• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EDT 07:28
CEST 13:28
KST 20:28
  • Home
  • Forum
  • Calendar
  • Streams
  • Liquipedia
  • Features
  • Store
  • EPT
  • TL+
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Smash
  • Heroes
  • Counter-Strike
  • Overwatch
  • Liquibet
  • Fantasy StarCraft
  • TLPD
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Blogs
Forum Sidebar
Events/Features
News
Featured News
RSL Season 1 - Final Week6[ASL19] Finals Recap: Standing Tall12HomeStory Cup 27 - Info & Preview18Classic wins Code S Season 2 (2025)16Code S RO4 & Finals Preview: herO, Rogue, Classic, GuMiho0
Community News
Firefly given lifetime ban by ESIC following match-fixing investigation17$25,000 Streamerzone StarCraft Pro Series announced7Weekly Cups (June 30 - July 6): Classic Doubles7[BSL20] Non-Korean Championship 4x BSL + 4x China10Flash Announces Hiatus From ASL79
StarCraft 2
General
RSL Revival patreon money discussion thread The GOAT ranking of GOAT rankings Weekly Cups (June 30 - July 6): Classic Doubles Server Blocker RSL Season 1 - Final Week
Tourneys
RSL: Revival, a new crowdfunded tournament series Sparkling Tuna Cup - Weekly Open Tournament FEL Cracov 2025 (July 27) - $8000 live event $5,100+ SEL Season 2 Championship (SC: Evo) $25,000 Streamerzone StarCraft Pro Series announced
Strategy
How did i lose this ZvP, whats the proper response Simple Questions Simple Answers
Custom Maps
External Content
Mutation # 481 Fear and Lava Mutation # 480 Moths to the Flame Mutation # 479 Worn Out Welcome Mutation # 478 Instant Karma
Brood War
General
[ASL19] Finals Recap: Standing Tall Flash Announces Hiatus From ASL BGH Auto Balance -> http://bghmmr.eu/ BW General Discussion A cwal.gg Extension - Easily keep track of anyone
Tourneys
[Megathread] Daily Proleagues 2025 ACS Season 2 Qualifier Small VOD Thread 2.0 Last Minute Live-Report Thread Resource!
Strategy
Simple Questions, Simple Answers I am doing this better than progamers do.
Other Games
General Games
Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread Path of Exile CCLP - Command & Conquer League Project The PlayStation 5 Nintendo Switch Thread
Dota 2
Official 'what is Dota anymore' discussion
League of Legends
Heroes of the Storm
Simple Questions, Simple Answers Heroes of the Storm 2.0
Hearthstone
Heroes of StarCraft mini-set
TL Mafia
TL Mafia Community Thread Vanilla Mini Mafia
Community
General
Russo-Ukrainian War Thread US Politics Mega-thread Things Aren’t Peaceful in Palestine The Accidental Video Game Porn Archive Stop Killing Games - European Citizens Initiative
Fan Clubs
SKT1 Classic Fan Club! Maru Fan Club
Media & Entertainment
Movie Discussion! [Manga] One Piece Anime Discussion Thread [\m/] Heavy Metal Thread
Sports
2024 - 2025 Football Thread Formula 1 Discussion NBA General Discussion TeamLiquid Health and Fitness Initiative For 2023 NHL Playoffs 2024
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
Computer Build, Upgrade & Buying Resource Thread
TL Community
The Automated Ban List
Blogs
Men Take Risks, Women Win Ga…
TrAiDoS
momentary artworks from des…
tankgirl
from making sc maps to makin…
Husyelt
StarCraft improvement
iopq
Trip to the Zoo
micronesia
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 716 users

