Game 1: INnoVation’s early reaper denied Rogue’s 3rd base on Eastwatch by sniping the drone. INnoVation followed up with a hellbat/cyclone/raven attack which slowed Rogue’s 4th base. Rogue tried for a roach, ravager counter-attack but was pushed back. INnoVation maxed out on a strong mech composition with hellbats, tanks, thors, and some vikings and pushed out. Rogue’s vipers came out too late for him to effectively hold and he had to concede the first game.
Game 2: Acid Plant saw a more standard game from both players, with INnoVation going for quick 3 bases and bio while Rogue went for his standard ling/bane/hydra into hive. At around 150 supply and with 2/2 upgrades done, INnoVation moved out with a marine/tank/marauder push. Despite catching INnoVation in a 360 degree surround, Rogue wasn’t able to break his army. The Terran kept push continued to whittle down the Zerg’s forces and bases until not even ultralisks were enough to turn the tide.
Game 3: INnoVation tried to replicate the same early attack he did in game 1, but Rogue was better prepared this time and completely deflected it. Rogue decided to counter mech with swarm hosts this time. He applied slow and steady pressure, getting lots of value out of destroying tanks and harassing bases. INnoVation’s response was to max out and push, but the SHs had delayed his attack enough for Rogue to respond with a quick muta switch and clean up the army once the anti-air had been eliminated. INnoVation tried to hang on for a bit longer but was ultimately forced to tap out.
Game 4: Blackpink started off quietly once again, with both players taking early thirds. INnoVation geared up for a mech push once he maxed out. Rogue did an overall good job of slowing INnoVation’s march across the map with roach/hydra until he could get vipers out. In the crucial fight, however, INnoVation sniped all of Rogue's vipers, denying the vital blinding clouds. Rogue wasn't able to stop the mech army from besieging his natural and was forced to concede.
Match 2: Zest 1 - 3 herO
Game 1: Zest opened the series with an interesting mindgame on Backwater, opening with a robo and four gates on one base, but then double expanding. Safe from herO's standard blink opening, but quite ahead in economy due to his third nexus, Zest built up towards a large timing attack. herO tried for a hidden expansion, but before he could make use of it he was hit by a double immortal drop and warpin in the main, while Zest's army barrelled down his third base. herO had no answer and tapped out.
Game 2: Zest opted for a dark shrine on Blackpink. Despite splitting up his DTs nicely and killing ten probes, it wasn’t enough to make up for his much later nexus and lack of other tech. Zest however nearly came back due to superb harassment, killing dozens of probes, unpowering several structures and keeping herO pinned back. herO, however, had built up a strong enough army and pushed out across the map. After a close fight, he came out on top and took the game.
Game 3: Zest’s opening choice on Neon Violet Square was a proxy stargate with several oracles. An early shield battery saved herO a lot of probe losses. herO then made his own stargate, later even a second, and made phoenixes. The two players then engaged in a war of harassment, slaying dozens of probes via oracles, phoenixes and adepts. Zest's economy always seemed a bit ahead, but herO's tech and standing army was usually stronger. Realizing that Zest was very stalker heavy, herO pushed with an army of immortals, void rays and chargelots, but a clutch probe pull from Zest and an upgrade advantage kept him in the game. With now equal economy, upgrades and bases, but still better tech for herO, he remade a stronger army and attacked Zest's fourth base. Zest initially looked to take a good fight as herO's zealots wasted their charge on his nexus, but as he chased herO's army, phoenixes sniped his warp prism. herO turned and defeated Zest's army, forcing a concession.
Game 4: Zest proxied a stargate in herO's natural, but herO already had a stargate of his own after opening phoenix. herO then went for some harassment of his own with phoenix, denying Zest’s natural production and getting 7 probe kills. Zest gambled on a proxied dark shrine to get him back into the game, but herO had an observer ready and Zest immediately GG'd.
Match 3: GuMiho 1 - 3 Solar
Game 1: While the early game on Catalyst started uneventfully, GuMiho attempted to shake up the mid-game via some hellion/banshee harass. He tried to se tup for a harass-based mech with early banshee speed, cyclones and hellions, but Solar simply walked across the map with queens, roach and ravagers, destroying GuMiho's army and third base before he could get the composition he wanted.
