• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EDT 16:01
CEST 22:01
KST 05:01
  • Home
  • Forum
  • Calendar
  • Streams
  • Liquipedia
  • Features
  • Store
  • EPT
  • TL+
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Smash
  • Heroes
  • Counter-Strike
  • Overwatch
  • Liquibet
  • Fantasy StarCraft
  • TLPD
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Blogs
Forum Sidebar
Events/Features
News
Featured News
[ASL20] Ro16 Preview Pt1: Ascent2Maestros of the Game: Week 1/Play-in Preview12[ASL20] Ro24 Preview Pt2: Take-Off7[ASL20] Ro24 Preview Pt1: Runway132v2 & SC: Evo Complete: Weekend Double Feature4
Community News
LiuLi Cup - September 2025 Tournaments2Weekly Cups (August 25-31): Clem's Last Straw?39Weekly Cups (Aug 18-24): herO dethrones MaxPax6Maestros of The Game—$20k event w/ live finals in Paris57Weekly Cups (Aug 11-17): MaxPax triples again!15
StarCraft 2
General
Production Quality - Maestros of the Game Vs RSL 2 #1: Maru - Greatest Players of All Time Team Liquid Map Contest #21 - Presented by Monster Energy Geoff 'iNcontroL' Robinson has passed away Heaven's Balance Suggestions (roast me)
Tourneys
Maestros of The Game—$20k event w/ live finals in Paris RSL: Revival, a new crowdfunded tournament series Chzzk MurlocKing SC1 vs SC2 Cup Sea Duckling Open (Global, Bronze-Diamond) LiuLi Cup - September 2025 Tournaments
Strategy
Custom Maps
External Content
Mutation # 490 Masters of Midnight Mutation # 489 Bannable Offense Mutation # 488 What Goes Around Mutation # 487 Think Fast
Brood War
General
BGH Auto Balance -> http://bghmmr.eu/ [ASL20] Ro16 Preview Pt1: Ascent The Korean Terminology Thread Pros React To: herO's Baffling Game ASL20 General Discussion
Tourneys
[Megathread] Daily Proleagues [IPSL] ISPL Season 1 Winter Qualis and Info! Is there English video for group selection for ASL Small VOD Thread 2.0
Strategy
Simple Questions, Simple Answers Muta micro map competition Fighting Spirit mining rates [G] Mineral Boosting
Other Games
General Games
Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread General RTS Discussion Thread Nintendo Switch Thread Path of Exile Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne
Dota 2
Official 'what is Dota anymore' discussion
League of Legends
Heroes of the Storm
Simple Questions, Simple Answers Heroes of the Storm 2.0
Hearthstone
Heroes of StarCraft mini-set
TL Mafia
TL Mafia Community Thread Vanilla Mini Mafia
Community
General
US Politics Mega-thread Things Aren’t Peaceful in Palestine UK Politics Mega-thread The Games Industry And ATVI Russo-Ukrainian War Thread
Fan Clubs
The Happy Fan Club!
Media & Entertainment
[Manga] One Piece Anime Discussion Thread Movie Discussion! [\m/] Heavy Metal Thread
Sports
Formula 1 Discussion MLB/Baseball 2023 2024 - 2026 Football Thread TeamLiquid Health and Fitness Initiative For 2023
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
Computer Build, Upgrade & Buying Resource Thread High temperatures on bridge(s)
TL Community
The Automated Ban List TeamLiquid Team Shirt On Sale
Blogs
Collective Intelligence: Tea…
TrAiDoS
A very expensive lesson on ma…
Garnet
hello world
radishsoup
Lemme tell you a thing o…
JoinTheRain
RTS Design in Hypercoven
a11
Evil Gacha Games and the…
ffswowsucks
INDEPENDIENTE LA CTM
XenOsky
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 861 users

[ASL15] Ro8 Preview Pt.1: In The Hunt

Forum Index > BW General
13 CommentsPost a Reply

[ASL15] Ro8 Preview Pt.1: In The Hunt

Text byTL.net ESPORTS
Graphics byv1
April 3rd, 2023 03:17 GMT
ASL11 Main Image


the Ro16 and especially the group of death that was Group C provided as expected the best games of the season thus far and one can only be excited for what is to come as we are coming up to the top of the season, Simplistik is here to recap all the hits from that group as Peeano and BLinD-RawR preview the first two matches in the Ro8.


