I know that TL.net has followed Draco past all those years and it think his post also belongs here. Two hours ago Draco has posted a thread at our main polish StarCraft forums (which when he post, he do it very very rarely ) about his 100% retirement from the game.
Here's what he wrote in his last post (might contain a lot of spelling & grammar errors, sorry!)
"I have began my journey with StarCraft when i was 12. I'm pretty sure that there was no one in Poland which cared about this game like me. Brood War was big part for half of my life and i'm pretty sure i will be gladly bring back memories from that time.
I think that i've never mentioned that thing but when i was leaving Korea, i've made a deal with "SparkyZ" which allowed me to come back to the team in the period of 6 months after leaving. When i was leaving Seoul, i knew that probablity of that is low and at that time i mentioned few times that i'm leaving StarCraft for good. Still my mind was very close with the SparkyZ. As a proof of that i might tell you that i had about 50 dreams in which i was coming back to Korea. But as we all know - i never did that.
Not once but for sure many times i've told you that StarCraft wasn't the same thing for me from the time when i was living in Korea and before that. Anyway still i was not aware that in my subconsciousness i still had a hope that "something" will happen and i will come back to Korea and feel how it's to compete with the best to be the best. Today the feeling has left me and i know it's the end.
I can't find motivation anymore which gave me the power to "click" all the time until the morning and then two hours later wake up and do the same. I know that the feeling of hunger will not leave me, the feeling that i could do better if i would stay in Korea for more time. Today i know i can't do much about this, i've "depleted" myself.
For most of you leaving StarCraft was like (or is like) leaving an addiction, finding more time to spent with family/girlfriend/friends or on something useful. My eyes have become clear, and the feeling that i can say to myself "This is the end" is very important to me. Today i have understood that i have to leave the place which i was part of for 10 years. I don't hide that when i felt that, a tear have come to my eye.
At the end i want to thank everyone that supported me for all those years. I'm not leaving in the good moment but i hope i will be remembered for my best performances times.
=( I'm a sad panda. I usually don't cheer for Polish players (even being Polish myself), but Draco was one of the very few exceptions. He was a great and very talented player who actually got a chance to play on a korean proteam. It's sad to see him go. Anyway, good luck to him in whatever he chooses to do next.
Wow draco will forever be one of my most favorite protosses. I remember watching replays of him in his progaming days and thinking that he was so awesome (expecially on blitz x vs zerg lol).
I hope you won't go too far away from the community.
Along with White-Ra and Dreiven, he's one of the coolest guys in the SC community. I loved, that he just played, delivered exciting matches but remained very casual about it all . Best of luck!
Thanks for the memories, Draco. You were always one of my favorite non-koreans and the fact that I heard from lots of my teammates who'd met you that you were awesome irl only made me like seeing you do well more.
Definitely hate to see you go, but very, very, very few people in BW have accomplished more than you have and there's no reason to be sad when you have that to hang your hat on. Good luck in the future, whatever you do from here.
On February 05 2010 09:16 Kennigit wrote: Along with White-Ra and Dreiven, he's one of the coolest guys in the SC community. I loved, that he just played, delivered exciting matches but remained very casual about it all . Best of luck!
draco was my favorite toss ever but it was sad to see him half ass all these tournaments and just lose like he has been. I would rather him retire for good then be stuck in mediocrity
Forgive my lack of sorrow, but this guy has retired about 6 times. I remember his first big comeback in 2005 when he smurfed on WGT and started demolishing people (he played 20+ entertaining games vs satanik that season). Somehow he had about 100 apm more than in his pre-retirement form, and eventually got into the Korean pro team. Then he came back with the appropriate ID "Retired_Draco" for the first TSL, and quit again after losing the finals.
Draco was a really good player, though. I remember getting slapped around by his zerg in a nation war. I've always personally believed that he was never the same after that WCG game against iloveoov.
draco was a great player. he is a legend. i felt really bad for draco as sen outclassed him in the recent round of 16 matches. he was obviously way under practiced, even for his standards, and it goes to show that now the foreigner scene is such that even those in the top tier cannot play past the ro16 in a given tour without intense practice.
And I'm not saying that to call him a liar or anything. I know from experience that you can disappear from this game for 18 months and then your friend mentions Starcraft just once and you're overcome by a burning desire to play the game. This game is just too good.
On February 05 2010 10:03 {88}iNcontroL wrote: Where have I heard this before?
Oh right, the last time he retired.
Cya in a month or two draco!
^_^
Draco is the Brett Favre of sc;bw =p
lol so true
But still, this seems like an emotional story and a big deal. He's committed a lot of his life to this... it isn't quite just a R&R activity for him anymore, lol.
Draco is probably my second favorite non Korean player ever after Fisheye .... sad to see him quitting, but I'm happy to have gotten to know him a little bit before the end.
On February 05 2010 09:16 Kennigit wrote: Along with White-Ra and Dreiven, he's one of the coolest guys in the SC community. I loved, that he just played, delivered exciting matches but remained very casual about it all . Best of luck!
They're all Protoss
playing protoss isnt stressful enough to fuck up your brain so most of them are relatively normal.
