A History of DongRaeGu In TeamLiquid.net Articles

Korean Zerg player DongRaeGuProS(동래구프로에쓰) just reached 4000 points in KR ladder. He won 12 games in a row, and now he is 4006 points.

As you can see above, it was like a competition between DongRaeGuProS(동래구프로에쓰) and ST_Squirtle(스타테일꼬부기) who has 3954 points now. Among his 12 winning streaks, last 3 matches were against ST_Squirtle(스타테일꼬부기).

I just talked with DongRaeGuProS(동래구프로에쓰) and you might can see his stream on this Wednesday with Xeph's Progamer Stream.

Excerpt

Q. Tell us a bit about yourself and your gaming history in Starcraft 2 so far.
I'm DongRaeGu (SooHo, Park) and currently I'm in MVP team. I'm 21 years old and from Busan, Korea. My most notable achievement so far has been when I was the first to score 4000 points in ladder.

Q. How did you get into team MVP?
I got into MVP team by getting scouted by the manager (Yoon Sang, Choi). I first met with him during the March GSL qualifiers and while chatting with the manager, he asked me if I wanted to join and gave me some time to decide. After a week I decided to join MVP along with Genius since the manager promised me good "treatment" and since the team was newly created, I thought I could be the team's ace.

Q. What do you think about life in team MVP?
I feel as if life in the team is a school trip since there are a lot of players around my age, like Genius. I don't go out much everyday, mostly for snacks. Even during weekends I don't go out much since the team house is in Incheon and my home is back in Busan at the bottom of the peninsula. Plus, it takes a couple hours drive to go back to my home. I pretty much spend most of my time practicing.

Q. What's the practice schedule like for you in team MVP?
During the GSL season, the team is focused only on the GSL participants, whereas those who aren't participating work their ass off in ladder. When the GSL season is over, we play 2-4 games against each of my teammates.

Q. It seems like you and Genius are great friends. What is your history with him and do you have a rivalry together?
Back in Brood war, a hyung (older "brother") introduced me to Genius since we were both the same age and played the same race (Terran). We shared tons of builds, strategies, and replays together. I didn't have a rivalry with him in Brood War since we were both players far from becoming pros in BW.

In SC2 beta, I played Protoss. However I found out that Genius was a famous Protoss user and I developed a "rivalry sense". I found it "dirty" to play as a Protoss because genius was also a Protoss so I switched to Zerg.

DongRaeGu is really smart. There is something beautiful and subtle that happens in his game versus Nada that Zergs need to experiment with. As Zergs take their third they want to drone like fiends while it is building, hence why a lot of terran timings hit as the third goes up. RaeGu waits for the timing he knows is coming (marine hellion) and after holding it, instead of putting 300 minerals into drones and the other 300 into the third base, he double expands to a risky gold and his safe third. The gold allows for saturation with less drones, making up for the opportunity cost of the fast fourth. He then mines only gas from his fourth base. This combination allows for a near equal amount of minerals and gas to be mined. And what costs equal minerals and gas for Zerg? Banelings and mutalisks, both of which are pretty good against Terran. Nada was also seconds late on the marine/hellion timing, allowing for banelings to be out in time, so the timing didn't do anything near the damage it needs to. Both of those plays combine for Nada's loss, and DongRaeGu plays a really good ZvT.

The most interesting part of the match between DongRaeGu and Supernova is Supernova's opening. Supernova goes for a one barracks bunker rush and then follows it up with reactor hellions, a pretty cool way to apply pressure. But after this is shut down by DongRaeGu's smart roach opening, Supernova just doesn't catch back up. He goes for a marine maurader timing, probably not the best move on a map like Crossfire, where tanks and positioning reign king; it gets shut down very well by DongRaeGu. After this, DongRaeGu shows the strength of roach baneling as well as his double expansion fanciness from last game.

Well. MC gets hit by a roach speedling attack and loses to the guy that didn't even prepare for PvZ because of it. And that's the series.

Undercard: LG Cinema 3d Special League Finals

MVP_DongRaeGu vs sCfOu

by confusedcrib

Though it was not well publicized, LG Cinema 3D was sponsoring another tournament at the same time as the GSL Super Tournament. The Special League was an open tournament for anyone who wanted to participate, with a grand prize of 10,000,000 won and a 55" 3D TV. Not surprisingly, many pro-gamers (regardless of Code-A or S status) competed in the tournament. Notably, Super Tournament top finishers like Ryung, MMA, and MKP qualified for the top 16, but were knocked out in the first round by relative unknowns.

As a bonus match, GomTV broadcasted the finals of the Special League prior to the Super Tournament Finals.

Excerpt

Whats your favorite unit in the game?

DRG: Zerglinggggggggggg. So fasttttt, and cuteeeeeee.

What advice do you have for Zergs that want to be as good as DRG?

DRG: Nothing. Don't take my place.

Anything else you would like to say to Team Liquid.

DRG: Keep watching. Watch me win more in the future.

DongRaeGu

Preview

GomTV's Ridiculously Transparent Plot

The plot is: GET DONGRAEGU IN CODE-S.

As we all know, the winner of MLG Anaheim is also awarded a Code-S seed. The two strongest Koreans in this tournament, by some margin, are DRG and MVP. While DRG has been unluckily languishing in Code-B for the last year, MVP has a confirmed spot in the next season of Code-S. So should the best two players meet in the final (as it so happened at Columbus; yeah I said it, MC fans), DRG will be assured a Code-S spot, win or lose.

Of course, MMA throws a wrench in the plans with his incredible TvT and TvZ, but it's not like GomTV could really justify not sending the previous champion.

GomTV's ideal scenario here is obviously MVP vs DongRaeGu. But they must still be very pleased with DongRaeGu's chances of winning the championship against any of the non-MMA Koreans at Anaheim, since Huk seems to be only legitimate foreign threat.

Oh, right. I sort of skipped the part where I explain WHY these guys are the best two players in the entire tournament, assuming everyone knew. Well, MVP has two GSL championships, which is a better resume than everyone who has ever competed in MLG combined. As for DongRaeGu, you can look here.


Wrap Up

Maybe DongRaeGu isn't as good as we all want him to be. Sure, he dominated his pool play and then only lost by one game to both MVP and MMA (the first and second place winners), but he didn't totally dominate the tournament in the way that some of us foreigners had predicted.

We've all watched his GSTL play where he's looked nigh unstoppable, but the top tier Koreans at MLG showed us why he struggled for so long to make it into GSL. It's unfortunate, but DRG's fifth place finish has definitely dampened the hype.

Preview
DongRaeGu: For the guy who was supposed to earn his much deserved Code-S spot at Anaheim, DRG's fifth place finish was nothing less than a disappointment. He took out his frustrations by all killing the Prime.WE team last week.

It's the same goal and same stakes this time around: Take #1 or the entire thing was meaningless.

He should find the conditions more favorable. Without MMA or MVP in the pool stages, he is by far the leading candidate to win the entire tournament. Dangerous Koreans like Puma, HerO, and Noblesse challenge from below, but they must first break through the treacherous open bracket.

