[LRSL] The LR Tournament Thread

Yello (Mvp) wins 3-0 over Marchinko (Jaedong)!

TeeTS (Maru) wins 3-0 over Massami (MC)!

DarkLordOlli (HerO) wins 3-0 over Necro)Phagist( (sOs)!

Lorning (MMA) wins 3-1 over Wintex (Bomber)!

Undead1993 (Dear) wins 3-0 over The_Templar (Taeja)!

Jer99 (Polt) wins 3-0 over Darkhoarse (aLive)!

Yorkie (Duckdeok) wins 3-0 over Jakethesnake (Innovation)!

Talionis(Soulkey) wins 3-0 over Zealously(Terran NaNiwa)!

Undead1993 (Dear) wins 3-2 over Yello (Mvp)!

Talionis(Soulkey) wins 3-1 over Lorning (MMA)!

Jer99 (Polt) wins 3-2 over DarkLordOlli (HerO)!

TeeTS (Maru) wins 3-0 over Yorkie (duckdeok)!

Undead1993 (Dear) wins 3-2 over TeeTS (Maru)!

Jer99 (Polt) wins 3-0 over Talionis (Soulkey)!

Hey Undead1993! Why don't you give us a short introduction of yourself for the thousands of viewers out there who may not be as familiar with you as we are?

I am a Russian who lives in Germany since i became 8 years old.
when i was 12 years old, i got to know a guy who played scbw i watched him play this game but i didn't really like it to play myself, only playing micro tournaments and stuff. then sc2 came out, he bought it , i waited for a year before i bought it myself, and it was probably the best investment of my life. i fell in love with the game and struggled my way from bronze to masters and finally even played a game against catz on the na server <3
what else is there to say, i watch pretty much every sc2 tournament and players that i like are MC, Duckdeok and Grubby ^_^
currently i am doing my last year of school and will begin studying after that, i play for the team Zeus5 on the eu server where my nick is IRonY.


You have just made the semifinals of the most stacked tournament of the year, the LRSL Season 1. As Dear's representative you've advanced over the ever-present The_Templar and won a hard fought series against the German heavy hitter Yello. How do you feel about your performance so far?

I think i got lucky in my first round, because the_templar does not have a clue how to play this game, maybe if he trains hard enough he will get into code a next season but it's highly unlikely in my opinion.
the ro8 was way harder, i think the first game could have gone either way but i got lucky by sniping one of his siegetanks and then his orbital command, Yello had a very bad defense in that game, maybe he wasn't warmed up enough or smth. sad for him good for me i guess
but with every game that passed he played better and better, and so we tied up the series to 2:2, i was a little bit scared to lose from there because he got the momentum, nevertheless i was able to pull through. i think the series could have gone either way wp by yello.


You displayed strong PvT so far but didn't have to show any other matchup. Would you consider your PvT a strength of yours or is it merely foreboding greater things to come?

Yes i definetely would say that my pvt is way better than my pvz. and my pvz is waaay better than my pvp, i don't want to face a protoss in the further rounds, but if i have to i will do my best to win the games.


You've been favoring an aggressive 1gate expand build with 4gate blink followup, transitioning into a double forge/colossus midgame and it's been working like a charm for you. Would you describe yourself as someone who practices a few builds with sharp execution or do you switch it up more often and just brought this build because you feel the most comfortable with it?

hmmm dlo, i am disappointed, i play a style which doesnt include a 4 gate blink follow up but a 3 gate blink follow up*. very bad journalism there. and i would say i play the game how i feel like, i am not writing down some BO's from progamers, if i want blink i do blink, if i want sg i go sg, i just play how i feel like and ye for 1 week or so i play this blink style it's pretty micro heavy i think and i like blinking stalkers. it's also very hard for a terran to react properly.

*Olli: I saw what I saw and there was at least one 1gate FE into 3extra gates with twilight council.


