OrangeGarage Profile Joined October 2015 Korea (South) 299 Posts #1

Park Sang Jin's E-Story

http://game.xportsnews.com/?ac=article_view&entry_id=676339





It was a cold winter day. Upon deciding on the interview he stubbornly said he would come to Gangnam. The restaurant we visited happened to be shutting down in 2016 as well. The food felt like sand in my mouth. It was a great place that I went to eat all the time. It overlapped with the man sitting in front of me, who I was supposed to interview.



FanTaSy. The heir to the T1 Terran succeeding BoxeR and iloveoov. He was victorious in 2010 and was the final Terran both times in 2011 and 2012, fending off the Protoss Jangbi. He stayed with SK Telecom T1 from 2007 to 2014, and continued to show his prowess after moving to team Dead Pixels this year. However, he suddenly announced his retirement this year.



"It was something I have been considering for a while. There are various reasons, but I felt I was too far away from my goal now, which was 'to be the best'. I lost my passion for the game after that. I felt I had a good time in a foreign team, and decided I would announce retirement because this seemed to be an okay period to go."



"Dead Pixels didn't try to stop me or anything. I continuously said to them that I didn't know what I would do in 2016, and the new WCS rules made the future hazy for Korean players in a foreign team. If you get knocked out of a season, you have to stay like that until the next. Of course, there are some new tournaments like the cross finals and stuff, but I didn't think I could make it that far."



"My reason for retiring is not just the WCS system. I would have thought about retiring even if it continued to be the same policy. I didn't get much income from a Ro16 finish, and my contract with the Dead Pixels was more about getting to travel to foreign tournaments rather than income. It took me a long time to make it, but my decision is retirement."



FanTaSy had wanted to retire last year, but he didn't want to end his career with the bad 2014 season being his last. He couldn't leave SKT1 for another Korean team, though. It was the team that accepted him as a progamer and the team where he had his best runs.



"I still love SKT1. T1 is the reason I could become a progamer from a mere boy who loved gaming. I'm sorry that I didn't contact them much after leaving."



"I remember the day I joined SKT1. It was the first time the team had an official entrance test league. The league was supposed to start with the Ro 1,024 but there were too many people, so it became the Ro 2,048. Luckily, I made it to the Ro4 and could join T1. That was early 2006, but I was in 9th grade, so they made me finish school that year before going into the team house."



When FanTaSy joined, SKT1 had the Terrans iloveoov the current SKT1 Coach, Midas, and Canata the SPOTV games caster. FanTaSy says he was scolded by iloveoov a lot, and he couldn't beat Canata until 6 months after he joined.



"Living in a team house means you have to be respectful to all those people. I never had the experience so I was rebuked often. For example, when you see your seniors after you wake up, you have to say good morning to them, but I just made eye contact and left. So I got scolded by iloveoov, but he treated me extra nice after he did.



Gamewise, Canata seemed like an insurmountable wall to me. I could never get a game off of him 6 months into practice. I watched over his shoulder, and Canata's plays were really crisp. It took some time to beat him in the practice match and I can still feel that tension and happiness."



After his bad records in the internal ranking tournament of SKT1, FanTaSy couldn't go the Proleague tournament. That was the driving force that year as he practiced tirelessly until his efforts began to shine through. The next year, FanTaSy achieved second place in the Incruit Starleague, and also got second in the Batoo Starleague. Finally, in 2010, he emerged the victor in Bacchus Starleague. After that, he continued to be second place after meeting Jangbi in the finals of JinAir and Tving Starleague. He was even awarded "Best Terran", beating the Ultimate Weapon Flash.



"Early in my progaming years, I felt Canata was impossible to beat, and I had that same feeling from Flash. I kept stabbing at him, but he wouldn't fall, and even when I got a hit he quickly recovered. He really was a solid wall, and I had fun playing against him.



