EPTSo the quarter-finals were a little underwhelming. After a number of close, back and forth series in the Ro16 and with the opening series of the Ro8 going to all five games, things looked good. Then it happened; three 3-0s in a row. We’re not going to make excuses or pretend the series were closer than they were, we hold our hands up and admit that Cola, Mong and HiyA were comprehensively outplayed. But wait a minute, think about this for a second. You’ve seen Cola, Mong and HiyA play on Afreeca streams before, you've watched them play against other ex-pro players and you know how amazingly, mindblowingly, life-changingly good they are.
Those same three players got beaten. They got destroyed. They looked like noobs. These players were embarrassed at the hands of three of our semi-finalists. This is what we’re dealing with now, this is the tournament we’re watching. The kind of tournament where we can watch HiyA, formerly one of the top five Terrans in the world, and scoff at how terrible his play is being made to look. This is the Sonic BJ Starleague.
As part of our usual coverage this week, we take our usual look back and examine just how cruelly some of our quarter-finalists were beaten. Following that, we have a selection of VODs collated by ArvickHero and JohnChoi, featuring the best game from each Ro8 series. Next, we have Simplistik’s account of Larva versus Perfectman on New Sniper Ridge. For those of you who like to keep up to date with the latest happenings behind the scenes, we have our SOSPA news update. Finally, if you’re really brave, take a peek into the mind of a lunatic in our Ro4 previews.
If someone told you 18 months ago that by mid 2012 the era of televised, professional Brood War in Korea would be over, you probably would have been sad, but you would have believed them. But how about if someone had come to you 3 months ago and told you that, before the end of 2012, we'd be watching another live, offline Korean Brood War final? What if it was played in front of a live audience of hundreds? With an online viewing audience well in excess of 10,000? How about if it was cast by Kim Carrier himself? No sane man would have allowed himself to believe...
and yet here we are.
Those same three players got beaten. They got destroyed. They looked like noobs. These players were embarrassed at the hands of three of our semi-finalists. This is what we’re dealing with now, this is the tournament we’re watching. The kind of tournament where we can watch HiyA, formerly one of the top five Terrans in the world, and scoff at how terrible his play is being made to look. This is the Sonic BJ Starleague.
As part of our usual coverage this week, we take our usual look back and examine just how cruelly some of our quarter-finalists were beaten. Following that, we have a selection of VODs collated by ArvickHero and JohnChoi, featuring the best game from each Ro8 series. Next, we have Simplistik’s account of Larva versus Perfectman on New Sniper Ridge. For those of you who like to keep up to date with the latest happenings behind the scenes, we have our SOSPA news update. Finally, if you’re really brave, take a peek into the mind of a lunatic in our Ro4 previews.
If someone told you 18 months ago that by mid 2012 the era of televised, professional Brood War in Korea would be over, you probably would have been sad, but you would have believed them. But how about if someone had come to you 3 months ago and told you that, before the end of 2012, we'd be watching another live, offline Korean Brood War final? What if it was played in front of a live audience of hundreds? With an online viewing audience well in excess of 10,000? How about if it was cast by Kim Carrier himself? No sane man would have allowed himself to believe...
and yet here we are.
Table of Contents
Round of 8 Recap
Best of the Round of 8
Battle Report
SOSPA News Update
Round of 4 Previews
![[image loading]](/images/forum/wiki_icon.png)
SSL on Liquipedia
Round of 8 Recap
Best of the Round of 8
Battle Report
SOSPA News Update
Round of 4 Previews
SSL on LiquipediaRound of 8 RoundupBy kjwcj
Be Prepared
Larva <Neo Jade> 
PerfectManLarva <Neo Electric Circuit> PerfectManLarva <Wind and Cloud> PerfectManLarva <Fighting Spirit> PerfectManLarva <New Sniper Ridge> PerfectManIn the opening series of the quarter-finals, persistence trumped perfection as former SKT Zerg Larva came back from a 2-1 deficit to advance over Perfectman. Having made it to the Ro8 largely off the back of his very strong ZvP, Larva continued his run with another impressive showing against one of the strongest Protoss players in the tournament. Meanwhile Perfectman will have the time between now and the next SSL to ponder his decision to try a one base DT rush in the series-deciding game five.
