While gift giving traditions are often reserved for the end of the year, we here at TeamLiquid like to mix things up. Fantasy Proleague has come to a close, but this year we gave you your gifts at the start of the season. Heck, we let you pick exactly what you wanted. Like that spoiled brat who gets to stroll through the store tugging at his mother's dress screaming, "I want that one!" you got to peruse the entire selection of pro gamers and assemble a group that was just right.

Now, as we all know, gifts are generally wonderful things. They have the power to lift spirits and bring joy to just about anyone. Gift giving is a special social interaction. Often, the very act of giving without the expectation of reciprocation is in itself so altruistic that we often ignore the actual gift and simply embrace the generosity of another...

Especially when the gift sucks.

You know the phrase, "It's the thought that counts."

Yes, gifts are typically great, but there are exceptions to this rule. Like that time you left a dead bird on the doorstep of the girl next door, sometimes gifts can miss the mark.

We've all been there. Though you may have been hinting to your parents throughout the year that you really fancy that new video game console, what lies beneath the wrapping paper of that intriguingly Nintendo 64-ish shaped box could just as well be a sweater. And not just any sweater, but that awfully boring yet tremendously itchy and hideous garment from hell.


With this in mind, I would like you to meet 이경민:


As her outfit would suggest, she has gifts for you. She, however, is withholding them until Christmas time, which is many months away.

Whether or not her gifts will satisfy you or bring you itchy pains remains to be seen.

No, who I meant for you to meet was 이경민, a man of the same name:


If you're one of the 82 unfortunate souls who chose him for your Anti-Team, he too has a gift for you.

The gift of dismay and despair.

At the start of the season Horang2 was just another 5 point Protoss. But, like a few other, sometimes pink haired 5 pointers, Horang2 rose from the ashes of mediocrity to wreck faces and FPL dreams. Those of us who chose one of these Anti-Team saboteurs had a tough time fencing them for better options. A trade of Jaehoon for Kal at week 2 saved me 15 points in losses.

Let's take a minute to reflect on that. Jaehoon. Remember him?

Let me jog your memory:


The countless times this young man would be derided in stream chats were numerous; today, those memories are almost all forgotten. Now, when he's fielded, there are less guffaws and far more respect. Maybe that's on account of his return to normal hair colours, or maybe it's due to his respectable 30 - 23 (56.60%) record this season (13-4 in FPL). Truly, one cannot know. What changed for Jaehoon? What transformed him from a safe Anti-Team shmuck to a wrecker of FPL hopes and dreams? I can only imagine it was the decision to stop spending so much time dying his hair and more time practicing.

Indeed, the theme for this season of Fantasy Proleague was definitely one of unanticipated underdoggery. Although Jaehoon and Horang2 were among the most owned and the most devastating to Anti-Teams, there's one man whose strong performance could have been anticipated.


The much welcomed and long overdue return to form for this Khan Protoss could not have come at a better time. With Stork starting to under-perform, it seems as though January only has enough rations to keep just one of her dragons satiated. Nonetheless, Jangbi's performance has always been rather cyclical, and choosing him for your Anti-Team was playing with fire. Shame on you.

Now, Fantasy Proleague isn't just about choosing an Anti-Team that won't haunt your nightmares. While the SPL writing team is all too familiar with getting owned in that respect (LOL Kiante, -128), we know it's also about picking strong low point players who will outperform their value.

And this time around, there was no better choice than an SKT Zerg. n.Die_soO netted a whopping 61 points in FPL, tied for 2nd overall, and went 13-2, all for the low low price of 3. Possibly even more shocking is PianO, who, while he only went 9-8, racked up 41 points and broke the top 20 at an initial trade value of 1. To the 11 of you who chose him for your main team, I salute either your shocking clairvoyance or your incredible luck.

