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Auction OSL - Grand Finals Preview

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Auction OSL - Grand Finals Preview

Text byTL.net ESPORTS
Graphics byHawaiianPig
October 27th, 2012 02:14 GMT
Photo: dailyesports.com


Regular OSL head Gmarshal went missing abruptly while organizing this week's OSL post, and we were not able to prepare a proper post in time. We apologize for being unable to have a post appropriate to a league with the stature of the OSL.


The legend of the fall is one of the oldest legacies of Korean StarCraft, older than bonjwas, gods, and even kongs. The first Protoss champion of the OSL, Garimto, won his two titles in the autumns of 2000 and 2001. Since then, his heirs have channeled his spirit nearly every fall, either winning the championship or barely failing to take the title. Now, By.Rain will attempt to join a legendary line, including players such as Reach, Anytime, Stork, and Jangbi.

However, he will face a new type of challenge, one that did not exist in the years of the past. The players of the eSF have had over two years to hone their craft in preparation for the inevitable KeSPA invasion. The charge of the elephants came with crushing force, and many players were toppled. But in the end, they defended their home, and prevented Rain from taking their ultimate prize. Now, the tables have been turned, and By.Rain is the only thing that stands between the OSL title and one of the best players the eSF has produced.

DongRaeGu is a man who can say he has done it all in his short, brilliant career. He's won on three continents, he's won MLG, DreamHack, and of course, he's won in the GSL. Correction: almost done it all. There's one major league he still needs to take, and it's the oldest one in the history of StarCraft: The OnGameNet Starleague.

Will the legend continue, or will the swarm and the eSF take a double crown? We will find out tonight.

Waxangel






Check out the 2012 Auction OSL on Liquipedia


Grand Finals Preview: DongRaeGu vs. By.Rain


By: Pokebunny



Antiga Shipyard - Entombed Valley - Ohana - Daybreak - Antiga Shipyard - Entombed Valley - Ohana


The first SC2 OSL finals are upon us. While a bit underappreciated in the modern tournament-saturated world of international SC2, it is important that we not forget that the OSL has historically been the premiere tournament in Korean ESPORTS™. Fortunately enough, the finals have also played out to become the largest stage for a battle between KeSPA and Starcraft’s newer generation, with By.Rain taking on DongRaeGu in a hopefully thrilling best of seven.

[image loading]
Errr, disregard that GomTV logo.
Representing Aiur, KeSPA, and SK Telecom T1, we have (P)By.Rain, who has now undoubtedly proven himself to be the best of the elephants thus far and a contender to the throne of the best Protoss in the world (some would argue he already is). Recently adding a WCS Asia gold to his trophy case, Rain has been a force in the past couple months in Korea, destroying everyone in sight (except Mvp). Rain has achieved at least a top four finish in all three of the most competitive Korean tournaments over the last month or two, and has looked stellar even in defeat. His list of recent victims has grown too vast to list, and really, we don’t need to list them as if they’re upsets or surprises – he has now cemented himself as a top competitor in the SC2 world.

In the OSL, Rain has come through in the clutch a couple times, always managing to get in control and advance through every hurdle. After a miraculous comeback versus MarineKing to open the tournament, Rain has fought his way through DRG, JangBi, PartinG, and a nailbiting series versus Last to make it to the finals. His semifinal against Last was especially impressive, as he showed a solid understanding of versatile Protoss gameplay in taking four straight sets after quickly falling behind 0-3. While of course we can’t just ignore the first three games and say he’s flawless, but it’s pretty clear that when Rain is on his game, he’s extremely tough to beat.

[image loading]
From the last time DRG won something.
Representing the Swarm, eSF, GSL, MVP, and his seaside hometown, we have (Z)DongRaeGu. Once hailed as the best Zerg in the world (and possibly even best player), DongRaeGu hasn’t been quite as impressive as in his glory days, but he’s managed to fight his way to an OSL final. As I said last week, it’s really a testament to our expectations that we can manage to claim DRG is in a slump as he fights through the later stages of a major tournament, and if we look at it objectively, he’s not doing THAT bad – he just isn’t winning everything that he could. Still, making it to the finals after a decisive victory over MC has definitely done a lot for our confidence in him, and hopefully his confidence in himself as well. He did still fall painfully to RorO in Code A, but ZvZ is ZvZ and RorO isn’t really an embarrassing player to lose to – again, it’s just our expectations.

