The Commander
In the progaming world of Starcraft, individual matches receive the most attention. Starleagues are the most popular, and some even find Dual Tournaments to be more exciting than Proleague. Proleague started fairly late with Ongamenet in 2003, but has improved a great deal: the two broadcasting stations MBC and OGN now work together for Proleague matches, and the game sets have been changed from best of three to best of five. More importantly, people are having an increasing interest in specific progaming teams as a whole, as well as the individual players. And like any other type of sports, the concept of a “team” has matured. Behind this momentous growth of e-sports stands a significant progamer that many do not know about.
Lee Changhoon, also known as Sigamari, used to be called the "Nexus Killer," for the countless times of exploiting the weaknesses in an enemy's base and destroying the nexus. Presently he is better known as "The Commander" for his unmatched skills in teamplays.
Teamplay Specialist
Sigamari views the game of Starcraft on an entirely different level. Just as 2-D is completely different than 3-D, he has the ability to sketch the gameplan in his head, simultaneously adjusting for his partner's actions as well as the movements of the two opponents. When asked the reason why he is so strong in teamplays, Samsung coach Kim Gaeul, aka [Oops]January explained that it was primarily his depth of understanding the many situations in the game, intuitive judgments, sharp senses, and quick reactions.
The very first Starcraft event that Sigamari entered was a teamplay tournament. Though he did quite well in the tournament, he concentrated on individual matches shortly after, until he joined the Orion team. At the time, the top teamplayers were H.O.T-Forever and [Oops]Reach, of the Hanbit team. With three consecutive victories on the maps The Huntress and Neo Jungle Story, they were considered to be the best partners.
Sigamari volunteered to play the teamplay matches against Hanbit. He promised coach Ju Hoon that he would definitely win, and worked with his teammate IntoTheRainbow as they crushed H.O.T-Forever and [Oops]Reach on The Huntress, defeating the Hanbit team. Afterwards, coach Ju Hoon entrusted all teamplay responsibilities to him, as he helped the team to win the KTF Ever Proleague in August 2003, the MBC LG IBM Team League in April 2004, and the MBC Tuscan Team League in September 2004. The team also placed second in the SKY Proleague in July 2004. He also received the MVP award for the KTF Ever Proleague.
Rebirth of Samsung Khan
After joining the Samsung team in 2005, he carried the exclusive responsibility for teamplays. He was distraught for a long time after entering Samsung, as many players spent little time with teamplay practices, being too busy concentrating on their individual matches. Nevertheless, Sigamari drastically improved the team's victories from 30% to 75% within six months, led them to the finals for SKY Proleague 2005 within a year, and won the 1st KeSPA cup 2005. They defeated top teams along the way, particularly the KTF team that was on their record-breaking 23rd winning streak. Beyond doubt, Sigamari gave Samsung a defining characteristic as a team which they lacked, and proved that teamplay is just as important as individual matches.
Sigamari is currently ranked first in Proleague for most wins and most games played. He was also awarded the daily MVP at one point, which is very rare for teamplayers to receive. He was featured in the esFORCE magazine as the Best Teamplayer of 2005, and received the 2006 Korea E-Sports Award for Best Teamplay with his partner, [EroS]~TT.
In 2006, the Proleague changed its game sets to include only one teamplay on the 3rd set, in contrast to last year's two teamplays on the 2nd & 4th sets. Though this change upset the Samsung team, winning the teamplay on the 3rd set is critical, as it can prevent their team from losing 0-3, giving them a chance to make a comeback. Though Sigamari won all of the 3rd sets so far except for one, with 5 wins and 1 loss for teamplays, his team was not always able to win in the end, with an overall 2 wins and 4 losses.
Sigamari also proved his abilities recently in individual matches during the WCG preliminaries. He defeated GoodFriend 2-1 with unique styles, using the classic strategy of upgraded only-hydras and the guardian-hydra rush that was last seen in the ancient days of the v1.07 patch.
The Visionary
Sigamari stated that he wants to show something different. Many times he used Zerg & Protoss combinations on maps that favored Zerg & Terran, to show that there are plenty of strategies with the two. He expressed that if his race wasn't Zerg, he might not have entered teamplays. His reason is that though the Zerg lacks some strategic elements, there are endless strategies that emerge in teamplays.
It's not that he doesn't have any desire for individual leagues. It's known by everyone that one of the goals of all progamers is to win an individual championship. "Individual matches? Sure, I have the ambition," he said. "But the team is important too. I have to be a player that the team needs. Right now, the Samsung team needs me to participate in teamplays."
