Before you continue, be aware that there will be spoilers in the OP and in the discussion.
In honour of his recent triumphs, I have decided I would join oGsTOP's (Kim Jung Hoon) Fanclub, to support him in for future matches, however upon searching for a thread, I was in shock and dismay when I found none.
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TOP, aged 20 (22 in Korea), is a True Korean macro Terran, whose play is characterised by simply having more stuff than his opponent and winning as a result. There are very few documented cases of Cheese or Rush strategies used by TOP ,and this is ultimately a strong card to hold as a player as it comes unexpected when you do use it. Starting from beta and GSL Open Season 1, TOP was a top echelon Starcraft 2 player, and demonstrated it with a strong performance in Open Season 1, narrowly falling to FruitDealer (the eventual champion) in a very interesting series Which some say that he threw away from an advantage in the final game.
After Season 1, he did not manage to qualify for the next 2 open seasons, although this doesn't say a great deal about his quality as open qualifiers are extremely tough and many other gosu players were not able to qualify until very recently. This however, left him in a position where he was only Code A level when the GSL format changed in the new year. After a strong run through such players as STAce and sCfOu (now FXOsC), he decisively beat ZeNexByun in the final of the First Code A and became a Code S player, a status Which he has held on to. Besides GSL, TOP has participated in a few foreigner tournaments and his full list of results iS extremely impressive overall. From a trivia perspective, it is well known, and often spoken about, that TOP has an extremely large number of female fans, perhaps from the nearby school, who visit the GSL studio when he plays.
After Season 1, he did not manage to qualify for the next 2 open seasons, although this doesn't say a great deal about his quality as open qualifiers are extremely tough and many other gosu players were not able to qualify until very recently. This however, left him in a position where he was only Code A level when the GSL format changed in the new year. After a strong run through such players as STAce and sCfOu (now FXOsC), he decisively beat ZeNexByun in the final of the First Code A and became a Code S player, a status Which he has held on to. Besides GSL, TOP has participated in a few foreigner tournaments and his full list of results iS extremely impressive overall. From a trivia perspective, it is well known, and often spoken about, that TOP has an extremely large number of female fans, perhaps from the nearby school, who visit the GSL studio when he plays.
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Foreigner events
2010 New Years Kaspersky Invitational, beating oGsMC in the final (during MC's most dominant period)
4th in Dreamhack Winter 2010, being eventually knocked out by Naama.
Korean events
GSL January - Code A - Season 1, beating ZeNexByun in a very exciting series.
GSL Super Tournament 2011, losing a very close series to eventual winner PoltPrime.WE (now OptimusPrime.WE)
Reached Finals of GSL August - Code S with a very decisive Victory over OptimusPrime.WE, the favourite according to many, in the semi-finals, 3-1.
2010 New Years Kaspersky Invitational, beating oGsMC in the final (during MC's most dominant period)
4th in Dreamhack Winter 2010, being eventually knocked out by Naama.
Korean events
GSL January - Code A - Season 1, beating ZeNexByun in a very exciting series.
GSL Super Tournament 2011, losing a very close series to eventual winner PoltPrime.WE (now OptimusPrime.WE)
Reached Finals of GSL August - Code S with a very decisive Victory over OptimusPrime.WE, the favourite according to many, in the semi-finals, 3-1.
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All of oGsTOP's GSL games can be found at www.gomtv.net and I highly recommend you get a subscription and watch as many as possible, however I will try to link to the best ones I can for memory, and hopefully find some youtube casted games as well as replays.
oGsTOP vs FruitDealer : GSL Open Season 1 R16
oGsTOP vs ZeNexByun : GSL January Code A Finals
oGsTOP vs IMNestea : GSL Super Tournament 2011 R16
oGsTOP vs PoltPrime.WE : GSL Super Tournament Semi Final
oGsTOP vs OptimusPrime.WE : GSL August Code S Semi Final
I think it will be appropriate to Link to as many of the best oGsTOP games as possible via his Fan club. Please make some suggestions, and also feel free to make suggestions about things I have said in the OP and if I should make any changes.
oGsTOP vs FruitDealer : GSL Open Season 1 R16
oGsTOP vs ZeNexByun : GSL January Code A Finals
oGsTOP vs IMNestea : GSL Super Tournament 2011 R16
oGsTOP vs PoltPrime.WE : GSL Super Tournament Semi Final
oGsTOP vs OptimusPrime.WE : GSL August Code S Semi Final
I think it will be appropriate to Link to as many of the best oGsTOP games as possible via his Fan club. Please make some suggestions, and also feel free to make suggestions about things I have said in the OP and if I should make any changes.
