• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EDT 08:45
CEST 14:45
KST 21:45
  • Home
  • Forum
  • Calendar
  • Streams
  • Liquipedia
  • Features
  • Store
  • EPT
  • TL+
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Smash
  • Heroes
  • Counter-Strike
  • Overwatch
  • Liquibet
  • Fantasy StarCraft
  • TLPD
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Blogs
Forum Sidebar
Events/Features
News
Featured News
Code S RO8 Preview: Rogue, GuMiho, Solar, Maru3BGE Stara Zagora 2025: Info & Preview27Code S RO12 Preview: GuMiho, Bunny, SHIN, ByuN3The Memories We Share - Facing the Final(?) GSL47Code S RO12 Preview: Cure, Zoun, Solar, Creator4
Community News
BGE Stara Zagora 2025 - Replay Pack2Weekly Cups (June 2-8): herO doubles down1[BSL20] ProLeague: Bracket Stage & Dates9GSL Ro4 and Finals moved to Sunday June 15th13Weekly Cups (May 27-June 1): ByuN goes back-to-back0
StarCraft 2
General
The SCII GOAT: A statistical Evaluation Jim claims he and Firefly were involved in match-fixing DreamHack Dallas 2025 - Official Replay Pack BGE Stara Zagora 2025 - Replay Pack Code S RO8 Preview: Rogue, GuMiho, Solar, Maru
Tourneys
[GSL 2025] Code S:Season 2 - RO8 - Group A Sparkling Tuna Cup - Weekly Open Tournament Sea Duckling Open (Global, Bronze-Diamond) Bellum Gens Elite: Stara Zagora 2025 $3,500 WardiTV European League 2025
Strategy
[G] Darkgrid Layout Simple Questions Simple Answers [G] PvT Cheese: 13 Gate Proxy Robo
Custom Maps
[UMS] Zillion Zerglings
External Content
Mutation # 477 Slow and Steady Mutation # 476 Charnel House Mutation # 475 Hard Target Mutation # 474 Futile Resistance
Brood War
General
BGH auto balance -> http://bghmmr.eu/ BW General Discussion FlaSh Witnesses SCV Pull Off the Impossible vs Shu StarCraft & BroodWar Campaign Speedrun Quest Will foreigners ever be able to challenge Koreans?
Tourneys
[ASL19] Grand Finals [BSL20] GosuLeague RO16 - Tue & Wed 20:00+CET NA Team League 6/8/2025 [Megathread] Daily Proleagues
Strategy
I am doing this better than progamers do. [G] How to get started on ladder as a new Z player
Other Games
General Games
Nintendo Switch Thread Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread Path of Exile What do you want from future RTS games? Armies of Exigo - YesYes?
Dota 2
Official 'what is Dota anymore' discussion
League of Legends
LiquidLegends to reintegrate into TL.net
Heroes of the Storm
Simple Questions, Simple Answers Heroes of the Storm 2.0
Hearthstone
Heroes of StarCraft mini-set
TL Mafia
TL Mafia Community Thread Vanilla Mini Mafia
Community
General
US Politics Mega-thread Things Aren’t Peaceful in Palestine Russo-Ukrainian War Thread Vape Nation Thread European Politico-economics QA Mega-thread
Fan Clubs
Maru Fan Club Serral Fan Club
Media & Entertainment
Korean Music Discussion [Manga] One Piece
Sports
2024 - 2025 Football Thread Formula 1 Discussion NHL Playoffs 2024
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
Computer Build, Upgrade & Buying Resource Thread
TL Community
The Automated Ban List
Blogs
A Better Routine For Progame…
TrAiDoS
StarCraft improvement
iopq
Heero Yuy & the Tax…
KrillinFromwales
I was completely wrong ab…
jameswatts
Need Your Help/Advice
Glider
Trip to the Zoo
micronesia
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 35430 users

[SRT] Finals Preview - It Ain't Over Yet

Forum Index > BW General
39 CommentsPost a Reply
1 2 Next All

[SRT] Finals Preview - It Ain't Over Yet

Text bykjwcj
Graphics byHyde & HawaiianPig
January 10th, 2013 11:21 GMT

11th SOSPA Ranking Tournament Preview

Table of Contents



Round of 4 Recap
The Agony and the Ecstasy.
Finals Preview
Tying Up Loose Ends.

