EPT![[image loading]](http://wiki.teamliquid.net/starcraft/images2/thumb/2/2f/MLG_SHIELD_FALL_CHAMPIONSHIP.png/207px-MLG_SHIELD_FALL_CHAMPIONSHIP.png)
For the last two MLG’s (MLG Raleigh aka Summer Championship 2012 and MLG Anaheim aka Spring Championship 2012), I’ve been busy and unable to watch. Actually, I missed both because I wanted to spend time with my family and not be distracted by a tourney. Needless to say, as MLG is my favorite StarCraft2 tournament, it felt amazing to finally sit down and watch all of MLG Dallas. I watched every match that was streamed except for the four matches on Day 2: Crank vs ToD, Idra vs Apocalypse, Rain vs Sheth, and Golden vs Jookto. I’m pretty sure I got my money’s worth from that HD pass. After all these games, I decided to steal an idea from ESPN. So in the same vein as ESPN’s Top Ten plays, here are my own Top Games of MLG Dallas:
#3:
Leenock vs 
OzSaturday 11/3/12 – Day 2 – Group A – Game 1 Metropolis
Leenock reminded me just why I like him so much. Yes he can play macro games and can beat people straight up. But why would he do that if he can force a top tier player way out of their comfort zone? Ladies and gents, I present you with Game One. Leenock goes for a nydus cheese and prepares a force of hydra/roach/queen to take out Oz. Leenock rained down shots on both the main and natural but Oz managed to contain Leenock to his former main. Meanwhile, P snuck a warp-prism into Leenock’s natural and destroyed the entrance to the nydus canal. Leenock then decided to relocate his main to Oz’s original main. We ended the game with Leenock trying to use the high ground bluff overlooking Oz’s natural to his advantage; only to have Oz forcefield and then use his single colossus to kill the remainder of the Zerg forces.
This is group play at a major tournament? No worries, Leenock prepared for this. And oh guess what? He’s got the balls run a ridiculous build order like this one. If I did this on ladder, I’d be laughed at as a stupid Gold player. But if Leenock does it, he’s the most creative Zerg ever. I’m not bitching; I’m just saying that this kid is good enough to take a nearly troll build and to use it in a tournament.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/fTHmj.png)
Is this Leenock, a cute little Korean Zerg or Leenoctopus, a mad scientist who concocts absurd builds? It’s like Kiwikaki is secretly giving him suggestions on Skype and Leenock calmly accepts the challenge.
#2:
TaeJa vs RevivalSaturday 11/3/12 – Day 2 – Group A – Game 2 Ohana
This game had me incapacitated with laughter. Was this real life? I watched 2 GSL Code S players play out an absurd situation….again. Except unlike Leenock I’m not sure that Taeja had exactly planned his ridiculous build. I think I can actually give credit to Revival for using that Fantasy gg timing for this awesome game.
For all those who don’t know what the Fantasy gg timing is. It’s like the anti-Idra gg. Check out Fantasy getting 4-pooled by Jaedong and his reaction.
So here, we found Taeja going for an 11/11 bunker rush on Ohana (it means family). And Taeja got in and pretty much ended the game: Kiled off tons of drones and I believe a queen, but he can’t seem to kill Revival’s hatchery at his natural. To transition out of the 2rax, Taeja expanded to his natural. Terran is then forced to retreat but everyone knew how far behind Zerg is. Regardless, Zerg tries to macro out of it. As we look at Taeja’s economy, we realized that he floated approximately a billion minerals during his bunker rush. Naturally to spend it, Taeja then built four more command centers in his main before he took his refineries. He went for the classic 2rax expand into 4 orbital rine-tank build…you know, pretty standard.
How does this game end? Taeja is so absurdly far ahead that he simply out-Zergs the Zerg; traded full armies for a single hatch and kept a rolling re-max. I guess next time I ladder, I should expect some kid to try the same build. If it’s good enough for Taeja, it’s good enough for Gold league right?
#1:
NaNiwa vs FlashSaturday 11/3/12 – Day 2 of MLG Dallas – Group B – Entire Series
This whole thing could’ve been a stunt put on by MLG to draw in viewers. Seriously, with Naniwa beating Flash in the first Best of Three and then Flash making a rematch happen? Just unreal. I don’t think there was a dud in the series. I mean yes, the 4gate on Cloud Kingdom fizzled but you’ve got to love the balls on Naniwa to make that decision. How about on Daybreak when Naniwa held the proxy hellion drop and then played a macro game against Flash? Or game three of the initial series where Naniwa actually broke off from his fast-expand-or-die mentality and cheesed the shit out of Flash with that nasty proxy immortal bust.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/aqvQl.png)
Naniwa even called Flash out during the interview after the first Bo3. He said he knew he tricked Flash and in their next meeting, he would beat Flash in macro games. Some amazing foreshadowing I must say…
In Game Six on Antiga, Flash had impeccable unit composition and didn’t vikings or medivacs. I might even say that Flash almost doesn’t like medivacs judging from his other matches. I distinctly remember Flash had played a match on Entombed Valley where he had pure marine and a few tanks. When he defended a ling run-by from Zerg, he stimmed his marines into deep red. Another game saw Flash doing the same ridiculous stimming on Cloud Kingdom. But Game Six had the Goldilocks mix of Bio and Vikings.
Now with all this being said, I don’t think any of these games compared to Game Seven.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/A4f4X.png)
As TeamLiquid said, Naniwa should’ve watched more Brood War. I mean, just look at this.
I think TotalBiscuit would later say it best (TB referred an unrelated but equally bad ass move when Flash went triple CC before barracks.) when he said that he was surprised that MLG didn’t make the booths bigger just to accommodate Flash’s balls. I kind of knew what to expect out of Flash but it somehow still surprised me when that 11/11 rax came out. And when I went to a viewing party for the finals later, some of the guys said that Flash was some kind of genius (Duh). That entire series was probably my favorite match of 2012. But I won’t commit to that until I watch the next 3 tournaments this month.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/nifkc.png)
Even Flash wasn’t sure that he would be able to beat Naniwa. Think about that…The Ultimate Weapon….Final Boss himself, was unsure.
Those were my Top 3 games of MLG Dallas. I’d also like to give a shoutout to Grubby vs Flash and Scarlett vs Bomber. Scarlett gets a shoutout because she reminded me of how good she really is. But more importantly, she showed how the top foreigners aren’t THAT much off the Koreans. And then as stated by Clutch, Grubby vs Flash really set the tone for the tournament: Two real legends of two games clashing in Starcraft 2 for the first time. Plus Grubby had some crazy Blademaster crits.
![[image loading]](http://www.joshuakeyes.us/wordpress/raihn/images/Grubby-vs-Flash-MLG-Dallas-Fall-Results_10B10/grubby_vs_flash_results_raihn_big.jpg)
Sadly, Grubby ended up like this. Props to Raihn for this sick sketch.
And of course, my eternal gratitude for the MLG crew who still put on a great tournament despite having to deal with Sandy and flight cancellations. And TeamLiquid who managed to get the generators back up so that the site would be functional in time for the tournament to start. We New Yorkers are a tough bunch.