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bennyaus
phyllis
Zaxon
MaestrO_
Dragonmaster26
bittman
Chriscras
AxionSteel
Kiangani
Dominico
ImmortalTofu
Hikari
Yamulo
Ryncol
ninjamyst
Meteora.GB
PandaMonk
Censor
MasterKang
Sarang
jimchoi11
123asop
redFF
HolyArrow
Schmexi
Toppp
Zhiroo
Zombie_Velociraptor
woob
Ethalion
aDd3z
fuzzy1111
SourceOdin
PeterHuynh
Whitewing
MCDayC
laroche_05
DeepBlu2
Sultan.P
Geordie
BretZ
HuKPOWA
mderg
Tennet
babylon
furerkip
Telcontar
marttorn
MFMulti
Tarschi
Archile
Skrzmark
phyllis
Zaxon
MaestrO_
Dragonmaster26
bittman
Chriscras
AxionSteel
Kiangani
Dominico
ImmortalTofu
Hikari
Yamulo
Ryncol
ninjamyst
Meteora.GB
PandaMonk
Censor
MasterKang
Sarang
jimchoi11
123asop
redFF
HolyArrow
Schmexi
Toppp
Zhiroo
Zombie_Velociraptor
woob
Ethalion
aDd3z
fuzzy1111
SourceOdin
PeterHuynh
Whitewing
MCDayC
laroche_05
DeepBlu2
Sultan.P
Geordie
BretZ
HuKPOWA
mderg
Tennet
babylon
furerkip
Telcontar
marttorn
MFMulti
Tarschi
Archile
Skrzmark
TOP's fantastic nunchuck ceremony during the GSTL
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Code S August Semi Final Winner's Interview
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OGS_Top
Q: This is your first Code S finals. Thoughts?
A: I'm still not sure. But the last game was very difficult; I made a comeback win and so I'm really excited. I'll return to the team house very happy.
Q: You struggled against Polt's Bionic play.
A: It was strange, I kept losing fights that I thought I would win. I didn't know Bionic could be that strong. I learned a lot in the games today.
Q: You seemed to play defensively today. Was this a response to your opponent's style?
A: The maps today were good for defensive play, so I prepared a style that suited that. This also seemed to turn out well against Polt's aggressive style.
Q: You got revenge for the Super Tournament semifinals.
A: I tried to forget about it, but I couldn't. I got revenge for that, so I'm glad.
Q: You were up 2:0, but you didn't look comfortable.
A: I had the most confidence in my practice for the third set, so I thought I could win 3:0. But Polt made a lot of good movements, so I lost. After that I was in a poor position in the fourth game, so I kept thinking of the Super Tournament. But even though I was in a poor position, I just focused on turning things around and winning.
Q: In the finals, you will be matched against the winner of MVP vs July. Who would you rather face?
A: I'm confident against Zerg, so I'd like it if July advanced. But if MVP advances, this will be the first time we have met, so it won't be too bad. I feel confident against Terran too.
Q: This will be the first time a Terran on your team makes it to the finals.
A: I would like if the other Terrans see my performance and feel motivated. That way, everyone will work hard and some other Terrans will also make it to the finals. Before this season first started, Nada promised that we would meet in the finals. But Nada didn't advance to the finals, so it's somewhat regrettable.
Q: How will you prepare for the finals?
A: All the teams are on vacation, so practice will be difficult. But our team's Terrans are very good, so I will mainly practice with them.
Q: Anything else you'd like to say?
A: It's been a year since I first started playing. Until now I've struggled, but now I've gotten a chance. I don't want to let this chance pass me by, so I will practice diligently and definitely win the tournament.
I want to thank EGPuma, MVPKeen, TSLAlive, SlayersMMA, IMHappy, and all the players on my team for their help in practice. I would like to thank my parents, coach, and director for cheering me on, and Mom's Touch for their support.
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Big thanks to Skrzmark for the format and art.