[OSL] And in closing...

Over 1 month in and I still love it, <3 Daigomi

Well it was a rather standard week in the OSL. But there were some nice games, and some surprising strategies - but most of the results came out as expected. Which is a relief after last weeks travesty. Well don't worry if you missed the games and can't be bothered watching them - myself and Mani have got you covered

we've got a nice set of recaps and previews for you this week, and as a result this post kinda ballooned. Although once the TSL is over OSL reports will return to being bi-weekly (unless Wednesday games stop).

Speaking of the TSL, expect it to be crammed down your throat all week as we move into finals mode. Interviews, highlights, pictures, god knows what will be churned out by the TSL staff. It's going to be crazy and awesome. Don't forget about the finals!! They are set to be awesome. Anyway, thats all you'll hear about the TSL from me - so let's move onto the real games and get into it!

Manifesto7 -
Wednesday 21 May Recap

Group A


Rock	Othello	Flash
	5-5

+ Show Spoiler [Game Notes] +

This is a direct plea to Ahn Gi Hyo.

Dear sir-

WHAT THE HELL DUDE? Up by two expos. 20 dragoons vs 5 tanks. Victory within reach. All you required was mass gates and a group of speedlots at 13 minutes.

Instead you went carriers. Again. vs Flash. Mr. I-Eat-Carriers-For-Lunch. Why is it that you are so timid in this matchup? Why do you feel that mid-game carriers are the only way to win?

For the love of god, please give your fans a break. You got a face lift, give one to your PvT as well.

Sincerely,
Long suffering Rock fans.

PS. Flash you are imba.

Group B


JangBi	Andromeda	NaDa
	11-6

+ Show Spoiler [Game Notes] +

This was a much anticipated rematch after Jangbi's "Odin" game against Nada last month. Here are some things that struck me:

1. NaDa had the most perfect turret placement of all time.
2. This can win you the game.

NaDa broke out the tornado push against Jangbi once the double shuttles had been dealt with. Pushing from 5 to 1 doesn't take very long, and despite the island expansion Jangbi wasn't going to make it out of his choke once NaDa got settled there. Classic NaDa play ended the game very quickly.

Group C


Luxury	Hwarangdo	YellOw[ArnC]
	v : 0

+ Show Spoiler [Game Notes] +

Ahh... the battle of the brothers. July's revenge. (How is that working out for you Luxury?) One hos to wonder just how many games these two have played against each other. In a close match it was Luxury (purple) taking the early advantage by killing his brother's expo with mass zerglings. He followed that up with some nice muta micro and Yarnc quickly tapped out.

The future of this group has some nice story lines. Can July take out both brothers? Will Yarnc get revenge? Why did Luxury use the id "Practice" vs his brother? Can Rumble stealth his way through one of the most unpredictable groups in OSL history?

Group D


Mind	Troy	BackHo
	7-7

+ Show Spoiler [Game Notes] +

I really didn't know what BackHo wanted to accomplish this game. He didn't seem to have any real game plan and failed to use the map to his advantage. Once Mind moved out and pushed south, he didn't have an answer and was rudely shoved back into his base. Mind proves once again that the best way to lose to a Terran is to let him expand and leave him alone.

Plexa -
Friday 23 May Recap

Group A


GGplay	Othello	Sea
	8-5

+ Show Spoiler [Game Comments] +

Oh GGPlay

His mutalisk control was simply superb, so good that the only other zergs that i've seen that have matched that control are Kwanro, July and Jaedong. Nevertheless Sea showed why he is a resilient beast. GGPlay lost this game when he fell behind in macro after losing his third. His Mutalisk harass equalized this, but GGplay was never able to gain a macro advantage from it. Then when sea rolled out with perfect timing, GGplay was out of position something terrible. And as a zerg, you can't afford to lose your army without dealing damage to theirs - no flank and perfect control from sea mean that GGplay was steamrolled just before he got defilers. Nice game by both really.

Group B


Stork	Andromeda	BeSt
	v : 6

+ Show Spoiler [Game Comments] +

It's a been a loooong time since we've seen proxy in PvP - and Best executed it perfectly. Stork had a series of minor micro mistakes in his defense (and his decision to build a forge surprised me to say the least, why not a battery/gate?) but on the whole, 2 gate proxy will always beat 1 gate tech

Group C


July	Hwarangdo	Rumble
	v : 1

+ Show Spoiler [Game Comments] +

July played Rumble for a chump. This was quintessential JulyZerg playing his oh so sexy style. Who thought that a proxyhatch in a ZvZ would be viable! I'd love to see July stick it to some of these fast CC Terrans in the Ro8 with some sweet allin play

Group D


BiSu	Troy	Much
	v : 4

+ Show Spoiler [Game Comments] +

Recently I haven't been fair to Much, and well Bisu was the huge favorite to win here. But Much's trapping of Bisu forces into the 5 Main was simply art and game breaking. Full props to Much on a great game!!

