OUR STORY UNFOLDS with two paths, one begun in the summer days of Brood War, and the other in these early days of Starcraft 2.
It is 2003. SlayerSBoxeR, given the opportunity to create a team in Brood War, surrounds himself with a hand picked crowd of then unknown players. Most of them do well, but one -- iloveoov -- quickly stands out from the rest. Surpassing even his mentor, iloveoov becomes a true bonjwa. The team that Boxer formed around him would become SKT, truly the greatest Brood War team there ever was.
In another time, and another place, CellaWeRRa of the Werra clan is playing Starcraft 2. He makes friends and gains many fans in the foreign audience. Known for his humor and his on-stream antics, he quickly makes a name for himself outside Korea with videos such as the 13 Gate build.
Two things happen, at roughly the same time.
Slayers_Boxer decides to leave the team he founded and to start a career in SC2 with the GSL. He makes his debut in GSL season 2, eventually beating NaDa to advance to the Round of 4. Now deep in the SC2 scene, Boxer needs both a team and sponsors. Intel answers his call, and sponsors not only a team, but also Boxer himself.
Meanwhile, the clan Werra is disbanded amidst a firestorm of controversy as their manager, Gundam, is accused of sexual misconduct towards Werra members. And just like that, CellaWerra is just Cella, and needs a team.
"I'm wandering without a home. I have no idea what to do. I apologize for writing some personal stuff in an official notice. This was CellaWerra, vice clan master of WeRRA, teary eyed and signing off. For all our faults, thank you for the interest you had in Starcraft II Werra."
Soon, Boxer puts out an open call for the new team he is creating with Intel's support, named Slayers. Cella applies, and is in. He becomes Slayers_Cella. And as Slayers_Cella, he still continues to amuse and entertain his foreign fans.
First One's Just Practice
The members that Boxer gathers around himself this time around in the new Slayers team are composed of relative unknowns, just like when Boxer formed Orion (the team that became SKT). None of the players possess the star power or fame of a Nestea or MC.
In February, GSL announces that it will be televising a one week team league. It features the top 8 teams in SC2 at that time in Korea: oGs, StarTale, Incredible Miracle (IM), Team SCV Life (TSL), For Our Utopia (fOu), ZeNex, Prime, and Slayers.
In an exciting series that takes place over the course of a week (and a series that you really should watch), IM manages to take the championship, mainly on the strength of IMNesTea, IMSeed and IMmvp.
Slayers, meanwhile, falls in the first round to ZeNex. Boxer himself came out as first pick for Slayers, and falls in the first game to ZeNex, one of the weaker teams.
But one player on Slayers stood out in that series: Slayers_ Jjob. In an almost reverse all kill, he goes last in the Slayers lineup against ZeNex, and takes out 3 of ZeNex's players before finally falling.
An Emperor Falters
With a team around him and sponsors to support him, Boxer seems primed to focus on advancing in Code S. Unfortunately, in the March Code S season, he falls in the first round of 32 to SanZenith and Hyperdub. In the following Up and Down matches, Boxer loses again.
Boxer, the Emperor himself, is in Code A.
At the same moment that Boxer falls to Code A, however, another Slayers player -- Slayers_Alicia -- plays an extraordinary series against IMMvp, advancing to Code S while simultaneously helping to knock Mvp down to Code A. This would not be the last time viewers would see Alicia.
This Time for Serious -- or, GSL Team League 2
GSL Team League 2 started with the same 8 team lineup. Of the 8 teams, the general opinion of the teams' ranking was:
Top Tier: oGs, IM, TSL, ST //// Lower Tier: Prime, ZeNex, fOu, Slayers
Most people put Slayers below even the lower tier, given their past performance in the team league and the obscurity of their players.
Viewers were introduced for the first time to the new vice-coach of team Slayers: Slayers_Cella. Carrying a notebook and constantly talking to his team members, Cella was perhaps the person that Slayers needed the most. A coach who could focus on strategy, not just at the player level, but at the team level. Someone who could see the flow of the team vs team battles, and make calls about who to send out.
Slayers's first opponent was oGs. Home to NaDa, TOP and 2 time GSL Champion MC, oGs were heavy favorites to win the team league. MC appeared to be unstoppable, and NaDa and TOP rounded out a bevy of top tier players.
The Birth of a Legend Killer
oGs vs Slayers started off with matches between Min, InCa and TOP that left the score at 1-1. In response, Slayers sent out Ryung. In a series of 2 games, Ryung demonstrated a masterful understanding of TvT. At every step of each game, he was composed, calm, and knew exactly what to do and when to do it.
