By l10f

Light, who just won his first match against HoeJJa, starts at 1 o'clock as the Green Terran, while Violet warps in at 7 o'clock on Match Point. Light should feel confident against Violet, against whom he has 3-0 record. Violet, thinking that he shouldn't be pressured by this fact, starts off with a 12 nexus build. Light opens standard, but after seeing the fast expansion, begins to build a bunker. Because he built the bunker outside of the Nexus's sight range, he manages to finish it and get a marine inside. Violet is forced to stop mining and loses some probes before killing the bunker.



Light immediately sends his first vulture and picks off a couple of more probes. Once the dragoon came out, Light pulls back his vulture and places mines around the map. Light expands to his natural while getting a fast starport, along with a quick science facility and academy. Then Light tries to drop vultures in Violet's main, but it is scouted and blocked without any damage. Violet expands to his mineral only expansion while Light builds up his factory count. Light tries to use a science vessel and wraith to catch observers.



Both players builds up a large army while expanding. Light moves towards Violet's natural, but after seeing Violet's army, decides to siege in the center while taking the 5 o'clock expansion. Violet, with his numerous gateways, kills all of Light's units at the center and forces Light to cancel the 5 o'clock expansion. Violet, knowing he is ahead in both economy and unit count, expands to 6 o'clock. He also makes 3 stargates and a fleet beacon to make carriers while taking the 5 o'clock expansion that Light needs.



Light knows he will lose at this rate and attempts to harass. It doesn't do much damage, but Light is able to see carrier tech. Knowing it's his last chance, Light moves out towards the center. Violet engages and manages to kill half of Light's army while also lowering his unit count for carriers. Light regroups his forces and moves to retake the 5 o'clock expansion. Violet moves his carriers towards Light's main, and Light uses this chance to also kill the 6 o'clock expansion. Violet comes to protect his 6 o'clock expansion with his ground force, which isn't enough to fight Light's ground force.



Violet begins to kill Light's factories with his carriers and ground force, and Light, instead of protecting his main, kills Violet's mineral only expansion. Light also kills all of the probes at the 11 o'clock expansion before returning to save his main base. Now Violet is suddenly left with 4 nexii and very few probes and carriers. Violet once again splits his carriers from his ground force, and his ground force is soon killed by tanks. Violet's carriers take out both armories and most of the factories in Light's main.



Light once again moves his army to Violet's mineral only expansion to kill the 11 o'clock expansion and the stargates. Violet responds by killing both of Light's expansions and now both players are no longer mining. Light rebuilds his 5 o'clock expansion and takes the 12 o'clock expansion, to make it harder for carriers to kill both expansions that are so far apart. Violet, knowing he will lose if he doesn't do anything soon, attempts to catch Light's units off guard. However, his forces are EMP'ed, and Light places his army in a very good position.



Violet kills the 12 o'clock expansion with his carriers, and Light is now left with only one expansion again. Violet is still not mining, and finally makes his move. He kills off all but one tanks with his carriers then moves in with his ground force. While this is happening, Light unleashes his hidden weapon: cloaked wraiths. With no observers to see them, Violet begins to quickly lose his carriers while the two ground armies begin to engage. Although it seemed like Light's army was going to overwhelm Violet's, very well placed storms take out all of Light's ground force.



Violet has 4 carriers and a few dragoons after killing all of Light's army. He moves towards Light's final expansion at 5 o'clock expansion. Now neither player is mining, but Violet clearly has the unit advantage. Light tries to take 12 o'clock expansion again while building up his wraith count in hopes to catch all of Violet's observers. Violet kills the 12 o'clock expansion as soon as it is completed, and Light sends all his SCV's to Violet's base to kill the buildings.



Light uses scan to kill 3 observers, but Violet has 2 more following his carriers. Violet uses all his remaining money on observers and enters Light's main. Both players are killing each others' main bases. Violet is forced to pull back his army to protect the buildings in his main, since they are the only buildings he has. Light takes this chance to rebuild the command center in his main for scan. Violet spreads out all his observers all over the map so Light can't kill them all at once. Violet has 4 observers left, and he again moves into Light's main. Light moves his wraiths to Violet's main to kill the buildings again, but loses his only source of scan.



Light's only chance now is to kill all of Violet's buildings, but Violet doesn't give him a chance to. He moves in to kill Light's remaining forces, forcing Light to type GG.

By motbob

Why did MBC send out Jaehoon for the final match?

