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South Africa4316 Posts
It's the final weekly stats report, and I'd like to start it with an apology and another correction. Last week I informed you all that the playoffs will have the top six teams in it. This is not true. Our translator missed something. The six teams will only enter the playoffs next season. This season will only see the top four teams entering the playoffs.
With the all matches done now we get to see the final standings, and what a surprise this season has turned into. In first place we see Samsung Khan at the top again, revitalised by the emergence of Jangbi as a true force, as well as by some young players performing well.
In second place we have SKT who have come back all guns blazing this season. With the appointment of Oov as a coach their Terran players have shown fantastic play, especially Midas. Another strong player for SKT is BeSt, who ends the season on third position.
In third place we have OGN, who have been something of a surprise this season. With no big name players (except perhaps Luxury), and a poor start to the season, OGN have come back to show fantastic results at the end of the season.
The final team to go through is STX SouL, who have managed to avoid losing any of their final matches in order to secure themselves a position in the playoffs. With many experienced players, and some dangerous rookies, STX looks like a real threat for the playoffs.
In the map standings we see the winning percentages drawing closer to 50% as the season comes to a close. Overall, the maps seem to favour Terran slightly, especially when taking into consideration the amount of TvT matches played.
However, Zerg has made something of a comeback in the last few weeks, and have moved up to 43% winning percentage, showing that it can keep up on most of the new maps (except Wuthering Heights).
Protoss has also shown decent winning records on most new maps, and they have excelled on last season's maps. The matches in the playoffs will almost certainly be the last time we see Katrina played profesionally, and perhaps it will also be the end of Blue Storm. More than many maps, I think these two maps have defined a distinctive, if not always balanced, period of pro-starcraft, and it's with some sadness that I watvh them go.
The 1v1 rankings this week will make many people jubilant, and many others feel a sense of unjustness. Flash, after 13 consecutive weeks on top, has been dethroned by Pure in the last day of game play. After the extroadinaroy draw, followed by a loss to Jangbi, and Pure's victory this week, Flash has moved down to second place, while Pure has past him for first place.
Fortunately for the Flash fans, KeSPA counts most wins, and not the number of wins when losses are subtracted. Because of this, Flash will still take the coveted "Most Wins" prize.
Other than at the top, little has changed. Midas is the biggest mover, dropping down considerably after two consecutive losses.
There are surprisingly two MBC players in the top 10, something that might not be guessed from their team's 10-12 score. In contrast, STX has only one player in the top 10, but their 14-8 score reflects a much better team performance by the other players.
Finally, in the 2v2 section there are some big changes to report. Fake Yellow and Zeus have busted their way into second position, over taking long time leaders TT and Jihyun.
Similarly, Foru and Clon have moved up miraculously in the last week to take top spot. This team of old timers have shown yet again why they are one of the most feared teams in the game, and ACE's biggest weapon.
The team with the most wins though is still TT and Jihyun, who have played in an amazing 17 of Samsung's 22 matches, and have won 11 of those. This team has once again shown why Samsung has been a powerhouse of teamplay over the years.
+ Show Spoiler [Line-ups] +No line-ups have been released yet
STX SouL 4 - 2 OGN Sparkyz
STX SouL 4 - 3 SK Telecom T1
STX SouL 2 - 4 Samsung KHAN
With no official line-ups out already, I will simply ramble on here about my predictions.
STX SouL are a massive threat in my opinion. They field a tremendous line-up of purely talented players, players that can produce magic. Starting with experienced players such as July, and Hwasin, and working through to the newer breakthroughs such as Kal, Shuttle, Sheis, and Huskal, they are one of the most unpredictable and dangerous teams in the playoffs.
Their greatest weakness lies in their 2v2s, where, although they have been doing well, they have no "ace" team. STX has no 2v2 team that is well seasoned, and has done well against all competition. Instead they have a few mediocre teams that do well enough against weaker teams, but remain untested against strong teams. This could be very costly for STX with the playoff's setup.
I will say this straigh-up: I do not believe OGN Sparkyz can make it through. Not only do they lack big name players that are certain to take wins (once again, excluding perhaps Luxury), but they also lack consistently strong players that could take wins. While Luxury is a strong player, he is not dependable enough yet, and the same can be said of the whole OGN team.
In recent matches, OGN have been dependent on players like Leta, Shine, and Chalrenge succeeding. Unfortunately, against top competition, I do not think these players have what it takes. With that in mind, they have shown a fabulous streak of form recently, so they just might pull of some magic.
SK Telecom T1 are perhaps the most interesting team in the playoffs. They entered this season with massive structural changes, but few new prospects playing for them. They thus had to depend on their old players reemerging, and successfully beating the young players (something which they were unable to do in previous seasons). And they did just that.
