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[TSL] 3rd/4th and Finals Hype
February 27th, 2010 13:19 GMT
With the Starcraft II beta opening last week, it has rapidly become apparent that the days for Brood War are numbered. We could be looking at our last ever seasons of the OSL and MSL – although realistically that unlikely. What is certain though, the PokerStrategy.com TSL is the last major foreign event for BroodWar. Players will never again get their shot at the big money in Starcraft, and titans like Idra and ret will never win a SC TSL title.
We have only two matches remaining for foreign Starcraft – the 3rd/4th playoff and the PokerStrategy.com TSL Final. Both look to be exciting matchups, but we’ll talk about those in depth later on. The players who have made it this far couldn’t be more fit for the dying matches of BroodWar. In the 3rd/4th playoff we have the former TSL Champion IefNaij against the monstrous Sen. In the final we have the Mechanical Mastermind, Nony, up against the Genius German, Mondragon.
IefNaij has a very quiet year in Starcraft due to his commitment to real life, but he’s proven this season that if you were once good, you can get good again in no time. With minimal practice he has bested the likes of Terran and White-Ra before falling to Nony in the semifinal. These are impressive feats consider both Terran and White-Ra boast intense practice schedules. His ability to come back from nothing – both outside of the game and inside of a best of 5 series (as seen in his two 0-2 comebacks) – is extremely impressive and he is fully deserving of a top four placing.
Sen has been a great Zerg for a very long time now sporting a very ‘exploitative’ style, for lack of a better word. Sen is one of those players who is able to exploit a weakness in the opponent style with deadly precision. We saw him execute this against ret in his very close 3-2 win in the Round of 8 – he was able to take advantage of a small weakness in ret’s game and thus proceed to the semifinals. He couldn’t take on the genius of Mondragon in his match, but that’s not much discredit considering his opponent was Mondragon after all! In addition to being ‘exploitative’ he has refined mechanics and solid macro to boot – he really is the complete package.
The IefNaij vs Sen series is going to be peculiar to say the least. IefNaij has stated that he is least confident in his PvZ, but going by his track record this isn’t a claim I would take very seriously! Meanwhile, Sen absolutely demolished Draco in the Round of 16 so we know that Sen’s ZvP is right up there. There is a lot at stake here, over $1,500 worth, so I’m sure IefNaij will bring his best game to the party and give everything he’s got to try and win.
Unfortunately, I can’t just sit on the fence and say that both players are great and that I hope they have a good time and play some good games! One player is going to have to win this playoff, and I have to put my money on Sen. Despite his 0-3 loss to Mondragon, throughout the entire TSL Sen has looked mighty impressive. In particular, his series against Draco is a good example of why I think his ZvP is in excellent condition at the moment. IefNaij has been running on minimal practice and traditionally has a weaker PvZ – this puts him on the back foot in my opinion.
Is Sen going to have an easy time taking out IefNaij? Not by any means. IefNaij has shown that he is willing to fight hair tooth and nail to stay in this competition. I’m sure he will be playing the very best Starcraft he can and thus I think the series is going to go to a fifth game. Sen will probably have the edge on Fighting Spirit and Destination but I feel that Outsider suits IefNaij’s style better and Tornado is a map Sen is probably least experienced on nullifying a tiny bit of the practice advantage Sen has over IefNaij. Andromeda is a little bit of a Z>P map and is going to provide a fitting battle ground for the conclusion of the series. I expect an epic showing (hopefully with Sair/Reaver and Devourers !!) but with Sen eventually taking the series.
Now let’s look to our finalists. Nony is a hero on TeamLiquid, and rightfully so! He is a member of clan Liquid` and occasionally streams his games for us. Furthermore, he has dabbled in Progaming and easily looked like the most promising player to go to Korea in a long time. You simply do not fluke getting 2nd in Courage on your first try! Nor do you leave an impression on a Proteam like Nony did – what with his open invitation to go back and how he was able to help Sangho prepare for some PvP matches.