[SPL'15] Round 3 MVPs

Forum Index > SC2 General
11 CommentsPost a Reply

[SPL'15] Round 3 MVPs

Text byTL Strategy
Graphics byv1
July 20th, 2015 01:44 GMT

PROLEAGUE ROUND 3 MVPS

Contents



Introduction

Terran

Protoss

Zerg



Introduction


Welcome back to the third edition of Proleauge MVPs! As with previous editions, we consider all parts of a players performance when issuing the MVP award, that is to say we factor things in like individual skill, record, ace match performance, and so on and so forth. This round we saw resurgence in the Terran force; last round there was only Maru in the top 10 of wins, while this time two Terran players occupy the top two positions, while there are three in total in the top 10 wins. Players you expected to perform well did; Dream and Maru who are widely considered to be the best Terran players are #1 and #2 respectively, soO was the top Zerg player in wins and Classic and Zest are up there as well. Overall, it was a fantastic round of proleague topped off with a great finals, so without further ado here’s our MVP player awards!

Terran: Dream


Without a doubt, Dream is the Terran MVP of round 3 of Proleague. Tied with Maru with the most wins this round, the two are the only two players to have 6 wins each, with Dream remaining undefeated and Maru losing two. Not only was Dream undefeated, but he also went 1-0 in ace matches compared to Maru’s mediocre 1-1. All things considered, Dream edges out Maru convincingly for the MVP award, while Maru has to settle for the runner-up.

Throughout the whole round, Dream showcased the same playstyle: greed. To further break it down, let’s take a quick look at each opening he did in all 6 games:

  • Game 1 vs ByuL: CC first into 3CC on Cactus Valley
  • Game 2 vs Reality: reaper expand on Echo
  • Game 3 vs Zest: CC first into 1 rax gas on Echo
  • Game 4 vs Life: CC first into 3CC on Expedition Lost
  • Game 5 vs sOs: CC first into 2 rax on Cactus Valley
  • Game 6 vs Creator: CC first into 1 rax gas on Deadwing


Five out of six games, Dream went for a command center first. The only time he did not CC first was against a Terran player, which most of the time isn’t safe. The most interesting cases here are a CC first against sOs on Cactus Valley, and a CC first against Zest on Echo. Going expansion first against sOs is always risky because he can pull out literally any form of aggression, and going CC first on Echo is risky in itself due to the smaller size of the map. Let’s take a closer look at the Dream vs Zest game, and see just how he was able to pull off win after win with a CC first.





As previously mentioned, Dream opened up with a command center first, followed by a single barracks and a gas. The excessive greed lies within the single barracks; with only one barracks, Dream won’t be able to pump out enough marines for any oracle opening, and just straight up dies. He takes it even further, and doesn’t scout what Zest is doing until much later. Essentially, he is taking a huge risk by relying on his opponent not to be aggressive in the early game, while he waits for his production structures to kick into gear. This does play into Dreams hand, as Zest doesn’t really go for early aggression, especially in the form of an early oracle. Zest on the other hand, scouts early enough to drop a nexus after gateway, in response to scouting the CC first.

After making it through the early game, Dream goes the standard widow mine drop. This serves two purposes. First and foremost, it acts as a scout, as Dream sends it straight to the natural base of Zest at just under the eight minute mark. This can scout how many probes are harvesting, exact unit counts, and any potential tech lying in the natural. The second purpose is to deal damage. This is much of a lesser important purpose, but dealing damage nonetheless will of course be useful. The damage is dealt mainly through lost mining time now that Protoss players can easily defend widow mine drops, any probes killed by the widow mines, and a photon overcharge used now can render a Protoss player vulnerable to aggression later on. Through this scouting tool, Dream is able to see the second and third gateway completing, the twilight council researching blink, and the probe count at the natural. From this he can deduce there is no blink timing coming anywhere in the near future, as the gateways aren’t even complete yet; Zest would have next to no stalkers ready for a blink attack, so Dream is safe.

