Week One and Done

We've waited months for this, and it certainly didn't disappoint. Day 1 of Proleague featured two ace matches between rivals and Day 2 involved two big stomps on the defending champions and Team Choya. While many of the teams sent out predictable players for their lineups, we did have a few surprises in week 1 such as San's ace match appearance and Coach Park's trust in Bbyong.

While it's a little too early to draw many insights, the season already promises to be better than the last. Between the casting crew's new booth and their improved suiting budget (RIP Team Salmon), as well as the new piecharts and statistics, the production has improved for Season 2 of SPOTV's Proleague. While we're still hoping for a grand return for MINDMINDMIND, we're sure SPOTV still have a few surprises in store in the coming weeks.

Match Of the Week: CJ vs Samsung

by Darkhorse



The opening match of the 2015 Proleague Season brought us some attempted ZvZ shenanigans from Solar and unsurprisingly ended rather quickly. Solar went about as all in as possible with a nine pool complete with a drone pull to build spine crawlers. Byul looked like he could be in danger when he opted for a hatchery first and didn't see the spine crawler building on the edge of his creep, but with excellent drone micro and a few control blunders by his opponent Byul was able to take game one for CJ.



The second game saw Hush and eMotion play out a fairly standard PvP on Deadwing. eMotion opened with Stargate and seized map control with phoenixes, while Hush went with simultaneous blink and DT tech. eMotion was completely caught off guard by the dark templar and took significant damage, although he was able to return some damage with his phoenix harassment. From there it was a matter of Hush outplaying eMotion in all aspects. He kept a soft contain on his opponent with his stalker force, picked off stray observers, and built on his advantage by expanding earlier and teching harder to Colossi. Hush picked his colossus vs colossus engagement well and when the lasers had cleared up Hush had secured his team a 2-0 lead.



herO opened up with a proxy Stargate to see if he could wrap up the match with a 3-0 for CJ, but Dear was able to keep damage relatively low. The early blink skirmishes were relatively even and herO entered the midgame with a slight advantage. Then we saw each players display their true colors: herO went for a flashy play with a proxy Templar archives into storm drop while Dear decided to play solid, standard PvP and work on his colossus count. Although herO's storm drop was certainly effective, herO seemed to lose focus as the match went on as he lost a number of stalkers to Dear's army while he wasn't looking. In addition he seemed to forget that he already had templar tech as he panic built another Templar Archives back at home. With a stronger colossus count and excellent Zealot flanks Dear managed to take a big engagement and the game for Samsung.



Game four certainly seemed to start well for the CJ Terran. With an early reaper getting into BrAvO's main base, Bbyong was completely prepared for the the banshee harassment that came his way. In contrast, Bbyong's delayed banshee did much more damage and he was able to get the faster third CC by far. All signs pointed to Bbyong having a significant mid game advantage, but instead he made the most mind boggling decision of the night. Despite already having a massive economic lead, Bbyong decided to spend his valuable resources on a hidden fourth CC at around the nine minute mark. Had the game dragged on longer Bbyong would have held a huge advantage, but BrAvO is too good to allow Bbyong to macro up unimpeded and pushed into his opponent's natural with air control and a superior tank count. Bbyong lost control of his natural and was never able to regain his footing and conceded game four to Samsung.

Ace Match

Oddly enough both teams were placed in awkward positions in which picking their standard ace players was a tough call. CJ was probably still scratching their heads over how they had gone up 2-0 with Bbyong and herO still to play and somehow managed to fall into an ace match while Samsung had to consider that Dear had looked much more solid than their normal ace Solar. CJ ended up fielding Bbyong while Samsung gave Solar his second shot of the night and the stage was set for a TvZ ace match in the first series of the season.



Bbyong apparently decided that his greed hadn't worked out for him and did a complete 180 in his play style, opting to go for a fast hellbat marine push with a small SCV pull to try to end the game quickly. Solar's roaches were just a bit late for the defense and Bbyong ran amok across Solar's main and natural for about a minute. With excellent roach micro and some target firing mishaps from Bbyong Solar was eventually able to clean up the push and moved across the map with his roach pack. Bbyong was then the player on the back foot as he desperately stalled the roaches at the top of his ramp with hellbats until his banshee could arrive. The timing of the banshee and marauders could not have been better and Bbyong was able to clear out all of Solar's roaches, which set up a fairly even game at the twelve minute mark. However, Solar knew that Bbyong's mech composition had much more longevity than this own mass roach style, and attempted to end the game quickly with a nydus roach push. Although he was able to get up a nydus in the main, Bbyong's Hellbat/Thor/Marauder/Banshee composition was able to react and hold strong. Finally, Bbyong felt he had the army strength to counter push and win the game and Solar's roaches just could not stand against the constant banshee fire. Solar tapped out and CJ earned the victory 3-2!

