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Pretty Cool: NationWars 2019 Ro16

Forum Index > SC2 General
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Pretty Cool: NationWars 2019 Ro16

Text byTL.net ESPORTS
November 19th, 2019 07:21 GMT

Pretty Cool: NationWars 2019 Round-of-16

by Wax

NationWars 2019's round-of-sixteen turned out to be highly competitive, with even the powerhouse nations subjected to close-calls and elimination scares. Some traditional powers such as Poland and the Netherlands didn't advance at all, suffering eliminated in tough groups. Here's how each group played out:

NationWars 2019










With all the Ro16 matches completed, that brings us to the single-elimination, bracket phase of the tournament. Round-of-eight matches will be played online on November 30th-December 1st, while the round-of-four and grand finals will be played live from Paris on December 8th.



The Ro16 also marked what are likely to be the final major tournament matches in the 4.10.X era of StarCraft, with HomeStoryCup XX (Nov 21-24) set to be played on the balance mod—days ahead of the official, new balance patch. Before we move on, here's my list of cool (and not so cool) things from the NationWars Ro16.

1) Goddamn amazing: soO vs Neeb



In the Ro24, NationWars 2019 delivered one of the weirdest, funniest, most delightful, 'so-bad-it's-good'-type matches of the year in the form of Bly vs Acqueron. In the Ro16, (Wiki)soO tried his best to one-up that performance, piloting the supposedly unbeatable BL-Infestor composition into a disastrous loss against Neeb.

I'm not quite sure why I'm attracted to these kinds of games. Maybe it's a problem of scarcity—I've become so spoiled by being able to watch the best players compete on a regular basis, that the only StarCraft II high left to chase is watching the best players compete poorly. Is that weird? C'mon, I can't be the only one.

In any case, I'm glad soO finally has his major championship in the bag so we can tease him like this from time to time. A year ago, you couldn't really mock him for blowing a 10k bank against Maru without being filled with deep sorrow and guilt, knowing that his horrendous late-game play might forever prevent him from winning a major title. In the post-IEM Katowice 2019 world, soO really seems to be living his best StarCraft II life. He's the one mocking his late-game play, mocking his propensity to overproduce Corruptors, and just generally mocking everything mockable about his entire being. He knows his legacy is secure, and everything attained after this—including another NationWars title for Korea—would just be icing on the cake. Hmmm, that was a weird tangent—just go watch this game.

2) Pretty cool: Goblin making RotterDaM proud

Occasionally, a StarCraft II commentator will become the vocal, public advocate for an underappreciated player, breaking the unwritten rules of impartiality to try and give them some shine. This kind of caster-advocacy typically seems to go pretty poorly, whether it's the Yonghwa of Artosis' eye or whatever NA player feardragon decided to hype this week.

Thus, it was cool to see (Wiki)Goblin impress despite Croatia's elimination, taking maps off the entire Poland squad and even Serral in the Ro16. While I thought Goblin was better than his results showed in the 2019 Circuit (Winter: Ro32 -Spring: Ro8 - Summer: Ro32 - Fall: didn't qualify), he didn't fully justify RotterdaM's extreme man-crush throughout the year. Rotti must feel quite vindicated now, knowing that his favorite Croatian Protoss player (seeing that this is Rotti, he probably actually has them ranked 1 through 17) has gone from hipster darling to more of a mainstream star.

Goblin's one-base DT rush builds against Terran were pretty cute, but the highlight of his NW2019 performance was clearly his improbable win against Serral. Did Serral play at his usual level? No. Did Serral sorta forget what how many Queens you need to beat mass Phoenixes? Yes (I think? Maybe?). But in a year where few Protoss players managed to defeat Serral in matches of consequence, you had to be impressed.

3a) Intriguing, but whatever: Serral being just a little bit shaky

Here's the thing about (Wiki)Serral: When he's playing at his peak level, he could be described as 'mundanely perfect.' You just end up taking it for granted the way he doesn't make any mistakes, which is why it's so noticeable when he actually commits unforced errors.

There were a handful of those on Finland's Ro16 matchday, such as failing to Bile down a Prism that had set up a little too close, move-commanding a key early-game Ravager to its death, messing up the timing on some Drone/Spore Colony cancellation tricks.

Ultimately it's not something anyone should worry about, since even Serral has bad day occasionally. For all I know, he could have been on the phone while he was playing his matches, discussing whether he wanted oak or mahogany for his new, custom-ordered trophy case.

3b) Intriguing, but whatever: INnoVation being good again

Of all the Ro16 groups, Group B would have benefited the most from being played offline, if only so I could see INnoVation's face after he was forced to drag Stats and soO (who flopped against Harstem and Neeb) across the finish at 10AM Korean time. Well, it would have been the same face as every other (Wiki)INnoVation face, but you could probably have felt the disdain and annoyance emanating from every pore.

