Today was not the first time CJ managed to keep us all at the edge of our seats. Off the top of my head I remember the playoff game against MBC from last year, in which CJ was one game from elimination but managed to turn the encounter from 1-3 to 4-3. With a game from Much full of ridiculous storms, one of the most tense 2v2 matches ever (in which it all came down to memory's micro) and an ace match which many couldn't believe. If you haven't watched this series yet, I highly recommend doing so. You can read Teamliquid's reaction at the time if you still aren't convinced.

Also, it was not long ago that sKyHigh managed to take everything Hwaseung OZ had to offer and turn things around from 3-0 to 4-3. Denying an on-fire Jaedong his revenge, he went all-in without hesitation and closed the deal in the last 2 games, in the process crowning CJ as kings of the Winner's League.

In retrospect, today's game feels like a mix of those two nights. The scenario is similar to the one with MBC, one game from elimination, with no margin for error. CJ had to win all the games and riding the momentum slowly, focusing on nothing but winning one game at a time. On the flipside, EffOrt did do a Skyhigh today, by winning three of the required five games.

Of course, I have to recognize that Samsung came very well prepared for this match. I'm sure things didn't turn out like Coach Cho expected, specially on day one. Indeed, especially after the first few games, things were looking quite grim. But just like that night where CJ found answers in the hands of sKyHigh, tonight it was EffOrt's turn to step up and prove he's more than a rising star.

I'm sure Samsung knew he was going to be ace, and like great and Stork showcased, they did prepare strategically for it. The bottom line of course is that no strategy worked against EffOrt today. He was just that good. I would love to say that moments like this are the ones that separate S class players from the rest, but with the MSL and GOM still running I'll just wait, like I did today, and see what EffOrt has to offer.

The last two days have been a rollecoaster of emotions. Last night, CJ had great matchups, only to see Iris and Kwanro choke away two games to Samsung second-lineup guys who suddenly were awesome. Odin? Miracle? What was going on? CJ was supposed to be the team with superior depth! We were supposed to be the team that had their 4th-5th-6th best players score wins. If you told me that Miracle, Odin, and Juni would go 3-1, I would've given CJ absolutely no shot at taking this series.

Flash back two years ago to SuperFight 4, when CJ was basically a one man team. CJ Entus sponsored the "Ace SuperFight" where teams played each other in only one game. It was a not-so-subtle way to show off Savior. Other teams sent different players each round, but CJ sent Savior every time. And 2007 Savior did exactly what we expected him to do: win. So CJ fans are no strangers to cheering for a team with one dominant guy. We knew that if we could just get it to ace, that ice blooded, stone cold assassin Zerg player would march out and crush all hope. That became the CJ mantra: get it to an ace match, send out Savior. Get it to an ace match.

This year was different. Sure, Effort was clearly our best player, but old dependable Iris still had his TvT, coinflip Movie was winning against Leta and Jaedong one night and failing hard the next, and that young kid Skyhigh could bust out a 4-0 comeback like it was nothing. Even Kwanro was showing signs of improvement. We had depth, finally. That's what I thought going into the 2009 Proleague Playoffs, that our superior depth in the 4th-6th slots would get us the win. Against a team like Samsung, we had Movie Kwanro Much against their Juni Miracle Odin. That was a sure 2-1, at least. Then one win from our top three, and we get to ace, where Effort could handle the two KHAN aces. Easy.

Then the first night happened. I watched Iris and Kwanro crumble to the KHAN B-line. I watched Stork and Jangbi play impeccable PvP, where Much and Movie looked like they had no chance. In a match where plenty of people were predicting a 4-0 CJ win, we didn't even make it to an ace match. The second night's matches couldn't come fast enough. The disappointment festered and grew. If just one of Iris or Kwanro or Much or Movie won their games! Twenty four hours felt like an eternity, and when Skyhigh and Stork finally started off on Shades of Twilight, the obstacle in front of CJ looked insurmountable.

Game 1: sKyHigh < Stork @ Shades of Twilight

I was in disbelief at Skyhigh researching both vulture upgrades before siege. He never had a chance, losing a dozen SCVs to a 1-gate nexus build. The instant he had to pull SCVs for the first time it was over. Skyhigh on a great TvP map was supposed to produce at least a good shot at a win, not an embarrassing defeat. CJ can't lose like this. I couldn't believe it.

Game 2: Kwanro < Miracle @ Medusa

Kwanro scouted perfectly this game, and still failed. Had he built a sunken five seconds earlier, he holds. Instead he loses ten drones to two firebats and gets absolutely rolled by Miracle again. Miracle was been 3-7 in PL up until this point. Kwanro's 12-5 record in 2009 PL play matters nothing in the playoffs. The 3-kills in WL matter nothing. All that matters is him seeing four firebats breaking temples and doing nothing about it. 0-2. So angry.

