EPT![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/LosingID8/KNF_2008_11_03/KNF_Banner.jpg)
This issue of KNF is brought to you by LosingID8
- Lee YoonYeol Achieves 90 Proleague Wins
- Song ByungGoo Leaves for Germany
- Park JiHo: The Special Fireman
Source: Fomos, translated by LosingID8
Source: Fomos, translated by LosingID8
Source: Fomos, translated by LosingID8
Note: Because this is Korean News Flash, in keeping with Korean style articles, I prefer to refer to gamers by their real names, and not by their IDs.
Lee YoonYeol Achieves 90 Proleague Wins
Translated by LosingID8
Translated by LosingID8
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/LosingID8/KNF_2008_11_03/Nada_1.jpg)
WeMade’s Lee YoonYeol, the 2nd person to achieve 90 proleague wins
The living legend, Lee YoonYeol is second person ever to reach 90 combined proleague wins.
On November 2nd at 2:00pm, during the ShinHan Proleague 08-09 Round 1, Lee Yoon Yeol won versus Lee JaeHoon (fOru) in the WeMade FOX vs Air Force ACE match.
With this win, Lee YoonYeol has attained a total of 71 1v1 wins and 19 2v2 wins to make exactly 90 wins. Last July 7th, Park JungSuk (Reach) reached 90 wins first.
Lee YoonYeol said in the post-game interview that although Park JungSuk reached 90 wins first, I want to be the first person to achieve 100 Proleague wins.
Lee YoonYeol’s Proleague History:
1st W 2003-03-01 KTF EVER CUP Round 1 vs JinNam/JinSoO on Neo Jungle Story
10th W 2004-04-21 SKY 2004 Proleague Round 1 vs MuMyung on Valley of Wind
20th W 2004-12-25 SKY 2004 Proleague 3 Round 3 vs Jju on Incubus 2004
30th W 2005-07-12 SKY Proleague 2005 Round 1 vs Stork on R-Point
40th W 2005-11-07 SKY Proleague 2005 2nd Half vs Cloud on Neo Forte
50th W 2006-04-29 SKY Proleague 2006 1st Half vs Hwasin on 815 III
60th W 2006-09-23 SKY Proleague 2006 2nd Half vs Stork on Longinus
70th W 2007-05-26 ShinHan Proleague 2007 1st Half vs MuMyung on Tau Cross
80th W 2007-11-27 ShinHan Proleague 2007 2nd Half vs Hwasin on Un’Goro Crater
90th W 2008-11-02 ShinHan Proleague 08-09 vs fOru on Harmony
An Interview with Lee YoonYeol, conducted by Fomos
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/LosingID8/KNF_2008_11_03/Nada_2.jpg)
-This is your 2nd win this season
▲ Because I have not been able to play many games it is disappointing. There are a variety of reasons why I haven’t been able to play, but on the matches where I have been put on the roster I have won so I am happy.
-100 Proleague wins is right in front of you.
▲ I really want to get 100 combined wins first. Although I gave up 90 wins to Park JungSuk I will be the first to reach 100 wins.
- Your win was very standard.
▲ I played extremely safely. I wanted to show everything I had prepared, so I played slowly but surely. But because Lee JaeHoon scouted so well, I wasn’t able to show other stuff I had prepared for. However, luckily I was able to raze his early nexus so I had the advantage. In the mid-game there was a strong rush so there was a moment where I was danger, but I defended well and harassed his expansions well so I was able to win.
- It was your first game with Lee JaeHoon in a while.
▲ I was happy to play with him since it’s been so long. Last time I played I lost so I was careful not to be overconfident.
Proleague is stopping for 1 week. How will you spend your vacation?
▲ I have MSL on Saturday. I will be focusing on that. The MSL schedule is very busy so I decided that I will have to practice for that.
- Are you confident to win in MSL?
▲ I haven’t been able to prepare adequately as of yet. Starting from today I will really try my best to prepare. My opponent has been doing very well lately, so I think I will have to practice a lot.
- Did you watch the Starleague finals?
▲ I wanted to Song ByungGoo to win. I want to truly congratulate him on breaking the 2nd place wall. I thought that if he won he would cry, and he really did. After watching that scene I thought to myself that I will win once again.
- A final word
▲ In my past interviews I haven’t mentioned much about my teammates so they’ve been a bit sad. Since my teammates are always there helping me, I didn’t really mention them specifically me. I want to thank my teammates and Lecaf’s No YoungHoon inter.young for helping me practice.
Source
by Reporter Lee JungHan
Commander-in-Chief Song ByungGoo Leaves Korea to Participate in WCG
Translated by LosingID8
Translated by LosingID8
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/LosingID8/KNF_2008_11_03/Stork_1.jpg)
Winner of the Incruit Starleague 2008:
Commander-in-Chief Song ByungGoo is now on a path to conquer the international stage.
