UpAndDown Matches- Day 4

      Byun expands off one barracks then techs to siege tanks. Leenock techs immediately to infestors, then expands to his natural and gets a spire. Byun sticks with the much more conventional composition of marine/tank/medivac. Leenock takes his gold as he builds up a muta/zergling/infestor army and morphs a baneling nest. Byun starts to slowly push across the map with tanks and turrets. Leenock takes the counter-clockwise main, not producing any more infestors beyond the first batch, but the infestors pay for themselves many times over with fungal after fungal growth. Byun takes his gold and builds his first thor. Leenock takes his fifth at his fourth's natural.
      Byun's push finally gets to Leenock's natural; Leenock promptly sacs it. A feeble attack by Leenock trades for about equal food, but forces Byun's push back to his own side of the map. Leenock techs to brood lords and snipes Byun's lone starport with mutalisks after only two vikings get out. But Byun distracts Leenock's mutalisks with a drop and manages to kill all the brood lords and infestors with stimmed marines! This leaves only zerglings and mutalisks to fend against marine/tank/thor. Leenock does a lot of damage with his mutalisk flock, but it eventually gets worn down by continual javelin missile blasts, allowing Byun to stomp all over the map and force Leenock out of the game.

An interesting strategy by Leenock. It seemed very greedy, but I would have liked to see how it would have worked out had Leenock's high-tier units not been ganked in the middle of the map.

Byun wins, 1-0

      Leenock early expands. Byun expands after a reaper for scouting. Leenock techs to lair, while Byun gets.... reaper speed?! But Byun's first reapers get spotted and easily repelled by queens. Leenock get his spire and expands to the vertical main. Byun starts getting two-factory thor/tank. Leenock takes the vertical natural. and gets a hive. Byun starts to push through the shared hallway with marine/tank/thor, and Byun again techs to brood lords. Leenock loses a lot in a poorly positioned preemptive attack on Byun's forces. But a follow-up counter-attack with zerglings kills Byun's natural expansion just after he had expanded to the hallway.
      Leenock is up five bases to two, prompting Byun to put his push into overdrive. Byun's mech/marine army kills the hatchery at Leenock's main, but all of Leenock's tech was fortunately at his natural. Leenock counter-attacks again, killing Byun's main orbital command. But Byun's siege tanks are free to siege up over Leenock's lair, which they do, destroying everything. But Leenock's ultralisk cavern is at his third! When the dust settles, Leenock is at the three bases vertical from his starting position making ultralisks and regrowing his tech tree. Byun in on one mining base and desperately trying to kill Leenock before he can get back in the game. To abuse Leenock's lack of air units, Byun starts dropping all over the map, killing a baneling nest and one of Leenock's bases. Mutalisks finally reappear for Leenock. The final battle is two base mutalisk/ultra against one-base marine/tank. The zerg army ekes out a win, prompting the terran to gg.

Another awesome ZvT on Shakuras Plateau from Leenock. The one thing that seems to be missing from Leenock's play is that mid-level army control that only seems to come from tons of experience. Also, is it now illegal to not push through the hallway with two-base marine/mech in those positions as terran? The reapers were a nice touch though, even if they didn't end up paying off.

Leenock wins, 1-1

      Leenock gets early zergling speed, then expands. Byun two-barracks at his choke and gently pushes with his first marines. Leenock chases Byun's marines all the way back to Byun's base. Terran walls off his choke with a third barracks and expands. Leenock gets an evolution chamber and techs to infestor. Leenock expands to the close-by-air main. Byun tank-drops Leenock's natural. Leenock cleverly launches a dozen infested terrans onto the cliff to deal with it. Leenock takes a fourth and gets a quick hive.
      Leenock wants ultralisks before brood lords this game, getting six at once with +3 melee and chitinous plating. Byun again abuses Leenock's lack of air with many drops at once, killing Leenocks's natural and stripping his fourth of all its drones. Leenock nydusses into Byun's base, but only four ultralisks get out of it before the nydus is killed by scvs, meaning essentially four free ultras for Byun's siege tanks. Byun expands to the shared gold. His tanks now have free reign over Leenock's choke. Byun also cliff-drops Leenock's fourth base to death. Leenock nydusses to the shared island, but his expansion there gets killed by a marine drop, leaving Leenock on just a single mining base. Leenock tries one last ultralisk attack, but gg's when Byun's marauders hold.

