After almost a month of awesome games and captivating performances, with a little bump here and there, little can argue the fact that we had installed for us a clash of the titans for the GOMTV Global Star League January 2011 Code S Final.
Two of arguably the best players in StarCraft II at the moment going head to head in a Best-of-7 showdown. One with his solid, immaculate, near-perfect play style and another with his unique play style coupled with his impeccable decision-making.
IMMvp and MarineKingPrime.WE (해병왕프라임). Despite it being our first mirror match-up finals in the GSL, we all knew it wasn't going to be anything like that when 해병왕프라임 is playing. His unique style of opting for bio instead of mech in TvT games has shown us that there does seem to be another way of going about playing TvT games in StarCraft II.
The map pool for the final is as follows:
+ Show Spoiler +
Game 1:
+ Show Spoiler +
We start off with Scrap Station as our first map for the final. IMMvp starting at the 2 o'clock position and 해병왕프라임 starting at the 12 o'clock position.
Opting to play safe, both players open with a one Barracks into fast expansion at their natural with 해병왕프라임 starting his Command Center slightly earlier than IMMvp.
해병왕프라임 then transitions into double gas which indicates he is going for fast tech and while having his Marines out of position, IMMvp manages to scout this with his SCV.
IMMvp's response is to transition into two more Barracks and continuously produce Marines. Meanwhile, 해병왕프라임 starts his Factory and does something very unlike his natural play by floating his only Barracks to use it to scout IMMvp's base.
IMMvp then tries to poke at 해병왕프라임's entrance, but is fended off by a well-placed Bunker. Not easily deterred, IMMvp goes for 해병왕프라임's Destructible Rocks at the natural.
해병왕프라임 sees this move a little too late and tries to set up a Bunker to defend, however IMMvp's Marines manages to break in and cause 해병왕프라임 some valuable mining time by killing some SCVs and forcing a lift on the Orbital Command.
Unable to fend off the Marines, 해병왕프라임 had to wait for Siege Mode to finish researching before pushing IMMvp's Marines back.
Needing to find some sort of advantage, 해병왕프라임 tries to land two Vikings in IMMvp's main base mineral line but before they could even do any significant damage, IMMvp's army is there to clean them up.
IMMvp starts to transition into Siege Tanks and 해병왕프라임 playing a little out of his game, continues with Siege Tank production as well as researching Vehicle Weapons Level 1.
IMMvp then attempts a drop at 해병왕프라임's natural, but all his Marines are killed by two very well-placed Siege Tanks by 해병왕프라임. A small win for the Blue Terran at least for the time being.
While that was happening, 해병왕프라임 adds two more Factories and even upgrades Infernal Pre-Igniter to get out some Hellions to try and edge an advantage in terms of economy as he thinks of a Hellion drop.
IMMvp tries taking the gold expansion, but 해병왕프라임 manages to scout it with an SCV. However, that doesn't stop IMMvp as he moves his Siege Tanks to the centre of the map and sieges them in an attempt to contain 해병왕프라임 and secure the gold base.
Having seen that, 해병왕프라임 proceeds with the Hellion drop in IMMvp's main. Yet again, IMMvp with some well positioned units manages to take out the Hellions without losing much of his SCVs. This is clearly not going 해병왕프라임's way at all.
Knowing he has to break the contain set up by IMMvp, 해병왕프라임 moves out with some Siege Tanks and Vikings to move IMMvp back just a little bit. However, IMMvp reinforces his army with more Vikings and 해병왕프라임 is in a serious disadvantage now with IMMvp starting to mine from the gold expansion.
해병왕프라임 tries again to break out of the contain by using his Siege Tanks and SCVs but IMMvp manages to hold and crush 해병왕프라임's army. At the same time, in a last ditch attempt to try and catch back up in terms of economy, 해병왕프라임 built two Command Centers.
However, there is no way for him to replenish his army without an economy. And IMMvp moves in for the kill and 해병왕프라임 types out the 'gg'.
