[OSL] The Heavens will Roar

Plexa

Aotearoa39261 Posts

July 14 2008 12:18 GMT

- Your opponent in the finals is the "god of fighting," July.
▲ July is the player that made me rethink my TvZ. He taught me how scary all-in rushes can be. I will prepare well for the finals, and show good form.

A little under two and a half years ago, iloveoov muttered those words upon realizing that his opponent in the finals of Shinhan 2005 would be his bitter rival July. The game may have changed substantially in the intermediate years but July hasn't. His style, flair and creativity is still very much alive and kicking in this heavy macro age. By some miracle July had come through many difficult experiences and risen to the top of the progaming world. He was back in the OSL final after more than two years of waiting.

Best would be no pushover. Best represents a culmination of everything that makes Protoss Protoss. He has the macro of Pusan, the flair of Bisu, the rock hard steadiness of Stork, the championship edge of Anytime, and the inspiration of the Devil himself. Without any doubt what so ever, it is very clear that Best is the best Protoss in the world right now, and he wants that title badly. The comeback win against Luxury when he was down 0-2 showcased everything good about Best and he stayed strong in the face of adversity - the mark of a champion.

The EVER2008 final was everything a good final needed to be, and I was immediately swept up in the atmosphere. Once again the crowd was mammoth, and a few quick sweeps over the audience were enough to bring the message home - Starcraft was alive and well.

This was a true final, and I knew that this evening would be beyond epic. The Golden Mouse was out on display, ready, should July win the final. The EVER 2008 Trophy was the prize up for grabs, and neither player would let it go without a fight.

Enough talk, let's get into the games...

Set 1


July	Othello	Best
	4-3

Othello was a brilliant choice to start and end the series simply because of its amazing balance. It gives good opportunities to both sides in the matchup and generally makes for good games. Being his fifth final, July knew what he needed to do and began the mind games right after his 5th drone. That's right, July (Purple at 1) 5 pooled the first set of the most important final of his career. The crowd went crazy, roars emerged from the gigantic mass of people and the high octane insanity of the EVER2008 final had begun.

Best (Blue at 7) opened just as his Protoss forefathers had taught him, forward pylon and 11 forge for safety. Unfortunately for Best, this build is timed for a 9 pool - not a 5 pool. The lings rolled out and Best had just planted his forge. Best's scouting probe had just reached Tushin and the moment the Probe saw the lings the camera cut to Best, who was clearly starting to freak out. The moment the forge finished Best planted a cannon in his minline and another pylon nearby so that his precious probes were safe.

However his Cannon was still warping by the time July's lings came bounding through the door. Showcasing some Devil inspired Probe control he traded one probe for one Zergling before the cannon warped in and July was forced to retreat, losing another ling. A small but important victory for Best for the time being.

With nothing left to do, July took solace in being able to raze the forward Pylon and Forge. Best now had to think of and counter, and think of it fast. Using a probe he evacuated earlier, he warped in a pylon, cannon and two gateways at 3. Meanwhile July had reestablished his economy and expanded and it looked like he had just had a very successful 9pool rather than 5pool. July's overlord arrived at Best's main and saw a single warping gate and no gas - which immediately aroused suspicion from the ZvP master. Zerglings scattered across the map searching for Best's proxy:

Oh so close...

For the time being, July's scouts could not find the proxy despite being so so close to finding it. With July's first 100 gas he started his lair and with his second 100 gas he started ling speed, as he always does. At long last his Zerglings wandered into the proxy, and it is just in time. July's lings run down to kill off the proxy, but run into Best's advancing Zealots. Some cute micro ensures and after trading a few units, both sides retreat.

July tests the proxy to see if it can be taken down, but the cannon and Zealots are too numerous for his forces. That didn't matter though, as Best was trying to expand. In no time a small force of Zerglings were running across the map to kill the Probe before it could warp in a Nexus. Best had his map hack working and had ~5 Zealots running back to defend before any indication that July was on the move. Sadly, the sluggish Zealots were no match for the speed and grace of July's Zerglings and the probe was assassinated without problems.

The drawback to defending his expansion was that now his proxy was defended by two Zealots and a cannon. Within no time the speedy lings had descended upon the proxy, only to be scared away by the cannon. There was probably ulterior motives for withdrawing from the attack, and those motives were probably that his Spire was moments from finishing, and once it did - mutalisks began to build. Best had only just started his Cybernetics Core thanks to his fruitless investment in his proxy. The mutalisks emerged, and Best added a Stargate and another cannon in his minline - but it was all too late.