Leenock still looks cheerful and upbeat despite his loss, knowing that he played a very entertaining match. Byun seems like he has practiced this moment many times as he displays his Code S amulet with a great flourish.

ZeNEXByun wins 2-1, is promoted to Code S
LeenockfOu loses, faces ZeNEXLiveForever in yet another Code S fight to the death

LeenockfOu

      Leenock hatches first, followed by zergling speed. LiveFor expands after a reaper and transitions into pre-ignited hellions. Leenock denies the first hellion run with two clutch evo chambers and queens. Leenock expands to the vertical natural, then gets an in-base hatchery. Leenock gets his spire. LiveFor awkwardly pushes across the map with marine/tank, and gets everything ripped up by zerglings.
      LiveFor starts to push through his hallway's rocks. But, after killing LiveFor's first army, Leenock is able to take out LiveFor's second army with just his mutalisks. Leenock then runs into LiveFor's base and morphs a bunch of banelings right in the middle of the scv line in an obvious diss. LiveFor's scvs retreat... all the way way to Leenock's natural? LiveForever gg's.

LiveForever seemed a little bit lost here. Either he misjudged Leenock's build or he went on autopilot, because both attacks seem to come at pretty arbitrary times and ended very poorly for him.

Leenock wins, 1-0

      Leenock hatches first. LiveFor two-barracks and applies some gentle bunker pressure while expanding. Leenock fends it off, gets an evolution chamber, and techs to spire. LiveFor sticks to five barracks(TTRRx). LiveFor pushes with his infantry right after shields/stim finishes. Leenock still only has zerglings, and not enough to hold it off. Leenock gg's

Leenock has been playing a little bit greedy today, both economy-wise and tech-wise. That push, and similar ones, should be in the back of every zerg's mind until he's completely prepared for or discounted it.

LiveForever wins, 1-1

Jungle Basin
      Leenock hatches first. LiveFor expands after his first barracks. LiveFor lets two zerglings in, then builds up to six barracks(TTxxxx). Leenock again techs to spire, then gets a baneling nest. LiveFor again attacks right when stim finishes. After the first few banelings that come out die to a marine run-back, there is nothing left standing between LiveForever and Code S.

Whoops. Once again, Leenock tries to get away with a little too much, and this time pays for it with his Code S status. In his interview, LiveForever says that he had not prepared any builds for today, but just "followed his heart." I believe it. Those last two games it seems like was trying for the same thing, but went about it in two totally different ways. LiveFor is going to have to clean up if he doesn't want to end up back in the relegation matches next season.

ZeNEXLiveForever wins 2-1, stays in Code S
LeenockfOu loses, is demoted to Code A

      Both players tech to air: Top for cloaked banshees and LegalMind for a void ray. Neither player's first flying unit does very much damage. LegalMind expands to his natural, gets a robo and robo bay. Top expands to his vulnerable back door and starts building thors. LegalMind keeps building void rays and immortals, but stays pretty light on gateway units. Top gets a cloaked banshee into LegalMind's mineral line. LegalMind has no observer to defend and so attacks into Top's base. Top wins the battle with three thors to spare.

Top wins, 1-0

      Top goes for a pre-ignited hellion drop. LegalMind expands after three gateways, following up with both a robotics facility and a forge, which interestingly goes for +1 armor first. Top's two-pronged, second hellion drop does a lot of damage after LegalMind focus fires a retreating hellion with probes. LegalMind is left with a little more than half the amount of workers that Top has. Top attacks with a tidy force of marines, marauders, medivacs, blue-flame hellions, and a raven. It works very well. Top goes through to Code S.

