Every so often a Liquibition becomes so epic that it transcends all Liquibitions gone before it. When such an event occurs, Liquibition evolves into the Broodsport - the ancient ritual founded centuries ago to determine the greatest fighter in all the land. Broodsport is a separate event from Liquibition and carries a lot more prestige and prize money than it as well. It draws together two of the best players in the world to do battle for our entertainment. Ultimately one fighter will emerge victorious, and will be adorned with appropriate praise and prize.
In Broodsport, there are seven matches played between the two competitors - each game carrying the same importance. All seven games are played and each game won is worth $25. So a player can win up to $175 if he manages to 7-0 his opponent. But Broodsport does not stop there; in addition to the money won in each game, the player who wins the majority of the games will be awarded an extra $100 while the runner up shall be awarded $25 for his efforts. That means if one player manages to 7-0 his opponent they will win a grand total of $275 - that's almost as much as an entire season of Clan League in a simple seven game series. Broodsport does not mess around with prize money; it is the real deal.
The first two combatants in Broodsport are none other than IdrA from CJ Entus and the reigning Liquibition Champion - F91. With such skill gracing our screens this matchup is beyond worthy of becoming the first official Teamliquid Broodsport. F91 is a renowned Chinese Zerg gamer with a style that would make anyone tremble. Indeed, he has taken games off S-Class Progamers and can never be discounted in any series. IdrA on the other hand, is the only foreign progamer playing in Korea - and pride of the USA. With his dead solid mechanics and an extremely orthodox style he makes exceptions for no man; he simply destroys them.
The maps were decided between the players and the TeamLiquid Staff Hierarchy. Each player was able to select one map each, while the remainder were selected by the Staff after vicious debate. The resulting map list is as follows;
Tau Cross
This map was chosen by F91 for use in Broodsport.Tau Cross ushered in a new era of three player maps after Rush-Hour and has been a fan favorite ever since. Its popularity is reflected in the fact that KeSPA is reusing the map in the 2008-09 Shinhan Proleague. Tau Cross is typically seen as a Zerg favored map, but reflects statistical balance for TvZ in the proscene.
Tau Cross has a simple layout and wide open spaces for effective flanking. It also has a strong economic focus and thus favors macro based play - yet it is not restrictive in this sense. Tau Cross allows for virtually any play style to be utilized on this map ranging from SK Terran to 3 Factory Tank and 2 Hatch mutalisk, Guardians or even all out macro Zerg. The map is one of the few maps that allow such diversity within a matchup and should provide an excellent battleground for Broodsport
Tau Cross has a simple layout and wide open spaces for effective flanking. It also has a strong economic focus and thus favors macro based play - yet it is not restrictive in this sense. Tau Cross allows for virtually any play style to be utilized on this map ranging from SK Terran to 3 Factory Tank and 2 Hatch mutalisk, Guardians or even all out macro Zerg. The map is one of the few maps that allow such diversity within a matchup and should provide an excellent battleground for Broodsport
Sin Chupung-Ryeong
Sin Chupung-Ryeong was chosen by IdrA for use in Broodsport. Chupung is one of the latest generation of maps to emerge from the KeSPA laboratory and has been a highly successful map in both Proleague and OSL.The map has been described by Artosis as "a map which looks like a Terran player got mad at Peaks of Baekdu and bashed it into a form where he can actually win a game". Sin Chupung-Ryeong statistically favors Terran over Zerg.
The map features 3 very secure expansions which are wrapped around by high jungle to create very narrow chokes leading into the expansions. The map encourages a strong economic play style. At the same time, however, there are a number of backdoors and places for hidden proxies which allows for some very interesting builds to be created and indeed the exploitation of greedy play styles.
The map features 3 very secure expansions which are wrapped around by high jungle to create very narrow chokes leading into the expansions. The map encourages a strong economic play style. At the same time, however, there are a number of backdoors and places for hidden proxies which allows for some very interesting builds to be created and indeed the exploitation of greedy play styles.
Andromeda
Andromeda was one of the staple maps for the 2008 season and has endured through over 200 games already. Andromeda was a map picked by the TeamLiquid staff. Andromeda features a highly simplistic layout with islands at 12 and 6, and very easy to secure expansions. It also has a very wide open center which allows for easy flanking and great maneuverability.
Andromeda is unique as it encourages players to double expand very quickly as it has very easy to defend natural expansions. Because of this, Andromeda tends to create long games with both sides utilizing the full tech tree. Although the map statistically favors Terran over Zerg, many TvZ's end up as prolonged battles between incredible Marine/Medic macro and plague/ultralisk and as a result many of the best games from 2008 were on this map.
Andromeda is unique as it encourages players to double expand very quickly as it has very easy to defend natural expansions. Because of this, Andromeda tends to create long games with both sides utilizing the full tech tree. Although the map statistically favors Terran over Zerg, many TvZ's end up as prolonged battles between incredible Marine/Medic macro and plague/ultralisk and as a result many of the best games from 2008 were on this map.