Down 3-1, oGs had nowhere to go. What could they do but send out oGsMC?
Hot off the highs of winning an league-first second GSL Code S championship, oGsMC was considered by most to be the single best SC2 player in the world at that point.
Who the hell is Slayers_MMA? Slayers_MMA is the new name of Slayers_Jjob, the player who nearly reverse all-killed ZeNex in the prior team league.
In a furious game of micro timings, MMA managed to defeat MC and create one of the great upsets of the season.
Slayers, considered the worst team of the previous team league, advanced over oGs.
Entering the Octagon
Next up for Slayers was team StarTale. Trying to prove himself, Frozen opens up for Slayers. In a surprise move, StarTale decides to lead with JulyZerg.
Frozen fared no better against July than he did against MC the previous day. Down 0-1, who could Slayers send out against July, the Code S finalist?
Slayers_MMA.
In a quick game, MMA decisively defeated July, as well as every single StarTale player until STBomber. In an amazing comeback play, STBomber bridged a huge deficit to defeat MMA. The score was now 3-2, Slayers lead.
One more win for Slayers would end the series. And it happens. The TvT master Slayers_Ryung stepped out once again, and defeats STBomber for the win.
Slayers was now in the finals.
Perchance to Dream
Team Incredible Miracle, with no less than two GSL champions in their roster, is widely considered to be the most consistent top tier team in Starcraft 2.
The finals is a best of 9. First team to five wins seals the deal.
Leading the charge for Slayers was Alicia. Not having been used at all during the second team league, he made his debut with an astounding 3-0 run against IM with convincing wins.
Down, IM decided that they should take advantage of PvP and sent out YongHwa. In a quick back and forth, YongHwa took the game from Alicia, making the score 3-1.
Comfortably ahead, Slayers decided to send out Slayers_Golden. Golden, formerly of fOu, is unable to surpass YongHwa. The score was now 3-2.
Falling once again back to the very solid and consistent Slayers_Ryung, Slayers managed to take a victory over YongHwa with some clutch TvP.
4-2, Slayers lead. IM was now against the wall. With Nestea out, that left only one player they could send.
January GSL champion IMMvp.
Patch 1.3 and the sweet, sweet sounds of Yamato cannons
Stepping back a couple hours, Blizzard released Patch 1.3 in Korea just before the finals of the team league. Patch 1.3 introduced many changes, including a speed buff to Battlecruisers.
Back in the team league finals, Ryung was playing great against IMMvP. Ryung was sieging at the right moments, expanding at the right timings, and generally avoiding any serious missteps in the complicated chess game that is TvT.
Then MVP broke all the rules. He made Battlecruisers. MVP realized that with the new speed buff, Battlecruisers were once again useful in the TvT endgame. MVP tore through Ryung's primarily ground and siege tank based army. With a few clutch Yamato cannon shots at a sizable amount of vikings that Ryung had managed to scrounge up, MVP won the game.
The score was now 4-3, Slayers lead.
Pause, Crash, Restart, Pause
After conferring, Cella and the rest of Slayers decides to send out GanZi next, in an effort to wear down MVP and to gain more information about his playstyle.
After a series of delays, the game begins only to have GanZi pause and then leave the game. Drama erupted. The IM coach could be seen shouting at a GomTV official.
In the rematch, MVP completely abandoned the strategy he was starting to show in the first aborted MVP vs GanZi game, and went for a quick 5 barracks all marine push. GanZi was caught flat footed, and loses.
And just like that, the Game Genie Terran equalized the score.
4-4. Tied.
Legend vs Legend Killer
As Slayers has done when facing MC, July or ZeNex, out comes Slayers_MMA.
MMA decides to go for a marine heavy force based on decisive tempo based play. MVP, meanwhile, decides to play orthodox TvT, getting a fair number of siege tanks and marines.
The atmosphere is tense. Nerdchills are experienced. The game to decide it all between the two pillars of each respective team.
In the end, it came down to timing. In a moment so tense that even Artosis and Tasteless are reduced to silence as they watched along with the audience, MMA takes advantage of a momentary opening. He stims and runs. Tanks explode, and MVP loses his army.
Soon thereafter, a flash on the screen: gg.
MMA wins.
A legend killer. Over the course of a week, Slayers_MMA defeats oGsMC, STJulyZerg and IMMvp.
Cameras flash. SlayersBoxer, the Emperor, the founder of SKT, once again holds aloft a championship trophy.
The Emperor has returned.
With minions.
And Cella?
