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Woongjin_sOs and the greatest story never told

Forum Index > SC2 General
131 CommentsPost a Reply
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Woongjin_sOs and the greatest story never told

Text bystuchiu
November 22nd, 2013 09:24 GMT
2013 WCS
Woongjin_sOs at...

Red Bull Battle Grounds

DreamHack Winter

The Greatest Story Never Told

Where to now for sOs, unexpected champion of WCS 2013?

by stuchiu

When WCS 2013 was announced, a number of reasons were given for its creation. Three goals stuck out in particular:

  1. Unify and simplify the storylines.
  2. Tell a yearlong story.
  3. Crown the best player in the world.

If Global Champion (P)Woongjin_sOs was supposed to be the hero of this story, then WCS failed at those goals.

sOs has spent 2013 being overshadowed. He did very well in the very first season of WCS, going all the way to the semifinals in Korea. But despite his deep run and creative take on HotS Protoss, there wasn't any room for him to break through in the midst of stars like Parting, Life, Innovation or Flash. He was Protoss' breakout star like finalists INnoVation and Soulkey were for Terran and Zerg, but their epic Bo7 series ended up being the only thing anyone remembered of WCS Korea Season 1.

sOs proceeded to go even further in the WCS Season 1 Combined Finals, placing second place after losing to INnoVation in the finals. But once more, he was outshone by other players. All eyes were on INnoVation as he finally took the championship that many saw as his due, while the great Mvp impressed the viewers by looking timeless in his semi-final run.

Following that season finals, sOs went into a steep decline as he was knocked out by Maru in the Ro32 of WCS Korea Season 2 , and then by Trap in the Ro16 of Season 3. Thus, sOs was quickly forgotten by the majority of fans until BlizzCon rolled around, where people tended to remember him 'as that guy who made Tempests against INnoVation once.'

Not surprisingly, sOs's Ro16 and Ro8 games at BlizzCon were relegated to the secondary stream, with main stream preference given to fan favorites like Bomber and Jaedong. Thus, when sOs emerged on the main stage in the semi-finals, casual fans couldn't be blamed for thinking he had magically appeared out of nowhere. Naturally, it followed that the majority of the narrative in the BlizzCon finals was about Jaedong. It was all about the return of the Tyrant, and Jaedong's last test at the end of a years long championship drought.

However, sOs was no mere NPC to be taken down so Jaedong could claim his final reward. Using the trickery and clever strategies that had been his hallmark since Season 1, sOs ran circles around Jaedong. A 4 - 1 victory delivered sOs $100,000, the BlizzCon trophy, and finally, a place in the spotlight.

[image loading]
sOs signs the lease for a small plot of land inside Jaedong's head.
- Photo: silverfire


In many ways, sOs is the polar opposite of (P)Soul_Dear. Where sOs' rapid rise in Season 1 dampened by a variety of circumstances, Dear became the center of attention as he dominated Season 3. When sOs was a foot away from the summit, he was stopped by the two monsters known as Soulkey and Innovation, becoming a footnote in their duel for supremacy of the world. Dear on the other hand, refused to be stopped. He won the WCS Korea 3 over the best in the world and then he proved it again in one of the hottest tournaments of the year in the WCS Season 3 Finals.

Where sOs’ games tended to be one-sided in both loss and victory, Dear dropped jaws with thrilling games against Soulkey, Maru, and other top players. Dear was the rising star people wanted: a macro player, a player who actually delivered on the trite promise of "I will try to show you entertaining games," and a champion. He could have been the hero that gave WCS the storybook ending it needed.

But in the end, Dear lost to Jaedong at BlizzCon, while sOs won. Dear tried to fight Jaedong head on, but he was overpowered by a stronger-than-ever Tyrant. In sOs's case, he wasn't even interested in playing against Jaedong's ZvP - he wanted to play Jaedong, the human being. By employing cannon rushes, hidden bases, and strange builds, sOs set up shop inside of Jaedong's head. He got under his skin, annoyed him, frustrated him, and broke him.

