This MSL Ro8 match had a very obvious theme. The new up and coming Kwanro had the opportunity to test his aggressive and somewhat unproven ZvP style against the Mack Daddy of the matchup. A new face couldn’t ask for a better opportunity to shock the world and proclaim his status among the elite. Bisu, on the other hand, had little to gain in this contest as far as credibility, but his passage to the next stage of the tournament depended on his success.
Game 1 – Python
With Bisu at 7 and Kwanro at 8, we had a situation of close air positions with a long walking distance, similar to what is commonly seen on a map like Gaia. This didn’t stop both players from starting off aggressive though! Bisu threw down 2 gateways, proxied in front of his natural expo, while Kwanro 12 pooled with zergling speed.
It seemed like we were in for quite an exercise in micro, until it became evident that Kwanro had completely blown his larva management and lacked the proper zergling numbers to defend himself. He was forced to cancel the hatchery at his nat and retreat to his main where a fresh sunk was morphing.
That led the way for a vicious and prolonged beat down. I won’t get into the details as they are mostly irrelevant, but suffice to say that:
If you allow this to happen…
This is what you have coming to you.
A sad performance from Kwanro, but just another day at the office for Bisu. Things didn’t exactly get off to a great start for Kwanro, who must’ve been feeling the pressure going into game 2. Game 2 – Loki II
This game opened in a very familiar way, as Bisu expanded with a forge and cannon first and Kwanro hatched first in the backyard expo while drone blocking his ramp to be extra sneaky. We then saw the young Zerg immediately take a page out of Oversky’s book as he transitioned into a 3 hatch ling rush to end the game quickly.
Kwanro does his best impression of Oversky.
The lings poured in at the perfect time, just as the second cannon was warping in, but Bisu fended the attack off with probes and a sparse zealot army with a single goon. Kwanro bounced some lings inside of Bisu’s main for a little while, but ultimately he failed to do much economy damage to either the nat or main probe lines.
Even though his first attack was anything but deadly, Kwanro clearly seemed to have the lead. He picked off an early templar with the last of the lings that made it into the Protoss main and his early muta harassment was strong, causing a large delay to Bisu solidifying his backyard expo. It seemed, however, that Kwanro’s economy was behind due to a string of fairly weak drops. Bisu’s army grew larger steadily while Kwanro was, oddly, still stuck at lair tech. By the time Bisu pushed out he had the Zerg vastly outnumbered and easily ran over his newest expansion. This game showcases how Kwanro may very well be too aggressive for his own good. If he had taken his early gains and gayed up a couple of expansions, Savior style, he would have been in good shape to win this one. Instead he stubbornly continued to press on as his various attacks were deflected more and more easily, until he had completely run out of steam. Game 3 – Zodiac
At this point in the series, Kwanro was too frustrated to even keep track of his opponent’s scouting probe. Bisu opened the game with his very iconic “Bisu Build” and managed to spot Kwanro’s exceptionally fast spire build with his initial scouting probe. There was nothing fancy to be seen here. It was simply an oversight on Kwanro’s part.
After that point is was all about going through the motions. Bisu built up his defences and Kwanro mounted an attack that was doomed to failure. The series concluded, much as it had begun, with Bisu one step ahead of Kwanro.
At this point, even Kwanro knew this wasn’t going to work.
So there you have it, a clean sweep for Bisu and a harsh lesson in the fine art of ZvP for Kwanro. This young player made quite a splash in this tournament and has acquired a number of fans on TL.net and elsewhere due to his daring builds and powerful ZvT. This certainly isn’t the last we’ll see of him. Losing to Bisu is anything but shameful. Next week Team Liquid coverage continues. You can look forward to more MSL Ro8 action as Mind faces off against TheMania and we see two old favourites battle it out in Xellos and Nal_rA.
As always, if you’re looking for information on this tournament, check out semioldguy’s Results and Standings Thread.
On October 30 2007 10:57 ManaBlue wrote: You can look forward to more MSL Ro8 action as Mind faces off against TheMania
I don't know if Mind facing off against TheMania is something I can "look forward to"
edit: I'm definitely curious to see how he does next season. And I wonder how far he might have gotten if he didn't run into Bisu, who I'd give the upper hand against any zerg player at the moment. Also he might get over some nerves by then which may have been affecting his ability this match as he did not seem so spectacular and I'm sure he could have done better in a lower-pressure situation.
Kwanro, Mind and TheMania all made it this far by starting at the preliminaries with no byes. I am curious to see which of these is a fluke or if one of these player can start stringing together some decent performances in starleagues.
to be stopped by bisu[shield] like that. in few words bisu crushed kwanro sense and strategy. or what his wins were made of. but it was good to see kwanro get this far.
On October 30 2007 10:57 ManaBlue wrote: You can look forward to more MSL Ro8 action as Mind faces off against TheMania
I don't know if Mind facing off against TheMania is something I can "look forward to"
Maybe I don't look forward to that match itself, but I look forward to the final between one of these two and Bisu. I think these two have a better chance than Savior/nal_rA/xellos and even the knocked out free.
And if they get raped, a Protoss will win in the end, so all is good in the natural order of things
I gotta agree Mind vs TheMania is something I'm NOT looking forwar to... oh and guess who's got to report it? (while the alternative is xellos vs ra... omg)
Though the results show a rape, I gotta say Kwanro impressed me more than most zergs. He atleast got Bisu sweating a big in Game 2. I think if he kept the pressure with early lings instead of easing the pressure a beat (like oversky did) he might have blasted the small whole he made wide open.
On October 30 2007 14:24 Live2Win wrote: Excellent write-up!
I gotta agree Mind vs TheMania is something I'm NOT looking forwar to... oh and guess who's got to report it? (while the alternative is xellos vs ra... omg)
Though the results show a rape, I gotta say Kwanro impressed me more than most zergs. He atleast got Bisu sweating a big in Game 2. I think if he kept the pressure with early lings instead of easing the pressure a beat (like oversky did) he might have blasted the small whole he made wide open.
Mind v Mania is going to kill my liquibet... no way to predict that one
Think it's worth mentioning Bisus building placement on Loki. He managed to turn a huge choke into something wallable by a zealot and a probe drill. That saved him.
EPT
![[image loading]](http://teamliquid.net/staff/KizZBG/gomtv3.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/ManaBlue/Bisu_Kwanro_MSLRO8D/BisuKwanro11.JPG)
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/ManaBlue/Bisu_Kwanro_MSLRO8D/BisuKwanro12.JPG)
We then saw the young Zerg immediately take a page out of Oversky’s book as he transitioned into a 3 hatch ling rush to end the game quickly.![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/ManaBlue/Bisu_Kwanro_MSLRO8D/BisuKwanro21.JPG)
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/ManaBlue/Bisu_Kwanro_MSLRO8D/BisuKwanro31.JPG)
bisu!<3
