EPT
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/Plexa/I_OSL_Semi_B/banner.jpg)
This glorious banner was created by the great zXk3
Typically OSL semifinals have two possible player combinations. Sometimes one player is significantly better than the other, like last season when we had July vs Backho. The other option is that neither player knows how to play the matchup well, having abused their strong matchups to get to the semifinals, like Luxury and Best. We saw last week a “type-1” semifinal where fantasy looked to be completely outclassed on paper, but upped his game exponentially and took GGPlay to school in what was probably the series of the tournament.
The remaining OSL semifinal is a rare gem as far as matchups go. BeSt vs Stork is the clash between the best and the second best PvP player in the universe, the order of which could be debated, but ultimately will be settled on Friday. Not only is the title for best PvP up for grabs, but the title of best Protoss in the world is also on the line. The winner will assume the Protoss throne. For a clash of this caliber it is not surprising that there is already history between these two players which gives it that unique personal touch. This is a grudge match, this is a fight to the death, and on paper, this is the best series we could see all year.
Despite both players playing the same race, both play with a distinctive and unique style. Stork favors the “light” side of the tech tree with Reavers and Carriers and largely conservative play while BeSt has assumed the lead in the “dark” side of the tech tree through his adoption of a late 2005-early 2006 style which focuses on aggressive macro coupled with the grace and beauty of Arbiter/Dark Templar play. PvP is a matchup where games more or less follow the same format with very little room for stylistic differentiation, and yet both players have their own subtle style. Thus it is only fair to examine each player and their history leading up to this epic encounter and see how they approach PvP. But first we need to take a brief detour and appreciate the history behind the matchup.
The History
Stork’s story starts off in 2005 during the rise of the neo-kings of Protoss. Watching his games from the modern perspective, you would have believed he was a different player, as his style is completely different from how it is now. In Stork’s youth he was one of the most bad mannered gamers on Battle.net; even bm’ing our beloved Travis at one point. His Protoss style back then reflected this attitude more than anything else. He played a flamboyant style which relied on his creativity and strong macro to overcome his opponents.
His creativity is something which has often been discounted in history. He was instrumental in pioneering the revolution of the Arbiter which changed the face of PvT for at least a generation. The other two neo-kings assisted in revolutionizing the Arbiter, as did the other Protoss player at the time, but Stork put it out there as a viable strategy first. Anytime’s So1 win also has links to Stork’s genius; when faced with the ‘impossible’ task of defeating a Terran on 815 Anytime turned to Stork’s revolutionary build which he showcased two weeks before Anytime’s game against XellOs. Stork opened with a 14 Nexus build again NaDa on 815, but expanded into another main which gave the expansion amazing security, and from there was able to gain a significant edge over NaDa. The advantage was so great that by the end of the game Stork was hallucinated-Arbiter recalling NaDa and Mind Controlling SCVs.
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Stork and Zergman during So1
Around this time Stork was noted for his exceptional PvP and was quickly ranked amongst the best of the best. After defeating virtually every Protoss on the planet he finally came up against the reigning PvP #1 – Reach – and lost in a very tight game. After So1, Reach began slumping and dropped a game to Stork in early 2006, symbolizing the transfer of the PvP crown to Stork – where it has since remained.
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Stork started to turn in 2006
Despite 2006 being a dud-year for Stork; it had far greater implications than any other year in his life. Stork still destroyed most players, but didn’t make any significant moves into any of the individual leagues. This wasn’t because he was getting worse, it was because he changed his style. Bisu and Much lead the next generation of Protoss innovation and rebelled against the Dark Templar/Arbiter play of the neo-kings in favor of the ‘light’ tech units, specifically the Reaver and Carrier coupled with conservative play. Stork has adopted this style and used it almost exclusively since his resurgence in 2007.
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Stork’s PvP only ever once came into question when went up against Bisu in GOMTV Season 2 MSL, where he lost a bitter final 2-3. Whether or not this was evidence that Stork’s PvP was worse than Bisu’s is up for debate, as there were many factors influencing that series, but what can be said is that after that final, Bisu dropped of rapidly and was crushed in Ever 07 by Stork 3-0, allowing Stork to reclaim his crown as the best PvP.
