The most macro PvZ you’re likely to see in a while

Though he hasn't seen much recent success in the GSL, Puzzle has become SlayerS' new hero by carrying them through the chaotic arena known as the GSTL. Unlike GSL, GSTL is less about preparation and more about raw skill and solid play, two qualities Puzzle possesses in spades. Puzzle comes from a newer breed of Protoss players who tend towards passive macro games rather than the older 2-base all-in style we used to see all the time in PvZ. Among his brethren are the likes of Creator, Seed, YongHwa, and HerO – definitely not bad company to be associated with.

At the heart of Puzzle's macro play is his bread and butter immortal expand build, which aims to get a safe third base against any type of roach aggression that is so common in today’s metagame. From the GSL to the NASL, this build actually has a 100% win rate in broadcast matches, so definitely look for it to come up at least once in this series.

However, even though Puzzle is fundamentally a macro player, he knows that it's still good to throw in a two base all-in once in awhile. For example, after Puzzle stomped on NSH's Seal with macro play in the GSTL, he decided to pull a fast one and pummeled him with aggressive all-ins when they next met up in Code A. Though Puzzle is the quintessential macro player, don't be surprised if a few all-ins show up in this series. He is playing Protoss versus Zerg, after all.

His opponent, Ret, is known to the foreigner scene as the king of drones, or as MC likes to call him, the “father of drones.” As everyone knows, if you want to look for very solid, very standard Zerg play, then you have nowhere further to look but Ret.

Ret isn't like Symbol who often experiments with complicated combinations of banelings, hydras, overlords and ultralisks. Nor is he similar to DIMAGA, who won’t hesitate to use the retro-hipster combination of lings and banelings. No, with Ret, you always know what you’re going to get. First off, he will almost never cheese you unless he’s forced into that position. That contrasts strongly with players like Stephano and DRG who use an errant baneling bust or 6-pool now and then to supplement their macro play, or players like NesTea and Leenock who are utterly unpredictable. Ret is the boy scout of Zerg, and always opens standard 3 base Zerg so he can start mass producing those drones posthaste. Although this is a solid way to play the game, Ret’s predictability sometimes gets taken advantage of when opponents skimp on scouting in favor of more economy.

After the opening stages of the game, Ret will always attempt to deal with two base pressure or all-ins with roaches; none of that fancy baneling, infestor-ling, or hydralisk crap. And if he survives the mid game, he will do one of two things: light roach-based pressure (though none of that balls to the wall Stephano-style roaches) into infestor broodlord, or just straight up ling/infestor turtle into 15 minute broodlords. By the time broodlords come out, most opponents will have usually sucumed to Ret’s macro advantage provided by his abundant supply of drone children.

Alright, that’s cool and all, but if Ret is so “solid”, then why doesn’t he win every tourney and why does he sometimes actually lose to Protoss? To answer that, let’s take a look at his notable ZvP losses in the past few months. At the Dreamhack Stockholm tournament three months ago, Ret was in a dominating position versus Genius, but didn't know spine his fourth base heavily and lost as a result. In late May, at the Red Bull Battlegrounds, Ret just seemed to lack the knowledge and experience needed to hold the dreaded immortal/sentry all-in against Parting. And although Ret played amazingly versus Squirtle and brought it down to the wire at the Battlegrounds, he made small, but key mistakes in the late game, causing him to lose from an advantageous position. At Dreamhack Summer, Ret neglected to spine and spore his bases against his teammate, Hero, a player usually known for his warp prism harass. And most recently, against MC at HSC V, well to be honest, he just got outplayed by the best PvZ player in the world.

Ret, the Supervillain

"Well it's kind of interesting because there was a time I felt really good about ZvP and then the immortal all-in completely threw me off. I struggled for a while to get the timings down and now I feel like I can finally deal with it. I'm still learning a lot of ZvP every tournament I play but I feel pretty good about playing anyone except some of the very best Korean Protosses in the game. In that regard I'm really happy I get to test myself against Puzzle and the next two weeks will be dedicated to improving my ZvP and (hopefully) getting it ready for a top Korean."

In every tournament Ret has entered in the past few months, he has been thrown off by just one or two key holes in his play. He then patches these holes afterwards only to find a new hole the very next tournament. Like the character, Doomsday, from the Superman mythos, Ret seems to have the power of reactive adaptation. If Ret dies to something in one tournament, he will be immune to it in the next. If we take this ability to its logical conclusion, then one day Ret will be invincible (Doomsday is famous as the villain who finally 'killed' Superman).

