EPT![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/alffla/AvalonMSLFinal.jpg)
Banner by alffla
SouL Survivor
Avalon MSL Finals Recap
It's easy being the young, rising underdog. You play with nothing to lose. There's no pressure, no crushing expectations, and no voice of doubt in the back of your head. It's easy to play fast and free under these conditions. After winning the Club Day MSL last fall, Bisu said he was affected greatly by nerves in Game 1 (he lost a shuttle and two reavers by flying them into Jangbi's dragoons). Perhaps we've looked at the favorite-underdog dynamic wrong. Experience might not be as big an asset as it seems -- which makes the accomplishments of repeat winners like Iloveoov, Nada, Savior, Bisu, and Jaedong even more impressive. Once you're the favorite, things change. Expectation changes. Pressure changes.
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/Hot_Bid/AvalonMSL/CalmWin.jpg)
I'm The Man now.
That's why this MSL win was so big for Calm. After a tournament of upsetting big names as an underdog, he went into this final as the favorite, and he performed as a true favorite should -- by winning convincingly. It's a good omen for STX, because next season, Calm will no longer be the underdog. He'll be that guy who upset Jaedong and took the MSL by storm. He'll be expected to win. Judging by how he responded in the finals, the future looks bright for this young Zerg.
Let's take a look at Calm's MSL run.
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/Hot_Bid/AvalonMSL/CalmRun.png)
You're looking at one of the best and most dominant MSL performances in a long time. Calm went 13-2 and never faced an elimination game, his two losses coming in 3-1 victories. In comparison, Bisu went 11-2 in his first GomTV MSL run, and Savior had three or more losses in all of his MSL wins. Of course, this is no guarantee that Calm will have more successful careers than those two players -- it's just a testament to how great he played during the past few months.
You could say the stars aligned for Calm to face Kwanro in the finals instead of Bisu or Iris or Flash, but don't forget that Calm eliminated two of the best ZvZ players on the planet. Jaedong apologists could claim that Calm would never have won had LJD had the same practice time, but you can say that about a lot of other players who lost. Remember when Savior lost to Bisu? Just about everyone was talking about how Savior had to play a ZvT OSL Finals just days earlier.
In the end, nobody remembers what could have been or what-ifs from the fallen, only what happens from here on out. Kim Yoon Hwan is at a crossroads. Down one path lies the career of Mind and Luxury -- largely successful but ultimately unfulfilled. Let's hope he chooses the other one, and joins the small fraternity of multiple league winners.
Redemption for Calm and STX
It's true -- not many people cared about this final. There was no big name, no hyped bonjwa candidate, and the matchup was ZvZ. But this final was huge to the STX fans that watched their team and its ace Calm struggle through Proleague playoffs. It provided a source of joy and redemption for this kid that shouldered most of the blame in losing to Great and Jangbi in those two ace matches.
Here's what Ideas, STX superfan, had to say about Calm's win:
Ideas wrote:
Calm's MSL run is still a bit surreal to me. I’ve been a Calm fan since I first got into progaming in early 2008, as he was on Hwasin and July’s team and Zerg was my favorite race. When Calm reached the Ro16 of the Avalon MSL, I was stoked. This was the first time he got past the Ro32 of a Starleague, and on top of that, two other STX players (Hwasin and Kal) also made it to the Ro16. It was looking good for my team.
STX was in the playoffs vs none other than KHAN; a team I and most of the rest of TL didn’t think would take more than 3 sets off of STX. I felt like total shit when Calm lost to JangBi’s +1 speed zealot rush, and not just because my STX winning PL thread turned into a huge instant fail at that moment. The entire season of the teams progress: becoming a top tier team, rookies such as hero and shuttle blossoming, the Zerg lineup becoming the most fierce in the league, going 10-1 in Round 5, all was dashed away in that single game. STX’s terrific season was to be immediately forgotten about in the history books. Calm stated that he couldn’t sleep at night thinking about his ace match loses, and I have to admit that for a short time neither could I.
Reading the Ro8 preview for the MSL, I just felt bad. EffOrt was the huge favorite over Calm, and no one gave Calm a chance. EffOrt was simply displaying much better results than Calm at the time, even though Calm was also doing very well. Calm’s victory over EffOrt was one of my proudest moments as a fan. He managed to beat the second best ZvZer in the world in his worst match-up, and he didn’t even drop a game. I knew at that moment that even if it was still disputed at the time, Calm was going to be known as “second best Zerg” very soon. It was just too bad that he had to now face Jaedong in the semis. [Editor's Note: Too bad... for Jaedong fans!]
When Calm beat Jaedong in the semifinals, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Calm showed that his ZvZ was no fluke, and that he had just turned his worst match-up into his best one. Not only did I believe that Calm was the second best Zerg in the world, but I also got a small bit of hope that one day Calm may even take over the throne from Jaedong as the best Zerg in the world. It is unfortunate that this MSL (or at least the finals) was so poorly thought of by the general public.
