Dragon Phoenix Gaming announced today that June 19th's WTL match against Team Liquid was Joo "Zest" Sung-wook's final appearance for the team, as the Protoss player heads to military service.
The Korean Protoss ends his illustrious career with 9 Premier tournament victories and is widely regarded as one of the best Protoss players of all time.
My personal memories : That all kill vs SKT in Proleague (soO, Soulkey, Rain, and PartinG)
That GSL finals vs soO, after which he was clearly the best player in the world
The beginning of LoTV when again he was on top and culminated with beating TY in the GSL finals. It felt like Zest was completely untouchable and could take 3 bases off just 2 adepts
At the end of this year, Rogue and Trap will follow Zest too. Only Maru and Dark remains. I just sad that all this happens to Korean players eventually.
On June 20 2022 02:06 swarminfestor wrote: 2 Code S title, 2x IEM Katowice runner up and many more. I think both Zest and sOs should deserve the praise.
2 × IEM Katowice runner up AND 1 time champ, don't forget that. Also I think 2 time (or 3?) Code S runner up.
Sad news, but thankful for all of the memories, achievements and contributions Zest has made to the SC2 landscape and scene. He was indeed one of the greatest Protosses to touch the game, even moreso than the likes of MC and Rain, and rivaling that of Stats and Classic. Wish him well as he dives into the military and post-SC2 life.
Zest definitely gave us some unforgettable Proleague moments and helped keep KT Rolster relevant every season. The last GSL royal roader too…Will miss him.
Zest will always be known as one of the most fearsome opponents. When he's on he's on. I hope he comes back a few years from now and does as well as Creator or DRG.
Good bye Zest, you were my favorite Protoss and a huge inspiration. You showed me that Protoss can float 2k minerals mid-game while microing his army and still be a champion.
(Just kidding, Zest was an amazing player and I really am a big fan )
Good luck to you in the future, we all wish you the best of luck.
As an SKT fan, I used to fear Zest during the Proleague SC2 days. I got back to watching pro SC2 consistently during the pandemic and came to be a big fan of Zest. I really love watching Zest's exciting playstyle as his often relentless aggression meant that his games are just the best to watch. I'm glad I got to see Zest pick up a GSL Super Tournament trophy recently but it does feel like he deserved more for his peak level. Zest was ultimately not quite consistent enough to win big tournaments frequently but he had a great career nonetheless and deserves all the respect he gets. All the best with retirement Zest! Fingers crossed I will get to see you at the top of pro SC2 again!
Boss Toss MC approved Zest as his successor. Zest dominated early LotV. Beat soO in the code S finals only to be outstrategized the next season's ro4 by soO. Zest had the better foundation but got tricked by the devious soO. Many metas were defined by the strategies of Zest.