IEM Asia SCII Final

The first game of the final takes place on Xel' Naga Caverns. FXOmOOnGLaDe starts at the bottom left position while WE.Loner starts at the top right position.





FXOmOOnGLaDe opens with a 14 Hatchery into 15 Spawning Pool build, while WE.Loner opts for a two Barracks build. With an early scout, FXOmOOnGLaDe spots the two Barracks and certainly will start preparing for some early aggression from WE.Loner.





With his first Marine out, WE.Loner tries to exert some early pressure onto FXOmOOnGLaDe's expansion along with two SCVs. WE.Loner tries to set up a Bunker outside of FXOmOOnGLaDe's Hatchery but the Zerg player defends well as he pulls off some Drones to fend off the attack.





FXOmOOnGLaDe picks off a Marine and two SCVs in that little engagement. Meanwhile, WE.Loner opts to expand as he builds a Command Center in his base.

FXOmOOnGLaDe throws down a Baneling Nest while WE.Loner transitions into a four Barracks play by adding two more additional Barracks. However, crisp timing by FXOmOOnGLaDe as he sacrifices an Overlord to catch a glimpse of the four Barracks of WE.Loner.



As WE.Loner lifts his second Orbital Command to his natural, FXOmOOnGLaDe starts Metabolic Boost research and kills off the Destructible Rocks at his natural expansion.

WE.Loner tries moving out with his Marine army but FXOmOOnGLaDe has a Zergling at the Xel' Naga Watch Tower and spots the incoming attack.

We.Loner's Marines manage to clean up the first wave of Zerglings and Banelings but is unable to fend off the second wave as FXOmOOnGLaDe continues to keep producing Zerglings.



After the engagement, FXOmOOnGLaDe pushes towards WE.Loner's base and prepares for a Baneling bust as he takes his third base at the valley expansion.

WE.Loner with only one Bunker, is unable to defend the Baneling bust as the Zerglings overrun his base.



WE.Loner types out the 'gg' as FXOmOOnGLaDe takes Game 1.

WE.Loner 0:1 FXOmOOnGLaDe

The next game takes place on Lost Temple as FXOmOOnGLaDe starts off at the 9 o'clock position while WE.Loner starts off at the 3 o'clock position.





Both players decide to go for the same opening as they did the last game with FXOmOOnGLaDe opening with a 14 Hatchery into 15 Spawning Pool build while WE.Loner opts for the two Barracks opening.

With some good building positioning, WE.Loner's second Barracks manages to stay hidden in his base as FXOmOOnGLaDe's scouting Drone is unable to make its way up the ramp.



WE.Loner then decides to move out with a couple of Marines and an SCV as FXOmOOnGLaDe has just only begun Spine Crawler production at his natural.

FXOmOOnGLaDe is forced to use his Queen and some Drones to defend as he buys time for the Spine Crawler to finish. WE.Loner retreats as soon as he sees the Spine Crawler up and ready to defend the Swarm.

As WE.Loner was being aggressive, he started getting his own expansion and transitions into four Barracks play again. FXOmOOnGLaDe meanwhile decides to go for Metabolic Boost and Baneling Nest yet again.

After reinforcing his army, WE.Loner moves out again with Marines and heads towards the Zerg expansion. The attack manages to do some damage as FXOmOOnGLaDe is forced to use his Drones to defend momentarily as he waits for Metabolic Boost to complete. But as soon as it is done, the Zerglings of FXOmOOnGLaDe easily cleans up WE.Loner's army.





After the engagement, WE.Loner adds two more Barracks to his building production as well as two Bunkers at his natural just in case FXOmOOnGLaDe attempts the same strategy as the last game.

True enough, FXOmOOnGLaDe decides to go for the Baneling bust yet again as he morphs in a couple of Banelings right outside of WE.Loner's natural.



FXOmOOnGLaDe moves in for what would be the killing blow but instead makes a glaring mistake as his Banelings go past the Bunkers and move straight into the mineral line of WE.Loner. The Bunkers remain in tact as WE.Loner fends off the remaining Zerglings only losing a few Marines, some SCVs, but also two MULEs.



