EPT![[image loading]](/staff/Daigomi/Banner__BacchusOSL__v1h.jpg)
Mad props to SilverskY, Daigomi
The Bacchus OSL 2009 now history, it's time to take a look back at the tournament as a whole — and what better way to celebrate another season of BW's most prestigious individual league than by awarding TeamLiquid's customary OSL Awards?
First, a bit about the Awards themselves: OSL awards were first handed out by the godfather of TL's OSL coverage, Mensrea, as a way of summing up the OSL Ro16. When he took over Mensrea's beat for the 2004 Gillette OSL, Arbiter[frolix] created seven of the nine award categories we're familiar with today and established the custom of determining their winners by vote. He named the awards for their likely recipients in OSLs past: Player of the Tournament after Garimto, for his impressive victories at the 2000 Freechal Open and SKY 2001 OSL, Worst Player after Mumyung, for his awful, yet consistent, Ro16 appearances, the Creativity/Inspiration Award after Boxer for obvious reasons, and the Missing in Action Award after Chojja, for being a Ro16 favorite in five consecutive OSLs without winning a single title.
When he took over OSL coverage from Arbiter[frolix] for EVER 2004, the OSL after Gillette and widely viewed as the greatest ever, Manifesto7 preserved Arbiter's awards. TL wouldn't give out OSL awards for another four years — not until Plexa revived the practice for the EVER 2008 OSL, adding the One Hit Wonder (named after Sync, who fell off the face of the earth after his NATE 2002 OSL win) and Map of the Tournament (named after OSL staple Bifrost) Awards. Plexa also passed out TL's OSL Awards for the Incruit OSL last fall, the last time they were awarded before this season.
Note: Runners-up are second-highest vote-getters in categories which did not have a landslide winner. Honorable mentions are players/events I think deserved more attention from voters.
The '
GARIMTO' Award for Player of the Tournament Who was the overall highest achiever in this OSL? The contenders should be obvious.
+ Show Spoiler [Award History] +
![[image loading]](/staff/JWD/bacchus_osl_s2/9_1.jpg)
Player of the Tournament has never gone to anyone other than the OSL Champion, and the Bacchus OSL 2009's is no exception — but this season, the award is particularly well-deserved. Jaedong cruised through the Ro16's group of death with dominant wins over fellow contenders Flash and Effort, destroyed Zero in the Ro8, and once again bested his Terran archrival Fantasy in the tournament's most memorable series. Despite limited practice time due to his FA imbroglio, Jaedong's ZvZ looked as overpowering as ever in the Finals. Bacchus 2009 was Jaedong's OSL, through and through.
The '
MuMyung' Award for Worst PlayerWho deserved to have been consigned to the rubbish heap during the Ro16?
+ Show Spoiler [Award History] +
![[image loading]](/staff/JWD/bacchus_osl_s2/9_2.jpg)
This award was a natural next step for Backho, considering he claimed EVER '08's One Hit Wonder Award. Backho's performance in this OSL was certainly affected by the back injury that kept him out of the practice room for much of early 2009, but for TL's ruthless voters nothing excuses an 0-3 showing in the Ro16. Backho was Group B's punching bag — embarrassed by Fantasy after a failed frontal assault, seriously outplayed by Stork, and (along with his garbage PvZ) put out of his misery by Type-b in the group's 5set. Ultimately Backho looked even more out of place in this OSL's Ro16 than he did in the Ro4 of EVER '08.
Runner-Up:
Hwasin was the only other player to go 0-3 in the Ro16, and thus finished a close second to Backho in this category. We won't soon forget his pathetic attempt to 2-fac up Bisu's ramp on Outsider.The '
BoxeR' Creativity/Inspiration AwardGo with your gut feeling. Which player showed the greatest creativity or brightened the tournament with his flair and inspiration?
