The Emperor Lim Yo-Hwan will, for the first time in his 13 years since debut, be a team coach.
SlayerS has announced that BoxeR has been appointed as the playing head coach of SlayerS and will take the helm from the teams first match at the 2012 GSTL Season 1. As such, for the upcoming GSTL season SlayerS will operate a coaching staff of BoxeR as the playing head coach and Cella and Ryu Won [T/N: the SlayerS strategy coach: he was present for MMA at the 2012 GSL Season 1 Code S group nominations] as the two coaches.
Although as a playing head coach he will double up as both a player and a coach, this is the first time that BoxeR will be a part of the coaching staff of any team since his debut as a progamer in 1999.
Jessica, the manager of SlayerS, stated "The appointment of BoxeR as the team's playing head coach is the best decision for the team at the present time. For the moment we will operate the team with BoxeR at the helm for this season, and depending on this season's results we will determine whether he will remain as the playing head coach for the subsequent season."
[Note: Cella stepped down as playing head coach of SlayerS a fair while back and became just a regular (playing?) coach.]
tl;dr:
On January 26 2012 21:14 GTR wrote: boxer has essentially replaced the role cella provided in the past.
On January 26 2012 19:39 Immaterial wrote: Awesome, thanks for translating <3
Is Cella still a coach for SlayerS?
Yes he is still a coach, but no longer the head coach as he was (there was an article about him stepping down as head coach that I saw somewhere a good while back, can't remember where though... might have been on PlayXP or something)
I was under the impression BoxeR spent most of his time coaching anyway, considering the relatively weaker performances compared to the rest of the crew in his team. Why did Cella step down as head coach? Is he gearing up to play again?
On January 26 2012 19:39 Immaterial wrote: Awesome, thanks for translating <3
Is Cella still a coach for SlayerS?
or the upcoming GSTL season SlayerS will operate a coaching staff of BoxeR as the playing head coach and Ryu Won [T/N: the SlayerS strategy coach: he was present for MMA at the 2012 GSL Season 1 Code S group nominations] and Cella as the two coaches.
Uhhh this isn't a good thing people. At least not if you're a fan of Boxer the player. Every minute he spends devising strategies for his players, scouting opponents and creating player lineups is less time spent preparing for his own matches. It might or might not be a good thing for SlayerS as a team, but expect Boxer's individual performance to take a dive similar to that of Choya and theWind when they became player-coaches.
Great to see Jessica putting the team first. If it doesn't turn out well she's willing to get someone else to do it instead of just keeping him there. The sign of good management.
On January 26 2012 20:04 red4ce wrote: Uhhh this isn't a good thing people. At least not if you're a fan of Boxer the player. Every minute he spends devising strategies for his players, scouting opponents and creating player lineups is less time spent preparing for his own matches. It might or might not be a good thing for SlayerS as a team, but expect Boxer's individual performance to take a dive similar to that of Choya and theWind when they became player-coaches.
Yeah, but SlayerS's line-up is deep. Boxer has always been more of a strategist in my opinion. I'll wait and see if this move pays off in GSTL though.
On January 26 2012 20:04 red4ce wrote: Uhhh this isn't a good thing people. At least not if you're a fan of Boxer the player. Every minute he spends devising strategies for his players, scouting opponents and creating player lineups is less time spent preparing for his own matches. It might or might not be a good thing for SlayerS as a team, but expect Boxer's individual performance to take a dive similar to that of Choya and theWind when they became player-coaches.
Oh god, please don't over work yourself Mr. Emperor T.T
Don't want to have more videos of BoxeR going to a doctor and the doctor telling him to take it easy for a few weeks... and then have BoxeR keep on practicing 12 hours a day.
On January 26 2012 20:04 red4ce wrote: Uhhh this isn't a good thing people. At least not if you're a fan of Boxer the player. Every minute he spends devising strategies for his players, scouting opponents and creating player lineups is less time spent preparing for his own matches. It might or might not be a good thing for SlayerS as a team, but expect Boxer's individual performance to take a dive similar to that of Choya and theWind when they became player-coaches.
I don't think he'll put THAT much effort into devising strategies against specific players.
What this looks like to me, is that BoxeR will just replace Cella when it comes to player choices in the GSTL and he'll just use the advice of his coaches and his insight to decide which player would have the most chance of success, as opposed to devising specific game-plans and builds to snipe players like Cella did in GSTL2.
Boxer fighting! I guess he is pretty much what oGsTheWind used to be, I just hope this isn't the start of him transitioning into becoming a coach only, I really want boxer to keep competing (even if not for the sake of boxer being boxer it's still an amazingly good thing that he competes for sc2 in korea).
