• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EDT 13:40
CEST 19:40
KST 02:40
  • Home
  • Forum
  • Calendar
  • Streams
  • Liquipedia
  • Features
  • Store
  • EPT
  • TL+
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Smash
  • Heroes
  • Counter-Strike
  • Overwatch
  • Liquibet
  • Fantasy StarCraft
  • TLPD
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Blogs
Forum Sidebar
Events/Features
News
Featured News
Team TLMC #5: Winners Announced!3[ASL20] Ro8 Preview Pt2: Holding On9Maestros of the Game: Live Finals Preview (RO4)5TL.net Map Contest #21 - Finalists4Team TLMC #5: Vote to Decide Ladder Maps!0
Community News
5.0.15 Patch Balance Hotfix (2025-10-8)60Weekly Cups (Sept 29-Oct 5): MaxPax triples up3PartinG joins SteamerZone, returns to SC2 competition275.0.15 Balance Patch Notes (Live version)119$2,500 WardiTV TL Map Contest Tournament 154
StarCraft 2
General
5.0.15 Patch Balance Hotfix (2025-10-8) PartinG joins SteamerZone, returns to SC2 competition Geoff 'iNcontroL' Robinson has passed away Classic Games #3: Rogue vs Serral at BlizzCon Team TLMC #5: Winners Announced!
Tourneys
SC2's Safe House 2 - October 18 & 19 RSL Offline Finals Dates + Ticket Sales! SC4ALL $6,000 Open LAN in Philadelphia Sparkling Tuna Cup - Weekly Open Tournament $2,500 WardiTV TL Map Contest Tournament 15
Strategy
Custom Maps
External Content
Mutation # 494 Unstable Environment Mutation # 493 Quick Killers Mutation # 492 Get Out More Mutation # 491 Night Drive
Brood War
General
BW General Discussion BGH Auto Balance -> http://bghmmr.eu/ I'm making videos again Question regarding recent ASL Bisu vs Larva game Whose hotkey signature is this?
Tourneys
[Megathread] Daily Proleagues [ASL20] Ro8 Day 4 Small VOD Thread 2.0 [ASL20] Ro8 Day 3
Strategy
Siegecraft - a new perspective TvZ Theorycraft - Improving on State of the Art Current Meta Proposed Glossary of Strategic Uncertainty
Other Games
General Games
Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread Nintendo Switch Thread ZeroSpace Megathread Dawn of War IV Path of Exile
Dota 2
Official 'what is Dota anymore' discussion LiquidDota to reintegrate into TL.net
League of Legends
Heroes of the Storm
Simple Questions, Simple Answers Heroes of the Storm 2.0
Hearthstone
Deck construction bug Heroes of StarCraft mini-set
TL Mafia
SPIRED by.ASL Mafia {211640} TL Mafia Community Thread
Community
General
US Politics Mega-thread The Games Industry And ATVI Stop the Construction YouTube Thread Things Aren’t Peaceful in Palestine
Fan Clubs
The herO Fan Club! The Happy Fan Club!
Media & Entertainment
[Manga] One Piece Movie Discussion! Anime Discussion Thread
Sports
Formula 1 Discussion 2024 - 2026 Football Thread MLB/Baseball 2023 NBA General Discussion TeamLiquid Health and Fitness Initiative For 2023
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
SC2 Client Relocalization [Change SC2 Language] Linksys AE2500 USB WIFI keeps disconnecting Computer Build, Upgrade & Buying Resource Thread
TL Community
The Automated Ban List Recent Gifted Posts
Blogs
Inbreeding: Why Do We Do It…
Peanutsc
From Tilt to Ragequit:The Ps…
TrAiDoS
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 1319 users

WCS Tiebreaker: FanTaSy vs HyuN - WCS 2015

Forum Index > SC2 General
87 CommentsPost a Reply
1 2 3 4 5 Next All
Match begins in

