Shinhan Proleague 08-09 4th Round Team Analyses

◆ Ranked 1 Hwaseung Oz 23-10
▶ Strengths:
As is evident from their current ranking, Hwaseung is a powerful contender for the victory. Hwaseung’s strongest point is that they possess “Tyrant” Jaedong. Jaedong, who is assessed as the best zerg at the moment, won the past Batoo OSL and rose to the ranks of bonjwa. Jaedong is strong against all three races and is able to control both his management and strategy without any weaknesses. Because his condition is very good, we’ll probably see him very active in the 4th round as well.

HiyA’s presence on the team is Hwaseung’s strength as well. Though he didn’t show this in the 1st and 2nd rounds, in the 3rd round he performed an all-kill and three 3-kills and served as the team’s ace. If HiyA can perform well in the 4th round just as he did in the 3rd round, Hwaseung will not have to worry about the strength that was lost with fOrGG’s transfer.

▶ Weaknesses
Compared to the strong terran line and Jaedong holding up the zerg line, the vulnerable area is definitely the Protoss line which is their weakness. With Anytime’s entry into the army, Hwaseung tried to fill up their leakage of strength with BackHo, but failed. Afterwards, when BackHo injured his waist, he broke away from the team’s strength, and as a substitute Young was used but likewise, he was unable to show results.

Currently Hwaseung has three protoss – BackHo, Young, and Spear, but because all 3 players still have a lot of areas they need to work on, it doesn’t seem as though they will be of immediate help to the team’s strength yet. Because in the 4th round all races have to be used, it is urgent they work on strengthening their protoss line.

▶ Player to look out for – Lomo
The player to look out for in the 4th round is terran line’s Lomo. With fOrGG’s transfer, what was once a 3-terran set-up converted to a two top terran line-up and it is the truth that the team rose one step higher because of this. Although Hwaseung has a definite 1 win from Jaedong and HiyA, because this is not the WL format anymore, the fact they have a variety of players to choose from is an advantage.

Lomo’s 08-09 stats are 7-11 which is not good. However, he has a huge amount of potential to grow so good performances in the 4th round are anticipated. If Lomo can successfully fill in fOrGG’s empty spot, Hwaseung will have a simple road.

Original Korean Article:
+ Show Spoiler +

◆ Ranked 2 Samsung Khan 20-13
Although in the Winners League they didn’t show impressive results and therefore, didn’t get to the postseason, Samsung Khan is still strong as ever in 2nd place. However, they can’t feel secure. CJ, STX, and SK Telecom are right behind Samsung Khan with records of 19-14 each. If they don’t show their solid strength like they did in the 1st and 2nd rounds, they might have to give up their high rank.

▶ Strengths:
Samsung Khan’s strength is their protoss line of Jangbi-Stork and the fact that the Winners League format has changed back to Proleague. In the Winner’s League, Bisu (SK Telecom) had numerous wins; though Stork somewhat slumped, because Jangbi did really well he was able to secure Samsung Khan’s pride. Stork was able to show he was still good through the Lost Saga MSL. Also, Coach KimGaEul’s special choice in player line-ups will prove to show that the proleague is where Samsung Khan is at its prime.

▶ Weaknesses
Irony lies in the fact that among their weaknesses is the fact that the team’s core is their protoss line. The 4th round introduces new maps that may prove to be disadvantageous to protoss. Samsung Khan’s protoss line will have to heavily analyze the new maps. Another weakness is Samsung Khan’s terran line. Though their ongoing weak zerg line is also a problem, their new, strong player great is comparatively stabilizing the line with his performances. However, in the Winner’s League, with firebathero’s slump, the terran line’s rapid collapse is Samsung Khan’s greatest weakness.

▶ Player to look out for – firebathero
Among the Samsung Khan players, the player to look out for most is “Dark Commander” firebathero. In the winner’s league format where the a player can receive the most limelight, firebathero who loves putting on ceremonies was unable to gain any attention at all. There is a lot of interest to see whether he will be able to show his tingling ceremonies once more. In order for Samsung Khan to show their strength as they did in the 1st and 2nd rounds of the 2008 and 2007 seasons, firebathero's revival is urgent.