Midas is on a roll this season, beating what we would typically consider "better" players left right and center, while Canata has been destructing experienced Terran players and rookies alike. Best, although not old, has come into his own all of a sudden, and is one of the hottest progamers at the moment.
Added to this, SKT have invested their rookies into teamplay, and it shows. Rumble and Bul_T have done extremely well, especially considering that neither are considered great potential players.
With all this in mind, I think SKT has perhaps the most dependable, and all round balanced, team. Whether this will be enough to hold off STX's onslaught, or stop a team full of top ranked KeSPA players such as Samsung, will remain to be seen.
Which leaves us with only Samsung KHAN, champions of the 2007 Proleague R1, they show no sign of weakening. With strong aces like Firebathero, Stork, and Jangbi, and young talents like Hades and Frozean, as well as a whole line-up of experienced players, and a plethora of possible 2v2 teams, Samsung has a Proleague line-up that just seems to work.
However, there are some chinks in their amour. Stork has not been at his ace form recently, and Firebathero is more likely to lose than win if he catches a Protoss player. Jangbi is a strong player, but he is notoriously inconsistent, and I am uncertain if he can beat other ace players on a consistent basis.
With that said, I still think Samsung has the strongest line-up, and they are my favourites to take this season. They have the depth that counts, and as long as they don't get a few bad match-ups, or their top players don't misfire, they should take the finals.
+ Show Spoiler [Last Week's Predictions] +
Match Accuracy: 6/10
Game Accuracy: 2/10
CJ Entus 2 - 3 Lecaf OZ
SK Telecom T1 2 - 3 OGN Sparkyz
Hanbit Stars 2 - 3 Air Force ACE
WeMade FOX 3 - 2 eSTRO
MBCGame HERO 2 - 3 STX SouL
KTF MagicNs 3 - 1 Samsung KHAN
OGN Sparkyz 3 - 2 Lecaf OZ
SK Telecom T1 1 - 3 CJ Entus
Hanbit Stars 3 - 2 eSTRO
WeMade FOX 3 - 2 Air Force ACE
And that concludes yet another season of the Weekly Stats Report, and possibly my last. Last Romantic will handle the play-off reports for this season, and next season I will move to MSL Previews. Hopefully this will guarantee you all a more up to date R&S, as well as some fresh ideas in the proleague news posts.
I hope you've all enjoyed it as much as I have, and see you all with some hype next season!
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Great write up Daigomi.
STX SouL all the way!
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Spenguin
Australia3316 Posts
Thanks Daigomi 
I just wish we had a July vs Flash 
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Why is Best's record 12-3 while his win/loss differential is +8?
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OMG Epic.
Thanks alot July Vs Flash would have been soooo epic, maybe a Best July reunion?
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South Africa4316 Posts
Sorry EvoChamber, that's just a mistake on my part. My usual method of copy-pasting the stats broke this week, so I had to enter them by hand. Best is 12-5, not 12-3.
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Zurich15345 Posts
Thanks a lot for the report Daigomi. These make Proleague that much more accessible.
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For a difference of 8 isn't it 12-4?
Anyway, excellent article. People like me who can't follow all games can see the big picture. I was rooting for Lecaf, but it's nice to see that SKT and STX made to the playoffs. I'll miss ForU and Clon- they shone so much.
Hopefully eStro will perform better next season, and ACE will recieve boost from incoming players.
Also, zeus is mispelled in 2v2 rankings.
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Samsung will take pl.. I totally agree with you!
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This is definitely SKT's one to win. I hope Bisu gets his act back together and Midas keeps on winning, they'll need it.
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Yay flash will still take most wins :D
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Gogo Samsung, cool to see FBH on 5th place. (no wonder how he dominates in TvT though)
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nitpicking time!
The name it's not SKT. It's either SK or SKT1.
Sad Lecaf didn´t made it
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Samsung with the strongest lineup? What? I'd be pretty terrified to play STK1, especially as Khan. They have to deal with Best, Bisu, Midas, and probably Canata. They also have a good 2v2 to match Khan, and they probably have enough players to field a decent 2v2 (Rumble/Shudder?). That matches up pretty well with Stork, Jangbi, and Firebathero... and if it gets to ace, chances are pretty high Best will take it home.
I also get the distinct feeling that OGN is going to someone squeak by the first round again, despite the fact that they probably shouldn't. GO AWAY OGN. >.>
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South Africa4316 Posts
On July 16 2008 21:36 PePe QuiCoSE wrote:nitpicking time! The name it's not SKT. It's either SK or SKT1. Sad Lecaf didn´t made it
Why would it be SK? South Korea? SKT stands for South Korea Telecom, the company that sponsors SK Telecom T1, just like MBC is the abbreviation of the company that sponsors MBCGame HERO etc. It should either be SKT or SKTT1, but everyone just uses SKT.
