September 13, 2021. Progamer Yujin "sOs" Kim officially announced his retirement from Starcraft2 Scene.
Starting with Hawseung OZ on March 24, and the retirement from Team NV on September 13, 2021.
sOs left a big mark in Starcraft2 Scene as a professional gamer. He is the only one who got the titles at WCS Global Finals twice and further, he had seven Premier Tournament titles, he was so loved by fans with the representative nickname "Big Guy".
Since joining Team NV, He recorded the title of World Team League, 3~4th at 2021 GSL Super Tournament Season 2, Quarterfinals at 2021 GSL Season 2.
We Team NV were an honor to be able to share sOs's last moment as Starcraft2 Progamer. Thank you, sOs.
Damn, I know the last years were rather tough for somebody thriving in creative builds, chaos and getting into the minds of his opponents. Still, sad to see him go.
For me sOs was at his best when game wasn't mapped like it is now. When there was room to do something weird, unexpected. Remember his first finals (against Inno iirc)? He lost, but he showcased such unorthodox play it was hard to not be entertained.
OMG, this is so surprising. Did he get the call up to do military service? All my favorite Sc2 players kept leaving the scene. If Rogue also leave the scene, I may think to retire watching Sc2 games or taking long break. Really sad news to hear!
One really has to wonder how much longer the Korean scene will exist. GSL has been the same group of players with the occasional returnee from the military.
This was tough to see. He is an amazing player and even his SC1 run was exciting to watch. I’d love to see him stream some Brood War before he goes into the military.
This is so sad! sOs was one of the first few Korean Protosses that I came to recognize since my avid SC2 watching that started in 2010 until my hiatus in 2012. Coming back to watching the scene in 2019, had no idea that he was a household name but not surprised.
Congratulations to him on his next stage of life (military/professional career, whatever it may be). Thankful for him on having some fantastic games, championships, premier wins and other moments in between over the years. He has left a huge mark on the game and landscape of SC2.
Great player, not sure if he's done his military service yet but if not, time to go. What a fantastic, star studded career, retire with honor sOs thank you for the games!
No! I am really sad now My favorite SC2 player ever. I knew that it will happen some day and probably sooner than later but I still believed we will get to see sOs win 1 more grant tournament before he retires God dammit, now watching GSL won't have the same flavour for me personally... Thank you for great memories sOs, there were so many fantastic plays that I will always remember.
He's definitely earned his spot in the SC2 history books. I remember him being super clutch back in the day with big prize pool tournaments. $o$ indeed!
Sad news... I have always waited eagerly all of his games, more than those from any other player. I always had the feeling that perhaps something new was going to be revealed... The game had still surprises when he played.
sOs is SC2 history, for sure. That cannon rush against Maru in Blizzcon 2018 comes to my mind right now.
Thank you for all the great games you gave us, sOs.
Just a few days ago we passed the 5 year anniversary of sOs winning the last ever game of Proleague. And we're only 2 months away from the 6th anniversary of sOs' last big win, Blizzcon 2015. It's somehow a strangely fitting time for him to retire.
Still a bit salty that SoS denied he-who-shall-not-be-named from becoming the back to back World Champion, or at least that is the first association that comes to mind when I think of him. Another legend leaves the scene, all the best for whatever he chooses to do next.
sOs was truly one of the most intelligent players out there. His strategies were ahead of most. Unfortunately the faster LotV didn't benefit him. He seemed to have been improving these past seasons (except for his last GSL series).
Players that came during LotV may not appreciate him. But he was truly one of the greats. He was the best Protoss for a while and never a dull moment with him. I really love to watch his WCS finals vs Life. Very back and forth.
My favourite sOs game was one he played on his own stream against Gumiho a few years ago. Gumiho blocked sOs from taking his natural, so sOs went to take his third instead. Gumiho then blocked sOs from taking his third, so sOs took his fourth as his second base. sOs then played and won an otherwise normal game against Gumiho's mech while he was expanding in reverse order towards his own main. He didn't think anything of it after the game was done.
2 times world champion (no one still didn't beat him), Million Dollar Man, $O$ - this guy is a legend. Seeing Inno then him retiring seems unreal for SC2...