Anyway, does this mean INnoVation is good again? Uhhh, no idea. After leading South Korea to the NW Ro8, INnoVation promptly lost his very next competitive match to Patience in the WESG Korean qualifier [Correction: The 'real' INnoVation did not the play the qualifier. The player that lost to Patience was a different player using the same ID]. That really shouldn't surprise anyone—that's just how things work with the present version of INnoVation. Maybe he'll lead Korea to another NW title, smashing Serral and Reynor along the way. Maybe he'll suck, and ask if O'Gaming has any EU LoL accounts he can play on after Korea is eliminated in the semifinals. Either scenario seems equally likely.

4) I hate it, but it was kinda funny: Scarlett squeezing the last few drops out of the imba stone

There's a point at which an abusive, cheesy player becomes SO brazen and unapologetic about their dastardly deeds that it actually becomes charming. Usually this applies to Protoss players like sOs or Has, but (Wiki)Scarlett has almost pulled off the Zerg version of this in NW2019. With the new patch looming, she seemed determined to show us every last form of Nydus Worm abuse before it gets nerfed into probably still being pretty good oblivion.

While I thought this made Scarlett's games super hilarious (which is almost as important as actually winning), it was also super disgusting. My verdict: Scarlett should be sent to StarCraft prison, but like a nice Scandinavian prison with computers and anime.

5) Pretty lame: Has not being Has-like

(Wiki)Has was out-Hased by his Taiwanese teammates Nice and ButAlways this tournament—quite prominently in the case of ButAlways who briefly vexed Reynor with a two-base Carrier rush. It really seemed like ButAlways had a narrow windows of strength where Reynor wasn't totally sure how to react. Unfortunately neither did ButAlways, and he eventually died to every single Zerg unit that shoots air.

Anyway, back to Has. The not-so-dirty secret about Has is that he just hasn't been particularly Has-y in 2019, with a disappointing number of buildings built inside his own base. The reason I'm disappointed by this isn't because it has affected his win-rate—it's because it's affected the entertainment value of his matches. The reason entire Has has a cult following is because his games are uniquely entertaining regardless of the result. Things like four-Stargate Oracle (when better players will later prove that just two will do), the consecutive failed proxying of multiple tech buildings the same game, cannon-rushing inefficiently—that's the essence of Has. Sadly, he's been more of a garden variety, cheesy Protoss player in 2019, which is a great loss for StarCraft II fans everywhere.



Credits and acknowledgements

Written by: Wax
Images: O'Gaming

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TL+ Member
Harris1st
Profile Blog Joined May 2010
Germany6928 Posts
November 19 2019 09:31 GMT
#2
Noice write-up! Thanks Wax!

The embedded twitch link doesn't work (at least for me) btw
Go Serral! GG EZ for Ence. Flashbang dance FTW
GoloSC2
Profile Joined August 2014
710 Posts
November 19 2019 10:20 GMT
#3
very entertaining read
"Code S > IEM > Super Tournament > Homestory Cup > Blizzcon/WESG > GSL vs The World > Invitational tournaments in China with Koreans > WCS events" - Rodya
HsDLTitich
Profile Blog Joined October 2012
Italy830 Posts
Last Edited: 2019-11-19 10:54:53
November 19 2019 10:54 GMT
#4
It's just so sad seeing how much Waxangel feels betrayed by Has, it's disheartening
I used to organize tournaments for ESL Italy and referee Go4SC2s, WCSs, and IEMs for ESL SC2.
TheOneAboveU
Profile Blog Joined February 2011
Germany3367 Posts
November 19 2019 10:56 GMT
#5
On November 19 2019 19:54 HsDLTitich wrote:
It's just so sad seeing how much Waxangel feels betrayed by Has, it's disheartening

Top 10 worthy anime betrayal for sure.
Moderatoralias TripleM | @TL_TripleM | Big Dark Energy!
deacon.frost
Profile Joined February 2013
Czech Republic12129 Posts
November 19 2019 11:40 GMT
#6
On November 19 2019 19:54 HsDLTitich wrote:
It's just so sad seeing how much Waxangel feels betrayed by Has, it's disheartening

Has not being Has is so much Has-like in some way
I imagine France should be able to take this unless Lilbow is busy practicing for Starcraft III. | KadaverBB is my fairy ban mother.
Tommy131313
Profile Joined May 2016
Germany153 Posts
November 19 2019 12:10 GMT
#7
Pretty cool review of the pretty cool RO16 matches - the usual Waxangel quality