After losing control of his main, Best rallied all his Zealots to July and tried to break him. His Zealots ran up against 3 sunkens and the surviving lings from the Proxy raiding party, now it was clear why they didn't go through with the attack. Best's Zealot's were helpless, and as his Zealots evaporated into thin air, he conceded the first game.

July 1-0 Best

Set 2


July	Troy	Best
	2-5

After opening with a bang, you would think that the series would shut off the Nitrous and settle into cruise control for a little bit. And things looked to be semi-standard when July (Teal at 5) built his 6th drone and pooled at 9 while Best (Green at 1) opened with 1 gate tech. July's overlord headed straight for Best and he quickly teched speed for his lings and expanded. With that expansion everything looked set for a nice long encounter.

Best hurriedly teched to Stargate, and because July's overlord had wandered a little too far into Best's main, his first dragoon was able to take shots at it. Rather than run away, July sent his overlord back towards Best's Nexus obviously trying to glimpse as much tech as possible before dieing.

But carefully look at that screen shot, check out July's base - there were a large amount of lings and some teal things leaving his main. With the Overlord's dieing breath it managed to catch glimpse of Best's mineral line and had ordered 4 of his drones to mine - July was back in high octane mode and was going to drone drill Best.

The Zerglings gathered outside his choke, and Best remained oblivious. The Zerglings engaged and the drones quickly bored into the choke forcing Best to give up the defense of the gap.

Everyone was shocked.

The lings poured in and made short work of Best's warping Forge, then after scurrying around took out the single warping cannon. In the process July had lost a lot of lings but reinforcements were on the way and he was back marauding around within no time. With only a single gate and two Zealots, Best was helpless to stop July from taking down his exposed Gateway.

With no gateway, Best was at the mercy of July's Zerglings. The Lings scurried around and picked off pylons, Zealots, Probes - anything they could get their claws on. Surprisingly, Best had managed to sneak a Forge in and had a lone cannon warping in - but despite his best Probe micro, he could not stop July's Zerglings from killing it.

Best tried to get another Cannon up behind his minline while July's Zerglings attacked his probes. Best miraculously killed all the Zerglings with his great micro, but it was too little too late. Another horde came bouncing in and this time laid waste to Best's Nexus. It was only a matter of time before the great Protoss structure fell and with it, Best's chances in the game.

July 2-0 Best

It's not over yet!

Set 3


July	Andromeda	Best
	17-10

So far the series had live up to the epicness it promised. It had been an insane high octane joy ride and as far as cheesy strategies go, these were ballsy. Andromeda is known for two things, Sair/Reaver and Hydra breaks - the possibility of July cheesing his way to a 3-0 looked like a real possibility. People had forgotten about Best's awesome macro and his plethora of talents - it was all about July. What was July going to do? I can't believe July's really doing it!? If July gets to Hive tech maybe Best will have an advantage? The ball was firmly in July's court, and the psychological warfare had taken it's toll on Best, who now had to be prepared for anything and everything.

Say what you want, the fans were loving the finals

July (Brown at 11) opened with his opening of choice, the 9 pool speedling build. While Best (White at 1) opened with his build of choice, the Fast Expansion. At least in this game his Cannons were in time to stop the imminent lings, not that that was July's objective anyway. July cut the gas after 100, and expanded. In typical July fashion, the moment that Ling speed finished his first 10~ Lings blitz Best's cannon line and made a dash for his main.

Fortunately Best had set up a probe wall on his ramp which stalled the Zerglings long enough so that the cannons could pick off all but two. There's not much two lings can do except be annoying, and that's exactly what they did. They managed to pick off a grand total of one probe before dieing - but they did live for quite a while. Meanwhile July had expanded again, to his Mineral only. July put the gas back on and teched to Lair once he collected 100. Best sent across his first Zealot to harass July, which had moderate success - with the supporting Probe getting a sneaky drone kill.

Best followed the stock-standard Andromeda build and added a Stargate and a Robo just like a good Protoss should. Meanwhile, July teched to Spire which seemed rather peculiar seeing as Best was heading towards a sair heavy build. The first sair headed over to July and got an easy Overlord kill and left just as July's hydra den finished. And it became clear why July had built the spire - he started to produce copious amounts of Scourge to keep the Sair count in check.

Both players entered "macro mode" with Best taking his mineral only, researching +1 and teching to Reaver and July taking his 4th at 9, researching +1 air armor and pumping units. Best cleared out two patrolling scourges with his Sairs and proceeded to take the 12 island. July was eager to play a slightly unorthodox counter to sair/reaver, the Hydra/Scourge with +1 armor. He set up a Scourge wall patrolling between Best's base and 12 and produced a number of Hydralisks. The first set of patrolling scourges hit their mark and managed to take out 2 of Best's Sairs - keeping their numbers under control.