Larva started off first game of the Ro8 with what he later revealed to be his only specifically prepared strategy of the series, a 5 pool on Neo Jade. Perfectman was able to stabilise following the initial attack but the economic damage proved telling as Larva was able to transition and eventually roll over the Protoss player. Most significant in the first match was Perfectman’s decision to go for two stargate +1 corsair, which left him easily able to defend Larva’s muta/scourge attack but without a ground army capable of securing a third. This was the first example of Perfectman’s somewhat bipolar relationship with the corsair throughout this series, relying on them heavily in some games while completely forgoing them in others.
In games two and three, Perfectman drew level and then took the lead in the series, mostly off the back of some excellent multitasking and unit control. In game two, the ex-OZ Protoss was able to come back from a considerable economic disadvantage by way of multi-pronged harassment with corsairs, reavers and then later DTs. With Larva having chosen to take an early fourth and turtle with sunkens and lurkers in game three, Perfectman was able to constantly disrupt the Zerg economy while he built up his own. First with a maverick decision to elevator his entire main army into Larva’s fourth, stopping mining and killing off multiple hatcheries. Perfectman then followed up with multiple storm drops and eventually killed off his Zerg opponent who, so preoccupied with defending his own bases, had been unable to prevent Perfectman from taking half the map.
You didn't think that meant prepared build orders, did you?
Game four was a perfect template for how Larva likes to play ZvP, he was able to establish his economy early and relied on excellent drone and zergling control to defend Perfectman’s attempts to bust his simcity. With his four bases up and drones being produced, Larva was in his element as he perfectly defended all of Perfectman’s attempts at harassment while carefully managing his rapidly growing infrastructure. With his tech up, his income outrageous and his army seemingly unstoppable, Larva finally pushed out and denied Perfectman’s fourth, killing the entire Protoss army in the bargain. Perfectman quickly realised the futility of his situation and gg’d out, having been unable to cope with the best ZvP management play seen so far in this SSL.
Game five took place on a map that has long been regarded as heavily in favour of Zerg in ZvP, with the ridges that lie outside of the natural of each base being depicted in the Starcraft dictionary next to the phrase “lurker contain”. Whether it was because of his diligent preparation or just abject desperation, Perfectman opened with a 2 gate DT rush. Larva responded reasonably well to the initial DT attack but still lost a number of drones and was forced off mining in his main. After holding his natural against Larva’s first hydralisk counterattack, Perfectman begun to prepare for the inevitable high ground lurkers that would follow. Excellent control, most notably of his DA/HT combination, kept Perfectman in the game and made each fight increasingly cost efficient. However Larva’s ability to take bases and macro was completely undisrupted and after some cute micro tricks from both players, Larva’s massively superior army size eventually won him the game and the series.
Age Before Beauty
Pusan <Neo Jade> ColaPusan <Neo Electric Circuit> ColaPusan <Wind and Cloud> ColaPusan <Fighting Spirit> ColaPusan <New Sniper Ridge> ColaWearing an MBCGame jacket from the team he used to lead, Pusan dismantled his inexperienced opponent Cola in a series so one-sided it was almost difficult to watch. Having been regarded by many, myself included, as having a weak PvZ Pusan’s dominance in this series was remarkable. On the other side, some newer fans were left wondering how on earth Cola made it this far, with very little of the former CJ Zerg’s management talents showing through in what was by far his worst performance of the tournament.
The first match began in a fashion that should be familiar to most regular viewers of modern PvZ, with Cola choosing to open 3 hatch hydra. Pusan’s defense however, was slightly less orthodox, forcing Cola onto the defensive almost immediately with multiple groups of counter-attacking zealots. Cola’s hydra bust was so severely delayed that by the time his final last ditch attack came, he was easily rebuffed by Pusan’s storms and was forced to leave the game.
Game two was somewhat more straightforward, with both players selecting more passive strategies with the slight distraction of Electric Circuit backdoor temple shenanigans. Pusan countered Cola’s lurker heavy midgame comp with his own dragoon/HT army, while also easily deflecting the Zerg player’s attempts at lurker harass of the natural and mineral only. After rebuffing Pusan’s first attack at the 9 o’clock at the expense of most of his army, Cola was unable to keep up with the reinforcing power of his Protoss opponent, eventually losing his fourth and, with it, the game.
