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Sorry Not Sorry - Rogue - Road to BlizzCon 2019

Forum Index > SC2 General
15 CommentsPost a Reply

Sorry Not Sorry - Rogue - Road to BlizzCon 2019

Text byTL.net ESPORTS
October 26th, 2019 01:03 GMT

Road to BlizzCon 2019: Rogue (#6 WCS Korea)

Sorry Not Sorry

by Orlok and Wax

Out of all the contestants heading into BlizzCon this year, Rogue is without a doubt the one most undeserving. After yet two more seasons of failing to get past the Code S quarterfinals, he finally took advantage of a favorable Zerg meta to win the championship in Season 3. It's just like the time he won BlizzCon off the Hydra-Bane meta back in 2017, going so far as to rob soO of his rightful title in the process. Rogue even flaunts his dastardly nature to our faces, admitting Zerg is OP and asking us what we're gonna do about it.

More info: 2019 World Championship Series Global Finals

Just kidding.

Rogue, despite all the TL.net community jokes about his 'PatchZerg' status, has long been vindicated as worthy champion. Following Rogue's Nydus-powered 4-0 stomp of Trap in the Code S Season 3 finals, Mizenhauer gave us a detailed breakdown of how Rogue has always been a quirky player with an aggressive streak. As it turns out, Rogue was going to see "Nydus and the Swarm Hosts" play at dingy underground venues long before they went mainstream in 2019 (with their #1 hit single "KREAAAAARRRGGHHHHH"), making his only real crime the fact that he is a hipster. In other words: don't hate the player—hate the game.



It’s one thing to see the logical weaknesses behind an opponent, but it’s a lot harder to successfully and consistently attack those weaknesses. Like the other pillar of Korean Zerg in Dark, Rogue has the confidence, intelligence, and killer-instinct to take these 'easy' wins on the regular. It's been mass speedlings and and proxy-hatches in certain eras, and roach-ravager all-ins in others. Rogue has no trouble looking for some outside inspiration if it results in a win. After using pre-buff Nydus Worms to devastating effect in his IEM Katowice championship run, Rogue said he had just iterated upon some strong looking builds Elazer had used at the same tournament.

Rogue doesn't always play at the same level as his finals beatdown as Trap, far from it. His path to the finals had a particularly ugly step, where he just barely scrapped by Zest in the quarterfinals. But once he hit the semifinal round, and more importantly, best-of-sevens, it was smooth sailing for Rogue as he handily defeated both Dark and Trap. Rogue himself directly addressed his strength in the BO7 format, mentioning he had yet to lose such a match in a major offline tournament. Indeed, there's no player in recent history—maybe even overall StarCraft II history—who's been better than Rogue in such a setting. IEM Shanghai finals, Super Tournament finals, BlizzCon finals, IEM World Championship finals, Code S semifinals, Code S grand finals: he's currently 6-0 and counting. Even among the all-time greats, this is an absurd record. INnoVation (14-3 in BO7) infamously gave up a reverse sweep to Soulkey in his first Code S finals. sOs actually has a losing record at 7-9, despite winning the absolutely biggest series at BlizzCon and the IEM World Championship. Even Mvp, the legendary King of Wings, lost two key Code S finals to MMA and Life.

Rogue's prowess in such matches circles back to his aggressive tendencies. In the latest season of Code S, he spoke about how BO5's have sometimes prevented him from making the daring plays that are such big part of his identity, as he was afraid to lose even a single map due to a bad gamble. While the other half of his identity—that of a top-class macro player—is often enough to see him through, that alone doesn't give us the full Rogue experience. It's when Rogue mixes up all-ins, blind-counters, and straight-up games that he becomes the fully powered version of himself, freezing his opponents with the fear that he could do anything at any moment. It's what makes him an even better version of Dark at his best, and the reason why he's the one who happens to have a BlizzCon championship to his name. Rogue needs to win four more BO5's before he can play in the biggest BO7 of the year. But if he can reach that point, all bets are off—even against the infamous ZvZ duo from the Circuit.



Can Rogue make it to the finals? Life, just like StarCraft II, is all about timing. And just like in StarCraft II, Rogue seems to know when to strike at the right time. When he won BlizzCon back in 2017, he spent half the year achieving little of note before become a legend in the fall. Even last year, where he seemed to be sleepwalking his way through the GSL after winning IEM Katowice early on, he was able to step up his play at the Global Finals and achieve a top-four finish.

