• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EDT 10:33
CEST 16:33
KST 23:33
  • Home
  • Forum
  • Calendar
  • Streams
  • Liquipedia
  • Features
  • Store
  • EPT
  • TL+
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Smash
  • Heroes
  • Counter-Strike
  • Overwatch
  • Liquibet
  • Fantasy StarCraft
  • TLPD
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Blogs
Forum Sidebar
Events/Features
News
Featured News
Code S Season 2 (2026) - RO8 Preview4[ASL21] Finals Preview: Two Legacies21Code S Season 2 (2026) - RO12 Preview2herO wins GSL Code S Season 1 (2026)7Code S Season 1 (2026) - RO4 & Finals Preview5
Community News
Weekly Cups (May 18-25): MaxPax wins doubles0Crank Gathers Season 4: BW vs SC2 Team League4Weekly Cups (May 11-17): Classic wins double0Code S Season 1 (2026) - RO8 Results2Weekly Cups (May 4-10): Clem, MaxPax, herO win1
StarCraft 2
General
herO wins GSL Code S Season 1 (2026) Code S Season 2 (2026) - RO8 Preview Weekly Cups (May 18-25): MaxPax wins doubles Code S Season 2 (2026) - RO12 Preview Weekly Cups (May 11-17): Classic wins double
Tourneys
GSL Code S Season 2 (2026) Sparkling Tuna Cup - Weekly Open Tournament Crank Gathers Season 4: BW vs SC2 Team League GSL Code S Season 1 (2026) Maestros of The Game 2 announcement and schedule !
Strategy
Custom Maps
[D]RTS in all its shapes and glory <3 [A] Nemrods 1/4 players
External Content
Welcome to the External Content forum Mutation # 527 Hell Train The PondCast: SC2 News & Results Mutation # 526 Rubber and Glue
Brood War
General
Pros React To: ASL S21 Finals Every Matchup's Top 5 Winrates (all ASLs & KSLs) BW General Discussion Very long shot - StarCraft x A7X video Pros React to: TvT Masterclass in FlaSh vs Light
Tourneys
[ASL21] Grand Finals Escore Tournament StarCraft Season 2 [BSL22] WB Final & LB Semis - Saturday 21:00 CEST [Megathread] Daily Proleagues
Strategy
Any training maps people recommend? Muta micro map competition [G] Hydra ZvZ: An Introduction Fighting Spirit mining rates
Other Games
General Games
Nintendo Switch Thread ZeroSpace Megathread Path of Exile Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread Dawn of War IV
Dota 2
Official 'what is Dota anymore' discussion
League of Legends
Heroes of the Storm
Simple Questions, Simple Answers Heroes of the Storm 2.0
Hearthstone
Deck construction bug Heroes of StarCraft mini-set
TL Mafia
Vanilla Mini Mafia Mafia Game Mode Feedback/Ideas TL Mafia Community Thread Five o'clock TL Mafia
Community
General
US Politics Mega-thread Russo-Ukrainian War Thread Trading/Investing Thread Dating: How's your luck? European Politico-economics QA Mega-thread
Fan Clubs
The herO Fan Club!
Media & Entertainment
[Manga] One Piece Anime Discussion Thread [Req][Books] Good Fantasy/SciFi books
Sports
2024 - 2026 Football Thread McBoner: A hockey love story TeamLiquid Health and Fitness Initiative For 2023 Formula 1 Discussion
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
Facing Challenges in Mobile App Development streaming software
TL Community
The Automated Ban List
Blogs
Customization Drives Loyalty…
TrAiDoS
Why RTS gamers make better f…
gosubay
ramps on octagon
StaticNine
ASL S21 English Commentary…
namkraft
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 1982 users

Tournament Strategy?

Blogs > SupplyBlockedTV
Post a Reply
SupplyBlockedTV
Profile Blog Joined September 2011
Belgium313 Posts
August 12 2012 15:21 GMT
#1
I am going to play playhem today, but not done tournaments in a while.

What are good strategies?

During the BO1, would you go for a standard build with a decent winrate, or a wonky/cheesey build wich you know has a higher winrate, but can get shut down entirely if reacted to in the right way?

Also, in a BO3, would you play standard the first game, or non-standard, because your opponent will often think it is common that people play standard in the first game and only take refuge to cheesing once they are behind, meaning cheese will have higher odds in the first game?


Also, when getting matched against someone who you know will beat the shit out of you in a standard game, is it better to just try and take the win with wonky builds most people dont even know existed? :D

I did try some searching for tournament strategy on TL, but didnt find anything about this subject.

What are your common tournament strategies?