Cella, the man without a team not too long ago, is now coach of the Korean team for the World Championship games next week.
cella and boxer share a hug after Slayers's win
thx guys i'm so happy now and drank alchol!!!!!!!!!!!! my team so strong now.
i did my best for ours team. my team did best for them.
"In a quick game, MMA decisively defeated July, as well as every single StarTale player until STBomber. In an amazing comeback play, STBomber bridged a huge deficit to defeat MMA. The score was now 3-1, Slayers lead."
How could it be 3-1 for SalyerS, if Frozen lost first match and Bomber won against MMA? Shouldn't it be 3-2?
Homework be damned this was intense and awesome; read from start to finish. Regretting not grabbing a GSTL ticket now ;_;, but things like this display why pro starcraft is as great(if not better) than other pro sports.
Thanks for the repost, and I'll probably go express my thanks to the author.
SlayerS played amazing games through this GSTL, I'm so glad they won :D Major congratulations to all the team members and especially to BoxeR and Cella. Who could ask for better coaches?
Also, fantastic write-up. I had to make sure to add that in there
;_;;;; I knew SlayerS was getting better as a team, but they've definitely taken their game to the next level and then some. Wonder when the GSTL will not be epic lol.
Epic read. Seriously i still have nerd chills since this morning watching such epic games. I would say GSTL season 2 with underdog stories and new born legend is the BEST SC2 games to date. No really, it was that damn good. GJ SlayerS. I would skip lunch and pay 5 in a heartbeat to watch the VODs. The series was gosuuu <3
Great read :D. <3 to Cella winning the coaching award. The storylines of these team leagues have been so much better the GSLs (with better games too imo).
Really good write up, and also awesome to hear Cella's story, I missed that he was captain of the KR team and such an important figure in Slayers. Quite emotional.
Bad puns aside, that was so beautiful and awesome. Even though I was rooting for IM, the matches were great, the tension was great, and the entire story of it all was great. Brought tears to my eyes.
I was so excited watching this team league championship. Seeing all these untested players play in the gstl created such amazingly exciting games. Watching SlayerS_Min with his crazy expand play was brilliant. I really want to see how all these players do in the next GSL I can't wait.
On March 25 2011 04:33 Excalibur_Z wrote: I hadn't seen GSTL2 and everyone said the games were really good. I think I may have to spring for a GSTL2 $5 pass just to see these games.
I was thinking the same thing. Especially after reading this awesome right up. I really want to see the finals. I know what I'm doing after working tonight.
This is worth making a movie over. Or a documentary.
The story is akin to Cinderella or any other Disney-esque sports movie. Boxer is just a magnet for ballers wherever he goes, and even if he bombs the individual leagues, his team is sure to dominate in the team leagues.
SKT1 2.0 and iloveoov 2.0 seem to be in the works. As Tastosis once said, if Boxer started a basketball team, it would instantly be in the NBA finals.
With the recruitment of "Playing Coach" Hong Seung Pyo, SlayerS has finally grown its wings.
On the afternoon of the 22nd at the GomTV Mokdong studios, the SlayerS team advanced to the Semi-Finals of the GSTL season 2 after defeating the heavily-favored-to-win oGs team led by the "Protoss President" Jang Min Chul (oGsMC).
After bowing out early in the Round of 8 in GSTL season 1, why are they suddenly the winner of so many upsets? If you ask the team members, they will unanimously agree that it was the recruitment of their new coach. With his systematic strategy analysis and practice schedules, he has led them to victory.
The hero of this story is none other than the new playing coach Hong Seung Pyo who was recruited prior to this season's GSTL. Hong Seung Pyo was chosen to replace his predecessor Sung Sang Hoon. In truth, rather than a recruitment, it would be more a accurate statement to say it was an internal promotion. You see, he was already a member of the SlayerS team (not the clan).
Up until now, Hong Seung Pyo had been working hard as a member of the SlayerS team since its inception, although after being knocked out of the qualifiers for GSL Code A, it has been difficult to see his face on the screen.
When asked about how he became the Playing Coach, Hong Seung Pyo revealed, "After Coach Sung left, (Lim)Yo Hwan "hyung" approached me and said 'in the future [for SC2] we need to focus on aggressively expanding our presence to overseas markets . When it comes to a team member on SlayerS who is considered the leading expert in foreign relations, it's you. Also, I think that your ability to analyze strategies is great. Won't you help us?'
And so Hong Seung Pyo went from being a team member to the Playing Coach and for the past 3 days has been meticulously analyzing the opposing teams' strategies. He proposed a brutal practice schedule for his team. Although it might have been difficult for his players, he was grateful that all of them were happy to practice until the wee hours of the morning without complaint.
