Table of Contents

Round 4 Week 2 Preview
Lineups


Revenge
EG-TL vs KT, round 4


Bisu's Journey
More Bisu Hype


Games of the week
Flash vs Jaedong
Last vs Rain
Innovation vs Parting


Proleague Up/Downs
Who's hot/Who's not?


SK Planet Proleague table and results at Liquipedia

By: Wunder

With the first week of Proleague behind us, we launch into the second week with some stellar match-ups. EG-TL faces their demon in KT Rolster, Bisu continues his trek towards stardom, and we have our first LeeSsangRok in Proleague. Finally, we take a look at some of the new rising hopefuls of Proleague as well as those who have seen better days.




Thanks to xpaperclip for formatting!

Round 4 Week 2 Matches

Revenge

In the second week of Proleague, we have a rematch between KT and EG-TL. If you haven’t been following Proleague from the start, you might not know the history behind this match. When the Unholy Alliance was announced, some except the combination of Evil Geniuses and TeamLiquid to dominate Proleague, with their much more experienced and accomplished players easily trouncing the opposition. Going into their first match against KT Rolster, EG-TL was positioned as one of the top teams out of the entire league and both the team and their fans were full of confidence. However, then reality hit and KT went on to sweep EG-TL 4-0 in a convincing manner. This one match brought EG-TL and their fans back down to earth and set the tone for the remainder of EG-TL's season.

Since then, KT has won every single match against EG-TL, and they won 4-0 each single time for a combined 12-0 map score between the two teams.. This next match could be the turning point in EG-TL’s standings, a chance to break out of last place and make a dash for the top 4. This next match will also be the first time we have ever witnessed Lee Ssang Rok in Proleague. This next match will be EG-TL’s greatest chance thus far to defeat KT Rolster. Can they do it? Can this resurgent unholy alliance continue to persevere and finally pull a win against a slumping KT? Or was their success just a Flash in the pan?

Well, first things first, we have to look at the current situation going into this match: EG-TL is riding on a 2 game high, while KT is scrambling, searching for answers after getting 4-0’d by STX Soul and going into the second week with a 0-2 losing streak. EG-TL has momentum of their side riding into this match but they have to because their match against KT is the second one for both teams, they have to be wary of their first match against Team 8, which could prove to be a stumbling block for them. Meanwhile, if we take a look at the rosters for both teams, EG-TL has hardened up their line-up and added Zenio and JYP to their core team, forming a full six member squad. KT, on the other hand, is feeling the pressure and finding their core three members of Flash, Stats and Zest to be failing them, with each player dropping at least one game last week. It isn’t looking much better in the near future for KT either, with five of their members falling in finals of the Challenger Division qualifier, they have to find an answer soon or they’ll find themselves at the bottom of the standings.

Bisu's Journey

SKT1 may only be playing one match this week, but Bisu has performed well enough last week to cement his place in SKT1’s core roster. Against Action and Turn last week, Bisu showed little weakness, and won his games quite handily. Interestingly enough, this week Bisu showcases his final match-up, a PvP against the newly converted Classic. Though not a top player, Classic performed just as well as Bisu, debuting his new race switch to Protoss against Samsung’s Shine and KT’s Crazy. The games weren’t spectacular, but he displayed pretty good PvZ, albeit with some questionable decisions, and is on the road to becoming a reliable player for STX Soul, who desperately needs someone other than Innovation to grab wins.

Funnily enough for Bisu, he has been lucky enough to have a slow and steady reintroduction to Proleague and Heart of the Swarm, as his opponents have not been the cream of the crop thus far. But with each match the competition gets fiercer and with only one game to prepare for this week, Bisu won’t have anything to fall back on if he fails to perform this week.

Games of the week

Jaedong < Korhal Floating Island > Flash

Here we are folks, the first ever LeeSsangRok for Heart of the Swarm. Though these guys have met once in the GSL Up and Downs, that was for Wings of Liberty, and Heart of the Swarm is a whole new game, especially in TvZ. For those not in the know, LeeSsangRok is what many consider to be the greatest eSports rivalry of all time. At the end of Brood War, Flash and Jaedong seemed to meet in the finals of every tournament, demonstrating their dominance over the game. And while many have been calling for Flash vs Life to be the new LeeSsangRok in StarCraft II, Jaedong would first like to have a word with these doubters.

