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TeamLiquid.net KTF-fimm Game of the Week:
[Oops]Reach (Park Jeong Seok) v Boxer (Lim Yo Hwan) on Nostalgia
It was a subdued terran emperor who faced off against terran-killer Reach (protoss at seven) on Nostalgia, following Boxer’s heartbreaking loss in the OSL finals just the night before.Boxer (terran at five) went one factory command centre against Reach’s double gate and range opening. Reach delayed his expo and loaded zeals onto a shuttle to try for a quick zealot bomb breakthrough at the early terran expansion. However, the shuttle ran into two turrets and was destroyed and it looked as though Reach had left himself way behind in the game. He expanded immediately and started massing. Keeping Boxer as busy as possible with dark drop harassment at the terran main, Reach took the nine expo and steadily built up his army. Boxer made a new command centre at three and was massing a mighty metal army in preparation for an imminent push towards the protoss main.
Boxer’s accumulated mass metal, including a frightening array of tanks, moved to low right centre then set off for the protoss base. Reach was waiting. His zealots and dragoons thundered into the fearsome terran army and as the tanks sieged two perfectly timed shuttles swooped in to deposit zealots and dark templar in their midst, causing utter confusion to break out and tanks to disappear rapidly.His forces triumphant on the battlefield, Reach sent them to destroy the terran natural, obliterating the command centre. Tank fire from the nearby plateau stopped an immediate move into the main. However, Reach had discovered the undefended expo at three with an observer and took it down with just a single zealot supported by a lone dragoon.
Boxer struggled to re-establish his natural but Reach was now in complete command and moved in for the kill, handing the emperor another defeat. Boxer had looked to be in a strong position in this game but Reach’s double shuttle drop into the terran tank force turned the game around.Other Games:
July Zerg (Park Seong Joon) v Kingdom (Park Yong Ook) on Luna
Kingdom, who has looked out of sorts throughout much of the tournament, opened with two gate zealots and gas rush. July (zerg at 11) also took his opponent’s geyser and early expanded. Kingdom (protoss at eight) had early success, taking out a total of four drones with a combination of two probes and his first zealot. However, his attempt to break through the sunken/zergling defences at the zerg natural with his first major zealot force proved was to no avail. July teched to lair and spire, Kingdom to stargate and then archives after taking his natural. July had started a new expansion at one, quickly discovered by a roaming probe. July now had lurkers available and was keeping Kingdom occupied with muta harassment, fended off by massed dragoons. Kingdom sent his massed force of zealots, dragoons and high templar out to the centre, swerved towards the zerg natural then decided to head to the one position. July’s response was perfection. His overlords glided into the protoss main for a mass lurker/ling drop, his forces starting to decimate the protoss base. Kingdom desperately tried to take out the one expo in response but July had craftily been erecting a forest of sunken colonies in anticipation of the attack. Realising there was no hope, Kingdom typed out.
Xellos (Seo Ji Hoon) v [Red]Nada (Lee Yoon Yeol) on Nostalgia
Nada (terran at five) opened with one factory and one starport against Xellos’ two factory early vulture/tank attack. Xellos (terran at eight) tried to catch Nada’s defensive tanks with mines but Nada was able to retreat them and pick off the attackers with the help of his first wraith. Both players expanded, with Nada going up to four factories and Xellos to two starports. Xellos tried to hold onto a containment at Nada’s double roadway with vultures and wraiths but Nada was able to blast his way out into the centre with a combination of tank, goliath and vulture. The players re-expoed, Xellos to nine and Nada to one, although Nada quickly took another expansion at three. Chaos ensued in Xellos’ main as Nada piloted three dropships through a forest of turrets to spread drop a host of goliaths. Meanwhile, at one, Xellos dropped two tanks, quickly surrounded by SCVs and destroyed before the tanks could get out of siege mode. With Nada having the superior economy, Xellos knew he had to break open the centre and he charged in with tanks from two directions. For moment it looked as if he was about to succeed but Nada brilliantly swooped in with four dropships full of reinforcements to wipe out the attackers and seal the win.
