It's All or Nothing Now

This is it. It's the final round of Proleague 2015, and the playoffs will determine who gets to battle for the crown of Korea's best team. Last year, KT pipped a dominant SKT T1 to the title. This year, the SKT T1 bulldozer is once again on the rampage, but will history repeat itself as the year comes to a close? Every team still has a faint shot at reaching the playoffs, but they will have to do something in Round 4 in order to make their dreams come true.

The Playoff Picture

Maximum Points: 221
Minimum Points: 130
Best Possible Place: 4th
Outlook: In another miserable season, perhaps the best thing we can say about Prime is that they've only finished in last place in a round once so far this season. Unfortunately, they've finished second from the bottom in the two other rounds. At the end of round 4, they'll likely find themselves at the foot of the table even if they don't finish last this round.



Maximum Points: 241
Minimum Points: 150
Best Possible Place: 4th
Outlook: Samsung have had their moments, but as the most frustratingly inconsistent team in the league, their place somewhere past the playoff slots seems all but assured. However, they've been slowly improving, finishing 5th in both rounds 2 and 3. They Although their point tally seems as dire as Prime, Samsung still have a chance of rescuing their season with one good run to a round playoffs. But they aren't reaching the year-end playoffs, unless all the other top teams collapse.



Maximum Points: 241
Minimum Points: 150
Best Possible Place: 4th
Outlook: After a brief revival in round 1, MVP's fortunes have fallen with each successive round. It seems like Choya's Magic Juice has run out, and a spot in last place in round 4 will complete the trend of MVP finishing in a successively lower place each round. It's going to take a miracle to reach the year-end playoffs, but we've seen Choya's necromancy do stranger things in the past.



Maximum Points: 252
Minimum Points: 161
Best Possible Place: 3rd
Outlook: Once upon a time, StarTale Yoe actually looked like a potential contender. Their roster was without many clear aces aside from Life, but they did have versatility and preparedness. Unfortunately, their star player decided to transfer to KT Rolster and they were caught in traffic for their biggest match of the year, and the STY ship sank in round 2. They recovered a little in round 3 with the addition of several old timey mercenaries, but unless DRG, MMA, and jjakji rediscover their GSL winning form, SBENU probably won't break the top 4.



Maximum Points: 283
Minimum Points: 191
Best Possible Place: 2nd
Outlook: It's been a slow climb for KT Rolster after their shocking 6th place finish in round 1. All their stars were struggling at the start of 2015, but the team's fortunes have improved as their players have found their footing in individual leagues. Stats, Zest and TY have all done well in tournaments, while the addition of Life has to be considered the signing of the year. They are beginning to peak at the right time, and the defending champions will not let their trophy go without a fight.



Maximum Points: 334
Minimum Points: 243
Best Possible Place: 1st
Outlook: You have to feel for JAGW, who've now lost three consecutive round finals. They have looked like the team to beat at times, but they have somehow been unable to get past that silver hump. They looked destined to topple the mighty Telecom Titan in round 3 after all killing KT Rolster and CJ Entus, but SKT T1's depth and strengths once again proved too much. Fortunately, there's still room for improvement. sOs and Maru are at the top of their game, but their two workhorses, Cure and Rogue, are lagging behind. They will need a strong round from those two, as well as Trap, if they want to finally break their playoff duck this season.



Maximum Points: 364
Minimum Points: 273
Best Possible Place: 1st
Outlook: At times, CJ Entus look like the best team in the league. herO, ByuL and Bbyong have stretches where they appear to be the strongest Proleague player of their race, but then they have stretches where they fumble into consecutive losses. ByuL has been one of the most stable players the past few years, but it will take more than stability to win the title. Their role players need to step up too, as CJ currently don't have a solid 4th player. Only three players on the team have managed more than 5 wins, an alarming lack of depth for such a successful team.



Maximum Points: 424
Minimum Points: 333
Best Possible Place: 1st
Outlook: 60 points ahead of CJ Entus, SKT T1 sit pretty at the top of the table. They only need to finish 3rd in the round in order to lock their spot (this will result in a tie; no information on how ties are handled currently), and they have never finished worse than that this year. Round 3 was one for the ages as the team demolished everyone that stood in their way, while their players have been winning medals in individual competitions throughout the year. It looks like no one has what it takes to stop the Telecom Titans, but that's what we said last year. SKT T1 are in pole position, but they can't take their foot off the pedal just yet.

Focus Match: CJ Entus vs KT Rolster

by banjoetheredskin

Trust <Vaani Research Station> Stats
After demolishing jjakji in Code A, Trust advanced to his second straight season of Code S. Meanwhile, Stats did nothing, after failing to qualify for Code A for the second straight season. However, given his back-to-back seminfinals appearances in S2SL and superb Proleague record of 18-5 thus far, there is no question who the better player is. Trust has likely earned this spot in the lineup because of his performance in Code A, but it is quite likely that CJ were aiming to match him up against a Terran on Vaani. Unfortunately, he drew a PvP against one of the best players of the matchup in Korea. Trust is no slouch when it comes to preparing for PvP, though, as he beat MC in Season 2 of Code A, so this game should not be overlooked as anything less than a wildcard. Oh, and expect phoenixes. Lots of them.

ByuL <Cactus Valley> Life
Continuing the trend of ZvZs on Cactus Valley, ByuL and Life square off in what should be one of the highest level games in the mirror we've been treated to this season. Despite his reputation for ferocity in ZvZ, Life has only played one this season. ByuL, on the other hand, while known better for his ZvT and ZvP, has maintained an impressive 6-3 record in the matchup through the first three rounds. He even beat Life 2-1 in their Ro16 group of S2SL Season 2 in macro games. On a four-player map, the pace and direction of the game will depend largely on the spawn positions. If the players resort to ling-baneling wars, Life should have the upper hand. However, if it drags out into a macro game, these two look about as evenly matched as they could be.

herO <Echo> Flash
Although herO lost in the semifinals of IEM Shenzen to Classic, the look on his face was not that of crushing defeat. Despite having fumbled a few opportunities he might have had to win, herO seemed overall pleased with his result. The fact that he might be returning to Korea with some bounce still in his step is promising for CJ. The last time these two met was on the same map just last round, and Flash took a win that few expected. Both players have since then refined their skill in TvP. However, herO's mechanical and tactical brilliance with blink stalkers has proven to be a headache that almost no one can effectively handle. Flash's mechanics are also outstanding, however, and his macro into SCV pull is well-regarded. His series against Classic in KeSPA Cup showed that he may be a bit lost when faced with situations like proxy tempest rushes, but herO is perhaps the least likely Protoss to do that. Yet when two standard players, two good friends no less, meet each other for the second time in a short span, it's not unlikely that one will whip out the cheddar.

Bbyong <Terraform> Zest
Bbyong and Zest are planned to square off in the Proleague christening of one of the new maps, Terraform, in what could be their 20th game against each other. The record speaks volumes about how they match up; Bbyong is only 6-13. When Bbyong was able to get into his groove with his preferred heavy drop style, he found the most success as it forced mechanical errors from Zest. However, Zest's strategic diversity far outweighs that weakness, and the KT Protoss has had no issue mixing in one base builds to throw Bbyong off his game. Although Zest's PvT overall has stagnated near the top, Bbyong's has shown some improvement since they last met. With a win over Super in Code A, Bbyong revealed a new side to his TvP, where he can sit back passively and play for the ghost viking late game, rather than live and die by the doom drop. The uncertainty of what styles these players will employ on map with a unique layout provides an intriguing fourth set, should the match last that long.