Pusan fangirls' voices are getting deeper and deeper as the years go by.
In the final game of Ro8 day one, Pusan opened 2 gate, a strategy which we would usually expect to see at least once per PvZ series he plays and made slightly more valid by the extra mineral patches in the main base of Wind and Cloud. Cola did well to defend the initial attack but Pusan’s transition out of the two gate was swift and much more efficient than his Zerg opponent. Deflecting Pusan’s +1 speedlot followup with his first round of mutalisks, Cola took map control for a brief time and looked to be attempting to reach a point where his management play would be a factor. Heavily behind on upgrades and seemingly unable to win a single fight, Cola continued to pump hydralisks but was slowly rolled up as Pusan advanced with +3 attack and excellent storm control.
One thing worth noting about this series is that without being completely bizarre or cheesy, each game serves as an example of Pusan dictating the terms of the match to his opponent. In all of the three games Cola was unable to reach a point in the game where he was truly comfortable and the point where he can really show his strength. Through oddly timed aggression or early risk-taking, Pusan set the tempo of each game from the outset and appeared to be in complete control throughout. While he may not be the highest skilled of the remaining four players, he remains by far the smartest when it comes to planning a BoX series.
All Killer No Filler
Mong <Neo Jade> KillerMong <Neo Electric Circuit> KillerMong <Wind and Cloud> KillerMong <Fighting Spirit> KillerMong <New Sniper Ridge> KillerIn a series which never really lived up to its potential, all of Mong’s recent good form and prodigious TvZ talent counted for little as he was easily swept by the A teamer efficiency of Killer. After dropping a game to both HiyA and KangTaeWan in the Ro16, Killer’s ZvT didn’t inspire the kind of unwavering confidence that we have in his other match-ups going into the quarter-finals. In spite of those small vulnerabilities uncovered in the Ro16, Killer was imperious in all three games versus Mong and has easily dealt with what should have been the sternest challenge remaining for him in this SSL. Mong, in the end, can have little complaints about the result; although he has been doing well in other Afreeca events lately, he was completely outclassed by Killer on the day and did well to actually make the Ro8 at all, given his struggles earlier in the tournament.
The first game of the series began with a moment of gameplay that seems to best exemplify the difference between Killer and every other player in the SSL at this moment in time. Mong had prepared a small bio attack with a handful of marines, two firebats and a medic, which arrived with Killer’s single sunken still morphing from a creep colony. What could in other circumstances have been an absolute razor edge defense was made to look routine as Killer flanked Mong’s force with lings and killed it off without losing even one drone or his sunken. The game that played out from there was textbook ZvT, with only a brief moment of respite for Mong when he killed off Killer’s third with a drop before being overwhelmed by an enormous lurker force in the middle of the map.
Eventually, winning gets boring.
In game two, Mong’s attempt at a valkyrie build on Electric Circuit was severely disrupted by a huge ling runby in the early-game and then completely derailed as he walked almost his entire bio force over a group of stop lurkers outside his natural. Before any real damage was done by the severely delayed valkyries, Killer had broken down Mong’s backdoor temple and the former CJ Terran found himself with a huge force of lurkers crabbing their way into his main base. After floating all his buildings and pausing for a moment of quiet contemplation, Mong gg’d and left the game.
With a 2-0 lead in the series and having never been in any danger of losing at any point, Killer returned to the build he had favoured in the Ro16, opening 2 hatch muta on the all-new Wind and Cloud. Mong delayed his turrets in favour of building up a larger marine/medic force and moved out on the map in an attempt to deny Killer’s third. With his initial bio force wiped out easily in the middle of the map, Mong continued to struggle to impose himself on Killer, with the threat of mutalisk harass ever present throughout the mid-game. By the time Mong’s main push was ready, Killer had prepared a huge flank of pure lurker/ling in the middle of the map and, as in game one, easily killed off Mong’s army without the need for any hive tech.
