The round of 24 of the Teamliquid Legacy Starleague Season 3 continues this weekend with the final two groups, E and F, fighting it out to see who gets to move on to the round of 16. In this write-up you can read our recaps of groups C and D in case you missed all the action last week. Below that you can read the previews and staff picks which should get you excited about the upcoming games; they're guaranteed to be awesome!

As always, don't forget to tune in on Saturday, Oct 19 5:00pm GMT (GMT+00:00), which is just in !







The first match in group C pit the Protoss player, FremAN, and the Terran player, Bizzy against each other on Destination. FremAN spawned at the bottom location of the map, while Bizzy spawned at the top position. FremAN took early map control with dragoons and placed a standard variation of a one-gate expansion. With siege completed, Bizzy was able to push the dragoons out of his own expansion. With the Terran expansion entrenched, FremAN attempted a reaver drop in the main which did a bit of damage. However, he simultaneously made a questionable attack into the Terran wall at the natural with dragoons which failed in spectacular fashion. FremAN followed up this play with an attack straight into a siege line protected by spider mines, a move that significantly reduced his supply lead as the mid-game developed. Bizzy continued the pressure on his Protoss opponent with vultures at the third that performed a large amount of economic damage to the probe count. FremAN's luck continued to haunt him in the game, as even the Rhinodon on the map conspired against him as it blocked his progress up a ramp to the Terran nine o'clock base. Blocked by a third-party unit on the map, FremAN took a detour to the right and wandered straight into more spider mines. At the end of the game, Bizzy finally massed a large mechanical army and rolled FremAN straight out of this game and into the losers match of the group.

The second match in group C pit the Zerg player, KenZy, against the Protoss player, EnjoYmE, on Destination. KenZy spawned at the top position of the map, and EnjoYmE spawned at the bottom position. EnjoYmE kicked things off in the game by blocking his natural expansion with a photon cannon. With the intent to attack his opponent with zealots at a +1 with speed timing, EnjoYmE began to warp in additional gateways, but he did so directly under the gaze of a scouting overlord and thus alerted his opponent about his plans. The zealots finally arrived at the Zerg third, and they were able to do a significant amount of damage to the hydralisk defenses. The defensive battles for the Zerg played continued to go in the Protoss player's favor and he was quickly forced to leave the game.

The winners match of group C featured Bizzy against EnjoYmE on Neo Aztec. Bizzy spawned at the eight o'clock position of the map, and EnjoYmE spawned at the five o'clock position of the map. Bizzy opened with a fake double build, which allowed him to stave off the opening dragoons from EnjoYmE, who opened with a two-gateway expansion. Both players were content to build up to three bases without much commotion in the early game. The calm was disrupted in the mid-game when EnjoYmE recalled a force of dragoons directly into a mine field at the Terran main. Bizzy then moved out to eh center of the map and ran straight into EnjoYmE's forces while his tanks were not sieged and without mine cover. Bizzy was able to get the upper hand in that battle however, as EnjoYmE neglected to micro his units properly to his full advantage. Bizzy then moved to take out the Protoss base at the twelve o'clock position with a small number of vultures. In response, EnjoYmE moved against Bizzy and he was able to do a significant amount of damage after breaking through the Terran minefield. After finally getting his act together, however, Bizzy was able to even up the score and win at the end, as EnjoYmE's economy simply could not sustain his activity as the game drew to a close after having lost the top base.

The losers match of the group featured FremAN and KenZy set against each other in an elimination game on Neo Aztec. Both players took their expansions, and FremAN went for corsairs while KenZY built a large number of early zerglings. After some initial harassment, FremaAN dropped down five extra gateways in order to build up the pressure on the ground. By this time in the game, the Zerg player was on three bases, with mutalisks and hydralisks out on the field. This composition meant that without storms, FremAN's dragoon-heavy army was repelled with easy by KenZy. As the mid-game developed, FremAN sent out a more-balanced force against the upper-left Zerg base, but his forces became trapped by the Zerg force and it was destroyed before it could do significant damage to the Zerg at that position. At this point in the game, the Protoss player initiated a storm drop at the top of the map, while the Zerg moved against the various Protoss bases with lurkers. The Zerg player's harassment was far more effective in attaining its goals, and FremAN was left with only a mineral-only base producing resources at the end. FremAN was able to turn things around, however, and he managed to continue building a large number of units despite economic setbacks throughout the mid-game. This ability to field units allowed FremAN to attack into the natural of the Zerg player and do a substantial amount of damage against KenZY's forces due to the upgrades available to them. FremAN made up for earlier high templar play with a number of highly-effective storms against KenZy's mutalisks. Unfortunately, it was at this moment when FremAN dropped from the game, but having held the advantage at the point of the drop, he was awarded the win.