WCS Tiebreaker: FanTaSy vs HyuN - WCS 2015

Text byTL.net ESPORTS
Graphics byshiroiusagi
October 4th, 2015 21:08 GMT

A Fight For Freedom

by Zealously



There are many kinds of players converging on the WCS Global Finals. The champions, laying claim to championships numbering dozens between them. The winless, players of indisputable prowess whose trophy cabinets stand empty not for their own lack of merit - but for the outstanding abilities of others. herO, Maru and Life stand at the forefront of the first category, while players such as Dream and ByuL headline the second. Indeed, the players belonging to these categories by far outnumber any outliers, because the WCS system greatly rewards players achieving high peaks. Life and Maru - possessed of two of the highest peaks this year - both secured their tickets to Blizzcon early, and once ByuL hit his stride he quickly cut his way through the rankings to arrive safely at 8th place, accruing nearly 4000 points in a span of two months. Last year was strikingly similar, where nearly every player boasted either championships or, at the very least, multiple close calls.

HyuN and FanTaSy are, for the most part, outliers. In more ways than one, the two players vying for the coveted sixteenth and final spot at Blizzcon (and the somewhat less coveted match against herO) are drastically different from their field of competition. Not only do they not adhere to the commonality of a mostly streamlined metagame, they find their success in breadth rather than height, diligently striving for success in multitude rather than in concentration, traveling far and wide instead of buckling down to take on the gauntlet posed by the Korean scene.

What should be considered their greatest strength - resilience and an unflinching will to continue to compete in the face of lacking results - can also be construed as their common weakness. Fallen from the very top, both HyuN and FanTaSy are players with memories of having more. Of being more. HyuN's legacy in Starcraft II might foremost be one of almost and not quite, but his mark on the competitive scene is undeniable. From humble beginnings as an amiable but mostly harmless Brood War player to being the first "elephant" reaching a GSL finals and becoming one of the most successful globetrotter players of 2013, Spider Hyun has carved for himself a niche in the game: perhaps not all that he had hoped for or all that he could have achieved, but respectable and memorable nonetheless.



FanTaSy, contrary to his opponent, was once the very best. He might never have received the recognition he so deserved, and Brood War's final hours might well have come too soon for the SKT Terran, but he left the game with a reputation of indomitability and near-enough peerless play. As the last professional Brood War tournament concluded, FanTaSy's record of five OSL finals (and an additional two semifinals) was second to only a select few in the game's decade-long history, and his influence on the game could not be overlooked. He has not been invisible in Starcraft II by any stretch of the imagination, but to the lofty expectations set by his ascent in Brood War, FanTaSy could just as well have been a B-teamer. Not to say that he has not provided memorable moments aplenty in Starcraft II:



But although his offbeat style has gradually edged towards a more familiar and standard brand of Terran, the man once nicknamed the Terrorist for his brilliant and aggressive use of vultures and mines still inhabits his own little perch of Terran. He is a player, one of few, that bullheadedly fights for himself with no regard for others. In many ways, his venture into Starcraft II mirrors his deceptively long history in Brood War. Successes never admitted, victories never recognized, great moments overshadowed by others. That is what FanTaSy is about - the long run, the fight against odds that never seems to end. He fought an uphill battle against the presence of a dominant and immensely popular quartet in Brood War, seemingly doomed to walk in shadow. In Starcraft II, he has doggedly rebuilt himself, climbed from a place of weakness to a place where the fight lies with him. Anyone that has watched FanTaSy's games - be they in Brood War or Starcraft II - knows that he can be the most scrappy player in the world, epitomizing the mantra of "Never surrender" in such a manner that it puts even Marineking to shame. He can play the ugliest manner of game, so entirely unconvincing as to draw the harshest of criticisms, to force that one unlikely moment - the one instant - that gives him the victory.

FanTaSy is not immensely talented, but driven by a desire - a need - to win. It is a driving force, a fuel for a competitive spirit rivaled by few. A need to prove himself. In this, HyuN is much the same. This is his tenth year of progaming, his tenth year of chasing success that has come to him only sporadically, to achieve dominance that has been afforded him for only short periods in a very long career. In leaving Brood War for Starcraft II, HyuN let go of stability and security for a chance at greatness. He saw an opportunity and seized it, made from it the most that he could. FanTaSy was forced from his stability, from his place of strength, and took a leap of his own - from SK Telecom to Dead Pixels, an almost entirely unknown foreign team.