Sky Is the Limit
HiyA <Neo Jade> SkyHiyA <Neo Electric Circuit> SkyHiyA <Wind and Cloud> SkyHiyA <Fighting Spirit> SkyHiyA <New Sniper Ridge> SkyThe final series of the Ro8 was one that seemed fairly straightforward from the outset but which we were hoping could hold one or two surprises. In the end, we got pretty much exactly what we should have expected going in; with two sub ten minute games sandwiching a decent macro PvT, Sky reaffirmed his dominance over his former OZ teammate and fellow SSL6 finalist and advanced into the semi-finals with all the style and grace of a car accident. HiyA probably knew something like this was on the cards given his history with PvT in Afreeca leagues but it is unlikely to take the sting out of losing so heavily and in such an embarrassing fashion.
In game one, Sky began in typically malevolent fashion, opening 10/15 gate goon with a proxy robo kicker. HiyA was caught out by Sky’s dragoon count early on, losing his first siege for almost nothing and then quickly being pushed back down his ramp where all he could do was sit and wait for some more dragoons to be elevatored into his base. Having lost the game without actually taking damage from the reavers which were sure to follow from Sky’s proxy robo, HiyA’s basic execution errors in early game PvT cost him dearly, just as they had threatened to do in the Ro16.
The face of a man who is being DT dropped.
The second game of the series began with slightly cautious builds from both players, with HiyA apparently wary of further early-game skullduggery and Sky possibly fearing retribution from his Terran opponent who is fond of 2 fact all-ins against Protoss. HiyA chose to take an early third CC at his mineral only while Sky focused on harass, first attempting a DT drop before quickly teching to arbiters off only two gas. Sky was able to constantly disrupt mining at HiyA’s mineral only while also denying the Terran fourth at 6 o’clock with small goon forces. By the time HiyA’s heavily delayed push was ready, Sky had taken most of his half of the map and easily broke the Terran army mid-map with several incredibly effective stasises. Although his persistence with multiple cost-ineffective recalls almost cost Sky the game, he was able to survive long enough to starve out his former teammate, cleaning up what was left of HiyA’s army in a final engagement at the top right natural and taking a 2-0 lead.
So if HiyA was mildly annoyed by the course of the first two games, the third and final game of the series was like salt in an already raw wound. After defending Sky’s initial zealot pokes with an almost excessive degree of caution, HiyA took an incredibly safe expansion and chose to not even push with his FD, having scouted a 1 base play from from his Protoss opponent. Unfortunately for HiyA, he was not prepared for the ultimate and possibly the most obvious PvT cheese, the DT drop. The DTs arrived in his main, he had no detection and very little in the way of defensive mines. Sky controlled his DTs well, not triggering any of the Terran’s burrowed defenses until the final moments of the game, when a spider mine detonated on a DT, taking with it half a dozen of HiyA’s SCVs and his place in the SSL Ro4.
Best of the Round of 8By ArvickHero & JohnChoi
- Facing elimination, Perfectman goes 1-base into Dark Archons whaaaaaa?? Both players play this game with style!
- Pusan uses a brilliant strategy designed for this map. Just as the map maker intended, a lot of entertaining battles over the ridges.
- Rock solid play by the winner. A seminar in how to crush your opponent.
- Brilliant mindgame by Sky via the opening builds (in relation to the first game). Great game, with some hilarious moments to boot.
Larva vs. Perfectman Battle ReportBy Simplistik
Jumper (noun) - 'Also known as sweater, pullover or jersey is a knit garment intended to cover the torso and arms, popular with both men, women and children of all ages.'
In the only close series of the SSL round of eight, Larva took on Perfectman. As a former OZ pro Perfectman was widely considered the favorite in this match. However, through a combination of cheese in game one and solid play in game four Larva managed to drag the series to the decider.
The final game of the series takes place on New Sniper Ridge. Perfectman warps in at the top left corner, while Larva finds himself in the top right corner. The first overlord wins the scouting coinflip and heads into the correct direction. Perfectman and his executor jumper couldn't care less. Larva opens up with a second overlord followed by a spawning pool. The OZ-toss decides that standard PvZ isn't his thing and opts for a gateway and an assimilator.
