EPTBoxeR (Marineking) vs NesTea
Preface:
A scrappy rookie with a legendary name stands against a titan who hasn't dropped a single set all tournament. Can the power of destiny stand in the way of a god? This is GSL Open Season Two; this is
Previous Reports:
Fruitdealer vs Rainbow
Set One: Delta Quadrant
Set Two: Lost Temple
Set Three: Kulas Ravine
Set Four: Desert Oasis
Set Five: Scrap Station
FoxeR vs NesTea
Set One: Shakuras Plateau
Set Two: Lost Temple
Set Three: Scrap Station
Set Four: Jungle Basin
Set Five:Steppes of War
Set Six: Xel'Naga Caverns
FoxeR spawns in the 2 o'clock position; NesTea spawns across the map in the 8 o'clock. The game is at Match Point for Foxer, with the score at 3-2. However, the next two maps, Xel'Naga Caverns and Metalopolis, are considered the best maps in the pool for zerg. With a wide open natural, Nestea should feel safe expanding while putting pressure on Foxer's own attempts to expand. But with the ever real possibility of aggression from Foxer, that may not be a concern.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/5vTeB0M.png)
Nestea plays bold: Hatch first or die trying.
Foxer goes for a standard opening; one barracks at his ramp and an SCV scout. He has no gas, so he still has the option to drop a second barracks near Nestea's base. He spots the Hatchery, but rather than a barracks, he throws down a bunker, flush against Nestea's ramp. Nestea immediately pulls three probes to attack the bunker.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/2dxkiHl.png)
The SCV retreats, but Nestea loses more mining time defending than Foxer spent on the bunker.
Foxer pokes out to the tower with a marine, but as he cancels the bunker he pulls back to defend, starting a Command Centre on the low ground. Nestea pumps out a handful of lings to ensure that the aggression is over, meanwhile taking a gas. His overlord scouts the expansion and he pokes in with 6 zerglings.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/ZCX3vjo.png)
Marines stutter and the lings back away. The expansion is safe... for now.
Foxer takes his own gas and builds two more barracks, shortly followed by a third, bringing him to four in total. He begins churning out marines and getting a tech lab while Nestea drones heavily. Nestea takes his second gas, this time at his natural. However, Foxer manages to get an SCV past the scouting lings and sends it directly to the natural. Foxer sees the drones and starts combat shields.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/7xazLFd.png)
Then this happens...
A small squadron of marines heads out for the natural of Nestea, having seen the high drone count. However, back at home, Nestea's making loads of zerglings. He's starting the speed upgrade and building a baneling nest at his natural. Foxer spots it and goes for it with his marines, but a big pack of zerglings rockets across the creep.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/vxrXY0p.png)
Foxer, wanting to take down the nest, doesn't retreat as the lings come in.
Foxer overcommits to the attack, losing most of his marines. Also, because of indecisive targeting, the Baneling Nest survives the assault. With comically bad timing, four SCVs and a marauder arrive and get ravaged by the zerglings. The stream of Foxer's reinforcements starts sprinting back across the map to his base.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/h23XMxE.png)
Nestea's lings are in hot pursuit and speed is only seconds from finishing.
Stim is only just starting and, despite great stutter micro from Foxer, Nestea obliterates all the reinforcements, getting perfect surround after perfect surround from the moment that speed finishes.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/Q9MIBFW.png)
Lings wrap around; there is no escape!
Nestea's army arrives at the natural of Foxer. The SCVs at the natural attempt to evacuate to the main but get cut off by the speedlings, which ravage the minimal defences. Foxer pulls his forces to the top of the ramp, but there's no wall-in and the speedlings aggressively push up the ramp.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/FR6njhP.png)
Foxer is quickly over-run.
As zerglings flood in to the production and kill all the units as they spawn, Foxer is forced to pull all the SCVs from his main mineral line and bring them in to combat. Nestea's making banelings and morphing in 40 more zerglings back at his base.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/eJaYl2Y.png)
It's that time again when it sucks to be a Foxer SCV.
Miraculously, with good micro and a steady flow of units being made by the barracks, FOxer manages to hold off the first wave of Nestea's attack. However, more than half his SCVs are dead and he has to pull them back to mining.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/KPLdQWg.png)
Meanwhile, Wave Two is morphing outside Foxer's base.
By this point, Foxer only has an empty bunker, 5 or 6 marines and 1 marauder, but he still hasn't given up. As the banelings push towards the bunker, Foxer dodges, jukes and pulls his marines away from the attacking units. Nestea moves his forces back and makes a committed attack up the ramp. The bio splits for Foxer: every single unit is individually spread. The banelings come in but make a terrible trade. Foxer holds the second wave.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/8vbsHlS.png)
...just in time for wave three.
Another 20 zerglings bully their way in to Foxer's main and he has to pull all his SCVs again. He loses even more, despite brilliant micro, and with Nestea now more than 30 workers ahead, the aggression is unrelenting, with a never-ending stream of zerglings pouring across the map. Foxer holds the third wave of the attack, but another group of zerglings comes in and kills the last of the SCVs. With Nestea camping the production and cleaning up the MULEs, Foxer has no choice but to surrender and take it to a deciding game.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/QN3ZpOy.png)
GG! FoxeR 3-3 NesTea.
During this game, Nestea looked untouchable. He was the Nestea that decimated SlayerS'BoxeR, eliminated Zenio and made Artosis make silly noises. With botched attacks from Foxer left and right, it's clear that the pressure is getting to him. He wants to close out the finals, but now he's forced in to a final game to do so. However, he showed that his micro is unmatched, pulling off one of the greatest defences for as long as he could. With the stakes as high as they are and only one more game to decide the series, who will remain standing after the smoke clears on Metalopolis? To Be Continued...