The next set of Scourge took out one Sair, then retreated in fear of cannon fire. July expanded to 7 and continued to pump a large number of Scourges. The Scourges set up another patrol between 12 and Best's main and July loaded up a drop to dispose of 12. But about 7 cannons deterred the Overlords from unloading their cargo. July expanded again to the natural of 7 in order to keep up with Best. A small zeal/goon raiding party tried to shut down 9 - but only managed in taking out the defending sunkens before July's forces disposed of the threat.

July mobilized an impressive Hydralisk/Overlord army and order them to attack 3; which was of course empty. Disappointed with the lack of bloodshed, the hydralisks moved north and killed a scouting Zealot on their way to Bests natural. After the Zeal was dead, they quickly ran back and loaded up into Overlords and were dropped into Best's mineral only.

Avoiding fleets of Scourge, the Sair/Reaver army returned to mop up the mess. Ultimately the drop failed to do any real damage and July was at a disadvantage. July took the setback on the chin and teched to Hive and started producing a strangely large amount of Mutalisks; a strange choice considering Best was 2 Stargate Sair heavy. Although, July had completed +2 armor nullifying the weapons upgrades of the Corsairs. The Sair/Reaver army looked threatening and tried to break into July's main but were intercepted by Scourge/Muta and forced to retreat.

The fleet was decimated, and suffered even more losses when July showed off his moving shot skills, a move which scored him two more Corsair kills. July had evened things up and Best had transitioned into a ground based army. Both sides took a small breather to strengthen their forces, a lapse which July used to tech to Greater Spire. Best moved his army to 3, and was able to set up an expansion there. Best's army looks threatening hovering around the bottom left corner of the map, so July mobilized his Lurker/Ling/Hydra army and moved them into the center of the map to join his morphing Mutalisks.

Best's Goon/Zealot/Reaver/HT army collided with July's Zergling/Hydra/Lurker/Guardian army in the center of the map, and would prove to be an intense encounter. July used his guardians to snipe Best's reavers and also avoided two storms laid down by Best. The Swarm managed to overcome the Protoss insurgence and Best had to run home.

Best's reinforcements joined up with Best's army and fought for their lives against the Zerg masses.

Even though his forces were decimated by Storm and was vastly outnumbered, July forced Best into a situation where both sides had to retreat. And the action subsided temporarily. July knew that 12 was keeping Best in the game and loads up another drop to shut it down.

However July's forces could do little more than kill all of the defending cannons before Best was across to 12 with Reavers and promptly shut down the attack. Best's army hovered about 5 as he attempted to expand to the mineral only of 5. July collected up his tier 1 army of Lings and Hydralisks and sent them bounding into the wall of Protoss troops. Best's storms were slow and inaccurate and his Zeal/Goon/Temp army was decimated by a myriad of units.

Best's reinforcements moved to 3 to defend it, and were promptly sandwiched by July's forces. But he managed to hold the Zerg off. While all this was going on, Best had dropped 4 darktemplar into July's main which managed to take out a fair few drones and July's pool and Ultralisk Cavern. 4 Lurkers planted outside Best's natural were giving Best problems, as he wasted a number of Zealots needlessly - but eventually the Lurkers were cleared out. Things were looking pretty even between the two, then the camera flicked to this:

COOOWWWWWWWWWWSSSSSSSSS!!!

The crowd roared with glee at the sight of July's huge number of Ultralisk and were eagerly anticipating the upcoming clash of Hivetech Zerg with Protoss militia. Best had expanded again to the main of 5, and strangely enough July was trying to expand to the natural of 5. The expansion was quickly snuffed out by Best and July rallied together his forces and sent them crashing towards 3. Best's army was caught out of position and was forced to fight there and then.

The ridiculous number of Ultralisks proved to be too much for Best's tiny army, and he lost everything. Luckily Best was able to save 3 - but at the price of losing 5's min only and main. The ultralisks tore through the Protoss structures and quickly turned Best situation from hopeful to dire. Not knowing what else to do, Best rallied his forces together and countered hard in July's main.

But Best made a Backho mistake and left his Shuttle exposed. They were raped by scourge leaving Best's army ready to be dissected by July's forces.

Even though Best was able to win the fight, even with his new reinforcements he had lost too much to be able to defeat the returning horde of Cows and emerging army of Cracklings. Having successfully defended Best's last ditch chance of pulling the game back into his favor, July decided to expand to 6. Running out of options, Best turned back to his faithful Corsairs - which were remnants from his initial Sair/Reaver antics. July calmly produced a few scourges and killed off the sairs before they could do any more damage.