Another low point wonder came from yet another return to form for an old dragon, BeSt. It seemed to me that BeSt's career had crested when he got utterly destroyed by a drone drill at the hands of JulyZerg in the Ever OSL in 2008. Ever since then, he seemed to be a hollow shell of a man, never capable of achieving success in individual leagues again. Well, I may be rethinking my dismissal, as his performance in the tail end of the SPL season has been stellar. Starting the season as a lowly 3 pointer, BeSt went 10-3, and racked up believers a whopping 50 points.

soO and BeSt are not the only SKT players to have seen success this season. In fact, this season, SKT fans have more reason to gloat than ever.

Without further ado, I give you, the winning team of this season of Fantasy Proleague:


Congratulations to Tardy who is not just the winner of the 11th season of Fantasy Proleague, but also the winner of my heart. Yes, that is an all SKT team (Canata was still on SKT at the the start of the season), and yes, he won with no trades.

Of course, my heart goes out to dear Fenrax, who, if you read the forums at all, could often be seen for the longest time with a smiling trophy-wielding icon denoting his status in the lead of FPL. With his discerning ability to make amazing trades, Fenrax accrued an insane +51 trade gain. Sadly, this wasn't enough to make up for his one critical mistake: not picking a team composed entirely of SKT players. In the final stages of this season's FPL, this previous champ was unceremoniously knocked out.

Fenrax, at least flamewheel was rooting for you.

He really wanted to see two icons beside your name.

Me? As a die-hard SKT fan, I just can't help but bathe in the tears of haters, as Tardy, who probably has no idea he won, dominated us all.

The tactical display screen was already surrounded by KT Protectorate officers when the Grand Marshal himself made an entrance. Heads turned, but they promptly focused on the enemy position markings again due to a previously established directive – During this phase of conflict every second counted, and his officers would not waste a single moment on meaningless formalities. Leniency had cost him two battles in this war already, but Protectorate forces worked at full efficiency now. The recently passed Honorable General YellOw and his aides Violet and fOrGG deserved nothing less, after all. Exceeding even Protectorate standards, their perimeter had been secured in record time after deployment, and the famous FingerBoom mark communication technology was too hard for anyone else to decipher – no one should even know they were here! His army was ready to be deployed, and were only waiting for the target that he would be giving them within the hour.



The tactical display showed a large concentration of troops in the third quadrant, which was almost too good to be true – a slight relocation of his army would allow him to approach that location from a huge tactical advantage. At worst, he’d force his first opponent of choice, the KHAN horde, to retreat from what had to be their main supply yard. At best he’d eliminate one of his opponents in one swift blow. With only a slight hint of emotion, he gave the order: “Prepare the Ultimate Weapon“. The resulting sound was unmistakable – thousands of wires streamed energy into the roaring engine of Vengeance, and the cheering Protectorate forces would follow it relentlessly to victory... or death.



The Warlord of the KHAN horde didn’t even attempt to listen to the third young chieftain’s plan anymore. They were standing on their very birthright, even if it was occupied for now. But instead of being worthy of it, they proposed half-baked plans to earn his favor. Flanking maneuver this, diplomacy that, establishing of supply routes, even entrenchment?!? For crying out loud! These options were useless, unreliable, or even worse, insulting. Digging trenches? Sabotage? Bombardment? The influences of the recently founded military academy were apparent, as was the fact that they didn’t understand this army’s strength and weaknesses.They were here to conquer and reclaim, not to waste their time and dwindling food supply.

While the council of Sam-Sung chieftains was still congratulating each other on the supposed brilliance of a possible covert operation, the warlord’s mind was focused on destroying his foes rather than toying with them. Between them and the CJ Republic’s position was a small contingent of the Star Federations platoon, dug in like the cowards they were. While they were sitting on a heap of ammo that would put his supply to shame, the Star Federation was pitifully small in number. A perfect target.