Both HyuN and FanTaSy have made it here, to the very doorstep of the year's by far most important tournament, with sheer strength of will. Where skill fails them, where preparation deserts them, where their best efforts leave them trailing greater players, they have never admitted defeat. They have crisscrossed the globe in a madman's hunt for WCS points, scavenging chump change where the champions have raked in thousands, and never stopped to rest. It might not be the glorious road they both desire, or the noble rise to power we so often praise, but it is a road, the dirty road, the arduous road.

For HyuN, the journey has been almost surreal. From an unlikely quarterfinals run in the first season of Starleague to a silver medal behind Solar at Dreamhack Stockholm in the eleventh hour, HyuN's year has been as eventful as it has been varied. Zergs elsewhere struggle with mech, facing considerable adversity in their hunt for a solution to the powerful Terran late game, but HyuN does not bend knee to standard. His roaches are as ubiquitous now as they were in 2012, and his all-ins are every bit as common now as they have ever been. That he can still use them, and still achieve the degree of success he has, speaks more to the merits of his mind and mettle than he is given credit for. Like FanTaSy, it is ugly. Like his opponent plays, so does he - scrappy, underhanded, different. The more you look, the clearer it becomes that HyuN and FanTaSy share commonalities beyond their histories, beyond their approaches to the game. Two sides of a coin.


Like the fiercest of attack dogs, when HyuN bites he never lets go.


But even a coinflip must end one way or the other. Even mirror images have their differences, however small, and in this face-off one must come out ahead of the other. One will touch down in Anaheim alongside fifteen other players three weeks from now, while the other must watch from the sidelines, first among the losers. A hair's width of difference, but enormously important.

FanTaSy and HyuN came face-to-face mere weeks ago, where they faced off in the Ro16 of Dreamhack Stockholm. HyuN played to his strengths while minding FanTaSy's, and overcame the Terrorist's late game with an unorthodox viper-heavy style, while his mid game was cut short by a barrage of attacks in keeping with the Roach King's favorite approach. It was not a proud outing for FanTaSy, and it very nearly eliminated him from Blizzcon contention. He has been given one last chance, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to not only get back at HyuN tenfold, but to place himself in the company of players many times outmatching him. It may sound a grim prospect, fighting one nemesis for the chance to play another even more fearsome one, but if there is something FanTaSy has proven without a doubt, it is that the peculiar and the unbelievable lay firmly within reach of his fingers. What do Rain, Zest, soO and Innovation have in common? They presently count among the very best the Korean scene has to offer. What else do they have in common? They have all been beaten in offline settings by FanTaSy this year.

This is not a match that can be passed off as easy to predict, and FanTaSy's victory over HyuN might be a far cry less likely than the reverse. HyuN will show up ready to fight tooth and nail (or rather, roach and baneling), and there is no telling whether FanTaSy can do the same. He will try, just as he always does, but trying is not always enough. This is the first time in Starcraft II that FanTaSy has been allowed the preparation afforded Starleague playoffs, a setting with which he is intimately familiar. For a player whose Starcraft II career has been one of perennial disappointments, flashes of brilliance amid oceans of muck and misery, this is his opportunity. A trite cliche, perhaps, but I cannot see a world in which HyuN's desire for this victory is as intense as FanTaSy's.

When reduced to nothing, when you have only your own resilience to rely on, when you face a player who has defeated you in the past and now stands in the way of lasting glory, that is when a player's true mettle is put on display. When skill alone will not carry you all the way, when you must be prepared to be both clever and dirty, that is when FanTaSy is given his greatest opportunity to shine. It is this, or nothing. This is the fight for for redemption - for acceptance in a scene that worships champions and gives no credit to the weak but determined, to the wayside competitor whose greatest strength is their defiance in the face of defeat.

This is the fight for freedom.




