[Spoilers] Some thoughts about a recent PL match

To be more specific, I will concentrate on FlaSh vs Snow and what exactly was going on there, because I do not think most people understood the ingenuity behind this whole game.

Let me make one thing clear from the start - CJ's coaching team is probably one of the best teams when it comes to prepare their players for specific matches.
Hadn't Snow actually won the game, a lot of people would be left with a "why the fuck did the coaches send out Snow anyway?"

Here's the why: Snow prepared entirely for this matchup. He's a great PvT sniper too.
There was no doubt about WHO KT would send, should it get to Ace.
Snow was NOT playing any other matchups that day, means it was impossible for him to lose a matchup he was probably prepared for, which could have obviously harmed his mindset.

And to beat Flash, you NEED your mind set completely straight on this one target.

Now lets move on to the actual game.
Snow opens with a 2nd pyl before cy-core and gets 2 Zealots first.
Notice how Snow scouts completely in the wrong direction and finds Flash on the last possible turn and still manages to deny Flash's CC easilsy.

What does this tell you? Snow getting lucky with his BO?
Nope.
It tells you he KNEW what build Flash was going to use and that he practiced this over and over and over.
He KNEW his timings.

Remember the article where Kang Min shared some thoughts about how to beat FlaSh?
CJ's coaches listened very close to Kang Min's words as it seems to me.

Because this little tweak in the opening was already the start.
It was a little bit of mindgaming included there for sure, because obviously this sets him a little bit behind if Flash had NOT actually gone for CC -> fact.
But as written above, he KNEW Flash would do this on FS.

Then the 2nd part, taking the 6 o'clock expo FIRST - why?
Yes, yes, so Flash can not see it. BUT also the lack of an expansion at this certain timing led Flash to take clues in the exact opposite direction. (Again, notice how wonderfully everything worked out in Snow's plan here, SCV spots no natural but gets killed before entering Snow's actual mainbase.)

The fact that Flash did NOT see anything, no expo, no clues of tech, nothing that could make him believe there is an expansion made Flash conclude he will be cheesed. DT drop, Reavers, even possibly bulldog.
Flash played VERY safe. Super safe. It was the right decision usually.

But what you see sometimes is not what you get.
And that made this game so brilliant imo.

Because unlike what it must've seemed to Flash, Snow was playing macro, macro, macro.
Another setback, after already delaying Flash's expo for ages.
Flash got the ebay even before the 2nd fact and spammed turrets BEFORE even taking the natural.

Game proceeds into macro macro after some fake into turn back push from Flash, Snow again taking a seemingly weird expo with 9 o'clock - but if you think twice it already closes one harass path that Flash could have gone with his vultures, he only could take the big choke down @ 7 o clock main this point of time.
Obviously there was a lot of goons in between tho.
Another nice part about this expo is - the longer the game drags on the harder this expansion will become to defend.
So in fact if you mine it out as fast as possible, you just end up having one critical spot less to defend in the lategame, which Flash excel's at.

Then the game mostly revolved about Flash's 11 o'clock natural - and the fact that Snow "took" the main there - but not to mine there, simply to delay Flash.
He never made a probe there!
But he managed to get some DT's out and kept Flash busy, kept him wasting a lot of scans. THIS was also a very critical move.
Even better was the fact that he recalled the 11 o clock to clean up small chunks of Flashes force that he previously drew there with his DT's - again - perfect planning.
It was simply sweet how the shuttle flew in to reinforce the psidrop and get some nice (and unexpected!) storms off on Flash's (too little) reinforcements.

Then the "carrier switch".
This was beautiful.
Remember what Ra said?
It's the same idea, just executed a little different.
Snow never made carriers before he actually had decent upgrades for them (+2 attack, 3-1 upgrading) unlike stupidly rushing for them.

Notice how Flash IMMEDIATELY after finally having some scans again spots the carrier tech. Keep in mind, Flash saw 3 flashing Stargates, 2 Cores and he had NO IDEA how many Carriers Snow actually had, because he was busy wasting scans @ 11 o'clock battleground before.
This is why Flash massed a SHITLOAD of goliaths.
And this is exactly what Snow wanted him to do, having only 3 Carriers (+3 making - or arbiters, cannot be said for sure), rest ground force only.
Exactly as Ra said!
Use carriers to simply weaken the ground forces Flash pull out.
Flash was desperate, he was behind economically and was aware of the Carriers.
Flash's usual reaction to this counter multiple spots at the same time, and that's exactly what Flash did - or lets say tried to do. (Twice.)
But right when he did, Snow already had amassed 4 groups of ground force, simply tearing apart Flash's tank/goliath only force.

Don't you think it's shocking how much knowledge Kang Min still seems to have?
Also VERY great work to CJ's coaching staff to put some words of wisdom to use creating such a nice big picture for Snow to execute.
Obviously great work by Snow to be able to show exactly what they had prepared for Flash.

On a sidenote: Please do not get this as anything else then what it is - a closer look at a game where the best player in this world got beaten in a perfectly prepared straight up game. I'm aware that this is NOT the start of a slump or anything.

I really have to admit that seeing Flash lose does even feel more intense than when Savior did, just because it happens soooo rarely.