Proleague 2014

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Rounds, maps, prize money, and more

By: lichter

Not even a single official match has been played, but we can already say there are some winners and losers in the 2014 Proleague preseason. And no, we're not talking about that preseason, a series of exhibition matches and 2v2's. No, we're talking about all the changes that occurred in the long break between seasons, whether it was the flurry of moves on the transfer market or the growth and development existing players. Let's take a look!

Walking on Sunshine

Jin Air Green Wings
IN: sOs, Maru
OUT: Argo, check, Neige, TY
Other Changes: Didn't die, got a new sponsor and a ton of financial support instead. Coach Cha Ji Hoon promoted to head coach after former head coach Han Sang Yong was transferred to Jin Air's LoL team.
Grade: A+

Simply not dying was already a huge win for the team-formerly-known-as-Team Eight, but they've emerged as one of the strongest Proleague teams on top of that. In undoubtedly the biggest transfer story of the off season, Jin Air snagged both Blizzcon winner sOs and OSL Champion and Terran Prodigy Maru. They will replace the retired Jaehoon and the departed KT_TY, and both are incredible upgrades over their predecessors.

The moves came from completely out of nowhere, as Maru seemed destined to bear the weight of dragging Prime along, and sOs seemed like he'd be perfectly suited to playing just individual tournaments for Woongjin Stars. Meanwhile, Jin Air looked destined to suffer, inheriting a Team 8 roster full of player who were essentially on KeSPA welfare after all other teams had decided to pass them over.

It looks like Jin Air is taking their sponsorship very seriously, however, as they must have ponied up a significant amount of money to land both highly coveted players. They went from pity party to playoff potential in a single day, and though they still have some depth problems to take care of, adding two WCS champions should buoy a team full of promising players.


SK Telecom T1
IN: Classic, BrAvO, Soulkey
OUT: BeSt, Bisu, s2, Brown
Other changes: iloveoov replaced BoxeR as head coach, Rain and PartinG returned to championship form.
Grade: A

After losing long time captain BeSt and the uncannily handsome Bisu to retirement, SKT fans felt a little dour. Sure, they still had PartinG, FanTaSy and Rain, but the departure of two well loved, if under-performing veterans was hard to get over. While you never really get over your favorite players retiring, the new signings should at least give SKT fans something to be happy about as they've rocketed up most preseason projections to become the clear favorites to win Proleague.

The addition of SoulKey would make any team an instant contender, but putting him on a team with a revitalized Rain and PartinG just feels unfair. Soulkey has been the most consistent Zerg player for well over a year, and he was the best Zerg in the 12-13 Proleague with the runner-up Woongjin Stars. While SKT Zergs have a bad reputation, and their luck with big name Zerg signings has not been great (see: GoRush, JulyZerg), Soulkey has all the skills to turn that around. Not only does Soulkey add immediate depth to a Zerg-line that was basically just soO by himself, but now SKT have an ace-class player in all races. Ridiculous.

Soulkey is the headline grabbing signing, but the signing of Classic is the one that hipster fans and "moneyball" fans should find the most astute. Since switching to Protoss after an underwhelming stint as a Terran, Classic was without a doubt the most improved player of last season. With a combined 8-0 against T and Z, and a decent 4-3 in PvP, he was a crucial supporting player in STX Soul's championship run. Though he may be underrated by many, there's a reason why he was the only other SouL player than INnoVation to get signed immediately when the team disbanded. Classic might not play in every match, but he's hilariously overqualified to be SKT's 5th or 6th player.

Finally, BrAvO rounds out SKT's off-season moves. While he might not get much playing time, he provides decent backup for FanTaSy and a thin Terran line.


