by stuchiu

When ST_Bomber made the switch to StarCraft 2 in 2010 he was already 22 years old, almost retirement age by Brood War standards. By then, he had already put several years into progaming, toiling away on eSTRO since 2007 as a bench warmer with no results to speak of.

StarCraft 2 finally gave him the success he had failed to find in Brood War, and he made a cracking debut in Code A May of 2011, defeating then 2-time GSL champion Mvp 4 – 2 in the finals. Many thought he was the star of the future, the next generation Terran leader after Mvp and MarineKing. When he won his first major title at MLG Raleigh 2011, his succession to the throne seemed all but assured.

Unfortunately, such lofty hopes were never realized. For nearly two years after winning that MLG, Bomber failed to capture another championship. Over the course of countless tournaments, Bomber would repeat the woeful pattern of winning in incredible matches in the early stages, only to fall flat once he got closer to the title. While his numerous high finishes were nothing to scoff at, he became consistent in one of the worst ways possible: consistently unable to win a championship.


You only need to think about Bomber's law for a second to know it is a law that applies to every single player. Think for another second about how heartbreaking Bomber's losses must have been that out of all players in the world, he became the law's namesake. After a certain point, spectators and pundits no longer expected him to win. Even Bomber's own fans found cheering for him to be a harrowing experience, knowing too well the pain of broken expectations.

Then came the KeSPA invasion. Many thought KeSPA's official switch to StarCraft 2 would be the end of eSF players and all of the early adapters. The Elephant would enter the Room, and its inhabitants would be crushed underfoot. Rain and RorO led the charge in WoL, grabbing major titles as their KeSPA peers took more and more spots in Code S. With a soft "reset" looming in HotS, the threat continued to grow for StarCraft 2's established veterans.

Bomber continued along at his usual pace. In the first WCS Korea season after the release of HotS, he went on another Bomber-esque run, looking fantastic until the quarterfinals where he was reduced to a puddle of green liquid by a succession of all-ins from Symbol. The second WCS Korea season was yet another typical one for Bomber. He showed championship class TvT to defeat Flash and INnoVation and earn a return to the quarterfinals, and then then smashed First 3 – 0 in the quarterfinal match using deadly SCV-pull timings that gave fans hope that he might even beat Rain in the semifinals. Oh, you silly fans. Rain stomped Bomber 4 – 1 to deny him yet another championship.

Thus, going into the WCS Season 2 Finals in Cologne, we had yet more affirmation of Bomber's identity and his tragic limitations. His one success in 2011 was but a fluke. He was forever destined to show good games, earn cheers from the fans, and get knocked out by a player who actually had winning in his blood.

And while Bomber's whole situation looked so tragic from the outside looking in, we forgot something very important. What are adversity, disappointment, and a two year title drought to a player who waited over four years to win his first championship? Nothing, nothing at all.

At the WCS Season 2 finals, Bomber broke the law. Grubby and First were toppled by SCV-pull timings in the group stage. Top foreigner Scarlett fell 2 - 3 in the quarters. TaeJa, the prince of summer, came close to defeating Bomber but fell short in fifth map of the semis. Awaiting Bomber in the finals was the tyrant Jaedong, the greatest Zerg player of Brood War looking to end his own title drought.

Oz once said, "We did not run from Brood War, we were just the first ones to take up a new challenge." And there Bomber was, battling one of the greats of BW in the season finals. There, Bomber showed us exactly what his two years of perseverance were worth. Instead of the textbook builds of the present, he looked toward the past for the ancient strategies from WoL. Builds like combat shield rushes, mass marines before gas, triple bunker rushes, and the good ol' marine-tank. The result was a 4 - 0 sweep for Bomber. After two years, the builds that had brought him so close to championships in the past had finally paid off in the present.

Not surprisingly, Bomber proceeded to drop out of the Ro32 in the very next WCS Korea. After all, you don't just shake off your old habits in a morning. But in the big picture of things, it's all okay. Because Bomber fought the law, and he won. Like all other players, he still may still disappoint sometimes. But when he disappoints now, we have the hope that he will come back even better and stronger. We know that every loss has meaning. We know no time is ever truly wasted.

Writers: stuchiu.
Photo: Silverfire.
Editor: Waxangel.