Yes, Ret does struggle against top Korean Protosses, as the only times he's been truly outplayed are against the likes of MC, Squirtle, and Hero. Unfortunately for him though, Puzzle has proven, through both GSTL and his generally solid play, that he does belong to that group, the top echelon of Korean Protosses. Trophies aren't everything; it's just something you can see in his play. One day, Ret might finally complete his adaptation and overcome his weakness to top Korean Protosses and slay those Starcraft supermen. But as things stand now, I'm afraid tomorrow won't be that day.

Prediction: Puzzle 3 – 2 Ret

This match-up lacks the sexiness of the other quarterfinals, but it has a sort of ugly duckling appeal. Here we find two players who've seemed to be headed in completely opposite directions recently, but their rapid movement—whether up or down—begs the question; is it real? Oh, and then there's the not so simple matter about whether the players will even show up to the series on time. No promises that we'll see those questions answered on Saturday, (well, fine, we're pretty sure they'll both be there eventually) but it presents an interesting backdrop to what should otherwise be an orthodox PvP between two players floating in the grey zone between Code A and Code B.

SlayerS_Alicia is one of the most surprising players to make a comeback in recent months. Once known exclusively for making a certain GSL commentator swoon by going three gate void ray in every single PvT, Alicia is busy turning the Artosis curse on its head (actually, with YongHwa taking second at HSC and MajOr qualifying for TSL, could the Artosis curse be going awa — oh right, Clide) over a year later. Is he the real deal though? Or is he riding a silly amount of luck that saw him qualify with narrow PvP victories over foreigners and a close call against a bad TvP teammate, then getting placed in the weakest group?

Perhaps that's a leading question.

Then there's HuK, who was bumped out of Dreamhack Summer in the groups—some would say unfairly—and has repeatedly failed to qualify, or even reach the Ro32 in week after week of TLOpens. His qualification for the NASL finals is no less unconvincing than Alicia's. Winning his group, HuK was the beneficiary of three walkovers; from Sen, TLO, and MaNa. Now, some excuses can be made. HuK would've been favored against all three of his NASL walkover opponents, he did play well at Dreamhack, and his TLOpen losses, upon examination, are mostly in Bo1s against tricky strategies. But the fact remains that HuK isn't nearly as untouchable as he used to be. Once up there with Stephano as the obvious best foreigner, HuK has faded as players like SaSe and NaNiwa have gone to more events and put up better results. For maybe the first time in his career, it feels like HuK is underexposed.

There's a third player in this series. His handle is JetLagfOu. Both HuK and Alicia are coming to the NASL Finals on the day of the tournament, on the same plane. [Disclaimer: NASL didn't cause the issue and has by all accounts done a heroic job in piecing this mess together.] Due to scheduling and booking mistakes, the Korean contingent has been heavily delayed. After spending an eternity in airport limbo, they will indeed be making it to the tournament, but mere hours before their scheduled play time. How that will affect either player's abilities is yet to be seen, but it seems reasonable to at least assume; it won't help. Here's a guess. PvP, which is, at its finest, a battle of wits, will become a battle of who has their wits about them. Slow hands aren't easily fixable, but a slow brain will be fatal in this series. The player who can best preserve a positive mindset on the plane, who can sleep as comfortably and long as possible, and who can get pumped up when the crowd cheers and they walk down the red carpet: that's your winner.

So HuK and Alicia have had a hard time attracting attention over their rivals recently. For Alicia, his poor play in the past has diminished his recent notable accomplishments. For HuK, his recent lack of results hasn't measured up to his prior form. But both Protoss players have one significant thing going for them this weekend. They're here. Their popular rivals are not. And so this PvP represents a golden opportunity for both gentlemen to reclaim a position on the podium as one of the world's top Protoss players. But then factor in the stresses of simply getting to the event, and things become even more chaotic and interesting. Which player can better overcome fatigue and prove themselves among the elite Protoss? Can either of them recover enough to push even farther into the tournament?

Many questions, no easy answers. A prediction you say? Get your dice ready. Both Alicia and HuK can play PvP at the highest level; no obvious favorite there. HuK is the more experienced international traveler, but we've seen what too much travel has done for him in the past. Alicia is less experienced; how will he deal with the airline snafus? Perhaps one player will sabotage the other as they sleep? Ultimately, there are way too many uncertain variables to prognosticate with any confidence. So we'll call it for home field advantage. When HuK walks out and the home country crowd cheers his name; that'll give him the slight edge he needs to focus and take the series home.

Prediction: HuK 3 – 2 Alicia

The Outcast of GSL

If you asked one hundred people who was the best Korean to never play in the GSL, ninety-nine would tell you it's PuMa. EG's Terran ace, the two-time NASL champion, has made his career at this tournament and shown play that would match up with some of the GSL's best. Unfortunately for him, for whatever reason, his attempts to qualify for Code A never end up working out.