Calm winning the MSL is by far the StarCraft highlight of the year for me. His title is so important to me because it is the manifestation of STX’s long years of practice, growth, and hard work. Calm is the 1st homegrown player from STX to win a Starleague, and although it is long overdue, I have a feeling it is only the beginning.
Calm's MSL run is still a bit surreal to me. I’ve been a Calm fan since I first got into progaming in early 2008, as he was on Hwasin and July’s team and Zerg was my favorite race. When Calm reached the Ro16 of the Avalon MSL, I was stoked. This was the first time he got past the Ro32 of a Starleague, and on top of that, two other STX players (Hwasin and Kal) also made it to the Ro16. It was looking good for my team.
STX was in the playoffs vs none other than KHAN; a team I and most of the rest of TL didn’t think would take more than 3 sets off of STX. I felt like total shit when Calm lost to JangBi’s +1 speed zealot rush, and not just because my STX winning PL thread turned into a huge instant fail at that moment. The entire season of the teams progress: becoming a top tier team, rookies such as hero and shuttle blossoming, the Zerg lineup becoming the most fierce in the league, going 10-1 in Round 5, all was dashed away in that single game. STX’s terrific season was to be immediately forgotten about in the history books. Calm stated that he couldn’t sleep at night thinking about his ace match loses, and I have to admit that for a short time neither could I.
Reading the Ro8 preview for the MSL, I just felt bad. EffOrt was the huge favorite over Calm, and no one gave Calm a chance. EffOrt was simply displaying much better results than Calm at the time, even though Calm was also doing very well. Calm’s victory over EffOrt was one of my proudest moments as a fan. He managed to beat the second best ZvZer in the world in his worst match-up, and he didn’t even drop a game. I knew at that moment that even if it was still disputed at the time, Calm was going to be known as “second best Zerg” very soon. It was just too bad that he had to now face Jaedong in the semis. [Editor's Note: Too bad... for Jaedong fans!]
When Calm beat Jaedong in the semifinals, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Calm showed that his ZvZ was no fluke, and that he had just turned his worst match-up into his best one. Not only did I believe that Calm was the second best Zerg in the world, but I also got a small bit of hope that one day Calm may even take over the throne from Jaedong as the best Zerg in the world. It is unfortunate that this MSL (or at least the finals) was so poorly thought of by the general public.
Calm winning the MSL is by far the StarCraft highlight of the year for me. His title is so important to me because it is the manifestation of STX’s long years of practice, growth, and hard work. Calm is the 1st homegrown player from STX to win a Starleague, and although it is long overdue, I have a feeling it is only the beginning.
Avalon MSL Final: SouL Survivor
Calm 3-1 Kwanro | Live Report Thread
Calm 12-Hatch > Kwanro 4-Pool @ Carthage 3+ Show Spoiler [VOD] +
Ridiculously, Kwanro opens 4-pool, and Calm 12-hatches (eventually cancelling it). Kwanro sends two drones along with his lings to make sunkens. It's kind of ridiculous how someone can lose with these starting builds... but it actually happens.
Kwanro gets two offensive sunkens down but wastes far too much time chasing drones instead of killing Calm's sunken. Calm's drones, lings, and one sunken hold, and Calm looks ahead. Calm does some nice ling harass, scoring drone kills, while teching to spire off one hatch. Kwanro has two bases but no lair, opting to get spores. Kwanro attempts a ling break, gets into Calm's main, but is driven off by a sunken and freshly spawned mutalisks.
Calm takes his own natural, harasses more, and does a good job of positioning his mutas in places that can hit Kwanro's freshly spawned lings or mining drones outside of spore range. Kwanro does a suicidal ling counter that fails to do any real damage, and Calm is firmly in the lead. Kwanro gets to spire, but Calm is too far ahead. Calm finally seals the game a few minutes later by using lings to take out a critical spore in Kwanro's main and handily winning the air fight.
Kwanro gets two offensive sunkens down but wastes far too much time chasing drones instead of killing Calm's sunken. Calm's drones, lings, and one sunken hold, and Calm looks ahead. Calm does some nice ling harass, scoring drone kills, while teching to spire off one hatch. Kwanro has two bases but no lair, opting to get spores. Kwanro attempts a ling break, gets into Calm's main, but is driven off by a sunken and freshly spawned mutalisks.
Calm takes his own natural, harasses more, and does a good job of positioning his mutas in places that can hit Kwanro's freshly spawned lings or mining drones outside of spore range. Kwanro does a suicidal ling counter that fails to do any real damage, and Calm is firmly in the lead. Kwanro gets to spire, but Calm is too far ahead. Calm finally seals the game a few minutes later by using lings to take out a critical spore in Kwanro's main and handily winning the air fight.
Calm < Scourges @ Outsider+ Show Spoiler [VOD] +
Kwanro opens 9-pool while Calm opens 12-gas-pool. Kwanro goes speed while Calm goes lair, and due to the scouting advantage (Kwanro scouted correctly with his overlord), Calm is forced to put down a sunken. Calm's spire is faster, but he has two less drones. Calm slips out two lings and they get a ridiculous three drone kills, and Calm looks ahead -- until he takes four direct scourge hits and loses the air battle despite having far more mutas. Despite a lower drone count, Kwanro wins because Calm fails badly at anti-scourge micro. Calm's desperation spores can't stop Kwanro's next zergling attack.