Nony’s strength lies in his preparation, builds and mechanics. While not as refined as someone like Idra, Nony’s mechanics are still amongst the best in the scene. Furthermore, he is one of the few players who is actually able to practice against a computer and get something useful out of it – in fact he did this at WCG 2008 when they didn’t have an internet connection (as did Stork). Nony is a force to be reckoned with, and his miraculous return to form over the past month has been absolutely outstanding and a pleasure to watch. Nony is the real deal, and he has his sight firmly set on the TSL grand prize of $10,000.
If Nony’s greatest strength is his mechanics, then Mondragon’s biggest strength is his brain. Here we have the classic showdown of Mechanics vs Mind – and what a fitting way to end Starcraft’s life. Mondragon has been hailed as the best ever foreign Starcraft player, and for good reason. For a very long time he was considered the undisputed #1 Foreign player since he just dominated everything he played in. His ZvP had a formidable reputation, in fact he was even able to defeat ZeuS 2-1 in a Blizzard showmatch in 2005 (MMI). While Mondragon may claim that his ZvT is his best at the moment, when your ZvP was that good, it shouldn’t be hard for him to regain that glory once again.
Day[9] has talked a lot about Mondragon’s crisis management, and indeed, this is one of his strongest attributes. But something else I’ve noticed throughout the TSL is how Mondragon grows from series to series. He has looked stronger and stronger every week and that is why he is here in the Finals today. Any holes that were present in Mondragons game at the start of this tournament are now gone. For instance, his macro was slightly off against Brat_OK – completely fixed for his match against Fenix. But one thing has stayed consistent throughout his TSL run and that is his impeccable use of Defiler – his reaction speed is insane and he is getting those swarms and plagues off almost before the battle has begun. I’m really excited to see what strategies Mondragon is going to pull out in a Bo7 final for $10000.
Again, I am forced to make a prediction here. This showdown between Mechanics and the Mind is going to be incredibly interesting to watch for a number of reasons. Both players are not one trick ponies – Nony knows how to make a strategic play (after all that how he overcame Idra) and Mondragons mechanics are nowhere near subpar – they are very very good. However, if there is one thing that WaxAngel has taught me over the past few months it is that in tournaments the “best” player doesn’t always win, it is the player who is able to take that risk and gamble with a strategic play and simply outplay his opponent on the day. Mondragon is able to do that and I think that he will be able to play the Bo7 as a more “complete” series in the sense that he will be more in control of the flow of the series with strategically placed strategic plays. Thus, I think he will be able to take series 4-3.
This is the last tournament for foreign Broodwar and will be something you remember for the rest of your life. Sure there is a Gold Medal ice hockey match going on – but you can see that again in another 4 years! This is Starcraft. This the game we have grown up with, adored, and a watched for hours upon hours upon hours. You were never get the opportunity to witness Starcraft like this ever again, this truly is a once in a lifetime experience. Disregard everything else that is going on in your life, you can catch up on that later... Come and watch the TSL finals on Sunday at 2pm EST – it’s your last chance to witness the beauty of foreign Starcraft and an opportunity to witness history in the making.
It’s been a long road, but we are finally here. Tune in for Mondragon vs Nony on Sunday – I assure you you will not regret it for an instant.
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Hungary11305 Posts
Oh yes!
Everyone is stressing the constancy Mondragon has been playing with. But actually you also have to credit him for being at his overall elo-peak (see: http://www.teamliquid.net/tsld/players/). He is in a 2nd/3rd/4th/nth spring at the moment!
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I sure will tune in  go nony!
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Really? SC:BW is dead in the water just like that? I thought there'd be tourneys for a year or two still; hell, at least until SC2 has been "balanced".
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Good read.... but i dont like how you already convicted sc as a dead game. SC will always be alive because i will not stop playing it and so as many ppl so even if we lose 80-90% of today SC players im still gonna play/watch vods because I ENJOY doing it.
SC will never die maybe will lose in popularity so everybody stop "killing" the game we love lol
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Oh and I will be there and witness!
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I'd fund a foreign tournament with my savings just to spite what you have said! But perhaps... later... yeah.
Good work on the article, nice read!
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im so hyped for the finals! at this moment it doesnt matter who wins, i just want good games.
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Aotearoa39261 Posts
On February 27 2010 22:33 SkelA wrote:
Good read.... but i dont like how you already convicted sc as a dead game. SC will always be alive because i will not stop playing it and so as many ppl so even if we lose 80-90% of today SC players im still gonna play/watch vods because I ENJOY doing it.