Jangbi gave me so much agony. I knew him from before because we both came from Busan, and the games always went down a weird path when I met him. Protoss always nipped at my heels when I was a progamer, and it was even harder to overcome in the finals. Now I can look behind and smile at it, but it was a nightmare. I would think that transitioning to Starcraft 2 would be a better decision."



FanTaSy officially started SC2 in 2013, having good runs. Instead of conforming to Starcraft 2 meta, he would play as he did in Brood War, and that gave him the edge over many progamers who weren't used to it.



"BoxeR was the coach back then, and he let me play a lot, and I won a lot. I was sometimes stressed out after dropping games in a row, but looking over the year, I had a good run. I was really tired out because I was the only Terran at that time and BoxeR hovered over me 24/7. He was a good coach though. BoxeR listened closely to my wants and needs, and didn't keep stuff in mind."



However, FanTaSy felt tired after playing many matches, and he began to give up his matches to his juniors. The decision stabbed FanTaSy in the back. He slowly lost his touch of the game by not playing in many televised leagues. And when balance tipped away from Terran, the words "retirement" became more defined in FanTaSy's mind. He could do nothing, and he talked to the team right after the end of the 2014 season. He would leave the team.



"I told them what I thought and they said they understood. I think they already knew I made up my mind and wouldn't have listened to what they said. I was going to retire after that, but my run was incredibly bad that year. There were also fans who burst into tears after hearing rumors of my retirement. I didn't want to end it like this, so I began to search for a foreign team.



I actually got a contact from Dead Pixels as soon as the article about me leaving SKT1. I was worried because it was a new team, so I declined at first. But True became a member and he told me it was a great team, and Dead Pixels contacted me one more time, so I said yes to that one. I wanted to participate in tournaments more than money, and the team agreed to my proposal. I was able to participate in many foreign tournaments this year."



8 years after he became a progamer, FanTaSy participated in foreign tournaments on his own accord. He said it was a very happy time for him. FanTaSy experienced many things, and could tour the cities in his free time. FanTaSy was also invigorated by many foreign fans cheering him on.



FanTaSy finally came back to his former form, and could get to the Global Finals that was hosted this October. However, he was never in the clear and couldn't rest until the very end.



"I would have been in the clear if I got into the Ro16 of Dreamhack, but I lost to HyuN, who was competing with me for points. I thought this was the end of my progaming life, but Dark suddenly lost and my chance remained. Solar defeated HyuN in the finals, giving me one last shot. I really thought this was like a gift from the heavens or something. I beat HyuN 3:2 in the playoffs and got the tickets to Blizzcon. This was my last big thing. I bought Solar some beef as a thank you."



Unfortunately, FanTaSy was knocked out at the Ro16 of Blizzcon. The actual stage was reserved only for players in the Ro8, and FanTaSy said this was the only part where he fell into dilemma about retirement.



FanTaSy steeled himself. He talked to Dead Pixels, and the article about his retirement came out in late December. FanTaSy said he was fine with the article, but he felt regret after he saw his fans reacting to the news. It was a necessary decision, and FanTaSy has now adjusted to the sadness.



I asked FanTaSy who would become the next Crown Prince after him.



"Crown Prince? That was the corniest nickname they gave me(laughter). Even so, it was a good one that gave me a distinction during my first Starleague. It might be corny, but it was a good one. It means I am continuing the lineage of the Ace of the best team ever.



When BoxeR moved on to SC2 and MMA became the Son of BoxeR, many asked me whether that coincided with my nickname, but I didn't think like that. I was happy that MMA was doing well. He used to be in the same team, and he was a hard worker. I didn't know Starcraft 2 all that well, but I still felt good when I heard MMA was making things happen.



SKT1 has its roster changed up so many times that I don't know if anybody can actually qualify now, but I either want Sorry, who was on the team for a long time, to get better and earn the title, or just end it with me.



