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[SPL'15] Into the Thick of Things

Forum Index > SC2 General
13 CommentsPost a Reply

[SPL'15] Into the Thick of Things

Text byTL.net ESPORTS
Graphics byshiroiusagi
March 22nd, 2015 23:21 GMT
Table of Contents

The Thick of Things

Bagels

Focus Match: Jin Air vs KT

The Thick of Things


by DarkLordOlli

We're already in Week 4 of Round 2 now and the playoff picture is beginning to unfold before our eyes. With all individual leagues concluded for the moment, everyone's focus should be back on Proleague for a while. All teams are going to need their best players at their very best now - it's time to finish the round strongly.
Here's a short breakdown of Proleague's Round 2 standings as of this moment:

  • CJ lead the pack with a fantastic 3-0 record, 9-2 in maps. A win over a middling MVP (who did manage to overcome Jin Air in the ace last week mind you!) would surely secure a spot in the playoffs for them. Last week's 3-0 over Prime and especially their initial victories over KT and SKT should give them plenty of confidence to produce a strong run in.
  • Choya's boys won't go down without a fight however, as their own challenge is still very much alive with MVP's 2-1 record. (P)HerO came out to snipe (P)sOs in the ace match with the exact same build he'd already sniped him with for IM last season. Inca be praised.
  • Samsung Galaxy have, perhaps a bit surprisingly, gone 2-1 as well and occupy the second place in the table due to their 8-4 map score. They were only narrowly beaten by Jin Air in the first week and have since beaten MVP and ST-yoe convincingly. With Prime their opponents this week, they face a prime opportunity to extend their winning streak.
  • Speaking of Prime, they've taken one whole map so far this round. There's stepping up to do if they want to challenge for a playoff spot next round.
  • ST-yoe also find themselves at 0-3. After two hard fought losses in the first two rounds, they were done in hard by Samsung Galaxy last week.
  • A weakened KT lineup were blown out of the water 3-0 by their arch-rivals SKT. Even though KT's lineup looks ridiculously scary (especially now that (P)Zest and (Z)Life have just come back with huge individual titles), they've only managed a disappointing 1-2 record (5-6 in maps) so far. Their playoffs bid is still alive, but there's a huge match this week that might decide whether or not it stays alive.


We've got a more detailed recap of Week 3's matches below, as well as a preview of the Jin Air vs KT Rolster clash which could prove to be a deciding one for KT's playoff ambitions.

+ Show Spoiler [Week 4 Lineups] +
(Wiki)2015 Proleague/Round 2/Round Robin
[image loading]

Monday, Mar 23 9:30am GMT (GMT+00:00)

[image loading]
Prime
vs Samsung Galaxy KHAN
[image loading]


(T)YoDa < Overgrowth LE > (Z)Shine
(Z)BBoongBBoong < Vaani Research Station > (P)Dear
(P)Creator < Deadwing LE > (Z)Armani
(T)KeeN < Merry Go Round LE > (P)Hurricane

Ace:
Expedition Lost


[image loading]
[image loading]
Jin Air Green Wings
vs KT Rolster
[image loading]


(Z)Rogue < Expedition Lost > (Z)Life
(P)sOs < Deadwing LE > (T)Flash
(P)Trap < Merry Go Round LE > (P)Zest
(T)Cure < Vaani Research Station > (P)Stats

Ace:
King Sejong Station LE


[image loading]

Tuesday, Mar 24 9:30am GMT (GMT+00:00)

[image loading]
CJ Entus
vs MVP
[image loading]


(T)sKyHigh < Deadwing LE > (Z)Losira
(Z)ByuL < Expedition Lost > (T)MarineKing
(P)herO < King Sejong Station LE > (T)Center
(T)Bbyong < Overgrowth LE > (P)YongHwa

Ace:
Merry Go Round LE


[image loading]
[image loading] StarTale-yoe vs SK Telecom T1
[image loading]


(P)San < Deadwing LE > (T)INnoVation
(T)aLive < Merry Go Round LE > (Z)Dark
(Z)Curious < Expedition Lost > (T)Sorry
(T)Hack < King Sejong Station LE > (P)Classic

Ace:
Overgrowth LE

[image loading]



Bagels


by banjoetheredskin

Zero. Zilch. Squat. Nil. Null. None. Breaking the trend this season's games have followed rather consistently, Week 3 was full of bagels. There was another ace match, but there were also three 3-0 sweeps. In two of those, the losing team dropped to an overall 0-3 record for Round 2. For Prime, it was their second straight bageling.

Some might have expected more one-sided series, given that there were many relatively inexperienced faces lined up due to star players attending IEM Katowice. A break from the general parity between teams' normal rosters, we could have anticipated a stomping here and there. However, the exact way things played out and the unprecedented level of one-sided victories was not foreseen.

