played enough S class gamers, let's see how he does vs mind/flash whatever), let's wait just a bit more till he shows some individual league results. I think he deserves more attention then he's getting, and slowly people are swinging towards his favor, but right now Leta is like a terran Best... dominant, talented players that haven't won anything.
imo, he's proven that he can easily beat S-Class players (BeSt, Luxury, FlaSh, Stork, Sea)
He just needs to perform very well in the individual leagues. I think he will, as long as he gets over his nerves. We'll see, the OSL/MSL awaits!
His most recent game against BeSt was a loss, Luxury has been slumping hard, he hasn't played Stork since 2007, and Sea...is Sea. For that matter, when did he even face Flash?
I'm not saying he's not shown himself to be a top player, he definitely has, however I think you're painting him as more successful than he has been.
Nice article though, very well written. My Flash fanboyism just makes it hard for me to ignore that comment.
On January 11 2009 11:53 d_so wrote: cool stuff. but.... even if the arguments against his stardom are slowly disappearing (he hasnt played enough S class gamers, let's see how he does vs mind/flash whatever), let's wait just a bit more till he shows some individual league results. I think he deserves more attention then he's getting, and slowly people are swinging towards his favor, but right now Leta is like a terran Best... dominant, talented players that haven't won anything.
imo, he's proven that he can easily beat S-Class players (BeSt, Luxury, FlaSh, Stork, Sea)
He just needs to perform very well in the individual leagues. I think he will, as long as he gets over his nerves. We'll see, the OSL/MSL awaits!
His most recent game against BeSt was a loss, Luxury has been slumping hard, he hasn't played Stork since 2007, and Sea...is Sea. For that matter, when did he even face Flash?
I'm not saying he's not shown himself to be a top player, he definitely has, however I think you're painting him as more successful than he has been.
Nice article though, very well written. My Flash fanboyism just makes it hard for me to ignore that comment.
He recently beat: Mind, fOrGG, firebathero, UpMagiC, Luxury, Tempest, and GGPlay.
He beat BeSt on 08-07-25.
Those players aren't any joke. firebathero is absolutely top tier TvT, that victory gives Leta a lot of cred. So does his ridiculous Proleague tear last season with victories against KaL, Bisu, HiyA, fOrGG, BaBy, and BeSt.
It was my mistake saying he faced FlaSh. I confused FlaSh and fOrGG. My bad.
Some of those wins were from one year ago, and his TvP is not where near the level of Flash and Mind. Fairly recent is a terrible term. You are just padding his accomplishments, he still has yet to beat a top Protoss player(any of the "Dragons") since late 2008 during the Protoss resurgence. I liked Leta since his performance in the last proleague, but he needs to win a star league or come close at least, or become classified as another guy with "Sea syndrome."
Some of those wins were from one year ago, and his TvP is not where near the level of Flash and Mind. Fairly recent is a terrible term. You are just padding his accomplishments, he still has yet to beat a top Protoss player(any of the "Dragons") since late 2008 during the Protoss resurgence. I liked Leta since his performance in the last proleague, but he needs to win a star league or come close at least, or become classified as another guy with "Sea syndrome."
1. I never compared his TvP to FlaSh or Mind, I admit his TvP is his weakest matchup.
2. No he hasn't beaten the dragons, but his TvT/TvZ is so Gosu he's made it past any of them in the Proleague rankings minus BeSt (who have the same amounts of wins to losses, as far as the R&S threads most recent update.
3.I agree with the statement that he must prove himself in a StarLeague. My point in the article is that he's no longer just some "New faced rookie", his performance in PL is wayyyyyyy too gosu for that. But he isn't a champion or a legend yet. He needs to live up to the hype.
On January 11 2009 13:12 EscPlan9 wrote: This has to be the most repetitive write-up I've ever read.
Leta's good though, no doubt.
Yeah, it's not the best write-up I've done. There isn't as much to say about Leta as I wish there was, but I really wanted to write about him since his play has been exciting me.
