EPTby Ideas
Almost exactly 2 years ago forum veteran and legend thedeadhaji wrote this article about why he believed Lecaf Oz would win the Proleague finals. Although haji’s prediction ultimately proved wrong (Lecaf lost to Samsung in the finals), Lecaf went on to win the next Proleague in a dominating fashion. Today I’m going to re-enact thedeadhaji’s article with a new underdog team, and hopefully convince you all that STX SouL will win this season’s Proleague.
![[image loading]](http://www.fomos.kr/board/photo/1245069511_1.jpg)
The future Proleague champions
1. Hunger
Just like Lecaf Oz in July of 2007, STX SouL has never won a Proleague before. In fact, they haven’t been to a Proleague final since 2004. In fact, No one on STX SouL has ever even won a title before July earned his Golden Mouse in the EVER08 OSL shortly after joining STX. STX is hungry to win something, especially what may be the last Proleague to finish before StarCraft 2 inevitably comes out, and they’ve never had a better shot.
2. The Aces
STX is known for 1 thing above all else when talking about Proleague: no S-class players but a plethora of A-class ones. Currently two STX players stand a good level above the rest, and although still not quite S-class, Calm and Kal are definintely leaders in the scene. Calm finished in 5th place in the Proleague rankings, going 40-21 (65.6%), while Kal finished almost right below him in 7th place at 34-23 (59.6%). Together they made up the vast majority of STX’s ace picks, with Calm going 5-3 and Kal going 4-5. Calm and Kal are currently the #7 and #8 in ELO rankings as well.
2.1
![[image loading]](http://www.fomos.kr/board/photo/1243754471_1.jpg)
Calm has quietly but certainly become the best, most well-rounded player on STX over the last few months (specifically Round 5 of Proleague). Currently the highest rated ELO on his team, Calm has risen from mediocrity this season of Proleague (no doubt thanks in part to the arrival of July on the team). Currently sporting an over 60% winning rate since the beginning of round 1 back in October, Calm has quickly become the undisputed #3 Zerg in the world (only behind Jaedong and Effort in ELO ratings currently).
Calm has no “weak” matchup, although his ZvP and ZvT put on a much better performance than his ZvZ. His ZvP in particular has become quite fearsome like all his Zerg teammates, with none other than Bisu (and 1 game from Free back in October) being the ONLY Protoss to take games off of him since the start of this season of Proleague. Although originally known for being a cheesy player who cannot sustain himself in the late game, Calm has proven over the past few months that although having one of the best mid-game’s of any Zerg, he can definitely also hold his own in the late game.
2.2
![[image loading]](http://www.nevergg.net/photos/558117969_ZF5da-O.jpg)
Kal is my favorite Protoss player and one of my all-time favorite players to watch. Kal’s shuttle play, particularly in PvT, is some of the most entertaining micro in all of Professional StarCraft in my opinion. Kal doesn’t exactly do very extravagant or unique cheese or strategies, but he has some of the most unique improvised decisions and micro of any player. Above all else Kal is one of my favorite players to watch because when I watch him play he -above everyone else- actually looks (in his gameplay) like he is having fun playing the game.
Kal was the 1st STX player to ever reach the finals of any individual tournament when he reached the finals of the GOMTV MSL S4 where he lost 1-3 to none other than Jaedong. Since then he has reached 2 more semifinals but has never reached another final, mostly because of his notorious inconsistence. Kal will often boggle minds by losing games that seemingly no Progamer should lose (such as his infamous lose to Shine[kal] where he lost to 2-hatch hydra AFTER scouting it beforehand with ample time to prepare) while still maintaining a well-rounded win-rate and a high ELO (Kal is currently comfortably sitting at the #2 ELO rated Protoss player in Korea).
But sometime in between the end of Round 4 and the beginning of Round 5 of Proleague, Kal suddenly decided to stop losing games that he shouldn’t, going 7-2 with loses only to fantasy (who is nigh-unstoppable in TvP right now) and backho (large BO disadvantage). If Kal can put his very dangerous PvZ back together, he just may reclaim his spot as STX’s #1 player from Calm.