When asked about what secret strategy led to his team's victory, Hong Seung Pyo explained, "<In SC2> it is difficult to really analyze the opponent. We had to fully understand our own strategies and constantly evaluated our progress in internal practice matches making sure to try and prepare for contingencies that might happen in real games. For each particular opponent, we had to keep practicing until we felt that we could say 'well if our player plays at around this level, we can win."
In closing, Hong Seung Pyo wanted to mention "As much as I am the Playing Coach and continue to help my team members practice, it is my goal to be promoted into Code S since it will make our discussions of strategy more relevant and straightforward. Please continue to look forward to the future."
On March 25 2011 04:59 Xak wrote: Wait...so is iloveoov cella? Confused!!!
No, no. iloveoov was a pupil of Boxer who became really good, and MMA is starting to look like he will make history repeat itself :}
On March 25 2011 05:00 eviltomahawk wrote: This is worth making a movie over. Or a documentary.
The story is akin to Cinderella or any other Disney-esque sports movie. Boxer is just a magnet for ballers wherever he goes, and even if he bombs the individual leagues, his team is sure to dominate in the team leagues.
SKT1 2.0 and iloveoov 2.0 seem to be in the works. As Tastosis once said, if Boxer started a basketball team, it would instantly be in the NBA finals.
yeah, it will probably be featured in Boxer's biography/documentary
The entire GSTL was amazing, and such an awesome team made it. They had a pretty tough line up too! Total and complete props to SlayerS for winning :D.
When 1988 (MMA) played BW, he was on SKT when Boxer returned after his stint in ACE. There must have been a clear acknowledgement of skill and I have no doubt Boxer was actively seeking MMA to become a part of his new team. Beautiful.
this very nearly made me cry thanks to the person that wrote it. awesome! watching the finals today i got the impression that this means so much more to slayers than any of the other teams, donnu if that is true but still.
also the quote from cellas fan-page, "in the future [for SC2] we need to focus on aggressively expanding our presence to overseas markets"
I find it very interesting how these "disconnects" seem to follow boxer. Jaedong/flash msl finals, TSL3, and now this...
Great writeup though. I'm always very impressed by the effort put into these articles. I could actually envision everything in my head as i read each sentence.
Really nice write up with some great parallels getting drawn, though I would have loved a little more elaboration on some of the games played ^^
Once again the GSTL was an awesome event, with a mindblowingly dramatic finals to cap it all off. MMA was unbelievably clutch, in each series he was either put in or saved to face the other teams Ace, and every time he pulled through for SlayerS. The amount of pressure on him to perform was ridiculous, but you certainly can't overlook the other Slayers players either.
Truly an inspiring effort from the team as a whole, I think that's what struck me the most actually, they really had a fantastic team spirit throughout the whole event, and everyone seemed to have each others back.
awesome writeup, really. You could feel the tension of the last game in your words and the joy of cella with the quote at the end for extra umph. Just awesome
When 1988 (MMA) played BW, he was on SKT when Boxer returned after his stint in ACE. There must have been a clear acknowledgement of skill and I have no doubt Boxer was actively seeking MMA to become a part of his new team. Beautiful.
Ahh, so they sort of switched together :D
Edit: Oh, should have suspected it wasn't the full picture. Thanks for showing!
Lol Cella in the childish looking stance in the first picture :D You can see he's so excited... he really believes in his taem :D
gotta say, I love oGs but how can you not love SlayerS with BoxeR and Cella representing their backbone. and MMA truly is phenomenal. SlayerS FIGHTING! Cella COACHING!
Really awesome read. This was truly an awesome story. I have high hopes for the type of players Cella and BoxeR can churn out. The next GSL and GSTL will be totally amazing! Now get practicing MMA I need a new Terran hero!!
Thanks for sharing, I'm glad I didnt miss all of the GSTL this morning. I almost said screw it and went to bed during the 7th set, and just read the results. Glad i didnt.
Wow this was too good. I woke up at 5 every morning to watch these and was rooting for MC, but when he lost, I realized that Slayers actually played as a team in order to win, and I was able to get behind that idea and cheer for them. Such an inspirational story. Thank you very much for this.
On March 25 2011 04:33 Excalibur_Z wrote: I hadn't seen GSTL2 and everyone said the games were really good. I think I may have to spring for a GSTL2 $5 pass just to see these games.
This was a very good read! The back stories are so much more interesting for team games because the drama affects entire teams, and strategy plays a factor when picking who to play. We need to see more team leagues!!!
While Boxer may not be the champion player he was in BW, he certainly is someone a team can center around and accomplish the unthinkable. Amazing, bravo boxer, gg wp.