Progress Report: Week One

by banjoetheredskin

A+ - Jin Air Green Wings

By far the best team in Week 1, Jin Air deserve to be recognized for demolishing season-favorite KT Rolster. All three matches in the sweep were completely one-sided. Maru looked on point with his execution and strategic selection, sOs played with TY's mind like a dog with a chew toy, and Rogue's decision making and micro were perfect. If they can maintain close to this level of performance over the teams who are generally weaker than KT, expect Jin Air to make big waves this round.

Comments
Try to rotate the lineup so that Cure isn't always last, he wants to actually play his match too!

A - SK Telecom T1

SKT met all expectations this week with a solid 3-0 over the Choyas. Every match, although not as one-sided as Jin Air vs KT, nor against opponents of the highest caliber, made it quite clear who the better team was. Dark in particular looked on-point, while INnoVation and Classic demonstrated a better understanding of their respective matchups and superior decision making. In this form, SKT promise to make a slugfest out of their match next week against the other grade-A team Jin Air.

Comments
Remind Dark that not all of his Terran opponents will be as lost as MarineKing was against that ZvT style, so he should probably work on variations or different strategies for next week.

B - CJ Entus

In the best match of the week, CJ managed to pull out an ace win over Samsung's Solar with the virgin ace Bbyong. A solid ZvZ defense from ByuL and crisp PvP from Hush served as the equalizers to the unexpected stumbling of both herO and Bbyong in the third and fourth sets, which might be disconcerting to the two regularly hailed as CJ's one-two punch. However, the matches themselves don't leave much to question whether or not they are still CJ's two best players, especially with Bbyong's redemption in the ace match.

Comments
Tell herO to stop trying flashy moves in PvP. Tell Bbyong that playing super greedy in TvT doesn't make sense.

B- - StarTale-Yoe Flash Wolves

Captain Player Coach Bomber may have failed to win in what will presumably be one of few matches he intends to play this year, but the conglomerate team proved it has enough talent to win without his support. The surprise pick of playing San in the ace match against what was certain to be YoDa paid off, and that kind of decision shows an aptitude for the trickery that will be requisite to beat stronger teams. Life got a cakewalk against the less-experienced TerrOr and Leenock had no issue beating Creator's weak PvZ, compensation for Curious' loss to a proxy immortal allin.

Comments
Stop playing Curious. Tell Life to practice League of Legends StarCraft II for next week's match.

B- - Samsung Galaxy

A strong performance out of Dear was great for Samsung, but a very disappointing performance from Solar was the crux of match. BrAvO surprised with a win over Bbyong in TvT, and even though the game did not reflect a particular strength for the Samsung Terran, he might be able to find himself a spot in the regular starting four. And although Solar's early pool was thwarted by ByuL, then later his roach nydus by Bbyong in the ace match, he will continue to carry the heavy load for Samsung, and we have no reason to expect he'll continue to look as vulnerable yet.

Comments
Give Solar a hug. Congratulate Dear and continue to play him. Tell eMotion to make up his mind about being good or not.

C - Prime

Prime definitely proved that they have potential to do better this season than last (as if that's saying much). YoDa's win over Bomber was quality, and an adeptness in TvT could be quite valuable this season. MyuNgSiK's wonky proxy stargate into proxy everything else for an immortal allin allin was successful, and as long as his reputation doesn't begin to precede him, he could continue be a solid player to get that one-two punch. Creator's PvZ looked to be about as weak as expected, but few teams have a Zerg lineup that would make it likely for him to draw the matchup very often.

Comments
Stop playing TerrOr. Tell MyuNgSiK to make one more crazy build each week so that he can play the ace match instead of YoDa. And remember, it could have been worse!

D - MVP

Online and offline, MVP looked like they would be the underdogs this season in SPL, but their showing in Week 1 completely contradicts that. To be fair, it was one of the longer 3-0 routs, but being on the receiving end of such a beating was not expected from a lineup that should at least have been able to take one set. MarineKing looked absolutely lost against Dark's unorthodox TvZ, which demonstrated a lack of preparation that is generally unacceptable in Proleague. Assuming that Center was sent out to snipe INnoVation in TvT, he looked much weaker overall in the matchup and unfit for the job.

Comments
Do your homework, Choya. Losira and YongHwa, and even DeParture have looked good recently, and deserve a chance to play.

F - KT Rolster

KT lost 0-3 to Jin Air in 41:41 total game time, over half of which was sOs trashing TY in a macro game. Flash's 2rax was not only uncharacteristic, but poorly executed and perfectly countered. Zest's weakness was exposed once again as he fell to hyper-aggression with widow mines on King Sejong Station, the best choice against his predictable blink before robo build. The abysmal showing from KT might not say anything about how last season's champions will fare in future weeks and rounds, but for now they wear the ignominious dunce cap of annihilation.

