EPT
I have almost 1k posts here and I haven't really done much to contribute IMO to the community as a whole. Upon seeing the offer for staff writers for the NASL I decided to do a little write up on the SlayerS_Alicia vs. IMMVP up and down match series from the GSL. I sent this in as an application to be a writer and while I don't expect to really get given a job/volunteer position I do want to share it here. If theres anything I can do to improve my writing by all means let me know.
Even if i don't get the position I am hoping to post something here from time to time about some games and series to hype them up so people go back and watch it if they missed it. With time I hope I can contribute to the community in this way
Sample piece:
GSL March 2011 has become known as a season of upsets as many of the best players in the world expected to continue to dominate the StarCraft 2 scene fell early in the season and are now facing elimination from the Code S portion of the GSL tournament. Having won the GSL January Tournament and showing strong play in the first GSTL IMMVP’s (Jeong Jong Hyeon) loss in the Code S round of 32 in GSL March which sent him to the up and down matches came as a shock to many. With the elimination of the Emperor SlayerS_Boxer (Lim Yo Hwan) from Code S designation on March 15th 2011, many believed IMMVP would not suffer the same fate. IMMVP faced a tough opponent in his first set of the up and down matches in SlayerS_Alicia (Yang Joon Sik). SlayerS_Alicia proved in the Code A tournament that he is indeed a formidable opponent beating players such as TSL_Rain (Park Seo Yong), the runner up in the GSL Open Season 3 without suffering a single loss.
According to the Team Liquid Progaming Database, only three Protoss players are ranked in the top fifteen by ELO. SlayerS_Alicia is ranked eleventh overall and second as a Protoss player only to oGsMC (Jang Min Chul). Currently, IMMVP is ranked third in the world according to his ELO and is the highest ranked Terran playing Starcraft 2 competitively right now. This makes for an extremely exciting match between the best Terran and the second best Protoss in the world, both fighting for a much coveted spot in the GSL May Code S tournament.
The first game in the series was played on Xel’Naga Caverns. SlayerS_Alicia spawned on the bottom position of this two player map while IMMVP spawned opposite in the top position. SlayerS_Alicia started the game with a three gate opening and placed a proxy pylon at IMMVP’s natural. SlayerS_Alicia was able to push up the ramp of IMMVP while expanding back at home making very effective use of force fields to prevent bunker repair. While the initial push was held off by MVP Alicia had teched to Dark Templar by the time IMMVP was able to leave his base. SlayerS_Alicia made use of his Dark Templar to prevent the only Command Centre with energy from landing preventing a scan to find and kill the Dark Templar. In such a position IMMVP was forced to return home with his command centre and SlayerS_Alicia took this as an opportunity to attack with his Stalker, Zealot, Sentry force while placing a third nexus at the five o’clock position.
It must also be noted that SlayerS_Alicia had placed pylons around the map in key locations, such as at the three o’clock expansion and the nine o’clock expansion to provide sight of any incoming drops as his main force was consistently at the front lines harassing and the only chance IMMVP had to really make a comeback was with a drop. This sort of play is reminiscent of SlayerS_Boxer’s use of supply depots in a 2007 Proleague preseason match versus Oz’s Hiya. SlayerS_Alicia is doing his team’s namesake proud by planning every possible step and preparing for all inevitable outcomes to ensure victory in this game against IMMVP.
The rest of the series does not disappoint and I urge all Starcraft fans to watch this series as it definitely a series wherein an established Terran seeks to regain his pride and an up and coming Protoss seeking to prove to the world he has what it takes.
