GosuAwards 2013 - StarCraft 2 nominees

Liquid.Taeja
 Yun Young Seo

Many say that 2013 has been Taeja's year, and there's certainly reason for that.  In 2012 the Liquid ace was most dominant in the Summer, but this time Taeja showed top form the entire year. He started off with top four in GSL Season 1, took a small pause in performance and returned in June to get a streak of five gold medals (the most premier championships won by a player this year) and three top four placements.

SKT.Soulkey
Kim Min Chul

The competition for the best Zerg was vicious this year, especially after Life raised the bar so high in 2012. Soulkey didn't equal that performance but he remained one of the most consistent players this year. Two gold medals, two silver medals, two top fours and three top eights color Soulkey's list of achievements, making him the third most successful player this year.

EG.Jaedong
Lee Jae Dong

Although he only got his first gold medal this month, nobody was more consistent than Jaedong in making grand finals. Between DH Summer in June and his victory at NorthCon in December, Jaedong took five silver medals in some of the most renowned premier tournament franchises, including the BlizzCon grand finals. He placed top four twice and he became the highest earning eSports professional, winning more than $120,000 this year alone. 

Acer.Innovation
Lee Shin Hyun

Innovation might not be in his best form currently but for a large portion of 2013 he was the most dreaded StarCraft 2 player on the planet. Innovation was the driving force behind STX Soul's Proleague victory. He took the 4M parade push in TvZ to new levels, abused hellbats as no one before him and delivered five all kills in three different team leagues. Even though he saw a few unexpected early exits, it'd be a travesty to not nominate Innovation for best Korean of 2013.

SouL.Dear
Baek Dong Jun

Dear might've been absent from individual leagues in early 2013 but his Proleague accomplishments were not unnoticed. Alongside Mini, Classic and Trap, Dear formed that scary STX SouL quartet that wrecked havoc in the Proleague. 

It was in the autumn that Dear truly shined, though. His top six at MLG Spring was followed by back-to-back WCS championships, a top four at the Hot6ix Cup and top eight at WCS Global Finals. To this date, Dear is the fastest climbing player in the WCS rankings.

CMStorm.Polt
Choi Seung Hun

Polt is one of those few players that have managed to remain consistent throughout his career. While he started the year relatively slow, Polt flourished past June, taking MLG Spring and later becoming the first player to win back-to-back WCS events. With three gold medals, three top eight finishes and one of the strongest TvP's in all of StarCraft 2, Polt is a natural choice for Best Korean nominee.

JinAir.sOs
Kim Yoo Jin

Although he wasn't exactly the pillar of professional StarCraft in 2013, it wouldn't make sense to have a best Korean category and not nominate the world champion himself - sOs.

sOs started the year taking fourth in Korea and second in the seasonal finals, but faltering mid-2013. He returned in November to win the Global Finals and take Red Bull NYC for some extra cash. Also, did we mention he's been the most innovative Protoss this year?

JinAir.Maru
Cho Sung Choo

2013 was an amazing year for Maru. Although he was absent for the first half, the speed with which the young Terran ascended was breathtaking. From a Code A regular, Maru grew into an OSL royal roader (the youngest in OSL's entire history) and placed top four in another five major tournaments, including the BlizzCon finals. He became one of the strongest Terran players of 2013.  

[A].NaNiwa
Johan Lucchesi

Naniwa is almost as good at getting second as Jaedong. The Swede spent this year being runner up in a couple of major events, snagging a few minor cups and otherwise being eliminated too early to mention. This probably doesn’t sound like the godding up of a player being nominated for Best Non-Korean, but folks, this is as good as it gets. A post-Stephano reality is not only one in which the eccentric Frenchman is gone, but one in which the Koreans continue to improve. Be thankful that Naniwa is keeping pace.

