We are the Generation of Irony. And by irony I don’t mean the relatively harmless, absurd attitude of the hipster subculture. Rather, I’m referring the deep cynicism and distrust that comes from too much knowledge and too little control. We have more access to more information than at any other time in human history; it tells us that disillusionment abounds in an absurd world and there’s little we can do about it. Lies, half-truths, broken promises, and ignorance are prevalent at all levels of society. Sarcasm in this case is self-defense. It protects us from judgment, commitment and the pain of ruined expectations. This attitude leaks into everything, even our little beloved microcosm called the SC2 scene.
Take for example Polt’s games at the WCS America Finals. Pay the slightest bit of attention and you’ll hear the loud “USAUSAUSA” chants in the background. Usually that mantra is saved for all the good foreigners, the ones that aren’t from the U.S. After all, that’s the joke. Real enthusiasm for our local players would require us to acknowledge the serious hurdles for them to be good: paltry competition, meager resources for cultivating up-and-coming recruits, a lack of a strong tournament scene, poor internet infrastructure to cover the entire country, etc. Even as new players like Scarlett and Suppy are proving themselves, the overall strength of the North America scene has been falling behind Korean and Europe for a while. The depressing reality would be enough to make any non-Korean player palatable if only he/she could break their monolithic hegemony. Of course such enthusiasm would be a clear acknowledgement of the sad desperation in the first place…unless it was delivered with a wink.
Yet here we are, the chants drowning out everything except the commentators. They aren’t limited to victory cheers after Polt walks out the booth. They start randomly when his name is announced at the beginning of the game, after he wins a decisive engagement, as he is preparing for the next series. Roars of real enthusiasm accompany him after every win. Even the cheerfuls and memes are coming out in full force.
It’s another strange twist in the life of Choi Sung Hun. Few players have transitioned into so many roles or resisted the change that normally comes with such change. He started out as a former WC3 semi-pro, a micro Terran with some innovative builds and a mysterious ability to demolish MC at every turn. He was the arrogant fool who badmouthed Jinro, the mediocre terran who existed to test the new blood along with Ensnare, and then the Super Tournament winner who beat all odds. When he transferred to The SCV Life, Polt became “that guy who doesn’t play zerg”. He’s been the wandering world warrior, Stephano’s mirror and nemesis, the short Korean with comprehensible English, and the fourth Triple Crown winner in history. Today he is a Korean pro player who is also America’s great hope in this upcoming tournament. The claim is ridiculous and hyperbolic and completely appropriate all at the same time.
Polt has remained mostly the same. He is still a LensCrafters model, although not as statuesque as your classic Anglo-Saxon man. Just like at the TSL house, he practices rigorously every day lest his skills start to decline. His growing mastery of English has come with a swelling confidence in his stage demeanor. Today he doesn’t need a translator to express his excitement in somewhat stilted yet coherent English; he doesn’t really care about occasionally missing an article or preposition. As always he is generous to a fault and open to casual conversation. When he’s not wearing a hoodie he returns to his greatest weakness, high-collar jackets. He is smiling the great majority of the time.
Perhaps that is why unconditional support for Polt is so easy. In a world where Koreans are overly protective of their emotions and foreigners are largely bad at conveying them, Polt makes us feel like we know him. He smiles and laughs, moves his hands around, celebrates with fist pumps i.e. he acts like a human being who happens to play StarCraft as a profession instead of a StarCraft player that tries to be a human being in his spare time. Add that he is a champion without the arrogance, detachment, or sacrifice of personality that often comes with the profession and you have a true winner in the PR department. Instead of cheering for someone we admire, it can feel like cheering for someone we know.
This is the most intriguing narrative of the whole tournament. Koreans have been classically judged in two ways: are they playing for us or are they playing against us? Even those who choose foreigner teams are regarded as fish out of water, pursuing opportunities that we simply unavailable back home. So what about a guy who lives here, enjoys living here, and enjoys interacting with people who live here? Does being Korean really make a difference when our investment starts to become something more than nationality? Sure we’re repeating the USA chat with a measure of ironic detachment, but it’s becoming awfully enjoyable to do so.
WCS Season II Finals: Ro16 Group B Preview
Polt, First, Bomber, Grubby
With no Zergs in this group, spectators can avoid the question of TvZ imbalance for at least a couple hours. Instead, enjoy the inevitable complaints that will come with lategame TvP. Grubby and IM_First like to push it to the lategame so we’ll probably see the power of colossus + HT compositions at least once.
Most eyes will be fixated on CMStorm_Polt in this group. Coming off his dominant victory in the North America finals, he is a clear favorite to go deep in the Season 2 finals. He has looked nearly invincible in TvZ and TvP, so it is a matter of fortune that he is initially paired against First. This matchup only works for Polt as a matter of principle though. First is notorious for his very different approach to PvT and it’s possible that Polt will be caught off guard as he is preparing for a standard game. Polt’s style of forcing a succession of attacks ought to match up well against First’s ability to scatter his opponent with multipronged aggression, and this could possibly be the best series of the night.
Speaking of First, what happened to the hype for this guy? Buzz was quite strong when he was making a fool out of Fantasy and ruling the GSTL with an iron fist, but things have substantially quieted down after his unimpressive loss in the Ro8. For many people that loss signified the end of an abnormal run that could explained by a combination of great play and bad play from the opposition. For the most part, First has not entered the conversation as a threat to the title. While I don’t believe he will make top 4 at this time, he should be favored over Grubby in the mirror matchup and a Bomber without preparation. I expect First to be eager for a rematch against the man who knocked him out of the OSL.