3.0 The Brains
![[image loading]](http://www.nevergg.net/photos/510646533_KKd3b-L.jpg)
In april 2008
JulyZerg transferred to STX from SK Telecom 1 and soon after became the 1st Zerg and 2nd player ever to win a golden mouse, and also becoming the 1st player to ever win a Starleague while wearing an STX uniform. In the EVER2008 OSL July went on an absolute ZvP tear going 12-2 the whole tournament and continued to absolutely dominate Protoss players since (he currently has the highest ZvP ELO of any player). Since the EVER2008 OSL July has managed to dodge playing non-ZvP matches a lot, but has shown that while having S-class ZvP and A-class ZvT (just watch his recent series vs Skyhigh), his ZvZ has suffered greatly. July has gone a measly 3-12 in ZvZ since his OSL victory (compared to 9-7 vs Terran and 20-7 vs Protoss). July has done better in Proleague on STX than he has done on other teams in the past, going 17 and 8 in Proleague this season. July did not play for STX at all in round 5 though, as I suspect he insisted to stay on the bench this round so that he can work on winning the GSL, where he currently is about to play Flash in the semifinals (his weak ZvZ might be considered too much of a weakness for Proleague also).
July’s biggest contribution to STX has not been his results in Proleague though, it is the impact he has had on the team. In early 2008 STX was a team of juniors; Hwasin, a young player himself was the most experienced player and captain of the team. July has given STX the leadership and seniority that they have needed, and the impact he has had on the team, specifically the Zerg players, is undeniable. July helped raise hero’s monster ZvP and develop Calm into a true top-tier Zerg, all the while regaining some of his own former ZvT skill. STX now has the most fearsome Zerg lineup of any team in the league, and it is they who will lead STX to victory this season. In his recent write-up, riptide refers to STX as “July’s boys”, and although July was only officially Captain for a short time, it’s clear that this truly is his team. Tushin has found a home.
4.0 back-up
Although some teams such as SKT1 can compare to STX in having 2 or 3 highly ranked players, it is the rest of the lineup that gives STX such an edge in the playoffs. STX has a total of SIX players in the top 40 ELO, with an average ranking of 17.67, only CJ Entus can compete (actually they have the same amount of players in the top 40 with a slightly lower ranking of 17, but with half of their top players somewhat slumping it doesn’t look good). These are the men that make things easier for Calm and Kal.
4.1
![[image loading]](http://www.nevergg.net/photos/514961569_kPdim-L.jpg)
Hwasin has long been the face of STX. Until Kal burst onto the scene in late 07, Hwasin was for a long time the sole SouL member performing well in Individual leagues (PUNS!). At his peak, Hwasin was a serious contender for best Terran in Korea, dominating not just in TvZ (that has long been his staple matchup) but putting up results all 3 matchups. Although Hwasin is no longer the best player on STX, he still is a strong component.
In late 2008 Hwasin entered one of the biggest slumps of his career, most notably performing quite poorly in Proleague, causing STX to start experimenting with their rookie Terran’s to varying success (for a while Notice looked like he might have been the next big player from STX). Despite his lackluster proleague performance Hwasin has repeatedly qualified for the individual leagues. At one point it seemed that all Hwasin could win was TvZ.
Then suddenly Hwasin decided to not suck in Proleague, going 4-0 in round 5 and giving STX the sorely needed Terran consistency that had been killing them in rounds 3 and 4.
4.2
![[image loading]](http://www.fomos.kr/board/photo/1245069601_1.jpg)
Hero made a name for himself in the Batoo OSL where he eliminated (at the time) Bisu in the Ro36 2-0 (I would like to point out I’ve been a fan of hero ever since he pulled that sweet fake-drop into real-drop against Bisu on Colosseum 2 in Round 1). He quickly came to fame as the “neo-JulyZerg” sharing a common play-style. Despite his impressive performance in the Batoo OSL (reaching the semis where he lost a “respectable” 0-3 to JAEDONG), by.hero was used sparingly on STX’s PL lineup until the 5th round, where he went 5-1. Although he had impressive results vs Terran in the Batoo OSL (defeating teammate Hwasin the Ro8 and beating fantasy and leta in his Ro16 group) he is currently on a losing streak vs Terran. Although he goes for some ballsy 2-hatch builds like Calm, he goes even ballsier and has mostly failed with a lot of them in the past few months. I think next season if he hones his ZvT to be a bit safer he can truly become a monster.
It is not hero’s ZvP that is his biggest asset for STX in Proleague right now though. Since his 0-3 lose to Jaedong in Batoo, he has gone undefeated vs Zerg opponents (currently on a 7-game winning streak). Assuming he avoids a decent Terran in the playoffs (and of course Jaedong), STX can count on a win from him.
4.3
![[image loading]](http://www.nevergg.net/photos/558118301_7MSNR-L.jpg)
Let me get this out in the open: Shuttle is good. Not great, but good. It is my opinion that if he didn’t have Kal to compete with for a Proleague spot on a team that only has room for 1 Protoss on their roster he would be a Proleague regular. Shuttle has faced Flash 5 times in the last month and despite going 1-4 vs him, you cannot deny that he didn’t play very well. It would be very unexpected if Shuttle doesn’t qualify for a Starleague next season.