Group A Preview

Group C Highlights


Game 1 - (P)Best vs (Z)Soulkey, Sylphid 3
Underdog (P)Best pilots a double-Stargate opening safely to the midgame. (Z)Soulkey's Mutas do almost nothing and his follow-up Hydra bust is stopped with well-timed Cannons and a DT.

[image loading]
Invisible Man

When a large Goon/Templar army engages a Hydra/Lurker, I feared for the worst. We all know what happens when Goons fight Hydras straight up: lots of blue goo. But, with impeccable macro Best straight up overpowers Soulkey and moves on to the Winners Match.

[image loading]
Goons reaching critical mass

Game 2 - Snow vs Light, Sylphid 3
Snow skips Goon range to get out a super fast Reaver. Somehow Light reads this correctly, and moves out with 3 Marines, 2 Vultures and a Tank. The attack does huge damage. Snow, feeling the pressure, responds by channeling his inner Stork: 7:30 Fleet Beacon, behind a single Gateway.

[image loading]
Twice as many Stargates as Gateways, probably a good ladder build.

It doesn't work. Light's economy is too far ahead and the Carriers get caught in the open by too many Goliaths.

Winners Match - (P)Best vs (T)Light
Game 1 - Retro
After a fairly standard opening, with some pressure from Best, both players hit max. Best is already on five bases. Light is still stuck on three and about to mine out his main. But in a brilliant maneouvre Light pushes Best's army into a corner and cuts it off with mines. This allows the Terran to split his forces, and to take down two Protoss expansions.

[image loading]
Mines are good against Best.

After that Best never finds an opening to attack Light's economy or engage the large well-upgraded Terran army.

Winners Game 2 - 76
This is hands down the best game of the tournament so far. If you plan to watch only one ASL game this season, what are you doing here?, this is it. Although I can imagine that Terran fans might feel slightly aggrieved by the outcome.

Light manages to punish Best's greedy 12 Nexus with 2-Port Wraiths, and the game stabilises with both players on three bases. From here on Best's strategy is take all the bases, and secure them with many Cannons, while keeping Terran under control with drops. Light transitions into Tank/Goliath drops while being extremely annoying with his Wraiths.

[image loading]
There goes 30 supply: Wraiths being extremely annoying.

Light tries to drop the Protoss main, but Best holds with Templars, Zealots and elevatored Goons. The game is starting to look difficult for Light, main mined out, and still on three gas, when he finally manages to get a foothold in the bottom right main. But the island at right middle is controlled by Protoss, making it difficult for Light to get reinforcements down. Best attacks the Terran parachute regiment with 5 Shuttles, a myriad of Storms and a huge number of Zealots, to take back control of bottom right.

[image loading]
Massive conga line

20 min in, the game looks all but over. Light still has no 4th gas, he is running out of minerals, has no map control and is 65 supply down. In desperation, he takes one of the middle bases. And suprisingly, Best fails to stop this with drops. The thin ridges, and lack of ground paths are very difficult to maneouvre with Shuttles and Zealots, while Goliaths and Tanks can use their range to great advantage. Still up on army and resources, Best tries to take out Light's main, but fails because the Zealots and Storms are not synced up with the drop. As a result Light can replenish his army and start to get active again, shutting down some softer bases.

Best responds in the only way that a self-respecting Protoss would: Carriers. Astonishingly, and completely against the odds Light actually manages to take down the Stargates at the second attempt and defend his middle base with Goliaths for a short while.

[image loading]
Good night Stargates

Unfortunately for Light, the middle bases are very vulnerable to Carriers with Storm support. Running out of options, our intrepid Terran commander tries one last drop on Best's bottom right base, where the rebuilt Stargates are located. But there aren't enough units and the Terran army gets sandwiched and eaten up fairly easily.

[image loading]
Goliath sandwich with a sprinkling of Tanks

The rest of the game is a brief clean-up operation.