MVP's less accomplished and younger players DeParture and Center drew more favorable matchups against Jin Air's B-teamers Pigbaby and Symbol. They both dealt economic damage early and held onto their leads, which was enough to compensate for the shortcomings of the mainstays MarineKing and Losira. The former's greed bit him in the ass when Rogue knocked down his front door with a baneling bust, and the latter was expertly outmaneuvered and out-tech switched by sOs. In the ace match, HerO finally redeemed himself in Proleague, ending his three loss streak this season as he took down sOs with un-countered dark templars. That was the end of the close series, though.

In a not-very-stacked Telecom Derby, there was an odd anticipation of how the teams would adapt to an ace match when they were both missing their two aces. But it never even got close to the fifth set. Despite Action's previous success as an infrequent sniper, soO trounced him with a roach timing. Classic killed Stats in a brief PvP after a critical mothership core snipe and a followup allin against the fast expansion. Dream shut down First's surprise proxy double oracle and crushed him before he could stabilize on a splash unit.

The next bageling was even shorter, as Samsung turned a few heads and improved to 2-1. Journey and Daisy got into an awkward base trade, but Journey held strong and rebuilt much faster than Daisy and overwhelmed him not long after. Hack made the mistake of doing the exact same build two weeks in a row, so Dear's one base oracle into 4gate blink allin worked pretty well against the three CC opening. Reality finished ST-yoe off with a hellbat timing to which Curious reacted too late.

Making it even easier on me to catch up VoDs, CJ closed out the week with the third straight sweep. Prime further enhanced the irony of their name, as "First" once again dug themselves deeper into last place. ByuL's advantage with a 10 pool over TerrOr's hatch gas pool opening led him to a solid defense of the Prime Zerg's measly speedling allin and subsequent knockout punch. Hush hushed MyuNgSiK in a wild, back and forth blink game that ended with both players on one base, but for the CJ Protoss a higher stalker count and an oracle ready to deal more damage. Bunny then outclassed YoDa in a TvT with expert mech vs bio play.

With these results, CJ moved further ahead in first place while Samsung jumped into second. One map separates SKT from Jin Air for third, while one map separates Jin Air from MVP for fourth. KT hold sixth as the only 1-2 team, while ST-yoe and Prime languish in what amounts to last and dead last with their abysmal map scores. This means that Week 4's matches will be very influential in the battle for the playoff spots as we move through the halfway point of Round 2.

Focus Match


by banjoetheredskin


Jin Air Green Wings vs KT Rolster



(Z)Rogue < Expedition Lost > (Z)Life

The GSL Season 1 Champion will have to turn around and start off the match for KT just a day after his crowning moment. His reputed prowess in ZvZ suggests that he could take out even a player of Rogue's caliber if he's still a little green from his GSL hangover. But Life's ZvZ has been largely untested in the past few months, and in the few instances he has played the mirror, he has looked only just as good as Rogue. In fact, many might underestimate Rogue in this matchup. In his game against Shine on the same map in Week 1, he exhibited very strong game sense and decision making. If Life's confidence is soaring a bit too high, Rogue is definitely strong enough to knock him off his pedestal. Yet if Rogue wants to take the win, he'll want to avoid trying to beat Life at his own game.

(P)sOs < Deadwing > (T)Flash

KT must have wanted Flash to draw a TvP by sending him out on Deadwing, so on the surface sOs seems like a favorable match. However, sOs is the type of player who is the kryptonite to a macro machine-oriented player like Flash. Given the Jin Air Protoss' tendency to put his own spin on macro games, or avoid them altogether, the bludgeoning style of Terran Flash prefers might not work. He will of course know sOs' reputation well enough to scout diligently for proxy structures and units that require turrets for defense, but that kind of paranoia is what makes sOs' diverse set of strategies so potent against an opponent who does not have the flair to reciprocate the intimidation factor. Nevertheless, INnoVation showed that a change-up as simple as a proxy mine drop can throw sOs' game off enough to overwhelm with powerful standard Terran gameplay.

(P)Trap < Merry Go Round > (P)Zest

A rematch of the IEM Katowice finals, the best Protoss in form and the best Protoss of HotS will head off in what we hope will live up to the quality of games they showed in Poland. With proficiency in macro games, Zest thoroughly outplayed Trap on his way to a 4-1 victory. However, Trap played well enough to beat pretty much any Protoss not named Zest, and shouldn't surprise anyone if he were to take the win here. Having already shown success with the mirror matchup in Proleague this season, Trap may even have a slight edge against Zest. The KT Protoss is only 2-5 in PvP this season, and perhaps a bit too predictable with his strategy selection in the Bo1 format.