Wrap Up

DongRaeGu achieved 3rd place, seeded into Code S

The real surprise for most of us, though, was DongRaeGu. While he’d been a fixture atop the Korean ladder for months, it wasn’t until GSTL May that we finally saw him in a televised game. He quickly showed us what he was capable of by taking down MarineKing in game 7 of MVP’s first match, setting the stage for him to contine as ace throughout the season. Without his extraordinary play, it’s quite likely MVP wouldn’t have been able to take defending champions SlayerS down to the wire in an action-packed 5-4 final.

Suffice to say, moving into this season of GSTL expectations for both MVP and DRG were high, and one of them didn’t disappoint. Their first match against SlayerS set the tone for the season: Noblesse, Violet and GuineaPig managed one win between them before DRG came out to save the day with three straight wins. Match 2 against OGS was the same story with new names; this time it was Finale, Monster and Keen who led the fail-charge before the DRG cavalry arrived.

Match 3 brought us a new story: What happens when DRG doesn’t play. While Genius tried to step up and take his place, it wasn’t enough to keep MVP from falling to F.United.

MVP wasn’t about to let that happen, and in Match 4 they just let Tails go out and lose a game before they unleashed the Gu on Prime. While Prime’s coach insisted they had a plan in place for DRG, it proved to be pretty ineffective as he crushed their entire team and increased his winning streak to 10. With just one match left, it looked like DongRaeGu might take his undefeated streak into the playoffs with a shot at a #1 seed, but then the unthinkable happened: Clide.

MVP used their now-familiar strategy of sending out someone to lose game 1 (in this case Monster), then sending in DongRaeGu to clean up. This time, though, something went wrong; DRG actually lost to Clide. MVP sent out Vampire and then GuineaPig, but neither played a particularly compelling game, giving Clide the all-kill and TSL the #1 seed.

Heading into the playoffs, MVP's needs are pretty clear: SOMEONE other than DRG needs to win some games. The entire rest of the team only managed to cobble together 5 wins over the course of the regular season, and while DRG doesn’t lose often (a grand total of three times so far over two GSTLs), he does sometimes. If MVP can find a player or two to step up and rack up a few wins before DRG heads out and does his thing, they’ll be a force to be reckoned with, but if teams can simply focus on a strategy to beat DRG and assume the rest will fall into place, the path becomes a lot riskier. With long-time powerhouse IM and the surprising young superstar NSHS to get through before the finals, DRG’s going to need all the help he can get.

DongRaeGu failed to get into the Up-and-Down matches in the last GSL, but he went to the magical land called MLG and won his Code S spot there. We all know what DongRaeGu brings to the table by now and know he has top ZvT play. Taeja is also been getting a lot of praise lately for his constant wins in the Korean Weekly tournament and getting farther than DRG in the past Code A tournament.

I'm going to go for a bit of an upset here. Ganzi and MMA, Taeja's teammates, are also practicing for TvZ in their first game against elite zergs. Actually, you could very well say that the three Slayers terrans are facing the top three zergs in the world (Nestea, Losira and DongRaeGu) for their first games in the tournament. Did they plan for that to happen? Anyways, Thorzain showed us that DongRaeGu isn't completely unbeatable in the match-up and his week of practice with Slayers really showed in his builds.

Prediction: Taeja



Taeja and Polt, in terms of TvT, should be very close. Polt has taken his worst match-up and become pretty damn good at it, only losing to three TvT monsters in Bomber, MVP and TOP in the past three tournaments. Taeja recently beat Polt's former teammate MarineKing in the Up-and-Down matches to get into Code S and has an above average record in TvT. But, in the end, I'm going to go with the experience, the power of marauders (cue Artosis' "STOP MAKING MARAUDERS, POLT!") and the former GSL champion to top this very difficult group.

In the battle of pasta sauce and manly man, you would have Killer playing in his best match-up and DongRaeGu in his worst. Which sounds great for Killer before you realize DongRaeGu's worst match-up is still 10-4 with a 70% winning percentage. DongRaeGu was handpicked by Killer due to getting into Code S the "easy way" by going through the MLG system, but I believe DongRaeGu might be the one sending him down to the hard way to qualify for Code S. Sorry, protoss readers.

Prediction: Polt and DongRaeGu



Rematch of the first game. Who do I go with here? I think DongRaeGu is the better overall player at this point, but Taeja has the best practice partners in the world when it comes to facing DongRaeGu in Ganzi and MMA. I gave Taeja the win in the first match-up, but DongRaeGu will have probably seen Taeja's best SlayerS build in the first game and be able to out-duel him in their second face off.

Prediction: 1. Polt, 2. DongRaeGu, 3. Taeja, 4. Killer

Remember when we talked about those GSTL superstars that impressed in the team league and couldn't back it up in Code S? DongRaeGu is not one of those players. If anything, he should get bonus points for the way he's carried his team into the playoffs and led them into the finals. He is 13-2 in the team league; won the LG 3D Cinema Special Tournament a few months back over sC in a classic series; won Dreamhack Valencia over Thorzain; won the Code S spot at MLG Raliegh; is in the finals of the GSTL; made it to the finals of Arena of Legends; and while doing all this, had enough time to go on TL-Attack and have fun with the community.

Before this season started, all of his GSTL accomplishments appeared to be at risk. If DongRaeGu had come into this season's GSL, went 1-2 and got bounced out, believe me, he would not be this highly ranked. He was put into, my opinion, one of the three hardest groups this tournament with Polt, Taeja, and Killer. He not only got out of the group, but he dismantled his group with clinical precision. Like MVP last tournament, DongRaeGu made quick work of his first two games and got into the knockout rounds without much trouble. With his world class ZvT and a bunch of Terrans left in the tournament, he has to be one of the odds on favorites to lift the GSL trophy at Blizzcon.

Looking at his losses, he's only accumulated ten while playing in the GSL. The only time he has lost a series so far in his GSL career was against JYP, who has shown us that he has some unbelievable PvZ when on his game. DongRaeGu is still some ways below the two titans at the top due to him being in his first Code S while Nestea and MVP have been collecting titles for the last year, but next to MVP, you couldn't name a player with more momentum than DRG at the moment.

"IEM Let DRG and TOP flip a coin for $6,000."

DongRaeGu and TOP represent the elite flight of Korean players who have been destroying the Korean scene in the past few months. DRG is coming off a victory at DH Valencia, and is the consensus best-ZvT-in-the-world. The entry for "carried" in the dictionary is simply his portrait. TOP's recent string of GSL finishes reads as follows: RO8, RO4, RO16, FINALIST, and RO32 (the GSL silver medalist curse got to him). In terms of playing the abusive-as-hell macro oriented Terran style, he's probably only behind MVP.

