Chintoss Forever?

Ups and downs can be helpful. Whether it be for the players that tell the stories, for the coaches that work to straighten their more erratic proteges, or for the players themselves; ups and downs teach us not to take things for granted. A player's ups and downs tell us many things about them, both how they play the game, and how the game affects them.

Stats, therefore, is a wonderful case study. For a longer time than seemed reasonable, it seemed obvious that he was better than his results indicated. Eventually, all-kills and deep Starleague runs proved that true. At one point, KT Rolster's trust in their second (occasionally first) Protoss seemed misplaced. When Stats loses his footing, he has a penchant for rapid descents. When he regains it, there is no modesty in how he climbs the competitive ladder. When he is at his best, very few are better.

Stats is not, at least not for the most part, a traditionally exciting player. Clean and precise does not entice like violent and distinctive, and the man himself has found himself in the rut of KeSPA players that rose to prominence before him. It's not that he isn't a notable or distinguished player now, but the excitement for Stats has rarely - if ever - matched the continuously mounting anticipation that followed INnoVation and Zest (among others) as they climbed to new, incredible heights. Zest and INnoVation belong to a similar breed as Stats, placing emphasis on meticulous execution and precision over flair. It's a strenuous comparison, particularly since INnoVation has repeatedly demonstrated a lack of adaptability while Stats and Zest showcase nothing of the sort, but it bears keeping in mind. When your most distinctive feature and subsequent namesake, is your prominent chin, and you have that chin surgically altered (due to health concerns, granted), it does seem like a new name should come of the years that follow.

But regardless, the nature of the anticipated Korean Cross Finals ensure that the players involved are not presently experiencing aforementioned lows. If they are not at the heights of their careers, they are at least close enough that we can comfortably call them some of the best players in the world. We are long past the days when a player could reach a GSL finals chiefly on the back of luck, and all four players are deadly to varying degrees. Zest, categorically unbeatable, seems to rather overshadow the others. No matter how we twist and turn things, all the others seem to land somewhere beneath him on the ladder. Stats, I think, comes closest to matching his teammate's excellence. An all-kill always gives this impression, of course, and the Chintoss' sweep of SK Telecom just a few days ago was no different. In fact, since his well-fought loss against Dark in the SSL finals, Stats has done very well for himself. There is a significant difference between how we perceive a champion and how we perceive players that have made it to the finals and lost, but there is a point where a player becomes accomplished enough that not even the double-edged sword that is the silver medal can significantly hurt a player's image. At this point, Stats has weathered enough difficulty to earn his place.

Names and identities do not emerge in the blink of an eye. Stats stands testament to this, somewhat caught between an old nickname and an old image, and his newer, more accomplished self. The Chintoss remains, but the nickname grows increasingly detached from the player who fights for trophies and championships. Every victory here is a stepping stone. Where does the path of stones lead? It's difficult to say.

But victory against Zest, one of few players we can say with certainty are higher-profile targets than Dark, would be another stone.

Olli's Guide to beating Zest

Much has been said about Zest recently. His playstyle has been analyzed in great detail. It's rock solid macro play, great map vision. Rapid expanding, lots of mobility, refinement. That sounds menacing — yet here and there, Zest is dropping games. Instead of writing about his playstyle and what to expect from him (we should know by now), this preview features a crash course on how to beat arguably the best player in the world.

Step 1: Early Safety

All-ins are not part of the regular menu with Zest, but early pressure of some kind absolutely is. DT drops or blink pressure against Terran, early warpgate attacks vs Protoss or 3gate adept with double stargate followup against Zerg opponents — these are all safe pressure builds that Zest uses regularly. Designed to keep the opposing player honest and get a grip on the game early on through map control, it's of paramount importance to stay safe against Zest's well timed early pressure.
This will not guarantee a win or even an advantageous position in the game, but it definitely helps not starting the game from behind, since Zest rarely lets go of an advantage once he's got it.

Step 2: Midgame Safety

Zest favors gateway-heavy ground armies with strong upgrades. This gives him heavy map control, good harass options and freedom to create his map vision with observers and spotting pylons, but it also has potential beyond that. If his opponent plays too greedily, Zest can be at their doorstep immediately. Midgame timings, or at least the threat of them, are absolutely part of Zest's repertoire. Taking a third or fourth base too early as Terran means instant death.

But safety goes beyond that. It also includes pressure applied against Zest in the midgame. Zest places his buildings correctly, he positions his army correctly and he reacts quickly. Applying pressure against him is essentially just feeding units into a meat grinder. He simply will not take damage on three bases (as long as he has the necessary tech in place) and it is not wise to try.

Step 3: Map Vision and Positioning

All good so far. You have successfully not sustained damage and are now on fully operating three bases. You should be expecting Zest to be taking a fourth base already. Where do you go from here? Now's the time to explore the map. Zest is a master at positioning his units correctly to deal with potential attacks — in advance. This is easy for him, since he will likely have some form of map vision in key places. Eliminating it helps a tremendous amount. Clearing out observers or spotting pylons will open up avenues for later attacks. While Zest's army will be in the right place to defend any initial attack, followup moves will be stronger if he doesn't see them coming in advance. Until you've cleared out some map vision, don't lose too many units. You won't be taking favorable trades until you catch him unprepared, and you will only do so by eliminating his map vision. Any unit you lose until then takes away strength from key moves you could make later on.

