Game One on Mercury
Iloveoov (terran at the six o'clock position) and Silent_Control (at three) opened with two factories and both players played early games with their scouting barracks. Oov barred the exit from Control's base with his, while Control delayed the construction of Oov's second machine shop by landing his barracks next to the factory. The first combat occurred on the outskirts of Control's base as Oov advanced with two vultures and one tank. Control was forced to temporarily retreat but was quickly reinforced and saw off any threat.
Control was working on two relatively early starports while Oov was operating with predominantly tanks. As Control built a flight of wraiths, Oov started his expansion at the low centre position. There was some jockeying for position in the centre of the map without any real clashes. Oov made his first real attacking move with a lone dropship winging its way towards Control's main down the right side of the map. Control's deploying wraiths spotted it and banked to intercept, forcing Oov to drop his goliaths out early to scare them away. Control, with his wraith fleet roaming the map, now decided to expand to the right centre position.
Control tried to advance to secure the centre but was foiled by a timely goliath drop, as Oov took another expansion, this time at the nine position. With valks in the air to attempt to counter Control's wraiths, Oov advanced his tank force perilously close to the edge of Control's right centre expansion. A view of Control's main showed he had a science facility and a physics lab, signalling that he was stretching his economy to construct battlecruisers. As he was forced to wait for the arrival of the airborne behomeths, Control saw his right centre expo fall to a rapid strike by tanks and goliaths. Two battlecruisers appeared on the scene too late to make any difference. Control tried to counterattack with his tanks and cruisers advancing on Oov's low centre expo but Oov saw the threat and launched a superbly executed goliath drop in amongst the invading forces, working close to the attacking tanks and forcing the cruisers to sluggishly flee. With his cruisers ineffectively marooned, Control could do nothing as Oov rolled over his expo at one. Despite a secret expo at 11, Control saw no hope and conceded the opening game.
Iloveoov 1 - 0 Silent_Control
Game Two on Nostalgia
The opening to game two was a mirror match. Both Iloveoov (at one o'clock) and Silent_Control (at five o'clock) opted for double factory and early armoury. Both players had their scoutng barracks attacked by two goliaths. However, while Oov's barracks managed to make a slow escape, Control's tardy structure was destroyed. Control sent his early force of vultures to mine the double roadway entrance to his starting location as he prepared to expand to his natural. Oov probed the roadway with his small force but was forced to retreat in the face of the minefield.
Nevertheless, Oov now had two dropships blasting out of his startport and at the same time as he started work on his own natural expansion he sent his dropships into his opponent's main and tried to drop off his tanks behind Control's mineral line. Control, quickly the saw the danger and rallied his SCVs against the vulnerable siege tanks, forcing Oov to pick them up again. Control now had his natural fuelling his economy but Oov's diverted dropships flew overhead and deposited four tanks on the small side plateau for harassment, forcing Control's army to rapidly retreat to defend. Oov, showing aggression he never mustered against July Zerg in the semifinals, tried to redrop Control's main but his ships were forced to bank away as Control now how turrets for protection. Control tried to expand his economy again by taking the six o'clock position as Oov again attacked, spiriting a small flock of vultures into Control's natural, taking down one tank and forcing the SCVs to temporarily flee to safety.
Oov went on the offensive again, blasting through Control's frontline by mining his tanks and getting a group of vultures into Control's main, with Control again having to bring his SCVs to help defend his position. Up until this point Control had been defending the entire time, while trying to secure a gigantic economy. After fending off an assault on his newly established base at six, Control finally took the initiative, sending his vultures into Oov's new expansion at the opposite end of the map at 12. Control also started work on yet another expansion, at seven, while Oov took the three o'clock expo.
Oov was now building wraiths and Control was working on three new starports as peace and quiet finally blanketed the Nostalgia landscape. Control now took the nine o'clock expansion and already had both the seven main and seven natural working. Oov's wraiths swept across Nostalgia to destroy the nine o'clock expo before it could get up and running. Oov and Control now both had huge fleets of wraiths as the focus of the battle moved entirely to the air. By this stage, Control had five starports and bases everywhere as Oov took the 11 o'clock expansion and the 11 natural. After seemingly endless maneouvring, battle was finally joined between the wraiths. When the smoke had cleared Control was left with seven wraiths, Oov with zero.
However, Control now faltered and was unable to press his temporary advantage. He tried to take nine again but it quickly fell to a small Oov tank and vulture strike force. Oov, macroing furiously, had now conjured up another fleet of wraiths and Control's advantage had dissipated. Battle raged in the skies above Nostalgia again as the game was settled by a decisive Oov wraith victory. When the battle was over he still had a dozen wraiths left and started to advance his armies towards Control's now vulnerable expansions. Control tried to counter with vulture attacks on Oov's expansions at three and 11 but they were of little consequence as Oov went for the jugular. As his forces advanced into Control's main and the seven o'clock expansion, Control bowed out.
Iloveoov 2 - 0 Silent_Control
Game Three on Requiem
Facing a clean sweep, Control (at nine o'clock) took command of this game early and did not let go. Iloveoov (at 12) opened with barracks before depot and quickly recruited four marines to his cause before making a speedy advance towards Control's base. Control also had four marines and after some skirmishing Control advanced on Oov's position with his marines and one vulture. Now up to two factories, Control reinforced his army with more vultures and sent three of them into Oov's main for harassment, withdrawing them quickly as Oov's first tank rumbled off the production line.