SC will never die maybe will lose in popularity so everybody stop "killing" the game we love lol
I doubt you're going to have the competitive base outside of korea to sustain tournaments. I'd happily be proven wrong, but I just dont see it happening (note how many of the top bw players are massing SC2 atm and not looking back). No company will want to sponsor sc outside of korea when you have sc2 either.
SC will live on in Korea for atleast a year, probably longer but it all depends on how they take up the game. But really, this is going to be the the last truly major foreign tournament and to think otherwise at this stage is naive.
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they both look so stoned on that banner!
nice writeup
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Nony fighting!
They should just both get 7.5k each because they're both so good 
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): Plexa, don't count BW out yet!
(thanks)
GO MONDRAGON!
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Great writeup, really looking forward to the games. This has been the best foreign tournament ever, for sure;' and I can't wait for the climax.
GO NONY!
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yeah enough with the death of BW. S2 will fail and you all know it. that being said this should be an awesome series.
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With the Starcraft II beta opening last week, it has rapidly become apparent that the days for Brood War are numbered.
I stopped reading here.
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On February 28 2010 01:14 HeteroHero wrote:Show nested quote +With the Starcraft II beta opening last week, it has rapidly become apparent that the days for Brood War are numbered. I stopped reading here.
Same.
You know, SC:BW might have more of a fighting chance if all the pundits quit throwing out such doomsday and defeatist rhetoric. Where is the TL overcome all attitude? SC:BW will live forever!
Seriously, SC:BW has survived for over a decade through WC3 and tons of other RTSs not to mention all the people that jumped ship to poker, dota, and WoW. Give it a bit more credit where credit is due.
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I really didn't like the "sc:bw days are numbered" To be honest I think sc2 is over done.. i could be wrong because i am not "pro", therefore I havent actually played it and i realize everyone has waited so long and is very excited. It just seems like a diffrent game from all the vods I have watched, but it seems like sc:bw would just have a better feel to it..Not to mention of tons of unbalances I've heard about, not to say SC doesn't have its unbalances but they have had ages to work on SC2. I don't think people will play SC2 untill its balanced out.
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United States4796 Posts
On February 28 2010 01:14 HeteroHero wrote:Show nested quote +With the Starcraft II beta opening last week, it has rapidly become apparent that the days for Brood War are numbered. I stopped reading here.
So sad. :/
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I don't think Plexa is to blame here. He just calls what is apparent. You may not like it for whatever reason, but the end of Brood War is in the air. And, you know, I think it's actually much cooler getting all hyped up about this last big thing, the final tournament of Sc1 concluding, than to cling to Sc1 so much and not accepting that soon it'll have a brand new, shiny reincarnation. Let us say it was much fun while it lasted, but the times, they are a-changing 
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Russian Federation405 Posts
On February 27 2010 22:19 Plexa wrote:
With the Starcraft II beta opening last week, it has rapidly become apparent that the days for Brood War are numbered.
FUUUUUUUUUU!
_____________________________
Mondi fighting!!!
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United States12607 Posts
Anyone who says that BW will survive SC2 is in denial, pure and simple.
That's not what this article is really about though! GO TSL!
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United States12607 Posts
On February 28 2010 01:46 xfi wrote:
I don't think people will play SC2 untill its balanced out.
funny, I keep hearing about this SC2 beta thing that people are clamoring to play...
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On February 28 2010 01:14 HeteroHero wrote:Show nested quote +With the Starcraft II beta opening last week, it has rapidly become apparent that the days for Brood War are numbered. I stopped reading here.
Fine, miss out on the Hype.
GOD, WHY WON'T SUNDAY COME ALREADY? I WANNA WATCH TSLLLLLLLLL T_T
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On February 28 2010 02:08 JWD wrote:
Anyone who says that BW will survive SC2 is in denial, pure and simple.
That's not what this article is really about though! GO TSL!
qft!
anyway
I think Nonys got this in the bag. Im excited to see the kinds of builds he comes up with for this series. Cant count mondi out though, this will be a great finale for the foreign sc scene. gg guys.
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Russian Federation405 Posts
About “last major foreign event for BroodWar” — there will be WCG 2010 Grand Final in BW, isn’t it? 