In the semifinals you're going to face the winner of TeeTS and Yorkie, both of whom won their Ro16 series 3-0 on the back of their strong PvT/TvP. What are your thoughts on both those players and who would you rather face/why?

as i said earlier i do not want to face a protoss, therefore my obvious choice would be teets (it also would guarantee a German in the finals). i would say they are both good players, even though i wasn't able to catch all their games. but i am not scared to face these guys, i think it will be an easier semifinal than it was in the ro8, yello is in my opinion the best player on my side of the bracket, besides me of course.


The LRSL has sparked immense interest from the community so far. As a Live Report warrior you likely haven't experienced this kind of exposure to the mainstream before. Are you sure you can handle the pressure?

it's tough to call. i hope my nerves will carry me. i have to admit that i have been struggling in team leagues under pressure, but it feels like there's not as much pressure on your shoulders when you are playing for yourself.


If you could sum up the reason why you're going to win the first LRSL in one sentence, what would it be?

i already eliminated the best player from the tournament, and so i became the best player, also PROTOSS OP!

Any shoutouts, trash talk, HYPE?

ye shoutout to my team Zeus5, especially Goldensands, who is a very good team captain and motivator. be ready for special tactics in the further rounds of the tournaments.
thanks for inviting me to do this interview, goodbye

Thanks for taking the time and good luck in the tournament!

Hey Jer99! Why don't you give us a short introduction of yourself for the thousands of viewers out there who may not be as familiar with you as we are?

Hey! My name is Jeremy and I am a 21 year old living in Canada. I played a ton of brood war but mostly UMS so I do have somewhat of a background in the RTS scene. I picked up SC2 on release day and started out as Protoss on the ladder, later switching to terran. I don't ladder that often, normally getting in about 30 1v1 games per season, but I do play more team ladder games with some friends.


You have just made the semifinals of the most stacked tournament of the year, the LRSL Season 1. As Polt's representative you've advanced over DarkLordOlli's minion HerO fanboy Darkhoarse and the master himself. How do you feel about your performance so far?

My Ro16 matches went very smoothly and as I had hoped, but I had a tough time in the Ro8. DLO put me on a good run, and I do think that if he went for proxy stargate play or more DT rushes I would have lost. I got lucky in the last game and saw his colossus with an SCV so I had time to get enough vikings out to hold on, and ended up taking him out 3-2

You had a rather easy time against Darkhoarse (3-0) but the Ro8 match was heavily contested. Overall which of those matchups (TvT or TvP) would you rate as your strongest? Or might it even be TvZ?

I feel as though my TvT is probably my best matchup with my TvZ being a close 2nd. My TvP is by far my worst matchup, I really don't like to play vs Protoss at all.

In the semifinals you're going to face Talionis who won both of his series by defeating terran opponents. Did you expect to face him here? What do you think about the matchup?

I honestly did not know who I would face at this point because I haven't really seen any of the other players play, so I don't really know where their skill level is at. I didn't even get to see his games so I might go back to some VoDs and study him a bit since he's got a bit of a streak vs Terrans right now. I don't mind playing vs Zerg and unless he hides some crazy all-ins I think i can take the series 3-0 or 3-1

The LRSL has sparked immense interest from the community so far. As a Live Report warrior you likely haven't experienced this kind of exposure to the mainstream before. Are you sure you can handle the pressure?

My stream viewing numbers have almost quintupled from when I normally stream, so I am happy that I am getting this many viewers. I do try to stream and cast the other matches when I can, and when I play my own matches I do stream the FPView of that.
As for the pressure I feel like I perform my best when under pressure, everything just seems to go so well and smooth. It feels like time is slowing down almost and I have more time to assess the situations, macro and micro, and everything else that goes on in the game.

If you could sum up the reason why you're going to win the first LRSL in one sentence, what would it be?

Dodging Protoss

Any shoutouts, trash talk, HYPE?

Shoutout to my stream viewers thanks for tuning in! No trash talk really, when I do I end up losing catastrophically in my next series.


Thanks for taking the time and good luck in the tournament!

Thanks!

