There are a lot of thing that can be said about Flash. He was a prodigy, a genius, a bonjwa, The Ultimate Weapon, The Final Boss. He has had a career spanning eight years across two games. A player hailed as the greatest player from one of the most respected and revered esports games. A living embodiment of the KT organization and one of the most recognized and respected players alive today.
Yet all of that doesn’t do his legacy justice. Because before he succeeded, he failed. Before he was a genius, he was a hard worker. Before he was loved, he was hated. And that is where Flash’s journey started. At the age of 14, he entered the BW scene and became one of the youngest pros to have ever debuted. In the Daum OSL, he cheesed Bisu, the greatest Protoss player in BW. It wasn’t just the cheese, but also the fact that he was a boring standard player. He was clinical and skilled, but without the style and awe of his contemporaries like Jaedong or Bisu. He quickly won his first OSL against Stork, and was hailed as an incredible talent and one of the best BW had to offer. But this was BW, and talent wasn’t enough. For the rest of 2008 and 2009, he never climbed those steps again and was constantly thwarted by his eternal rival Jaedong, who kept beating him over and over and over.
Flash was considered skilled, but Protoss had figured out his double-armory build and he was constantly abused for overusing 14 CC. At that point, he could have decided to stick to his guns and become a one hit wonder. Instead, Flash showed his intelligence and his tenacity. He fixed his strategic problems as he created subtle answers in every matchup. These adjustments led him to the peak of his career in the year 2010 where he won 2 OSLs and 2 MSLS. He got his comprehensive revenge on Jaedong and broke nearly every record in the book, whether it was ELO peak, winning percentage, win-streaks, amount of time as the top-ranked player, or wins in Proleague. By the end of 2010, he was given the nickname God-Young Ho.
While the rest of his BW career didn’t reach those heights again, he still ended it as one of the best players in the world and the greatest BW player of all-time.
Perhaps the best way to understand Flash's role in the scene is to contrast him with the first bonjwa, Boxer. Boxer was in many ways an inspirational father figure of esports in Korea. His play was creative, his games were exhilarating, he was a natural leader who would go on to have profound impact on the entire ecosystem of esports in Korea. Flash was different. Even during his own time, he was never loved. He had a following, but it was nowhere on the level of others like Jaedong and Bisu. But while he never had their love, he demanded their respect with pure awe. He was the last bonjwa of BW and he came to represent pure skill, dominance, mental strength, hard work, genius. Flash became the symbol of what everyone aspired to be when they first became a pro-gamer: the very best.
So when he moved over to SC2, the hype was monumental. KeSPA was coming and at its vanguard was Flash, the greatest BW player ever. But he came to represent more than just himself; he came to represent an ideal more than anything else. By the end of BW, Flash was no longer the unanimous best in the world, but this was ignored by a large number of fans. They believed he would come to dominate n untamed landscape and become the de facto best player the world had ever seen. He would raise the skill level of SC2 to a level never before seen with the unrivaled excellence he displayed in Brood War. In many ways, new fans saw Flash as the culmination of the 10 years of BW’s history and skill distilled into a single man.
But he never lived up to those expectations. There were flashes of brilliance throughout his career (most notably in his games vs Ryung, INnoVation, TaeJa and PartinG). He was still a good player (and a great player in 2013), but in retrospect it seems that his peak years of skill had gone by him in 2010/2011. Arguably the strongest point in his SC2 career was in early 2013, but it was stopped twice. First by Life in the finals of MLG and later on in the hardest group of death ever concocted with Life, INnoVation, Flash and PartinG. After that, Flash was unable to capitalize on his skill for the rest of the year as Bomber and Maru would knock him out in the following OSL and GSL respectively.
