Once the former franchise star of the Woongjin Stars organization, Yoon 'Free' Yong-tae has announced his retirement after failing to be claimed through waivers.
On the first of October, it was announced that Woongjin will be releasing all but two players, Soulkey and sOs, due to financial problems with the company. As a result, ZerO and PianO have moved to broadcasting Brood War on Afreeca, BrAvO was picked up as a practice partner with SK Telecom T1 and Aria, Hanbin and now free, have completely retired from Starcraft 2.
Unlike some of his teammates, Free, for the meantime, won't be moving straight to the Afreeca scene. He will most likely move on from the e-Sports world and look towards a new path after his military service.
From what I know, no team showed interest in Free mainly because of his age and his rather mediocrity. He apparently still wants to play the game professionally, but rather than going to afreeca to stream, he'd rather find a job in the computer science? field.
웅진은 지난 10월 1일 대규모 웨이버 공시를 통해 김민철, 김유진을 제외한 윤용태, 김명운, 노준규, 임진묵, 송광호, 조한빈 등 6명의 선수들을 방출 시켰다. 모기업의 경영난 악화로 인해 웅진은 선수들을 모두 데리고 있을 여유가 없다고 판단해 이 같은 결정을 내렸고 가장 나중까지 거취가 결정되지 않았던 윤용태는 결국 은퇴했다.
웅진에서 웨이버 공시된 선수들 가운데 김명운이 가장 먼저 은퇴를 선언했고 이후 임진묵이 은퇴하며 아프리카에서 스타크래프트:브루드워(이하 스타1) 방송을 시작하겠다는 의사를 페이스북으로 전했다. 노준규는 SK텔레콤 T1에 입단했으며 연습생이었던 송광호, 조한빈 등은 은퇴할 것으로 알려졌다.
이후 윤용태만이 거취가 결정되지 않아 팬들의 궁금증을 자아냈던 상황. 윤용태는 접촉해 오는 팀을 기다렸지만 나이가 많은 상황에서 윤용태를 원하는 팀이 없었고 더 이상 기다리지 않고 은퇴를 하는 것이 맞다고 판단한 것으로 알려졌다.
윤용태는 은퇴한 다른 선수들이 아프리카 TV를 통해 스타1으로 복귀한 것과 달리 더 이상 게임을 하지 않겠다는 의사를 전했다. 윤용태는 컴퓨터 관련 자격증을 취득한 뒤 새로운 길을 걸을 것으로 보인다.
윤용태는 "내 의지로 은퇴한 것이 아니고 아직까지 게임에 대한 열정이 남은 상태에서 은퇴를 하게 돼 아쉬움이 크다"며 "그동안 응원해 주신 팬들께 인사도 못하고 은퇴하는 것 같아 더욱 아쉬운 마음이 든다"고 말했다.
[데일리e스포츠 이소라 기자 sora@dailyesports.com]
On October 1st, Woongjin released 6 players (Free, ZerO, hOn_sin aka Bravo, Piano, Aria, Hanbin). This decision was unavoidable as the parent management was forced to downsize due to financial woes. Free, who has been hanging in the limbo since then, finally announced his retirement.
Of the released players, Zero was the first to announce retirement. Piano followed shortly and expressed his intent to broadcast SCBW on his personal stream. Bravo was picked up by SKT1. The [B-teamers / practice partners] Aria and Hanbin are expected to retire.
Fans have since then waited for Free make an announcement regarding his future. [It's now known that] Free waited a few days for teams to make last-minute offers, but none came [for various reasons, his age being one of them] so he decided to finally retire.
Unlike many other retirees before him, Free expressed his intent to step away from gaming / Afreeca streaming. His plan seems to be to attain computers-related licenses as he will pursue that path.
Free said, "There is a lot of regrets [and bitter feelings] because I have to retire while I still have a lot of passion for gaming. It doesn't feel like I'm making a proper goodbye to my fans [which further burdens my heart]."
On November 12 2013 00:01 glzElectromaster wrote: From what I know, no team showed interest in Free mainly because of his age and his rather mediocrity. He apparently still wants to play the game professionally, but rather than going to afreeca to stream, he'd rather find a job in the computer science? field.
Or so I read on StarCraft Times.
If that's true, I'm disappointed. free actually did quite well in the latest Proleague, and I think he could be a valuable asset to a lot of teams.
