GSL Code S RO16: Group C

Well, as the round of 16 continued on we had another group of 2 terran and 2 protoss. SK_MC had the chance to prove that leaving team oGs in search of greener(read: richer) pastures would not affect his training. We also saw a first time GSL round of 16 participant in protoss, StarTale_Parting. How would he handle the pressure of his first time on this large a stage?

Match 1
Match 1 shows the favored protoss of the group, MC, take on a terran adversary in SlayerS_GanZi.

Game 1, on Entombed Valley, sees both players open quite standard. The only deviation is MC scouting a 1 rax expand from GanZi and forgoing his cyber core and gas mining until he has an expansion of his own planted down.

GanZi places 3 more barracks down bringing his total to 4 and MC opts for a total of 6 gateways. At the time of his barracks completion GanZi decides it's best to move out along the side of the map to try and sneak up the natural ramp of MC. While MC isn't able to scout the marines initially he only ends up losing 3 probes, a zealot, and a single stalker.
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After the pressure is defended MC adds two more gateways to go up to a total of 8 on 2 bases.

With a proxy pylon in place MC then charges up the ramp of GanZi with a huge force of zealots and stalkers, he easily destroys GanZi's one and only bunker and the few forces surrounding it. With 1 more warp-in round of units the game ends.
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Well, after a stomping in game 1, would GanZi be able to show us something a bit better in game 2?

The battlefield is Bel'shir Beach. MC opens standard with a single gas and GanZi goes for the 1 rax expand.

Stim is started at 6 minutes for our terran hero as MC works his way up to 6 gateways. A proxy pylon is placed down near the natural ramp of GanZi as MC looks to pressure near the 8:30 mark.

Again GanZi only has 1 bunker, but this time SCVs are in the proper repair positions and stim finishes in time. Instead of the zealot and stalker pressure of the last game, MC includes sentries in this attack.

MC is easily able to take down the bunker before pulling back and adding an addtional round of warp gate units.
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The fight continues with MC forcing GanZi to stim twice more. With no medivacs on the field GanZi is barely broken and has to concede the intial series to MC.

Match 2
The second matchup of the day is another TvP with defending champion NSH_jjakji taking on the newcomer from StarTale, Parting.

In the first game on Metropolis both players opt for a command center, and nexus first, respectively. Parting adding only 1 gas and continuing to play standard after that, with jjakji also playing standard adding 2 gas and constructing 3 barracks total.

As the game continues Parting adds many more gateways until he is sitting on a total of 10 on 2 bases. He attempts to pressure with 8 sentries in addition to his zealot and stalker force. Jjakji is quite prepared though, in the form of two addtional bunkers constructed at his front. While Parting does dance around the bunkers for quite a while, he doesn't commit and is able to forcefield a total of 8 SCVs and kill them. Next, Parting places down his 3rd base and retreats home.

The ghost academy for jjakji begins at 11:30. Parting, now with 13 gateways, upgrades heavily into storm and 2-2.

The next engagement comes when jjakji attempts to attack through the center of the map, but Parting force fields the center choke and allows himself to retreat, giving him a little more time for his upgrades to finish. Jjakji presses forward still, and again Parting counters with excellent force fields creating a very nice pocket of juicy units to fire upon.
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The reinforcements of jjakji arrive as Parting's 2-2 finishes. With another round of warp-ins from Parting the pressure finally ceases as jjakji returns home.

3-3 for Parting is started at 16:00 and he looks to be in quite an advantageous position with his 4th base up and running. A few forces of jjakji are caught in the center of the map and Parting is even able to pick off a full medivac as jjakji attempts retreat.
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Parting then continues the assault into jjakji's natural, and with a vastly superior army, he takes the game.

Both players played very well and I would not be surprised if this was the first of many matchups to come between these players. They look incredibly solid and their decision making is on-par with anyones.

Jjakji chooses Dual Sight for game 2 and open up with a barracks and a refinery. Parting chooses to open standard with 2 gas. Jjakji then snags an expansion and throws down a 2nd barracks in addition to a factory. Parting opts for a robo before his 2nd gate.