Game 2: Solar decided to pressure even earlier on Neon Violet Square, going for a quick ling flood and ling speed to abuse what he rightfully assumed would be a CC first from GuMiho. Despite not outright dying, GuMiho lost plenty of SCVs and had his mid-game delayed significantly, while Solar droned comfortably at home. This was enough for Solar to control the rest of the game, getting up to his optimal number of bases and pinning GuMiho back on 4 bases, picking off a few units with vipers as well. Despite holding against the roach/hydra/viper army, Solar’s eventual brood lord transition was enough to break GuMiho's defense.
Game 3: The third game on Acid Plant began with standard openings from both. GuMiho hit Solar with a strong hellion/cyclone attack that killed all of the defending queens and stopped mining at the 3rd. While holding the ground push, Solar took serious damage from the follow-up banshee. Solar tried for a roach/ravager timing, using overseers to contaminate the factory production. GuMiho’s double thor drop, however, stifled Solar’s reinforcements allowing him to hold and then counter-attack for the win.
Game 4: Trying to seize the momentum on Backwater, GuMiho went for a double proxy rax, but Solar scouted in time to hold the push while taking minimal economic damage. Both players switched gears into heavy economy with Solar trying to blindside GuMiho with a muta switch. The mutas didn’t do much damage and both players reached the late game. With well timed parasitic bombs and blinding clouds, Solar created room for his brood lords to clean up GuMiho's army and take the game.
Match 4: ByuN 0 - 3 Stats
Game 1: Neon Violet Square saw the action ramp up quickly, with Stats sending an early adept and zealot across the map to delay the natural of ByuN by a bit. ByuN responded with a drop while Stats went for oracles. With a good number of bio, mines and a tank ByuN attempted to siege Stats’ natural but was thoroughly thwarted and died to the counter-attack.
Game 2: On Catalyst it was ByuN who decided to be aggressive, opting for a double cyclone drop into banshee harass. Stats was perfectly prepared, taking minimal damage from both cyclones and banshee, allowing him to take an easy third. Stats’ economy advantage quickly translated into a much stronger army and a simple attack closed out the game.
Game 3: ByuN chose to be aggressor on Backwater as well, this time attempting a bio timing without medivacs. Stats, with only one place to defend, was able to delay the attack enough to stabilize on colossus tech. Once again his stronger economy allowed him to bulldoze through the Terran army and take the clean sweep.
INnoVation, herO, Solar and Stats advance to the quarterfinals.
GSL's Super Tournament returns with its quarterfinals tomorrow, April 7th, at 08:00 GMT (+00:00).
I hoped Byun would do better, but his style is just poor against players like Stats + he is really not good ATM.
What shocked me the most was how bad Rogue played. I haven't seen him play this bad in a long time. 0 creativity, 0 adaptation, 0 reactions, and his macro and engagement were sub-par as well. It was like watching a very badly programmed Zerg robot play. Very poor indeed, hope he recovers soon :/
ByuN didn't play bad or anything, his style is just hard countered by the style of Stats. He should have switched it up but that's easier said than done when you've been playing a certain way for several years.
On April 07 2018 04:42 Myrddrael wrote: ByuN didn't play bad or anything, his style is just hard countered by the style of Stats. He should have switched it up but that's easier said than done when you've been playing a certain way for several years.
The meta changes, and pros have to change with it or be swept away by time. Look at all the pros that have been at the top for years. Guys like sOs, soO, Classic, and so on change their style to fit the current meta. Of course they keep some core elements, but the specific units they use and how they use them changes.
Maru and Inno have been top Terrans since 2013. Compare their 2013 styles to their 2018 ones. Then compare Byun's 2016 one to his 2018 one.
Maru is complete player in all stages of the game, one tiny mistake from opponent and his killer instinct strikes back. His late game is insane. As an example last game Solar vs Maru, Stats vs Maru at Katowice. Both Solar and Stats just lost themselves. They couldn't find the way how to deal with pressure, and making right decisions. The same goes the last game Soo vs Maru at Super GSL,
I would say Maru is the best terran, Rogue is the best Zerg, and Stats/Classic protoss players currently.
