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South Africa4316 Posts
pachi brings out the funk
The Sponsor
The new MSL season is just around the corner, and with a brand new sponsor entering the professional gaming arena, it will be interesting to see how the season kicks off. ClubDay Online, sponsor of the MSL, is an MMO dancing game that hopes to draw on the professional image of Starcraft to support its own game. What does this mean for the MSL? Well, hopefully we'll get an innovative and fresh season that breathes some new life into the MSL.
+ Show Spoiler [ClubDay Online] +
The Maps
Looking at the maps, the vibrant, if somewhat careless, attitude of ClubDay definitely shines through. Tiamat, Coliseum, and Othello have all been scrapped and replaced with brand new maps. The maps will be Athena II, Byzantium II, Destination and Medusa. Most of you already know Athena from the Arena MSL that just passed, and Byzantium was used in the MSL qualifiers, and although both of these will be getting minor updates, it is Medusa and Destination that I am most interested in.
Medusa is a radical three player map that is being used in both the OSL and the MSL this season. The map is almost entirely flat, with only a safe expansion behind the mains being on higher ground. The center is open, and running distances between bases are short, as there are few obstructions. What makes the map interesting is not so much what it has, but more what it doesn't have. There are no "multiple-routes", no higher grounds, or island bases, nothing which most maps use to distinguish themselves with. Instead, it just has what is needed for a good game: chokes, expansions, and a large battlefield. My only worry with the map is that it's lack of features might allow the players who takes the advantage to retain that advantage too easily.
Destination is a large open map that aims to bring the epic back into the MSL. Where Medusa is hoping for aggressive bloodfests, Destination is looking going for long games. With bases far apart and easily securable expansions, Destination is a complete macro heaven. With that said, expansions are generally further apart than what we are used to, and as the middle might prove difficult to hold, keeping expansions might not be that easy. It will be interesting to see how players cope with the map, and hopefully it will deliver us some quality games.
The Games
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/images/players/207.jpg) vs ![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/images/players/185.jpg)
The OpenDay MSL starts with the defending MSL champion, ForGG, taking on up-and-comer Leta on the Terran friendly Athena. Although ForGG is undeniably in peak form at the moment, his TvT has historically been his worst match-up. However, in recent times he has shown tremendous form, beating both Flash and Hwasin in extended matches. Facing up against this is Leta who has won 12 of his last 13 games. This incredible burst started somewhere at the end of last season, and Leta has just been able to keep winning important games for OGN. These wins include games against Kal, Bisu, and fittingly, ForGG. In his first Starleague, it will be interesting to see how Leta performs against the reigning champion.
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/images/players/129.jpg) vs ![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/images/players/174.jpg)
In the second match of the day we have Iris vs Zero. Zero was first seen in the GomTV MSL 4, showcasing some of the worst games I have even seen in a Starleague. Uninspired play, and dreadful unit control led to thrashings by both Mind and Sea. However, in this season's survivor Zero got his revenge by knocking Mind out of the MSL, and also beating last season's biggest improver, Backho. He will be up against the always threatetning Iris, known for his ultra-aggressive Terran play, and while I am very interested in Zero's improvement, his first impression has been burned into my mind, and I have difficulty seeing him beat Iris on Byzantium. With that said, we might be in for a surprise.
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/images/players/175.jpg) vs
Free vs Dongrae is of somewhat less interest than the second game, so most interesting for me will be to see how the map plays out. Terran cannot dominate the middle of the map comfortably, and the three easily defended resource spots should give Protoss the advantage. However, the close base distances might make blitz attacks and early pushes more dangerous from Terran, and if Terran can secure the early position, Protoss might not be able to break out. It will be interesting to see how the matchup develops, and how these players attempt to cope with the new map.
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/images/players/147.jpg) vs
In the second game, Nada is going head to head with the Maestro, on a map that allows both players to show their stuff, Destination. After the slow first day, the MSL might be blasted open with a macro masterpiece between two of the greats of Starcraft. What will happen? Well, it's difficult to call on a completely untested map with two unpredictable legends at work, but I'm betting on a victory by sAviOr, as I believe that the map will give sAviOr enough time to tech to defilers which will hopefully allow him to secure the game. With that said, mutalisk harassment will probably be ineffective on the map, due to the spacing between the ledges and resources, and the travel distances between the bases, so Nada might have a window of opportunity early on.
There you have it. Two groups will be slugging it out in the next five days, with newcomers facing the pros, greats facing greats, and new maps waiting to be explored! Welcome to the new MSL, and enjoy the TL coverage of this exciting event!
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Destination is really 128x196? :O
Savior vs Nada should be interesting.
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128x196 2 player map? sheesh
looks interesting though for sure
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On September 17 2008 03:29 Nightmarjoo wrote:
Destination is really 128x196? :O
Savior vs Nada should be interesting.