A swift kick of the Warlords' battle-hardened boot sent the officers’ dinner table flying, and his "comrades" finally shut up. The more experienced warriors snickered at the sight of the most verbal officer almost wetting himself, but his booming voice would cut that short as well.
"If you know what’s good for ya, you shut your traps!" His baritone tone demanded both respect and obedience, but those were only tools to give this rabble what they needed: Purpose. “A few of you might have noticed that there’s a Star Federation encampment not far from here. My officers here think their position is unassailable. My vastly superior army here begs to differ. Before the sun sets in three days, we’ll be dining on their wine while watching the bonfires of their defenses burning. Let them build their puny walls, for a KHAN warrior was born to knock them down! Then we’ll take on the CJ republic and smash the SKT Empire’s face in. Whoever here wants to debate my ‘plan’ can do it with a knife in his throat. Are you ready to reclaim your birthright?" The cheers left no room for interpretation – this horde would trample their enemies into the ground.



General Swanized of the Star Federation thought himself to be the most knowledgeable commander in the lowlands, but his vast advanced sensor array and weapons supply would not compensate for the lack of fighting men under his command. His position was maddening – what good is knowing where your enemy is if you can’t possibly fight them all off? Thankfully, neither of his opposing factions were really known for their diplomatic ability, and one-by-one, his threats were manageable at worst, and if they ended up killing each other off before they reached his position, he’d have even more of an advantage.

As he had suspected, the KHAN horde had made a horrible mistake when making camp in the third quadrant – the Protectorate force was closing in from a vastly superior position, and the fourth army would cut off their only path of retreat to the south. Secure in this knowledge, he checked on his army’s condition once again. His peers had criticized him for his over-reliance on his armored platoon, but as of now, that was the bulk of his standing army.



All was in perfect order. Minefields surrounded the encampments perimeter, guns pointed towards the routes that he thought were the most likely to be assaulted, and while the delays in manning the posts suggested unrest, that much was to be expected of his peers. The Star Federation had been founded on free expression and competition within the country, after all, but the superior bonding during times like these made up for it, even if the command structure suffered a bit.

After a brief knock, a lieutenant entered his room, and the lack of stand-offishness suggested something being terribly wrong. Maybe he had just broken up with his girlfriend? Wishful thinking. The KHAN horde was much larger than he had expected, and they weren’t retreating or making their stand against the Protectorate. They were assaulting HIS position. Had they lost their minds? Assaulting his position would lead to heavy casualties in the horde, unless... He had failed to notice a weakness in his defenses. Despite the primitive nature of the KHAN command structure, their tactics were brutally effective in exploiting any weak point they could find. Be that as it may, he felt as secure as he possibly could be. The plan was perfect, and his forces were trustworthy. General Swanized switched on his intercom and gave his forces the order to prepare for combat. If the horde insisted on suicide, the only polite thing to do was to make it quick and painless.



“So much for R&R,” the STX scout thought to himself. Barely a week after a taxing but ultimately victorious battle against the FOX confederacy, the admiral’s orders were to take the nearby beach as quickly as possible and push towards the mainland. If the STX Expedition Force were to have any hope of survival, they needed to cover ground as quickly as possible, and his job was to scout ahead into an unexplored area. Frankly, all of them were unexplored, but that just made his job more important... and perilous.

Sure, there were reports that the Star Federation and KHAN horde prepared to battle near Shanghai, but where? How many of them? He had no idea. As far as he knew, even his own forces could be dead already, since radio contact had been impossible in the last few days.
Strange sounds interspersed with white noise kept him awake at night, but the alternative was potentially missing a radio broadcast or falling prey to an enemy patrol.

He could just pack his gear and make a run for neutral MBC lands, his speeder had enough fuel for it, for sure. But he couldn't. Some unknown force pushed him onward to scout the position his predecessor had vanished in. Was it Duty? Curiosity? Fear of accidentally stumbling on the carcasses of his friends on the way there? Whatever it was, this sight made it even more powerful.

