• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EST 03:08
CET 09:08
KST 17:08
  • Home
  • Forum
  • Calendar
  • Streams
  • Liquipedia
  • Features
  • Store
  • EPT
  • TL+
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Smash
  • Heroes
  • Counter-Strike
  • Overwatch
  • Liquibet
  • Fantasy StarCraft
  • TLPD
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Blogs
Forum Sidebar
Events/Features
News
Featured News
The Road to Katowice - 2022/23 Retrospective19Disasterpiece Theater: Soulkey vs sOs (2013-05-21)11WTL 2022 Winter - Regular Season Awards + Wrap-up24WTL Winter - The 2v2 Tour25WTL 2022 Winter - Regular Season Finale7
Community News
[BSL16] - RO16 Group Stage9ESL Open Cup #159: herO, Spirit, Dark win5WardiTV 2023 Opens (Monthly)1IEM Katowice 2023 - Hosts & Commentators25Serral leaves ENCE, joins Basilisk26
StarCraft 2
General
The Road to Katowice - 2022/23 Retrospective 5.0.11 Patch Released - Balance Changes IEM Katowice 2023 - Hosts & Commentators Serral leaves ENCE, joins Basilisk SC2 shut down in China, WTL to continue
Tourneys
NorCal StarFest I [Alpha Pro Series] MaxPax vs ByuN WardiTV 2023 Opens (Monthly) $5000 #PassionCraft Knockout TournyCraft free tourny management web app
Strategy
Custom Maps
[A] (Minigames) Raynor Party [A] [TPS RPG] Transformers: Open World (WIP) Work In Progress Melee Maps
External Content
Mutation # 354 Media Blackout Mutation # 353 Hostile Territory Mutation # 352 Railroad Switch Mutation # 351 Assembly of Vengeance
Brood War
General
[ASL15] Afreeca Starleague To Start On Feb 14 miss chance, rng, and some code experiments BW General Discussion BoxeR stream ASL vs FlaSh
Tourneys
New Worlds Map Contest III: All Submissions (VOTE HERE) Sanpao StarLeague Spring Cup S4 : Korea [BSL16] - RO16 Group Stage [BSL16] GosuLeague - Ro32 Group Stage!
Strategy
Marine rate of fire Simple Questions, Simple Answers Valkyrie dmg formula? 2v2 Spell Combos
Other Games
General Games
Sid Meier's Civilization VI Path of Exile Fire Emblem The PlayStation 5 FF7 remake for PS4 announced
Dota 2
Official Dota and Chess General Discussion [DPC 23] Tour 1 Discussion
League of Legends
[Spring 2023] LoL E-sports General Discussion [Patch Notes] Release General Discussion
Heroes of the Storm
HotS: WP and Funny Moments
Hearthstone
TL Mafia
TL Mafia Plays: Diplomacy TL Mafia Community Thread Team Liquid Maria L
Community
General
UK Politics Mega-thread Russo-Ukrainian War Thread Coronavirus and You NASA and the Private Sector US Politics Mega-thread
Fan Clubs
The Flash Fan Club The GoOdy Fan Club The TY Fan Club
Media & Entertainment
Anime Discussion Thread [TV] HBO The Last Of Us series [Manga] One Piece Korean Music Discussion Movie Discussion!
Sports
2022 - 2023 Football Thread 2021 NFL/CFB Season NBA General Discussion TeamLiquid Health and Fitness Initiative For 2022
World Cup 2022
FIFA World Cup 2022 - Knockout Stage FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Thread
Tech Support
Red text blurry and funky blue on black text Which Gaming Laptop Should I Buy? Simple Questions Simple Answers
TL Community
Is there a SQSA thread for this site? Recent Gifted Posts Happy Birthday R1CH!
Blogs
It's that time of year YET A…
Umpteen
I'm still around doodling and…
Glider
Someone Crashed my Plane …
micronesia
A spiritual journey th…
mewithoutDrew
The Kitty Arcade Saga
MrBitter
My Goals for 2023
DeNikSSB
State of StarCraft II
Jealous
Burning it all down - Reti…
BreAKerTV
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 1117 users

Dark and INnoVation battle it out in NeXT Spring finals

Forum Index > SC2 General
15 CommentsPost a Reply
TL.net ESPORTS
Profile Joined July 2011
4 Posts
Last Edited: 2020-05-03 20:49:07
May 03 2020 20:23 GMT
#1
[image loading]
Netease Esports X Tournaments: 2020 Spring


by TheOneAboveU

The Gold Series Team Championship isn't China's only major team league—the Netease Esports X Tournaments (NeXT) Spring tournament had been running parallel to GTC since early April. We're not sure about the inner workings at NetEase that causes them to run two different team tourneys at once, but we're definitely glad about it: the May 2nd grand finale of NeXT Spring saw Dark and INnoVation clash several times in high-level games worthy of any top-tier tournament.