Thanks for such a good write-up. This week was full of drama and nerd chills all over. SlayerS has come a long way, I hope their players can get into Code S. MMA is a beast.
Great writeup. I just love Boxer. Just the fact that he was the first one on the GSL that actually went to his opponents booth to shake hands, so professional and suave.
Runs the SlayerS clan like a boss AND has THE CUTEST girlfriend ever seen. Happy for him.
I had to go to Uni after the first few games. Best decision ever to bring along my laptop and just watch the games instead of paying attention during the lecture.
People started looking at me because I was basically bouncing up and down in excitement during the MVP vs Ryung and MVP vs MMA games.
Between Alicia, MMA, and Ryung SlayerS seems to have really stepped their game up. These kids are really really really good. Not only that, they understand the game in a way that several other top level players don't.
On March 25 2011 04:33 Excalibur_Z wrote: I hadn't seen GSTL2 and everyone said the games were really good. I think I may have to spring for a GSTL2 $5 pass just to see these games.
This. I was getting short on bandwidth so I decided to skip this season. I'm thinking of changing my mind.
Absolutely phenomenal history we've witnessed, great read ! Just amazing what Team SlayerS has managed to do. Going from being the lowest team results in the season before with barely any recognition or results to conquering the mighty GSTL spot
I love SlayerS, from zero to hero - the only team in Korean SC2 which has shown real heart and comradery - the type of team that makes me wish we had a real proleague. Good on you SlayerS, godspeed Emperor, godspeed.
I'm happy that SlayerS won, but some of the games against the best players were.. what they were. MVP lost in a standard game, but MC got SCV all in-ed, Losira all in-ed, Nestea died super early, so even though SlayerS won and has some amazing players I would still consider IM the favourite for the next GSTL.
I cant even compare the entertainment value of the team league vs solo play. Been pretty bored watching the solo league lately as 90% of the games seem to be 13 minute long games where someone goes all inn after that. I think this is due to the players knows the maps and player they are gonna play and makes some build/strategy thereafter.
The teamleague is more about watching the strategy getting unfolded as the games go by, and that is really fun to watch. The games have been amazing, and it shows in the commentary by tastosis aswell. The finals today was incredibly tense and awesome.
Thanks for the compliments, all! Wish I could've fleshed it out some more, but I originally posted it on Reddit where the maximum post length is 10,000 characters. So I had to cut out some paragraphs going into Slayers_Min's epic baneling wave and Slayers_Alicia's wins over Losira and Nestea.
On March 25 2011 07:04 thedz wrote: Thanks for the compliments, all! Wish I could've fleshed it out some more, but I originally posted it on Reddit where the maximum post length is 10,000 characters. So I had to cut out some paragraphs going into Slayers_Min's epic baneling wave and Slayers_Alicia's wins over Losira and Nestea.
you did great justice to the scene, boxer, slayers, and the fans. But if you can flesh it out some more please do! Stuff like this does not happen often, so please consider it!
Great write-up. What an amazing journey for the SlayerS team. They definately deserved the win. Also one of the most epic finals I've ever seen. so close. Bo9 going to the ace match = amazing
Also, I had faith in SlayerS since before GSTL started, they've had strong players, just they didn't really show themselves in s1. I thought they could take out oGs and when they did they would steam roll to the championship.
Great job to slayers and all, but I don't think this should be overplayed. Nestea was 4 gated out, and Losira failed on a baneling bust. MC was killed with a combination of all ins. Slayers is definetely a contender now, but I don't think they're the best team atm
The entire tournament was fucking awesome. It was amazing to see Boxer and his team finally be rewarded for their efforts and if any team were to win I'm happy it was them. I really feel like their team roster is well rounded and I think they had the right mentality going in to the team league. They went in as a team with plans and strategies for every possible scenario and a player to use in every situation, thanks to some great coaching by Boxer and Cella. Its gonna be very interesting to follow the progress of the entire SlayerS team and I am eagerly awaiting the next GSTL.
On March 25 2011 07:13 1Eris1 wrote: Great job to slayers and all, but I don't think this should be overplayed. Nestea was 4 gated out, and Losira failed on a baneling bust. MC was killed with a combination of all ins. Slayers is definetely a contender now, but I don't think they're the best team atm
Say what you want about cheesing, but if you scout your opponent doing some greedy crap, they deserve to get 4 gated out. The bottom line is these players have shown they know the game and aren't a bunch of bitbybit.primes.