More on Liquipedia


After a Ro4 that lived up to expectations, in both the best and the worst ways, we move on to the final. Following an incredibly tough series against Movie, Sea will likely be hoping for a little bit of a rest. Mong, meanwhile, has been conserving his energy, and has needed only a little more than 90 minutes of game time to advance through the elimination bracket, having not dropped a game since the Ro16.

Returning in this post to recap the best and the worst of the Ro4 is our resident Starcraft scholar and all-round handsome devil, Hyde. Then, after the accidental triumph that was the Ro4 predictions, I set out to prove the old adage that even a stopped clock is right twice a day with my final preview for this tournament.

When Sea rolled over Movie in the last game of the semi-finals, there was some sense that the 11th SOSPA Ranking Tournament had effectively ended as a contest. However, as has been demonstrated multiple times in only the past few weeks, Brood War has a way of surprising you when you least expect it.

Round of 4 Recap



Beast vs. Mong

(T)Mong <Fighting Spirit> (Z)beast
(T)Mong <Neo Electric Circuit> (Z)beast
(T)Mong <Neo Jade> (Z)beast
(T)Mong <Fighting Spirit> (Z)beast
(T)Mong <New Sniper Ridge> (Z)beast


Looking at the results above most people would think Mong had a cakewalk in the semi-finals, and they would be mostly right, simply because Mong capabilities, both offensively and defensively, exceed that of beast's. But that's not to say that beast played poorly, there were definitely some moments where he displayed competence and while he's no Killer at the very least he put up entertaining games with some unorthodox strategies.

In the first game beast kept Mong’s marines well at bay for the majority of the game, never allowing them to travel more than halfway towards his expansions before intercepting them with his mutas. That allowed beast to reach hive unhindered and tech to both defilers and guardians. Unfortunately for beast, Mong moved out with a considerable force for a two-prong attack that hit the small window of vulnerability, a period where his defilers were not ready and the mutas were cocooned. Beast had little in the way of ground units and when the defilers and guardians finally arrived, beast had lost quite a lot at his natural and his third. Beast never recovered and Mong grew stronger in economy and army size, which made defending the next large attack an impossible task.


They're coming outta the walls! They're coming outta the goddamn walls!

Determined to take at least one game, beast looked to his bag of tricks and pulled out a 3-hatch hydra surprise attack, which might have worked if beast reinforced better, wasn’t in cross-positions, and focus fired a little more diligently. There were more forces at work against him though, like Terran being a super resilient race and medics making everything better. Once Mong knew what was coming he held on with his medics/marines/SCVs until siege tanks arrived and beast’s gig was up. Beast got his lair and held on a little longer before Mong’s forces became a little too much.

In the third game, whether Mong was tired, didn’t feel like playing late-game, or angry that beast even attempted the last strategy, he showed his teeth with an 8-rax. Mong bode his time, waiting for one or two more marines before he launched his own surprise. Backed with a train line of SCVs, Mong’s surprise attack was a great success that propelled him into the SRT finals.

Movie vs. Sea

(T)Sea <Fighting Spirit> (P)Movie
(T)Sea <Neo Electric Circuit> (P)Movie
(T)Sea <Neo Jade> (P)Movie
(T)Sea <Fighting Spirit> (P)Movie
(T)Sea <New Sniper Ridge> (P)Movie


Sea came against his first real opponent in this tournament that put his skills to the test and brought about many exciting games. Far from his dismal performance in season one of the SK Planet PL, Sea exhibited more flexibility and variety. Movie, on the other hand, played similarly in almost every game, never really deviating too far from what appeared to be his favourite opening, which brought about mixed results. Perhaps he would have been more successful had he diversified his strategies a little more.

The series started off with both players opening with builds geared towards harassment, Sea with a factory and starport, Movie with his robo and support bay. Both players make their move at roughly the same time with Movie suffering slightly more economic damage. However, Movie turned up the heat when he loaded another reaver and zealots into his shuttle and moved out with goons. Sea’s siege mode was late and Movie took advantage by pressing the natural that lead to Sea's tanks huddling up – a perfect scenario for Movie’s shuttle drop. The shuttle dropped its payload and left Sea with nothing to defend the invading army.


and boom goes the scarab

Unshaken from the quick defeat, Sea continued to play with vigor, scouting persistently, which uncovered Movie’s proxy robo. Sea then subdued Movie temporarily with his 3-fact push that destroyed Movie’s natural and forced him back inside his main. Decent shuttle/reaver drops gave Movie some hope as he expanded during the harassment. However, he was still far behind and Sea was ready to push out again. The narrow pathways made Sea’s push all the more dangerous and Movie’s attempts at counter-attacking and breaking through the push ended in disaster.

