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United States23455 Posts
So that happened. Well, the quarterfinals are finished and we're revving up for the semifinals. Can you feel the excitement? Marine on marine? Banshee on banshee? That feeling when you see someone misclick all their units into a siege tank line, look like they just saw Day9 kissing their girlfriend, and get absolutely demolished without any chance to save themselves?
Alright, I know, it's GOMTvTvTvT. Yes, yes, terran must be IMBA and OP because they're the only race standing. Marauders are unbeatable, banshees can freaking go invisible and shoot shit, and they can fly their buildings into the deepest ends of space where no mutalisk or phoenix will ever find them. Hey, I can feel your pain guys. If I was the master of the universe and could rig the entire tournament for your enjoyment, I would have made it so that the semifinals consisted of a zerg, a protoss, a terran and someone playing random. Every game would be the most amazing thing you had ever seen in your entire life, and poor Artosis would literally have a heart attack from the amount of awesome he was witnessing.
Well, sadly, I'm not and this is what we're left with. Me? I like TvT. I like the chess match feeling when two players move along the map with their forces, trying to find the smallest window of opportunity that their opponent gives them and then go in for the resounding checkmate. I like the long games. I even, like a masochist, enjoy the tedious moving of tanks slowly for five minutes straight with no actual action. Again, I know that a lot of you dislike TvT, and I can't make you like a match-up. You either like it or you don't.
I can tell you that I think the final four left do have interesting and some amazing plot points behind them. I can say that if you continue watching, you might see a great final that you've been hoping for. I can say, in my heart of hearts, that all four of these guys are great players. They might not be named MC, MVP, or Nestea, but none of these guys got here entirely on luck. Yeah, maybe TOP got lucky that Nestea couldn't catch his hellions in game three of their series, but the entire game of Starcraft 2, no, any sport in the world, involves luck.
Now, let's get caught up a little, shall we? Let's go through ten things I learned from the quarterfinals that went on the past two nights:
1. Seriously, this MMA guy, he must be doing this on purpose, right? He must be purposely playing a weak early game just so that when he comes back at the end of the game, girls will be throwing themselves at him. It's like a guy who takes his car and then drives as fast as he can on a clifftop, trying to see how far he can go before he stops or careens off, killing himself and his beautiful car. That's how I feel when watching MMA play. He gets behind, looks like he's about to drive off the end of the cliff, but then amazingly stops, makes a comeback and wins.
2. MMA beat Ryung in two ways. He not only won the battle in the game, but he also won the ceremony battle. Tuna, Ryung? Really? Yeah, yeah, I'm sure it's an in joke between the Slayers team, but a can of tuna? With MMA, you had him place cards on his window booth to signify how many wins he had over you. But you? A can of tuna. Okay, buddy, report to Keen's office at 12 tomorrow for training.
3. Ga-yeon, Boxer's girlfriend, likes and encourages cock fighting between the members of Slayers.
4. TheBest might have the worst banshee control in the entire world. When your entire build enlists you to go into MarineKing's base, do heavy damage, and get out, what does he do? He flies his banshee into MarineKing's base, runs straight at the marines and dies. Then, in the second game, he takes his banshee to the natural, mulls around for a few seconds, and then cloaks for the singular SCV there. Maybe TheBest thought that the SCV could evolve into a thor?
5. It is possible to make TheBest stop smirking. Yes, it happened, just for a few seconds, but it happened. After getting beat by MarineKing for third straight time in under twelve minutes, TheBest looked like he lost his smirk forever. I think the reality that he is now out of the Super Tournament and forever in the abyss that is Code B dawned on him. But hey, don't feel so bad, TheBest, you made around $5,000! That's more than MC and Idra combined to collect at MLG Columbus, even after playing endlessly for three straight days! Get your smirk on, TheBest, you sick all-in baller you!
6. I'm about to get attacked by half of you on this board, but I just gotta come out and say it.
Ready?
Okay.
I think MarineKing looks better with glasses than without. Yep, with the amount of time the series between MarineKing and TheBest took, I could make a clear judgment on what version of MarineKing I like better. I know all of you MarineKing Without Glasses fans are really angry at me right now, but I hope in time you can see what I'm saying is true.
7. It isn't a good sign when the first image we see of you before a match is that you look scared out of your skull. Alicia, I love you, I really do, but get your brother John to make you look tough and not back down from anyone. Grow a manly beard and put fear into your challengers. Because right now, when someone faces you, it looks like they're facing a scared turtle wanting to put his head back into his shell. I demand to see Alicia have manly facial hair the next time we see him. Make it happen.
8. I really, really like Polt. Don't take me for someone who has always loved the guy. I didn't at all. When he talked about how Jinro, our awesome Jinro, got lucky to get into the semifinals twice in back-to-back seasons, I threw my hands at my computer and pleaded for our Swedish Gorilla Terran to knock his head off. Jinro did, I was happy, and wanted Polt to fall into Code B forever. Then, out of nowhere, he actually got really good. He finished his studies at university and turned into a complete beast. His ELO shot up to second in Korea only behind Bomber. I'll get more into Polt later on in this article, but damn, how did I start liking this guy? Maybe I'll start like Choya next?
Nah.
9. ZeNex Line really loves to make mutalisks. You could almost say that he adores them and wants to marry them. Whenever I now think of Line, I will now just imagine a mutalisk with glasses on it. That's all I have to say about Line.
10. TOP really can't catch any breaks. Ever since he beat Nestea in the Ro16, people have been on his case because he bunker rushed him in the first game. Even the next game with early banshee harass, some people got mad and thought it was cheese. Then, at the end, even when he won the last game with some good play and nice hellion control, everyone demanded the guy to be beat up for taking out the Zerg God. You thought it couldn't get any worse? Next, he has to play the only remaining non-terran in the whole fucking competition, goes behind 2-1, and then makes a gigantic comeback to win the series, making the rest of the tournament TvT. Now he's the guy who made the semifinals and finals suck because it's all terran. Why does TOP have to ruin everything!? He first knocked out Nestea, then eliminated the last non-terran, and probably was the guy who ran the streams at MLG Dallas!