Hey Talionis! Why don't you give us a short introduction of yourself for the thousands of viewers out there who may not be as familiar with you as we are?

I'm just some Australian dude living in Scotland. I used to post frequently back in the days of the KSL and all that lovely stuff. I haven't been as active over the past year as I'm in my last year of university (Mathematics master race) but I'm always around here.
I've been playing Starcraft on and off for about 5 years now. Used to play Protoss, but I've picked up zerg in the past couple of months due to Soulkey being a complete boss.


You have just made the semifinals of the most stacked tournament of the year, the LRSL Season 1. As Soulkey's representative you've advanced over Swedish fan favorite Zealously and notorious Prime fanboy Lorning. How do you feel about your performance so far?

My first series was exactly what Soulkey vs Naniwa should have resulted as, aside from a slight scare in game 3. I think Soulkey would be proud. There are some very apparent flaws in my other games when it comes to managing my economy but I believe they will be simple to fix. My games should look a lot better in the next round.


You displayed strong ZvT so far but didn't have to show any other matchup. Would you consider your ZvT a strength of yours or is it merely foreboding greater things to come?

I'd say ZvT is my most consistently good matchup, but some of my mechanical flaws can make it really difficult against good players. My ZvP can be better against specific types of protoss players. I'm just lucky that there are no other zergs in this tournament.


In the semifinals you're going to face the winner of Jer99 and DarkLordOlli, both of whom won their Ro16 series 3-0 on the back of their mirror matchup. Neither of them will have played a zerg when they eventually face you. What are your thoughts on both those players and who would you rather face/why?

I've seen very little of Olli in this tournament, but I would expect him to come in with a very specific build or do something early on to set the pace of the game.
As for Jer, it seems he plays very standard with tendencies to do a lot of drops and multipronged harass.
I think that Olli's style matches me well, but if I can clean up my play a little I think playing against Jer will be a really exciting match.


The LRSL has sparked immense interest from the community so far. As a Live Report warrior you likely haven't experienced this kind of exposure to the mainstream before. Are you sure you can handle the pressure?

Yes.


If you could sum up the reason why you're going to win the first LRSL in one sentence, what would it be?

I'm the only zerg left and my name's not Jaedong, history says that I've got an extremely good chance.


Any shoutouts, trash talk, HYPE?
Nope. If you want hype, watch my next games.

Thanks for taking the time and good luck in the tournament!

Hey TeeTS! Why don't you give us a short introduction of yourself for the thousands of viewers out there who may not be as familiar with you as we are?

Hi! First of all, I want to clarify my nick. It´s Tee - german for tea! TS stands for TheSame (the old website still exist: http://www.thesameclan.de ), it was my last clan in Broodwar. Since Tee was not avaiable at Teamliquid, I just used my clantag here too.
Other than that, I´m a 28years old student from Berlin, Germany. I played Broodwar on a relatively decent level between 2000 and 2005. Then I took a break from competetive RTS (played some WoW during that), but with the release of SC2, I gave it a try. I follow the Pro scene again since April 2011, being active on TL.net since that time too.


You have just made the semifinals of the most stacked tournament of the year, the LRSL Season 1. As Maru's representative you've crushed through Massami and Yorkie, two protoss players representing MC and duckdeok. How do you feel about your performance so far?
Well, both series were kinda one sided. The games were fun and I enjoyed them, but the were not a real test in terms of skill. So I can say, I´m pleased with how I´ve done overall. There were some hickups in my builds here and there, since I improvised some times, but the games still went my way heavily, so it´s ok.

You had a rather easy time so far with a 3-0 win in both round and you haven't had to show your other two matchups yet. Overall which matchups would you rate as your strongest?
Statistically speaking TvP is my strongest matchup. I have a bit of trouble in TvZ lately, while my TvT is getting more solid. However, I think in TvP on ladder, I tend to lose the most against "inferior" players, because of all things that can happen to you in early game. But in a tournament BoX Situation that should not be a problem, since you can analyze your opponent a bit and be prepared for his preferances.

