The Proleague runner-ups from Woongjin Stars are down to just five players as they lost a total of nine members from September 17th till now. Free, ZerO and Bravo are among the released today.
Although the summer of 2012 was a wonderful period for Woongjin Stars, the team performing exceptionally in individual and team leagues alike, the autumn that follows is everything but. A month ago, it was mentioned that the team was suffering from financial difficulties and although their disbandment was not certain, the possibility of stabilizing still there, it did look like grim times were ahead of the Proleague silver medalists.
On September 17th, Woongjin said goodbye to Flying and Light, both of whom decided to embrace retirement. Though Flying and Light were among the core members of the team, their departure nevertheless did not hurt the Stars roster too much and there was yet strength in it. Even the announced signing of Impact by Axiom today did not pose threat to WJS' power, the Zerg being just a small contribution to the team's overall success.
It would be this current news that significantly bares Woongjin Stars' roster. According to Daily Esports, the team has decided to put six of its players - namely Free, Bravo, Organ, ZerO, Aria and Hanbin - have been put on a 14-day uncancellable waiver list. This reduces WJS's roster to only five players, only two of which in Soulkey and sOs are known for any kinds of individual successes.
This puts a serious question on whether or not Woongjin Stars will be able to compete in the Proleague. Although the roster will be able to fullfill the requirement of having at least one player of each race, their roster barely has any depth as of now. This in turn poses question on what the future of the KeSPA tournament itself will hold, now with SouL competing in the GSTL and Stars' and EG-TL's participation under serious doubt. If all three teams decide to withdraw from the Proleague, the tournament will have to either find new replacements or run its course with the smallest pool of teams since its creation.
Source: Daily Esports
