EPT![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/07IiEiM.png)
LRSL Silver Challenger Match Preview
Well that’s over. Luolis versus Wire certainly arrived borne aloft a palanquin of hype, but whoever was supposed to be carrying the damn thing took the day off as Luolis meticulously dismembered the French Protoss. It was the sort of things we’ve come to expect from Luolis and far from a surprise, in hindsight. He was firing on all cylinders and Wire just wasn’t up to the challenge. This week’s match is even more one sided on paper. The last Zerg hope, Mizenhauer, has gotten a week to study his opponent’s games, but it’s not clear if that will do him any good. The son of soO claimed to have seven different builds for ZvP, but they won’t do him any good this time around. Whether he can cook up something similarly spicy to what he showed against Elentos will determine if he even take a map in the LRSL Semifinal.
Taking the Plunge
Trying to nail down exactly what Mizenhauer is is a real conundrum. Let’s ignore his most obvious trait, his obsessive Koreaboo nature, (have you seen his collection of Hyunkyung clips?) and move onto deeper stuff. A patch writer? Yes. A self-styled macro Zerg who refuses to play macro games? Perhaps. A 250 apm player that spends 90% of it spamming and spreading creep? We’re getting warmer. Waxangel would have you believe he’s just a genuine weirdo and CosmicSpiral would tell you he can’t write dialogue for shit. All of these things are true in one way or another, but they don’t touch at the core of the lone North American to make the LRSL playoffs (although he does contend that his heart and mind resides in Korea).
If there’s anything Mizenhauer is, it’s versatile. During the swiss portion of the event, Mizenhauer played twelve games, with five of those coming against Terran. In those five games he employed four different strategies. He played honest macro games against bio, he toppled ByuN’s mech with swarmhosts, he went for a number of all ins, all while showing how truly slippery he can be. And he’ll need to be slippery, because strength of arms will never get him by the heavily favored Luolis. He could spend days chanting Tzuyu’s name while dancing to TT, but he’ll never become some soO-esque mechanical monster. If he’s to snatch victory away from Mizenhauer’s second favorite Fin, it’s going to have to be through guile. A week is a long time to prepare for the man who had the gall to suggest strategies to a six time GSL finalist . Sure he’ll split that time painting little pieces of plastic and watching anime and Vlive, but surely he’ll find a few moments to cook up something worthy of this exalted stage.
So maybe we can’t figure out “what” Mizenhauer is. Possibly because it's not the right question to ask. Instead, what is it that’s driven Mizenhauer to this point, past his editor and boss Olli, Polish Zerg, Kashim and the Terran duo of Elentos and the infamous ByuN? The answer to that is far less obscure and can be found in this ancient and unpublished text,
“Thankfully, she was treated the same whether or not they realized who she’d been. She was an accessory to their journey. Not a person. She preferred it that way. It had all been said a million times. And she had been tired of hearing it the first time around.
She clutched the seat belt as she willed the phone forward. Her knuckles were white, her eyes were shut and all she wanted was for the wheels to leave the ground. Whey they finally did, there was the feeling of effortful, half-hesitant lifting as it detached itself from the earth. There was a moment in which it seemed impossible that this could happen. But then it did. In that moment, she was free. She had no past and she had no future. Before she could take a breath, it disappeared.”
If Luolis loves his two base builds and Wire values consistency and reliability then Mizenhauer prizes emotion. He’s fueled by it. Driven by it. It pervades everything he does. Whether writing about Tzuyu or channeling soO with a proxy hatchery, he gives it every ounce of his being. It’s a signature he leaves on everything he does. He will enter the LRSL semifinal as the underdog, but that won’t reduce his effort. He may even expect himself to lose, but it won’t be for lack of trying. If Luolis wins, it will be a mundane exhibition of lethal timings. But if Mizenhauer wins, if he somehow pulls off the upset, it will be the sort of thing no one will ever forget.
Follow The Manual
Luolis was always considered one of the favorites as the LRSL’s roster took shape. He’s an incredibly accomplished player with prescient starsense, indefatigable multitasking and a mechanical ability that’s second to none among the field of amateurs. He’s not without his weaknesses, though, but his dismantling of Wire goes a long way to showing that with some hard work and a little thought, even the most troubled waters can be forded. Mizenhauer’s hope was that Luolis would be unable to overcome his shortcomings, but now that he hasn’t, the rural Zerg will be facing a TvZ machine that posts a 70%+ win rate on ladder in the matchup. Were they of equal skill this would be a daunting task, but Mizenhauer is disadvantaged in that department as well. Luolis won’t need to do anything fancy to reach the finals. Showing up will be 99% of the job. The rest will be not having an aneurysm mid-match. Provided he doesn’t do that, he should move on, setting up the finals match that seemed destined from the start. Luolis has been wanting another crack at Durn for weeks now. He’s only a step away from finally getting it.
Writer: Mizenhauer
Editor: The Spirit of Tzuyu
Graphics: Hexhaven
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