Sea gained an early advantage with his vultures in the third game when he limited the movements of Movie with spider mines. Taking advantage of Movie’s defensive play, Sea took a quick third which drove him further ahead. It didn’t help that Movie’s play was a tad sloppy, his attack on Sea’s third ended with goons idling at the ramp that gave Sea all the time in the world to bring troops. Moments later Movie attacked again, but instead of attacking with his goons and shuttle in unison, they came one after another, which resulted in more dead units while Sea’s third remained open for business.
Sea widened the gap by taking out Movie’s third that left him unable to deal with the relentless Terran onslaught.


I love it when a plan comes together

Movie remained rigid in his stratagem and opted for another reaver opening. Much of the reaver harass was deflected but movie didn't yield and continuously sent his shuttle in and out. This goes on for quite some time; Movie continued to attack Sea’s main/natural and suffered great losses that it looked reckless on the surface.
But amidst all the chaos, Movie’s plan was coming together. He had delayed Sea’s push, lowered the number of tanks via ceaseless shuttle incursions and agile DTs, long enough for him to reach arbiter tech. When the expected counter-push came, Movie’s arbiter arrived in the nick of time to to turn the tables. A minute later and Movie had the game all wrapped up with a well-placed recall and some sensible micro.

At this point I would have liked to see something other than a reaver opening, just for variety’s sake, but Movie stuck to his guns and proxied another pylon. To Movie’s dismay, Sea located it fairly early with routine scouting, which greatly limited Movie’s ability to harass. Sea eventually moved out with his marines/vultures/tanks and took advantage of the terrain that forced Movie back to his natural and held him hostage for short while. Movie tried to even the playing field by taking an expansion and harassing via shuttle, but they were ultimately fruitless and Sea’s commanding lead quickly gave rise to a formidable mech army that Movie simply could not stop.

Finals Preview



Friday, Jan 11 12:00pm GMT (GMT+00:00)

Mong vs. Sea


Having coasted through the tournament up to this point, Sea faced the first real challenge of his SOSPA career in his Ro4 series against Movie, narrowly advancing 3-2 over the former CJ Protoss. Mong, meanwhile, played what appeared to be one of the easiest series of his life as he effortlessly dismissed Beast in a three game series that took a little less than 45 minutes.

Mong enters this final 5-0 against Terran so far in the tournament but there’s little in his series against Shinee and Ample that will prepare him for a player who maintained a 60% TvT win rate over his seven year career as a progamer. In past Afreeca tournaments, Mong has often struggled against HiyA, previously 2-3 and 0-3 to a player whose TvT was often his greatest weakness during his time on Hwaseung OZ.

It’s difficult at this stage to make any particularly worthwhile comments about Sea’s current ability in the Terran mirror match-up, as he’s yet to actually play a broadcast game in it since his return to Brood War competition. In lieu of that, we can examine Sea’s performance in TvT during the final stages of his professional career - and the outlook is bright. During his final season of Proleague, under the hybrid system, Sea went 3-0 against Terran opposition. In fact, part of Sea’s struggles for form during the 11-12 Proleague season can be attributed to the fact that he didn’t meet a Terran opponent in a single one of his 14 games.


What this final comes down to is a difference in experience, a difference in knowledge and ultimately a difference in skill which form the gap between a player with over 150 Proleague wins and one with none. In the semi-final against Movie, for the first time on Afreeca Sea faced a player with whom he shared some amount of parity and was able to pull through, bloodied, but alive. There’s only one name left on Sea’s hit-list now and there’s little to do but for his chance to face off against the reigning king of SOSPA, Killer.

Mong’s place in the final was well earned and well won but, for Sea, this match-up should be little more than a formality.