On November 12 2013 00:01 glzElectromaster wrote: From what I know, no team showed interest in Free mainly because of his age and his rather mediocrity. He apparently still wants to play the game professionally, but rather than going to afreeca to stream, he'd rather find a job in the computer science? field.
Or so I read on StarCraft Times.
It's a smart choice. streaming on afreeca is only delaying the inevitable need to get a proper job that can support his living. I think some may be able to make a small living but it is much better to get a full time job because the skills are more transferable between jobs.
No foreign team tried to sign him? this seems much sadder than other retirements since he still wants to play professionally. So sad. GL with life Free.
On November 12 2013 00:56 XiaoJoyce- wrote: Only 2 players? All but 2 players?
Wow, the Kespa team is cumbling, how is SPL coming?
They already said that a while back though. They have several of the eSF teams entering the fold.
I'm actually quite curious as to whether they dropped the registration fee for Proleague. If I remember correctly from the articles about EG-TL entering Proleague, that fee isn't just small change, and I honestly don't see ESF teams being able to shoulder it easily. On the other hand, Proleague does offer them a regular stage to promote themselves, so it has that going for it (unlike GSTL which runs incredibly short compared to it).
edit: Anyways, I wish him best of luck in his future endeavors. If he is only willing to put in half the effort he put in as a progamer, then he'll undoubtedly be successful whatever he ends up doing.
Worth mentioning that Free was a force to be reckoned with in Proleague. He went a respectable 25-15 overall, holding a winning record in all matchups. For a little perspective, Soulkey, regarded as WJS best player (maybe not in proleague and maybe not anymore because sOs ) only went 26-15 overall in Proleague.
Kinda surprised he didn't get picked up if he was really looking for a team, but best of luck to him.
On November 12 2013 00:56 XiaoJoyce- wrote: Only 2 players? All but 2 players?
Wow, the Kespa team is cumbling, how is SPL coming?
They already said that a while back though. They have several of the eSF teams entering the fold.
Wasn't there recently this pro gamer conference where IM, Prime and MVP were in attendance alongside the KeSPA teams? (the one which had both SC2 and LoL players there and a bunch of funny pictures). I think that was what pretty much confirmed those teams for PL. Although you should have said ex-eSF teams then.
However, Woongjin can't possibly participate in the upcoming PL then? With 2 players on their roster. It would be so strange to have a KeSPA team not participate at all. Or maybe they will just merge with another team for their ProLeague participation. (i.e. something like Woongjin.Prime)
On November 12 2013 00:56 XiaoJoyce- wrote: Only 2 players? All but 2 players?
Wow, the Kespa team is cumbling, how is SPL coming?
They already said that a while back though. They have several of the eSF teams entering the fold.
Wasn't there recently this pro gamer conference where IM, Prime and MVP were in attendance alongside the KeSPA teams? (the one which had both SC2 and LoL players there and a bunch of funny pictures). I think that was what pretty much confirmed those teams for PL. Although you should have said ex-eSF teams then.
However, Woongjin can't possibly participate in the upcoming PL then? With 2 players on their roster. It would be so strange to have a KeSPA team not participate at all. Or maybe they will just merge with another team for their ProLeague participation.
Man this is terrible, all these pros retiring. The big issue here is that there are no new players to replace them. Its one thing if there were new players coming through the ranks all the time, but these are rare and far between.
I think right now Europe is the largest scene for SC2 and its declining here as well, so that is really scary.
On November 12 2013 01:38 BillGates wrote: Man this is terrible, all these pros retiring. The big issue here is that there are no new players to replace them. Its one thing if there were new players coming through the ranks all the time, but these are rare and far between.
I think right now Europe is the largest scene for SC2 and its declining here as well, so that is really scary.
Well the good news is that in KR we are still having full saturation of the GSL, that is, Code A is full of quality talent, Code S is full of quality talent, and there are still huge brackets of players trying to qualify for Code A each season.
FOREIGN TEAMS WHERE ARE YOU NOW????? Come on contact free... The legend who has the passion and skill to play has to retire OMG!!!!!! I just can not believe it
On November 12 2013 00:56 XiaoJoyce- wrote: Only 2 players? All but 2 players?
Wow, the Kespa team is cumbling, how is SPL coming?
They already said that a while back though. They have several of the eSF teams entering the fold.
