Photo: dailyesports.com
It seems like such a short time ago we were just starting up the season, with everyone itching for their Brood War fix. And our Brood War fix was certainly had. Despite this season being considerably shorter than previous ones, the sheer ferocity of the competition and numerous upsets has made for an incredibly entertaining couple of months. With this final week of the regular season we finally got to see who would end up in the playoffs, and we've ended up with a stellar lineup of SKT, Khan, KT and CJ, with CJ scraping in at the eleventh hour with a win over Ace to steal the final spot from Woongjin Stars, who looked so strong all season long.
![[image loading]](/staff/Simplistik/Proleague_Tables/SPL_1112_S1_R3_W5_overall.png)
And thus the season was ended.
Much like last week, we got to see Flash lose again, this time to M18M. The Ace Protoss catching God off guard cutting corners while attempting to get his third base up and running. Along with Flash going down, we got to see teams mix it up, with less known players and some rookies getting some airtime and delivering some quality entertainment. While these players probably won't see much action at all unless the BO5 format is abolished next season, it was nice to see the second string players that are waiting in the wings for opportunities.
Taking a look ahead we have our first playoffs game this week, featuring the third placed KT going up against CJ, who snuck in at fourth place. The team which will move on to the next round of the playoffs against Samsung Khan will be decided by a BO3 series of BO7's. Hopefully the move back to the BO7 format, reintroducing of Ace matches, and the nature of playing multiple series to determine the victor will make these games the most exciting of the entire season.
As is customary, the SPL writing team has provided you, the reader, with a plethora of content to help hype you up for these games. Firstly we have our regular top five games segment to help you work out which games are worth another watch from last week. As always we've got the recaps of the games last week to help remind you on what happened or fill you in if you've missed anything. Our resident battle report writer is back from his one episode hiatus to bring you the action packed game (pun intended) between Action and Sea in all its hive tech glory.
With last week out of the way, we've also got a bunch of content looking forward into the games that will come in the first round of the playoffs. Firstly the talented Kiett has delivered a playoffs manga for you to enjoy. Next, we've brought in some fans of both teams participating in the playoffs next week in the form of Biff the Understudy and LasTLiE to bring you some KT and CJ hype respectively in the hopes of getting you fired up for the contest that is yet to come. Finally we've got our regular preview of the series, once again written by kjwcj, along with the final predictions table of the season. See how our team did on predicting the games over the whole season.
With the end of season one of SK Planet Proleague now in sight, we come ever closer to finding out who will hold the trophy once all is said and done. Will it be CJ or KT that meets SKT in the grand final? Will they be stopped by Khan. Keep on following this wonderful game to find out!
--Kiante
![[image loading]](/staff/Simplistik/Proleague_Tables/SPL_1112_S1_R3_W5_overall.png)
And thus the season was ended.
Much like last week, we got to see Flash lose again, this time to M18M. The Ace Protoss catching God off guard cutting corners while attempting to get his third base up and running. Along with Flash going down, we got to see teams mix it up, with less known players and some rookies getting some airtime and delivering some quality entertainment. While these players probably won't see much action at all unless the BO5 format is abolished next season, it was nice to see the second string players that are waiting in the wings for opportunities.
Taking a look ahead we have our first playoffs game this week, featuring the third placed KT going up against CJ, who snuck in at fourth place. The team which will move on to the next round of the playoffs against Samsung Khan will be decided by a BO3 series of BO7's. Hopefully the move back to the BO7 format, reintroducing of Ace matches, and the nature of playing multiple series to determine the victor will make these games the most exciting of the entire season.
As is customary, the SPL writing team has provided you, the reader, with a plethora of content to help hype you up for these games. Firstly we have our regular top five games segment to help you work out which games are worth another watch from last week. As always we've got the recaps of the games last week to help remind you on what happened or fill you in if you've missed anything. Our resident battle report writer is back from his one episode hiatus to bring you the action packed game (pun intended) between Action and Sea in all its hive tech glory.
With last week out of the way, we've also got a bunch of content looking forward into the games that will come in the first round of the playoffs. Firstly the talented Kiett has delivered a playoffs manga for you to enjoy. Next, we've brought in some fans of both teams participating in the playoffs next week in the form of Biff the Understudy and LasTLiE to bring you some KT and CJ hype respectively in the hopes of getting you fired up for the contest that is yet to come. Finally we've got our regular preview of the series, once again written by kjwcj, along with the final predictions table of the season. See how our team did on predicting the games over the whole season.
With the end of season one of SK Planet Proleague now in sight, we come ever closer to finding out who will hold the trophy once all is said and done. Will it be CJ or KT that meets SKT in the grand final? Will they be stopped by Khan. Keep on following this wonderful game to find out!
--Kiante
Table of Contents
Top 5 Games
Recaps:
R3 W5
Sea v Action: Ground Zero
Playoffs Manga
KT Hype
CJ Hype
Previews:
Playoffs W1
Check out the SK Planet Proleague 2011-2012 on Liquipedia
Top 5 Games of the Week
The Good, the Bad and the Cheesy.
By 2Pacalypse-
- 5
This week we had so many games worthy of a spot on the top five that I felt I had to consult with other fans to decide which were most deserving. We’ll open our recommendations with a match that the majority of you will already have seen (or at least heard about). Number five is the match between KT and ACE, in which KT sent its ace,Flash, to show that it means business. Matched against this titan was poor
M18M or, as he’s been calling himself recently,
StarDust.
Since so many will already have seen this game, I was actually contemplating not including it, if only to make space for another recommendation. In the end, though, we decided that (for those of you living under rocks) this might be the opportunity anyone has to tell you that you should watch this game. - 4
Now we’re starting to see our theme for this week emerge, and it seems to be solid PvT play. While this game fundamentally different from our last recommendation, it’s still well worth a watch.BaBy and
Stats battled almost for 30 minutes in a close fought, back and forth game. Sniper Ridge continues to provide us with exciting games in all matchups.
After a fairly balanced early game, in which both players tried to harass with dropships and shuttles, things settled down to a more macro-oriented affair. Then we sawStats try to use his arbiters to their full potential by recalling his units into
BaBy's main base, but
BaBy managed to keep it under control with some clutch EMPs.
