EPTThe Ro16 has wrapped up, reminding those of us foolish enough to forget of an old SSL adage, never ever bet against Larva's ZvP. Elsewhere, Mong was unable to overcome his old rival HiyA in the deciding TvT of group D while Movie did eventually rescue himself a place in the Ro8 by beating Sexy in the final of group C.
In this news update, we are lead off by the immeasurable wisdom of our graphics man and chief recapper Hyde, bringing you all the details of the Ro16's closing groups. This is followed by a slightly adjusted preview section, in which we've attempted to provide a more complete overview of each player, something that will hopefully aid those readers who are just beginning to dip their toes in the cool and refreshing waters of the SSL. Those of you who fear change need not worry however, the accuracy of the predictions has remained roughly the same!
As the tournament enters the elimination bracket, the margin for error drops to nil. So far in this SSL, we've seen even the best players are prone to the occasional misstep but once the Ro8 is underway any mistake will be punished harshly. Our opening series are two match-ups featuring four incredibly high calibre players, all of whom would be worthy finalists. Will it be hero's blazing speed, Movie's whirlwind aggression, Larva's expansive management or sSak's progamer efficiency? Tune in on Saturday night at 7PM KST, as the Ro8 of the itemBay SonicTV Starleague begins.
In this news update, we are lead off by the immeasurable wisdom of our graphics man and chief recapper Hyde, bringing you all the details of the Ro16's closing groups. This is followed by a slightly adjusted preview section, in which we've attempted to provide a more complete overview of each player, something that will hopefully aid those readers who are just beginning to dip their toes in the cool and refreshing waters of the SSL. Those of you who fear change need not worry however, the accuracy of the predictions has remained roughly the same!
As the tournament enters the elimination bracket, the margin for error drops to nil. So far in this SSL, we've seen even the best players are prone to the occasional misstep but once the Ro8 is underway any mistake will be punished harshly. Our opening series are two match-ups featuring four incredibly high calibre players, all of whom would be worthy finalists. Will it be hero's blazing speed, Movie's whirlwind aggression, Larva's expansive management or sSak's progamer efficiency? Tune in on Saturday night at 7PM KST, as the Ro8 of the itemBay SonicTV Starleague begins.
Table of Contents
Round of 16 Recap Part II
Round of 8 Preview Part I
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Liquipedia
Round of 16 Recap Part II
Round of 8 Preview Part I
LiquipediaRound of 16 Recap Part II
By Hyde
Inside the booth
The SSL8 finals is looking more and more likely to contain a Zerg as another cerebrate crosses over to the quarter-finals, with half the slots now represented by the Swarm.
Watching the way Larva carries himself outside of the booth, in that rambunctious and comical manner, it's sometimes easy to underestimate what Larva is capable of and easier still to forget that he was once an SSL finalist. But Larva's 2-0 performance in this group served as a firm reminder that inside the booth he's all business and still very much a threat and strong contender for the title.
Larva didn't only demonstrate his usual management strengths but foresight when he predicted kkong's opening and movements, and cunning when he utterly deceived Movie in their first game, which impressed both spectators and commentators and left Movie a little jolted. It's these traits that makes Larva a stand-out player and with his continuous streaming/practice regime, Larva looks set to make another finals appearance.
As the most dominant Protoss player currently on the scene, much was expected from Movie and his series' loss against Larva would've come as a shock, especially given his PvZ strengths. Movie was fortunate enough to have two 'insurance' players this time around to secure his position in the quarter-finals, but his results should serve as a notice that he simply can't rest of his laurels and will need to step up his game to match the level of competition if he's to repeat his SRT champion performance.
Elsewhere, Sexy missed the opportunity to play against the only Zerg of the group, a match-up where he'd previously demonstrated competence since his re-emergence. Sexy had a very rough start, first losing dismally to Movie and then to kkong in their first encounter. Both Terran players made huge blunders and it wasn't until half way through the series that Sexy found his footing, enough to take the series against the former MBC player. Unfortunately, despite being well warmed up, Sexy couldn't overcome the Protoss titan in their rematch and was swept away in two straight games, which further suggests that Sexy still needs time to recover his form against both Protoss and Terran.