The early greed has paid off; Dream is able to drop his fourth and fifth barracks at around the eight minute mark – a full minute before standard timings. The earlier investment into production facilities results in having more production going into the mid game, and consequently a much larger army, much faster. This will give Dream a large portion of map control throughout the mid game, and allow him the flexibility of either dropping where he wants to, or go for a head on engagement. The first move out from Dream comes at the ten minute mark, when his first two medivacs complete. He initially goes for a drop, but a marine ahead of the pack scouts a group of blink stalkers, so Dream aborts the drop maneuver and pushes on ground instead. With a much larger army than normal, Dream is able to push back the stalker force into Zest’s base, and force Zest into a defensive posture.

[image loading]

Dream spots stalkers mid-map with a scouting marine and aborts the drop



Following the contain, Dream continues on with his economy and establishes his third base, and all of his upgrades. To further put his lead, Dream waits for Zest to make a mistake in his defenses; Dream splits his army into two, and waits for the right time to either push into the third base, or into the natural. With no observer outside of Zest’s base, he can’t see exactly where Dream is positioning his army and aggressively blinks into Dreams army outside of his third base, opening up an attack path directly into Zests natural. Dream takes advantage of the situation, and picks off the nexus for free.

[image loading]

Careful army positiong gives Dream an opportunity to pick off a nexus


From this point on, Dream is so far ahead that he can really do anything to win the game. He has ghosts on the way, a large viking count, multiple upgrades ahead, map control, you name it, he’s got it. Combine all of this with Dreams superior army control, and Zest is a dead man. Zest tries to take the fourth base adjacent to his natural, and while doing this ends up losing his entire army to Dreams. The battle went easy for Dream; a combination of storm dodging and army flanking gave Dream the much better engagement, and all Zest could do was watch as his army melted away. This game summarizes Dreams playstyle throughout this round: Take a risk early on, and rely on his mid-late game mechanics, multitasking and decision making to overwhelm his opponent.

Protoss: Classic


Following up with SKT’s unbeatable record this round comes Classic with his safe and predictable yet deadly playstyle. The chintoss has managed to lead SKT to victory through his impeccable micro, macro and most important of all, decision making. He sports an oxymoron playstyle that plays safe and standard while simultaneously surprising his opponents. How can you possibly play predictably and expect to surprise and even beat world class opponents? Lets take a look.

Playing against the best of the best in Proleague is nerve wracking. The pressure to win combined with the team aspect make for a very stressful environment to play under. Therefore, certain playstyles and risks are taken purely out of the nervousness that comes from the possibility of losing. Decision making, micro and macro are necessary to win a high stakes game such as this but the skill to keep calm and calculated is also important. In this respect, Classic has got it down. Despite facing some of the best that StarCraft and Korea has to offer, he comes out on top and with a cool head nonetheless.

This round is no exception as Classic picks up impressive wins against big name players such as Bbyong, YoDa and DongRaeGu. One big difference between this round and last is the chances that Classic had to shine in this round. During round 3, he came out with an impressive 5-2 record with his only losses to Dear and current WCS champion: Life.





With that out of the way, lets jump into the game. It starts with Classic spawning on the North West and YoDa on the South East of Echo LE. Classic goes for a safe gateway fast expand into oracle first. YoDa also opts for a fast expand but instead goes towards a 2 base timing push. Classic scouts YoDa’s base using his initial oracle and sees the excessive amount of marines with no third underway. This of course signals that YoDa’s plan this game is for an aggressive 2 base timing attack. Seeing this, Classic takes his third and rushes out his colossus tech as fast as he can.

Taking the third at this point is risky considering how fragile Protoss is during the early/mid game and how strong stim timings can be for Terran. However one thing that keeps all of this together is that Classic has invested a significant amount of minerals into early zealots. With proper colossus micro and the zealots to tank, this attack can be deflected and possibly even do close to no damage. This is exactly what happens as Classic deflects the attack with ease and even manages to wipe out most of the army while only losing a few zealots.

[image loading]

Classic with an easy hold


Having failed his attack, YoDa starts up his third base and scrambles to catch up to Classic. However, considering that there are already two colossi out on the map and with YoDa’s economy being far behind at this point, he would need to do significant damage to have any hope of winning this game. With this in mind, he loads up six medivacs for a doom drop in Classic’s main. From Classic’s point of view, he knows that this attack is YoDa’s only choice and so prepares for it by placing his mothership core at his main for defensive photon overcharges while having six stalkers at his third to intercept any drops that might come by.

