[PL] End of Line

July 14th, 2009 03:55 GMT

Shinhan Proleague 2008/2009 Coverage by Riptide and Heyoka

This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.

- T.S Eliot, The Hollow Men

After one year of grueling all-week gaming, and hours, weeks, days and months of preparation, planning and execution, the Shinhan Proleague 2008-2009 is finally drawing to a close. Twelve teams in all, six falling by the side and six moving on to glory or defeat. SK Telecom T1, a team that developed steadily throughout the season to perform brilliantly in Rounds 4 and 5, move on to finally oust Hwaseung OZ from #1, a spot that would have secured them a Grand Finals seed. If anything, this must be disappointing for Lee Jaedong, a man we called the harbinger of death in last week's update. The workhorse of the team, Jaedong kept up a steady performance for Oz while performing in both individual leagues and GOM. Despite tying with the Flash for #1 in the individual rankings, however, the Zerg destroyer was unable to lead OZ to a Grand Finals seed, a fact that will surely come into play as he balances his OSL/MSL/GOM related practice with the preparation his team has to put in to get through the Semi-finals and come face to face with SKT T1. As they wait for #3 through #6 to fight it out and approach them however, Oz cant help but feel nervous. Sending Jaedong as a veritable bulldozer in front of them, they managed to edge out STX and secure a Semi-final seed. In a bo7 setting however, OZ's chances are only going to decrease further, and while Lomo, Hiya and Backho did manage to provide some support to our Zerg hero in the round robins, the team is going to definitely have problems finding the extra players that they will now need.

Despite securing a Grand Final seed, SKT's title bid now centers around three young titans and their ability to mould a fighting unit around themselves.

Kim Taek Yong, another contender for top gun that we looked at last week, falls just a game behind his OZ and KT counterparts to finish with 53 wins and a measly 14 losses when compared to Flash's 19 and Jaedong's 21. While certainly entitled to feeling robbed, and no doubt a little peeved at Boxer and Mong for not allowing him that last game vs Violet, Bisu has other things on his mind. With the playoffs being played out in a bo7 format, the Protoss undoubtedly knows that his team needs to focus on winning four games, and having a wildcard or two to boot. As far as Bisu/Fantasy/Best go, SKT does have as solid answer for the opening sets. It is after this, however, that the team's lineup begins to look poor. While Canata is certainly a viable fourth player, could Boxer come out of hibernation for the Grand Final as well? Although clearly not at the top of his game, it's certainly possible that The Emperor will snipe a big name with a well prepared and perfectly executed build. This, of course, leaves the SKT Zerg department, a branch of the team that is notorious for doing badly. Will Thezerg and s2 leave failville and manage to pull through for a team that well and truly deserves a win this time around? Only time will tell.

STX, STX, STX, the darkhorse of the round, and indeed, perhaps the entire season. For a team that was even unsure of a playoff spot at the beginning of Round 5, the Kal/Hwasin/July/By.hero/Shuttle/Calm ensemble has done remarkably well. Though featuring no titans or currently peaking stars like Bisu or Jaedong, STX was, and is a force to be contended with, particularly as they go into a playoff stage that favours a deep lineup as opposed to one that revolves around one or two great performers. In their first playoff game, they will face Samsung KHAN, the defending champions, and ordinarily, this would worry an outfit.

STX, who went from zero to hero this round, look poised to take their playoff opener with ease.

Those who have followed this season will note, however, that the KHAN that makes these playoffs is not the same team that won the 2008 Shinhan Bank Proleague. Although sporting big name players like Stork, Jangbi, Firebathero and great, KHAN has performed abysmally this season when compared with their run last time around, and barely managed to hold on to a #6 spot by edging out KT, who fell behind by a single game, and two penalty points generously donated by KeSPA. They will face a solid STX, and most likely get destroyed in style. I'm sorry KHAN fans, but there isn't a lot going for your team at the moment.