Acer.Scarlett
Sasha Hostyn

Since her rise at IPL 4, Scarlett became, in essence, a sort of Naniwa, a demure counter-Stephano in an age of resistance rather than triumph. But triumph has been close for Scarlett. Just this month, she reached the NorthCon ASUS ROG finals, but fell to Jaedong (mercifully, some would say). A week earlier, she had finished third place in Red Bull Battle Grounds New York. She has been close. As close as Naniwa. And she has displayed skill equal to that of anyone currently playing. We can't say if she'll win, but we can say that she deserves to be in this list.

Liquid.Snute
Jens Aasgaard

Snute rose in 2012 and became good enough to be scouted by Liquid, an organization that has brought previously unknown names to stardom. Snute came into 2013 holding a Homestory Cup VI win, but offered middle-of-the-field showings in  most premier tournaments. The exception is Homestory Cup VII, where he narrowly lost to Taeja in the finals. He made up for that by placing high in a host of major tournaments, including Red Bull Training Grounds 2 and ESET UK Masters.

JinAir.Maru
Cho Sung Choo

Despite being around since the early days of StarCraft 2, it was only in 2013 that Maru really broke-out. He's nominated for having seven major top four finishes, including first at WCS Korea Season 2, and first at  the Asia Starcraft League. Maru's end-of-the-year success  culminated at WCS Korea Season 2, where he took first place over Rain and became the youngest royal roader in OSL history. 

CJ.Sora
Kim Jung Hoon

Nominated for his fantastic run in the WCG Korea National Finals. Sora was placed in group 12 where he played JKS, Shine, Fantasy, and Bomber defeating all of them 2-0 . Sora went on to 2-0 GuMiho and Curious. Despite this, many expected him to lose to Soulkey in the Round of 4. However, Sora swept Soulkey as well, going to the finals, where he was defeated 2-0. He had a final map score of 14-2.

Sora's run continued with the WCG Global Finals where he finished first in his group and took down Dayshi and Parting before finally losing to Soulkey.

MVP.Duckdeok
Kim Kyeong Deok

Nominated for his accomplishments in WCS Europe Season 2, duckdeok won numerous minor tournaments in 2012, but 2013 marked his first Premier tournament victory. It was no simple task either, duckdeok was forced to go through Naniwa, Grubby, and a tense best of seven against MC.

Duckdeok never managed to get a second gold medal but he finished 5th in Europe Season 3 and top eight at the Global Finals.

mYi.StarDust
Son Seok Hee

Another Protoss who came out of nowhere, StarDust is nominated for having three major first place finishes, most notably his Dreamhack Open: Summer championship where he won 3:2 over Jaedong. Aside from the Tyrant, players like Naniwa, Snute, viOlet, and Hyun made StarDust's kill list. His most recent victory was at Fragbite Masters, where he defeated Naniwa 3-0 in the grand finals.
 

SouL.Dear
Baek Dong Jun

Primarily a team-league player, Dear stayed off the radar for most of the year, making a brief appearance at MLG Spring, where he finished top six. The biggest achievement on his list is taking back-to-back WCS championships - becoming the first player to win a regional and a seasonal WCS event - and boasting to be the fastest climbing player in the WCS rankings, going up 116 positions in one week.

 STX SouL

SouL haven't been the same since they won STX as sponsor. This is why it's their Proleague roster being featured as a nominee. STX started KeSPA's team league slow but peaked in the later rounds, becoming one of the strongest teams in the world. Driven by players like Innovation, Trap, Dear and Hyvaa, STX SouL eventually became the first SC2 Proleague champions. While this remained their only achievement on the team league front, a Proleague championship is certainly worth a nomination.

  Acer

Though the team was founded in 2011, it was in 2013 that the green squad truly shined. Initially led by Zerg pair Nerchio and Scarlett, Acer made a big pick in November 2012 by acquiring MMA. Not satisfied with just one master Terran, they signed INnoVation earlier this year. 

Since July 2013, Acer placed 2nd twice (in SC2L and TeamStory Cup 1) and took the gold medal in TeamStory Cup 2. They won in GSTL 2 as part of the Axiom-Acer partnership, with whom they also finished 3rd in GSTL 1. 