Step 4: Big Moves

This is ultimately what it all comes down to. Key moves such as taking out bases, destroying production buildings or tech, hitting certain timings or even catching a split up army unprepared in one location. Zest excels at positioning and splitting his army perfectly in advance, but he's not always perfect about doing it on the fly and under pressure. Using a combination of fast units (boosted medivacs, speedlings, etc.) to quickly draw his army apart and then hit an under-defended place is how Maru has always found decent success against him. Careful however — one wrong move in a deciding situation and Zest can turn it all around in a heartbeat.

One thing at least is for certain. Zest does not lose easily. Stats and TY will know this, and they should know potential weaknesses in their teammate's play, even if they aren't obvious to anyone. Dark may not, but he's a ZvP specialist. Of all players in the world who could beat Zest in a series, these three might be the exact ones who could.

The SKT Zerg

What does one do when you finally cross from "Up-and-comer"-territory to the realm of widely recognized winners? More specifically, when you finally win your hotly coveted championship after very nearly straying into dreaded Kong-territory, how do you cement your place as a player to avoid, not one to challenge?

Defeating the player most interested in getting revenge seems like a brilliant place to start. Unfortunately, KT's Protoss players have a tendency to bring out the bulldozer in Proleague, and Dark fell to the wayside along with the rest of his team when they jointly failed to stop the Chintoss in the Round 2 Playoffs. The next best option, save for playing Zest, is a matter of compensation. Any Starleague finalist is a scalp worth having, and Dark's last few weeks have been short on that commodity. It is in the nature of the break between seasons that a player might only play a handful of games in as many weeks, and the possibility of consecutive, unimpressive losses is unfortunately there as well. Right now, more than a month has passed since Dark last won a televised game - against herO. Since then, Maru, Solar and Stats have gotten the better of him. Three games are almost nothing in the grand perspective, but it does sound slightly ominous nevertheless.

What does Dark have in store for TY? The Cross Finals may be a tad more light-hearted than the Starleagues themselves, but I cannot think that stacks of money and heaps of prestige ("the best of the best" seems a fitting title for whoever takes it home, regardless of how accurate it would be) will not bring out the best in all four players. Dark has demonstrated a particular prowess in longer series, and his win rate in matches climbs steadily as we filter out Best of 1's and Best of 3's, to nearly 70% in Best of 5's and 7's. It comes down to his basic skills, things that are less map-dependent. While a player might prepare for a single map against Dark and fight from the high ground in Proleague, the same feat cannot be repeated in longer series. Where Dark's often superior mechanics and game sense are allowed to shine, he regularly proves that he is the better player.

TY is the perfect player to put all of this to the test. As the player most inclined to special and unorthodox builds of the assembled four, many of the Terran's strengths are similar to Dark's. A keen sense of timing and a nearly instinctual understanding of the game. Strong defense, conservative but deadly aggression. Zerg vs Terran has spent much of SCII's life span as the most popular matchup, particularly because it allows both players to showcase a breadth of ability and place pressure on many different places at once. When playstyles clash, the potential is there for extraordinary displays of skill. Dark might have developed from a strictly macro-centric player to a player with a wider, more versatile repertoir, but he is no cheeser. The ideal player to test his breadth of skill is the exact player he will face first.

So what does one do when one finally gains recognition, and earns a place among the stars?

Well, winning more seems to a time-tested and extremely popular alternative. Dark has it in him to beat both TY and whoever he might come to face after that. Repetition breeds further recognition, and winning the Cross Finals seems just the kind of thing that a still-hungry champion would be aching to do. Another trophy for the cabinet, another pair of scalps for the glory. And humiliating Stats (alternatively, Stats' superior teammate)? It's all in the hat.

Long Road to Ruin

Fifteen years. That's how long it took for TY to get to the grand stage. And on that stage, finally... it wasn't enough. TY's road to his first finals was long and arduous, but Zest denied him victory in the end. Another big stage loss to sOs followed in the Proleague Finals, that too won't have felt good. TY has some picking up to do. He qualified for SSL easily and of course has a Code S seed for next season, but he won't be this close to a big title for a while. Season 1 is almost over, but TY can still leave it as a champion of something. Now is the perfect time to forget about his two big losses and make up for them with a huge win.

It should be comforting for TY then that he's 9-0 against Zerg since Dark beat him in Proleague. It should be less comforting that it was Dark who beat him, his first opponent in this small tournament. Even less comforting that either Stats or Zest will face him in the finals if he wins, both players he's lost longer series against this month. Recent history is not on TY's side, as each of his opponents has emerged victorious from their latest encounter. He's not a Season 1 champion like Dark and Zest or in crazy hot form like Stats. But TY is capable of beating anyone in the world and he's certainly proven it during his GSL run and even the finals he eventually lost.

Most importantly perhaps, there are 1000 WCS points as the winner's reward. Zest and Dark don't need them, they're already qualified for Blizzcon by default. These points may prove crucial in TY's road to BlizzCon. Two of Korea's eight spots are taken. Any opportunity for additional WCS points should be top priority now, and TY only needs to win two series to get his hands on them. That would give him much needed safety for the rest of the year and may be enough to get him a BlizzCon seed.

TY can set the tone for the rest of his career now. 15 years it took him to reach a finals. Now all he needs to be in another is one series. TY is playing the best StarCraft of his life. He likely won't have another 15 years. His chances are right here, right now. It's the first day of TY's renewed hunt for glory and he'll be aching to end the wait.