Flash’s glory days were over (though he was still a monster in Proleague), but the image of Flash as an unstoppable God remained. Thus the fans would hype him up far above his levels and he would inevitably disappoint—except once. At IEM Toronto 2014, Flash would rise up one last time and fulfill the hope of his fans. At IEM Toronto, he cleaved through the bracket as he beat MC, Scarlett, Snute, Taeja and Zest to win the entire thing. And for one night, the fans were rewarded with the sight of what they had been waiting for all along as Flash won one of the strongest international tournaments and showed the form he had had all those years ago when he came to dominate BW. Yet it was not to last as he would subsequently be eliminated by DRG and soO back in Code S.
While Flash never reached those heights again, he remained a Code S player and managed to get a few strong results, notably at HSC X and KeSPA Cup 2015 S2. But all careers must come to an end, even the most legendary players must bow to time and relinquish their mouse and keyboard. Flash’s road has lasted eight years. In that time he has won the Golden Mouse and the Golden Badge. He became BW’s greatest player and its last bonjwa. He became the physical representation of what it meant to be the very best. And though he was never able to recreate that kind of dominance in SC2, he was able to give the fans one night, one tournament, one transient vision of a time where he had once ruled the world. And though many feel that Flash had “tarnished” his legacy by not being able to resurrect himself in SC2 as he was in BW, he will forever remain the greatest BW player of all-time. His struggles in SC2 were testaments to both his work ethic and drive to still be one of the very best no matter the cost.
As for Flash himself: he may be retiring as a pro-player, but his story hasn’t ended yet.
On December 02 2015 03:43 lichter wrote: He could conceivably make a comeback in some capacity (BW or Coach?) and we can make resurrection puns all day long
I await his return! It will take a massive resurgence of skill for him to relive days like this.
the best part about flash in BW was that he forced everyone else to improve beyond their capacity to even begin to keep up with him
If you look at the losses Flash had, it was because his opponents did the unthinkable, did things that people thought wouldn't have been possible in BW just so they can beat him. Can't wait to see him play BW once again!
In this game, Dear specifically stated in the post interview that he studied Flash's scan timings and LOCATIONS just to be able to hide his Reaver tech from flash and even then Flash was very close to equalizing the game and coming back into it. This is the level of studying of a single player people had to do just to beat him
Flash opens up with an aggresive proxy rax to attempt to beat m18m. the game isn't over but m18m goes for the craziest counter-play I have ever seen in my career of watching starcraft and goes for the unthinkable play: proxy 3 gateways and robotics facility to trick flash and win.
That was one of Flash's greatest contributions to the most beautiful game of Starcraft: He elevated everyone, not just him and for that, i applaud thunderously
Man I remember when sc2 came out and every time a BW pro retired everyone would spam the forums about how excited they were to see them coming to sc2. I don't mean to be insensitive but I can't wait to see him back :p.
Never particularly liked him or his play, but his results do speak for themselves. I always remember him as the Terran who always played whatever he needed to play to grab the win (cheese, turtle, 14CC, whatever it took), with amazingly solid results.
Nothing lasts forever though. GL with whatever he chooses to do next.
Did not expect to read this so early in the morning... KT without Flash gonna be weird now. Good Luck to him in future and thanks for the mammoth contribution to the scene.
Such an icon, crazy to think he just turned off like he did. Military service in 3 years is interesting, what can one do in that time. Coach now or after military service. Ahh so many questions, lets go TL, lets get an interview!!
On December 02 2015 04:32 LegalLord wrote: I always remember him as the Terran who always played whatever he needed to play to grab the win (cheese, turtle, 14CC, whatever it took), with amazingly solid results.
This is what I liked about Flash to most as well. He was obviously the best macro Terran ever to play but he also had extremely crisp execution of cheese. Which made him the most dangerous player to play against and always made the fans wonder what he's going to do in any given game.
