EPTPvZ
TeSL Season 2
Group A
Game 2 of 3
Map: Nimbus
Watch: http://www.twitch.tv/tesllive2/b/608910906 (2nd game starts at 46:27)
Daisy's build
The other two matches in the series were forgettable, but this was a neat little game in the middle. Daisy goes for a gate-core expand into warpgate timing, but gets unlucky when AK's overlord scouts the correct location first. Daisy responds to this by going up to 5 gateways instead of the usual 3 for a massive all-in. Unfortunately for him, AK doesn't ever make the mistake of going back into drone production, but just keeps up his army until he overruns the pylons. Daisy overstays his welcome, and loses more army than he should trying to keep up the attack. He is forced to retreat, but is unable to take a 3rd because he lost too much army supply, and the roaches are able to camp outside his main.
Daisy goes for a desperate 2 immortal push. He drops the enemy natural to force AK's army out of position, then forcefields the main while taking out the third. After spotting mutas, he warps in a bunch of stalkers back home to defend, and is fortunate that he had already started blink. He falls way behind in workers, but is able to stay ahead by preventing AK from taking a third. He scouts around for hidden bases while gradually increasing his phoenix count before finally taking a third. By the time AK is able to break out with an overlord drop, Daisy's army advantage is simply too huge, and AK is forced to gg.
AK's build
Once he spots the single gas and late Nexus, AK knows exactly what's coming. He even suicides in 3 lings late to verify that the 2nd gas wasn't taken as an extra precaution. Instead of taking the 3rd, AK opts for a 2-base lair tech build. This allows him to get roaches out at 6:30 and have lair started; just before the attack timing hits. This also starts as a 1 gas build, but he takes a 2nd gas shortly after starting the lair. His response is perfect; after droning up to about 30 workers, he barely spends any production on drones until after the pylons are both dead.
Even though AK only has a slight lead in worker count, he is way ahead due to his huge tech advantage. He also has a 3-minute window to do pretty much anything he wants; a massive amount of time in SC2. While saturating his third AK makes a gigantic error, he tries to get cute when he's ahead. He simultaneously goes for a spire at a hidden location, an infestation pit, and an evolution chamber. He then begins floating a huge amount of minerals and gas for a big tech switch into mutas. When you're way ahead on workers, just starve the opponent. Roaches plus infestors or hydras would've won the game handily. When Daisy finally pushes out, AK is behind by 7 supply despite having been up by nearly 20 workers for several minutes. He is forced into a base trade because the opponent is already at his third, and his mutas have only just started.
AK still might have won if he'd waited until mutas were ready before pushing the front of the main with his roaches; instead they die off while sitting in a choke point. Once blink finishes, AK's only chance is a hidden base, which Daisy sniffs out. AK threw away a won game.