MVP_DongRaeGu - Come on, DongRaeGu! I put you third in my Power Rankings last month, raved about how stupendous you are, and then you lost to Supernova in the first round of the knockout phase. Supernova has proven in the last month that he might be one of the top five Terrans currently in the world, but I was still expecting you to get further in your first Code S tournament. In the only two GSL tournaments he has competed in, DRG lost in the second round of Code A to JYP and then to Supernova in the second round of Code S.

There is no need for me to hype him up any more for you guys. We all know how good DongRaeGu is and how much insane skill he possesses, but it doesn't mean anything if he can't at least get deep in a GSL. This is your chance, DongRaeGu. MMA proved himself last season that he deserved his MLG Code S spot by winning the entire tournament. It is your turn to step up to the plate and prove that you are truly S-class.

The Fallen Angel: DongRaeGu

DRG, like many other Koreans, has only been to two other MLG events, and placed in the top 5 of both of them. DRG strikes me a lot like Puma, an excellent player that can run circles around many non-Koreans, but has issues with the superstar Korean players. Despite being one of the most hyped Koreans by foreigners, he actually has a very difficult time against the more proven Koreans such as Bomber, Coca, and MVP. DongRaeGu could shut down any foreigner that makes it to him, but I think it would be unlikely that he take down MMA to make it to the quarter finals. Unfortunately for DRG fans, I don't see him winning the tournament, and his level of hype has fallen greatly since the LG Cinema tournament so many months ago.

Preview

We spent a good portion of 2011 hyping up DongRaeGu, calling him the next generation Zerg hope and wondering how good he would be if he could get over his Code A jinx and get into Code S. However, after two Code S seasons and a few foreign tournaments, many DRG supporters (myself included) are having to radically re-access the former GSTL king as a player.

It's not that DRG was a bottom-feeder in GSTL; he defeated a fair share of top tier players as well. However, the conclusion we have to reach from many singles tournaments is that he just can't compete regularly with the true champion contenders. His highly entertaining style of play and charismatic personality might give him top-tier popularity, but his actual performances are just one step behind. I'll explain it in Brood War parlance: He's near the top of A-Class progamers, but just can't reach S-Class. Essentially, he's the Leta of SC2.

Winning this tournament would go a long way towards dispelling that reputation.

Wrap Up
DRG: On his way to winning another special event, or headed to another GSL flop?

Though it was a little bit lost in the Stephano ranking business, DRG's victory over MC took him to 3-1 and 1st place in his group. Though most people expected Mvp, it wasn't that unlikely for DongRaeGu to take out IM's Terran ace and top the group. I mean, isn't he supposed to be the best ZvT player in the world or something? Mvp tried to mech DRG before at Anaheim, an DRG crushed it with great Roach maneuvering that time as well. Monday's game was pretty much par for the course.

The problem for DongRaeGu isn't the low pressure early rounds. It's that he's showing some early symptoms of an age old Starcraft malady. Starcraft history has taught us for one reason or another, there are players who just don't have much affinity with the proper, primary tournaments like GSL, OSL, MSL, while they have no problem raking in the cash at smaller, special event tournaments. The legendary Brood War player Yellow embodied this concept, winning five silver medals in proper competition, while only taking home the gold at a few 'all-star' game type competitions and invitational special events. While MKP is a more advanced case, DRG is showing symptoms as well (gold medals at LG cinema, IEM New York, and DreamHack Valencia; he must be averse to making money in chunks larger than $10,000).

This made me wonder, is the Blizzard Cup a "special event" or a proper GSL tournament? Given the fact that we gave the surprisingly weak World Championship a proper GSL treatment, one might think the Blizzard Cup should as well... But at least the World Championship had 16 players, and was played over a full month. The Blizzard cup is played in the span of less than week, and ends up being more reminiscent of "Arena of Legends III – A lot more money, thanks Blizzard" than anything we've seen that bore the GSL name.

Obviously, it will be the community consensus that give us the answer once it's all said and done. We'll watch the games, cheer for the players, and decide whether this one really had the full weight of the GSL behind it in the end. Alternatively, we could just base it on whether DRG wins or not.

Preview

MLG Providence this year was a breakout tournament for Leenock, and with his back to back tournament finals appearances I don't think anybody expected him to get dropped the way he got dropped by MC. MC handled Leenock's aggression easily, tempering Leenock the first game with a patient 3-gate expand, mauling him the second with a maxxed 2-base Protoss ball, and busting Leenock's Nydus bust in the final game. MC was looking sharp, like the MC of olde, running what appeared to be riskless MC strategies and flawless MC muscle play. Even game three, which he lost, was a credit to MC - he tossed out a splattering of DTs and early zealot pressure to earn himself a few points for mixing it up while up 2-0. Despite trading a dozen zealots for a spinecrawler and three roaches early, he still managed to bore a hole in Leenock's front with blink stalkers, snipe all the broodlords and infestors, and look just about as if he was on the verge of winning anway.

But still, that series reminded me a lot of how PvZ was played in February... Forge FE into Tech into Timing into Blink Stalker/Colossus and micro and hope for the best. That style of PvZ was eventually figured out, as all timed midgame builds eventually are, and it ushered in an era where PvZ was almost all 2-base all-ins one way or the other, with a smattering of macro games and a win ratio heavily slanted towards the Swarm. MC seems to think that now is the time to bring it back, with sim city answers to Zergling counters, slightly improved upgrades and FE defenses and a few mix-ups here and there to keep the Zerg on their toes. Where are the Warp Prism and creative forcefield and drop tactics that we've been seeing from his housemate HerO? Where are the fast third bases and creative Zealot play? (well, as creative as you can get with Zealots...) I'm not 100% sure the MC we saw last night is very different from the fallen-from-grace MC of a few months ago.

But enough about Protoss. DongRaeGu, our resident Zerg of interest, has been on a ZvP up trend of late. Where Leenock prefers to 1-A and then control while the units are spreading (a painful thing to watch against MC's precision spacing and micro) DongRaeGu prefers flanks and multiple control groups. Where Leenock chose the stocky and inflexible Roach/Hydra balls of old to compose his composition, DongRaeGu prefers more mobile and flexible builds using Zerglings as a core or flanking reserve. Whereas Leenock always seemed a touch behind on upgrades, DongRaeGu has a penchant for staying ahead. Where Leenock brawls and trades with his army, DongRaeGu can stay patient and prepare or counterattack. Overall and especially against MC's style where minimizing damage is paramount, I think DRG is going to eek out a lot more edges against MC.

In their last meeting at MLG, MC took the fight to DRG with a pair of middle of the road 2-base all-ins - both failed and MC was out. In MC's games against Leenock, the oGs legend appeared composed and powerful, but he still seems to be running strategies from earlier in the year. On the other side of the coin, DongRaeGu has recently showcased a modern and prepared ZvP, where he can really utilize his mobility and flexibility as a mechanically sound, reactive player to his advantage. DRG's last meeting with MinChul he proved that he could meet and overcome the Boss Toss's time-worn timings, and I don't think that MC has the preptime to prepare new ones for this difficult matchup. My prediction? MC wins against mutas, loses to infestor/broodlord, defends an all-in and puts up a good rumble but ends up rumbling himself out with close-but-no-cigar timing attack.