I'm going to stand up for TOP. The guy did what had to be done. No, even if you think he's a terrible cheesy player with no talent, TOP is a good player. He was our first Code A champion (before Losira and Bomber) and has been consistent in almost every tournament we've seen him in. He's a really good player and deserves this chance in the spotlight. Would I rather had Nestea here? Hell yeah! But that doesn't mean it's TOP's fault for playing his ass off to get where he is now.
So, I know a lot of you aren't really familiar with these guys and just are getting into the GSL. Some of you are slowly picking up on who is who and what is what. I want you guys to understand these guys too, you know. You don't have to follow GSL 24/7 for the past year to get the gist of what these guys currently are.
To try and prove I could get anyone into the GSL and share the character's backstories, I got my female friend, let's call her Leanne, and tried to get her into this crazy video game tournament with people who don't even speak her language half across the world. I sat her down, showed her a few games from the quarterfinals (I skipped out on the MarineKing/TheBest series to make sure she didn't hit me) and explained to her what she was going on.
She said that she thought the action was cool and that Tasteless sounded hot, but didn't understand who these guys were. I could have explained it to her in the way that I explained the eight quarter finalists in my last article, but that would have flown over her head.
That's when I decided to compare our final four to guys you would know in high school. All four of them wanting to ask you out to prom. Who would these four be if you knew them back in high school?
Polt? He's the guy you know who used to sit in the back of the class, be covered in pimples, and have the second creepiest smile in the world behind TheBest. He would stalk you after class, try to hang out at the locker right next to yours to just say hi like a total creep, and would hover hand you whenever he had the chance to do so. There would be no way in hell you would ever go to prom with this guy, right?
So Polt's family has to move to Antarctica and is gone for a whole year. You're elated, knowing you don't have to see that creep anymore. Then, when the new school year starts the year after, Polt has returned. No, this isn't the same Polt. This dude has a six pack, digs his hand into your shoulder when he takes a picture with you, and can bench press nerds for breakfast.
He went from the biggest geek in the world into a total badass. Yeah, some might say that he isn't all that cool and he'll eventually revert back to his old self, but right now he is looking and talking like someone you would go to third base with.
TOP? The boy next door. You know that guy who lives next to the cute girl, they become friends, and then the boy wants to actually have a relationship with the girl? Yeah, that's TOP. To his dismay, TOP will always get friendzoned and never be the hottest one of the bunch. Don't get me wrong, TOP is a good guy. Reliable, smart and consistent, but he doesn't have the shine or dazzle the other three candidates have.
He'll bring you flowers, talk to you when your asshole boyfriend breaks up with you, and bring you chicken soup when you're sick, but he'll never be more than a friend. He'll always be there for you and never leave you, even after years of emotional abuse, but the feelings will never be the same.
MMA? Wow, this guy is totally awesome. His father (Boxer) is rich as hell and buys him the nicest clothes and cars a guy would want. All the girls want him and think he's the coolest thing ever. He plays chicken with his convertible and makes you think he'll fly off the top of a cliff, but will always stop one inch before toppling over.
But is he the real deal? All signs point to yes. He's nice, great at anything you put in front of him, but he still hasn't given you a concrete reason to trust him fully. You want to give yourself to him and take him to prom, but he still needs that final piece to prove to you that he just isn't talked up by everyone around you.
MarineKing? Oh MarineKing. He's the guy who looks like the perfect boyfriend. Smart, funny, nice to everyone and cute. He'll pay for everything. He'll do all the right things. He'll say all the right words. You just can't help but love the guy, right? What could be wrong with him?
Well, the guy just doesn't finish right. The first date you went on with him? He mistakenly tripped over his own feet, pushed you hard in the back, and you fell into the river. Second date? When you were at the restaurant, ready to eat your food, he accidentally spilled his hot drink and gave you second degree burns. Third date? He's finally going to do it! He's finally going to have the perfect night out. He goes for the kiss, you lean in, and somehow, the universe forces his elbow into your face and breaks your nose.
You love him with all your heart, but every time he breaks it. How long can you go on, wanting to be with this guy when he always causes you such harm when all the good times are done? Why smile at all the good things when it'll eventually put you in the hospital.
After going through this whole rundown with Leanne, I look at her, wanting to know what she thinks. She's on my computer, checking Google and apparently landed on a picture of MarineKing. She looked at me, pointed at the picture, and said, "He's hot! I want him to win!"
Well at least I tried.
Also, I wonder, what kind of guy would TheBest be in high school? Hm...you can only wonder:
![[image loading]](http://imageftw.com/uploads/20110611/phpk4731XPM.jpg) Let's hope he cloaks better here than in his games
![[image loading]](http://imageftw.com/uploads/20110612/MKPMMA.png) The Battle for Boxer
If you aren't excited for this, what match will you be excited for? The story writes itself. If you didn't know, our seventeen-year-old MarineKing wasn't always named for being the king of marines. When he started out, he got a lot of flack from the community for using the name of his hero and idol, Boxer. Playing with the name Boxer, trying to carry on the history of the name, it looked like the teenager who loved Boxer would actually get to face him in the GSL 2 finals.
After defeating HopeTorture (now known as Rainbow) in the semifinals, this is what was asked to MarineKing:
Q. Who do you want to play in the finals?
A. SlayerS_BoxeR for sure. It's an honour to even stand in the same stage, and it'll be the greatest moment of my life.
Q. Who do you think will win the semi final match tomorrow?
A. Zerg is more favourable as the skill level gets higher. I think SlayerS_BoxeR will find a way to win, so I'll carefully bet on him.
