On November 07 2013 03:01 awesomoecalypse wrote: If Dear wins Blizzcon, he's going to have a strong argument to being the world's best player at the moment, and the best Protoss in SC2 history. The word "bonjwa" gets overused, but Dear is one of the only guys who we could legitimately put in that conversation if he does win Blizzcon.
Nice article, btw, though I think it sort of glossed over how fun Dear is to watch these days. He plays an extremely exciting and spectator friendly style of Protoss--not as defensive as Rain or as aggressive as MC, but just doing all the little things right, multitasking like crazy, and never losing his composure even in the most high pressure situations
Maybe he's had the best protoss play, but you seriously can't call him the best when MC exists. How many finals has MC been in? Over the course of SC2's history MC has proven himself again and again. Dear is impressive, but how long has he been at the top for now? Surely a fraction of the time MC has been around. MC dominates SC2 earnings even topping MVP (wanna talk about the word "bonjwa?" there's a guy who I think deserves it)
I already said that MC's consistency is unparalleled, but there's something to be said for being absolutely unbeatably dominant as well. If Dear wins Blizzcon, we're looking at a streak of absolutely dominant play that hasn't been shown by any Protoss in SC2 before.
Not shown by anyone, regardless of race.
Not even Life or Innovation? Dear's won WCS Korea and Season Finals, while Innovation got 2nd in WCS and won his Season Finals, not to mention looking good in other tournaments. I think it's at least comparable.
I'm the biggest Life fan on the planet and while I would agree that Life was two steps above everyone the week he won GSL and MLG, neither Life nor Innovation can claim to have won three elite tournaments in such a short span, with each tournament's lineup tougher than the last one's. Their stretches would be comparable, but Dear's would still one-up them in my eyes.
No doubt that it would unprecedented if Dear should actually also win Blizzcon, but i think it is important to note that it is extremely rare to see three tournaments this stacked in such as short time span. If Dear wins Blizzcon the time between he advanced to Code S ro4 and winning Blizzcon would be only 48 days or so. In comparrison Life was undefeated for 55 consecutive days, where as Dear as of right now has not even been undefeated for two weeks.
I'm not trying to take anything away from Dear, he is obviously an amazing player. I'm merely pointing out the fact that while his achievement is unprecedented, the setting for his victory is also unique, and i have no doubt that other extremely dominant progamers could have done the same, had they been as dominant right now.
On November 07 2013 05:53 JJH777 wrote: I'm so torn about whether I want Dear or Mvp to win. By winning this Dear would be showing a level of dominance that no player has ever came close to before. But I love Mvp..
Exactly how I feel aswell. I love Mvp more than anyone else in Starcraft, but Dear winning this would make such a great storyline. Also his play is incredible and entertaining, even though he is Protoss. Additionaly he seems to be a awesome person. Will be heartbreaking if they meet in the second round...
I never played Brood War, but some time after Starcraft 2 came out, I also started to pay attention to the Brood War leagues. At this time, Flash was dominating proleague with a 20+ win streak or something ridiculous like that, and Dear was the one that ended it. Flash was playing a perfect game like always, except he was unusually slow at preparing missile turrets at a common drop location. Dear blindly hit this weakness with a fast shuttle, killing most of Flash's workers and taking the game easily.
Everyone thought he was one lucky bugger, but he sure is proving us wrong in SC2.
It's just not the fact that he walked the Royal Road, at the GSL and the MLG (defeating LEENOCK :c), it's the WAY he played. We saw in Life's gameplay relentless aggression, impeccable micro (his trademark zergling micro), unparalled decision making, flawless macro (man, he did'nt lose a single spit !!!!!). Life just took the Zerg race and heighten his skill cap and he just make things with the Zerg that no one has ever done. Even his Zerg peers claimed that they cannot emulate his style because of his difficulty.
Life ftw !!!
Dear's playstye is another level than any other Protoss currently. He seems to have combined Rain's impeccable defensive skills with HerO's knack for constant multitasking, PartinG's insane army control in engagements, and MC's skill at hitting absolutely perfect timings. Other players might do one or two things really well, but Dear has the whole package to a degree we haven't seen before.
