By: Zealously and Waxangel

As the story lines of Proleague start to shape up, one thing has stuck out to viewers everywhere: CJ Entus has been a disappointment. With losses to KT, Samsung, and Jin Air, they are now in last place with a 0-3 record, leaving Prime to scratch their heads and wonder how the heck that happened. The only guys who had it worse than CJ Entus were the entire Protoss race, who went a combined 1-15 in week two.

While CJ and Protoss suffered, JinAir_Maru and KT_Flash had a great time. Both players truly looked ace-level as they went 3-0 on the week, winning ace matches to clinch important wins for their teams. After KT_Zest and JinAir_sOs failed to come through in previous matches, the two Terran aces showed them how it was done.

In other news, notorious fun haters and fantasy killers MVP.Sniper, Samsung_Shine and Samsung_RorO triumphed as they went undefeated while taking out some of the opposing teams' key players. RorO seemed to have found new strength in the swarm host-turtle style, which improbably earned him even more anti-fans than before.

CJ Entus, last place team

You can comb over team rosters as much as you like, but you never know what a team will really be like before the season starts. Last season began with Team 8 rising above expectations while the stacked EG-TL stumbled out the gates (and continued to stumble for the next eight months). This season, it's Samsung Galaxy Khan who are playing the part of the plucky underdogs, while CJ Entus are struggling to build any kind of momentum.

Last season, CJ Entus started off going 3-0 while having a much weaker roster of players with no SC2 accomplishments to speak of. This season, CJ's roster is one of the strongest on paper, yet their players seem to be the weakest when they actually get into the booth. Three games is still a small sample so it's hard to jump to conclusions, but so far none of their big three in Hydra, herO, or Sora have played at the high level we've seen from them in previous tournaments.

Hydra's aggressive style actually allowed him to finish the previous Proleague season with the most wins among all Zergs (30 wins), and his success seemed to be carrying over into individual leagues as he tore through online qualifiers. This season, he is finding himself in super-late game situations where he's not exactly bad, but still not playing to his strengths (if you have a lot of time, check out his game vs. Terminator). It's possible that a slow and meticulous style works for him in practise, but he's gone 0-3 with it so far, even transitioning out of potentially game-winning aggression to slow down and play defensive.

herO is also having some trouble, though some might just chalk it up to bad luck. His blink/DT push was easily thwarted by a defensive TY in week one, and his no-robotics gamble was punished by Maru's decision to go for an uncommon cloaked banshee strategy in week two.

Sora, Trust and EffOrt were the other players who were fielded last week, and judging them is similarly difficult. They played somewhat poorly, but without more games it's hard to say how indicative it is of their true skill.

Coach Park's new team has had a rocky start, and unless they get their heads straight immediately, the Round 1 playoffs will be an almost unattainable goal. However, you have to remember that after starting last season 3-0, CJ Entus lost their next four games to finish round one 3-4. Despite starting 0-3 in this new season, it's completely possible for CJ Entus to turn things around.

Party like it's 2012: Protoss goes 1-15

Amidst the complaints about everything Protoss, from oracles on crack to ultimate deathballs, the boys from Aiur went an absolutely abysmal 1-15 in Week 2. It's true that the record doesn't tell the entire story, with match-ups like Maru vs. Zest or Flash vs. eMotion unlikely to ever end in Protoss victories. But for a league 'affectionately' nicknamed PvProleague due its high number of skilled Protoss players, it was still an astonishing one week meltdown. To drive the point home, Zest even lost with a blink all-in on Yeonsu.

Even more surprising was where the problems lay. Instead of falling victim to disruptive early attacks, Protoss players were dropping games after they had assembled the dreaded deathball. CJ_Sora, one of the best late-game Protoss players in the world, found himself getting completely outmaneuvered by Samsung_RorO's late-game composition on Sejong Research Station. His zealot and DT runbys, meant to slowly whittle down his opponent's defenses and inflict economic damage, were stopped in their tracks by overseers and spine crawlers aplenty in all key positions. Even after Sora assembled a powerful army with both colossi and tempests, he couldn't find a way through a thick cloud of locusts and corruptors. He was eventually forced into a corner and destroyed, forcing him to surrender the match to RorO and Samsung. RorO continued his conquest as he took out Stats in much the same way he took out Sora, using a slow and steady stream of units in the late game that overwhelmed his opponent in the end.


SKT_Rain, another one of the world's premier Protoss players, found himself likewise overwhelmed in the late stages of the game. The Hot6ix Cup champion suffered SKT's only loss of the week, losing to IM_ByuL's seamless and suffocating late game play.

Match-ups regularly swing slightly in favor of one race or another before the troubled race adapts, and last week, Protoss was the victim. Last week, Zerg players showed that they had grasped how to recreate the super-defensive style that won them multiple championships toward the end of WoL, using large amount of spore and spine crawlers to create a rock-solid defense. Going into week three, the ball is in Protoss's court as they look to adapt.

Round 1, Week 2 Report Card

It's not dumbed down, it's just 'streamlined.'

SK Telecom T1: A

SKT only played one match in Week 2, but they looked near-untouchable in the match they did play. Rain took the only loss against an on-fire Byul while the rest of the team convincingly dispatched of IM.

Jin Air Green Wings: A-

Jin Air's surprise loss to Samsung last week didn't cause any lasting damage. Maru performed exceptionally in week two, and though sOs continued to be lacklustre, the trio of Rogue, Cure and Terminator played well enough for it not to matter. Shutting out CJ and edging out KT has put them in second place for now, more in line with what was expected of them.

KT Rolster: B

We're sure KT Rolster had a good reason to field Zest instead of Flash against Maru, but in hindsight the decision may have cost them a chance to move up to second place. Otherwise, KT's line-up performed well in Week 2, with Flash and TY looking like they could carry the team to the playoffs.

Samsung Galaxy Khan: B

The term "Samsung Zerg" might become a thing as we go further into the season, as the trio consisting of newcomer Solar, former GSL champion RorO and notorious Bisu-killer Shine all seem to have hit their top form at the same time. Solar's ace match loss against Flash may have stung, but with how they dominated CJ, Samsung can feel good about their playoff chances.

MVP: B

At least now we know who the weaker team is out of MVP and Prime. A 3-0 against Kal, TerrOr and Creator may not be the most impressive thing in the world, but MVP at least showed that they're not hopeless and that their players may yet reach their old form.

Incredible Miracle: C

It's always hard to judge a team when their only match was a loss against the league's strongest team. Byul has played like a man possessed and remains undefeated, and the rest of the team hasn't looked half bad either, despite the tough match-ups against SKT. Trap and Squirtle made a few mistakes that ended up costing them, but it's hard to criticize them too much given the level of their opponents.

Prime: D-

Prime is looking like a off-brand knockoff version of the old KT Rolster: When their most important player (Kal) loses, the rest of the team crumbles. After Kal lost to Sniper, TerrOr and Creator fell like dominoes to Dream and Keen.

CJ Entus: G for "God, why did I predict CJ Entus to win?"

In what was by far the most disappointing showing of the week, CJ's dual losses to Samsung and Jin Air left people wondering what the hell was up with the team. They continue to perform well in individual leagues so the problem may lie elsewhere, but there's no question that if CJ continues to play like they did this week - mistakes and bad calls aplenty - they will not be competing for top spots, but rather struggling not to finish last.

Writers: Waxangel and Zealously
Images: SpoTV
Editors: Waxangel.