+ Show Spoiler [Award History] +
![[image loading]](/staff/JWD/bacchus_osl_s2/9_3.jpg)
Zero claims this OSL's 'Boxer' Award in a landslide only rivaled by Jaedong's victory as Player of the Tournament, and it's similarly obvious why: over his quarterfinal run Zero delighted fans by dismantling two of BW's most notorious PvZers with one of Zerg's least-used units, the queen. The Prince of Queens's abuse of Kal with infested terrans in the Ro36 was delightful, but he'll be remembered best for his Ro16 game against Bisu on Heartbreak Ridge. Against a monstrous opponent in a critical set, Zero blew our minds with brilliant execution of an unprecedented strategy: using spawn broodling instead of mutas for HT sniping. Nothing says creativity and flair like spawning six queens in a competitive PvZ.
Honorable Mention:
go.go didn't receive much love from TL's voters (as usual), but I think he deserves his name here for pulling off a deep six, one of TvP's rarest, riskiest, and most entertaining builds, against Bisu in the Ro16. He sealed his victory (and this honorable mention) with a CC in Bisu's nat.The '
ChoJJa' Missing in Action AwardWhich big name failed to live up to his billing and left himself with something to prove?
+ Show Spoiler [Award History] +
![[image loading]](/staff/JWD/bacchus_osl_s2/9_4.jpg)
Bisu entered the Bacchus OSL 2009 a Ro16 seed, on a wicked hot-streak, and as Protoss's only legitimate hope for OSL gold. After going 1-2 in Group C, he exited a massive disappointment. For all his talent, KTY never once seemed in control of his Bacchus OSL fate — he was outwitted by both Zero and Go.go, and handed his one win by Hwasin. Bisu's early elimination robbed fans of our dream PvZ matchup and preserved his position as the best BW player never to win an OSL.
Honorable Mention:
BeSt dropped out of this OSL so long ago — in its Ro36, to Type-b — that he was largely overlooked by voters. But his early exit is all the more reason to place him in Bisu's company; for a player who was a Ro8 staple and twice voted as most likely to win next season's OSL, losing to a relative unknown in the Ro36 is a huge failure. (Not that Best stood a chance in this OSL's Zerg-infested Ro16...fix your PvZ man!)Honorable Mention: Bisu, Best...hell, the entire Protoss race was MIA this OSL. After not qualifying a single player for the quarterfinals (the subject of my Ro8 preview), Aiur has a long way to go if it's to realize the Legend of the Fall next season.
The '
Sync' One Hit Wonder Award Which player will be making a short appearance next OSL?
+ Show Spoiler [Award History] +
![[image loading]](/staff/JWD/bacchus_osl_s2/9_5.jpg)
TL must be extremely reluctant to acknowledge the skills of up-and-comers, because the 'Sync' Award consistently goes to the OSL's most unexpected success. For Bacchus 2009, that player is undoubtedly Type-b, who upset Best, Stork, and Leta en route to a semifinal finish. Unlike Fantasy (who turned out a horrible choice for this award), however, Type-b ended his unlikely run with a terrible performance: three losses to Yarnc that should convince even the staunchest optimist he won't make much of his seed into next OSL's Ro16.
The 'Bifrost' Map of the Tournament Award
Which map inspired the most brilliant and entertaining games of the tournament?
+ Show Spoiler [Award History] +
![[image loading]](/staff/JWD/bacchus_osl_s2/9_6.jpg)
This category is a no-brainer. Outsider won the 'Bifrost' Award with more than four times as many votes as the runner-up (Holy World), and it's easy to see why: the map produced both of this OSL's most popular games (see below), along with a ridiculous portion of recent months' entries in the Recommended VOD thread. At Bacchus 2009 it was almost a rule that Outsider would generate the best game of a match! This map's gas- and harass-happy layout rarely disappoints.
Game of the Tournament:
Which individual game was the most exciting or entertaining of the tournament? Or which game showed the highest skill?
+ Show Spoiler [Award History] +
Gillette: Reach vs. Control, 5set on Nostalgia
EVER 2004: Reach vs. iloveoov, 1set on Mercury
EVER 2008: July vs. BeSt, 3set on Andromeda
Incruit: Stork vs. Fantasy 5set on Chupung-Ryeong
EVER 2004: Reach vs. iloveoov, 1set on Mercury
EVER 2008: July vs. BeSt, 3set on Andromeda
Incruit: Stork vs. Fantasy 5set on Chupung-Ryeong
Game of the Tournament was by far the ballot's most contentious category, producing a two-way tie for first place and a very close runner-up:
Fantasy vs. Stork has it all: two masters of TvP/PvT (one fighting for his OSL life), a Finals rematch, eye-popping drop play, and a wild comeback. Easily the Ro16's most exciting set.