A considerable amount of effort is needed even in teamplays. There are many that express their dislike for teamplays, saying that it is simply too boring to watch. Sigamari explained that because some progamers don't think of teamplays very highly, they don't make the effort to develop strategies for teamplays. "It's understandable that people will find teamplays tedious," he added. "It's because the same strategy appears in teamplays every single time. People start forgetting about them because they see the same matches over and over again. There is a need for innovative strategies."
He then gave Boxer as an example. "I like Yohwan-hyung the best. He always makes the audience anxious, making them wait in anticipation. In the same way, I want to be a person that makes the audience come with great expectations for teamplays. I wish that teamplays will be acknowledged by all people, just like the individual games. I will strive to make this happen."
Highlights #1: Sigamari vs Goodfriend @ 815 III
WCG 2006 Progamer Rep. Preliminaries
- Expands at 11 o'clock, controls the map with continuous movement of hydralisks and positioning of overlords.
- Moves hydralisks in separate groups for a favorable position and eliminates the first wave of marines & medics.
- Blocks the Terran's attempts to eliminate the 11 o'clock expansion with good positioning of hydralisks.
- Feints an attack by sending empty overlords to the Terran base, tricking the marines & medics to pull back, while the hydralisks gain a favorable ground to attack the marines & medics at the Terran entrance.
- Uses dark swarm to support hydralisks in eliminating another wave of marines & medics.
- Destroys Goodfriend's front mineral expansion and immediately drops the hydralisks at the Terran's 3 o'clock expansion.
Highlights #2: Sigamari vs Goodfriend @ Arcadia
WCG 2006 Progamer Rep. Preliminaries
- Controls the sunkens to target the firebat first, when the Terran infantry attempt to stim past the sunken line.
- Quickly takes a gas expansion at 12 o'clock, an unusual location which Goodfriend does not know about even when the game ends. This early expansion helps support Sigamari economically throughout the game.
- Upgrades overlord speed with the primary lair, while upgrading to a hive with a hatchery in the corner for a fast guardian compositional change.
- Continues to use an unusual combination of expensive units- hydralisks and guardians to neutralize the relatively cheap Terran units.
Lee Changhoon, also known as Sigamari, used to be called the "Nexus Killer," for the countless times of exploiting the weaknesses in an enemy's base and destroying the nexus. Presently he is better known as "The Commander" for his unmatched skills in teamplays.Teamplay Specialist
Sigamari views the game of Starcraft on an entirely different level. Just as 2-D is completely different than 3-D, he has the ability to sketch the gameplan in his head, simultaneously adjusting for his partner's actions as well as the movements of the two opponents. When asked the reason why he is so strong in teamplays, Samsung coach Kim Gaeul, aka [Oops]January explained that it was primarily his depth of understanding the many situations in the game, intuitive judgments, sharp senses, and quick reactions.
The very first Starcraft event that Sigamari entered was a teamplay tournament. Though he did quite well in the tournament, he concentrated on individual matches shortly after, until he joined the Orion team. At the time, the top teamplayers were H.O.T-Forever and [Oops]Reach, of the Hanbit team. With three consecutive victories on the maps The Huntress and Neo Jungle Story, they were considered to be the best partners.
Sigamari volunteered to play the teamplay matches against Hanbit. He promised coach Ju Hoon that he would definitely win, and worked with his teammate IntoTheRainbow as they crushed H.O.T-Forever and [Oops]Reach on The Huntress, defeating the Hanbit team. Afterwards, coach Ju Hoon entrusted all teamplay responsibilities to him, as he helped the team to win the KTF Ever Proleague in August 2003, the MBC LG IBM Team League in April 2004, and the MBC Tuscan Team League in September 2004. The team also placed second in the SKY Proleague in July 2004. He also received the MVP award for the KTF Ever Proleague.
Rebirth of Samsung Khan
After joining the Samsung team in 2005, he carried the exclusive responsibility for teamplays. He was distraught for a long time after entering Samsung, as many players spent little time with teamplay practices, being too busy concentrating on their individual matches. Nevertheless, Sigamari drastically improved the team's victories from 30% to 75% within six months, led them to the finals for SKY Proleague 2005 within a year, and won the 1st KeSPA cup 2005. They defeated top teams along the way, particularly the KTF team that was on their record-breaking 23rd winning streak. Beyond doubt, Sigamari gave Samsung a defining characteristic as a team which they lacked, and proved that teamplay is just as important as individual matches.