On March 25 2011 07:13 1Eris1 wrote: Great job to slayers and all, but I don't think this should be overplayed. Nestea was 4 gated out, and Losira failed on a baneling bust. MC was killed with a combination of all ins. Slayers is definetely a contender now, but I don't think they're the best team atm
I think you have it backwards. Slayers doesn't have the best players atm, but the fact that they use a carefully planned series of all ins against MC shows that they are the best team.
It's the difference that Cella brought. Team strategies require not only focusing on the immediate match, but the possible matches thereafter. Slayers would not have won over oGs if Cella had just picked someone (even MMA), and just said "Yo, just play your best game, glhf."
You could see it in the way that members of the Slayers team huddled inside the booth after every game quicker than any other team. At any given moment, 2 or 3 of the Slayers members would be talking with the person in the booth during down time. The entire team was behind every single player and every single stratagem.
(Side note, but Nestea's blind double expand with no spines was basically a large neon sign saying "Please 4 gate me")
Great writeup. Good to see some crossovers from the Reddit community making a splash on TL. I'm a big fan of Cella and think he has a great impact on the foreign community. Solid guy. I'll buy you 2 cheeseburgers whenever you come to Canada! Grats to SlayerS.
On March 25 2011 07:13 1Eris1 wrote: Great job to slayers and all, but I don't think this should be overplayed. Nestea was 4 gated out, and Losira failed on a baneling bust. MC was killed with a combination of all ins. Slayers is definetely a contender now, but I don't think they're the best team atm
Team leagues are all about match-ups and sniping. That's why you have map specialists, anti-race specialists and people practicing specifically to beat certain players.
On March 25 2011 07:13 1Eris1 wrote: Great job to slayers and all, but I don't think this should be overplayed. Nestea was 4 gated out, and Losira failed on a baneling bust. MC was killed with a combination of all ins. Slayers is definetely a contender now, but I don't think they're the best team atm
Say what you want about cheesing, but if you scout your opponent doing some greedy crap, they deserve to get 4 gated out. The bottom line is these players have shown they know the game and aren't a bunch of bitbybit.primes.
What are you talking about with some "deserve" bullshit. If you play not greedy whatsoever you'll still probably lose to a 4gate if you don't scout it. Because 4gate crushes you unless you actually cut drones completely, aka if you don't, you lose, but if you do cut drones you lose to any other build order out there which is why 4gate is so stupid in the first place.
GSTL has been absolutely amazing, and the finals nailbitingly close to the very end. 4 gate, no 4 gate, whatever - the sheer stategic acumen of Slayers won the day for them, and then there was MMA to pull through when needed.
On March 25 2011 07:13 1Eris1 wrote: Great job to slayers and all, but I don't think this should be overplayed. Nestea was 4 gated out, and Losira failed on a baneling bust. MC was killed with a combination of all ins. Slayers is definetely a contender now, but I don't think they're the best team atm
And I don't think anyone would disagree, but they played it like a team and did everything right at the right time, that's what makes this a great story. Also nestea went a really risky triple expand, he deserved to get 4 gated for that.
On March 25 2011 07:52 storm44 wrote: Ipod touch/iphone users can watch the gtsl for free if anyone didn't know, just look for the Gom app in the app store.
On March 25 2011 07:52 storm44 wrote: Ipod touch/iphone users can watch the gtsl for free if anyone didn't know, just look for the Gom app in the app store.
Well you have to pay for the app right??
no its free..
I should be more clear the vods are in Korean which is why I think they are free so you get the Korean commentators not tastosis but all the vods are already uploaded so if anyone really wants to watch the games for free they can.
On March 25 2011 04:33 Excalibur_Z wrote: I hadn't seen GSTL2 and everyone said the games were really good. I think I may have to spring for a GSTL2 $5 pass just to see these games.
completely worth every single last penny
I can't believe i was debating about spending it in the first place.
its $2.495 for 16 hours of tasteless , $2.495 for 16 hours of artosis A deal that cannot be beat anywhere. I mean .. that's like 15 cents per caster-hour.
Awesome writeup - with more pictures, this is easily front page material. SlayerS is now my favorite team :D So many awesome players. I'm still thinking about the finals - how Alicia gave an early lead to SlayerS, enabling them to take down MVP due to having more games to wear him down and analyze his TvT. And Ryung's clutch win against Yonghwa which shifted the flow of the games back into SlayerS's favor. So awesome.
The last match was just a match of giants...incredible micro and macro and MMA playing a MKP style perfectly. You could feel the slightest mistake could cost either one of them the match. MMA is now a legend himself.
Really nice write my friend. I enjoyed it very much!
As others have said my Liquibet has been busted by SlayerS but I really don't mind. It's always fun and entertaining to see an underdog beat the odds. I wasn't much of a fan of SlayerS before but I'm definitely am.