Winners Game 3 - Nemesis
The final game is more straightforward. Both players open similarly, Rax expand vs Gate expand. Best gets a small advantage out of scouting, which allows him to delay his Robo and take a fast third, while Light is blind and forced to play safe. Vultures kill a few probes and a Reaver drop does some damage.

The cumulative effect is that at 11:09, Best is up 55 supply, with a big round of Zealots streaming across the map to join his Goons outside the Terran natural. When the attack hits, Light is not ready. The Terran third and main are well defended, but the natural is dangerously exposed: 1 Mine, 1 Turret and 6 clumped Tanks, no forward depots. Zealots drop onto the Tanks, Scarabs are solid. Light pulls back the units from his third, but it's too late. Best is already on the Factories, and behind this he's transferring Probes to his 4th base.

[image loading]
Classic Bust

Losers - (Z)Soulkey vs (P)Snow
Game 1 - 76
Snow tries to play the map by going mass Zealots, but he never gets anything done. Soulkey takes a second main without any trouble, keeps the Sairs under control and proceeds to Hydra pressure. When Snow finds himself without units, pinned into his base, he taps out. In hindsight, Soulkey probably didn't even need Lurkers to win this game.

[image loading]
No way out

Game 2
Soulkey opens with Speedling pressure, and arrives at Snow's natural before the Forge finishes, but Snow preemptively built a ... Shieldbattery(?!). The Lings take down the Gateway, but Snow plugs the wall with a very nicely timed Forge.

[image loading]
Clutch hold

Annoyingly for Snow, his Gateway got sniped before he had a Core, so all his tech is very late. Perhaps that's why he opts for double Stargate. As Soulkey has basically complete information, the Sairs do virtually nothing. Soulkey transitions into Hydra pressure off three bases with a solid economy. Before 9:00, Zerg overtakes Protoss in supply and never looks back. Snow gets out his starting quadrant once, before getting crushed by overwhelming numbers. Overall a very disappointing showing from Snow, but Soulkey is...

[image loading]
Looking cool

Final Match - (Z)Soulkey vs (T)Light
Game 1 - Nemesis
Early on Light puts pressure on the Zerg natural with a Tank/Valkyrie push. Soulkey's attempt to manage the Valkyries purely with Scourge fails due to Light's impressive patrol micro. And with air superiority the Valks proceed to massacre Overlords left, right and centre. The resulting supply block and sheer cost of replacement badly cripples Soulkey's economy.

[image loading]
This is not ideal.

Soulkey holds his natural with Swarm, but gets locked on three bases while Light can Mech-switch unpressured on four bases. Eventually the gap becomes too embarrassing and Soulkey taps out.

Game 2 - Dark Origin
Soulkey has his back to the wall, so he plays it safe and opens with Mutalisk pressure. Light has Valkyries again and doesn't take much damage. The game proceeds normally with Soulkey taking a third and Light preparing another Mech-switch.

But this time Light fails to apply any pressure and Soulkey gets his economy humming. Then Light missteps. While looking for some Overlords, the Valkyries get caught by a Scourge/Muta cloud.

[image loading]
The hunter becomes the hunted.

After this exchange Soulkey is up in supply and Light gets stuck behind the bridges near his natural. Being unable to move out, and with no Vessels, Light can't stop the first Defilers getting across the map. And when Dark Swarm reaches the Terran 3rd, Light is forced to tap out.

[image loading]
No sweat

Game 3 - Vermeer
The final game of the group is the most finely balanced of the series. This time Light opts for SK Terran over Valkyries, while Soulkey goes for Mutalisk pressure again. Light doesn't take much damage. But when the Bio ball gets caught in the open SaviOrGGPlay-style, Light loses his opportunity to slow down the Zerg economy.

[image loading]
We've seen this before somewhere.

Soulkey gets up to four gas without trouble and starts moving to a late game composition with plenty of Ultras and Defilers. Light does regain the supply lead and goes up to four bases also, but by this time Soulkey's economy is already out of control.

Light manages to put together a large Vessel cloud and and even a small handful of Battlecruisers. But he never kills a Hatchery or a Drone line. Ultimately he gets ground down slowly by overwhelming Zerg numbers. With SCV's fighting Hydras, Ultras taking down the fourth, Vessels plagued and Swarm at his natural, Light's ASL run comes to an end.