While he has already beaten the best the world can offer, it's never been in his home country. Be it at the NASL, which he has pretty much made his personal bi-yearly big pay day, or at any of the various European tournaments, Puma has gone up against Code S level players and either beaten them or given them a run for their money.

For that reason, this could be the most important tournament in Puma's career. With a victory in Canada, not only can he achieve an unprecedented three-peat and make history at NASL, but he could almost force Mr. Chae to finally give him a Code S spot. PuMa is a player who definitely should have been considered for a Code S seed, or a Up/Down seed at the worst, but he's been extraordinarily unlucky. His tournament wins have come during periods where GSL did not consider Koreans in their seed policy (Season One) or seasons where more popular players happened to have more recent success (Seasons Two and Three). With Mana and Nerchio both gaining international victories the last month against tough competitors, Puma needs to win this NASL and make it known that his immense and consistent success outweighs the GSL's need to sell a few more international tickets.

Min Chul Sponsored by Korean Air

How does he do it? Not only can he juggle going to almost every tournament outside of Korea and having a cute girlfriend (the death-knell for many a Brood War progamer's career), but MC is also in the semifinals of the current Code S season and gunning for his third championship. Much like PuMa, MC has raided the vaults of countless international tournaments, but unlike his Terran counterpart, he's had immense success in the GSL as well.

For MC, this tournament is his chance to make even more money and continue to prove that no one, be it Squirtle, Parting or any other Protoss, can get close to his throne. Already the best Protoss player in the history of Starcraft II, there's no such thing as a 'must win' tournament for MC anymore. He's had one of the worst travel schedules in recent memory, going to HomeStory, back to Korea for the GSL, and then off to Canada for the GSL finals. It's one of those rare situations for a top pro-gamer where he figuratively cannot lose.

If he wins, it will just be another notch in his belt and another stack of cash he can pile upon his $300,000 already won in tournaments. If he loses, what are people going to say? That he's bad all of a sudden? No, of course not. Even if he were 100%, people would point out that MC tends to drop a tournament or two between winning championships, and on top of that there's the jet lag and scheduling excuse. I would expect MC to give his very best and possibly a victory by the end of the weekend, but you can never tell with MC.

When you think he is unstoppable, he gets beat by a player you think he shouldn't and his two-base pushes look like they are finally figured out. Then, when you think you finally have answered all of MC's questions, he starts destroying everyone and changes everything you thought you knew.

While most players would be dead by the work load, training, and travel schedule, MC continues to fly. For his fans. For his team. For his bank account.

Prediction

Puma and MC have played 20 times internationally. Their record against each other? An even 10-10. While Puma got the first laugh at the inaugural NASL finals over a year ago, MC got his revenge at the IEM Grand Finals in Hannover, beating Puma in the finals to win another major title. Both know how each other play and have both been able to beat the other in dominating fashion.

This is Puma's tournament. Before NASL, Puma was only known as a pretty good up-and-comer on TSL who was debating changing his ID to Gentleman. After winning the first NASL, EG offered him a fat (if it's not, shame on you EG) contract, he has traveled the entire globe and become one of the biggest prize winners in the history of Starcraft 2. Without winning NASL, his entire career would be completely different than what we know today.

While it is Puma's tournament, MC is on fire. Getting a third place finish at Home Story Cup and beating Taeja to make the Code S semifinals, the Protoss President is in great shape coming into the NASL finals. Puma is great at TvP, but he isn't as unbeatable in the match-up any longer, and MC, who a few months ago looked lost in the match-up, is now picking up wins against strong TvP'ers.

Due to their history, expect it to go five games, but MC is too good right now to pick against. Puma might have magical powers when it comes to NASL, but MC is too sleepy to care about NASL magic. All he wants is to beat down Puma and get one step closer to winning another gigantic check he can frame on his wall.

Prediction: MC 3 – 2 Puma

Introducing...

Even the most avid fans of Stephano are probably starting to get a little bit bored of his adventures in Europe-land. Though he hasn't completely conquered the scene there (mouz.MaNa would like a word), there's very little left for Stephano to prove among foreign company. The response to his undefeated run to win the WCS French Nationals was that of almost complete indifference, which basically confirmed the fact that following Stephano's progress has been reduced to waiting for his next match against a Code S Korean.

A much anticipated second trip to Korea in August will surely give us our fill, but for those lacking the patience to wait, the NASL Season Three grand finals will offer an appetizer that might even be tastier than the main dish. The showdown in Toronto will feature five elite Koreans in its top eight – no one expected less from a tournament that features the words "North America" so prominently in its name – and the best non-Korean Zerg in the world will have a golden opportunity to further his reputation.

