EPTSomeone suggested adding a bit more "juice" to my recaps, so I made an effort to pep them up a bit. Tell me what you think!
Match 1: oGsMC
P v ZeNEXByun Pregame:
+ Show Spoiler +
Byun faces his biggest GSL challenge to date as he goes up against a former champion. He secured his place in the RO16 with a win against Zenio and a Bye, but lost the seeding match and now has to play the first seeded MC. MC tore through his group of death, going 2-0 to win the group and luckily avoiding Mvp. Both players have some pressure on them: MC is the only former champion still in the tournament, and Byun surely wants to prove his Code S worthiness, as the Code A champion was also eliminated in the first round of group play.
+ Show Spoiler +
Terminus RE, cross positions
Byun bravely expands after his first barracks. It's a big map, but MC is known for his preternatural ability to break terran defenses. MC starts out with a standard three gateways. Byun adds on two more barracks. MC builds a pylon in range of Byun's base, but Byun spots it and destroys it before MC gains vision for the warp-up. MC stubbornly builds another pylon in vision of the marines that killed his first one, but it also gets destroyed. MC retreats and immediately double expands. MC builds a robo and gets six total warp gates. Byun stays on bio as he techs to medivacs. Byun tries to pressure with a small force of marines and marauders after stim finishes, but all his forces get caught by force fields and die.
MC takes his fourth and techs to templar, getting blink along the way. Byun takes his third and techs to ghosts. Byun has seven total barracks now; MC is building his twelfth warp gate. Byun attacks MC's fourth, but is easily repelled by MC's purely gateway army. MC gets his dark shrine and uses a warp prism to do a DT/HT/zealot raid on Byun's main, killing many scvs. At this point, MC has been a base ahead of Byun for so long, that he can slowly push across the map with charge-lots, blink stalkers, and psionic storms. Byun gg's.
MC wins, 1-0
Byun bravely expands after his first barracks. It's a big map, but MC is known for his preternatural ability to break terran defenses. MC starts out with a standard three gateways. Byun adds on two more barracks. MC builds a pylon in range of Byun's base, but Byun spots it and destroys it before MC gains vision for the warp-up. MC stubbornly builds another pylon in vision of the marines that killed his first one, but it also gets destroyed. MC retreats and immediately double expands. MC builds a robo and gets six total warp gates. Byun stays on bio as he techs to medivacs. Byun tries to pressure with a small force of marines and marauders after stim finishes, but all his forces get caught by force fields and die.
MC takes his fourth and techs to templar, getting blink along the way. Byun takes his third and techs to ghosts. Byun has seven total barracks now; MC is building his twelfth warp gate. Byun attacks MC's fourth, but is easily repelled by MC's purely gateway army. MC gets his dark shrine and uses a warp prism to do a DT/HT/zealot raid on Byun's main, killing many scvs. At this point, MC has been a base ahead of Byun for so long, that he can slowly push across the map with charge-lots, blink stalkers, and psionic storms. Byun gg's.
MC wins, 1-0
+ Show Spoiler +
Xel'Naga Caverns
Byun gets another fast command center, but this time after a reactor on his barracks. MC quickly techs to a robotics facility. Byun starts to settle into four-barracks(TTRR) play. MC expands, builds up to four warp gates, and gets his robotics bay. Byun attacks with his infantry just as concussive shells finish. But MC's first colossus is already out, and a wall of force fields split Byun's army in half. Byun retreats with the survivors and techs to reactored vikings to deal with the colossi. MC takes his third and brings his gateway count to eight. Byun attacks again, this time at MC's third, and manages to kill three of MC's four colossi. But his entire army gets picked apart with force fields, leaving him down by forty supply! Up by both an army and a base, MC has an easy time counterattacking for the win.
Byun was absolutely destroyed this match. Both games looked very similar: Byun would attack, lose his stuff, go down a base, attack again, lose his stuff, and then roll over and die. It's always telling, to me, when one player is essentially left alone, executes his game plan, and gets destroyed nonetheless.
