EPT
This game was hyped! Don't mind that the whole match was hyped, this game featured an on-fire (for his standards) ggaemo against an unknown SKT T1 rookie who was supposedly doing very well in Dream League. I don't want to waste too many words here though, so let's look at the Battle Report.
![[image loading]](http://img112.imageshack.us/img112/1599/vodaz1.gif)
MinesweeperZerg the grizzled vet and former OZ captain spawns at 9 while the 
unknown SKTerran drops in at 12. The map is Aztec. jyj starts by walling off his main, and ggaemo goes for a 12pool-gas-expand after scouting incorrectly. At this point, this game already doesn't seem normal. No 1rax CC? 1 base shenanigans incoming!At this point, the crowd cheers, and the LR thread asked "who are those people?"
![[image loading]](/staff/flamewheel/Battle_Reports/ggaemo_vs_jyj/jg1.jpg)
Seriously, who are they? 100 ESPORTS dollars to the first person who can correctly identify this mystery couple.
Anyway, back to the game. Looking at jyj's base, we see the fast Engineering Bay going up, and the commentators start laughing. +1 rush incoming!
At this point, ggaemo still hasn't even managed to scout the terran base, but he does manage to deny jyj from scouting his main base. His lair is going, and 2hatch muta is definitely incoming. This is about to get interesting!
Both sides are very keen on denying scouting info: ggaemo is very active with his lings killing scouting SCVs, and jyj has completedly sealed off his main and positioned marines so that overlords will be deterred from entering.
As the spire finishes, the mutas start, and ggaemo was starting to become suspicious. After all, the terran still hasn't expanded! Did jyj take a hidden expansion? The scouting lings report with with a definite "no".
ggaemo wisely scouts with one mutalisk, and upon entering the terran main he finally sees what jyj has been hiding. Having been scouting, jyj decides the time is now to move out.
![[image loading]](/staff/flamewheel/Battle_Reports/ggaemo_vs_jyj/jg2.jpg)
Uh oh incoming.
As the terran army moves out, ggaemo tries to slow down the advance with his mutalisks and zerglings, but the +1 marines make short work of the flying c-sections, and ggaemo loses quite a few units for almost nothing.
You'd think that while ggaemo has been losing mutalisks he'd be making sunkens, but it's not until the first four mutalisks have died that he decides to plop down the creep colonies. Also, it's interesting to note that ggaemo had finished upgrading speed for his overlords--did he plan to originally follow up his 2hatch muta with a drop?
Anyway, the attack commences! With only one sunken complete and two still morphing, ggaemo looks to be in a lot of trouble. Can he hold off this attack, or does this spell an early end to the game?
![[image loading]](/staff/flamewheel/Battle_Reports/ggaemo_vs_jyj/jg3.jpg)
+1 marines are seriously scary.
As the second sunken finishes, the mutalisks dart frantically here and there, trying to pick off marines. A few marines are picked off, but as the two sunkens go down (the third is still a creep colony) there are still far too many marines left.
![[image loading]](/staff/flamewheel/Battle_Reports/ggaemo_vs_jyj/jg4.jpg)
GG incoming?
ggaemo's natural is breached! His mutalisks can only just fly around, and the few times they venture in they can't even kill a marine. A second wave of marines is advancing from the main, and ggaemo knows that if he doesn't try to kill off the first group now, the combined terran ball will be able to out-DPS anything he can throw at it. He waits for a few more mutalisks and a few zerglings to spawn, and... and...
![[image loading]](/staff/flamewheel/Battle_Reports/ggaemo_vs_jyj/jg5.jpg)
FOR THE ALAMOOOOOO!
ggaemo defended this very well. Instead of suiciding his mutalisk fleet into the marines when there were only a few, he wisely decided to just fly about and distract the marines (while jyj was busy running after the mutas he did not slaughter the drones or buildings), and thus when enough mutalisks spawned ggaemo knew he could just brute force it.
jyj is still on one base, and ggaemo moves out, trying his hand at a counterattack. He starts by finding the second group of mnm out in the open that was supposed to go assist the initial group and tears it apart.
![[image loading]](/staff/flamewheel/Battle_Reports/ggaemo_vs_jyj/jg6.jpg)
Where's your +1 now buddy? Huh, huh?