On February 05 2010 09:16 Kennigit wrote: Along with White-Ra and Dreiven, he's one of the coolest guys in the SC community. I loved, that he just played, delivered exciting matches but remained very casual about it all . Best of luck!
They're all Protoss
playing protoss isnt stressful enough to fuck up your brain so most of them are relatively normal.
On February 05 2010 09:16 Kennigit wrote: Along with White-Ra and Dreiven, he's one of the coolest guys in the SC community. I loved, that he just played, delivered exciting matches but remained very casual about it all . Best of luck!
They're all Protoss
playing protoss isnt stressful enough to fuck up your brain so most of them are relatively normal.
Wow, I can't say I'm surprised for some reason but, it's always saddening when such a great player and icon in the community retires. I wish you, Draco, the best of luck in whatever you decide to do with your life. I'm sure you'll excel, you seem like quite an intelligent guy. We'll miss you!
On February 05 2010 08:41 HazMat wrote: This is the end, beautiful friend This is the end, my only friend The end of our elaborate plans The end of everything that stands The end
glhf Draco!
Aah, my favorite song..
You were my favorite foreigner, Draco.. You'll be missed
When i saw his games against Sen in TSL 2, i was like: Ok this is the end for Draco - this is not his play anymore and was awaiting this announcement. GL Draco in whatever you do!
To all the people that are refering to his many retirements, i have to say that i have retired more than 10 times. It is not easy to just quit. One day you feel like it and after few months or so comes a day when you have free time and just try to play a few games, you suck compared to the time when you quit and start practicing/playing again. That said..I don't think Draco doing this to get some attention.
i thought he stopped playing sc anyway and was just back because of wcg (fail) and TSL (fail) so he wont come back for next TSL or wcg (cause it will fail). enjoy life
On February 05 2010 08:30 InKline wrote: Hello TL'neters!
I know that TL.net has followed Draco past all those years and it think his post also belongs here. Two hours ago Draco has posted a thread at our main polish StarCraft forums (which when he post, he do it very very rarely ) about his 100% retirement from the game.
Here's what he wrote in his last post (might contain a lot of spelling & grammar errors, sorry!)
"I have began my journey with StarCraft when i was 12. I'm pretty sure that there was no one in Poland which cared about this game like me. Brood War was big part for half of my life and i'm pretty sure i will be gladly bring back memories from that time.
I think that i've never mentioned that thing but when i was leaving Korea, i've made a deal with "SparkyZ" which allowed me to come back to the team in the period of 6 months after leaving. When i was leaving Seoul, i knew that probablity of that is low and at that time i mentioned few times that i'm leaving StarCraft for good. Still my mind was very close with the SparkyZ. As a proof of that i might tell you that i had about 50 dreams in which i was coming back to Korea. But as we all know - i never did that.
Not once but for sure many times i've told you that StarCraft wasn't the same thing for me from the time when i was living in Korea and before that. Anyway still i was not aware that in my subconsciousness i still had a hope that "something" will happen and i will come back to Korea and feel how it's to compete with the best to be the best. Today the feeling has left me and i know it's the end.
I can't find motivation anymore which gave me the power to "click" all the time until the morning and then two hours later wake up and do the same. I know that the feeling of hunger will not leave me, the feeling that i could do better if i would stay in Korea for more time. Today i know i can't do much about this, i've "depleted" myself.
For most of you leaving StarCraft was like (or is like) leaving an addiction, finding more time to spent with family/girlfriend/friends or on something useful. My eyes have become clear, and the feeling that i can say to myself "This is the end" is very important to me. Today i have understood that i have to leave the place which i was part of for 10 years. I don't hide that when i felt that, a tear have come to my eye.
At the end i want to thank everyone that supported me for all those years. I'm not leaving in the good moment but i hope i will be remembered for my best performances times.
I'm sorry if the "translation" is hardly understandable. Have a nice day
EDIT: Any polish peeps out there, if you find a better translations than mine please PM it to me, will edit the post ASAP.
I always laugh when I see players say they're retiring from a game. The whole concept is absurd. When most players say something like that usually they make a comeback one way or another. Heck, Draco did a similar stunt like this before. Hopefully he won't pull another Brett Favre.
Good luck to him though. He could have cracked the OGN Sparkyz lineup. The guy had a ton of potential. I wonder what his substitute will be.
gl draco. i think you will have problems leaving sc for good. one year will pass maybe two and then you "just wanna kill some time" with it. I hope when you do, if you do - it doesent take up to much of your time and that u can walk that thinn line between real life and sc-life.
My adventure with Starcraft begun when I was 12. I think that within the entire polish SC scene there was no person, for whom this game would mean as much as for me. Broodwar has been with me for half of my life up to this point and I will always keep fond memories of that time.
I think that I have never mentioned it in my official comments, but when I was leaving Korea I have made a certain "deal" with SparkyZ, which stated, that within 6 months from the departure from Korea I could at any moment return to the team. Leaving Seoul I knew it wasn't likely and even then I sometimes mentioned here and there that it's the end of my career. My thoughts however, were often close to SparkyZ. Let the fact, that after my return I had, and still regularly have, dreams in which I decide to go back to Korea (there was over 50 of them), be proof of that. However, we know now that I didn't decide to return.