IMMvp 1:0 해병왕프라임
Opting to play safe, both players open with a one Barracks into fast expansion at their natural with 해병왕프라임 starting his Command Center slightly earlier than IMMvp.
해병왕프라임 then transitions into double gas which indicates he is going for fast tech and while having his Marines out of position, IMMvp manages to scout this with his SCV.
IMMvp's response is to transition into two more Barracks and continuously produce Marines. Meanwhile, 해병왕프라임 starts his Factory and does something very unlike his natural play by floating his only Barracks to use it to scout IMMvp's base.
IMMvp then tries to poke at 해병왕프라임's entrance, but is fended off by a well-placed Bunker. Not easily deterred, IMMvp goes for 해병왕프라임's Destructible Rocks at the natural.
해병왕프라임 sees this move a little too late and tries to set up a Bunker to defend, however IMMvp's Marines manages to break in and cause 해병왕프라임 some valuable mining time by killing some SCVs and forcing a lift on the Orbital Command.
Unable to fend off the Marines, 해병왕프라임 had to wait for Siege Mode to finish researching before pushing IMMvp's Marines back.
Needing to find some sort of advantage, 해병왕프라임 tries to land two Vikings in IMMvp's main base mineral line but before they could even do any significant damage, IMMvp's army is there to clean them up.
IMMvp starts to transition into Siege Tanks and 해병왕프라임 playing a little out of his game, continues with Siege Tank production as well as researching Vehicle Weapons Level 1.
IMMvp then attempts a drop at 해병왕프라임's natural, but all his Marines are killed by two very well-placed Siege Tanks by 해병왕프라임. A small win for the Blue Terran at least for the time being.
While that was happening, 해병왕프라임 adds two more Factories and even upgrades Infernal Pre-Igniter to get out some Hellions to try and edge an advantage in terms of economy as he thinks of a Hellion drop.
IMMvp tries taking the gold expansion, but 해병왕프라임 manages to scout it with an SCV. However, that doesn't stop IMMvp as he moves his Siege Tanks to the centre of the map and sieges them in an attempt to contain 해병왕프라임 and secure the gold base.
Having seen that, 해병왕프라임 proceeds with the Hellion drop in IMMvp's main. Yet again, IMMvp with some well positioned units manages to take out the Hellions without losing much of his SCVs. This is clearly not going 해병왕프라임's way at all.
Knowing he has to break the contain set up by IMMvp, 해병왕프라임 moves out with some Siege Tanks and Vikings to move IMMvp back just a little bit. However, IMMvp reinforces his army with more Vikings and 해병왕프라임 is in a serious disadvantage now with IMMvp starting to mine from the gold expansion.
해병왕프라임 tries again to break out of the contain by using his Siege Tanks and SCVs but IMMvp manages to hold and crush 해병왕프라임's army. At the same time, in a last ditch attempt to try and catch back up in terms of economy, 해병왕프라임 built two Command Centers.
However, there is no way for him to replenish his army without an economy. And IMMvp moves in for the kill and 해병왕프라임 types out the 'gg'.
IMMvp 1:0 해병왕프라임
Game 2:
+ Show Spoiler +
The next game takes place on Metalopolis. If there's ever a map for 해병왕프라임 to live up to his name, it would definitely be this one especially with the starting positions. IMMvp starts off at the 2 o'clock position as 해병왕프라임 starts off at the 9 o'clock position.
Both players seem to be opening the same way they did the last game as they have their first Barracks up without taking their gas. However, 해병왕프라임 sends an SCV to the 12 o'clock starting position and immediately begins building a Command Center behind the smoke vents.
IMMvp sticks with the standard play and builds his Command Center inside of his base. He tries to send his SCV into 해병왕프라임's base a couple of times but keeps getting pushed back by Marines.
Just as IMMvp spots a Bunker going up for 해병왕프라임, he suspects something is up and immediately scouts the map for any hidden tech or buildings.
Unfortunately for 해병왕프라임, IMMvp's game sense prevailed on this occasion as he manages to find the hidden Orbital Command of 해병왕프라임.