![[image loading]](/staff/Simplistik/Larvs_vs_Perfectman/Nice_jumper_480.jpg)
Executor Jumper, and Perfectman
A probe also wins the scouting coinflip and manages to deny the natural hatchery for a short while. When Larva realises that he is up against a quick tech build he plants a third hatchery at his natural to create a funnel. Two very early dark templars rush across the map, fully focused on slicing up some drones. However, Larva is perfectly prepared and his six hydralisks, three overlords and a narrowed choke should be able to repel the invisible enemies easily. Only he reckoned without Perfectman's jumper. A single dragoon briefly distracts the hydralisks and one of the dark templars sneaks through. At least four drones end up diced on the creep. The others evacuate to safety. After chopping away at the spawning pool a little an overlord floats over and the dark templar dies to hydralisks.
![[image loading]](/staff/Simplistik/Larvs_vs_Perfectman/Distraction_480.jpg)
'Over here!'
Larva continues with hydralisk production off a single extractor. Perfectman secures his natural expansion with two cannons and a band of zealots. Due to the Protoss choice of build order, two high templars get to enjoy a spectacle they don't usually see: a nexus warping in at the natural expansion. Hydralisks rush in to pick off one photon cannon. Zealots with leg enhancements drive them off. When reinforcing hydralisks join the fray the outnumbered Protoss units head home. Larva uses his distraction wisely to expand to the three o'clock base and upgrading to lair.
Perfectman still only has two gateways when Larva starts to morph his fifth hatchery. Perhaps the dark templar opening didn't do enough damage. There also appears to be a large opening for some kind of slow shuttle harass inside the Zerg main. No overlords are on the direct path. Instead Perfectman decides to gear up for a strong attack based on his two base economy. He warps in five additional gateways and a robotics facility. Without corsairs, photon cannons or dragoons the main base looks very vulnerable to a mutalisk attack. Except that Perfectman's jumper has hidden a solitary dark archon in the top left corner.
![[image loading]](/staff/Simplistik/Larvs_vs_Perfectman/spot_the_archon_480.jpg)
The DA patiently waits for a chance to prosecute some lawless punks.
The game enters the next phase when Larva starts morphing lurkers. He now has six hatcheries, some ground upgrades and his three bases are nearly saturated with drones. Perfectman on the other hand has stopped making probes and still has not researched the first ground weapon upgrade. Meanwhile, lurkers set up a contain on the ridge outside of the Protoss natural base. To Perfectman this seems like the perfect opportunity to move out. He tries to squeeze up the ramp to his prospective third base. Larva does something he postively loves to do and blocks the ramp with a lurker egg. The egg buys enough time for some zerglings and hydralisks to get in position to block that route. A few psi storms and some jostling for position later, Perfectman manages to get up the ramp after all. He also made a lot of zealots.
When a fairly sizeable Protoss army pours out onto the map one can sense a decisive moment approaching. The army first engages a bunch of hydralisks. Perfectman's Jumper maelstroms a gob of hydralisks, but his mannequin deems it unnecessary to cast any psi storms.
![[image loading]](/staff/Simplistik/Larvs_vs_Perfectman/maelstrom_480.jpg)
Now here is something you don't see every day.
The zealots charge off screen to fight some distant hydralisks. At that point Larva orders his lurkers to backstab the Protoss army. Few units on either side survive. Reinforcements from both sides pick up where their dead cousins left off. Larva's stronger economy is beginning to tell and his hydralisks start to reach critical mass. During the preceding big battle Perfectman's Jumper had started to secure a third base. Unfortunately, Larva spots an opening and his hydralisks slither in to deny the expansion. Perfectman finds himself in a position to surround and kill the hydralisks, but Larva has a devious trick up his sleeve. The Jumper sighs.
![[image loading]](/staff/Simplistik/Larvs_vs_Perfectman/egg_wall_480.jpg)
On first consideration, portable walls seem pretty unfair. On second consideration, they definitely are.
The zerg units get killed eventually, but time is running out for the Protoss player. The largely melee based army fares badly against a large number of reinforcing lurkers. Larva completely prevents the expansion while starting up his own fourth base. Parts of Perfectman's army get seperated by - What else? - a lurker egg and die. The remaining units try once more to break the lurker contain, but they are too few in number and perish. Behind in upgrades, out of minerals, no army and somewhat creased, Perfectman and the Jumper tap out.
GG.
More gratuitous Jumper shots
+ Show Spoiler +
![[image loading]](/staff/Simplistik/Larvs_vs_Perfectman/warming_up_480.jpg)
The Executor warms up.