This planning all works out as the entire drop is deflected with only a few casualties on Classic’s side which enables him to do what he does best; macroing up and killing off his opponent with a massive death ball. Classic’s economic and tech advantage makes the death ball come up much too quickly for YoDa to react to it, forcing YoDa to take unfavorable fights and eventually forcing the game to end in Classic’s favor.

Zerg: soO/ByuL


Deciding on the Zerg MVP for Round 3 of the 2015 Proleague has been difficult. So difficult that we're taking the cop out, and writing two, which is either extra lazy or extra work depending on who you ask. The two clear front runners for Zerg players are soO and Byul, who both boasted at least above average scores as well as good wins against solid players.

The case for soO:

soO has an undefeated record in round 3, with wins over Ragnarok, Solar, Rogue, B4, and MyuNgSiK. soO was both a Zerg sniper *and* a map sniper, with 4/5 games being vs Zerg and 4/5 games on Expidition lost (a map boasting *nine* ZvZ mirrors, amounting to an even quarter of all mirrors played. However, the last of soO's games was played on Echo, where he faced MyuNgSiK (and won), which was soO's first win against Protoss during the 2015 Proleague season. This indicates a revival of the coach's trust in soO in non-zvz match ups, and perhaps a revival of soO as a top contender.

While soO's ZvZ games were nothing special in and of themselves, they did show the evolution of soO as a player in proleague, and the benefit of training one map repeatedly. Take a look at soO's opening styles during round three:

  • Pool first
  • Hatchery first
  • Pool first
  • 8 pool


Now compare it soO in the last round:

  • Pool first
  • Pool first
  • Hatch first
  • Hatch first


In round 2, soO was able to go on a *five* game winning streak, so his choices weren't wrong, but in round 3 you can see a marked difference in the way soO approaches the games against similar caliber players. His first match he opened pool first, which set him up for a hatchery first in the second match, as no one would want to blindly 9pool a player who had showed a willingness to open safely. He covered any potential weakness with a pool first in game 3 to avoid a counter early pool build, and in game 4 opted for the incredibly aggressive 8pool which caught out his opponent after 3 games of safe or greedy openings. This is in part because soO was playing ZvZ on only one map, which makes it much easier to set and subvert his opponents expectations, but also due to soO's evolution as a player; in past tournament runs, soO has struggled with being too predictable, and this round he was able to put a stop to that.

In addition to soO's ZvZ games, he also played one PvZ against MyuNgSiK, which is worth mentioning for two reasons: one, it gave soO his first PvZ win in Proleague 2015, and two, it was the only time in round three that soO wasn't fielded against a Zerg.





The game opened on Echo with soO opting for a proxy hatch build. MyuNgSiK had none of it, and blocked the hatchery on his own natural with a pylon to prevent the early game from getting weird. Rather than being thrown off, soO doubled down on his hatchery play, and went for three hatcheries before pool. Along with delaying MyuNgSiK's nexus, he also was able to use this scenario to his economic advantage.

The game continued on with players teching up without any real aggression, until soO got lair and burrow roach movement before speed. MyuNgSiK dropped soO's fourth base, while soO burrowed 6 roaches under the sentries at MyuNgSiK's natural, splitting three roaches off into the main and natural. This harass bought soO more time as he teched up to hive and maxed out on Roach Hydra Viper by ~13 minutes. From here, soO went for a timing that MyuNgSiK deflected with forcefields to buy enough time for storm, and soO was forced to retreat back home.