[image loading]
Lights out

Group A Preview

Opportunity



In the 15 seasons thus far in the ASL (P)BeSt has yet to make it past the Ro8 since ASL 2, (Z)Action has not made it past since 2019. A huge opportunity has been presented in this matchup giving both of them the chance to change that.

Nobody expected (P)BeSt to be the one to top that Ro16 group managing an impressive set of games against soulkey and the Bo3 against (T)Light, for the first time in forever he feels like he's in control and able to perform offline at a higher level. Online however (P)BeSt while active spends most of his major Proleague games trading wins/losses keeping it around 50%, while his K-league appearances has been almost all wins with him rarely looking bad or taking losses showing that gap in quality between the two leagues.

Meanwhile, because that's the (P)BeSt way to describe how fans see (Z)Action’s run, as one that just sort of creeped up despite fantastic showings in both the Ro24 sending (P)Mini into his tailspin and Ro16 knocking out reigning champ RoyaL and (Z)Shine. Online, (Z)Action hasn’t been the most active, but thats how he’s usually been with only a couple of Major Proleague and K League matches, choosing instead to focus on practising for his ASL matches off camera old school style.

Its not either player’s favoured matchup as (P)BeSt and (Z)Action would rather go and beat up some terrans but (P)BeSt’s PvZ growth over the last few years has been absolutely astonishing.

While I don’t have the actual numbers for either player’s current status in the matchup, I know that the map pool selection has both players playing it safe by picking Sylphid and Nemesis, which favour Protoss while (Z)Action picks HBR and Vermeer, leaving Afreeca with Retro after the bans.

(P)BeSt has been absolutely been smashing on the public front, if (Z)Action’s prepared builds from practicing offline don’t make a dent I’d put the victory on the side of (P)BeSt.

(P)BeSt Advances to the SemiFinals 3-2!

Group B Preview

Dream Queendom



(T)Mind, the Bisu-killer, he's still got it after all these years! He helped knocking out (P)Bisu last time and took a surprising win vs (Z)hero. Wait, wait, wait. Let's go back for a bit. He helped knocking out Bisu? If we look at the game then it was a classic Bisu PvT where Bisu kills himself rather than the Terran is killing him. Mind stayed on top of his upgrades and he did have nice decision making once he moved out. Alright, he also landed a money EMP during his move out. His early game did not look hot though. His games vs hero is the same is true. His early game isn't anything special. So how exactly did he beat hero? With drops. Drops, something Mind also tried vs Bisu. The other key thing is said upgrades. Mind loves his upgrades.

If you blinked last round, you may have missed Mind losing a game last round. Basically his 8 rax got scouted early and Mind didn't bother to try and salvage the game at all. He immediately gg'd when it was clear the 8 rax would at the very least get delayed. It's very likely (T)Mind will try at least one 8 rax vs (Z)Queen. Staying true to his name, he must have had a good plan with it when he used it vs hero. Since we never saw the rax finish that game, the plan is still to be used again. The other thing we can expect to see is, yes, drops. Also upgrades.

It's been about 2 weeks since we have seen 76 be played on proleague, word on the street is that the map got thrown out because players were mostly banning it in ASL anyway. It's still in the ASL however, and this round it seems like players cannot veto maps. (Z)Queen, one of the few players to NOT ban the map so far, picked it for this round. He also picked Dark Origin. Analyzing proleague and this ASL, neither maps have seen a lot, if any, ZvT. In general Dark Origin is looking good for Zerg so far, but there is too little info on 76 to conclude anything other than that it is non-standard, a show maker map. Does Queen have something up his sleeve? Perhaps. Maybe he just wants to entertain and whether that is himself or the crowd we will have to wait and see. If we are lucky we will get to see both. Queen's classic grin after pulling out a win is as good seeing him slowly sink in his chair when defeat is impending!

(T)Mind upset (Z)Soma this ASL. Can we say something about that for this Bo5? Well, upsets have been the trend this ASL. I will not acredit it to Mind being awesome, but rather to the format. Now we've finally reached the Bo5 state, I hope we can actually start Liquibetting with our instinct now. Ironically my instinct isn't convincing me enough. I could see either player advance from this group.