Damn, this is suprising and sad to hear, havent heard of his military status yet but its probably coming at the same time as Zest. But its fitting that the last image we saw sOs in SC2 action is the triple proxy Gateway in the opponent base.
I will miss him. He became my favorite player after watching my first finale in 2015. It's a well deserved retirement. I hope he has saved some of his price money so he can chill while figuring out his life after military service.
Thanks for the great games, sOs! You are forever in the annals of the game.
One of my absolute favourite players in sc2. Very sad to see him leave.... Its been a pleasure to watch his genius, and slightly insane, brain at work =)
This is shocking to see him retire. But I guess at that age he'll eventually have to go to military service as well. Although he wasn't making Ro4's in GSL, I think he was starting to find his way back to a better form and set of results as of late.
No doubt he'll go down as one of the greats of SC2 due to him at his peak as a multi time world champion and his unique playstyle and insane builds.
Damn, this for me was completely unexpected (I'm still catching up on last GSL season, been busy). I wish him well for the future. Definitely a shock to the system.
He was on an upswing too, was excited for his form... :c A legendary career befits his legacy. Wish him the best of luck in the future! On another note, he was the go-to third option for Team NV in WTL; now, their best Protoss is Creator, who is also on an upswing if his Open Cups are anything to watch out for. It seems DRG will have to take on being a singular third option for big matches
GG, to one of the masterminds of the game. my favourite toss to play of all time, I hope and wish we have premier tournaments of sc2, for years to come.
My favourite time of sOs is between his world championships. That Proleague year had a very zerg favoured map. JAGW sent out sOs on that map over and over again. sOs cannon rushed and won over and over again. Other teams tried sending out protoss to cannon rush, but without success. When the map rotated out, sOs started winning with cannon rushes on the next map. Good times!
During his prime years, he was clutch as hell, always bringing it for big games.
He was also one of the most (if not the most) entertaining SC2 player. His unique style made for some crazy games. His ability to adapt to any of the crazy situations his games would end up with was so fun to watch. You could see he made his opponents extremely uncomfortable and this brought a quality to the games that the more generic optimal progamer way of playing didn't. Everyone involved had to play in a intuitive and 100% reactive way.
Last season he was doing so good, beating Maru too, only being stopped by Trap. If Trap beat Parting in Group as he was seeded, maybe sOs could have beaten Parting, then Bunny, then be in the Grand Finals. Though Dark did beat Rogue so I suppose he wouldn't have a chance against Dark.
Oh well, was really nice to see him play well last season, I wonder if he retired this season because he was struggling, or he was weak this season because he was planning to retire and didn't practice much.
He was my favorite player, he's like the Boxer of SC2.
At least he did get many achievements, and he's in the top 10 of SC2 players. Just too bad he couldn't get 1 or 2 GSL gold medals, but he got many 2nd places which is still cool.
I will miss sOs, I'm so glad at least his series vs Maru was season was awesome, and his games vs Ragnarok this season in Code A were pretty cool!
There are very few stars in SC2 history who were as self-made as $O$. He didn't get big promo like Jaedong, or reputation intimidation like Innovation. He didn't start as a child like Maru, or fly out to every foreign LAN like Taeja and Polt.
Out of sixteen competitors in the 2013 World Championship, he was almost certainly the one people knew the least, were betting on the least (besides Rotti), and were cheering for the least. But he didn't care. He proved himself on he biggest stage, and did it in style.
And then he went to the most controversial Premier event in all of HotS, the winner-take-all IEM, and he did it again. In an instant, he supplanted MC as the king of big money. And in 2015, he proved he wasn't just clutch. He was a legend of the game. He defeated one of the great sources of shame in the history of SC2, and cemented himself as the indisputable greatest player of Heart of the Swarm. And he just kept proving his personality along the way, over and over again. In his playstyle, his interviews, his social media.
It wasn't until 2018, when he c0mpeted at Pyeongchang, that we got to see the other side of him. His origins. He didn't just waltz into a team house and decide he was gonna be a pro gamer. He came.from a small, rural village. Kim Yoo Jim was the biggest sensation to ever be produced by his hometown. Through all the swagger, he never showed that. Where it came from. We just saw the popped logos, the waving fingers, the consecutive cannon rushes. The man turned a dream into pure gold. There will not readily be others like him.
