EPTGSL July - Semifinals Preview
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GSL July on Liquipedia
Results and Reviews
Code-S Semi-Finals:
Saints, Puppies, and Cats with Glasses.
Brought to you by:
Elly the ESPORTS Elephant
GSL July on LiquipediaResults and Reviews
Code-S Semi-Finals:
Saints, Puppies, and Cats with Glasses.
Let's see what we have for our readers this week...
First, Fionn wrote a great many funny things about the Code-S semi-finals. Second, I (WaxAngel) wrote a great many boring recaps of last week's games.
Third, we were thinking about writing something about the exciting new future of PvP after last week's ten PvP matches, but it turned out that the future is just going to be more fourgating.
Seriously, how were we supposed to muster any enthusiasm for games where fourgate won seven out of ten times?
First, Fionn wrote a great many funny things about the Code-S semi-finals. Second, I (WaxAngel) wrote a great many boring recaps of last week's games.
Third, we were thinking about writing something about the exciting new future of PvP after last week's ten PvP matches, but it turned out that the future is just going to be more fourgating.
Seriously, how were we supposed to muster any enthusiasm for games where fourgate won seven out of ten times?
Results and Reviews
Code-A Finals
Interviews from PlayXP, translated by Phosgene
ZeNEXPuzzle vs NsHS_TassadarGame One: Dual Sight -
![[image loading]](/blogs/images/blackstar.gif)
+ Show Spoiler +
Tassadar > Puzzle
Tassadar opened with the standard fourgate while Puzzle went for some sort of two gas - three gate build. We didn't get to see precisely what follow-up Puzzle had in mind as he botched his anti-fourgate defense when he let Tassadar's offensive probe get past his ramp and plop down a pylon above his ramp right around warp gate finish time, effectively ending the game.
Puzzle: 1/5
Sat there and let Tassadar's probe plop down the pylon of death right in his main.
Tassadar: 3/5
Not much to do, but a win's a win.
Tassadar opened with the standard fourgate while Puzzle went for some sort of two gas - three gate build. We didn't get to see precisely what follow-up Puzzle had in mind as he botched his anti-fourgate defense when he let Tassadar's offensive probe get past his ramp and plop down a pylon above his ramp right around warp gate finish time, effectively ending the game.
Puzzle:
Sat there and let Tassadar's probe plop down the pylon of death right in his main.
Tassadar:
Not much to do, but a win's a win.
Game Two: Tal'Darim Altar LE -
+ Show Spoiler +
Tassadar > Puzzle
Forced to fourgate by the map, Tassadar used the offensive version of fourgate with forward pylons while Puzzle opted to defensive fourgate in his main.
What ensued was an extremely intense, low economy micro WAR. Not one of those fourgate games where you know who's going to win the game after the first stalker dies, but one that actually had some sustained excitement.
Tassadar ended up microing better on the whole, and since this was a pure micro battle, it won him the game.
Puzzle: 3/5
Tassadar: 3.5/5
As much as I like PvP, it's gonna take one hell of a fourgate to earn a 4 star rating.
Forced to fourgate by the map, Tassadar used the offensive version of fourgate with forward pylons while Puzzle opted to defensive fourgate in his main.
What ensued was an extremely intense, low economy micro WAR. Not one of those fourgate games where you know who's going to win the game after the first stalker dies, but one that actually had some sustained excitement.
Tassadar ended up microing better on the whole, and since this was a pure micro battle, it won him the game.
Puzzle:
Tassadar:
As much as I like PvP, it's gonna take one hell of a fourgate to earn a 4 star rating.
Game Three: Crevasse -
+ Show Spoiler +
Puzzle > Tassadar
Both players opted to fourgate once more, probably due to Crevasse's funky ramp. However, neither player committed to an attack after they realized each other's plans, making it a curious defensive fourgate vs defensive fourgate situation.
With both players blind to what their opponent would do next, Puzzle went for a gamble that paid off. While Tassadar kept his warpgates constantly producing so he would be safe from any attack, Puzzle skipped a few stalkers to squeeze in a twilight council and blink upgrade. So while Puzzle was down a crucial 2.5 stalkers at a critical juncture in the game, Tassadar's extremely defensive posture prevented him from exploiting this.
Puzzle attacked once he had his blink upgrade done, and the result was predictably one-sided as blink stalkers went up against non-blink stalkers.
Puzzle: 3.5/5
A pure coin flip in pvp? It's like 2010 again.
Tassadar: 2/5
Both players opted to fourgate once more, probably due to Crevasse's funky ramp. However, neither player committed to an attack after they realized each other's plans, making it a curious defensive fourgate vs defensive fourgate situation.
With both players blind to what their opponent would do next, Puzzle went for a gamble that paid off. While Tassadar kept his warpgates constantly producing so he would be safe from any attack, Puzzle skipped a few stalkers to squeeze in a twilight council and blink upgrade. So while Puzzle was down a crucial 2.5 stalkers at a critical juncture in the game, Tassadar's extremely defensive posture prevented him from exploiting this.
Puzzle attacked once he had his blink upgrade done, and the result was predictably one-sided as blink stalkers went up against non-blink stalkers.
