EPTDay 1
fantasy < Outsider > Jaedong
Outsider is a zerg map, and like most proleague sets, the first game is the most important. We all know that Jaedong is out of his element in a first game (in what should end up as him playing 3 to 5 games in this series anyhow), and this is even truer against Fantasy. SKT1 may not have the line up picking prowess of January or Cho, but they're not stupid -- it was obvious that a zerg map first meant Jaedong, as Oz would love to start the day off with a strong win for their biggest member.
Fantasy, in a Bo1, might as well be the world's best sniper. I know he's got something planned, and Jaedong almost always takes a stumble in the first game against a clever plan. Happened with Skyhigh, happened with Orion, happened with Movie, Frozean and dozens of other players I fail to mention. I'm putting my money on Fantasy for the relative upset, here.
Canata < Shades of Twilight > Lomo
Voting against Canata for TvT? Voting for Lomo? That's right. I feel like I'm just going with the upsets, but I really think Lomo will pull through. Canata has worked himself dry, lately, and all for naught as he had the worst draws this starleague season. I think that's going to affect him here. Expecting a surprising performance from Lomo, ending it before it can sway into Canata's long and strong TvT style.
Hyuk < Neo Medusa > ggaemo
Almost no reason for this other than I think the SKT zerg will crumble under the pressure, whereas the Oz zerg will probably have to play Jaedong in ZvZ until they win a round as punishment. Spartan training will pull through!
BeSt < Colosseum II > BackHo
Another pick I think Oz was happy to have. I think they knew the only person who was going to play on Colo was Best. SKT threw him in, hoping P favoritism would get him an easy win, but they had to be figuring that Hiya was a definite threat here. Oz picked Best, not the other way around, and I think Backho's not only going to win, but embarass Best's formerly bonjwa class PvP.
Thezerg < God's Garden > Killer
TheZerg can ZvZ, kind of, and Killer just doesn't have micro. Even in his win over Movie, it was a sloppy series of just throwing units around. While TheZerg is no stranger to sloppy, he atleast sort of understands ZvZ and I think he'll take this under the perssure.
Bisu < Heartbreak Ridge > HiyA
This, I think, is the key match for Oz. Hiya's been in a tough slump lately, but I think this is a designed snipe from Oz. They knew Best was going out on collo, and they knew SKT1 zergs aren't a threat, so Bisu was the commanding choice. Bisu's series against Iris was tough, but I think it'll be more of a wake up call than anything. After a bit of a blunder at the end of that Bo5 series, Bisu's going to be extra cautious not to make mistakes. A non arrogant Bisu looking to make up for his mistakes is a bigger threat than one coming off of an amazing PvT series that'd put him in high spirits. I think Bisu's loss to Iris is what will get this to an Ace Match.
But, if it's the snipe attempt I think it is, and Hiya pulls through, I think Oz will ride a surprising 4-2 to the superace tomorrow.
Fantasy < Neo Harmony > Jaedong
NH is a death trap PvZ, so this is the only reasonable outcome. The big thing here is, I think Jaedong's gonna come into this after a tough loss/snipe, and he's gonna come in Tyrant mode. Jaedong, in the first set, will be plain old Jaedong -- a top class Zerg with a penchant for aggressiveness and crazy micro, which is good enough to match most and beat any other zerg, but Tyrant Jaedong is the one people refer to when they even dare bring up the Bonjwa word. This is the Jaedong that doesn't lose. The one who takes your crazy builds and spits them back at you with star sense bordering ESP, micro bordering clairvoyance, and mechanics bordering hacks. Fantasy will have a build -- a strong one many newbies on Iccup will try out, but Jaedong will adapt, overpower, and prove why Oz is where it's at in this tournament. "Get Jaedong to ace," might sound like a silly game plan, and an overly reliant one, but Jaedong is the only player it makes sense and, more importantly, works with. If Oz's training routine is Spartan-esque, then Jaedong is the Leonidas. A legend, and a defiant one man machine who'll lead his motly bunch of overworked and under appreciated warriors to a history making conclusion.
fantasy < Outsider > Jaedong
Outsider is a zerg map, and like most proleague sets, the first game is the most important. We all know that Jaedong is out of his element in a first game (in what should end up as him playing 3 to 5 games in this series anyhow), and this is even truer against Fantasy. SKT1 may not have the line up picking prowess of January or Cho, but they're not stupid -- it was obvious that a zerg map first meant Jaedong, as Oz would love to start the day off with a strong win for their biggest member.