Did he manage to get all of those arbiters or did one slip through his defences? Watch the game and find out! - 3
Breaking away from our theme of PvT matchups for a little bit, you’d do well to check out this 30-minute TvZ game betweenLeta and
Ggaemo. I could tell you all kinds of crazy and awesome things about this game, but it’s one of those matches that’s so much sweeter to just watch unfold on its own.
Instead, I’ll just leave it at this – you should watch this game, and watch it right through to the end, stick around, it’s worth the time. - 2
At number two we have a yet another half-hour long game, PvT once again, betweenJaehoon and
Fantasy. If I’m entirely honest, I hadn’t really wanted to include this game (because I’m human and have my biases), but in the end decided it wouldn't be fair to you guys since the game is of such high quality.
The game played out as a standard PvT, until the mid-game, when one player eked out an advantage with a well-executed attack and some excellent drop-harass at the same time. Still, the game was far from over, and superb play from both players managed to draw the game out and keep things exciting until the very end. - 1
And the first place this week goes to...Stork and
ZerO! This game showed some true, S-class play from both players.
Stork opted for a two-gate zealot build, while
ZerO went with a twelve-hatch.
ZerO defended
Stork's push with relative ease, and from there game transitioned into a more or less standard PvZ. It’s hard not to be impressed by how staggeringly well both players managed to play throughout, and it helps that it’s so close you’d be hard pressed to guess the winner until the very end.
It’s a truly superb game, I can only hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
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Recaps, Round 3 Week 5
By: Kiante
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« Electric Circuit »
Live Report Thread - Interview
The first guaranteed playoff spot and number one placing at the end of the regular season was decided when SKT easily rolled over a helpless Team 8 in a dominant showing. With Team 8 completely out of the running in terms of a playoff spot, it seemed that the coach had decided to give the rookies a chance to get some games in their last two series of the season. The first of these was Sang, who was summarily defeated by Soo, who implemented a quick and simple hydra bust that he was so known for using last season. Fantasy followed up his team-mates success, knowing that SKT needed to win without losing a single game to guarantee their first placing, digging deep and overcoming Jaehoon. Despite getting at quite a disadvantage in the mid game when his push was shut down by the Team 8 Protoss, Fantasy managed to utilise some cute drop harass and excellent scrapping to survive and eventually take the win.
Finally, Best was sent out and took down Tyson with ease. Despite both players getting up on two bases with similar levels of tech and supply, Best was able to make a great engagement with superior unit positioning, decimating Tyson's army and easily finish the game thereafter. With the regular season behind them, SKT will be able to take a well deserved break while the playoffs commence until its final challenger appears in the grand final next month.
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Live Report Thread - Interview
Perhaps sparking the start of a slump for the oh-so-dominant KT Rolster player, Flash, this series was the scene of a huge upset, as Ace managed to take out the defending champions. With the regular season closing out KT sent out their two star players in the first and second positions in an attempt to take a decisive victory to give them confidence moving into the playoffs. It was not to be, however, as M18M easily took down Flash, who attempted his thirty-millionth bunker rush for the season and was easily denied by the Ace Protoss. M18M then predicted Flash's attempt to take a quick third expansion and proxied some gateways and a robo to enable him to bust down Flash's defenses and take the victory. Stats was the next to fall, this time with Orion at the helm doing the dismantling. While his attempts at drop harass were promptly denied, he was able to simply gather his forces and bust down Stats' natural expansion and put his team up two games to nothing.
KT fought back in style, fighting back with their lesser-known players Crazy-Hydra and Wooki. Crazy-Hydra was able to easily shut down Kal's attempt at a sair-reaver strategy with excellent mutalisk and scourge control, putting Kal too far behind to challenge from there on. Wooki attempted a cannon rush on Chavi's natural expansion, and despite it not killing the hatchery, did enough damage to encourage Chavi to attempt a hydra bust. Unfortunately for Chavi, Wooki was prepared, with storms melting his hydralisks easily and affording KT the win, levelling the series at two games a piece. The final series starred Mind against Canata, and after a surprisingly exciting 35 minute TvT, Mind was forced to tap out, giving Ace a much needed victory at the end of the season, and putting KT's playoffs hopes on hold pending the results of other series later in the week.
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Live Report Thread - Interview
CJ were unable to secure their playoffs spot early in the week after they fell to a renewed STX lineup. Snow was the first to fall for CJ, getting demolished in an exciting game with Last. Snow was completely unprepared for the ferocity of Last's three base timing push and ended up contained, struggling to survive. Despite some decent recalls, he was unable to turn his struggle into a victory and had to tap out when he lost his last mining base. Effort struck back for CJ, holding his nerve in an attempted base trade from Hyvaa. With both Zergs moving their lings to their opponents base on different pathways, they were forced to attempt to eliminate their opponents drones while backup lings were spawned, and Effort simply delayed more effectively.
Leta continued on from Effort's good play to take a win over the struggling Bogus, utilising excellent drop play to seal his victory in a surprisingly fast TvT. This was where the series went wrong for CJ. First Hydra was taken down by Mini in a tense game, with Mini utilising mass zealot drops to tear Hydra's multi-tasking apart and eventually saccing his entire main base. Finally Horang2 fell to Calm, who, in a completely uncharacteristic play, utilised cheese to take down the CJ Protoss. Calm burrow stacked his lurkers at Horang2's back door and jumped them over the blocking building to disrupt Horang2's mining and take the series for his team. Overall it was a disappointing display from CJ, who saved strong players for the final sets but were unable to convert into victories.
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Live Report Thread - Interview
Khan were able to take down Stars in an impressive performance, dropping only one game on its way to victory. Turn was the only one unable to convert for his team, attempting a silly proxy factory build against Soulkey, and getting scouted and swiftly destroyed with ease by the Woongjin Zerg. Stork hit back for his team, taking out Zero in an exciting game. Stork opened with a two-gate zealot pressure build that Zero held off admirably. Stork was not just going to give up after his failed harass and fought his way back with some excellent reaver and templar harass, finally taking the game when he had stretched Zero's multi-tasking abilities as far as they could go.
