EPT
With such an obnoxious number of games being played each week, these reports will be short and sweet. As always, for info about the tournament, the groups, and everything Shinhan OSL2, see jkillashark's incredible topic.
Group E – Stay[HyO] – Casy – Zergman
Stay vs Casy
Peaks of Baekdu
Casy (1) went 2 rax with a wall to fend off the threat of early lings while Stay (7) showed he lives on the wild side by expanding to the bottom right before his pool. Casy attempted to bunker up at the expansion before Stay could defend it, by the Zerg was ready for this move and a group of 5 drones was already there to stop the SCV before it could finish building. The game progressed naturally from there with Casy building up an MMF force and Stay sunkening up at his main and expo. When the time came for Casy’s attack, he simply judged which Zerg economy had less sunkens and attacked. He walked over Stay fairly easily.
Casy > Stay
I didn’t like Stay’s BO. He had to split his sunkens between 2 distant places on the map so Casy’s pointed attack on one easily over powered anything Stay could’ve put up. Easy 2 rax pumping win for the Terran.
Stay vs Zergman
Rush Hour
Zergman (11) 9 pooled while Stay (7) 12 pooled. Zergman pumped lings and started his lair as Stay expanded to his natural. When their forces met, Stay did an excellent job of dancing with Zergman until he could match his ling numbers and killed off all of Zergman’s units to save his expansion. Zergman’s spire was very quick, however, and Stay later found himself losing many drones to ling and muta raids. His scourge and few mutas were running around in circles as Zergman skillfully poked at him through the holes. Stay was eventually overrun due to his lack of drones.
Zergman > Stay
Zergman really showed he chops here. After using a lower econ build he attacked and was still not able to capitalize on it fully, but by manipulating Stay with well placed and well timed attacks he made up the deficit he suffered in the first few minutes and showed his superior skills.
Casy vs Zergman
815
It’s anyone’s guess how these two players were feeling as they geared up to start their match, but one of them must have been quite a comedian while they waited for the count down to start. If I were to speculate, I’d say it was probably at Stay[HyO]’s expense…
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/ManaBlue/Shinhan_OSL_Week_4_1/casy_vs_zergman.JPG)
Casy (starting at 7) opened the game with a fast academy/dropship build to contain his opponent and prevent him from taking a fast island expansion. Zergman (starting at 1) saw this tactic coming, however, and utilized a natural expansion/hydra build to protect both his economies safely. After scouting out all the islands and realizing his opponent didn’t want them anyway, Casy dropped Zergman’s main and was able to destroy an evolution chamber (presumably researching +1 ranged attack) before losing his MnM force to hydras. Casy reloaded his dropship but lost it shortly after to patrolling hydras before he could do anything else significant.
Zergman had now taken a new main, and had a very respectable hydra lurk force camping at Casy’s natural. The Terran had a lot of MnM/Vessel, but he had missed his opportunity to expand and was trapped in his main behind the tiny 815 exit ramp. After some weak dropship harass at the Zerg main and a failed attempt to break through the hydra wall at his natural, Casy gave up.
Zergman > Casy
Zergman played a great game. His hydra build was perfectly suited to defend against the many variations of popular Terran dropship builds for island maps and he concentrated on containing his opponent instead of getting flustered and run around the map by drops. That tiny ramp can be quite the X-Factor in games on 815 and this was a prime example of it.
Zergman advances from Group E!
Group F – Midas – Stork – Iris
Midas vs Stork
Cultivation Period
Stork (3) started his first pylon in the middle of the map, obviously for some proxy gates, and Midas (6) built his depot and rax strategically to defend against early zealots. As Midas took his gas and Stork warped in a second gate, the game began to look startlingly similar to Midas’ last TvP on this map against IntoTheRainbow.
Stork immediately took the lead as he fought the first Terran marine with a zealot and stylishly finished it off with his scouting probe. The micro battle was on as Midas danced his marine and SCVs around and Stork attempted to delay the building of the first Terran factory. The zealot rush was stopped short so a core could be warped in with only 3 protoss warriors walking around the Terran main. Midas suffered some tough luck losing his first vulture to the zealots and was viably disappointed. It didn’t matter as much as he had thought though, because Stork already had 2 goons walking toward Midas’ base and with only one freshly built tank to defend with, the lot/goon army walked over him.
Stork > Midas
Stork played well and had obviously effective harassment early on seeing as his unit production was always a step ahead of Midas. Even if he hadn’t lost that first vulture so clumsily, Midas didn’t really seem to have a shot anyway. 3 lots and 2 goons against a vulture a tank and some SCVs seems like pretty easy pickings to me. The new Cultivation Period continues to dazzle us all by showing once again that it’s just as crappy as the old one.
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/ManaBlue/Shinhan_OSL_Week_4_1/vlcsnap1944272.png)
Midas vs Iris
Rush Hour
Midas (11) went for a very Oov-ish 1 fact into fast CC build while Iris (7) started with a typical 2 fact BO. Once both vulture upgrades were done, Iris rushed in with a vulture force and mined up Midas’ nat, right up to the CC. Unphased, Midas continued to mine and started up a third factory and comsat, hoping to shortly take advantage of his early economic boost. But when his scan finished and he began to cut through the mine field he was met by sieged tanks. After destroying Midas’ entire force, Iris forced his way into his opponent’s nat and expanded to his own natural. By the time Midas forced Iris’ army back, he was way behind economically and was run-over by vultures and tanks.
Iris > Midas
Midas got greedy and showed that he severely lacks the skills to defend with nothing. Apparently Oov is having a hard time teaching it to him.
Iris vs Stork
815
Stork (5) opened with a nexus first (to his natural expansion) and built one gateway there and one in his main. Iris (11) built a CC at the 7 o’clock main immediately after his rax, making it clear that a macro game was about to commence. Stork concentrated on building goon and cannon defenses for drops that would never come as Iris solidified himself at his new main by building a wall at the ramp with a depot and factory. Once he found his opponents expansion, Stork poked at it with some lot/goon and quickly backed off. He took the 1 o’clock natural and main and switched his target, attacking Iris’ main base with a lot/goon/reaver army. Stork displayed excellent unit control as he ferried goons into the main and controlled zealots up the ramp while lifting and dropping his reaver to keep it alive…all with one multitasking shuttle. Stork won the initial battle, killing a bunch of SCVs and all of the golies in Iris’ main, but his assault was stopped once dropship reinforcements arrived. Stork lost his economy at the 1 o’clock main for a short period of time, but he simply took the opportunity to attack Iris’ 7 o’clock expansion while the Terran army was out of place. Stork continued to attack Iris at the expansion and original main, picking off stray dropships as he went. It was 4 expansions to 2 and after losing the rest of his army at the entrance to his main, Iris quit.
Stork >Iris
Stork looked mean today. He played ultra aggressive in both games and dominated his Terran opponents. I’m really starting to like this guys play.
Stork advances from Group F!
That’s it for week 4.1 of Shinhan OSL2. The 16 man tournament is coming our way soon. I can’t stress enough how great a resource jkillashark's topic is. I wouldn’t know what the hell was going on without it. Keep in mind though that it contains spoilers about the results of the other tie-breakers that were played on the 12th.
The best part of the tournament is yet to come. There are some great matchups scheduled to happen soon. Check them out in yet another scheduling post by HonestTea.
It just seems like the beginning part of this tournament was too long and boring. That's just my opinion though. I'm still an OSL lover. 
thanks ManaBlue. Good report!
good job!
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/images/liquibet/players/Sea%5BShield%5D.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/images/liquibet/players/Casy.jpg)
