Table of Contents

Week 3 Lookback
Short Recaps


Week 4 Matches
Starters and maps


Fantasy Spotlight
KHAAAAAANNN!!!!


SK Planet Proleague table and results at Liquipedia

By: Pokebunny and Zealously

After we had ingrained in our minds how teams should perform in the all-kill format of Proleague from the first two weeks of results, week three turned those preconceived notions all on their heads. The winners from week two flopped and the losers from just a week ago did whatever the opposite of flopping is. Week three showed us the true, unpredictable nature of the Winners League where any team can beat any other team on any given Sunday (Saturday, Monday, or Tuesday).

January 19th - 20th

The match started off on a rather embarrassing note for EG-TL, with HerO not making it to the studio on time for the opening match, and his opponent, Light, received the walkover. (Hero later explains the situation in an interview) Fortunately for EG-TL, some stellar play from RevivaL after falling behind early to a combat shield timing attack from Light led to an eventual victory. Despite Arkanoid's reputation for producing strange and often entertaining games, Soulkey took down RevivaL in what was a relatively uninteresting roach/hydra/infestor mirror matchup to pull it back in Woongjin's favor. Thus the string of ZvZ roach infestor mirrors began, with each team attempting to snipe each others' Zergs, culminating in Stephano's defeat of ZerO. Stephano then continued his ZvP success with a win over sOs with a throwback to his quick roach max, killing his sOs's third and finishing off the game.

EG-TL got back on the right foot here even after starting off with a walkover against the current best team in the league. And more promising play from Stephano continues his "f*** the haters" train through Korea. For Woongjin it was a bit of a disappointment, with them having been very strong throughout the last few weeks, yet still falling to EG-TL after getting a free win and still having three nearly ace-quality players waiting in the wings.



STX had been the story of disappointment thus far in Proleague, with none other than the starter Innovation himself embodying that more than anyone. After an impressive run to the GSL semifinals, Bogus had flopped completely in the all-kill round where STX would need to rely on him most, and his match vs. Ty would certainly be quite an important one for how the series played out. Innovation started it off with an old-school thor rush, pulling SCVs and breaking through Ty for a quick win after taking some damage from reaper shenanigans. Fortunately for STX, Innovation showed no signs of inconsistency, and took the steam out of a rising Team 8 before they could get anything off the ground. While a lineup of Ty, Cure, True, and Argo doesn't seem all too impressive of one to all-kill, all of these players have shown quite some promise in recent weeks, and Team 8 has consistently been placing their trust in these solid players and picking up wins. Innovation showed he was their better on the day, rolling through True with a mech timing attack, defeating Cure with another cheeky TvT build involving a mass early hellion marine drop, before finally being bested by Argo (Jaehoon).

Wait... but the results say he won? If you stopped watching as Argo pushed into Innovation's main with a two-base attack, you might not be alone... but somehow, through a miracle of stimmed bio, SCVs, and medivacs, Innovation managed to pull back against an overextending Argo to finish off the match. It was definitely one to watch, if not just for the classic Jaehoon fail that we've all missed dearly (as much as we cheer for his new, much more competent form).

For STX, this match was a huge vote of confidence for Innovation, as his abysmal performance as of late left STX flailing horribly. If their supporting cast can step up a bit and Innovation continues to perform as an ace, they might have a legitimate shot at getting back in contention - but it's worth mentioning that Innovation's games vs. Team Eight didn't really seem all that solid, just a myriad of timing attacks and fortunate situations. For Team 8, the wind has been taken out of their sails a bit - definitely a tough loss to take, and they'll hope to bounce back as soon as possible.




With the team rankings in a state of relative disorder, the match between CJ Entus and SK Telecom T1 ended up continuing the trend of the bottom teams beating the higher ranked ones, as last season’s champion, CJ Entus, beat out the more accomplished KeSPA team in SKT. The first match might as well have been the ace match, with herO[jOin] out-PvPing SKT’s Rain before the latter could take it to the late game, a stage he has traditionally found much success at. herO would fall just as quickly as the Afrotoss, ParalyzE, came out to beat the CJ Protoss after a cannon rush somehow turned into a macro game.

Other than a great showing from the rookie of the match, Bong, what this match really signifies is the trouble SKT seems to be having at the moment. It might be some form of Telecom Curse, with KT Rolster – SKT’s rival, not doing much better. There is no doubting that SKT has a top heavy line-up that could, and should, be doing well in Winners’ League, but they will need to shape up going into the matches of Round Two.




After dominating performances in Week 1, Round 2 for KT Rolster has at best been very mediocre. Their first match of week 3 continued this trend, with a loss to a bottom team, the under-performing Samsung KHAN. The first game between the rarely seen HoeJJa and RorO proved two things:

• One, that the rule of “HoeJJa is only good in the playoffs” still stands.
  
• And two, once people start putting RorO on their FPL anti-teams, he instantly becomes better.

The Samsung Zerg continued this trend by beating P7GAB (Wooki) as well, before losing out to Action in a ZvZ best described as somewhat of a beatdown. Almost predictably, with RorO shaping up, another player on Samsung’s inconsistent roster was destined to fail. This player ended up being Stork, losing in disappointing fashion after a failed immortal-sentry all-in on Ohana.