I'm actually quite curious as to whether they dropped the registration fee for Proleague. If I remember correctly from the articles about EG-TL entering Proleague, that fee isn't just small change, and I honestly don't see ESF teams being able to shoulder it easily. On the other hand, Proleague does offer them a regular stage to promote themselves, so it has that going for it (unlike GSTL which runs incredibly short compared to it).
edit: Anyways, I wish him best of luck in his future endeavors. If he is only willing to put in half the effort he put in as a progamer, then he'll undoubtedly be successful whatever he ends up doing.
I think I read somewhere about it being a $100,000 deposit to ensure the team's legitimacy and commitment to the league.
On November 12 2013 02:02 DiMano wrote: FOREIGN TEAMS WHERE ARE YOU NOW????? Come on contact free... The legend who has the passion and skill to play has to retire OMG!!!!!! I just can not believe it
What did you expect? Foreign teams mostly care about players they either can afford or the ones winning stuff, not just being skilled ones. Sad but true T_T
On November 12 2013 00:56 XiaoJoyce- wrote: Only 2 players? All but 2 players?
Wow, the Kespa team is cumbling, how is SPL coming?
They already said that a while back though. They have several of the eSF teams entering the fold.
I'm actually quite curious as to whether they dropped the registration fee for Proleague. If I remember correctly from the articles about EG-TL entering Proleague, that fee isn't just small change, and I honestly don't see ESF teams being able to shoulder it easily. On the other hand, Proleague does offer them a regular stage to promote themselves, so it has that going for it (unlike GSTL which runs incredibly short compared to it).
edit: Anyways, I wish him best of luck in his future endeavors. If he is only willing to put in half the effort he put in as a progamer, then he'll undoubtedly be successful whatever he ends up doing.
I think I read somewhere about it being a $100,000 deposit to ensure the team's legitimacy and commitment to the league.
Ah, you were right, it's just a deposit and not an actual fee. Nevertheless, it probably was a sum which an eSF team cannot scrape together easily.
On November 12 2013 02:02 DiMano wrote: FOREIGN TEAMS WHERE ARE YOU NOW????? Come on contact free... The legend who has the passion and skill to play has to retire OMG!!!!!! I just can not believe it
What did you expect? Foreign teams mostly care about players they either can afford or the ones winning stuff, not just being skilled ones. Sad but true T_T
Like how Axiom picked up Impact/Mekia, right?
On November 12 2013 03:04 Drake wrote: soooo from the dragons only stork and kal left? is best still playing ?
will always remember free because he had a refreshing style in BW, and because he was the last guy in the old payment list, he deserved much more than 6k/year ((
I wish him luck in this new life starting for him now
On November 12 2013 02:02 DiMano wrote: FOREIGN TEAMS WHERE ARE YOU NOW????? Come on contact free... The legend who has the passion and skill to play has to retire OMG!!!!!! I just can not believe it
What did you expect? Foreign teams mostly care about players they either can afford or the ones winning stuff, not just being skilled ones. Sad but true T_T
Like how Axiom picked up Impact/Mekia, right?
My impression is that Axiom is more of an idealistic kind of TB thing which he does as more of a passion project, which is absolutely amazing of course, but those big Western teams that we know have to look for profit, right? Or break-even or whatever it is that you're aiming for these days.
On November 11 2013 23:09 GTR wrote: Unlike some of his teammates, Free, for the meantime, won't be moving straight to the Afreeca scene. He will most likely move on from the e-Sports world and look towards a new path after his military service.
Free vs Hiya mind control, hallucination, nukes. Sad that the dragons keep on dwindling in number but its their path in life Best of luck in life Free, thank you for everything Fingers crossed for coming to BW though
On November 12 2013 00:09 OpticalShot wrote: Free said, "There is a lot of regrets [and bitter feelings] because I have to retire while I still have a lot of passion for gaming. It doesn't feel like I'm making a proper goodbye to my fans [which further burdens my heart]."
I wonder what all these eSports guys do after their military service. If they joined at an early age, I would think it would be almost impossible to get a great career in Korea's corporations. Maybe most of them become entrepreneurs with their savings. (PC bangs) Others, may go back to college and get an education with their earnings. Most would probably get a certification and get a skilled labor job. Small portion of them get jobs in eSports. I guess this is true for almost any professional sports.
On November 12 2013 01:38 BillGates wrote: Man this is terrible, all these pros retiring. The big issue here is that there are no new players to replace them. Its one thing if there were new players coming through the ranks all the time, but these are rare and far between.
