EPTToday's matches are widely predicted to be very one-sided. We have two of the best mirror match players facing off against two of worst. MC and Nestea are 38-8 in their respective match-ups, while HongUn and Coca have exactly zero wins out of eleven tries. HongUn is 0-5 against MC; Nestea and Coca have never played each other before, although Coca is 0-2 against Leenock, who is 0-2 against Nestea, so by transitivity... never mind. Neither of the underdogs has even played a BO-x mirror since March, so we can only hope that each has upped his game since then.
Match 1: IMNestea
v ZeNEXCoCa Game 1:
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Dual Site
Both players hatch first, Nestea at the gold! Coca does not drone scout, and, since his first overlord doesn't see an expansion, gets a baneling nest and a spine crawler for defense. But Nestea is just droning and teching to roaches and zergling speed. Coca eventually sees Nestea's roaches, prompting a roach warren of his own. Coca finally scouts Nestea's hidden gold expansion, so Nestea attacks. Coca's roach warren is so far behind Nestea's, that he doesn't have nearly enough roaches and quickly falls to Nestea's army.
Nestea 1-0
Both players hatch first, Nestea at the gold! Coca does not drone scout, and, since his first overlord doesn't see an expansion, gets a baneling nest and a spine crawler for defense. But Nestea is just droning and teching to roaches and zergling speed. Coca eventually sees Nestea's roaches, prompting a roach warren of his own. Coca finally scouts Nestea's hidden gold expansion, so Nestea attacks. Coca's roach warren is so far behind Nestea's, that he doesn't have nearly enough roaches and quickly falls to Nestea's army.
Nestea 1-0
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Xel'Naga Caverns
Both players get fast zergling speed. Coca follows up with a baneling, Nestea with a roach warren. Coca stops droning at 13 as he runs his zerglings across the map carefully avoiding being spotted by overlords. Coca makes four of banelings and busts up Nestea's ramp, but all of Coca's banelings detonate on Nestea's queen, and Coca is instantly way behind. Coca makes a round of six drones; Nestea counterattacks. But Coca has hidden two zerglings in the corner of Nestea's base, which morph into banelings and take out five drones! Coca doesn't have a lot to defend at home but somehow manages to hold with drones. However, Nestea was able to snipe both of Coca's queens with his very last units. When the game settles, the two players are on equal economies, but queenless ling/baneling simply can't keep up with Nestea's queen-fueled roaches.
That strategy definitely could have worked for Coca had the first banelings done enough damage. But Nestea also could have walled his ramp tighter to prevent that from happening.
Nestea 2-0
Both players get fast zergling speed. Coca follows up with a baneling, Nestea with a roach warren. Coca stops droning at 13 as he runs his zerglings across the map carefully avoiding being spotted by overlords. Coca makes four of banelings and busts up Nestea's ramp, but all of Coca's banelings detonate on Nestea's queen, and Coca is instantly way behind. Coca makes a round of six drones; Nestea counterattacks. But Coca has hidden two zerglings in the corner of Nestea's base, which morph into banelings and take out five drones! Coca doesn't have a lot to defend at home but somehow manages to hold with drones. However, Nestea was able to snipe both of Coca's queens with his very last units. When the game settles, the two players are on equal economies, but queenless ling/baneling simply can't keep up with Nestea's queen-fueled roaches.
That strategy definitely could have worked for Coca had the first banelings done enough damage. But Nestea also could have walled his ramp tighter to prevent that from happening.
Nestea 2-0
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Bel'Shir Beach
Nestea hatches first. Coca gets speed first. Nestea gets roaches. Coca puts on some solid early pressure with his speedlings while expanding and getting his own roaches. After ridding his bases of Coca's zerglings, Nestea uses his hatch-first economic advantage to crank out forty-five zerglings for a beautiful and devastating counterattack that kills every single one of Coca's workers while keeping his roaches pinned behind his natural's mineral line. Baneling tech was on the way, but didn't come in time. Coca gg's, still lacking a single ZvZ win.
Nestea has a supernatural sense of ZvZ. He seems to know exactly what to do in every conceivable situation, and most inconceivable situations as well.