PEW PEW PEW
Lokk
Profile Blog Joined September 2011
Canada635 Posts
August 12 2012 15:24 GMT
#2
usually play macro game first them see if i wanna cheese after
+ Show Spoiler +
who am i kidding im terran cheese all game
@Lokk_2/Go Woori 우리
Provocateur
Profile Joined October 2010
Sweden1665 Posts
August 12 2012 16:18 GMT
#3
I would say that your strategy of choice should depend fully on who you're facing. If you're up against someone at equal or lower level you should probably play safe and go for the macro game, but if you're up against for instance a GM player just bust out your nastiest cheese ^^ at least do one cheese or very aggressive play in a bo3.
Nymphaceae
Profile Blog Joined November 2010
United States350 Posts
August 12 2012 20:58 GMT
#4
On August 13 2012 00:21 SupplyBlockedTV wrote:
I am going to play playhem today, but not done tournaments in a while.

What are good strategies?

During the BO1, would you go for a standard build with a decent winrate, or a wonky/cheesey build wich you know has a higher winrate, but can get shut down entirely if reacted to in the right way?

Also, in a BO3, would you play standard the first game, or non-standard, because your opponent will often think it is common that people play standard in the first game and only take refuge to cheesing once they are behind, meaning cheese will have higher odds in the first game?


Also, when getting matched against someone who you know will beat the shit out of you in a standard game, is it better to just try and take the win with wonky builds most people dont even know existed? :D

I did try some searching for tournament strategy on TL, but didnt find anything about this subject.

What are your common tournament strategies?

I would say play standard till your BO3s. If you get to the BO3s, then that's when you can start doing meta cheeses for poor scouts.

Cheesing in the BO1s is extremely inconsistent, since the better players know how to scout for the cheeses and will be counting your minerals. You might win 1-2 rounds with cheese, but probably not anymore. Good luck in the tourney though.
MysteryMeat1
Profile Blog Joined June 2011
United States3292 Posts
August 13 2012 09:15 GMT
#5
For tournaments i woulnd't cheese until the bo3 unless you know the player. Me and my friends will enter tournaments together and I always cheese them if I play them. This is only because we practice all of our builds against each other that we know how to react properly.

As for people you dont know. In BO3 you should see how they scout the first game. If they scout on 13 then throw in a 2gate proxy or w/e because you know it will be really hard for them to react in time. If they scout earlier than i'd be wary of throwing a cheese and might switch to a one or two base all-in.
"Cause ya know, Style before victory." -The greatest mafia player alive
SupplyBlockedTV
Profile Blog Joined September 2011
Belgium313 Posts
August 13 2012 20:03 GMT
#6
Damn, managed to kill axslav and fenixhero (and two master leaguers before that)....but then got killed by TSL Revival...his skills are so insane..first game my all-in got shut down entirely.. then i just went desperate because it was my strongest PvZ build...and went for skytoss..for fun...and lost ofcourse.

I only recently got promoted to master league...feels good :D, but need a better BO3 strat..pulling out your best build in BO1 is easy..but BO3 hard..especially against some korean with insane skills.
PEW PEW PEW
Nymphaceae
Profile Blog Joined November 2010
United States350 Posts
August 13 2012 20:58 GMT
#7
Since you play protoss, I would suggest you to read in the "zerg help me thread," and whatever the terran help me thread is. You can see what gives the most people problems easily by it, and then you can see what the people in the thread are questioning. Generally if you have a build, in which they can not come up with a good answer on how to beat it, then it's probably something you should continue doing. I know the pros are a different story, and that you can't win every time, but in a BO3, this may make it tough enough on the pro to get you more than just 1 game against them.

One thing you can go for would be like macro cheese on a large map, where they may scout you really late. You should find a friend, in which you can practice something like this though. It's horrible if you play the map one in 5 games, and that you play against that match up 1 in 3 games (you won't really get good practice). On 2 starting position maps, you may be allowed to play more aggressively to put your opponent into the blind early game, then come out with a mid game cheese if you harassed well enough (again practice this with a partner, not ladder. I would recommend you telling your practice partner what you're doing, and tell him/her to do a select build too.).

Just imagine playing against some one in which the first game they come out with an aggressive opening. A lot of people would come to believe that this player is very aggressive, and perhaps even reckless. They may believe that they think they're the better player, and just need to play safe till late game, because you're only going for this high harass game, because it's the only way you can win.