I think right now Europe is the largest scene for SC2 and its declining here as well, so that is really scary.
Wtf, new players are coming all the time. They just don't rise to the top instantly so people don't really know about them.
Once again people think that SC2 is dying just because a veteran from BW retired.
Sad, especially considering that this retirement was less voluntary than a lot of the other ones lately.
Free is one of those guys whose achievements on paper didn't speak to how skilled he really was. Lots of amazing games, but not many medals to show for it. He'll still always be remembered as one of the dragons, though.
kinda sad that age was a big factor in no one resigning. players like bomber and hyun have been doing amazing this year and both are 25ish. In fact as sc2 gets older I think youll start seeing a lot of players who are still posting strong results even into their late 20s or so. Its just that BW was so mechanically challenging and lots of players having to retire early on to go do their military service that we get this dumb taboo that anyone above early 20s is incapable of being good at a video game. Really stupid honestly.
On November 11 2013 23:09 GTR wrote: Unlike some of his teammates, Free, for the meantime, won't be moving straight to the Afreeca scene. He will most likely move on from the e-Sports world and look towards a new path after his military service.
On November 12 2013 03:04 sjukungen1 wrote: Great news. Long live BW
BW guys start to be very annoying, you seem to care about the version of the game and not about the player and I really hate it.
I think he just hates SC2. Since Free isn't going to BW anyways (for now).
Yeah i too find this annoying. And i'm a Brood War fan. You can't say you are happy that a player end his career. Even if he goes to the game you watch and love more than the other.
1. Your team does not want to pay you a salary anymore as they are in financial troubles 2. You leave 3. You realize that you are part of a scene that has too many teams and players 4. You realize nobody is gonna pick you up 5. You retire 6. You farm some money via streaming brood war
Seems pretty logical to me, plus a lot of them who were pro gamers for a very long time probably don't feel like trying on the new challenge as a lot of top players ended up being mediocre in star 2 after the switch.
On November 12 2013 00:01 glzElectromaster wrote: From what I know, no team showed interest in Free mainly because of his age and his rather mediocrity. He apparently still wants to play the game professionally, but rather than going to afreeca to stream, he'd rather find a job in the computer science? field.
On November 12 2013 14:55 GhoSt[shield] wrote: Damn another of the 6 dragons retiring. I always enjoyed watching Free's PvZ, not much else.
Also tbh, I never understood why he was considered good looking. His teeth are kinda messed up. I've been holding back this opinion for a long time.
Was free actually considered good lucking? Kinda surprised.
I should finish my blog on Woongjin Terrans soon. Started a year ago and never got around finishing it x.x
He always seemed to have a lot of fangirls come to his OSL/MSL/PL games with cheerfuls. Also he did change his id to pretty[gm] for the latter part of his BW career. I thought maybe girls liked the "yaeba" look maybe, cuteness due to crooked teeth. Whenever I watched free play I always got the impression that commentators/fans believed him goodlooking.
On November 12 2013 00:01 glzElectromaster wrote: From what I know, no team showed interest in Free mainly because of his age and his rather mediocrity. He apparently still wants to play the game professionally, but rather than going to afreeca to stream, he'd rather find a job in the computer science? field.
Or so I read on StarCraft Times.
Free was really good in BW. Mediocre...
Free's late-game PvZ was really, really good. So much Archon Reaver Templar everywhere...
I think people like to take free as a joke because Hiya nuked him on Triathalon in that epic TvP. Which is silly because Free won the game at the end.
On November 12 2013 03:04 sjukungen1 wrote: Great news. Long live BW
BW guys start to be very annoying, you seem to care about the version of the game and not about the player and I really hate it.
I think he just hates SC2. Since Free isn't going to BW anyways (for now).
Yeah i too find this annoying. And i'm a Brood War fan. You can't say you are happy that a player end his career. Even if he goes to the game you watch and love more than the other.
Why can't you say that, if you think both the player and the games are better off for it? When Michael Jordan stopped playing baseball and went back to the NBA, people couldn't say they were happy? They weren't really fans?
On November 12 2013 03:04 sjukungen1 wrote: Great news. Long live BW
BW guys start to be very annoying, you seem to care about the version of the game and not about the player and I really hate it.
That's kind of the point, loving the game for the game itself. SC2 is plagued by fair-weather fans who will watch a tournament until their favorite player loses and then just leave, or likely stink up the LR with whining and puerile bullshit.