IMMvp then sends a couple of Marines to kill off the Orbital Command but 해병왕프라임 manages to float it away and tries to make the most of his bad situation by landing it at the gold expansion.
Both players decide to tech up as IMMvp lands his second Orbital Command at his natural and 해병왕프라임 even getting his third base at his own natural.
해병왕프라임 opts to go for his standard Marine, Marauder, Medivac play while IMMvp opts for Siege Tanks and Marines along with some Medivacs.
Coincidentally, both players attempt a drop at each other's main at the same time. However, 해병왕프라임's drop was denied by some well-placed Marines by IMMvp. Meanwhile, IMMvp's drop was successful and kills off a bunch of SCVs as well as a Supply Depot.
해병왕프라임 retreats with his Medivacs and drops his army back at his main to defend but IMMvp manages to get his Medivac out in time. At the same time, IMMvp uses a couple of Marines to take out all the SCVs and a couple of MULEs at 해병왕프라임's gold base.
As 해병왕프라임 tries to regroup his army, IMMvp proceeds to siege a couple of Siege Tanks at the Xel' Naga Watch Tower and stops mining at 해병왕프라임's gold base.
해병왕프라임 is forced to lift his Orbital Command at the gold expansion and moves it to the 11 o'clock expansion. At the same time, he tries a counter-attack by moving his army around the map and attacks IMMvp's natural expansion.
However, IMMvp manages to retreat his army in time and kills off 해병왕프라임's army.
After getting out more units, IMMvp decides to push into 해병왕프라임's base and at the same time goes for a Marine drop at 해병왕프라임's main base mineral line.
With his army totally out of position to defend at the centre of the map, 해병왕프라임 decides to abandon his base and tries a drop at IMMvp's main base in an attempt to trade bases.
However, IMMvp has figured out exactly the way to prevent the kind of situation that 해병왕프라임 put oGsNaDa and LiquidJinro in previous games. Even before the drop by 해병왕프라임 was going to happen, IMMvp is ready with Siege Tanks and Marines in his own base.
해병왕프라임 continues with his plan but little does he know what awaits him. He sees the Siege Tanks and the Marines waiting for him but without any choice, he is forced to try and make a drop if not he would lose the game anyway.
IMMvp defends the drop brilliantly by killing off the Medivacs before they could even unload any of 해병왕프라임's army. 해병왕프라임 types out the 'gg' and IMMvp looking in great shape.
IMMvp 2:0 해병왕프라임
Both players seem to be opening the same way they did the last game as they have their first Barracks up without taking their gas. However, 해병왕프라임 sends an SCV to the 12 o'clock starting position and immediately begins building a Command Center behind the smoke vents.
IMMvp sticks with the standard play and builds his Command Center inside of his base. He tries to send his SCV into 해병왕프라임's base a couple of times but keeps getting pushed back by Marines.
Just as IMMvp spots a Bunker going up for 해병왕프라임, he suspects something is up and immediately scouts the map for any hidden tech or buildings.
Unfortunately for 해병왕프라임, IMMvp's game sense prevailed on this occasion as he manages to find the hidden Orbital Command of 해병왕프라임.
IMMvp then sends a couple of Marines to kill off the Orbital Command but 해병왕프라임 manages to float it away and tries to make the most of his bad situation by landing it at the gold expansion.
Both players decide to tech up as IMMvp lands his second Orbital Command at his natural and 해병왕프라임 even getting his third base at his own natural.
해병왕프라임 opts to go for his standard Marine, Marauder, Medivac play while IMMvp opts for Siege Tanks and Marines along with some Medivacs.
Coincidentally, both players attempt a drop at each other's main at the same time. However, 해병왕프라임's drop was denied by some well-placed Marines by IMMvp. Meanwhile, IMMvp's drop was successful and kills off a bunch of SCVs as well as a Supply Depot.
해병왕프라임 retreats with his Medivacs and drops his army back at his main to defend but IMMvp manages to get his Medivac out in time. At the same time, IMMvp uses a couple of Marines to take out all the SCVs and a couple of MULEs at 해병왕프라임's gold base.