A bit later Parting places down an expansion of his own, followed by 2 addtional gates, as jjakji adds 2 reactors to his barracks and begins producing tanks.

Both players dance around in the center of the map, though Parting has an observer in position to spot army movements a majority of the time. In an attempt to catch jjakji off guard Parting sets up his forces near his natural ramp. Jjakji, however, is too smart for this; he scouts the forces with a single marine and then retreats back home.

A robo support bay is placed down by Parting so he can start colossus production. Jjakji adds his ghost academy at around 11 minutes and begins viking production, 2 at a time, soon after. The ghosts hit the field as Parting goes for a 3rd base, near that same time jjakji begins producing an additional viking at a time.

Jjakji moves towards the third of Parting in an attempt to press the issue. With splendid control and positioning jjakji is able to pick off a colossi before the battle even begins. After the colossi go down jjakji pushes in with his other forces and is able to destroy the 3rd of Parting with ease.
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After his 3rd base is destroyed, Parting takes the remainder of his forces and forces jjakji's third base to lift. At this point the armies meet, Parting, with no splash damage remaining, is in essence a sitting duck and jjakji is able to secure the 2nd game.
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While a certain level was to be expected from the defending champion, jjakji, Parting has certainly surprised me with his great play thus far.

Game 3 shows Parting choosing Daybreak. Both players go with an early expansion, Parting is able to get a scout into jjakji's base as a result and scout that no gas had been taken, in response Parting decides to take a quick third base off of only 1 gateway. Jjakji is able to scout the third of Parting very quickly. After seeing the scout Parting brings his gateway total up to 8.

Next, Parting attempts to put on some pressure at the natural of jjakji. He warps in a round of units at a proxy pylon to join his army and begin the assault. Jjakji, with 2 bunkers, is a little slow in pulling down repairing SCVs and the first bunker falls quickly, followed shortly thereafter by the 2nd due to some great force fielding.
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It is then open season on SCVs. With some more good looking force fields pinning the army of jjakji back, all of the SCVs at the natural die. The force fields dissipate and with the assistance of some workers from his main jjakji is able to clean up the attack, though at the heavy cost of 42 workers killed.

Jjakji decides to wait for his 2-1 upgrades after that but it looks to be a fruitless effort as he is down a cool 40 supply. The stalkers are out of position when the attack of jjakji hit, however, and jjakji is able to kill a ridiculous amount of zealots though he loses a few medivacs in the process [image loading]

Parting is forced to retreat back to his 3rd after that and join up with his stalkers. With the stalkers and a few archons in the mix it is easy pickings for the remaning army of Parting and jjakji concedes the series.

Truly excellent games from both players. Parting certainly showed that he is a force to be reckoned with. Jjakji by no means played poorly, as he showed you need to play nearly perfect to beat him as well.

Match 3
The winner's match, a PvP of Parting v MC is our third of the day. Would Parting be able to continue his impressive run against one of the best protoss in the world? Or would he be forced to play in the final match?

Game 1 on Bel'shir Beach showed both players open standard with MC taking his 2nd gas and Parting going for 3 gates off of 1 gas.

Parting gets his 2nd gas at the 5 minute mark as MC produces 3 stalkers and looks to go into a defensive 4 gate.

Soon after the pressure from Parting comes. MC has 4 sentries out at the time and though Parting is able to bait out 2 force fields, he loses 1 stalker in the process. Parting then warps in 2 sentries of his own while putting down a nexus at his natural. After hanging around MC's main for a bit Parting force fields the entrance and retreats while adding a robotics facility at home.

MC follows hot on the heels of Parting, but Parting is still able to destroy the proxy pylon of MC before scampering back into his base. MC then throws down a new proxy pylon and starts to push his stalker advantage. Parting has some nice force fields that catch 4 of MC's stalkers out of position, netting him some free kills.
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MC continues to push up the ramp, however, and though an immortal pops for Parting it is easily trapped by MC's force fields and taken out.
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The superior stalker count of MC is then too much for Parting to handle and he GG's out of game one.