Boxer/Foxer/MarineKing wanted to be in the finals with his hero more than anything. He was so close to playing against the guy he idolized in Brood War on the grandest stage of SC2. Sadly, for him and many fans hoping for it, Nestea took out Boxer the next night and crushed any dreams for MarineKing to have the match he always wanted.
After the tournament that ended with MarineKing losing to Nestea in the final, MarineKing said he would be changing his name because the only Boxer in SC2 should be the one that he wanted to emulate so bad. First, if you didn't know, he wanted to change his name to OptimusPrime. After some thought, thinking that only the best member of Prime should have that ID after winning a GSL, said he didn't deserve it yet and changed his name to the one we all know today - MarineKing.
MarineKing never got his match with Boxer. After the second GSL, Boxer became more involved with his own team that he was building called Slayers and never got as far as he did in the second season. MarineKing continued his rise through the rankings, proving that he wasn't a one season fluke and would be around for a long, long time.
Boxer might not be the powerhouse any longer in SC2 that he was in Brood War, but Boxer has a talent that almost no other person in esports has. This guy can make an incredible team. He'll find players who other teams have ignored, take the diamonds in the rough and polish them into diamonds. He did it in Brood War with SK Telecom 1, the greatest and most successful team in BW and maybe esports history. Could he do it with Slayers? Only time could tell.
The first time we saw the Slayers team, they weren't all that great. They played ZeNex, thought of more as a weaker team, and got beat down by them. It looked like it would be pretty much an all-kill by them and Boxer's team would get shut out in their first appearance. Down 3-0, just having SlayersAlicia (oh hey, it's Alicia) get beaten by ZeNexJun, Boxer only had one player left to try and take down all of ZeNex.
This man? His name was Jjob. Not expecting much, Jjob gave it his all and took a game off ZeNex and finally sniped Jun. Then he defeated another. Then he defeated Byun. Who the hell was this guy? He was pulling an epic comeback when it looked like all hope was lost. Eventually, in the final set, Jjob couldn't do the reverse all-kill and got knocked out by ZeNexNuke; even though he lost that day, we saw the first flashes of brilliance of who would become Boxer's star pupil and Slayers' ace.
Jjob then popped up in Code A, beat our very own Ret 2-0 and then got taken out of the tournament by Killer in the next round by a 2-1 score. After that, he changed his name and started his own legacy in the GSL. In the first round of the second GSTL, his team, Slayers was one loss away from getting taken out for the second time. MC was stomping face and it looked like all hope was loss.
Then he appeared. Jjob no longer. His new name was MMA and he was here to kick ass. Put in a game where whichever player won, his team would advance, MMA had take on MC during the height of his powers. In the end, MMA won and the legend was born of the man who would rule the GSTL. He would then go on to do a three kill against Startale, only losing to Bomber. His team still won and qualified for the finals.
In the finals, they faced the champions of the past season, Incredible Miracle. The little team that could, crafted by Boxer, had to take on the monsters Nestea and MVP. Slayers fought hard, but it still looked like it would be all in vain with MVP rolling and forcing an ace match. Slayers, with only one pick left, sent our their new ace MMA and put all their hope in him.
Result? He played one of the best TvT's I have ever seen in SC2 and won the match and championship for his team. After that performance, people started to notice him. He got his own fan club. Girls in the crowd started to show up just to see him. He got farther in Code A the season after that, but got beat by Bomber, the only guy who seemingly could beat him at the time.
Still, he qualified for the Up-and-Down matches and had a chance for Code S. Who did he face there? MarineKing, of course. The two battled and in the end, MarineKing after a tough 2-1 series where MMA won the first game. After that, MMA tilted against Huk and got knocked down to Code A.
You thought that would be where he vanished, right? Nope. Back to third season of GSTL, MarineKing loses in the first round in heartbreaking fashion against the team MVP. In true storybook fashion, the man that beat MarineKing in the ace match of that series, DongRaeGu, was the man that MMA had to beat in the ace match of the championship match to defend the title for Slayers.
The result? He played one of the best TvZ's I have ever seen in SC2 and won the match and the championship for his team. Back-to-back titles, only having lost once in the GSTL after getting beat by ZeNexNuke in the first season. He was officially the King of the GSTL and was proving to be one of the most clutch players in the GSL.
MMA then went to MLG Columbus and we all know what happened there. He stomped face, didn't lose a match and became champion. MarineKing while MMA was rising through the ranks, went to the finals twice more after the one with Nestea and lost both to MVP, a guy MMA defeated in the second GSTL to win the title for Slayers. Now, in the Super Tournament, these two are finally going to duke it out in a setting that befits the intensity of this match.
MarineKing wants this more than anything. After three finals that he has lost, the two men that knocked him out are both gone. He can almost smell his first title and will do anything to get it. MMA is 29-7 since MarineKing beat him in the Up-and-Down matches and looks like he won't be stopped until he adds another title under his belt.
Will MarineKing show that he is stronger than Boxer's Heir? He might have never gotten the match he wanted with Boxer so long ago, but this is the next best thing. Everything MMA knows has been taught by Boxer and this is MarineKing's chance to take him down and move into the finals. Can he do it and be one step closer to realizing his dream of raising the championship trophy, or will MMA with Boxer behind him be too strong for the kid who once named himself BoxerPrime?
![[image loading]](http://imageftw.com/uploads/20110611/PoltTOP.png) Living in the Shadows
The other semifinal. The one without the gigantic hype. The one without the built in story. Both of these guys have been living in the shadow for too long. For Polt, it's always been MarineKing. It has always been MarineKing and Friends when people thought of Prime. People only thought of Polt when they wanted to rage about his comment against Jinro before their GSL match. Besides that, the only person talked about on Prime with any sort of ability to win a title was MarineKing. Who else would win on Prime? Maka? Check? Anypro? All good players, no doubt, but they weren't MarineKing. They didn't have the legion of fangirls like MarineKing and didn't have the accomplishments.
