Hello. This is Coach Lee Jae Kyun who has come back gritting his teeth.
On the 3rd of August we have the finals against STX.
Since I started in 1999, it's been about 14 years.
It's the first time we've been on the finals stage since the grand finals in early 2005.
A lot has happened in that time.
Hanbit's disbandment and re-emergence as Woongjin, and a crisis situation for the corporation...
5 years with Woongjin... And then a finals.
To be honest, I didn't think we'd ever step on the finals stage again. Our situation kept worsening, and I kept ageing.
Seeing the people around me moving on also made me gradually lose confidence...
I think I went into this with the mindset that this year would really be the last.
Coach Son Seung Wan who had worked with me until then resigned due to personal issues and we begun to form a new team of 3 with coach Ryu Won and manager Park Suk Joon.
Because we were short on personnel, we couldn't coach players one on one so I had to leave it to the players to pull their weight, and the players did just that.
One more game before sleep... Image training about the games today while sleeping...
When games didn't go well, I told players to remember the last season to calm their minds.
Now the players are more passionate than I am. Probably because they don't want to miss an opportunity that may not come again.
We have prepared fully, and the other team has also come fully prepared.
I expect it will be a great finals, and now I am excited.
Looking back on Hanbit's past individual league and proleague finals, I expect there will be many fun and emotional matches to come.
GARIMTO's 2001 SKY Starleague finals, the first reverse sweep in an OSL finals by GGPlay,
2004 SKY Proleague's comeback win, the first reverse sweep in a GSL by Soulkey in 2013, e.t.c...
There aren't many matches that were won easily. I hope you will enjoy the touching moments live at the venue.
Currently, the circumstances of the two teams in the finals aren't great.
As you all know, something both teams have in common is that they have both gone into receivership.
Other points of interest could also be that they have the longest serving coaches, and that it's been 10 years since they've been to a finals.
We are at an important crossroads with these finals.
Rather than just being about the two teams in the finals, it could also decide how much weight is given to Starcraft 2 in progaming teams, and representatives are sure to watch how much of an audience the game can pull.
During the last year, I felt that the crowds have shrunk significantly.
Of course, I also felt envious of the much larger crowds for LOL.
With these finals as a starting point, I expect that a large wind of change will come for Starcraft 2, and that we will also have to prepare a lot.
Now I will end this post with an introduction of Woongjin's key players.
free, who used to be mocked as the tail of the Six Dragons, has come to life. I'm sure there are many who miss the old gamers. free is still alive and kicking.
Soulkey, who showed potential in BW, has become the ace. You'll have to come to see whether he'll be able to become the final ace in SC2 too.
ZerO, who cried after suffering a comeback loss to Jangbi in the final BW semi finals,
Light, who is Woongjin's brain and veteran of comebacks.
Flying, who felt lost after his team disbanded has also pulled himself together.
Our second ace, sOs, who captured my interest with just one match and has proven that my judgement was not wrong.
Bravo, who has the highest win rate this season,
and Organ who has shown potential after returning from the air force...
I hope that August 3rd will be the day we recapture the glory of our past victories...
and politely request that the many PGR members come to the venue.
p.s:
Since I had no pictures, I just uploaded the picture I use on my desktop. Since I use it so repeatedly there's nothing else.
I'm very thankful to the person who made this picture. It's a picture I've looked at for 10 years whenever things get tough.
Many former Hanbit and Woongjin players are planning to come to cheer us on. You'll be able to see many familiar faces.
If you're curious about requesting a seat, https://www.facebook.com/pages/Woongjin-Stars/372930209487353
We're holding a supporter event on the Woongjin Stars facebook page, so you can apply and receive a souvenir.
My heart is fluttering like a bachelor getting married in two days. Whether we win or lose, we'll prepare hard to make it the best finals ever.
(Even though our goal is to win..^^)
I hope everyone has a great night!! Oh yeah!! The venue is Jamsil Student's Gymnasium!!!
http://place.map.daum.net/17574911 <--- Click here if you don't know where that is! It's at 5PM.
Source: http://pgr21.com/pb/pb.php?id=free2&no=51821&category=4