I'm really pumped to see how he'll do in the individual leagues this season.
On January 11 2009 13:12 EscPlan9 wrote: This has to be the most repetitive write-up I've ever read.
Leta's good though, no doubt.
Yeah, it's not the best write-up I've done. There isn't as much to say about Leta as I wish there was, but I really wanted to write about him since his play has been exciting me.
I'm really pumped to see how he'll do in the individual leagues this season.
yeah... ultimately, no matter how good this article may be, it ultimately falls under a "hype" thread... perhaps waiting a bit till after the individual league results came in would have been more fruitful, if not deserved.
whatevvssss im pretty sure articles like this fall under an editorial process so if the staff is cool with it then cool.
This is cool and all, but Flash is just way better
Ive already expressed my opinions on Leta in the PR, I like him and I think hes good, definitely top 5 terran at the moment, but he still has alot to prove in individuals and vs protoss to be comparable to LYH. Matchupwise he is comparable to FBH(FBH too busted out with sick TvT play early in his career), but I think they have different styles - Letas unit-positioning really makes him unique.
On January 11 2009 13:12 EscPlan9 wrote: This has to be the most repetitive write-up I've ever read.
Leta's good though, no doubt.
Yeah, it's not the best write-up I've done. There isn't as much to say about Leta as I wish there was, but I really wanted to write about him since his play has been exciting me.
I'm really pumped to see how he'll do in the individual leagues this season.
yeah... ultimately, no matter how good this article may be, it ultimately falls under a "hype" thread... perhaps waiting a bit till after the individual league results came in would have been more fruitful, if not deserved.
whatevvssss im pretty sure articles like this fall under an editorial process so if the staff is cool with it then cool.
The point of the article wasn't to call Leta a starleague champion. It's one part hype and one part speculation. He has certainly risen above your average Proleague winner, his status in the proleague isn't "good" it's complete domination.
But he's not a legend yet, and that's something that needs to play itself out.
Most TLFE's that I have seen are just cool little expose's on a player, rather than cold analysis.
Yeah there is an editorial process, if the writing staff didn't feel it was good enough it wouldn't be here.
I admit I'm not the best writer ever, but hopefully as I write more articles my skills will improve! I have a few ideas, and since I seem to get a lot of negative response I'll try a bit harder. :/
On January 11 2009 13:30 Guybrush wrote: This is cool and all, but Flash is just way better
Ive already expressed my opinions on Leta in the PR, I like him and I think hes good, definitely top 5 terran at the moment, but he still has alot to prove in individuals and vs protoss to be comparable to LYH. Matchupwise he is comparable to FBH(FBH too busted out with sick TvT play early in his career), but I think they have different styles - Letas unit-positioning really makes him unique.
Thanks for the article, good work DH
Oh yeah. In my honest opinion, FlaSh is the best player alive, and no one even comes close to his current or potential skill level.
His TvP is certainly better than Firebathero's, it isn't bad. It's just the match-up he seems to have the most difficulty with (no surprise considering the current map pool, and the caliber of top protosses out there).
He's still young, and whether or not he rises to the hype is completely up for speculation. I think he will, his Proleague stats are too impressive to just be another Sea.
On January 11 2009 13:12 EscPlan9 wrote: This has to be the most repetitive write-up I've ever read.
Leta's good though, no doubt.
Yeah, it's not the best write-up I've done. There isn't as much to say about Leta as I wish there was, but I really wanted to write about him since his play has been exciting me.
I'm really pumped to see how he'll do in the individual leagues this season.
yeah... ultimately, no matter how good this article may be, it ultimately falls under a "hype" thread... perhaps waiting a bit till after the individual league results came in would have been more fruitful, if not deserved.
whatevvssss im pretty sure articles like this fall under an editorial process so if the staff is cool with it then cool.
