EPT
I know there's only an hour left, but hope you enjoy anyway:
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: Click Here
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