ST_Curious < Cloud Kingdom > ST_Life
ST_Curious < Entombed Valley > ST_Life
ST_Curious < Ohana > ST_Life
ST_Curious < Antiga Shipyard > ST_Life
ST_Curious < Metropolis > ST_Life
ST_Curious < Daybreak > ST_Life
ST_Curious < Cloud Kingdom > ST_Life

ZvZ has a reputation of being one of the most unpredictable matchups in Starcraft 2. Matches between team mates also have a reputation of being unpredictable and strange. The Ro8 of the TSL finds itself with a match satisfying both of these. Of course, we’re talking about Curious vs Life, and we would be very surprised if anyone was able to accurately predict what is going to happen.

We’ve already seen Curious’s ZvZ in this tournament, in the Ro32 he dispatched Lalush 3-0 with little difficulty. There isn’t much to read into this series, Curious was expected to be the better player and played like he was. He displayed a very standard Korean ZvZ style during the series. That is, bane/ling into roach/infestor with 10pools sprinkled throughout at critical moments. As there isn't much to read into about this series, we need to dig a bit deeper. A simple TLPD search reveals that Curious is no slouch in this matchup – he sports an impressive 22-9 lifetime ZvZ (that’s a 70.97% winrate).

Looking closer at Curious’s games reveals that he really likes the bane/ling opening system, and almost always tries to make something happen with lings before transitioning to something else. Usually the transition is to roach/infestor but he has gone mutalisks on occasion. The fact that Curious tends to try and make something happen should make this series quite interesting because Life likes to play the exact opposite. Life prefers to take the role of the defender and play reactionary from there. So a major part of this series should be how Life responds to Curious’s early aggression.

Life is no slouch in ZvZ either. He has a 50-18 lifetime record (or a winrate of 73.53%) despite his incredibly different approach to ZvZ. Life is traditionally known as an unorthodox player, particularly after he all killed Liquid` in GSTL last season with unexpected builds and styles. But his ZvZ contrasts greatly with his reputation, preferring to take the match to a macro game and win it from there. While he lost to Leenock in Code A recently, he is still very confident in his ZvZ and that should make the upcoming match very interesting.

Ultimately, this is a ZvZ between teammates so is about as unpredictable as it gets. But our guess is that while some strange things may happen in the early game, the general theme of the games should be Curious taking the initiative and Life trying to defend.

Ro16 in Pictures






MVP_Keen < Ohana > d.JonnyREcco
MVP_Keen < Antiga Shipyard > d.JonnyREcco
MVP_Keen < Metropolis > d.JonnyREcco
MVP_Keen < Cloud Kingdom > d.JonnyREcco
MVP_Keen < Entombed Valley > d.JonnyREcco
MVP_Keen < Daybreak > d.JonnyREcco
MVP_Keen < Ohana > d.JonnyREcco

After Major took out Hyun way back in the Ro32 there was one spot in the Ro8 guaranteed to be non-Korean. It has transpired this spot would be the only non-Korean in the Ro8. JonnyRecco has claimed that spot, and is the last bastion of hope for a non-Korean victory in the TSL. The unlikely hero has surpassed all expectations after he qualified for the TSL on points – just – and proceeded to take out Naniwa and Major, two of the strongest non-Korean players in the world.

JonnyRecco now has a chance to etch his name in the history books as he takes on Keen in the last match of the Ro8. JonnyRecco focused on playing long games with Major last week. His plan seemed to be to defend with infestors and ultralisks before making the killing push with brood lords. And well, his plan worked superbly. He was able to defend all of Major’s aggression and drops and subsequently crushed his opponent with his high tech units.

But can JonnyRecco simply transplant this style across to defeat a player like Keen? Keen got to the Ro8 by the skin of his teeth after narrowly edging out Vortix 3-2. Some would say he was lucky to even win the series. Vortix is currently at IEM where he is making a name for himself as one of Europes top Zergs. It’s also worth noting that Vortix is a very adaptable player, one who can play both the macro and aggressive Zerg styles fluently. Keen being able to beat a top Zerg like Vortix (even in macro games) does not bode well for JonnyRecco.

JonnyRecco hasn’t really illustrated much other than sound mechanics and game sense. Whereas Keen has shown he is capable of dealing with whatever is thrown his way, and thus enters the match as the firm favorite. If JonnyRecco can change things up and come to the match with some intelligent builds selected, he might be able to take the series. If he sticks to the same standard style we’ve seen so far, then Keen should be laughing all the way to the semifinals.

Ro16 in Pictures

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