Shuttle has a solid PvT and PvZ, and a very good PvP(just watch his game vs Bisu on Neo Medusa), going 6-2 for his career on TV and not losing an offline PvP since February 08. Expect Shuttle to make an appearance in every single playoff match STX plays, because he deserves it.
4.4
![[image loading]](http://www.nevergg.net/photos/514961857_sJyXB-L.jpg)
Mostly known for being a huge reason why STX went only 4-7 in round 4, Modesty has only ever played ZvZ in Proleague. EVER. Clearly STX uses modesty as a ZvZ “sniper”, although it appears he’s got a bit of nerves. I think lately he has fought his nerves and is doing decent enough for a rookie Zerg in Proleague, but to be honest I would only expect Modesty to show up if STX were playing a Zerg-heavy team or used to try to snipe a Zerg. It is clear with STX’s consistent use of modesty vs Zerg (he almost always plays on ZvZ havens such as Battle Royal or Raid Assault II) that he MUST be the best ZvZer in-house despite having worse results than his teammates. If he can get past his TV nerves, Modesty will be a threat to any Zerg player.
4.5
![[image loading]](http://www.fomos.kr/board/photo/1246877454_1.JPG)
Most known for beating Firebathero in the GSL S2, Bogus has had a small quiet career where he has managed to achieve a >55% winning ratio in every matchup. With a career 9-6 in televised games, Bogus is still quite young and inexperienced, but clearly has the most potential to eventually replace Hwasin as STX’s go-to Terran. If STX uses any Terran players besides Hwasin in the playoffs, expect it to be this little man.
4.6
![[image loading]](http://www.fomos.kr/board/photo/1234070189_1.jpg)
During Winners League, it appeared as though STX had a new Terran on the block who could in time be a real Starleague contender. In February Notice all-killed ACE and 3-killed Hite. He said in a winner’s interview that he wanted to play flash (as his best matchup is TvT and Flash is THE TvTer to beat). Shortly after his wish came true and he battled it out with Flash on Neo Harmony, where Flash took a decisive win. 3 days after that he 3-killed Hite and then “slumped”, almost never showing up on the roster and failing to qualify for either Starleague (as well as being eliminated early by Iris in the GSL). Notice is still very young with a lot of potential, but it seems as though his Winners League success was a premature fluke. Don’t expect Notice to appear on STX’s lineup in the playoffs unless he has something special whipped up.
5.0 culture change
In this terrific article written almost 2 years ago by forum legend HonestTea, all 12 Proleague teams are profiled. He wrote about how STX’s biggest moment in the sun was
Yooi apologizing to the STX fans after losing the 2005 Season 2 Proleague. “See, Soul still suffers from a culture of losing. They are simply too used to not being good enough, to falling behind in the standings, to typing "gg" before their opponent. When Soul wins, they seem uncomfortable by the very fact that they were victorious, like some nerd who managed to get to second base with a girl but doesn't know what to do next. This is a problem, because Soul is Peter Parker after the bite.” – HontestTea, September 2007
He then went on to note that STX is certainly changing, a team full of young players with tons of potential, a new sponsor, and a new ace (Hwasin). It may of have taken a while, but SouL has finally blossomed into a team of winners. When July won the Golden Mouse, he didn’t just give hope to every “old-school” player but also to every single member of STX. They too might have what it takes to win, that even the underdog has a chance. STX players now know that they do have what it takes to win, that they deserve to win, and that they will win. STX will go to the Grand Finals where they will face SKT Telecom 1, and STX’s transformation into champions will be completed upon their victory.
You may consider this maybe just some romantic ramblings of a currently-unemployed STX fanboy with a lot of free time on his hands, but I truly love to watch STX SouL play, and they have made StarCraft a passion of mine more than any of the other players. STX may lack an S-class player to lead them, but they all play in a more entertaining and endearing style than any other team in the league. It always hurts when I see STX Proleague live report threads getting totally out-posted and out-viewed by the opposing LR thread, and during round 4 I felt like there were only 2 or 3 other STX fans outside of Korea. With STX doing so much better right now I’m pleased to see the new STX icons below posts, and I hope that STX will gain even more fans. Not for their results, but for the enjoyment they bring to viewers when they play. STX is the most fun team to watch, and I hope as they presumably tear it up in the layoffs, more and more people will see that.