MVP

MVP have always been among the strongest team in Korea and 2013 had it no different. Led by SC2 veteran Swagger, MVP secured the gold medals of IPL Team League Season 1 and TeamStory Cup as well as the silver medal of GSTL 1. Though not a roster consisting of strong individual champions - DongRaeGu the sole exception - MVP are working together as a team perfectly for third year in a row now.

 Woongjin Stars

Another team that is no longer in operation, Woongjin Stars were the most consistent team throughout the entire season of the Proleague. Woongjin achieved top three in five of the six Proleague rounds, finishing first overall with 27-15. They the silver after a six-game series against STX SouL.

Team Liquid

Although often called "Team Taeja," one can't deny that Team Liquid deserve a nomination, even if the StarCraft 2 League gold remains their only championship. Liquid also placed third in ATC 2, fourth in ATC 1 and produce a best foreigner nominee as well as one of the strongest candidates for Korean player of the year.

Axiom

Founded in September 2012, Axiom had one of the quickest rises to popularity that any team has seen. Winning their amateur IPTL division gave them a kickstart into the big world of SC2 team leagues. Alongside Acer, Axiom placed third in GSTL 1 and GSTL 2 and took the silver at TeamStory Cup 2 by themselves, all-killing the star roster of Liquid along the way.

Liquid.Taeja
Cho Sung Choo

= 5 gold medals between June and December.

?Nominated for taking first place in three tournaments in a row including DreamHack Open: Bucharest, Homestory Cup VIII, and DreamHack Open: Winter. To achieve this daunting task, Taeja defeated numerous well known players, including INnoVation, Life, Symbol, and Hyun.

CMStorm.Polt
Baek Dong Jun

= 3 gold medals between June and October, including back-to-back WCS America championships.

The only player to win two WCS regional titles in 2013, Polt earned his WCS America trophies back to back. In both instances, the Korean adoptee dominated his groups and went through the playoffs unchallenged.  His win streak however began earlier, with a win at MLG's Spring Championship. He also holds the honor of having denied Jaedong his second shot at a championship title in WCS America Season 2.

SouL.Dear
Baek Dong Jun

= 2 WCS gold medals in 8 days

Nominated for  winning WCS Season 3 Korea GSL and WCS Season 3 back to back. Dear showed extreme prowess at WCS Season 3 Korea, taking down Trap and Maru before defeating soO in the finals. A week later Dear was at WCS Season 3 plowing through MC and Maru to obtain and effortless 4 - 0 against Soulkey.

Vortix and Lucifron to Mousesports
?
The brothers Morenos are still some of the strongest players in Europe, but Karont3 e-Sports Club, the Spanish team they debuted in, was set up virtually for their benefit. Karont3’s Starcraft 2 squad consisted of a total four players, reduced to a mere two after Vortix and Lucifron joined Mousesports. The squad folded. The two remaining players dispersed. ViPro went to compLexity. LoLvsxD retired. So it goes.

With the Moreno brothers in Mouz, the German-based organisation can comfortably boast they own the best all-European team and they would not be far from the truth.

WCS Season 2 Finals
Location: Cologne, Germany

A lot of storylines converged in the Season 2 finals to make this event a memorable one. There was Jaedong getting yet another silver medal. There was Bomber finally breaking his own law and there was Scarlett almost defeating him in an amazing five-game ZvT. We saw champions like Innovation and MMA fall as the last in their groups while underdogs like aLive succeeded. All this garnished with the spotless hosting of Redeye and Chobra.

WCS Season 3 Finals
Location: Toronto, Canada

Many believe the WCS Season 3 finals to be the best produced event on North American soil. NASL were tasked with hosting the last season finals for 2013, and with ESL doing an oustanding job at Season 2 finals, the bar was raised high. The tournament delivered both in terms of production and actual competition.

