EPT![[image loading]](/staff/Tadzio/GOMS3/aiclassic3w.png)
Banner thanks to Pachi
To be honest, the final games of GOM's Round of 64 were lackluster. The most entertaining games were provided by M18M and forhitech (aka Kwanro), primarily as a result of forhitech's hyper-aggressive playstyle. And so, as we head into the Round of 32, it's seems a more valuable use of this space to review the upsets of the round of 64 and discuss what conditions contributed to the results rather than discuss last week's games in any sort of depth.
Old fans of the GOM Classic will admit that this tournament is prone to large quantities of upsets (games where seeds are eliminated by less established players). Whether these upsets are because GOM's format makes it easier for less known players to participate, or because seeds, busy in Proleague and more prominent tournaments (OSL, MSL), cannot dedicate the time necessary to prepare properly is unclear. What is known is that the eliminated seeds are not happy with their losses (as reported by Tasteless and SDM) and so it can't be said that they "threw" their games, as some fans have suggested.
The Classic's prize pool appears to be a healthy motivator for excellence, but paradoxically, for every high quality game in the round of 64, fans were forced to endure a piss-poor performance from an unlikely source. To be fair, some of these poor performances led to highly entertaining series as walkovers turned into upsets before our eyes. It can, afterall, be fun to watch two martial artists trade headbutts, but since anyone can trade headbutts, it's usually more fun to observe technically difficult moves. Excellence of play is a massive contributing factor for fan satisfaction, and so far the Classic has been inconsistent in its ability to deliver excellence. With any luck, this trend will change in the Round of 32, as the prize money becomes more present in the minds of the players, and with all participants having proved the ability to win games versus quality opponents.
The Ro64's Biggest Upsets:
Shuttle > 
Never_V_
+ Show Spoiler +
MVP > Stork
+ Show Spoiler +
BaBy > JangBi
+ Show Spoiler +
ZergBong > great
+ Show Spoiler +
Stats > HiyA
+ Show Spoiler +
Falcon > NaDa
+ Show Spoiler +
jjonga > Lomo
+ Show Spoiler +
Hul > pretty[gm]
+ Show Spoiler +
Shuttle > Never_V_ + Show Spoiler +
Never_V_'s TvP has always been suspect, but Shuttle isn't exactly known for his PvT, either. The fact that Shuttle managed to take game 3 with Carriers cross-positions on God's Garden is what's most impressive about this upset since God's Garden isn't really made for Carrier micro, especially cross-position.
MVP > Stork+ Show Spoiler +
Stork dominated Game 1 with aggressive play and devastating reaver drops. In game 2, Stork played incredibly sloppy, throwing away dragoons to mines and tanks all game long as MVP gave his best performance of the series. In game 3, Stork opened with 12 Nexus and MVP with proxy rax, bunker rush. Oh my!
BaBy > JangBi+ Show Spoiler +
Baby wowed everyone with this series, making maximal use of dropship play to wear down Jangbi. Jangbi did not play poorly this series... Baby managed to outplay Jangbi. Incredible series.
ZergBong > great+ Show Spoiler +
Who the hell is Zergbong? And what the hell is he doing beating great? Zergbong is a very old (27 year old) KTF zerg with a televised win rate that matches his age. And in his first televised ZvZ he beat great with superior Muta/scourge micro. Wow!
Stats > HiyA+ Show Spoiler +
Stats beat Hiya in Hiya's best match up. Hiya sports a 66% win rate so he's normally no slouch. Games 1 had some atrocious play by Hiya and 2 was sloppy by both players, but game 3 made up for it when both players suddenly decided they cared about who won. In the end, Stats took the game with strong arbiter play.
Falcon > NaDa+ Show Spoiler +
I'm not sure Nada should go mech... It's just not him and it lost him game 1. In game 2 Nada showed some of his old SKTerran skills, dismantling Falcon with multiple drops after he abandoned some ill-considered Valkarie play. In game three, Nada went for a 5 rax sunken break, and Falcon was 100% prepared, finishing off the legendary player by rushing to Ultra off the three easy bases God's Garden provides. In all three games Falcon showed that although he's an untested player, his Muta micro is impeccable.
jjonga > Lomo+ Show Spoiler +
Lomo's been playing horribly since June of last year, but Jjonga is completely new to televised matches so I expected Lomo to take this. Instead, Lomo was humiliated when jjonga manhandled him with two games of DT drops. Pathetic.