Best had scraped together one last army and was harboring it in his natural waiting for additional forces. July knew that a full frontal assault, while entertaining, would not yield the results he desired. He simply lifted up half of his ultra/ling/hydra army into Best's main and forced Best's forces out of position. July waited for Best to get impatient and come charging out to face the might of the swarm. And not long after the drop he did;

With the best storms all game, Best neutralizes the attack and actually wins the battle. July didn't get worried, and calmly macros like a beast and rebuilds his army and throws defilers finally into the mix. Best's last army is crushed by waves of Zerg units - he is done fighting. Best concedes the game and got outmacroed by July.

July 3-0 Best

Then it hits me, July has just won his third OSL. The revelation is overwhelming. The kid nobody wanted just won the Starleague. The player who's career was within a breath of being over, just became the most successful OSL player ever. July just won the first final ever for Soul. July won the second ever Golden Mouse, the first for the Swarm. It's an incredibly gratifying feeling to watch July literally run out of his booth and grab the Golden Mouse.

Best was left alone in his booth, feeling sorry for himself and how badly he played today. He got completely dominated by July's mind games, macro and micro. In fact, there was no Protoss that was going to beat July today. This was July's time, and no one was going to take that from him.

The two were dragged out on stage and the awards were presented to each of them, Best was up first and got his cheque for second place. All alone on the stage he looked very sad, and i don't think anyone didn't feel for him.

July was up next and crowned the official Champion of EVER 2008 OSL.

Here is July's winners interview;
+ Show Spoiler [Interview] +

[EVER 결승]투신 박성준, ”다음 조지명식 때 가장 강력한 테란 선수를 뽑겠다”

[EVER OSL FINALS] Tushin Park Sung Jun "In next season's selection, I will pick the best terran player"

- 3회 우승을 차지하면서 골든 마우스를 획득했다
▲ 전에 인터뷰를 통해서도 말을 했듯이 골든마우스는 우승을 해야 따라오는 것이라고 생각을 했다. 골든마우스를 위해서 우승한 것이 아니었다. 그게 그것이지만 의미는 다소 다른 것 같다. 어쨌든 최선을 다했고, 우승을 해서 기쁘다.

- You obtained the Golden Mouse by winning 3 finals
▲I have previously states in my previous interviews that with wins comes the Golden Mouse. I have not tried to win in order to obtain the golden mouse. It is actually the same thing but I believe the meaning is different. Anyways I tried my best and I am happy that I won.

- 강력한 올인 공격이 돋보였는데
▲ 내가 생각하는 5전 3선승 경기는 실력이 아니라 심리전이다. 그래서 첫 판에 5드론을 준비한 것이다. 내가 결승전에서 두번이나 0:3으로 패배했는데 모두 첫 경기에서 올인 뚫기 공격에 당했다. 그렇게 당하고 나면 정신을 차리지 못했던 기억이 난다. 그래서 오늘 나도 한번 사용해 본 것이다.

-You showed very fear some all-in strategies
▲My belief in best of 5 series is not skill but your mind. That is why I 5-pooled in my first game. I have lost 0:3 in my 2 previous finals through all-in strategies by the opponents. Because of those attacks I remember I was unable to focus. That is why I used it against my opponents this time

- 프로토스에게 매우 강한 모습을 보여주고 있는데
▲ 저그이기 때문에 프로토스에게 강한 것이 아닐까 싶다. 항상 프로토스에게는 강하다고 생각을 해왔다. 말로는 기죽기 싫어서 3:0을 자신했지만 사실은 그렇게 3:0을 자신하지는 않았다(웃음). 프로토스에게 강한 것은 자신감 때문이라고 생각한다.

- You showed very strong match ups against protoss
▲Because I am a zerg player I believe I am strong against Protoss. I have always been strong against protoss. Although I said I was confident in winning 3:0 I really wasn’t (laughs). I believe I am strong against protoss because of my confidence.

- 3경기 안드로메다에서는 다소 불리하지 않았었나
▲ 그렇게 불리하지는 않았다. 하지만 스커지로 커세어를 너무 쉽게 잡았다. 스커지를 그냥 패트롤을 해놓았는데 와서 커세어들이 죽더라. 커세어를 그렇게 잃으면 프로토스는 굉장히 힘들어진다. 리버보다 커세어가 무섭기 때문에 스커지를 더 생산해 제공권을 장악하는데 힘을 썼다.

-In your 3rd match Andromeda weren’t you at a disadvantage?
▲I was not really at a disadvantage. I was able to kill corsairs easily with scourages. I just patrolled my scourages but the corsairs suicided into my scourage. If the protoss has many corsairs it is hard to defeat them. I made many more scourages since corsairs are scarier than reavers.