MC wins 2-0, advances
Byun gets another fast command center, but this time after a reactor on his barracks. MC quickly techs to a robotics facility. Byun starts to settle into four-barracks(TTRR) play. MC expands, builds up to four warp gates, and gets his robotics bay. Byun attacks with his infantry just as concussive shells finish. But MC's first colossus is already out, and a wall of force fields split Byun's army in half. Byun retreats with the survivors and techs to reactored vikings to deal with the colossi. MC takes his third and brings his gateway count to eight. Byun attacks again, this time at MC's third, and manages to kill three of MC's four colossi. But his entire army gets picked apart with force fields, leaving him down by forty supply! Up by both an army and a base, MC has an easy time counterattacking for the win.
Byun was absolutely destroyed this match. Both games looked very similar: Byun would attack, lose his stuff, go down a base, attack again, lose his stuff, and then roll over and die. It's always telling, to me, when one player is essentially left alone, executes his game plan, and gets destroyed nonetheless.
MC wins 2-0, advances
+ Show Spoiler +
Byun got hammered by MC.
MC wins 2-0.
MC wins 2-0.
Match 2: LiquidJinro
v HongUnPrime 
Pregame:
+ Show Spoiler +
Jinro would be disappointed with anything less than a semi-finals appearance this season, and has been very open about shooting for at least the finals. Ever since getting crushingly swept by MC in the semis of the 3rd open season, Jinro's TvP has been looking almost unbeatable. But HongUn is not a standard protoss. He gained a lot of “firsts” in his open season performances, including the first carrier ever made in a GSL match. He doesn't lack solid results either with both a semi and a quarterfinals finish under his belt. Hopefully, though, Jinro will be able to outmaneuver this slippery 'toss to get to the RO8.
+ Show Spoiler +
Metalopolis, close positions
Both players tech quickly. Jinro gets an early raven. HongUn goes gate/core/robo/stargate. Jinro is content to stay on one base, adding on a barracks with a second tech lab. HongUn makes very expensive high-tech units, getting two immortals and two void rays before even a third gateway. HongUn expands to the close-by-air main. When Jinro's attack finally comes, it's about twelve marines, six marauders, two banshees, a viking, a raven, and a medivac against two void rays, three immortals, a phoenix, and a stalkerless mix of gateway units. Jinro wins the battle with plenty left over, and HongUn gg's
HongUn is such an odd player. I feel like I can never tell if he's ahead or behind, because his unit compositions are so unique.
Jinro wins 1-0
Both players tech quickly. Jinro gets an early raven. HongUn goes gate/core/robo/stargate. Jinro is content to stay on one base, adding on a barracks with a second tech lab. HongUn makes very expensive high-tech units, getting two immortals and two void rays before even a third gateway. HongUn expands to the close-by-air main. When Jinro's attack finally comes, it's about twelve marines, six marauders, two banshees, a viking, a raven, and a medivac against two void rays, three immortals, a phoenix, and a stalkerless mix of gateway units. Jinro wins the battle with plenty left over, and HongUn gg's
HongUn is such an odd player. I feel like I can never tell if he's ahead or behind, because his unit compositions are so unique.
Jinro wins 1-0
+ Show Spoiler +
Tal'Darim Altar, close positions, HongUn clockwise
Jinro goes for a fairly early concussive shell, then gets a factory. HongUn four gates. Jinro puts on a little early pressure with his first few marines and marauders with a hellion lading the charge, but quickly retreats when he sees the four gates. HongUn is able to pick off some of the retreating units, and attacks quickly afterwards. HongUn lays down the standard bunker-blocking force fields and waltzes into Jinro's base after the static defenses fall. Jinro gg's.
HongUn fulfills his promise of four-gating. Jinro probably should have been a little more careful against such a volatile opponent.
HongUn wins, 1-1
Jinro goes for a fairly early concussive shell, then gets a factory. HongUn four gates. Jinro puts on a little early pressure with his first few marines and marauders with a hellion lading the charge, but quickly retreats when he sees the four gates. HongUn is able to pick off some of the retreating units, and attacks quickly afterwards. HongUn lays down the standard bunker-blocking force fields and waltzes into Jinro's base after the static defenses fall. Jinro gg's.