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On July 16 2008 22:00 zer0das wrote:
Samsung with the strongest lineup? What? I'd be pretty terrified to play STK1, especially as Khan. They have to deal with Best, Bisu, Midas, and probably Canata. They also have a good 2v2 to match Khan, and they probably have enough players to field a decent 2v2 (Rumble/Shudder?). That matches up pretty well with Stork, Jangbi, and Firebathero... and if it gets to ace, chances are pretty high Best will take it home.
I also get the distinct feeling that OGN is going to someone squeak by the first round again, despite the fact that they probably shouldn't. GO AWAY OGN. >.>
Bisu has been so incredibly hit or miss lately, though. I would not count on him atm. But I agree that Samsung might have trouble with SKT's lineup, as they have no strong vP since stork started to falter.
STX look good, though, with Hwasin good all around, and July looking like he will eat any protoss alive.
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nice writeup thanks a bunch
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Great writeup again Daigomi.
I hate Samsung. IMO, Stork's the only hero and everyone else is a villain. Seriously, the reason they win proleague is because they have a stable of players that can only win 1 game at a time.
SKT1 Fighting~! I can't believe that Midas came back for some wins. I can't believe Canata actually got some wins. I hope for a July-BeSt rematch in the STX v. SKT1 ACE match.
STX soul - Plexa's team comes through. Kal and Hwasin came though and they actually have a playoff spot. July didn't choke either, but it's hard to micro with a golden mouse in one hand.
MBC and KTF - you really should have not lost to OGN. It's a miracle that OGN made it to playoffs at all.
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Aotearoa39261 Posts
OGN will get crushed by Soul - mark my words
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STX or at least SKT1 please
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damn it, KTF is not in it cuz of only top 4.
thats gayshit.
Thanks to fucking dipshit coach for sending noobs all the time.
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On July 16 2008 22:15 Daigomi wrote:Show nested quote +On July 16 2008 21:36 PePe QuiCoSE wrote:nitpicking time! The name it's not SKT. It's either SK or SKT1. Sad Lecaf didn´t made it Why would it be SK? South Korea? SKT stands for South Korea Telecom, the company that sponsors SK Telecom T1, just like MBC is the abbreviation of the company that sponsors MBCGame HERO etc. It should either be SKT or SKTT1, but everyone just uses SKT. Oh, you are right. My bad, i got confused (as i always typed SKT1, which is the wrong one... got messed up)
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I'll miss lecaf and KTF
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I'd like to nitpick a bit too if I may: I won't use the word "rookie" for Rumble. Yes, he's not a very talented and good player (he made it to the OSL Ro16 somehow though to that all zerg group, defeating stronger opposition to get there!) but that's not the point. He's quite old-school, at least I remember him from back then long ago  . And he used to be a 2v2 player all the time. Bul_T is yes, newer a bit, but he's also a formidable 2v2 player (Bul_T + Anomia anyone?). You might call him rookie, but not Rumble, imo.
Well, if you mean skill-wise, yes, but he's at least experienced, and usually you don't call experienced players rookies, not in my book.
This is just an opinion, I don't like to start a debate, if you disagree, feel free to
Aside with all that, a great article as always.
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No KTF ftl... Don't even care who wins now.
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Look at Sea so cute ^_^ always top 10... and wow at best's PvP and Clon/Foru Record... who would of thought
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OGN has one very dependable player, although he's so new and up and coming that I'm not the least bit surprised that he's forgotten:
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/images/players/185.jpg)
 Leta
Look at his recent games list, It's pretty remarkable for such a newbie and much more of a reason why OGN is in third place than luxury (who's been hiding under the radar since his OSL loss).
I predict that Leta will be one of the better new terrans a few seasons from now, and I don't know if STX has anyone that could beat this monster right now. And don't say Kal, because his ass was handed on a plate to the OGN coach recently by none other than this little genius. He recently won against bisu, forGG and hiya as well, and I predicted all of those wins, but I guess I'm the only one who did so.
I'm sure we'll see more of this fellow.
It's so hard to have two of my three favourite teams fight like this. I have absolutely no idea who's going to win, but I wish both of them could advance.
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On July 17 2008 01:01 Plexa wrote:
OGN will get crushed by Soul - mark my words
*marks words
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Russian Federation4333 Posts
KTF and Lecaf are better teams than STX and OGN. Would have been so much better with top 6. OGN Sparkyz needs to die.
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On July 17 2008 07:28 TheTyranid wrote:
KTF and Lecaf are better teams than STX and OGN. Would have been so much better with top 6. OGN Sparkyz needs to die.
Yeah, too bad they cant do any better than OGN in terms of performance... I believe Lecaf really would have a decent shot at taking the proleague if they made it to the playoffs, too bad they didnt. Right now it would probably turn into a Samsung vs SKT1 finals...
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KTF Magicns!!!!!!!!!!! KTF vs Khan, SKT1 vs Khan or KTF vs SKT1 will be very interesting...