On September 15 2021 08:04 Circumstance wrote: There are very few stars in SC2 history who were as self-made as $O$. He didn't get big promo like Jaedong, or reputation intimidation like Innovation. He didn't start as a child like Maru, or fly out to every foreign LAN like Taeja and Polt.
Out of sixteen competitors in the 2013 World Championship, he was almost certainly the one people knew the least, were betting on the least (besides Rotti), and were cheering for the least. But he didn't care. He proved himself on he biggest stage, and did it in style.
And then he went to the most controversial Premier event in all of HotS, the winner-take-all IEM, and he did it again. In an instant, he supplanted MC as the king of big money. And in 2015, he proved he wasn't just clutch. He was a legend of the game. He defeated one of the great sources of shame in the history of SC2, and cemented himself as the indisputable greatest player of Heart of the Swarm. And he just kept proving his personality along the way, over and over again. In his playstyle, his interviews, his social media.
It wasn't until 2018, when he c0mpeted at Pyeongchang, that we got to see the other side of him. His origins. He didn't just waltz into a team house and decide he was gonna be a pro gamer. He came.from a small, rural village. Kim Yoo Jim was the biggest sensation to ever be produced by his hometown. Through all the swagger, he never showed that. Where it came from. We just saw the popped logos, the waving fingers, the consecutive cannon rushes. The man turned a dream into pure gold. There will not readily be others like him.
On September 15 2021 08:04 Circumstance wrote: There are very few stars in SC2 history who were as self-made as $O$. He didn't get big promo like Jaedong, or reputation intimidation like Innovation. He didn't start as a child like Maru, or fly out to every foreign LAN like Taeja and Polt.
Out of sixteen competitors in the 2013 World Championship, he was almost certainly the one people knew the least, were betting on the least (besides Rotti), and were cheering for the least. But he didn't care. He proved himself on he biggest stage, and did it in style.
And then he went to the most controversial Premier event in all of HotS, the winner-take-all IEM, and he did it again. In an instant, he supplanted MC as the king of big money. And in 2015, he proved he wasn't just clutch. He was a legend of the game. He defeated one of the great sources of shame in the history of SC2, and cemented himself as the indisputable greatest player of Heart of the Swarm. And he just kept proving his personality along the way, over and over again. In his playstyle, his interviews, his social media.
It wasn't until 2018, when he c0mpeted at Pyeongchang, that we got to see the other side of him. His origins. He didn't just waltz into a team house and decide he was gonna be a pro gamer. He came.from a small, rural village. Kim Yoo Jim was the biggest sensation to ever be produced by his hometown. Through all the swagger, he never showed that. Where it came from. We just saw the popped logos, the waving fingers, the consecutive cannon rushes. The man turned a dream into pure gold. There will not readily be others like him.
On September 15 2021 08:04 Circumstance wrote: There are very few stars in SC2 history who were as self-made as $O$. He didn't get big promo like Jaedong, or reputation intimidation like Innovation. He didn't start as a child like Maru, or fly out to every foreign LAN like Taeja and Polt.
Out of sixteen competitors in the 2013 World Championship, he was almost certainly the one people knew the least, were betting on the least (besides Rotti), and were cheering for the least. But he didn't care. He proved himself on he biggest stage, and did it in style.
And then he went to the most controversial Premier event in all of HotS, the winner-take-all IEM, and he did it again. In an instant, he supplanted MC as the king of big money. And in 2015, he proved he wasn't just clutch. He was a legend of the game. He defeated one of the great sources of shame in the history of SC2, and cemented himself as the indisputable greatest player of Heart of the Swarm. And he just kept proving his personality along the way, over and over again. In his playstyle, his interviews, his social media.
It wasn't until 2018, when he c0mpeted at Pyeongchang, that we got to see the other side of him. His origins. He didn't just waltz into a team house and decide he was gonna be a pro gamer. He came.from a small, rural village. Kim Yoo Jim was the biggest sensation to ever be produced by his hometown. Through all the swagger, he never showed that. Where it came from. We just saw the popped logos, the waving fingers, the consecutive cannon rushes. The man turned a dream into pure gold. There will not readily be others like him.