Game 3: EffOrt > great @ Heartbreak Ridge

The mood among the CJ fans was hopeful. Effort was our rock. He always brought the goods every game, especially in ZvZ. He beat Jaedong in a series! So imagine our reaction when we see Great go 9-pool speed and Effort promptly plop down a 12-hatch. Everyone was freaking out and prematurely calling the game. Down 0-3 with Jangbi PvP coming up is insurmountable. Then we watched, jaws agape, as Effort managed to defend with drones and somehow pull out a win. Kid was omniscient, scouting with ovies, sneaking with mutas, and even scouting the slow drop which never happens in ZvZ. Wow.

Game 4: Much < JangBi @ Destination

Why do I always talk myself into thinking Much has a chance against superior PvP? Much was behind all game, and Jangbi made correct decisions throughout. It felt hopeless and impossible. 1-3 meant we had no more margin for error. Next was Iris with a very winnable TvT, but the biggest obstacle was a PvZ on Andromeda, a graveyard of lurkers and adrenal zerglings. One game at a time, the CJ fans chanted. We're not done yet.

Game 5: Iris > firebathero @ Neo Harmony

The prospect of FBH closing it out and dancing around the CJ bench would have put me on tilt in a hundred different ways. The way the night was going, a FBH-dance seemed almost predestined. When Iris' early game tank line broke, I had visions of powering off my computer and immediately going to sleep. I wouldn't read TL for a week. But thankfully, FBH collapsed like a house of cards, and every CJ fan breathed a huge sigh of relief. We may still lose, but there would be no dancing idiot. Thank god.

Game 6: Movie > Juni @ Andromeda

This was the critical match. Nobody on the Samsung bench wanted to see this go to Ace, because it meant Effort coming out again. Movie is a coinflip. He's Bisu or Rock depending on how it lands, and this game he was Bisu. Juni was never very good, but it's not that hard to make lurkers, then make ten hatcheries and cracklings is it? But three location harass was too much for Juni, who got rolled before he even got to hive. It was cross position ZvP on Andromeda and the Zerg didn't all-in, but still died without getting adrenal. Movie, what a hero. Hate him one night, love him the next.

This is a position we've been in before. Except we didn't have a Savior on our roster this time. Would Coach Cho send out Skyhigh or Effort on Outsider? The tension was insane. Effort stands up, and he's facing Great. I can't believe January would put Great into this situation, because he's clearly outmatched. Its very easy to look past the ZvZ to the inevitable super-ace clash with Jangbi, but I tried to keep focused. One game at a time.

Ace: EffOrt > great @ Outsider

Great never had a chance. Effort played perfect, taking zero scourge hits and dismantling Great with almost laughable ease. The lights-out ZvZ is something Effort already possesses that Savior never had. It was so easy, it seemed unfair. The momentum after this match was now entirely CJ's. Cries of "ONE MORE" echoed through the channel and thread, and all the CJ fans thought to themselves, "Is this really happening?" From a 2-4 loss the first night and a 1-3 hole, we were one game away from stealing match. Everything went wrong for us, yet here we were. Savior's fierce looking little brother was the favorite.

Super-Ace: EffOrt > Stork @ Outsider

When Stork was announced, CJ fans were giddy with anticipation. Stork's PvZ sucks. Effort has this. Then the game started, and Stork took his back gas-less expansion. Everything went right, and we were on the verge of full celebration mode when Effort was taking down Stork's back natural nexus. But then Effort kept throwing away small groups of lurker-ling, and the doubt crept in. Oh my god, what if Effort loses to this weird goon-zeal build? Wouldn't that be the most painful way to lose a two-day double Bo7 match, to have victory right in front of you in the form of a 10hp red nexus and not be able to grab it?

Effort's attacks were losing steam. For a few minutes, Stork looked ahead. It wasn't supposed to turn out like this. Effort can't lose here. Stork's the choker, not Effort. Then Stork made a huge blunder, attacking headfirst into six sunkens and swarm, and losing his entire army to ultra-ling. The Stork-choke had arrived. As the ultras blew through Stork's natural, we CJ fans were all too emotionally drained to really feel anything beyond tired happiness.

I barely heard the post match interviews. There were a lot of CJ faces, and I hoped CJ would allow give themselves a day or two of celebration before starting to practice for Hwaseung. 4-3 or 4-0, a win is a win. But we were lucky to get this one. CJ's "superior depth" didn't show up, but we still pulled it out. The mark of a great team is winning when the breaks aren't going your way. Kwanro and Much will have another week to get their minds straight.

This victory was a new, yet it felt so familiar. Two years ago CJ was a one man team, and tonight is no different. Effort accounted for four of our seven wins, going 3-0 in the decisive second match. In a series that was as close as it gets (7-7), in the most intense and pressure-filled situation, we finally have our ace. There's no more doubt about who Coach Cho would send out next week if it comes down to one game. I hope Effort knows what he got into, because the next two teams won't be sending out Great and Stork. Next week and the week after, Jaedong and Bisu will be waiting. But tonight, CJ stayed alive. For one more glorious playoff week, CJ is alive.