Dark's Dragon Phoenix Gaming squad emerged victorious in the end, defeating INnoVation's KaiZi Gaming 4-3 in the grand finals to claim the first place prize of ¥60,000 (~$8,500 USD). While Dark defeated INnoVation in the championship deciding ace match, INnoVation still ended up being one of the 'winners' of the tournament. By going a combined 3-2 against Dark in the two matches between KZ and DPG, he backed up his bluster from the group selection ceremony and furthered the hype that the 'old INnoVation' might be back.

NeXT Playoff Bracket


Check Liquipedia for group stage results

Last year, NeXT distinguished itself from the GTC by adding 2v2 matches to its spring tournament. This time around, it changed things up by using a unique BO7 format: teams fielded a line-up of three players who could each play twice each over the course of six maps, (with an ace-match if needed).

The way everything came together in the NeXT playoffs felt like destiny. In TL's GTC articles, I've often talked about Dragon Phoenix Gaming and KaiZi Gaming as the two giants most likely to win the championship, analogous to the two telecom teams of the Proleague. They certainly delivered a showdown worthy of the telecom legacy in their first tournament finals together.

Starting with eight of the GTC teams in the group stages, NeXT saw DPG, KaiZi, BSG, and Team LP advance to the playoffs. DPG took first place in their group as expected, but KaiZi only advanced in second place from their group after suffering a 3-4 upset against BSG (where Hurricane took down INnoVation in the ace match). This meant the playoffs kicked off with a blockbuster match of KaiZi vs DPG.

KaiZi won this initial match convincingly, with their 4-1 victory avenging their Week 1 loss to DPG in the GTC. The series included two pretty awesome macro games between KZ.INnoVation and DPG.Dark (Game 1 VOD | Game 2 VOD), which the Machine Terran was able to win by breaking Dark apart bit by bit with overwhelming attacks on multiple fronts. If you were longing for the return of 2017 INnoVation, the you'll find no better encouragement than these two games. I particularly recommend watching Game 1—had it been played in front of a live crowd like previous NeXT events, the fans would have gone crazy for their hero Lü Bu.

In the other first round match, Team LP battled out it out with Brave Star Gaming, with LP.Patience standing strong until he was toppled by BSG.Scarlett in the ace match. The Canadian Zerg had a pretty good weekend in general, winning three of the four matches she was fielded in, including this important ace match. BSG vs. LP is a recommended series for the sheer "NA factor" in some of the games, combined with the drama of it going to the ace match (VOD). Pure team league energy!

KaiZi continued to steamroll through the bracket, bringing out a triple-Terran line-up to defeat BSG 4-0 in the winners final (VOD). BSG.Dream came the closest to stealing a map in a very promising TvT against INnoVation, but failed to close the game out when he had the chance. Dragon Phoenix Gaming must have been pretty unhappy with their journey down into the lower bracket, and came back with a vengeance by dismantling Team LP 4-0 (VOD) and then taking out BSG 4-1 (VOD) in the losers final. Again, BSG's Dream almost took a map off a top-tier Korean Terran, but couldn't get it done in the end against Cure. Scarlett ended up taking the only map for BSG (vs Firefly), while DPG booked a grand finals rematch against KaiZi.

The grand finals started off with another INnoVation vs. Dark game (VOD | Game starts at 03:20), though it turned out to be not as great a spectacle as the two previous matches from earlier on in the bracket. Dark's army movement was unusually sluggish, opening gaps in his defenses which INnoVation was all too easily was able to exploit. KZ.TIME followed this victory up by doing what Dream could not achieve against Cure on Purity and Industry, taking the DPG Terran out with a strong push at his natural after Cure made some very unwise drop decisions. It looked like KaiZi might be able to repeat their feat from earlier and take down DPG in dominant fashion, but Dark was finally able to defeat INnoVation after fending off his proxy 3-Rax Reaper build. With KZ's momentum halted, Cure equalized the series against KZ.Dear, playing a proxy Barracks opener of his own to inflict some early damage. Dear managed to force a transition into a more stable game, but Cure still came out on top in the end.