Leta, type-b, go.go and Yarnc are the backbone of Hite, even if the latter hasn't been pulling his weight lately. Of course, a bo7 will also most likely see them down, although their first playoff encounter with CJ will perhaps have them at a slight advantage, especially seeing their recent performance. Though Effort/Kwanro/Skyhigh/Iris/Savior are all really big names, like KHAN, they have not been living up to their reputations. Effort, despite an early OSL exit, is their saving grace, but as we've mentioned time and time again in this piece, a bo7 does not favour a team that relies on a single powerhorse. While it is very well possible that an erratic Skyhigh and Kwanro could pull themselves together in time for the playoffs, one has to realise that they will probably have a hard time against Hite who are playing type-b and go.go, both of who advanced to the OSL Ro8 last week.

Final Rankings

Teams
1st SK Telecom T1 35W 20L +/- +36 (Overall Set Score 145W 109L)
2nd Hwaseung OZ 35W 20L +/- +31 (Overall Set Score 134W 103L)
3rd STX SouL 33W 22L +/- +34 (Overall Set Score 143W 109L)
4th Hite SPARKYZ 33W 22L +/- +22 (Overall Set Score 141W 119L)
5th CJ Entus 31W 24L +/- +22 (Overall Set Score 130W 108L)
6th Samsung KHAN 30W 25L +/- +3 (Overall Set Score 129W 126L)
7th KT MagicNs 29W 26L +/- +1 (Overall Set Score 126W 123L, Penalty 2 Points)
8th Woongjin Stars 27W 28L +/- -9 (Overall Set Score 117W 126L)
9th MBCGame HERO 26W 29W +/- -12 (Overall Set Score 118W 130L)
10th eSTRO 21W 34L +/- -17 (Overall Set Score 120W 137L)
11th WeMade FOX 21W 34L +/- -36 (Overall Set Score 105W 140L, Penalty 1 Point)
12th Air Force ACE 9W 46L +/- -79 (Overall Set Score 80W 158L, Penalty 1 Point)
Deduction in points are due to KeSPA imposed penalties

Players
+ Show Spoiler +

1st

Flash KT MagicNs 54W 19L 74%
1st (Z)

Jaedong Hwaseung OZ 54W 21L 72%
3rd (P)

Bisu SK Telecom T1 53W 14L 79.1%
4th (T)

Leta Hite SPARKYZ 49W 21L 70%
5th (Z)

Calm STX SouL 40W 21L 65.6%
6th (T)

Light MBCGame HERO 36W 17L 67.9%
7th (P)

free Woongjin Stars 35W 25L 58.3%
8th (P)

Kal STX SouL 34W 23L 59.6%
9th (Z)

EffOrt CJ Entus 33W 17L 66%
9th (T)

Really eSTRO 33W 32L 50.8%
9th (Z)

hyvaa eSTRO 33W 33L 50%
12th (P)

BeSt SK Telecom T1 32W 20L 61.5%
12th (Z)

YellOw[ArnC] Hite SPARKYZ 32W 22L 59.3%
12th (T)

HiyA Hwaseung OZ 32W 24L 57.1%
15th (P)

JangBi Samsung KHAN 30W 21L 58.8%
15th (Z)

ZerO Woongjin Stars 30W 31L 49.2%
15th (P)

Stork Samsung KHAN 30W 22L 57.7%
18th (T)

fantasy SK Telecom T1 29W 21L 58%
19th (T)

Mind WeMade FOX 28W 25L 52.8%
20th (Z)

great Samsung KHAN 27W 17L 61.4%
20th (T)

Sea MBCGame HERO 27W 22L 55.1%
22nd (T)

firebathero Samsung KHAN 26W 22L 54.2%
22nd (P)

SangHo eSTRO 26W 24L 52%
24th (Z)

Luxury KT MagicNs 24W 28L 46.2%
25th (Z)

RorO WeMade FOX 23W 25L 47.9%
26th (T)

UpMaGiC eSTRO 22W 17L 56.4%
27th (P)