Fantasy, in a Bo1, might as well be the world's best sniper. I know he's got something planned, and Jaedong almost always takes a stumble in the first game against a clever plan. Happened with Skyhigh, happened with Orion, happened with Movie, Frozean and dozens of other players I fail to mention. I'm putting my money on Fantasy for the relative upset, here.
Canata < Shades of Twilight > Lomo
Voting against Canata for TvT? Voting for Lomo? That's right. I feel like I'm just going with the upsets, but I really think Lomo will pull through. Canata has worked himself dry, lately, and all for naught as he had the worst draws this starleague season. I think that's going to affect him here. Expecting a surprising performance from Lomo, ending it before it can sway into Canata's long and strong TvT style.
Hyuk < Neo Medusa > ggaemo
Almost no reason for this other than I think the SKT zerg will crumble under the pressure, whereas the Oz zerg will probably have to play Jaedong in ZvZ until they win a round as punishment. Spartan training will pull through!
BeSt < Colosseum II > BackHo
Another pick I think Oz was happy to have. I think they knew the only person who was going to play on Colo was Best. SKT threw him in, hoping P favoritism would get him an easy win, but they had to be figuring that Hiya was a definite threat here. Oz picked Best, not the other way around, and I think Backho's not only going to win, but embarass Best's formerly bonjwa class PvP.
Thezerg < God's Garden > Killer
TheZerg can ZvZ, kind of, and Killer just doesn't have micro. Even in his win over Movie, it was a sloppy series of just throwing units around. While TheZerg is no stranger to sloppy, he atleast sort of understands ZvZ and I think he'll take this under the perssure.
Bisu < Heartbreak Ridge > HiyA
This, I think, is the key match for Oz. Hiya's been in a tough slump lately, but I think this is a designed snipe from Oz. They knew Best was going out on collo, and they knew SKT1 zergs aren't a threat, so Bisu was the commanding choice. Bisu's series against Iris was tough, but I think it'll be more of a wake up call than anything. After a bit of a blunder at the end of that Bo5 series, Bisu's going to be extra cautious not to make mistakes. A non arrogant Bisu looking to make up for his mistakes is a bigger threat than one coming off of an amazing PvT series that'd put him in high spirits. I think Bisu's loss to Iris is what will get this to an Ace Match.
But, if it's the snipe attempt I think it is, and Hiya pulls through, I think Oz will ride a surprising 4-2 to the superace tomorrow.
Fantasy < Neo Harmony > Jaedong
NH is a death trap PvZ, so this is the only reasonable outcome. The big thing here is, I think Jaedong's gonna come into this after a tough loss/snipe, and he's gonna come in Tyrant mode. Jaedong, in the first set, will be plain old Jaedong -- a top class Zerg with a penchant for aggressiveness and crazy micro, which is good enough to match most and beat any other zerg, but Tyrant Jaedong is the one people refer to when they even dare bring up the Bonjwa word. This is the Jaedong that doesn't lose. The one who takes your crazy builds and spits them back at you with star sense bordering ESP, micro bordering clairvoyance, and mechanics bordering hacks. Fantasy will have a build -- a strong one many newbies on Iccup will try out, but Jaedong will adapt, overpower, and prove why Oz is where it's at in this tournament. "Get Jaedong to ace," might sound like a silly game plan, and an overly reliant one, but Jaedong is the only player it makes sense and, more importantly, works with. If Oz's training routine is Spartan-esque, then Jaedong is the Leonidas. A legend, and a defiant one man machine who'll lead his motly bunch of overworked and under appreciated warriors to a history making conclusion.
