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4 Posts
Full results on Liquipedia: http://wiki.teamliquid.net/starcraft2/2015_StarCraft_II_StarLeague_Season_1/Challenge#Day_1
We were treated to a thrilling opening day at SSL as both PvT series featured very high level play and reverse sweeps. The day did unfortunately start off with an entirely forgettable series between two of Korea's best zergs, but the two following series showcased inspirational play by both sides.
 JinAir.Rogue swept TCM's new recuit Soulkey clean aside with a "How-to-win-ZvZ-with-no-effort-at-all" speedrun. The first two games followed the exact same pattern and ended within minutes. Rogue opened with an aggressive early pool with baneling followup, Soulkey chose the greediest option possible by opening hatchery first -> additional drones -> gas -> pool. Needless to say, Rogue was up 2-0 after barely ten minutes of gameplay. Game three was only slightly more challenging for him, as he defended Soulkey's ling/baneling aggression with a wall consisting of evolution chambers, queens and spine crawlers. A simple roach counterattack ended a series that most definitely won't feature in any highlight reel ever.
The following series between  Cure and  Classic got off to a similarly one-sided start. The games were hard fought however - Cure hit a razor-thin maxed out bio/viking timing in game 1, resetting Classic's colossus count. The SKT protoss seemed to claw his way back into it though, killing numerous SCVs and establishing what would have turned into a substantial lead, had he been able to hold on. His army however was still very zealot/stalker heavy and Cure's decisive killing blow struck just before Classic was able to trade them away in favor of more templar and colossi. Game two was a fairly straight forward win for Cure, as he defended Classic's blink rush and countered with widow mine drops against no detection.
Classic looked visibly shaken in the booth, but stepped up his game tremendously and played a commanding game on Overgrowth, bouncing back from an early disadvantage with expert use of DTs and flawless decisionmaking. He looked doomed again on Merry Go Round, as Cure busted out a very rarely seen Maka-rax strategy - a barracks opening with no gas, supposed to look like a 1-rax expansion, but with a hidden second barracks to cancel the protoss' nexus. Classic got caught completely by surprise and was forced to cancel his natural. He was able to break out with blink, but Cure was already set up to defend against the aggression Classic was forced to put on. Instead of transitioning, Classic kept producing probes and added a warp prism and more gates. With a very well executed, PvZ-esque sentry drop he caught Cure completely out of position and, just like that, equaled the series. Game five on King Sejong Station turned into a 40+ minute macro fest, in which Classic showcased his brilliant use of zealot/DT harrass, coupled with his army movement, to slowly choke Cure to death. While his army control looked shaky at times, Classic's reverse sweep showcased excellent understanding of PvT all around. He'll be a dangerous opponent for any terran to face.
LiquidTaeJa seemed to enjoy his return to Korean individual SC2 initially, as he had little trouble with Terminator in their first two games. Defending a 4gate blink/robo build and countering with a strong bio/tank push, TaeJa rolled over Terminator in G1. Even the careless loss of his three supporting medivacs didn't change the one-sided outcome of their battle. The JinAir captain set up for a very defensive lategame oriented phoenix/colossus style on Deadwing, but one moment of carelessness was enough to shatter his plans. When Terminator's phoenixes ate a gigantic EMP, all TaeJa needed to do was move in with his huge viking/bio army and clean up Terminator's entire force, forcing him out of a bizarre game.
Terminator changed his plans for the following game on Merry Go Round. He opened with phoenix/colossus once again, but this time turned it into an aggressive 2-base push that TaeJa wasn't prepared for. Having nicked one game back, Terminator continued to rely on a mindgame-focused approach, as he faked an immortal attack, only to follow it up with dark templar. TaeJa got caught completely by surprise and was forced to surrender, tying up the series. On Nimbus, Terminator fell back on phoenix/colossus once again, this time dealing with TaeJa's presence on the map very well. A stray medivac got picked off by stalkers and phoenixes in the middle of the map, allowing Terminator to defend his third base with little trouble. A powerful 3-base attack with over 20 phoenixes, 7 colossi and a flood of supporting zealots and even a few archons spelled the end for TaeJa, whose army control in the final engagement was uncharacteristically questionable. Even though TaeJa didn't play his best series last night, Terminator's build execution was definitely on point - a deserved victory for him in the end.
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IMO TaeJa, even though he is a beast, will have a hard time re-adapting to the Korean tournament/league system, where opponents have time to study each other. He, himself, has said in the past that he doesn't practice for the opponent, only kind of mentally for the match-up. He practices by laddering. I don't know if that has changed or not, but he will have a hard time competing in the Korean scene otherwise.