A few weeks ago, I came up with a method of predicting who teams would send out in Winner's League that was pretty much foolproof. One of the many excellent features of TLPD is that it allows TLers easy access to individual player stats on each map. What I did was pick the next map in the rotation, sort by team, and pick the relevant team's player who has the best record on the upcoming map. With this simple method, I was able to predict Neo.G_Soulkey's ascendancy before he all-killed STX.

If you apply the same method to MBC, it's incredibly easy to see that Jaehoon was the only possible choice for MBC to send out in game 7. Go look at the player stats for Judgment Day. The only players on MBC with a winning record on that map in WL are Light, Sea, and Jaehoon. (There are other people with winning records, but those records come from Minor League or the preseason map tests.) Not only did Jaehoon have a respectable 3-1 record on that map, but he was also 2-0 against Terran, beating Baby and Hiya, two progamers with good TvP.

Judgment Day itself is a P>T and T>Z map, so it would have been foolish for MBC to send a Zerg over a Protoss who had proven himself to be competent on the map. MBC made the only logical choice.

By harem

Action vs Hwasin
On March 2, 2010, Estro met STX in what was ultimately a rather forgettable series. However, its opening battle was something that will forever be remembered. The relative newcomer Action met the Red Sniper himself, Hwasin on New Tornado. Both players showed they had no fear of taking it to the lategame with very macro focused builds built around a lot of powering. Now, for those who don't know Action ZvT, it's like a timebomb just waiting to explode once he gets defilers out. Hwasin was clearly not aware of this as what followed was some of the sickest defiler play ever seen and would make even Savior and GGPlay look like Hyuk. Wherever Hwasin went, there was Swarm and plague. To make matters worse for him, he could never even get up a vital 4th gas as Action proxy hatched and nydus'd where Hwasin had to take his 4th gas. Starved on 3gas against a zerg that had taken the map, Hwasin had one going for him, massive tank numbers. Unfortunately, for Hwasin, Action was able to wear the tank numbers down through very nice hydra/lurker/ling/defiler usage reminiscent of Jaedong vs Fantasy on Outsider in Bacchus OSL.

Leta vs YellOw
Kong has been a name that all zerg players respect and have spent many tears on. Seeing Kong play then becomes a matter that supercedes all else. After all, why would one watch noobs like Flash vs Bisu when Hong Jin Ho is working his magic. Kong's game vs Leta on Match Point indeed brought the magic as Kong brought back the sexy old school 2hat lurker drops. For those Kong naysayers who said that he couldn't keep up with the newage players, he proved them wrong as he crushed Leta in a 30-40 minute game that reached hive tech. That game brought out the Storm Zerg that exists in every Zerg and the hope that just maybe he can get what he has yearned for so long.

Killer vs ZerO
ZvZ is often (incorrectly) seen as a build order war. Whoever has the better build order ends up winning the game. However, Killer managed to show just how wrong that statement was in his game vs Zero on Roadrunner. Killer had beautiful drone defense with his 12hat vs 9speed. Then, he made a very nice simcity at his natural with spire that helped neutralize zerglings/mutas. Killer also showed very nice ingenuity by taking an early third and using his own zerglings to keep Zero's mutas distracted and constantly on the move. By time, Zero discovers the early third, it is nearly too late as Killer's own carapace upgrade is nearly done to match Zero's. When Killer finally moves out, he just has too much muta/scourge for Zero to handle. Zero then proceeds to make many cute faces with his eyes closed before finally gg'ing. Killer showed that build orders are the not the end all be all to ZvZ and instead anything can be overcome through proper decision making, game sense, and micro. This victory was even more important for Oz fans as it marked just how much Killer has grown as a player. People who once questioned the merit of sending him out for ace matches are now seeing the upsides to the investment that the Oz coach has spent He goes from being nuked to beating people like Zero, Bisu, Best, Fantasy, and Movie.

EffOrt vs RuBy
When Ruby plays against Zergs, ocular orgasms tend to ensue. It's like if you were to give an actual decent plot and characters to Avatar then you'd get Ruby TvZ. His game vs Effort on Tornado was exactly that as he showed massive balls and no fear while encountering spines. His lurker spine dodging was something that even zulu_nation8 would do well to study and learn from. Effort just could not catch a break as no matter what he did, he always managed to fall one step behind. Ruby showed just how easily a Terran can take apart swarm/lurker with the right mindset and micro. Add massive amounts of drophips and tanks and you turn the patented CJ face into ;_;.