It started with a kiss
In contrast to what the results say it appears that sSak may not be as bullet proof as his previous group performance might have indicated, and even if you're fresh out of a Kespa team environment with the sharp mechanics that come along with it, it's certainly not a free pass to the finals. SOSPA competition is tough and Mong showed that when he fought back and made sSak earn his first place finish. While sSak's debut hasn't been tarnished by elimination just yet he must remember that he's not that far ahead of the competition and with the wrong match-up and/or build order he could easily be eliminated.
Elsewhere, HiyA made it through the group in his usual fashion where he lost the first game only to make a comeback in the following two series. This was largely helped by Lazy, who unfortunately served as the punching bag of the group. At this stage of the competition, one cannot afford to play passively but that's exactly what Lazy did, which allowed Hiya to dictate every step of the game to give him to golden ticket into the finals where he'd face Mong a second time.
If you were present during the Group A broadcast you may have noticed Ample brought his girlfriend along for support, you may have also noticed Ample made a lot more uncharacteristic mistakes that got him eliminated. Maybe it was the added pressure, or maybe it's a curse, whatever it was it's something that Mong didn't take notice of. So Mong brought his girlfriend along too, except she went one step further and entered his booth to give him a kiss, for good luck I presume and from that point on his fate was sealed. Mong would fail spectacularly no matter what the circumstances.
More than once, Mong would have the build order advantage with his two-port, but he would make misstep after misstep, eventually moving into clown shoe territory. All Mong really had to do was continue to build wraiths to press his air advantage but for whatever reasons he saw fit to stop after two and take the fight to the ground, which gave his opponents ample opportunity to recover and destroy him. It may have been the case that Mong was thinking one too many steps ahead, trying to predict and counter something that simply wasn't happening and as a result hurt himself instead.
Neither sSak or HiyA are known for their TvT abilities, and given the advantages Mong possessed this really was a missed opportunity to make a large impact and he may be kicking himself for some time. The moral of the story here is don't bring your girlfriend if you don't want disastrous results. Not totally convinced? sSak has a girlfriend too but she was no where to be seen and he moved on 2-0. A coincidence? I think not.
Round of 8 Preview Part I
By kjwcj
Things have gone remarkably smoothly for hero so far in this SSL; profiting from two relatively weak groups in the Ro32 and the Ro16, the former STX Zerg has progressed through to the elimination bracket having dropped only one map. Coming into the tournament, hero stood as probably the second best Zerg in the SOSPA scene, trailing far behind the final boss Killer but edging slightly ahead of the likes of Larva and beast with some strong performances in event matches. As such, making it to the Ro8 is the least we should have expected from hero and, well, here he is.Historically, hero has been strongest in ZvP, it being the only match-up in which he held a win-rate of greater than 50% before retiring as a progamer. This preference has continued during his SOSPA career, with his 21-8 ZvP record in all SOSPA events especially impressive considering a majority of those games have come against Movie and Shuttle, the two strongest PvZ players on Fish. While hero hasn’t shone quite as brightly in his other match-ups, with two Bo5 losses to beast earlier this year contributing to his especially poor ZvZ record, hero’s solid performances over the last six months have left him third in the SOSPA TLPD Elo rankings, equal on points with his Ro8 opponent, Movie.