It is sad to see such a legend from Broodwar to retire, but all things must move on. hopefully we can see him stay in the e-sport scene as a manager or a coach
I wonder if stuchiu has written one retirement article for every non-B teamer Korean player, and just make one go out of his "drafts" folder when the time is right xD
On December 02 2015 04:41 OtherWorld wrote: I wonder if stuchiu has written one retirement article for every non-B teamer Korean player, and just make one go out of his "drafts" folder when the time is right xD
Heh its like CNN having a ton of obituary pieces for various well-known people in case they die already on hand
The only comfort in these sad times is the idea of him returning as a coach or streaming on Afreeca. Nothing compares to playing SC2 competetively, but it's a small comfort.
I don't see why he would go back to BW as so many seem to believe, he has nothing to gain and everything to lose there if he does. Not replicating his success in SC2 didn't tarnish his name IMO, but going back to BW and potentially not doing so great there would be just sad.
On December 02 2015 04:54 Thax wrote: I don't see why he would go back to BW as so many seem to believe, he has nothing to gain and everything to lose there if he does. Not replicating his success in SC2 didn't tarnish his name IMO, but going back to BW and potentially not doing so great there would be just sad.
If he's going to coach KT I doubt he has the time to play BW. However people don't necessarily take the most profitable choice, if he didn't coach he could potentially still play BW because he loves the game.
I haven't had the luck to watch him much, as I only started watching SC2 recently, so I thank you for this wonderful post which summarises his carreer, and thank you for the vods as well
On December 02 2015 04:54 Thax wrote: I don't see why he would go back to BW as so many seem to believe, he has nothing to gain and everything to lose there if he does. Not replicating his success in SC2 didn't tarnish his name IMO, but going back to BW and potentially not doing so great there would be just sad.
Uh well one thing he has to gain is money. He can probably match the earnings Bisu put up while streaming, which were needless to say significant.
This is crazy. Can't believe he ended up retiring before Jaedong, never saw that one coming.
I hope he considers playing BW, but I'd rather he participate in an organizational way rather than just pure streaming like Bisu has done. (not that I don't want to see Flash FPV omg) I think he could really help organize tournaments and bring up the level of competition.
I think he'll do well with whatever he chooses to do though, he's got mind games for days.
p.s. lul the one VOD is vs 'Clam' rather than Calm :D
I still want to see another Flash vs Jaedong bo7 in BW, even though I know it will be disappointing since they are nowhere near as good as they used to be
On December 02 2015 03:39 Jaaaaasper wrote: And there goes the greatest terran of all time. End of a era. (and the beginning of a new one when he comes back to broodwar)
The way Flash switched from SC:BW to Starcraft II broke my heart: losing to JangBi in the last OSL and losing to Bisu in the Proleague.
Following his journey in Starcraft II was fun. He got good but never anywhere close to the greatness of his glory days. He had some good games and good showings - and some heart-breaking soul-crushing moments like overstimming against PartinG in that final game of HSC.
Sad to see it, but eventually all pros have to retire. Apparently he has coaching aspirations (sorry to all the hopes of those thinking he's coming back to bw, I doubt it given his statement), so I wish him the best on his aspirations:
"ultimate dream is to make KT the world's greatest team as their head coach"
When I started following starcraft the names were: Stork, Bisu, Jaedong and Flash. Stork is coach, Bisu and Flash retired why Jaedong I don't know but I guess that's the end.
On December 02 2015 07:13 nimdil wrote: When I started following starcraft the names were: Stork, Bisu, Jaedong and Flash. Stork is coach, Bisu and Flash retired why Jaedong I don't know but I guess that's the end.
I'm with you man. MBCGame Hero will always be in my heart. Every time an announcement like this is made it just reminds me of the old days. I "hated" Flash, though. Jaedong will always be my favorite player, and Flash turning the tables on Jaedong will always leave me salty.
I can't even imagine what it's like for the people who were there before me.
On December 02 2015 04:34 Pandemona wrote: Such an icon, crazy to think he just turned off like he did. Military service in 3 years is interesting, what can one do in that time. Coach now or after military service. Ahh so many questions, lets go TL, lets get an interview!!
Right, one would think he'd want to get it out of the way quicker.