With all of his forces in the open eliminated, jyj is in trouble. Luckily, with terran being imba and whatnot he knows he can hold it out if he just builds enough turrets. And that's what he does! He also begins throwing down tech buildings, getting his starport and armory up at around the same time.
ggaemo, having not taken too many drone losses, starts his hydralisk den. However, at jyj's main he is unable to do too much damage with just mutalisks due to the insane amount of turrets there, and even though jyj is starting his second command center, he decides it's time to try another attack.
As he is moving out though, mutalisks appear from behind and attack a few marines that are walking in single file, killing them and then flying back.
![[image loading]](/staff/flamewheel/Battle_Reports/ggaemo_vs_jyj/jg7.jpg)
When dealing with mutalisks, always group your marines in a ball.
With this sudden attack, jyj seems to hesitate for a second, as if he had suddenly reminded of the situation he is in. He's at one base against the zerg's two (possibly three by now? He doesn't know!) and he saw the hydralisk den, so he knows lurkers are a possibility. With lurkers on the field, he will have no map control, so it's only a short period of time before he will be completely out-econned.
However! He does have two valkyries out and a sizeable marine and medic ball (as well as the upgrade advantage), so jyj continues on with the attack, trying to get to the zerg base before lurkers have finished.
The next part I kind of don't agree with, since jyj pulls his valkyries back and takes his natural while leaving his army in a location where it would be hard for him to run back and defend.
Seeing this, ggaemo goes for the kill! A few lurkers borrow on the ramp leading up to the natural (from the middle), making it impossible for jyj's mnm to run back to defend. However, his two valkyries are able to keep the mutalisks at bay, so ggaemo's attack is cut down to just a few lurkers and a small force of zerglings.
Knowing the power of subterranean spines against infantry though, ggaemo presses onward.
![[image loading]](/staff/flamewheel/Battle_Reports/ggaemo_vs_jyj/jg8.jpg)
Lurkers on high ground can seriously suck if you're Terran.
jyj, with no way to defend, does the most logical thing possible. He finally goes for what he started a few minutes ago: the mass marine attack. With the valkyries still chasing the mutalisks and most of ggaemo's army at his own base, jyj knows he has a good chance to either kill of ggaemo or initiate a base trade (where Terran has the advantage) with his cadre of souped-up marines.
With his valkyries, he manages to ascertain air superiority by killing off or damaging a good majority of the mutalisks! However, his valkyries' lives are soon to be short-lived.
![[image loading]](/staff/flamewheel/Battle_Reports/ggaemo_vs_jyj/jg9.jpg)
BANZAIIIIIIIIIII!
The valkyries exploded to the cheering of the crowd, and this makes me think that if ggaemo had had a pair or two of scourge when he made his initial attack, he would have been so much more successful since his mutalisks would be able to assist his forces there.
Nevertheless, with the air forces on both sides pretty much out of the picture (jyj has one more valkyrie which is now hunting overlords), both players decide to continue with their respective attacks, leaving almost nothing home at base to defend.
![[image loading]](/staff/flamewheel/Battle_Reports/ggaemo_vs_jyj/jg10.jpg)
![[image loading]](/staff/flamewheel/Battle_Reports/ggaemo_vs_jyj/jg11.jpg)
The best defense is a good offense... right?
jyj gets a tank out, but it is almost immediately killed by zerglings, leaving his base completely open to be demolished by lurker spines. At the same time, his mnm ball finds almost no challenge from the zerg defenses, and he proceeds to try to eliminate the natural.
As he tries to get into the main though, he is stopped by a few hastily-morphed sunkens and a few brave lurkers!
![[image loading]](/staff/flamewheel/Battle_Reports/ggaemo_vs_jyj/jg12.jpg)
![[image loading]](/staff/flamewheel/Battle_Reports/ggaemo_vs_jyj/jg13.jpg)
Likewise, back at his own main, with the help of a few tanks and a science vessel jyj has managed to stabilize.
What jyj doesn't know at this point is that ggaemo has actually taken a third. His valkyrie has 5 kills at this point though, so he's done a very good job in keeping ggaemo's supply down, but the hero valkyrie is taken down by another pair of scourge.
jyj tries to press his advantage with his remaining control group of mnm, but as he runs down the ramp he is greeted by a barrage of spines!
![[image loading]](/staff/flamewheel/Battle_Reports/ggaemo_vs_jyj/jg14.jpg)
Should have waited a bit...
Had jyj waited for the vessel and tanks to arrive, he would have been able to take out the lurkers without too much problem. As it stands though, both players have managed to kill off the attacking forces, and the game proceeds on.