As 해병왕프라임 tries to regroup his army, IMMvp proceeds to siege a couple of Siege Tanks at the Xel' Naga Watch Tower and stops mining at 해병왕프라임's gold base.
해병왕프라임 is forced to lift his Orbital Command at the gold expansion and moves it to the 11 o'clock expansion. At the same time, he tries a counter-attack by moving his army around the map and attacks IMMvp's natural expansion.
However, IMMvp manages to retreat his army in time and kills off 해병왕프라임's army.
After getting out more units, IMMvp decides to push into 해병왕프라임's base and at the same time goes for a Marine drop at 해병왕프라임's main base mineral line.
With his army totally out of position to defend at the centre of the map, 해병왕프라임 decides to abandon his base and tries a drop at IMMvp's main base in an attempt to trade bases.
However, IMMvp has figured out exactly the way to prevent the kind of situation that 해병왕프라임 put oGsNaDa and LiquidJinro in previous games. Even before the drop by 해병왕프라임 was going to happen, IMMvp is ready with Siege Tanks and Marines in his own base.
해병왕프라임 continues with his plan but little does he know what awaits him. He sees the Siege Tanks and the Marines waiting for him but without any choice, he is forced to try and make a drop if not he would lose the game anyway.
IMMvp defends the drop brilliantly by killing off the Medivacs before they could even unload any of 해병왕프라임's army. 해병왕프라임 types out the 'gg' and IMMvp looking in great shape.
IMMvp 2:0 해병왕프라임
Game 3:
+ Show Spoiler +
The next game is on Xel' Naga Caverns with IMMvp starting at the top right side of the map while 해병왕프라임 starts at the bottom left side of the map.
해병왕프라임 starts off with a one Barracks into fast expansion yet again while IMMvp this time deciding to go for two Barracks, hiding his second Barracks near his natural's Destructible Rocks.
해병왕프라임 manages to get his SCV into IMMvp's base but doesn't see anything out of the ordinary before the SCV died.
Even so, 해병왕프라임 almost built a Bunker thinking something was up but changed his mind and opted to build a Barracks instead.
Once he had five Marines, IMMvp decided to push into 해병왕프라임's base. But some nice building placement by 해병왕프라임 prevented IMMvp from doing any damage apart from almost taking down a Supply Depot.
IMMvp tries to build a Bunker below 해병왕프라임's ramp, but with some SCVs and good Marine micro, 해병왕프라임 manages to fend off IMMvp's assault easily.
While that was happening, IMMvp was already taking his natural expansion. 해병왕프라임 transitioned into Factory and Starport while IMMvp added two more Barracks at his main.
With one Marine and great timing, IMMvp manages to scout 해병왕프라임 lifting his Orbital Command to the natural. With no Bunkers set up for 해병왕프라임, IMMvp moves towards 해병왕프라임's natural with a large Marine army.
Instead of engaging 해병왕프라임's Marines, IMMvp walks around 해병왕프라임's Orbital Command and prompts a retreat by 해병왕프라임 as well as forcing him to lift his Orbital Command.
With 해병왕프라임's Marines helplessly watching, IMMvp with some good control manages to snipe the floating Orbital Command before it could be repaired. A major boost for IMMvp.
Instead of trying to expand again, 해병왕프라임 decides to stay on one base as he tries to gather a large enough army to kill off IMMvp with one blow.
After IMMvp manages to scout that 해병왕프라임 is not expanding, 해병왕프라임 decides to push out and brings all his SCVs along with his army.
Unfortunately for 해병왕프라임, IMMvp's Stim Pack research finished right before the engagement commenced which added a huge boost to IMMvp's Marines' firing power. Also, IMMvp managed to get a better flank on 해병왕프라임's Marines.
IMMvp holds and with nothing left, 해병왕프라임 types out the 'gg' as we move onto Game 4.