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On February 28 2010 02:35 nonduc wrote:About “ last major foreign event for BroodWar” — there will be WCG 2010 Grand Final in BW, isn’t it?
This. Not to mention IEF.
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On February 28 2010 01:26 Phyre wrote:Show nested quote +On February 28 2010 01:14 HeteroHero wrote:With the Starcraft II beta opening last week, it has rapidly become apparent that the days for Brood War are numbered. I stopped reading here. Same. You know, SC:BW might have more of a fighting chance if all the pundits quit throwing out such doomsday and defeatist rhetoric. Where is the TL overcome all attitude? SC:BW will live forever! Seriously, SC:BW has survived for over a decade through WC3 and tons of other RTSs not to mention all the people that jumped ship to poker, dota, and WoW. Give it a bit more credit where credit is due.
It sounds like you don't have a beta key. If you had one you would know how hard it is to go play sc1 and it's only in beta. I would love to be wrong and see both games be alive but i doubt it.
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Canada2480 Posts
all those who want SC: Broodwar to survive can all go thank our korean friends since they will artificially inject life in this game for a few more years.
Now dream off guys foreign Sc is reaching its conclusion those 12 years are all leading to this instant. to NOW. is it not better to have it die in its blazing glory then to give it a slow and painfull death?(speaking about foreign SC here because I would highly doubt Korean SC to be reaching its end anywhere soon)
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8751 Posts
On February 28 2010 02:42 peidongyang wrote:Show nested quote +On February 28 2010 02:35 nonduc wrote:About “ last major foreign event for BroodWar” — there will be WCG 2010 Grand Final in BW, isn’t it? This. Not to mention IEF.
It's going to be difficult for those BW events to maintain respect when the majority of their would-be top participants are voluntarily not participating. While WCG and IEF may be vast or have significant prize money, they won't be major foreign events due to lack of interest.
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so much hype! all i want is an epic series, but gogogo NONY!
thanks for the great read
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Oh this is so fukking epic! Lets ROOOLLLL!
-->   Mondragon wtf!!
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On February 28 2010 01:46 xfi wrote:
I really didn't like the "sc:bw days are numbered" To be honest I think sc2 is over done.. i could be wrong because i am not "pro", therefore I havent actually played it and i realize everyone has waited so long and is very excited. It just seems like a diffrent game from all the vods I have watched, but it seems like sc:bw would just have a better feel to it..Not to mention of tons of unbalances I've heard about, not to say SC doesn't have its unbalances but they have had ages to work on SC2. I don't think people will play SC2 untill its balanced out.
You think BW was balanced when it came out? This is the beta dude, we cannot make assumptions like you just did.
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Looking for sc2 beta partners to practice with (soon as TSL is over lol)
Go Sen/Nony!
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Can someone tell me where exactly can I watch this game?
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Guys, the sponsors doesn't always have the greatest of insight in the different communites - most people will most likely look at SC2 as the successor of SC:BW hence put their money into that, rather than some old game which just abdicated. WoW, WC3 etc. were all games in their own series, they were not the successors in the sense SC2. It might sound silly and I might be wrong, but if I was a third part sponsor, I'd look at it that way and put my money in what's new and has the greatest potential.
Either way, gogo Mondragon and JF! And if I know my luck right, they'll probably lose since I root for them
VromVrom Zerg fighting!
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you will lose alot of viewers because you nowhere show the scedule. no exact time for cet viewers anywhere. bad job. tsl2.
btw it is 20:00 cet if i calculated it right from est what is the only time shown. i am not full capable aware of anything since i... going to to do stuff now... coming home from a club, and giving a girls some time...
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Aotearoa39261 Posts
On February 27 2010 22:33 SkelA wrote:
Good read.... but i dont like how you already convicted sc as a dead game. SC will always be alive because i will not stop playing it and so as many ppl so even if we lose 80-90% of today SC players im still gonna play/watch vods because I ENJOY doing it.
SC will never die maybe will lose in popularity so everybody stop "killing" the game we love lol
I doubt you're going to have the competitive base outside of korea to sustain tournaments. I'd happily be proven wrong, but I just dont see it happening (note how many of the top bw players are massing SC2 atm and not looking back). No company will want to sponsor sc outside of korea when you have sc2 either.