On January 26 2012 22:09 Plexa wrote: When someone becomes a playing coach it generally is the end of their playing career.
Do you think he'll decide to not try out for the GSL again if he drops out of Code S and A? (I wouldn't completely disagree with that decision.) Do you think he might just stop now?
I not sure if I like this or not. One of the many reasons why I love SlayersBoxer was the fact that despite being a progamer for 13 years (an incredibly long time), he never decided to slow down or take time off. Got to finish military service? No problem, I'll just start ACE team and continue playing. When he could no longer keep up with all the youngsters in BW, he switched over to SC2 and continued fighting. Now if he is a head coach, I am not sure if he can devote enough time to playing.
Of course, this is great news for the Slayers Team. Boxer is the one man who has had the greatest impact on esports. He completely revolutionized the terran race, changing it from the most underpowered race in BW to the most powerful (all but one bonjwa have been terran). With him thinking of strategies and guys like MMA, Ganzi, Puzzle, Taeja, Ryung, Coca, etc executing them, the Slayers team will become even stronger.
Why is everyone so happy about this? It basically means that he won't play or anymore or atleast a lot less, will therefore underpreform and will most likely eventually drop out... This is not good news in my book by any accounts!
I think BoxeR will make an amazing coach. He has amazing game sense and knowledge along side years and years of experience. Definitely a good decision from SlayerS <3 <3 <3
On January 26 2012 22:25 Mithrandror wrote: Why is everyone so happy about this? It basically means that he won't play or anymore or atleast a lot less, will therefore underpreform and will most likely eventually drop out... This is not good news in my book by any accounts!
Maybe it's time. Who knows what the team has in store. I certainly would want to see him make another run!
as far as boxer in the gsl is concerned this is sad news I feel
one question though.. say if a slayers player was to play in a foreign tournament would boxer travel with them being head coach?? perhaps more opportunities to see boxer participate in tournaments outside of korea? he has said he loves foreign tournaments and crowds cheering ignites the fire within him/gives him motivation when he needs it most.
I dunno most players you would say this is the beginning of the end, but we are talking about the biggest name in e-sports, when it comes it comes to Boxer, until the day he decides to retire completely and have nothing to do with e-sports at all, you can never count him out. He is like 'The Rock' of e-sports... the peoples champ.
hmmm, while he has had a unprecedented career, it is time for him to take a lesser role in playing and a greater one in coach, we have already seen him mentor champions, while his play has been lacking. Great move, SlayerS is the clan to be in atm.
On January 26 2012 19:54 Supah wrote: I was under the impression BoxeR spent most of his time coaching anyway, considering the relatively weaker performances compared to the rest of the crew in his team. Why did Cella step down as head coach? Is he gearing up to play again?
He practices amongst the most of anyone from what I hear.
On January 26 2012 22:09 Plexa wrote: When someone becomes a playing coach it generally is the end of their playing career.
That could be generally true, but Boxer has always been exception, I believe! Please don't stop playing Boxer, we still need you! Emperor fighting <3
Btw. he will be great coach for sure. I still remember that mind game and build he created for Fantasy, I think in PL finals against Jaedong? Fantasy was talking with Oov before match so they would think of macro strat and then killed him in 5 mins with Boxer's rush
I can't really imagine this being a good thing. If I recall the details of Cella's job correctly, he spent a lot of time analyzing the replays and play styles of other teams. If Boxer is essentially taking over for Cella, then he is going to have to put in all the hours of replay analysis and this will definitely hurt him as a player. I don't doubt that Boxer would be an excellent head coach, but I'm afraid of this being the thing that finally puts the Emperor too far behind to catch up with the rest of the scene. If I had to guess, I would say they are doing this to fill the hole Cella left when he stepped down without having to hire a new person, not because they actually want Boxer in this position.
On January 26 2012 22:09 Plexa wrote: When someone becomes a playing coach it generally is the end of their playing career.
That could be generally true, but Boxer has always been exception, I believe! Please don't stop playing Boxer, we still need you! Emperor fighting <3
Btw. he will be great coach for sure. I still remember that mind game and build he created for Fantasy, I think in PL finals against Jaedong? Fantasy was talking with Oov before match so they would think of macro strat and then killed him in 5 mins with Boxer's rush
yeah i doubt he will stop playing. a coach needs to play imo, got to understand the game really well to be a coach, as well as team bonding and all that jazz
this is awesome news! i'm looking forward even more to seeing what the slayers terrans are capable of accomplishing under boxer's direction.
i'm also a bit curious what's going to happen to cella. he's one of my favorite starcraft personalities, so i would hate for him to disappear from slayers :/
Interesting, one the one hand I want to see Boxer play forever, on the other hand I know that just isn't feasible. As long as he is always involved and helping his team and the sport in general I can never be truly sad though.