Anytime Air Force ACE 21W 31L 40.4%
28th (T)

Iris CJ Entus 20W 15L 57.1%
29th (T)

sKyHigh CJ Entus 18W 13L 58.1%
29th (P)

GuemChi Woongjin Stars 18W 20L 47.4%
29th (T)

Hwasin STX SouL 18W 22L 45%
32nd (Z)

July STX SouL 17W 8L 68%
32nd (Z)

keke WeMade FOX 17W 16L 51.5%
32nd (Z)

OversKy Air Force ACE 17W 19L 47.2%
35th (P)

Jaehoon MBCGame HERO 16W 25L 39%
36th (P)

Much CJ Entus 15W 13L 53.6%
36th (Z)

sAviOr CJ Entus 15W 13L 53.6%
36th (T)

Lomo Hwaseung OZ 15W 18L 45.5%
39th (T)

fOrGG KT MagicNs 14W 14L 50%
40th (P)

Violet KT MagicNs 13W 7L 65%
40th (T)

PianO Woongjin Stars 13W 14L 48.1%
40th (T)

go.go Hite SPARKYZ 13W 14L 48.1%
40th (P)

BackHo Hwaseung OZ 13W 16L 44.8%
44th (P)

Horang2 Hite SPARKYZ 12W 7L 63.2%
44th (Z)

Kwanro CJ Entus 12W 10L 54.5%
44th (Z)

Saint MBCGame HERO 12W 13L 48%
44th (Z)

Shine[kaL] WeMade FOX 12W 15L 44.4%
44th (Z)

HoGiL Hite SPARKYZ 12W 15L 44.4%
44th (P)

Reach Air Force ACE 12W 21L 36.4%
50th (P)

Movie CJ Entus 11W 13L 45.8%
50th (P)

Pusan MBCGame HERO 11W 13L 45.8%
50th (P)

Pure WeMade FOX 11W 20L 35.5%
53rd (Z)

815 KT MagicNs 10W 7L 58.8%
53rd (Z)

GGPlay Woongjin Stars 10W 11L 47.6%
53rd (T)

Notice STX SouL 10W 11L 47.6%
53rd (Z)

Thezerg SK Telecom T1 10W 12L 45.5%
53rd (Z)

HyuN MBCGame HERO 10W 16L 38.5%
58th (T)

Casy Air Force ACE 9W 21L 30%
59th (Z)

type-b Hite SPARKYZ 8W 9L 47.1%
59th (T)

NaDa WeMade FOX 8W 12L 40%
61st (T)

Canata SK Telecom T1 7W 8L 46.7%
61st (Z)

GoRush Air Force ACE 7W 9L 43.8%
61st (Z)

hero STX SouL 6W 6L 50%
61st (Z)

Modesty STX SouL 6W 6L 50%
61st (P)

Young Hwaseung OZ 6W 9L 40%
61st (Z)

FireFist KT MagicNs 6W 9L 40%
61st (Z)

Hyuk SK Telecom T1 6W 12L 33.3%
68th (T)

Justin Hite SPARKYZ 5W 4L 55.6%
68th (T)

BaBy WeMade FOX 5W 10L 33.3%
68th (P)

Tempest KT MagicNs 5W 11L 31.3%
68th (Z)

HoeJJa KT MagicNs 5W 12L 29.4%
68th (T)

MVP Woongjin Stars 5W 15L 25%
73rd (T)

iloveoov SK Telecom T1 4W 3L 57.1%
73rd (T)

Bogus STX SouL 4W 3L 57.1%
73rd (Z)

Juni Samsung KHAN 4W 7L 36.4%
73rd (T)

SaiR KT MagicNs 4W 8L 33.3%
73rd (Z)

oDin Samsung KHAN 4W 10L 28.6%
78th (T)

Last STX SouL 3W 2L 60%
78th (Z)

Child Woongjin Stars 3W 3L 50%
78th (T)

