EPTMy discussion of group A and Group B
PartinG vs. 
TheStC, Game One: Parting’s new PvT buildI’ve been a fan of Parting’s PvT opening for a long time now. I remember as I sat in disbelief watching as a protoss could go to three bases and then still threaten terran with the same strength as a two base all in. Since I’ve been a Parting fan for so long now, it’s been incredibly unique to watch his build develop overtime. In his game against TheStc, we got to see the latest version of it, which I mapped out below:
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/QuNOT.png)
PartinG’s old build roughly went immediately up to 8 gateways after a third base in order to put pressure on the terran, essential for stopping any drops or push outs. Essentially, it was a big (potentially deadly) bluff to force a defensive terran. Parting has been able to standardize his build now that he has a better understanding of the timings, and I love the new version. The new version gets the greediest possible 1 gate expand, skips the second gateway before third base, and gets a robo to stop any cloak banshee nonsense. Sooner or later terrans are going to figure out a way to stop Parting’s greedy play (we even see players like Mvp doing it against naniwa), but for now, greed is good.
PartinG vs. TheStC, Game Two: Losing (and gaining) the LeadThis match ended up being pretty weird, and there were just a few things that I wanted to say about it. First, as soon as parting knew that he was ahead he went to pressure Stc. In Starcraft, it’s absolutely key to press your advantage when you have it, or else you allow your opponent to make up the difference by playing greedily. Parting knew that by denying stc’s funky hellion drop opener that he had to be ahead, so rather than immediately take a third like he usually does, he instead went to pressure the moment he had two immortals. It’s thanks to that pressure that he forced stc to build the great wall of bunkers:
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/AIiJR.png)
Which is what actually put him ahead. Without this pressure, Parting would just be in a good position, not a great, nearly game winning one.
And then… stc pulled off just about the only thing he could’ve to come back, hitting a massive doom drop:
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/3mC2f.png)
Not a single fuck was given
So ya, when you’re behind, don’t be afraid to take giant risks like this. If you don’t take them, you’re going to lose anyways, so what’s the harm?
And now for the really juicy stuff about this game. So Stc got himself a huge advantage, clawing himself back into the game with great harassment, but then, out of nowhere, he got rolled over by Parting. How does something like this happen? Well, it all comes down to the economy. Think of Stc’s style this game as the same that July Zerg employs, just with terran. Stc cut workers at 60, which is the optimal 3 base saturation for two bases with gas and one without gas. With gas at the third, optimal three base saturation becomes 66. This is why many professional players cut workers between 70 and 80, because at that point you can saturate about three and a half bases, and it’s very rare to ever control more than that (your main is usually mining out as you take your fourth).
With that preface out of the way, the Stc began cutting SCV’s at about 55-60, meanwhile Parting was at near perfect three base saturation with 70. Especially once Parting had his fourth up, his income was out of control, able to saturate that perfect three and a half base amount. Meanwhile, since Stc had cut workers in favor of constant aggression, his push ran out of steam the moment that Parting could get a good footing.
To be honest, because of how far behind he was at the beginning, I think that the Stc went for the best move that he could, trying to do a constant aggression style (basically a three base all in) to try and crack parting. Parting just proved his deftness at PvT in being able to hold on and eventually take the game. Just a few workers can make all the difference at the professional level.
MKP vs. TaeJa, Game Two: Everything!I’m not going to say that this is my favorite TvT of all time, but it is without a doubt my favorite in recent memory. I was on the edge of my seat the entire game, and with good reason. To start things off, I really enjoyed how Taeja did a small poke with his initial marine. In the early game of TvT, high level terrans will often have their marines in base to deflect any reaper openings, so just poking with the first marine can be quite effective. Worst case scenario you pull it back after it takes a bit of damage, but Taeja got the best case one, scouting the command center and killing the Scv that was building it.
MKP is bringing back the quick tank pushes with a vengeance. This kind of two barracks siege tank play, in the past, was only used in one base all ins, often with a barracks proxied for sight of your opponents ramp. MKP has been able to take advantage of the new marine openings that most players are doing with his quick combat shield / siege mode timing. I really liked his build, so I mapped it out below.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/0f9id.png)
What’s very important to note here is that MKP added on a third barracks and his starport during this push before taking his third base. If MKP skips this step and gets a third base right away, he is suddenly in danger of losing his army to a big SCV pull timing, it was a brilliant and safe decision to add on production before expanding.
Now, if this had been the end of the game, it would have been a mediocre experience; however, due to his risky fast third base, Taeja was able to claw his way back. Plus, MKP made the mistake of forgetting how cost effective siege tanks are.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/R8zJl.png)
Before
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/WBT2k.png)
After
Suddenly, after an over 40 food plummet, the game was even, and we had an amazing positional TvT on our hands. I highly recommend this game both for understanding TvT positioning and for its raw entertainment value.
PartinG vs. MKP Game One:
I just wanted to say that you shouldn’t do the build Parting did on this map unless you are extremely confident in every aspect of your play (micro, macro, and decision making). This four gate after expand can look very powerful when someone like Parting does it, but it is actually near impossible for lesser players to pull off cost effectively. Without top tier macro, the push hits seconds too late, and becomes incredibly wasteful. Without top tier micro, you don’t have enough sentries, or units in general, to pull anything off, you get your army crushed, and terran counters with stim and medivacs and you will instantly lose the game. And most importantly, without top tier decision making, you will commit to the attack for far too long, losing tech and economy in the process.
Game Three:
Just a quick note on this one, as both this game and Mvp vs. Naniwa demonstrate, two base timings are back in a big way to try and punish the Parting style quick third.
Thanks for reading, here are those links to my discussions of group A and Group B again. Hopefully group D will be incoming soon!
