EPT
Loser's games had 3 SK T1 members and the old Pvt legend ForU getting jiggy for a chance at the big title. Here's what went down..
Game 1 : Boxer(t) vs ForU(p) on Raid Assault 2
ForU was once a protoss to make every terran lose his pants before the match even began. Things may have changed, but one should never underestimate old giants. Boxer has already expressed his confidence in TvP on MBc maps, and is as always the favorite for the match.
Boxer(@6) opens strong with a 1 fac new cc build, and expands to his mineral only nat. Inexplicably gets a wraith from his starport .. shuttle defense? ForU went with the standard gate/robo opening and has goons around. Boxer's wraith proves effective right away as it kills ForU's first shuttle just as it emerges from the robo facility. Brilliant! Also allows the emperor to keep tab on the myriad of expansions around the map, and almost kill another shuttle.
Boxer, feeling secure, takes his gas natural after fortifying things with a bunker and detecting turrets. ForU is so far mining from his main and natural, and tries to reaver drop the terran main. Unfortunately the already damaged shuttle run into turrets and gets blown up mid-air. Boxer is clearly controlling the game, powering up his 3 bases and pumping from many factories. Also sneaks a pack of vultures out back end eliminates every single probe in both the protoss expansions!
Man, ForU is really going downhill here. Manages to stop the first real breakout attempt by Boxer, but has already suffered massive damage and is gambling on quick carriers to save him here. Looks grim, Boxer drops the protoss main and at the same time kills more probes in ForU's natural. The first carrier emerges and slowly kills off the vultures in the main base, but the surprise is gone and Boxer goes into push mode. Sets out with his now massive metal army, ignoring the carriers hitting his tanks and pushes almost to the protoss natural.
ForU makes another miracle stop with goons and carriers, but Boxer is now up to 4 bases and has a strong push set up in the middle. The game itself is really surprising me, tho. Boxer is ahead in money and has been for the whole game, but still he looks like the one losing the match. ForU has been pulling one miracle-stop after another, and Boxer's armies look a little less massive as the game continues. His goliaths is unable to inflict critical damage to the ever-growing group of carriers, and ForU always has more goons for support.
ForU is even able to devote a small group of goons to take down the undefended expansion at 7. These goons prove very effective, as Boxer is forced to keep all his troops on the front line and is unable to defend the his expansions. ForU takes down the mineral only and plants goons on the hill overlooking the terran natural, making Boxer suddenly broke.
Not for long, Boxer takes down the goons and retake 7, but the emperor is vulnerable, and ForU has a brand new nexus well defended at 1. Boxer is the zerg in this match, taking both 8 and 2 while pushing on ForU's small land army with well-microed vultures. Has a strong containment set up in the middle, and looks to build ghosts for some classic Boxer godlyness.
Not happening. The ForU that can pull comebacks versus everyone on the planet is back. He has weathered the storm since the beginning, and is not leaving now. Another small goon force ends all mining activity at the 8 and 7 expansions, while carriers is brought to defend the vital 1 base. Boxer brings ghosts into play and locks down a few carriers, but by now the numbers are too great and the small army of goliaths is destroyed.
ForU 1-0 Boxer
Game 2 : Boxer(t) vs ForU(p) on Rush Hour
I would love to say that ForU won the previous game on his own, but unfortunately Boxer is losing a lot of games he had won recently. His build orders and stratgic mind is still far superior to anyone, but his late game is still bad. Could learn something from oov:o ForU will want to close the match here, while Boxer is struggling to keep his spot in the loser's bracket.
ForU(@7) goes standard and gets range right away. Boxer(@3) opens with ElkY's trademark fake gundam to establish his expansion early and force ForU to defend instead of expanding to counter the terran fast expand. ForU is too experienced for that, and expands once he has obs building. Boxer holds back while adding factories and scouting the various expansions avaliable to his foe.
ForU takes an expansion at 9, right above his main, while Boxer is challenging him to a macro game by taking both 1 and the 1 natural. Has dual armories working on upgrades and a scary metal army is not far away. ForU is once again countering the turtling terran strat with a single stargate, probably for another carrier game. No action so far, with the exception of ForU clearing mines around the map and Boxer planting new ones.
The huge mass of tanks and vultures sitting at the terran main finally moves, taking a swing up on the map and going down against ForU using the middle area. ForU is alarmed by his obs, and takes on Boxer head on! Holy crap, where did all THAT come from?!?!?? ForU breaks the wall of metal without breaking a sweat, and Boxer has to bring reinforcements to keep his expansions. ForU is also working on carriers from two stargates, but he won't be needing them anytime soon! Another push by Boxer is soundly challenged, broken and smahed into the ground by ForU's massive ground army.
ForU is pushing Boxer at every turn, he took the macro challenge and did it better than the terran! Boxer can't belive what is happening - he has more bases, more production facilities and he is the god damn empeor, but ForU is still beating his armies with only ground troops and not even advanced support from templars or the carriers now idling in the protoss main.