Song ByungGoo and other Korean national representatives left for Cologne, Germany on November 3rd, at 1:15PM. Stork will attempt to be the second player to win WCG for 2 consecutive years.
The players left to Germany with the WCG marketing team workers from ICM, and are currently staying in a youth hostel preparing for the competition. However, currently at the hostel there is no internet connection so Song ByungGoo is practicing by playing against the computers in single-player mode on a laptop that has Starcraft installed.
However Song ByungGoo said, “Although the current conditions are poor and the gaming schedule is very packed, I will regulate my condition so that I will do my best to win WCG 2 times in a row.
At the Incheon Airport, Samsung coach Kim GaEul saw Song ByungGoo off, and stated that “After Song ByungGoo won the Starleague, he didn’t even rest and started practicing for WCG,” and also said that “he doesn’t want to have to play with Lee JaeDong, but he will still do his best to make winning WCG again possible.”
Song ByungGoo will be playing in the Starcraft Group H at 10:00PM KST. Lee JaeDong (Jaedong) and Park ChanSoo (Luxury) will be heading off to Germany after their Proleague matches this week are over.
Source
by Reporter Kim KyungHyun
Park JiHo: The Special Fireman
Translated by LosingID8
Translated by LosingID8
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/LosingID8/KNF_2008_11_03/Pusan_1.jpg)
The Special Fireman
Back in 2005 there was a lot of talk about the 3 neo-protoss kings. If the old triumvirate consisted of Park YongWook (SKT Coach), Park JungSuk (Air Force), and Kang Min (MBC Commentator), the new trio was Song ByungGoo (Samsung), Oh Young Jong (Air Force), and Park JiHo (MBCgame).
Park JiHo exemplified protoss macro and was the original “spirit.” At MBCgame, he was a reliable ace card, and was a pillar of mental stability.
However from the 2nd half of 2007, the spirit started weakening. It became more and more difficult to see him acting as that clutch ace card, and as expected, MBCgame started to lose more matched. During that time, the “Revolutionist” Kim TaekYong (Bisu) (SKT), “Monster” Do JaeWook (Best) (SKT), “Joker” Kim KyuHyun (Kal) (STX), “Huhneunim” Huh YoungMoo (JangBi), “Thunder” Yoon YongTae (Free) (Woongjin) became the next generation of protoss stars, and it seemed as if Park JiHo’s name would be forgotten.
Translator’s note: Huhneunim is a play on the Korean word for “god” which is “haneunim.”
When the 08-09 season started, Park JiHo wasn’t a large entity. Many experts called MBCgame’s protoss lineup it’s weak point, and they also predicted a continuation of Park JiHo’s slump. However once the 08-09 season got underway, Park JiHo has recovered his old spirit and has put forth intense effort, and has requested that he be called the “Special Fireman,” signaling his comeback.
For a brief moment, the “original macro” and “spirit” of Park JiHo was on the outskirts of our minds, but with his comeback as the “special fireman” it has suddenly come to the forefront. He has achieved a record of 4-1 in proleague, and he is really trying his hardest to his 2nd jump in skill.
On October 30th, we were able to meet with Park JiHo at the MBCgame HERO practice room, and we had an interview as he was watching the most recent VODs. The nickname “special fireman” really fits his fit body and him articulate speech.
“I think apathy is a very scary thing. In the past when I was doing well, when I first started to slump a lot of people were saying things, but as I kept on slumping there wasn’t any discussion about me. Even though it isn’t like the past, I find it relieving that I am able to attract attention once again.”
Park JiHo is a progamer that wants the interest of fans. He said his hardest time was when it felt like the eSports fans didn’t care about him anymore. But after his recent ace match against STX’s Kim KyuHyun, he has returned as a attention-grabbing progamer.
“When I was slumping it was really difficult, but after the STX match where I won in the ace match it has much improved. Afterwards my practice time has increased and I am trying even harder.”
What aspect was that difficult? Park JiHo revealed that even when he was slumping on televised matches, within the team, his gameplay was at the best level. However, whenever he would play on TV, his gameplay would drastically take a dive. And as his chances to be on TV resulted in more losses, it was mentally very stressful for him.
What was the cause? Gradually, the once great Park JiHo’s gameplay fell, and he started losing more than he won. Suddenly the player that had been a dual-leaguer wasn’t in either. His role in Proleague was relegated to either a 2v2 player or a benchwarmer.
“It’s true I had been lazy during practice, but I think the greatest factor was that I wasn’t able to play many televised matches. Being eliminated from both leagues was huge.” He was frustrated with his recent signs of slumping, but not even being able to play in either individual league really sealed the deal. It appears as though there was no one huge factor, but rather a combination of many. It was also his first slump since he had become a progamer.
There are many players who cannot specifically identify the cause of their slumps. But of course there are many instances where the causes are outside of the game. In Park JiHo’s instance it was the latter. What special effort did Park JiHo put forth to escape from his slump? His response is that “honestly, even now I don’t have a good answer.” However, it does appear that his condition right now shows that he has gotten out of it.