Unfortunately, missing this timing window meant that MyuNgSiK's army was far more powerful than soO's for quite some time as soO's broodlord transition was timed for after a timing that traded out roach hydra for powerful tech units like collosus and high templar. To avoid dying in a straight up fight, soO snuck his army around his opponents and went for a base trade. This prolonged the game for quite some time, however MyuNgSiK still had an army that was simply too strong for soO to handle straight up. The game looked hopeless for soO, but while everyone was worried that his coach had put too much faith in him, soO capitalized on a mistake by MyuNgSiK and sniped the last remaining nexus while MyuNgSiK forgot to build another building, ending the game and cementing a 3-0 win for SKT1.

[image loading]

MyuNgSiK can't believe it


Over all, soO wasn't massively impactful for his team; he took out no high profile targets, he never played an ace match, and he never helped the team take it to the ace match. However, using him, his coaches were able to almost guarantee a victory on Expedition Lost every time they needed to, leaving their other players free to practice other match ups and other maps, which helped them secure their undefeated round. soO's growth is also marked in round three, as seen in his game vs MyuNgSiK, where soO's consistency and reliability was also put to the test in a high stress base trade. soO shouldn't have won that game, but due to his practice and reliability, he was not the one to make the first mistake, and took the win for SKT1.

The case for Byul:

On paper, the case for soO over Byul is easy; Byul had an above average 5-3 record, which can't stack up to soO's impressive 5-0 and match up mastery. However, looking deeper into those matches, it is apparent that Byul played far stronger opponents. Check out Byul's history this round:

Wins: Reality, Losira, Maru (x2), Creator
Losses: Dream, Leenock, Zest

Obviously, the caliber of players that Byul was faced with routinely was much higher than soO, explaining the record difference. Dream is an absolute monster of a player, Leenock is a ZvZ master, and Zest the Kingslayer; these are not easy opponents, and even the smallest of mistakes can cost you a game versus players like these.

Even comparing the wins of Byul to the wins of soO, Byul comes out on top. While Reality doesn't boast much these days, his TvZ prowess is formidable, at an insane 70%+ win rate. Losira has become a mainstay in Proleague for his team, and has been around since the days of WoL, which means his repertoire of builds specifically in ZvZ is impressively large. Maru needs no introduction, and even the casters were surprised when Byul beat him not once, but twice in the same day. Even Creator has the ability to take games off of good Zergs, with a series win over Soulkey in code A.

Contrary to soO's case, CJ Entus fielded Byul at every opportunity, playing eight games in a 7 week season, and winning his ace match. CJ relied on Byul *hard*, needing Byul to force acematches, and even play ace matches if the time was right. SKT1 on the other hand fielded soO only when they felt like it, who played only 5 games in the regular season, all of which were 3-0 or 3-1 blow outs. Byul truly had a deck stacked against him, and he rose to the challenge magnificently, giving his team a narrow entrance into the play offs.

Byul's influence is especially obvious when looking at the series vs Jin Air Greenwings. The lineup did not favor CJ, and at best the result could be considered hotly contested, while at worst CJ was looking at a 1-3 blowout with either Bbyong or herO most likely taking a win.

[image loading]

The lineup


In their darkest hour, all hopes rode on Byul. His initial game vs Maru forced the series to an ace match, and is by far the more interesting of the two games, although it should be noted that with Cactus Valley as the final map, it was only ever going to be Maru vs Byul again; Terran and Zerg have split the map 40-40, while Protoss has an abysmal time on that map in Proleague.





Byul opened with pool first on Vaani Research Station, followed up by gas and the gold base. Maru scouted it right away and bunkered the gold. However, rather than going straight to the bunker Byul snuck 4 lings into Maru's base, forcing Maru's reapers to come back home, giving Byul ample time to deal with the Bunker and continue on his macroing way.

Byul took his 3rd hatchery in the non-pocket base, while Maru went for helions and cloaked banshees. Byul scouted the banshees and immediately started spore crawlers. Maru, playing sneaky, started an armory behind the overlord to let him do an unscouted hellbat/banshee push against Byul.

Byul took a *VERY* well timed fight against the hellbat ball, which did take quite a few lings, but with the gold base Byul's economy was fine despite the losses. He followed this up with lair and a spire as Maru continued to be aggressive with hellbats and banshees.

