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UAlbertaBot vs ICEBot
We have got one more battle to go before the finals, we have got the terran prodigy versus the sons of Aiur, who will take 3rd place of the SSCAIT2014 mixed division?
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/Kjta86O.png)
The logical pick for 3rd place ought to be ICEBot, by ICELabs, from the Ritsumeikan University, Shiga, Japan. Not only is this bot the most fun to play against for a human, it is also one of the most feared among other AIs -if they could be afraid. It possesses a rather good early-aggression warding off by means of choke-blocking, and from then it will adapt to anything it sees: Go muta >> get goliaths. Build land units >> get a tank push in your face, and battle cruisers in your hair. Don't try to stall it, because after the 3rd expansion it may opt to build nuclear silos, and you know what that means.
The only slight little problem of ICEBot's was, if not brought to light, heavily underlined by Martin Rooijackers' LetaBot in the semifinals: It is a bit of a lumbering, eco-heavy automaton in the early stages. Slip a dagger underneath its mechanized armour and you will find flesh and blood (or the red cable).
With that in mind, it should still be considered the prime choice for 3rd place, as it rarely -if ever- loses a game in the later stages of the game.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/fFe1fg2.png)
"What is UAlbertaBot doing in the 3rd/4th place match?" That question was asked loudly, but not as loudly as it was asked upon seeing the final 8 of the SSCAIT2014. Beating another top-protoss in said Ro8, it can be forgiven entering the semifinals, remains the question: "How on earth did it get there?"
To answer that question, one should first be acquainted with UAlbertaBot's playing style. Simply put, it is a very simple gateway bot. That's the simple version, and of course, there is nothing more to it. If the christmas carrol ever were to be ported to starcraft broodwar, UAlbertabot should be among the prime AI picks for 'Ghost of protoss past'. Although it's combat simulator tries to determine victory or defeat before allowing units to be a-moved, it does determine victory more often than you should think, and the zealot/goon pressure resulting from that is, has been for most of the SSCAIT2014, a lot of dead competitors.
Will it be enough to stop the lumbering dreadnought ICEBot? It might. Because if it has proven one thing, it is the most 'protoss' protoss out there. For Aiur!