It's just not the fact that he walked the Royal Road, at the GSL and the MLG (defeating LEENOCK :c), it's the WAY he played. We saw in Life's gameplay relentless aggression, impeccable micro (his trademark zergling micro), unparalled decision making, flawless macro (man, he did'nt lose a single spit !!!!!). Life just took the Zerg race and heighten his skill cap and he just make things with the Zerg that no one has ever done. Even his Zerg peers claimed that they cannot emulate his style because of his difficulty.
Life ftw !!!
Dear's playstye is another level than any other Protoss currently. He seems to have combined Rain's impeccable defensive skills with HerO's knack for constant multitasking, PartinG's insane army control in engagements, and MC's skill at hitting absolutely perfect timings. Other players might do one or two things really well, but Dear has the whole package to a degree we haven't seen before.
Definitely excited to see Taeja Dear.
Most of what you say is pretty true... but I still think Rain has better control. The thing is that Dear doesn't seem to have that same ultradefensive fetish Rain does. That and Rain has been a touch off the boil. Argh Kinda dicing hairs with this but I would put Dear ahead at hte moment but within the last 3 months I would hold Rain as the best protoss and probably the best Protoss to ever play based on his hyper intelligent playstyle.
On November 07 2013 06:56 Tanukki wrote: I never played Brood War, but some time after Starcraft 2 came out, I also started to pay attention to the Brood War leagues. At this time, Flash was dominating proleague with a 20+ win streak or something ridiculous like that, and Dear was the one that ended it. Flash was playing a perfect game like always, except he was unusually slow at preparing missile turrets at a common drop location. Dear blindly hit this weakness with a fast shuttle, killing most of Flash's workers and taking the game easily.
Everyone thought he was one lucky bugger, but he sure is proving us wrong in SC2.
I think your mixing up the games. You're thinking about when Stardust won with reaver drops to break one of Flash's streaks. Flash canceled a turrent just moments before the drop came. Stardust said in the interview that he managed to trick Flash because he had studied his scan patterns and intentionally made the timings look wrong. Pretty sick if you ask me.
On November 07 2013 06:56 Tanukki wrote: I never played Brood War, but some time after Starcraft 2 came out, I also started to pay attention to the Brood War leagues. At this time, Flash was dominating proleague with a 20+ win streak or something ridiculous like that, and Dear was the one that ended it. Flash was playing a perfect game like always, except he was unusually slow at preparing missile turrets at a common drop location. Dear blindly hit this weakness with a fast shuttle, killing most of Flash's workers and taking the game easily.
Everyone thought he was one lucky bugger, but he sure is proving us wrong in SC2.
I think your mixing up the games. You're thinking about when Stardust won with reaver drops to break one of Flash's streaks. Flash canceled a turrent just moments before the drop came. Stardust said in the interview that he managed to trick Flash because he had studied his scan patterns and intentionally made the timings look wrong. Pretty sick if you ask me.
Separately from his play, I thought Dear's audience comments at S3 Finals were very memorable. Remember that time when he praised Canadian fans for being so good-looking (if I recall, the way the translator said it was "the men are all studs and the women are smoking hot") and basically apologized he's not as handsome as they are? It was such a random and bizarre thing to say, and I loved that--all too often all we get from Korean players is "I will play hard and show good games." It shows a lot of personality, and we need more of that from the top players.
On November 07 2013 09:51 Yakikorosu wrote: Separately from his play, I thought Dear's audience comments at S3 Finals were very memorable. Remember that time when he praised Canadian fans for being so good-looking (if I recall, the way the translator said it was "the men are all studs and the women are smoking hot") and basically apologized he's not as handsome as they are? It was such a random and bizarre thing to say, and I loved that--all too often all we get from Korean players is "I will play hard and show good games." It shows a lot of personality, and we need more of that from the top players.
Yeah and the audience are shouting like "Dear is sexy" lol. Thats really heartwarming.
On November 07 2013 03:01 awesomoecalypse wrote: If Dear wins Blizzcon, he's going to have a strong argument to being the world's best player at the moment, and the best Protoss in SC2 history. The word "bonjwa" gets overused, but Dear is one of the only guys who we could legitimately put in that conversation if he does win Blizzcon.