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Thank You, GO SKT1 or STX!
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I am rooting for STX all the way. That team is fantastic! Gogo July, Hwasin, and Kal.
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United States20661 Posts
Nitpicking - it's like SunKyung telecom, not South Korea.
Anyway uh...
KTF FUCK DAMN SHIT WHORE NIGGER BASTARD CUNT
I blame all of you for not cheering hard enough.
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United States20661 Posts
Does anyone honestly think the Sparkyz or the SouL team have any chance vs KHAN and T1?
This is a farce.
T1 please win - Taemin, Sungjae, do it for the oldschool.
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CA10828 Posts
On July 17 2008 17:30 Last Romantic wrote:
Does anyone honestly think the Sparkyz or the SouL team have any chance vs KHAN and T1?
This is a farce.
T1 please win - Taemin, Sungjae, do it for the oldschool.
taemin maybe, sungjae? lolololz, LR you're such a joker!
and yes, i think STX does have a chance. not OGN though.
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United States20661 Posts
IntoTheRainbOw will distract them with his girly appearance and then come in with a quintuple-reaver drop for the win.
STX... at a stretch, if they get extremely lucky.
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Aotearoa39261 Posts
STX have a great chance again T1
STX have a relatively well rounded lineup namely;
P: Kal, YJ [bestgod/soo]
T: Hwasin [Sheis]
Z: Calm, July
Against T1 who have what?
P: Best, Bisu
T: Midas, Canata
Z: Gorush
STX have the 2v2 advantage imo, and if they can get it right they can avoid canata by throwing a protoss at him (neutralizing the threat of a tvt slaughter) and kal/hwasin can tango with bius/best.. all depends on lineups and maps
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South Africa4316 Posts
Hmm, I didn't actually forget Leta, I just don't see him as either a dependable player or an ace yet. It's like 815 last season, or Kwanro. Leta is bringing in the results, but he is mostly untested, and against any top ranked KeSPA player I'd vote against Leta still.
LR, I always thought it was South Korean Telecom... now I know better And I think player for player STX has a better team this season, but unfortunately, players like Midas are playing unpredictably well. He seems to be able to win against any player, but also lose against some he shouldn't. All in all, in terms of strength we have:
July > Best (recent OSL, July is just on fire)
Kal > Bisu (Kal has posted very consistent results, compared to Bisu especially)
Hwasin > Midas (normally that's what I'd say, but Midas looks dangerous)
Shuttle = Canata (Canata is a killer in TvT, but average in other matchups. On the other hand, Shuttle is new, but he looks dangerous)
2v2_STX < 2v2_SKT (Bul_T and Rumble have looked very dangerous together)
So, looking at the teams, I think STX definitely have the stronger team. On the other hand, SKT has been outperforming themselves this whole season, and some of the STX players might not cope well under pressure. So I think STX will win, but I can easily see it swinging the other way.
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STX vs STK1 would be very matchup dependent I think. STX could have a good chance of winning, but they could also have a good chance to get smashed too. Even if the matchups aren't ideal for STK1, they have a good shot of winning. Not sure I can say the same about STX...
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Great write-up, Daigomi. I'm looking forward to seeing you on MSL next season
If STX wins this round Plexa, then it's your fault for writing that FE!
CJ ftw! Um..
KT..
Ah well, SKT ftw then :p
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fucken crazy that KTF didn't make it
STX is looking good
Samsung is always solid as hell
I hate OGN's lineup and hope they loose because of it
SKT1 to win it all! 1 2 3 TEAM OOV/KINGDOM FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHTING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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I was really preying to see an old school KTF vs SKT1 final.
Oh well, SKT1 FTW!!
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On July 17 2008 21:45 Plexa wrote:STX have a great chance again T1 STX have a relatively well rounded lineup namely; P: Kal, YJ [bestgod/soo] T: Hwasin [Sheis] Z: Calm, July Against T1 who have what? P: Best, Bisu T: Midas, Canata Z: Gorush STX have the 2v2 advantage imo, and if they can get it right they can avoid canata by throwing a protoss at him (neutralizing the threat of a tvt slaughter) and kal/hwasin can tango with bius/best.. all depends on lineups and maps
How do they have the 2v2 advantage ? As i can remember Bul_T and Rumble are very good 2v2 team . I think if STX plays July in the 1v1 they could have a good chance . July vs protoss on Andromeda is the scariest thing ever , but July will most likely play in the 2v2 which is not a guaranteed win either .And as far as i can remember Bisu > insurance and Best>Kal . July on Andromeda is great choise if you ask me because there are not much capable terrans on that map and i don't thing that Best or Bisu for that matter can tango with the God of War if he is at his best .
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EPT![[image loading]](http://teamliquid.net/staff/KizZBG/spl2008.jpg)
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