![[image loading]](/staff/Simplistik/Larvs_vs_Perfectman/the_jumper_is_calm_and_compo.jpg)
Perfectman and his Jumper under pressure. One of them is calm and composed.
![[image loading]](/staff/Simplistik/Larvs_vs_Perfectman/jumper_sighs_480.jpg)
The Jumper sighs inaudibly.
![[image loading]](/staff/Simplistik/Larvs_vs_Perfectman/i_hate_lurkers_480.jpg)
It isn't easy to tell, but Jumpers definitely hate lurkers.
![[image loading]](/staff/Simplistik/Larvs_vs_Perfectman/the_opposing_garment_480.jpg)
The opposing garment is only a cheap fleece.
![[image loading]](/staff/Simplistik/Larvs_vs_Perfectman/GG_480.jpg)
GG.
![[image loading]](/staff/Simplistik/Larvs_vs_Perfectman/in_all_its_glory_480.jpg)
A full body shot shows the textile in all its glory.
+ Show Spoiler +
The Executor warms up.
Perfectman and his Jumper under pressure. One of them is calm and composed.
The Jumper sighs inaudibly.
It isn't easy to tell, but Jumpers definitely hate lurkers.
The opposing garment is only a cheap fleece.
GG.
A full body shot shows the textile in all its glory.
SOSPA News UpdateBy ArvickHero & kjwcj
Glad Tidings of Great Joy
Following good support from online viewers and a series of well attended offline events held at the SinbalFarm premises in Seoul, Sonic has made a series of exciting announcements about the upcoming SSL final in the past week. The first and most significant of these announcements was that the upcoming SSL final will be played in a 800 person capacity auditorium at Konkuk University, Seoul and cast by none other than Kim Carrier. There don’t appear to be any ticketing details available for people wishing to attend at the moment but further information may be released in the coming days.
Home turf.
Along with this comes news of the SSL final’s opening K-Pop acts, following in another longstanding Brood War final tradition. Currently announced are performances by former V.O.S member and leader Park Ji Hun, and a rookie girl group known as "And White" (앤화이트).
Merry Christmas.
Finally, perhaps the most important announcement to TeamLiquid members that Sonic made in this past week related to his juice girl roster. Since the beginning of the SSL offline stages, viewers on TL have gone through varying stages of confusion, trepidation and infatuation with the young women who are responsible for providing the players with refreshments between games. For the Ro4, Sonic has expanded the juice girl team with a new but familiar face in the form of Seo Yeon Ji, better known as the cursed OSL stargirl. We currently understand that she will be present for both the semi-finals this weekend and the final the weekend after. The SSL team looks forward to what new things she can bring to the table in the fast-moving world of juice vending.
Home turf.
Along with this comes news of the SSL final’s opening K-Pop acts, following in another longstanding Brood War final tradition. Currently announced are performances by former V.O.S member and leader Park Ji Hun, and a rookie girl group known as "And White" (앤화이트).
Merry Christmas.
Finally, perhaps the most important announcement to TeamLiquid members that Sonic made in this past week related to his juice girl roster. Since the beginning of the SSL offline stages, viewers on TL have gone through varying stages of confusion, trepidation and infatuation with the young women who are responsible for providing the players with refreshments between games. For the Ro4, Sonic has expanded the juice girl team with a new but familiar face in the form of Seo Yeon Ji, better known as the cursed OSL stargirl. We currently understand that she will be present for both the semi-finals this weekend and the final the weekend after. The SSL team looks forward to what new things she can bring to the table in the fast-moving world of juice vending.
Team Battles: Protoss Dominance
Twice during the last three weeks, Sonic All-Stars rose to challenge two teams: an ex-pro team assembled by recent ex-A teamers, and the infamous Jat clan. The result was Sonic All-Stars losing vs the ex-pro team, while scoring a victory against Jat clan. A result that seems expected on the surface, but in detail was actually rather surprising!
Tyson was probably the biggest surprise here, scoring a 5-kill against Sonic All-Stars. Judging by name value alone, one would think that this should've been easy to call. However, for those who have been watching Afreeca streams regularly, it was very apparent that Tyson had some trouble hanging with the top of Afreeca and Fish.