DongRaeGu’s OSL has progressed with relatively little fanfare, despite advancement through every stage. Coming from a Brood War fandom background, I’d think being in the OSL finals is pretty damn important, but the GSL had quite a head start on them, and had some of the best narratives of the fall, including the rise of the prodigy Life, Mvp's quest for a fifth title, and an epic KeSPA vs. Gom duel between Rain and Mvp. If Mvp hadn't already taken the honor of felling Rain on behalf of his GomTV compatriots, then surely this match would have been the center of attention.

DongRaeGu's loss to Rain in the group stage was disappointing, but he has otherwise overcome every obstacle on the way to the finals, with comfortable victories over Oz and MC in the playoffs. DRG has conquered his momentarily shaky ZvP, and with a third ZvP on the block against Rain this week, DRG will be pushed to his limit in the matchup as he duels the KeSPA superstar.

Taking a look at the maps, we see that as in the semifinals, we’ll see a seven game series play out on only four maps, with Antiga Shipyard, Entombed Valley, Ohana, and Daybreak in the map order, with the first three repeating. The map pool again is fairly even, with only the Protoss-friendly Entombed Valley sticking out as a possible danger zone for DRG. Map balance has traditionally been easily defied in a long series with plenty of time to prepare, as good preparation and mind games can offset any features of the map that may be disadvantageous. Still, if I were a Zerg, I wouldn’t want to go up against Rain on Entombed Valley with an 0-1 or 2-3 disadvantage, so they do serve as a bit of an obstacle for DRG to overcome.

Rain and DRG did meet in the group stage earlier, with Rain taking the victory in a straightforward Bo1 where DRG just kind of rolled over and died after a bit of macroing up. Rain has only looked more and more impressive since then, proving his mettle in all three matchups and continuing to slap down big names left and right. Maybe if DRG was in top shape we’d call it a really even match, but Rain just has all the momentum behind him and quite frankly has looked like the better player as of late. I’d pick Rain to win it fairly confidently, and I’d be slightly surprised if DRG dismantled Rain in the same decisive fashion as his last two victims. Whoever wins this match will be crowned the first SC2 OSL champion, so there’s certainly a lot on the line here, and hopefully we’ll see a fantastic match from these two excellent players.

Prediction: By.Rain 4 – 2 DongRaeGu






Jangbi Carrier by Kiett
Brought to you by the Auction OSL team: Antoine, GMarshal, kiett, kjwcj, Pokebunny, and SirJolt.



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TL+ Member
Pandain
Profile Blog Joined May 2010
United States12989 Posts
October 27 2012 02:17 GMT
#2
very well done considering the time restraint you had, and I'm sure you'll modify it as you have more time to make it more worthy for the first sc2 OSL
NovemberstOrm
Profile Blog Joined September 2011
Canada16217 Posts
October 27 2012 02:18 GMT
#3
I have faith in DRG that he can win, Rain will lose!
Moderatorlickypiddy
Whatson
Profile Blog Joined January 2012
United States5356 Posts
October 27 2012 02:22 GMT
#4
Still a fantastic write-up
I believe in the Legend of the Fall.
¯\_(シ)_/¯
a176
Profile Blog Joined August 2009
Canada6688 Posts
Last Edited: 2012-10-27 02:24:19
October 27 2012 02:23 GMT
#5
do it for elly, rain

[image loading]
starleague forever
neoghaleon55
Profile Blog Joined August 2010
United States7435 Posts
October 27 2012 02:23 GMT
#6
well I'm glad I made the hype thread this time.
No worries pokebunny, the community gotcha covered.
<3
moo...for DRG
ZigguratOfUr
Profile Blog Joined April 2012
Iraq16955 Posts
October 27 2012 02:23 GMT
#7
I wouldn't call the map pool that equal, considering the presence of not only Entombed (as mentionned in the preview), but also the immortal sentry all-in prone Ohana repeating twice. I guess Antiga is slightly zerg favored but still.
TommyP
Profile Joined December 2011
United States6231 Posts
October 27 2012 02:28 GMT
#8
Go DRG!

