EPT
The tournament opened with Nal_Ra selecting Oov, with Reach and Friend following them into the group. From the moment Ra lost his opening game to Oov he has been in decline, a pale shadow of the unbeatable pro of just six months ago. July Zerg started with a stunning win over a befuddled Zeus and just carried on knocking over opponents all the way to the final. His four-pool humiliation of Casy on live television will live long in the memory. Oov and Kingdom cruised through the group stage, while Reach also looked impressive despite his loss to the Gorilla Terran. Nada struggled to get out of his group, surviving a scare against GoRush. Silent_Control was also looking to make his mark.
As the tournament moved to the quarterfinal stage the pace of the action picked up. Oov's suicide squad frying of Zeus' nexus in the opening game of their match was nothing short of stunning, while both the eventual finalists found themselves on the verge of elimination after opening game losses, July Zerg going down to Xellos and an insipid Reach losing to Nada. Nevertheless, both players stormed back the following week and went on to take their matches with convincing wins in the final round. Shock of the round had to be Kingdom's inexplicable missteps against Control. After dominating the first game with his fourth successive win in the tournament, he folded and Control was through. Controversy raged in the TL forum, with allegations of fixed games. Zeus got a second chance in his game three against Oov when there was a disconnect as the terran was on the verge of victory. Oov got angry and got tough and took mere minutes to demolish Zeus in the replayed final game.
The semifinals provided never-to-be-forgotten Starcraft brilliance. July Zerg showed once again that he was setting the standard for all zerg players to follow with his relentlessly aggressive play against Oov. Never has Oov looked so bemused as he faced attacks from every side. It is fair to say that the 3 - 2 final scoreline flattered the terran player, as he was convincingly outplayed in the match. July set the pace and tone in every game and even looked like the better player in the two he lost.
In the second semi, Reach went down to a mass barracks, mass marines hit and run by Control in the first game but thereafter outplayed his wilting terran opponent. The deciding fifth game provided another of the tournament's most memorable moments as a shuttle-dropped zealot dragged a rogue spider mine into the middle of Control's own forces and obliterated the major part of the terran army. There was no coming back after that and Reach secured a final spot.
After a somewhat uninspiring 3rd/4th place match, with Oov securing qualification for the next Starleague, joining Challenge League champion Boxer, attention shifted to Daegu for the final.
Reach had showed flashes of his 2002 self in the previous rounds but in the final he decided that only the unorthodox and the unexpected would provide a realistic chance of defeating the supreme form of July Zerg. From building a scout (!) in the opening game and trying cannon rushes, early expansions and proxy gates in the later clashes, Reach tried a whole host of tricks to take down the relentless swarm. After putting in an imperious performance in game one, Reach never again threatened. July rolled over him three times in a row and the zerg finally had an OSL champion.
So, with July Zerg crowned champion, it only remains to detail the Gillette OSL TeamLiquid.net Awards.
The 'Garimto' Award for Player of the Tournament is honourably and respectfully bestowed upon...
July Zerg. The TeamLiquid site would have collapsed under the weight of protest posts if the swarm sensation had not picked up this richly deserved award. There really was no competition. July was impressive from the first game of the tournament to the last. His style of play was aggressive and ceaselessly entertaining as he dismantled one top class opponent after another. Here's what you had to say.
"JulyZerg, as if there was any doubt. First Zerg champion? Took down the 'unstoppable' Oov? Took the fight to his opponent every single game? Used a variety of strategies up to and including 4 pool? I think so." - Sir Alex.
"July, no contest. The only zerg player to make it into the OSL. Completely green, but rolls thru everything including the mighty oov..." - ToKoreaWithLove.
"JulyZerg :O I think he is the whole new type of Zerg..." - DoubleStormIII.
The 'Mumyung' Award for Worst Player is chucked unceremoniously at...
Doggi. He really did 'pull a Mumyung', somehow making it through the qualification stages only to be made to look like a Battle.net chobo in three straight games. His losses to Casy and Zeus were particularly embarrassing. Although he has failed to qualify for the next Starleague he did, in a strange twist of fate, still manage to put Nal_Ra out of the tournament as well.
"Doggi. He belongs in the challenge league. If even that." - Adamthegreat
"Doggi. Two time appearance in the OSL and a 0-6 rec to show for it. No one's done worse." - Make7UpYours.
The 'Boxer' Creativity/Inspiration Award is handed, in a state of awe and amazement, to...
July Zerg. The opinion of many TeamLiquidians was that July had redefined pro-level zerg with his endlessly aggressive and attacking style. Indeed, against Oov and Xellos he looked utterly dominant, outplaying the terran elite in a way rarely seen.
"July again. He showed everyone how to play zerg and win, and he pulled out just the right amount of unorthodox builds to terrify people (4 pool, proxy hatch, queens in the FINAL...)" - Sir Alex.
The 'Chojja' Missing in Action Award sits forlornly on the shelf waiting in vain to be picked up by...
Nal_Ra. After sweeping all before him in the previous league, reaching his second final in succession, looking unbeatable and picking Oov for the opening game, Ra's mojo suddenly left him. He never recovered from his loss to Oov, was outplayed by Reach and struggled to overcome Friend as he exited the league.
Game of the Tournament was clearly...
Silent_Control v [Oops]Reach, semifinal match game five. With everything on the line, Reach pulled off some golden moves and produced some scintillating moments to finally overcome a fading Control. And of course there was that mine moment...
The 'WTF!' Moment of the Tournament Award is handed carefully via an asbestos glove to...
Iloveoov's suicide frying of a staggered Zeus' nexus in game one of their quarterfinal match. Many of us will long remember the incredible sight of Oov's marine and firebat attack force circling under Requiem's central cross and scurrying unhindered into Zeus' main. Zeus withdrew his probes to safety as his dragoons retreated to snuff out the threat, only to see his nexus engulfed in an inferno by the terran army's last surviving firebat with his last sheet of flame. Truly incredible.
"A series that was expected to be a nail-biting back-and-forth fight to the death opened with a suicide run by Oov that missed interception by Zeus's army, went straight for the nexus, and destroyed it with literally the last shot from the last unit at the last second." - Make7UpYours.
The Player Most Likely to Win the Next Starleague Award is placed warily into the hairy hand of...
Iloveoov. Despite folding in a state of bewilderment to July Zerg in the semifinals, and scraping past Control in the third place match, the Gorilla Terran still commands the respect of the TeamLiquid community and is tipped to go all the way next time out.
Hope you enjoyed the Starleague as much as I did. Until next time...
i never heard july before that starleague