Not once or twice I said that Starcraft isn't what it used to be from my time in Korea and before that. During this entire time I didn't realize that constantly, somewhere deep in my subconsciousness, I hoped that maybe this "something" is going to happen, which will make me go to Korea once again, where I could feel what it means to compete and fight to be the best once more. Today I realized however, that it really is the end.
I can't find motivation within me any more, which once made me tap on my mouse and keyboard keys long into the night, just so after a 2 hour nap start doing the same thing from the morning. The insufficiency will remain in me forever, thought that I could go farther, if I could only survive longer in Korea. Today I know however, that I will never do anything with it, because I simply burned out.
For many of you, ending with Starcraft meant, or can mean, "dropping the addiction", "ability to spend more time on something useful" etc. The fact that I realized it's time to say "the end" means much more to me. Today I have finally accepted that the place which has been my life's arena for the past 10 years is ceasing to exist. I'm not hiding that when I realized that, I shed a tear.
In the end I'd like to thank everyone who was cheering for me for all this years. Although I'm not leaving the scene in the best of moments, I hope that it will be my better performances that shall be remembered.
I remember watching Draco's VOD of beating Midas during WCG and thinking; My God, this guy could do it! He could beat the Koreans! Hearing Tasteless' ridiculous commentary, "If he gets this command center this is so pivotal for this game right now!! I'm not even kidding!" Draco crushed Midas that game and I felt this sense of excitement for him. It was such a big deal that he was over there competing with the best. I skipped classes to get every update on his WCG performances against Oov and others during brackets. Ah... good times.
He was the true underdog climbing toward the impossible. He was an amazing player and an inspiration to everyone in the non-Korean scene. I hope Draco looks back with fondness instead of regret on the time he spent with Starcraft. Good luck to you Draco.
On February 06 2010 01:58 floor exercise wrote: If anything that is actually a worse translation
Seeing as the translation in the OP is missing some parts and not translating it in the way the original was written?
I thought that since it's Dracos own statement it should be translated in its entirety and with proper meaning. Mine isn't perfect too, but at least it's complete.
He retired before, but you'd be mad not to put in a few extra hours and get guaranteed cash in TSL2. If there was TSL3 in 3 months, he would no doubt play again. But having been eliminated in TSL2, SC2 around the corner and no real motivation to play for fun = official retirement letter.
On February 05 2010 11:55 Mortality wrote: Quitting is impossible. He'll be back.
And I'm not saying that to call him a liar or anything. I know from experience that you can disappear from this game for 18 months and then your friend mentions Starcraft just once and you're overcome by a burning desire to play the game. This game is just too good.
i quit sc when i was 8 and i came back because my cousin reminded me that i had the game. looool
On February 05 2010 11:55 Mortality wrote: Quitting is impossible. He'll be back.
And I'm not saying that to call him a liar or anything. I know from experience that you can disappear from this game for 18 months and then your friend mentions Starcraft just once and you're overcome by a burning desire to play the game. This game is just too good.
i quit sc when i was 8 and i came back because my cousin reminded me that i had the game. looool
I once quit and came back because I found my CD back behind my closet. ;;;
Quite upsetting, Draco has been one of my favs... ill keep a glimmer of hope that he will return for SC2 but i thank him for all the entertainment he provided and i wish him the best with whatever he chooses to do in life
even though i don't really know him in person, but reading this brought girly tears to my eyes *sob*
it's always sad to see someone leaving starcraft, even though it's good for him/her to do so .... but still =( we're like a big family and now one of us is leaving ...
On February 05 2010 09:16 Kennigit wrote: Along with White-Ra and Dreiven, he's one of the coolest guys in the SC community. I loved, that he just played, delivered exciting matches but remained very casual about it all . Best of luck!
They're all Protoss
playing protoss isnt stressful enough to fuck up your brain so most of them are relatively normal.
and why u are terran and playing CJ entus? would be the same if u are toss?
On February 05 2010 09:16 Kennigit wrote: Along with White-Ra and Dreiven, he's one of the coolest guys in the SC community. I loved, that he just played, delivered exciting matches but remained very casual about it all . Best of luck!
They're all Protoss
playing protoss isnt stressful enough to fuck up your brain so most of them are relatively normal.
and why u are terran and playing CJ entus? would be the same if u are toss?
id win a lot more and be a lot less angry if i were toss
On February 05 2010 09:16 Kennigit wrote: Along with White-Ra and Dreiven, he's one of the coolest guys in the SC community. I loved, that he just played, delivered exciting matches but remained very casual about it all . Best of luck!
They're all Protoss
playing protoss isnt stressful enough to fuck up your brain so most of them are relatively normal.
and why u are terran and playing CJ entus? would be the same if u are toss?
id win a lot more and be a lot less angry if i were toss
Maybe if you played every game on Heartbreak Ridge
With the Korean BW pro's switching to SC2 i would wish that Draco, Mondi, Testie - the foreign GODS - would emerge again and remind us of the golden days of STARCRAFT!