Prediction: DRG 3 - 2 MC

Wrap Up

This series, for the most part, was an affirmation of things we knew. MC was deadly with his two-base timing attacks, and particularly good at microing Sentries and Stalkers against Roaches. DongRaeGu was excellent at executing tactics that abused Zerg mobility to its fullest, capable of defeating Protoss by avoiding direct engagements for as long as possible. And of course, Carriers were crap.

The one surprise though, was that MC tweaked his timing attacks to be useful again. It had seemed earlier this year that his timings had been been totally figured out, but MC showed he had the creativity to make them work again. Early attacks from MC will always be deadly, given his amazing micro.

Being one match away from eliminating a top Zerg player to get into the finals was more than I expected from MC, and he should be a dangerous opponent in the group stages of Code S next year. However, a recent lack of strong late-game performances against Zerg is a little worrisome, and that will probably be something he looks improve in particular in the months before Code S January.

It's the basis of many a classic tale: Two men living strangely parallel, connected, but contrasting lives.

Park Soo Ho and Moon Sung Won both came to prominence in the GSTL, playing crucial roles as their team's respective Ace players. However, MMA's position was that of a more traditional Starcraft Ace, the closer who came in to secure the win in a tight series. DongRaeGu, on the other hand, was MVP's everything, sometimes forced to play the role of a starter, mid-relief, and closer by winning all of his team's sets.

The two first met in May of 2011, during the finals of GSTL Season III, in the final set of an incredible nine game series. In an intense and close game, MMA squeezed out a narrow victory to capture the championship for his team. It was lauded as one of the great finals in Starcraft II's young history, and the two began to gain international notoriety.

Not long after, the two found themselves on another major stage: the GSL Super Tournament Finals. However, only one of them was playing in the Finals. MMA had made an impressive run through the tournament, further enhancing his reputation as one of the fastest rising players in the professional Starcraft II scene. DongRaeGu did not even qualify.

He had, however, torn through the LG Cinema Special Tournament, a lesser known competition with no less impressive players, that just so happened to share the same finals stage with the Super Tournament due to their sharing the same sponsor. Having lost the chance to be the star in the GSTL finals, DRG surrendered the spotlight to MMA once more, playing the undercard to MMA's main event. DRG defeated his opponent in five hard fought sets and won $10,000. MMA looked helpless as he lost in four straight sets and won $30,000.

At the same time, neither player was making much headway in the Code S tournament. MMA had made a few shots at the Code A tournament, to lose disappointingly each time. As for DRG, he had been mired in Code B for months, despite his reputation as one of the best Zerg players online. Still, lifelines would come.

The MLG/GSL league exchange program kicked in fully, with priceless Code S seeds finally available for the taking at all 2011 events beginning with MLG Anaheim. One month after MMA had been recognized as a rising star and invited to MLG Columbus, DRG's was acknowledged as well, receiving an invitation spot. As for MMA, he returned as the defending champion, sponsored by his team.

The two tore through the tournament, and landed top seeds in the championship bracket. Fatefully, the two would meet again in another high stakes match. As Mvp had secured a Code S spot for himself the next season, it would be passed down the next highest placing player. MMA and DRG duked it out not just for a right to progress in the tournament, but for the Code S spot they so valued. Once more, the gap between the two seemed paper thin. Once more, MMA was victorious.

MMA adjusted to life in Code S, and declined to compete again in the following MLG. He had attained Code S, now his goal was to win it. As for DRG, he made his way to MLG Raleigh, needing another chance after squandering the Code A seed earned at Anaheim. For the second time, victory eluded our second protagonist, but for once, luck was on his side. Despite an 3rd place finish, the two players above him already had Code S spots, dropping the single seed straight into DRG's lap.

In September, with both players landed in Code S, their paths began to separate. It turned out that neither of them ended up being that good at Code S, though they managed middle-tier finishes and retained their seeds.

Otherwise, they spent some time going their own ways. Having attained his goals at MLG, DRG traveled the world looking for easier money, winning respectable purses at IEM New York and DreamHack Valencia. MMA made an uneventful appearance at MLG Orlando, and a minor splash at IPL3.

The first proper season of GSTL did not provide a dramatic rematch. SlayerS was knocked out in the group stages, largely due to indifferent performances from MMA. Even so, their fates still seemed intertwined in a peculiar way, as MMA's disappearing act affected DRG as well. After carrying his team in the group stages, DRG needed not make any appearances after the first round of the playoffs. His teammates played better than they had ever before, and won the championship without him.

Then, in October, MMA broke ahead again. After a few mediocre seasons in Code S, he finally made it the grand finals. Faced with a supposedly invincible Mvp, MMA used both smart strategies and solid overall play to secure his first GSL championship. In the meanwhile, DongRaeGu was knocked out in the group stages, left chasing his elusive, undeclared rival once more.

In this chronicling of the last seven months, I'm not suggesting that DRG has been unfairly denied anything MMA has earned – because in the end, it was the games that he lost, and MMA won, that determined these differences in their otherwise eerily similar careers. MMA has always been a step ahead of DongRaeGu in advancing as a pro-gamer, but at the same time DongRaeGu has always gotten what he deserves, even if he has been forced to wait a while.

The past suggests two things. MMA will be the first to climb a new moutain, taking the very first Blizzard Cup. Or, DongRaeGu is will get is long due in a GSL championship. Which thread of fate will prevail?


DongRaeGu vs Terran – International: 22 wins, 12 losses (64.71% win rate) – Korea: 22 wins, 11 losses (66.67% win rate)

THE best Zerg vs Terran player in the world, although Leenock has given him a stiff challenge as of late. DRG's ability to swat away all sorts of Terran harassment saw him rise above all others during the days of blue flame debauchery, and his flawless control of Muta-ling-ling armies has sustained his position at the top of the pack. No other Zerg can control the lair phase of a game so well, swallowing up Terran pushes and causing nightmares with insanely persistent Mutalisk harassment. The Hive stage remains a slight problem for DRG, as he can't seem to exert the same kind of dominance with Brood Lords and Ultralisks as he can with lair stage units. However, that appears to be a problem inherent in recent ZvT in general, and not a flaw in DRG's game.


MMA vs Zerg – International: 36 wins, 13 losses (73.47% win rate) – Korea: 13 wins, 2 losses (86.67% win rate)

THE best Terran vs Zerg player in the world, or at least equal to Mvp. Though he became famous for his insane multi-tasking and drop tactics that earned him a championship at MLG Columbus, he's adapted with the times and become a ridiculously good macro player as well. The lines between Terran players has become increasingly blurred, as everyone seems to be very adept at playing safe, defensive macro while constantly dropping at the same time. Even so, he's better at this style than just about everyone, and manages to be more aggressive without giving up any stability. The entire, flawless, TvZ package.


