When Daigomi first showed me this banner, it was just a carving on a wall of a cave..
The Round of eight never fails to please the hard core fan. There is always drama, tension and some brilliant games of starcraft. EVER08 thus far has lived up to this standard, handing us our fair share of talk for the table. With the conclusion of the Ro8 looming, all the players remaining will be on edge and eager to make that final push to victory. Thanks to Atrioc you can grab all of last weeks results in this sick bracket;
Flash, Much, Rock and BackHo are all down a game meaning they must win the next two games on Friday to advance and keep their OSL dreams alive. For Luxury, Best, July and JangBi - only a single win is all it takes to get on the road to glory. This weeks matches will be intense to say the least, as every player will come out all guns blazing hoping to make an lasting impact on the legacy of the OSL.
The staff have already congregated and created a rather comprehensive preview for the entire Bo3 set in this news post so today's preview will comprise of a quick overview of what to expect and some minimalist predictions. So without further delay lets get into it; Quarterfinal One - Game 2
As with last week, this is without doubt the game of the night. With Flash being down one game, every game is a must win for him while Luxury has a buffer game. The pressure is on Flash to perform or being eliminated. Luxury, however, is one Zerg who thrives at creative play. We saw last week that he was eager to play tailored builds designed specifically to kill Flash in style. What we're seeing in these games is exactly what Rage outlined in "Mind Games" - what this means is that anything can happen. Disregard all the map balance statistics - this is one of the most even matchups in Flash's career. Luxury plays a very similar psychological war to Flash - and thus far he is beating him at his own game.
Luxury probably will come equipped for unique tailored strategies for both Andromeda (game 2) and Hwarangdo (game 3) as neither map has been figured out yet and there is still room for innovation. Whether or not Flash steps up to the challenge is a different story. His recent games have been somewhat lacking and you can see a difference on his face. He's no longer in the dreamy "i pwn everyone" state, he looks like he is desperate to maintain his advantage over the world and is losing is grip on Starcraft as a result. Despite many liquibets riding on Flash to take this series, the odds seem firmly stacked in Luxury's favor. Be it Flash's slight deterioration, the fact that neither map has been figured out leaving room for innovation or good ole superstition in the form of the OSL curse. Flash will probably take andromeda, but I don't see him taking the series. I'm calling Luxury to win this set 2-1
Last weeks encounter was one of the best PvP games seen in awhile. After a reletively equal early/mid game, from nowhere Best took an insurmountable lead over Much. This image says it all;
Despite Much playing the best starcraft he's ever played, it hasn't been enough to knock over the new kid on the block. This is a classic bout between youth and experience, and as always youth is winning. And for the first time in ages, I'm actually cheering for the youth to topple the experienced. If you haven't been caught up in the wave of Best already, then by the time the OSL is over you will be. His blend of protoss is refreshing after the period of Stork/Bisu in which everything seemed to stagnate.
Othello is an interesting PvP map, but it does have a restricted set of builds. Typically you will either see 2gate proxy or 1 base tech. Simply put, if the game goes longer than 5 minute without Much being able to hamper Best significantly, his chances of winning decrease exponentially. Best has shown that he is capable of cheese as well - having cheesed stork in the Ro16. All fingers point to Best taking this game and shutting Much out 2-0. If there is a final set (held on Troy), Best should feel comfortable as Troy is one of his best maps and thus should be able to take Much head on and stamp him to the ground.
Rock has been performing above all expectations recently, but when you run into the God of War things suddenly seem bleak. Indeed July showcased his long lost talent last week in defeating Rock in a very entertaining game on Andromeda. The Gods must be favoring our beloved Tushin as they have given him another statistically Zerg favoring map. With July, the veteran everyone had discounted, one game from making the Semifinals the dreams of a Golden Mouse OSL seem vibrant and real.
July rose to prominence in the days of Nostalgia - a map which bares striking resemblance to Hwarangdo and thus he will be well prepared on this map. However, Rock has also been around forever and has played his fair share on Nostalgia, but obviously, July holds the nostalgia advantage due to his superior play on the map. The lack of a gas natural really hurts the modern Protoss as their gas supplies are instantly halved, making their valuable tech units difficult to get. I would not be surprised if July decided to use a hydra -> lurker strategy to stretch Rock's gas further than it needs to be. Everything about this map screams July and the chances are he's going to take this set and go 2-0 up. If by some miracle Rock manages to take this game, July has Othello to rely on - a map which is rather balanced in the matchup. But July should be able to use his classic Hydra-allin to great effect seeing as Rock will undoubtedly fast expand.
