EPT
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Dec 16th Saturday 14:00
PLAYOFFS
Hanbit Stars vs MBCgame HERO
Match 1: Longinus
Match 2: New Peaks of Baekdu
Match 3: Full Moon
Match 4: Tau Cross
Match 5: Blitz
Match 6: Vampire
Match 7: Arcadia 2
Playoffs Line ups
Hanbit - MBC
free[gm](P) vs July[z-zone](Z) on Longinus
Hazin[saM](Z) vs Sea[Shield](T) on Peaks
FanTastic_Namoo(P) / Sasin)boy(Z) vs Saint[z-zone](Z) / Bisu[Shield](P) on Fll Moon
DaezanG[GnH](P) vs Light[aLive](T) on Tau Cross
GGPlay(Z) vs PuSan[S.G](P) on Blitz
Qoo)Sunny(T) / Qoo)Max(Z) vs 910[Ete](T) / Thezerg[Alive](Z) on Vampire
Ace Match
2006 SKY Proleague Term 2
Playoffs
Hanbit Stars (7-3, +3) vs MBCgame HERO (6-2, -2)
Let’s HYPE!
All stats are from 2006 Proleague Term 2 only
Terran
Hanbit:
Qoo)Sunny: 1-3 (Team)
Kim Dong-Ju*: 1-0 (Indiv)
JokeR[Gamei]: 1-0 (Indiv)
Qoo)Kuni: 0-0
* ID tag not registered on Kespa website
You are now looking at Hanbit's greatest weakness. No noteworthy Terrans. In fact, Hanbit did not use a Terran for a 1v1 this whole season, except at the very last match against KTF, when their playoff spot was already secure. That's right – not a single competitive match by a Hanbit Terran. Furthermore, in a season where Z/T teams are common on the 2v2 (thanks to maps like Vampire), Sunny went 1-3 in teamplay. Not inspiring either. Never has a team won the championship without any Terrans. It just can't be done, so unless Coach Lee has some jokers up his sleeve (which, knowing him, he just may) Hanbit’s Terran lineup will be a problem.
MBCgame:
Light[Alive]: 5-4 (Indiv)
Sea[Shield]: 3-2 (Indiv), 0-2 (Team)
910[Ete]: 0-2 (Team)
min_regi: 0-0
HERO’s Terran lineup boasts two very dependable players. Sea is of course the 'enfant terrible.' He plays a mean and aggressive style of Terran, but his greatest strength is his game sense: the youngster plays like a veteran. He has struggle this season, failing to meet the high expectations, but he pulled out HERO's most important win when it mattered – defeating Yellow[Arnc] in a do-or-die ace match against OGN to qualify for the playoffs. As for light, I'll say it again: he is the best skirmisher since Boxer. His micro and multi-tasking ability are simply the best in the pros. Last week, he played dropship/tank arcade with the cannons at IntoTheRainbow's expo, while busting in the main through the front choke, at the same time. And oh yeah – he’s HERO's ace at the moment, with 66% TvZ and 75% TvP this season. Just don't remind him of his 41% TvT. It's also possible that 910 will be used to snipe a zerg. Mini_regi is just there to get front-row seats to the action. (oh bytheway, betcha didn’t know that Sea and Light are the same age – both were born in 1990)
Zerg
Hanbit:
GGPlay: 7-2 (Indiv)
Hazin[saM]: 2-0 (Indiv), 1-2 (Team)
Sasin)Boy: 1-4 (Indiv)
Qoo)Max: 1-5 (Team)
Junwi_[saM]: 0-1 (Indiv), 0-1 (Team)
A true ace, a fallen star, a mid-level veteran, and two youngsters who need time to develop. That's Hanbit's Swarm. GGPlay is the undisputed MVP of the team. He's enjoying a fantastic season, showing scary form in both the Proleagues and OSL, in every matchup. This man is the reason why Hanbit are in the playoffs. He's far ahead of the others. Hazin and Boy are young rooks who might be good someday, but they aren't good yet. Nevertheless, they will try to take a win on a good Zerg map or in the teamplay. Max moved from OGN to Hanbit this season, and he’s a career 2v2er. Only not very good. Finally, we have Junwi – a true wild card. If he can turn on the throwback machine, he’s as good as a Zerg card as anybody, especially in ZvT. But he’s also in the middle of the longest slump ever, and it's not guaranteed that he'll show up in old form. Junwi is a true X-factor, an unpredictable, in this matchup.