Head to head: DongRaeGu 4 – 3 MMA

& Maps: Crossfire – Tal'Darim Altar – Bel'Shir Beach – Dual Sight – Daybreak – Antiga Shipyard – Shakuras Plateau

During the TL interview, DongRaeGu mentioned that going standard versus standard against MMA was generally a bad idea. Or the way I interpreted it, "Reactor Hellions into triple Orbital Commands is f***ing bulls***." This isn't just idle complaining, as DRG took it upon himself to Roach-Bane bust MMA twice at MLG Providence, when the maps turned out to be XNC and Shakuras Plateau, the twin patron saints of Terran Macro abuse. Going back slightly further, FXOLucky also earned cheesy victories over MMA at IPL3, using Roach-ling busts to end the games before MMA could really get going.

There's definitely going to be an interesting strategic battle going on here, as MMA will have shored up the defenses on his greedy, macro builds, while DongRaeGu will try to think of some new variation of early attack that he thinks MMA won't be able to plan for.

However, DongRaeGu also mentioned there are some maps he definitely wouldn't mind playing standard on. The first four maps are stacked heavily in DRG's favor, all featuring long rush distances, difficult to take third bases, and a thousand plus one backdoor opportunities. On these maps, the tables might actually be turned, with MMA the one attempting some kind of early strategy. After seeing Mvp completely unable to play to his strengths due to the combined effort of the SlayerS house, DongRaeGu should be very concerned. Obviously, MMA won't have the same caliber Zerg opponents as he did for Terran, but the SlayerS Terran think-tank's powers won't be diminished. Even though he's a master of stopping Terran cheese, I'd be surprised if DRG didn't drop a map to MMA's tricks.

If it DOES go to a straight macro game, with both players opting to play standard, it seems to favor MMA. The heir apparent can just pressure appropriately without over extending himself, setting up a strong macro base from which he can roll over his opponent. DongRaeGu will have to be more aggressive than usual to defeat MMA, as his roll-with-the-punches style will only lead him to a loss in the super late game.

That said, I feel that it's unlikely we'll see too many of these straight macro fights. Sure, they haven't had the usual one week of preparation time, but all the hallmark GSL Finals over-preparation and over-thinking will happen nonetheless. With both players thinking hard about how to get an advantage without playing a regular game, the number of times they will want to play a normal game at the same time will be pretty low – though they'll be epic when they happen.

Outside of strategy, there's another thing that makes me curious. MMA has played in numerous big matches, but he's rarely had to play from behind. With four bad maps for him early, he could easily find himself down 3-1 or 3-1 at some point in the series. How might MMA cope with being in that position? The one time he was down 3-0, the series ended as a clean sweep. At the same time, this will be DongRaeGu's first GSL final. He's played games on the same stage of the finals before, but hasn't been in one himself. Is he going to keep his cool and bring his A game?


Prediction:

Damn, these maps. These two are fairly even matched, but the maps swing it in DRG's favor. He's probably going to get to three wins first, and from that point it will be incredibly hard for MMA to come back. Overall, I just don't see DongRaeGu having to play a straight up macro game against MMA on any of the Terran favored maps in this series. There's probably a cheese win a piece for both of these guys in the middle of all of this, and on a similar note, a cheese-fail loss for both of them as well. Unless MMA is so transcendentally good at TvZ that he can play straight up on four straight disadvantageous maps, the series rests on his, and his teammates' ability to come up with a winning game plan for the first four games.

DongRaeGu 4 – 2 MMA

This year we saw long games, short games, bad games, and boring games. We saw the best of the best and some of TheBestfOu the worst of the worst. After sitting through a million hours of games this year (no hyperbole needed), we had to narrow down the list of best games to only a few. It was a hard decision between what was left, but there was one game that stood above all others when it came to the story it completed, the high level play involved, and the rivalry it advanced. DongRaeGu and MMA played to the best of their abilities at the height of pressure. When going down 0-3 in the series, it looked like DongRaeGu was dead in the water. I thought he was playing some of the worst games in GSL finals history. Then, like a flip had been switched on, DRG came roaring back with three straight victories on maps he wasn't supposed to win on, forcing the finals to go to a deciding set.

MMA could have crumbled, but he didn't. DongRaeGu could have fallen apart after having to give it his all to get back into the series with three hard earned wins, but he didn't. They both played to the best of their potential, wanting to take home the championship in the tournament of champions.

You couldn't ask for a better game with a better story. When Boxer set out to create Slayers, he wanted to build the team around two players: MMA and DongRaeGu. MMA became the crown jewel of Slayers, but DongRaeGu on the other hand was more worried about school and didn't accept the offer to try out for the team. In the end, DRG ended up on MVP after the coach promised that if the progaming gig didn't work out he would pay his way through university.

MMA prevailed in the end, but the fans chanted DongRaeGu's name all the same, showing respect for how valiantly he fought back from being behind three games against one of, if not the best, Terran in the world. All in all, this game and series reassured myself why I am a journalist for e-sports and love writing about it. It made me cheer and keep my eyes glued to the computer screen for thirty straight minutes, wanting to know whose will would be stronger in the end. When the battle was done and Slayers converged on the stage, lifting their champion on the stage, I clapped. Not only for MMA, but for DongRaeGu and the amazing game they just showed us.

I hope you clapped, too.

- Fionn

Preview
Group F: MVPsC, EGJYP, MVPDongRaeGu, MVPGenius


If Starcraft II is anything like its predecessor, then we should know to expect the unexpected from the MVP team-kill matches. It's been proven that when two players are familiar with each other's styles, they sometimes simultaneously try to play mind games to take advantage of that style, resulting in some very bizarre games. So keep your eye out for the MVP vs MVP games; you might see something unusual.

DongRaeGu is the obvious pick to top the group. Without a doubt, this is the best form he's ever been in. In his runs through MLG Providence, Blizzard Cup, and King of Kongs, we've seen that his ZvP has improved massively, and that his ZvT is even stronger than before – if that were even possible. Genius and JYP shouldn't pose that much of a threat, but sC can play some very brutal macro TvZ. DRG has had trouble in the past with Terrans that specialize in throwing endless waves if troops at him (as seen in his games against SuperNova or Ganzi), so a second place finish could be in the picture if sC can beat DRG in the winner's match.

I feel that sC should have been a GSL finalist months ago, but it never really materialized. Sure, he was coming up at a time when macro-abuse Terran was all the rage, but I would contend that he did it THE best out of anyone. Then he started suffering from chronic collapsed lungs, which put an end to his upward progress after a GSL top four finish. It's hard to say how much his medical condition affected his ability to improve as a player, but considering he's tweeted about days where he couldn't do anything but lie down and suffer, I'll assume it was pretty damn bad. Through all that, sC has somehow managed to stay in the upper echelon of Terran players, and has kept his place in Code S.

This isn't a sure-fire advancement group for sC by any means, though he's probably the second best player. JYP will be a PvT free-win until he proves otherwise, so sC can feel okay about his first game. Of sC's teammates, Genius might be distinctly average in a lot of people's eyes, but he does happen to play straight up, late game PvT extremely well. Add the team-kill complication, and that's anybody's game. As for DRG, I feel like sC has a decent shot against him in straight up games, as mentioned above.