Sea 3 - 0 Mong

Brought to you by the SonicTV 11th SOSPA Ranking Tournament coverage team - kjwcj and Hyde. If you're interested in helping out, please PM 2pacalypse-.
Facebook Twitter Reddit
Writer
icystorage
Profile Blog Joined November 2008
Jollibee19343 Posts
Last Edited: 2013-01-10 11:41:41
January 10 2013 11:41 GMT
#2
Lol, sea got this

awesome write up btw (y)
LiquidDota StaffAre you ready for a Miracle-? We are! The International 2017 Champions!
Mewka
Profile Joined February 2011
Poland1458 Posts
January 10 2013 11:47 GMT
#3
I am not a fan of tvt but definitely gonna watch this
Mewka, Mewka[AoV], Fox.Mewka, Mewman
Sinedd
Profile Joined July 2008
Poland7052 Posts
Last Edited: 2013-01-10 12:03:03
January 10 2013 12:02 GMT
#4
daaaaamn... ;(

I wanted Movie to win..

oh well.. good games tho

Ill be cheering for Sea in the finals !

go go go
T H C makes ppl happy
Risljaninasim
Profile Joined July 2011
Netherlands228 Posts
January 10 2013 12:04 GMT
#5
Sad Sea left Liquid.
;;
kerpal
Profile Blog Joined June 2009
United Kingdom2695 Posts
January 10 2013 12:30 GMT
#6
Yeah, 3-0 sea is the right prediction i think. nice write-up. Will hopefully be able to tune in.

Sea fighting!
Regis
Profile Joined December 2010
Poland109 Posts
January 10 2013 12:32 GMT
#7
we will see ....


Mong 4-2
amazingxkcd
Profile Blog Joined September 2010
GRAND OLD AMERICA16375 Posts
January 10 2013 12:51 GMT
#8
Want Sea to win 4-2, but I think Mong could take it 4-1
The world is burning and you rather be on this terrible website discussing video games and your shallow feelings
Ciryandor
Profile Blog Joined May 2010
United States3735 Posts
January 10 2013 13:10 GMT
#9
Sea 4-1 with two close games and a proxy.
에일리 and 아이유 <3 - O Captain 박재혁 ・゚✧*:・*゚+..。✧・゚:*・..。 ✧・゚ :・゚* ゜・*:・ ✧・゚:・゚:.。 ✧・゚ SPARKULING ・゜・:・゚✧*:・゚✧。*゚+..。 ✧・゚: ✧・゚:*・゜・:・゚✧*::
Essbee
Profile Blog Joined August 2008
Canada2371 Posts
January 10 2013 13:21 GMT
#10
Is it Bo5 or Bo7?
kjwcj
Profile Joined November 2011
Australia1064 Posts
Last Edited: 2013-01-10 13:37:48
January 10 2013 13:29 GMT
#11
Honestly, I have no idea if it's Bo5 or Bo7. I had a quick look on Sonic's Afreeca BBS and it wasn't immediately apparent.

I don't think he's put those details in any previous bulletin either, otherwise ArvickHero would have them in the R&S.

Went with Bo5 because Bo5 is clearly superior to Bo7. :3
Writer
Essbee
Profile Blog Joined August 2008
Canada2371 Posts
January 10 2013 13:31 GMT
#12
Ok thanks.
Tsutchie
Profile Joined January 2011
Australia951 Posts
January 10 2013 14:32 GMT
#13
bo7 bw TvT? god i hope not.
chaosTheory_14cc
Profile Blog Joined December 2010
Canada1270 Posts
January 10 2013 15:03 GMT
#14
Sea's gonna take this. 3-0 if it's a Bo5, Mong might take a game off him though.
fabiano
Profile Blog Joined August 2009
Brazil4644 Posts
January 10 2013 15:14 GMT
#15
What? NOOOOOOOOO nonononono nooooooooooono I will be in class during the finals, and I can't skip it.................................