HiyA vs JangBi
Aggressive TvP'ers are a rare sight to behold. Most terrans would rather siege afk while watching an old episode of Franklin the Turtle. However, one terran constantly goes against this trend and his name is Ku Sung Hoon. This man, more commonly known as Hiya, has shown that terran pushes are not dead in this modern era of TvP. While playing Jangbi on Moon Glaive, he went for a rather risky 1rax double command center while Jangbi double expanded off 1gate. Jangbi's build was clearly geared to stop the incoming timing push and yet even that wasn't enough. Hiya's decision making and micro during the push was just too much and some map abuse didn't make matters easier for Jangbi. It is the kind of game that has become a rare gem nowadays when most terran pushes tend to be crushed by modern Protoss macro.

By snowdrift86


KT Rolster

Already at the top of the rankings at the end of Round 2, the KT juggernaut harnessed Flash's momentum and plowed through the Winners League, dropping only one rather fluky match to an all-killing Leta. The team's first place finish gave it direct access to the finals, where Flash could nonchalantly wait for the opposing team that would muster enough courage to challenge his iron rule. MBCGame HERO stepped up to the plate, and the rest is history.

Having emptied the sky of carriers, his hands still covered in the blue goop of Jaehoon's dragoons, Flash was the first to lift the Winners League trophy over his head, as an emotional Nal_rA looked on from the OGN studios. By doing so, Lee Youngho confirmed his team's triumph while securing his own legacy as the central figure of the victory. He delivered to KT what the team could not achieve even when it boasted a star-studded roster.



Although it is much more reliant on one player's performance than great teams of the past (the only comparable outfit is the Jaedong-led OZ during the 2008-09 Proleague), KT Rolster should not be dismissed too easily as KT Flash. If KT was able to take such a strong lead this season, it's not only because of Flash's monstrous form but also thanks to the rest of the team's efforts. An all but forgotten forGG has reappeared, having rediscovered the simple pleasure of macroing up timing pushes into his opponents' faces. Stats made an impressive showing, going 7-3, with some padding provided by a three-kill against ACE.

What remains to be seen is whether Flash's teammates can be consistent. During the first round of Proleague, Flash could still count on strong performances from Luxury and Violet. The old Zerg was still going strong while the previously underused Protoss set his hype train in motion with a 7-0 record. Unfortunately, the specter of KT Flash came to haunt the team in the second round as Luxury began to slump and Violet stumbled along, derailing his hype train in the process, and leaving Flash alone to carry the team. The Winners League saw Luxury decline even further. Violet only has a dismal 2-5 record to show for himself. Luckily, the emergence of Stats and the return of forGG plugged up the holes, while the format allowed Flash to win as many games as necessary to seal the deal in his team's favor.

With the return to a standard bo5, one game per player + ace format, and with Luxury finally demoted to the B team, the question that arises is whether the team will repeat its unappealing performance of Round 2, or whether Stats and forGG will maintain their current form and keep shouldering their part of the load. The new Proleague rule abolishing racial requirements allows KT to dispense with finding a replacement for Luxury, but Hoejja should still see some action as a Protoss "sniper" -- like many so-called snipers he only warrants the term insofar as ZvP is the only matchup where he manages to net himself a 50% win rate (you can thank Hyuk and his fans for this naming convention).

In the end, KT Rolster is the team that counts the strongest player of the season in its ranks -- let the bottom-feeders worry themselves. After their first taste of gold in the Winners League, the Fingerboom hustlers have their eyes firmly set on the Proleague finals.




MBCGame HERO

Obviously, MBC's hero -- scratch that, HERO -- in the Winners League was Light. 58% of MBC's wins were his (in comparison, both Flash and Jaedong were responsible for 42% of their teams' wins). In the previous rounds he had upheld his reputation as the Invisible Terran, winning about half of his games; no more, no less. During the Winners League, boosted by what we choose to call the Hyungjun effect (the timing is perfect, as the Kpop idol joined the team for the duration of Round 3), Light tore through opposing lineups and all-killed three teams, ending his tear with a 27-9 record.

But his all-kill of SKT, including the takedowns of Best and Bisu, momentarily hid Light's weakness against Protoss. This deficiency became apparent when Lee Jaeho horrified his fans by losing to PerfectMan in a bo3 in the OSL Ro36. Losses at the hands of free and Violet in the post-season have confirmed the existence of this Achilles heel. To make matters worse, Light hasn't tried to fix this flaw, preferring instead to attempt all-ins against two Protoss in the MSL Ro32.