Nice article, btw, though I think it sort of glossed over how fun Dear is to watch these days. He plays an extremely exciting and spectator friendly style of Protoss--not as defensive as Rain or as aggressive as MC, but just doing all the little things right, multitasking like crazy, and never losing his composure even in the most high pressure situations
Maybe he's had the best protoss play, but you seriously can't call him the best when MC exists. How many finals has MC been in? Over the course of SC2's history MC has proven himself again and again. Dear is impressive, but how long has he been at the top for now? Surely a fraction of the time MC has been around. MC dominates SC2 earnings even topping MVP (wanna talk about the word "bonjwa?" there's a guy who I think deserves it)
I already said that MC's consistency is unparalleled, but there's something to be said for being absolutely unbeatably dominant as well. If Dear wins Blizzcon, we're looking at a streak of absolutely dominant play that hasn't been shown by any Protoss in SC2 before.
Not shown by anyone, regardless of race.
Not even Life or Innovation? Dear's won WCS Korea and Season Finals, while Innovation got 2nd in WCS and won his Season Finals, not to mention looking good in other tournaments. I think it's at least comparable.
I'm the biggest Life fan on the planet and while I would agree that Life was two steps above everyone the week he won GSL and MLG, neither Life nor Innovation can claim to have won three elite tournaments in such a short span, with each tournament's lineup tougher than the last one's. Their stretches would be comparable, but Dear's would still one-up them in my eyes.
Love the articles! TL Fighting! Thanks Zealously for the write up!
I agree with you in that I don't think anyone can get this close again to winning 3 back-to-back championships, although I would disagree and say that long periods of consistency are more important to me than streaky wins. So while it is still incredibly impressive, I would argue that winning in different periods and getting Ro4 consistently would be more impressive. It's like comparing the PartinG of 2012 with Dear of 2013. He will need more time to be considered dominant, IMO.
In any case, there's a strong case for him to win. I think Legend of the Fall still applies in this case, right? Winter is coming, but only in December.
On November 07 2013 03:01 awesomoecalypse wrote: If Dear wins Blizzcon, he's going to have a strong argument to being the world's best player at the moment, and the best Protoss in SC2 history. The word "bonjwa" gets overused, but Dear is one of the only guys who we could legitimately put in that conversation if he does win Blizzcon.
Nice article, btw, though I think it sort of glossed over how fun Dear is to watch these days. He plays an extremely exciting and spectator friendly style of Protoss--not as defensive as Rain or as aggressive as MC, but just doing all the little things right, multitasking like crazy, and never losing his composure even in the most high pressure situations
Well, unfortunately, no.
Dear may be very strong at the moment, and even more if he wins Blizzcon, but "best Protoss SC2 in history"?
You need much much more than a few months of success than that. Right now, he is more akin to "Summer of Taeja" than "King of Wings"
Which is more impressive, consistently being very good for a long time, or a streak of absolute unparalleled dominance? MC is the only Protoss to have the former (PartinG and Her0 both came fairly close), but NO Protoss has looked as unbeatable and utterly dominant as Dear currently does. Winning the 3 biggest tournaments on the scene all in a row like this would be completely unprecedented for any Protoss to achieve.
The fact that no Protoss has done this before probably says more about Protoss as a race than anything else. No doubt that Dear is on an impressive streak, but complete and utter dominance within a month does not make one a bonjwa. It would appear that in SC2 it is a far greater achievement to stay relevant for a long time, than it is to dominate for a short while.
Nup awesomoecalypse is right. Winning a code S, a season finals and then if he would go on to win Blizzcon definitely makes him the best contender for Bonjwa the game has seen. Short periods of crushing dominance are totally acceptable - see iloveoov's multiple finals/titles in a short period. There's arguably something much more impressive about dominance over a shorter period than longer spread out titles. That's why Jaedong was never called Bonjwa while Flash was. Jaedong was the best player for a long time and won multiple titles. Which is similar to MVP, the most overly touted (and wrong) suggested Bonjwa, who was the best in the world for a long time but who didn't dominate and didn't win enough. Although Jaedong was unstoppable for a long time, so he was actually a lot closer, statistics aside.
EPT
