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"And why," you ask, "Was this not up earlier?" Well, I was at work. That, and I didn't think anybody would actually be interested in the subject. The fact that no one else bothered to make a thread on the subject would seem to indicate that I was right.
But fans of KHAN everywhere have been called out by riptide, Heyoka and Manifesto7, and that simply cannot be tolerated. While I may sport a Stars icon - and the Stars will return to glory eventually, if and when free remembers how to win consistently or they find a Terran, wait where was I? - the fact is, with Woongjin gone from the playoff picture I find myself increasingly intrigued by KHAN and their chance of glory.
Without further ado, let's look at the reasons KHAN will not only make it past the most dangerous gauntlet, their opening round games against STX, but take it all the way to the top.
The Leader
First of all, before anything else, KHAN has a genius coach. January's ability to somehow get a decent lineup for every single match ought to be legendary. Unfortunately her facepalm is far more legendary right now, but that's no reason to doubt that she's still got it when it counts.
Then there's her team.
Let's be blunt, they've been slumping a little bit lately. They still snuck into the playoffs at the last moment, and that's what counts. Let's be honest again: if they were still sitting in second, even the last few weeks' performance wouldn't worry anybody.
Of course, they're not in second, they're in sixth, and their biggest challenge is the first thing they have to deal with. In my opinion, STX is favored to win the whole deal on depth, and their biggest challenge will be SK Telecom T1.
Well, their biggest challenge except for the men from KHAN, who will prove that SouL is not enough, and that Samsung still KHAN.
The Weapons
 Stork
This man is the defacto leader of the ragtag band who call KHAN home. The only one on the team with a gold medal in individual play, if push comes to shove, Stork will be the one to pick up the ball and run with it. In the match against STX, he's going to be solidly in the spotlight.
STX lives and dies with its Zerg, and this is the Dinotoss's worst matchup. On the other hand, Stork sports a 2-2 record against Jaedong in 2009. In no case will Stork have to play a "best of" against anyone, so Stork should be perfectly fine here. It's not like he hasn't seen pressure before.
 firebathero
This man has epic TvZ when he feels like it, and his TvT is still solid even when the rest of his body of work is somewhat... limp. I think January will have him in top form for the playoffs, but I'm not going to speculate how. Still, one game is against Hwasin, and that should be a win for bm central even if firebathero's not up to snuff.
JangBi
Baby-face is slowly maturing into a solid player day in and day out. When the rest of the team went on vacation for the Winners League, he kept KHAN in contention with a little help from by.great, but we'll get to him later.
 by.great
Ah, KHAN's secret weapon. KHAN's Zerg line. Let's face it, Juni and oDin suck. But that doesn't matter, because between the two of them they only have two games and one is a ZvZ. by.great, meanwhile, has a ZvZ game against Calm, in a battle of micro vs mind (neither are great in the matchup, but both are solid), and a game against Shuttle that should be an entertaining win for a great player.
The Clincher
Anyone who says KHAN can't get three wins in either match is smoking something. True, in the first game they'll have to win in six or lose in ace, probably. But the second match, and the final ace match to close things out, are KHAN's playground. One on Shades of Twilight, newest map to play host to the Protoss as favorites. And to finish things out, Colosseum itself, new home to the tribes. Stork on one, Jangbi on the other, and I defy SouL to send any combination of July, Calm, and Kal that will win the required games to keep their dreams alive.
So then. KHAN clearly can win against STX SouL, but KHAN is aiming higher than that - at Proleague gold (or at least silver, badumching!). Yet I've stated that their biggest worry is STX. Am I on crack? Clearly, whoever comes out of the Hite-CJ match is no weakling. However, CJ Entus is merely STX SouL light. And they don't have good Protosses to go toe to toe with KHAN, as STX might (if they weren't going to lose). And Hite... well, KHAN won last time, so I'm going to say history is on my side.
After that we have OZ. Jaedong one win, BackHo/Lomo/HiyA one win, Samsung KHAN four. Repeat, wash, rinse or whatever it is.
And then SK Telecom T1 will be the only team left in the way of KHAN's glory. Then there were two, and after coming all this way, do you really think that KHAN will let a little thing like T1 stand in their way? Well, they might, Stork and Jangbi (especially Jangbi) are used to the feeling.
But I, for one, believe.
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/Plexa/ISHF/3.png) (Mostly because I want to see fbh keep dancing, but hey, reasons are reasons)
Update: The March To Victory Has BegunSamsung KHAN 4:3, 1:4, 1:0 STX SouL
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I dont agree with CJ being STX light. :p
But I think if Khan wins, it will be thanks to great.