The shocking results came quickly. Back-to-back WCS America champion Polt surprised the world as he was the first to go, followed by Jaedong. The competition heated even more come playoffs and Dear and Maru played one of the best PvTs of the entire year. An hour later, Dear trampled Soulkey to win his back-to-back championships and seize another medal after walking the OSL royal road. 

IEM Season VIII - New York
Location: New York, United States

HyuN in Spider-Man costume. Apollo in bloodied make-up. Flash's final 2013 tournament. The last bits of WCS points before BlizzCon. Life's semi-final 3-2 comeback against HyuN and his grand face-off against Life. One of the few chances for a foreigner to take a championship.

The list of cool stuff that happened at IEM New York continues but this should be explanation as to why the event is nominated. It might not had the best games in history but, thankfully, StarCraft 2 is not all about that.

HomeStory Cup VII
Location: Krefeld, Germany

You just can't have a most memorable SC2 tournament category and not feature at least one HomeStory Cup.

While every HSC brings along its friendly, casual atmosphere, poker games, trolling, players casting and MC doing some goofy stuff, HSC VII made for some actual stories. It celebrated a complete Team Liquid triumph as Taeja, Snute and TLO took the top three.  ?It was the first time a previous champion would play in the finals again. And it was the first tournament in Taeja's winning streak of five gold medals.

DreamHack Winter 2013
Location: Jonkoping, Sweden

We can talk a lot about DreamHack Winter. We can mention how the crown event of the biggest LAN party has always been a blast to watch. We can talk about Taeja closing a five-championships streak. We can reminisce the Cinderella stories of JYP and Patience and how they were the death of Jaedong, Naniwa, Innovation, HerO, Polt and MMA. We can talk about all the stories that existed before even a single game was played.

All that could have happened in any other tournament and it'd be great but at DH:W it was unforgettable because after so many years, we were answered by one question:

"What song?"

WCS Europe Season 1
Location: Cologne, Germany

Even though the tournament ended a long time ago, the memories of WCS Europe S1 are still clear in our heads. The event was marked by Stephano's battle against the retirement clock, a desperate race for at least one more championship before he leaves the scene. He took out fellow Europeans to reach the playoffs. He outlasted BabyKnight in QFs and manhandled ForGG in semis to make the grand final. He even took a one-game lead to MVP before ultimately surrendering the series 4-1. It was Stephano's last grand final appearance before he retired during WCS Europe Season 2.

Jaedong's Kong curse

Over the course of 2013, one Tyrant became what he never thought he’d become: a King of the Kongs.

Jaedong’s curse began at DreamHack Open: Summer where despite a hard fought series he lost 2-3 to Stardust. He continued to take silver medals at DreamHack Open: Valencia (1-3 Hyun),WCS America Season 2 (0-4 Polt) as well as WCS Season 2 (0-4 Bomber) and the curse persisted. Even the global finals were harsh to Jaedong and showing amazing plays defeating MVP, Dear, and Maru to make it to the finals he lost to the unlikeliest winner sOs. Atl NorthCon Jaedong finally broke the curse but the story of the Kong King was already written.

Foreigners underperforming

Since before WCS 13’s creation till the last days of 2013, foreigners saw troubles finishing high in an event. Some fault is to be found with the WCS system that allowed the “foreign” circuits to be filled with Koreans and choke the western competition into submission - Naniwa was the entire foreign presence at Blizzcon - but the underperforming was certainly not exclusive to Blizzard’s league. Whether it was a DreamHack, or an MLG or an IEM, foreigners fell, never managing to take a championship. When in 2012 the non-Koreans took eight gold medals, in 2013 they snatched none. For the first time in SC2’s history, Koreans enjoyed a flawless triumph over the entire year.

The WCS region locking topic

The entire topic of WCS region locking has been a hot discussion since the event’s creation in April. Allowing players to compete in any region they want without passing some residency requirement sparked numerous debates within the community, especially when WCS America became a more or less all-Korean affair.

e outcry led to Blizzard making changes to the WCS system but chances are the discussion about whether or not full region locking is necessary will continue in 2014, too. Stay tuned to #Daedgaem radio for more WCS drama.

