What started out as forty-eight players clawing for twelve spots is now more than halfway over. There are only four more spots left, and they are up for grabs tonight.
One thing is for certain: OGN likes its Terrans. It will be interesting to see if the pro-Terran OSL map trend continues when the new maps are released. So far, we've seen six Terrans, a shark, and a dragon qualify. Add to that the seeds and tonight's results, and this OSL could easily have only three non-Terran players.
So what can we fans who want racial balance do? We can cheer. Cheer for that manly guy, cheer for that bird toss, cheer for... GGPlay?
Group E: April 20th – 14:00 Korean
Game 1 - GooDFriend (T) vs. GGPlay (Z) @ Longinus 2
Game 2 - Stork[gm] (P) vs. donGraE[S.G] (T) @ Longinus 2
Winners - Neo Arkanoid
Losers - Neo Arkanoid
Final - Hitchhiker
@ Longinus 2
We all know the stats on Longinus 2, and GGPlay has never beaten a Terran on it. Add to that GGPlay's less than stellar 1-5 TvZ record in the OSL on the current iteration of maps and GoodFriend's relative consistency, and we have GF taking this one pretty easily, barring something really freakish.
@ Longinus 2
If you watched yesterday's MBC Survivor, you saw Stork dual proxy gate inside IriS' base on Long and sneak a DT into Keke's main on Blitz to 2-0 his group and advance. Some of you may remember Dongrae from that long TvT where he was on the receiving end of a NaDa cloned yamato facial. The good news is that Dongrae didn't look half bad, but the bad news is TvT is the only matchup his winning rate is anywhere close to 50% on. Stork should take this easily.
PvT on Neo Arkanoid can be boiled down to how many carriers you can get before the Terran can kill a nexus either by dropping units into the "gay spots" (the walled off, unbuildable area) or pushing into your main. You saw Free do a good job against Midas' drops with a carrier/goon/web army, and you saw Bisu do a horrible job against By.Flash's drops that almost cost him a berth into the OSL. GoodFriend will be consistent as usual and it will come down to Stork's micro with shuttles and carriers. This game could go either way, but will be absolutely critical for Stork, because he does not want even the possibility (however small) of a PvT on Hitchhiker.
It will likely be Dongrae's bad TvZ versus GGPlay on a map where GGPlay is fairly good. I wouldn't be surprised if Dongrae tried a neutral break here. If Dongrae plays standard, GGPlay will likely get to hive and win with defilers. Here's to hoping that happens, because if Dongrae plays amazing and out of his mind and we have a GF/Dongrae double Terran advancement, I may have to shoot myself. I would be thrilled if somehow both Terrans were here, but that would entail an absolute meltdown by GF on Longinus.
There are a ton of possibilities here, none of which GoodFriend has to worry about, so if he's here, he's still pretty much through no matter what. I doubt Dongrae will be here (he's probably going 0-2) but the only match up he could win is a TvP. Most likely it'll be Stork vs GGPlay, and I trust Stork's above average PvZ over GGPlay's mediocre ZvP. Let's hope that Stork can prevail so another Protoss gets through.
Group F: April 20th – 18:30 Korean
Game 1 - [Oops]Reach (P) vs. DArKeLf[S.siR] (T) @ Longinus 2
Game 2 - HiyA[fOu] (T) vs. Sea[Shield] (T) @ Longinus 2
Winners - Neo Arkanoid
Losers - Neo Arkanoid
Final - Hitchhiker
@ Longinus 2
This game and this group are all about Reach. Someone gave him the keys to the rejuvenation machine, and all of us would like nothing more than to see him reclaim a spot in the OSL. This game is absolutely critical for him, because losing means he'd have to go through two PvTs on Arkanoid and Hitchhiker to qualify, a tough task for any Protoss. Fortunately, he's coming off an impressive dismantling of Yooi on the same maps to get here. Darkelf recently lost to our neighborhood badass, Chalrenge, but that doesn't say much since Chalrenge also beat Midas. I predict Reach will rise to the occasion and take this one.
@ Longinus 2
Hiya is decent at TvZ, but has an abysmal 1-6 TvT record, never having won a series. Sea, however, is coming off two wins in the Kespa cup over Casy and forGG, neither of which are TvT pushovers. This one shouldn't be close.
Reach demonstrated very impressive carrier control in a close win over Yooi on this map. Sea, however, is not Yooi, with a sick 70% win rate versus Protoss. Our Hero looks outmatched on this map, but if anyone can do it, Reach can. I wouldn't even mind a bold neutral break build here. Anything to avoid that PvT on HH. Reach does not want to do what Anytime did yesterday, which is rape a boring Terran (Bifrost) on Long only to lose to the same Terran on HH.
If Reach somehow ends up here, everyone pray to give his carriers strength. He will need it. Most likely though, it'll be Hiya vs Darkelf and if that's the case, does anyone really care what happens? Given Hiya's bad TvT, he'll be staring 0-2 in the face.
Let's hope that this is TvT, because that will mean Reach is already through. If Reach ends up here and loses because of the sheer difficulty of PvT on this map, I swear I will go END whoever made this map. It's like they had Casy make a map where he might be able to win a TvP and then snuck it past the map testers somehow. We believe in you Reach, just be decisive and aggressive (i.e. do everything you can--proxy, drops, cannons, carriers, nakedness--anything so that the Terran cannot set up a push at your natural).