The point of the article wasn't to call Leta a starleague champion. It's one part hype and one part speculation. He has certainly risen above your average Proleague winner, his status in the proleague isn't "good" it's complete domination.
But he's not a legend yet, and that's something that needs to play itself out.
Most TLFE's that I have seen are just cool little expose's on a player, rather than cold analysis.
Yeah there is an editorial process, if the writing staff didn't feel it was good enough it wouldn't be here.
I admit I'm not the best writer ever, but hopefully as I write more articles my skills will improve! I have a few ideas, and since I seem to get a lot of negative response I'll try a bit harder. :/
dont get me wrong. im not dissing your writing, and though i believe everyone has room to improve, i'm not going to take a shit on someone who put a quantifiable amount of effort to contribute to the site. though ive only been on this site for a year or so, i like it; and i like it when people help make it better.
maybe you could be open to editing the article pending on the upcoming individual league results? I'm not saying that you have to take back any of your sentiments or anything like that... but i think most leta fans, if there's gonna be a coronation, want the coronation to be deserved so we don't have to hear shit from other fanboys yaknow? so maybe... if he does win osl/msl... you can update this and be like WHATS UP MOTHERFUCKERS LETA OWNS.
On January 11 2009 13:12 EscPlan9 wrote: This has to be the most repetitive write-up I've ever read.
Leta's good though, no doubt.
Yeah, it's not the best write-up I've done. There isn't as much to say about Leta as I wish there was, but I really wanted to write about him since his play has been exciting me.
I'm really pumped to see how he'll do in the individual leagues this season.
yeah... ultimately, no matter how good this article may be, it ultimately falls under a "hype" thread... perhaps waiting a bit till after the individual league results came in would have been more fruitful, if not deserved.
whatevvssss im pretty sure articles like this fall under an editorial process so if the staff is cool with it then cool.
The point of the article wasn't to call Leta a starleague champion. It's one part hype and one part speculation. He has certainly risen above your average Proleague winner, his status in the proleague isn't "good" it's complete domination.
But he's not a legend yet, and that's something that needs to play itself out.
Most TLFE's that I have seen are just cool little expose's on a player, rather than cold analysis.
Yeah there is an editorial process, if the writing staff didn't feel it was good enough it wouldn't be here.
I admit I'm not the best writer ever, but hopefully as I write more articles my skills will improve! I have a few ideas, and since I seem to get a lot of negative response I'll try a bit harder. :/
dont get me wrong. im not dissing your writing, and though i believe everyone has room to improve, i'm not going to take a shit on someone who put a quantifiable amount of effort to contribute to the site. though ive only been on this site for a year or so, i like it; and i like it when people help make it better.
maybe you could be open to editing the article pending on the upcoming individual league results? I'm not saying that you have to take back any of your sentiments or anything like that... but i think most leta fans, if there's gonna be a coronation, want the coronation to be deserved so we don't have to hear shit from other fanboys yaknow? so maybe... if he does win osl/msl... you can update this and be like WHATS UP MOTHERFUCKERS LETA OWNS.
Oh I know, but I'm pretty critical of myself. Which is a positive thing tbh, it just means I'll improve very quickly.
No, it's called Final Edit for a reason. This FE is not about Leta the StarLeague Champion it is about Leta the Proleague Badass and Potential StarLeague champion.
On January 11 2009 13:12 EscPlan9 wrote: This has to be the most repetitive write-up I've ever read.
Leta's good though, no doubt.
Yeah, it's not the best write-up I've done. There isn't as much to say about Leta as I wish there was, but I really wanted to write about him since his play has been exciting me.
I'm really pumped to see how he'll do in the individual leagues this season.
yeah... ultimately, no matter how good this article may be, it ultimately falls under a "hype" thread... perhaps waiting a bit till after the individual league results came in would have been more fruitful, if not deserved.
whatevvssss im pretty sure articles like this fall under an editorial process so if the staff is cool with it then cool.