Original Korean Article
+ Show Spoiler +

◆ Ranked 3 CJ Entus 19-14
▶ Strengths:
CJ Entus’s biggest strength is that their roster has depth.

In contrast to other teams who have a special ace player who stands out compared to their teammates, in CJ Entus’s case, in each race they have at least two strong players ready in the line-up so they are rich in the players they can use. Moreover, with terran’s Iris-sKyHigh, protoss’s Much-Movie, zerg’s sAviOr-EffOrt, they have an old and new player harmony which makes it highly believable that no matter what team CJ Entus plays they won’t be pushed over.

On top of that, CJ Entus won the 3rd round (Winner’s League) finals, so as the 4th round starts, they are in top condition as well as confident, so in many different ways the team’s spirits are high which is another great strength.

▶ Weaknesses:
Because they have such great strengths, it is hard to find a weakness that stands out right away. However, when looking at the past 1st, 2nd, and 3rd rounds, perhaps it’s because of the new, strong players' power, but Much and sAviOr among others who once were the senior players that led the team have been very inconsistent which is something they need to work on.

▶ Players to look out for – sKyHigh, EffOrt, Movie
First off, the Winners League reversal hero, terran sKyHigh can be chosen first. Throughout the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd round sKyHigh has sufficiently proven his abilities, and with his reversal all-kill against Hwaseung, he earned experience and went sKyHigh (t/n: pun intended hehe) in confidence. Looking at potential alone, it seems highly possible he will rise past being CJ’s ace to being eSport’s ace player.

Although EffOrt wasn’t able to show great results compared to expectations, because of that he is definitely thirsting for wins even more. If he takes his past experiences and shows matured gameplay, he will easily be able to become a definite card for a win. As expected, in the protoss line, high hopes lie in Movie.

Original Korean Article:
+ Show Spoiler +

◆ Ranked 4 STX Soul 19-14
▶ Strengths:
STX Soul’s greatest strength is that they are doing well in complying to the regular season’s requirement that all races are obligated to play.

The players that helped the team’s consistence are zerg’s Calm and the great sniper and God of War July who never became timid no matter who the opponent was, and one of the 6 dragons Kal – these players and more are the reason why STX Soul was able to have such good results in the proleague. Along with the fact that as time goes on, the new players’ talents are only increasing, the fact that the players’ strengthening teamwork lies beneath their wholehearted assistance to one another also gives STX Soul a bright future.

▶ Weaknesses:
First off, among the figurehead players, Hwasin is showing a lot of inconsistence lately that has led to increased danger in the terran line. Though new player Notice has been receiving a lot of attention, STX needs a more dependable ace card than Hwasin – gaining a strong ace is a condition that is necessary for STX if they want to advance.

▶ Player to look out for – by.hero, Notice, Bogus, Modesty
There is high anticipation for zerg by.hero who overcame Bisu (SK Telecom) in the Batoo OSL to regularly enter the proleague. Aside from by.hero, terran Notice who gained prominence in the Winners League and Bogus, and also new player zerg Modesty who was recently interviewed, should all be looked out for.

Original Korean Interview:
+ Show Spoiler +

◆ Ranked 5 SK Telecom T1 19-14
▶ Strengths:
SK Telecom’s greatest strength is the protoss line that is led by ‘Revolutionist’ Bisu and ‘Monster’ BeSt. SK Telecom’s protoss have played a total of 85 sets up until the 3rd round – the stats are 60-25 making a startling winning percentage of 70.6%. Among the 12 progaming teams and the 3 races, they easily have the highest winning rate by exceeding 70%.

In the 3rd round, by playing more actively Bisu secured 20 wins and with a record of 35-9 became 2nd in number of total wins. BeSt, in the 3rd round, was unable to adapt to the Winners League format and more or less slumped with a 4-8 record but up until the 2nd round where the regulation that each race must play applied, he had a record of 20-6 which was the greatest number of wins on his team at the time.

