The Best Games of June 2014

by lichter

After somewhat of an easygoing month in May, June was about as hectic a month as we've ever had, especially in terms of game quality. The surprising winner of the month turned out to be one of its first tournaments, TotalBiscuit's Shoutcraft Invitational. It may have been a small tournament, but it was packed with amazing players who delivered awesome games. It was such a good month that some legitimately entertaining games missed the cut even in the full list, but mostly it's because I couldn't remember every single one of them.

If you want to see the list of every great game since HotS was released, go and check out the Best Games/VODs of HoTS thread if you haven't already.

Note: Some of these games aren't so great as they are hilarious.

Flash vs Bbyong on Waystation - VOD

I've mentioned it before but I'll mention it again: there are times when I wonder if we're missing most of the best games ever played, because they were played on ladder unstreamed. You have to think that it's possible considering progamers play dozens of games a day against players of similar caliber; invariably, some of those games end up being amazing. Without the pressure of bright lights and audience eyes, players are able to perform at their hypothetical peak. Especially if they can have someone massaging their feet as they play.

One of the most surprising things about June was Shoutcraft Invitational. While it was bound to be a good tournament considering its player roster, who would have expected it to become one of the most highly rated tournaments of all time? This game between Flash vs Bbyong may stand as the most memorable, but several other games will likely appear in the year end list.

Spawning close positions on Waystation, many would have thought that the game was likely to end quickly. Though Bbyong opened with a cloaked banshee, its inability to do any damage ushered proceedings towards 3CCs and a macro game. It was a clash of styles as Flash chose mech while Bbyong chose bio tank, and it was the latter that drew first blood, forcing a lift on Flash's 3rd base which he then relocated to the island. It looked like a standard mech vs bio battle as Bbyong repeatedly tried to draw Flash out of position with drops and multiple army groups, but things would descend into bizarreness at the 28th minute when both armies inexplicably missed each other. Of course, that meant base trade.

Normally, that either means the end of the game or a clock to see who kills stuff faster. It looked like Bbyong was dead in the water when his mostly maurauder force was eventually tickled to death by banshees, but not before Flash's entire base was wiped clean. Bbyong had more mining, but Flash had the better army. Knowing this was his opportunity, Flash made a beeline towards Bbyong 12 o'clock base, but by this time Bbyong had air dominance and no ground units. This led to the hilarious scenario of Flash having to pick up the pieces on the mainland while Bbyong settled on his island.

The game would last another 15 minutes as both players stabilized with what they had left. It was essentially a draw on close positions Waystation, as both players slowly moved to turn it into a cross position game. It made absolutely no sense how both players looked even heading into the 40th minute, with almost 250 SCVs killed and army after army obliterated. After even more bio vs mech skirmishes as the players approached max supply--which looked unthinkable when they were once down to 50 supply each with 5 SCVs--it would be a sky terran transition that would seal the deal for the CJ Terran. His mobility had allowed him to take more bases, and landed vikings against tanks and widow mines after a successful air battle catapulted Bbyong to double the supply.

With no mining, no units, and no hope left, Flash gg'd out of one of the craziest games of the year.

DongRaeGu vs Scarlett on Crux Frost - VOD

No, I didn't list that wrong. Scarlett played Protoss against DRG at MLG with her tournament life on the line, and she did what any other Protoss would have done in her place: she 7gated DRG. Yes, she race switched just to all-in a former GSL Champion. And it worked.

To be honest, the game itself was unspectacular. Knowing that DRG would be suspecting something fishy, Scarlett used her Zerg instincts to build her additional 6 gates somewhere a Zerg would never scout it: right at her wall. The bulbous mass of gateways looked hilarious as a makeshift wall with an Artosis InControl Artosis pylon, but in an "it's just crazy enough to work" scenario, DRG never bothered to check. The next few minutes featured Scarlett microing zealots and stalkers with surprising adeptness until queens ran out of energy, the third was sniped, and DRG ran out of larva.

When DRG reluctantly typed "gg", the cameras panned to Scarlett and all she could do was giggle. Could this be the sign of her finally accepting the darkside and switching permanently? Detective lichter presents evidence:



Protoss with a wink. Looks suspiciously friendly.



Scarlett admits she even has enough passion to watch Protoss these days.



BOOM. Case closed. Scarlett, well known for being one of the most outspoken haters of Protoss in 2013, has slowly softened her stance on the race. Whether it's due to a new found appreciation for the depths of the race (unlikely), a more tolerant view of different cultures due to age (also unlikely), or a secret love affair with a handsome Protoss player (probably less unlikely?), nobody knows. One thing's for certain though: It was dirty but it felt good.

