by Wunder



With a strong performance yesterday, STX Soul is up one match in this best of three set against KT Rolster. While Flash did his part and won his match, not only did he look shaky in his game against hyvaa - a game which could easily have gone the Zerg’s way, KT Rolster as a whole did not perform up to snuff, and left Flash out in the cold, alone, with no support. In this second and potentially final match, KT Rolster has to shore up their weaknesses and come back with a fighting spirit.

Flash <Whirlwind> hyvaa

Yesterday, Flash vs hyvaa was undoubtedly the game of the match, with the STX Soul Zerg throwing a wrench in Flash’s plans by playing a beautiful economic style that bloomed into blitzkrieg of a ling/bane/muta composition, dizzying Flash and his bio-mine composition. However, hyvaa ended up losing, and whether it was due to Flash’s unrelentless macro or hyvaa’s inability to defend drops with ultralisks, the KT Terran triumphed and notched another Zerg victory on his belt. But that was the past - and in a few hours, hyvaa will have a chance at revenge, as the first game of this second set is a rematch of that electric TvZ.

Now, hyvaa has a real chance to continue playing tricks on the mind of the KT Terran, as Flash certainly looked off with his micro in their engagements; he allowed hyvaa to completely envelope his forces and decimate them without effort. Going into this game, hyvaa should be in complete control of the game, having brought Flash to the brink of defeat, hyvaa has two choices right now: Play a similar style on Whirlwind and utilize the maps wide open middle to crush the Terran in pincer movements or execute a mid-game all-in that once more preys on Flash’s weakness, and bust his front to clinch the game. Whichever option he chooses, hyvaa cannot underestimate Flash’s ability to pull through in clutch situations and he cannot allow Flash to play the way he wants and dismantle hyvaa with his stellar tempo-based play and excellent macro.

hitmaN <Naro Station> INnoVation

KT Rolster needed to shuffle things around after yesterday, and with Puzzle’s failure to put a dent in Classic’s armor, it was clear that someone more capable and professional should be hired to finish the job. Enter hitmaN, KT’s assassin Zerg and someone who can execute finely tuned builds to a tee. In fact, this will actually make hitmaN’s second attempt at sniping Innovation, with his first being in the last round of the regular season (where STX Soul 4-0’d KT) where he tried to finish off the Groucho Marx Terran early with a swarm host all-in off two bases. While Innovation barely deflected it with his hellbats and marines, this is a new world and hellbats are no longer the same beastly unit they once were. Should hitmaN attempt a revised all-in, one that has experience against Innovation and his tactics, hitmaN could very well pull off the greatest assassination in the Starcraft world.

MyuNgSiK <New Fighting Spirit> Trap

A game we were deprived off with an early end of the match yesterday, both KT and STX collaborated to arrange this fateful meeting between the two Protoss. Because neither of them played yesterday, this should still remain a fresh match-up for both players and barring a freak accident, this game should go happen without a hitch, regardless of the result from the first two games.

Crazy <Neo Planet S> Classic

With so many PvPs and TvZs lined up these past few weeks, it’s nice to see a change of pace with a ZvP on the horizon for tomorrow’s match. While Crazy tried his best against Innovation, it was clear that there was a significant skill difference between the two players, and Crazy simply couldn’t break the Terran. Classic however, dominated his game yesterday, knocking out Puzzle with relative ease. Going into this match, it’ll be interesting to see how this particular match-up has developed, as Classic and Crazy have a little bit of history together. In a quirky game on Fighting Spirit, Classic managed to outcrazy Crazy in a base race and kept Crazy on his toes while he slowly amassed a large void ray force to take out all of Crazy’s queens. While we may not see a similar style of game this time around, it should be noted that Classic has a 5-0 record against Zerg in Proleague, while Crazy has a less impressive 3-2.

Zest <Akilon Wastes> Mini

In the flurry of PvPs that occurred yesterday, these two players are probably the most interesting of the eight Protoss that played. On one hand, there is the PvP monster Zest, who was supposed to take the lead and bring down Dear and kick off the first day correctly for KT. Unfortunately, he lost. And while Dear is playing Stats later on, Zest will have to contend with the fourth string STX Protoss, Mini. While Zest is down in the dumps, Mini is riding high off his win against Stats, executing a DT-based build to throw Stats off balance and take the final game for STX. Though Zest is still more accomplished and has proven that he has a greater grasp of PvP in the past, Mini has the momentum riding into this game and he could be on his way to take the title of PvP master from the master himself.

Stats <Bel'Shir Vestige> Dear

Switching gears a bit, we now turn our focus to the sixth game, a treat we weren't given yesterday. For their anchors, both teams have decided to field some very strong Protoss in the form of Stats and Dear. Now, while Stats may have lost to Mini and even Dear himself in the last MLG, it doesn’t necessarily mean that he’s destined to lose this game, not by a long shot. Sure, Dear may have a slight advantage coming into this series, but Stats has still shown superb PvP and a good mental strength when under pressure, as shown by his clutch wins in previous BW Proleague playoffs. This game will probably be the hardest to call, and it’s probably the most important as well. If KT manage to get to this point tomorrow, the ball will be completely in Stats’ court, and it will be up to him to close out the series and give KT Rolster the win they sorely need.

ACE: KT_Flash vs STX_INnoVation

Same deal as yesterday except that we're even more sure Flash and Innovation will be facing off should it head into an ace match. The ace map being the Terran map, Newkirk Redevelopment Precinct, it would make little sense to send in a sacrificial Protoss here.

Predictions
Flash > hyvaa
hitmaN < Innovation
MyuNgSiK < Trap
Crazy < Classic
Zest > Mini
Stats > Dear
ACE: Flash < Innovation

STX Soul defeats KT Rolster by a 2- 0 series score and advances to the finals.