Shine KT MagicNs 3W 4L 42.9%
78th (P)

yoOn Samsung KHAN 3W 4L 42.9%
78th (P)

YoonJoong STX SouL 3W 4L 42.9%
78th (T)

GanZi Woongjin Stars 3W 5L 37.5%
78th (Z)

Shark MBCGame HERO 3W 6L 33.3%
78th (Z)

s2 SK Telecom T1 3W 8L 27.3%
78th (P)

Tester eSTRO 3W 8L 27.3%
78th (P)

DaezanG Air Force ACE 3W 12L 20%
88th (Z)

Ace MBCGame HERO 2W100%
88th (Z)

Killer Hwaseung OZ 2W 1L 66.7%
88th (P)

Nbs CJ Entus 2W 2L 50%
88th (P)

SoO STX SouL 2W 2L 50%
88th (P)

TT Samsung KHAN 2W 2L 50%
88th (P)

Spear Hwaseung OZ 2W 3L 40%
88th (T)

Memory CJ Entus 2W 4L 33.3%
88th (T)

XellOs Air Force ACE 2W 5L 28.6%
88th (P)

Rage CJ Entus 2W 5L 28.6%
88th (Z)

YellOw Air Force ACE 2W 7L 22.2%
88th (T)

BoxeR SK Telecom T1 2W 7L 22.2%
88th (T)

Miracle Samsung KHAN 2W 7L 22.2%
88th (P)

Chalrenge Hite SPARKYZ 2W 8L 20%
88th (Z)

MuMyung SK Telecom T1 2W 10L 16.7%
102nd (P)

GosI[Flying] eSTRO 1W100%
102nd (T)

Dongrae Hwaseung OZ 1W 1L 50%
102nd (Z)

Chavi Samsung KHAN 1W 1L 50%
102nd (P)

MuJuK SK Telecom T1 1W 1L 50%
102nd (T)

DarkElf Air Force ACE 1W 1L 50%
102nd (Z)

Orion CJ Entus 1W 1L 50%
102nd (P)

IrOn MBCGame HERO 1W 2L 33.3%
102nd (Z)

Clay Hite SPARKYZ 1W 2L 33.3%
102nd (P)

fOru CJ Entus 1W 3L 25%
102nd (Z)

maGma eSTRO 1W 4L 20%
102nd (P)

HakSoo Hite SPARKYZ 1W 4L 20%
102nd (P)

Stats KT MagicNs 1W 4L 20%
102nd (Z)

ggaemo Hwaseung OZ 1W 4L 20%
102nd (P)

HerO_V_ WeMade FOX 1W 5L 16.7%
102nd (P)

Tazza Hite SPARKYZ 1W 5L 16.7%
102nd (T)

PuMa eSTRO 1W 7L 12.5%
118th (T)

Mong SK Telecom T1 1L 0%
118th (Z)

Crazy-Hydra Woongjin Stars 1L 0%
118th (Z)

ZergBong KT MagicNs 1L 0%
118th (Z)

JiHyun Samsung KHAN 1L 0%
118th (Z)

n.Die_soO SK Telecom T1 1L 0%
118th (Z)

Hydra CJ Entus 1L 0%
118th (T)

ToSsGirL STX SouL 1L 0%
118th (P)

Index Woongjin Stars 1L 0%
118th (Z)

Melon eSTRO 1L 0%
118th (Z)

herO[jOin] WeMade FOX 1L 0%
118th (T)

pepe WeMade FOX 1L 0%
118th (Z)

Devil CJ Entus 1L 0%
118th (T)

Classic eSTRO 1L 0%
118th (P)

Doctor.K SK Telecom T1 1L 0%
118th (P)

Snow CJ Entus 2L 0%
118th (T)

Special Woongjin Stars 2L 0%
118th (Z)

Rumble SK Telecom T1 2L 0%
118th (P)

HoOny WeMade FOX 2L 0%
118th (P)

han MBCGame HERO 2L 0%
118th (T)

kkong MBCGame HERO 2L 0%
118th (P)