The point of the article wasn't to call Leta a starleague champion. It's one part hype and one part speculation. He has certainly risen above your average Proleague winner, his status in the proleague isn't "good" it's complete domination.
But he's not a legend yet, and that's something that needs to play itself out.
Most TLFE's that I have seen are just cool little expose's on a player, rather than cold analysis.
Yeah there is an editorial process, if the writing staff didn't feel it was good enough it wouldn't be here.
I admit I'm not the best writer ever, but hopefully as I write more articles my skills will improve! I have a few ideas, and since I seem to get a lot of negative response I'll try a bit harder. :/
dont get me wrong. im not dissing your writing, and though i believe everyone has room to improve, i'm not going to take a shit on someone who put a quantifiable amount of effort to contribute to the site. though ive only been on this site for a year or so, i like it; and i like it when people help make it better.
maybe you could be open to editing the article pending on the upcoming individual league results? I'm not saying that you have to take back any of your sentiments or anything like that... but i think most leta fans, if there's gonna be a coronation, want the coronation to be deserved so we don't have to hear shit from other fanboys yaknow? so maybe... if he does win osl/msl... you can update this and be like WHATS UP MOTHERFUCKERS LETA OWNS.
Oh I know, but I'm pretty critical of myself. Which is a positive thing tbh, it just means I'll improve very quickly.
No, it's called Final Edit for a reason. This FE is not about Leta the StarLeague Champion it is about Leta the Proleague Badass and Potential StarLeague champion.
On January 11 2009 10:24 n.DieJokes wrote: Still not impressed wiht leta strong TvT and TvZ but weak toss reminds me of FBH and I HATE FBH, but fantastic write up, thank you.
On January 11 2009 13:30 Guybrush wrote: This is cool and all, but Flash is just way better
Ive already expressed my opinions on Leta in the PR, I like him and I think hes good, definitely top 5 terran at the moment, but he still has alot to prove in individuals and vs protoss to be comparable to LYH. Matchupwise he is comparable to FBH(FBH too busted out with sick TvT play early in his career), but I think they have different styles - Letas unit-positioning really makes him unique.
Thanks for the article, good work DH
Oh yeah. In my honest opinion, FlaSh is the best player alive, and no one even comes close to his current or potential skill level.
His TvP is certainly better than Firebathero's, it isn't bad. It's just the match-up he seems to have the most difficulty with (no surprise considering the current map pool, and the caliber of top protosses out there).
He's still young, and whether or not he rises to the hype is completely up for speculation. I think he will, his Proleague stats are too impressive to just be another Sea.
Yeah as you say the current map pool really makes it hard to win TvP, which is why LYH and Minds perfomances are really impressive(not to mention LYHs play TvP on Katrina last year).
Sea was a monster in the 2007 proleague, and I think his proleague perfomance then can be compared to Letas now. His stats was inflated due to the map Geometry which was a heavily terran favored map. Sea ended up winning tons of TvTs(like Leta now) on that map though
Good article. I really like Leta and I think he has lots of potential but we all have to wait if he will deliver in the individual leagues. I wouldn't compare him yet to Flash. And saying that he can easily break an elo peak of 2336 is way to early and really optimistic.
Leta is yet to join the class of players like Bisu, Jaedong, Flash or Stork. Soon he can be there but he isn't there yet.
As probably the oldest hardcore Leta fan(thus my signature), I'd like to add some info to this article (which is very good btw, I agree totaly that he will tear up more than one hole on his way to his future wins). If I would have had the time back then, I'm pretty sure I would have written an article much like this one about him : ).
I started seeing his potential back when he was playing almost solely TvTs on wuthering heights and then also on othello. He started to get my attetion for real when he beat boxer (this was when boxer was godlike in TvT despite being on ACE). In a later game he also used some kind of miraculous boxer style supply depots to put the AI of the vultures off while they were charging into his base (although I cannot remember which game it was, sorry, I only know it's TvT on Wuthering). That trick made me realize that he wasn't just a mechanics machine but a smart player too.