On April 07 2018 06:31 tennisl wrote: Maru is complete player in all stages of the game, one tiny mistake from opponent and his killer instinct strikes back. His late game is insane. As an example last game Solar vs Maru, Stats vs Maru at Katowice. Both Solar and Stats just lost themselves. They couldn't find the way how to deal with pressure, and making right decisions. The same goes the last game Soo vs Maru at Super GSL,
I would say Maru is the best terran, Rogue is the best Zerg, and Stats/Classic protoss players currently.
On April 07 2018 06:31 tennisl wrote: Maru is complete player in all stages of the game, one tiny mistake from opponent and his killer instinct strikes back. His late game is insane. As an example last game Solar vs Maru, Stats vs Maru at Katowice. Both Solar and Stats just lost themselves. They couldn't find the way how to deal with pressure, and making right decisions. The same goes the last game Soo vs Maru at Super GSL,
I would say Maru is the best terran, Rogue is the best Zerg, and Stats/Classic protoss players currently.
That depends on whether or not it's GSL Stats
Likewise Dark is better than Rogue outside of finals and semis.
While I really want to see Maru vs. Dark III, I wouldn't mind seeing Classic PvT his way to a championship (he's lost enough on PvZ that I wouldn't begrudge him an ST trophy)
On April 06 2018 22:59 EEk1TwEEk wrote: Is it Stats who seems to be rock solid or just ByuN so bad ?
Byun was only good when he could abuse reapers, as soon as Blizz patched them he was done. Also Stats' defense to early aggression is legendary.
That's just not true though back in late 2016 he was legit good. When you look at his runs in the GSL and Blizzcon the players he beat in the playoffs were Ryung, Dear, sOs, TY, Stats and Dark. The only one of those series where Reapers played a significant role was the one against Dark.
On April 06 2018 22:59 EEk1TwEEk wrote: Is it Stats who seems to be rock solid or just ByuN so bad ?
Byun was only good when he could abuse reapers, as soon as Blizz patched them he was done. Also Stats' defense to early aggression is legendary.
That's just not true though back in late 2016 he was legit good. When you look at his runs in the GSL and Blizzcon the players he beat in the playoffs were Ryung, Dear, sOs, TY, Stats and Dark. The only one of those series where Reapers played a significant role was the one against Dark.
Yeah, gimme some imba unit/strat/build and let me practice the shit out of it with great micro and maybe I will look "legit good" too*
I've watched him abuse reapers many times outside that GSL finals. I also remember watching him in 2017 and he only had 3 builds: reapers, 2medivacs aggression, and helion rush into bio.
He's the embodiment of 'patch-terran', came into great success based on exactly one patch version, then hung around for a bit when tankivacs were something to abuse; now that both tankivacs and reapers have been patched out, he's gone.
He did have god-like micro, which is why he made both those micro-intensive strats look easy.
* I don't have great micro, quite the opposite, actually
On April 06 2018 22:59 EEk1TwEEk wrote: Is it Stats who seems to be rock solid or just ByuN so bad ?
Byun was only good when he could abuse reapers, as soon as Blizz patched them he was done. Also Stats' defense to early aggression is legendary.
That's just not true though back in late 2016 he was legit good. When you look at his runs in the GSL and Blizzcon the players he beat in the playoffs were Ryung, Dear, sOs, TY, Stats and Dark. The only one of those series where Reapers played a significant role was the one against Dark.
Yeah, gimme some imba unit/strat/build and let me practice the shit out of it with great micro and maybe I will look "legit good" too*
Did you read what I just wrote? Except the one series against Dark his success wasn't based on Reapers at all. Tankivacs weren't really good in TvP either which was the matchup he played the most during his runs.
EPT
![[image loading]](http://liquipedia.net/commons/images/f/f6/GSL_Super_Tournament_Logo_2017.png){kind=logo}
2018 AfreecaTV GSL Super Tournament 1
INnoVation 3 - 1 
Rogue
Zest 1 - 3 
