EPT
![[image loading]](http://teamliquid.net/staff/pachi/fesog1.jpg)
Cover image by Pachi
Walking Among Royalty
by semioldguy
TeamLiquid: Final Edits
Roy-al Road (roi-uh l rohd) noun: Term used by the Korean community when a Progamer wins the OSL in his first time qualifying for the Starleague.
Historically, the OSL has been the more prestigious of the two Starleagues. Even today the OSL is (slightly) more difficult to win than its sister league the MSL. OnGameNet’s Starleague has a history of players walking the Royal Road. Since the inception of the OSL twenty-two seasons ago, there have been seven different players to walk down this path of kings. These seven players were eager to seize the first chance they would get, for fear that it might be their only shot before fading into obscurity. However, these players have each gone on to become Starcraft legends, seven of the biggest names that progaming has seen.
- Garimto
- Boxer
- Nada
- July
- Anytime
- Savior
- Jaedong
- ???
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/semioldguy/crown.jpg)
Nothing compares to the thrill of competition and the desire to become the best. It is the dream of every progamer, and drives players to practice and perfect their craft. When a player knows that he is improving, that drive to better himself increases and he continues to develop his game toward perfection.
There is nothing that pushes a player more than being stuck as second best. Knowing there is still someone better keeps a player motivated, especially when the man in second is only a few steps behind the front runner, being taunted by the leader's back. He knows that he’s nearly there. The goal is in sight and just in front of him, almost within his grasp. For as long as he remains close, he has the willpower to press on, to work harder than he thought imaginable. That is the advantage of the new competitor, the drive to become the best and the fresh determination to do so.
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/semioldguy/Running.jpg)
When he breaks into the lead, he is behind no one. Without someone in front of him to run toward, his competitive drive must rely on new motivation. It may begin to falter without an opponent to chase. The goal has been met. The player has less of a need to prove himself; it has already been done. He becomes satisfied with having achieved the goal he set out to complete and he moves on. Newer players, with the hearts of developing champions and hunger for glory, emerge to be the next ones to try for the title. Soon they will be nipping at the heels of our champion. And the cycle begins again.
* * *
As Zerglings leveled Stork's twelve o'clock base, a legion of Ultralisks and Zerglings crossed the trench of Blue Storm. They crashed up against a wall of Zealots and Archons. Under the cover of swarms they pushed forward, through the opposition, shedding all that stood in their path. The army flooded across the plateau, toward the Protoss mineral expansion. Underneath more swarms they clashed against the defenses there. The base was removed in viscous manner and the Ultralisks advanced further toward the heart of the Protoss base. They made it to the next Protoss encampment and it was clear that there was no stopping their rampage. With no hope of victory, the Protoss army surrendered. Jaedong emerged from the Ever 2007 OSL as history's seventh Royal Roader.
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/semioldguy/Jaedong.jpg)
In the wake of his victory, Jaedong is out to accomplish what only one man has been able to do before him. Only the Emperor himself has been able to follow his Royal Road victory with a title in the next OSL. Boxer remains the only progamer to have back to back OSL victories, something Jaedong now seeks for himself. Jaedong’s faces the challenge of keeping up his fighting spirit and his will to succeed as he avoids the perils of the OSL curse.
Jaedong has accomplished what most progamers can only dream of, winning a Starleague on his first time out. Will he be complacent after his win? Will he be unable to find that same competitive drive or will his strength grow even more as he looks to further cement himself in Starcraft history?
“There’s a lot of talk of the winner’s curse but I’m going to revert to my initial mentality.”
This brings us to the current Starleague: Bacchus OSL. Already Jaedong is into the quarterfinals and the first to advance from his group. He looks like a strong choice to go for a repeat title. Against a favorable match-up for the defending champion, he is sure to be confident in his chances. He plays against Flash in both the OSL and MSL, but since his MSL match is now behind him, he has experienced some of Flash’s play style and heads into the OSL with additional knowledge of his opponent.
Jaedong is already aiming for a repeat title and a crushing of the winner’s curse. Though there are two other players that lurk on the other side of the bracket, both of whom are in their first OSL and both with the determination to become champions in their own right. These two aim to stand in Jaedong's way. Either of these new challengers could be the next player to walk to Royal Road.