Knowing the power of the vessel, ggaemo tricks jyj into using it to scout for a lurker, and then...
![[image loading]](/staff/flamewheel/Battle_Reports/ggaemo_vs_jyj/jg15.jpg)
Hero scourge this game, if you ask me.
With the vessel dead, jyj has to waste a scan in order to take out the single offending lurker before taking back his natural. At the same time, ggaemo finishes off all the marines and retakes his natural. At this point, the game is in a very interesting situation. Both players have a sizeable standing army, but almost no economy to support the tech.
I guess both players were impatient, but it seems neither was happy to just sit back, defend, and macro. ggaemo, who I seriously think wanted to go for drops after the initial 2hatch muta, decides to go through with his plan of dropping, and prepares a doom drop behind jyj's main.
The timing is amazing, since his overlords start flying over just as jyj moves out with his mnm and tank force.
jyj decides, however, to not defend the drop! Another base trade coming? Seriously insane! Though really, he should have been lifting his buildings--he could have saved them easily from the pure lurker/ling drop.
As both players once again go for each other's neck, everybody is on the edge of their seats.
![[image loading]](/staff/flamewheel/Battle_Reports/ggaemo_vs_jyj/jg16.jpg)
![[image loading]](/staff/flamewheel/Battle_Reports/ggaemo_vs_jyj/jg17.jpg)
What is this I don't even--
Since jyj no longer has any functional scanners, ggaemo's defense hinges on that single vessel that is out on the field, and he throws scourge after scourge at it, trying to take it out, but to no avail.
![[image loading]](/staff/flamewheel/Battle_Reports/ggaemo_vs_jyj/jg18.jpg)
AHHH SO CLOSE!
As said above, when base trading zergs are almost always at a disadvantage compared to terrans, since terrans can lift and relocate. However, ggaemo has an ace up his sleeve: the third base, with a defiler mound underway. jyj, on the other hand, has finally decided that lifting his buildings is a good idea... so he relocates his starport.
As the spire (and main) falls, ggaemo decides to prepare a final, last-ditch defense.
![[image loading]](/staff/flamewheel/Battle_Reports/ggaemo_vs_jyj/jg19.jpg)
![[image loading]](/staff/flamewheel/Battle_Reports/ggaemo_vs_jyj/jg20.jpg)
Can you tell what ggaemo's going for?
With lurkers on the high ground and no vessel, there'd be no way for jyj's army to get back up the ramp, and so the lurkers would have effectively sealed them in there. However, it all comes down to that last pair of scourge...
![[image loading]](/staff/flamewheel/Battle_Reports/ggaemo_vs_jyj/jg21.jpg)
Check the top right corner.
![[image loading]](/staff/flamewheel/Battle_Reports/ggaemo_vs_jyj/jg22.jpg)
WHY DID I SEND THIS VESSEL FIRST NOOOO-
![[image loading]](/staff/flamewheel/Battle_Reports/ggaemo_vs_jyj/jg23.jpg)
-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
![[image loading]](/staff/flamewheel/Battle_Reports/ggaemo_vs_jyj/jg24.jpg)
I felt really sad for the kid right here.
Here's something I'm sure we all missed at this point due to all the excitement. If you're watching moktira's VOD, check 5:14 of part 2: ggaemo actually managed to take out a second vessel that was inbound for his base. Talk about clutch.
![[image loading]](/staff/flamewheel/Battle_Reports/ggaemo_vs_jyj/jg25.jpg)
Deus ex machina boom!
With no mining bases, no useable army, and almost no buildings left, jyj had to tap out.
Such an amazing game, seriously. ggaemo's experience definitely won him this game, though the rookie jyj had so many chances to win. Had he lifted his buildings earlier, he could have protected his natural, or even gone elsewhere. That slip with the vessel at the end cost him everything, since he would have been able to force those lurkers to retreat afterward. Had he had his command centers and army after that, he could have easily contained ggaemo long enough to get irradiate, then crush ggaemo since all ggaemo had at that point was a defiler mound and three lurkers. Still, a very well-played first televised game. I hope we'll see some more shenanigans from jyj in the future!
I may do Battle Reports for the other games (FBH vs soo?) when I get the chance and if people want them. We'll see.
face
![[image loading]](http://lh6.ggpht.com/_C172yj2ToYs/TQ7DKc2qzhI/AAAAAAAAAFI/keKDTgMGtc0/s512/Ace.JPG)
