In a cruel twist of fate, two former GSTL championship teams face elimination in this season's round of eight. SlayerS' partnership with Evil Geniuses granted them a loaded roster that vaulted them out of the Ro12, but it wasn't enough to overcome team MvP last week. As for Prime, one bad day from Byun and MarineKing meant that even the reigning triple-title holders could be upset by a rising Fnatic RC team. There will be redemption tonight, but only for one team. For the losers, it will be back to the drawing board as they contemplate how things can go so wrong, so fast.
SlayerS-EG
Prime
by NrGmonk
How They Got Here
Prime had only one match this season, as they were seeded into the "pennant race" round of 8 of the GSTL by virtue of being last season's champions. Unfortunately for them, the fifth race of Warcraft 3, Spirit_ FnaticRC Moon, decided to kick it up a notch and show the type of play that could dominate an RTS. After both MKP and Byun were taken out by Moon, Creator was left with the formidable task of taking out four more of Fnatic's strongest players. And although his effort was admirable, even he couldn't climb that Everest-like mountain. So with that, last season's champions are now in the awkward position of being one match away from being completely knocked out of the GSTL.
SlayerS-Evil Geniuses, on the other hand, had the more difficult and arduous task of getting into the Ro8 after starting at the very bottom of the totem pole. After demolishing both NSHS and Zenex in round 1 of the GSTL, Slayer-EG moved on to face another former GSTL champion, team MvP. In a perplexing mid-match interview during that series, Slayers_Jessica admitted to not really trying or preparing particularly hard. What??? Is this a fake-out or did they really not care? Who knows, but we can only hope that they will be trying their hardest now that they are facing elimination. Coupled with a disappointing third place finish in the MCSL (a league they should have dominated, in theory), a Ro8 exit from the GSTL would be a tough string of results to stomach for a team that used to be a championship contender.
Today's opening match features two players who debuted long ago, when Starcraft 2 was in its infancy. Both players fell off the radar for around a year, but have recently and unexpectedly burst back onto the scene with a bang. While Byun once made it to a GSL round of 4, he was then embroiled in a debasing match-fixing scandal, after which he was forced out of competitive play for a few months. After he returned, however, he showed no signs of rust. In his re-debuting GSTL match, he closed it out for his team, securing a playoff spot for Prime in 2012's first season. And in the last week alone, he has secured an OSL spot and a GSL round of 8 spot.
Alicia is in a similar spot, as while once he was known as the Chosen One of the Protoss race, his play in the last year has been nothing but mediocre, lackluster, and uninspired. Nothing hinted at all at his meteoric rise to relevance at the MLG Spring Championship where he beat scores of top tier players to reach second place. Not only that, he quietly qualified for the NASL finals along with only 7 other players, the likes of which include Puma, MC, Stephano, Hero, and his teammate Puzzle. Alicia's current momentum almost matches that of Byun and in this opening match, we will see what can happen when an unstoppable force meets another unstoppable force.
Prime's owes a lot of its success to its trio of Terran players, as they are often very clutch and each has the potential to take a large number of wins in any match against any opponent. These players would be a welcome addition to any team. However, unlike some more solid and reliable team league players, such as Creator, DRG, or Puzzle, Prime's Terrans are often very hit or miss. Just as often as any of these players can score 2-3 kills in a match, they can also walk away with a negative contribution. Prime easily wins matches as long as all of its Terrans don't happen to fail on the same day, and this game plan is what propelled them to win the last season of GSTL. But as we saw last week in Prime vs Fnatic, Prime crumbles in a hurry in that unlikely scenario.
I started out listing 3 or 4 players, then expanded it to 5 or 6, then added a few more until I pretty much just listed Slayers-EG's entire playable roster. With the partnership of two heavy-hitters in the Starcraft scene, Slayers-EG has the deepest GSTL roster in the entire league. With a roster consisting of one of the best players in the world, MMA, a Code S player, Ryung, and international champions, Puma, and Thorzain, you would think that Slayers-EG should have no problem with taking the title. However, such is not the case, as aside from Puzzle, Slayers has not yet found a core group of players that can consistently produce results. Someone, anyone from Slayers has to step it up and evolve into a player that can reliably support Puzzle, and while Slayers has a myriad of players who have the potential to do this, none seem ready for the challenge. Maybe it's you, MMA, the first ace of Slayers and true heir to the throne. Or you, Ryung, someone who's recently shown magnificent late game play versus DRG. Or maybe it could even be Thorzain, the Norse God, who was once the rock that anchored Mousesports.