JYP has been distinctly self conscious about his reputation as a vsTerran disaster, making frequent tweets about his determination to overcome that hurdle. Even so, he must have been jumping for joy after seeing he only got one Terran player in his group, with 46% of the players in Code S playing Terran. It would be a good baby-step for JYP to overcome one Code S caliber Terran opponent.

JYP scored a victory against DRG back in the days when DRG was known for being bad at ZvP/bad at GSL, but it's a distinctly changed DRG he'll be facing this time around. JYP's ZvP style resembles his friend, HerO's at times, and DRG has slight edge against the former oGs Protoss. Against Genius, well, that's PvP, so who knows how that could go? That leaves his game against the Terran of the group... I guess we'll see if he makes good on his promises to live up to expectations. Overall, JYP does seem like the weakest player in the group, but only by a slim margin.

Finally, we have Genius. He's the last in the class of Protoss players like Killer, HongUn and Tester, having been around forever yet receiving a strangely low amount of attention. Instead of waiting for JYP, HerO, and Sage to figure it out, why not support a reliable old warship for a change? Though not on MC's level, Genius can use all of the tried and true Protoss tactics proficiently. Two base all-ins in PvT. Turtle into Death-ball in PvZ. Flipping a coin in PvP. We've seen in the past that if you can execute those three things well, it's worth a semi-final run. I'm not saying it will be easy for Genius to get past monsters like DRG and sC, but we should give the veteran his due respect.

Predictions:

sC > JYP
DRG > Genius
DRG > sC
Genius > JYP
sC > Genius

DRG and sC advance

Wrap Up

Art Nouveau: Stephano is widely acclaimed as the player who popularized the double-evo Zergling + Infestor style, and the player who achieved the best results using that style as well. Though Stephano might be the face of this style, DongRaeGu's recent play makes me think that the young Frenchman might only be second best. Starting back in Arena of Legends III (King of Kongs), DongRaeGu used the so-called 'Stephano' style with brutal effectiveness. It's a difficult style, requiring great mechanics and map awareness to maintain map control and security without any sort of anti-air units. With some of the best mechanics in the West, Stephano made it work very well. So I suppose it's no surprise the Zerg with the best mechanics in the world is making it work for him as well.

In the finals of King of Kongs, DRG made MKP's famous Marine micro completely useless as he fungaled and swarmed his way to victory. The game against sC on Dual Sight looked like a repeat of those MKP games, where he used a quartet of Ultras, Lings, Banes, and Infestors to take apart the Terran army in record time. Seeing that DRG is already a master of Muta-Ling-Bane, it's scary where DRG could go with even more styles available to him.

Preview
Trying to stop Nestea from getting his fourth title will be MvPDongRaeGu, who is coming off a very rocky first round. He got shellacked 2-0 against teammate Genius, and was taken to the brink of elimination against another teammate, sC. After his legendary battle against long-lasting rival MMA in the finals of the Blizzard Cup, DRG will be hungry to get to another final against his nemesis and win his first GSL title.

Unfortunately for him, this is the hardest group he could ask for; Nestea is still, even with the recent bumps in the road, the best ZvZ player on the planet. MarineKing, if you had forgotten, was the King of TvZ before MMA busted on the scene with to take that spot. And finally, there's Genius, the player who dismantled DRG only a short two weeks ago and has shown he knows how to take down his teammate. We all know DRG has the skill to crush everyone in his group and exit with a clean 4-0 record, advancing to the quarterfinals, but so does everyone else in the group on a good day. DRG will need to play twice as good as he did in the first round if he wants any chance of going through.

His first game in particular, should be an exciting challenge. After defeating countless minions in his way, DRG is finally standing directly in front of Nestea's throne. Can he be the one to knock the God off his perch?


Wrap up

In November of 2010, Nestea became the best Zerg player in the world. A year and two months later, his era has finally come to a close. Arguably, DRG had already been the better player for a few months – he was beating better opponents in a more convincing fashion, while Nestea was living off the benefit of the doubt. You could see that Nestea just wasn't the same. He didn't have the same sense of control over the game as he had before, and that his mechanics were just not as good as some of the newer players.

However, he had been such a storied champion, and such a loved one that we could not bear to see him go. We removed doubt from our minds, and prayed that he would come back the way we remembered him. He could not have stepped down peacefully, not even if he had tried. We wouldn't have let him.

Perhaps it was his final act of benevolence unto his Zerg subjects, that Nestea invited DongRaeGu into his group. Times had changed, and Zerg needed a new hero – one not weary from over a decade of fighting, one who had yet to feel the first touch of complacency – to carry it forward. But Zerg demanded that its champion be chosen through a trial by blood...

DongRaeGu, take your crown.

Preview
MVPDongRaeGu is in a bit of a similar boat, as he could really be a more convincing Zerg King if he had just slightly better ZvP. His ZvT has never been better, and his ZvZ is as good as it can be in that wonky match-up. He ZvP is actually pretty good as well, it's just not completely ridiculous like his ZvT, which makes him look a bit incomplete, considering he's filling Nestea's shoes. MC took him to the edge with some all-in timings DRG did not expect in during the Blizzard Cup, while Genius simply outplayed him with superior strategies and decision making, showing that DRG is vulnerable on more than one front. Once he's comfortable and gets the ball rolling, and can start to abuse the mobility of mutalisks and speedlings, there really is no better player at finishing Protoss players off. It's just not guaranteed that he will get to that point.

As usual, a lot depends on how the players spent their week of preparation. Maybe it's just the nature of the match-up, but when MC got a couple of days to prepare for Leenock and DRG in the Blizzard Cup, he spent it preparing ten all-in builds. He beat Leenock and was inches away from defeating DRG, suggesting that such an approach can be effective, if inelegant. Parting is almost certain to bring at least one slightly unorthodox all-in that he hopes DRG has never seen, or at least won't expect. Beyond that, PvZ isn't really that conducive to brand new, grand strategies (remember how MC's carriers got hammered down by DRG in the Blizzard Cup?). On the other hand, it's not like the Zerg player can do much either, barring the occasional baneling or roach bust, or possibly a nydus assisted lair phase attack. DRG might very well spend most of his time preparing to not die to anything stupid, rather than look for easy ways to beat his opponent. This series should be fairly textbook PvZ, from the looks of it.

Up to this point, it seems like a fairly even match, with two players who have their specialties elsewhere meeting in a duel where they are nonetheless, still fairly skilled. However, there's one, final mitigating factor: Crossfire has slipped into the map pool. We all know how Protoss players feel about Crossfire. It's not even avoidable either, being placed in the third set. With that, I think we can give DRG a slight lead.