- 2경기에서 드론 밀치기를 시도했는데
▲ 오늘은 1, 3경기를 준비했고 2, 4, 5경기는 즉흥적으로 할 생각이었다. 2, 4, 5경기에서는 연습 때 너무 많이 졌기 때문이다. 2경기에서 도재욱 선수가 박찬수 선수와 할 때처럼 경기하더라. 그런 빌드는 드론 밀치기에 굉장히 취약하다. 그래서 즉흥적으로 시도했다.

-You attempted a drone-drill in game 2
▲I prepared for game 1 and 3 and did not really prepare for game 2,4, or 5. I lost too many times in maps for game 2,4, and 5. In game 2 of Best vs Luxury, Best’s build was very weak towards the drone drill. This is why I used the strategy.

- SK텔레콤 시절, 도재욱과 5:5 승률을 기록했었다고 말했는데
▲ 그 당시에 5:5가 나왔던 것은 무난하게 흘러갔을 때의 승률이다. 도재욱 선수와는 무난하게 갔다면 승리를 장담할 수 없다. 연습 때 5:5는 맞다. 하지만 오늘 같은 결승전에서는 심리전이 굉장히 중요하기 때문에 내가 다소 유리했던 것 같다.

-During your stay in SK Telecom your record against best was 5:5
▲During that time the 5:5 record would be the result of normal games. If Best played if it were normal games today, I probably would not have won easily. However, today was the Finals where mind-control was very important, which is the reason why I believe I won.

- 웨이버 공시, 2번의 이적으로 힘든 시기를 보내기도 했었다
▲ 안 좋은 일들이 굉장히 많았었다. 그 때는 어린 마음에 게임을 그만둘까 하는 생각도 했었다. 그런데 부모님이 '아직은 아니다, 조금 더 해봐라'고 말씀을 하셨었다. STX로 이적한 이후에 감독님, 코치님, 선수들까지 모두 나를 잘 챙겨줬다. 선수들과도 굉장히 빠르게 친해졌고 게임도 많이하고 운동도 많이 하면서 정말 즐겁게 연습을 했다. STX는 정말 좋고, 코칭스태프도 소문이 난 것처럼 엄하지 않다. 색깔이 나와 잘 맞는 것 같다.

-Because of your 2 waivers, you had a rough time.
▲There were many unfortunate events. I thought of quitting programming at an early age. However, my parents told me “It isn’t the time yet, try a bit more”. After moving to STX, the coaches and the players treated me very well. I quickly befriended my teammates and played numerous games with them. STX is a very nice, the coaching staff isn’t bad as the rumors. I think my personality fits with the team.

- 이번 시즌에 테란을 만나지 않아서 운이 좋았다는 평가를 받기도 한다
▲ 사실 운이 좋았던 것이 맞다. 저그가 테란을 만나지 않았다는 것이 이미 반을 먹고 들어간 상태라고 생각한다. 하지만 그렇게 운이 좋다는 것만 강조하시는 분들은 내가 이긴 선수들을 모욕하는 것과 마찬가지다. 내가 이긴 선수들은 테란을 이기고 올라온 선수들이다. 나를 폄하하는 것은 그 선수들도 폄하하는 것이다. 그래도 솔직히 운이 좋았던 것은 사실인 것 같다.

-People say you were lucky with the lack of terrans in this season
▲To tell you the truth I think I really was lucky. To be a zerg and not meet any terrans is already accomplishing half of your goals. However, to the people who believe I won the OSL because of luck is like insulting the players I have beaten. The players I have beater were players who have beaten terran players. To insult me is like insulting the players I have beaten. I still think that I was lucky.

- 더운 시기에 성적이 좋은 징크스가 있는 것 같은데
▲ 나는 손에 땀이 조금 많이 나야 게임이 잘 된다. 그래서 부스 안에서도 에어컨을 끄고 더운 상태에서 게임을 했었다. 더울 때 게임을 잘하기 때문에 여름에 성적이 좋은 것 같다. 어쩌다보니 July라는 아이디와 비슷한 시기와 우승을 하게 되었다(웃음).
-You have good jinx of winning when it is hot
▲I play well when my hand is sweating. That is why I turn off the air-conditioner in the booth when I play. Because my play is better when it is hot, I believe my records are better too during the summer. I was able to win during the month of July(laughs)

-STX 최초의 개인리그 우승자인데
▲ 절대 부담을 주시지 않는다. 그냥 편하게, 마음 먹은대로 경기를 하라고 말씀을 하신다. 팀에 와서 3개월이 조금 넘었는데 단 한번도 부담을 느끼지 않았고 불편함도 느끼지 않았다. 억지로 하는 것도 없고 모든 것이 자율적이다. 그런 부분들이 나에게 매우 큰 도움이 된다.

