[GSL] May Code-S Final Preview

GSL May on Liquidpedia
Pre-final interviews from PlayXP.com, translated by phosgene

While Code-A was all about generational change this May, the upper ranks of Code-S became a bastion of the old guard. From the player with the most years on his frame, Nestea, to the one with the most championships, Nada, old school reigned supreme. Even Inca is a hardened veteran, having played Starcraft II since GomTV's very first tournaments (not to mention being in the "Old Generation" team, oGs). Ah well. The youngsters can wait for another month, they've got all the time the world. For now, they should just sit back, and watch as their elders show them what real Starcraft is all about.

NesTea vs Inca

<Xel'Naga Caverns>
<Terminus SE>
<Crossfire SE>
<Tal'Darim Altar LE>
<Metalopolis>
<Dual Sight>
<Crevasse>

by confusedcrib

NesTea - 13-3 (81.25%) vs Protoss

He wants it: Though it's strange to call the winner of $89,000 dollars unfortunate, that's exactly what Nestea is concerning the timing of his GSL championship. Despite winning under more difficult circumstances, he could not capture the same degree of glory as FruitDealer from just a season ago. FD had the significant boost of being the very first champion, and fulfilling the "underdog race finally wins!" story before people truly realized the folly of playing Zerg. Though Nestea has remained unchallenged as the best Zerg in the world since then, his championship made SC II fans take his victories for granted. His pleas to balance Zerg went unnoticed, while his few losses caused people to write him off as old and outdated.

Now, in these tumultuous times, when cries of Protoss imbalance echo through the halls of Starcraft II, Nestea finds himself in a most curious spot. He can bring hope to the tortured Zerg masses, be a savior to those who have only now recognized the suffering he has born for them, and begun to appreciate the magnitude of his achievements (apologies to those of you who have kept the faith all along). If Nestea wins in Zerg's darkest hour, he will show that Zerg is not only playable, but in the hands of a great king, can destroy all who stand in it's way (also destroy any chance of Blizzard buffing Zerg in the next two patch cycles). Or will this merely be the final flash of hope before the lightbulb bursts?

Nestea's Path
+ Show Spoiler [The Journey] +

RO32
1. (T)

Clide 2-0 ► Advances to Ro16
2. (Z)

NesTea 2-1 ► Advances to Ro16
3. ~~Jinro 1-2~~
4. ~~San 0-2~~

RO16
(Z)

NesTea < Terminus SE > FruitDealer
NesTea < Dual Sight > (Z)

FruitDealer
NesTea < Metalopolis > (Z)

FruitDealer

RO8
NesTea < Dual Sight > (P)

anypro
NesTea < Metalopolis > (P)

anypro

NesTea < Crossfire SE > anypro
NesTea <Terminus RE > (P)

anypro
~~NesTea < Tal'Darim Altar > anypro~~

RO4
(Z)

NesTea < Metalopolis > sC
NesTea < Xel'Naga Fortress > (T)

sC
NesTea < Tal'Darim Altar LE > (T)

NesTea < Terminus SE > sC
NesTea < Crossfire SE > (T)

In group play, only an equally formidable beast could dare tackle Jinro, the fearsome gorilla-terran Jinro, but Nestea managed to pull it off...twice. Nestea then defeated FruidDealer in the RO16, where Nestea proved that he was no usurper, but the rightful Zerg king all along.

His ZvP? Against Anypro, Nestea showed that he could perform a wide variety of plays, from an ultra creative attack, a perfect read and abuse of stargate openings, and even ling baneling into broodlords. His executed these strategies with near perfect precision, proving that he is without a doubt, the true Zerg #1.

Oh, ConfusedCrib, did you forget a match? Anyone see that thing against SC?

On May 11 2011 12:41 Day[9] wrote:
Nestea vs scfou game 5 on crossfire! Seriously the best game ever made

Yeah, that game. There's only one thing I can say about our Zerg friend. It reminds me of a movie:

"The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he, who in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who would attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee." (Ezekiel 25:17)

"Do I look like a noob?"
"No!"
"Then why'd you try to cheese me like a noob?"

Inca- 0-4 (0.00%) vs Zerg

He wants it: oGs Inca. Though he has been here from the very beginning, this man is not a household name. Inca has never had the chance to really shine, securing mid-table finishes with almost meticulous precision. Some may say that repetition means validation, and thus Inca has been scientifically proven to be mediocre. How easily we forget how good Inca was in GSL Open 1, where FruitDealer had to resort to the cheesiest of tactics (a 6 pool and a baneling bust) in the RO8. We all know how Starcraft II is: some players get lucky breaks, others get none at all.

It took may have required a bit of dark-side embracing, but Inca finally got his breaks, and now he is just four steps away from his first championship. Already, he can imagine the sweet taste of victory in his mouth, like the lemon-sweetness of a cold summer brew (*ducks*). Though oGsMC will surely be advising Inca on how to best destroy his opponent, in the end it will be the bitterness and patience of ~~a thousand~~ one year that leads him to victory.