CJ Entus
IN: Coach Park
OUT: None
Other changes: Hydra, Sora, and herO have emerged as championship class players. Also, CJ Entus started catering to foreign fans.
Grade: B+

Despite their only big addition being Coach Park, the multiple Proleague winning head coach deserves as much hype as any star player. His presence has been immediately noticeable, not just in the performances of their players, but in the way the way the team is marketing itself to the world. Like a top football team, CJ Entus has been busy playing friendlies against a variety of international teams like JinAir, EG, SKT and Invictus Gaming, trying to show foreign fans that of all the KeSPA teams, they are ones worth cheering for. Sending EffOrt, Hydra and herO—who won the event—to IEM Singapore also seems to be in line with their plans to become more marketable and foreigner-friendly.

Having added no new players, CJ will have to rely on Coach Park to coax the best out of what they already have. Initial impressions suggest that he's been doing a great job, with our first glimpse coming at IEM Singapore. Hydra and herO defeated some of the best players in Korea to break through the qualifiers, while team captain effOrt successfully made his way through the live, open bracket. While Hydra and EffOrt were impressive, it was herO who stole the show with a dominant run to the championship. He displayed both immaculate control and impervious defense to take the title with just three map losses. He swept aside Bomber and Dream in the group stage, crushed both DongRaeGu and Mvp in 3-0s, and defeated San 4-2 in the final. If he can play that well in Proleague, CJ is right up there with Jin Air and SKT as title contenders.

Along with those three established starters (and Bbyong, who is somehow always in Code S), CJ will look to continue the development of their impressive young players. The most talked about prospect is, of course, Sora, who earned silver at WCG behind Soulkey while beating PartinG, Dayshi and MacSed along the way. He is the hottest rookie heading into the season, and is improving rapidly in his first year as a full pro after being just a hobbyist. There is also Bunny, one of the best true rookies of last season, and SonGDuri, who made it into the last Code S of the year. Sure, they don’t technically count as new players, but player development counts.

When your new coach has your players playing this well, it’s hard to say that it wasn’t a productive off-season. To cap it all off, CJ Entus can head into the regular season with a smile, having won the official Preseason tournament.

One Word Summary: Meh

Incredible Miracle
IN: Trap, Absolute, HerO (via Team Liquid partnership)
OUT: KangHo
Other changes: Lost LG sponsorship.
Grade: C+

On paper, losing KangHo but gaining Trap looks like a net positive for Incredible Miracle. Despite being a regular Code S Zerg, KangHo has rarely performed well in team leagues. His record is also surprisingly mediocre, relying mostly on ZvZs to get by in tournaments. With Zergs already a rarity in Proleague, it was unlikely that he was going to get a sniff of playing time ahead of ByuL, who has been competitive in non-mirrors.

However, if there is one thing that IM did not need, it was another Protoss. With Squirtle, First, and YongHwa already on the roster and the addition of HerO as their mercenary, they have taken PvProleague to a ridiculous extreme. They could easily field an all Protoss lineup, an option they might actually resort to once or twice in the season.

So while Trap might be an upgrade over KangHo, it might not mean much given the lack of Terran and Zerg depth after YoDa and ByuL. At this point, you have to wonder why they couldn’t have signed someone else (unless we see a 'Squirtle to team Epik' headline in the next week). Well, at least that means we might see Mvp and NesTea back in an SPL booth!


KT Rolster
IN: TY (Baby)
OUT: None
Other changes Clide departs as coach for military service.
Grade: C+

Oh BaBy, you were supposed to be the next Terran prodigy! Though he has had a reasonably successful career, you’ll find even the staunchest TY fan accepting that he has yet to live up to the potential he showed when he signed for WeMade FOX as a 13 year old. His addition to KT’s Roster is a good move for both parties, as it adds much needed Terran depth behind Flash while it gives a good opportunity for TY to learn from the prodigy that came before him.

For KT to challenge for the title, however, they will still need to address their weak Zerg lineup. Between hitmaN, Crazy and Action, you’re unlikely to find a player that would start for other team. You're probably going to see at least one of them every week, and it's not going to be pretty. Even so, the Bo5 format means they can rely on some combination of Flash, Stat, Zest and TY to grind out the wins.