Thus far the story has only been about Stork, and well for a good reason; BeSt was still a B-Team practice partner. In late 2007 BeSt started to make moves on the scene sending shock waves around the Starcraft world. BeSt sported a refreshing “dark” style in contrast to most other Protoss of the time. He brought the style of the neo-kings back into the mainstream and his beautiful game against Hwasin on Katrina is symbolic of the return of this style. Sharing many stylistic similarities to PuSan, probably the most Arbiter-mad progamer in existence, BeSt's play inspired the use of Dark Templars as a viable PvT opening once again.
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/Plexa/I_OSL_Semi_B/4.jpg)
While first noted for his PvT, it wasn’t long before his PvP took center stage. When he took down his stylistic equivalent, PuSan, in December 07, people said “impressive”. When he took down Daezang the following week people said “maybe this kid has potential”. When he took down Anytime and Much in successive weeks in January, people had no response. BeSt’s ascent to Protoss greatness essentially happened overnight and he was easily the second best PvP player in the world within six months of playing A Team Proleague.
Bacchus OSL, better remembered for Flash’s domination, was where BeSt made his statement to the progaming world. After tearing up his group in impressive fashion (which included stopping Jaedong’s 13 game winning streak) he advanced to the quarter finals where he would meet none other than Stork. This was probably the unsung series of the tournament, as it was overridden by Flash doing the impossible by defeating bonjwa-candidate Jaedong, but nonetheless it was monumental for the development of PvP.
The series was one which glorified Stork’s former genius and ability to play a smart game (something which was absent from the final). Game one opened up with BeSt taking an early macro advantage on Blue Storm, which came as no surprise seeing as he had the most feared macro of any Protoss player at the time. But Stork played smart, and with a faster +1 than Best, picked his battles carefully and was able to overcome the macro deficit and take the game. Game two was one where BeSt harnessed his stronger macro and used his superior unit count in the early game to pressure Stork and force him to defend with probes on Troy. BeSt continued to play smart and cemented his advantage with his flawless macro and a sneaky double drop as Stork moved out to defeat Stork in impressive fashion.
The final game of the series is one worth isolating and looking at in detail, because it really was a heartbreaking moment. Fantasy was the deciding map of the series, and as we all know, Fantasy has severe positional imbalances. While this changes the dynamic of non-mirror matchups, ZvZ and PvP are heavily affected by these imbalances. This game was one which amplified the issues with the map. BeSt spawned at the Xenosky main, which has its main minerals fairly exposed to drop and fairly close to the center of the map. Stork on the other hand spawned at the Nostalgia main, arguably the safest main on the map. After gaining a significant advantage, BeSt tried to push an attack through the Nostalgia back entrance ramp which failed horribly. With those losses the game became essentially even, and Stork wasted no time exploiting the vulnerability of BeSt’s main while BeSt wasted a drop in Stork’s main. In the end the probe deficit cost BeSt his royal road dreams and Stork moved onto to the semifinals.
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The loss in Bacchus was painful
With the heartbreaking loss in Bacchus, Stork was able to retain his title as the best PvP in the world. While any other player would have bent down and cried and fallen into a slump (*cough* ), BeSt turned his disappointment into productivity and like the Dark Templar on Shakuras, continued to plow on against the odds. The result was BeSt on crack. He went on an unprecedented 15-0 PvP streak after losing in Bacchus, and is currently looking for win number fifteen. Amongst those wins was his encounter against Stork in EVER 08 where he exacted his revenge by double center gating Stork on Andromeda and proceeding to humiliate him.
So where do things stand now? Officially, I’d have to say that BeSt is the current PvP king due to his ridiculous streak and his victory over Stork in EVER08. With that said, Stork has revitalized himself and is playing the best PvP I’ve seen from him since EVER07. If BeSt is #1 then Stork is a very close #2 and obviously, the winner on Friday will be the reigning PvP champion regardless of their current standings. BeSt wants revenge for his dream being ended at the hands of Stork in Bacchus. Stork wants his pride and title back after his devastating loss in EVER08.