Thank you so much for... cant even find words for all that what changed in my life just by having someone like you to look up to. Wish you all the best for everything you want to achieve in your future!
Man it feels a bit surreal to think about him retiring. But then I guess the wrist problem is also a factor.
Flash v Fantasy Bo9 TvT across OSL and MSL is one of those series I remember about Flash because it showcased pretty much all the evolution of TvT tactics from tank lines, Doom Drops, Wraiths, to Science Vessels.
So many great games and series from such a great player!
On December 02 2015 03:53 amazingxkcd wrote: the best part about flash in BW was that he forced everyone else to improve beyond their capacity to even begin to keep up with him
If you look at the losses Flash had, it was because his opponents did the unthinkable, did things that people thought wouldn't have been possible in BW just so they can beat him. Can't wait to see him play BW once again!
In this game, Dear specifically stated in the post interview that he studied Flash's scan timings and LOCATIONS just to be able to hide his Reaver tech from flash and even then Flash was very close to equalizing the game and coming back into it. This is the level of studying of a single player people had to do just to beat him
Flash opens up with an aggresive proxy rax to attempt to beat m18m. the game isn't over but m18m goes for the craziest counter-play I have ever seen in my career of watching starcraft and goes for the unthinkable play: proxy 3 gateways and robotics facility to trick flash and win.
That was one of Flash's greatest contributions to the most beautiful game of Starcraft: He elevated everyone, not just him and for that, i applaud thunderously
I remember the first game but hadn't seen the 2nd. Watching it now brought back so much. You could tell at the end Flash was like, "What just happened. Did I screw up? I don't even know how he just won." lol, that was awesome
On December 02 2015 03:43 lichter wrote: He could conceivably make a comeback in some capacity (BW or Coach?) and we can make resurrection puns all day long
I await his return! It will take a massive resurgence of skill for him to relive days like this.
I used to hate Flash because he's so fucking good and everytime I watch a BW game, he always wrecks his opponents. I remember that time In proleague, KT vs SKT, the game between Bisu and Flash, boy I'm like a child scared that Flash will only wreck Bisu.
As the time passed, I have grown to love Flash's games. Somewhat boring but at the same time exciting.
He switched to sc2 but didn't have the same success just like in BW. I didn't stop believing that one day, Flash will be one of the the best again. It's so sad that I will never see Flash in LOTV tournaments, but I'm happy that I have watched one of the best BW progamers.
Never forget 2010. 6 back to back finals winning 4. Winning PL and becoming PL mvp. 74% winrate in 2010 (78% in PL) Not giving protoss any chance with a 82% winrate in TvP that year and a winning record against every PL protoss player (other than stardust 0-1).
The first full series of BW I ever watched (or at least the first one I actually remember) was Flash vs Stork in the GomTV finals. I came away from that series a lifelong Stork and Samsung KHAN fan...but watching Flash rise to dominate the scene in the years to come was still a profound privilege. Just having a player of that caliber around elevated the scene tremendously, and I'm proud that I got to watch perhaps one of the best RTS players of all time in his prime.
Godspeed, Flash. Now do as well at life as you did at BW.
Honestly I feel like if Flash stayed in BW he probably would've started slumping at that point anyways. I don't think his underperformance in SC2 is really the fault of the game. No one can stay in peak performance forever.
BW has been and still is the most demanding RTS platform ever. Flash is the only one to have dominated BW in such fashion, hence making him the best RTS player we've ever known. The one game that pops to mind is a 1hour, breathtaking TvT against FBH that ends up in a seemingly unbreakable turtle situation where Flash makes one smart move after another until one last multi-pronged attack (which execution seems unreal, even by his standards) that gets him the win. I never really expected him to succeed in SC2, which is a bit too "nervous" and relies more on gimmicks than on sheer skill. Not his best suit. He still did quite well though, especially in Proleague. Super sad news regardless. I wish he had retired when he was on top (after Toronto maybe?), albeit it's easier said than done. See ya mate, good luck in life.