I hope so... (can't see Savior do anything though)
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this clubday must be the weirdest game of all time
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Savior vs. Nada. That brings back memories...
Go go...either one of them!
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South Africa4316 Posts
On September 17 2008 03:29 Nightmarjoo wrote:
Destination is really 128x196? :O
Savior vs Nada should be interesting.
My mistake people, there seems to have been some misunderstanding between me and some of the other staff. Destination is 128x96, not 128x192. That sucks, it was more interesting as a huge map 
Game-play will still be fairly similar I guess, just not as epically slow as I had hope for
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Am i the only one who noticed the swastika in the middle of medusa?
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I really would have liked to see what Boxer could have made out of a map such as Medusa. Seems like a map where his genious could shine. Hypothetically speaking.
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Hooray for 3player maps, the greatest of them all
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United States7488 Posts
On September 17 2008 03:56 Oglop wrote:
Am i the only one who noticed the swastika in the middle of medusa?
No... and go look at some other maps and see how many you find.
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On September 17 2008 03:56 Oglop wrote:
Am i the only one who noticed the swastika in the middle of medusa?
Hahaha i didnt notice it till now
Edit: Thanks for the write up Daigomi :D I like the opening however it has nothing to do with SC XD Also, the spoiler is labelled "CluibDay Online" 
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On September 17 2008 04:12 semioldguy wrote:Show nested quote +On September 17 2008 03:56 Oglop wrote:
Am i the only one who noticed the swastika in the middle of medusa? No... and go look at some other maps and see how many you find.
+ Show Spoiler +
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Great write up but missing headers and TLPD stuff on maps and players etc.
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I love the new maps, Nada vs Savior and ForGG vs Leta should be good!
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United States11637 Posts
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i first read "club gay" online
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go give up that swastika stuff >_>
I'm looking forward the most to the Medusa games. I see some cliffing there (yet another time?). Let's hope that we won't have yet another "zomg so terran imba" discussions after this season...
That being said, some first few games might turn out to be cheesefests
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I personaly think medusa is somewhat like Andromed... looks like there access to min only via netural building ? probably ment to punish people trying to grab three bases quick...
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On September 17 2008 05:16 Axidboy wrote:
I personaly think medusa is somewhat like Andromed... looks like there access to min only via netural building ? probably ment to punish people trying to grab three bases quick...
Neutral building AND minerals.
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so hows the MSL intro is gonna look like? The Ro16 players all dancing?
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Medusa reminds me of Bifrost and Destination reminds me of Peaks
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Destination seems alright, at least they don't have a map like plasma
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you could be happy..... <3 savior.
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Destination kinda reminds me of hwarangdo, but i could be terribly mistaken
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On September 17 2008 05:56 DrainX wrote:Medusa reminds me of Bifrost and Destination reminds me of Peaks This.
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Destination is huge! I sure hope savior remembers to get adrenal glands this time, since he'll definitely have time to get to hive tech.
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I like the look of Destination. So much gas for a Zerg to play with.
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Savior v. Nada was once a championship caliber game, I hope they can show their stuff.
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I want to see clubday matches
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Savior on a map where he can mass expo easier. Am I the only one with butterflies in my tummy?
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Destination reminds me of a combination of Nostalgia and Peaks.
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Getting a 3rd gas looks farther/harder to reach for 6 o clock then the other mains. Or is it just me...
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Seems like greek names are popular for maps this season. ~~
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Savior vs Nada, that's the game I've been waiting for sometime.
Savior reached his top by winning Nada 3:1 in an epical matchup and claimed his first OSL title. if he can somehow walk over Nada again in this msl, the faith can be hopefully restored and we may see the "return of the king".
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I really want to play Destination! That will make for a really tough PvT.
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I just wonder, who makes up the names for these things?
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A 128 x 192 map would have been interesting. : (. Still, let us see how this goes.
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I really like the look of destination
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Savior vs. Nada 'nuff said. I am just SO excited about this season's OSL and MSL. They have fantastic players and fresh new maps. And I already have my tissues ready.
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Destination reminds me of Arcadia
Medusa looks kinda like a fun version of Luna
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On September 17 2008 11:54 Purind wrote:
Medusa looks kinda like a fun version of [blue map].
Fixed.
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Russian Federation386 Posts
lol Destination is a combo between Arcadia, Nostalgia and Peaks ^^
Medusa looks ok, but it could be really hard to stop lurker drops 
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I like the whole "back to the basics" feel I'm getting from these maps They look nice and simple to me.
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OMG, its NaDa vs sAviOr again. hope they produce good epic game for us
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(2)battlegrounds
OR
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/images/maps/188_Destination.jpg)
(2)Destination
??