HongUn fulfills his promise of four-gating. Jinro probably should have been a little more careful against such a volatile opponent.
HongUn wins, 1-1
+ Show Spoiler +
Xel'Naga Caverns
Jinro gets an early reaper and concussive shell. HongUn proxies a stargate at Jinro's third! Jinro gets a second command center and two more barracks. HongUn builds a couple phoenix from his stargate. Jinro pulls off a crazy move, repairing a mule while it is suspended in mid-air by a phoenix. HongUn makes four phoenix before getting two more gateways and an expansion. HongUn uses his phoenix to great effect, picking off isolated marines all over the map, putting him up by almost twenty-five food early in the game. HongUn techs to colossus. Jinro sticks to mainly infantry off of three barracks along with medivacs and a couple vikings. Jinro starts tearing down his gold's rocks, and Jinro needs a pause when his mouse dies.
When the game restarts Jinro is getting his first ghosts. HongUn takes his third while teching to high templar and charge. Jinro attacks HongUn's third while building his gold's command center. He manages to kill three out of the four colossi there, but loses most of his army as well. HongUn counterattacks just as psionic storm finishes and manages to take out Jinro's gold base just after it finishes upgrading into a planetary fortress. Jinro gg's.
And the season of upsets continues as Jinro, the lone foreigner in this Code S tournament, is taken out by HongUn. All of Jinro's problems that game can probably be traced back to those first four phoenix. They got hundreds of minerals of kills among them in the early game, and even survived to the last battle to distract Jinro's vikings. A clever gambit by HongUn to propel him into the quarterfinals.
HongUn wins 2-1
Jinro gets an early reaper and concussive shell. HongUn proxies a stargate at Jinro's third! Jinro gets a second command center and two more barracks. HongUn builds a couple phoenix from his stargate. Jinro pulls off a crazy move, repairing a mule while it is suspended in mid-air by a phoenix. HongUn makes four phoenix before getting two more gateways and an expansion. HongUn uses his phoenix to great effect, picking off isolated marines all over the map, putting him up by almost twenty-five food early in the game. HongUn techs to colossus. Jinro sticks to mainly infantry off of three barracks along with medivacs and a couple vikings. Jinro starts tearing down his gold's rocks, and Jinro needs a pause when his mouse dies.
When the game restarts Jinro is getting his first ghosts. HongUn takes his third while teching to high templar and charge. Jinro attacks HongUn's third while building his gold's command center. He manages to kill three out of the four colossi there, but loses most of his army as well. HongUn counterattacks just as psionic storm finishes and manages to take out Jinro's gold base just after it finishes upgrading into a planetary fortress. Jinro gg's.
And the season of upsets continues as Jinro, the lone foreigner in this Code S tournament, is taken out by HongUn. All of Jinro's problems that game can probably be traced back to those first four phoenix. They got hundreds of minerals of kills among them in the early game, and even survived to the last battle to distract Jinro's vikings. A clever gambit by HongUn to propel him into the quarterfinals.
HongUn wins 2-1
Match 3: ST_July
v TSL_Clide Pregame:
+ Show Spoiler +
This is going to be a match of unrealized SC2 potential. July has not yet lived up to the expectations engendered by his success in Brood War, though he has certainly started to build his SC2 legacy by 2-0ing MVP to advance into the knock-out stage. Clide has never advanced past the RO16 in any GSL, despite showing us some of most entertaining games of any tournament. The winner of this match will be one step closer to securing themselves a position in peoples' minds as a force to be reckoned with in SC2.
+ Show Spoiler +
Xel'Naga Caverns
July hatches first. Clide gets a quick reaper, then expands. July gets a roach warren before zergling speed. Clide adds on three more barracks(Txxx). July gets zergling speed, a lair, an in-base hatchery, and a baneling nest. Clide pushes forward, and almost takes out the macro hatch! He doesn't manage to eliminate the hatchery, but he does kill a lot of July's units. Once July's third hatchery finishes, he starts pumping out roaches, zerglings, and banelings for an assault. July attacks, and Clide doesn't yet have any tanks! July's banelings explode three bunkers, allowing the speedlings and roaches to overrun Clide's natural and force the orbital command to float back into the main. Once July takes the low ground, Clide isn't able to break back out as July's banelings make the battlefield look like an appetizer plate of rolling wasabi peas. Clide gg's just as he finishes mining out his main.