MBCgame:
July[z-zone]: 1-2 (Indiv), 1-3 (Team)
Saint[z-zone]: 2-0 (Indiv), 2-3 (Team)
Shark[gm]: 1-3 (Indiv)
Thezerg[Alive]: 0-2 (Team)
HERO's Zerg lineup may be its weakest, but only in comparison to its deeper Toss and Terran lines. July is still a 2-time OSL champ, the master of aggressive Zerg. His playstyle might not be trendy in this Savior world of contain and macro, but when July hits, he hits hard and at unorthodox timings. Ask Iris about last season's playoffs. And when July slumps, he still manages to be consistently treading 50%, always just scary enough to hurt you. Saint and Shark are the second-tier Zergs here, and they are both decent cards in the deck. Saint, when paired with Bisu, is unstoppable 2v2, and he has suddenly emerged as a 1v1 option, impressively blowing out Canata and Zeus in the last two weeks. Shark is somewhat of a mystery – he had a bad regular season, but Sea called him “Mr. Playoffs.” Remember, he beat GoodFriend and Xellos during HERO's playoff run last year, with aggressive early game strategies on New Cultivation Period – the kind of strategies that you only use once when you really need to… like in the playoffs. TheZerg, a pretty ordinary 2v2 player, rounds out the Swarm for HERO.
Protoss
Hanbit:
DaezanG[GnH]: 3-0 (Indiv), 1-3 (Team) - Team Captain
free[gm]: 6-3 (Indiv)
FanTastic_Namoo: 0-1 (Team)
This is the breadwinning line for Hanbit. Daezang and Free's emergence as solid 1v1 players, along with the domination of GGPlay, were the backbone of Hanbit's success this season. After toiling around in 2v2 in the early season, Daezang came into his own as a 1v1 card, reliable in all matchups. In the MSL he busted Chojja and Jju before giving Savior the scare of his life. In the Proleague, he scalped the two TvP masters Nada and Midas. Free joined the club with an overall strong performance this Season, going 6-3 with quality wins in every matchup. But he has a tendency to look spectacular only against lower opponents. His six wins came against easier foes (with the exception of Kingdom), and his three losses were against Much, Anytime, and (warning!) Light. He'll have to prove himself this playoffs if his team is to have a chance. Fantastic Namoo will probably play in a 2v2 to free up Daezang and Free for the 1v1s.
MBCgame
PuSan[S.G]: 2-3 (Indiv), 0-1 (Team) – Team Captain
Bisu[Shield]: 4-2 (Indiv), 2-1 (Team)
JuniToss: 0-0
n.Die_Jaehoon: 1-0 (Team)
You gotta say this about HERO's toss line – they got style. Bisu leads the way with a strong 6-3 overall in the Proleague, matched with strong showings in the OSL and in the Survivor League. He has consistently defeated Zergs and other Tosses, although he seems to be a little too stubborn with his ground forces against Terrans. Nevertheless, Bisu has shown all-star level skill as a 1v1 card. And don't forget, he was raised in the 2v2s. Him and Saint are a team that does not lose. Pusan had a horrible 2006, as he lost 7 straight games in one OSL and two MSLs. His proleague stats slipped as well. But he struggled with style, whether it was an incredible comeback win against FireBatHero on Longinus (Proleague) or a spectacular arbiter use in an epic loss against Canata (Dual Tournament). It’s those flashes of brilliance that has Toss fans and HERO fans still holding on to the belief that Pusan can pull out something big for the occasion. Jaehoon is a 2v2 filler, and Junitoss is the enigma of MBCgame. Long known as a super gosu player online, he has simply been unable to shake his nerves on TV matches. But he brought out an eye-catching strategy against GoRush on the notoriously bad PvZ map Peaks of Baekdu (old version), in the biggest stage ever – the proleague finals. And it almost succeeded. Will we see a surprise appearance from him again?
Part 2: the Matchups
(something to read in the 20 minutes before the matches start)
Part 1: Click Here
Terrans:
There is a clear edge for HERO on this one. Light and Sea are aces on any team. On the other hand, the Hanbit Terran lineup is probably the weakest of all the teams.
Advantage: Majorly MBCgame
Zerg:
When you compare the two Zerg aces, GGPlay is playing on a much higher level than July. But his back-up is weak: Both Boy and Hazin aren’t quite reliable. Since playoff games are best of 7, involving at least eight players, both of those young Zergs will have to step up for Hanbit to have a chance. Meanwhile, Shark and Saint are supporting July. The biggest advantage that the Hero Zergs have is that they don’t have to be afraid of a Terran against this team.
Advantage: Slightly Hanbit. Yeah, GGPlay is that good.
Protoss:
Daezang and Free are two ace-level tosses, and they are the ones who brought Hanbit to where they are. Daezang looks particularly impressive: no weak matchups and on good form at the moment. Free is a little shakier, because of his suspect PvT (DJEtterStyle: Free seems to have major misconceptions regarding PvT) and because he has yet to beat top quality opponents. On the other hand, Hero has Bisu. Bisu is strong and versatile – he can win any matchup and has kickass teamplay skills. Hero also has Pusan, who is very unreliable this season. He’ll either take your breath away with art play or make you curse with a helpless loss.
