Code S 2012 S1 - Finals Preview - Page 5

"Preparing for a PvZ series" is sometimes just another way to say "Slightly tweak existing two-base all-in timings to be more unpredictable," and as SK__MC has shown, it's a perfectly legitimate way to try and win a series

On March 02 2012 19:54 Alvis wrote:

team mvp fighting!

On March 03 2012 00:54 Condor Hero wrote:

No because Genius has made it past group stages before.

On March 02 2012 19:49 TeamLiquid ESPORTS wrote:


"Men of genius do not excel in any profession because they labour in it, but they labour in it because they excel."

- William Hazlitt

It has been noted that Genius is not the most hardworking player. There are some players that will click "find match" all day, or incessantly bug their teammates for practice games, putting all their free time into improving at their craft. They will push their bodies and minds to the limit, doing the same build over and over against a specific race to get it down to a science. Their days will simply be wake up, play Starcraft for six hours, eat lunch, play another four hours and then go to bed to prepare for another day of the same.

Then there is the other type of player. One that can get by on natural skill, brains and all around talent. A player, who when unmotivated, can still coast by and do things that someone who practices for 12 hours a day cannot. While there are players in Code B who are pushing themselves to the limit, trying their hardest and still failing to make it into Code A, there are players who can laugh, play other games in their free time, and still keep Code S for multiple seasons.

From his very own mouth, for the past year, Genius has, well... not tried that hard. Like most of the players who did well in the early phases of Starcraft II, there is no question that he has natural talent at playing the game. However, he likes playing FIFA in his spare time and hasn't really gone out of his way to be great at Starcraft II. When he won Blizzon in 2010, he became the bearer of great expectations. However, those expectations were misplaced, Genius was a player who was content to just be in the background, a player in Code S who could linger in the scene, happy to stay in the bottom half of standings table for the most part. He never lived up to the expectations that were thrust upon him during the first few Open Seasons of the GSL, and they were passed onto oGs.MC at the first opportunity.

For almost a year this continued, with Genius being ever-present but unremarkable. In all fairness, it could be considered a pretty decent career. He had a major tournament championship to his name, and he was sticking around in the most prestigious league in the world, making pretty decent money for a Korean pro-gamer.

"I became less competitive. I think that I became satisfied with just staying in Code S and being able to play in the highest league. However after Blizzcon, my father's nagging got worse. I changed my goal to becoming champion."

- Genius, after advancing from the Ro32

Genius might be the poster boy of the lazy, talented player. Not because he's the only one – there are probably quite a few more who just aren't as well publicized. It's because of how much more Genius has shown he is capable of when he decides to put in some more effort. It was as if it were easy as flipping a switch. In his path to the finals, Genius beat players no one would have given him a chance against two months ago. DongRaeGu, sC, Nestea, MarineKing, MC. In the course of a season, he went from perennial cannon fodder to Code S finalist. It was as infuriating as it was incredible. This guy, with this much talent, had been letting it go to waste so long? However, now there is a chance of redemption – for himself, and an entire, down-trodden faction.