Had Clide managed to get siege tanks out a little earlier, he could have maybe defended his natural and taken the game. One thing that might have held Clide back was the fact that he waited a whole in-game 2:30 to move his finished command center down to his natural. Also, as the commentators pointed out, Clide made his factory on the low ground, so the tanks were immediately set upon by roaches and zerglings as they came out.
July wins, 1-0
July hatches first. Clide gets a quick reaper, then expands. July gets a roach warren before zergling speed. Clide adds on three more barracks(Txxx). July gets zergling speed, a lair, an in-base hatchery, and a baneling nest. Clide pushes forward, and almost takes out the macro hatch! He doesn't manage to eliminate the hatchery, but he does kill a lot of July's units. Once July's third hatchery finishes, he starts pumping out roaches, zerglings, and banelings for an assault. July attacks, and Clide doesn't yet have any tanks! July's banelings explode three bunkers, allowing the speedlings and roaches to overrun Clide's natural and force the orbital command to float back into the main. Once July takes the low ground, Clide isn't able to break back out as July's banelings make the battlefield look like an appetizer plate of rolling wasabi peas. Clide gg's just as he finishes mining out his main.
Had Clide managed to get siege tanks out a little earlier, he could have maybe defended his natural and taken the game. One thing that might have held Clide back was the fact that he waited a whole in-game 2:30 to move his finished command center down to his natural. Also, as the commentators pointed out, Clide made his factory on the low ground, so the tanks were immediately set upon by roaches and zerglings as they came out.
July wins, 1-0
+ Show Spoiler +
Crevasse, cross positions
July hatches first at his back door expansion. Clide gets a command center after his factory. Clide uses his factory's tech lab to get pre-ignitors for his hellions. July starts his lair and expands to his natural. Clide pressures July's ramp with hellions as he starts making tanks and expands to his own natural. July gets his spire. The hellions prevent July from mining at his natural for a while, but are chased away when mutalisks finally come out. Clide gets an armory for thors and an engineering bay for missile turret range, but ends up canceling the rare upgrade it in favor of +1 infantry attack. July gets a fourth hatchery at his natural. Now that he has amassed a sizable mech army, Clide builds three barracks with reactors and starts a late stim. July fills up seven overlords with banelings and starts posturing for a push. When July attacks he is almost maxed compared to Clide's 130 supply. But July makes a costly mistake and drops almost all of his banelings on thors while his roaches get eaten by tanks. After the battle, the two players have essentially equalized in food. But July quickly remacroes with more of the same roach/x-ling composition and attacks again. Again July fails to break. July builds up for one more attack, and gg's after it meets the same fate as the previous two.
What is that Einstein quote about expecting different results? Sometimes watching July play is like watching a pack of wolves take down a moose. Other times it's like watching a rabid chihuahua smash into a glass door over and over again while snarling at a squirrel outside.
Clide wins, 1-1
July hatches first at his back door expansion. Clide gets a command center after his factory. Clide uses his factory's tech lab to get pre-ignitors for his hellions. July starts his lair and expands to his natural. Clide pressures July's ramp with hellions as he starts making tanks and expands to his own natural. July gets his spire. The hellions prevent July from mining at his natural for a while, but are chased away when mutalisks finally come out. Clide gets an armory for thors and an engineering bay for missile turret range, but ends up canceling the rare upgrade it in favor of +1 infantry attack. July gets a fourth hatchery at his natural. Now that he has amassed a sizable mech army, Clide builds three barracks with reactors and starts a late stim. July fills up seven overlords with banelings and starts posturing for a push. When July attacks he is almost maxed compared to Clide's 130 supply. But July makes a costly mistake and drops almost all of his banelings on thors while his roaches get eaten by tanks. After the battle, the two players have essentially equalized in food. But July quickly remacroes with more of the same roach/x-ling composition and attacks again. Again July fails to break. July builds up for one more attack, and gg's after it meets the same fate as the previous two.