Both teams may have better, more renowned, and more accomplished players, but in team leagues, Creator and Puzzle are no doubt the aces of their respective teams. Other players on their teams might be considered better by the general Starcraft II viewing public, but these are the two that are most often trusted with the fifth and final spot on the team. Besides being successful team league players, both of these players are known for safe and solid macro-oriented play. In fact, they are known for being the absolute two best "solely" macro Protoss in the world. Perhaps there is a correlation here? Hmm.....
Prediction: Unlike some other successful teams in the GSTL, such as TSL, MVP, or Fnatic, neither Prime nor Slayers-EG is dominated by Zerg players. For viewers who are sick of Zerg domination, this is the match to watch.
There's a reason Slayers has not had true success in team leagues in a very long time and there's also a very good reason Prime is the definition of recent team league success. Prime know who their best players are, and have a proven plan: Use the Terran trio to get as many wins possible early, reserve Bboongbboong or Annyung as the single ZvX sniper, then sweep up with Creator if anything remains. On the other hand, Slayers-EG's plan is nowhere near as clear. Besides saving Puzzle for last and hoping to god that he can defeat multiple members of the opposing team, we've seen very little consistency to their roster choices. One would think that with their depth, they could throw any five players at their opponents and win, but that plan has only half-worked so far.
I really want Thorzain to play, even with so many players on SlayerS-EG, I think they may go for certain players to play a sniper role. Need a beast to snipe MKP? Get MMA or Ryung for it, etc. I hope SlayerS-EG wins it.
On July 06 2012 09:09 TeamLiquid ESPORTS wrote: There's a reason Slayers has not had true success in team leagues in a very long time and there's also a very good reason Prime is the definition of recent team league success. Prime know who their best players are, and have a proven plan: Use the Terran trio to get as many wins possible early, reserve Bboongbboong or Annyung as the single ZvX sniper, then sweep up with Creator if anything remains. On the other hand, Slayers-EG's plan is nowhere near as clear. Besides saving Puzzle for last and hoping to god that he can defeat multiple members of the opposing team, we've seen very little consistency to their roster choices.
Slayers definitely has the depth, but too bad with the all-kill format, depth doesn't really mean jack when one or two really really good players can all-kill you. Feels like a team like Slayers would do really well in PL when they transition over to full SC2
On July 06 2012 09:27 neoghaleon55 wrote: Nice writeup, guys.
However, I keep getting the feeling that Code S players on Thursdays get jipped out of having a review and comments on "game of the night."
Could you TL esports find it in your hearts to give the fans a few paragraphs on what happened the night before? Much appreciated.
Didn't I say good things come to those who wait? <.<
You did? o_o
Well as long as you have something planned. I'm voicing my concern because a pattern has developed over the past few weeks where Thursday's group is simply forgotten. My only suggestion is either we forget the whole "last night's recap" stuff, or do it for everyone. Anyway, I completely understand how busy everyone is, so please do not misconstrue that I am taking your hard work for granted.
On July 06 2012 09:27 neoghaleon55 wrote: Nice writeup, guys.
However, I keep getting the feeling that Code S players on Thursdays get jipped out of having a review and comments on "game of the night."
Could you TL esports find it in your hearts to give the fans a few paragraphs on what happened the night before? Much appreciated.
Didn't I say good things come to those who wait? <.<
You did? o_o
Well as long as you have something planned. I'm voicing my concern because a pattern has developed over the past few weeks where Thursday's group is simply forgotten. My only suggestion is either we forget the whole "last night's recap" stuff, or do it for everyone. Anyway, I completely understand how busy everyone is, so please do not misconstrue that I am taking your hard work for granted.