A great boon for Tyson, but the question remains: was this just a mere fluke or was this flash of brilliance and indicator of what we might see in the future?
Sonic All-Star's domination of Jat clan was also somewhat of a surprise. The two teams have a long standing rivalry, to the point where Sonic says that winning 1000 Balloons against Jat clan feels more like winning 1000000 balloons! Possibly next time, the result will be closer.
And finally, let's look at the stats: Protoss won 11 out of 15 matches, a 73% winrate! Protoss have been doing well lately, but even a 73% winrate is totally unexpected. Perhaps this will balance out as more Sonic All-Star team battles get played .. hopefully
Tyson was probably the biggest surprise here, scoring a 5-kill against Sonic All-Stars. Judging by name value alone, one would think that this should've been easy to call. However, for those who have been watching Afreeca streams regularly, it was very apparent that Tyson had some trouble hanging with the top of Afreeca and Fish.
A great boon for Tyson, but the question remains: was this just a mere fluke or was this flash of brilliance and indicator of what we might see in the future?
Sonic All-Star's domination of Jat clan was also somewhat of a surprise. The two teams have a long standing rivalry, to the point where Sonic says that winning 1000 Balloons against Jat clan feels more like winning 1000000 balloons! Possibly next time, the result will be closer.
And finally, let's look at the stats: Protoss won 11 out of 15 matches, a 73% winrate! Protoss have been doing well lately, but even a 73% winrate is totally unexpected. Perhaps this will balance out as more Sonic All-Star team battles get played .. hopefully
Super Matches: King Mong
King Mong has scaled up the Empire State Building and now stands on top of the world of the Super Matches. Many have tried to knock him off his perch, and all have failed.
Raking in the Balloons from the last three Super Matches, Mong boasts a dominating 80.9% (17-4) winrate. Sky, Tyson, Hero, Pusan, ZeLoT and Hiya have all fallen to Mong's onslaught. Only Hero was able to take Mong to the final game, but was unable to fulfill his heroic role of slaying the beast.
Who will be the proverbial airplane to shoot King Mong down from the top?
Raking in the Balloons from the last three Super Matches, Mong boasts a dominating 80.9% (17-4) winrate. Sky, Tyson, Hero, Pusan, ZeLoT and Hiya have all fallen to Mong's onslaught. Only Hero was able to take Mong to the final game, but was unable to fulfill his heroic role of slaying the beast.
Who will be the proverbial airplane to shoot King Mong down from the top?
Round of 4 PreviewsBy kjwcj
In a match-up between two of the more eccentric members of the Afreeca scene, ZvP powerhouse Larva faces off against evil genius (no, not that kind) Sky for a chance to play in their first offline final at Konkuk University New Millennium Hall. These two have no small amount of history, with Larva making reference to a feud between the two that was supposedly resolved, following his Ro8 win against Perfectman. However neither of these players seem like the type to forget so easily and any veneer of friendship will be quickly burned away by the fires of the first SSL semi-final.
These are two of the most active players on Afreeca; if you’ve tuned into snipealot’s stream in the past couple of weeks there’s a very good chance you’ve ended up watching one of these two guys streaming their FPV. While this theoretically means that there is a danger of either competitor being able to analyse the play of the other, it’s unlikely to be a huge factor. This is in no small part due to the fact that Sky has such a huge range of awful things he can do to his opponent in any given situation and that Larva’s play relies mostly on gimmick-free defensive strategies. Another, perhaps even more significant, issue is that a majority of their games are played on Fighting Spirit, a map so heavily played by high level Koreans that it has begun to develop a meta-game all of its own, with a multitude of specific openings, simcities and timings based solely around the specific architecture of FS.
This is how many times I'm going to 2 gate.
The hallmark of Larva’s ZvP so far has been his ability to defend an economic lead until he is simply able to overrun his opponent with little regard for cost efficiency. However, his army control is solid and he has occasionally mixed things up with early pool builds and ling runbys. Larva’s main failing in his two losses against Perfectman was in defending multi-pronged harass which in two games succeeded in disrupting his economy to the point where he was simply unable to produce units. Sky’s ability to replicate the level of multitasking shown by Perfectman in those two games is questionable. He is an objectively slow player who, while having decent EAPM in the mid to late-game, doesn’t have the kind of map dominating style we’d normally associate with the best PvZ players.