Both sides macroed up, and while Byul attempted to get something done with his Mutas, stim had already completed which forced Byul out for a time. However, Byul eventually found a hole in Maru's defense and sniped +2 while running lings to Maru's third. Maru pushed out in desperation but Byul had plenty of Banelings on defense and the aggression halted with Byul up on four bases including a gold, up in supply, and even in upgrades after the snipe of Maru's +2.

As time went on, Byul was able to grow his Mutalisk flock to such a point that he could punch through multiple turrets at once, making Maru feel incredibly behind. Maru added on even more turrets to defend against Mutalisks and pushed out. Unfortunately for Maru, Byul was able to make an incredible amount of Banelings which held the initial push. Maru continued the fight but since the initial shove was halted, Byul had enough time to reinforce and shut down the aggression completely.

Behind this attack, Maru took a 4th base, and despite being massively down in supply was able to hold on to the base and stabilize, although still behind. Byul continued sharking around with his Mutalisks, slightly timid, worried about making a mistake to lose him the game, but eventually this harass forced Maru to move out or die in his base. Byul countered yet again, killing 2 bases to ensure Maru committed to aggression, and made Banelings to hold Maru's last death push.

This resulted in a weird half base trade, where Byul's main army was too timid to commit to defending against Maru's army, while 30+ mutalisks destroyed Maru's production. Once Byul brought back his Mutalisks he began to take fights and ultimately overran Maru's army.

Byul's ability to go toe to toe with the top players of multiple races while being fielded every week is an inhuman feat. He was consistently able to trade games with the best of the best, and it was on his back that CJ even entered the play offs. Byul, like herO, is a foundation upon which CJ is built. Without Byul, CJ would be unable to compete at the highest level, and his contributions every week made the difference between middling team to top team. Compared with soO, without whom SKT1 would absolutely still be a contender, Byul has to win the MVP award.





Brought to you by the TL Strategy Team
Writer: Jowj, Jehak, Jer99
Graphics: v1
Editors: NovemberStorm
Facebook Twitter Reddit
Nimrod.519
Profile Joined September 2012
Canada19 Posts
July 20 2015 02:32 GMT
#2
The MyuNgSiK can't believe it image is the same as The lineup image.
NovemberstOrm
Profile Blog Joined September 2011
Canada16217 Posts
July 20 2015 04:48 GMT
#3
On July 20 2015 11:32 Nimrod.519 wrote:
The MyuNgSiK can't believe it image is the same as The lineup image.

Was fixed, thanks!
Moderatorlickypiddy
Kosko_s
Profile Joined December 2014
Malaysia24 Posts
July 20 2015 05:32 GMT
#4
Where is the Maru vs MyuNgSiK bm :D
It makes sense if you don't think about it.
banjoetheredskin
Profile Blog Joined November 2012
United States744 Posts
July 20 2015 05:36 GMT
#5
On July 20 2015 14:32 Kosko_s wrote:
Where is the Maru vs MyuNgSiK bm :D

This entire article
Writer#1 CJ fan | http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/starcraft-2/508947-wcs-dreamhack-austin-interviews
Alucen-Will-
Profile Joined October 2014
United States4054 Posts
July 20 2015 07:35 GMT
#6
I typically have more to offer in terms of response, but I don't today.

I just enjoyed the article a lot and I'm particularly happy of your coverage of Dream. Nice Job TL staff
Elentos
Profile Blog Joined February 2015
55511 Posts
Last Edited: 2015-07-20 07:41:46
July 20 2015 07:41 GMT
#7
On July 20 2015 10:44 TL Strategy wrote:
Even Creator has the ability to take games off of good Zergs, with a series win over Soulkey in code A.

Except in Proleague where his losing streak vZ this year was pretty much approaching infinity.
Every 60 seconds in Africa, a minute passes.
june4812622
Profile Joined May 2014
United States20 Posts
July 20 2015 09:26 GMT
#8
Classic picks up impressive wins against big name players such as Bbyong, YoDa and DongRaeGu.