Overall, KT HAS become stronger. But unfortunately for a team like KT that expects to challenge for the title each year, it really doesn't feel like they've done enough compared to their rivals.

Not Looking Pretty

Team MVP
IN: Tible
OUT: NAKSEO, duckdeok
Other changes: Everyone else is about the same. OGN LoL Champions winning coach Lim Seok Hyeon has taken over as head coach, after the departure of the ex-MVP head coach to Samsung Galaxy's LoL team.
Grade: C-

“Wait what, a C- isn’t a failing grade!” you scream at your computer, shaking your fist at my audaciously low opinion of MVP’s off season.

MVP and its deep line-up could still have a good season in Proleague. With a likely starting 5 of DRG, Dream, KeeN, Super, and one of TAiLS, Sniper, or Billowy, they have the potential to do some damage. Unfortunately, they didn’t do anything to improve their team, and none of their players heads into the season with any momentum. Dream and DRG have seen their fortunes rise in recent months, but they've failed to be credible title contenders.

And that's where Team MVP's biggest weakness is: unlike the other top teams, they don’t have clear championship caliber players. Duckdeok, who looked like he could be a real difference maker with his dynamic, win-at-all-costs style of play (go watch his Blizzcon B-Stream games), abruptly decided to retire. Though team MVP still has a lot of depth, that would have better served them in the old Bo7 format than the newly introduced Bo5.

Will MVP's dwindling stable of good but not great players have what it takes to upset the established order? This is a grand opportunity for DRG to return to his Team League Bonjwa days, and MVP will have to hope it happens if they want to be more than a middle-tier team and move up to challenging for the title.


Samsung Galaxy
IN: None
OUT: JangBi
Other changes: Team name changed from Khan to Galaxy, RorO fell off a cliff. Long time head coach January stepped down, replaced by coach Oh Sang Taek.
Grade : D

When you lose your best player and do nothing to replace him, you’re in big trouble. Samsung Electronics was willing to pay the big bucks to acquire team MVP's championship winning LoL squads and put them under the GALAXY banner, but their SC2 squad was not lucky enough to receive some of that dirty smartphone money.

Despite Samsung finishing a respectable 5th last season and only one game behind SKT, it took an almost improbable collapse by T1 and JangBi’s heroics to get there. RorO was the only other Khan player with a positive record, and he slumped hard with the release of HotS. Having someone barely in Code A as your de facto ace is not an appealing prospect. Players like Reality, Solar, and and Shine would struggle to be regulars on any of the top teams, so barring a simultaneous massive improvement it's going to be a rough season for Samsung Galaxy. While other teams have been actively trying to improve, the only thing Samsung has done is change their name and logo.


Prime
IN: Kal
OUT: MarineKing, Maru
Other Changes: Err... they have a LoL team now?
Grade: F

Kal: "Wait, no, WHAT?!" Sorry Kal, I guess you didn't choose the right team to come back on. Unless, he wanted a lot of guaranteed playing time, which he might very well get depending on how desperate Prime becomes.

You can’t lose two of your best and most iconic players and expect to do well in the most difficult and grueling team league on earth. MarineKing’s departure to LoL may not have been as big a surprise considering his rapidly deteriorating form, but Maru’s sudden switch to Jin Air was like losing an arm and a leg for Prime. Now they must rely on both Creator (who was the team's public face on media day) and ByuN—two players who have struggled heavily in HotS—to carry their team. Last place seems like a safe bet for Prime, and they might even challenge the old Air Force Ace in terms of how solidly they are glued to the bottom of the table.

There really isn’t much to say when you have a line up like this. They’ll have to use what time they have left to find some reinforcements, hope that B teamers like Eins, Chance, and Splendid improve at a miraculous pace, or find that Kal is actually an SC2 super-prodigy.

Writers: lichter.
Photos: silverfire
Editors: Waxangel.