Still, KaiZi Gaming were in a great position, still having TIME and Dear left to send out, while DPG was forced to field DPG.Firefly in back-to-back games. The 'weak link' of the DPG line-up tried to play a straight-up macro game against TIME and showed some promising maneuvers, but was ultimately overpowered by the #1 Chinese player. Immediately, it was Firefly's turn to play again, this time against Dear with no more second chances. It speaks volumes for Firefly that he didn't despair in this situation, nor did he go for the kind of weird all-in that netted him a huge upset win against Maru in the 2019 CTC finals. Instead, in what would be Firefly's finest hour, he outplayed Dear, averted a 4-2 loss for his team, and forced an ace match. Taking on his Korean opponent without any fear in a straight-up game, Firefly showed superb Zealot harassment and Blink Stalker movement, even sending his Stalkers deep into enemy territory to snipe Probes and delay crucial upgrades before being recalling to safety. Posturing with his superior Zealot-Archon-Stalker army, Firefly tried to bait Dear into an engagement, but the Korean held steadfast, waiting for his Disruptors to come out. Dear scored some huge Disruptor shots in one of the prolonged battles, but in the end he made the wrong decision of engaging Firefly’s army through a chokepoint. Firefly's superior position allowed him to chop Dear's legs out from underneath him (VOD), keeping DPG’s championship dreams alive in a final ace match.

What else could our ace match have been than another edition of INnoVation against Dark? There was no more fitting way to decide this finals, once and for all (VOD). Dark once again opted for a Roach based strategy on Golden Wall, heavily pressuring INnoVation, who in turn tried his best to use the superior mobility of his Medivacs to keep the Zerg busy at home. With constant skirmishing on both sides of the map straining the players’ attention, Dark finally managed to impact his opponent’s economy—something he could not do in the first game between them in these Grand Finals. As both players ground down each other’s economies, the game all of a sudden became very scrappy: Dark lost several bases and tech structures to drops he couldn’t really stop, while INnoVation’s SCVs lines were constantly ravaged by swarms of Zerglings. A heroic flock of three Vipers proved to be critical for Dark’s effort, since their Parasitic Bombs really cut into INnoVation’s Medivac count after a while, and finally punished the incursions into Dark’s territory.

This kind of scrappy fighting ended up playing to Dark's strengths: he didn’t have much to work with, so he made his units count. Having a ragtag army of Zerglings, Banelings, Ultralisks, Roaches, and Ravagers, Dark detached small groups of units to roam the map and keep INnoVation from rebuilding his severely weakened economy. With both players on their last legs, INno gave up trying to vainly defend his scattered bases, and instead consolidated his forces to take the fight to Dark once more. It proved to be the final march of the Machine, as Dark had already prepared a full surround and finally sprung the ambush, covering his charge with Blinding Clouds. INnoVation was finally defeated, and he conceded his first macro game loss to Dark that weekend. Dark may have lost the direct duel against INnoVation with a 2-3 score over the two team matches, but he won the most important game of the five. With this win in their NeXT debut season, Dragon Phoenix Gaming solidify their position as the top team of in the Chinese scene—we’ll see if KaiZi Gaming can take their revenge in the GTC and continue this saga.
Facebook Twitter Reddit
TL+ Member
Shathe
Profile Joined July 2017
Hungary416 Posts
May 03 2020 22:07 GMT
#2
Holy ***. What an amazing final game btw Dark and Inno.
pvsnp
Profile Joined January 2017
7676 Posts
May 03 2020 23:14 GMT
#3
Games were hype as fuck. Really hoping that Dark and Inno meet again in GSL.
Denominator of the Universe
TL+ Member
HHGSRKL
Profile Joined May 2020
25 Posts
May 04 2020 04:09 GMT
#4
Hey, do you mind if I translate this to Chinese on scboy forum? with all proper credits of course.
ThunderJunk
Profile Joined December 2015
United States508 Posts
May 04 2020 04:12 GMT
#5
Woah, this might actually be Innovation's year!!!
I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do.
vyzion
Profile Joined August 2016
303 Posts
May 04 2020 05:11 GMT
#6
Wish there were some english commentary on these tournaments! But thanks to the producers and sponsors for making it happen and to china saving starcraft!
FFW_Rude
Profile Blog Joined November 2010
France10197 Posts
Last Edited: 2020-05-04 05:58:14
May 04 2020 05:57 GMT
#7
I feel like those tournaments gets a lot less coverage on TL and other website than the other regular tournaments. I don't really know why.