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I still can't believe Terminator beat Taeja... Then again, he did qualify for pretty much every tournament in Korea, which must mean something. I'm still convinced he's getting knocked out first thing next round, though.
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On December 18 2014 01:51 Ctesias wrote:
I still can't believe Terminator beat Taeja... Then again, he did qualify for pretty much every tournament in Korea, which must mean something. I'm still convinced he's getting knocked out first thing next round, though.
If soO and Zest dont even QUALIFY, I have given up predictions
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your Country52798 Posts
This is what I get for predicting Terminator to take a map -.-'
I'm glad to see I didn't miss much though. And game 5 of Classic vs Cure was very nice.
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Welcome to Korea, where even the benchwarmers are good enough to beat champions.
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On December 18 2014 02:03 andrewlt wrote:
Welcome to Korea, where even the benchwarmers are good enough to beat champions.
He's not really a benchwarmer, he's just one of the under the radar guys.
Still thought Taeja would win after how easily he swatted him about in the first game.
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Well soO and Zest didn't even qualify, so there is literally no result that will surprise me anymore. Just glad Rogue made it. Hope he wins it  .
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Are replays up anywhere or do you need to sub on twitch???
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Sad Cure couldn't quite manage to beat Classic and allow for a complete Jin Air sweep. Super happy for Rogue and Terminator though. Soulkey and Taeja are by no means easy opponents. Hope Terminator keeps this form going into SPL and GSL :D
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Guys who have been going under the radar are looking to shake things up in 2015 after the resurgence of the old guard.
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VODS?
Does anywhere know where the VODS are? I can't find them on the twitch channel or anything.
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On December 18 2014 03:02 Buddy168 wrote:
VODS?
Does anywhere know where the VODS are? I can't find them on the twitch channel or anything.
youtube (ask again if this is not enough info)
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On December 18 2014 02:09 Musicus wrote:Well soO and Zest didn't even qualify, so there is literally no result that will surprise me anymore. Just glad Rogue made it. Hope he wins it .
I see we like the same zerg players 
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On December 18 2014 02:00 tjtombo wrote:Show nested quote +On December 18 2014 01:51 Ctesias wrote:
I still can't believe Terminator beat Taeja... Then again, he did qualify for pretty much every tournament in Korea, which must mean something. I'm still convinced he's getting knocked out first thing next round, though. If soO and Zest dont even QUALIFY, I have given up predictions
sup?
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Something to note Taeja is an armchair warrior coming into this match, having no team house to practice and no coach on the scene to point out mistakes and things he could have done against his opponent.
While terminator had his coach probably analyzing game by game, and advising him after every match.
That being said, Taeja always suck at long tournament such as this and even at WCS NA.
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Welp Taeja is a weekend LAN kind of player and I don't see him doing well in such tourneys 
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So are all the losers out? I haven't really followed SSL so I'm not sure how it works.
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On December 18 2014 04:20 geokilla wrote:
So are all the losers out? I haven't really followed SSL so I'm not sure how it works.
Yup. They're all gone
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I would love to see Taejas POV from that final battle.
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East Gorteau22261 Posts
On December 18 2014 04:20 geokilla wrote:
So are all the losers out? I haven't really followed SSL so I'm not sure how it works.
Yeah, this was essentially the Ups and Downs (if you remember the Code S of old). Winners advance into Main Tournament, losers fall out and have to re-qualify.
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Rogue killed Soulkey in 15 minutes. Lol.
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On December 18 2014 03:57 pichoo wrote:
Something to note Taeja is an armchair warrior coming into this match, having no team house to practice and no coach on the scene to point out mistakes and things he could have done against his opponent.
While terminator had his coach probably analyzing game by game, and advising him after every match.
That being said, Taeja always suck at long tournament such as this and even at WCS NA.
His last few GSL runs were ro8, ro8, ro4, ro32, ro4 and ro16 so he hasn't really always sucked at them? Keep in mind that these were all in the BL Infestor era except the last one.
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Hah I knew Taeja would get #reSKT! Glad to see that against opponents who can prepare he's still woefully inadequate.
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United States33651 Posts
thanks for not calling it a reverse all-kill
I might have killed somebody
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All I can say is... Good thing Liquibets haven't started yet....
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i already told templar this but, fucking classic.....