I'm sure it will be focused entirely on how well ryung played
I as a hardcore slayers fan feel that they definitely have a chance against prime because prime is not as zerg heavy as the rest of the teams these days. They really need to plan and be unpredictable and send out some terrans unlike the rest of the matches. I really hope they win. They all specially MMA need confidence. I wish Taeja was still on the team with the kind of form he is showing so even with MMA not performing everything would not have come down to Puzzle.
On July 06 2012 09:42 yoshi245 wrote: I really want Thorzain to play, even with so many players on SlayerS-EG, I think they may go for certain players to play a sniper role. Need a beast to snipe MKP? Get MMA or Ryung for it, etc. I hope SlayerS-EG wins it.
Coca is a much better MKP sniper, at least if you jugde when coca beat MKP in the IGN Fight club.
On July 06 2012 18:53 ACrow wrote: Awesome write-up as usual, though I have to say it's blasphemy to put Creator as ace above MKP. Shame one you
Creator has been quite a while ace player of team Prime. He might not be as successful as MKP in individual tournaments but in team leagues he is beast.
"Unlike some other successful teams in the GSTL, such as TSL, MVP, or Fnatic, neither Prime nor Slayers-EG is dominated by Zerg players. For viewers who are sick of Zerg domination, this is the match to watch."
On July 06 2012 18:21 Fubi wrote: I don't even see MMA on the bench, is he at some foreign tourney or something?
I think he's travelling to the IPL event with DRG, Illusion and HerO. It's a 4-player tournament tomorrow.
The key player is leaving his team before the key elimination match in GSTL against defending champion Prime and for a 4-player show-match tournament? That's just ridiculous.
That was good for SlayerS that CoCa was on a roll this day. But what if they lost and got eliminated?
I think GOM needs to get some regulations in place about GSL players attending foreign tournaments. Yes, this is great that top Korean players can attend major tournaments like MLG. But they shouldn't be missing because of some meaningless show-matches.
On July 06 2012 18:21 Fubi wrote: I don't even see MMA on the bench, is he at some foreign tourney or something?
I think he's travelling to the IPL event with DRG, Illusion and HerO. It's a 4-player tournament tomorrow.
The key player is leaving his team before the key elimination match in GSTL against defending champion Prime and for a 4-player show-match tournament? That's just ridiculous.
That was good for SlayerS that CoCa was on a roll this day. But what if they lost and got eliminated?
I think GOM needs to get some regulations in place about GSL players attending foreign tournaments. Yes, this is great that top Korean players can attend major tournaments like MLG. But they shouldn't be missing because of some meaningless show-matches.
If SlayerS thought it was necessary for him to be there he wouldn't have gone.
On July 06 2012 18:21 Fubi wrote: I don't even see MMA on the bench, is he at some foreign tourney or something?
I think he's travelling to the IPL event with DRG, Illusion and HerO. It's a 4-player tournament tomorrow.
The key player is leaving his team before the key elimination match in GSTL against defending champion Prime and for a 4-player show-match tournament? That's just ridiculous.
That was good for SlayerS that CoCa was on a roll this day. But what if they lost and got eliminated?
I think GOM needs to get some regulations in place about GSL players attending foreign tournaments. Yes, this is great that top Korean players can attend major tournaments like MLG. But they shouldn't be missing because of some meaningless show-matches.
If SlayerS thought it was necessary for him to be there he wouldn't have gone.
And that's exactly what GOM needs to deal with. They are making and selling a product. People who paid for it expected to see the top players. But instead they are participating in some other show-matches?
Look at LG-IM. They made a partnership with SK, so that MC can play in GSTL. But he haven't participated in any single match, because he was travelling all around the world instead.
If GOM is not able to create a team league that players and teams will actually care about - KeSPA will.
EPT
Moon, decided to kick it up a notch and show the type of play that could dominate an RTS. After both MKP and Byun were taken out by Moon, Creator was left with the formidable task of taking out four more of Fnatic's strongest players. And although his effort was admirable, even he couldn't climb that Everest-like mountain. So with that, last season's champions are now in the awkward position of being one match away from being completely knocked out of the GSTL.
MKP, 
JYP, 