What is that Einstein quote about expecting different results? Sometimes watching July play is like watching a pack of wolves take down a moose. Other times it's like watching a rabid chihuahua smash into a glass door over and over again while snarling at a squirrel outside.
Clide wins, 1-1
+ Show Spoiler +
Scrap Station
July hatches first for the third game in a row. Clide expands immediately after his first barracks and a marine. July gets zergling speed, a lair, a spire, and a baneling nest while droning up. Clide builds up to a starport for medivacs and three barracks, which wall off his choke. July takes the gold. Clide does a two-medivac marine drop before mutalisks come out and just after stim finishes. It does a fair amount of damage, but falls when eight mutalisks hatch. Clide builds two more barracks, adds on reactors, and starts building tanks. July uses his mutalisks to keep the terran in his base as he takes a fourth. Clide continues building a marine/tank/medivac army. July is making his favorite composition of muta/x-ling. By the time Clide finally pushes through the middle of the map, July has been up by two bases for too long, and, since July didn't just suicide into the tank line, Clide simply doesn't have enough to overcome his maxed opponent. After destroying Clide's army, July's mutalisks park themselves over Clide's barracks, and Clide concede shortly thereafter.
July becomes the first Code A promotee to make it to the quarterfinals of the GSL. Clide waited a bit too long for his attack, and didn't have quite enough tanks to safely push.
July wins 2-1, advances
July hatches first for the third game in a row. Clide expands immediately after his first barracks and a marine. July gets zergling speed, a lair, a spire, and a baneling nest while droning up. Clide builds up to a starport for medivacs and three barracks, which wall off his choke. July takes the gold. Clide does a two-medivac marine drop before mutalisks come out and just after stim finishes. It does a fair amount of damage, but falls when eight mutalisks hatch. Clide builds two more barracks, adds on reactors, and starts building tanks. July uses his mutalisks to keep the terran in his base as he takes a fourth. Clide continues building a marine/tank/medivac army. July is making his favorite composition of muta/x-ling. By the time Clide finally pushes through the middle of the map, July has been up by two bases for too long, and, since July didn't just suicide into the tank line, Clide simply doesn't have enough to overcome his maxed opponent. After destroying Clide's army, July's mutalisks park themselves over Clide's barracks, and Clide concede shortly thereafter.
July becomes the first Code A promotee to make it to the quarterfinals of the GSL. Clide waited a bit too long for his attack, and didn't have quite enough tanks to safely push.
July wins 2-1, advances
Match 4: CheckPrime.WE
v oGsNaDa Pregame:
+ Show Spoiler +
Check's ZvT has shown to be his weakest match by far, accounting for 11 of his 16 loses. He has taken games off of big players like Jinro and Rainbow, but has not strung together two wins in a row since the third GSL open season. Nada's TvZ is almost untested so far, having only played four games, and winning just two of them. Still, you have to think that the Brood War legend is the favorite in this match against a player who faced relegation last season.
+ Show Spoiler +
Shakuras Plateau, close positions
Check hatches first. Nada two-barracks and bunkers Check's natural. Check responds appropriately, and Nada quickly salvages the bunker and expands. Nada comes back a little while later with ten marines, killing a good number of zerglings and forcing even more to be hatched. Nada retreats again as he techs to medivacs. Check takes the vertical natural and makes a baneling nest. Nada starts to build tanks. Nada drops fourteen marines into Check's base just as +1 weapons and stim finish. It does middling damage. Nada starts making tanks out of two factories and builds up to five barracks (TRRRR). Check starts making roaches. Nada pushes through the gully with tanks and marines, sieging up below Check's ramp. Nada secures his position, staying passive for now, and expands to the shared gully expansion.