Who can we vote for then? Has (T)Mind or (Z)Queen won anything big recently? Nope, not really. Not in the last 2-3 years. Thankfully we can look at the recent proleague results thanks to TMNT and 2Pac's endless efforts! I looked over all of last month's results; both players have been playing on and off. Queen with a very positive win ratio. Mind with a very positive loss ratio. They have both been playing in the major ones, this means even though Mind is getting trashed left and right, he is still practicing with the best. Yay, we have hope for this match not becoming a flop.

Now if we finally look back just a little bit further. We saw a very dominant (Z)Queen. Winning 2 ASLs back to back. In ASL9 he killed (T)Flash and (T)Light, in a Bo5 and Bo7 respectively, back to back to win his gold. Should (T)Mind be scared? Most definitely. If Mind is still worthy of the Bisu-killer title, then Queen still deserves a lot of respect for his ASL golds. So will that scare Mind? He will be unphased if anything. Mind just doesn't care. What does Mind care about? Well, for this round? Maps. Mind picked the 2 most standard maps this round, Sylphid and Vermeer. If Mind is lucky he can collect his 2 wins there and create enough tension to win the final map. The odds are not stacking in his favor though.

(Z)Queen to Advance to the Semifinals!




Writers: BLinD-RawR, Peeano, Simplistik
Graphics: v1
Editors: BLinD-RawR

Facebook Twitter Reddit
TL+ Member
End1ess
Profile Joined September 2012
Canada73 Posts
April 03 2023 04:52 GMT
#2
I just hope Queen doesnt get out so we can have another new champion.
Simplistik
Profile Blog Joined November 2007
2030 Posts
April 03 2023 06:37 GMT
#3
On April 03 2023 13:52 End1ess wrote:
I just hope Queen doesnt get out so we can have another new champion.

Fresh champion sounds good!
Dear BW Gods, it IS now autumn, so...
HOLYBATS
Profile Joined August 2021
Turkey741 Posts
April 03 2023 08:40 GMT
#4
BeSt Fighting!
Galacsia
Profile Joined February 2020
Chile161 Posts
April 03 2023 20:46 GMT
#5
I know the odds are in Queen's favor, but I'll be kicking myself if I vote for Queen in LB and my favorite Terran player goes to the Ro4. Let's go Mind!!
BeSt / Bisu ftw!!
Peeano
Profile Blog Joined March 2009
Netherlands5066 Posts
April 03 2023 23:31 GMT
#6
On April 04 2023 05:46 Galacsia wrote:
I know the odds are in Queen's favor, but I'll be kicking myself if I vote for Queen in LB and my favorite Terran player goes to the Ro4. Let's go Mind!!

If you're not in the current top 100, you may as well vote on the underdog and get lucky. Right?
I would have joined you if I didn't already vote Queen
FBH #1!
Lazyer
Profile Joined August 2011
United States349 Posts
April 04 2023 04:21 GMT
#7
Love the highlights! Killing it with the recaps.
M3t4PhYzX
Profile Joined March 2019
Poland4200 Posts
April 04 2023 06:24 GMT
#8
On April 03 2023 13:52 End1ess wrote:
I just hope Queen doesnt get out so we can have another new champion.

same!

go, go Best! and go, go whoever plays ZerO, too
odi profanum vulgus et arceo
M3t4PhYzX
Profile Joined March 2019
Poland4200 Posts
April 04 2023 06:26 GMT
#9
sick writeup again, btw!

