Round 1 Playoffs - Match 3

History tends to repeat itself and Round 1 of Proleague 2016 has been no exception, as once again SK Telecom T1 and Jin Air Green Wings face off in the final. This of course is a rematch of 2015’s Round 1 and 3 finals, as well as the overall Grand Finals at the end of last season, and let's not forget—Jin Air lost all three of these matches. Will Legacy of the Void change their fate, or will the Kong Wings once again fall to the top dogs of SK Telecom? Please see the previous preview for a breakdown of Jin Air’s squad, as this preview is going to take a more detailed look at SK Telecom T1.

SKT vs Jin Air

The Starters

Both teams are sending out rather unexpected players to fight the first battle in this final with MyuNgSiK meeting Cure on Ulrena. The protoss player—of course known as a sniper with good preparation skills—is a fitting choice for a weird map like Ulrena, where his special skills can be displayed at their best. One would think that both teams planned for different opponents however, as both MyuNgSiK’s PvT and Cure’s TvP are not their most solid match-ups at the moment—at least as far as we know. Both last played against these respective races exactly a month ago in Code S with MyuNgSiK defeating Bunny and Cure destroying Stork. Cure notably blocked an early attack by his protoss opponent on Ulrena, something MyuNgSiK could very well try to pull off. There are many uncertainties surrounding this match, though MyuNgSiK being aggressive is probably the one thing we can count on. If the game goes longer without the SKT player doing significant damage, Cure’s multitasking should prove too much for MyuNgSiK to handle.

The Core Members

INnoVation has become such an integral part of SK Telecom T1’s Proleague successes, one can’t imagine this team playing without fielding him. Unfortunately for SKT, the Machine’s effectiveness against Jin Air is up in the air for several reasons. Firstly, Jin Air has only one zerg in Rogue (E/N: HyuN isn't available until Round 2 for Jin Air), reducing the opportunities for INnoVation to show his best match-up, especially as Rogue might act as a sniper again, waiting for the right moment to come out. Secondly INnoVation recently lost to Maru in the round robin match between the two teams—his TvT is still fearsome and ready to take on both Jin Air terrans, but the Little Monster seems to have INnoVation's number. And thirdly INnoVation hasn’t played a TvP since his 2-3 loss to Stork in Code A, casting a massive question mark over his abilities in this match-up—a match-up with huge importance against Jin Air.

We could really show the majority of SKT’s roster in this category, but following the SPL performances so far, soO is up next. The zerg hasn’t lost a match so far against terran and zerg, looking very solid overall. He also didn’t show any huge weaknesses against protoss, although he lost his last ZvP against Dear in Code S. The best protoss killer on the team right now is probably Dark, who easily defeated Stats in SSL, followed by Dream. And if all things fail, there is still a protoss powerhouse on the team in Classic—although they might want to avoid PvP against sOs and his carriers.

That really shows the beauty and power SK Telecom T1’s line-up has: If one or two of the core players don’t perform well in a match there are still two or three more who can back them up and seal the deal. SKT’s roster is the definition of depth.

The Long Shots

Of course even SKT has members we probably won’t see—and honestly MyuNgSiK would probably belong in this category, if he wasn’t the starter. For one there is Zoun, who celebrated his debut for the team in the round robin match against Jin Air, but was soundly beaten, as well as Impact, who also couldn’t take a victory against Jin Air. SKT fielding a B-team line-up against Jin Air in their regular round match may pay off in this final, as the Green Wings have no idea how their players will perform against the A-team.


Predictions

SKT do have the mental edge, winning all their finals against Jin Air so far and not having shown their hands at all yet. On paper their line-up is unbeatable for any team on this planet, so Jin Air are up against the odds. However this final is probably the best opportunity for Jin Air to finally win against SKT yet, as there are many question marks on SKT’s side when it comes to dealing with Jin Air’s clever powerhouses—mostly sOs.

Game 1: Ulrena
Game 2: Ruins of Seras
Game 3: Orbital Shipyard
Game 4: Prion Terraces
Game 5: Lerilak Crest
Game 6: Dusk Towers
Game 7: Ulrena

SK Telecom T1 4 - 3 Jin Air Green Wings