Beyond the Failure

Cover image by Pachi

My will shall shape the future. Whether I fail or succeed shall be no man's doing but my own. I am the force; I can clear any obstacle before me or I can be lost in the maze. My choice; my responsibility; win or lose, only I hold the key to my destiny.
- Elaine Maxwell

Beyond the Failure
by Plexa
TeamLiquid Final Edits

I love Proleague.

Back in 2005 I was captivated by a ruthless team known as KOR. Every time I liquibetted for them, I imagined them as some kind of ninja fighter squad with huge cutlasses ready to slay their opponents. I still remember the day they stomped SKT, much to the dismay of the rest of TL. KOR were the originally bad asses and had such an awesome roster. Well, not quite. With a line up of Zeus, Cloud, Casy, Side, Max and Terato they weren’t exactly the pick of the litter – but they were enough to pull a disproportionate number of upsets.

In 2006, me and KOR had a falling out as I quickly fell in love with Hanbit. The 2006 Hanbit team is something of legend; the trio of “Kim Yong Man” tore through the opposition in a fascinating display. GGPlay’s Hive Tech Zerg proved to be an awesome weapon against adversaries, while free’s elegance and grace when commanding the Protoss legions dazzled the opposition and Daezang’s brute force and aggressive tendencies left no one standing. Yes, those were the days of the Hanbit revival…

Even now, this trio strikes fear into my heart

With Daezang shipped off to the army Hanbit didn’t seem the same anymore. But luckily for me Stork and Sigamari were on the rise again. 2007 was the year of Khan, and they did me proud. Stork and FireBatHero made quite a duo last year; they had enough flexibility to deal with whatever came their way. On top of that you had an emerging Jangbi and a couple old schoolers to tie the team over. They also had the legendary Sigamari whose influence on the team play sets cannot be denied.

However, now that Sigamari, JJu and Zergman have all left Khan, things just don’t seem the same anymore. So for 2008, who would be my Dark Horse of Proleague? This year, one team stands out at me as a team with more vitality than any other. They are a team which has gotten the least possible love out of all the teams in Proleague. Of course, I’m talking about “Starcraft of Unbelievable Legend” otherwise known as STX Soul.

Soul have traditionally been known for two things; TossGirl and losing. As a professional team, that is really sad. Soul are so much more than that today. They are a young team – Hwasin, the captain and 2nd eldest, was born as early as 1988. With their youth comes a unique spark, a strange vitality, which gives them that enigmatic X factor. This is a team full of hope, promise and potential – and it’s going to be one hell of a year. Now let me explain to you why Soul will be the next big thing.

Soul has previously been synonymous with failure for an extended period of time now. Sadly, that opinion is not unjustified. Since the conception of Proleauge Soul has made the playoffs a grand total of two times – once when they still had the fiercest Zerg lineup in progaming, once last year. Soul has become accustomed to placing in the bottom half of the league for quite some time.

The intermediate period between 2004 and 2007 was Soul’s rebuilding phase and the result has been a complete lineup revamp. This new team is a single bonded unit which has gone through some difficult times. Their youthful vigor has put their extended failures behind them and they are moving Soul forward in a positive light. After they managed to secure sponsorship before the 2007 Season, things just got better for soul. The Placed 4th in Round 1 of 2007 Proleague which was huge for them – it signified the beginning of change. While they placed 7th in Round 2, their defeat of a full powered MBC Team in the STX Masters shows that they still have a lot left to give.

Their youthful spirit has shed the image of failure from their minds. Because they aren’t as boisterous as OGN or Khan no one has really noticed this change – but come this season and we’ll see a new Proleague force.

When it comes to the crunch in the final set, Soul can tango with the best. There are three superstar Aces for Soul – Hwasin, Calm and Kal. While Soul only made it to the Ace match 9 times in Round 2, they had impressive win percentages. Kal went 4-0, Hwasin 1-1 and Calm 0-3 meaning they went 5-4 overall which is quite good for a young team and with your principle Ace (Hwasin) slumping.