On September 15 2021 08:04 Circumstance wrote: There are very few stars in SC2 history who were as self-made as $O$. He didn't get big promo like Jaedong, or reputation intimidation like Innovation. He didn't start as a child like Maru, or fly out to every foreign LAN like Taeja and Polt.
Out of sixteen competitors in the 2013 World Championship, he was almost certainly the one people knew the least, were betting on the least (besides Rotti), and were cheering for the least. But he didn't care. He proved himself on he biggest stage, and did it in style.
And then he went to the most controversial Premier event in all of HotS, the winner-take-all IEM, and he did it again. In an instant, he supplanted MC as the king of big money. And in 2015, he proved he wasn't just clutch. He was a legend of the game. He defeated one of the great sources of shame in the history of SC2, and cemented himself as the indisputable greatest player of Heart of the Swarm. And he just kept proving his personality along the way, over and over again. In his playstyle, his interviews, his social media.
It wasn't until 2018, when he c0mpeted at Pyeongchang, that we got to see the other side of him. His origins. He didn't just waltz into a team house and decide he was gonna be a pro gamer. He came.from a small, rural village. Kim Yoo Jim was the biggest sensation to ever be produced by his hometown. Through all the swagger, he never showed that. Where it came from. We just saw the popped logos, the waving fingers, the consecutive cannon rushes. The man turned a dream into pure gold. There will not readily be others like him.
On September 15 2021 08:04 Circumstance wrote: There are very few stars in SC2 history who were as self-made as $O$. He didn't get big promo like Jaedong, or reputation intimidation like Innovation. He didn't start as a child like Maru, or fly out to every foreign LAN like Taeja and Polt.
Out of sixteen competitors in the 2013 World Championship, he was almost certainly the one people knew the least, were betting on the least (besides Rotti), and were cheering for the least. But he didn't care. He proved himself on he biggest stage, and did it in style.
And then he went to the most controversial Premier event in all of HotS, the winner-take-all IEM, and he did it again. In an instant, he supplanted MC as the king of big money. And in 2015, he proved he wasn't just clutch. He was a legend of the game. He defeated one of the great sources of shame in the history of SC2, and cemented himself as the indisputable greatest player of Heart of the Swarm. And he just kept proving his personality along the way, over and over again. In his playstyle, his interviews, his social media.
It wasn't until 2018, when he c0mpeted at Pyeongchang, that we got to see the other side of him. His origins. He didn't just waltz into a team house and decide he was gonna be a pro gamer. He came.from a small, rural village. Kim Yoo Jim was the biggest sensation to ever be produced by his hometown. Through all the swagger, he never showed that. Where it came from. We just saw the popped logos, the waving fingers, the consecutive cannon rushes. The man turned a dream into pure gold. There will not readily be others like him.
On September 15 2021 08:04 Circumstance wrote: There are very few stars in SC2 history who were as self-made as $O$. He didn't get big promo like Jaedong, or reputation intimidation like Innovation. He didn't start as a child like Maru, or fly out to every foreign LAN like Taeja and Polt.
Out of sixteen competitors in the 2013 World Championship, he was almost certainly the one people knew the least, were betting on the least (besides Rotti), and were cheering for the least. But he didn't care. He proved himself on he biggest stage, and did it in style.
And then he went to the most controversial Premier event in all of HotS, the winner-take-all IEM, and he did it again. In an instant, he supplanted MC as the king of big money. And in 2015, he proved he wasn't just clutch. He was a legend of the game. He defeated one of the great sources of shame in the history of SC2, and cemented himself as the indisputable greatest player of Heart of the Swarm. And he just kept proving his personality along the way, over and over again. In his playstyle, his interviews, his social media.
It wasn't until 2018, when he c0mpeted at Pyeongchang, that we got to see the other side of him. His origins. He didn't just waltz into a team house and decide he was gonna be a pro gamer. He came.from a small, rural village. Kim Yoo Jim was the biggest sensation to ever be produced by his hometown. Through all the swagger, he never showed that. Where it came from. We just saw the popped logos, the waving fingers, the consecutive cannon rushes. The man turned a dream into pure gold. There will not readily be others like him.