I mean. It's not even on sc2links. Is there a website where those matches are stored with spoiler enabled ?
#1 KT Rolster fanboy. KT BEST KT ! Hail to KT playoffs Zergs ! Unofficial french translator for SlayerS_`Boxer` biography "Crazy as me".
TheOneAboveU
Profile Blog Joined February 2011
Germany3359 Posts
Last Edited: 2020-05-04 07:24:18
May 04 2020 07:17 GMT
#8
On May 04 2020 13:09 HHGSRKL wrote:
Hey, do you mind if I translate this to Chinese on scboy forum? with all proper credits of course.

Sure, go ahead!

On May 04 2020 14:57 FFW_Rude wrote:
I feel like those tournaments gets a lot less coverage on TL and other website than the other regular tournaments. I don't really know why.

I mean. It's not even on sc2links. Is there a website where those matches are stored with spoiler enabled ?

I think it's just that without an English stream showing up in the sidebar here on TL, for most people a tournament will simply fly under the radar with everything else that's going on. That said, we'll see if we can cover the next edition of NeXT a bit more in-depth and regular, since it's a fantastic addition to the scene.
Moderatoralias TripleM | @TL_TripleM | Big Dark Energy!
HHGSRKL
Profile Joined May 2020
25 Posts
May 04 2020 14:56 GMT
#9

I think it's just that without an English stream showing up in the sidebar here on TL, for most people a tournament will simply fly under the radar with everything else that's going on. That said, we'll see if we can cover the next edition of NeXT a bit more in-depth and regular, since it's a fantastic addition to the scene.


According to scboy, literally nobody even bothered to ask for it this season. They are more than happy to give just about all ENG commentators a stream for free as long as you ask.
TheOneAboveU
Profile Blog Joined February 2011
Germany3359 Posts
May 04 2020 15:02 GMT
#10
On May 04 2020 23:56 HHGSRKL wrote:
Show nested quote +

I think it's just that without an English stream showing up in the sidebar here on TL, for most people a tournament will simply fly under the radar with everything else that's going on. That said, we'll see if we can cover the next edition of NeXT a bit more in-depth and regular, since it's a fantastic addition to the scene.


According to scboy, literally nobody even bothered to ask for it this season. They are more than happy to give just about all ENG commentators a stream for free as long as you ask.

Yes, nobody is accusing SCBoy of not allowing an English stream or anything. We appreciate their openness (I know it doesn't get them any more money or anything). Wardi has said that he was simply too busy with all the TSL5 qualifiers already going on, which he had himself comitted to to cast, and that's that. I am sure we will have an English stream next time. All good.
Moderatoralias TripleM | @TL_TripleM | Big Dark Energy!
vyzion
Profile Joined August 2016
303 Posts
May 04 2020 18:42 GMT
#11
On May 05 2020 00:02 TheOneAboveU wrote:
Show nested quote +
On May 04 2020 23:56 HHGSRKL wrote:

I think it's just that without an English stream showing up in the sidebar here on TL, for most people a tournament will simply fly under the radar with everything else that's going on. That said, we'll see if we can cover the next edition of NeXT a bit more in-depth and regular, since it's a fantastic addition to the scene.


According to scboy, literally nobody even bothered to ask for it this season. They are more than happy to give just about all ENG commentators a stream for free as long as you ask.

Yes, nobody is accusing SCBoy of not allowing an English stream or anything. We appreciate their openness (I know it doesn't get them any more money or anything). Wardi has said that he was simply too busy with all the TSL5 qualifiers already going on, which he had himself comitted to to cast, and that's that. I am sure we will have an English stream next time. All good.


Love it, thank you everyone!! There are a lot of "smaller" streamers that do great work too, maybe they would be interested in it if the "bigger" streamers are all busy.
Topin
Profile Blog Joined December 2010
Peru9753 Posts
May 05 2020 01:35 GMT
#12
amazing finals! thanks for writing this.
i would define my style between a mix of ByuN, Maru and MKP
Nopeudon
Profile Joined March 2012
172 Posts
May 05 2020 02:04 GMT
#13
That was a beast of a last game between Dark and Inno.
Howard_Kao
Profile Joined September 2018
China255 Posts
May 05 2020 05:03 GMT
#14
Parting told Firefly before game if Firefly just play straight on normal pvp he will have 60%winrate, and Firefly did perform well, great game from him.
digmouse
Profile Blog Joined November 2010
China6029 Posts
May 05 2020 05:36 GMT
#15
On May 04 2020 23:56 HHGSRKL wrote:
Show nested quote +

I think it's just that without an English stream showing up in the sidebar here on TL, for most people a tournament will simply fly under the radar with everything else that's going on. That said, we'll see if we can cover the next edition of NeXT a bit more in-depth and regular, since it's a fantastic addition to the scene.