Who?

Orr
Profile Joined February 2014
United States168 Posts
July 20 2015 16:37 GMT
#9
'Over all, soO wasn't massively impactful for his team; he took out no high profile targets, he never played an ace match, and he never helped the team take it to the ace match.'

I'd argue quite the opposite. Being essentially a guaranteed win every time put forth (regardless of map) is hugely impactful in a BO5. In PL, every single win counts the same for the all-important team standings and map score indicators. Whether against Maru or Solar. Can't hold it against soO that because he did his job every single time, there were minimal opportunities for ace play (which is often heavily map dependent too).

As increasingly complex data points have made clear in regards to the other major American sports, for example the NBA, what you do in the final 2 minutes of crunch time is largely irrelevant in relation to how you performed the other 36-40 (as a starter).
Flash I Jaedong I herO I Best I Maru I Rogue
rotta
Profile Joined December 2011
5585 Posts
Last Edited: 2015-07-20 16:38:43
July 20 2015 16:38 GMT
#10
On July 20 2015 18:26 june4812622 wrote:
Show nested quote +
Classic picks up impressive wins against big name players such as Bbyong, YoDa and DongRaeGu.


Who?


That IEM WC who used to be in some ok team.
don't wall off against random
Jer99
Profile Blog Joined April 2011
Canada8157 Posts
July 20 2015 18:16 GMT
#11
On July 21 2015 01:38 rotta wrote:
Show nested quote +
On July 20 2015 18:26 june4812622 wrote:
Classic picks up impressive wins against big name players such as Bbyong, YoDa and DongRaeGu.


Who?


That IEM WC who used to be in some ok team.


Gotta build up the hype somehow
StrategyTaeJa #1 || @TL_Jer99 || "seeker seeked out his seeking"
Jowj
Profile Joined June 2012
United States248 Posts
July 20 2015 21:43 GMT
#12
On July 21 2015 01:37 Orr wrote:
'Over all, soO wasn't massively impactful for his team; he took out no high profile targets, he never played an ace match, and he never helped the team take it to the ace match.'

I'd argue quite the opposite. Being essentially a guaranteed win every time put forth (regardless of map) is hugely impactful in a BO5. In PL, every single win counts the same for the all-important team standings and map score indicators. Whether against Maru or Solar. Can't hold it against soO that because he did his job every single time, there were minimal opportunities for ace play (which is often heavily map dependent too).

As increasingly complex data points have made clear in regards to the other major American sports, for example the NBA, what you do in the final 2 minutes of crunch time is largely irrelevant in relation to how you performed the other 36-40 (as a starter).


A fair point I think, and something I thought about when I wrote it. I almost removed that section. The reason I ultimately left in there was because SKT1's roster is so deep it almost didn't matter who they got to play that map and become a specialist. With a roster like theirs it was simply a matter of picking someone.