Prediction: DongRaeGu 3 – 2 Parting

Wrap up

One Goal

DongRaeGu's in that unfortunate place where winning vs your average player doesn't do much for him anymore. Heck, beating one of the fastest rising stars in Parting didn't get him any credit, nor did busting through this tournament's group of death. The second he GG'd out of game seven of the Blizzard Cup finals, every goal ceased to be relevant for DRG, save one: Win a GSL championship.

Last season, the GSTL ended with a pretty balanced winrate overall:



Pretty solid overall, but...

Let's look at something - or someone - that ignores and defies race-stats when it comes to a team league setting, DongRaeGu. Is he a human-dragon hybrid? An abstract construct designed to laugh in the face of the format? Merely one man that can crush a whole team? It is no doubt that DRG within a team league is an anomaly, while in normal play he’s a superstar, in this last team league he essentially broke the system. Reverse all killing nearly every time to carry them to the finals is something not many can compare to. I don’t know if he has some special juice he drinks before team matches only, or if he thrives off the momentum with his roll out technique. Either way, DRG is a team league monster, even long before his qualification for Code-A. Since I’m going to be looking at numbers (as abstractly as possible) lets look at what DRG alone did for the winrate numbers in last year's league:



Now if we take out DRG we are removing a 7-2 ZvT record and a 3-0 ZvP record bringing us to



Clearly DRG breaks the team league, boasting a +11 score differential, nearly 3 times that of anyone else behind him, and crushing the significance of the rest.




Perhaps we can thus claim DRG to be the king of adaptation, thriving in an environment that is difficult to prepare for. All of these extremely talented teams throw their best snipers or high pressure players at him and he steam rolls through them regardless of the map or the build situation. Since this team league massacre ended last fall he’s been crushing nerds very handsomely in individual leagues as well.

Thus we must ask, is the team league just a good place to foster Zerg talent? Can everyone transfer over so easily between situations of preparation and ones of adaptation? Will further kings of their races rise up in the team leagues?

With DRG in mind we can take a look at the team league holistically, with this pretty little chart for reference. Remember these are purely 2011 Season 1 numbers.


There’s no coincidence that chart is primarily blue, if there’s one thing that was true about this past team league it’s that it was cool to be Terran. Of the 361 games played we see a break down like this:



This was also true of the mirror match ups, of the 55 mirrors that took place we had:



Another over-representation of Terran. Though, to be frank, I find it the most enjoyable mirror to watch because of how variable the openers can be, and how long and interesting the games can go. Ultimately an abundance of Terran is probably good for DRG, as back before his ZvP had become the force it is today ZvT was what made him known.

Looking back to the chart above, out in front with two match ups is Tal’Darim Altar LE. Judging purely on numbers, it appears Zerg had a rough time here. Not counting mirror match ups Zergs accumulated 12 losses on this map, which means:

Total Zerg losses: 46
Losses on Tal’Darim altar LE: 12 (26%!)

Over a quarter of all games lost for Zerg in this GSTL were on Tal’Darim. To add a cherry on this little sundae, DRG lost 2 games in this GSTL. One was to MVP which is understandable regardless of circumstance. The other was to Clide, and you may ask how does a beast such as DRG lose to Clide? Well he played him on Tal’Darim, perhaps that is relevant.

Of course these results cannot be generalized beyond the team league, it's a small sample size and many influences effect results, especially in this format. That's what is so cool with looking at these results, there are a million things that can factor into when/if/and how a player wins. Did a great player keep losing because he ran into snipers? Are some players only strong with practice? Was the map just fortunate? Is momentum really that powerful? Numbers like this provide a base to look at all the reasons for why things happened the way the did and how they might have gone differently.

Things to take away from this team league: Terrans get TV time, and DRG is a force so strong he breaks the numbers.

+ Show Spoiler +

Remember if you're having tough times as a zerg player on ladder, in practice, or holistically, always put all blame on the fact that you aren't DRG.</div>

by Waxangel

Two months ago, MMA and MvPDongRaeGu met in the Blizzard Cup finals and showed the best TvZ series we had ever seen, if not the flat out best series in Starcraft II history. It was an epic series that went from 3 – 0 to 3 – 3, and ended with a dramatic game seven that was was also one of the best single games ever.

Though such monuments usually stand for a considerable amount of time, there's potential for such greatness to be achieved in this semi-final match-up.

First, there's DongRaeGu, one half of the aforementioned, historic series. I don't think there's anyone who follows Starcraft II who would place him outside the top three players in the world, and you could even argue that he has emerged as the #1 player in 2012. Even if you don't agree with that assessment, you have to at least admit that his Zerg vs Terran has been the best in the world for months now.

Back in the autumn of 2011, DongRaeGu was a top ZvT player with just his superlative mid-game muta/ling/bane play. While that style is still at the core of his ZvT, he's since become amazing at every other aspect of ZvT. DongRaeGu realized that to be successful in best of fives and best of sevens, a player has to use a variety of strategies that will keep the opponent guessing. It might sound a bit ridiculous, but following that realization, DongRaeGu went forward and mastered every strategy at every stage of ZvT.

Whether it's roach-ling, ling-bane, roach-bane or any other early game all-in, DongRaeGu has used it successfully and often. Korean Terran players are naturally inclined to be greedy in TvZ, and DongRaeGu keeps those tendencies in check with his dangerous all-in builds. On the other hand, he's one of the best players at stopping Terran all-ins, capable of droning up until the very last possible moment, before he creates just enough defenses to hold off the attack.

DongRaeGu's mid-game ability to harass with mutalisks and sweep up Terran armies with swarms of speedlings and banelings was already unparalleled, but DongRaeGu also decided to learn the newer lair-stage strategy of infestors combined with mass, well-upgraded zerglings. I don't mean any disrespect to Stephano, who is the face of infestor-ling and chief evangelist of the strategy in Korea, but DongRaeGu plays it about 20% better. Even if everything else were equal between the two, DongRaeGu just clicks faster, allowing him to do more with the same strategy.

The late game is where things fall apart for a lot of Zerg players, as they are unable to back their expensive brood lords or ultralisks with an appropriate support force. Controlling infestors, ultralisks, zerglings, and banelings at the same time can be a tricky feat, but it's an area in which DongRaeGu really shines. By showing appropriate care for his expensive units, he maximizes their utility and can break through even the most entrenched Terran positions.

This comprehensive mastery of ZvT was exactly why his series versus MMA was so amazing. MMA was an equally skilled player, and pitting the #1 ZvT player against the #1 TvZ player was sure to cause an explosive reaction.

Am I saying then, that FXOGuMiho is truly of that caliber in TvZ, and up to the task of giving DongRaeGu a real challenge? After all, DongRaeGu annihilated MarineKing this tournament for the lack of a better word, and MarineKing is one of the best TvZ players out there (as you would expect from a guy who chose the ID 'MarineKing.' Incidentally, DongRaeGu comes from a town of the same name, Genius is a very intelligent player, MMA used to train in MMA... Koreans pro-gamers have very apt IDs).

