The greatest match of the day was between two recognizable LR regulars.
On one team we have lichter, the latest to inherit the duty of the SC2 LR resources thread. On the other, we have DarkLordOlli, HerO fanboy extraordinaire (a title he later cemented as his alone). Game 2 would take place on the infamous ProLeague map KeSPA - Neo Arkanoid. The hype was building as memories of the map that gave foreigners their first ProLeague win in like 6 years loaded on the computer of all the raving LR fan boys. The score of the series stood at 1-0 for DarkLordOlli as he managed to fend off lichter's deadly proxy rax scv pull all in on the new Alterazim Stronghold.
0:00
We watched on as lichter spawns in the top right as zerg and DLO spawned in the bottom right. Arkanoid, due to its strange layout, is a map known for its unorthodox strategies. We watched in anticipation and began predicting what kind of brilliant strategies would unfold from these players that have watched probably hundreds if not thousands of professional StarCraft II matches.
One brave netizen even predicted something we would never believe could happen
lichter opted to open with a gas first into pool even though he could have easily gone 3 hatch before pool unopposed since the zerg expansions aren't blocked. DarkLordOlli decided to go for some stargate play as he daydreamed about HerO's phoenixes. As lichter's 3rd and lair finished up, we finally saw the strategy he had selected.
NYDUS WORM!!!!
This wouldn't be the first time we've seen the nydus busted out on this map. Would Olli be able to stop it!? He had gone up to 3 bases but did not have many units out besides phoenixes. What if he didn't see it go down? However, being a glorious EU masters protoss, DarkLordOlli's HerO like starsense easily saw through lichter's ploy and probes rushed to defeat the heavily armored nydus as it tore through the rocky soil with their insane dps that reminds me only of marines.
With only managing to get 8 lings out of the worm, we all figured lichter's strategy was kaput. But then, the unexpected happened. These beautifully microed lings managed to take out a whopping 7 probes!!! Possibly game ending damage?! We've all seen protoss players cry gg when 1 or 2 probes managed to go down in the early game so surely this must be it. But alas, DarkLordOlli was able to hold by the skin of his teeth with a probe pull in his main and began to build up his economy again on 3 bases. However, after such a beautiful display from lichter, we couldn't help but be left breathless. Definitely some Code S level play
Wow! Better than even the Code S runner up some say!
lichter then decided there was only one way to end this game. Possibly through some sort of telepathy, lichter was able to see the earlier Observer chat and realized the pure genius of the LR regulars. Who else but people who watch thousands of games but never actually play the game itself could formulate such magnificent strategy? It was time.
The Set Up
IS HE REALLY GOING TO BANELING BUST THE ROCKS?!?!?!??
This is when DarkLordOlli shit his pants right then in there. How did he not see this? The phoenixes scouted too late. The banelings were finishing morphing. What would he do?!
suddenly... all the zerg fears came true. David Kim struck again
What appeared to be a sure victory for lichter was ripped from his hands the minute DarkLordOlli remembered he had an f key. No one could believe it. We were all left dumbfounded in the chat.
"But Shellshock, without forcefields, protoss would be screwed!"
Sure, sure. I guess at least they don't last forever. There was still time for lichter to have the last laugh. The forcefields finally dissipated and banelings CRASHED forward to do critical damage. When the dust finally settled revealing the carnage of the destroyed protoss base...
WHAT THE FUCK!?
If it wasn't enough that David Kim had already dealt his saving grace, good ole Dustin decided to lend a hand as well.
Seriously... what the fuck just happened? I don't blame him for this kind of rage
The unsung HerO in all of this, though? The one thing no one ever thought about balance whining about in the last 45 seconds
Buildings >>>>> Units
Thanks to the earlier crippling damage from the nydus worm, it was hard to tell who was ahead at this point. Personally, I'd rate the game as fairly even, but maybe give a slight edge to lichter because of his Lair tech.
Underestimating the strength of his defense and fearing the potential deficit, DarkLordOlli decided his only hope of making it out of this game alive was through a carrier transition. Banned in professional matches for being too strong, carriers are the most feared unit in the history of StarCraft. Their insane interceptor spam is enough to lag out half of your potential opponents, but if that's not enough, they can only be beaten by a select few units in the game: Marines, Ghosts with lockdown, Vikings, Missile turrets, Battlecruisers, widow mines, Void Rays, Stalkers, Archons, Tempests, more carriers, Corruptors, Hydralisks, Infestors, mass Queen, and possibly mutas.
Never thought you'd see this many carriers on a stream before, huh?
lichter tried his best to make DarkLordOlli's invincible sky army turn back with a masterful ling runby managing to bring the workers killed count up to an unheard of 41.
Luckily, not facing a Terran, DarkLordOlli remembered the words of hundreds of StarCraft casters giving him the green light to base race. DarkLordOlli was able to hold at home with 3 zealots while his gateway/skytoss army cleaned up lichter's main and expansion.
"Never base race a Terran, but Zerg's shit can't fly away so go ahead" - Every caster and LR poster ever
As you may or may not know, one of lichter's favorite players is
In game 1, lichter had managed to luck out and random terran, but in this game, as he went to select all his bases in preparation of dropping MULES for a free victory, he realized hatcheries were not the same as orbital commands. The likely comeback considering he was only 200 supply down was wiped away in an instant.
It would have been nearly as impressive as MMA's comeback vs Jaedong
Then, another tragedy. Residing in some unknown country he refuses to divulge but probably in Asia due to his mention of what relative time it is for him throughout the day, lichter's "made of bamboo" internet began lagging and he smashed his mouse à la qxc style and humbly accepted defeat.
There's still a GG written so it still counts
DarkLordOlli emerged the victor in the first LR Grudge Match of the day by a 2-0 scoreline. The game was so incredible it will likely kill Blizzcon for me, as I do not believe that any of the players in this tournament have the ability to put on a show like this. I can only hope I am wrong.