YellOw was known as the “Storm zerg” and at the dawn of when the StarCraft scene was just getting popular, at the time when the “Emperor” showed up, at the time everyone thought he was unbeatable, YellOw was the only zerg player able to make him run for his money. This rivaly went on for years in the StarCraft scene and captivated many fans to watch their intense rivalry to win the gold. The rivalry between YellOw, the zerg player also known as the “Storm Zerg” and SlayerS_`BoxeR`, the terran player known as the “Emperor,” which will be never forgotten. YellOw’s play was known to rush for higher tech units with a low economy and literally “storm” the opponent into submission without them knowing what’s coming until it finally strikes.

ClouD on the other hand, is lesser known veteran player of the StarCraft scene who hasn’t accomplished much in his career. However, many fans are still ecstatic that they will be joining their former teams and continue on playing the game they know and love, despite the craze over the release of StarCraft 2.

From my predictions, I am seeing a Kal vs Stork semi-finals and a Hyuk vs Calm semi-finals as well. Normally I would say that Fantasy has the advantage, but lately his play has been out of his ball park. If you have seen games where he played against Neo.G_Soulkey, a rather new zerg from the Woogjin team, he has been relentlessly been torn apart. He has defeated Fantasy 4-0. Fantasy has always been able to held his own against zerg players, no matter how well they were and put up a good fight while at it – no matter if it was Jaedong or EffOrt. But in this case, it seems that the tides are turned around. In his current condition, I don’t think he is as prominent as he has been in the past and fit to win the OSL. Hyuk, who probably knows his playing style the best on the other hand, has my bet of having a better shot at the title.

There are two things for certain about this OSL final. We won’t be seeing any Protoss action within the finals because if the opportunity strikes, it will happy during the semi-finals and that we won’t be seeing any zerg on zerg action in the final if my predictions are right. I guess we will find out in the coming days. However, this leaves me to wonder. Who do you think will manage to make it into the semi-finals of this year’s 2010 Bacchus OSL?

fOrGG, a veteran professional StarCraft player has announced that he be will retiring from being a progamer. He has made his decision public and alerted KeSPA of his decision already. The reason for this unexpected turn of events is still unconfirmed. However, reputable sources (fomos.kr, daum.net) that have connections with the player says it is for personal relations and as foreigners, all we can do is respect his decision. His retirement is truly a huge blow to the StarCraft scene and he will be missed.

The timing of his retirement sure is questionable though because consequently Flash, his teammate who also known as the Ultimate Weapon, has been eliminated from the MSL from a huge upset from lower known professional progamers like Classic and Ssak. This may open a window of opportunity for letting his former teammate who is in the KT team, to re-enter into the MSL – but that is simply a mere conspiracy theory. Nothing can take away what fOrGG has contributed to the progaming scene and take away from the fact that his absence in the pro-scenes as a big name will be a big one next to EffOrt, a zerg player who played for CJ Entus who has now retired.

Many know fOrGG for his unique style of play with the Terran race. His impeccable timing pushes were unmatched by any other player, reason why he was known as the “ticking clock.” In his career one of the biggest upset was caused by his unpredictable play. In 2008, he reigned as MSL champion as an underdog defeating foes who many thought could run home with the gold – players like Stork and Jaedong. He has truly left his mark in the progaming scene and has done what many other progamers could not accomplish in their lifetime – bring home the gold.

Although many people speculate that he will be joining the StarCraft 2 progaming scene and enter tournaments such as the GSL where cash prizes are about 80 grand, it is certain to say that this is a huge loss for the StarCraft progaming scene. If this is true, it just goes to show how competitive professional StarCraft is because he was not just anybody, he was a A teamer. While his retirement will leave fans in awe of his sudden retirement, he will be leaving KeSPA speculating in a minor crisis of what to do next to fill in for the next match of the MSL for group F where fOrGG was supposed to play in two more days. fOrGG will be leaving the scene with a 148-133 (52.67%) record, which most certainly is no easy task for the average player.

Rumors have it that Blizzard will be releasing StarCraft 2 Heart of the Swarm around sometime in 2012. Although Blizzard has not yet confirmed that rumor because they refuse to comment on the issue, analysts have said that you can count on the game being released sometime around that period. So if you are a die-hard StarCraft fan, don’t keep your hopes up yet. As we all know, Blizzard has a tendency to prolong game releases for StarCraft, if you know what I mean.

From the last Blizzcon, they have announced a few candidates to become units to join the swarm army. You can take a look at what they may have in store for whats to come in the Heart of the Swarm.

Since the release of the first StarCraft, it has been a game that no other game could compete with at its time. The beauty of the original StarCraft and what make it such a prominent product for Blizzard today is the whole concept behind StarCraft. That, it takes skills, knowledge, strategy, and focus to be able to win a game. The game itself to this day is still fun to play and compelling to watch. The legacy the original StarCraft left behind is unmatched by any other game. I have not yet to play a role playing game that could match the legacy that the original StarCraft has left behind. Competitive StarCraft players even play for a living, despite the fact that their salary may be low, just for the love of the game. To this day, I am still a StarCraft Brood War player and I will forever will be. Although I have my hands on StarCraft 2 the first edition, I have my fingers crossed for whats to come in StarCraft 2 Heart of the Swarm because StarCraft 2 have yet to capture that essence of the original StarCraft that made it cool, edgy, fun, and just a true beauty that made the original StarCraft everything it was.

If the Amazon ratings for StarCraft 2 is 1.7 stars away (3 stars) from it’s previous descender (4.7 stars), Brood War. It must mean that I am not the only one that feels something is missing and that, Blizzard still has work cut out for them.

I have high hopes for StarCraft 2 Heart of the Swarm to be everything that the first edition of StarCraft 2 was not.

Here is what Blizzard has to say to the new technology of Battle.net

Fully integrated, user-friendly, and fast, the all-new Battle.net makes it easy to find and play games, opening the world of online gaming to generations of players. In the 14 years since the original Battle.net’s launch, the service has seen tremendous growth both in terms of features and active players. Currently, there are more than 12 million active accounts on Battle.net worldwide.

This raises an interesting question. If the original Battle.net was so successful, why change it? Updating a service like Battle.net is a hugely complex undertaking. Are there really that many new features that Blizzard Entertainment could offer that would deliver a world-class online gaming experience to its community?

In one word: Yes.

The list of past innovations integrated into the legacy Battle.net service is long and varied — the introduction of competitive ladders, server-hosted games, online-stored characters, automated matchmaking, and more. But with the release of StarCraft II, Battle.net will evolve into an even more powerful and advanced online game service that will power all Blizzard Entertainment titles moving forward.

The final metamorphosis has only just begun….

Read about it directly from the StarCraft 2 it self.

After months of StarCraft II beta delays, it sounds like Blizzard’s just about ready to let testers deploy dozens of futuristic units across neon blue and purple maps. In an earnings call yesterday, Activision Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaine revealed its much anticipated sci-fi real-time strategy sequel was “slated to be in closed beta testing later this month.”

Morhaine added that the beta test would occur “on a global scale” and include “thousands of testers in North America, Europe, Korea, Taiwan, Australia, and New Zealand.”

StarCraft II’s beta phase was due to launch last summerbut the test never materialized and many assumed the game was having development issues and would miss its estimated holiday 2009 launch window. Sure enough, in August the company announced the game would be delayed until 2010.

Haven’t signed up yet? You still can, by scanning Blizzard’s beta FAQ and signing up for a Battle.net account.