Why yes, I am. It's not even that controversial a claim to make – we all knew he was a TvZ monster ever since he crushed Nestea in the WCG preliminaries back in September. The only problem was that there was so much else going on in the winter of '10 – `11 that even a player quietly picking up a 28 – 12 (70% win rate) record in TvZ was buried as a major story (anything that didn't involve winning championships or probe rushing was buried, for that matter). He beat proven Code S players on his way to that record, beating Nestea, Zenio, and even DongRaeGu (1 – 0).

While DongRaeGu is a very complete player, Gumiho's strengths are more focused. Many Terran players like to play like a glacier of death, slowly wiping their opponents off the map while remaining impervious to attack themselves. On the other hand, Gumiho is the embodiment of wildfire. Option A for Gumiho is to attack. So are options B and C. He can't bear to stay still for a second or allow his opponent a moment's reprieve. There will almost always be a dropship looking around for a hole in the defenses, or a splinter force of infantry making their way on foot to attack an expansion. Gumiho's micro sometimes suffers because he tries to be on multiple fronts at once, but Gumiho usually ends up with a net gain after causing serious damage in at least one location.

This aggressive philosophy might seem risky at first, but Gumiho actually rides the razor's edge very well. He's aggressive, but he's rarely reckless. Or at least, not reckless to the degree where it comes back to hurt him. If there truly are no weaknesses for him to exploit, Gumiho won't force a futile attack. Rarely can a Zerg opponent stay unassailable forever, and Gumiho is willing to wait until he senses weakness. When he does go for harassment or attacks that look futile at first, it's always done with the purpose of creating chaos which he can exploit with a later attack.

In a lot of ways, it's reminiscent of MMA's old style from the summer of 2011, where he preferred harassing his opponent and causing damage to his infrastructure over throwing down and trying to crush the Zerg army in a big battle. However, while MMA had frequent trouble with macro back in the day, Gumiho has no such weakness. In fact, it's because of his great macro that he's capable of playing his trademark aggressive style. If some of his tactics should go awry, there's always another force ready to fill the the momentary gap on defense. When he draws blood, another force is already on its way to deepen the wound, or land another blow at a vacated location. Also because of his macro, Gumiho never has to win the game before it goes late. He's completely happy to harass the hell out of his opponent for the entire length of a game, and he often arrives in the late stage of a game with a significant advantage.

It's a really fascinating match-up, as DongRaeGu is one of the best defensive Zerg players in the world. Even when using the infestor-ling style that is susceptible to harassment, his map awareness and quick reactions allow him to cover every flank. However, in their previous meeting, Gumiho hurt DongRaeGu early on with a marauder and hellion attack. After that early success, Gumiho simply never stopped sending units in DongRaeGu's general direction. DongRaeGu was unable to stabilize, and Gumiho bled him to death.

That match was back in November, and we've seen DongRaeGu hold off variations of that marauder-hellion attack multiple times since. Gumiho will probably bring some more strategies aimed at hurting DongRaeGu during the early phase of the game, but DongRaeGu will be able to defend better this time. If Gumiho does manage to hurt him early once more, expect a repeat of the game in November.

It seems more likely that that game will flow towards the late game, with both players sitting comfortably on multiple bases and DongRaeGu using hive units. While DongRaeGu is an unparalleled master of hive management, the low mobility of hive units is extremely worrisome. In that game seven of the Blizzard Cup finals, DongRaeGu was managing his his brood lords extremely well, but he simply could not defend his bases. Having to place most of his attention on babysitting a powerful but extremely slow brood lord force, he couldn't adequately defend against the drops MMA was using to persistently deny him from securing a fifth and sixth base. Gumiho will try to do the exact same thing, and the series will come down to DongRaeGu's ability to stop him. He looked improved in this aspect during his series against MarineKing in the Arena of Legends tourney and the GSL, but Gumiho is on another level in terms of harassment.

Gumiho and DongRaeGu are two players at the top of their games, and this series has all the potential in the world to be one of the all time greats. We know what Gumiho is going to do, and it's up to DongRaeGu to show that he really is the complete package, on both offense and defense. No matter who wins, we're going to see some great games.

Prediction: DongRaeGu 3 – 2 Gumiho

How times have changed. DongRaeGu, the one man rock band who used to kill it on the indie circuit, has finally hit the big time. Ten months ago he was playing the shadiest of venues, desperate to show his talent anywhere. Now? He gets his own press conference as he looks to headline the biggest show of the year so far.


No one can say he hasn't earned it. His journey has been long, and he's set foot on every single step on the way to the top: Brood War trainee, mystery ladder god, team league sensation, Code-B jinxed, called 'underrated' so many times he became overrated, unnoticed Korean tournament champion, single match-up specialist, Code-A jinxed, unnoticed international tournament champion, Code-S jinxed, GSL star, GSL finalist. It's as if a higher power has forced DongRaeGu to take the long way, to appreciate the effort it takes to climb each step, so he would never take anything for granted.

And still, nothing about it makes it feel like it's come too late. Somehow, all this effort, all this preparation, and all this waiting seems to have been for a reason.

So there would be time for Mvp and Nestea to build their castles, and time enough for them to lose the strength to guard the gates. Time for MMA to emerge from under Boxer's wing and stand at the head of a new generation of champions, and seek a worthy rival to follow him into 2012. Time enough for DongRaeGu to hone his skills to a point where he's never been better, a point where no Zerg has ever been better. Time enough for DongRaeGu to come once within inches of his final goal, so that he would learn to want it even more.

Everything is falling together, at the right place, at the right time.

Everything, but one last piece.

With the series won, DongRaeGu thanked his teammates, his family, and a hitherto unheard of girlfriend, which enticed some "Ooh"s from the crowd. Despite his earlier cheeriness, Genius seemed to be more somber in defeat, admitting the difficulty of reaching a final again. DongRaeGu didn't forget to include his customary Zerg pessimism during his interview, mentioning the hardships that had to be overcome as a Zerg player. With the ceremonies over, and an oversize check for 50,000,000 won received, DongRaeGu fulfilled his final obligation and gave his fans what they had waited on for a very long time: a shot of him kissing the GSL championship trophy.

#1: coL.MvPDongRaeGu

A Code S championship does not automatically bestow one with the title of best player in the world. DongRaeGu is the best player in the world because the Code S championship was the crowning achievement in a career that was built painstakingly slowly, one that forced him climb every single rung of the ladder and tested him at every step of his glacial, upwards progress. After fighting his way to 99%, the championship was the small, yet immense, final increment to 100. Every victory is 'earned' by the definition of the word, but no one else has given that word such powerful sense of meaning.

In Asia, Europe, and North America, at IEM, DreamHack, MLG, and GSL, alone or with his teammates, online and offline, Code B, A, and S, DongRaeGu had to succeed – and fail – in every single competition and at everything single level, before he was allowed to make the final challenge. Even at the GSL Blizzard Cup finals, he was made to learn the bitter taste of silver first, before finally being allowed to sweet ecstasy of gold in 2012.

What's left then, for the man who has – and truly appreciates – it all? Build new steps to climb.