Brave was able to take a victory for his team also, catching Free off guard with a proxy three-gateway dragoon attack that was easily busted down Free's unfortunate early expansion. Finally Jangbi did the job for his team by taking out Shy. Both players being extremely passive until they were up on three bases. Shy, who was behind economically the whole game, attempted an attack up Jangbi's natural ramp and got utterly destroyed. Jangbi was then able to comfortably counter and take the series for his team, guaranteeing them second place over KT in the playoffs.
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Live Report Thread - Interview
With nothing on the line for this clash in terms of influencing the playoffs, both teams utilised it as a chance to give their second string lineup a chance, which resulted in an action packed series. Jaedong was able to take out his old team mate, Perfectman, who attempted to cannon rush, only to find his zealot stuck behind a gateway, and eventually being forced to kill it, much to the mirth of the crowd and coaches alike. A brand new rookie in the form of Speed(cure?) was the next to come out for Team 8 but was unable to put up a good showing against Barracks, who took down the new Terran with relative ease and a quick contain. Hoejja and Killer sparred in the next game, with Killer playing extremely aggressive with his mutalisks and creating an action packed game with extreme muta micro, eventually giving Killer the victory.
Sea and Action were the next two to step up for their teams, playing an intense game. Both players gaining and losing the lead throughout the game, with Action eventually taking the victory with his excellent hive tech ZvT play. Finally Baby fell to Stats, despite putting up a great fight. Stats was able to break into Baby's natural early in the game, and even though Baby stabilised, he was never able to do enough damage to Stats' economy to push through for the victory. All in all it was a relatively entertaining series despite being a dead rubber, with KT smartly resting Flash for the big role he'll have to play in the coming playoffs.
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Live Report Thread - Interview
With the final game of the regular season deciding on whether it would be CJ or Woongjin entering the playoffs, CJ were desperate for a win. Starting out strong they sent out Leta, who played a see-sawing action packed game with Ggaemo. Despite Ggaemo getting into a fairly good position in the mid-game with his ultralisks breaking apart Leta's push in his natural, he was unable to capatilise in the face of Leta's unrelenting vulture harass. Piano was the next out for Ace but was felled quite easily by a four-pool from Effort, catching Piano attempting to fourteen-CC on the two player map Chain Reaction. Canata managed to get some pride back for his team, taking out Hydra in a hillarious game, with Hydra attempting to rush ultralisks without getting any lurkers or mutas, and instead making what seemed like 50+ sunken colonies. Horang2 was able to put away any jitters his team might have had, coming out and sealing the victory for his team with a win over Kal. Horang2 once again went back to his element, going up to eight gateways off of two bases and hitting a well timed attack that caught Kal in a bad position, which cost him the game. With CJ winning this series and claiming their spot, Woongjin were denied entry to the playoffs, leaving us with a KT vs CJ clash coming up this weekend.
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Sea vs Action: Ground Zero
A Battle Report
By: Hyde
The battle takes place on Ground Zero. Action spawns in red at five o’clock, while his adversary, Sea, appears in orange at one o’clock.
Action opens with a twelve-hatch, quickly getting his pool and a third hatchery inside his main. Sea opts for his favourite build this season, one-rax expand. An SCV is deployed to conduct some quick reconnaissance on the Zerg base. Action quickly morphs a lair as he continues to make more lings. Meanwhile, Sea adds an ebay and an academy, all the while producing more marines.
Action’s lings are vigilant and prevent Sea from seeing any further developments inside his base. As the lair completes, Action starts his spire. Sea adds four more barracks and prepares his +1 attack, adding a factory afterwards.
With his spire finished, Action’s larvae morph into mutalisks and take flight. Sea quickly adds a sprinkling of turrets around his main and natural in anticipation of the incoming air assault. Sea then moves his marine squad out. As they move into open ground, Action sends in his lings and mutas to engage, crushing the first squadron and buying himself more time to reach hive.
However, Sea is quick to replenish his forces and soon sends another force out in an effort to cripple or destroy Action before he reaches hive. Action takes his third base with little trouble as he finally transitions into hive, where his play is strongest. Lurkers are burrowed at the natural and the ramp into his third to keep any marines pushing into the creep.
Sea’s marines wait outside the natural as his tanks are called in. In the time it takes those tanks to traverse the battlefield, Action has all the time he needs to get his defiler mound up.
Tanks siege up within range of sunkens and begin to rain shells onto Action’s defensive line. The impatient Terran commander sends his squadron in, hoping to blitz the Zerg natural before Action can get his defense together. Lurkers arrive via nydus and a defiler manages to muster mana enough to cast a swarm. As marines move in, things look bleak for Action. The natural is looking like it’s about to fall, until guardians descend from the high ledge, blasting all the marines and tanks, saving the base and deflecting the large attack.
![[image loading]](/staff/Kiante/skplr3w5/hyde1.jpg)
Lurkers and swarm hold off the assault long enough for the guardians to arrive
In response, Sea sends in the last of the platoon, behind the natural mineral line in a desperate bid to inflict more damage, but they are dealt with swiftly by lurkers and guardians.
With the crisis at the natural averted, Action is free to send his guardians over towards Sea’s natural and commence bombardment. Sea’s wraiths are scrambled to deal with the airborne threat, but are all too quickly blown out of the sky by scourge.
Sea takes a fourth and then a fifth, spreading him thinly across the northern borders of the map. Vultures race across the terrain, laying mines in an attempt to control portions of the map as Sea continues to build up a force. Action responds by securing his own fourth base and planting lurkers around the map. All the while, more lings and lurkers spawn from the depths of the Zerg base, moving out to stop Sea's several attempts at vulture harass.
Defilers and lurkers are loaded up into overlords, but, as the overlords float over to their destination, a line of turrets is spotted and the overlords are called back. At the same time, another overlord hugs the left side of the map, hovering towards Sea’s fifth and dropping two lurkers. The lurkers burrow behind the mineral line and soon there are no SCVs to be seen mining. Action sends his first overlord group through the middle of the map, it’s quickly spotted by valkyries and he is forced to drop his units in front of tanks and vultures. Action quickly casts swarm to save his units from being blown away, forcing the tanks to reposition at the same time.
