[SPL] SK Telecom T1 vs STX SouL

"It’s a bit redundant to write the predictions section if you basically know the REAL end result already. Nevertheless, since some are pretty stubborn about their own fever dreams, lets go over this once again, shall we?
SKT is undeniably one of the stronger teams this season, and their winstreak might give people the wrong idea that this match is going to be onesided in the favor of SKT. Boy, are you ever wrong. There are a few presumptions that have lead to such a misnomer, so let’s take a look at them:

1. Bisu is on an unbeatable winstreak.

2. SKT is a deep team that has lots of viable options.

3. STX is a weak team, as signified by their current loss-win ratio

First, admittedly, Bisu has a very high win percentage indeed. He basically gets the ground worshipped whenever he comes up on TL. But is it justified? If you take a closer look, it involves only hardly slumping Terrans (fOrGG, Really), mediocre players and great, who pardon the pun, isn’t doing that great either. The only real threats to Bisu who Bisu beat were Soulkey (In Bisu’s strongest matchup!) and Stork (in a funny foreign tournament noone even cares about). Kal is the only non-zerg player with a shot at the ro16 in any individual tournament whom Bisu has played. And on that note, he is now a total 3-5 against Kal, with 4 losses in this half of 2010. Unbeatable? I think not. Actually, you are better off praying he does not meet Kal or Classic/Frozen, because I predict a sudden fall from fanboy-Bonjiwa status otherwise.

2. While it’s true that SKT is a deep team, they will be hard-pressed to counter everything STX can throw at them. STX has played 3 Protoss, or 4 Terrans this season, and 5 Zergs is completely feasible, considering their performance in the indicidual leagues.A lot of the SKT core, in particular the “star players” have notable deficiencies in certain MU-s. Ask Best why he doesn’t get to play in the individual leagues this winter. Or Bisu about the last time he played Cuteangel, or Sea. They have notable weak points (Bisu less and less, but I wouldn’t be surprised if a no-name Terran knocks him out early), and a rather fragile team atmosphere, it seems. Or doesn’t anyone else find it a co-incidence that July, Gorush, and Bisu, of all people, started performing way worse when they switched teams to SKT, and suddenly re-emerged on other teams, like ACE and STX? Or Frozean, who became remarkably more solid after being the 12-loss Terran on Samsung?
Long story short, while SKT does have a deep lineup, STX 1-ups them easy in that regard, and is a real pain to snipe. And as for the team morale, something must have been horribly wrong in SKT town for a long while. Maybe the Girl Group dances helped remedy what was wrong earlier. But a sign of a strong TEAM escapes me.


They would make a cute Orange Caramel cover band though.

3. STX is not weak now, it’s actually on fire. Even the staunchest STX fanboy has to admit that their team is one of extreme heights and extreme lows. And if the individual leagues are any indicator, even Modesty got into a round of 16! Calm won the MSL wildcard tournament, and Kal had one hell of an impressive showing against WeMade Ace Baby in the OSL. If that’s not an extreme high, I don’t know what is. If SKT is foolhardy enough to dismiss STX easily, they are in for a horrible awakening.

The higher SKT is right now, the harder it will fall. At the very least, expect a very hard battle if not a complete smackdown that leaves the high and mighty team disarrayed for a lot of the second round. If not now, STX is going to stomp SKT into the ground later, because they have the human resources to replace slumping players. Be afraid of losing your unbeatable status, SKT fanboys. Be VERY afraid.

As for simple fans, who simply want to see some good starcraft, I think this match will deliver. And afterwards, we will set aside our differences. The earliest version of the above banner was made to commemorate the event that symbolizes the unison of all BW fans.



But as of right now, let the battle commence, and may the best team win. STX fighting!"

Right now, SKT is in good of a shape as it has ever been. Bisu has returned from his 2010 slump, Fantasy has all but recovered from his early season slump, Best was able to defeat Flash, free, and Stork in his games, and the zergs, especially Soo, are in the form of their lives.
STX, on the other hand, is now a washed up team. Clam is here to stay, and Kal cannot win when it really matters. Time and time again, they wanted to defeat SKT, but they failed. Look at the past 2 SKT Masters Cups and the 09-10 Proleague season. You will see that STX has no chance at victory this time around.
STX is the team of disappointments. They can be around and look good, but when push comes to shove, when something really matters, they simply fall apart and lose. Just look at last season. STX worked so hard to get up to #2, but in the end they went home with the bronze after being 2-0'd.
In addition, SKT possesses the moral advantage. Look at the STX lineup. Kal, Clam, by.hero, Modesty, and Bogus. Kal and Bogus are notorious for going far in tournaments only to get crushed in the end, eliminating good players along the way. The rest are known frequent cheesers with no skill, simply cheesing through their games instead of playing standard. SKT has a moral obligation to cleanse the playoff roster of these evils.
STX will share the same fate today. Your chicken stores have run dry, and now you will crumble to superior play.

Strategy fit for battle.net.

Decent. Watch if you have spare time.

Good for a quick laugh and not much else.

No. Just no.

Pretty nice defense and counter, check it out!

Ehh, no.

Not played.