Having won the losers match, FremAN was set against EnjoYmE in the final elimination game of the group, which was held on Fighting Spirit. EnjoYmE spawned at the top right position, and FremAN spawned at the top left position of the map. FremAN opened with the intent to build a number of gateways against EnjoYmE's reaver build. EnjoYmE, however, opted to build very fast observers rather than building reavers, as he feared losing to dark templar in the early game. This allowed FremAN to take map control and contain EnjoYmE. EnjoYmE's shuttle got caught right next to the nexus, but he was able to drop the reaver and, with it, kill a large number of probes with scarabs. EnjoYmE then attempted to break through the contain, but he was thrown back at the ramp. EnjoYmE stuck his hopes in the game on a drop with the majority of his defending units into his opponent's main, but FremAN was able, at that point, to simply walk through EnjoYmE's base to win the game.




Group D opened on Destination with two Zergs, Bakuryu and SaCred, who both opened with identical overpool expansion builds. The players' strategies soon diverged quickly. Upon scouting mirror builds, Bakuryu cut zergling production to gain an economic edge. SaCred moved to pressure his opponent with his superior zergling count and succeeded with a run-by that caught several drones. Bakuryu also suffered an early disadvantage in the air when he failed to dodge the first wave of scourge, but he was then able to seize control of the skies when SaCred over-committed to harassment. SaCred dealt even more economic damage with a second zergling incursion, but he could not match his opponent's mutalisk numbers. SaCred lost the battle in the air and, consequently, the game.

In the second game of the group, the Zerg player Cosy opened with a nine-pool against the Terran player Ramms' one-base starport build. Ramms developed his strategy with a vulture drop to cover his natural expansion. Cosy appeared well-prepared for the drop, but he took heavy drone losses against good vulture micro and a subsequent tank drop. Cosy counterattacked when his three-hatchery mutalisk build came to fruition, but his own micromanagement was not up the task, and Ramms comfortably repelled the aggression. The Terran kept up his advantage with vulture harassment, while his opponent focused on heavy mutalisk production. Ramms softened up the Zerg air force with several key irradiates that allowed him to march his mechanical army across the map and for him to take a decisive victory.

Bakuryu and Ramms faced off in the Winners Match, where both players opted for standard openings on Neo Aztec. Ramms built a sizable army of plus-one marines, which easily deflected his opponent's three-hatchery mutalisk aggression. Once comfortable with his defenses, the Terran pushed out towards his opponent's fresh third base. He managed to catch the mutalisk flock off-guard and thus dealt significant damage. Unable to delay the marines, Bakuryu was unable to get lurkers to a defensive position in time to stop the attack, and he lost his third. The Zerg invested in defiler tech to hold against the inevitable Terran advance towards his main, but he only able to delay his defeat in the face of Ramms' flawless production and control.

The Losers Match was a battle between SaCred and Cosy, and it represented one last chance for survival in the TLS. The players both chose twelve-pool expansion openings, and neither was able to deal damage with their early zergling forces. SaCred was the first to commit to an attack when he sniped a drone with his mutalisks. Encouraged by his success, he regrouped and moved in for further harassment. Cosy finally engaged the flock, and, when the glaive wurms cleared, SaCred won a decisive victory. Cosy surrendered to the same player he had swept in the tiebreaker only weeks before.

SaCred was now a victor and he moved on to face his final challenge, the formidable Bakuryu. This rematch of the group's first game was played on Fighting Spirit. Bakuryu opened with a nine-pool with gas against his opponent's overpool with an expansion. With the early zergling lead, Bakuryu contained his opponent at the ramp and, despite SaCred's attempt to drill the position, managed to kill the hatchery only moments after it completed. Left at a huge disadvantage, SaCred canceled his lair and invested in spore colonies to defend against the coming mutalisks. Bakuryu used his air force to contain his opponent, but he could not actually engage the defenses. He finally drew his enemy out with a creep colony at SaCred's main, but he failed to take a significant victory. After continuing to take damage from the defenses, Bakuryu withdrew and allowed his opponent to take an expansion and start mutalisk production. Then, just as his air upgrades kicked in, Bakuryu struck SaCred's fledgling army at the natural and took the win, securing his advancement.





The first group for tonight is Group E, hosting some major toss-ups for your viewing pleasure. MaD makes his TLS debut in this set. The Terran from Team AoV made waves in the final qualifier, where he showed strong, entertaining play that could make him a fan favorite in this tournament. His first opponent will be caster favorite G5, a Protoss who has only been eliminated in the previous two tournaments to the toughest of competition. The sole Zerg of the group will be OctZerg, qualifying for the first time with impressive performance in the qualifiers. Rounding out the group is the Protoss hero dOTY, who has failed to live up to his reputation in TLS thus far, but may be aiming to change that after smashing his way through Qualifier #2.

MaD versus G5, opening the group on Destination, may be the toughest prediction of the Round-of-24. Either player has the potential to reach bracket play, or the capacity to take a quick exit from the tournament. I predict some shenanigans in the match, and at the flip of the coin, I'll predict victory for the Terran newcomer. Meanwhile, OctZerg versus dOTY has a clear favorite. OctZerg should by no means be underestimated, but dOTY's performance in the qualifiers is showing him at peak form.