Kinda resent the title of topic, since it closely resembles one of the greatest games that will never be remade or get a sequel. Requiescat in pace, God Hand.
Flash was what made me stay up until 2am during high school. I always look to him for raw skill, distilled from gimmicks and mind games to be pure mechanical supremacy.
I remember staying up all night for weeks to make sure I could watch Flash dominate. No other player could have made me love brood war as much as Flash did.
On December 02 2015 18:51 Shuffleblade wrote: Hoping to see TY ascend (Lotv fits him well), a KT with head coach Flash and TY as ace would be brutal =D
I was lucky enough to start watching pro BW just when Flash emerged on the scene.
In BW, Flash ruined watching other terrans play. While ordinary pro terrans are visibly constrained by the ludicrous mechanical demands and by having imperfect decision making, Flash's standard execution was so impeccable that his occasional mistakes were more sensational than his highlight plays.
Only Fantasy managed to master terran the same way, and he finally got his act together when pro BW just had a few months left (sadly for him).
Great article and loving all of the comments. Flash was the reason I watched SC for all of these years. Sad to see him go, but glad he is staying around in the scene.
I can only be thankful I got to see him play Brood War and Sc2. Absolutely a mastermind in his own right. Hopefully Starcraft 2 will be graced with someone nearly as good
cya flash. i'm a sc2 fan, so i don't identify with the hype from his bw skill. he'll probably go back and play some bw now, which i think is better for everyone. he was a stronger player in bw, bw fans get him back, sc2 fans who don't care don't have to live through the nostalgia hype train anymore
sad day, I will never forget how much of a monster he was in PL and OSL/MSL. The guy felt damn near unbeatable. Even though he never fully transferred that to sc2 I will always remember him as the greatest starcraft player to ever live
boxer is the only one that compares even though he was before my time
On September 25 2012 00:31 l10f wrote: Flash's mind-numbingly boring 14cc into Zzz style of play
is the most memorable for me of all summaries of BW games and it's exactly what I think about Flash's BW play. Results were godly, but for entertainment, Jaedong was unsurpassable.
I really wonder what is he going to do in such a long period until he joins his military service. Cant stop thinking to myself that one more year of Flash staying in sc2 would be a much better choice. Sadly he didnt even stay to try the game for reals. That GPL thingy doesnt count
On December 03 2015 04:01 lastride wrote: I really wonder what is he going to do in such a long period until he joins his military service. Cant stop thinking to myself that one more year of Flash staying in sc2 would be a much better choice. Sadly he didnt even stay to try the game for reals. That GPL thingy doesnt count
On December 03 2015 04:01 lastride wrote: I really wonder what is he going to do in such a long period until he joins his military service. Cant stop thinking to myself that one more year of Flash staying in sc2 would be a much better choice. Sadly he didnt even stay to try the game for reals. That GPL thingy doesnt count
brood war
A lot of people seem confident on his return to BW. Do you guys have any reliable source for this besides that comment in his interview earlier this year?
I'm asking because him returning to BW doesn't seem to match with his statement that he wants to coach KT to glory...
I wasn't around for BW. I watched some games, sure, and I played the campaign, but I've only ever been a hardcore SC2 player. Still, Flash represents the most awe-inspiring player of all time in Starcraft, and that makes him the most awe-inspiring player of any eSport, personally.
You will be missed, Flash. Can't wait to see what your next move is, and I'm so happy to hear that you won't be leaving the scene completely. You're a legend and a hero. <3
And there he goes. My favorite Starcraft player I've ever watched. Am going to miss him from SC2, despite his general struggles. Obviously he never reached the heights many expected but he still stayed a relatively strong player in the Korean scene all things considered. Just too many heartbreaking incredibly close losses to other great players in Ro32s/Ro16s which probably shook him a bit too much. Still showed flashes of absolute brilliance in SC2 imo, even though he also showed some incredibly poor play and shocking decision making at times as well.