Great writeup for a great series and team. Slayers had impressed me so much. They have a number of top tier players that I am really excited to watch in future GSLs.
Great read Watched slayers journy through the teamleague, at first upset that they took out oGs and then gradually becoming their biggest fanboy. Cella, Boxer, MMA and the rest of Slayers FTW!
When can we start expecting SC2 Team icons in our signatures? This has got me pumped. Next time, I think I'll shell out the money to see these matches.
Not trying to undermine MMA's skill, but still it has to be said(didn't read all pages) that both MC and MVP were on their 3rd game. Amazingly played, but I personally feel they are both more solid, but time will tell if that keeps going(and to mention july, well I'm still not impressed by him apart from being able to ignore other pro zergs and play the game like he wants to).
GSTL is still sooo amazing exactly because of this, there's so much "hidden" talent outside Code S/A. Amazing to see those players getting dug up and also the team spirit.
PS: I really really disliked how long it took Slayers to set up though, was a big damper on else epic GSTL day, waiting 10-30min each time :/
On March 25 2011 07:13 1Eris1 wrote: Great job to slayers and all, but I don't think this should be overplayed. Nestea was 4 gated out, and Losira failed on a baneling bust. MC was killed with a combination of all ins. Slayers is definetely a contender now, but I don't think they're the best team atm
I think you have it backwards. Slayers doesn't have the best players atm, but the fact that they use a carefully planned series of all ins against MC shows that they are the best team.
It's the difference that Cella brought. Team strategies require not only focusing on the immediate match, but the possible matches thereafter. Slayers would not have won over oGs if Cella had just picked someone (even MMA), and just said "Yo, just play your best game, glhf."
You could see it in the way that members of the Slayers team huddled inside the booth after every game quicker than any other team. At any given moment, 2 or 3 of the Slayers members would be talking with the person in the booth during down time. The entire team was behind every single player and every single stratagem.
(Side note, but Nestea's blind double expand with no spines was basically a large neon sign saying "Please 4 gate me")
So well said, I would love to know what was on all the notes and papers he kept giving the different players.
On March 25 2011 09:59 Zarahtra wrote: Not trying to undermine MMA's skill, but still it has to be said(didn't read all pages) that both MC and MVP were on their 3rd game. Amazingly played, but I personally feel they are both more solid, but time will tell if that keeps going(and to mention july, well I'm still not impressed by him apart from being able to ignore other pro zergs and play the game like he wants to).
GSTL is still sooo amazing exactly because of this, there's so much "hidden" talent outside Code S/A. Amazing to see those players getting dug up and also the team spirit.
PS: I really really disliked how long it took Slayers to set up though, was a big damper on else epic GSTL day, waiting 10-30min each time :/
No one is saying MMA is a better player than MC or MVP. What peeps are saying is that MMA has a lot of guts to be able to go into the final game of a series with MC and MVP and win it. All the pressure in the world was on MMA to put SlayerS on his back and carry them to victory. And he did so.
What a great post, well thought out and I enjoyed every second of the read. The finals last night were a true underdog story and brought tears to nerds eyes across the globe. Remember SlayerS, they will be around for a long time! SlayerS Fighting!
When Slayers started throwing their players/Boxer in the air with the music in the background, and the ecstasy of victory. That was imo the most epic moment of the event.
And I realized I had watched The Finals and not the Semi which because of the time-zones I had presumed the wrong date.
This really feels like it should be an article in the Starcraft bible. Maybe a later edition, if chobopeon is doing that? Really great write-up though.
I can only speculate, but if I was personally picked by Boxer to play for his team, I would practice harder for him than any other team out there, so that I'd live up to his expectations. I think it's very likely that he has that impression on most Starcraft gamers. He's such a charismatic and influential guy, that you can't help but want to follow in his footsteps and do everything you can to not disappoint him.
Didn't know they took so long to set up. I didn't watch live. May be that's why they were only on the 5th match by the time I woke up in the morning 2 hours 20 minutes after it started xD
On March 25 2011 09:59 Zarahtra wrote: Not trying to undermine MMA's skill, but still it has to be said(didn't read all pages) that both MC and MVP were on their 3rd game. Amazingly played, but I personally feel they are both more solid, but time will tell if that keeps going(and to mention july, well I'm still not impressed by him apart from being able to ignore other pro zergs and play the game like he wants to).
GSTL is still sooo amazing exactly because of this, there's so much "hidden" talent outside Code S/A. Amazing to see those players getting dug up and also the team spirit.
