EPTMatch 1, Shakuras Plateau:
My opponent, Balink, opened with a 1 gate sentry expand, a rather risky build in my opinion prior to the match. Well, turns out if you dick around and don't bumrush him imminently, those sentries get quite a bit of stockpiled energy. I opened 14gas 14 pool speedlings, the safest build vs protoss, and got my expansion at 21 supply. I droned like a mad man during this time, trying to keep map awareness up with my speedlings. After scouting the fast expo, I made the first of 3 huge mistakes that cost me the game.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/B10z7.jpg)
Mistake number 1
I went for a build that I both hate and suck at, the roach/speedling all in. Normally I don't all in unless it's bad map spawns, but something in my big ol brain decided that all inning against a bunch of sentries and good sim city with lings was a good idea. Mistake number 2 happens here. I got about 9 roaches and pushed off 1.5 bases of minerals and just 1 vespene gas. The results?
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/U0HvU.jpg)
This is why I can't have nice things
So after my failed all in, I go for a lair and drone hard, but notice on the minimap my opponent is pushing with a pretty intimidating gateway force. My final mistake was to attempt, with an army in my face, to get roach burrow and movement, which is an expensive set of upgrades. they don't pop nearly in time and I'm forced to gg with no army left to combat my opponent.
Balink 1-0.
Maps are losers choice, so I go for metalopolis, a map I feel comfortable on after playing 200 games on it. It's the mlg version, so no close by ground spawns, and we spawn cross map. I open 14gas 14 pool again, because I am a robot for the first 3 minutes of a game. I throw down my hatchery and drone hard, trying to scout my opponent, but he's walled in. I manage to sneak a zergling by and see the following.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/1il6H.jpg)
That would be 4 gateways and a twilight council
But my opponent then does this without me getting a followup scout.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/toIhk.jpg)
That would be not 4 gates.
At this point my brain is in DON'T DIE mode, and I made 30~ zerglings and throw down a bunch of spine crawlers, expecting the 4 gate, but a sac overlord sees his tech switch and low building count, meaning I can send my lings in and attack.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/NPdtK.jpg)
Day9's cardinal rule of starcraft: Make units, kill with units
My ling pressure breaks Balink, and having no army or expo, he bows out, tying the series at 1-1.
The third map is MLG shattered temple, one of the most balanced maps in the current pool (only metal is better imo)My opponent opens 1 gate sentry expand while I do 14 gas 14 pool 21 hatch like clockwork from close by air positions. I go for a rather quick lair, around when my natural finished, and when lair pops I throw down a hydralisk den and research overlord speed and drops, planning to take advantage of the extremely small gap between our bases, and I knew I couldn't attack the front vs his sim city. I get drops around when I have 16 hydralisks and prepare to paratrooper an army into his main.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/4us3F.jpg)
This is a hydralisk drop, it is the destroyer of nexi
I drop my fuckton of hydras into my opponents base, and right away target down his nexus, knowing that the hydra dps is too fast for him to be able to save it.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/ps60N.jpg)
Pictured, alot of dps. not pictured, more dps off screen, fuck you small monitor
My drop kills his nexus, 16 probes and most of his army at the cost of my hydras, thankfully, I remembered to macro (albeit poorly) during this, so I have an army to work with. My opponent during this time was working towards colossi, which I didn't know until my hydra/ling army decided that running into a choke point vs protoss was a good idea.
I back off after trading lings and hydras for health damage on 2 colossus, and my opponent pushes out with a relatively meager force, consisting of 2 colossi plus ~12 gateway units. As he pushes in, he hallucinates 2 colossi, and I didn't know this because I was looking away to macro, so now I'm thinking it's 5 colossi vs my hydra ling with only 5 corruptors.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/h9Rt2.jpg)
Hydra ling is not usually good vs Colossi
However many colossi he may have, my mass hydra simply crushes through his army and proceeds to walk forward and deliver the killing blow.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/tLM9f.jpg)
I may have been fist pumping at my desk at this point
Overrun and with no army, Balink is forced to GG, giving me a 2-1 victory in the series and putting me in position to win my group undefeated.
Along with all of this, I was placed into diamond tonight after winning 5 or 6 games in a row vs high diamond, and feel like I can win my group in the Geforce Proam and make it into the next round.
Thank you all for reading, feel free to critique my writing style, as I'm an aspiring journalist who would love nothing more than to work in ESPORTS one day. But be gentle, I get hurted easily