In addition to the so many fantastic BW memories, he did show his character and fight near the end of his SC2 run I thought too. Despite a truly horrible start to this last year's Proleague he bounced back strong for his team I thought. just felt KT in general was a bit misfiring and stuttering, too many critical players dropping in form at bad times.
But remember not long ago in this year's Proleague Playoffs, in the first round against eventual runners-up Jin Air, he put up a fantastic performance despite his team losing on the day (the 2nd leg)... where Flash was brought out first and almost all-killed Jin Air with KT's back against the wall facing elimination. 3 strong victories only to be finally outshone by the brilliant sOs in Game 4, who would continue on to reverse-all-kill the rest of the extremely underwhelming KT. Despite his overall struggles in the game, and too-long significant slumps in form and confidence, he would still time and time again bounce back with strong quite remarkable performances, which to me shows some of his inspiring resilience and fight despite his waning and faltering ability.
Farewell, The Ultimate Weapon, your legacy and impact on the RTS scene will never be forgotten.
And will be interesting to watch where he goes from here. One wonders how successful he could be as a coach... it would be extremely doubtful he would be anywhere as successful as the brilliant iloveoov has been for SKT1, as obviously evidenced this year, who was an absolute revelation, at least for this year. But for KT fans, you would think replicating this transition would be something they would be hoping for, as difficult and doubtful that possibility may seem. Regardles, whatever he chooses to move on to do, I will be following and wish him the best of success.
And one other thing I would like to add. Despite this article claiming he fell off significantly after 2013, I would argue that 2014 wasn't that terrible of a year for Flash overall despite definitely a long and disappointing slump at a point. Yes he had some tough and disappointing individual league losses (many to outstanding players though). But in Proleague it wasn't all so rough. Quite the opposite really. His overall Proleague stats for 2014 were not bad at all, finishing with the 4th most number of wins and a respectable 23-16 record! And have people forgotten who was the 2014 Grand Finals MVP securing a critical win for his team (the 2nd map to put KT up 2-0 against the previously dominant SKT1) on the biggest stage against PartinG?
And the image of Flash dropkicking that SKT1 soccer ball into the crowd is easily one of my favorite SC2 memories . Felt like such an epic finals. That, and him winning IEM Toronto of course.
Sad to see Flash go! Best of luck to him in the future.
I started playing/watching SC2 just before HotS and only started watching proleague in Season 2 2014. I remember first seeing Flash play on Overgrowth in a TvZ. I actually remember him using really nice stutter step micro to better concave as bio vs a roach hydra zerg player. His GSL series against Innovation in the last GSL were some of the absolute best TvT I've seen. I hope that balance changes bring LotV TvT back to the level of strategy and positional play found in those series.
Then God became man and that man was Flash. He suffered under Competition and descended into retirement and military surface. After the third year, he rose again from the dead. He ascended into KT and is seated at the right hand of himself. From there he will make KT ridiculously amazing as head coach. We believe in Flash
I honestly wasn't that surprised that Flash never became the monster he was in BW in SCII. His strength was insane mechanical skill coupled with the fact that he could literally map hax the opponent with his star sense - a skill that doesn't translate from game to game.
Ugh I am not entirely sure but I was watching Spotime Starleague and a commercial came up showing Flash in a preview with a date which looked like the date when he is going to return to BW. I can't read Korean but does that mean he is going to hop back into broodwar? Once again, this is purely speculation since I can not read korean and saw the commercial/preview on Spotime.
Hopefully he would do some kind of apperance in the bw scene again, though best of luck to him whether he wants to continue esports or pursue another path in life.
On December 04 2015 20:58 Kingsky wrote: Oh no... just Jaedong is left?
Made an account to comment, and be part of this monumental, historic event in my lifetime..
First, there was Sesame Street, before Elmo ruined it. And Mr. Rogers, and the original Hulk, and Bob Ross, and The Green Hornet...