Unlike a number of tl members, I'm not quite ready to give up on Backho as every time i lose faith he stomps a monster. Last week was unfortunate for the Lecaf Protoss as his pure goon strategy was pulped by JangBi's good Reaver usage. BackHo was never really behind in those games, just couldn't execute right in the moment of truth. JangBi on the other hand looks solid as anything right now - and is probably the favorite at this point in time.
BackHo should perform well on Troy, assuming he's learned his lesson from last week. Troy essentially forces Reavers PvP so this time he won't be caught with his pants down. JangBi on the other hand should also perform well - which means that the resulting game should actually be quite good. Although it's unlikely that BackHo will pull through, there is a chance that we'll see some magic on this map which promotes and thrives on innovation. However things do not look bright for BackHo even if he manages to win on Troy - Andromeda is a map which JangBi has shown some brilliant games on; and thus shows that he is comfortable on it. JangBi should pull this series home 2-1, but i'm hoping for a miracle with BackHo taking it 2-1.
It may come as a shock, but that's all for now! The competition is quickly narrowing down and the tournament is really becoming interesting and exciting. The mindgames going on between Luxury and Flash are beautiful to watch - which is showcasing starcraft at it's highest level. While Best and Much are showcasing some brilliant PvP. July is ripping it up for nostalgia's sake while JangBi and Backho are flailing around in awe of Much and Best. This Friday everything is on the line, and it's looking to be one hell of an evening !
If Flash manages to win two in a row against Lux, he can become legendary. I think he's going to come into this game very focused, probably with a really innovative build prepared (like his fast vessel strat against Yarnc)
FLASH IS GOING TO RAPE LUXURY AND FORCE HIM TO RETIRE
the only reason flash is not in the dreamy state of pwnage is because he is stretched thin between 3 starleagues, the stress is too much- one or two defeats is really frustrating given that. I think he will mellow out before Friday though, come out with some rape-age build, and beat luxury in an amazing series. If he pulls back on his pl commitments, nothing is stopping Flash.
Oh, and I hope it is a Flash vs Much [I hate Best] and Jangbi vs July semi finals. Flash vs July finals gogo!
I hope Flash can take down Luxury. Mind games are his games after all . But I have a strange feeling that Luxury will let him win the game on Andromeda just to crush him brutally on Hwarangdo .
As for the rest of the games - I just want to be entertaining as the first ones (after TSL I started to enjoy PvP more and more - and want to see some nice PvPs this friday ).
Flash has lost to two of the best in their respective races using CREATIVE builds that caught him off guard. So I don't think Flash's form is exactly wavering. I still think he'll win this series and OSL. That being said I really want Luxury or July (And Best for that matter) to win this OSL.
Really hate how people jump on the Flash bandwagon just because he is winning. That seems really lame to me. The guy just has no personality or sense of humor. His face is a constant snarl, and after he wins he looks like he doesn't even want to be in the place.
Best, Sumo, and Gramps, have WAY more personality than him. Although, I'm a SamsungKhan fan, so I'm rooting for Jangbi all the way... and he doesn't have much personality either :-S
On June 19 2008 05:15 EGoldman wrote: Really hate how people jump on the Flash bandwagon just because he is winning. That seems really lame to me. The guy just has no personality or sense of humor. His face is a constant snarl, and after he wins he looks like he doesn't even want to be in the place.
Best, Sumo, and Gramps, have WAY more personality than him. Although, I'm a SamsungKhan fan, so I'm rooting for Jangbi all the way... and he doesn't have much personality either :-S
Plenty of players portray themselves as emotionless. CJ face -_- anyone? Never stopped anyone from rooting for Savior/Xellos/etc in the past.
Seeing as how Flash is the only Terran left in the current OSL, makes sense for Terran players to root for him unless they have a particular reason to cheer for someone else too.
On June 19 2008 07:23 Phyre wrote: Plenty of players portray themselves as emotionless. CJ face -_- anyone? Never stopped anyone from rooting for Savior/Xellos/etc in the past.