FXOmOOnGLaDe then begins killing off the Destructible Rocks at the gold expansion and immediately begins a Hatchery as it is destroyed. WE.Loner moves out again with Marines and manages to catch two Overlords which were mistakenly rallied towards the Terran base.



WE.Loner immediately tries to take advantage of this by moving towards the Zerg base and manages to catch the Zerg army out of position, killing all the Zerglings and Banelings as they are morphing.



WE.Loner then proceeds to the Zerg natural expansion and with some good micro, manages to limit some Baneling damage and picks off FXOmOOnGLaDe's Spine Crawler, Queen and the Hatchery.





With a couple more Banelings morphing in, FXOmOOnGLaDe manages to kill off a bunch of Marines as the Terran player did not move his Marines away as Drones helped to surround the Terran army.



FXOmOOnGLaDe transfers his Drones to the gold expansion as he rebuilds his natural. WE.Loner decides to tech and go for Infernal Pre-Igniter, Combat Shield, Terran Infantry Weapons and Armor Level 1 upgrades. Meanwhile, FXOmOOnGLaDe has just only begun Lair production.

WE.Loner then decides to push out and wins an engagement in the middle of the map with some good micro with his Marines.



The Terran player reinforces his army and then pushes into the Zerg's gold base. With some good micro again, WE.Loner manages to minimise FXOmOOnGLaDe's Baneling damage and takes out the gold base.



FXOmOOnGLaDe tries to defend with a final wave of Zerglings and Banelings but it is unsuccessful as WE.Loner's army is still in abundance. FXOmOOnGLaDe types out the 'gg' and we are tied at 1-1 now.

WE.Loner 1:1 FXOmOOnGLaDe

The next game is on Metalopolis with FXOmOOnGLaDe starting at the 12 o'clock position and WE.Loner starting at the 9 o'clock position. Close starting positions on a map like this could well swing the match in the Terran player's favour. We'll have to wait and see though.





However, WE.Loner decides to play a defensive game by opting for a one Barracks into fast expand. Meanwhile, FXOmOOnGLaDe opens with a 14 Hatchery into 15 Spawning Pool for the third straight game.

An interesting thing to note is that WE.Loner decides not to wall off his ramp with any buildings. This could spell danger should any Zerglings run by into his main.



FXOmOOnGLaDe decides to produce a handful of Zerglings after his Spawning Pool is done and gets a Baneling Nest as well. The Terran player on the other hand throws down three additional Barracks and begins constant production of Marines.

As soon as WE.Loner gets his expansion up and running, he moves out with his army and heads towards FXOmOOnGLaDe's base. However, with excellent positioning, the Zerg player manages to flank his Banelings and Zerglings, coming in from the front and back, leaving WE.Loner's army with no place to run as all the Marines are annihilated.



WE.Loner tries to set up a Bunker at his natural but it is a little too late as FXOmOOnGLaDe rallies in a bunch of Zerglings and runs up the ramp to kill off the remaining Marines.



A terrible decision to not wall off his ramp has just cost WE.Loner the game. He types out the 'gg' and FXOmOOnGLaDe takes Game 3.

WE.Loner 1:2 FXOmOOnGLaDe

The next game is on Delta Quadrant, a map believed to favour Terran more than Zerg if you believe what the people say. So maybe there's a chance for WE.Loner to make a come back in this series.

FXOmOOnGLaDe starts off at the 11 o'clock position while WE.Loner starts off at the 1 o'clock position on the map.





FXOmOOnGLaDe opts for a rather unusual opening for Zerg players on this map by going for the 14 Hatchery into 15 Spawning Pool again. A rather bold move, but as they say, why fix something if it's not broken. Or in this case, why change something if it is working.

WE.Loner on the other hand opens with a double Barracks play, but is scouted by an Overlord as well as a scouting Drone. However, as soon as 3 Marines are out, WE.Loner decides to rush FXOmOOnGLaDe's expansion with those Marines and a bunch of SCVs!



A nervy moment there for the Zerg player but he manages to hold on until his Spine Crawler is out, and WE.Loner is forced to retreat.