SalvatioN vs Cure on King Sejong Station - VOD

When you saw this match being lined up on Proleague, did you ever expect that the game would be awesome? SalvatioN was 1-7 in Proleague while Cure was a regular for Jin Air, so most people chalked this up as a stomp. The Green Wings were up 2-0 and were hoping to close things out, and the sweep looked certain.

Instead, we got madness.

The game started out a bit nervy for SalvatioN, with micro mistakes and some hitches in his build here and there. Cure opted to draw things out with his mech while the young Prime Terran chose to use bio with tanks. Showing play from more seasoned TvT players, SalvatioN used his composition's mobility to try and pick Cure apart by abusing the distance from the natural to the third, as well as the open space between bases. Knowing that his opponent would lean heavily on his gas income, SalvatioN repeatedly sieged refineries before stepping back, never being coaxed into an over extension.

The later the game went on, the more settled SalvatioN became. Confidence in the late game, when chaos rules and decision making is taxed, is usually a weakness for players with little experienced, but it seemed to be the arena in which he could shine the most. There was never a moment in the game where the Prime Terran wasn't queuing nukes--all in all, maybe 20 nukes were dropped--stimming for runbys, or boosting for drops. It was an impressive feat of multitasking, and SalvatioN was still able to keep up with his tech choices. Never settling into one composition, he would transition from bio tank to pure bio, from pure bio to sky terran, and from sky terran back to bio to keep Cure guessing. His presence of mind to always have at least 25 supply in mobile units allowed him to repeatedly destabilize Cure's economy and upgrades. The Jin Air man didn't play poorly--in fact, he played really well--but SalvatioN was clearly the star of the show as Cure simply tried to survive while infrequently attacking when presented the opportunity.

SalvatioN's final composition turned out to be mass ravens with marines and marauders, and after 30 minutes of duking, juking, and nuking Cure to smithereens, he had finally secured his second win, and one well deserved.

Heart vs XiGua on Crux Frost - VOD

There are players that don't know how to die. Most commonly known as the FanTaSy gg timing, these are players that won't quit until they're at single digit supply and zero buildings. They don't really play to win the game, they just don't like typing gg. Then, there are players that just refuse to die. It doesn't matter if they are half the supply, a third the supply, or down to one base. They micro their hearts out and find a way to claw back into the game and make things close, even when they inevitably fail.

And finally, there are players who just. don't. die. It's a rare breed of player that survives not only to make a game competitive, but to complete the comeback against insurmountable odds. One player known for this type of tenacity is Mvp, whose comebacks against Tefel and INnoVation have become the stuff of legend. It's been a while since we've had turnarounds of similar proportion, but the end of June saw one of the most spectacular we had ever seen.

Welcome to the club, Bruce Willis Terran.



Down to single digit SCVs against XiGua's 4 bases, no one would have blamed the Axiom Terran if he had quit right there, considering he was one map up and it was Frost on cross positions. The casters and the LR thread were already anticipating Heart's death after the baneling bust, but it would never come. It didn't matter how many banelings, zerglings or mutas the Chinese Zerg tried to throw at Heart nonstop. It didn't matter if he was twice the supply, 100 supply up, or maxed out. It didn't matter because Heart showed that with good enough micro, banelings will never hit marines, and a lair tech Zerg should never be able to kill a Terran. It took almost 30 minutes for Heart to inch his way to even supply, and by the time he had managed to stim his way to XiGua's 4th, jaws were on the floor and breaths were held in disbelief.

Yippee-ki-yay, motherfucker.

Full List of June 2014 Games

June

June 6: Shoutcraft Invitational
Life vs Flash - VOD

June 7: Shoutcraft Invitational
DongRaeGu vs Zest - VOD

June 7: Shoutcraft Invitational
Flash vs herO[jOin] - VOD

June 8: Shoutcraft Invitational
Flash vs Bbyong - VOD

June 8: Shoutcraft Invitational
Flash vs Bbyong - VOD

June 10: Proleague Round 4
TY vs Stork - VOD

June 23: MLG Anaheim
DongRaeGu vs Scarlett - VOD

June 24: Proleague Round 4
SalvatioN vs Cure - VOD

June 25: WCS AM Season 2
Heart vs XiGua - VOD

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Grand List Compiler: monk, lichter.
Photos: ESL