Then, there was the Nintendo 64, the greatest modern gaming console with some of the greatest games. I am still waiting for an answer from Nintendo/anyone to this machine, quite possibly in vain forever... Turok 2, Duke Nukem: Zero Hour, Mario Kart 64, Goldeneye...
There was Pierce Brosnan, the best and last great Bond, who brought us the best and last great Bond film of all time, Goldeneye...
There were many small yet significant advancements in the PC world, where each little hardware upgrade and software tweak made a difference. Now, everything is overpowered, tweaking is a lost art, and there are few good games to use this power on...
There was Pokemon Gen I, and Pokemon Base, Fossil, and Jungle card packs. And Pokemon Blue, Red, and Yellow. And then, with a bad taste in my mouth, I saw a Gen II card, Togepi, for the first time, and Pokemon was never the same again...
There was Michael Jordan and his Bulls, the best and last basketball Great, who's retirement gave me little use for watching television ever since...
There was id Software, the Great, the Giant, of gold-standard multiplayer FPS, who gave us DOOMs, and Quakes, then finally lost their company soul, and left us wishing for better games, and better days...
There was Old Navy, when they had clothes worth buying; cool beanie hats, boxes, shirts, cargo pants, corduroy pants & loose painter jeans. Now, their coolness has been compromised, and I have no reason to pass through their doors again...
There were cars of great shape, strong & loud. Now, they are boxy, silent, and dull...
And now, it is Flash The Great's time to hang his gloves on the wall of fame...
Quake was my Arena of Heroes, Til the day it died, Then, light shown from the e-sports darkness, And StarCraft became my pride!
From Av3k, GitzZz and Fatal1ty, To Flash, Life & Strenx, True gaming was brought to reality, And I owe you all my thanks!
Flash! Now, you join the highest of rank, With Jordan, Dragon Ball and Quake! Gaming memories eternal, YOU are a Great!
Flash, if you out-live me, which you probably will, please visit me at my funeral, as I would do the same for you, if I out-live you(but let's all die at the same time, to avoid mourning entirely). Pass your power onto Life, to be the one to stand strong, carry your spirit into the future, and make you proud!
Best of luck in your future, Flash. Thank-you for your efforts and dedication, making your GOD-sized mark in the pages of gaming history and our hearts. You have nothing more needed to be accomplished; you will forever be remembered as THE BEST. Go now, and live life!!!
I will always remember the 1st Flash game that I ever saw: his game vs Jaedong on Katrina (2008 Bacchus OSL Quarterfinal Game 3 to be specific) where he went mech and steamrolled Jaedong's Guardian/Mutalisk/hydra army with his 3/3 mech army. It was the game that taught me the power of 3/3 Mech army.
Thanks for all the great games Flash. You showed the world how the race of terran can be (and should be ) played.
Respect to the little monster. Gave me the most heart-pounding games ever (along with the dark lord Savior). GL in life and lets hope we see him back in BW after he does his military service. Time indeed is the cruelest cut...
Haven't followed the SC scene for ages but reading this made me nostalgic. Remember the good old BW days as if it was yesterday. Made me itchy to play again!
My own BW journey began in late 2008 and while I started my military service at the start of 2009, I was really into BW and spent most of my time on it whenever I got home. I was always glued to the tournament results and the anxiety of checking Flash out whenever he was in a tournament. I will never forget 2010, which was the best year that Flash had and also the year I completed my military service.
BW was a big part of my life in those few years and many of those fond memories were from watching Flash play. Hope to see him streaming or something :p
EPT
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/DoctorHelvetica/TheUltimateWeapon/flashstork.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/DoctorHelvetica/TheUltimateWeapon/flashoslvictory.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/lichter/IEM/toronto2014/flashwin.png)
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/Fionn/bysun.gif)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/ayO4o.gif)
i hoped he would try to play lotv for at least 1 year. it seems more fitting to me then hots. but well - best of luck for him.
) but Flash is someone to remember! 
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/sUz23nM.png)