SC will live on in Korea for atleast a year, probably longer but it all depends on how they take up the game. But really, this is going to be the the last truly major foreign tournament and to think otherwise at this stage is naive.
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ah fuck forgot about this
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On February 28 2010 11:52 Plexa wrote:Show nested quote +On February 27 2010 22:33 SkelA wrote:
Good read.... but i dont like how you already convicted sc as a dead game. SC will always be alive because i will not stop playing it and so as many ppl so even if we lose 80-90% of today SC players im still gonna play/watch vods because I ENJOY doing it.
SC will never die maybe will lose in popularity so everybody stop "killing" the game we love lol I doubt you're going to have the competitive base outside of korea to sustain tournaments. I'd happily be proven wrong, but I just dont see it happening (note how many of the top bw players are massing SC2 atm and not looking back). No company will want to sponsor sc outside of korea when you have sc2 either. SC will live on in Korea for atleast a year, probably longer but it all depends on how they take up the game. But really, this is going to be the the last truly major foreign tournament and to think otherwise at this stage is naive.
Didn't Ret talk of an elite tournament sometime in the near future? IDK if it's so naive to think that.
I dont think SC will die, but if the people who sponsor and host tournaments don't want to host them, then there will be no tournaments.
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Go Mondy!
I always loved your mindfull style!
Smash those Mechanics with the power of the Thought!
PS Damn, I also really like Nony - just not as much as i LOVE Mondragon
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On February 28 2010 10:45 VabuDeltaKaiser wrote:
you will lose alot of viewers because you nowhere show the scedule. no exact time for cet viewers anywhere. bad job. tsl2.
btw it is 20:00 cet if i calculated it right from est what is the only time shown. i am not full capable aware of anything since i... going to to do stuff now... coming home from a club, and giving a girls some time...
They even have a countdown in the green banner. They're keeping it all very well informed if you just check it
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Aotearoa39261 Posts
On February 28 2010 10:45 VabuDeltaKaiser wrote:
you will lose alot of viewers because you nowhere show the scedule. no exact time for cet viewers anywhere. bad job. tsl2.
btw it is 20:00 cet if i calculated it right from est what is the only time shown. i am not full capable aware of anything since i... going to to do stuff now... coming home from a club, and giving a girls some time... I doubt it because
- It's in the calender
- It's in the green bar
- It's the same time every week
I don't know how much more we can do =/ Some times theres just not enough space on graphics to put every single timezone unfortunately.
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BOOOOOYAAAA!
I'm sooo pumped and looking forward to a great series. As for who I'm rooting for, I'll have to say Mondi, cuz I'm 1/4 german. ^^'
Who I think is gonna win? - I can't even start to think that someone can really predict the winner here - there's just no way!
Mondragon has performed so well and even with oldschool-style and sometimes very very slightly off mechanics (mostly Macro-wise, although Mondi has a very high APM, but maybe used it a bit more on his INCREDIBLE Defiler-Control) he just was on Top of his opponents, while getting stronger after every Match.
Nony on the other hand is a very strong player overall, but IMO extremely good at Mindgames concerning Build-Orders. If you outhink him, he double-outhinks you: If you think he will rush you, because you like to macro and play a less macro-oriented opener, he'll not rush you but macro himself.
If you think he knows that you think that he thinks you'll go for a safe-opening, because you think he knows that you like to macro and go for a macro-build just because you think you've tricked him not changin your style (double-mindtrick), he'll somehow figure it out anyways.
His BO's are just so unpredictable and he's able to follow strategies up in the best possible way concerning how the game has been played out so far. Pair that with impeccable Mechanics and you pretty much have an extremely talented SC-Player. The part in which he probably isn't as well rounded as Mondragon is creativity and experience.
If you would merge those two players into an awesomeness-Archon namend "Mony" (or "Nondragon", or "Nonymon"), they'd even tear up the Koreans if you ask me! ^^'
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Despite all talking about sc2 or bw...doesnt maaaaatter! cant year you..lalalalala! ;-)
'Seriously though:
Go Mondi!
(Mondi will take it 4:1)
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EPT![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/suffeli/ysydw26z.jpg)
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