Comments
Stats is playing the best out of anyone on the team right now, so give him an earlier spot in the lineup. Figure out a way to stop letting TY lose to Protoss.

Dishonorable Mention

F- - Proleague Pie Chart Maker
Absolutely unacceptable

Week Two: An Early Contenders' Match

by banjoetheredskin

Focus Match: Jin Air Green Wings vs SK Telecom T1

The two best teams from Week 1 are squaring off in what will be a firecracker to kick off Week 2. Jin Air's thrashing of the other Telecom, KT Rolster, turned a few heads, as many began to question if Jin Air should be considered an equal contender to the Telecom Giants. SKT's sweep of MVP was far less surprising, but reminded everyone that last season's runner-up should not be overlooked as a very strong team. In this match, six of the eight players were top 20 in wins last season, while Dark was third in win percentage (albeit with only 9 games) and INnoVation was second in wins the year before.



Cure cleared great hurdles in GSL Season 3 by getting all the way to the semifinals, where he narrowly lost INnoVation 4-3. However, since then, he has played very few offline matches, and even fewer TvZs. Dark, on the other hand, has been practically untouchable in the matchup. He fell 2-0 to MarineKing in the GSL qualifiers, but redeemed himself in Week 1 of Proleague with a one-sided victory. Dark has been for a while now playing his distinctive roach baneling corruptor style. Although the strategy is not without its weaknesses, Cure will need to have studied hard how to beat it, without ruling out the possibility that Dark could play the standard muta ling baneling composition as well. While Dark has exhibited more recently the potential he has been said to have (being the frequent winner of the in-house tournaments), Cure's stellar run through GSL and a runner-up at RedBull D.C. should not be forgotten.



Maru has always been known for his high-octane aggression, and in the TvZ matchup it his seen him great success. soO has been the world's best Zerg for about a year, and his impeccable macro play was a key factor on his way to four straight GSL finals. The last time they met was in July during last season of Proleague, where soO won a solid macro game. However, since then Maru had fallen off and consequently has played far fewer televised matches. soO has also fallen off, but his regression could run deeper than just a decline in performance. He has looked mentally broken, just not the same after losing his fourth straight GSL, a DreamHack, then dropping out of Blizzcon and Hot6ix Cup in the Ro16. Yet recently, Maru's qualification for both GSL and S2SL, and his dismantling of Zest suggest that he is back to his peak form, while soO failed to qualify for either of the Korean tournaments and did not get to play his match last week. Although Maru usually controls the tempo with his frequent use of proxy barracks, soO could very well have cooked up something special with Chef Coach CatZ.



sOs has been an outstanding Proleague player for the past two seasons for one simple reason: preparation. He innovates and executes the most confounding, brilliant builds better than anyone else. INnoVation is the polar opposite. He is textbook standard play, almost never deviating from the orthodox macro style. Unlike the clash of two exciting styles in the previous set, these two players's tendencies don't match up nearly as well. They last met in the quarterfinals of the Hot6ix Cup, where sOs dumpstered The Machine 3-1. His TvP success continued with a 3-0 in the semifinals against CJ's rising star sKyHigh and 4-1 in the finals against a resurgent MarineKing. Then last week in Proleague he thoroughly outplayed TY with nasty mind games and smarter decisions. If INnoVation wants to continue to be stubborn and still have a chance, he'll need to be extra diligent with his scouting, but not be overcautious with his safety, because that's exactly what sOs will punish with his cunning play.



Rogue was the other rising star on Jin Air last season alongside his Terran teammate Cure. However, his fulfillment of potential has not quite happened yet, and rather than see a moment of rise to prominence like Cure, his progression has been prolonged and inconsistent. Overall, he finished 17-13 in Proleague, proof that he definitely has what it takes, alongside what is considered common knowledge that he perpetually sits atop the Korean Grandmaster ladder. Aside from that, his results in individual leagues have been largely unimpressive. Classic, on the other hand, took a somewhat unexpected GSL championship in Season 2, as he was then merely the third best Protoss on SKT. Afterwards, his performance declined greatly, only to pick back up at Blizzcon where he lost a nail-biting 3-2 series in the semifinals to MMA. Then he hit another roadblock as he failed to qualify for 2015 GSL Season 1, but did manage to scrape past Cure to qualify for S2SL. So ultimately for both players the question is: who will be more inconsistent? Rather, which version of Rogue and which version of Classic will show up?