I actually hated the nickname 'Terrorist' at first. It meant I just ruined the league. Caster Um Jae Kyung asked me about it back in Batoo, and I was full out against it. Now I think its a really meaningful title. The Terrorist has an image of an underdog going against a big guy and toppling him. Of course, I was strong against strong players, but weak against weak players (laughter). I guess I want to be a Terrorist of Justice."



FanTaSy said his biggest regret was back in early 2014, when he didn't appear in as many games. If he tried harder and continued to get on stage, maybe he would still be in SKT1, maybe his fans wouldn't have had to go through the worries with his retirement rumors. He has no regrets, however, because he had many happy times this year. While he was disappointed in his last Global Finals match, he says he is just happy he managed to get to Blizzcon.



"My fans were disappointed that I was on a foreign team, they didn't have as much chance to meet me. I tried to have a fan meeting at least once this year, and I did. I'm greatly sorry that my retirement came soon after that. I still want to have another meeting with my fans sometime in January. Until then, I want to study English and fulfill my dream before I became a progamer.



I wanted to be a developer when I was young. I want to pursue the dream again, now with the experience of being a professional gamer. I want to play different games to help with that. Some people tell me about streaming or LoL, but I am not thinking about streaming yet and I don't really find LoL fun. I used to play Jungle, and I do think I was pretty good though."



As I finished my interview, I had a sudden question I didn't think of before. Why was your ID "FanTaSy"? The reason was simple. Because the goal was to show fans a fantastic, fun game. FanTaSy thinks that he hasn't shamed his ID in that way. While there are some regrets, he is pleased with his overall achievements and shows pride in his efforts to get there.



"The current mood of the StarCraft seems really dreary, and I'm sorry to announce my retirement in this sad time. But I felt it would be better to keep all bad things in 2015 and start 2016 anew, so I'm going now. I'm not a progamer anymore, but I hope StarCraft 2 gets good results and becomes great. As a former pro, I will become a person that will not shame the remaining friends in the scene, staff, and the fans of StarCraft.



Thank you for loving me for the 9 years."