One has to wonder why sOs failed to garner attention before his BlizzCon win. After all, all of the traits he showed against Jaedong—finely tuned build orders, unorthodox unit combinations, and devious mind-gaming—were all things he had possessed since Season 1. In fact, those traits made him a favorite among so-called "hipster-fans," as well as several top players (notable among them, NaNiwa). Was he purely a victim of circumstance, constantly surrounded by more compelling storylines? Or perhaps it was because on the surface, it was too easy to conflate his crafty and intelligent play as gimmicks that would lose strength with time. Without a title to his name, it may have been too easy to dismiss him.

In any case, here we are. sOs stands as the WCS 2013 champion, and has forced StarCraft 2 fans around to give him their respect.. The weeks ahead will be an important test for sOs, as he participates at two major tournaments at Red Bull Battle Grounds and DreamHack Winter. With good performances, that grudging respect may become support. With championships, support could become adoration.

sOs brought the tale of WCS 2013 to an unexpected and anti-climatic end. But as for his own story, that's just beginning.

Writers: stuchiu.
Photos: silverfire.
Editor: Waxangel.
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Moderator
Aeromi
Profile Blog Joined August 2012
France14456 Posts
November 22 2013 09:24 GMT
#2
sOs is just a casual player according WJS coach.
https://twitter.com/DrAeromi | Updates on live tournaments: @StarCrafteSport
Chairman Ray
Profile Blog Joined December 2009
United States11903 Posts
November 22 2013 09:30 GMT
#3
awesome writeup! sOs is so amazing!
GTPGlitch
Profile Blog Joined March 2011
5061 Posts
November 22 2013 09:35 GMT
#4
On November 22 2013 18:24 Aeromi wrote:
sOs is just a casual player according WJS coach.


Playing casually is the easiest way into mindgames.

For instance: "there's no way he can recover from this, i killed all his scvs at his third and nat and he has no other bases muahahaha"

Jokes on you, i have terrible macro, lemme get rid of that 3k/3k bank~
Jo Byung Se #1 fan | CJ_Rush(reborn) fan | Liquid'Jinro(ret) fan | Liquid'Taeja fan | oGsTheSuperNada fan | Iris[gm](ret) fan |
calh
Profile Joined March 2013
537 Posts
November 22 2013 09:46 GMT
#5
The whole anti-hype of sOs just shows how biased the general viewership is towards the "stand-up" style of play.
Waxangel
Profile Blog Joined September 2002
United States33308 Posts
November 22 2013 09:52 GMT
#6
A korean is either a champion or a clown, it seems so hard them to gain popularity otherwise (a player like bomber is rarity!)
AdministratorHey HP can you redo everything youve ever done because i have a small complaint?
duckk
Profile Joined March 2013
United States622 Posts
November 22 2013 09:53 GMT
#7
On November 22 2013 18:24 Aeromi wrote:
sOs is just a casual player according WJS coach.



i would not doubt it, his actual ingame skill is far behind other top players IMO, but he plays smart and is able to win tournaments because of this.
Pangpootata
Profile Blog Joined January 2011
1838 Posts
November 22 2013 09:58 GMT
#8
On November 22 2013 18:53 duckk wrote:
Show nested quote +
On November 22 2013 18:24 Aeromi wrote:
sOs is just a casual player according WJS coach.



i would not doubt it, his actual ingame skill is far behind other top players IMO, but he plays smart and is able to win tournaments because of this.

I would doubt it. His coach is trying to mindgame everyone else into underestimating sOs.

On a side note, the ex-teammates part of the sOs vs Jaedong clash is strangely underhyped.
CutTheEnemy
Profile Joined November 2013
Canada373 Posts
November 22 2013 10:00 GMT
#9
Caster Bias.

Consider the Blizzcon finals- the casters sang the song of the Tyrant, and followed his story. sOs was his latest hurdle. How could sOs by a hyped player if he was not hyped?
Can we help spread the word and create pressure to get Rob Pardo to replace Browder as head of Sc2? Pardo led the team for broodwar, frozen throne, and wow/BC. We need to make this a thing before LotV development starts. Think about it.
Dodgin
Profile Blog Joined July 2011
Canada39254 Posts
November 22 2013 10:01 GMT
#10
On November 22 2013 18:52 Waxangel wrote:
A korean is either a champion or a clown, it seems so hard them to gain popularity otherwise (a player like bomber is rarity!)


