EPTMy name is Michael. I go by Oxy, or Oxygen, or o]O2[o on most BW sites. I have not played StarCraft seriously in over two years, and at my peak I was mediocre at best. I mostly followed the foreign scene and I knew little of the Korean pro leagues, rarely watching VODs or reading up on Starleagues.
As I remember, periods of domination by players like Boxer and Nada lasted much longer than they do now, by players like Savior or Bisu. This is because we are nearing perfection in the game and the skill gaps between players are much, much smaller than before.
Games were still very interesting to me back then because of the leniency a player like Boxer could give himself in games, allowing him to pull cute, effective, crowd-pleasing moves. This lasted for a while, but I eventually lost interest because of the general similarity between games. I have not cared about progaming for the past five years... until now.
We are at a very special point in time. StarCraft 2 has been announced, and hopefully we'll have a whole new eSport to sacrifice our social lives for. Until then, we have a brief state of a near Nash equilibrium in StarCraft; near perfect games. And right now, the best place to look for these games is the MSL Ro16, and the perfect example is the set between Hwasin and Bisu.
For the unaware, Bisu and Hwasin have rivalry between them. Ken wrote about that in one of his recent articles (here). Their set meant a lot, and it showed. The second game was almost flawless, and the third game - the only one I'm going to talk about - epitomizes something no other player currently has in the amounts Bisu does.
I hope you enjoy.
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This is the third game of the set. Bisu won the second game making the score 1-1, so this is the tiebreaker.
The map is Zodiac. Bisu starts off at 3 and Hwasin takes 6. While the early stages of the second game were very aggressive, both players simply scout this time around. Bisu scouts Hwasin last and does not manage to get inside his base because of marines chillin' on the ramp. Hwasin, on the other hand, scouted Bisu first and successfully snooped around his base. His SCV saw Bisu getting goon range and it died shortly after. Three seconds later, Bisu has cancelled the upgrade in his cybernetics core and puts down a second gate and citadel. The commentators mutter something about "dark templorehhh" and soon enough, we see a templar archives and robotics.
![[image loading]](http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/5156/25470562ny5.jpg)
When I saw it, I figured that Bisu was going DTs because of the trickiness, that it might've been something he was planning on the spot. I didn't think he would have gone DTs if the SCV hadn't scouted around, because Hwasin had squeaky tight defense in the second game - Bisu had followed up with a reaver drop about ten minutes in and it did no damage. I assumed Bisu figured Hwasin would try to press any advantage he had and forgo an ebay and vults in exchange for better economy and more tanks, so DTs were a logical choice.
But Hwasin did not oblige. He knows Bisu well enough not to leave himself open to attack, because Bisu uses DTs often. He will find any hole in his defense and crack it wide open, so Hwasin carries his soap on a rope and builds an eBay while taking his natural; typical 1 fac-expo opening.
Bisu eventually drops his DTs at the edge of Hwasin's base and double expands in the meanwhile. He runs around a bit with them, goes to his mineral line, and finds he can't do any real damage because Hwasin's building placement is excellent and defense is there as always. He drops two more DTs and kills a turret and a machine shop, but is then left standing in the middle of Hwasin's base with nothing to do.
![[image loading]](http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/6193/25003950zy5.jpg)
This is the worst situation possible I envisioned for Bisu when I saw him going DTs: he faces impenetrable defense, deals very little damage and is set back a ton. With the extremely close skill levels between these two players, I thought for sure this would spell the end for Bisu. Sure, it may be stretched out, but he will always be playing catch-up throughout the rest of the game.
The crowd focuses a bit longer on Hwasin's base and Bisu's meager attempts at maximizing his DTs' efficiency, but I'm wondering how the hell Bisu manages to survive for another twenty minutes; Hwasin has a sizeable army and scan, so he could theoretically begin to move out now.
Hwasin expectedly sends out a squad of vultures to harass one of Bisu's expansions with moderate success. He sends a remaining vulture to find Bisu's second expansion at 12. Then, Bisu sends some forces to the middle, dispatches the vulture at 12 with a lone zealot, and then sits outside Hwasin's base with an army half the Terran's size.
And then it hits me: Bisu had this opening planned along. He never DT dropped because he thought he could gain a large early economical advantage early on, nor did he double expand because he thought he would secure that advantage. Bisu is relying purely on his ability to control the flow of the game. He is dominating Hwasin so subtly, so implicitly, that Hwasin almost doesn't realize it. But it's there.
Lemma: + Show Spoiler +
Hwasin is afraid to leave his base because of Bisu's ability to dismantle Terran forces, something he showed off several times in game 2.
When I first started playing PvT about three years ago, I had a few friends of mine teach me the general idea of the matchup. I remember that in battles of equal supply between Toss and Terran, I always lost as Toss. I asked a friend about this:
- How the hell am I supposed to take down a push like that? The tanks are always spread out so well and I only end up killing half his army.