Before we post anything dumb: If you want to say something that involves dissing anything, write "Thank you FanTaSy" Which will translate into "&$#%@ you Blizzard" "BW>>>SC2" or anything of the like. - Jung Myung Hoon.Park Sang Jin's E-StoryIt was a cold winter day. Upon deciding on the interview he stubbornly said he would come to Gangnam. The restaurant we visited happened to be shutting down in 2016 as well. The food felt like sand in my mouth. It was a great place that I went to eat all the time. It overlapped with the man sitting in front of me, who I was supposed to interview.FanTaSy. The heir to the T1 Terran succeeding BoxeR and iloveoov. He was victorious in 2010 and was the final Terran both times in 2011 and 2012, fending off the Protoss Jangbi. He stayed with SK Telecom T1 from 2007 to 2014, and continued to show his prowess after moving to team Dead Pixels this year. However, he suddenly announced his retirement this year."It was something I have been considering for a while. There are various reasons, but I felt I was too far away from my goal now, which was 'to be the best'. I lost my passion for the game after that. I felt I had a good time in a foreign team, and decided I would announce retirement because this seemed to be an okay period to go.""Dead Pixels didn't try to stop me or anything. I continuously said to them that I didn't know what I would do in 2016, and the new WCS rules made the future hazy for Korean players in a foreign team. If you get knocked out of a season, you have to stay like that until the next. Of course, there are some new tournaments like the cross finals and stuff, but I didn't think I could make it that far.""My reason for retiring is not just the WCS system. I would have thought about retiring even if it continued to be the same policy. I didn't get much income from a Ro16 finish, and my contract with the Dead Pixels was more about getting to travel to foreign tournaments rather than income. It took me a long time to make it, but my decision is retirement."FanTaSy had wanted to retire last year, but he didn't want to end his career with the bad 2014 season being his last. He couldn't leave SKT1 for another Korean team, though. It was the team that accepted him as a progamer and the team where he had his best runs."I still love SKT1. T1 is the reason I could become a progamer from a mere boy who loved gaming. I'm sorry that I didn't contact them much after leaving.""I remember the day I joined SKT1. It was the first time the team had an official entrance test league. The league was supposed to start with the Ro 1,024 but there were too many people, so it became the Ro 2,048. Luckily, I made it to the Ro4 and could join T1. That was early 2006, but I was in 9th grade, so they made me finish school that year before going into the team house."When FanTaSy joined, SKT1 had the Terrans iloveoov the current SKT1 Coach, Midas, and Canata the SPOTV games caster. FanTaSy says he was scolded by iloveoov a lot, and he couldn't beat Canata until 6 months after he joined."Living in a team house means you have to be respectful to all those people. I never had the experience so I was rebuked often. For example, when you see your seniors after you wake up, you have to say good morning to them, but I just made eye contact and left. So I got scolded by iloveoov, but he treated me extra nice after he did.Gamewise, Canata seemed like an insurmountable wall to me. I could never get a game off of him 6 months into practice. I watched over his shoulder, and Canata's plays were really crisp. It took some time to beat him in the practice match and I can still feel that tension and happiness."After his bad records in the internal ranking tournament of SKT1, FanTaSy couldn't go the Proleague tournament. That was the driving force that year as he practiced tirelessly until his efforts began to shine through. The next year, FanTaSy achieved second place in the Incruit Starleague, and also got second in the Batoo Starleague. Finally, in 2010, he emerged the victor in Bacchus Starleague. After that, he continued to be second place after meeting Jangbi in the finals of JinAir and Tving Starleague. He was even awarded "Best Terran", beating the Ultimate Weapon Flash."Early in my progaming years, I felt Canata was impossible to beat, and I had that same feeling from Flash. I kept stabbing at him, but he wouldn't fall, and even when I got a hit he quickly recovered. He really was a solid wall, and I had fun playing against him.Jangbi gave me so much agony. I knew him from before because we both came from Busan, and the games always went down a weird path when I met him. Protoss always nipped at my heels when I was a progamer, and it was even harder to overcome in the finals. Now I can look behind and smile at it, but it was a nightmare. I would think that transitioning to Starcraft 2 would be a better decision."FanTaSy officially started SC2 in 2013, having good runs. Instead of conforming to Starcraft 2 meta, he would play as he did in Brood War, and that gave him the edge over many progamers who weren't used to it."BoxeR was the coach back then, and he let me play a lot, and I won a lot. I was sometimes stressed out after dropping games in a row, but looking over the year, I had a good run. I was really tired out because I was the only Terran at that time and BoxeR hovered over me 24/7. He was a good coach though. BoxeR listened closely to my wants and needs, and didn't keep stuff in mind."However, FanTaSy felt tired after playing many matches, and he began to give up his matches to his juniors. The decision stabbed FanTaSy in the back. He slowly lost his touch of the game by not playing in many televised leagues. And when balance tipped away from Terran, the words "retirement" became more defined in FanTaSy's mind. He could do nothing, and he talked to the team