In the opening months of 2013 Movie announced his presence to the SOSPA scene in emphatic style, narrowly losing to Sea in the final of SRT11 before dominating SRT12 to take his first major tournament victory. Since then, Movie has continued to turn in solid performances, quickly establishing himself as the best Protoss on Afreeca and one of the main challengers to Killer’s seemingly unending hegemony. However, Movie, perhaps more than any of the other top player, has a tendency to swing wildly between brilliance and misadventure, with the aggression that has defined his SOSPA playstyle occasionally causing him to come unstuck against players he’s expected to beat.When at his best, the talent that saw Movie rise to become a part of the CJ Entus troika is still well apparent. In this week’s Super Match, Movie’s Bo5 victory over reigning SSL champion Killer saw him further increase the margin of his winning record against the ex-Hwaseung Zerg. For the sake of perspective, the only other Protoss player to beat Killer in more than one broadcast game is Shuttle, whose record against Killer recently improved to 5-10 (33.3% for you math fans). Elsewhere, Movie’s harassment oriented style has seen him take series wins over all of Afreeca’s best Terrans, filling the void that has been left by the departure of Anytime and the decline of Sky.
While this is only his first participation in an SSL, Movie’s minimum expectation ought to be the final. Having slipped up in the Ro16 against ZvP specialist Larva, the former CJ Protoss should be better prepared for another important series against a Zerg opponent but it’s unlikely that he will entirely let go of the somewhat risky play style that has taken him this far.
Watching two top players face each other in their strongest match-ups is one of the greatest pleasures competitive Starcraft can provide and these two are well positioned to put on an excellent show. While Movie’s progaming and Afreeca careers have been slightly more glamorous, the difference in skill between he and hero is very small. Currently tied at third overall in the SOSPA Elo rankings, the outcome of this Ro8 series will decide which player takes that third place spot for their own and can begin the task of overhauling the gap to second placed man, HiyA.
The closeness of this match-up is further exemplified by their head to head record, formed by two event match series played in late 2012 and currently standing at 6-5 in favour of hero. It’s possible to argue that these series came at a time when Movie was still regaining his form, having just retired from a life of full time SC2 practice on Team 8. Regardless, hero is the only Zerg that holds a winning record versus Movie, while Movie is the only player to beat hero in a BoX ZvP so far in his SOSPA career.
The likely deciding factor of this match up will be Hero’s ability to defend against Movie’s aggression which, whether it comes in the form of an early-game cheese or mid-game harassment, he has relied on heavily in his SOSPA career. Larva showed in the Ro16 what it is possible to achieve when you’re able to survive through the worst of what Movie can throw at you, and in the first game was able to completely dictate the tempo through some clever deception. Hero’s ZvP is less oriented towards defending than Larva’s usual early fourth management style, although he has on occasion shown the ability to match the maco abilities of the ex-SKT Zerg.
Movie’s continued strong form in event matches, as well as his history as a top PvZ player during his career as a progamer mean that he appears the most likely victor on paper and a good performance against an opponent as tough as hero would reinforce his credentials as a challenger for the tournament win. A win for hero would mean emerging a little further from the shadow formed by the hulking colossus that is Killer, and, given a favourable match-up in the Ro4, could see him become the kind of contender that his third place Elo status implies.
Movie 3 - 2 hero
Despite marking the beginning of what will likely be known as the “Killer era” of SOSPA competition, the most compelling story of the SSL7 was undoubtedly the rise and rise of former SKT B-teamer, Larva. Triumphing over probably the two strongest Protoss players then competing on Afreeca, Larva’s performance in the elimination bracket established him as a top Zerg in only a matter of weeks. Since that break out tournament, Larva has continued to mix it with the best that the SOSPA scene has to offer, with a few fluctuations in form interrupting what has otherwise been a very good six months for the player formerly known as WigZerg.One of the things that has distinguished Larva from other seemingly similar level Zergs like beast and Cola is his absolute commitment to SOSPA and the competition it represents. In his initial time on Afreeca, Larva’s streams were typically characterised by attention seeking antics that seemed to be mimicking those of fading amateur Zerg star, Terror. However in the later part of 2012, Larva’s concentration on his level of play increased and by the time the SSL rolled around in September, he had risen from a 1500 ladder rating also-ran to a real competitor. Since then, Larva has had a number of other good performances and has begun collaborating with Sonic to help produce and commentate on SOSPA events.
