EPTGroup G in Review
By: Waxangel
Group G: 
aLive, 
SlayerS_Brown, IMHappy, MarineKingPrime
Match One: Alive vs Brown
Game One –
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Brown opened with an infrequently seen 1-gas, 3-gate build to apply pressure to Alive's fast expand to start, and did a fair bit of damage. However, there was no immediate capitalizing on the advantage for Brown, as he just expanded himself and let the game float into the late-game phase without much incident.
The game was decided when Brown decided that after dancing with Alive's forces, that he would just force-field off a few chokes and charge straight into Alive's uncontested main. This allowed Brown to do a considerable amount of economic damage, but his forces were mopped up very easily once the forcefields broke and Alive was allowed back in his base.
Brown might have won had he had more time, but Alive attacked immediately with his superior army. Brown just didn't have enough of an army left to contest, and he GG'd out.
Winner: Alive
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The early mid-game played out relatively uneventfully, so game two went to the three-base, deathball phase before things got rolling. It turned into a game of botched engagements, with both players taking leads and letting them slip away by mishandling their troops against their opponent's formidable firepower. The biggest mistake ended up being the last mistake, as Alive engaged a Terran army with his Vikings out of place, and his Ghosts running through Colossi lances in vain to try and EMP Templars. That battle gave Brown a such a huge lead that no amount of Alive's reinforcements could make a difference, and Alive conceded defeat.
Winner: Brown
Game Three –
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Alive decided to play off one-base, going for a typical Reactor-Tech Lab 2-Rax opening into Medivacs. Brown played well against the 2-Rax opening, countering it with his own 2-Gate Robo. However, he guessed incorrectly about Alive's follow-up, assuming he would expand behind it as is usually the case. As Brown's troops moved out to try and pressure a nonexistent expansion, Alive dropped two Medivacs worth of infantry in Brown's base and destroyed a massive amount of buildings, including the Nexus. This effectively ended the game, and Brown had to GG out soon after.
Winner: Alive
Match Two: MarineKing vs Happy
Game One –
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Caution was thrown to the wind in this typical MKP TvT, where measured engagements and extended standoffs did not factor in. MarineKing aggressively attacked Marine-Tank positions with his own armies consisting of the same, and Happy was somehow seduced into returning the favor, becoming MKP's partner in a chaotic, whirlwind dance.
The game was not pretty, as reckless aggression led to sloppy play on both sides. Thirty, even forty supply swings were not uncommon. As with any game defined by its mistakes, the biggest mistake ended up being the last one. Happy left a quartet of Tanks that were charged with contesting the center unguarded, and MarineKing tidily swept them up. That gave MKP a positional advantage that he would not give up until the end, one that Happy would expend too many forces trying to overtake. Eventually, a sixty supply lead opened up for MKP, and Happy left the game to a shower of manner Mules.
Winner: MKP
Game Two –
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It was one of those games that we see ever so once in a while, where one player decides to go Banshee and the other player, for some reason or another, decides that he will cut the wrong corners. MKP was the beneficiary this time, using his fast Banshee to blast 10 SCVs and a handful of Marines to smithereens, even without the cloak upgrade.
It gave MKP the small lead he carried until the very end. He played with a contrasting degree of patience from the last game, making careful attacks while shrewdly retreating when he knew he was outmatched. Perhaps this was due to Happy's choice to go mech, a composition that can annihilate reckless attacks in an instant.
In any case, MKP constricted Happy while taking an obscene amount of expansions. He ended the game with a pretty-as-you'll-ever-see flank, enveloping Happy's tanks from two sides and collecting the GG.
Winner: MKP
Game Three –
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Winner's Match:
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Game One –
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Through sheer luck, skill, or some combination of both, MKP picked up a free win in the first game against Alive. Both players opened with FE-type builds, and went up to standard Marine-Medivac compositions. The twist came when MKP decided to take his force to pressure Alive's natural, at the very moment Alive had sent one of his Medivacs full of eight Marines to harass. MKP took a look at the slightly smaller force in Alive's natural, shrugged his shoulders, and charged on in.
With identical compositions, numbers proved to be the key as MKP swept through Alive's Marines and finished the game in a most unexpected manner.
Winner: MKP
Game Two –
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MKP went for an uncharacteristic two-base mech timing attack, one Alive must have felt was surprising as well. Though he got Marines, Marauders, and Tanks in response, his battle micro seemed to show that he really didn't believe that MKP was actually attacking him with mech. MKP wiped the floor with Alive's forces and swept the series.
Winner: MKP
Game Three –
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Loser's Match:
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Game One –
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After some FE opens on both sides, Brown got far too optimistic with some Gateway unit + Immortal pressure. He attacked into an amazing concave for Happy, who had Stimpak to boot. Needless to say, Brown got his butt kicked, and then Happy simply followed him back home to end the game.
