On October 12 2012 04:17 hansonslee wrote: I think MVP is definitely going to take this b/c MVP, unlike many other players, is a thinking player with very solid mechanics (similar to Seed and Nestea during his prime). Life is extremely stylistic with his play, so it's going to be no surprise that MVP will find a way to beat him.
I mean MVP countered Rain's ace cards such as his perfect record of victories with his 200/200 army, DT expand build, use of multiple observers, and the Warp Prism drops. Whenever a player especially Life plays a certain way, you must be damn sure that MVP will find a hole in it!
The more I watch GSL, the more I believe surprises and upsets are a way of life there.
I think if even MVP can't stop life, then it'll prove that no amount of preparation can stop his (zvt) style and he will be the next zerg bonjwa winning GSL, MLG and IPL 5. I haven't looked forward to a final like this in a while. I really don't think life's style can be stopped (at least his zvt) and wait to see if MVP proves me wrong.
On October 10 2012 22:54 anatem wrote: noone's gonna remember Life's win if he takes MVP down, what remains from this season for future generations is MVP's destruction of Rain and his advancement to his 6th finals in spite of all adversity
... No one will remember the first Royal Roader taking down MVP in the finals? Yeaaaah, I know it seems like most people on TL are overlooking Life for some bizarre reason but this is a ridiculous claim. At the least this match will be notorious even if MVP loses, just because he loses.
Rofl, everyone has been, and still is, over loooking MVP, not Life.
Not really. Everyone's talking about how MVP will win just because he's MVP. He can't lose, he'll crush Life etc etc.
There's also this myth, that MVP always finds a way to win despite being the underdog, which is absurd. In 3 of his 4 GSL wins, MVP was the clear favorite. For a long time he was considered the best TvT player in the world, and was playing TvT finals in a Terran dominated league. He even lost a TvT final where he was the favorite.
The only time MvP won a final where he was the underdog was his last one, and he barely managed after almost allowing a huge comeback.
On October 12 2012 04:25 Canucklehead wrote: I think if even MVP can't stop life, then it'll prove that no amount of preparation can stop his (zvt) style and he will be the next zerg bonjwa winning GSL, MLG and IPL 5. I haven't looked forward to a final like this in a while. I really don't think life's style can be stopped (at least his zvt) and wait to see if MVP proves me wrong.
I think the only way MVP is going to beat Life is if he goes for Mech rather than bio... From last nights series against Taeja, life uses banelings/zerlings A LOT!! and taeja was always low on tanks, i think if mvp were to go mech he might stand a better chance of winning.
On October 12 2012 04:25 Canucklehead wrote: I think if even MVP can't stop life, then it'll prove that no amount of preparation can stop his (zvt) style and he will be the next zerg bonjwa winning GSL, MLG and IPL 5. I haven't looked forward to a final like this in a while. I really don't think life's style can be stopped (at least his zvt) and wait to see if MVP proves me wrong.
i'm sure he will - after all, we've been shown time and time again that degenerate-looking styles can be stopped with the correct response. things like 3base8gate and 1-1-1 are being figured out, and you can hold them with proper scouting. same for life, i feel. the IM team is going to have a field day with life's vods and replays
On October 12 2012 04:25 Canucklehead wrote: I think if even MVP can't stop life, then it'll prove that no amount of preparation can stop his (zvt) style and he will be the next zerg bonjwa winning GSL, MLG and IPL 5. I haven't looked forward to a final like this in a while. I really don't think life's style can be stopped (at least his zvt) and wait to see if MVP proves me wrong.
i'm sure he will - after all, we've been shown time and time again that degenerate-looking styles can be stopped with the correct response. things like 3base8gate and 1-1-1 are being figured out, and you can hold them with proper scouting. same for life, i feel. the IM team is going to have a field day with life's vods and replays
That's why I'm curious to see what MVP is going to do. Every terran knows Life's style, yet every one of them can't stop it, knowing ling/bane is coming 100%. I don't think you can compare it to gateway timing attacks or 1-1-1 because Life is unique and is the only zerg in the world that currently plays like this. I don't think what he does are gimmick builds either and it takes good micro and game sense to attack the way he does, so his style can't be easily replicated by just copying his builds.
The way I see it, if you go ultra aggressive against him, then he goes ultra aggressive too and the mkp series taught me early zerg aggression > early terran aggression. If you try to go a more passive style, then life will just take the whole map and kill you late game with the zerg death ball and would have a ton of bases. If you try to go middle of the road, while playing defensive, but also trying to apply pressure, then he has enough units to crush you when you move out or he does constant ling/bane backstabs into your mineral line. The MVP/Life finals will be a great series to see if life's style can be stopped. I consider Life the best zerg in the world right now since DRG is slumping.
"Ling/bane" is not his style and it has never been his style. No zerg on the IM team can accurately replicate his style anyway because they are all mechanically inferior.
On October 12 2012 08:29 CosmicSpiral wrote: "Ling/bane" is not his style and it has never been his style. No zerg on the IM team can accurately replicate his style anyway because they are all mechanically inferior.
^^ this. MVP has to force Life to engage into his siege line and hope that Life makes a mistake, or hit the timing window while BLs are morphing. I don't see MVP winning in small engagement where it's micro vs micro or multitasking vs multitasking.
On October 12 2012 08:29 CosmicSpiral wrote: "Ling/bane" is not his style and it has never been his style. No zerg on the IM team can accurately replicate his style anyway because they are all mechanically inferior.
You nailed it, no one can mimic life's fluid control of his ling marauding party across the map because no one has the control and the raw quickness he has when he makes a decision and goes for it. You can have all the tape and scouting on lebron James and Michael Jordan but their brute abilities simply out muscle you.
On October 12 2012 08:29 CosmicSpiral wrote: "Ling/bane" is not his style and it has never been his style. No zerg on the IM team can accurately replicate his style anyway because they are all mechanically inferior.
You nailed it, no one can mimic life's fluid control of his ling marauding party across the map because no one has the control and the raw quickness he has when he makes a decision and goes for it. You can have all the tape and scouting on lebron James and Michael Jordan but their brute abilities simply out muscle you.
I think Mvp's skill should not be overlooked. His multitasking is one of the best in the entire game. Remember that during his period of dominance, Mvp pretty much got there on pure skill + game sense. Once Terran started struggling, Mvp stayed up there with skill, star sense, and innovation.
I could say that no one plays like Mvp, having fantastic macro while making great decisions, choosing smart, innovative build orders, microing like a boss, and multitasking like crazy. That's true, because there is only one Mvp, and there is only one Life.
On October 12 2012 08:29 CosmicSpiral wrote: "Ling/bane" is not his style and it has never been his style. No zerg on the IM team can accurately replicate his style anyway because they are all mechanically inferior.
You nailed it, no one can mimic life's fluid control of his ling marauding party across the map because no one has the control and the raw quickness he has when he makes a decision and goes for it. You can have all the tape and scouting on lebron James and Michael Jordan but their brute abilities simply out muscle you.
I think Mvp's skill should not be overlooked. His multitasking is one of the best in the entire game. Remember that during his period of dominance, Mvp pretty much got there on pure skill + game sense. Once Terran started struggling, Mvp stayed up there with skill, star sense, and innovation.
I could say that no one plays like Mvp, having fantastic macro while making great decisions, choosing smart, innovative build orders, microing like a boss, and multitasking like crazy. That's true, because there is only one Mvp, and there is only one Life.
Which is why (ironically) the best way to prepare for the finals may be for Mvp to off-race and attempt to copy Life's playstyle himself. He actually has all the traits to do it: top level mechanics and multitasking, split-second decision-making, very innovative play, star sense, and the ability to smell blood like a shark. And if I remember correctly, Mvp can play zerg at a professional level but doesn't.
On October 12 2012 08:29 CosmicSpiral wrote: "Ling/bane" is not his style and it has never been his style. No zerg on the IM team can accurately replicate his style anyway because they are all mechanically inferior.
You nailed it, no one can mimic life's fluid control of his ling marauding party across the map because no one has the control and the raw quickness he has when he makes a decision and goes for it. You can have all the tape and scouting on lebron James and Michael Jordan but their brute abilities simply out muscle you.
I think Mvp's skill should not be overlooked. His multitasking is one of the best in the entire game. Remember that during his period of dominance, Mvp pretty much got there on pure skill + game sense. Once Terran started struggling, Mvp stayed up there with skill, star sense, and innovation.
I could say that no one plays like Mvp, having fantastic macro while making great decisions, choosing smart, innovative build orders, microing like a boss, and multitasking like crazy. That's true, because there is only one Mvp, and there is only one Life.
Which is why (ironically) the best way to prepare for the finals may be for Mvp to off-race and attempt to copy Life's playstyle himself. He actually has all the traits to do it: top level mechanics and multitasking, split-second decision-making, very innovative play, star sense, and the ability to smell blood like a shark. And if I remember correctly, Mvp can play zerg at a professional level but doesn't.