With Flash bogged down with Code S preparation and mulling over KT’s 0-2 losing streak, Jaedong is riding a wave of success after his ace match win against Woongjin Stars. However, Flash has shown much better results compared to Jaedong, achieving Code S and getting 2nd in the latest MLG Championship. He has also shown that his TvZ is in top form, dismantling Zergs like Roro, Soulkey and ZerO in The Special. But, even though the match is shrouded in uncertainty, and a winner is hard to predict, one thing is for sure: you have to watch this match.

Honorable Mentions
Though LeeSsang Rok takes precedence over any matches, there are still some honorable mentions to be given out.

Last < Akilon Wastes > Rain

A great rematch of the last OSL semi-finals, and finally a chance for Last to get his revenge against Rain. The SKT1 Protoss, who ended up winning that OSL and was on an absolute tear near the end of 2012, has now settled down a fair bit and, though he is still quite good, has definitely shown some vulnerabilities. Last will still have his work cut out for him though, as Rain showed his strength in PvT defeating Flash in the Ace match with a clutch defense against the Ultimate Weapon’s deadly timing. So while Rain has been in the spotlight this whole time, Last has been largely unproven and untested, and this will be a good proving ground for both players going into their Code S groups next week.

INnoVation < Whirlwind LE > PartinG

Also in the STX vs SKT1 match, this match has the potential to be absolutely crazy. With Parting bursting back onto the scene with his Proleague debut, he is looking on top form and ready to dominate the scene once again. But Innovation definitely isn’t a pushover, with the STX Terran taking 3rd at the recent MLG Winter Championship defeating MC, Innovation definitely has strong TvP chops in the new expansion. However, with PartinG’s renowned PvT, how will Innovation’s multitasking hold up to the Protoss’ lightning fast Templar? If there’s only one match you can catch, it’s definitely going to be SK Telecom T1 vs STX Soul!

Proleague Up/Downs

A spot on a Proleague lineup is a very sought-after honor. Though Proleague regulars such as Flash, Stork, or Soulkey may take this spot for granted, for many this is one milestones of a KeSPa player's career. It is an opportunity to truly contribute to your team's success as well as a gateway to bigger things. So far there have been four rounds of Proleague spanning a total of almost five months and a corresponding amount of line-up changes. Here is a list of those who have been promoted to Proleague regulars and a corresponding list of those who have been taken down a peg, relegated to only playing one or two matches per round.

Woongjin Stars
Aria
BrAvO
Let’s be real here, Woongjin is in the lead with three games to spare, they don’t really need to fuss with their line-up at all. With their core four of Light, ZerO, Soulkey and sOs, they could really round out their line-up with anyone and still be in a decent position. Though they have three great Protoss in the form of sOs, Flying and free, WJS are not content to rest on their laurels and are grooming yet another Protoss in the form of Aria. With Bravo taking a backseat, Aria has been thrust forward for another shot at the big time. This time he gets pit against CJ’s herO, who has been on a small losing streak, losing to his counterpart HerO twice and Argo once. But, even with those losses being PvP, herO should have the skills necessary to dispatch the budding Aria.

SK Telecom T1
Bisu, PartinG
s2, ParalyzE, Sacsri, Best
With a solid performance in the first week, SKT1 moves into week 2 with a reformed line-up. After trying out their new Protoss pickups last week, SKT1 continues to experiment, throwing ex-Slayers Dark and Sacsri in for a match. Bisu and PartinG, performing very well last week, have gained their own spots in the line-up next to FantaSy and Rain, forming SKT1’s solid core. Lost in this transition are the lower tier players in SKT1 that were once in the line-up but have been since shoved out in preference of testing out new blood.

s2 and Paralyze, both players that have performed admirably for their team, have not made a single appearance in the new round, which is a shame, since s2 especially kept SKT1 in the game in the third round when both Fantasy and Rain went into a bit of a slump. Sascri and Best are also seeing less play this round, pushed to the side by all the new recruits. However, this can easily be seen as a good thing for SKT1 fans as this that they have very reliable players to fall back on, if one of the core four ever falter.