IMMvp 3:0 해병왕프라임
해병왕프라임 starts off with a one Barracks into fast expansion yet again while IMMvp this time deciding to go for two Barracks, hiding his second Barracks near his natural's Destructible Rocks.
해병왕프라임 manages to get his SCV into IMMvp's base but doesn't see anything out of the ordinary before the SCV died.
Even so, 해병왕프라임 almost built a Bunker thinking something was up but changed his mind and opted to build a Barracks instead.
Once he had five Marines, IMMvp decided to push into 해병왕프라임's base. But some nice building placement by 해병왕프라임 prevented IMMvp from doing any damage apart from almost taking down a Supply Depot.
IMMvp tries to build a Bunker below 해병왕프라임's ramp, but with some SCVs and good Marine micro, 해병왕프라임 manages to fend off IMMvp's assault easily.
While that was happening, IMMvp was already taking his natural expansion. 해병왕프라임 transitioned into Factory and Starport while IMMvp added two more Barracks at his main.
With one Marine and great timing, IMMvp manages to scout 해병왕프라임 lifting his Orbital Command to the natural. With no Bunkers set up for 해병왕프라임, IMMvp moves towards 해병왕프라임's natural with a large Marine army.
Instead of engaging 해병왕프라임's Marines, IMMvp walks around 해병왕프라임's Orbital Command and prompts a retreat by 해병왕프라임 as well as forcing him to lift his Orbital Command.
With 해병왕프라임's Marines helplessly watching, IMMvp with some good control manages to snipe the floating Orbital Command before it could be repaired. A major boost for IMMvp.
Instead of trying to expand again, 해병왕프라임 decides to stay on one base as he tries to gather a large enough army to kill off IMMvp with one blow.
After IMMvp manages to scout that 해병왕프라임 is not expanding, 해병왕프라임 decides to push out and brings all his SCVs along with his army.
Unfortunately for 해병왕프라임, IMMvp's Stim Pack research finished right before the engagement commenced which added a huge boost to IMMvp's Marines' firing power. Also, IMMvp managed to get a better flank on 해병왕프라임's Marines.
IMMvp holds and with nothing left, 해병왕프라임 types out the 'gg' as we move onto Game 4.
IMMvp 3:0 해병왕프라임
Game 4:
+ Show Spoiler +
The next game is on Blistering Sands with IMMvp starting at the bottom left position while 해병왕프라임 starts at the top right position.
IMMvp opens with a relatively standard 12 Barracks, 13 Refinery. 해병왕프라임 on the other hand opts for a very late Refinery at about 18 supply.
IMMvp proceeds to tech into Factory while 해병왕프라임 opts for a fast expand by building his Command Center just above his ramp.
해병왕프라임 then transitions into a three Barracks play while IMMvp decides to get his Command Center after his first Hellion is out.
With that Hellion, IMMvp tries to do some harassment with along with an SCV and four Marines.
However, 해병왕프라임 defends well and picks off the Hellion before it could do any damage and IMMvp is forced to retreat.
As 해병왕프라임 is researching Stim Pack and producing Marauders, IMMvp decides to go for Siege Tanks and sends his army out and positions them at his own Destructible Rocks.
Even as he sees this, 해병왕프라임 decides to engage with a small army and uses Stim Pack to battle IMMvp's army.
IMMvp manages to win that fight and proceeds to move towards 해병왕프라임's natural with some reinforcements arriving along with some SCVs.
해병왕프라임 spots this and splits his army in two so that he could get a good flank against IMMvp's Siege Tanks with part of his army sitting right below the ramp of his own Destructible Rocks.
However, IMMvp manages to spot that army and push them away so that they will not be able to help out later on.
IMMvp decides to move in and takes out a bunch of 해병왕프라임's units as well as all the SCVs at the natural expansion of 해병왕프라임. To add insult to injury, 해병왕프라임 is forced to lift his Orbital Command back up the ramp.
IMMvp decides to retreat though and destroys his own Destructible Rocks. Meanwhile, 해병왕프라임 tries to destroy his own Destructible Rocks but IMMvp's army gets there in time to stop that from happening.