Remarkable side-fact: O'Gaming has done a good job with their "inviting nations" policy. They hit 6 out of 8 nations participating in the playoffs
D-light
Profile Joined April 2012
Finland7364 Posts
November 19 2019 12:57 GMT
#8
Other way around for me. Lame to see soO blow that game against neeb, and attracted to seeing Has doing standard stuff badly and losing.
why even
Clazziquai10
Profile Blog Joined August 2011
Singapore1949 Posts
November 19 2019 14:50 GMT
#9
You're making a huge assumption that zerg won't continue to be imba after the patch
JJH777
Profile Joined January 2011
United States4407 Posts
November 19 2019 18:16 GMT
#10
Where did innovation lose to patience? The write up says the wesg korean qualifier but I can't find anything about that.
david0925
Profile Joined September 2010
212 Posts
November 19 2019 19:15 GMT
#11
I'm optimistic about Has being hassy once the void ray speed in in the game
Majick
Profile Joined August 2016
416 Posts
November 19 2019 19:28 GMT
#12
pretty cool
MrShankly
Profile Blog Joined October 2009
United Kingdom371 Posts
November 19 2019 19:32 GMT
#13
Scarlett playing protoss was also pretty fun xD.
DONATE SC2 BETA KEY TO ME PLEASE
dbRic1203
Profile Joined July 2019
Germany2655 Posts
November 19 2019 20:05 GMT
#14
Great writeup. I also loved Skillous, Who was pretty much the russian Version of Goblin in this NW. They both were absolutly amazing and I can t wait to see, how they develop in the future
MaxPax
Erasorz
Profile Joined August 2014
7 Posts
November 19 2019 20:09 GMT
#15
I might be nationalistic centric, but I can't understand there's not word about Clem... He did a fantastic job.
Waxangel
Profile Blog Joined September 2002
United States33388 Posts
November 19 2019 21:58 GMT
#16
On November 20 2019 03:16 JJH777 wrote:
Where did innovation lose to patience? The write up says the wesg korean qualifier but I can't find anything about that.


https://battlefy.com/alibaba-sports/wesg-2019-2020-south-korea-mongolia-1st-open-qualifier/5db90db3a64ff66fe48a4434/stage/5dcfc8af1ee41e300c912e7b/bracket/

Liquipedia not updated for once o_O
AdministratorHey HP can you redo everything youve ever done because i have a small complaint?
JJH777
Profile Joined January 2011
United States4407 Posts
November 19 2019 22:54 GMT
#17
On November 20 2019 06:58 Waxangel wrote:
Show nested quote +
On November 20 2019 03:16 JJH777 wrote:
Where did innovation lose to patience? The write up says the wesg korean qualifier but I can't find anything about that.


https://battlefy.com/alibaba-sports/wesg-2019-2020-south-korea-mongolia-1st-open-qualifier/5db90db3a64ff66fe48a4434/stage/5dcfc8af1ee41e300c912e7b/bracket/

Liquipedia not updated for once o_O


Interesting I thought inno would get invited since he won last year and that's been the trend for the last few. Also strange not to see Maru/Dark on there. Or at least not with a recognizable name. I'm guessing one of them is the player in the final with rogue?

It's a shame they don't make some type of event out of these qualifiers.
Xain0n
Profile Joined November 2018
Italy3963 Posts
Last Edited: 2019-11-20 00:53:26
November 20 2019 00:53 GMT
#18
On November 20 2019 07:54 JJH777 wrote:
Show nested quote +
On November 20 2019 06:58 Waxangel wrote:
On November 20 2019 03:16 JJH777 wrote:
Where did innovation lose to patience? The write up says the wesg korean qualifier but I can't find anything about that.


https://battlefy.com/alibaba-sports/wesg-2019-2020-south-korea-mongolia-1st-open-qualifier/5db90db3a64ff66fe48a4434/stage/5dcfc8af1ee41e300c912e7b/bracket/

Liquipedia not updated for once o_O


Interesting I thought inno would get invited since he won last year and that's been the trend for the last few. Also strange not to see Maru/Dark on there. Or at least not with a recognizable name. I'm guessing one of them is the player in the final with rogue?

It's a shame they don't make some type of event out of these qualifiers.


Aligulac reported all the results, while Liquipedia shows that Maru, Dark, Trap and soO were directly invited to korean qualifiers. If anything, it's weird that Dark isn't getting a direct seed to the offline event(while I guess Serral is, so I won't really complain).
DSK
Profile Blog Joined February 2015
England1110 Posts
November 20 2019 03:07 GMT
#19
It's this sort of writing that makes me think Wax would be the ideal person to write my eulogy. Great round up.
**@ YT: SC2POVs at https://www.youtube.com/c/SC2POVsTV | https://liquipedia.net/starcraft2/SC2POVs @**
ZigguratOfUr
Profile Blog Joined April 2012
Iraq16955 Posts
November 20 2019 04:10 GMT
#20
That game between soO and Neeb was pretty cool indeed. soO played some awful lategame as usual but there was some fun to it from the circumstances. Very different from the game soO played against Special in the Global Finals which was equally poorly played but mind-numbingly dull.
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