CJ Entus
SonGDuri
There isn’t much to say about CJ’s line-up; they have a very strong three player squad in herO, EffOrt and Hydra, and they’ve recently found success in fielding sKyHigh and Bong. With Bbyong making a small resurgence back in round 4, SonGDuri has taken a backseat. But he has been given another shot this week, replacing Bbyong for the game against Woongjin. Unfortunately he is against ZerO, one of Woongjin’s star players, and will find himself hard pressed to perform well for his team.

KT Rolster
MyuNgSiK, hitmaN
Action
KT is in a bit of a scramble as of late, going 1-6 last round and 0-2 in the first week of the current round. A large part of this rapid decline is in part to Action, one of KT's core players in the earlier rounds. After going 0-5 in round 3 and then getting benched, Action once again faltered 0-2 against Bisu and Innovation last week. He has since been benched this week.

As a result, KT has been cycling through their players trying to find a good fit, and they’ve landed on MyuNgSiK and hitmaN this week. Though hitmaN has shown some flairs of brilliance before, with some nice wins against soO and Ty, MyuNgSiK has been less impressive, only coming out a few times in the past rounds and winning against Jaedong in a subpar PvZ. KT's new lineup screams less of confidence in their new players and more of desperation, trying to fit in a 6-man group that can pick up a few wins here or there.

Samsung KHAN
Solar
Shine
Solar, a mysterious man, showed up suddenly at the start of Proleague’s all-kill round, and started against EG-TL’s Stephano. To the surprise of many, he won, and many started to wonder why January didn’t field him a single time during the previous round, where Samsung went 1-6. The mystery deepened as he continued to not show up, only popping in once in the third round, against Innovation, a game he lost.

Meanwhile, Shine has been sitting pretty on the starter line-up for almost every game, going a combined 3-9. Many wondered why he continued to be fielded and whether Samsung just didn't have any better alternatives. Someone in Samsung seems to have come to his/her senses though and with Solar’s entry into Code A, the Zerg has finally replaced Shine in the starting line-ups for this week.

KeSPa 8th Team
ALBM
With Team 8 having a relatively solid core of Argo, Terminator, Ty and Cure, there were few opportunities for a Zerg like ALBM to break through, especially with Savage and TRUE taking up the last two spots. Though he is currently 0-4 in Proleague, ALBM did manage to win his Challenger Division qualifier, beating Brown 2-0 in the finals. Perhaps he has improved since the last time we saw him at the end of round 3, where he lost against Reality.

STX Soul
Last
Mini
Strangely absent from last week’s line-up, the OSL semi-finalist Last has reappeared, replacing Mini for the time being. Though he didn’t perform exceedingly well in Proleague, his recent performance in the MLG Winter Championship showcased his excellent TvZ, defeating Stephano and Killer, and even bringing Life to the brink of defeat. However, his TvZ prowess will not be tested, as we have a rematch of the OSL semi-finals with his opponent being SKT1’s Rain. It will be interesting to see how this match plays out, as it should give a good indicator of how both players will perform in their Code S group next week.

EG-TL
Zenio
TaeJa, Revival
EG-TL has solidified their line-up for this week, and are playing the same six players for both of their matches. Though Taeja won his group in Code S handily, he is still nowhere to be seen in the Proleague line-ups due to his wrist issues. To replace him is Zenio, a rather unexpected choice over Revival, a player most would rate higher. As we've learned that EG-TL now has internal ranking tournaments to determine line-ups, it would not be a huge leap at all to speculate that Zenio is outperforming Revival in the rankings. After all, Zenio did win his match last week over heavy favorite Hydra while Revival failed to take down a weaker opponent in Skyhigh.

Writers: Wunder.
Graphics: HawaiianPig
Editors: monk.