Winner: Happy
Game Two –
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Happy went for Reactor-Techlab 2-Rax off one base, while Brown went for a one gate expand. This scenario has worked in both the Terran and Protoss player's favor in the past, depending on who had better relative micro. This time around, Brown's micro was far worse than Happy's which ended up losing him his Nexus, a lot of units, and the game.
Winner: Happy
Game Three –
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Final Match:
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Game One – blogs/images/blackstar.gif 1.5/5
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After some typical expansion builds and macroing up, Alive's bio and Happy's mech met for the first and final clash. The losses in terms of supply counts were fairly even, but Happy took a fatal blow in losing the many Siege Tanks he had painstakingly accumulated. Without a core of Siege Tanks, Happy was unable to fight against a stream of constantly attacking units and conceded the game.
Winner: Alive
Game Two –
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Some stuff happened in the early and mid-game that don't really bear mentioning, because the late-game phase of this game was so long it made all the other parts feel pretty insignificant. As we've seen in countless mech TvTs on daybreak in the past, the two players split the map down the middle and then decided they would engage in a seemingly endless stand-off while they picked away at each other.
One of the more amusing tactics here was a 'Nuke-Push' employed by Alive, who used progressively advancing nuclear launches to advance his position and secure one of the contended bases. In any case, it wasn't so relevant to the outcome as much as Happy's decision to initiate a game ending Viking battle, in which his conspicuous lack of Thors and Seeker Missiles saw him get absolutely crushed.
Winner: Alive
Game Three –
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Sorry, notes and comments will be taking a break today.
Code S, Group H Preview
By: Fionn
Parting ways with a puzzling rivalry? Not a keen prediction.
Group H: SlayerS_Puzzle, ST_Parting, oGsNaDa, MVPKeenSlayersPuzzle
The fastest fingers in the GSL are back. After a quarterfinal appearance last season, the much hyped Protoss from Slayers is ready to make his next step to becoming one of the best players in the world. It's no secret how talented Puzzle is; his speed has been calculated as the fastest in the GSL and his APM is off the charts when microing in an intense battle. With the ability to go over 400 APM (the old APM) in a battle against Sheth in his debut in Code A almost half a year ago, Puzzle has been on the radar of many fans for a long time. With his Code A title run and then transfer to the ever popular Slayers, the hype has been surrounding him for some time now.
For the first time, Puzzle is the veteran Protoss in this group. This time around he is facing the younger Parting from Startale who is also getting the same type of hype Puzzle got when he first made his way into Code S. Puzzle's PvP is off the charts, and he is one of the best in the world at the match-up, so he should be the favorite going into the match against his rival brother from Aiur. A lot like Bomber, another former Code A champion, time is slowly running out for Puzzle to make his first run to the semifinals or higher. With all the new Protoss players on the campaign trail to challenge incumbent MC, Puzzle will need to prove to Parting that he is the one who will be ousting MC in the near future.StartaleParting
This is a player I've been excited to talk about all season. Guys, listen up, this guy Parting, he truly is the best...
*Looks to the right and sees Protoss players with bats. Looks to the left and sees Protoss players with pitchforks*
Alright, alright. After the debacle that was the Brown hype train that got derailed last night, I won't go off on a three paragraph love fest about how Parting is about to revolutionize how we see Protoss in GSL and that he will walk the royal road to become the first Protoss GSL champion since the dinosaurs were still around.
Don't get me wrong, from what I've seen from Parting in online tournaments, he could be the real deal. In a lot of games he has looked absolutely terrific, showing some unique strategies and looking like a player who could have big things awaiting him in the near future, but there have also been some games where, well, he looked like another Code A player that probably would go 0-2 and out of Code S without much of a fight. This was especially on display in the match he had against Killer in the final round of Code A where he almost lost to the former TSL Protoss, with only some incredibly good luck allowing him to win the series 2-1 against one of the statistically worst PvP players in GSL history.
Also, if you like ceremonies, Parting might be your new hero, already showing to be one of the most personable and outgoing players we've seen in a long time. With a good sense of humor and a touch of flair, Parting might be able to put up his name alongside the Ceremony Tosses of Genius and MC if he can play well enough. This is a player that you need to keep an eye out on in the future and in tonight's group.
P.S: With TOP's recent departure from GSL, I hereby announce that Parting is the new King of Glasses. It was a tough choice between Parting's and MarineKing's glasses, but in the end, MarineKing's glasses came in second. Congratulations on having a nice pare of specs, Parting. MVPKeen and oGsNada
Long ago, back in July, a group selection was held between the thirty two best players in the world. Nada, the Brood War legend himself, was up for his turn and had a wide array of choices to pick from. In the end, he picked a sixteen-year-old named Keen who had shown a lot of promise in the past Code A season, getting to the semifinals before losing to MVP in four games. Nada noted that he would enjoy a battle against Keen who he saw a lot of potential in.