Rage (Kim Hwan Joong) v Terato (Park Jeong Kil) on Arizona
Both players in this basement battle opened with one gate zealot followed by cybernetics core, each netting a couple of probes with zeal harass. Both moved up to two gate dragoons but while Rage (protoss at eight) went for immediate robo, followed by bay and reaver, Terato (protoss at two) tried for an unearned expansion. Rage massed and attacked, overwhelming the undermanned opposition expo with the support of his reaver. Having failed to hold on to his natural, Terato quit and found himself at the bottom of the KT-fimm League, overtaken on the final day of the regular season by Rage.
Chojja (Jo Yong Ho) v ArtofHan (Han Oong Nyeol) on Requiem
Chojja’s stunning recent form showed no signs of fading here as he swatted Han aside. Chojja (zerg at six) went pool first against Han’s double barracks. Chojja managed to take out three SCVs with his early lings as Han (terran at three) struggled to secure his own main. The game may have ended very quickly but three firebats helped Han fend off a new wave of lings. Chojja teched to lair and den, morphed some lurkers then made a spire. Chojja managed to cause considerable disruption in the terran main with an initially unpromising two overlord lurker drop as it appeared that Han had run out of scan energy. One lurker sat behind the mineral line, keeping the SCVs away, while two other lurkers attacked structures on the other side of the terran base. Keeping his opponent nicely occupied, Chojja went for his hive then a defiler mound and held position just outside the terran main. He also had a queen and made good use of ensnare plus defiler dark swarm to pin the terran army in its own base. Falling further and further behind, Han tried to set up a new command centre at his natural but the swarm was in control of the terrain. A second ensnare and no chance of establishing a new base persuaded Han to quit, handing yet another win to the seemingly unstoppable Chojja.
KTF-fimm League standings:
Chojja 8 - 3
July Zerg 8 - 3
[Oops]Reach 7 - 4
[Red]Nada 7 - 4
ArtofHan 5 – 6
Xellos 5 - 6
Boxer 4 - 7
Kingdom 4 – 7
Rage 3 - 8
Terato 3 - 8
TeamLiquid.net KT Megapass Game of the Week:
Nal_Ra (Kang Min) v Sync (Byeon Kil Seop) on Nostalgia
Sync started fast in this Premiere League with some strong wins, downing July Zerg on opening day. However, he has been a fading force in recent weeks and was struggling to secure a winning record as he faced Ra in the final week.Ra (protoss at 11) went for double gate range and warped in a pylon at five, took his natural and started warping in a proxy robotics facility near his secret pylon. Sync (terran at seven) went one factory expo with quick mines.
As Ra’s first reaver appeared and boarded the waiting shuttle, Ra started warping in a third nexus at the five position. His reaver dropped into the terran main, destroying a few fleeing SCVs (right) and blowing up two supply depots as a tardy Sync struggled to position his tanks to defend his ain base.Ra sent his surplus probes to five and moved up to seven gateways as Sync still did not know about the five o’clock expansion. Sync tried to expand his perimeter to the nearby double roadway, with Ra launching harassment raids from the front to try to keep the tanks contained.
Sync managed to force Ra’s army to pull back and, having now discovered the five expo, which had two stargates and a fleet beacon, sent a force of tanks and vultures, breaking in to destroy some probes as Ra’s army laboured across the map, slowed by mines. As Ra’s army secured the five o’clock base, Sync moved against the protoss natural. However, his forces were caught in a protoss pincer as reinforcements combined with the returning dragoons from five to obliterate the terran tanks and vultures.
