EPT![[image loading]](/staff/Tadzio/GOMS3/aiclassic3w.png)
Banner thanks to Pachi
What last Sunday lacked in Zerg action, it made up for with a succession of one-sided Protoss stompings, which is pretty entertaining in and of itself-- assuming you're a bit of a sadist when it comes to the performance of Protoss players. Fortunately for me, I am: I laughed out loud at
Index's play versus 
sKyHigh.Still, it's an alarming change from last season-- where Protoss seemed to dominate every round of play-- that halfway through GOM's round of 32,
Goojila is the only Protoss to have qualified for the round of 16, and there are only 6 Protoss left in the GOM Classic S3. In contrast, 7 Terran remain (6 of which have already qualified for the round of 16), and 11 Zerg remain (though only 1 has qualified for the next round). What does this mean for GOM's future race-balance? Well, there's the potential for a Quarterfinals that lacks any Protoss presence whatsoever. It's just potential, though, and not set in stone.
Shuttle, for example, has a solid opportunity to reach the quarterfinals, as he's the favorite over 
ZergBong and should have a fair chance against Hwasin (his Ro16 opponent). Goojila also has some chance to make it to the quarterfinals... though his Ro16 opponent, July, is significantly stronger vs Protoss than is Hwasin. The remaining Protoss' chances for a quarterfinals birth, however, are bleak. jjonga, for instance, has to get past Jaedong, which (let's face it) would be difficult even if Jaedong broke an index finger before the match. If Much gets past Falcon in the Ro32, he'll likely face Jaedong in the Ro16, and that's bad news for the "old man". Violet shouldn't be able to beat Luxury in the Ro32, let alone Mind/EffOrt in the Ro16. And although Tempest has a decent chance vs Hul, he should be stopped in the Ro16 by either forhitech or MenSol[ZerO].Yup, the lack of
BeSt and Bisu as well as the map changes has certainly altered GOM's looks! Considering how last season panned out, though, I can't say I'm not looking forward to a lot more Terran and Zerg matches.Results
Ro32 - Day 2
Index vs sKyHigh
+ Show Spoiler [results] +
MVP vs Shine
+ Show Spoiler [results] +
Stats vs Berserker
+ Show Spoiler [results] +
Flash vs Reach
+ Show Spoiler [results] +
Recommended Game
+ Show Spoiler +
![[image loading]](/staff/Tadzio/GOMS3/GOMbracket32.png)
Bracket by GTR
Upcoming
Ro32 - Day 3
May 24, PDT 02:00
Calm vs HoeJJa
Shuttle vs ZergBong
jjonga vs Jaedong
Falcon vs Much
Ro32 - Day 2
Index vs sKyHigh+ Show Spoiler [results] +
Index < sKyHigh
Index < sKyHigh
Index < sKyHigh
MVP vs Shine+ Show Spoiler [results] +
MVP > Shine
MVP < Shine
MVP > Shine
MVP < Shine
MVP > Shine
Stats vs Berserker+ Show Spoiler [results] +
Stats < Berserker
Stats < Berserker
Stats < Berserker
Flash vs Reach+ Show Spoiler [results] +
Flash > Reach
Flash > Reach
Flash > Reach
Recommended Game
+ Show Spoiler +
Bracket by GTR
Upcoming
Ro32 - Day 3
May 24, PDT 02:00
Calm vs HoeJJaShuttle vs ZergBongjjonga vs JaedongFalcon vs MuchI'd expect
Calm to take his match against HoeJJa, but unless Jaedong's playing, you never can tell with ZvZ. Aside from his victory over sAviOr in his last GOM match, HoeJJa has shown absolutely no success in ZvZ, which automatically makes him the underdog here... but I wouldn't be surprised if HoeJJa upset Calm.I do not expect
ZergBong to make it into the next round, but that's really up to Shuttle. Shuttle doesn't play PvZ in proleague and has a 5-9 record in the match up according to TLPD, but the majority of his losses came in the form of games against the likes of Jaedong, Luxury, and forhitech, which puts a big questionmark on his PvZ. I don't think he's as bad at PvZ as his record suggests and ZergBong is such a bad player that Shuttle gets to be the favorite in this series. 'Course... the last player I called bad (MVP) beat Shine 2-1, and ZergBong did take a game off of Stork in GOM S1, so we'll see.Jaedong should eliminate jjonga. Period. End of story.Jaedong's teammate,
Falcon, showed some incredible mutalisk control as well as nerves of steel when he eliminated the legendary NaDa 2-1 in the Ro64. I'm very interested in seeing what he can do in ZvP. Is Falcon a prodigy overshadowed by Jaedong's overwhelming dominance, or just some flash in the pan that caught Nada on an off-day? In my mind, Much is the favorite by default, simply because I know next to nothing about Falcon, but this is a great opportunity for Falcon to make a name for himself. One thing's certain, if Nada didn't intimidate this rookie, I doubt Much will.Odds n' Ends
GOMtv Needs Hosts! ....For Warcraft 3
If you're a good WC3 host and wanna help GOM out, be sure to check the link.
+ Show Spoiler [NSFW] +![[image loading]](http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/875336/mvpequalreach.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/875336/mvpexplosionsmall2.jpg)
GOMtv Needs Hosts! ....For Warcraft 3
If you're a good WC3 host and wanna help GOM out, be sure to check the link.
+ Show Spoiler [NSFW] +
Poll: What do you think about Protoss' chances?
(Vote): It's in Protoss' nature to fail.
(Vote): I blame the brackets!
(Vote): I blame the maps!
(Vote): I blame SK Telecom T1!
(Vote): You're not just wrong, but a Protoss is winning GOM S3!
See you in the Live Report Thread!
