by Zealously

Piece by piece, Team MVP has been recovering its old identity. In the round robin, Super and DongRaeGu regained their stature as a powerful ace duo and led the team to the playoffs. Against CJ Entus in the playoffs, MVP showed off its strength in depth by coming out victorious with no single player getting more than one win. Billowy's all-kill against KT Rolster demonstrated a different kind of depth, where even the most unassuming player on the bench has the potential to explode for a monster performance.

It's those elements that made MVP one of the best teams in the history of competitive team leagues and allowed them to win championships in ATC, IPTL, and GSTL.

While MVP is still lacking in a few areas compared to its prime (Keen and Dream need to play better, and either Shine or Sniper need to step up as a second Zerg option), there's no question that they have a huge amount of momentum behind them as they head into the R2 finals against Jin Air. They almost seem the favorites coming into the finals match.



Yet, for all the depth MVP boasts and all of the unexpected streaks it's been able to coax out of its bench over the years, it's undeniable that Jin Air have the advantage in all-kill power. sOs and Maru are as scary an ace duo you are going to find in Proleague, and they both have been showing great form as of late. Though MVP has been able to deal with players like Zest and herO earlier in the playoffs, you have to wonder if they are overdue for a painful reality check.

As is the case with all matches played in the all-kill format, the outcome depends heavily on which team can get one of their players going on a hot streak. Let's see what MVP has going for them.


Team MVP

Advantage Against Aces: With both Maru and Cure being very important to Jin Air's round robin success, one of the greatest strengths in MVP's roster is that their aces play very well against Terran. DRG (when he remembers to build a baneling nest) is nigh-unstoppable in macro ZvT and can force opponents into less orthodox strategies. Super also has strong vT, though he can be sloppy at times.

Jin Air's other ace sOs has shown himself to be an incredible PvP player, winning $100,000 on the back of the Protoss mirror. However, both Super and Billowy have shown they can match top class PvP players in a Bo1, having taken down Zest and herO in the playoffs so far. Billowy is an especially intriguing wild card, playing as a self-professed PvP specialist with enough pocket builds to defeat the other races as well.

The very talented and very unpredictable Zerg player Rogue is someone MVP will have to look out for. Besides a DRG ZvZ, they don't really have an obvious answer against him. The first snipe on Rogue will probably fall to Dream or Keen, but their erratic form makes it a gamble. It's possible that Rogue will have an off night and be a non-factor, but he is Jin Air's third multi-kill threat if he gets going.

The wild card factor: After Round 1, few people thought MVP was capable of finishing in the top four, much less making a deep run in the playoffs. But here they are.

Interestingly enough, the team that was once known as Team DRG has made it here through a combination of Billowy's heroics and the entire line-up suddenly playing well enough to take out players they were brutally crushed by just 2 months earlier.

KeeN, Billowy, and Swagger are not really the kind of players you'd normally expect to beat KeSPA mainstays, but that's what they've been doing this round. It's questionable whether or not they'll be able to keep it up in the long tern, but at this very moment they have confidence and momentum on their side.

Knowing that any one of MVP's rotation players could come out with an unexpectedly strong performance is a tremendous headache for Jin Air as they prepare for this match.


Jin Air Green Wings

The $200,000 Man: He isn't called $O$ for naught. Much like Billowy or any number of Proleague Protosses, sOs seems to be a streaky player by nature. He's made crazy championship runs for $100,000 twice in his career, showing that no other player is as ruthless, cold-blooded, or shamelessly cheesy when the stakes are high. If sOs can play at his IEM Katowice level, then he alone could sway the match in Jin Air's favor.

sOs had a very poor Round 1, which means fans can rightfully question whether or not he'll bring his best play to the Round 2 playoffs. But in sOs' defense, we have to point out that he was consistently good for Woongjin Stars in the previous season of Proleague, helping his team to a #2 finish. He has also been excellent in Round 2 so far, at least partially making up for his dismal Round 1. If sOs can lead Jin Air to a Round 2 title, consider his Proleague redemption complete.

Protoss... OP?: MVP's Protoss players have been absolutely crucial in their Round 2 playoff run. It seems like team MVP will continue to rely on them in the finals, with Billowy starting things off and Super almost guaranteed to make an appearance at some point.

But is it a wise strategy against Jin Air? Maru, sOs and Rogue could all be considered top 3 vP from their respective races. Sure, sOs could lose a Bo1 PvP and the inconsistent Rogue might have one of his off-days. However, that still leaves TvP terror Maru to deal with.

In this regard, the choice of starters seems to favor Jin Air. Maru is likely to beat Billowy in the opener (well, it's on Yeonsu soooooo......), which immediately gives MVP a headache in picking their second player. DRG seems like the best choice to take out Maru in the next game, but that opens up his weak ZvP up to be exploited by sOs or possibly Terminator. Super's PvT has looked good, but not so good that MVP should actively be seeking to play him against Maru in a PvT.

That means we might see MVP forced to rely on a yet unused player like Sniper, Keen, or Dream as its second runner. That's a risky choice, especially with the round 2 championship on the line. But considering that MVP has lived and died by its faith in its bench, it would certainly be a fitting choice.


Overall thoughts and prediction

On one hand, MVP has defeated Jin Air, SKT and KT twice this round to reach the finals. They have a combination of depth and streakiness that reminds us of the championship MVP teams of old. On the other hand Jin Air finished the round as the #1 seed and have a terrifying ace combo in Maru and sOs.

I can't help but feel that unless Billowy or another MVP Protoss goes on a rampage, the match should be theirs to lose. They have an advantage in the first initial match, and if Maru should beat Billowy, the trio of sOs, Rogue, Cure/Terminator can be used to almost perfectly counter MVP's next series of picks.

MVP's performance this round shows they fully deserve to be in the finals and will give Jin Air a tough fight. However, I will risk my neck by calling them the underdogs for their third match straight.

Jin Air 4 - 2 MVP