On January 26 2012 23:57 Animostas wrote: I thought that Boxer was a player/coach with iloveoov during the SKT1 days, no?
He was still a player but by then it was clear he was never going to be sent out so basically a figurehead and he did help oov design some builds for Fantasy.
On January 26 2012 23:57 Animostas wrote: I thought that Boxer was a player/coach with iloveoov during the SKT1 days, no?
He was still a player but by then it was clear he was never going to be sent out so basically a figurehead and he did help oov design some builds for Fantasy.
He would have probably been defacto leader/coach of ACE I would have imagined.
As for his SKT duties, he nuked Killer and gave him an autograph later I think. He also played Kong once. He also lsot to ForGG barely.
On January 26 2012 20:04 red4ce wrote: Uhhh this isn't a good thing people. At least not if you're a fan of Boxer the player. Every minute he spends devising strategies for his players, scouting opponents and creating player lineups is less time spent preparing for his own matches. It might or might not be a good thing for SlayerS as a team, but expect Boxer's individual performance to take a dive similar to that of Choya and theWind when they became player-coaches.
This. And he has improved so much recently too...
I think that the significance of this move is that BoxeR will now control who is sent out during the GSTL, if I understand this correctly. That makes sense given that the GSTL will be underway again soon.
So, I wouldn't necessarily interpret this as an announcement of BoxeR taking more of a head coaching role in all regards--that's probably why they're stressing the "playing-coach" phrase, as opposed to just head coach (which I'm pretty sure is how they referred to Cella, even though he still plays in Code A qualifiers and some other tournaments as far as I know).
tl;dr it's just as likely that BoxeR's role will not change at all except that he'll pick who plays during the GSTL.
I do hope that it'll not be the prelude to the end of his player career. I'm still dreaming of him against MMA or MVP in a code S final and then, but only then, goodbye...
I'm torn, I want Boxer to one day win a GSL. With him even as a player coach, it's less likely to happen as he'll spend more time on the side and less time playing. But for his age and to be competitive is still amazing - he is the emperor after all. Suffice to say, he could retire tomorrow and just be a full-time Coach of SlayerS and/or play the role as Kingmaker and can prosper with that too.
On January 27 2012 03:10 wunsun wrote: This will be great for Slayers, but not so good for Boxer. Less time for him to practice for himself.
You mean Boxer's personal career as a SC2 player, right? I'm pretty sure that Boxer is the kind of guy who feels that if he can help his team in any way possible, he'd be willing to compromise his (possibly waning- at least in the near future) career. Selfless.
Great to see BoxeR giving everything he can for his team, but also worried about his career as a player... I've enjoyed watching him during his (too short) stay in code S and was impressed by his recent improvement, as I also think of him as one of the smartest SC2 players! Hope he stays in GSL and makes it back to code S next season, cause I'm just such a groupie of his haha <3
I think it was time for this though. He can contribute so much to his players (and has already done so). Sure it's awesome to see him play. But it's a new world .
While I am excited and stoked about this..... I can't help but feel this may be it for BoxeR. No way will he ever win a GSL if he has to coach AND be a progamer.....
Yay! More emphasis on awesome SlayerS strategies. Say what you want about BoxeR's ability to play the game, but his strategies are unparalleled (hello Blue Flame, nice to meet you)
Aghh while i'm happy for the rest of SlayerS, i really wanted BoxeR to be able to practise as much as he could and be able to maybe win a GSL!! With additional coaching responsibilities, idk if he will be able to take a title anytime... i hope he can still manage coaching and practice though :D
I think we'll end up seeing some really great strategies and play because of boxer, but I felt Cella did the best job in matchups in the GSTL, so I hope they work together. My biggest concern is that this might take away from boxers practice and he might not play as well with the pressure of also being a coach.
If he wasn't coaching before, even informally, as the head of the team. I can't see how this could be anything but a great opportunity for the team! Especially since SlayerS is such a Terran powerhouse.
Well this is not exactly surprising. I think BoxeR was the unofficial coach anyway.. but if you think about it SlayerS has a lot of coaches and managers... must be a very nice environment.
im still curious as to what exactly the similarities and differences between coach and head coach are
I mean, I'm sure Boxer probably had a lot of respect just as a player, and he probably helped out the new players and such, so I wonder if this is just that they made it "official" that he has that title now of head coach, or if it means we're gonna see a bunch more ingenious strategies from slayers players :D
EPT![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/uZVfM.jpg)
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