The Winners Match will be dOTY versus somebody, and that somebody will have an uphill battle on Neo Aztec. A Losers Match between G5 and OctZerg may be less one-sided, but with the Zerg's weak history in the match-up, I'd give the edge to G5. To close out the group and my admittedly questionable prediction, a Final Match between MaD and G5 would be played on Fighting Spirit. This game would have every reason to be a close, exciting battle to place one player at the top of the foreign Brood War pecking order, and another out of luck for the year. With his recent performance in mind, I'd pick MaD to advance.






Group F is the final set of the TLS3 Round-of-24. All three races are represented in this group, and viewers should expect a nail-biting competition for second place advancement. LancerX, our representative from Aiur, is one of the more accomplished players on the roster. His form is unknown, as he hasn't played a game yet in this tournament, but his record over the past few years shows that he will be a strong contender in this group. His first opponent, on the other hand, has had less success but has already shown strong play in the qualifiers. INF3cted, commanding the Swarm in tonight's games, forfeited his chance in first TLS when he misunderstood the start time of his games. He will be a very real threat this time around, as he aims to make up for this setback and make a presence in the tournament.

Tonight's Terran contender goes by the handle non. At this point, all we know about non is that he is on Sas, the strongest foreign Brood War team, and that he traded blows with some of the best players of the qualifiers several weeks ago. Unfortunately for him, his opponent is the ferocious eOnzErG. eOnzErG has advanced through the group stages in both previous TLS tournaments, and is likely to do so again this time around.

The first game of the group will be a Protoss vs Zerg, played between LancerX and INF3cted. We could see a long, tense match between these two as they compete for a spot in the Winners Match, or since the map is Destination, we could see a quick zergling run-by decide the game. I'd give the edge to INF3cted, who may have more recent experience with the map's nuances. The next match will see non versus eOnzErG on the same badlands battleground. It would be good for non to have some clever one-base aggression planned for this match, because the conflict should go solidly in the Zerg's favor as time progresses.

If eOnzErG meets INF3cted in the Winners Match, he should once again be the clear favorite. His TLPD indicates a weakness in the Zerg versus Zerg match-up, but inspection reveals that nine of his sixteen losses are to Sziky, which one can hardly fault him for. A Losers Match game between LancerX and non on Neo Aztec would be next. The Terran did beat FremAN on the map in the qualifiers, but LancerX is likely to show a better performance and take the win this time around.

The Final Match in this prediction would be a rematch between LancerX and INF3cted. Although I gave the latter the edge on Destination, I would consider the Protoss to have the upper hand on Fighting Spirit. LancerX is well-known for his ladder experience, presumably playing many matches on this map, and his longer history at the top of the foreign scene makes him a favorite over INF3cted. The second spot in this group is far from an easy prediction, but I'm picking LancerX for advancement.

Player	Staff Picks
MaD (5)
	2Pacalypse-, Epoxide, endy, Nagisama, Selenus
OctZerg (1)
	Sayle
dOTY (7)
	2Pacalypse-, Sayle, Epoxide, Falling, endy, Nagisama, Selenus
G5 (1)
	Falling

In the last two groups for the round of 24, we have some returning players as well as some new faces that are favorites of the staff to advance to the next group. dOTY was an easy staff favorite, as he is one of the most notable players in the group. The rest of the staff picked MaD as their second choice, perhaps in the blind hope of getting some Terrans into the round of 16 (yes, I know there are already a couple of them in, shhh). Sayle, on the other hand, stuck with Zerg dominance, as he picked dOTY and the other three Zergs. That leaves OctZerg and G5 with only one vote each from the TL staff. I am not sure if Falling really thinks G5 will advance. His initial vote was actually for Ramms before he realized Ramms was not even in either of the two groups.

Player	Staff Picks
LancerX (4)
	2Pacalypse-, Epoxide, Falling, Selenus
non (1)
	Nagisama
eOnzErG (6)
	2Pacalypse-, Sayle, Epoxide, Falling, endy, Selenus
INF3cted (3)
	Sayle, endy, Nagisama

I am not sure if it is because this was the last round of 24 group, but the TL staff decided to make it even harder for me to figure out exactly on who they were voting. Epoxide, especially, decided to use a picture of a player as one of his votes, and I do not know the players well enough by face, and that required me to do a little digging to figure it out. Either way, with the final group of the round of 24, we have three familiar names that have all gone past the round of 24 in previous TLS tournaments, and there is only one new name in the mix. The staff voted predictably, with a relatively even divide between the two Zergs and LancerX, and with eOnzErG slightly ahead of the other two. Non is my Terran pick for this group (because there is no other Terran, anyways) and I hope that he can upset and advance! Do not forget to check out the games this weekend to see which of the staff, and your own votes, ended up being right!

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