Also, SK Telecom has Canata (v. terran), Bisu (v. zerg), BeSt (v. protoss) and more who with their race specialty gameplay create a group of boastful players that is also a strong point. If these players can be arranged appropriately against the opponent teams’ ace players, the team’s management can become one step more resilient.

▶ Weaknesses:
SK Telecom’s Achilles heel is their zerg line. SK Telecom’s zerg line in the 1st round played 13 games and lost every single one of them to form the worst slump of 0% winning rate, and in the 2nd round although they showed a bit of recovery with 5-7 41.7% winning rate, in the 3rd round they stopped at 2-4 with a rate of 33.3% to create a total game record of 7-24 with a low winning rate of 22.6%.

In the Winners League format 3rd round, because the protoss and terran showed strong play, the slumping zerg line was unable to have much of an influence on the team’s results. However, in the 4th round the regulation that all races must play will be revived so if the three race balance collapses, there could be grave effects on the team results. As a matter of fact, because of SK Telecom’s zero wins in the 1st round and low winning rate of 4-7, there was a time when the team was ranked 10th.

▶ Player to look out for – HyuK, thezerg, BoxeR
In order for SK Telecom to do well in the 4th round, the most important players are definitely the zerg line. In the latter half of the 1st round, thezerg was brought over from MBC Game, and then after gorush enlisted in the airforce, the four players HyuK, s2, thezerg, and Rumble began to play matches. However, the results up until now are 7-24 with a shabby win rate of 22.6%. In order for SK Telecom that is currently ranked 5th to climb higher, it is urgent that the zerg line start performing well.

Particularly among these players, the ones to be talked about are HyuK and thezerg. In the 4th round, SK Telecom only chose HyuK and thezerg for the April roster among the zerg players. The April roster is effective until it expires May 1st, and until then, in the 4 matches SK Telecom will play, these players must show good results to lead the 4th round with a good atmosphere for the team.

Besides the zerg line, another player to look out for on SK Telecom is ‘The Emperor’ BoxeR. After he was discharged from the airforce, on January 17th he had his comeback match but afterwards he never played again. Although BoxeR dropped out of the MSL Prelims that took place 2 days ago, because he showed potential up until the finals, depending on the amount of effort he exerts, his appearance in the proleague will be highly anticipated.

Indeed, how fast eSport’s first 30’s progamer who is leading his team as the oldest hyung will be able to play in the proleague, and if so, what kind of gameplay he will show, is an issue that is gaining much focus.

Original Korean Article
+ Show Spoiler +

◆ Ranked 5 Hite Sparkyz 18-15
▶ Strengths:
Hite Sparkyz’s strength lies in Coach LeeMyungGeun’s tactics and strategy and the player’s efficient teamwork.

Last season they made it to the finals, and in this 08-09 season as well Sparkyz are not showing bad results either. Starting with Luxury’s transfer and then on top of that Shine’s, although there was a loss of strength, the remaining players worked even harder and with their intricate teamwork were able to become a step more solid.

▶ Weaknesses:
Compared to Yarnc and Leta’s strength in their respective zerg and terran lines, it is the truth that protoss line is as uneasy as ever. With senior retired player Zeus recently becoming a coach and with Chalrenge being in a long slump, it is urgent that Horang2, Tazza, and herb as 3 new players grow.

▶ Player to look out for – Leta, Horang2, Tazza
The player that has the most attention is unsurprisingly, ‘Miracle Boy’ Leta. After recently enduring the pain of dropping out of the individual leagues, whether or not he will be able to use that as a growing experience to show a more mature player remains highly anticipated. Besides being his team’s ace, he still needs to grow if he upgrade to be a true star player. Also, the new protoss players Horang2 and Tazza with a combination of skills and star quality are gaining a lot of attention from fans.