(T)Cure < Vaani Research Station > (P)Stats

Cure's drop-heavy style in TvP took us by storm as he plowed through Zest in the last GSL of 2014. Since then he has made a few international appearances and played a number of memorable games in the matchup. But when Cure went to Katowice, herO put on a clinic on stopping the Jin Air's preferred tactics. Stats, on the other hand, has had mixed success in PvT. Most critically, he has looked rather vulnerable to good drop harass, which does not bode well for him against Cure. However, he is the type of Protoss who could break away from a normal game and throw a complete curveball, especially on a map that favors Cure's style so much. His teammate already flashed a colossus drop build on Vaani, so don't be too surprised if Stats ends up researching gravitic drive before thermal lance.

[image loading]


Writers: banjoetheredskin, destructicon, DarkLordOlli
Graphics: shiroiusagi
Photo Credit: Thedailydot
Editor(s): DarkLordOlli
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TL+ Member
Elentos
Profile Blog Joined February 2015
55510 Posts
March 22 2015 23:56 GMT
#2
But really, did herO stop Cure, or did Cure stop himself?

It's crazy to think that JAGW vs KT could even go 3-0 either way, but 2 mirror matches and $O$ will do that to a series, I guess.
Every 60 seconds in Africa, a minute passes.
Mizenhauer
Profile Blog Joined February 2015
United States1836 Posts
March 23 2015 00:03 GMT
#3
I have 4 players in my FPL (Stats, Cure, Zest and Rogue) all involved in this one match so I don't really know what to make of it. I'm rooting for Jin Air, but sOs has been slumping way too much recently so I think 3-1 KT. If it happens to go to an Ace Match I think they'll very likely win that as well.
┗|∵|┓Second Place in LB 28, Third Place in LB 29 and Destined to Be a Kong
royalroadweed
Profile Joined April 2013
United States8301 Posts
March 23 2015 00:04 GMT
#4
I hope MVP lasts long enough for Bbyong to play.
"Nerfing Toss can just make them stronger"
Elentos
Profile Blog Joined February 2015
55510 Posts
March 23 2015 00:10 GMT
#5
On March 23 2015 09:04 royalroadweed wrote:
I hope MVP lasts long enough for Bbyong to play.

It'll be interesting to see. I've not personally seen Losira vs mech recently, but I hope for him he does better than soO. MK might beat ByuL with his solid macro and control, but it's more likely he's gonna be too greedy and get caught with his pants down like last week against Rogue. And Center beating herO would be an upset and probably a once in a decade event <.<
Every 60 seconds in Africa, a minute passes.
SuperHofmann
Profile Joined September 2013
Italy1741 Posts
March 23 2015 00:52 GMT
#6
Trap vs Zest rematch and Rogue vs Life will be very interesting tomorrow
Vasacast always in my <3
Apoteosis
Profile Joined June 2011
Chile820 Posts
March 23 2015 01:55 GMT
#7
Very good preview but flash will lose his match against $O$.

You see, since Zest and Life won a championship each, flash's vital force has diminished.

There is a formula who predicts with 99,9999% of certainty if flash will perform:

If the rest of KT Rolster's roster performs = flash will suck
If the rest of KT Rolster's roster sucks = flash will perform

lol
Life won like 200k and didn't hire a proper criminal lawyer.
Black_Bear
Profile Joined June 2014
France7 Posts
March 23 2015 02:06 GMT
#8
Let's go Jin Air!

sOs plz
Down with the bourgeoisie.
Seeker *
Profile Blog Joined April 2005
Where dat snitch at?37014 Posts
March 23 2015 04:39 GMT
#9
Proleague time!!!
ModeratorPeople ask me, "Seeker, what are you seeking?" My answer? "Sleep, damn it! Always sleep!"
TL+ Member
Zerg.Zilla
Profile Joined February 2012
Hungary5029 Posts
March 23 2015 06:14 GMT
#10
Dat Z v Z ^^
(•_•) ( •_•)>⌐■-■ (⌐■_■) ~Keep calm and inject Larva~
aRyuujin
Profile Blog Joined January 2011
United States5049 Posts
March 23 2015 07:45 GMT
#11
All I need is for flash to beat SOS is that so much to ask??
can i get my estro logo back pls
sharkie
Profile Blog Joined April 2012
Austria18379 Posts
March 23 2015 07:58 GMT
#12
On March 23 2015 16:45 aRyuujin wrote:
All I need is for flash to beat SOS is that so much to ask??


that's quite a lot to ask for imo!
neptunusfisk
Profile Blog Joined July 2012
2286 Posts
March 23 2015 08:40 GMT
#13
On March 23 2015 16:58 sharkie wrote:
Show nested quote +
On March 23 2015 16:45 aRyuujin wrote:
All I need is for flash to beat SOS is that so much to ask??


that's quite a lot to ask for imo!


Last time they played, flash won

It was a while ago, but still
maru G5L pls
Alucen-Will-
Profile Joined October 2014
United States4054 Posts
Last Edited: 2015-03-23 09:34:45
March 23 2015 09:32 GMT
#14
Hoping to see an ace match, Life vs Maru would hopefully be the choice
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