ZeNEX's Life welcomes Liquid to the GSTL with an all-kill (ZeNEX 5 - 1 Liquid)

Match results from Live Report Thread by SeeKeR.
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In some ways, it was an inevitable result. Known for his impressive skill when playing online, the sixteen year old ZeNEXLife was expected to finally break out in the GSL studio at some point in his career. Unfortunately for Team Liquid, he picked the day of their GSTL debut, scoring an all-kill against the hopeful foreign team. TaeJa's absence due to his participation at Red Bull Battlegrounds was painfully felt, as his skillful TvZ and 9 - 1 record against Life might have saved the day.

Life came out as the second runner for his team, switching in for Avenge after he surrendered the first set to Liquid's Zenio. After Life took down Zenio, Liquid opted to deploy HerO sooner than later, before Life could build up any more momentum. However, Life looked more than equal to the Code S semi-finalist, and won with formidable macro on Entombed Valley. After that, Life hardly had to break a sweat. Jinro, Haypro, and TLO fell in order, with none of them able to put up much of a fight against the rampaging Life.

ZeNEX moves on to face SlayerS-EG tomorrow in the winners' match of group A, with the winner progressing to the second round of the GSTL. In Liquid's case, they go up against New Star HoSeo in the losers' match, where the defeated team will suffer elimination from the GSTL.


Match Recap

The series opened with Liquid`Zenio vs ZeNEXAvenge on Cloud Kingdom. It was a scrappy game that followed a fairly standard PvZ pattern, with Avenge going up to three bases while Zenio took his fourth base and made his way up to hive. Zenio's lair stage army couldn't handle Avenge's force, and he was battered left and right to the verge of defeat. However, Avenge made a crucial mistake by allowing Zenio to hold on to a 'hidden' base that could have easily been killed, and Zenio managed to just barely put together a brood lord force that forced the GG from Avenge.

ZeNEXLife was then sent forth to take out Zenio as a ZvZ sniper – an unusual role until you looked at Life's 10 – 1 ZvZ record in 2012. Their game played out normally on Daybreak, with both players trying to get on each others nerves with harassment while going up to three bases a piece. A well timed, mid-size roach attack earned Life ZvZ win number eleven on the year, hitting just before Zenio started pumping out mass roaches to support his infestors.

Liquid chose to play their ace card earlier than later, putting Liquid`HerO in an optimal situation to defeat Life on Entombed Valley. Anticipating HerO to go for a long game on the map, Life opened up with a very greedy, three hatch before pool build, one that ended up paying off. Life went up to four bases and hive very quickly, putting him in a great position to take on whatever HerO would make from three bases.

HerO looked like he was in trouble once Life put together a well supported brood lord force, but he used his excellent combat micro to destroy Life's first force with stalkers and templars. However, right on the heels of that victory, HerO ran head-on into defeat. His stalkers chased the fleeing Zerg army onto creep, even blinking ahead to catch up. They ended up materializing right in the middle of a huge swarm of reinforcing lings, resulting in the complete annihilation of HerO's army. With his core broken, HerO had no chance of defending against the continued waves of Zerg troops being sent his way, and he GG'd out.

Liquid`Jinro was next up for Liquid, making his first GSL appearance since July of 2011. Unfortunately for Jinro, it was not the return he wanted. Expecting Life to play a more standard game, Jinro went for a typical reactor-hellion triple orbital build, while Life was doing something else entirely. He went for the rarely seen ZvT mutalisk rush, a build that ended up working out because of its sheer unlikeliness. A fast muta-ling attack was enough to beat Jinro outright, forcing Liquid to bring out Liquid`HayprO as their fourth player.

The player known as 'The Banjo' once defeated Nestea at an MLG event, but there would be no such upset for him in Korea. After similar starts where both players opened with two base mutalisks, Life struck with a deadly muta-roach-infestor-hydralisk timing that completely overwhelmed HayprO.

It was all up to Liquid`TLO to pull off a miracle as the final player remaining, but he ended up becoming kill #5 for Life instead. TLO played Life evenly for a decent portion of the game, fending off an early zergling attack and safely moving into the mid-game. However, TLO ended up suffering a similar loss as Zenio and HayprO, with Life finding just the right time to attack before his opponent was ready. Life's well upgraded roaches were able to break through TLO's defenses before infestors were out, and TLO surrendered the final GG to Life.


Player of the match: ZeNEXLife

Life has been known for his considerable talent at a young age for quite a while now. Right up to the Liquid match, he was also known for being unable to adjust to the pressure of playing at the Mokdong studio, and had disappointed in his limited outings in the GSL.

It would be absolutely huge for ZeNEX if this all-kill finally gets Life over that hump, as it would give them the reliable multi-kill card they've always needed. A confident Life would be akin to a Zerg version of what TaeJa was for SlayerS in the past: a very talented young player who can destroy entire teams when he gets going.


Game of the night: Game One – Zenio vs Avenge

Life had to work a little against HerO, but overall he was hardly troubled in his all-kill of Liquid. Instead, watch Zenio vs Avenge, a rather sloppy, but entertainingly scrappy game. Avenge had Zenio on the ropes for long portions of the game, but Zenio managed to barely hold on to come back using brood lords.