The same pattern is playing out this year. While there are plenty of other stories being talked up, such as the long rain-check on Maru versus Serral, or the last stand of a veteran like Classic, Rogue also comes to BlizzCon with a chance to make history. He and Serral are the only former champions at the tournament—if either one wins, they will join sOs in having achieved the incredible feat of winning two WCS Global Championships. Considering how those two wins have secured sOs' legendary status no matter his current form, it would be a priceless achievement for a player like Rogue. Despite all his skill, his emotional resonance among fans still lags behind that of Dark, soO, or even permanently banned players. A second BlizzCon title, especially if his road included beating the defending world champion in Serral, would re-order the all-time Zerg rankings for good. And even outside the personal stakes for Rogue, Korea's reclaiming of StarCraft’s biggest championship would complete one of the oddest redemption arcs ever, with the fallen empire rising from the ashes to restore its domination over the world. Now, we can only wait and see if Rogue can go 7-0 in BO7's to weave his name into the tapestry of StarCraft II once more.



Road to BlizzCon 2019

WCS Circuit
Serral - Reynor - Neeb - SpeCial - TIME - HeroMarine - Elazer - ShoWTimE

WCS Korea
Dark - Trap - Classic - Maru - soO - Rogue - herO - Stats



Credits and acknowledgements

Writers: Orlok and Wax
Statistics: Aligulac.com
Images: Helena Kristiansson via Blizzard

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TL+ Member
Argonauta
Profile Joined July 2016
Spain4937 Posts
October 26 2019 01:53 GMT
#2
Rogue is the best Zerg in korea since 2018
Rogue | Maru | Scarlett | Trap
TL+ Member
ZigguratOfUr
Profile Blog Joined April 2012
Iraq16955 Posts
October 26 2019 02:29 GMT
#3
On October 26 2019 10:53 Argonauta wrote:
Rogue is the best Zerg in korea since 2018


When Rogue isn't in championship form he looks awful, whereas Dark never dips below a certain level.
swarminfestor
Profile Joined September 2017
Malaysia2449 Posts
October 26 2019 04:12 GMT
#4
On October 26 2019 11:29 ZigguratOfUr wrote:
Show nested quote +
On October 26 2019 10:53 Argonauta wrote:
Rogue is the best Zerg in korea since 2018


When Rogue isn't in championship form he looks awful, whereas Dark never dips below a certain level.


He is beast and just inconsistent as Innovation.
Rogue & Maru fan boy. ^^
genghiswolve
Profile Joined January 2016
Germany101 Posts
October 26 2019 05:01 GMT
#5
Agree with both above.

Rogue peak is like Zest's PvT peaks...but in all three matchups.

As consistend as Zest and Inno though ;D

But I have a feeling he's bringing it this time. Beating Serral I don't know, but against everyone else, including Maru, he's a big favorite in my eyes.
Drfilip
Profile Joined March 2013
Sweden590 Posts
October 26 2019 08:31 GMT
#6
Jinair green wings has won odd numbered years. 2013 - sOs, 2015 - sOs, 2017 - Rogue, 2019 - ???
Random Platinum EU
Poopi
Profile Blog Joined November 2010
France12860 Posts
October 26 2019 09:00 GMT
#7
On October 26 2019 11:29 ZigguratOfUr wrote:
Show nested quote +
On October 26 2019 10:53 Argonauta wrote:
Rogue is the best Zerg in korea since 2018


When Rogue isn't in championship form he looks awful, whereas Dark never dips below a certain level.

I don’t know losing to Elazer is quite below what I would expect from Dark.

Rogue should qualify tomorrow, let’s see how he fares against Reynor and Serral.
WriterMaru
Xain0n
Profile Joined November 2018
Italy3963 Posts
October 26 2019 09:31 GMT
#8
On October 26 2019 18:00 Poopi wrote:
Show nested quote +
On October 26 2019 11:29 ZigguratOfUr wrote:
On October 26 2019 10:53 Argonauta wrote:
Rogue is the best Zerg in korea since 2018


When Rogue isn't in championship form he looks awful, whereas Dark never dips below a certain level.

I don’t know losing to Elazer is quite below what I would expect from Dark.

Rogue should qualify tomorrow, let’s see how he fares against Reynor and Serral.


That's because you underestimate Elazer's ZvZ, Dark didn't really underperform. Losing 2-3 to Gumiho in ZvT was a bigger upset to me, and it was ro16 as well!