Nada slowly starts to push into Check's main as Check takes his fourth and starts researching burrowing claws. But Check manages to break Nada's front with banelings and roaches! Nada reinforces the ramp and Check's attack peters out. But Check breaks again with some clever subterranean roach movement! Check pushes all the way to Nada's gully planetary fortress! Check sends a lot of banelings into it... but BARELY doesn't kill it! After losing so much in units with nothing to show for it, Check is forced further and further back into has base by Nada's marines and tanks. Eventually Nada levels Check's main, and Check gg's after Nada sieges up above his natural.
Check was so close to winning that game. If he had killed that planetary, Check would have been in great shape to outproduce his opponent. As it stands, though, Check is one game away from elimination.
Nada wins, 1-0
Check hatches first. Nada two-barracks and bunkers Check's natural. Check responds appropriately, and Nada quickly salvages the bunker and expands. Nada comes back a little while later with ten marines, killing a good number of zerglings and forcing even more to be hatched. Nada retreats again as he techs to medivacs. Check takes the vertical natural and makes a baneling nest. Nada starts to build tanks. Nada drops fourteen marines into Check's base just as +1 weapons and stim finish. It does middling damage. Nada starts making tanks out of two factories and builds up to five barracks (TRRRR). Check starts making roaches. Nada pushes through the gully with tanks and marines, sieging up below Check's ramp. Nada secures his position, staying passive for now, and expands to the shared gully expansion.
Nada slowly starts to push into Check's main as Check takes his fourth and starts researching burrowing claws. But Check manages to break Nada's front with banelings and roaches! Nada reinforces the ramp and Check's attack peters out. But Check breaks again with some clever subterranean roach movement! Check pushes all the way to Nada's gully planetary fortress! Check sends a lot of banelings into it... but BARELY doesn't kill it! After losing so much in units with nothing to show for it, Check is forced further and further back into has base by Nada's marines and tanks. Eventually Nada levels Check's main, and Check gg's after Nada sieges up above his natural.
Check was so close to winning that game. If he had killed that planetary, Check would have been in great shape to outproduce his opponent. As it stands, though, Check is one game away from elimination.
Nada wins, 1-0
+ Show Spoiler +
Crossfire
Check hatches first. Nada gets two quick hellions and techs to banshees. Nada's first hellions slip into the main and get almost twenty kills between themselves. Nada declines getting cloak for his banshees. Check, now down by many, many workers, gets a roach warren. Nada's banshees run into queens and retreat to join Nada's main army, which is now adding tanks to its number. Nada attacks a little while later with marine/marauder/medivac and a couple banshees. Check holds for an impressively long time, but Nada's early hellion damage means that Check ultimately has to concede.
That was a very one-sided game by Nada. Check put up a great fight in both games, losing each by a matter of only a few pixels. With this win, and with so many other big names knocked out, you have to peg Nada as one of the top four contenders to win this season of the GSL.
Nada wins 2-0, advances
Check hatches first. Nada gets two quick hellions and techs to banshees. Nada's first hellions slip into the main and get almost twenty kills between themselves. Nada declines getting cloak for his banshees. Check, now down by many, many workers, gets a roach warren. Nada's banshees run into queens and retreat to join Nada's main army, which is now adding tanks to its number. Nada attacks a little while later with marine/marauder/medivac and a couple banshees. Check holds for an impressively long time, but Nada's early hellion damage means that Check ultimately has to concede.
That was a very one-sided game by Nada. Check put up a great fight in both games, losing each by a matter of only a few pixels. With this win, and with so many other big names knocked out, you have to peg Nada as one of the top four contenders to win this season of the GSL.
Nada wins 2-0, advances
+ Show Spoiler +
Not needed.
Nada wins 2-0, advances
Nada wins 2-0, advances
Results:
+ Show Spoiler +
oGsMC 2-0 ZeNEXByun
HongUnPrime 2-1 LiquidJinro
ST_July 2-1 TSL_Clide
oGsNada 2-0 CheckPrime.WE
HongUnPrime 2-1 LiquidJinro
ST_July 2-1 TSL_Clide
oGsNada 2-0 CheckPrime.WE