It’s all on the line, and it’s going down on Friday.
The Players
BeSt’s PvP style can only be described as ruthless. BeSt doesn’t use fancy builds or risky strategies, in fact BeSt doesn’t mind if he uses an inferior build every once in a while if its the safer option. BeSt wins his PvPs by abusing his precise mechanics, brutal macro and exploiting any hole in his opponents' game. While this may sound standard across any of the great PvP’ers in history, BeSt has taken it to a whole new level by being able to exploit the tiniest mistake and turn it into a winning advantage.When you look at most of his PvP’s you continually see him capitalize on the mistakes in his opponents' game. For example, Much was wandering his shuttle near the middle of the map after returning home after a Reaver raid; BeSt simply found the shuttle, sniped it and attacked Much - destroying Much with little effort. Another example: Jangbi had an earlier expansion, more gateways and all BeSt had was faster observers. Things weren’t looking good, and when Jangbi moved out it looked like BeSt could not hold. But with his awesome macro he managed to rally an army of similar size and with brilliant unit positioning he was able to win the battle with a good sized army left over.
BeSt knows when to engage, where to have his units for battle and for intercepting units, and how to produce more units than seems possible. There is a reason BeSt has gone 15-0 in this matchup and it’s because of his patience and ability to pick and choose his fights. The key to BeSt’s amazing performance lies within his ability to wait it out and trust his macro to bring him equal or for his opponent to get comfortable and slip up. This component of his play style makes him dangerous no matter the advantage.
So what must Stork do to beat this patient predator? He’s going to have to come out and secure an early macro advantage, then cement and build upon that edge and not engage BeSt without a significant advantage. Stork should look for a end game where the macro element is minimized (as both players are maxed) and Stork can use his PvP creativity via Arbiter or Dark Archon to take the match. It’s highly unlikely Stork will be able to finish BeSt off any time in the midgame unless he is able to do significant damage early on. Of course there is the possibility that Stork will play perfect PvP and not make a single mistake the entire series, but that's very unlikely.
PvP is the only matchup of Stork's which still retains that creative spark of his youth. That is mostly because his PvP style typically revolves around forming an elaborate plan and then executing it flawlessly. This sounds rather trivial as all good player should be able to do this, but Stork has made an art form of it. He has saved countless lost games through his ability to see an opening, form a clever plan, and come back to win the game. Stork's brilliant planning skills actually stem from a Protoss style that I love: the observer heavy style. If you carefully watch Stork's recent PvPs you can see how much better he uses his observers than his Protoss opponents. His ability to execute seemingly flawless plans comes from the fact he knows exactly where your units are, what your gateway count is, how many reavers you have, and the state of your economy. His obs are relentless. This subtle ploy has been instrumental in Stork's PvP victories -- particularly in this OSL.
When facing Backho on Return of the King, Stork was virtually done for as Backho had a massive macro lead and had just successful Reaver dropped Stork's mineral line. Stork knew that the game was looking grim, but he knew where Backho's units were and caught them off guard. He took a unit count advantage which he rode to victory a few seconds later. Stork had one option for victory in this case, and his flawless planning and execution won what should have been a lost game. Even against Bisu, Stork's relentless Observer use and planning skills shone through. In the Chupung-Ryeong game Stork had the map crawling with Observers and was able to exploit all the weaknesses of Bisu's base to get himself back into the match. He was also able to counter with perfect timing and perfect unit count after he lost his natural because he knew exactly what Bisu was up to.
Stork's talent in this matchup may seem like the most basic of all things to be good at; but its an aspect of PvP that many Protoss have neglected lately and it's lead to Stork being able to exploit a major weakness in modern PvP. BeSt needs to appreciate this universal weakness that has allowed Stork so many impossible victories and have air tight Observer defense. Its inevitable that Stork is going to make mistakes. BeSt must exploit those mistakes. However if BeSt doesn't control what Stork is looking at, Stork will be able to fight his way back no matter what the situation.