![[image loading]](/staff/Kiante/skplr3w5/hyde2.jpg)
Two lurkers camping near the mineral line, executing close to 30 SCVs
Action keeps up the pressure as he orchestrates several more attacks. Lings assault the undefended third, tearing through the mineral line. More lurkers are brought in to attack Sea’s natural with swarm support, keeping a large number of units occupied. Lurkers are dropped at the fourth to shred more workers. Zerg units appear to be everywhere, harassing all of Sea’s expansions. Action’s late-game multitasking begins to shine through, the Terran commander seems more and more to be struggling to keep up with all the chaos. A cluster of hydras are sent to assault the third once more, Sea loses more units in his efforts to deflect the attack. Amid all the chaos and confusion, Sea sends two batches of SCVs into the lurkers still burrowed at the fifth, losing more precious miners.
Sea’s fourth is demolished, his third and fifth still under attack. His forces are stretched thin, and the Terran defense begins to collapse as the attacks continue. Sea manages to kills the lurkers at his fifth and gather enough tanks to stem the hydra assault at his third. Valkyries continue to patrol the skies, they detect overlords approaching the fifth and intercept the floating behemoths before they can finish delivering the payload.
![[image loading]](/staff/Kiante/skplr3w5/hyde3.jpg)
Ultralisks steamrolling tanks
As Sea cleans up the unsuccessful drop, a torrent of ultralisks and lings are spotted, charging up the ramp and into the fifth base. With little defense at the expansion, and another assault inbound at the third, the Terran commander surrenders.
Action opens with a twelve-hatch, quickly getting his pool and a third hatchery inside his main. Sea opts for his favourite build this season, one-rax expand. An SCV is deployed to conduct some quick reconnaissance on the Zerg base. Action quickly morphs a lair as he continues to make more lings. Meanwhile, Sea adds an ebay and an academy, all the while producing more marines.
Action’s lings are vigilant and prevent Sea from seeing any further developments inside his base. As the lair completes, Action starts his spire. Sea adds four more barracks and prepares his +1 attack, adding a factory afterwards.
With his spire finished, Action’s larvae morph into mutalisks and take flight. Sea quickly adds a sprinkling of turrets around his main and natural in anticipation of the incoming air assault. Sea then moves his marine squad out. As they move into open ground, Action sends in his lings and mutas to engage, crushing the first squadron and buying himself more time to reach hive.
However, Sea is quick to replenish his forces and soon sends another force out in an effort to cripple or destroy Action before he reaches hive. Action takes his third base with little trouble as he finally transitions into hive, where his play is strongest. Lurkers are burrowed at the natural and the ramp into his third to keep any marines pushing into the creep.
Sea’s marines wait outside the natural as his tanks are called in. In the time it takes those tanks to traverse the battlefield, Action has all the time he needs to get his defiler mound up.
Tanks siege up within range of sunkens and begin to rain shells onto Action’s defensive line. The impatient Terran commander sends his squadron in, hoping to blitz the Zerg natural before Action can get his defense together. Lurkers arrive via nydus and a defiler manages to muster mana enough to cast a swarm. As marines move in, things look bleak for Action. The natural is looking like it’s about to fall, until guardians descend from the high ledge, blasting all the marines and tanks, saving the base and deflecting the large attack.
![[image loading]](/staff/Kiante/skplr3w5/hyde1.jpg)
Lurkers and swarm hold off the assault long enough for the guardians to arrive
In response, Sea sends in the last of the platoon, behind the natural mineral line in a desperate bid to inflict more damage, but they are dealt with swiftly by lurkers and guardians.
With the crisis at the natural averted, Action is free to send his guardians over towards Sea’s natural and commence bombardment. Sea’s wraiths are scrambled to deal with the airborne threat, but are all too quickly blown out of the sky by scourge.
Sea takes a fourth and then a fifth, spreading him thinly across the northern borders of the map. Vultures race across the terrain, laying mines in an attempt to control portions of the map as Sea continues to build up a force. Action responds by securing his own fourth base and planting lurkers around the map. All the while, more lings and lurkers spawn from the depths of the Zerg base, moving out to stop Sea's several attempts at vulture harass.
Defilers and lurkers are loaded up into overlords, but, as the overlords float over to their destination, a line of turrets is spotted and the overlords are called back. At the same time, another overlord hugs the left side of the map, hovering towards Sea’s fifth and dropping two lurkers. The lurkers burrow behind the mineral line and soon there are no SCVs to be seen mining. Action sends his first overlord group through the middle of the map, it’s quickly spotted by valkyries and he is forced to drop his units in front of tanks and vultures. Action quickly casts swarm to save his units from being blown away, forcing the tanks to reposition at the same time.
![[image loading]](/staff/Kiante/skplr3w5/hyde2.jpg)
Two lurkers camping near the mineral line, executing close to 30 SCVs
Action keeps up the pressure as he orchestrates several more attacks. Lings assault the undefended third, tearing through the mineral line. More lurkers are brought in to attack Sea’s natural with swarm support, keeping a large number of units occupied. Lurkers are dropped at the fourth to shred more workers. Zerg units appear to be everywhere, harassing all of Sea’s expansions. Action’s late-game multitasking begins to shine through, the Terran commander seems more and more to be struggling to keep up with all the chaos. A cluster of hydras are sent to assault the third once more, Sea loses more units in his efforts to deflect the attack. Amid all the chaos and confusion, Sea sends two batches of SCVs into the lurkers still burrowed at the fifth, losing more precious miners.
Sea’s fourth is demolished, his third and fifth still under attack. His forces are stretched thin, and the Terran defense begins to collapse as the attacks continue. Sea manages to kills the lurkers at his fifth and gather enough tanks to stem the hydra assault at his third. Valkyries continue to patrol the skies, they detect overlords approaching the fifth and intercept the floating behemoths before they can finish delivering the payload.
![[image loading]](/staff/Kiante/skplr3w5/hyde3.jpg)
Ultralisks steamrolling tanks
As Sea cleans up the unsuccessful drop, a torrent of ultralisks and lings are spotted, charging up the ramp and into the fifth base. With little defense at the expansion, and another assault inbound at the third, the Terran commander surrenders.