appreciated
odi profanum vulgus et arceo
TornadoSteve
Profile Joined March 2018
1062 Posts
April 04 2023 08:23 GMT
#10
Mind got this.
lokiM
Profile Blog Joined June 2008
United States3407 Posts
April 04 2023 21:12 GMT
#11
great work!
You can't fight the feeling.
Lovethelord
Profile Blog Joined January 2023
46 Posts
April 05 2023 00:21 GMT
#12
The quality of these articles, wow. Thank you.
ThunderJunk
Profile Joined December 2015
United States687 Posts
April 06 2023 19:10 GMT
#13
Series was absolutely sick BTW. Won't spoil it but wonders. Whata great time to be a bw fan
I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do.
Zografa
Profile Joined February 2023
190 Posts
April 09 2023 15:20 GMT
#14
where is part 2 man :D The games are starting :D
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
BSL Team Wars
19:00
Round 6
Team Hawk vs Team Sziky
LiquipediaDiscussion
Maestros of the Game
17:00
Group Stage - Group D
Maru vs Lambo
herO vs ShoWTimE
ComeBackTV 1667
SteadfastSC885
IndyStarCraft 328
CranKy Ducklings305
BRAT_OK 192
CosmosSc2 98
Rex81
LiquipediaDiscussion
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
SteadfastSC 885
IndyStarCraft 328
BRAT_OK 192
ProTech126
CosmosSc2 98
Rex 81
JuggernautJason61
Vindicta 18
StarCraft: Brood War
Shuttle 574
Dewaltoss 99
sSak 57
scan(afreeca) 38
NaDa 5
Dota 2
The International97158
Gorgc17718
Dendi615
KheZu45
League of Legends
JimRising 284
Counter-Strike
fl0m2791
Stewie2K425
kRYSTAL_6
Super Smash Bros
C9.Mang01971
Mew2King106
Other Games
summit1g3237
Grubby3036
FrodaN1615
B2W.Neo774
Hui .193
SortOf87
Organizations
Other Games
gamesdonequick2210
StarCraft 2
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
sctven
[ Show 19 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• musti20045 58
• Adnapsc2 16
• intothetv
• IndyKCrew
• sooper7s
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• Migwel
• LaughNgamezSOOP
• Kozan
StarCraft: Brood War
• Azhi_Dahaki15
• FirePhoenix15
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
• BSLYoutube
Dota 2
• C_a_k_e 2081
• masondota2842
League of Legends
• Doublelift1686
Counter-Strike
• Shiphtur177
Other Games
• imaqtpie1709
Upcoming Events
Sparkling Tuna Cup
13h 59m
Monday Night Weeklies
19h 59m
The PondCast
3 days
RSL Revival
3 days
Cure vs SHIN
Reynor vs Zoun
RSL Revival
4 days
Classic vs TriGGeR
ByuN vs Maru
Online Event
4 days
BSL Team Wars
4 days
Team Bonyth vs Team Dewalt
BSL Team Wars
4 days
RSL Revival
5 days
Maestros of the Game
5 days
[ Show More ]
Cosmonarchy
5 days
Bonyth vs Dewalt
[BSL 2025] Weekly
5 days
RSL Revival
6 days
Maestros of the Game
6 days
BSL Team Wars
6 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

Ultimate Battle Special: Larva vs Mini
SEL Season 2 Championship
HCC Europe

Ongoing

Copa Latinoamericana 4
BSL 20 Team Wars
KCM Race Survival 2025 Season 3
BSL 21: BSL Points
ASL Season 20
CSL 2025 AUTUMN (S18)
LASL Season 20
RSL Revival: Season 2
Maestros of the Game
Chzzk MurlocKing SC1 vs SC2 Cup #2
BLAST Open Fall 2025
BLAST Open Fall Qual
Esports World Cup 2025
BLAST Bounty Fall 2025
BLAST Bounty Fall Qual
IEM Cologne 2025
FISSURE Playground #1

Upcoming

2025 Chongqing Offline CUP
BSL Polish World Championship 2025
BSL Season 21
BSL 21 Team A
EC S1
BLAST Rivals Fall 2025
IEM Chengdu 2025
PGL Masters Bucharest 2025
Thunderpick World Champ.
MESA Nomadic Masters Fall
CS Asia Championships 2025
ESL Pro League S22
StarSeries Fall 2025
FISSURE Playground #2
TLPD

1. ByuN
2. TY
3. Dark
4. Solar
5. Stats
6. Nerchio
7. sOs
8. soO
9. INnoVation
10. Elazer
1. Rain
2. Flash
3. EffOrt
4. Last
5. Bisu
6. Soulkey
7. Mini
8. Sharp
Sidebar Settings...

Advertising | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use | Contact Us

Original banner artwork: Jim Warren
The contents of this webpage are copyright © 2025 TLnet. All Rights Reserved.