Before we move onto the previews let's recap what happened so far and whats up for grabs next week!

Group A

1. (T)

By.Flash (KTF MagicNs) 2-0
2. (P)

Rock (WeMade FOX) 1-1
3. (T)

Sea (MBCGame HERO) 1-1
4. (Z)

GGPlay (CJ Entus) 0-2

Basically Flash is home and hosed. For him to be forced into a draw situation he needs to lose to sea and then have rock beat GGplay. Both of those situations look unlikely. While GGplay needs to win to keep his chances alive. A win by Rock will almost certainly see him through to the best Round and the same goes for Sea. Outside chance of things going haywire here, but its likely we'll see a 3way tie for second.

Group B

1. (P)

BeSt[HyO] (SK Telecom T1) 2-0
2. (T)

NaDa (WeMade FOX) 1-1
3. (P)

JangBi (Samsung KHAN) 1-1
4. (P)

Stork[gm] (Samsung KHAN) 0-2

As with Group A, this group is pretty much set in stone. BeSt has got this in the bag, and can only be forced into tiebreakers if he loses to Jangbi and Nada beats Stork - while both are plausible, its unlikely. Stork simply needs to win against Nada and hope that Jangbi gets crushed by the Best to force a tiebreaker for 2nd.

Group C

1. July (STX SouL) 2-0 -> advances to quarterfinals
2. (Z)

Rumble (SK Telecom T1) 1-1
2. (Z)

Luxury (OnGameNet SPARKYZ) 1-1
4. ~~YellOw[ArnC] (OnGameNet SPARKYZ)~~ 0-2 -> eliminated

Who would have thought it? July being the first person to advance to the Ro8, its a great feeling. For that reason the winner of Luxury/Rumble advances making this the match of the week. While the game between July/Yellow has no bearing on the results whatsoever.

Group D

1. (P)

Bisu[Shield] (SK Telecom T1) 1-1
1. (T)

Mind (WeMade FOX) 1-1
1. (P)

Much (CJ Entus) 1-1
1. (P)

BackHo (Lecaf Oz) 1-1

Group D has arrived at one of those special situations where all the players are 1-1. This means that all the games this week are win and advance, lose and go home. Thus either Mind/Much is advancing and either Bisu/Backho is. This puts everything on the line in one game - and makes for one hell of an exciting week. A simple cheese can eliminate you from the tournament, while messing up sends you home. Oh i love it

Manifesto7 -
Preview for Wednesday 28 May (19:30 KST)

Wednesday's games showcase three high profile mirror matchups, one of each race, as well as one entertaining TvP.

Group A


Sea	Andromeda	Flash
	v : 2

The Terran mirror has Sea and Flash scrapping it up on Andromeda. This is a must win for Sea after he lost his opening game vs Rock. Rock plays a PvZ against a lackluster GGPlay on Andomeda next which makes it likely he will be 2-1 by the end of the week. Sea must win this game to pressure Rock to win his. He doesn't want to be watching his fate on TV Friday night.

As for Flash, this one is easy. Win and move on or face the possibility of a three way tie. His TvP receives a lot of attention, but TvT is his best matchup at 68.75%. He has looked untouchable for ages, and I don't see why it wouldn't continue. Even if you don't like watching TvT, but especially if you do, this is the match of the night.

Group B


Jangbi	Hwarangdo	BeSt
	v : 0

Group B finds Best on top thanks to playing PvT on Troy and a double proxy gate vs a sleepy Stork. JangBi is in a similar situation as Sea in the previous group, in that he must win to control his own destiny. On the other hand Best is cruising, and the Neo-Devil toss is at the forefront of SKT1's comeback this season.

JangBi features a lackluster 8-13 PvP record including a loss to Best in the last proleague. His recent games in the matchup have shown improvement but it doesn't give much confidence to our liquibetors. On the other hand Best is 15-5 lifetime, with only two PvP losses this year. Things look good for him to sweep the group.

Group C


Rumble	Troy	Luxury
	v :2

It all comes down to this. With July having already smashed his way through the all-zerg group, Rumble and Luxury will play a single match to determine who advances to the next round.

Troy has the potential to be a crazy zvz map, with those geysers making it possible for zerglings to be useless at the expense of expanding without drop. A drawn out game might be highly entertaining, but one has to wonder if a game with this much riding on it will make it past 8 minutes.