In terms of star power, the final ace match between Jangbi and Flash was an incredible match-up. But in terms of pure gameplay, it just wasn't that great. After Jangbi scouted a proxy rax, he went into a colossi build that eventually punished Flash for being Flash and taking an extremely greedy third. With this loss, KT Rolster extends their loss streak to three in a row, their worst record of the season, and Samsung continues their climb upwards through the rankings, showing everyone that they’re not dead just yet.

January 21st - 22nd

The match appropriately started out with Jaedong, Team 8's defector, taking out one of his old friends. After the tyrant fell, Stephano was sent out to avenge his biggest fan. Stephano's day was cut short, however, after he was unable to do any damage with a roach-hydra attack Argo's third base, overcommitting and falling to the stalker sentry immortal counterpush from Argo. HerO came out next for EG-TL, looking to redeem himself after missing out on the first match of the week, and he did not disappoint. Three-killing Team 8's backbone trio of Argo, Cure, and Ty, HerO was able to pull through and take the match for EG-TL.

EG-TL finishing 2-0 for the week was certainly a big boost for them, as their powerhouse team on paper had certainly underperformed through Round 2 thus far. The pecking order was restored, as the Team 8 revolution also lost a bit more steam with them falling to 0-2. If EG-TL can continue to count on HerO, the triple threat of Jaedong-HerO-Stephano could be enough to overcome losing TaeJa for an undetermined amount of time.




Classic lost the Arkanoid coinflip to Soulkey, with some greed vs. a one base allin, as per is standard for about 25% of Arkanoid games. Dear, after being mostly unimpressive and hiding in the woodwork in recent times (pretty much like all of STX) was able to bounce back with a surprising three kill over an impressive trio of Soulkey, sOs, and free. Perhaps the most unique occurrence of the three games was the fact that a pause was requested, the issue was solved, and the game continued without any issues. Then ZerO decided he wanted his own three kill and had no interest in letting Woongjin lose this match, taking down Dear, Innovation, and hyvaa to bring it back for Woongjin. By holding off Dear's gateway all-in with roach ling, surprising Innovation's mech with thirty mutas, and besting hyvaa ZvZ in a standard mirror, ZerO played solid Zerg all around and showed the strong depth of the Woongjin lineup.

With a strong leading trio and plenty of depth in the supporting cast, Woongjin has continued to cement themselves among the powerhouses of Proleague contenders. STX's woes continue despite Innovation's all-kill in their last match, although promising play from Dear can't be something to be too disappointed in. And looking on the bright side, nearly taking down a top team is quite an achievement, so STX had something to take away from the match.




Stork decided he had been mediocre at SC2 for long enough. This match would be the turning point, and perhaps least heralded member of TaekBangLeeSsang managed to grab an impressive three-kill, securing a well-needed lead for KHAN in the series. Throughout his three victories, Stork displayed his own twist on conventional play. Instead of fighting Terran head on when he was out of position, he decided for a semi-base trade. And instead of utilizing a mothership to combat broodlords, Stork decided he could make do with a pure ground army, backed by a solid economy. Eventually, Rain was sent out to salvage the situation, proving his mastery of PvP’s later stages by beating the rampaging Stork in the late game with superior positioning and composition.

In the end, it all came down to a nail-biting ace match between RorO and Rain, with RorO barely clinching the win after a battle that brought both players below a hundred supply. As they both tried to rebuild their economies and armies, good ling usage from RorO destroyed key tech structures for Rain and prevented him from expanding. As Rain’s only remaining mining base was taken out by burrowed infestors, he was left broke and had no choice but to GG.

With wins over both KT and SKT in week 3, Samsung shows that they have started their comeback from the massive deficit they put themselves in after lackluster performances over the first five weeks. With Stork and Jangbi proving that they are going to be forces to be reckoned with, and RorO actually winning again, Samsung may very well become a contender as they climb through the rankings.




KT Rolster vs. CJ Entus turned out, perhaps surprisingly, exactly as many would have expected, with KT Rolster beating the middling team after a clutch performance from Flash. After some blows traded between both teams, it all came down to the Ultimate Weapon. To the combined cries of a thousand fans, Flash was sent out as KT’s final player. He first managed to beat EffOrt after the Zerg decided that hydras without range should be pretty good in ZvT. Flash against herO[jOin] was a perfect display of Flash's starsense; after he scouted a proxy robo on the low ground, he took zero damage from the proxy while simultaneously getting his expansion up and running. From there on out, Flash dictated the pace of the game. With herO behind in economy, the KT Terran went for a typical stim timing with double medivacs, against which herO had little to defend himself with. His worker lines ravaged and his army insufficient, he had no choice but to tap out.

With this win, KT finally breaks their streak of bad days and surprising losses. They may have lost first place to Woongjin Stars' incredibly deep roster, but they are not out of the race yet as we go into Winners’ League’s final week. For CJ, Hydra has begun to realize his potential - carrying the team further than they could realistically have gotten otherwise. But as we go back into the standard Proleague format, other players on their roster will have to step up as well to remain in the competition.

Round 2, Week 3 Standings

Writers: monk, Pokebunny, Waxangel, and Zealously.
Graphics: HawaiianPig, shiroiusagi.
Editors: monk and Waxangel.