The Predictions
Game One
 |  |  |
 BeSt | Chupung-Ryeong | Stork |
| 28 - 5 | 10 games | 63 - 34 |
Stork will probably try to play like he did against Bisu on this map. That means he will be looking to secure a reasonably quick expansion while keeping tabs on his opponent. Judging from his success with this build in the quarter finals, I don't think Stork is going to be able to resist BeSt for very long. Stork made many mistakes against Bisu, mistakes which BeSt will be able to exploit and punish more severely. BeSt will patiently wait for Stork to make a mistake, which will probably come somewhere around when Stork takes his natural, and then we will see BeSt pounce on Stork and make him pay.
If Stork holds BeSt's charge like he did against Bisu, he will be significantly ahead. The difference between BeSt and Bisu is that BeSt actually builds probes, whereas Bisu opted to try push the advantage home with more units. With BeSt solidifying an already advantageous position, victory should come naturally to him. Thus BeSt should go one up in the series.
BeSt should be happy with the map pool this time around, seeing as Stork has played an extensive number of PvPs on the first few maps. Medusa is a map where Stork doesn't usually fare to well. And once again, mistakes often enter his game which usually leads to him scrambling to make up for lost ground. Sometimes he is able to do it, like against HerO, and other times he is not so fortunate. BeSt should be looking to exploit the numerous holes Stork has in his Medusa game. And seeing as this is one of the things that BeSt does well, Stork really has little hope of being able to take this game either. BeSt 2-0 Stork
Game Three
|  | |
| BeSt | Return of the King | Stork |
| 28 - 5 | 6 games | 63 - 34 |
If Medusa was bad for Stork, then Return of the King is Stork's Mercury. I don't think I've seen Stork play a convincing game on this map. Against Backho he won by the skin of his teeth abusing the stupidity of his opponent. Against Bisu he successfully defended a crazy 1 base build by Bisu which only looked threatening once or twice. The bottom line is, Stork doesn't play very well on this map either. With that in mind, BeSt is in a prime position to take Stork out 3-0 here. With the cumulative psychological damage of going 0-2 and being hit with a terrible map, victory should be a walk in the park for BeSt. My prediction? Best 3-0 Stork
If Stork manages to take a game, which is certainly plausible in any PvP, then Plasma is a thin ray of hope for him. Plasma is a map which supports his planning/observer style and thus he should feel right at home here. Mistakes are also more difficult to exploit here, something which is exemplified by Much vs Bisu back in the group stages. This is Stork's map to take and I have every confidence that he will win. It's highly likely that this will make the score 2-2 and force a fifth and final game.
Game Five
| | |
| BeSt | Chupung-Ryeong | Stork |
| 28 - 5 | 10 games | 63 - 34 |
The final set is something I cannot predict. BeSt at times has shown rock solid nerves, while other times has completely cracked under the pressure [of July]. Stork on the other hand has never had perfect final sets and doesn't usually handle the pressure that well. Anyone can take this game (especially since it means both players already scored two wins against each other). My instinctive bet is BeSt, because at the moment I like his style much better, but there's a number of rational arguments which give Stork the edge.
The Verdict
This is probably the most iconic and important series of the year for Protoss players everywhere. The stage is set for a battle of cataclysmic proportions, and with both player performing reasonably well lately, this really has become the "Clash of the Protoss Gods". As a small aside, it's quite interesting to note that BeSt is exactly where Stork was 3 years ago in terms of style and PvP prestige. Last year we had a similar clash between Stork and Bisu, and a year later only one of those players has changed -- a real tribute to Stork's "staying power" (as January calls it).
This is the semifinal you would be stupid to miss, and all signs point to history being made. So be there on Friday, 18:30 KST on Daum.
Cheers,
Plexa ![[image loading]](/staff/Plexa/I_OSL_Semi_B/incruit4.jpg)
Many thanks to zXk3 for all the awesome custom banners in this news report <3
err I hope Best takes this although I dunno it's hard to pick. I have seen both their playing styles and for some reason i see BeSt taking this series. But I hope they are full of good games and that Fantasy stomps the person anyways 
forgot about the kal game haha