Seeing as how Flash is the only Terran left in the current OSL, makes sense for Terran players to root for him unless they have a particular reason to cheer for someone else too.
On June 19 2008 05:15 EGoldman wrote: Really hate how people jump on the Flash bandwagon just because he is winning. That seems really lame to me. The guy just has no personality or sense of humor. His face is a constant snarl, and after he wins he looks like he doesn't even want to be in the place.
Best, Sumo, and Gramps, have WAY more personality than him. Although, I'm a SamsungKhan fan, so I'm rooting for Jangbi all the way... and he doesn't have much personality either :-S
I don't get this reasoning. People like good players not interesting players... It's the same in any sport, the personality is just an added bonus. Savior in his prime wasn't really crazy or intersting, he never talked about his secret porn stash or did any ceremonies. With your reasoning Firebahthero is the greatest player of all time and the rest are pretty much lame.
On June 19 2008 05:15 EGoldman wrote: Really hate how people jump on the Flash bandwagon just because he is winning. That seems really lame to me. The guy just has no personality or sense of humor. His face is a constant snarl, and after he wins he looks like he doesn't even want to be in the place.
Best, Sumo, and Gramps, have WAY more personality than him. Although, I'm a SamsungKhan fan, so I'm rooting for Jangbi all the way... and he doesn't have much personality either :-S
I find it equally annoying that people are so quick to kick him while he's down--if you will--when he's finally starting to lose a few games. Oh well! He's lost 2 or 3 in a row. So many other players have gone on longer streaks than that and are still competitive today. Give Flash a break.
On June 19 2008 03:12 ScarFace wrote: FLASH IS GOING TO RAPE LUXURY AND FORCE HIM TO RETIRE
the only reason flash is not in the dreamy state of pwnage is because he is stretched thin between 3 starleagues, the stress is too much- one or two defeats is really frustrating given that. I think he will mellow out before Friday though, come out with some rape-age build, and beat luxury in an amazing series. If he pulls back on his pl commitments, nothing is stopping Flash.
Oh, and I hope it is a Flash vs Much [I hate Best] and Jangbi vs July semi finals. Flash vs July finals gogo!
qft, July should rape rock and who ever wins out of jangbi and backho, epic TvZ finals gogogo
Flash don't choke. Win. Best, as much as I love Old Man Protoss, don't lose. July...God of War status. Go earn your hardware. Blackho....the only reason I liquibetted for you was because I thought you were Sangho. My apologies, but Jangbi is a chump.
What "This is a classic bout between youth and experience, and as always youth is winning."? I remember just last year when Boxer knocked the air out of Flash on Python in Proleague.
Flash will win game 3 if it goes that far due to map imbalance. Also, it's really doubtful that Luxury can beat Flash in a map like Andromeda, where terran can expand early and easily on the mineral expansion. Yes, zerg can try to outexpand terran, but terran with 2 expansions is hard to beat with its numerous science vessels and waves of marines. Thing to look out for in this match up is if Luxury can come up with a novel approach on Hwarangdo, where not that many games have been played. I see Flash in 3.
Best really has become the best protoss player of this season and his strongest matchup is against protoss. Even though Much is known for his smart gaming sense, he just can't beat an opponent who can use resources faster and more efficiently. Only thing going for Much is that Othello and especially Troy both have terrains that he can use for his advantage in terms of strategy. If the game goes normally to a big fight with templars and archons, expect Best to easily win.
July vs Rock is probably easiest match to call due to July's dominance over protoss and very favorable map.
Last game is probably the hardest to call due to the lack of data on Backho's protoss match up and that Jangbi isn't that good against protoss either, despite his win over Stork in Ro16. Most people will go with Jangbi just because he's better known, but in mirror match, anything can happen.
Overall, this OSL, maps really do favor Terran and it gives a high hope for Flash to be the first player since Boxer to claim consecutive OSL title. Or Best or Jangbi can take their games to another level and join the ranks of the elite protoss players. May be July will claim his golden mouse, or Luxury to improve on his semi-final appearance of last OSL, and show the world that Jaedong is not the only zerg player to be concerned with. Will Flash shrug off his mini-slump and re-establish his dominance in starcraft scene, or will another player rise up and make himself a house-hold name.
EPT
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Plexa
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. But I have a strange feeling that Luxury will let him win the game on Andromeda just to crush him brutally on Hwarangdo 
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