He had found a large encampment, but it was completely barren of life as far as he could tell. There were huge, seemingly unopened crates of weaponry and ammunition and half-dug trenches, but not even a single corpse. The symbols suggested KHAN had made an encampment here, and the freshness of the tracks meant they were here less then a week ago. The speed at which they left just raised too many questions, but maybe HQ could make something of it.

For the third time that day, he tried to contact the admiral via radio on a grassy hill, but he picked up nothing but beeps and white noise. Suddenly it occurred to him - those beeps were code! But that’d mean...

Throwing himself flat on the ground, he pulled out his binoculars. No sign of the Protectorate yet. Was that the ground trembling or just his paranoia? Whatever the case, he had to get out of there, fast. He was just approaching his vehicle, as the entire world went deaf for a second. He took out his binoculars again and saw a vast crater where once the living quarters of the encampment must have been. His fears were confirmed – the Ultimate Weapon was near. He observed smoke rising from a distance, as Protectorate forces swarmed the hill of the ghost encampment. He would stand a better chance of escaping undetected at night, since KT speeders were a lot faster than his bike, but where’d he go? For now, he hid in one of the half dug trenches and did his best to sleep for the first time in days.



A loud noise woke him up when it was already night time. Lots of hostile movement, shouting, and then silence again. Another crater was created that night, this time a few miles away. He heard engines closing in on his position and realized the imminence of his demise. Should he pray? No, he’d take his rifle and go down like a man. He could barely see the Protectorate forces in the dark, but he took aim anyway. Steady breathing... Adjust range... BOOM!

Suddenly, a sound much louder than that of the rifle came from the spot he was aiming at: the sound of artillery shells exploding. Finally, he saw the STX Expedition Force approaching the area, and started to dart towards friendly lines. The ensuing battle would be chaotic and bloody, but at least he now had a chance to fight alongside his peers rather than be killed while spying, and that was enough for him.

To be continued...

So, some of you are likely waiting for me to get to the actual predictions. While I distracted you with some nonsensical fanfiction (Saving Private Ryan ripoffs) I crunched some numbers for you to predict the advancers a little bit better. The following are SPL and SWL records this year, individual leagues are not included because as proven by certain players, your PL performance does not matter in an environment where your opponent can prepare for you . In order to illustrate what the opposing coaches must be thinking, lI’ll add some categories as well.



SNIPE me! – Really vs. P. Really has been played almost every single game this season, and his vs. P record is not something you’d like to have vs. Samsung. Expect to see Really on Beltway or a similarly Terran map.

AVOID – Free. Yes, you heard me, Free. With winning records vs. both P and T, Free is not the most ideal opponent for a team that has Zerg of the calibers of Great and Juni. While even those Zergs should give Free a lot of trouble, and Free’s records not being THAT good, he’s still someone whom you do not want to waste your best players on. Also, just look at the vP records of KHAN.

Most likely to show up on a map: ZerO on Neo Aztec. 19 appearances on that map in it’s different incarnations should be a dead giveaway that we’ll see him there again.

Most likely to show up on Ace Map:
Day 1: Light on New Empire of the Sun. Most of you are likely shocked, but New Empire of the Sun is a Zerg Graveyard. Zero hasn’t played it, while Light has played it’s different incarnations 13 times. Statisticall, Really should show up, but a 25% vs. P player in an ace match vs. KHAN is plain idiotic. And those who tell me to look at the ZvP record – look at the players there. Not too inspiring, honestly.

Day 2: Neo.G_Soulkey on La Mancha. When your secondary Ace is specializing on a map and in form, he’s a natural choice. While Light has played equally many games here, he’d be easy prey for PvT experts Jangbi and Stork.

Day 3: New Empire of the Sun again, see day 1.



SNIPE me! – Grape vs. P, although the PvP series vs. Horang2 might make you second guess that, just think about the fact that Grape is 0-3 vs. Free, and 0-2 vs. Free this season. The one Free slumped hardcore in. just attempt to avoid it.