Advantage: Slightly Hanbit, only because Pusan has been so inconsistent.
2v2:
Neither team has shown much aptitude in this department. Hero has hands down the better 2v2 team in Bisu and Saint, but Coach Ha will probably want to use them as 1v1 cards. If they do show up as a team, forget it, gg no re. But Other than Bisu/Saint, MBCgame has no better options than Hanbit does. Hanbit’s 2v2 has been in a funk ever since Hot_forever left, and bringing Max from OGN was not the answer. Oh, and July/Pusan team always losing is comical.
Advantage: MBCgame
Ace:
When it comes down to it, the best players from each team are GGPlay and Light. Of the two, GGPlay is more on form: his play this season can only be described as dominant, in all matchups, in all maps: 63% ZvT, 65% ZvZ, and 74% ZvP, good for the second best this winning percentage this season. Light has emerged as the ace for Hero, even though Hero has many other big names. That happens when you have a 67% TvZ and 75% TvP. Light’s problem though, is his TvT which is at 40%. Against any other team, Light would have to worry about being sniped by the opposing team’s Terran. Good thing he doesn’t have to worry about Terrans against hanbit.
Advantage: GGPlay. Can’t argue with 67% overall.
Depth/Flexibility
When Hanbit mulls over their lineup, they have a glaring weakness at Terran. Even their other races are not particularly deep, once you get past the aces. On the other hand, MBCgame is the single deepest team in the entire league. Each race goes two deep with reliable 1v1 players, so they can throw anything at you.
Advantage: MBCgame. HERO are not going to be hung up by any particular map or matchup, and this is their single greatest strength.
Coach:
Hanbit is coached by Lee Jae-Gyun. MBCgame is coached by Ha Tae-Gi. Both are top-level coaches in this league. Coach Lee is a master strategist, and he is particularly good at throwing surprise line-ups at you. The last time Hanbit were in the finals, Coach Lee dusted the cobwebs off of Clon and Sunny, who improbably led Hanbit to victory over KOR. Improbable or calculated? So even though Coach Lee has less cards to work with this time, he should never be underestimated. In the other corner is Coach Ha, whose strength lies in his player management. He has hand-picked and developed the deepest team in the league. The way he nurtures these players, they are without any glaring weaknesses and are prepared for high pressure situations. Coach Ha won’t really throw curveballs at you, but that’s ok because he’s been raising enough fastballs to kill you anyway.
Advantage: Even. You couldn’t ask for more from either coach.
Momentum:
It’s hard to say who has more momentum. Hanbit secured the playoffs early with strong play throughout the season, even resting its key players for its last game. On the other hand, Hero stumbled early, but pulled together a 4-win streak to dramatically make the playoffs. So both are riding high. Individually though, the Hanbit trio (GGPlay, Daezang, Free) have enjoyed good form, while the MBCgame aces are all mired in inconsistency, with the exception of Bisu and Light.
Advantage: Hanbit. Their stars have the juices flowing.
Wild Cards
Junwi and Junitoss. Old veteran gosus who have not done much lately. But if they can only find their groove again, just for one game…
Advantage: Hanbit. Junwi is closer to his old form than Juni, besides Junwi was once a ZvT terror.
X-Factors
For Hanbit, it’s the inexperience. After rebuilding, this is their first time in the playoffs. That contrasts with MBCgame, who have plenty of experience from going deep into the playoffs last season. On the other hand, MBCgame must fight its trademark inconsistency. This is an up-and-down, roller coaster team. They win in streaks and they lose in streaks. It is of the utmost importance that MBCgame get off to a good start, or they might get swept just like that.
Advantage: MBCgame. Inconsistent as they are, it’s hard to argue against experience.
Overall:
I just can’t bet against HERO’s depth on this one. If it were best of 5, Hanbit would definitely have a chance. But MBCgame is perfectly equipped for a best of 7 involving eight players per team. After GGPlay, Daezang, and Free get their wins, where will the last win come from for Hanbit? Two 1v1 cards per race is a luxury.
Prediction: MBCgame.
Last time they met:
2006 Proleague Term 1
Boy > min_regi on The Eye
Hazim < Sea on New Peaks of Baekdu
Junwi/Daezang > Pusan/July on Iron Curtain
GGPlay < Light on 815 III
GGPlay > Sea on Rush Hour 3
2006 Proleague Term 2
GGPlay > Sea on Arkanoid
Free < Light on Longinus
Daezang/Max < Saint/Bisu on Full Moon
Boy > Pusan on New Peaks of Baekdu
GGPlay > July on Arcadia II
GL GG.!
. Come back SumoZerg! COME BACK! :D