According to scboy, literally nobody even bothered to ask for it this season. They are more than happy to give just about all ENG commentators a stream for free as long as you ask.

English streams for NEXT has nothing to do with scboy, it's not their tournament. NEXT is organized and produced by NetEase's esports department at their Guangzhou HQ, not their Shanghai division which works with Blizzard. SCboy's own tournaments are always open for anyone. NEXT is kinda weird to work with but I'll see if more things can be done with them next season.
TranslatorIf you want to ask anything about Chinese esports, send me a PM or follow me @nerddigmouse.
Edpayasugo
Profile Joined April 2013
United Kingdom2165 Posts
May 05 2020 09:26 GMT
#16
Good stuff
FlaSh MMA INnoVation FanTaSy MKP TY Ryung | soO Dark Rogue | HuK PartinG Stork State
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
Next event in 52m
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
Livibee 150
Forgg! 107
mcanning 11
StarCraft: Brood War
ggaemo 562
Rain 268
ToSsGirL 119
Dewaltoss 102
Sacsri 59
Movie 53
Larva 36
ajuk12(nOOB) 26
sorry 19
Bale 10
[ Show more ]
Shine 8
Icarus 1
Dota 2
EternaLEnVy2188
XcaliburYe217
febbydoto72
League of Legends
JimRising 688
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
m0e_tv782
Other Games
summit1g22275
tarik_tv18936
Stewie2K2295
WinterStarcraft566
Tasteless395
Mew2King81
Trikslyr52
PainUser4
Organizations
Dota 2
PGL Dota 2 - Main Stream1436
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
ESL CS:GO489
Dota 2
BeyondTheSummit296
StarCraft 2
Esl_sc2211
ESL.tv211
StarCraft: Brood War
StarcraftVOD1
StarCraft 2
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
[ Show 20 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• Hupsaiya 72
• davetesta35
• Adnapsc2 16
• Poblha
• Kozan
• Migwel
• Laughngamez YouTube
• LaughNgamez Trovo
• IndyKCrew
• Gussbus
• intothetv
• aXEnki
• Alpha X_
StarCraft: Brood War
• sscaitournament2
• BSLYoutube
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• STPLYoutube
League of Legends
• Ambition2903
• HappyZerGling122
Other Games
• Scarra2042
Upcoming Events
HomeStory Cup
52m
Cure vs Kelazhur
Astrea vs Cure
Kelazhur vs Nina
SKillous vs Rex
SKillous vs Nina
HomeStory Cup
2 days
Rex vs Nina
Astrea vs SKillous
Astrea vs Rex
Cure vs Nina
Kelazhur vs Rex
Showmatch
4 days
BSL: ProLeague
4 days
ESL Pro Tour
4 days
BSL: ProLeague
5 days
ESL Pro Tour
6 days
ESL Pro Tour
6 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

ASL Season 15: Online Qualifier Day 2
OSC Championship Season 10
NGS Storm Division S6 Quals
BLAST Premier Spring Groups

Ongoing

BSL Season 16
KCM Ladies Race Survival 2023 Season 1
Strength Challenge 30K
Tournament of Honor
FS Mania
RISS Season 1
Spring Cup Season 4: Korea
Spring Cup 4: Chinese Qualifier
Spring Cup 4: Chinese Qualifier 1
WTL 2022 Winter
NGS Storm Division S6
ESL Challenger League S44 NA
ESL Challenger League S44 EU
ESL Challenger League S44 AP

Upcoming

Hongtu Solo League S5: KOR
ASL Season 15
Spring Cup Season 4
Spring Cup Season 4: China
Spring Cup 4: Chinese Qualifier 2
CHN vs KOR Week31
#PassionCraft Knockout
IEM Katowice 2023
BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023
ESL Challenger Melbourne 2023
ESL Pro League Season 17
CCT Central EU Malta Finals
IEM Katowice 2023
TLPD

1. ByuN
2. TY
3. Dark
4. Solar
5. Stats
6. Nerchio
7. sOs
8. soO
9. INnoVation
10. Elazer
1. Rain
2. Flash
3. EffOrt
4. Last
5. Bisu
6. Soulkey
7. Mini
8. Sharp
Sidebar Settings...

Advertising | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use | Contact Us

Original banner artwork: Jim Warren
The contents of this webpage are copyright © 2023 TLnet. All Rights Reserved.