Raid-Assault 2
Raid-Assault 2 was another map brought back from past seasons to become a part of the Proleague map pool for 2008. Raid-Assault 2 was chosen by the Teamliquid staff. Raid-Assault has an unusual design which makes for quirky play. The mains are located in the middle of their respective halves of the map - or rather in the middle of the figure '8' apparent in the map's design. The map is considered balanced for TvZ.
Raid-Assault, unlike the other maps thus far, favors less macro-oriented play which results in tense micro games. Because of the short aerial distance between the mains, Wraith vs Mutalisk wars are not uncommon and indeed one such battle resulted in epic ensnares winning the game for Zerg. The quirky design of this map should make for a vastly different style of game compared to the other maps and thus will make an excellent game four in the series.
Raid-Assault, unlike the other maps thus far, favors less macro-oriented play which results in tense micro games. Because of the short aerial distance between the mains, Wraith vs Mutalisk wars are not uncommon and indeed one such battle resulted in epic ensnares winning the game for Zerg. The quirky design of this map should make for a vastly different style of game compared to the other maps and thus will make an excellent game four in the series.
Colosseum II
Colosseum II is one of the three Courage maps at the moment and was chosen by the TeamLiquid staff. Colosseum II offers a unique terrain, probably inspired by the ancient Plains to Hill map. Moving beyond the unique natural formation leads us to a relatively standard central design which allows for mass unit battles to take place with ease - and allows for players to flank with ease.
Colosseum II does have a T>Z bias but with F91's unpredictable play style anything can happen on this map. The natural layout is prime for Zerg cheese - from sunken rushes to fast mutalisks. On top of that, Terrans tend to mech on Colosseum so they are typically even more vulnerable to early game shenanigans. This map is one of the staple maps of the current progaming scene, and Broodsport would not be complete without it.
Colosseum II does have a T>Z bias but with F91's unpredictable play style anything can happen on this map. The natural layout is prime for Zerg cheese - from sunken rushes to fast mutalisks. On top of that, Terrans tend to mech on Colosseum so they are typically even more vulnerable to early game shenanigans. This map is one of the staple maps of the current progaming scene, and Broodsport would not be complete without it.
Destination
Destiantion is one of the three Courage maps at the moment and was chosen by the TeamLiquid staff. Destination is currently the most popular map in existence right now and is being played everywhere. Despite the fact it's been around for one season less than the likes of Andromeda, it has already accumulated over 220 games played on this map. It truly is the defining map of this generation.
Despite the heavy Terran bias, Destination tends to produce fairly entertaining TvZ's. There are many options open to Terran, but all strategies usually converge to some variation of mech. Zerg, on the other hand, have a careful balancing act to play in not over expanding and producing the correct unit ratio to effectively counter the Terran forces. Because this map has been played so much, expect to see the highest quality of game on this map.
Despite the heavy Terran bias, Destination tends to produce fairly entertaining TvZ's. There are many options open to Terran, but all strategies usually converge to some variation of mech. Zerg, on the other hand, have a careful balancing act to play in not over expanding and producing the correct unit ratio to effectively counter the Terran forces. Because this map has been played so much, expect to see the highest quality of game on this map.
Medusa
Medusa is one of the three Courage maps at the moment and was chosen by the TeamLiquid staff. Medusa is one of the rare few maps which is a beautiful marriage between ingenuity and playability. The design of the Medusa main is the main feature of this map, more specifically the back entrance blocked by 10 stacked Temples. There are two mineral blocks outside which allow workers to "jump" into the back entrance and scout around.
Ever since fantasy popularized his build, Mech has been the optimal weapon for Terrans against Zerg and yet the statistics yield a Zerg bias in the matchup. The wide open space in the middle of the map works well for any macro Zerg as it allows a lot of room for flanking, and the Temples allow for great strategic play. This will be an excellent map to end the series on.
Ever since fantasy popularized his build, Mech has been the optimal weapon for Terrans against Zerg and yet the statistics yield a Zerg bias in the matchup. The wide open space in the middle of the map works well for any macro Zerg as it allows a lot of room for flanking, and the Temples allow for great strategic play. This will be an excellent map to end the series on.
So get fired up, this matchup promises to be one of the most epic series ever streamed by TeamLiquid. And indeed we are streaming this event on the 21st at 17:00 CET. Now that is 11:00am EST, 8:00am PST, 1:00am KST (Sunday) and 12:00am (Sunday) Chinese time. Your hosts for this event will be none other than the mighty Chill and Plexa. We will guide you through this matchup and hopefully you will come out better informed than when you went in.
The Matchup
IdrA < Tau Cross > F91
IdrA < Sin Chupung-Ryeong > F91
IdrA < Andromeda > F91
IdrA < Raid-Assault > F91
IdrA < Colosseum II > F91
IdrA < Destination > F91
IdrA < Medusa > F91
IdrA < Sin Chupung-Ryeong > F91
IdrA < Andromeda > F91
IdrA < Raid-Assault > F91
IdrA < Colosseum II > F91
IdrA < Destination > F91
IdrA < Medusa > F91
So who's going to take this series?
Poll: IdrA vs F91
(Vote): 7-0
(Vote): 6-1
(Vote): 5-2
(Vote): 4-3
(Vote): 3-4
(Vote): 2-5
(Vote): 1-6
(Vote): 0-7