I hope game 1 lasts like 1h so I can get home in time for the following games
"When the geyser died, a probe came out" - SirJolt
saroir
Profile Joined December 2011
Germany244 Posts
January 10 2013 15:31 GMT
#16
gogo, sea hwaitiiing!
Uglymutt
Profile Joined October 2011
Australia57 Posts
January 10 2013 15:58 GMT
#17
I'm thinking sea will have this, the games will probably be close though.
reps)Defi
Profile Joined September 2007
Russian Federation337 Posts
January 10 2013 16:05 GMT
#18
go Sea!
OpticalShot
Profile Blog Joined October 2009
Canada6330 Posts
January 10 2013 16:38 GMT
#19
I believe in Sea, but Mong's pretty beastly and his plays are super solid so far. Sea takes this, but not going to be a clean sweep!
[TLMS] REBOOT
Elroi
Profile Joined August 2009
Sweden5588 Posts
January 10 2013 16:54 GMT
#20
Sea fighting! <3 I won't be able to catch this live though
"To all eSports fans, I want to be remembered as a progamer who can make something out of nothing, and someone who always does his best. I think that is the right way of living, and I'm always doing my best to follow that." - Jaedong. /watch?v=jfghAzJqAp0
1 2 Next All
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
GSL Code S
09:30
Ro8 - Group A
Solar vs GuMihoLIVE!
Crank 283
LiquipediaDiscussion
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
Harstem 257
ProTech65
EnDerr 58
StarCraft: Brood War
Britney 20042
Rain 5181
Calm 4427
Horang2 1940
Bisu 1909
Jaedong 896
Shuttle 706
BeSt 353
Last 291
EffOrt 283
[ Show more ]
Pusan 254
Mini 223
Soulkey 220
Light 160
Snow 142
TY 137
ZerO 136
ggaemo 78
Dewaltoss 76
Hyun 71
hero 66
ToSsGirL 65
[sc1f]eonzerg 56
JYJ49
Shine 49
Aegong 46
PianO 31
Sharp 31
Sacsri 29
Mong 24
sorry 20
Movie 17
sSak 17
Barracks 15
Yoon 9
IntoTheRainbow 6
HiyA 6
zelot 6
Dota 2
qojqva1812
420jenkins571
XcaliburYe405
Fuzer 233
Counter-Strike
x6flipin743
markeloff122
edward47
Heroes of the Storm
Khaldor163
Other Games
singsing2768
B2W.Neo1498
DeMusliM584
XBOCT291
Crank 283
crisheroes212
XaKoH 120
Lowko100
ZerO(Twitch)19
Organizations
Dota 2
PGL Dota 2 - Secondary Stream8304
Other Games
gamesdonequick464
StarCraft 2
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
sctven
[ Show 11 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• intothetv
• Kozan
• IndyKCrew
• LaughNgamezSOOP
• Migwel
• sooper7s
StarCraft: Brood War
• BSLYoutube
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
Other Games
• WagamamaTV149
Upcoming Events
Online Event
11h 16m
Replay Cast
13h 16m
GSL Code S
20h 46m
herO vs Zoun
Classic vs Bunny
The PondCast
21h 16m
Replay Cast
1d 11h
WardiTV Invitational
1d 22h
OSC
2 days
Korean StarCraft League
2 days
SOOP
2 days
CranKy Ducklings
2 days
[ Show More ]
WardiTV Invitational
2 days
Cheesadelphia
3 days
CSO Cup
3 days
GSL Code S
3 days
Sparkling Tuna Cup
3 days
Replay Cast
4 days
Wardi Open
4 days
Replay Cast
5 days
Replay Cast
5 days
RSL Revival
5 days
Cure vs Percival
ByuN vs Spirit
RSL Revival
6 days
herO vs sOs
Zoun vs Clem
Liquipedia Results

Completed

CSL Season 17: Qualifier 2
BGE Stara Zagora 2025
Heroes 10 EU

Ongoing

JPL Season 2
BSL 2v2 Season 3
BSL Season 20
KCM Race Survival 2025 Season 2
NPSL S3
Rose Open S1
CSL 17: 2025 SUMMER
2025 GSL S2
BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025
ESL Impact League Season 7
IEM Dallas 2025
PGL Astana 2025
Asian Champions League '25
BLAST Rivals Spring 2025
MESA Nomadic Masters
CCT Season 2 Global Finals
IEM Melbourne 2025
YaLLa Compass Qatar 2025
PGL Bucharest 2025
BLAST Open Spring 2025

Upcoming

Copa Latinoamericana 4
CSLPRO Last Chance 2025
CSLPRO Chat StarLAN 3
K-Championship
SEL Season 2 Championship
Esports World Cup 2025
HSC XXVII
Championship of Russia 2025
Murky Cup #2
Esports World Cup 2025
BLAST Bounty Fall 2025
BLAST Bounty Fall Qual
IEM Cologne 2025
FISSURE Playground #1
TLPD

1. ByuN
2. TY
3. Dark
4. Solar
5. Stats
6. Nerchio
7. sOs
8. soO
9. INnoVation
10. Elazer
1. Rain
2. Flash
3. EffOrt
4. Last
5. Bisu
6. Soulkey
7. Mini
8. Sharp
Sidebar Settings...

Advertising | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use | Contact Us

Original banner artwork: Jim Warren
The contents of this webpage are copyright © 2025 TLnet. All Rights Reserved.