Sync desperately tried to keep his opponent off balance with another attack at five, this time destroying all probes, but Ra was seizing control of the game. His first carrier was out and his supply of ground forces was being continually replenished. He counter attacked to Sync’s double roadway, broke through and started to dismantle the terran natural (picture left). Despite valiant mine defence by Sync he could not hold onto his expansion and typed out.Other Games:
Mumyung (Seong Hak Seung) v GoRush (Park Tae Min) on Requiem
With GoRush looking to seal first place in the KT Megapass League he faced off against Mumyung on Requiem. The two pros opened with predictably identical pool, extractor, hatchery builds, with some early pressure by Mumyung (zerg at 12). GoRush (zerg at nine) appeared to have been keeping his unit count to the minimum possible and teching earlier to lair spire. As Mumyung’s lings broke into the enemy main they were met by GoRush’s first mutalisks. A typical muta/sourge battle ensued, with both players trying to gain air supremacy while harassing with zerglings. GoRush secured victory by managing to take and hold his natural and as his superior production became significant Mumyung realised the game was effectively over.
Cloud (Cha Jae Ook) v IntotheRainbow (Kim Seong Jae) on Nostalgia
Rainbow (protoss at five) went for fast citadel and archives for an early dark drop. Having sensed something was up after his Rainbow blocked the entrance to the protoss main, Cloud (terran at 11) opted for double factory vultures. As the vultures headed down the map, Rainbow’s shuttle headed up, only to discover a hidden turret. Rainbow held his own undermanned main with cannons and actually started taking his natural with two vultures still on his main plateau. Cloud had secured his own main, took his natural and started massing tanks. The terran army quickly set off for the enemy base and took up position near the protoss double roadway. Rainbow was now building up a dragoon force. He also had a surprising four shuttles and attempted to get back into a game that was fast slipping away from him with a drop into the terran main. Cloud saw the shuttles after they floated over some mines near en route and was ready with a defensive force. His drop proving to be a bust, Rainbow tried to break out from his natural but his forces were outnumbered and obliterated. Cloud moved in for the kill and demolished the protoss expansion. With the terran army having secured an expo at 12 and taking new ones at one and seven, Rainbow quit.
GoodFriend (Lee Byeong Min) v TheMarine (Kim Jeong Min) on Arizona
TheMarine (terran at 11) opted for a one factory two starport build against the two factory build of GoodFriend (terran at two). TheMarine went for early cloaking wraiths while his opponent erected starport of his own and looked for early success with a one tank, two goliath drop. His dropship cruised along the top of the map only to run into three wraiths heading in the opposite direction, with the wraiths destroying the dropship and the goliaths under the cover of a cloaking field. The wraiths immediately headed to the unprotected main of GoodFriend, destroying a number of SCVs and setting back GoodFriend’s economy catastrophically. TheMarine decided to take two quick expansions at his natural and the 12 o’clock position. With GoodFriend still macroing off his main only, TheMarine built his strategic advantage into a material one and overwhelmed the hopelessly undermanned GoodFriend base.
Yellow (Hong Jin Ho) v Iloveoov (Choi Yeon Seong) on Arizona
Oov was basking in the glow of his OSL triumph while Yellow was still smarting from his beating by Boxer as the two titans clashed on Arizona. Yellow (zerg at 11) went for a standard early expo build while Oov (terran at five) opted for three barracks and a fast infantry attack. Oov’s early infantry charged at Yellow’s sunken colonies, taking down two out of three but being forced to retreat. However, Oov attacked again with firebats immediately, circling under the natural mineral line before being surrounded by drones and hydras and destroyed. The threat extinguished, Yellow began building up a strong force of lurkers and zerglings. Oov, meanwhile put up a factory and starport. With Oov sitting back and teching, Yellow quickly amassed a fearsome army and steadily moved down towards the terran base. As Oov tried to launch a drop behind the lines with a single ship, Yellow attacked the suddenly undermanned terran main. Oov’s choke bunker fell and the swarm moved in to deliver the killing blow, forcing Oov to quit. Perhaps he should have bunker rushed instead…
KT-Megapass League:
GoRush 8– 3
Yellow 8– 3
Cloud 7 – 4
TheMarine 7 – 4
Nal_Ra 5 - 6
Sync 5 – 6
Goodfriend 4 - 7
Iloveoov 4 – 7
Mumyung 4 - 7
IntotheRainbow 3 - 8
And the TeamLiquid.net Player of the Week award goes to Reach who fought back to deliver a double shuttle sucker punch to the terran emperor in a revival of one of Brood War’s longer-running rivalries.