What Sky does have in spades is ingenuity.While Larva is a progamer and obviously has the intelligence to take advantage of map features when and where required, he is a relatively one dimensional player. Sky has shown in his other match-ups that he is capable of playing just about any style of game, with the ability to beat any opponent in 10 minute or 30 minute games, in equal measure. If he isn’t able to match Perfectman and disrupt Larva’s flow through brute force multitasking, he will need to find other slightly less conventional means of imposing his style. While he has less experience than Pusan in playing these kind of series, Sky seems to possess a similar kind of intelligence to his fellow Protoss semi-finalist. A multi-game plan like that used by Pusan in the quarter-final could prove useful in undoing his even more inexperienced opponent.
This series definitely looks like it should go long, with Sky’s eclectic style conducive to dropped games and Larva having needed all available games to win every one of his series since the Ro32. Betting against Larva has not served me very well so far in this tournament but it still feels difficult to pick him over such a strong player, even in his best match-up. Despite the fact he has dropped some games, everything Sky has done so far in this tournament has seemed utterly effortless while Larva’s victories, impressive as they have been, had the look of a player scrapping for his very existence. I have no doubt Larva wants it more and that if his macro gets going he will be unstoppable, but Sky always wins. He wins clean, he wins dirty, he wins long and he wins short, but he wins. He always wins.
Sky 3 - 2 Larva
Much like his young Jat clan protege Larva, Pusan has done exceptionally well to make it this far. Meanwhile for Killer, winning the final will be roughly on par with what was expected of him going into the tournament. Having demolished one young, modern Zerg in the Ro8, Pusan faces a slightly more formidable challenge in the form of Killer. The former OZ Zerg took a number of impressive scalps in ZvP during his progaming career, with winning records over the likes of Jangbi and Movie. Conventional wisdom says that Killer should win this at a canter but if there’s any player in this tournament capable of bridging a gap in skill with a little bit of cleverness or deceit, it’s Pusan.
There’s not a great deal to work with when it comes to Killer’s ZvP record so far in the tournament. He took a little over 20 minutes to win 2-0 against an apparently rusty Perfectman in the Ro32, mostly relying on a terrible build from his former teammate in game one, and then solid macro and good hydralisk control in game two to sweep the series easily. His ability to set up huge flanks with hydralisk heavy midgame armies was often a feature of his play as a progamer and was again briefly evident, both in his second game against Perfectman and also in his lurker/ling engagements in TvZs later in the tournament. During this series Pusan will need to be constantly aware of when it is safe to move out with his army and where it is safe to move it to, lest it vanish before his eyes in a rain of hydra spit.
The best posture in progaming.
With the persistent harping throughout the tournament (mostly from myself) about how awful Pusan’s PvZ is, he’s done an awful lot of winning in the match-up so far. Although it is slightly undermined by the varying quality of his opponents, a 6-2 record against Zergs so far in this SSL is nothing to be sniffed at and perhaps this preview should be a place where we re-examine this unkind and inaccurate characterisation of Pusan’s PvZ. The difficulty in doing this is that Pusan’s PvZs only really resemble the normal state of the match-up when he loses. All of Pusan’s wins seem to occur in this weird chin-shaped twilight zone from which only the spirits of fallen zealots and the demented screams of confused and defeated zergs can escape. Pusan deserves a great deal of credit, both for his efficiency in beating Zergs worse than him and his intelligence in beating ones that are better.
There is little doubt that Killer is, in a straight up normal game, the best player remaining in this tournament. There is also some argument to be made that, in a straight up normal game, the worst player remaining in this tournament is Pusan. This does not always prove to be the deciding factor in a BoX series but there is some cause for scepticism when it comes to Pusan’s ability to bamboozle a player as mechanically sound, as experienced and as confident as Killer is right now. It’s hard to imagine a scenario in which Pusan is able to win more than one game in this series. This has to be where the story ends for the former MBC captain; in the Ro4, yet again.
Killer 3 - 0 Pusan
WRITERS: kjwcj, Simplistik, ArvickHero, JohnChoi
GRAPHICS: HawaiianPig
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