Nestea wins 3-0
Nestea hatches first. Coca gets speed first. Nestea gets roaches. Coca puts on some solid early pressure with his speedlings while expanding and getting his own roaches. After ridding his bases of Coca's zerglings, Nestea uses his hatch-first economic advantage to crank out forty-five zerglings for a beautiful and devastating counterattack that kills every single one of Coca's workers while keeping his roaches pinned behind his natural's mineral line. Baneling tech was on the way, but didn't come in time. Coca gg's, still lacking a single ZvZ win.
Nestea has a supernatural sense of ZvZ. He seems to know exactly what to do in every conceivable situation, and most inconceivable situations as well.
Nestea wins 3-0
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That play wasn't the hottest, Coca
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Nestea wins 3-0
Match 2: oGsMC
v HongUnPrime.WE Game 1:
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Xel'Naga Caverns
HongUn starts off very oddly by seemingly blocking his second gas with his cybercore, then making an assimilator and canceling it, all while both players are four-gating. HongUn is the aggressor in the battle of the four-gates and has a slight time lead on warp-ins. HongUn manages to take out one of MC's unnecessarily exposed pylons, supply blocking him! HongUn's micro proves to be enough to force that advantage into a victory.
A couple things seemed to lose this game for MC. First of all, HongUn cut probe production at 19+1, while MC went all the way up to 24, putting his warp-ins fairly far behind. Also, that pylon that went down was in the middle of nowhere, not even powering anything. Perhaps MC meant it to be bait to absorb some damage, but it ended up costing him the game. It seems silly to leave a pylon so exposed when all four of his gateways were powered by a single pylon.
HongUn 1-0
HongUn starts off very oddly by seemingly blocking his second gas with his cybercore, then making an assimilator and canceling it, all while both players are four-gating. HongUn is the aggressor in the battle of the four-gates and has a slight time lead on warp-ins. HongUn manages to take out one of MC's unnecessarily exposed pylons, supply blocking him! HongUn's micro proves to be enough to force that advantage into a victory.
A couple things seemed to lose this game for MC. First of all, HongUn cut probe production at 19+1, while MC went all the way up to 24, putting his warp-ins fairly far behind. Also, that pylon that went down was in the middle of nowhere, not even powering anything. Perhaps MC meant it to be bait to absorb some damage, but it ended up costing him the game. It seems silly to leave a pylon so exposed when all four of his gateways were powered by a single pylon.
HongUn 1-0
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Tal'Darim Altar, MC clockwise
Both players four-gate. The armies meet in the middle and dance around, but HongUn has snuck a pylon in MC's main, and gets four unanswered zealots into MC's mineral line just after a big warp-in, killing all of MC's probes! MC decides to go for the base trade, but is income-less for long enough that HongUn gets an extra round of warp-ins, guaranteeing him the win. MC gg's.
Once again, MC made 24 probes while HongUn stopped at 20. I also wonder how the game would have played out had MC gone home to defend, since at that point he has a solid lead in stalkers. But as it stands we are suddenly one game away from losing a chance to see an MC/Nestea semifinals match.
HongUn 2-0
Both players four-gate. The armies meet in the middle and dance around, but HongUn has snuck a pylon in MC's main, and gets four unanswered zealots into MC's mineral line just after a big warp-in, killing all of MC's probes! MC decides to go for the base trade, but is income-less for long enough that HongUn gets an extra round of warp-ins, guaranteeing him the win. MC gg's.
Once again, MC made 24 probes while HongUn stopped at 20. I also wonder how the game would have played out had MC gone home to defend, since at that point he has a solid lead in stalkers. But as it stands we are suddenly one game away from losing a chance to see an MC/Nestea semifinals match.
HongUn 2-0
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Metalopolis, close-by-air
Both players get their second gasses and only three gates this game. Both players get robotics facilities, but MC's is quite a bit later. HongUn goes for immortals and blink stalkers; MC techs to colossus off one base. HongUn starts pressuring MC's ramp but is a little too aggressive and loses some units for no reason and little gain. MC is able to push back HongUn's army with colossi and expand. HongUn responds by blinking in and sniping a couple colossi. But MC's expansion finishes before HongUn is even thinking about making his own.