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/semioldguy/Best.jpg)
Best is one of these two players looking to walk the road of royalty. Best was the player who put an end to Jaedong’s winning streak, preventing the Zerg player from taking the record from iloveoov. Best's back has been against the wall twice this OSL. He needed a win against Jaedong to secure just the possibility of advancing out of the group stage, and getting the win allowed him to go on to tiebreakers. With both himself and Sea losing to Jaedong there, it was down to one final game between the two of them. He outplayed Sea granted him a spot in the quarterfinals. In his second time facing elimination in his first Starleague, he showed that he had not made it this far by mistake.
Prior to the recent trade for Bisu, SKT T1 leaned on Best as their Protoss player of choice in Proleague. His recent success in Proleague is the best of his accomplishments. He does well for his team with a 10-5 record in the second season of Shinhan Proleague, by far the best results among his teammates.
His PvP has been more than impressive, as he only dropped a single match of his ten games last season in the match-up. Now he finds himself paired against Stork in the Quarterfinals in what is undoubtedly his best match-up. Stork indisputably has the best PvP in the world right now, so this quarterfinal match will be the true test whether Best has what it takes to win a Starleague.
In his first chance at an individual title, Best intends to survive and press on. With Bisu signed on to SKT T1, Best will now have a top player to learn from and further improve his game. Best wants to show that he deserved his position as the team's go-to Protoss, and winning the OSL would prove to his peers and his fans that he is here to stay.
Best is gaining strength to go the distance and follow in Jaedong’s footsteps as the next player to walk the Royal Road. Less than a year ago, Best was a nobody, but all great players had to start somewhere. His alias is already set up to become one of the game’s greats; Best now only needs to prove that he can handle the pressure of a being a star.
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/semioldguy/Luxury.jpg)
The second of the potential Royal Roaders is Luxury, also the top member of his team in Proleague. Though unlike Best, Luxury has made it to the MSL before, but this is his first time making it the OSL. Luxury has found more time under the spotlight in Proleague, often being called upon for OGN Sparkyz when they desperately needed a win. As the Zerg ace for his team, Luxury knows how to handle himself under pressure, and looks to transfer his determination over to the Starleagues.
As far as Starleagues are concerned, Luxury has lived a bit in the shadow of his twin brother, Yellow[arnc]. Luxury will learn from his brother's failures. He has done better than him in team matches and now he looks to do so in individual competition. He has already made it further than his twin in both of this season’s Starleagues. His next opponent, Frozean, defeated Yellow[arnc] to make it this far. Luxury will want the win even more as he fights for both himself and his brother.
Luxury looks great lately, easily breaking into the most recent Power Rank. Eventually he will have to overcome Jaedong, or hope that the champion falls before the finals. He has been smashing the rest of his recent opposition and he should expect no less for his quarterfinals match.
Luxury amazed us in the group stages, going 3-0 against a very tough group of players. He has good preparation for the maps he plays on and pulls out convincing victories. Everything points to Luxury being able to defeat Frozean in a good match-up for the Zerg player. Frozean has crumbled before in the last OSL while Luxury is getting his first, fresh look at it. Luxury isn’t looking back, and he has the confidence to advance to the next round where he will face off against a Protoss player. Whether that player is Stork or Best, neither is known for their play against Zerg. One of next round's player will have to step up and prove the belong in the finals.
Luxury's past performances against Protoss have been questionable. Though he has already taken down Bisu in one game this Starleague and, as Jaedong showed us last season, a true champion will be able to rise up against his worst match-up and overcome it in a best of five series on his way to victory. If Luxury intends on being our new champion, he will rise to the occasion and show that he can win in the clutch, regardless of who he is up against.
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/semioldguy/Carpet.jpg)
Both Best’s and Luxury’s opponents for the quarterfinals are Samsung players. With the Shinhan Proleague grand finals on the horizon, I suspect both Frozean and Stork to have more to worry about than winning the first game in their quarterfinals matches. Hopefully Best and Luxury come out with some creative builds, catching their opponents off guard as they take easy leads in week one of the Round of Eight.
Both of these Royal Road contenders are on the opposite side of the bracket as our returning champion. As the best performers on their teams during Proleague, they both have shown the ability to do well and are in the process of transferring their success over to the OSL. Either one of them will be looking forward to taking Jaedong down in the finals. Everyone wants their shot at the champion, and what better setting is there than the finals of your first Starleague?
It is likely that one will be fighting for a finals appearance next round, if not both of them. If Best or Luxury is able to make it to the finals, and also if they are able to face off against Jaedong, we will be able to see whether the will and determination of players who are on their first quest for glory can dethrone a dominant champion and the heir to the throne of Zerg.
. Seriously though I think Luxury has a better chance of winning in a Bo5, the mu being ZvZ.