While his ZvP has undoubtedly been the match-up that has given Larva most of his success so far, the ex-SKT Zerg’s ZvZ and ZvT have continued to improve over the new year. Recent narrow losses to TvZ powerhouses Mong and Sea, as well as a one-sided 2-0 win over hero earlier this year, are evidence that Larva has the potential to become a real all-round threat. Alongside Larva’s own improvements however, the level of competition in SOSPA tournaments, especially the SSL, has risen significantly since his run to the final in 2012, and as such a Ro8 exit wouldn’t be too far below expectations for a player who is still well below a 50% win-rate in two of this three match-ups.
More than any other player, Larva seems to embody the best of what the SSL is and what it can become in the future. An almost complete unknown, arriving on Afreeca with few fans and a pretty average skill-level, committing entirely to Starcraft competition and being rewarded for his efforts. While he has his quirks, Larva is a role-model for talented amateur players who have a passion for competitive Brood War, and provides an example of what we can hope to see in an era after the former A team progamers that form the current top tier of SOSPA competition begin to move on.
In contrast to his former team-mate Larva, sSak blew the doors off SOSPA competition the moment he arrived. Easily making his way through difficult groups in both the Ro32 and the Ro16, the newly retired SKT pro followed in the tradition set by HiyA and Sea by making an immediate impact on the Afreeca landscape and exists now as probably third favourite for the SSL8 title.While sSak has seemed relatively untroubled by his opponents so far in the SSL, his performances outside of the SinbalFarm office have been slightly less encouraging. A recent 2-3 loss to Movie and only a narrow 3-2 win over a rusty Pusan in recent event matches cast some doubts about the likelihood of sSak becoming the top Afreeca Terran, especially considering TvP is a match-up which he always seemed to do well in during his progaming career. Regardless, sSak’s seeming comfort in an offline setting, something that he has much more recent experience with than most SOSPA competitors, has incredible value going forward in the tournament and appears to have already served him well.
Something that makes sSak especially interesting is that he is potentially one of the last, or perhaps the last, of the players to come across to Afreeca with their Brood War skills relatively intact. With the majority of the remaining Starcraft professionals in Korea having comfortably made the transition over to SC2 and HotS, the chances of new ex-pros arriving and for those ex-pros to be in the kind of shape that allows them to compete in the way that retirees like Sea, Movie and now sSak have, look likely to become slimmer and slimmer. For now though, we simply get to sit back and enjoy yet another extremely high level Terran to add to the already large collection that SOSPA competitions possessed. It looks like that SOSPA global ZvT winrate just took another big hit.
As mentioned above, Larva’s ZvT is better than it was last year, when his win-rate in the match-up plumbed the sub 30% depths where only StarCues dare to tread. However, competing well with Mong in an event match for balloons is still some distance from being a real ZvT threat in the elimination bracket of an SSL. It’s clear from the outset that for this to a close contest, Larva will have to show the best versus Terran play of his entire career. sSak meanwhile, hasn’t been invulnerable in TvZ, and actually dropped a game to Larva in race wars earlier this month. However, his play versus Cola earlier in this SSL, as well as a few good showings in the match-up during the later stages of his professional career, suggest that sSak will be in the driving seat for this one.
The preference for a defensive, macro-oriented style that serves Larva so well against Protoss opponents is not always evident in his play versus Terran and it seems very likely that the former SKT Zerg will drop at least one early pool into this series, as he’s done in the past with his other weak match-up, ZvZ. It’s hard to nail down a playstyle from the few games we’ve seen so far from sSak but most of his TvZ games so far have been fairly straightforward, with his late-mech transition as impressive as you’d expect from a student of Fantasy and oov.
In the last SSL, doubting Larva’s ability to rise to the occasion cost me dearly on a number of occasions and it would be unfair to characterise this match-up as a completely foregone conclusion. Whether or not sSak is quite as good in TvZ as the likes of HiyA or Sea is yet to be determined, but, for the moment, he probably doesn’t have to be.
sSak 3 - 1 Larva
WRITERS: Hyde, kjwcj
GRAPHICS: Hyde
PHOTOS: dailyesports, SKT T1