HongUn is able to pin MC's army in his base with blink shenanigans, but does only slight infrastructural damage in exchange for more and more supply of his army. Meanwhile MC has been free to slowly tech up to blink and six gates off of two bases, and soon is doubling his opponent's supply. Once he has an overwhelming army, MC attacks across the map. HongUn's only chance is to blink around MC's forces and go for a base trade, which he easily loses with his much smaller army.
MC starts his comeback with a solid macro game. HongUn is obviously winning the four-gate games, so MC is probably hoping to take advantage of HongUn's weakness in longer games.
MC 1-2
Both players get their second gasses and only three gates this game. Both players get robotics facilities, but MC's is quite a bit later. HongUn goes for immortals and blink stalkers; MC techs to colossus off one base. HongUn starts pressuring MC's ramp but is a little too aggressive and loses some units for no reason and little gain. MC is able to push back HongUn's army with colossi and expand. HongUn responds by blinking in and sniping a couple colossi. But MC's expansion finishes before HongUn is even thinking about making his own.
HongUn is able to pin MC's army in his base with blink shenanigans, but does only slight infrastructural damage in exchange for more and more supply of his army. Meanwhile MC has been free to slowly tech up to blink and six gates off of two bases, and soon is doubling his opponent's supply. Once he has an overwhelming army, MC attacks across the map. HongUn's only chance is to blink around MC's forces and go for a base trade, which he easily loses with his much smaller army.
MC starts his comeback with a solid macro game. HongUn is obviously winning the four-gate games, so MC is probably hoping to take advantage of HongUn's weakness in longer games.
MC 1-2
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Crossfire
MC gets two gasses and three gates. HongUn four-gates, gets a pylon up in MC's main, and wins!
I'm not sure what MC was playing at here. He didn't three-stalker rush to thwart a four gate, his sentry was out way too late to block it, his gateways and warp-gate tech were all very late, and he ended the game with 550/250 banked waiting for his warp gates to finish. So HongUnPrime, after going 0-7 in PvP, 3-1's the God of Protoss and advances to his second GSL semifinals. Add MC to Clide, Jinro, and FruitDealer on the list of players HongUn has upset in the GSL. Hopefully he doesn't just get owned in the next round as usually happens.
EDIT: For posterity: HongUn was the 8887:134 (~66:1) underdog in this match according to liquibettors.
HongUn wins 3-1
MC gets two gasses and three gates. HongUn four-gates, gets a pylon up in MC's main, and wins!
I'm not sure what MC was playing at here. He didn't three-stalker rush to thwart a four gate, his sentry was out way too late to block it, his gateways and warp-gate tech were all very late, and he ended the game with 550/250 banked waiting for his warp gates to finish. So HongUnPrime, after going 0-7 in PvP, 3-1's the God of Protoss and advances to his second GSL semifinals. Add MC to Clide, Jinro, and FruitDealer on the list of players HongUn has upset in the GSL. Hopefully he doesn't just get owned in the next round as usually happens.
EDIT: For posterity: HongUn was the 8887:134 (~66:1) underdog in this match according to liquibettors.
HongUn wins 3-1
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On July 19 2011 18:59 Fionn wrote:
A GOM exec comes up to you and says that if MC beats HongUn in the upcoming series, you win 10,000,000 dollars. If he loses, you die.
Would you bet on MC winning the next series for all that money?
A GOM exec comes up to you and says that if MC beats HongUn in the upcoming series, you win 10,000,000 dollars. If he loses, you die.
Would you bet on MC winning the next series for all that money?
Poll: Would you bet your life that MC beats HongUn for 10 million dollars?
Yes (142)
65%
No (76)
35%
218 total votes
No (76)
218 total votes
Your vote: Would you bet your life that MC beats HongUn for 10 million dollars?
It's as if dozens of nerds cried out and suddenly were silenced.
HongUn wins 3-1
EDIT: This is not the RO4 dammit. If a mod sees this, please correct my stupidity.