ForU is feeling the game going into his hands, and brings in the heavy artillery for the kill. Carriers, templars and archins now join the ground troops for a strong attack on the terran natural. Boxer buy himself some time with a 1 tank 2 vulture attack on the 6 o'clock protoss base - I think I saw 23 total probe kills on a tank and a vulture. Also manages to hold his natural base with a constant flow of reinforcements, but heavy losses looks bad for our emperor. Once again tries to bring ghosts into play, and knowing Boxer's ghost history one can hope for a miracle-comeback.
Not happening, part 2. ForU hunts down the ghosts before Boxer can save up enough energy. Boxer, pushed back into his own main and seeing no hope of winning, surrenders to the protoss swarm. Man, if only ForU could play like this EVERY game!
ForU 2-0 Boxer
Game 3 : iloveoov(t) vs Kingdom(p) on Rush Hour
I would love nothing more than seeing Kingdom for once beating his teammate and arch-nemesis oov in a series. Their last big match sent Kingdom into the oov-curse while oov got more money for his already full wallet. Unfortunately I don't see it going differently today, despite Kingdom's solid performance in the MSL so far.
Kingdom(@11) opens 1 gate reaver and blocks his ramp with two probes. Oov wa planning a fast expand, but changes course and gets another factory to punish Kingdom for fast teching. But Kingdom is already prepared with his reaver and 3 goons, defending well versus the early gundam styled attack from oov. Kingdom uses his reaver very well, attacking vultures planting mines and clearing new mines from his territory before they can plant themselves into the ground.
Once oov's first attack has failed, Kingdom goes offensive with his reaver. Shows his old reaver magic and pulls inhuman stunts with the one reaver and the shuttle. Oov is left defensive, but manages to start an expansion to combat Kingdom's new natural. Not helping much. Kingdom is back, now with 2 reavers in the shuttle and a group of goons backing things up. Destroys the unfinished cc and goes into the terran main. Oov is unable to kill the reaver madness from Kingdom, and after losing all his units and most of the workers he types out of a quick game.
Kingdom shows again why he is inhuman and absolutely destroys the undisputed #1 TvP player oov in less than 10 minutes.
Kingdom 1-0 oov
Game 4 : iloveoov(t) vs Kingdom on Luna The Final
I'm never betting against oov, no matter what. Down 0-2 vs Nada? No worries, I know he will win the last 3. But I gotta say that while this MSL looked like an SK T1 showoff on paper, things are a little worse now. Both Boxer and Gorush is down to survivor's league, while either Kingdom or oov will be gone after this match. You would never have guessed that, unless your nick is Jju.
Kingdom(@5) shows his devil side and does a manner pylon in oov's(@11) mineral line early on. Oov does his thing and fixes it early, but by the time oov can land his familiar cc at the terran natural Kingdom is already flying a reaver around. Oov has the dark one's own luck and two scarabs fizzle before he is chased away. He did however bring his goons and chases the natural cc away while keeping oov's few tanks occupied with the shuttle. Also establishes his own expansion and sneaks a few scv kills in the terran main.
Things look well for our devil toss, but look again. While he managed to establish his natural and still has his reaver, oov is now controlling his expansion and has turrets to prevent any more harass. He has already done the oov thing and cheated himself into a mass of tanks, and he is now pushing them right into the protoss natural. Kingdom is defending with his goons and his reaver, but the cheater terran is as usual untouchable with metal and takes down both the protoss natural and the new 6 expansion. How does he DO that?!?
A whole nation of progamers would kill to know. Kingdom saves his base with a few dark templars, but oov is working on the 12 expansion already and not all the templars in the world can change his fate. Oov spends some time microing vultures around - great micro, btw. Boxer should be proud. When he is tired of denying Kingdom bases with vulture harass he moves his as usual impressive army into the middle and rapes Kingdom's smaller (as usual, but that goes for any toss army) army and then his natutal. Kingdom types out.
Kingdom 1-1 oov
Game 5 : iloveoov(t) vs Kingdom(p) on Neo Requiem
There's one more thing about oov. Sure he can macro like nobody else, gets daily micro lessions with the godliest micromanager ever and has invincible metal armies, but that is not it. What every top protoss has learned the hard way over the last two years is that it is impossible to cheese him. Ask Nal_Ra who boldly picked oov after he won the NHN OGN, where oov manhandled him.
Kingdom should have learned this years ago, but makes a worthy try on the last game of the series. Unfortunatly the cheater terran can smell cheese, and opens 2 rax in main himself. Kingdom sneakily builds a gate down inside the terran main, and goes hard zealot from a total of 2 gates (had one more in his natural).
Oov, with only marines, was hard pressed by the many zealots in his base, and how he managed to clean his base is for me undescribable. I just know he did it. Kingdom even had goon tech ready, but once oov had a clean main there was no stopping the all out scv/marine attack on the protoss main. Kingdom showed off with his incredible goon micro, but no micro in the world could save him, and he types out to give oov the series.
Kingdom 1-2 oov