In the semifinals you're going to face Undead1993, another protoss, who won both of his series by defeating terran opponents, including the feared Yello. Did you expect to face him here? What do you think about the matchup?
When I looked at the bracked, I had the feeling that we both might end up here. I didn´t really know much about all the player´s skill, but somehow I felt, that Undead my be one of the threads to me. In his Interview he looked extremely confident, saying he and Yello are the best players on this side of the bracket (Implying he is the best, since he defeated Yello). I watched his series against Yello and it was really entertaining, but I also saw some flaws in both their play. I think my playstyle differs a lot from Yello´s and he will have a hard time against me. Even with the new super Oracle, he won´t stand a chance!


The LRSL has sparked immense interest from the community so far. As a Live Report warrior you likely haven't experienced this kind of exposure to the mainstream before. Are you sure you can handle the pressure?
Yes! I´m playing my best, when some pressure is on, because it helps me focus on every detail of my play. Since the the opponents are becoming harder, the pressure will increase too and this is, when you see my absolute best play.

If you could sum up the reason why you're going to win the first LRSL in one sentence, what would it be?
Well, because I´m the best player in here . Oh trashtalk is the next point haha. No seriously, after having watched most of the other players still in the tournament (didn´t catch a match of Talionis yet), I think my style will be hard for them to handle. I have a large variety of openings and strategies to my disposal and I don´t think anyone will be ready for them.

Any shoutouts, trash talk, HYPE?
Well shoutouts to every participant and the audience of LRSL! It is a real fun tournament and I hope we get to play out some more seasons in the future. To Undead1993: You said, you didn´t watch my series. Well you should definately rewatch the VODs, so you come prepared and we can have a real match .
To everyone else: Come and watch the semifinals and the final of LRSL Blizzcon edition! The matches will be great!

Thanks for taking the time and good luck in the tournament!
Thx for the interview, was fun!

ID: DarkLordOlli
Character Code: 478
Available for matches: starting 6pm CET monday-friday, 10am-8pm CET on weekends

ID: Darkhorse
Character Code: 411
Available for matches: I can play after 12:00 CET (+01:00) and Thursday after 11:00 CET (+01:00). Friday isn't great for me but I can play after 11:00 CET (+01:00) and Sat/Sun are wide open!

ID: LowenBrau
Character Code: 649
Available for matches: Anytime except tuesday nights 5-10 and saturday afternoons 11:30-5 EST

ID: Yello
Character Code: 744
Available for matches: Thursday after 15:00 CET (+01:00) and Friday after 18:00 CET

ID: TheTemplar
Character Code: 234
Available for matches: 2pm-4:30pm CEST on thursdays, friday-sunday always

ID: Tee
Character Code: 366
Available for matches: Today: any time
Thursday: not between 4pm - 11pm CET
Friday: any time
Saturday: nope
Sunday: after 1pm CET

ID: notSoulkey
Character Code: 853
Available for matches: Wednesday+Weekends: All day. Every other day: 5pm-12pm GMT

ID: lorning
Character Code: 995
Available for matches: 11am until late evening CEST

ID: Tye
Character Code: 138
Available for matches: anytime this week after 5:15 PM EST, or anytime on the weekend

ID: Wasabi
Character Code: 137
Available for matches: Anytime Thursday from 15:00 CAT

ID: noobaccount
Character Code: 531
Available for matches: ?

ID: Chaos
Character Code: 2919
Available for matches: starting 6pm CET monday-friday, 10am-8pm CET on weekends

ID: Factionized
Character Code: 731
Available for matches: ?

ID: York
Character Code: 749
Available for matches: Friday after 10pm CET; Saturday and Sunday any time

ID: Wintex
Character Code: 115
Available for matches: thursday 11am-11pm CET, Saturday 4pm-11pm CET, Sunday 11pm CET

ID: Massami
Character Code: 131
Available for matches: Wednesday: until 8pm EST; Thursday: 4pm - 8pm; friday all day