Classic
Dark
Innovation
soO
Dream
Sorry
Billowy

Even without *any* player, if they had just ceded the map they would either most likely still have won 3-1, or gone to ace match where they are still favored (although I won't underplay how powerful sniping can be on certain ace map/matchups).
Strategy
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
RSL Revival
10:00
Season 1: Playoffs FINALS
Classic vs ClemLIVE!
Tasteless3528
ComeBackTV 1524
Crank 1436
IndyStarCraft 277
Rex143
3DClanTV 116
IntoTheiNu 53
LiquipediaDiscussion
Sparkling Tuna Cup
10:00
Weekly #97
Gerald vs PercivalLIVE!
ByuN vs Nicoract
CranKy Ducklings119
Liquipedia
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
Tasteless 3528
Crank 1436
IndyStarCraft 277
Rex 143
MindelVK 34
StarCraft: Brood War
Horang2 34840
Jaedong 3717
Pusan 821
BeSt 785
firebathero 636
Larva 578
Mini 443
Leta 229
Last 205
EffOrt 184
[ Show more ]
ToSsGirL 104
Shinee 38
Sharp 38
Hm[arnc] 25
Barracks 18
HiyA 13
Icarus 13
Noble 10
yabsab 10
GoRush 10
IntoTheRainbow 10
SilentControl 9
Movie 7
Dota 2
Gorgc3526
XcaliburYe447
XaKoH 432
Counter-Strike
x6flipin545
Stewie2K541
edward14
Heroes of the Storm
Khaldor335
Other Games
tarik_tv21043
gofns13417
FrodaN3921
singsing1500
B2W.Neo975
shahzam419
DeMusliM401
Happy360
crisheroes357
KnowMe137
SortOf116
Pyrionflax48
Organizations
StarCraft: Brood War
lovetv 13
StarCraft 2
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
sctven
[ Show 13 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• Berry_CruncH263
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• intothetv
• Kozan
• IndyKCrew
• LaughNgamezSOOP
• Migwel
• sooper7s
StarCraft: Brood War
• BSLYoutube
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
Dota 2
• lizZardDota2140
• Ler43
Upcoming Events
FEL
3h 32m
Elazer vs Spirit
Gerald vs MaNa
BSL20 Non-Korean Champi…
6h 32m
Bonyth vs Dewalt
QiaoGege vs Dewalt
Hawk vs Bonyth
Sziky vs Fengzi
Mihu vs Zhanhun
QiaoGege vs Zhanhun
Fengzi vs Mihu
Wardi Open
23h 32m
Replay Cast
1d 22h
WardiTV European League
2 days
PiGosaur Monday
2 days
uThermal 2v2 Circuit
3 days
Replay Cast
3 days
The PondCast
3 days
Replay Cast
4 days
[ Show More ]
Epic.LAN
5 days
CranKy Ducklings
5 days
Epic.LAN
6 days
BSL20 Non-Korean Champi…
6 days
Bonyth vs Sziky
Dewalt vs Hawk
Hawk vs QiaoGege
Sziky vs Dewalt
Mihu vs Bonyth
Zhanhun vs QiaoGege
QiaoGege vs Fengzi
Sparkling Tuna Cup
6 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

KCM Race Survival 2025 Season 2
HSC XXVII
NC Random Cup

Ongoing

JPL Season 2
BSL 2v2 Season 3
Acropolis #3
CSL 17: 2025 SUMMER
Copa Latinoamericana 4
Jiahua Invitational
2025 ACS Season 2: Qualifier
BSL20 Non-Korean Championship
CSLPRO Last Chance 2025
Championship of Russia 2025
RSL Revival: Season 1
Murky Cup #2
BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025
ESL Impact League Season 7
IEM Dallas 2025
PGL Astana 2025
Asian Champions League '25
BLAST Rivals Spring 2025
MESA Nomadic Masters

Upcoming

CSL Xiamen Invitational
CSL Xiamen Invitational: ShowMatche
2025 ACS Season 2
CSLPRO Chat StarLAN 3
BSL Season 21
K-Championship
uThermal 2v2 Main Event
SEL Season 2 Championship
FEL Cracov 2025
Esports World Cup 2025
Underdog Cup #2
StarSeries Fall 2025
FISSURE Playground #2
BLAST Open Fall 2025
BLAST Open Fall Qual
Esports World Cup 2025
BLAST Bounty Fall 2025
BLAST Bounty Fall Qual
IEM Cologne 2025
FISSURE Playground #1
TLPD

1. ByuN
2. TY
3. Dark
4. Solar
5. Stats
6. Nerchio
7. sOs
8. soO
9. INnoVation
10. Elazer
1. Rain
2. Flash
3. EffOrt
4. Last
5. Bisu
6. Soulkey
7. Mini
8. Sharp
Sidebar Settings...

Advertising | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use | Contact Us

Original banner artwork: Jim Warren
The contents of this webpage are copyright © 2025 TLnet. All Rights Reserved.