It's time to break the finish line of the 13th iteration of the TLnet Map Contest! This time the contest ran for 9 weeks and we got another glimpse at the creativity of the mapmaking community. I would also, personally, like to thank Avex, Kantu, the_music7, and anthra-X- for the work and guidance they've provided behind the scenes. These four have made running this contest smoother than ever.

Before we get on to the announcement of our top 5, a quick reminder: All of the sixteen finalist maps have already earned their creators $100 a piece, so we will now hand out a bit of extra cash to the top five. The structure looks like this:


Also, remember that this vote was only to distribute the additional cash. We will now send these maps off to Blizzard and they will decide which ones make it onto the ladder. But enough of this stalling, let's get to the :REEEE:sults!

Results

Fifth place
Golden Wall by Superouman

Golden Wall is an example of which we hope to see more of when it comes to interesting layouts that mineral walls allow map makers to create. At first glance it's obvious that the map breaks a lot of the standardized rules with its fair share of quirks, such as having the bottom section of the map be inaccessible unless players are willing to mine from a small wall of mineral patches at the back door entrance to their bases. Yet, at the same time, the map is built around a standard-like backbone of bases, and distances, which is what makes the map so attractive for experienced eyes. It still has that new shine but fit within a framework which we know aims to be balanced.

We very much recommend the community to check out some of the games played on Golden Wall, and express themselves about this possible almost BW-ish direction to nonstandard map design!

We congratulate Superouman on this creation and for scoring the 5th place!

Fourth place
Eternal Empire by Superouman

Eternal Empire from the Macro category is a very good example of the direction legacy of the void maps in general have taken, just simply solid execution within a stable framework designed for competitive gameplay. This is the second map from Superouman to reach top 5, and it will most certainly be making waves in the map making community for the next year, as there is lots to study from!

We congratulate Superouman on this well executed map, and him hitting the top 5 twice (more to come...)!

Third place
Cloud Monarchy by Sanglune

Cloud Monarchy, by Sanglune, which was submitted to the Macro category, is yet another example of more modern takes in the category. With safe thirds and nearby expansions Cloud Monarchy aims to provide a solid canvas where players can still expand normally without worrying about backdoor bases which can be hard to scout and lead to overly slow e-sport settings as well as ladder games. Instead Cloud Monarchy offers Acid Plant like frontal third bases, which aim to produce highly positional gameplay for the mid-late game scenarios.

Huge congratulations to Sanglune for this creation. A third place finish is nothing to be ashamed for and want to encourage him to continue exploring!

Second place
Ever Dream by Marras

By no one else than our Finnish map maker Marras, who’s name has become a synonym of quality, comes Ever Dream, a map that could easily become a fan favorite for the forseeable future. The map is not only gorgeous in its tileset, but also absurdly well executed in its complexity and finesse. It would be a disservice to Marras not to recommend readers to jump into the TLMC uploaded version of the map and play it! Be it against friends or the simple AI, Ever Dream will bring you some of the best modern map makers can offer.

We are more than impressed with Marras and can't wait to see what the future brings!

First place
Purity and Industry by Superouman

This has indeed been the comeback TLMC for Superouman, creator of the famed Cloud Kingdom, whom retired many years ago, only to return and struggle for a long time re-learning Starcraft. But boy, was worth the hassle. Not just for him, the entire StarCraft community should be thankful for his return.

Purity And Industry belongs to the Challenge 2 maps, those which had to use the new map feature of Slowing Zones, and it makes an exemplar use of them, a use which the community at large has great hopes for! Some of the games already played on the TLMC tournament casted by WardiiTV show it, where players were modifying their strategies in subtle ways to exploit the map to their advantage. As mentioned in other maps, we very, very much would like to encourage readers to see for themselves some of the games played in the map!

The TLMC Judging and administrative bodies congratulate Superouman on this very much deserved Tour De Force! Three maps in the top 5 might just be a new record.

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+ Show Spoiler [Full results] +

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We, the admin team behind TLMC, would like to thank the mapmaking community for yet another successful contest. The maps submitted this time around were incredible, which is well reflected in the top 16. Also if you think we'll be taking a rest, think again. You might want to keep an eye on TLnet tomorrow...