Original Korean Article:
+ Show Spoiler +

◆ Ranked 7 Woongjin Stars 18-15
In the Winners League, the team that suffered most was Woongjin. Woongjin definitely had the strength and potential to advance to the Winners League post-season. However, in the last match of the regular season against STX they were caught and ended up having to walk away from the playoffs that were right in front of their noses. Therefore for the 4th round Woongjin is preparing for the ‘endless run’ that is ahead of them.

▶ Strengths:
One of Woongjin’s strengths is their recently changed ‘resolute heart’. After their founding, in order to earn their first victory they played through the Winners League and reached the doorstep of the playoffs only to have to turn their footsteps around. Because of that, Woongjin players and coaching staff have gained a more resolute heart for the 4th round. Recently in the MSL Prelims, no less than 5 players qualified for the Survivor Tournament to prove that their ‘resolute heart’ is gradually taking effect.

▶ Weaknesses:
As ever, the weakness is the terran line. Free and GeumChi who secure the protoss line and GGPlay and ZerO who secure the zerg line are still very strong. Though PianO performed an all-kill in the Winners League and qualified in the MSL Prelims and is fast growing, the other terran players need to rapidly grow as well. Also, the ace players who are often beat and perform under expectations need to fix their inconsistence.

▶ Player to look out for – PianO
Unsurprisingly, it’s PianO. In the Winners League he explosively showed his potential by all-killing KTF and because of him, Woongjin’s terran line with a record of 13-22 was able to ‘revive’ their stats a bit. PianO is not just getting noticed in Woongjin but in all of eSports. This is due to his clean, goodlooking appearance. In order for Woongjin to win and gain more fame, PianO must continue to perform well.

Original Korean Interview:
+ Show Spoiler +

◆ Ranked 8 KTF MagicNs 17-16
▶ Strengths:
As KTF went through the 3rd round of the Winners League, they have strengthened a step up. Along with the team’s consistent ace ‘Ultimate Weapon’ Flash, Luxury who recently won the Lost Saga MSL and is now regarded as a top tier zerg – his great performance has stabilized KTF a level. Also, Hoejja who can backup Luxury became KTF’s welcome rain after a drought of having no players to send into matches.

fOrGG and Shine’s recruitment into the team also played a role in strengthening the team. With Shine and fOrGG added to KTF’s terran line, they are setting up for one of the best terran lines among the 12 teams. Shine who was in a bit of a slump recently qualified for the MSL Prelims and is little by little showing better performances, keeping his performance in the 4th round highly anticipated.

▶ Weaknesses:
Compared to their strong terran line and comfortable zerg line, their unreliable protoss line continues to be KTF’s weakness. With Reach and Nal_Ra leaving the team, the remaining hole has never been properly filled. LuCifer, Tempest, Violet, and Stats make up the protoss line but among these players there is not one who is doing his part in the proleague. In order for KTF to ride the momentum in the 4th round, it is urgent they shed the slumping protoss line.

▶ Player to look out for – Flash, Luxury, fOrGG
The issue of how much destructive power the Flash-Luxury-fOrGG three punch will generate is of high focus right now. Because these three players each have individual league titles, their amazing performances in the proleague are highly anticipated. These three players’ huge presence is bursting forth such that the protoss line’s slumping state is not felt as much.

The question of whether or not HoeJJa will continue to perform has gathered interest as well. After defeating Bisu (SK Telecom) in the Winners League post-season, it seemed his nerves for broadcasted matches had gone away, and he made up for his weak zerg play as well to be a strong backup for Luxury. If HoeJJa continues to play well into the 4th round, Coach LeeJiHoon will be able to show even more diverse roster entries.

Original Korean Interview:
+ Show Spoiler +

◆ Ranked 9 MBC Game Hero 16-17
MBC Game is a team that is a physical representation of failing to do well in Winners League. Before Winners League started MBC Game was highly ranked but after Winners League finished, they dropped near the bottom of rankings. Now that the format has reverted to proleague, MBC Game has a long way to go. Because of Winners League, many teams have surpassed them and the gap in results has widened considerably as well.