For TOP? He's on oGs where they house the legend himself, Nada, the foreigner who got to back-to-back semifinals, Jinro, and the super rookie who took TOP's thunder, Supernova. TOP never could get noticed with those guys there. This guy was our first Code A champion and it seemed like everyone just forgot that ever happened a week later. Yeah, people would say he was good at TvT, but that was it. Where's the respect? Losira and Bomber both suddenly became top players at their race when they won their title, but TOP won his Code A championship and got mostly unnoticed by the community.
TOP has always been consistent. He hasn't fallen out of Code S since he got there after winning Code A. Last season, he beat Supernova in the Ro16 and then had to face Nada in the Ro8. He lost 3-1, but showed that he was a force to be reckoned with. He isn't just some random guy who popped out of nowhere, cheesed Nestea, and now is in the semifinals like a few people think. The guy is good. He's solid. He knows how to play a good macro game. This is his time to earn the respect of the community and take over as the top terran on the oGs team with Nada falling to Line, the guy TOP had to beat in the Ro8 to get into the semifinals.
Back to Polt. He used to suck. A lot. I thought he was going to fall into Code B forever and I wouldn't have cared. Then, out of nowhere, he got good. As I said in my previous article, Polt had been going to one of the top colleges in Korea (ranked 50th in the world, I believe) and wasn't committing full time to Starcraft 2. He wasn't living in the team house and was probably focusing more on his studies than the games he was playing.
Then, finally, after graduating, he finally could concentrate fully after that game. This was around the time Jinro knocked him out of the GSL. After that night, Polt has gone 38-12.
LET ME REPEAT: THIRTY EIGHT WINS AND TWELVE LOSSES.
If it wasn't for MMA and his MLG Columbus championship, he would be the hottest thing going in SC2. Damn, you could even make a case for him being the hottest player right now even with MMA winning MLG. When you watch Polt, you might not see the most innovative play or the most amazing tactics, but he doesn't make mistakes. He's smart and he knows that. He knows how to play a long game. He knows how to deflect other builds. He knows what to do when someone is going all-in on him. He's beaten a terran, a zerg, and two protoss this tournament. He's 9-2 overall and only dropped two games; one of them being a cheese from Maka, his own teammate, in the Round of 16.
So where does this leave us? Two guys who a lot of people don't expect to do any damage in the finals. It's all about MarineKing or MMA. Whoever wins that match is going to be champion, a lot of people are saying. Polt or TOP? Ha! Just go home, another one-sided final with MMA/MKP winning in the end without any trouble.
Right?
Wrong. I firmly believe either of these two could be champion. TOP has shown amazing TvT, and Polt has been on a whole other level since he finished university. They shouldn't be overlooked any longer and need to be recognized as great players in the GSL. Whoever wins this match will be the underdog in the final, but they shouldn't be looked at as another Rain or Inca. They have both proved that they deserve to be in the spots they're in.
Polt is sick of being in MarineKing's shadow.
TOP is sick of being in Nada's shadow.
It's time for one of these men to step out from the darkness and into the light of the GSL Finals.
Poll: MarineKing vs. MMAMarineKing (315) 50% MMA (312) 50% 627 total votes Your vote: MarineKing vs. MMA (Vote): MarineKing
(Vote): MMA
Poll: Polt vs. TOPPolt (291) 56% TOP (230) 44% 521 total votes Your vote: Polt vs. TOP (Vote): Polt
(Vote): TOP
P.S: My hands hurt from typing so much.
Hope you enjoy and thank you for reading! 
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Very nice read lol even though I glimpsed through most of it.
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Yes Yes! MarineKing with Glasses Sooo CUTE :D
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United States23455 Posts
On June 12 2011 04:50 baoluvboa wrote:
Very nice read lol even though I glimpsed through most of it.
Thanks, I know it's a long read. Wouldn't advise to read it in one sitting. :p
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Another great post, gj fionn.
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nice read, go marineking!
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Awesome post once again. If it has to be mirror matches, I'm glad its TvT, and I think everyone can agree with that.
I'm also glad that we are finally getting a "new" GSL champion. I enjoy watching the big 3 as much as the next guy, but change is needed at this point.
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Epic. I am so pumped for the semi-finals now. Well done.
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Another great write-up. Keep up the good work. Also the picture of Thebest in the window made my day lol
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someone hire this guy. very fun to read
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Thebest picture had me laughing out loud here. Very good writeup!
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awesome writeup, gogo top
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United States33389 Posts
just write for official news already ~_~
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United States15275 Posts
Very nice post Fionn.
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Read through it all, was a wonderful read. Thank you for writing it up!
I seriously cannot wait for these matches.
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HYPE HYPE HYPE! love ur write-ups ! :D
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lol somme funny moments, good read 
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Great post
MarineKong forever :D
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Dear Fionn,
please do as waxangel says.
Thank you
Also thats a awesome article :D
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Fionn, thanks for hyping the crap out of these semis for us all. Seriously, good job.
Also ROFL at that picture of TheBest.
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Reading the MKP and MMA bit gave me loads of nerd chills :D. Will read the other section in a bit.
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great write up. Continue the good work.I would say if there's more picture it would even more awesome.
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United States23455 Posts
On June 12 2011 05:07 FindMeInKenya wrote:
great write up. Continue the good work.I would say if there's more picture it would even more awesome.
I would add more pictures, but I actually don't know real good places to get any. If anyone has good sources, I'm sure I would use them in the future.
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Awesome read. I am so hyped for MMA vs MKP.