Sigamari is currently ranked first in Proleague for most wins and most games played. He was also awarded the daily MVP at one point, which is very rare for teamplayers to receive. He was featured in the esFORCE magazine as the Best Teamplayer of 2005, and received the 2006 Korea E-Sports Award for Best Teamplay with his partner, [EroS]~TT.
In 2006, the Proleague changed its game sets to include only one teamplay on the 3rd set, in contrast to last year's two teamplays on the 2nd & 4th sets. Though this change upset the Samsung team, winning the teamplay on the 3rd set is critical, as it can prevent their team from losing 0-3, giving them a chance to make a comeback. Though Sigamari won all of the 3rd sets so far except for one, with 5 wins and 1 loss for teamplays, his team was not always able to win in the end, with an overall 2 wins and 4 losses.
Sigamari also proved his abilities recently in individual matches during the WCG preliminaries. He defeated GoodFriend 2-1 with unique styles, using the classic strategy of upgraded only-hydras and the guardian-hydra rush that was last seen in the ancient days of the v1.07 patch.
The Visionary
Sigamari stated that he wants to show something different. Many times he used Zerg & Protoss combinations on maps that favored Zerg & Terran, to show that there are plenty of strategies with the two. He expressed that if his race wasn't Zerg, he might not have entered teamplays. His reason is that though the Zerg lacks some strategic elements, there are endless strategies that emerge in teamplays.
It's not that he doesn't have any desire for individual leagues. It's known by everyone that one of the goals of all progamers is to win an individual championship. "Individual matches? Sure, I have the ambition," he said. "But the team is important too. I have to be a player that the team needs. Right now, the Samsung team needs me to participate in teamplays."
A considerable amount of effort is needed even in teamplays. There are many that express their dislike for teamplays, saying that it is simply too boring to watch. Sigamari explained that because some progamers don't think of teamplays very highly, they don't make the effort to develop strategies for teamplays. "It's understandable that people will find teamplays tedious," he added. "It's because the same strategy appears in teamplays every single time. People start forgetting about them because they see the same matches over and over again. There is a need for innovative strategies."
He then gave Boxer as an example. "I like Yohwan-hyung the best. He always makes the audience anxious, making them wait in anticipation. In the same way, I want to be a person that makes the audience come with great expectations for teamplays. I wish that teamplays will be acknowledged by all people, just like the individual games. I will strive to make this happen."
Highlights #1: Sigamari vs Goodfriend @ 815 III
WCG 2006 Progamer Rep. Preliminaries
- Expands at 11 o'clock, controls the map with continuous movement of hydralisks and positioning of overlords.
- Moves hydralisks in separate groups for a favorable position and eliminates the first wave of marines & medics.
- Blocks the Terran's attempts to eliminate the 11 o'clock expansion with good positioning of hydralisks.
- Feints an attack by sending empty overlords to the Terran base, tricking the marines & medics to pull back, while the hydralisks gain a favorable ground to attack the marines & medics at the Terran entrance.
- Uses dark swarm to support hydralisks in eliminating another wave of marines & medics.
- Destroys Goodfriend's front mineral expansion and immediately drops the hydralisks at the Terran's 3 o'clock expansion.
Highlights #2: Sigamari vs Goodfriend @ Arcadia
WCG 2006 Progamer Rep. Preliminaries
- Controls the sunkens to target the firebat first, when the Terran infantry attempt to stim past the sunken line.
- Quickly takes a gas expansion at 12 o'clock, an unusual location which Goodfriend does not know about even when the game ends. This early expansion helps support Sigamari economically throughout the game.
- Upgrades overlord speed with the primary lair, while upgrading to a hive with a hatchery in the corner for a fast guardian compositional change.
- Continues to use an unusual combination of expensive units- hydralisks and guardians to neutralize the relatively cheap Terran units.
Sigamari also proved his abilities in WCG against GooDFrienD just recently. If you haven't seen them, you should -- they're very entertaining! Yo Hwan of Zerg ;)
Posted by
Anonymous |
8:48 PM
They sound like quite a must-watch from the short description in the blog text.
:)
where can we get vods / replays of these?
Posted by
Anonymous |
1:55 AM
Vods are uploaded. :)
Posted by
Anonymous |
12:32 AM
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