AVOID – Jangbi. His yearly record doesn’t suggest it, but he’s very likely the best player on KHAN at this moment. Since May this year, he’s 13-2 (86.67%), with the losses coming from JD and Hydra. Ideally for Stars, he’d play either ZerO in a prelude to the Ace match or get DT rushed by Flying or 2 facted by hOn_sin. Either way, the player facing JangBi is likely going to lose.

Most likely to show up on a map: Jangbi on Neo Aztec. 13 times has he played this map, and his rebirth begun here too. He’ll likely want to snipe ZerO here.

Most likely to show up on Ace map:
Day 1: Stork on New Empire of the Sun. The Zerg Graveyard nature of EOTS, coupled with the lack of Protoss in Stars and the Protoss weakness of Woongjin’s Terran line make Stork a very natural choice here.

Day 2: Jangbi or Stork on La Mancha. La Mancha has been played 6 times by both, and while it favors Z in ZvP, the main La Mancha player of Stars, Neo.G_soulkey has not really impressed this season with a 11-10 ZvP rate. If they play the other La Mancha specialist, Light, it’ll be even better for KHAN.

Day 3: New Empire of the Sun again, see day 1.





SNIPE me! – Barracks vs. P and Action vs. T. Both of these players are somewhat competent in their other matchups, but fail horribly in these ones. If STX succeeds in getting Barracks matched with Kal and Action with Bogus, they’re very likely to win these two sets.

AVOID – Stats and Flash. These players have abouve 55% winrates in all of their matchups. All of them. While most fans want the main aces of the teams to clash, STX should avoid it at all costs, seeing how mediocre KT’s players are in most other respects.

Most likely to appear on map: Stats on Neo Aztec. 12 times in total, Flash on La Mancha, 8 times total. While Stats should in my opinion be played somewhere else, Flash on La Mancha is likely to encounter Bogus there, and thus take a badly needed win from STX.

Most likely to appear on Ace Map:
Day 1: Stats on New Bloody Ridge. Flash just doesn’t seem to like NBR, it seems, and while Stats has avoided the New version, he’s more likely to play here since he has 9 games on the old version. Even better – Stats has a great PvP record and all of the Z-s of STX are somewhat slumping, so he should be favored here.

Day 2: Flash on Icarus. Flash has played a lot on Icarus, and it fits his style pretty well. It allows for good drops and allows you to overwhelm your opponent with multitasking, something Bogus is lacking in.

Day 3: Flash on Neo Aztec. If it’s time for the deciding match, it doesn’t matter which map it’s on, Flash is the natural choice. Even with only one game on Neo Aztec (which he lost), he should still be favored against everyone on STX.



SNIPE me! - Kal vs. P. Kal has fallen far from the glory days in the beginning of the season, and vs. P is the most telling example. Only this december Kal completely owned Bisu’s 3 gate rush with nothing but a shuttle and 3 goons. Now he’s struggling against the likes of Paralyze and Pure. He’s just asking to be sniped.

AVOID – The player to avoid is Classic. Not because he’s a threat to the main lineup players, but because getting him matched up with Barracks would give STX a very much needed win instead of a loss. The others should be no problem, even Bogus.

Most likely to appear on Map: Kal on Neo Aztec. He loves that map, and this is especially apparent lately. KT will hope he does and snipe him with Stats.

Most likely to appear on Ace Map:
Day 1: Kal on New Bloody Ridge. While getting him matched up with Stats will be autoloss, STX just doesn’t trust Shuttle enough to play Ace matches, and will likely hope for a miracle here.

Day 2: Bogus on Icarus. Statistically, Calm has played this map more often, but he hasn’t played in an Ace match since 2009. Bogus is not a bad choice, but will likely get outmatched by Flash.

Day 3: Kal on Neo Aztec. Similarly to Flash, Kal is still the natural choice for STX in extreme pressure situations. You may believe Bogus deserves it more, but his nerves are still shaky vs. the threat of Flash, and Neo Aztec is a bit P favored. Again, hoping for miracles.