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Awesome article man. Read the whole thing and pretty much agree with everything. The parts comparing the four to high school kids was pretty funny. Anyways I voted for the two underdogs! MMA and POLT!
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Crittered me bigtime with that walloff text.
^ See what I did there? See it? See it?
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I just love like my mom these hype posts. So well written,they excite you and give you nerd chills. Pls make more.
Edit: MMA hwaiting!
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TOP is one of the best players in the GSL. It's really great that this season he finally achieves a record which represents his skill. I hope he'll win the whole thing. Where all this TOP cheesed Nestea out came from I didnt understand in the first place since he didnt cheese in any of the 3 matches
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bad ass write up man, this should be official news :D
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On June 12 2011 05:24 Tofugrinder wrote:
TOP is one of the best players in the GSL. It's really great that this season he finally achieves a record which represents his skill. I hope he'll win the whole thing. Where all this TOP cheesed Nestea out came from I didnt understand in the first place since he didnt cheese in any of the 3 matches
You missed game one did you.
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Canada1637 Posts
On June 12 2011 05:30 ch33psh33p wrote:Show nested quote +On June 12 2011 05:24 Tofugrinder wrote:
TOP is one of the best players in the GSL. It's really great that this season he finally achieves a record which represents his skill. I hope he'll win the whole thing. Where all this TOP cheesed Nestea out came from I didnt understand in the first place since he didnt cheese in any of the 3 matches You missed game one did you.
2 rax with 4 scvs isn't really cheesy if you ask me, its just heavy pressure.
Also, great read!
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Go MKP and Polt! Nice article bro.
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Well, the guy just doesn't finish right. The first date you went on with him? He mistakenly tripped over his own feet, pushed you hard in the back, and you fell into the river. Second date? When you were at the restaurant, ready to eat your food, he accidentally spilled his hot drink and gave you second degree burns. Third date? He's finally going to do it! He's finally going to have the perfect night out. He goes for the kiss, you lean in, and somehow, the universe forces his elbow into your face and breaks your nose.
- about marineking
I laughed my ass off. good read! loved the article!
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Great hype! I hope your abilities don't get overlooked
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On June 12 2011 05:00 Waxangel wrote:
just write for official news already ~_~
1 second this!
Haha, amazing read once again! really loved it! Was surprised to see you werent a staff writer or anything
Anyway hope you keep these awesome reports coming, i love em
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I'd like a MMA vs MKP finale, damn bracket  Winner there should probably win. If MKP wins the semi, he better damn well get his championship!
I hope TOP wins the second one, as I believe better games will come of it, but I have this nagging sick feeling that Polt will win the whole damn thing and crush my love for gsl...
TvT is fun enough, but I'm not very psyched at the players
This being said, cool funny write-up.
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Amazingly good article just as good as your previous one, keep up the good work!
On June 12 2011 05:00 Waxangel wrote:
just write for official news already ~_~
He speaks the truth.
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Great write up. I want mma to take it!
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On June 12 2011 05:44 asmo.0 wrote:I'd like a MMA vs MKP finale, damn bracket Winner there should probably win. If MKP wins the semi, he better damn well get his championship! I hope TOP wins the second one, as I believe better games will come of it, but I have this nagging sick feeling that Polt will win the whole damn thing and crush my love for gsl... TvT is fun enough, but I'm not very psyched at the players This being said, cool funny write-up.
Polt is one of the best players in the world right now...
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Dude, just, stop.
If you keep writing amazing articles like this, you are going to make the TL writter's union go on a strike, because you took away their employment opportunities.
Great fucking article, especially the part with TheBest's face in it
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MMA do some work!
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Such an entertaining read! Good job.
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The Battle for Boxer is a pretty fantastic way to sum up that match. Hope you continue writing
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why is this not spotlighted yet?
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On June 12 2011 05:46 425kid wrote:Show nested quote +On June 12 2011 05:44 asmo.0 wrote:I'd like a MMA vs MKP finale, damn bracket Winner there should probably win. If MKP wins the semi, he better damn well get his championship! I hope TOP wins the second one, as I believe better games will come of it, but I have this nagging sick feeling that Polt will win the whole damn thing and crush my love for gsl... TvT is fun enough, but I'm not very psyched at the players This being said, cool funny write-up. Polt is one of the best players in the world right now...
The only thing worse than a mirror finale is a team kill mirror finale.
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On June 12 2011 06:01 Quesa wrote:Show nested quote +On June 12 2011 05:46 425kid wrote:On June 12 2011 05:44 asmo.0 wrote:I'd like a MMA vs MKP finale, damn bracket Winner there should probably win. If MKP wins the semi, he better damn well get his championship! I hope TOP wins the second one, as I believe better games will come of it, but I have this nagging sick feeling that Polt will win the whole damn thing and crush my love for gsl... TvT is fun enough, but I'm not very psyched at the players This being said, cool funny write-up. Polt is one of the best players in the world right now... The only thing worse than a mirror finale is a team kill mirror finale.
Its the battle for optimus prime though
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United States23455 Posts
On June 12 2011 06:01 Quesa wrote:Show nested quote +On June 12 2011 05:46 425kid wrote:On June 12 2011 05:44 asmo.0 wrote:I'd like a MMA vs MKP finale, damn bracket Winner there should probably win. If MKP wins the semi, he better damn well get his championship! I hope TOP wins the second one, as I believe better games will come of it, but I have this nagging sick feeling that Polt will win the whole damn thing and crush my love for gsl... TvT is fun enough, but I'm not very psyched at the players This being said, cool funny write-up. Polt is one of the best players in the world right now... The only thing worse than a mirror finale is a team kill mirror finale.
Polt and MarineKing don't live in the same house. Polt lives by himself/away from the team house. They also seem to really want to face each other.
Wouldn't except the usual team kill match.
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MKP will win. I heard he plays 80 games a day.
