EPT
LG-IM_Squirtle vs StarTale_Pet
This bittersweet meeting will no doubt affect Squirtle’s mindset, even in the slightest of ways. Wasn’t it seven months ago that he decided to forge a new path by joining his current team? It was a time when StarTale was still reeling from Parting’s departure and their Protoss lineup looked more fragile than a French wafer. The ZeNEX pickups were spotty at this point in time and it would be a few months before Avenge became a reliable GSL presence. With the advent of Heart of the Swarm the team needed a sense of comfort and retaining their core (Bomber, Life Squirtle, Curious, Hack) would give them a proper foundation for some success in HotS. And then Squirtle decided to break the hearts of ST fans around the world.
Whether Squirtle’s decision was wise depends on how you interpret his results. A 65% HotS winrate confirms that he has not been slacking on his practice regimen, yet it’s odd to have a dominant statistic coupled with so few tournament results. Besides winning the GIGABYTE Pro League Squirtle has been all but invisible in the GSL; his best foreign result post-transfer is a top 16 finish at Dreamhack. He still crushes online qualifiers and team leagues but pre-IPL 4 Squirtle did that too, and that version wasn’t expected to evolve with the wisdom of Yonghwa and First behind him. He has a long way to go before he rejoins the ranks of the Protoss pantheon.
Pet is no stranger to being overlooked though. While Life and Avenge rose into stardom and the rest of the ZeNEX emigrants either retired or left StarTale for other teams, Pet retains that curious aura unique to underdogs. He is perpetually overshadowed by more successful, more prominent teammates who are the face of the team. With the disappearance of the KSL Team League and eSports Korean Weekly, his name now only comes up as the unfortunate soul who lost at the end of a WCS or WCG qualifier; meanwhile coach Won refuses to send him out in GSTL for reasons unknown. Add that he has only made it to Code A once in his career, promptly losing to Bbyong 1-2 in the first round, and you get a complete cipher that can only be described in vague terms. A 12-7 ZvP record suggests that he can put up a fight but only 2 games (against his teammate Panic in the recent qualifier) are watchable. Does his success come from excellently devised all-ins? An immaculate late game? Bad decisions from his opponents? We will get clearer answers once the dust settles.
Getting some symbolic revenge against an ex-teammate would be sweet but the chance for recognition is a far stronger allure. Besides winning the Nitrix Energy Championship (an unadvertised event that no one remembers), Pet is a faceless Korean interchangeable with the rest. It’s not exaggeration to say that this match could change everything. Beating a Code S runner up puts him on the map while making him recognizable to SC2 fans around the world. It guarantees a coveted Code A spot, a payout equal to 56% of his career earnings, and a chance at Code S next season. His anonymity only improves the odds as Squirtle will have no replays and barely any information to prepare for this series.
Prediction:
With almost no information on Pet, it’s impossible to pick him in good conscience. He might demolish Squirtle with the greatest strategic gameplay ever seen in HotS or he might fall on his face and block his own ramp with a badly placed evolution chamber. Meanwhile Squirtle has the benefits of booth experience and a proven track record on his side. While he has not gone as far into the GSL as Rain or Parting, Squirtle’s excellent online results suggest he is still in good shape going into this match. Pet's matches versus Panic show that he will take gambles in unorthodox situations (such as a roach/speedling bust on cross-spawns Whirlwind) so I will grant him a buffer win based on his unpredictability.
Squirtle 2-1 Pet