Hul > pretty[gm]+ Show Spoiler +
Pretty's play was completely uncharacteristic in this series. His normally powerful PvZ looked like shit as, over and over again, he threw away any advantage he gained from Hul's mistakes. A painful series to watch.
Results
Ro64.R2 - Day 7
sAviOr vs HoeJJa
+ Show Spoiler [results] +
Luxury vs Hydra
+ Show Spoiler [results] +
pretty[gm] vs Hul
+ Show Spoiler [results] +
sKyHigh vs GGPlay
+ Show Spoiler [results] +
Recommended Game
+ Show Spoiler +
Ro64.R2 - Day 8
EffOrt vs LuCifer
+ Show Spoiler [results] +
Tempest vs GuemChi
+ Show Spoiler [results] +
M18M vs forhitech
+ Show Spoiler [results] +
MenSol[ZerO] vs Orion
+ Show Spoiler [results] +
Recommended Game
+ Show Spoiler +
![[image loading]](/staff/Tadzio/GOMS3/GOMbracket32.png)
Bracket by GTR
Upcoming
Ro32 - Day 1
May 10, PDT 02:00
Goojila vs by.hero
Modesty vs BaBy
Hwasin vs 815
July vs BackHo
Ro64.R2 - Day 7
sAviOr vs HoeJJa+ Show Spoiler [results] +
sAviOr < HoeJJa
sAviOr > HoeJJa
sAviOr < HoeJJa T_T
sAviOr > HoeJJa
sAviOr < HoeJJa T_T
Luxury vs Hydra+ Show Spoiler [results] +
Luxury > Hydra
Luxury > Hydra
Luxury > Hydra
pretty[gm] vs Hul+ Show Spoiler [results] +
pretty[gm] < Hul
pretty[gm] > Hul
pretty[gm] < Hul
pretty[gm] > Hul
pretty[gm] < Hul
sKyHigh vs GGPlay+ Show Spoiler [results] +
sKyHigh > GGPlay
sKyHigh > GGPlay
sKyHigh > GGPlay
Recommended Game
+ Show Spoiler +
Ro64.R2 - Day 8
EffOrt vs LuCifer+ Show Spoiler [results] +
EffOrt > LuCifer
EffOrt > LuCifer
EffOrt > LuCifer
Tempest vs GuemChi+ Show Spoiler [results] +
Tempest > GuemChi
Tempest > GuemChi
Tempest > GuemChi
M18M vs forhitech+ Show Spoiler [results] +
M18M < forhitech
M18M < forhitech
M18M < forhitech
MenSol[ZerO] vs Orion+ Show Spoiler [results] +
MenSol[ZerO] > Orion
MenSol[ZerO] > Orion
MenSol[ZerO] > Orion
Recommended Game
+ Show Spoiler +
Bracket by GTR
Upcoming
Ro32 - Day 1
May 10, PDT 02:00
Goojila vs by.heroModesty vs BaByHwasin vs 815July vs BackHoGoojila vs by.hero should be the match to watch this weekend as Goojila's "Dragon" PvZ meets by.hero's Bisu-destroying ZvP. Being that they're teammates, there's a little extra drama in this series as I'm sure both players are familiar with their respective styles and I doubt either of them wants to eliminate the other. I'm really pumped for this match!Modesty vs BaBy is hard to predict. We don't know much about Modesty's ZvT, and Baby has a losing record vs Z. If Baby plays the way he did against Jangbi, it should be obvious who'll win this, but it's hard to be sure.Hwasin vs 815 is probably the least interesting match of the night. Hwasin should destroy 815 with ease since his TvZ hasn't shown much wear and tear against modern zergs. He's gone a respectable 5-5 against Jaedong in his career and he's won nearly 60% of his TvZs in the last 6 months. GOM's upset magic would have to surface to see Hwasin lose this series.Speaking of foregone conclusions,
July should crush the dreams of BackHo fans around the world. BackHo's worst match up against July's most monstrous. Even if July plays as recklessly as he did versus Spear in the round of 64, I expect him to take it. The only reason Hwasin vs 815 is less interesting is that July's games are always fun to watch and BackHo is BackHo.Odds n' Ends
GOM's Engrish Contest VarmVaffel draws our attention to a contest available to Premium Service subscribers. And it's in Engrish!
GOM's Engrish Contest VarmVaffel draws our attention to a contest available to Premium Service subscribers. And it's in Engrish!
See you in the Live Report Thread!
Watched 90% of the games, but it's still fun to read a recap.