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When I read the "hope he doesn't post these every time" remark in the official news, I knew he'd do it. And it's even more awesome than the previous article. xD
On topic, it's all up to MMA now. Alicia and Min have failed us, and now the Emperor's Chosen, the true Champion of everything that is just and good must stand alone and prevail against the darkness. The prophecy of SKT's second coming must be fulfilled.
...or I will be very, very sad. =(
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Back to back epic write up Fionn. Really enjoyed it, very funny too.
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Wow, this was an amazing read. Can I meet you in person so I can take a photo with you? Seriously, this was so good.
Personally, I have no idea what the final matchup is going to be. However, it does feel like the semi-finals are a match between two top players and a match between two not-quite-at-the-top players. I might even say that whoever wins between MMA and MKP is going to win the finals. But, I can be proven wrong.
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How are you not on TL writing staff?
Amazing write up as always I read ALL of it. The part about your female friend was pretty funny.
After this I am even more excited for this GSL!
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Ahahah I really do love your write-ups. Good read, keep em coming!
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oh yeh, i LOVED the TheBest picture haha
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Good job cranking up the hype machine once again.
MarineKing fighting.
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Great thread, I really liked it and now I can't wait for Polt vs TOP :p
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People only think Polt is bad because of his terrible TvT from months ago
Yet they ignore players like
Losira -> Weak TvZ, uses a roach/bane style incredibly weak to drop styles. (38.24%) win rate
July -> Weak ZvZ, tries agressive low drone builds in a matchup where that's not very good. (36.36%) win rate
Everyone has a weak matchup. Polt's was TvT, it might have gotten better by now, but he is NOT a bad player, and has amazing TvP
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On June 12 2011 05:00 Waxangel wrote:
just write for official news already ~_~
Seriously. I've read through almost (still have to finish this one... its so long!) both of your articles, and I have to say... you're pretty damn good at this! You even have pictures, and the way you word everything.... I love it! Keep writing man. You're damn good.
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Great read... Love your humor.
"Why does TOP have to ruin everything!? He first knocked out Nestea, then eliminated the last non-terran, and probably was the guy who ran the streams at MLG Dallas! "
HAHAHAH
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Why don't you write for TL fulltime? INCREDIBLE article.
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Poll: MarineKingPrimeGlasses (43) 81% No glasses (10) 19% 53 total votes Your vote: MarineKingPrime (Vote): Glasses
(Vote): No glasses
PS, that image... mark keppel high?
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Awesome read man ! Thank you very much for that piece of lulz and information, you got me super hyped !
My predicition is : MMA is gonna continue to roll over faces. Don't misunderstand me, it's gonna be a tough fight and MarineKing will have to use all the tricks he got if he wants to win this one
Polt vs TOP : Man I never realized how much Polt changed since the season 3, he holds an impressive record and is very clever, I'm pretty sure he's going to come on top of top (see what i did there ?)
TOP has great macro skillz but lacks awareness resulting in his army being at the wrong place at the wrong time. But, somehow he'll keep macroing like a god and pull a win out of nowhere.
Not sure his magic tricks gonna work on someone of the caliber of Polt.
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On June 12 2011 06:37 Primadog wrote:Poll: MarineKingPrimeGlasses (43) 81% No glasses (10) 19% 53 total votes Your vote: MarineKingPrime (Vote): Glasses
(Vote): No glasses
he has to wear his glasses man! he's so damn cute than!
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I never usually read long articles.. btu this was aweomse, thx for writing it
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Amazing writeup. Despite the fact all of the big starpower is knocked out (the big three), this article has made me hyped for the semis.
I wouldn't mind anyone of them going to the finals. This certainly will not be a case of a mismatch like Rain or Inca.
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Another awesome post tbh ^^
These matches cannot be missed for sure :D
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United Kingdom14464 Posts
As always, these are alarmingly excellent write ups. I really enjoyed it, and can't wait for your finals coverage.
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So who is Marineking going to lose against in the finals now? =D
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The odds are looking good for MarineKing. If he beats MMA he'll be the favorite in the finals. I love MMA and his crazy TvZ but it's time for MKP to win a title.
Semis: MKP early game timing rushes > MMA
Finals: Marines > all other terran strats
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Three players I like quite a bit (MKP, MMA, and Polt) are in the semis. Unless TOP shocks the world and wins it all I'll be pretty happy. But the best ending would of course be MKP breaking his title drought and taking home 100k
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It's hard to believe that the all-in TheBest just won the same amount of money as MLG champion.
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Really god damn well written article! Maybe the best I've seen here.
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OPTIMUS PRIME IS WAITING FOR YOU MARINEKING!!!
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Go go gogogo foxer, its time to become the best player in the world
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Great read. I especially like the picture with the thebestfou in the background creeping that was hilarious.
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Freaking excellent. I'm hyped as hell now. :D
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Fantastic post, read it all the way through. Keep up the good work!
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Calling it now, TOP vs. MMA finals, MMA takes it to game 7 in an epic series and comes out victorious.
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Damn quality posts Fionn. Amazing read!
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excellent write-up
polt fighting; been an everlasting fan of him since he took out mc in gsl1 ro64 lol
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Good job once again, Fionn. I was going to watch the games anyways but you increased my enthusiasm by 50%.
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Thanks, very nice written. Enjoyed it
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very nicely done! Read (almost) everything, I'm excited for the results, not that much for the games (TvT are good but not too many), I really hope MMA or MKP wins, but I want them both to win 
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great write-up.
The best part was the comparisons.
On June 12 2011 05:00 Waxangel wrote:
just write for official news already ~_~
Fionn, you've been scouted man.And a man needs to do what a man needs to do.
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Polt's always been one of my favorite Terrans, and I believe in the Legend Killer. I wouldn't be particularly disappointed if MarineKing won though, I like him as well.