Game 2 is on Entombed Valley. Both players open standard with MC getting a second gas and a zealot, and Parting getting a stalker first with a quick expansion. MC puts down a twilight council and 2 additional gateways. Meanwhile, Parting gets up a robo in addition to 2 more gateways of his own. MC then goes for a dark shrine.

MC walks to the natural ramp of Parting and puts down a proxy pylon. The dark shrine finishes and MC warps in 2 dts as an immortal pops for Parting. With a nice force field at his ramp Parting is able to keep out the dts for a bit while chrono boosting out his observer. MC then adds a few stalkers and a zealot to the rest of his nearby ground army and attacks up the ramp. The oberserver finishes as the army comes in and though they can now be seen the army ends up doing some very nice damage. MC is also able to warp two of his nearly dead dts into an archon at the last possible moment.
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Parting is able to get a surround on the morphing achon and a nearby stalker with some nifty probe micro. With only zealots and 3 sentries remaining against the stalkers of MC Parting has quite a rough time. He misses a force field that could have allowed his zealots to kill 3 of the stalkers.

He's eventually able to kill the three stalkers in his base after taking a bit more damage from them, he then essentially walls in the front of his ramp with zealot and stalker warp-ins. Parting, now with a substantial force, tries to push the forces of MC at the bottom of his ramp backwards. This initiates a full-on micro battle between 4 stalkers of MC and 3 stalkers 1 zealot and 1 sentry of Parting. Both players continue to warp-in single stalkers as their money and gateway cooldowns allow. Parting is able to hold the 4 gates of MC with the 3 of his own for quite a while.
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In the end it does not prove to be enough.

MC truly showed that with no jet lag and time to prepare he is still quite a force, and he should never be counted out as he was the first to advance to the round of 8

Match 4
GanZi v jjakji, would the defending champ go home? Or live to fight another day?

The first game on Bel'shir Beach jjakji opens up with gas first into reactor hellions, as GanZi decides a reaper is best.

The reaper arrives in the base of jjakji, but he's prepared and it is only able to get 1 kill. Both players then get their starports with jjakji's finishing first.

When the medivacs of jjakji hit the field he attempts to elevator his hellion marine force into the main of GanZi. When jjakji drops in he has a much bigger standing army than GanZi and Ganzi is forced to bide his time before defending with more units. GanZi pulls all of his SCVs and attacks, but the 4 hellions coupled wtih the marines and medivac support prove to be entirely too much for GanZi to handle and the hellions kill everything. GG.
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If nothing else, game two has to be longer at least. GanZi chooses Dual Sight and opens with gas first of his own. Jjakji goes with a more conventional 1 rax expand.

GanZi gets a very quick factory and swaps the tech lab from his barracks to it upon its completion, he then starts blue flame research and follows all of that up with a command center. Jjakji meanwhile is just hanging out in his base getting his starport tech and an expansion up.

Jjakji takes his natural expansion with a bunker at the front as GanZi tries to sneak in a few blue flames and ends up with only a couple of worker kills. It appears at this moment that GanZi will go mech and jjakji is looking to go marine, tank, viking.

A blue flame drop in jjakji's base does barely any damage, only getting 5 SCVs for the cost of the 4 hellions and medivac. He also attempts to run 3 hellions by the natural to kill workers but that is shut down as well.

After he sees all of the hellions lost by GanZi, jjakji decides to move out with his force. As jjakji nears the natural of GanZi's base GanZi decides it would be a jolly time to unsiege all his tanks giving jjakji a nice attack window. Jjakji however, with a slight slip up of his own, attacks a nearby supply depot with his units instead of the now reseiging tanks. This allows GanZi to stabilize and actually get a couple of tank kills for himself. GanZi has hidden a base at 5 o'clock as jjakji goes home thinking that his 3rd expansion is ahead.