“At that time, I didn’t have the know-how to recover from a slump. I think all other players are similar. So I just kept thinking about what I could do to show others myself in a good light. The result of that is my recent mindset, which is “just think about the game.” Recently it’s even gotten to the point where if I catch myself not thinking about the game I get angry at myself.
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/LosingID8/KNF_2008_11_03/Pusan_2.jpg)
Unknowingly, Park JiHo has become a 24 year old mid-standing gamer. In society, 24 isn’t a very old age, however within the context of the progaming community, where the majority of games are in their late teens or early twenties, it is not a young age. But Park JiHo says that “age is not important.” He doesn’t want to be known as an old-gamer just yet.
“I am friends with Sung HakSeung (MyMyung), and he is 25. But since I am an early 1985’er, it is of some comfort. Within the gamers, I am pretty old, but I don’t think that I am old myself. I think since I am with such young teammates all the time, I feel like I am young. Until I leave for the Air Force I will not admit that I am part of the “old”
Who is Park JiHo? From his debut, he grabbed the fans attention with just his macro, which evolved into “spirit,” creating his own distinctive play style. In 2005, in the So1 Starleague and ShinHan Bank 05~06 Starleague, he achieved consecutive final four finshes, and staked his claim within protoss history. To him he feels that being 24 is simply another opportunity.
In the past, during televised matches it was my goal to show my distinctive play. Recently I went through my old matches, and am trying my best to show essence of macro. Previously I would never rewatch the matches I lost, but now I am watching all of them to analyze what happened.
He has definitely changed. He has surpassed his slump and although he has gained age, his fervor for the game has gotten stronger. Now he receives his losses graciously, showing development as a person. It’s not merely the fact that he now watches VODs of his losses, but it’s the fact that his attitude has changed so that he doesn’t become impatient with his losses.
In the past when I kept being eliminated during qualifiers, I was extremely impatient. But now I am much more relaxed. I’m not rushing it, but I am in the process of trying to improve my skill to the next level.
Just a bit ago, Park JiHo played against SKT’s Do JaeWook (Best) in an Ace Match. It was a match-up between old and new macro. It was a match between one of the top current protosses versus a Park JiHo who was just showing signals of a comeback, so it created a lot of interest. Park JiHo lost a match that he had the advantage in, and resulted in his first loss of the season. However, that loss actually became more incentive for Park JiHo.
“At the time I had expected Do JaeWook to show up for the ace match, so that is especially why I didn’t want to lose. After I lost, I expected many news articles with headlines such as “Original macro kneels before new macro,” but they were all very bland. I assumed that it was because I wasn’t doing as well as I had before, so they didn’t hype the result as much.
It was a very typical Park JiHo response. I expected to talk about the match itself, but he ended up talking about the news articles instead. But still, in the end he reached the conclusion that “I must do better.” He wants to be a progamer that places important on wins, gameplay, and the impression that remains with the fans. Through the match against Do JaeWook, it really stimulated his resolve to improve.
“Although I was very annoyed at the loss to Do JaeWook, I was filled with the thought that I should never lose again. I want to hurry and play against him again. I wasn’t able to play against him in my top condition. Next time I want to play against him when I am in top condition and we will have a real match.”
Although he has shown signs of revival in proleague, for Park JiHo, conquering the individual leagues is an important dream. Just as one of the major causes for his slump was his elimination from both leagues, he wants to get back into both of them.
“I feel that once I get into the Starleague I can show great results, but it isn’t easy to get to that stage. However if I play as strong as I am right now, I believe that I will be able to advance to either the Starleague or MSL.”
He is the hard-worker type, who will never stop until he achieves his goal. With his own mouth, he has said that he is the “special fireman,” and is willing to defend that title with his own hands.
“I am very sorry that I wasn’t able to keep my promise. My teammates believed that I wouldn’t lose, but I wasn’t able to repay their trust. I will do my best to become a player worthy of my nickname.”
4-1 in Proleague. He has shown signals of a comeback, but it’s still too early to say for sure that he has indeed come back for good. It is great that we are able to watch his spirit again on TV, but we will need to see some more wins before Park JiHo can become the center of attention again. His activity in the near future will be very important. He knows this fact very well.
“I am really happy that I have been able to participate a lot recently. I believe my fans think the same. And I think if I show great gameplay and earn wins, my fans will be happy as well. In the future, I only want to show the good side of Park JiHo. In the upcoming week I will play against Lecaf’s Ku SungHoon (HiyA), and I will practice and prepare perfectly so that I can get my 5th win for the season.
+ Show Spoiler [Proleague Pusan vs Hiya] +
Pusan won, he is now 5-1.
This Pusan article translation is dedicated to the #1 Pusan fan, Plexa!
Source
by Reporter Kim KyungHyun
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