Sea, overshadowed by Light during most of the Winners League, thus emerges once again as the most solid-looking player on the team, retaking the ace duties that for a short while were headed in Light's direction. Sea doesn't have the TvPing reputation of a fantasy, but he can get the job done. With the new Proleague rules whereby a set's players are revealed on the spot, the mind games between coach Ha and his rivals will revolve around predicting when each of the two Terrans rises from the bench. If a coach expects Light, he'll certainly ambush him with a Protoss. If Ha's senses are perfectly attuned, he could take the mind games to the next level by sending out a Zerg to face the unsuspecting denizen of Aiur.

What mind games cannot do, however, is make up for the rest of the paltry roster. Pirate of Space Hyun put up decent results in the earlier rounds, but the Terran police cracked down on piracy in the Winners League; although Hyun pulled off a three-kill against CJ Entus, overall he went 4-7, losing all of his games against the blue uniforms. The older Zergs Shark and Saint have been almost entirely phased out of the lineup, while rookies like Peace have failed to make any lasting impression.

The team's Protoss are only in slightly better shape -- after a good showing in the first two rounds, Han dropped all three of his games in the Winners League. Surprisingly enough, Jaehoon managed to eke out a few wins, including a two-kill against STX, in a match where he defeated Kal and Shuttle.

All in all, Light's slowdown and the lineup's weakness threaten to end MBC's glorious run. The team went 5-6 in Round 2, and though Sea is in better shape coming into Round 4, there is no indication that the rest of the team will be able to step up its game. Ambitious FPL players should take a moment to consider these prospects before rushing to spend their points on a now quite expensive outfit.




Woongjin Stars

The three-headed Cerberus of the proscene, Woongjin Stars can deploy either one of Zero, free or Kwanro to devastating effect. These three players were nonetheless overshadowed by fan favorite Guemchi, who secured the first all-kill of the Winners League by taking CJ Entus to the woodshed, spurred on by the cries of wanton fangirls bussed in by the team sponsor. G-chizzle would go on to establish a respectable 12-5 record, an impressive feat for a player who had dropped all of his games in the previous rounds and whose only recent claim to fame was his snipe of Bisu's shuttle in the NATE MSL Ro32.



The top three weren't slacking behind their Winners League bonjwa, as they all put up decent results. Zero racked up three kills against Hwaseung Oz, including Jaedong. The potential all-kill was denied in a battle of the cutie pies between the Prince and Killer. That wasn't the only game where Zero was held back by his subpar ZvZ -- he defeated Sea only to lose to Peace; he was not impressed by forGG yet could not stand up to even a slumping Luxury. As his team's final hope, he failed to prevent Action's all-kill in their last match before the playoffs.

This last incident underlines Zero's other weakness: his tendency to break under pressure. The games against Killer and Action were solemn warnings. Unfortunately, they went unheeded and Stars paid the price in the playoffs with MBC, when Zero was sent out to face Sea in the ace game. Having double expanded while blocking Sea's early push, he was all set to roll the Terran once his economic advantage kicked in. But sloppy army control and a poor choice of strategy lost him the game as Sea's relentless macro bore down on his main. This choking habit explains why Stars could only achieve an 11-11 record over the first two rounds, despite their strong lineup -- Zero repeatedly let his team down, going 3-6 in ace games.

Such a shaky ace could be fatal to any other team, but Stars has Kwanro and free to complement Kim Myungwoon. Kwanro is the perfect accomplice -- if Zero's elaborate stratagems fail to win the day, his brute force certainly will. Moreover, ZvZ is the perfect matchup for a player who could spend his days lovingly stroking his zerglings with his cursor. Kwanro's triumph in the Winners League was a three-kill against SKT; his greatest humiliation was his game against Flash, at the end of which the ultralisk was placed on the endangered species list. free for his part went 9-7 and performed reasonably well in every matchup.

Another endangered species is the Woongjin Terran. These appalling players could be ignored in the Winners League -- MVP appeared only once, and Piano three times. In the Proleague, Stars was forced to send out a Terran every match, and this didn't result in any noticeable improvement, as MVP for example went 1-5 in the second round.

The new rules in effect from this round onwards will be of great benefit to the team. Expect to see a free and Guemchi Protoss tag team, and even more Zergs, as Zero and Kwanro will receive the assistance of surprise playoff all-killer Soulkey, who had previously rocked the Dream League. The team is now free to wield one of the fiercest lineups of the Proleague.



And one final bonus: