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WCS EU Finals Recap

Forum Index > SC2 General
35 CommentsPost a Reply
1 2 Next All

WCS EU Finals Recap

Text byTL.net ESPORTS
Graphics byshiroiusagi
October 7th, 2013 14:29 GMT
2013 WCS Europe

WCS Europe Season 3



MMA Wins WCS EU
Recap

Brackets and standings on Liquipedia

VODs on Youtube





MMA Wins WCS EU!

(and looks to be in fine form to challenge the Blizzcon 2013 title)

by Premasiri

The story of the night is unquestionably MMA’s 4:2 victory over MC to take first place at WCS EU’s season 3 finals. However, the semi-finals that lead to that grand matchup also deserve at least a brief recap. But first, a rundown of the nights results:


Fifth Place Decider

[image loading]

duckdeok advances to the WCS Season 3 Finals in Toronto!

WCS EU Semifinals/Finals

[image loading]


Semifinal one was MMA against Vortix, and it would be unfair to say that MMA was anything but the firm favourite. Perhaps Vortix had turned a few heads and dispelled any disbelief about his skill level with a 3:1 over stardust in the quarter finals, but MMA’s 3:0 demolition of Nerchio in the relevant matchup, as well as his dominating performance throughout season 3 as a whole, pegged him as the player to beat. In Vortix’s defence, the early and mid-games of the series often looked close – but in tried and true MMA fashion, once the widow mine count got significant, and the mid-late game drops and multi-tasking that are his hallmark kicked in, MMA appeared to be a class above.

Whether it was the hellion openings on Akilon Wastes and Frost in games two and three, or the well-established reaper opening shown on Bel’shir Vestige in game one mattered not – the end result for MMA was always a stable, aggressively postured early game that Vortix was unable to make a dent in. Even with Vortix at times ahead in supply (significantly so towards the closing moments of game three), MMA’s excellent mine placement and consistent marine splits made sure he was essentially never in danger. Vortix wasn’t disgustingly out played, and in his own words, with some work on his TvZ we ought to see a fair showing from him at the upcoming Season 3 grand finals.

The other semifinal was a similar affair – another 3:0 whitewash, with the eventual victor seemingly a level above his opponent throughout the series. In typical MC style, his semi-final match against Genius was all the more hotly anticipated due to some delightfully bad-manner insults, but in the end MC’s cheek was vindicated. Game one on Bel’shir Vestige was for me the highlight of what I mentioned in the recap last time – MC’s recently showcased defensive play. While this was perhaps abstracted to the extreme in the case of Genius’s proxy 2-gate, zealot stalker cheese, seeing MC’s units dance as he out-microed his opponent from an initial disadvantage to a crushing victory was nonetheless an excellent example of his defensive brilliance. Game two on Akilon Wastes was a bit less nail-biting, but no less satisfying in its conclusion. With relatively passive openings for the matchup, both players were able to establish uncontested expansions – things only came to a head when MC (After testing the waters with a small expedition of blink stalkers) made the initially baffling choice to attack uphill into colossi and forcefields. True to form, MC had calculated it better than the casual eye might have, and with a strong backbone of immortals to his force, was eventually able to knock down Genius’s front door and secure an imposing 2:0 lead.

[image loading]

This is how game three ended, yes those are Genius's probes in MC's base

Game three and my personal favourite game of the night was an incredibly close (and weird) cannon rush base race on Yeonsu. With MC gutting Genius’s base with a well-executed cannon rush, genius’s sole hope in the game and the tournament was a proxied void ray. Despite unpowering and destroying several cannons in the making, Genius was unable to snipe the all-important mothership core – allowing MC to accrue enough energy for a photon overcharge that would win him the game and a place in the finals. This felt like a flashback to the MC of days gone by – risky, cutthroat and a master in the execution. Maybe it was a cheap way to close out the series, but MC hammered home his assertion as the superior player in style.

So, we arrived at the grand final not really knowing what to expect. If this were 2011, we’d be on familiar ground in an MC vs MMA final, but to be brutally honest, MMA in particular had not looked to be in championship form for a long time until this season. Having finally made it to a long-awaited final, MMA wasn’t taking any chances in game one. A cagey, defensive four bunkers were immediately thrown down when MMA felt threatened due to lack of information on Akilon wastes. In the end, such fear was unfounded, and MMA held off the DT aggression of MC with flying colours while establishing his third. Eventually forcing MC into a botched two base all-in, the tempo of the series felt firmly in MMA’s favour for the first three games. Perhaps it’d be unfair to say that MC got completely outplayed in them, but whatever strategies he had in mind, MMA had the perfect answer. In game two, MMA’s trademark midgame strength manifested in a confident SCV-train shove, stating loud and clear that MC’s presence was not welcome on Frost LE, and game three saw a fairly standard thirteen-minute timing catch a greedy MC completely unprepared on Whirlwind.

[image loading]

MC's Porxy Oracle in Game Four

Thankfully, it was a revitalised MC that showed up on Yeonsu after the mid-series break. After dealing admirably with a well-hidden proxy reaper, it was MC’s turn to put on the aggression, wasting no time in returning the favour with a proxy stargate of his own. After some entirely necessary stalker dancing at MMA’s meagre single bunker to prolong his suffering, MC moved in for the kill with an oracle and a smattering of gateway forces. Maybe MMA was overconfident in his 3:0 lead, maybe he was caught out with the kind of cheesy, overaggressive play that MC showed himself perfectly capable of handling in his opening match against Genius. With that in mind, it’s all the more amusing that game five on Bel’shir vestige turned into essentially the same thing – MC smashing down even a well-prepared, triple bunkered MMA with a similar stargate (though in this case voidray) gateway all-in. But it wouldn’t be a real TvP series if it didn’t include a one base blink-stalker all-in – this time on Derelict Watcher to close out the tournament. Ever since wings of liberty, we’ve watched the best players in the world test their mettle either with or against it – watched the tech labs getting sniped with one second to go on stim, the bunkers barely get repaired back to full from a sliver of health. It’s usually fair to say that once the bio upgrades and medivacs get out, the game is over and the Terran’s won. With excellent stalker retention, MC almost had us fooled into thinking otherwise, but after an excruciatingly long, meticulously careful defence, it was MMA’s marines and marauders that triumphantly stimmed to the win, leaving no one happier than MMA himself:

[image loading]


More WCS Europe Season 3 Coverage

Oct 6 – WCS EU Season 3 RO8 Recap/Final Day Preview
Oct 5 – WCS EU Season 3 RO8 Preview
Sept 30 – WCS EU Season 3 RO16 D Recap/RO8 Bracket
Sept 27 – WCS EU Season 3 RO16 Group C Recap/Group D Preview
Sept 26 – WCS EU Season 3 RO16 Group B Recap/Group C Preview


Writers: Premasiri
Graphics: shiroiusagi
Banner photo: ESL
Editor: Plexa.

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TL+ Member
lichter
Profile Blog Joined September 2010
1001 YEARS KESPAJAIL22272 Posts
October 07 2013 14:32 GMT
#2
Gratz to MMA even though I was always an antifan :p
AdministratorYOU MUST HEED MY INSTRUCTIONS TAKE OFF YOUR THIIIINGS
KalWarkov
Profile Blog Joined December 2011
Germany4126 Posts
October 07 2013 14:38 GMT
#3
So many winners in this one.

MMA gets a title again
MC with his best performance for a long time
VortiX and Nerchio with very decent showings; clarifying why they are top foreigners.
TargA the wonderbox
Genius and duckdeok with a good enough performance to pay for their journey - and more.

awesome WCS.
just wished Lucifron, Happy and NaNiwa wouldve made it further as well.
cant have eveything
DiaBoLuS ** Sc2 - Protoss: 16x GM | Dota2 - Offlane Immortal | Wc3 - Undead decent level | Diablo nerd | Chess / Magnus fanboy | BVB | Agnostic***
True_Spike
Profile Joined July 2004
Poland3419 Posts
October 07 2013 14:55 GMT
#4
This should have made it into the summary:

manicshock
Profile Joined November 2010
Canada741 Posts
October 07 2013 14:56 GMT
#5
Surprised how common cannon rushes are on Yeonsu. Wonder if they're trying to discover the best way to scout it/react yet.
Never argue with an idiot. They will just drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.
moskonia
Profile Joined January 2011
Israel1448 Posts
October 07 2013 15:12 GMT
#6
On October 07 2013 23:56 manicshock wrote:
Surprised how common cannon rushes are on Yeonsu. Wonder if they're trying to discover the best way to scout it/react yet.

Best reaction is to put a forge yourself and make defensive cannons while delaying any cannons that are built outside the range of other cannons.
Darkhorse
Profile Blog Joined December 2011
United States23455 Posts
October 07 2013 15:31 GMT
#7
Bitch, plz.

But I think a lot of people called MMA to win before the ro32. Congrats to him. Glad we will see him at Blizzcon.
WriterRecently Necro'd (?)
ShadowReaver
Profile Joined March 2010
Canada563 Posts
October 07 2013 15:32 GMT
#8
So happy for the MC, the true protoss president! That PvP micro was ridiculous.
Aeromi
Profile Blog Joined August 2012
France14456 Posts
October 07 2013 15:32 GMT
#9
MMA !
https://twitter.com/DrAeromi | Updates on live tournaments: @StarCrafteSport
NeThZOR
Profile Blog Joined November 2010
South Africa7387 Posts
October 07 2013 15:44 GMT
#10
GG WP. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole day of the finals. Good job to everyone involved.
SuperNova - 2015 | SKT1 fan for years | Dear, FlaSh, PartinG, Soulkey, Naniwa
sportsman
Profile Joined October 2010
Germany4 Posts
October 07 2013 15:58 GMT
#11
LOL??? mega fail ... WCS EU championshipt won by korean guy ... its like brazil will win european championships in soccer ...

just a dumb tournament

User was temp banned for this post.
goody153
Profile Blog Joined April 2013
44109 Posts
October 07 2013 16:21 GMT
#12
the best tournaments with the best games always end up having a .. okeish grand finals
this is a quote
Grovbolle
Profile Blog Joined July 2011
Denmark3805 Posts
October 07 2013 16:26 GMT
#13
On October 08 2013 00:58 sportsman wrote:
LOL??? mega fail ... WCS EU championshipt won by korean guy ... its like brazil will win european championships in soccer ...

just a dumb tournament

Thank you for that intelligent comment. Which we have never heard before, ever.
Lies, damned lies and statistics: http://aligulac.com
TriZ
Profile Joined September 2012
Belgium379 Posts
Last Edited: 2013-10-07 16:27:27
October 07 2013 16:26 GMT
#14
So happy for MMA, was always one of my favourites back in the day. Looks like he's coming back in form, I'm hoping he takes at least Top 4 at Blizzcon.

On October 08 2013 00:58 sportsman wrote:
LOL??? mega fail ... WCS EU championshipt won by korean guy ... its like brazil will win european championships in soccer ...

just a dumb tournament


I couldn't care less who won to be honest, I just want good games and good guys winning good games. MMA is definitely a good guy.
lichter
Profile Blog Joined September 2010
1001 YEARS KESPAJAIL22272 Posts
October 07 2013 16:27 GMT
#15
On October 08 2013 00:58 sportsman wrote:
LOL??? mega fail ... WCS EU championshipt won by korean guy ... its like brazil will win european championships in soccer ...

just a dumb tournament


Or Djokovic winning the China Open!

Oh wait
AdministratorYOU MUST HEED MY INSTRUCTIONS TAKE OFF YOUR THIIIINGS
KanoCoke
Profile Joined June 2011
Japan863 Posts
October 07 2013 16:34 GMT
#16
Don't feed the troll. Let it go sit on its ass under the bridge instead.
Will always cheer for: MMA Bomber Taeja Curious Life herO Zest
fenrysk
Profile Blog Joined August 2011
United States364 Posts
October 07 2013 16:38 GMT
#17
thanks for the recap! i had missed these games but i saw the results on liquipedia
http://fenrysk-art.deviantart.com
Hryul
Profile Blog Joined March 2011
Austria2609 Posts
Last Edited: 2013-10-07 17:02:06
October 07 2013 17:01 GMT
#18
MMA! showing Innovation how it's done

I'm really happy for him that he found an environment which allows him to show us kickass games! That last game was nailbiting close.

European Zergs going strong. The spirit of Stephano prevails!
Countdown to victory: 1 200!
ArcadeR
Profile Joined May 2011
Germany199 Posts
Last Edited: 2013-10-07 17:35:37
October 07 2013 17:35 GMT
#19
On October 08 2013 00:58 sportsman wrote:
LOL??? mega fail ... WCS EU championshipt won by korean guy ... its like brazil will win european championships in soccer ...

just a dumb tournament

User was temp banned for this post.


Or shitloads of foreign players in german Footballclubs winning titles........oh wait...

BTT: Superstrong performance by MMA, even making a near-Vikingless defense vs 3 Colossi look easy with some marauders dropped in their back at the right moment.....think he's back on the map of the top notch players out there....
LockeTazeline
Profile Blog Joined June 2012
2390 Posts
October 07 2013 18:23 GMT
#20
Your articles have gotten really good, Premasiri. ^^

Awesome ending to a great season.
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