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Playoffs Manga: Episode One
By: Kiett
![[image loading]](/staff/Kiett/PlayoffsManga/KTvsCJ.jpg)
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Dear CJ Fans
A KT Fan Piece By: Biff the Understudy
![[image loading]](/staff/Kiante/skplr3w5/ktfan.jpg)
Dear CJ Fan,
I have been thinking about you, lately. Thinking of despair, thinking of the bitter taste of defeat. So your team has put in blood, sweat, and tears. I can sympathise. We’ve known these too. Of course, that was before KT started to win everything. Oh, don’t bother to protest; sure, you could pick up a couple of games here and there, maybe an OSL if our champion was wounded. Let me tell you, dear CJ fan; I was amused by Jangbi’s victory. It pleased me.
No, really. I’d even go so far as to say I was cheering for him. He defeated our favourite? That was forgiven immediately. “Why,” you ask, “why so much magnanimity?”
Think of it this way, when Warren Buffet has to pay fifty dollars after a bad hand in a poker game, he takes it better than you would, right? This isn’t all that different. When you have tasted victory over and over, things change. You start to feel detached, you gain a little distance... and, you know, it was good to think that the remaining Samsung Khan fans would not be on suicide watch that night.
Alas! I can’t imagine how different it must be from your perspective. This is what fascinates me in life – how strange things look from this or that angle (I was banned several times by Evil Teletubby for trying to explain, with a bit too much insistence, how wrong other people’s viewpoints could be, but that’s beside the point). You must be a cultured and refined person, since you don’t support SKT, I will only remind you the words of a great poet :
'Tis sweet and commendable in your nature, Dear CJ fan,
To give these mourning duties to your team:
The survivor fanboy bound
In fans obligation for some term
To do obsequious sorrow: but to persevere
In obstinate condolence is a course
Of impious stubbornness; 'tis unmanly grief;
It shows a will most incorrect to heaven,
A heart unfortified, a mind impatient,
An understanding simple and unschool'd:
For what we know must be and is as common
As any the most vulgar thing to sense,
Why should we in our peevish opposition
Take it to heart? Fie! 'tis a fault to heaven,
A fault against the dead, a fault to nature,
To reason most absurd: whose common theme
Is defeat of bad teams, and who still hath cried,
From the first failure till it that died to-day,
'This must be so.'
I hope you feel better.
Here I am, describing the weeping and mourning that, inevitable though they might be, are reserved for the aftermath. As I considered it, I decided that this would be a love letter. I don’t know if I can talk for all KT fans here, but I do love you, I do love your team, I do love your players, and I wish you didn’t have to lose right there and get brutally eliminated. I really do.
A good friend of mine, Friedrich Niezsche, once said that thought is the shadow of feeling. Beautiful, isn't it? I will attempt to describe to you about my passion for CJ, something rooted deep down, something that defies rationality, words, explanation. Ah, dear CJ fan, if I could show you what I feel right now, you would realize how little we share. I’ll try to do the impossible, to explain, to verbalize.
First, consider your players. That’s why I always root for you; you have all my favourite players. Leta’s wraiths and incredible micromanagement, his ridiculous multitasking, Skyhigh brutal tank lines, Effort’s sublime management and immaculate execution, Horang2’s countless gates perfectly aligned, his sneaky mind and deadly precision, these are all reasons to root for your boys. Of course, this is just talking about players, but my love for CJ is deeper. It’s more to do with the team itself.
You see, CJ fan, I do find it fascinating, just captivating, that a team composed of such amazing players, a team basically made of pure gold, a crew of Aces and S-class badass motherfuckers can lose in the most horrendous fashion with the regularity of a Swiss clock. Really, congratulations. If I cared a little bit more, I might study this paradox, give it a name and become famous in my field. Don’t blame the management, don’t blame the players, don’t blame the fans (I know how dedicated you are); nobody is to blame. It is something in the spirit of the team, something in its DNA, in its identity, maybe even in its soul.
So, tell me, dear CJ fan, when was the last time your team won anything? Let me browse your record. You did great in Kespa Dream League two years ago. You reverse all-killed a one-man team in Winner League three years ago (the one man, decided to 4 pool, if I recall correctly). Otherwise, some nice stuff in 2004, you won the third round of Proleague I think? That’s good to know.
Meanwhile, dear CJ fan, we have Flash, and, as you may have heard, he is not impressed these days. 130 years before his last TvP, Nietzsche said that God was dead, and Young Ho Lee answered: « Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated ». (Wait a minute. Maybe I’m mixing quotations. Oh, f… it)
You see, on top of having God on our side, we have a team, sweet CJ fan. A team that is not made of more or less has been, and more or less slumping superstars, but a team that works, that is not a failure factory, a team that wins, over and over, and over again. Don't be mad, we leave you the elegance, the beauty, the panache; we only take the trophy, you can dispose of anything else.
Yours, with fond affection and heartfelt apologies for the coming defeat,
A true KT fan.
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Breaking the Chain
A CJ Fan Piece By: LasTLiE
CJ will undoubtedly win it all, but the first stepping stone on the way is KT Rolster. Their latest matchup left KT down 1-3, with Flash being the only one able to take a game off of the boys in yellow. All season long, people have thought that the only way to beat KT was to defeat its best player, Flash. CJ Entus realized that the easiest way to break a chain isn't to spend time worrying away the strongest link, but to slowly chew away the weaknesses. It seems that not all teams have managed to figure that out, but CJ knows what it needs to do and that it has multiple tools in its arsenal capable of breaking the chain.
![[image loading]](/staff/Kiante/skplr3w5/cjfan1.jpg)
The only possible outcome of CJ vs. KT
THE LEADER
Although he isn't technically CJ's team captain, EffOrt is almost definitely considered its Ace player. For quite a while now, EffOrt has shown an ability to take out the players that most consider to be the best. When Jaedong seemed to be unstoppable in ZvZ, EffOrt was one of the few that could go head-to-head with him, producing an amazing game along the way. If he can compete with the best Zergs around, surely he can take out any Zerg KT might throw at him. Even after several months’ hiatus, EffOrt has come back and shown that he still has what it takes to beat the best.
THE PEOPLE'S HERO
Despite never doing exceptionally well in individual leagues, Leta remains a fan favourite, not only among CJ fans, but among most fans of ESPORTS. Truthfully, it's hard not to love such a ball of energy, emotion and ambition. It certainly helps that he has a 73% win rate in SK Planet Proleague's first season.