Continued hellion run-bys prove fruitless for GanZi. Jjakji still hasn't scouted the 3rd as GanZi is the one who then tries to push through the center of the map. At this time with a flanking maneuver jjakji sees an opportunity to attack the natural of GanZi taking out a few tanks and SCVs but losing a small force in the process.
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Meanwhile jjakji is also up at the constructing 4th base of GanZi with his main army. He is able to force a cancel there while taking his own base at 3 o'clock.

Jjakji finally scouts the hidden base of GanZi and forces it to lift with 4 marauders and he drops with 3 medivacs into the base of ganZi with some tanks, marines, and marauders, killing all of GanZi's addons and taking out a nice number of units in the process.
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GanZi still manages to retain a very nice tank count, now leading 20-3 in that department. GanZi takes this opportunity to move across the map towards the 3rd of jjakji. Jjakji counters into the natural of GanZi taking out quite a nice number of workers as his own 3rd base falls. This propels them into a base trade situation.

GanZi has the superior army though jjakji leads in supply. Both players float buildings all over the map as GanZi begins a new command center in the main base of jjakji. GanZi is still running around the old base of jjakji sniping all the buildings he can when jjakji gets a scan on the army of GanZi and sees all the tanks unsieged. Jjakji rushes in with everything he has easily killing all the unsieged tanks and taking the game.
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GanZi had a real rough day today, getting killed in the early portion of his first three games and making a critical error in the 4th by not properly controlling his tanks.

The Final Match
A rematch of the first, which is something we have been seeing a lot of lately. These two gave us probably the best games of the day in the first match. Could they keep up that level of play the second time around?

Game 1 takes us to the Cloud Kingdom where we see Parting open standard with 2 gas. Jjakji goes 1 rax expand into 2 more barracks and double gas. Parting adds 2 gates and a robo as jjakji starts stim at 6:00, he also starts +1 weapons a minute later.

Parting drops a forge and a twilight council and begins +1 armor. Jjakji starts medivacs as both players just sit and power. Parting gets a templar archives at 9 minutes.

Jjakji is the first to move out on the map to check towers at 10:00. Templars are now on the field being turned into archons for Parting and charge is started, but it seems to be a mistake that it wasn't started sooner.

The newly planted third of Parting is contested as jjakji moves in. At the same time jjakji drops the natural, this forces the 3rd to be cancelled.

1-1 finishes for Parting and +2 armor begins. Jjakji's 1-1 also finishes but he opts for +2 weapons right away. The third base again goes down for Parting as jjakji's 3rd command center is on the way as well. Ghosts hit the field, and as +2 weapons finish for jjakji, +3 is started right away.

The entire day jjakji has been floating his factory with his army, and landing it before big engagements to create a choke point for zealots to run through; he does that again when he attacks the 3rd of Parting this time. The factory move forces a cancel of the 3rd base of Parting again, leaving him with a 20 supply disadvantage.

Parting has a nice drop defense at his natural with a feedback and photon cannon, killing the medivac with only 1 marine dropping out. Meanwhile jjakji destroys the rocks at his natural and kills the observer following him around. He pokes down his ramp to find a few templar, and dodge a couple storms. He kills the templar in a trade for a couple ghosts. Robo bay now on the way for Parting as +2 weapons is half done to go with his +2 armor.

A huge engagement in the center of the map shows jjakji coming out way ahead with very nice emps, but he pushes the issue a little too hard and loses quite a few medivacs and infantry to reinforcements.
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Colossi are now on the way with thermal lance for Parting as 2-2 finishes. Jjakji continues to try and poke around but good forcefields from Parting at his 3rd make him think twice.

Both players place down their 4th bases, Parting gets a 2nd robo. Jjakji also tries to drop the 4th of Parting, but as he has done all day, it is easily denied with templar. Warp prism and observer speed is now on the way for Parting, as well as +3 weapons, blink, +1 shields, and a dark shrine.

Parting finds the 4th base of jjakji and is able to take it out, but as he is retreating he is forced into a corner in the top left of the map by jjakji and Parting's army is crushed relatively easily.
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After killing the army jjakji looks to attack the 5th of Parting, and after a huge amount of storms(I mean a really, really, serious, gigantic amount of storms) that really don't do a ton of damage, jjakji wears down the army of Parting and takes the upper hand in this engagement as well. The 5th of Parting falls.

