CORE Gaming's Sonic - The Natural
Not all Starcraft players are born equal. Some seem to have something in their blood or their DNA that let's just just get it. Wen "Sonic" "Jin" is one of those players who has a natural talent for the game. Having beaten top players like MarineLord and SjoW in the past, it's clear he has a talent for the game. Suprisingly though, Sonic has admitted that he does not actual practice all that much. While you would naturally assume that you could only get so far without intense practice, players like Stephano pop up as counter-examples. Having a fundamental understanding of the game really helps these players in their play. Sonic seems to find that even after long periods of time away from playing the game itself, watching streams has been enough "practice" to beat great players like the European Tefel.
The truth is, Sonic was actually intending to go fulltime as a pro-gamer. He was in the middle of attending college when he decided to take some time off to pursue this dream. However, after a not being able to make it in WCS 2013 and uncertainty about the North American scene, he's changed his mind and is now content to just try and enjoy the game at a high level of play. It's somewhat disappointing, but very understandable to see a player of Sonic's skill decide he no longer has any intention of trying his hand at fulltime pro-gaming again. But the decision to return to school and finish his degree is most certainly a prudent one for now. For now, we can only hope that if he can achieve victory in the invitational, he might find the motivation to pull a Suppy, and astound us with his play while still being in school.
Some may have noticed the distinct lack of Terran in the tournament. North America has produced some great Protoss players, some fantastic Zerg players, but not nearly as many Terran players. The race certainly requires a pretty high degree of mutli-tasking and micro to effectively accomplish drop harass and general aggression, so it's hard not to admire Sonic's ability to find the success that he does with low amounts of practice. It's also worth nothing that Sonic has a very aggressive style, as many people believe Terran should be played, but believes that Polt actually has the best Terran style. Not necessarily trying to drop harass constantly, but rather focusing on taking good engagements and constantly macro'ing up a threatening army. It really makes you wonder what Sonic can do given the time to practice this style.
Sonic's team, CORE Gaming, is a newer team that has shown great promise. With players like JonnyRecco, a European zerg that was in WCS Europe, and JonSnow, a potential combatant in the tournament who was in WCS America, Sonic will have a pretty strong group of players to practice with. Even a few Koreans on the team may be willing to help Sonic prepare for his group of Protoss. Sonic said in his interview that he has been practicing full time for this tournament so this will be his chance to show us what he can accomplish when he's giving it his all.
His Group
If you checked out Sonic's interview, you'll have heard his own thoughts and feelings about his group. He feels confident about his chances, but believes that Arium is going to be the next biggest challenge in the group. Sonic's aggressive playstyle could catch Arium off guard if he's not prepared. After Arium though, Sonic will either face off against SaroVati or NuBrGNi. Both of these players have very unique types of play. SaroVati will try to throw Sonic for a loop, and may be able to accomplish it considering Sonic's fear of various protoss all-in's and the difficulty of doing damage against a photon overcharged nexus. NuBrGNi will be an unexpected player who will try to find the weak points of Sonic's build and pick him apart. But will it matter in the end? Sonic is a guy with a lot of raw talent for the game, and now he's training hard. Sonic believes he's probably one of the big favorites to take this tournament, and can you really blame him?
Some men were just born to win.
Learn more about the Breakout Invitational here!
Find out more about CORE Gaming's Sonic in his Breaking Out Episodes!
You can also catch Sonic and his team over at:
http://www.twitch.tv/altsonic
https://twitter.com/Core_Sonic
Follow his team over at:
https://twitter.com/coreprogaming and
https://www.facebook.com/coreprogaming
Learn more about the Breakout Invitational here!
Find out more about CORE Gaming's Sonic in his Breaking Out Episodes!
You can also catch Sonic and his team over at:
http://www.twitch.tv/altsonic
https://twitter.com/Core_Sonic
Follow his team over at:
https://twitter.com/coreprogaming and
https://www.facebook.com/coreprogaming