HUNRGY FOR VICTORY
Ever since his loss to Flash in the 2009 Ever OSL, Movie has been eager for revenge. Some may say that he's slumping, citing his lack of regular Proleague appearances, but true CJ fans will recognize this for what it is; as silent preparation. No doubt he has been practicing, waiting, and preparing for this post season and will be ready to show us some of the greatest games of his career.
Movie is an ambush predator.
THE DEPENDABLE STRENGTH
After EffOrt's OSL victory and temporary retirement, Hydra had to step his game up a notch to become CJ Entus' main zerg. Not only did he step up, he was able to lead the team to several victories. Although he may not be on the same level as EffOrt, he certainly can play with the best and he’s demonstrated that he can pull in wins when it matters the most.
THE CLUTCH POWERHOUSE
Ever since sKyHigh's runs in GomTV Classic Season 2 and Season 3, I've been a believer in his skill. His heart-stopping victory over Jaedong in the 2009 Shinhan Bank Winners League Grand Finals was further proof of his skill (as though any were needed). When people talk about TvT, two names instantly come to mind; Flash and Skyhigh. In their Proleague head-to-head, Skyhigh is ahead 3-2. While that may not seem impressive, a winning record versus Flash is something most players can only dream of.
He's led CJ Entus to victory once before, the only thing that could stop him from doing it again is himself.
FIERCE LIKE A TIGER
After Hite Sparkyz merged with CJ, Horang2 was one of the bigger names to help bolster CJ's already impressive lineup. He is easily one of Brood Wars best PvP snipers and with KT's second biggest threat being their Stats; he is an invaluable weapon for this fight.
THE YOUNG GUN
Being the youngest of CJ's all-stars, Snow could have the most potential to unlock. Although he has shown mixed results throughout his career, it’s worth noting that he’s been able to pull through when it matters the most. Remember that time Snow started off CJ's playoffs run with a 72-kill reaver during their match against SK Telecom? Well Snow's reavers are hungry for more. Their robotic stomachs hunger for more Zerg blood (or ichor, do Zerg have “blood” in the way we know it?) and Snow plans on giving them not just a meal, but a feast.
![[image loading]](/staff/Kiante/skplr3w5/cjfan2.jpg)
THE SECRET WEAPON
Some teams use special strategies or especially strong players as their secret weapon, but not CJ Entus. No, They have something even better. They have the most horrifying hamburger-shaped mascot.
“Wait,” you exclaim, “Aren’t mascots supposed to just cheer the team on?”
Most of the time, you’d be right, but not Onester. He is meant to terrify CJ Entus' opponents. His cold, dead eyes staring fixedly into a distance beyond mortal comprehension are an unmatched strength. Bunkie and Flashcot don't even come close to the power Onester holds.
With a lineup this strong, it seems all but inevitable that CJ will win this Season of Proleague. Although there are those that believe in false gods or believe a revolution long since dead could change it, they will all be shown that it has been destined that the Banana Entus would take it all.
![[image loading]](/staff/Kiante/skplr3w5/cjfan1.jpg)
The only possible outcome of CJ vs. KT
THE LEADER
Although he isn't technically CJ's team captain, EffOrt is almost definitely considered its Ace player. For quite a while now, EffOrt has shown an ability to take out the players that most consider to be the best. When Jaedong seemed to be unstoppable in ZvZ, EffOrt was one of the few that could go head-to-head with him, producing an amazing game along the way. If he can compete with the best Zergs around, surely he can take out any Zerg KT might throw at him. Even after several months’ hiatus, EffOrt has come back and shown that he still has what it takes to beat the best.
THE PEOPLE'S HERO
Despite never doing exceptionally well in individual leagues, Leta remains a fan favourite, not only among CJ fans, but among most fans of ESPORTS. Truthfully, it's hard not to love such a ball of energy, emotion and ambition. It certainly helps that he has a 73% win rate in SK Planet Proleague's first season.
HUNRGY FOR VICTORY
Ever since his loss to Flash in the 2009 Ever OSL, Movie has been eager for revenge. Some may say that he's slumping, citing his lack of regular Proleague appearances, but true CJ fans will recognize this for what it is; as silent preparation. No doubt he has been practicing, waiting, and preparing for this post season and will be ready to show us some of the greatest games of his career.
Movie is an ambush predator.
THE DEPENDABLE STRENGTH
After EffOrt's OSL victory and temporary retirement, Hydra had to step his game up a notch to become CJ Entus' main zerg. Not only did he step up, he was able to lead the team to several victories. Although he may not be on the same level as EffOrt, he certainly can play with the best and he’s demonstrated that he can pull in wins when it matters the most.
THE CLUTCH POWERHOUSE
Ever since sKyHigh's runs in GomTV Classic Season 2 and Season 3, I've been a believer in his skill. His heart-stopping victory over Jaedong in the 2009 Shinhan Bank Winners League Grand Finals was further proof of his skill (as though any were needed). When people talk about TvT, two names instantly come to mind; Flash and Skyhigh. In their Proleague head-to-head, Skyhigh is ahead 3-2. While that may not seem impressive, a winning record versus Flash is something most players can only dream of.
He's led CJ Entus to victory once before, the only thing that could stop him from doing it again is himself.
FIERCE LIKE A TIGER
After Hite Sparkyz merged with CJ, Horang2 was one of the bigger names to help bolster CJ's already impressive lineup. He is easily one of Brood Wars best PvP snipers and with KT's second biggest threat being their Stats; he is an invaluable weapon for this fight.
THE YOUNG GUN
Being the youngest of CJ's all-stars, Snow could have the most potential to unlock. Although he has shown mixed results throughout his career, it’s worth noting that he’s been able to pull through when it matters the most. Remember that time Snow started off CJ's playoffs run with a 72-kill reaver during their match against SK Telecom? Well Snow's reavers are hungry for more. Their robotic stomachs hunger for more Zerg blood (or ichor, do Zerg have “blood” in the way we know it?) and Snow plans on giving them not just a meal, but a feast.