After killing a majority of the Parting army twice now, jjakji tries to push the 4th base with his remaining army. He snipes it before retreating, though with DT's doing damage all over the map to mineral lines and bases during all these engagements, the supply count of both players is magically even at 91.

Parting harasses the 4th base of jjakji in the center of the map with storms from the high ground, killing a large number of SCVs. Parting manages to take a supply lead now at 101-80 while trying to get his 4th base up and running again.

Parting tries to poke at the now relanded 4th base of jjakji, but is denied. This makes him angry, and he goes into a storming rage, just casting them everywhere around the 4th base at everything. This grows his supply advantage even larger, now up by 50 supply.
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With the addition of 2 colossi, jjakji is just worn down. Parting takes game 1.

Game 2 on Antiga Shipyard. Parting opens standard with 2 gas. Jjakji with a wall in and an expansion placed down at his natural. Parting adds an additional gateway as jjakji gets his 2 rax and 2 gas. Parting then places down an expansion while also getting a robo and a twilight council. It appears perhaps a DT drop. However, it is not DT's it is blink stalkers with an observer.

Jjakji gets +1 and stim while putting down his factory. He seems to smell that something is up, because he has an SCV on patrol in the bottom left of his main base. Blink finishes as the observer pops and heads towards the main of jjakji, but a nicely placed SCV near the rocks at the third of Parting sees the stalkers coming across the map and jjakji prepares himself for the stalkers.

The stalkers are still able to get in and do some decent damage getting quite a few scv kills.
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Behind the pressure Parting puts down a robo support bay and 2 forges. 1-1 upgrates begin as the forges finish. A drop comes into the main of Parting, but he is prepared. 3 observers on the map give Parting great vision. 2-2 is now on the way, as thermal lance and charge finish.

Jjakji loads up 2 more medivacs to join his denied drop from earlier as he moves his forces into the center of the map. During this time he also takes his 3rd at the normal location. Templar archives is on the way for Parting.

The drop comes in, and though Parting knew it was coming, all of the medivacs are able to unload. The drop ends up being a pretty even trade for both players as they both lose quite a bit.

The 3rd goes up for Parting at 15:00, 2-2 finishes and storm is halfway done. +3 weapons begin with jjakji only at 1-1 with +2 weapons on the way.

Jjakji maxes out as he gets his 4th command center at 11 o'clock. A drop is loaded up as there is an engagement a small ways from the natural ramp of Parting. Parting gets off some nice storms, and as the drop comes into his base he decides to move out further. Partings upgrades are vastly superior and he is able to take a nice chunk of jjakji's army out with zealots and colossi.

After the successful defense Parting takes his 4th in the center south location. Jjakji makes 6 ghosts at once with ghost cloaking, +3 weapons and +1 ship weapons beginning also.

2-2 finishes for jjakji as Parting hangs out in the center of the map. Parting finds the 4th of jjakji and with it a train of transferring SCVs. He sends his zealots to deal with the SCVs and as he does he is attacked in the center by the full force of jjakji.
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Jjakji gets the upper hand in the engagement and takes a significant supply lead. Patring tries to retake the center to protect his expansion and the result is an extremely back-and-forth encounter. Jjakji lands all of his vikings and though he cleans up the attack he loses all of his air units. Meanwhile 2 colossi are about to pop. The two colossi, coupled with a nice archon, stalker backbone manage to retake the center, and even out the game.

Parting is able to get 2 high templar near enough to the 4th base of jjakji to land some excellent storms and kill nearly all the workers there.

Jjakji cloaks 9 of his ghosts and they lead the charge into the center of the map where Parting's forces are waiting. Massive storms go down on the ghosts as emps land; there is carnage everywhere. Parting holds yet again and pushes back towards the natural of jjakji forcing him to leave and eliminating the defending champion.
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Parting really showed today that he belongs. Jjakji probably belongs too, he played brilliantly. Parting simply had his number and out-played him all day long.

GSL Code S RO16: Group C

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