The one game I'd like to add to the list is the game where, in my opinion, you could clearly see his brilliance in TvP for the first time.
What I mean are those vultures and those drops, his harassment can only be described as relentless. Sure he didn't win the game, but I think that's because lucifer went carriers in an era where no one, and I mean no one, went carriers. Either way, that harassment showed more than enough promise for my favorite terran. Later, when he faced kal, bisu and best i predicted that he would win after getting a bit more experienced, and he did. I remember another amazing moment, and that was when he outmicroed one of (I think it was) Kal's reavers on othello with just four vultures, and I don't think he lost more than one.
However, I've got to point out one thing. I think his TvZ is his weakest MU since he has only beat high class zergs through weird BOs and unorthodox scenarios. I hope that we'll see him beat someone big soon in a standard game, and not just because of some weird BO.
I don't have time to write more right now. But I'll check in again. Hopefully I haven't been too sloppy with my english.
No doubt that Leta and Bisu arethe dominant players of late 2008, but Leta is more valuable as he keeps his team in his shoulders
I dont believe that Leta will win a tournament in this 2009, but great chances to get deeper in brackets than done before, and maybe could reach one final.
But, I got the feeling that he will leave for another team this year, as Luxury made before to KTF, there are some teams needed of a GOOD Terran: CJ Entus or Samsung Khan can be two nice options
On January 11 2009 21:44 nevergg wrote: -_- Yeah thanks for not using any of my photos....I'm kind of sad I took the time to find them for you and then you just used fomos' instead.
I'm sorry, I decided to give you credit in the article for taking the time. I didn't think they fit as well as the ones from Fomos I selected.
Now I feel all bad. They were indeed excellent pictures.
On January 12 2009 01:44 pR0gR4m3R wrote: No doubt that Leta and Bisu arethe dominant players of late 2008, but Leta is more valuable as he keeps his team in his shoulders
I dont believe that Leta will win a tournament in this 2009, but great chances to get deeper in brackets than done before, and maybe could reach one final.
But, I got the feeling that he will leave for another team this year, as Luxury made before to KTF, there are some teams needed of a GOOD Terran: CJ Entus or Samsung Khan can be two nice options
Both CJ and Samsung have an excellent terran. STX could use a good terran, as could Woongjin.
CJ also has SkyHigh alongside Iris, so there's not much reason to pay for outside talent.
I remember a while back Woongjin was saying that they planned to get a good Terran player... whatever happened to that?
Still, I don't know if it's such a definite thing that Leta will move to a different team.
I started following Leta after he beat Kal for the second time and then manhandled Best's arbiter strategy during the proleague finals, and now I always get a kick out of people saying his TvP is "weak".
On January 11 2009 18:03 Azrael1111 wrote: Awesome write up! Leta is definitely putting himself on the level with Best, Jaedong, and Flash! But who is Heo Young Moo?
That was a good read, thank you for putting this up.
There is always room for improvement though so If I can suggest something - I think you should illustrate your point with "key" games more.
Leta sure doesn't have a lot of bo3/5 behind him, but you didn't go even once into a particular game - only generalities. This is, I think, the cause of this "repetitiveness" feeling ; your article does indeed have content, but feels a little like "Leta rocks" declined in one hundred variations (Leta is great, Leta has an incredible record, Leta is holding OGN together, Leta has incredible xxx unit control, Leta has wonderful mid-game management).
IIRC, my all-time preferred FE's (like the one about Oov), were using examples heavily - starting like a super-short battle report of one particular game or series to reach conclusions about how the player is awesome at something (or the other way around). Il adds a lot of excitement and epicness to the read. I think this can only be done by the old-fashioned way of super-short BRs plus eventually a few screenshots. Vods are good but never blend really well in an article imo. They disrupt the flow of the article horribly. The best way to use vods is like you did, people can watch them if they want to learn more, but are not forced to.