LuCifer KT MagicNs 3L 0%
118th (T)

Suny eSTRO 3L 0%
118th (P)

herb Hite SPARKYZ 4L 0%
118th (T)

ClouD Air Force ACE 4L 0%
118th (T)

Midas SK Telecom T1 4L 0%
118th (Z)

Peace MBCGame HERO 4L 0%
118th (T)

Hery STX SouL 4L 0%
118th (Z)

Action eSTRO 4L 0%
118th (Z)

Haran eSTRO 5L 0%
118th (T)

RuBy Air Force ACE 6L 0%
118th (T)

Sunny Air Force ACE 7L 0%
118th (P)

Rock WeMade FOX 8L 0%
118th (T)

FrOzean Samsung KHAN 12L 0%

Source: GTR's Final Rankings Thread.

Playing it Off

This is the way the world ends.

So on Saturday the 18th of July, we enter what will be the last round of games for this season of proleague. Hite vs CJ, STX vs KHAN, the winners of which who will face each other, and then Oz. Our predictions for the STX vs KHAN encounter are pretty clear - July's boys are going to make short work of a flailing KHAN. Hite vs CJ of course is less easy to call, but despite CJ's 'deeper by name' lineup, we have to give Leta's merry men at least a slight edge given their recent performance.

If you've missed a lot of PL this season, and were wondering when to begin watching, well, now is certainly the time. These next few weeks are going to bring viewers the very best that professional Starcraft has to offer, and missing any of these great games would certainly be a disservice you do to yourself.

Something to note is that some maps from earlier rounds will be used in the playoffs, making the games a little less monotonous, and the preparation a little more difficult. One things for sure though - practice rooms are going to be bustling this week as plays are created, builds are rehearsed, and champions are forged. Who will fall? Who will prevail? The answers await, at the end of the line.

Schedule
STX SouL vs Samsung KHAN
Game 1 on OnGameNet (7/18)
Set 1: Heartbreak Ridge
Set 2: Neo Medusa
Set 3: Shades of Twilight
Set 4: Neo Harmony
Set 5: Outsider
Set 6: Destination
Closer: Andromeda

Game 2 on MBCgame (7/19)
Set 1: Outsider
Set 2: Neo Harmony
Set 3: Destination
Set 4: Andromeda
Set 5: Neo Medusa
Set 6: Heartbreak Ridge
Closer: Shades of Twilight
Ace Match: Colosseum 2

STX thumbs down: Colosseum 2 for both Game 1 and 2, Shades of Twilight for Ace Match.
Samsung KHAN thumbs down: God's Garden for Game 1, 2 and Ace Match.

Hite SPARKYZ vs CJ Entus

Game 1 on MBCgame (7/18)
Set 1: Neo Harmony
Set 2: Destination
Set 3: Heartbreak Ridge
Set 4: Andromeda
Set 5: Shades of Twilight
Set 6: Neo Medusa
Closer: Colosseum 2

Game 2 on OnGameNet (7/19)
Set 1: Neo Medusa
Set 2: Colosseum 2
Set 3: Neo Harmony
Set 4: Shades of Twilight
Set 5: Destination
Set 6: Heartbreak Ridge
Closer: Andromeda
Ace Match: Heartbreak Ridge

Hite thumbs down: Outsider for both Game 1 and 2, God's Garden for Ace Match.
CJ thumbs down: God's Garden for both Game 1 and 2, Shades of Twilight for Ace Match.