- Dude, you're not supposed to kill everything. You max to 200/200, run in, take down what you can, and then you rebuild your army from your fifteen gates.
- What the hell, why?
- Because that's just how Toss works.
Obviously, the game was much different three years ago and on a skill level that doesn't even compare, but the idea has stayed with me all the same. Bisu has changed that. No one, not even Reach has the ability to piss all over a tank/vult army without advanced tech like Bisu can. It would be suicide for some people to pick the fights Bisu does, but then again, those 'some people' aren't Bisu, and Hwasin is very aware of this. Hwasin doesn't want to get demolished; Hwasin is scared shitless.
When I first started playing PvT about three years ago, I had a few friends of mine teach me the general idea of the matchup. I remember that in battles of equal supply between Toss and Terran, I always lost as Toss. I asked a friend about this:
- How the hell am I supposed to take down a push like that? The tanks are always spread out so well and I only end up killing half his army.
- Dude, you're not supposed to kill everything. You max to 200/200, run in, take down what you can, and then you rebuild your army from your fifteen gates.
- What the hell, why?
- Because that's just how Toss works.
Obviously, the game was much different three years ago and on a skill level that doesn't even compare, but the idea has stayed with me all the same. Bisu has changed that. No one, not even Reach has the ability to piss all over a tank/vult army without advanced tech like Bisu can. It would be suicide for some people to pick the fights Bisu does, but then again, those 'some people' aren't Bisu, and Hwasin is very aware of this. Hwasin doesn't want to get demolished; Hwasin is scared shitless.
However much Bisu may be controlling the game, he still is subject to laws of physics (for the time being). It is no surprise, then, that Hwasin notices Bisu is overextending himself, and begins to tear a hole in Bisu's impenetrable psyche.
Or at least, he tries to. He has the army, he has the positioning. But Bisu is a fucking leprechaun - he pulls shit out of his ass and rips Hwasin a new one out of nowhere. I have re-watched the battle about a dozen times now and I still can't figure out how he did it.
![[image loading]](http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/6308/61743358we3.jpg)
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This is what I was talking about. Bisu is BISU. He is a crackhead monster on steroids. This battle is at the 16th minute of the H set3 VOD in this (link), and yes, you should download a 160mb video just to see this battle.
During this time, Bisu has built three stargates and begins to pump carriers. He has also denied Hwasin an expansion about three times now, but after the battle I just talked about, Hwasin finally manages to secure it with some tanks for defense.
I realize I seem to be putting down Hwasin a lot this game, but he isn't bad; he is a formidable player. An excellent example of his technical skill and precision is his reaction to some DT harass at his newly secured expansion: Bisu sends in two DTs to kill some SCVs, but notices a comsat and two goliaths. He decides to take care of the goliaths first so that he may rape and pillage freely. However, as he approaches the two goliaths, he notices some tanks, so he pulls back - but not before one of his DTs swipes a goliath once. Hwasin's scan is near-instant; the tank fires a shot at the DTs, and the goliaths volley off some rockets to an overhead observer. So, Bisu is not dominating this game because Hwasin is a poor player - Bisu isn't even actually dominating. But he controls; up until now, the tide of battle ebbs to his will, and to his will alone.
But once again, Hwasin has not been the predicted winner of this match for no reason. He catches on soon enough and launches a massive assault on Bisu's 12 main and nat with a huge tank/vult/goliath force with 1/1 grades. Bisu does not have the army to sustain the attack.
![[image loading]](http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/1421/26831618db2.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/3236/60306112iy1.jpg)
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Bisu's 12 main is steamrolled, carriers are chased off, and a small force he sent down to one of Hwasin's expansions is dealt with. Captain Crackhead looks to be in very bad shape. The game no longer seems to be in the palm of his hand; he has lost control - or so it seems.
His resolution is so simple, so obvious, yet amazingly effective. Hwasin even HAS all the forces necessary to deal with Bisu's carriers and developing ground army, but Bisu's play is so fluid and eloquent that it leaves no holes for Hwasin to punch through. High templars are added to the Protoss army to destroy goliaths, and Bisu reverses the entire game in one quick swipe; Terran is now on the defensive.
The VOD shows us that all of Hwasin's expansions have been mined out or leveled, and Bisu makes us feel as though we were ridiculous for thinking he might lose. His win is so definite, it seems impossible that just a second ago Hwasin could've felt in control, or at least, at an advantage. Indeed, Hwasin remains at his seat, shell-shocked at what just happened. I don't think he was aware of the wrath Bisu could infer on him with such ease, such control. He might as well have stepped out of his booth, walked over to Hwasin's, and physically taken the game back. That's what it looked like, anyway.
I have never had a favorite player; I always liked to root for the underdog, and never really liked the most dominating player on the scene. Bisu has changed that for me. He has so much flair that I can't help liking him. While it is wholly possible he doesn't win the MSL, I hope he rapes the living shit out of everyone in his path.