![[image loading]](/staff/Kiante/skplr3w5/cjfan2.jpg)
THE SECRET WEAPON
Some teams use special strategies or especially strong players as their secret weapon, but not CJ Entus. No, They have something even better. They have the most horrifying hamburger-shaped mascot.
“Wait,” you exclaim, “Aren’t mascots supposed to just cheer the team on?”
Most of the time, you’d be right, but not Onester. He is meant to terrify CJ Entus' opponents. His cold, dead eyes staring fixedly into a distance beyond mortal comprehension are an unmatched strength. Bunkie and Flashcot don't even come close to the power Onester holds.
With a lineup this strong, it seems all but inevitable that CJ will win this Season of Proleague. Although there are those that believe in false gods or believe a revolution long since dead could change it, they will all be shown that it has been destined that the Banana Entus would take it all.
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Previews, Playoffs Week One
By: kjwcj
Current Proleague Prediction Challenge Progress:
Matches | Predicted | Actual | Gain/Loss | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Current | 0 | |||
SK Telecom T1 vs. Team 8 | 3 - 0 | 3 - 0 | +3 | |
KT Rolster vs. Air Force Ace | 3 - 1 | 2 - 3 | -2 | |
CJ Entus vs. STX Soul | 3 - 0 | 2 - 3 | -2 | |
Samsung Khan vs. Woongjin Stars | 2 - 3 | 3 - 1 | -2 | |
Team 8 vs. KT Rolster | 1 - 3 | 2 - 3 | +1 | |
CJ Entus vs Air Force Ace | 3 - 0 | 3 - 1 | +1 | |
Final | -1 |
+ Show Spoiler [The Rules] +
If I predict the winner and the result correctly, 3 points
If I predict the winner correctly, and the result is off by 1, 1 point
If I predict the winner correctly and the result is off by 2, 0 points
If I predict the winner wrong, and the result is off by 1, -1 points
If I predict the winner wrong and the result is off by more than one, -2 points.
If I predict the winner correctly, and the result is off by 1, 1 point
If I predict the winner correctly and the result is off by 2, 0 points
If I predict the winner wrong, and the result is off by 1, -1 points
If I predict the winner wrong and the result is off by more than one, -2 points.
And so it begins, this season’s playoffs kick off with a rematch of last season’s semifinal. The most recent best of seven series between these two teams was the last time KT won a match in which Flash lost. The past has shown us that while Flash’s significance is undeniable, he is not the only factor worth considering in a match between KT and CJ. The 10-11 semifinal was decided by a series of PvZs and there is a strong chance this will be the case again. Will CJ need to find a way to defeat Flash in order to win? Read on and decide for yourself.
Late last week saw the release of full details for the playoff format, creating a series of interesting dilemmas for the playoff teams and their coaching staff. The system by which the maps for ace matches are selected gives teams the ability to virtually strike off their opponents ace from a potential appearance in the deciding game. A mixture of factors including fewer games in the regular season and the lack of an individual league means that certain maps are simply not played by one race and as such potential ace match players may not have had any practice on some maps since early in the season. The possibility to force force your opponent to choose between sending their ace on a map with clear racial imbalance or sending a weaker player in hopes of a favourable match-up adds an interesting new element of strategy for the likes of KT’s Coach Lee to explore.
For the first playoff round there is little surprising about the map picks by KT or CJ, with KT chosing the best map for Terran and CJ choosing the worst. However CJ's desperation to avoid Flash may end up costing them in other ways. Mostly featuring Hydra and the CJ Protoss line, Outlier has seem some good performances but is nothing like CJ's strongest map this season. Against the likes of Stats and Crazy-Hydra, it is anything but a free win for CJ and there is even the possibility that Flash will attempt to defy the perceived racial imbalance.
![[image loading]](/staff/Kiett/SPL_misc/20120115_e1dcac597ff54bea070.jpg)
Conventional wisdom suggests that ace matches should favour KT, the logic seems fairly obvious; they have the best player in Proleague and won last season’s final with a dominating ace match performance by him. Flash’s ace match record the past two seasons is relatively solid but doesn’t exemplify the level of perfection we’ve come to expect from him in recent years. His regular season showing and his overall importance to KT makes his selection in any potential ace match overwhelmingly likely and this opens up the possibility of opponents preparing builds and strategies solely designed to take him down. Flash’s recent loss to M18M, while only his second of the season, served to illustrate that with good preparation and a little bit of luck it is still possible to snipe God.
CJ, on the other hand, were considered by many to be favourites for this season, with their perceived depth being theoretically well suited to a non-ace match format. However they have largely failed to gain anything from the strength of their second string, with their qualification for the playoffs largely thanks to the performances of just two players, Effort and Leta. Whether the overall strength of CJ’s lineup was simply overrated or was undermined by shorter best of five series is not clear yet but their performance in this first playoff round should give us some hint. The effect of an ace match on CJ’s chances is largely defined by their opponents. Against KT, CJ's selection of Outlier rules out any possibility of using Leta in the second match, however he's likely to be fielded if an ace match occurs on KT's pick, Ground Zero.
Much has been said in the past about the depth of KT’s roster, with many speculating they would struggle this season without the presence of an ace match or Winner’s League. There have been certain matches this season where Flash has been let down by his supporting cast however the pair of five game thrillers that rounded out KT’s regular season tell an interesting story about what we can expect from KT’s second string in the postseason.
When Flash and Stats both lost versus ACE, KT’s chances of taking the match seemed non-existent but wins from Crazy-Hydra and Wooki dragged KT back into it and gave them a chance to take the series in game five. Although they were ultimately let down by Mind’s feeble TvT, the fact that KT challenged for a win in a match where their two best players lost is impressive, even against the weakest team in Proleague. KT’s final match against Team 8 bore all the hallmarks of a late season dead rubber but ended up being a very close series and only the third time this season that KT won without using Flash.
Perfectman was given another chance to challenge for a place in KT’s playoff lineup but, after his cheese failed, looked completely outmatched against Jaedong. In the games Perfectman has played since his return there’s been little to indicate he is good enough to beat a CJ A teamer in any match-up. Perfectman’s ability to make an impact on the playoffs is now largely in the hands of KT’s Coach Lee, who has in the past shown an ability to squeeze results from his weaker players in important playoff series.