Next game, if it's a 4 starting position map, go for the macro cheese. Your opponent may be thinking that they need extra defense because of your stupid aggressive play that beat him the first game, so then the 2nd game they end up realizing that they're like 20 workers behind, and unable to harass.
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
WardiTV Spring Champion…
12:00
Group Stage 1 - Group C
Lambo vs Ryung
WardiTV860
TKL 205
LiquipediaDiscussion
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
Ryung 401
TKL 205
elazer 87
ProTech71
StarCraft: Brood War
Britney 40173
Jaedong 1203
Mini 1155
EffOrt 964
Horang2 759
Light 356
ggaemo 327
BeSt 274
actioN 245
firebathero 211
[ Show more ]
Soulkey 201
Last 100
Leta 99
Sharp 80
Mind 75
hero 67
Rush 61
ToSsGirL 54
Pusan 52
Barracks 51
Aegong 30
Movie 29
Rock 25
Terrorterran 24
soO 23
zelot 22
Sacsri 19
ajuk12(nOOB) 18
Shinee 18
GoRush 15
Sexy 14
IntoTheRainbow 13
Shine 11
Noble 6
Dota 2
qojqva1450
Heroes of the Storm
XaKoH 107
Other Games
Dendi1130
B2W.Neo963
hiko746
Lowko507
Mlord449
Hui .291
DeMusliM238
Beastyqt159
Mew2King96
ArmadaUGS52
Organizations
Counter-Strike
PGL296
StarCraft 2
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
[ Show 14 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• poizon28 14
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• intothetv
• Kozan
• IndyKCrew
• LaughNgamezSOOP
• Migwel
• sooper7s
StarCraft: Brood War
• BSLYoutube
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
League of Legends
• Nemesis2238
• Jankos1948
• TFBlade751
Upcoming Events
OSC
4h 27m
Cham vs Percival
ShoWTimE vs Lambo
Krystianer vs sebesdes
Cure vs Babymarine
SKillous vs Arrogfire
Gerald vs MindelVK
goblin vs TBD
Jumy vs HonMonO
Replay Cast
9h 27m
Maestros of the Game
22h 27m
Big Brain Bouts
1d 1h
Shino vs Scarlett
Bly vs DnS
Serral vs ByuN
Replay Cast
1d 9h
RSL Revival
1d 16h
Lambo vs SHIN
Solar vs Rogue
herO vs Clem
Maestros of the Game
1d 20h
IPSL
2 days
ZZZero vs WorsT
Julia vs eOnzErG
BSL
2 days
TerrOr vs Dewalt
Bonyth vs eOnzErG
Replay Cast
2 days
[ Show More ]
RSL Revival
2 days
Maestros of the Game
2 days
OSC
2 days
IPSL
3 days
Dragon vs Artosis
dxtr13 vs Hawk
BSL
3 days
Wardi Open
3 days
Monday Night Weeklies
4 days
Replay Cast
4 days
Sparkling Tuna Cup
4 days
WardiTV Spring Champion…
4 days
Maestros of the Game
5 days
The PondCast
5 days
Maestros of the Game
6 days
Replay Cast
6 days
Replay Cast
6 days
WardiTV Spring Champion…
6 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

ASL Season 21
2026 GSL S1
Heroes Pulsing #1

Ongoing

2026 KK StarCraft Pro League
BSL Season 22
IPSL Spring 2026
KCM Race Survival 2026 Season 2
KK 2v2 League Season 1
Acropolis #4
CSCL: Masked Kings S4
SCTL 2026 Spring
WardiTV Spring 2026
2026 GSL S2
RSL Revival: Season 5
Stake Ranked Episode 2
CS Asia Championships 2026
Asian Champions League 2026
IEM Atlanta 2026
PGL Astana 2026
BLAST Rivals Spring 2026
IEM Rio 2026
PGL Bucharest 2026
Stake Ranked Episode 1
BLAST Open Spring 2026
ESL Pro League S23 Finals

Upcoming

Escore Tournament S2: King of Kings
YSL S3
BSL 22 Non-Korean Championship
CSLAN 4
Blizzard Classic Cup 2026
Kung Fu Cup 2026 Grand Finals
CranK Gathers Season 4: BW vs SC2 Team League
HSC XXIX
uThermal 2v2 2026 Main Event
Maestros of the Game 2
Bounty Cup 2026
BLAST Bounty Summer 2026
BLAST Bounty Summer Qual
Stake Ranked Episode 3
XSE Pro League 2026
IEM Cologne Major 2026
TLPD

1. ByuN
2. TY
3. Dark
4. Solar
5. Stats
6. Nerchio
7. sOs
8. soO
9. INnoVation
10. Elazer
1. Rain
2. Flash
3. EffOrt
4. Last
5. Bisu
6. Soulkey
7. Mini
8. Sharp
Sidebar Settings...

Advertising | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use | Contact Us

Original banner artwork: Jim Warren
The contents of this webpage are copyright © 2026 TLnet. All Rights Reserved.