Julia vs DragOn

kogeT vs Flisk

LancerX vs Dewalt

dsaqwe vs trutaCz

dsaqwe vs LancerX offers much more than a face value of PvP. Dsaqwe is a Croatian protoss player who hails from the sas clan training grounds. Yes, the sas clan that is home to popular veteran players skzlime, zaraki, Ace, and of course the great Sziky. Without a doubt, this strong clan has bred many champions over the years and time has finally brought another strong teammate to the forefront. Sas, no matter how strong, does not stand alone. An equally strong clan has been able to keep match in terms of strength and numbers, iFU (writers note: nsfw to say outloud). Among iFU’s notable players are eOnzErG, Marwin, Cryoc, Scan, and dsaqwe’s semifinal opponent LancerX. So without a doubt, there is heavy clan blood on the line here.

Predicting the outcome of this matchup is as hard as it gets. Dsaqwe managed to trip up tournament favorite, trutaCz, with a dominating 2-0 result. Meanwhile his only close series was at the mercy of a PvP versus vanatir. Dsaqwe is not without weakness in this matchup and should the matches make it to Overwatch, LancerX might have a map advantage. LancerX also comes off a strong 2-0 performance outplaying Dewaltoss in his PvP matchup. LancerX showed his skill and comfortably on both maps, Neo Aztec and Neo Jade, which will be played in 2 of the first 3 maps.

Ultimately, a glance at history is always the best indicator. LancerX is 7 of 8 when playing in a finals PvP of a tournament. At an 87% win rate, it is hard to imagine dsaqwe beating lancerX. Electric Circuit is the opening map and more favorable to dsaqwe’s playstyle. However, the next 3 maps work against him.




kogeT and DragOn are two odd ducks sharing the same pond. Both players just can’t make up their mind. They are both race pickers. Koget used to play Zerg on a regular basis except he would play TvZ to avoid the ZvZ matchup. Clearly the addiction to tanks has become real as Koget has chosen to play full Terran through the duration of the TLS championship. On the other side of the coin, we have DragOn. A protoss player that doesn’t PvP. He DOESN’T PvP! Which means regardless of this semifinals result, the finals will not have a PvP. Should DragOn move on, he will pick the mighty Zerg for the tournament finals.

Both semifinal matches will have the same map order and this should be quite a fun series to observe considering the TvP matchup between these two. The first two maps heavily favor DragOn. Starting in Electric Circuit, the map design allows for a safe third (mineral only) base to be taken by protoss and a third gas expansion is easily obtainable too. Unlike most modern maps, there are no multiple entrances to the gas third and its close proximity to the main makes it that much easier to defend for a protoss. Koget will have a lot of trouble halting DragOn’s macro here.

Following up a strong first map, DragOn can have a field day with Neo Aztec. This is a map that makes taking a third gas incredibly hard. Siege tanks can’t take safe harbor on the high ground should Terran take the close third gas. If Koget takes the farther/more cutoff third gas, his mech defenses are forced to be spread out. Aggressive protoss gateway play will pay off quite well here!

Neo Jade comes in as a great comeback map for Koget. Even the great Bisu fears a matchup on Jade against a great Terran player. Koget can make easy use of the terrain to harass DragOn and force his protoss army into bad situations.

Overwatch becomes the map to watch. Its balance is yet to be determined, but, at a glance, it looks very Terran favorable. A bridge at the natural allows for marine/timing contains in the early game. Snake like ridges between the spawn points are laid out perfectly for siege line map control. Although very important to note, Terran can not lay supply depots and turrets to help create defensive sim cities between their natural and third. Still, the map does well to help mech and Koget should take this map sending it to the ace on Fighting Spirit.

The fighting spirit meta is shifting quickly in the Korean scene. It’s a Terran dominant map and that success is going to find its way across seas. Koget has the golden opportunity and will take the final map.

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