Stephano's first opponent is the fantastic but mercurial HerO, who comes into the final eight as the runner-up from Season Two. In the past, HerO would have been more accurately described as "inconsistent and nervous" but a DreamHack championship and Code S semi-final run prove that he has become a steady title challenger. Though he suffered a fast Ro32 exit from this season's Code S, it was more due to the incredibly difficult nature of the GSL than his largely outdated reputation as a chronic choker.

Though HerO doesn't have to deal with a rather bulky narrative about representing the hopes of the entire international scene, he's actually in a similar position to Stephano otherwise. They're both excellent players who are championship contenders at any tournament, but they're both just a little bit lacking compared to the very top players of their races. Simply winning tournaments doesn't represent progress to these two: they must be crowned while beating all others who aspire to be the best in the world.

The Breakdown

Stephano has played against a fair number of GSL Protoss players, but HerO presents a very unique challenge. No other player in the world plays such a fast paced, harassment heavy, straight up annoying late game PvZ style. It's not because they don't want to – it's because they can't. HerO's speed and precision at multi-tasking are matched by a grand total of zero players on the Protoss side (maybe MKP, MMA, and DRG for the other races). It's one thing to send out a prism for the occasional zealot warp-in. It's something entirely different to have three prisms active at once, some warping in, some storm dropping, all the while coordinating with your main army movements to make sure your opponent is distracted for maximum effect.

This is is particularly worrisome for Stephano when you look back at some of his more famous losses to Koreans that came after he was looking all but invincible in the international scene. Polt at Assembly, and MMA at IPL4 were able to slowly pick Stephano apart in some tight games by abusing the mobility of medivacs in the way no European Terran could at the time. Stephano might be anticipating HerO's style, but there's no Protoss – not even after he's played the likes of MC and Squirtle – that can prepare him for it.

Of course, all of that assumes the game will go late. Protoss players tend to look fairly uniform when it comes to the early-mid game, and HerO isn't an exception. He doesn't have all-ins down to an art like MC, and he rarely tries to catch the opponent off guard with cute gate-first builds like Seed. HerO just plays the standard repertoire of standard Protoss strategies and builds, whether it's holding a fast third build or going for a two base all-in.

That's not to say that HerO is bad at playing off two or three bases, far from it. He has some of the best mechanics in the world and it shows. The thing is, it's just not going to seem all that special from Stephano's perspective. He's spent the last month or so fighting two immortal all-ins, pre-hive colossus max-out armies, and all sorts of excellently executed standard Protoss play from the best players in the world. He's traded blows with guys like like MC, Squirtle, MaNa, PartinG, and SaSe, and on the whole, he's come out looking pretty damn good. Though HerO is a great player at any phase of the game, being a bit better at the things everyone else does isn't going to give him an edge, at least not against Stephano.

Two Disclaimers and a Prediction:

Disclaimer #1: This is a contemporary PvZ between two evenly matched players. There is a risk that it will boil down to "did the all-in work or not?" Though the better player will prevail in the end, there's a risk that the process itself will be tremendously boring and anticlimactic. Imagine if it was MvP.Vampire who eliminated Stephano with consecutive immortal all-ins at DreamHack Summer, and not fan + foreigner favorite mouz.MaNa. The "f*** PvZ" cries would have echoed all the way to Denmark.

With that in mind, we can still pray for a five game series where every game looks like HerO vs Annyung from IPL's Team Arena. Stephano has a knack for goading Korean Terrans into playing epic long games with him, so while HerO might be a Protoss, let's hope he's also receptive to such suggestions.

Diclaimer #2: If you didn't follow NASL during the regular season, then you might be surprised (and appalled) to see that Dual Sight and Bel'Shir Beach are in the NASL map pool. With only one veto on his side, HerO is guaranteed to play one of these god awful PvZ maps. Have any other maps begged so hard for a two base all-in?

Overall, the map pool goes like this: Cloud Kingdom, Ohana, Daybreak, Dual Sight, Bel'Shir Beach, Antiga Shipyard, and Shakuras Plateau. Though there might be some disagreement on the degree, most would say that the pool favors Zerg.

With those factors in mind, I cautiously predict a Stephano victory. At most phases of the game, I think these two are very evenly matched. HerO has the edge if a game goes super-long, but there's no guarantee we'll see even one game go to that stage. As far as the games play out inside a rubric familiar to Stephano, then the slight edge in maps should also give him a slight edge in the overall series.

Prediction: Stephano 3 – 2 HerO.