Calmlings > Kwanlings @ Heartbreak Ridge+ Show Spoiler [VOD] +
Both players open 12-pool and expand to their naturals. Calm opts for earlier lair and later lings while Kwanro goes for faster lings and speed. Kwarno tries to surround a morphing egg, but Calm times his ling attack the egg hatches and wins the first ling fight. Calm's spire is significantly faster as well, forcing Kwanro to do a desperation ground attack that fails badly and puts him further behind. Calm's ling counter arrives at Kwanro's nat and deals a ton of damage, killing drones, a sunken, and many lings. Calm's mutas arrive shortly after and finish the game.
Calm defense > Kwanro overaggression @ Byzantium 3+ Show Spoiler [VOD] +
Kwanro opens 9-pool while Calm opens 12-pool expo. Calm cancels his hatch and gets a sunken in his main while getting lair. Kwanro runs right in, taking many sunken hits and killing only one drone. Kwanro gets speed and feints a few times, massing drones back home. Kwanro then attacks, trading equal count ling armies. Calm uses his drone advantage to lay a second hatch along with his spire, which is only slightly behind. Kwanro gets a second hatch too, but is behind in drone count.
This time, Calm is the one who catches Kwanro's mutas with scourge, winning the first air fight and then retreating before Kwanro could spawn scourges. Calm solidifies his advantage, taking his natural and using his mutas defensively. Calm's natural hatch (his third) and second gas are morphing, and thus Kwanro is forced to attack. Calm micros adequately against scourge, and wins the fight with several mutas left over. With a second gas fully mining, Calm's next attack ends it.
This time, Calm is the one who catches Kwanro's mutas with scourge, winning the first air fight and then retreating before Kwanro could spawn scourges. Calm solidifies his advantage, taking his natural and using his mutas defensively. Calm's natural hatch (his third) and second gas are morphing, and thus Kwanro is forced to attack. Calm micros adequately against scourge, and wins the fight with several mutas left over. With a second gas fully mining, Calm's next attack ends it.
Game One should have been over once you saw the builds, but somehow Calm won with very nice drone defense against Kwanro's mistakes. Game Two was the exact opposite -- Calm had the decisive early game advantage, but immediately handed it back with some truly horrendous anti-scourge micro. Game Three was a classic case of overaggression by Kwanro without the superior ling micro to back it up. While seemingly deficient in muta-scourge micro, Calm makes up for it with intelligent decision making, smart builds, and excellent zergling control.
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/Hot_Bid/AvalonMSL/CalmChampagne.jpg)
Calm dispelled any doubts about his status as STX's 2010 Proleague Ace.
Calm and the STX Coach looked so happy after the match, as did the rest of STX's players. The collapse Calm had in the Proleague playoffs could be psycologically crushing -- remember these are just teenage kids playing -- but he bounced back with a vengeance. That alone speaks volumes about Calm's will and resiliency, especially as a player that didn't get much hype as one of the new rising Zergs.
"Champion Story" Mini-Music Video of Calm's MSL Run
It's a pity Calm's run had so much ZvZ and he wasn't able to showcase his "better" matchups. Even so, he played a creative, intelligent style that made even ZvZ entertaining. Check out Calm's Post Game Interview translated by ghostWriter.
Ideas wrote:
Most importantly though, Calm’s MSL run is truly an entertaining one. His games in the Ro32 were excellent, entertaining strategic plays. His adaption and cleverness vs ForGG proved to be one of the most entertaining 2-0 sweeps in recent memory, and his ZvZ had evolved into the most intelligent on the scene. I’ve always loved STX for the style that each player brings with them, and right now, Calm has more than any other player on the planet, and I sure as hell can’t wait to see him play in the next season.
Most importantly though, Calm’s MSL run is truly an entertaining one. His games in the Ro32 were excellent, entertaining strategic plays. His adaption and cleverness vs ForGG proved to be one of the most entertaining 2-0 sweeps in recent memory, and his ZvZ had evolved into the most intelligent on the scene. I’ve always loved STX for the style that each player brings with them, and right now, Calm has more than any other player on the planet, and I sure as hell can’t wait to see him play in the next season.
As much as this win meant to Calm, it means just as much to STX. In the 2010 Proleague Playoffs, when STX again sends out Calm for the ace match, he'll be better, smarter, and wiser. Next season they will have a true, homegrown ace with an individual league title under his belt. With one of the deepest lineups out there, that's exactly what STX needs to make a run at the title.
Congratulations Calm and good luck next season!
Thank you everyone for reading and commenting on my reports this season, even though the Avalon MSL could have been so much more exciting if the brackets worked out better. I was really cheering for Kwanro, but I can't really complain because the clearly superior player won.
Until next time!
Funny how you chose to do this write-up 
