The ASL Ro24 debuted with the first island map in years. The first round of matches to showcase the map were Sky vs Shuttle and Shine vs Light.

Sky vs Shuttle on Sparkle:
Sky, known for his wacky PvZ builds, but otherwise an unknown has showed his ability to compete with the ex-pros. His tenacity and preparation for the map shone through in an all-you-can-offer display of Sparkle's PvP.

Spawning in the bottom right is Sky, versus Shuttle on the the opposite side in the top right. Shuttle opens sair reaver while Sky opts for speed shuttles. The initiative for aggression is set as both players take their 3rds. Sky shoots first, attempting to levy his ground army advantage in the hope of averting the watchful gaze of Shuttle's corsairs. One drop lands at Shuttle's third, but the second is met by a line of cannons at Shuttle's natural.

Sky's attacks having run their course put Sky at the mercy of Shuttle's attacks. Sky faces the loss of his natural repeatedly as more back and forth battles occur at each others' islands, both players hurriedly levying reinforcing units into the fray of battle. DTs are dropped to take advantage of the lack of observers, and reavers constantly abuse their higher range over cannons. In an exemplary display of crisis management of both players, Sky manages to pull ahead with a fourth base, denying Shuttle's own. The game explodes into the stuff of dreams for theorycrafters as Dark Archons with mind control are used to take control of opponents' incoming shuttles! Shuttle now on the backfoot opts for an all-out assault off of the 3 base economy he has left, but eventually becomes whittled down by Sky's superior economy. This PvP had it all; dark archons, DT's, reavers, but in the end Sky had the mental fortitude to pull ahead of Shuttle in the scrappiest of games.



Shine vs Light on Sparkle:
Shine, our beloved bag-of-builds Zerg is an absolute crowd pleaser when it comes to creativity, and Sparkle presented a more than ample stage for him to perform on. Light, a Terran once known for his unparalleled raw mechanics stood awkwardly juxtaposed to the map as Shine reclaimed his rightful throne as a top contender.

The game begins with Shine spawning in the top right, and Light spawning in the bottom left. Already, Shine takes the no rush 10 minutes to heart, taking 4 hatches before pool, a truly naughty display. Light does likewise with a fast expansion. Shine getting fat off of minerals smoothly transitions into hydra drops. In a journey that rivals the Mayflower, the Overlords whisk and weave their way past Light's wraiths to land ho in Light's natural to decimate Light's economy.

Light responds in kind as two dropships attempt to pick off Shine's 3rd. A back and forth fight takes place, heightened by picking off the connecting Nydus ending the lifeline of Shine's 3rd. Light in a strategy of search and destroy attempts to shut down Shine's new base at a main which is thwarted by a gang of hydralurk.

The game continues to spiral out of control as they trade blows; Shine using a muta switch to kill off Light's 3rd, and Light's dropships honing in on scourge like turret missiles. As Light's initial aggression runs out of steam, Shine's subsequent counter drops prove too much as ultraling defiler squashes the Terran resistance and the entire map lies in Shine's grasp. Resigned to his fate sitting on his first two bases, Light gg's.



Shine vs Sky on Transistor:
Shine remarked earlier that Sky and him think alike in the variety of builds they implement. In a game of wits behind two alike minds, the map was on full showcase.

Spawning in the 7 o'clock is Sky, and spawning in the 5 o'clock is Shine. Sky opens 2 gate versus Shine's 12 hatch. Running away with what damage he caused from forcing Shine to make lings, Sky takes an expansion without a single drop of blood. Shine clearly has other plans, and takes the game to Sky with a speedling all-in complete with a drone drill, July style. Sky has prior notice though thanks to a sneaky probe. However, Sky skipped a forge for a fast Stargate making the situation dicey.


Shine, making his move, has zerglings move in from both ramps to encircle Sky's meager forces. Sky having immaculate micro manages to trade armies with Shine, left with only a few zealots. Shine's onslaught shows no sign of relenting as he breaches the first line of defense. He abuses the lack of cannons as his zerglings attack the main, kill off warping in cannons, and pick off probes. Sky with no visible recourse goes on a wild goose chase before losing all of his probes.

Shine in dominating fashion shows the people what an ASL finalist is made of!

Shuttle vs Light on Transistor:
Light, spawning in the 5 o'Clock, inspired by Shine's shenanigans attempts a 3 rax SCV drill to counter Shuttle's nexus first. Shuttle though, ever so wary spots a suspicious line of SCVs making a beeline to his base, prompting the red alert. A clash of probes and SCVs, tickle beams to fusion cutters, pave the ramp with blood and bolts as the marines and dragoons watch in awe. The marine wave is eventually halted by the dragoons and probes, leaving a bunker as empty as Light's chances of winning. Light was visibly, strangely complacent with his short run as his face wore a plain expression.



Sky vs Shuttle on Gladiator:
In the final match to decide who advances, Sky spawns in the top left and Shuttle spawns in the bottom left. Sky opens 3 gate, hoping to catch Shuttle off guard and abuse the inverted ramp. Shuttle on the other hand has different plans, ever so cleverly predicting Sky's sophomoric strategy, countering with the ever so skillful DT rush!


Viewers can only watch in horror as fate unravels. Sky's attack is dwarfed by the ever-present lack of detection as Shuttle's DTs run rampant. Shuttle advances.