Great write-up!
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Great write up! On a different note though, i have to disagree with all the MKP fanboys who don't understand how awesome MMA is. ^_^
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You should be a publisher for TL already jesus
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Wow, what a monster article.
Now i am super hyped even tough its tvt, great work.
Come on MKP, its about time you get your own championship!
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MARINE KING'S TIME TO WIN IT ALL
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I really love reading your articles Fionn, keep up the great work
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Awesome write up, MKP fanboy forever, hope he takes it and demolishes MMA 3-0 
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Great post, at first I thought that this tournament was just going to be another fast tournament with horrible brackets and games, but these games definitely proved me wrong. I watched so much interesting games that showed true skills and interesting moments!
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You have great sense of humor!. Really enjoyed the read.
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You really got to question things when you have so many relatively unknown/underated players making it to the pointy end of the tournament from one race whilst only the best of the other two races get anywhere near it.
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Great write up Fionn, write officially for TL already~ =P
@spacemonkeyy: you're right, the question is why you think any of these four are unknown or underrated when people who are actually watching this have known for some time how good these four are. Oh wait, if that was a racial imbalance whine then go blame all the good Zerg and Toss players who lost, not the Terran players who won.
What sort of world do we live in where the winner is the one at fault?
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United Kingdom31255 Posts
Amazing write up I really enjoyed it.
Now start writing the official news
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Great article love the insights!
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"Polt? He's the guy you know who used to sit in the back of the class, be covered in pimples, and have the second creepiest smile in the world behind TheBest."
thank you for making me spray coca cola all over the screen and keyboard
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Nice OP
But I must admit, I will not be watching the rest of this season of GSL. The one matchup I really hate is TvT, so a TvTvTvT is pretty much my worst nightmare. I used to watch all games in the GSL, but nowadays I'm only really interested in MC's and Huk's games.
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On June 12 2011 09:21 spacemonkeyy wrote:
You really got to question things when you have so many relatively unknown/underated players making it to the pointy end of the tournament from one race whilst only the best of the other two races get anywhere near it.
The best of each of the races lost near the beginning, cya mvp, bomber, nestea and mc. Theres a ton of variance in sc2 right now. If you dont want variance go watch brood war
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On June 12 2011 10:04 425kid wrote:Show nested quote +On June 12 2011 09:21 spacemonkeyy wrote:
You really got to question things when you have so many relatively unknown/underated players making it to the pointy end of the tournament from one race whilst only the best of the other two races get anywhere near it. The best of each of the races lost near the beginning, cya mvp, bomber, nestea and mc. Theres a ton of variance in sc2 right now. If you dont want variance go watch brood war
Pretty sure a certain Terran who is better than Bomber and has proven so is still in. If you had just said the best of each race which would be MVP, Nestea, MC then it would've been ok.
MarineKing is the second best Terran and maybe he'll prove he's better than MVP.
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Fun write up, enjoy reading these, thanks! :D
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On June 12 2011 05:49 Mioraka wrote:
Dude, just, stop.
If you keep writing amazing articles like this, you are going to make the TL writter's union go on a strike, because you took away their employment opportunities.
Great fucking article, especially the part with TheBest's face in it
I agree but the picture of girls with TheBest's face in the back freaked me out at first LOL
GJ!!
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United States23455 Posts
Thanks for all the kind words and enjoying the article.
Don't hold any hard feelings to people who just don't like TvT. To be fair, MarineKing doesn't play the average TvT style and Polt really doesn't either, so I think we'll get some exciting matches. We also might get
Artosis: HE'S SLIGHTLY MOVING HIS TANK FORWARD
Tasteless: OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
*10 minutes later*
Artosis: HE MOVED IT AGAIN. ALMOST IN RANGE! OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
Tasteless: OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
But hopefully we get some exciting matches.
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These are some really great write-ups. Keep it up.
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very nice article as im pretty new to starcraft i really enjoyed the facts from older gsl's. I can not wait for the MMA vs MKP its going to be epic
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I don't normally read through long posts like this but damn, what an awesome write up! I hope more people realize we may actually get the best finals yet of the GSL. It won't be based off name recognition but off of pure skill. I'm looking forward to it even more after this read, thanks!
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On June 12 2011 11:34 Fionn wrote:
Thanks for all the kind words and enjoying the article.
Don't hold any hard feelings to people who just don't like TvT. To be fair, MarineKing doesn't play the average TvT style and Polt really doesn't either, so I think we'll get some exciting matches. We also might get
Artosis: HE'S SLIGHTLY MOVING HIS TANK FORWARD
Tasteless: OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
*10 minutes later*
Artosis: HE MOVED IT AGAIN. ALMOST IN RANGE! OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
Tasteless: OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
But hopefully we get some exciting matches.
"MarineKing doesn't play the average TvT style"? Can you find one such non-average TvT MKP played ever since his GSL match vs Nada?
Anyway, go to check the replays MKP vs Scfou (FXOpen # 3 finals, 9 games), and GSL up/down match MKP vs MMA, as well as MKP vs TheBest the other day. All of them are marine tanks solid play.
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I can't say I hold the same enjoyment for TvT, but whatever happens I hope we don't have another player crumble like Alicia. It's so easy to make the slightest mistake in TvT and just lose the game. I'd like to see MKP get another silver medal as well, but I won't be waking up before dawn to watch TvT. If the games are interesting there's always vods
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United States23455 Posts
On June 12 2011 11:42 kl3zero wrote:
very nice article as im pretty new to starcraft i really enjoyed the facts from older gsl's. I can not wait for the MMA vs MKP its going to be epic
Thanks.
If I can get any new fans into watching GSL, I'll feel really happy. The only way for the GSL to get bigger and better, is to get new fans.