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Yea, the lateness of this article is just evidence of how ... unfortunate... Khan's situation is. Your stars icon also.
Sorry mate, don't think things will roll your way. "January will pick up a floundering line-up of FBH/Stork/Jangbi... I don't know how though," is not really a good approach ):
Let's hope you're right and we see some epic games, I would NOT mind Bisu vs. Stork or Jangbi in the finals. Bisu/Best vs. Stork/Jangbi are the games I look forward to most whenever they arise, about as much as Bisu vs. Jaedong or Flash.
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Braavos36402 Posts
the way Samsung has been playing lately, there's really no quick fix. it's not been a fluke, they are just playing bad. I don't see them having some miracle (no pun intended) turnaround in one week. plus, with jangbi, stork, and others slumping, they can't beat a top heavy team like SKT and hey are not deep enough to beat a team as deep as STX or CJ in a Bo7
and CJ is STX light? come on now, looking at their rosters I can't imagine anyone arguing STX that much better.
Z: Effort is clearly the best player on both teams, and with Kwanro doing well and Savior not that bad, against July / Calm / by.hero it's pretty close (though a lot would argue CJ superior)
T: Iris and Skyhigh versus Hwasin and Notice/Last, clearly CJ superior here
P: Kal is the best here, but I'd take Movie and Much over Shuttle, and the maps are more T/Z friendly
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On July 18 2009 00:55 Hot_Bid wrote:
the way Samsung has been playing lately, there's really no quick fix. it's not been a fluke, they are just playing bad. I don't see them having some miracle (no pun intended) turnaround in one week. plus, with jangbi, stork, and others slumping, they can't beat a top heavy team like SKT and hey are not deep enough to beat a team as deep as STX or CJ in a Bo7
and CJ is STX light? come on now, looking at their rosters I can't imagine anyone arguing STX that much better.
Z: Effort is clearly the best player on both teams, and with Kwanro doing well and Savior not that bad, against July / Calm / by.hero it's pretty close (though a lot would argue CJ superior)
T: Iris and Skyhigh versus Hwasin and Notice/Last, clearly CJ superior here
P: Kal is the best here, but I'd take Movie and Much over Shuttle, and the maps are more T/Z friendly
Shuttle DID play a sick series vs. Flash recently, I don't know. I don't think Kal could have pulled that off.
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I love you for doing this omg GO KHAN i still believe!
Im glad u didn't mention Frozean lol
but seriously im surprised people still underestimate Khan there depth is very underrated.
Khan has really overcome the fact that 2v2 was removed from the format in pro league.
So go KHAN!!!
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biggest problem of Khan is the age I think - some of them can be called oldies :p
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On July 18 2009 01:02 Sprite wrote:
I love you for doing this omg GO KHAN i still believe!
Im glad u didn't mention Frozean lol
but seriously im surprised people still underestimate Khan there depth is very underrated.
Khan has really overcome the fact that 2v2 was removed from the format in pro league.
So go KHAN!!!
They have good players. That are playing really badly.
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Braavos36402 Posts
On July 18 2009 01:01 fanatacist wrote:Show nested quote +On July 18 2009 00:55 Hot_Bid wrote:
the way Samsung has been playing lately, there's really no quick fix. it's not been a fluke, they are just playing bad. I don't see them having some miracle (no pun intended) turnaround in one week. plus, with jangbi, stork, and others slumping, they can't beat a top heavy team like SKT and hey are not deep enough to beat a team as deep as STX or CJ in a Bo7
and CJ is STX light? come on now, looking at their rosters I can't imagine anyone arguing STX that much better.
Z: Effort is clearly the best player on both teams, and with Kwanro doing well and Savior not that bad, against July / Calm / by.hero it's pretty close (though a lot would argue CJ superior)
T: Iris and Skyhigh versus Hwasin and Notice/Last, clearly CJ superior here
P: Kal is the best here, but I'd take Movie and Much over Shuttle, and the maps are more T/Z friendly Shuttle DID play a sick series vs. Flash recently, I don't know. I don't think Kal could have pulled that off.
yeah, it's clear that its pretty close between STX and CJ, especially the way calm and effort have been tearing it up lately. but the author says "CJ is basically STX lite" which obviously isn't the case. if any team is that, it's Samsung, who is just a worse version of SKT. they have two Ps (who are slumping and worse than Bisu/Best), one Terran (FBH) who is way worse than Fantasy, and a rising zerg (great) who is better than thezerg but not enough to offset any of the differences. also, samsung's strength used to be excellent coching, strategy, and planning, but with the way they've been playing recently, I think SKT has the edge there too now.