Team rosters
[image loading]

+ Show Spoiler +

Protoss
(P)

Stork

yoOn

JangBi

Terran
(T)

FrOzean

Miracle

firebathero

Zerg
(Z)

Protoss
(P)

Nbs

Movie

Terran
(T)

Iris

Zerg
(Z)

Protoss
(P)

herb

Terran
(T)

Leta

Zerg
(Z)

YellOw[ArnC]
(Z)

Protoss
(P)

SoO

Kal

Shuttle

Terran
(T)

Hwasin

Zerg
(Z)

Thanks to Pachi for the infographic, GTR for the stats, schedules and rosters, Plexa for various insights and Fomos for the pictures.

iPF[Div]

Spain572 Posts

July 14 2009 04:09 GMT

STX or CJ will take this, SKT and OZ don't have the depth to win a bo7 imo

edit: nice writeup btw ^_^

thestool91

672 Posts

July 14 2009 04:12 GMT

On July 14 2009 13:09 iPF[Div] wrote:
STX or CJ will take this, SKT and OZ don't have the depth to win a bo7 imo

edit: nice writeup btw ^_^

im pretty sure skt does
but lecaf imo is just all jaedong

Husky

United States3362 Posts

July 14 2009 04:13 GMT

This post is simply amazing. I was so confused by the brackets...

THANK YOU

spydernoob

Canada1066 Posts

July 14 2009 04:17 GMT

what pentalty points did kepsa award and why

knyttym

United States5797 Posts

July 14 2009 04:18 GMT

SKT1 is going to take this.
All you need is 2 wins and a star. Bisu is the star that can win both his scheduled match and that crucial ace match.

edit: Oh man I forgot about Canata's recent performance. No way T1 is going to lose this with a 4th decent player.

TwoStep

United States294 Posts

July 14 2009 04:19 GMT

Erm, Canata is way better than BeSt, and Hwaseung is worse off in a Bo7 but it's still plausible because not all teams are like CJ or STX and most only have one more good player and/or one more mediocre player than Oz.
JD and Flash has similar stats but the gap is huge so it's not like they're an auto-loss.

BanZu

United States3329 Posts

July 14 2009 04:19 GMT

On July 14 2009 13:09 iPF[Div] wrote:
STX or CJ will take this, SKT and OZ don't have the depth to win a bo7 imo

edit: nice writeup btw ^_^

Lmao, why does everyone talk about depth. You don't need CRAZY depth to win.

Even though your predictions might come true (which I really doubt), their players will have to play REALLY well to get pass Oz or SKT.

ryuu_

United States1266 Posts

July 14 2009 04:23 GMT

Oz and SKT seem to be in a bit of trouble for a bo7..but anything can happen.

geegee1

United States618 Posts

July 14 2009 04:24 GMT

#10

SKT got this with their insane lineup of best/bisu/fantasy/boxer/thezerg/oov/mong. maybe a stx vs SKT finals because i dont really believe in hwaseung Oz (remember finals of CJ entus Vs Oz)

curiousgeorge

United States73 Posts

July 14 2009 04:24 GMT

#11

Sweet write-up!

I agree that STX and CJ have some terrifying depth. KHAN would look nice, if they hadn't been sucking ass for the last 3 rounds. And, while I think SKT is great in bo5, I'm not sure they've got what it takes in bo7...

Ideas

United States8100 Posts

July 14 2009 04:27 GMT

#12

nice writeup, thanks riptide :D

STX ftw

FreeDoM[YA]

Canada855 Posts

July 14 2009 04:32 GMT

#13

SKT is fine. With Bisu, Canata Fantasy and Best, they've got the depth to win it all.

bludragen88

United States527 Posts

July 14 2009 04:34 GMT

#14

Anyone know how the two matches works? If you win 4-1 and then win 2 games the next match, do you auto-win?

ArvickHero

10387 Posts

July 14 2009 04:35 GMT

#15

Canata has been tearing it up in TvZ and TvT, and Best is still good for PvT an PvP, so SKT isn't in any big trouble for the finals. If Thezerg gets to play ZvT, he should be able to do pretty good there since that's what I'd consider his best matchup. I expect Mong to fill the sixth slot for T1. Mong showed us his neverending vulture harass, so if he lands in a TvP matchup that should also be good for SKT's chances.

SKT will be very scary to face in the finals if they snipe all the matchups correctly