BarrackS’ win over Speed should be a little more encouraging for the KT coaching staff, with Flash’s protege looking like an assured veteran in comparison to the Team 8 rookie. That game brought BarrackS’ TvT record to 2-1 for the season and means he should expect to be ahead of now 0-6 Mind for any postseason TvT, however he’s unlikely to play a significant role against CJ who haven’t sent a Terran other than Leta since early February.
KT’s Zergs have largely failed to maintain the form that lead to KT fielding four of them in a row in last season’s final. The change to a best of five format for the regular season lead to the retirement of Perfective, KT’s most promising rookie from this season and his fellow 10-11 hero HoeJJa is without a win since January, having failed to capitalise on a build order advantage in his most recent game against Killer. Action has mostly continued his form from the 10-11 regular season, hoving just shy of an even win record and always looking solid but unremarkable. Crazy-Hydra, while matching the win difference of the best Zergs in Proleague with his 8-2 record, was not able to establish himself a guaranteed spot in the KT lineup, making the same number of appearances as Wooki (5-5) and Action (4-6).
KT will most likely look to bring their Zergs to bear against a CJ Protoss line whose struggles have been well documented this season. Regardless of recent poor form, Horang2, Movie and Snow have all shown glimpses of their ability to beat anyone in a PvP with Horang2’s crisp timing attack versus Kal securing CJ’s place in the playoffs. This potential strength, combined with the CJ Protoss’ combined 2-6 record versus Zerg, means that KT may hold back their two main Protoss and instead look to use them against the CJ Zerg line, who have troubles of their own.
![[image loading]](/staff/Kiett/SPL_misc/20120314_0735c239c1240eeb59a.jpg)
After a strong start to the season, the two CJ individual league winners’ paths have diverged. In his first season back from retirement, Effort has been one of CJ’s leaders. Playing more games than any other member of the team, he ends the regular season with the best ZvT record of any player in Proleague (4-1) and a flawless ZvZ (4-0). Hydra on the other hand, has the record of a ZvZ sniper, not a Proleague ace as he was last season. Although he managed to maintain an even win record until the final game of the season, Hydra has rarely looked assured in 2012 and has ended the regular season on a three loss streak.
The one thing the two CJ Zergs do have in common is a weakness in ZvP, with Effort and Hydra ending the season with on 3-5 and 1-2 respectively - if they are matched up against either of the main KT Protoss players, CJ’s Zergs are likely to struggle. Stats’ PvZ began the season on a tear, looking formidable in long games against Effort and n.Die_soO, however his two recent losses to early game busts may give CJ pause for thought. In contrast, Wooki’s calm defense of a trademark Chavi hydra bust made him look almost immune to cheese and his victory over ZerO in January proved that he is also able to match the best Zergs in a long game.
Finally we come to the two Terran leaders, The Pride of War. As mentioned earlier, Flash’s significance has the potential to be greatly diminished or greatly enhanced by the switch back to a best of seven, ace match format. CJ’s round three win against KT occured after a Flash win however KT’s lineup in that match was far from their strongest and CJ should expect more resistance in their playoff encounter. CJ have the option to send the likes of sKyHigh or Snow, two players who, in the past, were versus Terran specialists but are no longer considered the kind of player which must win in order for CJ to win. So far this season CJ’s Coach Kim has largely attempted to fight fire with fire, sending his two aces, Leta and Effort, to play Flash in their most recent two series.
Leta has ended the season with a series of performances worthy of a team captain, with his only loss in his last nine games coming in a series that CJ were able to win without him. Leta’s main match-ups have been as solid as ever this season, matching Flash in wins versus Terran and Zerg, however his TvP has been largely untested. Leta’s two wins against KT in last season’s playoffs were not enough to give CJ a victory in either series, Leta will hope that this time his teammates are able to do him justice.
In a match that is so evenly matched in terms of overall player skill, the coach's selections prove to be a deciding factor. KT's Coach Lee and CJ's Coach Kim have very different styles when it comes to picking their lineups, with Coach Lee being known for risk taking and trusting his players over map balance while Coach Kim having shown a tendency for conservatism. A good example of the difference between the two would be the differing ways in which they chose to deal with STX's Terran leader, Last. When KT matched up against STX in round two, Last was on a 6-0 win streak featuring victories over the likes of Best and Fantasy. While he had established himself as a player capable of beating anyone in TvT and TvP, Last's TvZ was thought to still be a weakness. The issue however in exploiting this weakness was STX's habit of playing Last on Jade, a map that was 0-2 in ZvT at the time and is still considered to be incredibly difficult for Zergs.
Coach Lee ended up taking a risk, sending Action first up on Jade and establishing a 1-0 lead having neutralised STX's strongest player with one of KT's weakest. Later in the season when CJ played STX, Jade was again the first map. This was a match that was crucial in deciding the playoff places and CJ were desperate for a win. Coach Kim must have known at the time that the chances of STX sending Last first up were incredibly high, he also would have known that Last's TvZ was a huge weakness. However, with this in mind Coach Kim chose to send Snow, in the past known for his PvT but in poor for this season. Snow ended up losing, CJ's conservatism costing them the game and ultimately the series, taking the playoff race right down to the wire.
In a match featuring some of Proleague’s brightest stars and most interesting story-lines, it’s possible that the deciding match will not be played by the returning Messiah or the Miracle Boy or even the Ultimate Weapon. Instead it may be decided by games that occur in the fifth and sixth sets, when all the snipe builds have been exhausted and all the MSL and OSL badges have been returned to their carrying cases, when two players with losing records and rushing blood meet. These are the games that define a league between teams, not individuals, these are the games that make Proleague special.
My Prediction: KT Rolster 4 - 2 CJ Entus
KT Rolster 1 - 4 CJ Entus
KT Rolster 4 - 3 CJ Entus
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This edition of the SK Planet Proleague news write-up was brought to you by the amazingly talented SPL Writing Team consisting of riptide, HawaiianPig, Kiante, Mustaju, SirJolt, 2Pacalypse-, Carnivorous Sheep, Simplistik, Hyde, Kiett. Special thanks to guest writers kjwcj, Biff the Understudy and LasTLiE for their contributions. Have a great week!