EPTWhat was going on in SanZenith's mind when MC spoke up at the Group Selection show? I find this question incredibly intriguing. First, let me set the background so we can try to understand what SanZanith was thinking when MC spoke up. Also, what must SanZenith be thinking for his upcoming match against MC.
The format of how the groups would be determined is very interesting and leads to lots of interesting storylines. Thirty-two players would be separated into eight groups of four players each. First, the top 8 players from the previous GSL (MVP, MKP, Nestea, Jinro, Choya, Idra, Nada, and Trickster) selected which group they wanted to be a part of and selected a second player for their group. The player these top 8 seeds chose would be their first opponent. Then these chosen players would chose a 3rd player from each group. Those third players would then chose a 4th player for each group. I found the thoughts of the players and who they did or did not select to be very interesting. Also, the reasons for why they chose certain players were sometimes very amusing. The reasons ranged from choosing an easy opponent, choosing a rival, choosing someone who would make a fun match-up, to choosing someone to exact some revenge.
Nestea had the third selection and chose SanZenith to be the second member of his group and to be Nestea's first opponent. Simply saying that Nestea was the be the favorite in this matchup would be a gross understatement. Nestea is the GSL season 2 champ and has demonstrated consistently rock-solid play in all aspects of the game. SanZenith had recently demonstrated incredibly poor play and is known for making some of the biggest blunders in GSL history. On top of all that, Nestea has seemingly god-like abilities to stop what must inevitably be SanZenith's plan: to 4-gate or otherwise rush Nestea.
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Artosis: "One zergling normally won't hold this off."
Nestea had an incredible hold against a 5-gate Voidray attack from Choya. Nestea scouts Choya's Voidray and sees an expansion go up. After clearing the scouting overlord Choya cancels the Nexus and throws a 5-gate + Voidray + Phoenix at Nestea. Choya shows up at Nestea's door with the Phoenix, Voidray, 4 Stalkers, 2 zealots, 1 sentry, and forward pylon. Nestea has a spore crawler and a singular zergling at his front door. As Artosis so eloquently puts it "1 zergling normally won't hold this off." A few comments from Tastosis about how Nestea is dead, some mis-micros from Choya, and Nestea pulls off an incredible hold. That's what SanZenith is up against: a champion with god-like abilities to survive against the strategy SanZenith is most likely to use.
Quoting Nestea through translator John: "I want to have an easy match for my first match in the round of 32." Nestea elaborates that late-game Protoss is very good against Zerg but SanZenith Protoss isn't that good. SanZenith responds "I agree" and elaborates that he doesn't even want to advance.
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Nestea: "I want to have an easy match for my first match in the round of 32."
So the stage is set: Nestea and SanZenith will play first in their group and everyone, including SanZenith, agree that SanZenith is ****ed. What is a guy like SanZenith going to do? The Korean commentators ask SanZenith if he is intentionally going to lose. SanZenith: "No, but I'm going to pick the strongest opponent that I can."
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SanZenith: "I'm going to pick the strongest opponent that I can."
The big mean bully (Nestea) has just picked on the little guy (SanZenith) and now the little guy is going to find a bigger, meaner bully to get some revenge. Who's going to be the champion for our little fighter? SanZenith initially says he wanted to choose TheBest (T) because he was ranked #1 on the ladder. Unfortunately for SanZenith, TheBest was already chosen.
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MC: "You want a strong player who can beat Nestea? How about me."
oGsMC steps up and tells SanZenith: I'm your man. Not only does MC say that he'll beat MC but he tells SanZenith that he's willing to pick a weaker opponent with his own pick that SanZenith wants to face. SanZenith responds that this offer is very tempting but that he doesn't really want to play against Protoss.
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SanZenith: "I don't want to play against Protoss."
I find this moment incredibly fascinating. What's going on inside SanZenith's head at this specific instance in time when MC speaks up. SanZenith eventually picks SlayersBoxer. SlayersBoxer states that he is 0-5 against Nestea and doesn't understand. SanZenith explains that he couldn't find anyone who could beat Nestea so he picked someone who he wanted to face. I think his choice gives some insight into what he must have been thinking.
Personally, I think "I don't want to play against Protoss" is true but a large understatement. SanZenith's thoughts must have been more like "Are you ****ing kidding me? I don't want to play against you. I've got a chance against these guys!"
If this estimation of SanZenith's thoughts are true what must his thoughts be for his upcoming match against MC. First, in the group stage, everyone thought SanZenith had no hope. But maybe SanZenith knew he had a chance. Maybe SanZenith was just pulling everyone's leg when he said he didn't even want to win and that he was going to choose a hard opponent. Maybe he was secretly confident in his abilities against Boxer and Nestea.
But is his fear of Protoss legitimate? If so, does that mean the circumstances for this upcoming match are quite different. Where previously everyone thought SanZenith had no chance but he had confidence in himself this time even SanZenith may not have confidence in his own chances.
What are your opinions on what SanZenith must have been thinking and what he must be thinking now?