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On July 18 2009 01:11 Hot_Bid wrote:Show nested quote +On July 18 2009 01:01 fanatacist wrote:On July 18 2009 00:55 Hot_Bid wrote:
the way Samsung has been playing lately, there's really no quick fix. it's not been a fluke, they are just playing bad. I don't see them having some miracle (no pun intended) turnaround in one week. plus, with jangbi, stork, and others slumping, they can't beat a top heavy team like SKT and hey are not deep enough to beat a team as deep as STX or CJ in a Bo7
and CJ is STX light? come on now, looking at their rosters I can't imagine anyone arguing STX that much better.
Z: Effort is clearly the best player on both teams, and with Kwanro doing well and Savior not that bad, against July / Calm / by.hero it's pretty close (though a lot would argue CJ superior)
T: Iris and Skyhigh versus Hwasin and Notice/Last, clearly CJ superior here
P: Kal is the best here, but I'd take Movie and Much over Shuttle, and the maps are more T/Z friendly Shuttle DID play a sick series vs. Flash recently, I don't know. I don't think Kal could have pulled that off. yeah, it's clear that its pretty close between STX and CJ, especially the way calm and effort have been tearing it up lately. but the author says "CJ is basically STX lite" which obviously isn't the case. if any team is that, it's Samsung, who is just a worse version of SKT. they have two Ps (who are slumping and worse than Bisu/Best), one Terran (FBH) who is way worse than Fantasy, and a rising zerg (great) who is better than thezerg but not enough to offset any of the differences. also, samsung's strength used to be excellent coching, strategy, and planning, but with the way they've been playing recently, I think SKT has the edge there too now.
I agree completely. I was just making a statement that Shuttle did what I think Movie/Kal couldn't do, and I doubt Much could either (the giving Flash a good series bit). Although it's only one MU, it's still something to consider and not ignore by saying Movie is better :p
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I would like to express my support for Samsung KHAN. 
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hope dies last, yayaya^^
i still wish u gl, as u will be easier to beat in the grand finals than stx 
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Khan fighting!
Hell yeah they stand a great chance with jangbi/stork/fbh/great. I think the BO7 format really works in Khan's favor.
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"Unfortunately her facepalm is far more legendary right now"
![[image loading]](http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/4898/januaryfacepalm.jpg)
haha...classic-- i love january
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Go KHAN! I Believe! (maybe xD)
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Nah, they won't win >
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The STX lite comment:
1) Yes, was exaggeration, but
2) Has a grain of truth. In all but ZvZ, Calm is at least EffOrt's equal, and I'd argue is a superior player. I'm a fan of Kwanro, and not of by.hero, but Kwanro's style is highly hit-or-miss (though mostly hitting recently) while by.hero is good, solid, and improving. I would also take July over sAviOr any day. Modesty adds one more decent Zerg to the list that CJ doesn't match.
In the Protoss lineup, I think it's clear that Kal is better than Much right now, and has more left in the tank. While Movie has an ability to come up with one-off builds that work really well, he also has the ability to get completely trapped in his base by OZ's random b-team Zerg. Shuttle is much more solid overall even if his macro's occasionally spotty. Clear win for STX.
Terran is the interesting one. In TvT, CJ holds a huge advantage, but in an STX vs CJ match STX should be looking to send Zergs against the Terrans. Hwasin is clearly not as good as Iris, but I feel like sKyHigh's TvT may not be as good as his early results. Hwasin-sKyHigh I call a push. The question is whether STX's extra random Terrans (Notice, Last) who can both win games offset Iris and the failure known as Memory - and whether, if they don't, this offset's CJ's relative Protoss weakness.
If I pick top seven players from each team, I'd arrange them like in order:
Effort, skyhigh, Iris, Kwanro, Much, sAvior, Movie
Calm, Kal, Hwasin, July, Shuttle, by.hero, Last
And 1 on 1, in that order, I'd expect your winners to be Effort, Kal, Iris, Kwanro, Shuttle, by.hero, Last, 4-3 STX. I think Kal is better than skyhigh, despite the failed cheese loss in their last meeting, but the kicker is in the tail-end of the lineup, where STX has just a touch more depth than CJ. Of course, if I'm wrong about movie, and he's actually the next big Protoss, that throws my calculation out the window.
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I believe!
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So I am the only to notice skyhigh and Much's poor play recently.
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EPT![[image loading]](http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/5610/khanq.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://www.fomos.kr/board/issue/1247725030_1.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/images/players/59.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/images/players/43.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/images/players/63.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/images/players/58.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/2696/96676427.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://www.fomos.kr/gnuboard4/data/file/kangfree/2000945833_32ece25d_090719lock.jpg)
