Learning from the IEM Winner [spoiler][D]

On August 23 2010 15:15 xPrac wrote:
Here's a long post in case your view of this series is something along the lines of: "oh shit morrow is korean." Also, thanks to the posters who provide the thoughts like "terran OP." Really helpful guys.

I wasn't really an IdrA fan until after watching the IEM finals. People seem to focus an exceptional amount on MorroW's play, which didn't seem like anything special to me besides spamming reapers from 5 rax. I chose to focus on IdrA's play, which was much more impressive to me since it's probably equal if not even more helpful to review the loser's play just as much as the winner's.

In Game 1 IdrA was essentially caught off guard by the mass amount of reapers. All he had when MorroW began his aggression were lings, which obviously are atrocious against mass reapers. This game just looks like IdrA playing standard while MorroW does an aggressive BO and pressures IdrA's standard play into submission.

Game 2 it really looks like MorroW's aggression was later since IdrA doesn't do any large build order changes but when the reapers start trying to harass IdrA basically has roaches out and even if you micro and kill a few roaches (which basically takes forever) you're not really doing anything useful. Spending 500/500 to kill like maybe five roaches (375/125) doesn't really get you anywhere fast.

The harassment basically did absolutely nothing in Game 2 and IdrA was able to get some creep spread out and then get the roach speed upgrade, essentially ending the usefulness of reapers completely. Obviously MorroW starts pounding some marauders, but IdrA throws down a spire at around 10 minutes and proceeds to dominate MorroW. This is the only game we see mutas from IdrA and also the only win in the series. I don't really think this is a coincidence. This five barracks reaper build invests extremely heavily to harass and if it is ineffective like in game 2 then you pretty much only have the option of pounding marauders and marines since you've already thrown down 5+ tech lab barracks and are behind on basically everything (stim/combatshield/+1/vacs). If mutas come out you are pretty screwed. From the time the mutas pop it's pretty much textbook ZvT domination and MorroW knows he's pretty behind so he just does a pointless allin with SCVs, since it's not 15 minutes into the game and banelings won't instantly kill all of them. The ghost transition was cute but if you're on two gas and pounding ghosts and marines you better have some seriously strong micro if you think that is actually going to work.against roach/bane/muta/infestor.

Game 3 is the momentum game, whoever wins this is obviously up 2-1 in the tournament while the loser has to play defensively in game 4. The openings are the exact same as they have been for the first two but the reapers' effectiveness is pretty much the same as Game 2. What's the difference between game 3 and game 2 then? At 10 minutes instead of throwing down a spire, IdrA has just pretty much started building an extractor at his nat. He is really behind on gas and basically allows MorroW too much time to recover from his econ-trashing opening. His CC hasn't even landed at 10 minutes. At 11 minutes IdrA throws down a baneling nest behind his natural (he still doesn't have the 2nd extractor at his nat). Thirty seconds later MorroW scans the baneilng nest and does a great play, killing it at 12 minutes before it finishes, setting back IdrA a huge amount. I was pretty disappointed when IdrA threw down the baneling nest at 11 minutes instead of a spire, but he got the 2nd gas in his main extremely late and his 3rd gas at his nat late too so it's not like he could even keep up muta production.

Let's take a look at one thing now. Obviously MorroW's baneling nest jack was a great play, but if we go back to Game 3 and take a look at where IdrA places his spire, we'll see that the spire is in a GREAT position. It's next to the ramp and it would be suicide for reapers to get there since they basically have to walk through IdrA's army. MorroW actually did scan the spire as well so it's not like he didn't know it was there. From this we pretty much learn two major things: actually get gas so you can tech and don't put your tech blatantly where it can get killed. You see it in game 3 here, you see it in tester vs STC game 2.

Obviously IdrA's mindset was rattled by MorroW's build order in game 3, which I thought was surprising since he basically crushed MorroW in game 2 and had the momentum. It really looks like IdrA was thinking something like "wow this dude's doing the same retarded shit three games in a row? what a ******" and then getting thrown off his game. Obviously this is a great mindgame by MorroW which was the direct set up for Game 4.

Game 4: IdrA gets unlucky and doesn't scout a timing attack. The only thing that matters here is MorroW's great transition from spamming the same build order three games in a row to a massive timing attack to take a 3-1 win in the finals. MorroW shows excellent BO5 play here and took the win.

To me this series was more of a testament to how good IdrA really is (could be) than anything else. He pretty much crushed MorroW in game 2. This wasn't exactly unexpected since we can take a look at the maps: in game 1 IdrA's nat was pretty much wide open up front combined with his unfamiliarity with the 5RR BO. Game 2 on metalop had IdrA's nat pretty much away from T, which is usually extremely hard to deal with for the T in that type of spawn location since Z can take the nat and the third so easily and expand away from T and it looked like textbook Z win. Game 3 IdrA's defense was still solid like Game 2, but it looked to me like his mindset wasn't at 100% and got behind on gas/tech, exactly what harassment is supposed to do to your econ.

MorroW definitely brought in a new strategy. I don't personally like how badly it crushes your econ but it's definitely suited against a heavy macro player like IdrA to throw him off his game. I'm not entirely sure if it's imbalanced but it's pretty clear that it works better on some maps than others and with the essentially trashy map design we have currently I don't like to call things imbalanced until there's actually been a lot of games played with the strategy.

I'm gonna be honest though, IdrA took out sSKS in a best of five in king of beta tournament, capping it with a nearly flawless display in game 5. I honestly think there's no way MorroW can beat sSKS in tournament so I'm inclined to consider IdrA a stronger player overall. I don't actually like IdrA's arrogance, but I can see how that makes for better drama...

gg to both players.

If you actually read this post, then thanks for your time.

On August 23 2010 16:25 dadde wrote:


This.
First of all,i'm not a fanboy of IdrA style.Let me explain,I think that he’s one (if not THE) most powerfull occidental player, BUT ,from what I saw in the IEM ,he’s pretty predictable.
I m not saying “yo man,I m a pro ,he did a nab BO so he fucked up,GG thx bye” because I think that ,as I stated before,he’s a really really strong player,but I think that pushing always for a macro-gaming setup can be very risky.
For me,Morrow studied hard the IdrA BO and created an ad-hoc hard counter to prevent him to go where he’ll surely win : the mid-late game.
Morrow knew that he need to finish the game in the first phase.He knew that if he gave IdrA the possibility to expand,then he would be GG for him.
So, my position is that IdrA is something like a perfect robot :
“I do A , then I create B, then I got C and then I win. No matter what my opponent do.I just go straight for this BO.” And this is true,because if you let IdrA expand,90% is GG .
In Morrow BO and openings, Idra found something that broke his gamestyle and just tilted ,like a robot.
No different opening,no different tecniques.
If he fails his master macro-tecnique,he’s done.
I think that Morrow won with this mind-set.Brake the circle.Brake IdrA set and you’ll win because he’ll tilt.
These are just my 2 cents.