The year of Taeja

If Taeja wasn’t esteemed enough before, in 2013 he certainly made a splash like never before. Going on a hot streak since mid-June, Taeja placed top four at a total of nine tournaments and took first place in five of them. He showed fantastic performance throughout the whole year, peaking at a three-championship spree by the end of the year. The “Summer of Taeja” had become “Year of Taeja” for certain.

Bomber breaking his law

"Bomber’s Law: Bomber will always disappoint.

Corollary to Bomber’s Law: If Bomber does not disappoint, it will be in order to set up a bigger disappointment later."

For years now the Bomber’s Law has existed and has haunted the StarTale Terran. Not at WCS Season 2, though. Two years to the date since his last championship, Bomber went to Cologne eager for blood. After some fantastic play and going through players such as First, Grubby, Scarlett, and Taeja and a steam-rolling 4-0 grand final against Jaedong, Bomber finally did it - the law was broken.

What made Bomber's story even more enticing was the fact that he did it when so much was on the line. While getting a championship would be great on any day, to defeat Jaedong himself along the way - a player who has been pursuing his own trophy for so long - made this particular story unforgettable.

Idra getting fired

In May this year, the StarCraft 2 community was in for some drama. It began with a simple post on Team Liquid forums where the infamous Idra wrote “You’re all a bunch of fucks, It just so happens I get paid to treat you like it.” The post sparked a large amount of controversy and eventually resulted in EG’s CEO Alex Garfield taking action and releasing Idra from Evil Geniuses.

Players and personalities have been fired from organizations before but this time it was different. EG, Idra and the sharp tongue of the Zerg player were almost synonymous since 2010. With time, Idra had become EG’s brightest poster boy, a human billboard with a massive following. His release was everything but expected and was talked about for days and days.

Wave of retirements

To the fans’ disappointment, numerous big name players retired this year. The western scene lost Stephano, the best performing foreigner of 2012 who chose to pursue his studies. The legendary MarineKing switched to League of Legends. Brood War champions like Jangbi, the last BW OSL champion, and Bisu, a true revolutionary of the game, also said goodbye to SC2.

It didn’t end there. We bid farewell to names like Puma, Idra, Miya, BeSt, Ganzi, Sound, Mini, Light, Flying, Beastyqt, Mind, sC, Shuttle, ZerO, Free, Golden and Duckdeok. Almost 50 names of various nationalities, skill levels and teams parted from the scene. It’s nothing to celebrate but a story worth a nomination nonetheless.

Scarlett vs Naniwa

The competition between Naniwa and Scarlett hasn’t been a direct one in the sense that it spanned over various tournaments. In fact, the two last met in December 2012 when the game was still in WoL.

In 2013, however, the Canadian Queen and the King in the North stand against each other for something far more important than a tournament championship: it’s the right to call oneself “best foreigner of the year”.

When in past years it was a bit easier to determine the winner of this category, this time around it’s not. The retirement of Stephano left a huge void in the western scene and the race for the title broke off with ferocity, being waged on all fronts, both directly and indirectly. Unfortunately, nobody stood out trophy in hand, proclaiming “yes, I am the best."

Eventually, it was Naniwa and Scarlett who gathered the most esteem in community’s eyes. They failed at taking gold medals but took part in three of the five grand finals that had a non-Korean participating. Naniwa acquired enough money to be among the top 10 highest earners in 2010 and was the only foreigner at BlizzCon but Scarlett made jawdropping plays at WCS Season 2, Red Bull NYC and NorthCon. The two are about to solve this “rivalry” on December 21st with a bitcoin showmatch but until then, it’s time for us to trust our hearts and vote.
 