HEY bomber won an mlg one time or something
GreenMash
Profile Joined August 2012
Norway1746 Posts
November 22 2013 10:21 GMT
#11
On November 22 2013 19:00 CutTheEnemy wrote:
Caster Bias.

Consider the Blizzcon finals- the casters sang the song of the Tyrant, and followed his story. sOs was his latest hurdle. How could sOs by a hyped player if he was not hyped?

Agreed. If you look at results and compare it to the hype sOs was incredibly underhyped. Casters tend to only really hype players who play a certain way (like Artosis only liking straight up macro players)
I love hellbats
NeThZOR
Profile Blog Joined November 2010
South Africa7387 Posts
November 22 2013 10:32 GMT
#12
sOs has always been a colossus of a player yet many could not see it.
SuperNova - 2015 | SKT1 fan for years | Dear, FlaSh, PartinG, Soulkey, Naniwa
Caihead
Profile Blog Joined July 2011
Canada8550 Posts
November 22 2013 10:38 GMT
#13
On June 09 2013 17:50 Caihead wrote:
if sOs wins this he will be the new boxer


On June 09 2013 17:59 Caihead wrote:
sOs won my heart.


On June 09 2013 18:11 Caihead wrote:
sOs was the real star of this tournament, showing some ridiculous play in all match ups and winning with it. I hope we see alot more of that in the future and not the same boring protoss timings.


I don't know what you guys are talking about, I had sOs figured for top player since his 0-4 against Innovation.
"If you're not living in the US or are a US Citizen, please do not tell us how to vote or how you want our country to be governed." - Serpest, American Hero
Waxangel
Profile Blog Joined September 2002
United States33308 Posts
November 22 2013 10:39 GMT
#14
On November 22 2013 19:32 NeThZOR wrote:
sOs has always been a colossus of a player yet many could not see it.


more like a void ray of a player D:
AdministratorHey HP can you redo everything youve ever done because i have a small complaint?
Caihead
Profile Blog Joined July 2011
Canada8550 Posts
November 22 2013 10:46 GMT
#15
On November 22 2013 19:39 Waxangel wrote:
Show nested quote +
On November 22 2013 19:32 NeThZOR wrote:
sOs has always been a colossus of a player yet many could not see it.


more like a void ray of a player D:


more like a Tempest of a player, just boiling over the ocean in the middle of nowhere for 6 months so no one notices then bam.
"If you're not living in the US or are a US Citizen, please do not tell us how to vote or how you want our country to be governed." - Serpest, American Hero
Sakoha
Profile Joined October 2013
United Kingdom25 Posts
November 22 2013 10:51 GMT
#16
sOs straight up became my favourite protoss player after dismantling jaedong in the global finals. Jaedong just came out rampaging through maru with incredible gameplay (micro/macro/decision making was incredible), but sOs just never let him get into his stride. sOs might not have the best gameplay; after all he kept accidentally building the same tech structures twice, but he's an amazing player.
Random_0
Profile Blog Joined August 2008
United States1163 Posts
November 22 2013 10:55 GMT
#17
What sOs needs is sick nickname, something that makes people remember his achievements and crystallize his play style in their minds.

chairmobile
Profile Joined July 2013
United States111 Posts
November 22 2013 10:59 GMT
#18
Because his wins aren't through astounding micro or amazing mechanics. They're just weird. That's all. He does weird stuff and wins, in a freaking inconsistent manner (winning blizzcon after being completely absent post season 1? Give me a break).

I'm really not impressed by crossing your fingers and hoping your opponent doesn't look in the right place. Cannon rushes can be executed by silver league players for christ's sake.

Dear, on the other hand, shows people what a truly skilled Protoss looks like. sOs pales in comparison.
The game is balanced. We just suck.
boxerfred
Profile Blog Joined December 2012
Germany8360 Posts
November 22 2013 11:02 GMT
#19
On November 22 2013 19:39 Waxangel wrote:
Show nested quote +
On November 22 2013 19:32 NeThZOR wrote:
sOs has always been a colossus of a player yet many could not see it.


more like a void ray of a player D:



more like a high oraclhostfester :D
antigravity
Profile Joined July 2013
29 Posts
November 22 2013 11:08 GMT
#20
"sOs signs the lease for a small plot of land inside Jaedong's head."

Beautiful!
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