Kal

Kal has proven to be one of the most promising Protoss of the next generation and has shown off his skills in GomTV MSL Season 4. The bottom line with Kal is that his PvZ is, for lack of a better word – sick. For 2007 his winning ratio against the swarm was 71.43% which teeters on the verge of virtuosity in the matchup. On top of that, his final against Jaedong was impressive and it’s fair to say that he took Jaedong further than Jaedong’s been pushed since Ever 2007.

But Kal isn’t a one trick pony either – he also boasts a ridiculous PvT. For 2007 he managed to rack up a 69.23% winrate which is also extremely good. He has won many clutch games against top tier Terrans like FireBatHero, Sea and Light. With two very strong matchups it’s insane to think that he’s only 17 which means we’ll be seeing a lot more of him this coming year.

History tells us that when a player has two very good matchups, that a third ‘weaker’ matchup will always rise to the occasion. We saw it with Jaedong in the Ever 2007 finals, we saw it with Savior and his ZvZ, we saw it with Boxer and his TvP and the list goes on. Kal’s PvP may be weak, but shortly his confidence will grow and he will play better PvP and become an all round Protoss superstar.

It’s a safe bet that this season anyone who goes up against this rising star will be quivering with fear.

Hwasin

After the IEST fiasco Hwasin experienced what I like to call a ‘Karma’ slump. Through his match fixing scam with Calm he suffered a huge decline after a very impressive Round 1. His 2007 record stands at a 59.60% which is really impressive considering he slumped in the last half of the year. It’s been a long time since IEST and the Karma Gods have forgiven him for his sins – Hwasin’s coming back and pulling no punches.

Hwasin built his reputation on having the best TvZ in 2006 and then moving from one Godly matchup into the other two. Towards the end of 2006, Hwasin’s TvT picked up and then in early 2007 his TvP reached ‘perfection’ in his many bouts with Bisu. With Hwasin’s success in all three matchups Soul delivered their best season in three years – placing 4th overall.

This really is Hwasin’s team – he has essentially built it from the ground up from his success. Much like July in the days of POS, Hwasin is raising a team that is going to be a powerhouse in Proleague. Now that he is captaining the team, he will lead by example and pave the way for the new Golden age of Soul.

Calm

While not posting as awesome results as the aforementioned players, he has shown potential in his games – there is a reason he has been sent out as ace three times after all. Calm is the latest generation of Soul Zergs, which has a very proud legacy. Calm has been around for almost two years now, and his recent games show that he has matured into a lethal weapon.

While not a favorite every time, he is Soul’s version of WeMade’s Firefist. Both are solid Zergs who are going to be huge this year. Calm will lead the Zergs on Soul towards a good season this time round. His confidence has been building and now its time for him to be unleashed onto the world. He had a great start against Khan by demolishing Jangbi which has set him on the path to success this year.

So Soul have three pretty strong contenders for Ace, but what about the filler? No team can rely purely on it’s aces to carry it through the season – that’s where this next bunch of guys come in. They are your snipers, your rising talents and the lineup filler. Soul has some great talent coming through and we will surely see it this season.

BestGod, Sheis and TheStC

Sheis is perhaps the most underrated player on Soul. Originally, he was the TvT training partner of Hwasin and was hyped somewhat about having a formidable TvT. When it came to the crunch, Boxer humiliated him in Superfight 4 in the very first round of the competition. However, as time went along people stopped looking at his TvT potential and instead glanced an eye towards his TvZ skill. In the 11th Survivor he defeated both Jaedong and Luxury to gain entry into GomTV S2 MSL.

He has had mixed success in the MSL but continues to show up in Survivor tournaments but what is really promising about him is his great record in Proleauge. Last year he had a winrate of 60% which is not bad for his first ‘real’ year of progaming. On top on that, he is yet to lose a TvZ on TV and he stopped Jaedong’s monster 17-0 vT streak. Here’s hoping he builds off his success last year and turns his potential into realized skill. He is an asset to Soul’s Terran lineup.

