EPTFlash - A replay popped up with Flash early on against Kawaiirice, before PL started. While Flash won against Kawaiirice, the video showed how Flash was very rusty in SC2 and lacked the finer points in SC2 for all the hype around him. These perceptions were continued in Flash's debut game in SC2 against Effort. Flash lost his debut game against Effort and people questioned whether Flash could succeed in SC2. Then the MLG exhibition tournament came around and Flash won that tournament quite convincingly, with only Soulkey putting up good games against Flash. Those who questioned Flash's SC2 ability fell silent after Flash's performance at MLG. Since the MLG exhibition tournament though, Flash has a mixed record in SC2 in PL - granted he is often put in Ace matches against harder opponents. In addition, Flash did not qualify for the WCS , losing to Sniper, a Code S Zerg player. To be fair, only one KESPA player though, Reality, qualified for the WCS, amongst all the KESPA players not seeded. While Flash does not have the worst record in SC2 amongst the star BW players (that would probably be Bisu), he hasn't had a stellar transition to SC2 either. All in all, Flash looks like he is heading in the right direction and his play has steadily improved since his debut match against Effort.
Jaedong - Wow, what a 180 degree turnaround from his debut game in PL against By Sun. In JD's debut game against By Sun, we saw a player that didn't understand creep spread and insisted on burrowing roaches under a FF with an observer overhead. JD looked like a silver/gold player in SC2 at the strategical/tactical level even though he has world class mechanics. He would then lose his second match in SC2 before winning his first match as the Ace player in the same day. By the time the KESPA exhibition rolled around at MLG, JD had showed improvement in his play as Zerg, despite his questionable mass queen strategy in the semi-finals against Bisu. Since the MLG exhibition, JD has a decent record in PL, especially in Ace matches, giving him a seed in the WCS. In his last PL match, JD probably showed his strongest match against Bogus with excellent creep spread and great tactical/strategical use of Zerg: http://i.minus.com/ibeutOoxwwhLtF.gif. However, JD did not qualify for the first season of OSL in SC2. Overall, JD is definitely heading in the right direction in SC2 and we wait to see further spectacular games from The Tyrant.
Fantasy - Fantasy opened his SC2 debut with a win in PL. Thereafter, Fantasy was knocked out of the KESPA exhibition match in the first round. However, since then, Fantasy has accumulated a 3-1 record in PL. While the number of games Fantasy has played in SC2 in PL is not much, 3-1 is still a good starting record. Fantasy, like many other KESPA players, would fail to qualify for the WCS. Fantasy also showed some good unit control and decision making in his game against Crazy-Hydra in PL. We probably need more games from Fantasy to see where he is headed (which may be a while since Fantasy is prepping for his BW final against Jangbi) but at this moment, he seems to be transitioning much better than his teamate Bisu.
Neo.G_Soulkey - Soulkey debuted with a loss against trap in PL. Before the KESPA exhibition match at MLG, it was rumored that Soulkey was a GM on the Korean ladder. His play at the KESPA exhibition match confirmed his skill in SC2. Despite losing to Flash 2-0 at the KESPA exhibition match, Soulkey showed great games against Flash and arguably, looked like the only player at the KESPA exhibition match that really put up a fight against Flash. Since then, Soulkey has accumulated a decent record in PL, and has played as the Ace for his team. Soulkey also qualified for the first season of OSL in SC2. Soulkey did not qualify for the WCS through the preliminaries but was seeded by KESPA because of his PL record. To be fair, Soulkey lost to MMA in the WCS qualifiers and MMA seems to have had some type of resurgence lately, making it back to Code S. Soulkey is definitely one of the more successful stories of KESPA players transitioning to SC2 and we definitely await to see more games from him in SC2.
Stork - Stork lost his debut SC2 match in PL. At the KESPA exhibition, he did not fair much better, being cannon fodder for Flash in the first round. However, since the exhibition, Stork has accumulated a 4-2 record in PL, with all 4 wins coming against Terran players. Stork did not qualify for the OSL nor did he qualify for the WCS, although he was one win away from making it to the final round of the WCS preliminaries. We probably need to see more games from Stork in SC2 before we can determine the direction Stork will head in SC2.
Leta - Leta would win in his first SC2 match, albeit, against the slumping Bisu. At the MLG exhibition tournament, Leta was knocked out in the first round. Since then, Leta has a 2-0 record in PL for SC2. In addition, Leta failed to qualify for the WCS and for the OSL. Despite a 100% record in PL, there's too little data on Leta so we will have to wait to see more games from Leta in SC2.
Effort - Effort likely fell short of the list of BW stars for the MLG exhibition but one could argue that he may have deserved to make the list for the MLG exhibition tournament. In his SC2 debut, Effort opened up with a win against Flash. Since then, Effort has a very good record in PL, serving as the Ace for his team. Effort did not qualify for OSL but is seeded for the WCS because of his PL record. Effort is definitely headed in the right direction in SC2 and we look forward to some exciting games in the future from Effort.
Bisu - Despite being one of the most famous BW players, I left Bisu for last. Bisu looked like he was headed in the right direction in SC2 when he made the finals of the KESPA exhibition at MLG. However, Bisu has not won a single game in PL and his game at the WCS qualifer was just horrible. It's probably fair to say Bisu looked a lot like JD on the first day of PL with SC2. The problem is, Bisu STILL looks alot like JD on the first day of PL with SC2. After watchng Bisu's last game at WCS with the "mass sentries," I worry for Bisu. Interestingly, Bisu has not played SC2 for SKT for several weeks. Maybe Bisu is still experimenting with SC2 - I don't know. We can only hope that Bisu "gets it" soon - it would be such a shame for a gifted player like Bisu if this is how it ends for him.
I didn't list everybody here - some notable exceptions include Zero, Calm, Sea, Baby, Kal, etc. I encourage others to write a summary of how the other players are doing and perhaps we can use this thread to keep track of the success (or lack of success) of KESPA stars as they transition to SC2.
Thanks!