Control now had goliaths and a starport and definitely held the initiative in the game, even though Oov had a small army of tanks and was already taking his natural. Control sent his first dropship flying into Oov's main, dropping four vultures off to harass the mineral line. Oov's economy was severely disrupted as his SCVs were forced to flee before his tanks and new goliaths could roll back to neutralise the threat. Having delivered a body blow, Control now took his own natural. He then tried to redrop into Oov's main but his opponent was waiting with goliaths, forcing Control to swing his dropships away. However, Control continued to probe for a weakness and dropped aggressively on the tanks defending Oov's natural. Oov was playing reactively, as Control had command of the pace and direction of the game. Oov's defences were tottering but he managed to stabilise the situation with a single wraith and his SCVs.
Control now decided to go all in. He surged towards Oov's natural with tanks, goliaths and SCVs and blasted through Oov's depleted tank line. Oov rallied his SCVs to defend again but to no avail. He had to lift his natural and as Control advanced into his main he left the game.
Iloveoov 2 - 1 Silent_Control
Game Four on Namja Iyagi
Control (at two o'clock), back in the match after his win on Requiem, opened with one factory and one starport, while Oov (at eight) went for a two factory opening. Oov quickly teched to goliaths, while Control alerted his opponent to the existence of his early starport by attacking Oov's floating barracks with his first wraith. Oov made an early advance out of his main to secure his natural, with Control quickly following suit. Using his first dropship to ferry some tanks to the centre of the map, Control advanced them to the cliff above Oov's natural but soon had to retreat as Oov countered the threat to his new expansion.
Oov now expanded his perimeter and took possession of the centre of the map, while at the same time starting a new command centre at the five o'clock position, while Control was expoing to the 11 and 12 positions. With a flight of wraiths now joining his ground forces, Control started to advance, heading for Oov's newly established expansion at five. Oov desperately tried to cut off the advancing tank force but was too late as Control's army thundered into the five o'clock expansion and delivered a serious body blow to Oov's economy. Oov now tried to counter with a centre push but his advancing goliaths were easily obliterated by Control's waiting tanks.
Oov was looking a shadow of the player of the first two games but he managed to maneouvre his tanks in position to cliff Control's natural, forcing the command centre to lift. However, Control was now up to five starports, with wraiths reporting for duty all the time. Oov again tried to break through the centre, with tanks and goliaths, but failed for a second time. Control, his economy outstripping his opponent, counterattacked, surging forward and devastating Oov's new expansion at the 5.30 position. Oov tried to inflict similar damage on Control's 12 o'clock expo but was able to cause little damage. With Control's economy ascendant and all Oov's attempts to set back his opponent coming to nothing, Control advanced in the centre with his wraiths supporting his ground forces. Oov had nothing left to offer and left the game.
Game Five on Mercury
And so... as with both the superb OSL semifinals, the 3rd/4th place match came down to a deciding game. One player would reverse their ill fortune and secure automatic qualification for the next Starleague, joining OSL finalists July Zerg and [Oops]Reach and Challenge League champion, the legendary Boxer. For the loser the entire arduous journey through the group stage and three tough matches would end in complete disappointment; a long road that finally went nowhere.
Oov spawned in the three position and opened with his usual double factory, while Control (at 12) again chose a one factory and one starport option. Control went on the offensive early, destroying three SCVs with a lone vulture. Upon the arrival of his first wraith, Control tried to take an early expansion but did not count on Oov's rapid attack. Oov went at him with seven SCVs and three tanks, forcing Control to cancel the expo. Nevertheless, he countered with a drop to Oov's main, Oov's SCVs eventually rallying to destroy the two siege tanks. Control took his expansion, with Oov following suit. Control also tried to redrop Oov's main but was this time foiled by a combination of goliaths and SCVs.
Control now instituted a rapid and seemingly unsustainable expansion policy, trying to take the centre left expo only to lose it immediately to one tank and some goliaths, the high centre expo and the eight o'clock position. He was also collecting resources at the 12 right expansion. Oov, as is his wont, was playing more conservatively, settling for an expansion at the five position. Perhaps seeking to keep his opponent on the back foot, Control launched a four-ship drop on Oov's main. It caused damage but as Oov's new force of wraiths closed to defeat the invaders Control seemed to lose concentration. Perhaps he was distracted by his veritable cityscape of new real estate across the map but he failed to scan and Oov's cloaked ships picked off the invaders. Oov took advantage of his opponent's stumble by pushing out with his tanks and wraiths. He toppled the high centre expo and again attacked at left centre. Control countered with shots to Oov's right centre base and on into the five o'clock expo as buildings went up in flames all across the Mercury landscape. Oov continued the destruction, with his wraiths taking down the eight o'clock expansion.
As Oov re-established his left centre expansion it became obvious that Control was a spent force. He still had command centres all across the map but there were no SCVs working at any of them. Oov pushed forward again and despite a desperate counterattack by his vultures Control had nothing left.
Iloveoov 3 - 2 Silent_Control
Iloveoov, with a 10 - 6 record final record, secures the automatic qualifying spot in the next Starleague. Silent_Control, with an 8 - 8 final record, and for all his efforts, secures nothing except perhaps an enhanced reputation.
The Gillette OSL Final takes place on August 1 in the southern city of Daegu.