But thanks to that little attack, WE.Loner has taken a strong harvester advantage having 21 SCVs and a MULE to FXOmOOnGLaDe's 16 Drones.

Probably thinking he has some harvesters to spare, WE.Loner decides to launch yet another SCV and Marine attack at FXOmOOnGLaDe.



But WE.Loner commits a huge blunder by not targeting the Spine Crawler down as it survives with 17 hit points and with some help from the Zerglings, Drones and Queen, somehow FXOmOOnGLaDe holds on for a second time in the match.



Knowing he is behind on the harvester count, FXOmOOnGLaDe parks his Zerglings below WE.Loner's ramp to contain the Terran player as he begins to produce more Drones to get his economy up and running.

FXOmOOnGLaDe then decides to research Metabolic Boost while WE.Loner decides to get an expansion at the back of his base as his Marines are killing off the Destructible Rocks.



Meanwhile, FXOmOOnGLaDe retreats his Zerglings as he destroys the Destructible Rocks at the 11 o'clock gold expansion and expands at that position as he throws down a Baneling Nest.

Both players continue macro up without exerting any aggression at each other. WE.Loner decides to go for a Siege Tank and Marine army while FXOmOOnGLaDe immediately gets a Spire and researches Centrifugal Hooks as soon as his Lair completes.

Knowing he needs to scout the Terran player's base, FXOmOOnGLaDe sacrifices an Overlord and manages to spot a Factory with a Tech Lab as well as a pure Marine army with one Siege Tank. Definitely a worthy sacrifice as he now knows what the Terran army composition is going to be.



Now that Mutalisks are out on the field, FXOmOOnGLaDe decides to get his fourth base at the 7 o'clock expansion and upgrades Burrow, Zerg Ground Carapace and Flyer Attacks Level 1. Meanwhile, Loner prepared for the Mutalisks, already has some Missile Turrets up and is researching Stimpack, Terran Infantry Weapons and Armor Level 1.

WE.Loner does well to defend the initial Mutalisks harassment, however is unable to do anything about the constantly growing number of Mutalisks that FXOmOOnGLaDe is managing to produce out of his Hatcheries.

FXOmOOnGLaDe does well to harass WE.Loner's base as the Terran player expands to his natural expansion below his ramp. The Mutalisks manages to snipe all the Missile Turrets at the main, the natural and the third base of the Terran and even manages to kill off a Factory as well as the Orbital Command in the main.





With the 28 Mutalisks constantly picking off SCVs, the harvester count has swung into the Zerg player's favour with 78 Drones against 44 SCVs.

WE.Loner then decides to push out to the centre of the map with a Marine, Siege Tank, Thor, Medivac army. FXOmOOnGLaDe decides to engage with his Zergling, Baneling, Mutalisk army and manages to kill off all the Siege Tanks and Thors but losing all his ground units.



With a handful of Marines still alive, WE.Loner tries moving in to kill off FXOmOOnGLaDe's natural expansion. Unable to do anything with just Mutalisks, the Zerg player has in production 132 Zerglings! Yes, 132. That is 66 larva in one go.



As soon as the Zerglings are out, the Zerg player easily overwhelms the remaining Terran army and WE.Loner types out the 'gg'.



A well played game by FXOmOOnGLaDe as he is triumphant over WE.Loner in the series.

WE.Loner 1:3 FXOmOOnGLaDe

Not needed

WE.Loner 1:3 FXOmOOnGLaDe

A top-class showing by the Australian Zerg player as he emerged victorious in this showdown. Not only did he prove his talent in this series, he also proved he has what it takes to compete at the highest level. It will definitely be interesting to see how he fares in Korea for the GSL Code A in March.

As for WE.Loner, a rather disappointing performance apart from the game at Lost Temple. Failing to wall off his ramp in the game at Metalopolis and failing to target the Spine Crawler in the game at Delta Quadrant were two mistakes that cost him the games dearly. Hopefully he will bounce back from this and prove his credentials in future tournaments.

Once again, congratulations to FXOmOOnGLaDe and good luck at the IEM World Challenge!