-You are the first STX member to win
▲STX does not pressure me on bit. They tell me to relax and play like how I always play. Since the 3 months I been in the team, they have not pressured me one bit. They have not forced me to play, and all my practices were voluntarily. This also helps me to become a better player.

- 다음 시즌에 임하는 각오
▲ 항상 자신감은 최고다. 하지만 우승을 한다고 해서 떨어지면 조금 우스운 상황이 되게 된다. 일단은 테란들을 많이 꺾고 싶다. 다음 조지명식 때 가장 강력한 테란 선수를 뽑겠다. 그래도 우리 팀인 진영수를 뽑기에는 무리가 있다. 진영수에게는 많이 패배하고, 저그전을 정말 잘한다.

-Your next season’s goal
▲Confidence is always the best. However if you lose horribly after winning, it becomes a troublesome situation. First, I want to beat a lot of terran players. In the next selection, I would like to pick the strongest terran. However, I cannot pick my teammate Hwasin. I have lost too many times to Hwasin, and his TvZ match-up is too good.

- 마지막으로 한마디
▲ 코앞에 있는 목표는 내일 이겨서 우리 팀이 프로리그 준플레이오프에 가는 것이다. 그리고 프로리그 우승을 위해 노력할 것이고, 스타리그 2연속 우승에도 도전하겠다. 나는 다시 우승을 했지만 최고라고 생각하지 않는다. 예전과는 다른 마인드다. 조금 더 배워야하는 때라고 생각하고 다음 시즌에 또 우승을 해야 완벽하다고 생각한다. 임요환, 이윤열 선수와 같이 모두가 인정해주는 프로게이머가 되고 싶은 것이 장기적인 목표다.

-Your last words
▲My next goal is to win tomorrows Proleague playoff game. I will practice harder to win the proleague and also try to win next season’s OSL. Although I have won, I do not think I am the best. It is different from what I previously thought. I believe I have more to learn and try to win next season. I will be perfect if I win next season. My ultimate goal is to be recognized with players such Boxer and Nada.
[EVER 결승]투신 박성준, ”다음 조지명식 때 가장 강력한 테란 선수를 뽑겠다”

JulyZerg is your new OSL Champion!!

With a champion decided, there is only one thing left to do

Teamliquid has spoken! and the results of the EVER2008 OSL awards are...

The 'Garimto' Award for Player of the Tournament

July

July came from nowhere in this tournament, pulled out all the stops and walked home with the trophy and the Golden Mouse. He played each set in such dominant and creative fashion that he lit up the tournament with his spark, and brought hope to all the old school fans out there. In a time where the old school are retiring or struggling really badly, July's win gives us all hope that one day the best gamers of yesteryear will come back and dominate once more.

Hard to argue against the guy who utterly dominated the finals 3-0 against the best protoss in the world to become the first zerg and second player ever to win the golden mouse

- chameleonia

The 'Mumyung' Award for Worst Player

Rumble

Rumble entered the OSL a nobody, and left a nobody. His games were dismal and disappointing, it takes a certain amount of incompetence to lose to a proxy hatch in ZvZ. Thats how bad Rumble is. July walked all over him with the humiliating Proxy hatch, Luxury crushed him like an ant. Even though he managed to beat Yarnc - at least Yarnc didn't get humiliated in a reletively simple matchup. Yarnc is a close second for this award as he too royally sucked.

Rumble left the OSL as quickly as he entered. Sure Rock failed miserably in the Round of 8 - but he beat Sea and GGPlay to get there. Rumble was humiliated in his group, and was the only player to be humiliated as bad. This alone qualifies for him this award

- Plexa

The 'Boxer' Creativity/Inspiration Award

Luxury

Luxury brought back the 3 gas Guardian build back with a vengeance. The build was initially created on Requiem when July played Oov. The build went on to cause many Terrans to think that Requiem was a staunch Z>T map. On top of using a very rare build the game was top notch, and got Luxury halfway to the semifinals. If you have avoided this game, or simply omitted it from your memory, you can relive the brilliance by watching the game here.

Luxury, because his build on Troy was something magical.