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Great article! Really enjoyed reading it, will make the semis more enjoyable for me with you hyping things up
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Marineking vs MMA will be a sick matchup. I see MMA taking it. He'll be Marineking's new kryptonite. haha.
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On June 12 2011 12:06 bearhug wrote:Show nested quote +On June 12 2011 11:34 Fionn wrote:
Thanks for all the kind words and enjoying the article.
Don't hold any hard feelings to people who just don't like TvT. To be fair, MarineKing doesn't play the average TvT style and Polt really doesn't either, so I think we'll get some exciting matches. We also might get
Artosis: HE'S SLIGHTLY MOVING HIS TANK FORWARD
Tasteless: OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
*10 minutes later*
Artosis: HE MOVED IT AGAIN. ALMOST IN RANGE! OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
Tasteless: OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
But hopefully we get some exciting matches. "MarineKing doesn't play the average TvT style"? Can you find one such non-average TvT MKP played ever since his GSL match vs Nada? Anyway, go to check the replays MKP vs Scfou (FXOpen # 3 finals, 9 games), and GSL up/down match MKP vs MMA, as well as MKP vs TheBest the other day. All of them are marine tanks solid play.
I don't think he meant it as a bad thing. MarineKing usually makes TvT entertaining.
His Scfou matches were amazing though and aside from that huge blunder in game 2 in the up and down he completely destroyed MMA in both games so I'm hoping for a 3-0!
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Such an epic story for this tournament. I really want MarineKing vs Polt in the finals, with the stipulation being that the winner changes his ID to OptimusPrime.
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GomTvTvTvT. Oh.. here we go again..
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These are great Fionn, thanks!
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Damn MMA and MKP is exactly 50-50 (I'm the proud person to even the scores) .
Again great write-up. TL needs to get you as a staff or guest writer.
EDIT: You know how your previous write-up got everyone to absolutely LOVE TheBest. Your new write-up made me lean a bit more for Polt. Prior to this I was thinking TOP has the better name power and reliability. But then now you made me realize that Polt actually is pretty solid.
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Thank you for typing up a good read
TheBest picture was HILARIOUS
This was also hilarious
Why does TOP have to ruin everything!? He first knocked out Nestea, then eliminated the last non-terran, and probably was the guy who ran the streams at MLG Dallas!
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the wall of text scared me at first but i glimpsed it through. awesome stuff mate, will look deeper into it.
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MarineKing looks better with glasses than without
AGREE AGREE AGREE..... he look so cute with glasses.... :D
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3030 Posts
TheBest picture was funny. Good work on this writeup
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MarineKing needs to win this. I need him to win this ffs!
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On June 12 2011 18:23 weiliem wrote:
MarineKing looks better with glasses than without
AGREE AGREE AGREE..... he look so cute with glasses.... :D
More than agree ! ;D
MKP HAVE to win !
btw, good post ^^
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Wished MMA vs MKP would had been finals :/
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this guy could be a staff writer o.o
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I don't think TOP has a change against any of the players left
I'd rank them MKP > Polt > MMA > TOP
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Very well written again, I particularly enjoyed the high school prom part. Also TheBest being cloaked joke was so well played.
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United States23455 Posts
Thanks for all the positive reviews.
Don't forget to watch the semifinals tonight.
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Great write up! I thought you couldn't match the previous article in quality but I was wrong. I especially liked the high school prom section.
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I don't think Polt will take out TOP, but I do know one thing.
If you are a terran and want to know how to play TvP....then you watch Polt. I don't think I've ever seen him lose one. Ever.
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i wish it would be all turtle terrans ! but anyway tvt madness yay best finals for me :3 .
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Awesome job summarizing all the drama going on man!
I was explaining to my brother why the semi-finals are so interesting, with all the storylines and what not, but couldn't quite explain it in a way that would eventually run over itself.
Now thanks to this, I won't have to. All I need to do is make him read this article. :þ
Good stuff!
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god i really dont like polt but he seems scary as fuk right now. i hope top squashes him so I can sleep easy. MMA MMA MMA!
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Great post. Still can't quite get me hyped up for like 20 TvT's though. Really hoping MarineKing takes it though, that kid is due a win.
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Kind of disappointed that Nestea isn't there, almost positive he'd beat any of them in a bo7 except maybe MMA. I just don't know what happened in those games, it just seemed like a gold leaguer played the first 5 minutes of the game for Nestea and then he came in and was astronomically behind but still put up a fight, even winning one game from far behind. I'm happy that he played so well in the late game though, he just needs to make sure not to get so far behind in the early game and he'll continue being the god Zerg :3 .
With that being said, I really want MKP to win. I'm not even a huge MKP fan but he has been disappointed to many times, especially considering how dedicated I've heard he is. I just want MKP to break his streak, then MMA can start winning GSL after GSL.
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Korea (South)855 Posts
I enjoyed reading this very much. Almost felt like translating the whole thing and put it on Korean gsl site. The prom date analogy is really good. I lol'd so hard
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Very nice preview, thanks a lot for the effort!
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On June 13 2011 12:15 JunkkaGom wrote:
I enjoyed reading this very much. Almost felt like translating the whole thing and put it on Korean gsl site. The prom date analogy is really good. I lol'd so hard
LOL that's funny
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Very good read. Read it all in one sitting and was well worth it lol.
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You love him with all your heart, but every time he breaks it.
this is 100% true as i'm watching these games
omg .
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On June 13 2011 12:15 JunkkaGom wrote:
I enjoyed reading this very much. Almost felt like translating the whole thing and put it on Korean gsl site. The prom date analogy is really good. I lol'd so hard
JOHJ YOU GOTTA DO IT MAN! you're gonna get a promotion if you do it!
you can be senior troll of gomTV
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Really awesome read!
+ Show Spoiler +Poor MKP... Doesn't even get a 4th silver, and now Polt might steal his gold
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EPT