Meanwhile ST_Bomber will be looking to get out this group as quickly as possible. After an OSL run that confirmed everything we loved and hated about his career, StarTale’s most consistent-yet-inconsistent player is looking forward to a bit of redemption. Fortunately he has a strong chance of advancing through as long as he avoids too many TvPs, a matchup that he says makes him uncomfortable, despite his stellar record. Bomber should be favored against Grubby (perhaps with a bit of hesitation) just on the virtue of accomplishments alone, while he may not have to face First at all. He ought to be also slightly favored against Polt due to his general TvT record and the enormous threats he has taken out lately. However this is assuming that Bomber will display the same level of skill that he demonstrated in the OSL. With no way to know whether he will deal with Polt or First at all, Bomber lacks the preparation to demonstrate the same savvy builds.
Finally, we come to Grubby. Let’s not understate it: this is quite the momentous occasion for him. For most of WoL Grubby was defined as the quintessential mean of tournament play: beating him was a rite of passage necessary to cement oneself in the ranks of the European elite. But after a great run in WCS Europe and an underrated performance in the IEM Shanghai qualifier, our lovable EU representative is getting dangerously close to exceeding his own reputation. His PvP has been like shooting crows in the dark but his PvT is looking the best it has ever been in HotS. If he gets out of this stacked group, the ‘Grubby line’ might need to be passed off to someone more worthy of the moniker.
Bomber’s mind will be the defining factor of this group. His performance is largely dependent on mindset and when he doubts himself, it can lead to some very ugly results. Out of the three Koreans here he can be the worst as well as the best (sometimes on the same day). His latest failures in the TvP matchup make me feel that he might resort to more wacky strategies that will fail him in the end. And while Grubby may be earning his way out of a personal meme, is surpassing Grubby’s line good enough to beat two OSL Ro8 players and a WCS champion? …Nah.
Polt > First Bomber > Grubby Polt > Bomber Grubby < First Bomber < First
I hope he does well and Im sure he will make it far, but for some strange reason, I want him to lose LOL. He is just so damn good, plus maybe because he bested Jaedong.
I have to say, I've always loved Polt no matter what was going on around him because he always showed brains and brawn (in the form of micro brawn). Two things I think Starcraft 2 should very much be about. And this kid delivers nonstop. Excellent write up by the way. Can't wait to see what happens. If a Terran must win one more big tournament, let it be Polt!
I can't help but love Polt and root for him. What an excellent article! I was filled with tension and strife while reading it, but I couldn't help smiling at the same time. So ironic and hyperbolic.
I do miss Polt's stream, though. That's the one down side to him being so successful in these tournaments.
Go, Polt! Go, USA! Go, Team Liquid! Go, Starcraft 2!
On August 23 2013 12:08 highsis wrote: I swear T will win anyway.
To elaborate: not strong protoss figure to defeat Rain or Polt.
Too many good vPer terrans
Zergs don't stand a chance vs top tier terrans
On top of that Terran buff incoming.
Yeah most likely a Terran will win, and I'm expecting Bomber/Polt to advance from group B. However, I'd also keep an eye on First. He's demonstrated some monstrous skill in the past, but he never keeps it up for too long. Being a weekend tournament though, this might just be his cup of tea to win.
Rooting for bomber and grubby.Polt will get exposed by bomber.He can win against lesser koreans but not against osl semifinalist type ones.Also I know grubby does not not have much chances but I am rooting for him.Hopefully he can pull an upset.
great write up, i love the dichotomy of polt. first i thought of him as an honorary zerg in the swarm life, and now an honorary american lol. plus he is living in my state so i always have to cheer the home town hero!
polt and bomber to advance. i like first but both those terrans are world class when they are on
That's good writing right there. Well done. Aside from Boxer and Flash, just because of who they are, I've never really felt like I could really get behind a player until Polt. Love this fucking guy.
You can't say "Choi Sung Hun" btw, either go Seong Hun or Sung Hoon... If you say Sung Hun it suggests that it's the same vowel, which it is not. (And yeah, I'm the only one who cares about this, but I care deeeeeply so it's still ok)
Polt and Bomber i think. I think, though, that both protosses have chances (if First goes god mode like he did vs FanTaSy or if Grubby prepares some sick cheese builds).
i have 3 absolute-favorite players (used to be four but that french dude retired t.t). Grubby and Bomber are two of them. Polt is closely behind the top 3. First is on my favorite team AND one of the players i like most on it. in other words, fuck this group.
As long as Polt makes it out, I'm happy. Bomber in second would be cool.
I really hope First goofs about and loses everything. I feel his PvT is overrated, with his reputation being based on mauling Fantasy, which isn't a big feat these days.
Bomber's really good in TvT. Polt's as good if not better. He's a master of bio-tank.
Bomber's good in Korea, Polt outside of it. Polt beating Bomber will be an upset but at the same time Polt beating First will be an upset so maybe the two terrans will never play.
I just want to say: Props to the writers. CosmicSpiral. this is the best text I've read in a long time. I love this statment because it's what I've been thinking about alot but could never articulate.
We are the Generation of Irony. And by irony I don’t mean the relatively harmless, absurd attitude of the hipster subculture. Rather, I’m referring the deep cynicism and distrust that comes from too much knowledge and too little control.
We are the Generation of Irony. And by irony I don’t mean the relatively harmless, absurd attitude of the hipster subculture. Rather, I’m referring the deep cynicism and distrust that comes from too much knowledge and too little control. We have more access to more information than at any other time in human history; it tells us that disillusionment abounds in an absurd world and there’s little we can do about it. Lies, half-truths, broken promises, and ignorance are prevalent at all levels of society. Sarcasm in this case is self-defense. It protects us from judgment, commitment and the pain of ruined expectations. This attitude leaks into everything
I'm really sad about the state of the NA SC2 community but isn't all this self pitiness getting a bit too "mainstream" or common ? Isn't all about it on TL at the moment ? .