▶ Strengths:
Sea and Light push and stimulate each other and in doing so secure the terran line which is MBC Game’s biggest strength. It is clear Sea was in a slump for the latter half of the 2nd round and during the Winners League. However, as Sea slumped, Light performed well and led MBC Game. Although it’s true Sea wasn’t performing well, he did perform an all-kill during Winners League and in the proleague proved himself to be a great terran, so the Light-Sea terran combo is proving to be MBC Game’s sense of security that is one of the greatest among all progaming teams.

▶ Weaknesses:
Honestly, excluding the terran line, MBC Game is as a whole in a grave situation. In the 1st and 2nd round, Saint and Pusan performed well and led the team when in the 3rd round, they fell into a deep slump. With both these players slumping, if the other players had stepped up, MBC Game would definitely not have earned such low results that aren’t fitting of their team. The fact that the substitute players weren’t able to display their strength was MBC Game’s weakness. In this second half of the season, it is important they focus on how to fix those components.

▶ Players to look out for – Sea, HyuN
Although he doesn’t have bad results, Sea who has messed up his image as one of the greatest terran is now pushing forward in practice so that Coach KimHyukSub’s expectations for him have risen. Sea is practicing just as hard if not harder as any other player, and preparing for the 4th round.

HyuN is also a player to look out for. Because Saint and Shark have not done their share, there is a high chance HyuN will be promoted in the midst of these players. If he can learn to control his special aggressive style of play, he could quite possibly become the savior (t/n: pun unintended) of MBC Game’s zerg line.

Original Korean Article:
+ Show Spoiler +

◆ Ranked 10 WeMade Fox 14-19
▶ Strengths:
WeMade’s greatest strength is that the players each had comparatively fair records. Mind, RorO, and keke had more than 10 kills and led the team in wins, while Nada and Shine[kaL] supported them with 8 kills. The team’s baby BaBy also had 2 wins, doing his own share for the team as well.

Not placing too much emphasis on a player can be a team’s strength as well as its weakness. If a player starts under performing, another player can easily fill in and utilize the advantage that way, whereas if a strong ace performed badly, it could exert bad influence on the team’s chances of winning. If WeMade’s aces Mind, RorO, keke each play consistently well, then the team can aim to jump higher in the 4th round.

▶ Weaknesses:
The fact that WeMade does not have a single player that can be responsible for a victory is the team's greatest weakness. Mind who was once responsible for victories fell into a slump and the team’s strength weakened. Though RorO-keke-Shine[kal] fought hard as the zerg line, the hole created by the Ace’s slump was not easily filled. If WeMade wants to change their atmosphere, ace player Mind needs to step up once again.

The protoss line’s collapse also stands out as a weakness. In the past Pure along with Rock and HerO were utilized as an apt protoss line. However, in the 08-09 season, Pure and Rock fell into deep slumps while HerO retired, creating a huge issue for the protoss line. Because WeMade does not have any other able protoss players besides these 3, the lack of play from these three can be seen as the reason for the protoss line’s loss of strength. Right now as the 4th round is about to begin, WeMade’s biggest issue can be seen as their slumping protoss line.

▶ Player to look out for – Mind, RorO
The players that are most anticipated for this 4th round are ace player Mind and zerg RorO. Just as Mind needs to start taking responsibility for WeMade’s victories again, a lot of responsibility has been demanded of him. Because he wasn’t able to show this in the 3rd round, it is expected he will show great effort in the 4th round. Since WeMade has had a lot of practice time since the 3rd round ended, there has been plenty of time for Mind to shed his slumping state.

RorO is also a player to consider. In the beginning of the season he had a series of consecutive wins and gained much attention but afterwards, he began to lose repeatedly and showed regretful performances. However, he has a lot of potential to grow and recently he has been showing good results in his team ranking so his performances are highly anticipated. For WeMade, if Mind can have a revival and RorO can start performing the way he did in the beginning of the season, then in the 4th round the team can definitely change things for the better.

Original Korean Interview:
+ Show Spoiler +