Mvp: When Zerg is OP, he plays as Zerg, figures it out, and comes back to beat it as Terran.
Honestly, what about Mvp's mech style? It looks pretty strong on its own too. Basically, use Banshees/Hellions to rack up a large drone kill count, while Tanks back home defend against stuff like Roach shenanigans and Ling attacks. Without Marines, Banelings wouldn't be very effective. Mvp is also great with Turrets and Muta defense, so that shouldn't be a big problem for him.
Then, Mvp gets double armory and tons of invincible Thors and moves out, able to kill everything. He also throws in a ridiculous number of Vikings when Brood Lord tech hits.
It looked incredibly scary to play against. Mvp will have to adapt to Life's playstyle, but I'm left wondering whether Life won't have to adapt just as much.
On October 12 2012 08:29 CosmicSpiral wrote: "Ling/bane" is not his style and it has never been his style. No zerg on the IM team can accurately replicate his style anyway because they are all mechanically inferior.
You nailed it, no one can mimic life's fluid control of his ling marauding party across the map because no one has the control and the raw quickness he has when he makes a decision and goes for it. You can have all the tape and scouting on lebron James and Michael Jordan but their brute abilities simply out muscle you.
I think Mvp's skill should not be overlooked. His multitasking is one of the best in the entire game. Remember that during his period of dominance, Mvp pretty much got there on pure skill + game sense. Once Terran started struggling, Mvp stayed up there with skill, star sense, and innovation.
I could say that no one plays like Mvp, having fantastic macro while making great decisions, choosing smart, innovative build orders, microing like a boss, and multitasking like crazy. That's true, because there is only one Mvp, and there is only one Life.
Which is why (ironically) the best way to prepare for the finals may be for Mvp to off-race and attempt to copy Life's playstyle himself. He actually has all the traits to do it: top level mechanics and multitasking, split-second decision-making, very innovative play, star sense, and the ability to smell blood like a shark. And if I remember correctly, Mvp can play zerg at a professional level but doesn't.
Mvp: When Zerg is OP, he plays as Zerg, figures it out, and comes back to beat it as Terran.
Honestly, what about Mvp's mech style? It looks pretty strong on its own too. Basically, use Banshees/Hellions to rack up a large drone kill count, while Tanks back home defend against stuff like Roach shenanigans and Ling attacks. Without Marines, Banelings wouldn't be very effective. Mvp is also great with Turrets and Muta defense, so that shouldn't be a big problem for him.
Then, Mvp gets double armory and tons of invincible Thors and moves out, able to kill everything. He also throws in a ridiculous number of Vikings when Brood Lord tech hits.
It looked incredibly scary to play against. Mvp will have to adapt to Life's playstyle, but I'm left wondering whether Life won't have to adapt just as much.
Life will not play muta/ling/bling against a mech style if he smells it. I think he can deal with the mech style very well since he has great multitasking and always aims for map control. Mvp usually overwhelms his opponent with BFH harassment from every angle until he can build up that deadly raven count. Also Life doesn't commit to too many broodlords, he doesn't like their immobility. He makes at most 6-8 in most games. He'll probably transition into ultralisks first and alternate between the two as necessary. Alternatively he might try a 3 base old-school roach/hydra timing push with a nydus worm.
Life is not the biggest fan of mutalisk play. He did it on Whirlwind because the map is so huge that you can constantly hit the terran unprepared from multiple angles; on Abyssal City it was supposed to counter a perceived 3 CC reactor hellion build and win the game. Taeja's big screwup was not the SCV pull (that was actually a very intelligent decision that could've won him the game if not for some small, intelligent decisions from Life) but showing his marine count when he killed the overlord outside his natural.
If Mvp beats him, it will be because he outplayed him in decision-making. I think that will be the turning point of the series.
The more I read through Mvp and Life's interviews, the more I realize that Mvp is going to win, because Mvp does not underestimate his opponent.
A lot of champions have this nasty habit of becoming overconfident, saying things like "I'll crush him, no problem" only to get crushed themselves. On the other hand, the 5-time GSL finalist, 4-time GSL champion himself will do his best and practice specifically to take down this 14-year-old. That's part of what makes Mvp great. Mvp even said so in his games with PartinG... overconfidence led to PartinG's downfall.
Symbol got confident as the LG-IM Killer. Rain got confident as the Kespa dude owning everyone. Now, it's 14-year-old Life who's been saying "I'll own everyone"... what makes him any different? Tune into the GSL finals to find out!
EPT
