[Photo Report] SSL9 Ro32 Group B

!!! The post contains fatal spoilers for SSL9 Round of 32 Group B !!!

Don't forget to credit the source if you re-share these anywhere!
Source: RangEi's Naver Blog



"This was the Round of 32 Group B of the 9th Sonic Starleague in the Sonic TV Studio.

The first match was a best of three between HiyA and Sky.

Being former teammates, both players know each other well so Hiya was joking at the pre-game interview.

T/N: IIRC HiyA said Sky's playing style doesn't suit him and neither does his personality. I'm not sure he was joking though ^^

Sky's answer to HiyA's dropship play in the first game was a Dark Templar rush that tied up the match at 1:1.

In the third game, HiyA completely blocked Sky's recall and won.



Sky


HiyA



Second match: PianO vs. Midas

Midas used to have a brilliant record in Proleague, but this was his first competition after being discharged from the military.

In the interview, he asked his fans not to expect too much from him...

Perhaps partly due to this attitude from the beginning, Midas ended up losing the match.

Midas took the first game but PianO evened up the score and the match progressed to the final round.

Amidst the power struggle of the ground forces in the third game, PianO caught Midas off-guard
while preparing for a Battle Cruisers switch and took the game with a perfectly timed drop.




Winners' Match: PianO vs HiyA

After PianO's forward barracks, he got a few SCV kills with cloaked wraiths and followed up with more dropship harass.

HiyA denied PianO's entry but in the end he typed in the GG.

PianO really showed no mercy to the opponent with his amazing control.

In the following winner's interview, he mentioned his mother as a filial son
and jauntily remarked that he must be empowered by the support of his fans.

He also said he doesn't feel confidence in facing Zergs.

I'm looking forward to his future rounds.




Losers' Match: Sky vs. Midas

Here, Sky's messy supply management became an issue.

The commentators called him a mad-rusher.

T/N: Referencing Pusan's nickname for his zealot heavy style, 꼬라박 [kkolabak], hence Pusan's ID labak.
Sky was really overly goon heavy at certain points in the game.



They said he needed high templars,, ahh, would it only be Zealots & Dragoons until the end? Such a shame.

They mentioned this many times.. but in the end Sky overwhelmed Midas purely with the force of his supply,
getting another shot at making it through to the Round of 16.


It was a pitiful sight watching Midas wrap up and leave the studio after the game ended.

I hope he can do better in the next season.

I'm cheering on Midas.


Winners' Match: HiyA vs. Sky

HiyA was taking expansions quickly and to catch up to that, Sky's first reaver drop couldn't do much,
but the second drop got a few SCVs while a simultaneous dragoon attack denied the 4th base.

Sky was gaining the momentum. However, HiyA's firm defence
secured the expansion, he sealed off his bases against recalls
and destroyed Sky's bases one by one, finally taking the game.


In the interview, HiyA said he knew Sky knows how to play refugee toss so he countered it to win.

He mentioned that to a certain degree, he anticipated Sky's strategy.

I wonder if a close friendship formed between the two on the progaming team...

After getting out of the booth, Sky's sorrowful face said it all: "Ah, why did I have to fight hyung in the last round.. and lose."


Ro32 A-D Preview Ro32 B LR Thread

Ro32 B VODs Ro32 A-D Recap


The location for this year's starleague changed to Sonic TV Studio on the 9th floor of the Miracle building in Gangseo-gu.

I arrived to the previous year's location in Gayang-dong only to find a abandoned office and had to move on again ㅠ_ㅠ

The studio can accomodate approximately 100 people.

With a subscription in the parking lot (you can get a 1 hour parking ticket) they close at 11 o'clock.

The day before they played nine games,
so they began at 7 o'clock and finished after midnight.

T/N: After the first group, final match has been changed from Bo3 to Bo1.

Hence a lot of people leaving in the middle of the games.

On Saturday, the way to the studio was blocked so it took about 2 hours.

The next time I was going to take the subway,
but I just said let's drive there to see the final rounds in the late hours haha

With the show running, snacks and beverage refreshments were offered
and there was also a giveaway of 8 FIX earphones, 1 headset and 1 keyboard on the spot.

I won the FIX earphones yesterday~~ AAaah
CBY thank you~ <3

---

After today's games were over, I went to see the racing car model Cheon Bo-Yeong (CBY)~~

The news of her being the interview girl came up on Daily-eSports,

and after that she was at the Group Selection Ceremony,

but I couldn't attend it so I didn't post any news.


Below are my pictures used in the interview girl announcement~

but why did they use it without my permission~ Oh well it's not important, for now PASS.



It's been a long time since the last G-Star that I've seen CBY.

She was wearing a pretty pink one-piece dress,
that made her slender figure and great legs stand out even more.

Her eyes showed she was a bit troubled, but she still did a cool job of interviewing and posing.