Experience may play a large factor in the matchup as Rumble weighs in at 9-5 while Luxury is a far more proven commodity at 29-15. Combine his record with the determination to revenge his brother and I think Luxury will make it through.

Group D


Mind	Othello	Much
	5-5

Ahhh, the group that cannot make up its mind. Four players at 1-1. Group D is the most exciting because in both Wednesday's game and Friday's game the winner moves on and the loser heads back to the B team.

While on the foreigner scene Othello screams Terran map, results at the pro level have show an even 5-5 split between the humans and Aiur.

There is not much to split the players either. Mind has played far fewer TvP games than any other, but still boasts a decent record at 10-7. Much has a similar percentage with more games at 21-15.

This game will come down to build orders and nerves. There is a lot of terrain that clever players can abuse if they have the fortitude to do so. In recent weeks though, Mind has shown some strong play while Much has seemingly lost a step. Look for Rommel to make Terran fans proud and advance.

Plexa -
Preview for Friday 30 May (18:30 KST)

Before i get on with some predictions let me recount the happenings of Thursday Night. So me and

Alethios were walking up Symonds Street after a successful nights debating chatting about all things starcraft. One thing i mentioned was that i was really excited about the final playday for the groups, that being this Friday's games. He gave me and funny look and said:

i don't know, i'm a little apprehensive about Friday. Every game *should* be amazing, BiSu-Backho excepted where we will likely see bisu fuck up BackHo'n BackHo. Seriously, it's like Yarnc should do well, but wont. Stork likewise. NaDa vs stork will probably be pretty painful to be honest. July will win convincingly, allowing us to dream of a golden mouse before he gets crushed by Flash or somebody.

At which point i realised, wow this week is going to suck. But i still have faith in july

Group A


GGplay	Andromeda	Rock
	9-5

Okay, I don't know what Manifesto is on about in all honesty. GGPlay looked beastly against Sea in their last encounter. With the rest of CJ slumping, im sure that his proleague commitments are taking a back foot to his OSL efforts. With that in mind there isn't a more perfect map for GGPlay to play Rock on. We saw Kwanro, a fellow CJ-ian, pull a mean macro Zerg out here to crush Bisu, and I'm confident we'll see similar play by him to crush a Rock - who spouts a lackluster PvZ. This is obviously very good news for Sea, who will be facing a tie or a outright pass after his game on Wednesday. Just let me emphasize, this is such a bad map for Protoss against Zerg - and GGPlay is going to exploit that something terrible.

Group B


NaDa	Hwarangdo	Stork
	2-4

Hwarangdo does have a history of favoring Protosses, but none of those games really have demonstrated an imbalance; just that the protoss played far superior to the Terran. Nada comes off a very impressive game on an even harder TvP map against a stronger PvT player than Stork (thats Jangbi btw). NaDa is looking as strong as ever and he's has to be considered the favorite, so much so that it will take a heart attack to stop Nada.

Stork just hasn't been his old untouchable self. Sure, he lost a bitter and close macro war to Jangbi. Sure he lost to a 2gate proxy to Best. But he is only 6-5 since the start of the new season and against NaDa, i don't think he stands a hindus chance in heaven. He just won't preform up to standard, as we have become accustomed to.

Group C


July	Troy	YellOw[ArnC]
	v : 2

Simply put, this game doesn't matter. July is back to his beastly self (at least in ZvZ) and looks strong to take out Yarnc and send him home 0-3. Yarnc has bee disappointing to say the least, and really isn't preforming up to the level we expect of him. While July has exceeded all expectations and was sexy enough to force the Lux/Yarnc playoff. July should cruise through this game and take it easily.

Group D


Backho	Othello	Bisu
	v : 3

The fate of both players is determined by this game. Basically, winner goes through - loser goes home. Bisu is by far the favorite - but Backho has shown that he is not afraid to do gay DT stuff, and could take out this monster. In all fairness, this should be an easy game for Bisu. But after last week, i really don't know. DTs really hurt him, so Backho may stand a chance. However, there is a 99% probability that this game will suck, so many of you can have an early night.

There you have it. This week of the OSL will wrap up all these loose ends with the possibility of two tiebreakers next week. Doubtful we'll see any though, but it could happen

. Then in two weeks we kick into the Ro8 and the real tournament begins. Rest assured we'll have that brackets for you the moment it is released and then we can start all the predicting/drama/hype that inevitably happens, which coincides nicely with the end of the TSL. Anyway, that's it for this week!

Cheers,
Mani

Plexa

[OSL] And in closing...

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