Jaedong vod analysis with pictures

MAP:
Fortress SE

PLAYERS:
Flash (T) @ 9
RorO (Z) @ 3

VOD:



Z opens with 12 hatch 11 pool 10 gas.


T opens with 1 depot 1 rax wall in. I'm not really sure if that's ling tight or not. Standard ZvT so far. But Flash is at a small disadvantage in these positions. Z is cross map and his marines spawn outside the wall - a minor annoyance for a standard 1 rax FE build.


Flash scouts at 12 and then at 3 to find his opponent. He sees the lair timing. It's absolutely critical that Flash keeps this SCV alive until lair finishes so he can find what tech path Z is going to choose. This will also save on scans if he can keep the SCV alive and it means he won't have to sacrifice his vulture later on (also textbook ZvT). Keeping the SCV here will also force Z to build his tech choice at the natural thus limiting his options.


After scouting a 2 hatch lair, Flash doesn't feel comfortable building the CC directly at the natural (could be ling all in), so he constructs it inside the wall and gets his fact up simultaneously. He builds a vulture and sends it west only to meet a sunken.


Flash sees the lair complete and, not noticing any tech in the main, scouts around the sunken at the natural and sees the spire timing. He also sees that RorO created a third hatch in between his natural and main. His SCV dies shortly after returning to Z's main. Note that even if his SCV had died, Flash could have suicided his vulture to see the Spire.


With no ling all ins on the way, Flash feels safe expanding to his natural and continuing with his normal anti 2 hatch muta.


After RorO has his spire done and mutalisks on the way, he creates a hydra den and begins lurker aspect.


RorO's muta harass is largely ineffective. Flash already has missile turrets everywhere and marines guarding where missile turrets aren't. All RorO can do is pick off stray SCVs. All those mutalisks only pick off about 4 SCVs. Flash is way ahead at this point having successfully blocked the harass. RorO never takes a third and instead creates more lurkers and lings.


Once Flash knows he's perfectly safe from the muta harass, he pushes out with his first marines. RorO's goal is to now pick off the entire marine assault. The best way to do this is to make sure that you only attack marines while they are perpendicular to the mutalisks. Unfortunately, RorO never gets this chance.


Instead, he sneaks behind the marines and burrows his lurkers in the middle of the map in an attempt to destroy reinforcements. Although he kills a few reinforcements, Flash retreats his forward marines and sandwiches the lurkers. Flash should feel thankful that he pulled his marines back. His two tanks were almost sniped by the mutalisks until his forward marines were able to save one tank from destruction.


After his lurkers become largely useless, RorO then threatens backstabbing. However, Flash has so many marines that stimmed marines again sandwich the lurkers between their guns and the souther wall. RorO is crushed and is unable to backstab effectively. While his other lurker/ling forces are being destroyed, RorO sneaks out more lurker/lings and hides them in the north.

Of course, the backstabbing here isn't attempting to do any damage. RorO is trying to buy time so he can get defilers out to stop the inevitable marine/siege force crushing his base. However, Flash is forcing RorO to make a difficult decision - Tech or Army? RorO can't do both, and this puts him in a difficult position.

Hiding the lurker/ling in the north is a good option for RorO. Now he finally has a choice. Should he attempt to sandwich Flash outside of his natural OR should he actually perform the backstab?


He's going to have to make a decision soon. Flash is shelling the natural, and four sunkens will fall very quickly.


In an act of desperation, RorO decides to all in his opponent with lurker/ling/muta.


However, because Flash was able to save so many scans from the excellent scouting beforehand, he was able to scan and kill every lurker but 3. Even though these lurkers are a pest, Flash knows that RorO doesn't have a third considering the number of forces he created. All he has to do is push and win.


RorO is able to have more lurkers to defend his natural, but it's too little too late. Flash has already broken the front and there's little in his way to stop him.


Although RorO was able to kill lots of SCVs, it's inconsequential to the game. He already lost even before this act of desperation happened, and Flash is hardly concerned.


Notice no defiler mound. Zerg taps out.

Throughout the game there was no point in which there was any doubt Flash would succeed past the 4 minute mark. I'd call this game domination.