Apart from this, I really enjoyed the read, looking forward to some more articles from you soon.
Oh man............look at that hump on his back. Leta's stats are pretty nice, but I haven't watched any of his games. I hope he doesn't have a boring playstyle.
Leta's 2nd game during his debut was so sick. Then he sucked it up so I dismissed him as a Sparkyz Terran that wasn't Casy. The two have very similar styles, and for that, I like Leta. Pretty safe to say after a year or so, Leta has become a whole new different player.
I'm not trying to pull a Debbie, but i found this article really lacking.
I don't follow the pro-scene much any more, but i do read all the final edits; they give insight into what's happening in the scene, as well as showcase great writing talent.
I found most of your article to filled with superfluous praise, and devoid of any real content. From you're article i've gleaned that Leta [according to you] is really good. Really really good. Really really really good. Look at his record. He's sick. He's so good. He's really good. He beats S-Class players. He's really good, a real up-and-comer!
I don't read TLFEs so that i can be told who is good. If i watch some VODs i can figure that out for myself. The reason i read TLFEs is so that i can get some insight into what i otherwise would have missed. I read them for quality analysis of players or the scene, proofs as to why someone is really good.
All i know about Leta from your article is that his early game is 'disadvantaged'. I don't know how it is disadvantaged by the way. I don't know if it's because he rushes and fails with the rush, or if he expands 4 times before making a barracks, or if he makes absolutely no troops/defenses, etc.. Hell, if his early game sets him up for a strong mid-game, wouldn't his early game be considered an advantage? Or are you trying to say his early game lacks stability? Or maybe it lacks range of adaptation? This is something that should be explained in your article.
You mention that he has incredible wraith micro (again, no explanation. it's just simply incredible). You mention that he has perfect unit positioning (as can be seen in Games A, F, and L, in Season Z of the OSL, perhaps?). You mention that he has sick army control. You mention that he has relentless pressure. He exploits weaknesses (no kidding. most pro-players like flash, jaedong, and bisu just let their opponent's weaknesses get away scott-free.)
I want to know why Leta is so good. After the unparalleled praise in your article, there should be plenty (if not thousands) of examples illustrating the proof of your opinion. Add those to your article. With proof thrown in with your praise, your article will be a grand one. I don't feel like your writing is lacking, only your content.
Superb effort on your part - i really look forward to understanding why Leta is such a great player. Between you and the supporters in this thread, it would appear that there is something to be excited about in this player.
On January 13 2009 13:37 Mora wrote: I'm not trying to pull a Debbie, but i found this article really lacking.
I don't follow the pro-scene much any more, but i do read all the final edits; they give insight into what's happening in the scene, as well as showcase great writing talent.
I found most of your article to filled with superfluous praise, and devoid of any real content. From you're article i've gleaned that Leta [according to you] is really good. Really really good. Really really really good. Look at his record. He's sick. He's so good. He's really good. He beats S-Class players. He's really good, a real up-and-comer!
I don't read TLFEs so that i can be told who is good. If i watch some VODs i can figure that out for myself. The reason i read TLFEs is so that i can get some insight into what i otherwise would have missed. I read them for quality analysis of players or the scene, proofs as to why someone is really good.
All i know about Leta from your article is that his early game is 'disadvantaged'. I don't know how it is disadvantaged by the way. I don't know if it's because he rushes and fails with the rush, or if he expands 4 times before making a barracks, or if he makes absolutely no troops/defenses, etc.. Hell, if his early game sets him up for a strong mid-game, wouldn't his early game be considered an advantage? Or are you trying to say his early game lacks stability? Or maybe it lacks range of adaptation? This is something that should be explained in your article.
You mention that he has incredible wraith micro (again, no explanation. it's just simply incredible). You mention that he has perfect unit positioning (as can be seen in Games A, F, and L, in Season Z of the OSL, perhaps?). You mention that he has sick army control. You mention that he has relentless pressure. He exploits weaknesses (no kidding. most pro-players like flash, jaedong, and bisu just let their opponent's weaknesses get away scott-free.)
