In Warcraft 3, there are few times when seasoned pros suddenly lose their touch or fade out of the limelight without permanent retirement. And while we had our share of goodbyes in 2008, it has been the year of the young guns and new comers.

This year we have seen the end of careers of many old favorites:

Deadman - A controversial player

The controversial Deadman, able to make a professional career even after his history with cheating. Storm, MYM's wild card in WC3L Season 9, a player that the team loved, but also a guy that was great to have around; his rise to power much more ellegant than his fall from grace. Sweet, who has been a staple in the scene for years, consistent, quiet and strong battling through adversity before the problems with BET wrecked his spirit, and his journey to the army took him from us. Perhaps the most graceful exit from the scene was Insomnia, going out like a champion on top, retiring after SKs last WC3L Championship in a team effort with both Europeans and Koreans side by side, brother and brother. Memorable are the images of him smiling and clapping with HoT and Xlord as his team battled on.

While we mourn and miss the players that have left us, we have also seen the rise of some players that look like they will make 2009 a very interesting year and perhaps even better than 2008.

WE.Infi - A new face in 2008

Following up on his Rookie of the Season award, at ESWC it was WhO that finally managed to break out onto the international scene and prove he was one of the worlds better players. Even after winning the tournament in a remarkable performance, modest as ever, he simply said: "I still don't think I qualify to be a world-class player yet." This after he said he felt he was aiming for no higher than 4th place. Someone needs to pinch him, because WhO is a world class player.

The stories don't stop there though. Europe has seen youngsters like Xlord, Elfi, Happy and Lucifron break out onto the scene, and perform extremely well both online and offline, giving hope that Europe will have some good competition to the growing Asian powerhouses. While these players have a great amount of talent, they are all put in hard situations. Xlord after being part of a championship SK team, has now been relegated to playdowns 2 seasons in a row, and while he does dominate German EPS, his international resume is still waiting.

Elfi was caught in a nasty contract dispute between Hoorai and Gravitas. He was then hyped up to be the player that would make a huge different for GG, and has had many close matches, but has not lived up to expectations leaving people to wonder "What's the fuss about?" While Elfi is for sure a talented player, he still has much to prove.

Happy and Lucifron share the circumstance of being players out of WC3L that have independent means of playing offline, though Lucifron is ready to qualify for WC3L, Happy is still without a team. Though you have to wonder how long it will stay that way. These 2 may be forever tied after the European Season 6 finals, and then at Blizzcon where both passed all expectations in finishing in the top 3 at each event. After WCG, and each emerging from their groups with relative ease, I don't think anyone will be saying Lucifron or Happy had fluke performances. 

WE - Team of the year?

Perhaps of the new power brokers in the Warcraft 3 scene, there was no bigger winner this year than World Elite. Just 3 Seasons ago, WE lost all of its roster except for Sky to SK. How could a team hope to compete in WC3L with no players? How can you rebuild an entire team in 1 off season? World Elite re-devoted itself and started it's talent squads which have already paid dividends for them. In addition to Infi winning several tournaments and performing well, lesser known Like managed to get through the tough Chinese qualifiers into WCG and break through his group stage for the first time in an international tournament. After stating that WCG could change his career, he backed up his talk and got through one of the hardest groups of the tournament.

However, of the new power players in the scene, there is no bigger winner in my opinion than the lovable TeD. Long overshadowed by Infi and Sky, TeD might have proven he is the best Undead player in the world. He has shown that skill can make up for the "racial imbalance" UD have with Orcs, and he has engineered several new strategies in all matchups. More importantly to me than just his performances is his consistency. Whereas Infi has won tournaments, and then disappeared in others, TeD hasn't had a poor offline performance all year, and has been a threat to win all tournaments he has entered.

Last we forget though, the long time pros, fan favorites, and all time greats of the game. Perhaps no other player dominated this year better than did SK Gaming's shining star Lyn, winning several tournaments, finishing high in still more, and earning far more prize money than any other player this year. Winning in several competitions against all races, old pros and new pros, Lyn proved his consistency and strength of play is among the top 3 in the world. From NGTV, ESWC, Blizzcon, and many tournaments in between, Lyn found himself constantly in the playoff stages of tournaments and many times in grand finals and consolation finals. Perhaps this will be the year he finally wins the title of Korea's best player.

Lyn wasn't the only old pro still proving he's worth his weight in gold. In a time where his team was disgraced and cast aside like old news, Mouz star Fly100% showed he is king of his race, battling through a NGTV field of all the world's best Orcs and proved once again he can retain the title of best Orc Mirror player in the world.

MYM]Grubby - Now 100% vindicated

On the other hand, to me the year could not have ended better for perhaps the most loved and most hated Warcraft player the game has seen: Grubby. Plagued by the fact he has not won a major title in what seems like an eternity and constantly getting spammed with hate, Grubby is now 100% vindicated. For over 2 years now, every story on Grubby has been littered with negative comments, "He's past his prime", "He's over the hill", "He's done". Nonsense. Grubby laughed, and brushed it off. Not only did Grubby break through to win WCG a 2^nd time, a feat only equalled by Sky, he did so against his teammate, all time rival, and the consensus best player ever to play the game, Moon.

What can you say about Moon? He's the best, most innovative, fun player to watch. That he's a maestro, a magician, magical. Most of all though, I feel sorry for him. He's still the player all the players name as the favorite in every tournament, still the player that everyone wants to beat, still the man that commands the most respect. This makes him a target, and harder for him to win than any other player. How can one person deal with all the expectation of his fans? Still he suceeds, but can he win again? Will we ever see the Spirit Moon of 2005 and 2006 again?

Maybe this is the new generation of WC3 with players like TH000 and Check using new strategies and tactics in games. Perhaps legends have their place in history, and its time for them to make room on the podium for Chinese talents like TeD and Infi. It could be that players like Bonecracker and Lucifron are the new generation of European stars. Still, that doesn't mean that old dogs can't learn new tricks.