FanTaSy 3 - 2 HyuN


Writer: Zealously
Graphics:shiroiusagi
Photo Credit: Shayla, Kevin Chang, SpoTV
Stats: Aligulac
Editors: Zealously
Facebook Twitter Reddit
TL+ Member
[PkF] Wire
Profile Joined March 2013
France24227 Posts
October 04 2015 21:09 GMT
#2
Come on FanTa !
digmouse
Profile Blog Joined November 2010
China6330 Posts
October 04 2015 21:17 GMT
#3
Ugh it is hard to root against any of them, it is gonna be close.
TranslatorIf you want to ask anything about Chinese esports, send me a PM or follow me @nerddigmouse.
Ej_
Profile Blog Joined January 2013
47656 Posts
October 04 2015 21:18 GMT
#4
HyuN 3-1
"Technically the dictionary has zero authority on the meaning or words" - Rodya
Charoisaur
Profile Joined August 2014
Germany15995 Posts
October 04 2015 21:22 GMT
#5
tiebreaker to decide who gets destroyed by herO
Many of the coolest moments in sc2 happen due to worker harassment
Musicus
Profile Joined August 2011
Germany23576 Posts
October 04 2015 21:24 GMT
#6
Go FanTa!
Maru and Serral are probably top 5.
OtherWorld
Profile Blog Joined October 2013
France17333 Posts
October 04 2015 21:25 GMT
#7
Cheering for HyuN here, but yeah independently of who wins, herO will 3-0 the winner. So who cares, basically.
Used Sigs - New Sigs - Cheap Sigs - Buy the Best Cheap Sig near You at www.cheapsigforsale.com
Die4Ever
Profile Joined August 2010
United States17683 Posts
October 04 2015 21:34 GMT
#8
SO HYPE! I still think it's crazy that Hyun had to beat Fantasy in order to tie him and then rematch to actually qualify. GOGO HYUN!
"Expert" mods4ever.com
The_Templar
Profile Blog Joined January 2011
your Country52797 Posts
October 04 2015 21:42 GMT
#9
FanTaSy to win blizzcon.
Moderatorshe/her
TL+ Member
Clubfan
Profile Blog Joined May 2013
Germany913 Posts
October 04 2015 21:42 GMT
#10
Long live Fantasy!
LiquipediaLickyPiddy manager
sc2chronic
Profile Joined May 2012
United States777 Posts
October 04 2015 21:44 GMT
#11
head: hyun
heart: hyun
terrible, terrible, damage
kaykoose
Profile Joined February 2014
United States2302 Posts
October 04 2015 21:47 GMT
#12
I think Hyun got it
Seeker *
Profile Blog Joined April 2005
Where dat snitch at?37033 Posts
October 04 2015 21:48 GMT
#13
FFFFAAAAANNNNNNTTTTTTAAAAAA!!!
ModeratorPeople ask me, "Seeker, what are you seeking?" My answer? "Sleep, damn it! Always sleep!"
TL+ Member
sparklyresidue
Profile Joined August 2011
United States5523 Posts
October 04 2015 21:53 GMT
#14
I want Fantasy to get into Blizzcon really badly but I do love HyuN.
Like Tinkerbelle, I leave behind a sparkly residue.
radagastthe3rd
Profile Joined December 2014
United States12 Posts
October 04 2015 22:01 GMT
#15
I hope Fantasy pulls through <3
yip.man
Profile Joined July 2015
24 Posts
October 04 2015 22:21 GMT
#16
no one of them thesrve to be in blizzcon
blizzcon will miss soO
revalence123
Profile Blog Joined April 2014
United States102 Posts
October 04 2015 22:22 GMT
#17
Damn this series is gonna be clutch as fuck
FrostedMiniWheats
Profile Joined August 2010
United States30730 Posts
October 04 2015 22:53 GMT
#18
This series could be pretty good, but I don't really feel hype about it since I think herO will stomp either one