Inca's Path
+ Show Spoiler [The Journey] +

RO32
1. (Z)

July 2-0 ► Advances to Ro16
2. (P)

InCa 2-1 ► Advances to Ro16
3. ~~Rain 1-2~~
4. ~~HuK 0-2~~

RO16
(T)

Virus < Xel'Naga Caverns > InCa
(T)

Virus < Dual Sight > InCa
~~Virus < Metalopolis > InCa~~

RO8
(P)

SangHo < Tal'Darim Altar > InCa
(P)

SangHo < Terminus RE > InCa
(P)

SangHo < Xel'Naga Caverns> InCa
SangHo < Metalopolis > InCa
SangHo < Xel'Naga Fortress > InCa

RO4
(T)

NaDa < Xel'Naga Caverns > InCa
(T)

NaDa < Tal'Darim Altar LE > InCa
(T)

NaDa < Crevasse > InCa
~~NaDa < Xel'Naga Fortress > InCa~~
~~NaDa < Metalopolis > InCa~~

Inca immediately showed his scorn for the past, his and that of others, by taking out former silver medalist Rain twice to make it out of his group. This victory alone did not convince many, with a tame response of "meh" and "he beat a cheese factory" being prevalent. After he defeated talented players ST_Virus and TSL_Killer without dropping a single set, people started to suspect that this player might be a different Incan altogether. Finally, Inca wasn't afraid to re-inter even one of e-Sport's most sacred bodies, oGs NAda back into the ground, in order to seal his place in the finals.

Inca's play is in part so great because of his unpredictability; he cheeses as often as he plays standard, and it's anyone's guess as to what he's going to do after starting gate-core (if he begins that normally at all). Cheese gets a bad rap in some circles, but all but the most unusual champions have known the value of a well planned cheese strategy. As one of the finest purveyors of cheese in the land, Nestea should find Inca to be an interesting challenge.

We are not denying the fact that Inca is definitely the underdog this season, with his lack of PvZs this season, and the somewhat lacking name-value in his opponents. I'm sure many people think that Inca will suffer the fate of another famous Incan: King Atahualpa, who met his end at the hands of outside invaders, outmatched by their savagery and hunger for gold.

From his photoshops, you can tell what graphics guy HawaiianPig thinks about each player's respective chances.

But, with how unpredictable Inca is, anyone who counts him out is a fool. He is a solid, consistent player who has kept himself in the top-flight of Korean SC II for near a year now, and he will be preparing for this match like he has never prepared before. Nestea is a fluid player with a rigid base; something that Inca can definitely exploit. The right combination of creativity, deception, and good old fashioned luck might see Inca win his first gold medal.

"The underdog often starts and wins the fight, and occasionally the upper dog deserves to win." - Edgar Watson Howe

Also, don't forget to checkout the Live Report Thread, where the pre-game show is pretty HOT.

Here are some predictions from the TL staff. Oh come on, not all of us hate SC II.

[Antoine], Starcraft II watching machine. - Nestea, 4-1
+ Show Spoiler +

I've sort of been rooting for Inca to this point. People forget that he was one of the favorites in the first season before FruitDealer 6pooled him out of the quarterfinals. However, his ZvP has always been so far behind his other matchups that he has no hope of beating NesTea this weekend. He might steal a game on Crossfire, but the worst-case scenario for NesTea is 4-1.

Ares[Effort], Aspiring... something. Nestea 4-3
+ Show Spoiler +

I feel like both these players are going to bring some new and exciting strategies!

confusedcrib, SC II narrative finder. - Inca, 4-2
+ Show Spoiler +

While most everyone is counting on Nestea taking this series easily, only losing to cheesy plays, I think that Inca's unconventional play will make it closer than expected. After watching Inca open with a failed cheese, and then go high temps to recover from a 40 food deficit, I believe Inca knows how to make big plays happen.

His teammate, oGsMC debuted the gas first- 4 warp gate void ray all in, the single most creative cheese I've seen thus far out of protoss, and Inca has shown that he is working closely with MC for these matches. oGs Inca can play a solid enough macro game to survive until a death ball is up and he knows his cheeses and how to recover when they don't go as planned.

I think that Nestea's play has developed enough to take out the standard death ball play (as demonstrated by his matches from AnyPro), but can it deal with unconventional ones? If anyone can win, it's Nestea, but Inca has some very clever play and solid macro, and has a legitimate chance of taking the series. If Inca wins, it's not going to come down to the ace match, he'll need confidence going into every game to come out ahead, I can see him winning.

Divinek, Starcraft II writer. - Nestea, 4-2
+ Show Spoiler +

While this may be a chance for Inca to show us whether his PvZ has improved at all recently, it's rather doubtful it's anywhere near the level required to beat nestea. I think he may have some creative builds that could catch nestea off guard, but there's no way he's taking the whole series.

Heyoka, plays Protoss. Nestea 4-1
+ Show Spoiler +

Inca isn't good at PvZ. NesTea understands ZvP and is going to use funny new builds to humiliate and destroy him. He will probably mess one up and lose in hilarious fashion because thats how finals go.

tofucake, Liquipedia baron. - Inca, 4-0
+ Show Spoiler +

Mostly because I don't like Nestea...it tastes weird...and because the Incans were pretty cool guys.

WaxAngel - Nestea, 4-1
+ Show Spoiler +

Jesus Christ, look at their stats vs each other's race. 80+% vs 0%? Narrowly averts a 4-0 prediction, because even the most outmatched contenders can bring something fresh to the table for at least one game in the final. Don't worry Inca, if you hang in there for a few years, you'll get an entirely PvP bracket one season! Also, zerg will never get patched.

And so it goes. Check in tonight to watch the finals @Gomtv.net

[GSL] May Code-S Final Preview

[GSL] May Code-S Final Preview

Completed

Ongoing

Upcoming