On September 15 2021 08:04 Circumstance wrote: There are very few stars in SC2 history who were as self-made as $O$. He didn't get big promo like Jaedong, or reputation intimidation like Innovation. He didn't start as a child like Maru, or fly out to every foreign LAN like Taeja and Polt.
Out of sixteen competitors in the 2013 World Championship, he was almost certainly the one people knew the least, were betting on the least (besides Rotti), and were cheering for the least. But he didn't care. He proved himself on he biggest stage, and did it in style.
And then he went to the most controversial Premier event in all of HotS, the winner-take-all IEM, and he did it again. In an instant, he supplanted MC as the king of big money. And in 2015, he proved he wasn't just clutch. He was a legend of the game. He defeated one of the great sources of shame in the history of SC2, and cemented himself as the indisputable greatest player of Heart of the Swarm. And he just kept proving his personality along the way, over and over again. In his playstyle, his interviews, his social media.
It wasn't until 2018, when he c0mpeted at Pyeongchang, that we got to see the other side of him. His origins. He didn't just waltz into a team house and decide he was gonna be a pro gamer. He came.from a small, rural village. Kim Yoo Jim was the biggest sensation to ever be produced by his hometown. Through all the swagger, he never showed that. Where it came from. We just saw the popped logos, the waving fingers, the consecutive cannon rushes. The man turned a dream into pure gold. There will not readily be others like him.
Hey I called sOs winning Blizz13 tho tbf I had dear in the finals over jd
Protoss always relied on the element of surprise to perform at pro level, inn all matchups protoss must do some damage to get an edge or get away with greed, this is the reason why sOs was so successful at certain meta's in sc2 history. sOs was the master of creating new strategies, without a doubt the most gifted strategic mind SC has ever seen.
With the game now getting more mapped out and players have learned to read protoss at a much higher level than in the past it's been sad to see players like sOs struggle because he still tried to use his strength in that area but it was just not that viable anymore.
Even if the results at the end of his career was poor if you compare it to his past, I think he deserves to be recognized as one of the very best Protosses to ever play the game and helped shape how protoss is played even today. He also showed the ability to play flawless macro games and late games so I hope people will not just remember him as a cheesy protoss, he was a complete player.
Personally I think sOs has retired because of lack of motivation, I don't know if he has made a statement on why he decided to retire.
On September 24 2021 20:58 Drahkn wrote: Protoss always relied on the element of surprise to perform at pro level, inn all matchups protoss must do some damage to get an edge or get away with greed, this is the reason why sOs was so successful at certain meta's in sc2 history. sOs was the master of creating new strategies, without a doubt the most gifted strategic mind SC has ever seen.
With the game now getting more mapped out and players have learned to read protoss at a much higher level than in the past it's been sad to see players like sOs struggle because he still tried to use his strength in that area but it was just not that viable anymore.
Even if the results at the end of his career was poor if you compare it to his past, I think he deserves to be recognized as one of the very best Protosses to ever play the game and helped shape how protoss is played even today. He also showed the ability to play flawless macro games and late games so I hope people will not just remember him as a cheesy protoss, he was a complete player.
Personally I think sOs has retired because of lack of motivation, I don't know if he has made a statement on why he decided to retire.
Will miss him a lot
The last interview wih sOs has been published by DH Masters during his final participation at the tournament. He stated that he didn't know what future lied ahead when asking about possible retirement. A week later, he decided to retire. Not sure if that may help you understand him better.
Of all the players in SC2 (or BW) I don't think there's a single one whose games I have enjoyed watching more consistently or more ecstatically. Even in the middle of a lackluster tournament, or a lackluster meta, or a dry patch in the scene, sOs always brought a sense of wonder unlike anything else in Starcraft. It always felt like a gift just to see him play, and like Christmas morning when he won against odds.
While it's true that his results got less incredible over time (though I mean last season's GSL run is nothing to sneeze at), I honestly don't think the wonder and entertainment value of his games ever went down. Some of his very best games and series occurred only in the last few years; and win or lose, he continued to play it his way until the end.
There have been a lot of great players in this scene, of very many different styles, but that's what I'll always remember sOs for. I very much hope he's able to turn this career and prize money into a good life for himself.
EPT
sOs has retired.
Enjoy whatever comes next!
