EPT
The first week kicked off with some of the shiniest stars in progaming. Some? Well, the lineup for the MSL is stronger than the last KT-KTF league, so we should be in for some great games. The Boxer/July game from this week is an instant classic, so enjoy.
Jju(z) vs GoRush(z) on Rush Hour
GoRush, still claiming the title "best zvz in the world" was favored to win this match. But Jju is rightfull owner of the "most unpredictable player in the world" - you just never know what game he will bring.
Well GoRush(@7) looks ahead from the start. Jju(@4) goes 9 pool -> hat -> gas but the distance prevents him from damaging GoRush' fast expand at all. Once speed kicks in GoRush chases Jju back to his own base and looks way ahead in every part of the game. Kicks in Jju's front door and roams around the other zerg base with many lings. Jju is forced into defense mode with a sunken, but bad placement gave GoRush with a window to destroy his extractor.
GoRush looks so dominating - like a zerg version of Kingdom in his best shape. But Jju, on the verge of defeat now, gets a few lings into GoRush' main and destroys the spire! GoRush goes desperate with lings and a few muta, but Jju got what he needed and pours it on now. Another group of lings catches GoRush with his pants down and kills the almost-rebuilt spire. Jju has air superiority and muta kills GoRush' drones. GoRush fights back when his spire is finallt done, but economy is in ruins and Jju finishes him off.
Jju > GoRush
Quite honestly more of a lucky win for Jju than a bad game by GoRush. GoRush was clearly the superior player, but Jju came back with his harass lings.
Kingdom(p) vs iloveoov(t) on Luna 2.1 (The Final)
First of all, MBCgame sucks for putting 3 SK T1 members in the same group. Kingdom, oov and the recently signed GoRush are all stuck in group A, ganging up on poor Jju. Boxer got his best possible group, and celebrates himself down in group B.
Kingdom vs iloveoov would have been one hell of a match - a year ago. Kingdom fell prey to the lesser known, but just as mean iloveoov curse, and faded out of the majors. He is semi-back with qualifications for both the OSL and this MSL league, but lost his opening match vs the unproven GGPlay(z) in the first OSL week.
I'm a chitchattin' women. The game is on with oov at 11 doing a rax - fac build with marines for defense. Kingdom(@7) spots the lack of wallin and a lone zealot racks up marine kills. Oov is unable to clear his base before a vulture is produced, and by then Kingdom has goons out and is again pressuring, forcing oov into defense mode. Kingdom is unable to break the terran ramp and sets up a line of goons covering the terran entrance. Oov plants mines and follows Kingdom by expanding himself. Kingdom seems to be ahead on everything, and everybody is expecting a long, exciting game.
But oov proves everybody wrong with a simple vulture group running past Kingdom's goon blockade and into the undefended protoss main. Kingdom, realizing he could not save his main, tried to counter, but did bad micro and lost too many goons to mines. Oov plants a forest of mines around the two gateways and Kingdom finds his last goon trapped and killed as his probes are decimated by vultures.
Oov > Kingdom
Oov's last attack really felt desperate to me. It didn't look desperate, but that's an oov thing. Kingdom was clearly in a superior position with oov having NO tanks at all, and oov had to do something to come back. He was probably just as surprised that his 3 vultures ended the game as everybody else.
Slayers_`Boxer`(t) vs JulyZerg(z) on Raid Assault 2
July is something for himself. The ONLY zerg to win an official OGN Starleague, the only zerg to be #1 on kespa rankings since .. well, forever? An ultra-agressive zerg who came out of nowhere and beat up everyone and everything on his way to fame and fortune. His opponent is Boxer. Mr. Starcraft himself, the most popular player in progaming and the pioneer or more strats than you know. Ranked #2 vZ on pgr21, only recently passed by the in-shape Nada. Judging by recent shape we have Boxer as an underdog; but Boxer is never an underdog in ANY match.
The game starts with Boxer(@12) going fac into dual starport. The first two vultures kills some lings, but July did the Boxer 101 course and knows wraiths will follow. Defends his belongings with a few hydra while going spire and later muta. Boxer is of course prepared with a bunker and turrets, so July turns back. Boxer has cloak for his wraiths and picks up drone kills in the zerg main. July bites the apple and runs his drones untill new overlords can be hatched.
Boxer soon returns and shows amazing wraith micro, picking off almost all the drones at the zerg natural. Niza, take your mutas and go home! Boxer is meanwhile building a m&m force, and his while force goes against July's comparable muta/hydra army. July takes the elevated position leading into his base, halting the advance of the terran army. These two are probably the best micro players in progaming today, and July keeps track of all the Boxerness lim tries to trick him with. July is still buliding up a hydra/lurker army, while Boxer is containing him with m&m and his wraiths. Boxer is also securing his own expansion, while July is going for drops.
July realizes he can't get out and tries a mass drop on the terran main, but Boxer spots the overlord group with an scv and the drop is stopped cold by wraiths, m&m and tanks. Most of the overlords didnt even unload. Boxer's containment force is pushed back by massive lurker numbers, but he has already set up bunkers and tanks on the hill overlooking July's ramp and retreats there. Boxer is now running 2 bases, while July is taking another to equalize things. Another drop from July actually lands on the ground, and takes out the upper half of the terran main - mostly depots. Boxer retaliates with a dual ship m&m drop and kills July's newly built defiler mouth.
With the action now slightly less we have Boxer running 2 expansions and still going m&m with a few tanks. July has hive tech and seems to be running 2 expansions plus his main. Clearly going for more, but the close positions has Boxer pushing July with a strong battle group. July takes down Boxer's mineral natural with a few hydra, and suddenly the game is turned around. Boxer ignores the expandsion and pushes forward, but July has defilers and the main terran battle group is turned back, and most of the tanks lost! July won't stop and pushes with everything, forcing Boxer back to his expansion.
July now halts to secure minerals and drop the terran main again, but is stopped without doing significant damage. Boxer answers with a few cloakwraiths killing many drones, but July has a superior army and pushes forward into the terran nat! Everything looks lost for Boxer, but SOMEHOW he kills everything with his small group of marines. The commentators is going crazy, and one look on July's bases shows why. Boxer's wraiths took down almost all of July's drones and the zerg master is close to broke! July was so sure of his victory, he didnt bother to rebuild workers! Boxer, always with his ice control, quickly takes down a zerg expand and at the same time drops another - bringing July back to zero!
July does everything he can, every singly micro trick in his great book, but his last battle group of lurkers and lings gets owned as Boxer enter the zerg base and secures his first victory in the MSL.
Boxer > July
A great, great game. Get on the tracker and download this VOD, shows both Boxer and July at the top of their game, and several battles had me forgetting the whole report thing and just enjoy.
That concludes the first week of the MSL. Chojja vs ForU was cancelled because Chojja's computer didnt work. Next weeks matches (tomorrow) is:
Nada(t) vs IpxZerg(z)
Yellow(z) vs ZeuS(p)
Xellos(t) vs Mingu(z)
Reach(p) vs TheMarine(t)