Rogue is atrocious when he is not in shape, Dark is much more stable.
FBTsingLoong
Profile Joined April 2018
China410 Posts
Last Edited: 2019-10-26 11:44:34
October 26 2019 11:41 GMT
#9
It's when Rogue mixes up all-ins, blind-counters, and straight-up games


Could someone explain what "blind-counter" and "staight-up" means?I never heard this before,and I can't search it in Liquidpedia.
TyInnoMaruByunAlive,TIMBA
FBTsingLoong
Profile Joined April 2018
China410 Posts
Last Edited: 2019-10-26 11:48:05
October 26 2019 11:46 GMT
#10
edited.
TyInnoMaruByunAlive,TIMBA
MarianoSC2
Profile Joined June 2015
Slovakia1855 Posts
October 26 2019 12:22 GMT
#11
Great writeup, thanks.
I am quite sure Rogue makes top4. Anything can happen after that
Top 11: Rogue, Maru, Inno, Zest, Life, sOs, Stats, Dark, soO, Mvp, Classic/Trap/MC/Rain
Dangermousecatdog
Profile Joined December 2010
United Kingdom7084 Posts
Last Edited: 2019-10-26 13:22:02
October 26 2019 13:21 GMT
#12
On October 26 2019 20:41 FBTsingLoong wrote:
Show nested quote +
It's when Rogue mixes up all-ins, blind-counters, and straight-up games


Could someone explain what "blind-counter" and "staight-up" means?I never heard this before,and I can't search it in Liquidpedia.

Blind counter = no scouting, but the build order has big advantage against the other build order
Straight-up games = not cheese build (because the writers think macro build orders are "honest")

It doesn't make sense to include blind-counter into the sentence, as blind-counter is just luck, as you are just as likely to be blind-countered in return.

The writers want to say that Rogue is unpredictable. You don't know what build Rogue will choose to play against you.
FBTsingLoong
Profile Joined April 2018
China410 Posts
October 26 2019 14:24 GMT
#13
On October 26 2019 22:21 Dangermousecatdog wrote:
Show nested quote +
On October 26 2019 20:41 FBTsingLoong wrote:
It's when Rogue mixes up all-ins, blind-counters, and straight-up games


Could someone explain what "blind-counter" and "staight-up" means?I never heard this before,and I can't search it in Liquidpedia.

Blind counter = no scouting, but the build order has big advantage against the other build order
Straight-up games = not cheese build (because the writers think macro build orders are "honest")

It doesn't make sense to include blind-counter into the sentence, as blind-counter is just luck, as you are just as likely to be blind-countered in return.

The writers want to say that Rogue is unpredictable. You don't know what build Rogue will choose to play against you.



Got this.Thanks for explanation.
TyInnoMaruByunAlive,TIMBA
leublix
Profile Joined May 2017
493 Posts
October 26 2019 16:45 GMT
#14
On October 26 2019 22:21 Dangermousecatdog wrote:
It doesn't make sense to include blind-counter into the sentence, as blind-counter is just luck, as you are just as likely to be blind-countered in return.

Imo it does, when you go for a build that blind counters something you think your opponent will do that's not exactly a "honest' macro game or a cheese.

One could say it's a cheese in a way.
Monster3
Profile Joined October 2018
16 Posts
October 27 2019 16:39 GMT
#15
He is definitely less consistent than Maru, but when he's on, he's virtually un-playable. I mean would you rather:

- 4 GSLs + 1 WESGs

OR

- 1 WCS, 1 IEM Katowice, 1 IEM Shanghai, 1 GSL, 1 GSL ST

Kertorak
Profile Joined November 2019
125 Posts
Last Edited: 2019-11-04 00:36:25
November 04 2019 00:22 GMT
#16
I really enjoyed the TL articles
- and... It's astounding to find these positive numbers of someone, like being the best in a bo7.


BUT could you make non-zerg articles!??
["Rogue still sexy", "On the Cutting Edge of History", and now this "Sorry No Sorry"] That's the third in the charm. lol


Ontopic: I like Rogue's style. Imo you don't have to be consistent to be a good player...there are many good (pro) players which can make another pro look "ugly" (feedback: don't use that word please for describing game play ;O)... He showed what he can do more often than not. He has this abusive style which is very dedicated to his enemy...I think the "bo7 winner" describes this overall matter which is also described in both articles best, and should eliminate any non respect for this dude, because a players skill is not determined by one game, nor 3 games, nor 5 games, no at least 7 games. Other than that I'm not saying this guy is "the best", but he has his own way to play this game... A way that you find on koreans rather, despite their very strong macro players. And he is finding ways to win, and winning championships. Period.

PS: Sorry, not sorry - maybe I was "unlucky" with the articles I am faced with when spontaneously going to this site, all times zerg article :O


Btw: finally created an account to give a cheer to these glorious articles. (and some feedback)
I wish I had quality over quantity | "The point of Sc<x> is that your skill a constant WIP - which provides that unique joy of the game - not to post which rank you are in a this moment"
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