A very straightforward match. Picking your opponents is definitely quite an advantage, although I think Top probably could have advanced out of any of these groups.

oGsTOP wins 2-0, is promoted to Code S
SlayerS_LegalMinD loses, faces sanZenith for the last spot in Code S

Not needed. Top stays on top.

oGsTOP wins 2-0, is promoted to Code S
SlayerS_LegalMinD loses, faces sanZenith for the last spot in Code S

SlayerS_LegalMinD

      Both players four-gate. LegalMind gets into San's base, but San gets the upper hand and chases him out. LegalMind gets a robotics facility. San gets a stargate, both off of one base. LegalMind follows up with a robotics bay. LegalMind even makes a colossus after seeing two void rays with an observer. When the second battle comes, the void rays tear everything up. LegalMind gg's.

San wins, 1-0

      Both players four-gate. LegalMind batters San's front for quite a while. LegalMind finally pushes through after getting a sentry for guardian shield.

Yep.

LegalMind wins 1-1

Steppes of War
      Both players four-gate... poorrly. After the first odd battle, San techs to colossus, and LegalMind goes for blink. LegalMind attacks with a gaggle of stalkers when blink finishes, but doesn't use it. The attack fails pretty badly. Phase two of randomly teching: San gets his on blink, LegalMind gets a star gate... then a robo. Just to recap, LegalMind has four gateways, a cybernetics core, a twilight council, a robotics facility, and a star gate... all off of one base. When the final battle comes, San's blink stalkers beat LegalMind's void rays.

What did I just watch? This game reminded me of the first time I had to dance with a girl in cotillion class in seventh grade. It was like every dance I had learned flashed through my head at the same time, and I panicky tried to foxtrot, waltz, and shag all at the same. My partner ended up a bloody nose and a broken heel. It didn't get me to Code S though. In his winner's interview, San says that he doesn't take playing professional StarCraft very seriously, but is more using it as a fun way to bide his time until the military. Look for him to make another appearance in the relegation matches.

San wins 2-1, stays in Code S.
LegalMind loses, is demoted to Code A

ZeNEXByun 2-1 LeenockfOu ZeNEXByun is promoted to Code S
ZeNEXLiveForever 2-1 LeenockfOu ZeNEXLiveForever stays in Code S
LeenockfOu is demoted to Code A

oGsTOP 2-0 SlayerS_LegalMinD oGsTOP is promoted to Code S
sanZenith 2-1 SlayerS_LegalMinD sanZenith stays in Code S
SlayerS_LegalMinD is demoted to Code A

A final day of Code A domination as the last two of the six promoted Code A players knock their counterparts out of Code S. I think something will have to change about the picking of opponents by the Top2 Code A players. At least put those matches first so the last round of the relegation matches isn't so anti-climatic.

Promoted 1111
Demoted 111
Stay CodeS 11
Stay CodeA 0
Net : +1


Promoted 1
Demoted 111
Stay CodeS 11111
Stay CodeA 11
Net: -2


Promoted 1
Demoted 0
Stay CodeS 111
Stay CodeA 0
Net: +1

So all-in-all, we lose two zergs and pick up one of the other two races. Interestingly. though, we only have one new player for zerg and protoss, but we have four new faces for terran. Also, even though zerg ended up losing two spots, they didn't do so bad considering that eight of them were up for relegation. What really hurt them was Cezanne and Moon, both of whom are solid players, not coming through.

This one needs a bit of explanation: "Min" is the number of players of players of that race that were guaranteed to make it through due to the structure of the tournament. (In a group of TTZ, one terran is sure to advance). "Max is total number of players of that race that could possibly advance (in a group of ZZZ, only two zergs can make it out.) Actually is the actual number of players that advanced:
Min/Act/Max
3/6/9
2/5/9
3/5/6

So each race performed about as well as could be expected. Each race got right about in the middle of what was possible given the format. Also notice that the end result of six terran, five protoss, and five zerg is fairly balance. But given how many terrans there currently are in Code S, and how easy it is to stay there, I worry that it will continue to be dominated by terran even if the game is perfectly balanced.

One last set of numbers:
Code A: 6
3rd seeds: 5
4th seeds: 5

Again, very balanced, which maybe should not be the case since 4th seeds are supposedly the worse players AND only get one chance to qualify. Also, of the six Code A players that made it, three did it on their first tries, whereas four out of the five 3rd seeds qualified by beating their Code A opponents. Also, the entire Top4 of Code A qualified.

A very interesting format, and I look forward to seeing how it goes once the seedings shake out to something more natural.