Other matches to watch out for



Bbyong has been de facto CJ Terran ace for a while now, so it is easy to forget his ascension to the position off spectacular TvP and TvZ. He has been known to employ a wicked mech style in the latter, especially in Proleague, and have respectable facility with bio mine as well. In the S2SL qualifiers he was able to knock out soO with that very style, only part of his stellar 14-2 form in the matchup. Life's ZvT has always been among, if not the best in the world. He completed his miraculous run at Blizzcon with phenomenal ZvT, and his aura of invincibility was not diminished until ForGG pulled off the upset in the grand finals of DreamHack Winter. ForGG's mech style seemed to be the perfect bane to Life's sublime standard ZvT play, and he looked absolutely lost until they played again in CaseKing, where Life crushed the very same play 3-0. Although it would have looked promising for Bbyong to try to emulate ForGG's play to counter Life, he seems to have found the answers he needed to smooth out the edges of his ZvT. Whatever Bbyong decides to do, expect the results to be explosive.



Before the highly-anticipated-for-no-reason-other-than-his-name debut of TANGTANG, another Terran will make his Proleague debut in Journey for Samsung. Journey is the Terran incarnation of one of those dogs on the commercial that shows beaten animals in a shelter giving you the most heartwarming yet gut-wrenching stares while they play sad music in the background. He was cut from SKT below FanTasy, BrAvO, and Sorry of all people, and spent a long time teamless, streaming his journey to the upper echelons of the Korean Grandmaster ladder after falling out of Code A, but not before he knocked out Dear with some quirky play. His hard work paid off as he managed to qualify for MSI Beat IT, only to fall short in the group stage. Now he is on Dear's team, a hopeful replacement to the void left by Reality's departure. YoDa should be a tough opponent for Journey, though, as Prime's ace(?)'s TvT is looking strong after a win over Bomber last round.



Satan vs God. Well, Satan by proxy. Choya's new team, outside of Proleague last week, has been doing Evil's work since the day they joined MVP. Losira's form has been on the upswing since he showed at HomeStory Cup X that he should still be relevant. He and Flash met there in the Ro16, where Flash won 2-0. However, Losira proved that he's not a walkover in the matchup, as he went on to smash Flash's fellow KT Terran TY 3-0 in the quarterfinals. Flash meanwhile seems to be recovering his former prowess in TvZ with bio mine, except for when he tries to mix things up. Will God be the Cat Zerg's scratching post, or will his historic Proleague dominance shine through and repeat the beatdown from HSC?

FPL Rundown: Week One

by lichter

Best Player: San

San only cost 4 value and surprised everyone by appearing as ST-Yoe's ace despite not appearing in the lineup. Perhaps it was an attempt to out-PvP Prime's ace last season, Creator, but Gerrard threw a curveball by fielding a new ace in YoDa. In the end it was ST-Yoe's gamble that paid off as San held YoDa's two base SCV pull. 5 points for someone that we didn't think would play? Not bad.

Most Surprising Player: Well this obviously goes to San as well.

Worst Player of the Week: Solar

Last season, Solar scored a double victory of sOs on the opening night of Proleague 2014. Unfortunately, he was unable to repeat those heroics in this season's opener as he lost to ByuL in the first set and Bbyong in the ace match. That means he is the only player right now that is actually worth NEGATIVE points. Ouch.

Worst Team of the Week: KT Rolster

Zest, TY and Flash all lost their games against Jin Air in an embarassing season debut. As the team with a fearsome 4 that will hardly see rotation, their roster staples should eventually pay for themselves, but early adopters are ruing the day they chose the defending champs for Week One.

The Anti-Team Terror: Yep, San again.

Some people thought San was in Taiwan. Some people thought ST-Yoe had better players than San. And some players thought that at a 4, he was probably gonna be like Stork and rarely play. Instead, we all got bopped. While his friend TaeJa remained on the bench for MVP, San rose to the occasion. Though he appeared in more anti teams (297) than main teams (253), FPLers may think twice about keeping a prospective ace on their antis.

Might be Good Value: Stats

The only KT player not to be embarrassed completely last week (because he didn't play), ex-Chintoss is actually on a very big upswing in results in individual leagues. He reverse swept INnoVation in SSL to reach the main tournament, and he's one of KT's most reliable players. While he's currently still rather expensive, someone out there might think he's a good bargain at the cost of someone like San, Dark, MyuNgSiK or MarineKing.

Most Interesting Trade Bait: Someone on Samsung Khan

What the heck Stork? After a heartbreaking loss in Week 1, Coach Byungoo decided to switch things up completely by fielding a team of Journey, Hurricane, Armani, and Shine. One of these guys miiiight just get a win against their fellow stragglers Prime, and are affordable enough to switch with a non-playing 2pter. It could be a shrewd move if any of them end up holding their place in the lineup.

Check this thread for the complete list of Round 2 Lineups.

* Expect more for FPL Round Up in the future once the round gets further and I have more things to insult