right after the end of the 2014 season. He would leave the team."I told them what I thought and they said they understood. I think they already knew I made up my mind and wouldn't have listened to what they said. I was going to retire after that, but my run was incredibly bad that year. There were also fans who burst into tears after hearing rumors of my retirement. I didn't want to end it like this, so I began to search for a foreign team.I actually got a contact from Dead Pixels as soon as the article about me leaving SKT1. I was worried because it was a new team, so I declined at first. But True became a member and he told me it was a great team, and Dead Pixels contacted me one more time, so I said yes to that one. I wanted to participate in tournaments more than money, and the team agreed to my proposal. I was able to participate in many foreign tournaments this year."8 years after he became a progamer, FanTaSy participated in foreign tournaments on his own accord. He said it was a very happy time for him. FanTaSy experienced many things, and could tour the cities in his free time. FanTaSy was also invigorated by many foreign fans cheering him on.FanTaSy finally came back to his former form, and could get to the Global Finals that was hosted this October. However, he was never in the clear and couldn't rest until the very end."I would have been in the clear if I got into the Ro16 of Dreamhack, but I lost to HyuN, who was competing with me for points. I thought this was the end of my progaming life, but Dark suddenly lost and my chance remained. Solar defeated HyuN in the finals, giving me one last shot. I really thought this was like a gift from the heavens or something. I beat HyuN 3:2 in the playoffs and got the tickets to Blizzcon. This was my last big thing. I bought Solar some beef as a thank you."Unfortunately, FanTaSy was knocked out at the Ro16 of Blizzcon. The actual stage was reserved only for players in the Ro8, and FanTaSy said this was the only part where he fell into dilemma about retirement.FanTaSy steeled himself. He talked to Dead Pixels, and the article about his retirement came out in late December. FanTaSy said he was fine with the article, but he felt regret after he saw his fans reacting to the news. It was a necessary decision, and FanTaSy has now adjusted to the sadness.I asked FanTaSy who would become the next Crown Prince after him."Crown Prince? That was the corniest nickname they gave me(laughter). Even so, it was a good one that gave me a distinction during my first Starleague. It might be corny, but it was a good one. It means I am continuing the lineage of the Ace of the best team ever.When BoxeR moved on to SC2 and MMA became the Son of BoxeR, many asked me whether that coincided with my nickname, but I didn't think like that. I was happy that MMA was doing well. He used to be in the same team, and he was a hard worker. I didn't know Starcraft 2 all that well, but I still felt good when I heard MMA was making things happen.SKT1 has its roster changed up so many times that I don't know if anybody can actually qualify now, but I either want Sorry, who was on the team for a long time, to get better and earn the title, or just end it with me.I actually hated the nickname 'Terrorist' at first. It meant I just ruined the league. Caster Um Jae Kyung asked me about it back in Batoo, and I was full out against it. Now I think its a really meaningful title. The Terrorist has an image of an underdog going against a big guy and toppling him. Of course, I was strong against strong players, but weak against weak players (laughter). I guess I want to be a Terrorist of Justice."FanTaSy said his biggest regret was back in early 2014, when he didn't appear in as many games. If he tried harder and continued to get on stage, maybe he would still be in SKT1, maybe his fans wouldn't have had to go through the worries with his retirement rumors. He has no regrets, however, because he had many happy times this year. While he was disappointed in his last Global Finals match, he says he is just happy he managed to get to Blizzcon."My fans were disappointed that I was on a foreign team, they didn't have as much chance to meet me. I tried to have a fan meeting at least once this year, and I did. I'm greatly sorry that my retirement came soon after that. I still want to have another meeting with my fans sometime in January. Until then, I want to study English and fulfill my dream before I became a progamer.I wanted to be a developer when I was young. I want to pursue the dream again, now with the experience of being a professional gamer. I want to play different games to help with that. Some people tell me about streaming or LoL, but I am not thinking about streaming yet and I don't really find LoL fun. I used to play Jungle, and I do think I was pretty good though."As I finished my interview, I had a sudden question I didn't think of before. Why was your ID "FanTaSy"? The reason was simple. Because the goal was to show fans a fantastic, fun game. FanTaSy thinks that he hasn't shamed his ID in that way. While there are some regrets, he is pleased with his overall achievements and shows pride in his efforts to get there."The current mood of the StarCraft seems really dreary, and I'm sorry to announce my retirement in this sad time. But I felt it would be better to keep all bad things in 2015 and start 2016 anew, so I'm going now. I'm not a progamer anymore, but I hope StarCraft 2 gets good results and becomes great. As a former pro, I will become a person that will not shame the remaining friends in the scene, staff, and the fans of StarCraft.Before we post anything dumb: If you want to say something that involves dissing anything, write "Thank you FanTaSy" Which will translate into "&$#%@ you Blizzard" "BW>>>SC2" or anything of the like. I am drone! My dream is Hatchery!