IMMvp then proceeds towards 해병왕프라임's main ramp and sieges his Siege Tanks below the ramp and runs up with Marines.
Yet again, 해병왕프라임 decides to abandon his base and breaks his Destructible Rocks in order to launch a counter-attack at IMMvp's main.
However, IMMvp has a Marine at the Xel' Naga Watch Tower and is able to see this move by 해병왕프라임.
IMMvp immediately lifts his natural Orbital Command and floats it back to his main and has all his SCVs and a second army waiting for 해병왕프라임's units.
해병왕프라임 walks into IMMvp's main and tries to engage into IMMvp's army. Meanwhile, IMMvp's push has destroyed everything of 해병왕프라임 and forced most of 해병왕프라임's buildings to be lifted off.
IMMvp defends the counter-attack and 해병왕프라임 types out 'Good Game' as IMMvp completes a clean-sweep of the finals.
IMMvp 4:0 해병왕프라임
IMMvp opens with a relatively standard 12 Barracks, 13 Refinery. 해병왕프라임 on the other hand opts for a very late Refinery at about 18 supply.
IMMvp proceeds to tech into Factory while 해병왕프라임 opts for a fast expand by building his Command Center just above his ramp.
해병왕프라임 then transitions into a three Barracks play while IMMvp decides to get his Command Center after his first Hellion is out.
With that Hellion, IMMvp tries to do some harassment with along with an SCV and four Marines.
However, 해병왕프라임 defends well and picks off the Hellion before it could do any damage and IMMvp is forced to retreat.
As 해병왕프라임 is researching Stim Pack and producing Marauders, IMMvp decides to go for Siege Tanks and sends his army out and positions them at his own Destructible Rocks.
Even as he sees this, 해병왕프라임 decides to engage with a small army and uses Stim Pack to battle IMMvp's army.
IMMvp manages to win that fight and proceeds to move towards 해병왕프라임's natural with some reinforcements arriving along with some SCVs.
해병왕프라임 spots this and splits his army in two so that he could get a good flank against IMMvp's Siege Tanks with part of his army sitting right below the ramp of his own Destructible Rocks.
However, IMMvp manages to spot that army and push them away so that they will not be able to help out later on.
IMMvp decides to move in and takes out a bunch of 해병왕프라임's units as well as all the SCVs at the natural expansion of 해병왕프라임. To add insult to injury, 해병왕프라임 is forced to lift his Orbital Command back up the ramp.
IMMvp decides to retreat though and destroys his own Destructible Rocks. Meanwhile, 해병왕프라임 tries to destroy his own Destructible Rocks but IMMvp's army gets there in time to stop that from happening.
IMMvp then proceeds towards 해병왕프라임's main ramp and sieges his Siege Tanks below the ramp and runs up with Marines.
Yet again, 해병왕프라임 decides to abandon his base and breaks his Destructible Rocks in order to launch a counter-attack at IMMvp's main.
However, IMMvp has a Marine at the Xel' Naga Watch Tower and is able to see this move by 해병왕프라임.
IMMvp immediately lifts his natural Orbital Command and floats it back to his main and has all his SCVs and a second army waiting for 해병왕프라임's units.
해병왕프라임 walks into IMMvp's main and tries to engage into IMMvp's army. Meanwhile, IMMvp's push has destroyed everything of 해병왕프라임 and forced most of 해병왕프라임's buildings to be lifted off.
IMMvp defends the counter-attack and 해병왕프라임 types out 'Good Game' as IMMvp completes a clean-sweep of the finals.
IMMvp 4:0 해병왕프라임
Game 5:
+ Show Spoiler +
Not needed
Game 6:
+ Show Spoiler +
Not needed
Game 7:
+ Show Spoiler +
Not needed
Result:
+ Show Spoiler +
IMMvp 4:0 해병왕프라임
Winner:
+ Show Spoiler +
*Edited some grammatical errors on my part, hope everyone enjoys the recap*