I wouldnt look into their Ro16 game on Entombed at all tbh. That was a while ago and DRG is playing way better. This DRG wont go over 110 drones without making units.
#TheOneTrueDong
rift
Profile Blog Joined September 2007
1819 Posts
October 27 2012 02:29 GMT
#9
Once again maps recreate the Legend of the Fall. Tsk tsk Ongamenet...
minilance
Profile Joined June 2011
Canada500 Posts
October 27 2012 02:34 GMT
#10
thank you for the preview, may the best win, may it rain on us
Bisu, Jangbang <3
red4ce
Profile Blog Joined January 2011
United States7313 Posts
October 27 2012 02:37 GMT
#11
The map pool again is fairly even, with only the Protoss-friendly Entombed Valley sticking out as a possible danger zone for DRG


Ohana?
ZerO_0
Profile Joined October 2011
United States137 Posts
October 27 2012 02:38 GMT
#12
Yet another sleepless night for me. It's going to be an epic series can't wait to watch it.
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit. Aristotle
Pokebunny
Profile Blog Joined June 2008
United States10654 Posts
October 27 2012 02:39 GMT
#13
On October 27 2012 11:37 red4ce wrote:
Show nested quote +
The map pool again is fairly even, with only the Protoss-friendly Entombed Valley sticking out as a possible danger zone for DRG


Ohana?

IMO ohana is just a 2base allin map... not necessarily an overall protoss map.
Semipro Terran player | Pokebunny#1710 | twitter.com/Pokebunny | twitch.tv/Pokebunny | facebook.com/PokebunnySC
Bumalate
Profile Joined January 2012
United States33 Posts
October 27 2012 02:40 GMT
#14
GO DONGRAEGU! I BELIEVE IN YOU!!!
Dongraegu <3
Draconicfire
Profile Joined May 2010
Canada2562 Posts
October 27 2012 02:44 GMT
#15
Rain is gonna make it rain.

And DongRaeGu is gonna turn to goo.
@Drayxs | Drayxs.221 | Drayxs#1802
Khai
Profile Joined August 2010
Australia551 Posts
October 27 2012 02:46 GMT
#16
Go By.Sun/Rain! By sun or by rain, he delivers. Postman Protoss(TM)
torm3ntin
Profile Joined October 2009
Brazil2534 Posts
Last Edited: 2012-10-27 02:52:47
October 27 2012 02:51 GMT
#17
NO ELEPHANTS THIS TIME. DRG for TI TLE


EDIT
EDIT
EDIT

has anyone noticed that BOTH of them are second to last in each one of the SIDES?

HELL YEAH
Grubby and Ret fan, but a TERRAN player :D
TheEmulator
Profile Blog Joined July 2010
28085 Posts
October 27 2012 02:52 GMT
#18
I hope Rain takes this. It would be great to see a Kespa player win the first sc2 OSL
Administrator
shabby
Profile Joined March 2010
Norway6402 Posts
October 27 2012 03:00 GMT
#19
Cheering for Rain on this one. After losing to MVP it is only fitting he gets an OSL for the premiere matches he has been putting forth, restoring everyones faith in protoss play that is fun to watch.
Jaedong, Gumibear, Leenock, Byun
StarVe
Profile Joined June 2011
Germany13591 Posts
Last Edited: 2012-10-27 03:20:59
October 27 2012 03:20 GMT
#20
On October 27 2012 11:39 Pokebunny wrote:
Show nested quote +
On October 27 2012 11:37 red4ce wrote:
The map pool again is fairly even, with only the Protoss-friendly Entombed Valley sticking out as a possible danger zone for DRG


Ohana?

IMO ohana is just a 2base allin map... not necessarily an overall protoss map.

Isn't a map where 2base allins are particularly good best case scenario for Protoss v Z?



Elephants are marchin'!
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