All four games from Fantasy and Jaedong's
Runner-Up: I've already covered Bisu and Zero's Ro16 meeting on Heartbreak Ridge, but it's worth mentioning twice. One of the Ro16's few PvZs, the game that earned Zero his award, and an unorthodox, entertaining set in its own right.
Honorable Mention: The 1set of Flash vs. Shuttle in the Ro36 is another of the year's best PvTs — a game so action-packed it should singlehandedly strip Flash's TvP of its reputation as boring and passive.
Honorable Mention: How about some more Ro36 love? Zero vs. Kal on Holy World remains the only PvZ in televised StarCraft history to feature infested terrans.
"WTF!" Moment of the Tournament
Which single moment rocked the tournament more than any other?
+ Show Spoiler [Award History] +
Jaedong's 4-Pool and Bunker Surround
Cheese is high entertainment in the BW world. It fuels rivalries (Bisu vs. Flash, Boxer vs. Yellow, Flash vs. Leta), often incorporates creativity, and always involves massive risk. This OSL's Awards is the fourth of five to include a famous cheese as "WTF!" Moment, and what a cheese it was! Jaedong's 4-pool — and the miraculous bunker surround that prevented it from failing horribly — was the defining moment of Bacchus 2009's defining match, and thus a worthy winner in this category.
Honorable Mention: GoRush's double-disqualification against BackHo in the Ro36 — once for mistyping "GG" and once for accidentally letting an "a" slip into public chat while testing his keyboard — was a heinous end to his long individual league career and one of the most bizarre events in OSL history. Park Taemin's DQ shot BackHo into the Ro16 (we know how that turned out) and inspired new hatred for KeSPA amongst netizens worldwide.
Honorable Mention: Flash's BBS vs. Effort in the Ro16, though in a game that meant nothing for the already-eliminated Flash, changed Effort's career forever by putting a very premature end to his first legitimate OSL run. Effort's post-game reaction says it all: everyone expected great things from CJ's rising Zerg at Bacchus 2009. Instead we saw him eliminated by one loss to Jaedong's ZvZ, and this cheese? The OSL is a brutal arena.
Player Most Likely to Win the Next Starleague
Who will triumph next time out?
+ Show Spoiler [Award History] +
![[image loading]](/staff/JWD/bacchus_osl_s2/9_7.jpg)
Iloveoov is the only recipient of this award to make good on its grand prognostication (we're not very good at predicting OSL winners — chalk it up to how dramatically BW's balance of power can shift between seasons), and JD is the first current champion to win it.
Jaedong couldn't singlehandedly carry Hwaseung to its second Proleague Grand Finals victory, and his GOM S3 and Avalon MSL bids fell just short, but this StarCraft season should nevertheless be remembered as evidence of his unrivaled consistency. Far more than any other favorite (Effort, Bisu, Flash, Fantasy), JD thrived under pressure and overwork. For this reliability, Jaedong is a wise choice to win the OnGameNet Starleague's next installment.
Runner-Up:
fantasy gave Jaedong a run for his money in this category, but nevertheless remains egregiously underrated at TL. Five-set series with Jaedong and Stork, both at their primes, are all that separate Fantasy from two OSL Championships, and at PL Grand Finals he proved that JD will not forever get the best of him in premier games. Fantasy is a perennial title threat in the OSL, and without a hint of Stork's defeatism. I guarantee next season he'll be back for another crack at JD and OSL gold.If Jaedong and his parents are unable to negotiate a new contract with Hwaseung and JD enters an early retirement, this OSL will forever be known as The Tyrant's last...fingers crossed Jaedong re-signs with Oz under a reasonable contract, and the Bacchus OSL 2009 has a different legacy.
In a few days I begin my first year of law school, so I'll be taking a hiatus from newswriting. Be kind to whoever picks up OSL coverage next season
.Peace,
JWD
JWD