What many thought at the time as a friendly challenge would slowly turn into an obsessive rivalry like we've never seen in the history of e-sports. In their game, out of nowhere, Nada went for an innovative reaper build, catching Keen way off guard and embarrassing the young Terran, killing him in one of the quckest matches in GSL history and sending him out of Code S before he could even catch his breath.
Keen did not enjoy the laughter from the crowd. He would not stand for this injustice!
When oGs and MVP met in the GSTL only two days later, Keen wanted Nada. Keen needed Nada. He had to defeat Nada. He asked his coach to put him up against Nada when the opportunity arose. Keen got his wish, and was sent out against Nada for a chance at sweet revenge. Keen played really well, using nukes and drops all over to spread Nada thin, but in the end, the wily veteran overcame the young gun, using his superior macro and economic management to dry Keen's funds and overtake him in the end after a back-and-forth war between the two.
In the August group selection, Keen was picked by Coca as his first choice. This gave Keen the chance to pick a player of his own to put in his group. Hm, who would he pick? Someone weak? Someone who he had beaten before? No, Keen needed that revenge. The sweet taste that he would recieve from beating Nada was too great to pass by, and he chose the legend to be in his group for the second straight season.
Sadly, they didn't face this time around, Keen avoiding Nada all together and both getting out of the group. Surprisingly, Keen got to the quarterfinals that season, upsetting Bomber in the round of sixteen and giving Polt a tough match in the next round before getting eliminated. This had to quench Keen's thirst for Nada, right? He put Nada in his group and got farther than him. No reason to keep this rivalry going any longer.
With Keen's run to the quarters the season before, he was given the chance to pick his first opponent in his group for the October season, So, young Keen, who do you want?
"I WANT NADA"
"No, Keen..."
"I WILL BEAT NADA"
So, yes, for the third straight season, Keen and Nada were in the same group. Also for the third time, the two would face in a match. The third time is the charm, right? Keen was rapidly improving and had made the quarterfinals the season before. Nada was still very good, but he wasn't placing as well as he had tournaments before. It felt like this was the right time for Keen to finally surpass Nada, burying the feud once and for all.
Nope. Nada won again. Keen lost and fell all the way to the depths of hell of Code A. Nada stayed in Code S in third place. The old master had defeated the young challenger once more.
Keen fell to Code A, but in the November season made a comeback of epic proportions, not dropping a single game in his three matches, destroying Revival, YuGiOh, and Huk on his way back into Code S. Nada also fell to Code A in the November season, but was able to get back into Code S by way of Up-and-Down, barely making it out of a very contested group including good players like Huk and Lucky.
Luckily, for the first season of 2012, Code S did not have selections until the round of sixteen for anyone other than the champion and runner-up. Keen was unable to pick Nada to face in the first round and would just have to play someone different for once.
Nope. Fate said Keen and Nada must fight until Keen finally wins. Someway, somehow, Nada and Keen got matched up in the first round. I am pretty sure that either it was a massive coincidence or Keen paid Mr. Chae all of his money to give him a best-of-three against Nada to prove that he can beat him. Either way, here we are, and the rivalry must come to a conclusion sometime, right?
Keen has been on fire lately, winning online tournament right and left. His most impressive feat has to be his all-kill of Slayers in the IPL Arena, beating five of their very best players including Ganzi and Puzzle. The most impressive win was against defending Blizzard Cup champion MMA in the final game, absolutely picking apart the Crown Jewel of Slayers, looking like a champion himself. Now seventeen, it truly feels like Keen has turned the corner in his career and is ready to make the jump to being one of the best Terrans in the world.
Nada, on the other hand, has been dipping lately. Online tournament results haven't been good. GSL tournament results haven't been good. The consistent Terran that would always get to the round of sixteen or higher in the GSL has been slipping and it feels like these two players are entering two different stages of their career. Nada is ten years older than Keen, moving to the later stages of his career while his young counterpart is entering the true beginning of his prime.
So, will Keen finally rid himself of a tiresome burden? He was able to defeat Nada in a recent online tournament, but that was online and this is the GSL. Nada has many tricks up his sleeve and shouldn't be counted out even with his poor performances lately. Is this the moment that the torch is finally passed from the veteran to the student, or will Nada triumph once more and say,
'No, Keen, you will never beat me because
Predictions:
Keen > Nada
Parting > Puzzle
Keen > Parting
Nada > Puzzle
Parting > Nada
Art by Fishuu
Writers: Fionn and Waxangel.
Graphics and Art: Meko and Pony Tales (disciple and Lip the Pencilboy).
Editor: WaxAngel