I want to know why Leta is so good. After the unparalleled praise in your article, there should be plenty (if not thousands) of examples illustrating the proof of your opinion. Add those to your article. With proof thrown in with your praise, your article will be a grand one. I don't feel like your writing is lacking, only your content.
Superb effort on your part - i really look forward to understanding why Leta is such a great player. Between you and the supporters in this thread, it would appear that there is something to be excited about in this player.
His early game is lacking, in that it often appears that he is going to suffer a build order loss. He doesn't quite adapt his build after scouting, and thus gets really behind in the early game. He uses great micro, keen strategy, and his flawless unit positioning to get way ahead in the mid-late game.
I included 3 VODs which clearly demonstrate those points, a game versus fOrGG which perfectly demonstrates him transitioning from early game weakness into mid/late-game dominance, and one against yarnc demonstrating his excellent wraith harass.
I think watching those VODs adds a lot to the article.
I also talked about why Leta is doubted, and what his play-style is.
I'm not exactly sure how in-depth I can go about his unit positioning, and wraith control. TvT battles often come down to the position of ones army as much as the amount of unit one has, and he excels in this sense.
For a better and less hyped up analysis of Leta's play search for the excellent write-up "Leta- Rising Star". I learned a bit about Leta's play reading that.
I've got a lot of criticism about this article not having a superb amount of substance, so I guess I'll just try harder in the next one. I feel kinda bad, like it doesn't quite deserve to be a TLFE, but w/e.
Was impressed by his play in the WL. In one of the match TvP, the protoss nearly exterminate leta with leta expansion totally uproot and 6-7 dragon outside his main base. Leta show bright and powerful harrasing skill with Vulture at Protoss 3 or 4 base non stop.
Was impressed by his gameplay in one of the TvP match at WL. The protoss nearly exterminate leta with a huge upperhand during one time, by having 6-7 dragoons wrecking leta expansion and proceeding to main. But Leta show characteristic by blocking the path with something and defened with a vulture and seige tank. He show bright and powerful harrasing skill using Vulture despoil at Protoss 3 or 4 mineral base non stop, thus slowly get back into the game.
Well he's been knocked out of both leagues now and has shown he's far from invincible in WL, I'd have to agree that the hype might be coming on a little too thick. I mean, look at JangBi. He's a fantastic player who's showing just as strong a performance as Leta in both WL and individual leagues, AND he's still in the MSL to boot. He's also got two shiny silvers to his name. Leta has yet to medal at all. I'd love to see an FE for JangBi, as that's def a player who deserves it. Not to imply that Leta doesn't. He's a force to be reckoned with. He's just not S-class. Although, JangBi has yet to prove he's an S-class player either. That remains only Bisu, Stork, Jaedong, Flash.
EPT![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/DoctorHelvetica/letaBanner550x330.png)
Leta exploded onto the scene seemingly out of nowhere in the 2008 Shinhan Bank Proleague. He was seemingly just another no-name player who occasionally stole games from some S-Class pro's on occasion. He was compared to gamers like Violet and Ruby, the kind of guy you could count on to beat your favorite player and get eliminated in the next turn. But it wasn't long before a young Shin Sang Moon became much more than that. In an explosive turn of events, Leta went on a 10 win proleague streak; taking down beasts like Kal, fOrGG, HiyA, Bisu, BeSt, and YoonJoong. While some of his occasional wins against top class players, such as a ridiculous victory against Stork on Tau Cross, could be written off as a fluke, a streak of this significance couldn't be attributed to any sort of dumb luck. ![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/DoctorHelvetica/LetaThumbsUp.png)
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/DoctorHelvetica/LetaConcentrating.png)
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/DoctorHelvetica/letavictorious.png)
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/DoctorHelvetica/LetaQuench.png)
![[image loading]](http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/4901/letazj3.jpg)