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your Country52798 Posts
On December 18 2014 08:04 Cricketer12 wrote:
i already told templar this but, fucking classic.....
It definitely matters what you tell me 
Yeah, Classic was totally unexpected after the first two games.
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On December 18 2014 06:32 Lunareste wrote:
Hah I knew Taeja would get #reSKT! Glad to see that against opponents who can prepare he's still woefully inadequate.
2-3 is rekt? you would consider every match to be someone getting wrecked then?
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Cure and Taeja already out. I feel like I'm lost with SC2 again.
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On December 18 2014 03:46 swissman777 wrote:Show nested quote +On December 18 2014 03:02 Buddy168 wrote:
VODS?
Does anywhere know where the VODS are? I can't find them on the twitch channel or anything. youtube (ask again if this is not enough info)
Gonna need that extra info
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Taeja overrated player.
A bunch of HSC will not and will never make him a great champion.
Taeja 0 GSLs
Seed 1 GSL
Sniper 1 GSL
Life 2 GSLs
MC 2 GSLs
Mvp 4 GSLs
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Is there a way to hide spoilers like these? Or do I just not visit TL the day after an event?
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On December 18 2014 10:26 Apoteosis wrote:
Taeja overrated player.
A bunch of HSC will not and will never make him a great champion.
Taeja 0 GSLs
Seed 1 GSL
Sniper 1 GSL
Life 2 GSLs
MC 2 GSLs
Mvp 4 GSLs
More DHs and HSCs than all of them combined though.
Also still in the GSL :x
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your Country52798 Posts
On December 18 2014 10:26 Gen.Rolly wrote:
Is there a way to hide spoilers like these? Or do I just not visit TL the day after an event?
Yes, there is. There's a button on the front page.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/banN7G4.png)
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On December 18 2014 10:26 Apoteosis wrote:
Taeja overrated player.
A bunch of HSC will not and will never make him a great champion.
Taeja 0 GSLs
Seed 1 GSL
Sniper 1 GSL
Life 2 GSLs
MC 2 GSLs
Mvp 4 GSLs
Nestea's 3 GSL's
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On December 18 2014 10:30 FrostedMiniWheats wrote:Show nested quote +On December 18 2014 10:26 Apoteosis wrote:
Taeja overrated player.
A bunch of HSC will not and will never make him a great champion.
Taeja 0 GSLs
Seed 1 GSL
Sniper 1 GSL
Life 2 GSLs
MC 2 GSLs
Mvp 4 GSLs More DHs and HSCs than all of them combined though. Also still in the GSL :x
4 DH from Taeja vs 4 GSL's of Mvp;
3 HSC from Taeja vs 3 GSL's from Nestea;
2 Asus RoG from Taeja vs 2 GSL's from MC;
Taeja has won more tournament, with way less prestige than the others listed above, he has more quantity, the others have quality.
BTW, Life only won one GSL, Blizzard cup doesn't technically count, its like a Hot6ix cup
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On December 18 2014 10:30 The_Templar wrote:Show nested quote +On December 18 2014 10:26 Gen.Rolly wrote:
Is there a way to hide spoilers like these? Or do I just not visit TL the day after an event? Yes, there is. There's a button on the front page.
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On December 18 2014 05:15 ANLProbe wrote:Show nested quote +On December 18 2014 03:57 pichoo wrote:
Something to note Taeja is an armchair warrior coming into this match, having no team house to practice and no coach on the scene to point out mistakes and things he could have done against his opponent.
While terminator had his coach probably analyzing game by game, and advising him after every match.
That being said, Taeja always suck at long tournament such as this and even at WCS NA. His last few GSL runs were ro8, ro8, ro4, ro32, ro4 and ro16 so he hasn't really always sucked at them? Keep in mind that these were all in the BL Infestor era except the last one.
Those are very solid runs for any player. I don't think anyone can say that Taeja isn't a great player, one of the greatest of SC2.
But if he wants to be known as "The Greatest of All Time", those runs simply won't do. For fans who claim he is the greatest, we would need to hold him to a higher standard.
That being said, he has been insanely successful in weekend tournaments - so much that I would argue that he is the king of special events, just like Yellow had been in BW.
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On December 18 2014 06:32 Lunareste wrote:
Hah I knew Taeja would get #reSKT! Glad to see that against opponents who can prepare he's still woefully inadequate.
How is 2:3 getting rekt?
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EPT![[image loading]](/staff/shiroiusagi/2014/starleague2015.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/DarkLordOlli/SSL_Day_1_recap.jpg)
