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OSL Ro16 Week 5
2 November 2007
Results
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GGPlay > Up @ Blue Storm
July > Hwasin @ Fantasy II
Jaedong < Stork @ Persona
Savior < Flash @ Katrina
July > Hwasin @ Fantasy II
Jaedong < Stork @ Persona
Savior < Flash @ Katrina
In stark contrast to last week, this week’s OSL games contained a lot of play that I can only describe as unfortunate. The outcome of all but one of the games rested upon a single dumb decision, which made for a frustrating viewing experience.
Up vs. GGPlay was reminiscent of last week’s game between Nada and Jaedong. Up’s opening allowed him to kill GGPlay’s initial overlord and stop him from taking his natural expansion. But instead of just massing a standard army of marines and medics, Up decided that, in a situation where GGPlay had no option but to try and break containment with zerglings, making a proxy factory and a starport was the best idea. Unsurprisingly, GGPlay crushed Up’s small containing force and stormed his base for the win.
I could not have been more disappointed with Hwasin vs. July. Hwasin, having scouted only four zerglings, moved out with his initial five marines in an effort to force additional defense from July. But July, assuming that Hwasin would try to expand as quickly as possible, made upwards of 12 zerglings. These zerglings made short work of Hwasin’s marine force. A predictable outcome followed. Hwasin’s low unit count forced him to delay his tank push, which was made even worse by the fact that July’s zerglings had scouted the factory. Even with July’s sub-par zergling and mutalisk control, he coasted to an easy victory over a crippled Hwasin. Having lost this game, Hwasin, arguably one of the strongest players in the game today, faces elimination from the OSL unless Light defeats Iris this coming week.
There's no doubt that Stork vs. Jaedong was the game of the night. Even though Stork never lost the lead, the game’s constant action had me wondering if "this next attack" from Jaedong would be the one to even things up; he was relentless in his assault. Stork’s fantastic storms, however, prevented Jaedong from ever gaining control of the center of the map. As a result, Stork was able to expand at will, and he eventually outlasted Jaedong’s faltering economy.
Against Savior, Flash continued his trend of being either cheesy or boring. This game, he chose boring. While Savior continually attempted to push the pace of the game, Flash seemed perfectly content to sit in his base, mass-producing marines and medics and building somewhere in the realm of 12 missile turrets. Looking at Savior’s face after the game, it was pretty obvious that even he was glad it was over.
Credit for these videos goes, as always, to someone other than me.
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Up vs. GGPlay @ Blue Storm
July vs. Hwasin @ Fantasy II
Jaedong vs. Stork @ Persona
Flash vs. Savior @ Katrina
July vs. Hwasin @ Fantasy II
Jaedong vs. Stork @ Persona
Flash vs. Savior @ Katrina
As it’s the final week of the OSL group stage, many of next week’s games are decisive. Will Bisu secure his spot in the single-elimination tournament, or will the newcomer Shudder secure his own spot with an upset win? Will Light breathe new life into Hwasin with a win over Iris, or will both advance with 2-1 records? Will either Nada or DarkElf practice at all for their inconsequential game? And finally, will Frozean shock the world by securing a three-way tie at 2-1 with a win over Rock?
Predictions
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Short of a cheese build, there’s just no way Shudder will take down Bisu on Blue Storm. I can only hope that Bisu has the good sense to scout early and often.
As smart a player as Light is, I’ve never liked his TvT. It’s picked up as of late, however, with wins over strong players like Hwasin, Sea, Firebathero, Boxer, and Canata. Iris is the favorite to take this game, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Light pull out the win on a slow-paced map like Fantasy II.
I don’t care about DarkElf and Nada’s game on Persona, and neither should you. With both players already eliminated from the OSL, this game is purely for pride. Still, DarkElf is my pick to win; his less strenuous Proleague schedule allows him more time to practice, to say nothing of Nada’s massive slump as of late (2-9 since his 0-2 WCG loss to Sea).
Frozean and Rock’s game on Katrina is actually the game about which I’m most excited. With a victory, Frozean could add an exclamation point to my pre-OSL statement that Rock would accomplish nothing this OSL while at the same time keeping himself in the running for advancement to the single-elimination tournament. Doubly glorious is the possibility that Frozean could keep Flash from advancing. Go Frozean!
As smart a player as Light is, I’ve never liked his TvT. It’s picked up as of late, however, with wins over strong players like Hwasin, Sea, Firebathero, Boxer, and Canata. Iris is the favorite to take this game, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Light pull out the win on a slow-paced map like Fantasy II.
I don’t care about DarkElf and Nada’s game on Persona, and neither should you. With both players already eliminated from the OSL, this game is purely for pride. Still, DarkElf is my pick to win; his less strenuous Proleague schedule allows him more time to practice, to say nothing of Nada’s massive slump as of late (2-9 since his 0-2 WCG loss to Sea).
Frozean and Rock’s game on Katrina is actually the game about which I’m most excited. With a victory, Frozean could add an exclamation point to my pre-OSL statement that Rock would accomplish nothing this OSL while at the same time keeping himself in the running for advancement to the single-elimination tournament. Doubly glorious is the possibility that Frozean could keep Flash from advancing. Go Frozean!