- Atrioc

Luxury - brang back the 3 gas guardian build

- Highways

The 'Chojja' Missing in Action Award

Mind

Mind has built his fame on his brilliant timing pushes in TvP. Indeed, he is one of the great TvP players of the 'new era'. Upon finding out that he would be in an all Protoss group every single Mind fan smiled with glee as they knew their idol would advance. Oh how dead wrong they were. Mind was crushed terribly by Bisu and Much and hence was eliminated from the OSL. Mind was a strong contender to take the title, and instead he fell short in one of the easiest groups he could have asked for.

Mind, I think. Bisu's a close second, but the thing that makes the difference in my mind is that Bisu won their mutual game. For a man with such a TvP to get an all-Protoss group and then not advance? Disappointing.

- LastRomantic

The 'Sync' One Hit Wonder Award

BackHo

After cheesing his way past Jaedong, exploiting Casy on Troy, showing that he can PvP against Bisu, Much and Jangbi only to be decimated in the Semifinals against July; who can't honestly say that this is probably the furthest Backho will ever get in the OSL. Backho should be promptly eliminated in the next OSL, unless he gets an all Protoss group.

July proved to Backho that luck is short lived, skill is eternal

- Ra.Xor.2

The 'Bifrost' Map of the Tournament Award

Troy

Troy proved that balance never equates to brilliant play. Troy featured some of the best games of the OSL - yet had the worst balance record. You think Luxury vs Flash, you think Troy. You think July's drone drill, you think Troy. You think Best's epic comeback, you think Troy. Some of the most creative builds were played here, as well as some of the most amazing comebacks. Troy had it all, and takes the award.

Best vs Nada
July vs Best
Luxury vs Flash
Much vs Bisu
Need I say more?

- chameleonia

Game of the Tournament

July vs Best @ Andromeda

After a very close vote, the final game of the tournament walks away victorious. If you had not gathered already by this report, the game was truly epic. It had everything a great game needs; intensity, drama, tension, innovation, and high level play. July and Best took Sair/Reaver as far as it could and the game swung back and forth until July finally got the edge after an epic battle.

Game 3 of the OSL final, no other games come close.

-.risingdragoon

- Game three of the finals, for sure. July pulling entire armies out of his ass and severely schooling BeSt in the playstyle he is best known for.

- Metallingus

The 'WTF!' Moment of the Tournament Award

This face sums up everything a WTF moment needs to be. The look on everyone's face when July drone drilled through Best's feeble blockade was priceless and a shocking twist of events. This event took everyone by surprise and gave July the 2-0 edge which he rode home. A brilliant move.

Bisu =O

- Roffles

Player Most Likely to Win the Next Starleague

BeSt

Best was denied an OSL title at the final hurdle despite being the most skilled pvt/pvp/pvz player in the world. He lost the final purely because he was completely unprepared for July's ferocious style - a mistake i don't think he will repeat. Best is hungry for a title and has the talent to take him all the way.

He 3-0'd the best round 2 group, showed brilliance and grittiness in his wins over luxury and nada, displayed complete domination vs Much, made it to the finals where he lost because of what appeared to be a lack of preparation; something this experience should fix.

- chameleonia

And that's it folks! It's been my pleasure to write on the OSL this season and it has been truly a great OSL. These finals will be remembered as a high octane, fast paced insane joyride. Even though it was a 3-0 victory, it was probably the best 3-0 final I've ever seen. I remember back in Round 1 when I said that July would be eliminated right then and there, and he proved me wrong. Very very wrong. The OSL has been a roller coaster ride of thrills and at long last it can be committed to the archives.

Before I sign off for the last time, there are a couple people that I need to thank. First up is my partner in crime Manifesto7 - who worked extensively on the OSL with me until the Round of 8. Despite this man's hectic schedule he was able to pitch in and bring everyone top quality reports. Even though he switched over to the MSL half way through the season - I know he is an OSL man at heart

. Thanks for everything mani!

Next up is possibly the least appreciated person on the OSL coverage team. In fact this is the first time I've mentioned him. GrandInquisitor has done yet another excellent job of maintaining the Results and Standings thread for the OSL. Without his thread many of us would be lost in the highly complex world of the OSL. You've done a fine job Grinq, and I, on behalf of the TL.net staff, thank you deeply for your efforts.

Daigomi and Pachi have served the OSL team well with their images. Daigomi, of course, is responsible for the sexy banner used throughout this tournament as well as the Best/July banners. Pachi on the other hand has done almost every little graphics editing job that I've needed; without his help the OSL reports would look about 25% less sexy. Thanks to both of your for your assistance

EVER 2008 OSL is now over, and I can't wait to see what OGN have in store for us next season. No matter what they pull out rest assured Teamliquid will keep you up to date, until then keep watching the news page.