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On September 17 2008 03:56 Oglop wrote:
Am i the only one who noticed the swastika in the middle of medusa?
swastikas are prevalent in asia or anywhere buddhism reigns. for 3000 years it has been a symbol of peace and harmony. i suppose there are actually people who believe the nazis created such a magnificent rune...
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can somebody post dl link to destination ? I was looking for 2 hours for this map and i couldn't find it ;s
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I like the maps it's a good maps for protoss but I want Download the maps! I need the links please
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Aotearoa39261 Posts
when the map is officially released you'll be able to find it
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Where can I download these maps? (After release...)
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goo nada!
hopefully this will be an epic match :D
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where do we get that map.... XD XD XD
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On September 17 2008 15:43 NastyMarine wrote:
(2)battlegrounds
OR
(2)Destination
??
Yeah I see the similarities.
Destination has much much better gameplay flow.
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these maps are amazingly good , they just get better every year lol
<3 medusa
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Destination reminds me of
for some reason
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Medusa looks like the better map of the 2. I like the use of the sideways wide bridge at 9.
Although I wonder how much money and HP the backdoor blocks have. That might turn out to be the death of the map.
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Believe me there will be no death to the map. Korean pro map makers train daily creating maps and perfecting them. If theres any death or imbalance it'd already be out the map pool
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South Africa4316 Posts
On September 18 2008 04:37 NaejeOn-X17 wrote:
Believe me there will be no death to the map. Korean pro map makers train daily creating maps and perfecting them. If theres any death or imbalance it'd already be out the map pool
Unfortunately this isn't true. Korean promaps, especially recently, have been very imbalanced. I've done the map statistics for the last two or three seasons, so I know. However, I'm just glad that the maps seem to be imbalanced in favour of Zerg, they need all the help they can get at the moment.
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I'm sure that they trained pretty hard for making the dmz map. It would be cool to see that in an msl, but it would be pretty hectic.
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On September 18 2008 05:57 Daigomi wrote:Show nested quote +On September 18 2008 04:37 NaejeOn-X17 wrote:
Believe me there will be no death to the map. Korean pro map makers train daily creating maps and perfecting them. If theres any death or imbalance it'd already be out the map pool Unfortunately this isn't true. Korean promaps, especially recently, have been very imbalanced. I've done the map statistics for the last two or three seasons, so I know. However, I'm just glad that the maps seem to be imbalanced in favour of Zerg, they need all the help they can get at the moment.
COUGH Jaedong > Flash COUGH July's gold mouse.
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idk if this has been posted or not... but the center of Medusa looks like a swaztika.
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On September 18 2008 14:08 xxsaznpride wrote:
idk if this has been posted or not... but the center of Medusa looks like a swaztika.
Yes it has been mentioned...
Is there anyway to watch a livestream of the matches?
edit. found the livestream om Daum. so forget the question
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Aotearoa39261 Posts
On September 18 2008 13:50 fanatacist wrote:Show nested quote +On September 18 2008 05:57 Daigomi wrote:On September 18 2008 04:37 NaejeOn-X17 wrote:
Believe me there will be no death to the map. Korean pro map makers train daily creating maps and perfecting them. If theres any death or imbalance it'd already be out the map pool Unfortunately this isn't true. Korean promaps, especially recently, have been very imbalanced. I've done the map statistics for the last two or three seasons, so I know. However, I'm just glad that the maps seem to be imbalanced in favour of Zerg, they need all the help they can get at the moment. COUGH Jaedong > Flash COUGH July's gold mouse. Name five competent zerg players at the moment!
Jaedong! (that was easy)
Luxury! (that also was easy)
July! (uh, kinda a stretch seeing as he sucks zvt atm)
uh
Yarnc? (which league is he in again?)
um?
....
you can do the same for all other races ez
[spoiler]Protoss:best, stork, bisu, much, jangbi, kal etc
Terran: Forgg, Flash, Lomo, Leta, Sea, etc/[spoiler]
On September 18 2008 14:08 xxsaznpride wrote:
idk if this has been posted or not... but the center of Medusa looks like a swaztika.
am i the only person who sees medusa's hair in the middle?
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I really like the look of Destination... It's just so clean and uncluttered. Very pretty, and can't wait to play on it.
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can anyone link me to download all of the necessary starcraft maps to watch the pro replays? :D!!
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On September 19 2008 01:13 d.arkive wrote:
I really like the look of Destination... It's just so clean and uncluttered. Very pretty, and can't wait to play on it.
yeah I really think its going to have great play
its really the first map I can remember liking in the last 3 years
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EPT![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/pachi/banner/MSL_080914.png)
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/images/maps/187_Medusa.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/images/players/209.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/images/players/135.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/images/maps/25_Azalea.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://www.panschk.de/mappage/(2)battlegrounds2.3.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://www.battle.net/images/battle/scc/LP/9906/(2)Byways.jpg)