I like Fantasy more but HyuN making his 3rd Blizzcon would also be cool, especially considering he's so old and was once on the edge of retiring.
NesTea | Mvp | MC | Leenock | Losira | Gumiho | DRG | Taeja | Jinro | Stephano | Thorzain | Sen | Idra |Polt | Bomber | Symbol | Squirtle | Fantasy | Jaedong | Maru | sOs | Seed | ByuN | ByuL | Neeb| Scarlett | Rogue | IM forever
Circumstance
Profile Blog Joined March 2014
United States11403 Posts
October 04 2015 22:58 GMT
#19
There's enough time for a Liquibet, right?
The world is better when every background has a chance.
necrosexy
Profile Joined March 2011
451 Posts
October 04 2015 23:05 GMT
#20
watch Hyun pause the game and scumbag his way to victory
1 2 3 4 5 Next All
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
PSISTORM Gaming Misc
15:55
FSL Team League: PTB vs ASH
Freeedom38
Liquipedia
Map Test Tournament
11:00
TLMC #15: Playoffs
ByuN vs ClemLIVE!
ComeBackTV 2860
WardiTV1849
IndyStarCraft 299
Rex159
3DClanTV 96
LiquipediaDiscussion
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
IndyStarCraft 299
Lowko251
Rex 159
ProTech104
BRAT_OK 50
Codebar 35
MindelVK 24
gerald23 9
StarCraft: Brood War
Shuttle 1128
Mini 764
Flash 549
BeSt 377
sSak 305
firebathero 222
Soulkey 196
Mind 73
Mong 47
Rock 42
[ Show more ]
Backho 32
soO 24
zelot 24
Movie 23
ZZZero.O 19
ivOry 18
HiyA 17
Hm[arnc] 16
JulyZerg 12
ajuk12(nOOB) 12
SilentControl 7
Dota 2
Gorgc7615
Counter-Strike
fl0m3010
Heroes of the Storm
Liquid`Hasu467
Khaldor447
Other Games
FrodaN2179
Beastyqt687
B2W.Neo637
Skadoodle271
ArmadaUGS97
ToD90
Trikslyr33
Organizations
Other Games
EGCTV1426
gamesdonequick548
BasetradeTV72
StarCraft 2
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
sctven
[ Show 17 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• StrangeGG 42
• printf 19
• Airneanach13
• Kozan
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• intothetv
• sooper7s
• IndyKCrew
• LaughNgamezSOOP
• Migwel
StarCraft: Brood War
• Michael_bg 1
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
• BSLYoutube
Other Games
• imaqtpie562
• WagamamaTV457
• Shiphtur335
Upcoming Events
[BSL 2025] Weekly
20m
Safe House 2
20m
Sparkling Tuna Cup
16h 20m
Map Test Tournament
17h 20m
TBD vs Spirit
TBD vs herO
OSC
18h 20m
IPSL
1d 1h
Bonyth vs Art_Of_Turtle
Razz vs rasowy
Afreeca Starleague
1d 16h
Barracks vs Snow
Afreeca Starleague
2 days
Soma vs Bisu
The PondCast
4 days
CranKy Ducklings
6 days
[ Show More ]
Safe House 2
6 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

Acropolis #4 - TS2
Maestros of the Game
HCC Europe

Ongoing

BSL 21 Points
ASL Season 20
CSL 2025 AUTUMN (S18)
C-Race Season 1
IPSL Winter 2025-26
WardiTV TLMC #15
EC S1
ESL Pro League S22
StarSeries Fall 2025
FISSURE Playground #2
BLAST Open Fall 2025
BLAST Open Fall Qual
Esports World Cup 2025
BLAST Bounty Fall 2025
BLAST Bounty Fall Qual
IEM Cologne 2025

Upcoming

SC4ALL: Brood War
BSL Season 21
BSL 21 Team A
RSL Offline Finals
RSL Revival: Season 3
Stellar Fest
SC4ALL: StarCraft II
eXTREMESLAND 2025
ESL Impact League Season 8
SL Budapest Major 2025
BLAST Rivals Fall 2025
IEM Chengdu 2025
PGL Masters Bucharest 2025
Thunderpick World Champ.
CS Asia Championships 2025
TLPD

1. ByuN
2. TY
3. Dark
4. Solar
5. Stats
6. Nerchio
7. sOs
8. soO
9. INnoVation
10. Elazer
1. Rain
2. Flash
3. EffOrt
4. Last
5. Bisu
6. Soulkey
7. Mini
8. Sharp
Sidebar Settings...

Advertising | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use | Contact Us

Original banner artwork: Jim Warren
The contents of this webpage are copyright © 2025 TLnet. All Rights Reserved.