YoonJoong

YoonJoong is quickly becoming a force in progaming, despite being so young. Along with Best, he is becoming the new face of Protoss and looks to be a force in his own right. We first started to notice things about YoonJoong when he defeated Stork in quite convincing fashion in Proleague. Stork is perhaps the best PvP player of all time, rivaling that of Reach, so this is a very big accomplishment. YoonJoong has also made the upcoming MSL by beating MBC’s upcoming Terran Ruby. With quite fast hands (~340apm) and Kal to guide him he should become a fearsome Protoss player.

TheStC and Modesty

Terror and Modesty make up the fallback Zergs, but that’s not to say they’re not talented. Terror is well known for his sick Mutalisk control and strong ZvT while Modesty is the second youngest progamer (the youngest being BaBy). Both of these players have a huge amount of potential but thus far they are relatively underdeveloped. With a promising season ahead of Soul, these two should be able to get some game time and take it that next step further and make the big time. However, recently there has been a rumor that JulyZerg has switched from SKT1 over to Soul, if this is true it will be a major boost for these developing talents - especially Terror.

The third set is one of the most important sets in a Proleague match. It holds great strategical worth for both sides. For one, it determines if one side goes 3-0 or not but it is so much more than that. The psychological advantage of winning that set when you are 1-1 is also an important factor as it can give you the edge in the 4th set. All in all it is very important to a teams success.

Soul, however, are lacking a strong 2v2 combination. The combinations generally revolve around 4 players; Soo, Bestgod, Terror and by.hero. This poses a big problem for Soul, as they lack a strong Terran to complement their Zergs. For now TheStC has been a placeholder when they’ve needed a Terran – which lead to bad results. Soul should be okay with the new 2v2 maps as they seem to be ZP friendly – therefore we could see some consistent partners fielded.

The first outing in 2008 showed off some great teamwork by Soo and by.hero – who look to be a strong combination for this season. With Soo/hero taking care of Hunters, Bestgod and Terror should be taking care of Hannibal. BestGod/Terror were the favored 2v2 combination last season for Soul and already have good synergy together. With every other area in Soul on the rise the 2v2 combinations should lift their game up, similar to what happened with Lecaf last year.

The defining point in Soul’s history was the second round of SKY Proleague 2004 when they made their first final ever against Pantech and Curtiel Curriors (now WeMade FoX). The series was over in five sets,
1: GoodFriend > Jju on Bifrost 3
2: NaDa/Silver (T/Z) < Jju/Hwasin (Z/T) on Mercury zero
3: NaDa > Yooi on Incubus 2004
4: Silver/Goodfriend(Z/T) > TheWind/CCoMa(rZ/Z) on Odin
5: Sir@Soni > Soo on Requiem
After the end of the match Yooi got on stage, with tears streaming down his face, and apologized to all the Soul fans for losing.

Yooi and TheWind after losing the final

Soul has never got so close to victory in it’s history.

Two of the players from the 2004 lineup remain active in the 2008 lineup, four years later. These are of course Hwasin and Soo. They’ve been to the top, lost it all, and now are forging their own path back to the summit. Both players were only 16 when they played in that final and now that they are the team veterans (and eldest players in the team) they raised a number of young talents.

The ethos of losing amongst Soul is now absent. They now know that they have the ability to perform, they have the talent required to make it big and this time Hwasin and Soo won’t go home losers. There is an unspoken determination about Soul which can only be seen in the eyes of each member. They are here to win this tournament and they are taking no prisoners.

Soul have a low profile on the procircuit, they will never be charismatic like Sparkyz or T1, but this doesn’t mean they deserve any less love. Their roster is filled with young talent that could very well dominate the scene for years to come. Their 3-0 of last years runners up is a testament to four years of rebuilding, dedication and defeat. This season, Soul gets my full support and are without a doubt this years “Dark Horse”.

One can dream right?

Beyond the Failure

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