Plexa

Thanks to SiZ.FaNtAsY for the itnerview translation
Thanks to Fomos for the photos
Thanks to everyone who voted in the awards - it was close!
Thanks to you, for reading

Descent

1244 Posts

July 14 2008 12:31 GMT

Just gave it a brief scan, but it looks like a great write-up. Will definitely read through it~ xO

disciple

9071 Posts

July 14 2008 12:43 GMT

...and Thanks to you Plexa, for the amazing article !

Anyway, I thought the Chojja award will go to Jaedong BUT this was indeed a OSL of the surprises, many of the favorites went down way too soon, leaving space for July to prevail. It was one of the most entertaining and for sure one of the hardest to predict tournament in the history so far. Speaking of one hit wonder, I disagree with the choice of BackHo , because he is in the GOM TV Ro4 as well, so we cant really speak of a fluke right here. For me the one hit (or to be correct the 3rd hit) wonder was July, simply because its highly unlikely for him to repeat his success the next season. He will not get 0-3d in his group, thats for sure, but that was his OSL and I think a second reign of Tushin is not going to happen

Woyn

United Kingdom1628 Posts

July 14 2008 12:44 GMT

Another quality article Plexa, Fantastic!

Small question, the guy sitting beside OOv that the cameras kept focusing on, who is it? I dont recognise

Wala.Revolution

7584 Posts

July 14 2008 12:46 GMT

Not only was the article an excellent read, but it also incorporated numerous pictures!

Congratulations to July for the Golden Mouse. Even with the thuderstorms in game 3 July won -- that was amazing. Is the mouse 24k Gold? I'm guessing that's too costly.

However, let a protoss be the next OSL champion.

Flame shield equipped!

besiger

Croatia2452 Posts

July 14 2008 12:47 GMT

july zerg is amazing, so glad he won the golden mouse <3

Spenguin

Australia3316 Posts

July 14 2008 12:54 GMT

OMG!!! That is the fucking sexiest write-up I have ever seen, go July!

Thanks Plex!

Emptyness

Bulgaria1016 Posts

July 14 2008 13:06 GMT

Great article, Plexa

! I feel sorry for Best though, but I really hope he can pull of some amazing performance next OSL too

Plexa

Aotearoa39261 Posts

July 14 2008 13:11 GMT

On July 14 2008 21:46 Wala.Revolution wrote:
Man, nice read, but with the pictures!

Congratulations to July for the Golden Mouse. Is it 24k Gold? I'm guessing that's too costly.

However, let a protoss be the next OSL champion!

Dno, but its worth ~$8000 USD

Highways

Australia6106 Posts

July 14 2008 13:25 GMT

#10

cmon man best deserved the Garimto award way more, might as well automatically give it to the winner of the OSL then.

- best had the harder path
- comeback against luxury
- best was a relatively nobody before this tournament, now has heaps of fans
- comes out the tournament leading the way for protoss
- protoss is best now

- july played so many weak pvzers on the way to the final

Goshawk.

United Kingdom5338 Posts

July 14 2008 13:44 GMT

#11

Yer, nice article. Best got served, but anyway grats to July.

Plexa

Aotearoa39261 Posts

July 14 2008 13:47 GMT

#12

On July 14 2008 22:25 Highways wrote:
cmon man best deserved the Garimto award way more, might as well automatically give it to the winner of the OSL then.

- best had the harder path
- comeback against luxury
- best was a relatively nobody before this tournament, now has heaps of fans
- comes out the tournament leading the way for protoss
- protoss is best now

- july played so many weak pvzers on the way to the final

Well then july who played so many weak pvzers to get to the final just 3:0'ed the "best protoss". Don't blame July for having the easier path in the OSL because at the end of the day, he beat Luxury convincingly in the groups (Best struggled) and Best in the final. He played pimptasitcally throughout the tournament from pitting yarnc/lux up against each other to proxy hatcheries to brilliant ZvP builds.

If the score was 3:2 to July maybe we'd have something to talk about, but July was the best player of the tournament by far.

SilverSkyLark

Philippines8437 Posts

July 14 2008 13:58 GMT

#13

Nice read, as usual..:D
July really has a lot more experience that BeSt, which gave him the edge.

And I don't agree much on BackHo being a one hit wonder. He just got eaten alive by JulyZerg, who was on his rampage towards the OSL final.

omfghi2u2

United States831 Posts

July 14 2008 14:01 GMT

#14

great read as usual.

Metallingus

Philippines468 Posts

July 14 2008 14:07 GMT

#15

Great read! Captures the whole essence of the series. And yeah, can't help but feel for BeSt when he took his second place check. Hopefully he can bounce back from his losses and become even better. Flash and Jaedong are definitely going to be his biggest challenges next season.