KeSPA vs eSF

?The Galactic Empire vs The Rebel Alliance. Kaiju vs Jaeger. It was always going happen. There was no way that stars like Flash and Jaedong wouldn’t compete in Starcraft 2. And there was no way that KeSPA wouldn’t plant its giant sea monster foot into ESF’s pool. This was a bout, perhaps not a direct one, that would nonethless change the Korean landscape, and given the rate at which non-Koreans are falling out of the game, the entire Starcraft 2 competitive scene for years to come.

Proleague remains the best team league in the world. GSL remains the best individual league in the world. GOM’s stewardship has not failed its teams more than KeSPA’s leadership has failed to keep teams like Woongjin Stars and STX SouL sponsored. Perhaps it’s unfair to lay these unfortunate circumstances on the feet of institutions whose roles are ultimately limited. KeSPA is not, after all, omnipotent. Still, let us repeat the obvious: KeSPA pros from Mekia to INnoVation have not only equaled but surpassed eSF’s veterans. GSL is now being divvied up between the likes of Soulkey, INoVation, sOs, and Dear. Players of their caliber have sent the old ESF names running to WCS America and Europe. True to history, the invading barbarians were themselves escaping a greater danger.

New rivals mean new effort to combat them. America and Europe vacillated, but GSL’s play remained at the peak of performance. At the same time, Incredible Miracle, Prime and MVP joined Proleague, taking up spots left behind by absent teams and significantly bolstering what would have been a much diminished competition. Teams, players and sponsors on all sides will see more money, more play, and more exposure. No one loses. But then why do I have the feeling that - yes, actually - this town just isn’t big enough for the both of them.

Scarlett vs Bomber

There is a law of Starcraftian coincidence which dictates that rival players will meet in tournaments over and over. Whether you accept that law or believe, as others do, that two players are likely to meet when they always make the round of eight, you can’t deny that repeated bouts spawn stories. Take Bomber’s WCS Season 2 win. Before smashing Jaedong and inching out Taeja, Bomber had played against Scarlett, beating her 3 to 2. That in itself doesn’t accomplish much.

Yes, had she won, Scarlett would have changed the outcome of the tournament, but the same can be said of anyone who lost to Bomber that weekend. What gives that match a new dimension is another two matches played in quick succession some months later. The first, during Red Bull Battle Grounds New York, had Scarlett pushing Bomber out of the group stage. The second, played roughly a week later at IEM Singapore, was a repeat performance. None of them propelled Scarlett to a first place finish, but they did, I believe, teach Bomber some humility.

?Naniwa vs The World

Let’s not say that fate made it this way. If Naniwa alienated some people, so be it. If he made some mistakes, well, he paid for them. If he endeared others, good for him. And if his current bid to reinvent himself succeeds, all the better. These aren’t accidents of fate, just what happened. But let’s not forget that Naniwa’s infamy rode on the back of his prowess as a Starcraft player. It depended on his successes, his determination, and on most of his near misses.

Like Idra, Naniwa is a player that must succeed not because of his mistakes, but in spite of them. Alex Garfield must have believed in him when Naniwa was teamless and apparently friendless. How long will he stay with Alliance? How long did Idra stay with EG? This comparison isn’t fair, but it’s all we’ve got.
 

Dear vs Maru

GSL watchers got a treat this year when Dear and Maru, two players of high pedigree coming from KeSPA and ESF respectively, found themselves dueling in back to back WCS events.

Some backstory: Maru spent his first progaming years in MarineKing’s shadow. When the latter fell out of prominence, Maru was said to be “on the rise.” 2013 finally saw him take a trophy: the WCS Korea Season 2 championship. Dear on the other hand was a blooded but not gilded player. Like the Maru of 2011, he was looking to prove himself.

WCS Korea Season 3 was the battleground. Maru and Dear met in semifinals. It was a 3 - 1 for Dear. He went into the finals where he beat soO 4 - 2 and become a GSL champion. Soon after, Dear and Maru met again, this time in the WCS Season 3 finals, and again Dear got the upper hand. It was another 3 - 1 loss for Maru. Dear took first place.