PS: I really really disliked how long it took Slayers to set up though, was a big damper on else epic GSTL day, waiting 10-30min each time :/
No one is saying MMA is a better player than MC or MVP. What peeps are saying is that MMA has a lot of guts to be able to go into the final game of a series with MC and MVP and win it. All the pressure in the world was on MMA to put SlayerS on his back and carry them to victory. And he did so.
The thing about MMA is that he also displays great stamina - getting a 3-kill easily against ST, and looking incredibly dominant against Bomber, only losing because he got excited at the prospect of an all-kill and got sloppy. But I agree, we don't know how good he actually is against an un-tired MC or MVP.
Wow I didn't know the WeRRa coach was accused of sexual harassment... Is this on an article anywhere that isn't in korean? What ever happened to him, is he being charged with anything or are they just allegations?
On March 25 2011 14:28 Turing wrote: This really feels like it should be an article in the Starcraft bible. Maybe a later edition, if chobopeon is doing that? Really great write-up though.
I was thinking the exact same thing reading through! Excellent read, great stuff!
Most well spent money I ever spent. Oh my god, if my boss checks how much work I've done today I would get the boot. Watch the whole best of 9 seriest and was shaking on the verge of exploading through out the series. Had a running bet with my friend, I called 5-4 Slayers and he countered with 5-4 in favor of IM.
Great writeup. Great finals. Feelings money can't buy! Oh, scratch that, this feeling has a pricetag... 1 GSTL ticket. Both team leagues have been massivley entertaining. Looking forward to the next one!
On March 25 2011 04:21 thedz wrote: In the end, it came down to timing. In a moment so tense that even Artosis and Tasteless are reduced to silence as they watched along with the audience, MMA takes advantage of a momentary opening. He stims and runs. Tanks explode, and MVP loses his army.
Soon thereafter, a flash on the screen: gg.
MMA wins.
This is was one of the most epic moments in esports history imo.
Fantastic story of rags to riches culminating in a final game that could not have been more epic, insane tension that reached such a critical mass that Tasteosis lost in the moment fell silent, you could feel everyone watching the game collectively hold their breath as MMA's tanks sieged up in front of Mvp's expansion. The game was so close, the series so close, that it could have all been won or lost in that moment of silence.
There is no reason not to spend 5 bucks on these games. the GSTLs have produced the most interesting games by far. Especially when they bring out the specialist or "snipers".
Thank you for this amazing writeup. The GSTL again did not disappoint this season. I love underdog stories and even though I voted against Slayers in all the liquibets, I'm happy they came out on top.
And holy check ! MMA... I doubted his skill after seeing him cheese out MC, but that final game against MVP... I had not enjoyed a TvT this much since the NaDa/MKP basetrade match.
On March 25 2011 04:21 thedz wrote: In the end, it came down to timing. In a moment so tense that even Artosis and Tasteless are reduced to silence as they watched along with the audience, MMA takes advantage of a momentary opening. He stims and runs. Tanks explode, and MVP loses his army.
Soon thereafter, a flash on the screen: gg.
MMA wins.
This is was one of the most epic moments in esports history imo.
Fantastic story of rags to riches culminating in a final game that could not have been more epic, insane tension that reached such a critical mass that Tasteosis lost in the moment fell silent, you could feel everyone watching the game collectively hold their breath as MMA's tanks sieged up in front of Mvp's expansion. The game was so close, the series so close, that it could have all been won or lost in that moment of silence.
Truly inspiring stuff.
Yeah, this was touching.
I haven't watched it yet, gonna buy the ticket today and probably see it tomorrow with friends, and I just can't picture something so epic that makes Tastosis be silent...
It was amazing to watch... I only caught the MVP games but the fact I was laughing and holding my breath alone in front of the computer says it all. MMA is redonk. IM and Slayers put on an amazing series.
I did especially love that Tasteosis were left speechless as they watched the game unfold. Simply Amazing.
Love the write up, I'm going to have to rewatch the ST.Bomber games now. Totally worth the $5 considering the quality of both the tournament and the games.
EPT
SlayerSBoxeR, given the opportunity to create a team in Brood War, surrounds himself with a hand picked crowd of then unknown players. Most of them do well, but one -- 
CellaWeRRa of the Werra clan is playing Starcraft 2. He makes friends and gains many fans in the foreign audience. Known for his humor and his on-stream antics, he quickly makes a name for himself outside Korea with videos such as the 13 Gate build.
IMSeed and ![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/motbob/hug.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/OJzEd.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/Tu7B5.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://imgur.com/xz8r9.png)
![[image loading]](http://imgur.com/aWPAD.png)