Puzzle:
A pure coin flip in pvp? It's like 2010 again.
Tassadar:
Game Four: Crossfire SE -
+ Show Spoiler +
Puzzle > Tassadar
Fourgate vs fourgate. Are we noticing a pattern here?
Tassadar went offensive fourgate again, with Puzzle just standing by and defending. This time, Puzzle was the one with better micro, and held off Tassadar's first attack very easily. He counter-attacked immediately for a fast win.
Pretty much fulfilled the stereotype of the super-quick ending double fourgate pvp game that people hate, even though they don't actually happen THAT often at the pro level.
Puzzle: 3/5
Tassadar: 2/5
Fourgate vs fourgate. Are we noticing a pattern here?
Tassadar went offensive fourgate again, with Puzzle just standing by and defending. This time, Puzzle was the one with better micro, and held off Tassadar's first attack very easily. He counter-attacked immediately for a fast win.
Pretty much fulfilled the stereotype of the super-quick ending double fourgate pvp game that people hate, even though they don't actually happen THAT often at the pro level.
Puzzle:
Tassadar:
Game Five: Terminus SE -
+ Show Spoiler +
Puzzle > Tassadar
Tassadar decided to not go fourgate for the first time in the series, doing a three gate robo build instead. Whether it was intentional or not, going fourgate four games in a row ended up being a brilliant mind-game for Tassadar as Puzzle just opened defensive fourgate and made no attempt whatsoever to test Tassadar's defenses. So Tassadar was able to go up to colossus tech completely safely, while Puzzle added a few more probes and a second gas to transition into fourgate blink stalker-immortal.
Tassadar played safe and defensive, accumulating colossi and taking his expansion faster. Meanwhile, Puzzle kept trying to poke away with his blink stalkers, exploiting the low-> high blink into the opponent's main available on Terminus to try and split up Tassadar's defenses. However, Tassadar responded fairly well to this harassment and seemed to be securing a good mid-game position for himself.
Seeing that his attack window was closing soon against the growing colossi count, Puzzle gathered his forces and decided to commit to a huge attack. The result was an astounding victory for Puzzle, which made us wonder why he didn't go for a similar attack at an earlier timing. By utilizing the low -> high ground blink on Terminus, Puzzle was actually able to take a superior, surrounding position against Tassadar. Tassadar ended up being pinned in his natural, taking fire from stalkers shooting down from his own main, while the other half of Puzzle's force was coming in through the natural choke. Thoroughly defeated, Tassadar was forced to GG.
Puzzle: 4/5
Brilliant exploitation of terrain.
Tassadar: 3/5
Tassadar decided to not go fourgate for the first time in the series, doing a three gate robo build instead. Whether it was intentional or not, going fourgate four games in a row ended up being a brilliant mind-game for Tassadar as Puzzle just opened defensive fourgate and made no attempt whatsoever to test Tassadar's defenses. So Tassadar was able to go up to colossus tech completely safely, while Puzzle added a few more probes and a second gas to transition into fourgate blink stalker-immortal.
Tassadar played safe and defensive, accumulating colossi and taking his expansion faster. Meanwhile, Puzzle kept trying to poke away with his blink stalkers, exploiting the low-> high blink into the opponent's main available on Terminus to try and split up Tassadar's defenses. However, Tassadar responded fairly well to this harassment and seemed to be securing a good mid-game position for himself.
Seeing that his attack window was closing soon against the growing colossi count, Puzzle gathered his forces and decided to commit to a huge attack. The result was an astounding victory for Puzzle, which made us wonder why he didn't go for a similar attack at an earlier timing. By utilizing the low -> high ground blink on Terminus, Puzzle was actually able to take a superior, surrounding position against Tassadar. Tassadar ended up being pinned in his natural, taking fire from stalkers shooting down from his own main, while the other half of Puzzle's force was coming in through the natural choke. Thoroughly defeated, Tassadar was forced to GG.
Puzzle:
Brilliant exploitation of terrain.
Tassadar:
Game Six: Xel'Naga Fortress -
+ Show Spoiler +
Puzzle > Tassadar
Facing elimination, Tassadar dumped the fourgate build to go for a three gate blink-stalker rush instead. On the other end, Puzzle went for a three gate robotics build, turning it into a game of extreme attack versus extreme defense.
Tassadar flung his army against the gates, trying to break through with multiple waves of stalkers. Each time he would focus down an immortal - making sure Puzzle could never have enough to have a secure defense - but never breaking through the lines either. There were several close calls for Puzzle, but he ended up stabilizing after withstanding many assaults.
Having the breathing room to do so, Puzzle finally teched up to blink. This made it a battle of blink stalkers and immortals vs only blink stalkers, ensuring Puzzle's victory and securing him a Code-S spot.
Puzzle: 3.5/5
Tassadar: 2.5/5
Facing elimination, Tassadar dumped the fourgate build to go for a three gate blink-stalker rush instead. On the other end, Puzzle went for a three gate robotics build, turning it into a game of extreme attack versus extreme defense.
Tassadar flung his army against the gates, trying to break through with multiple waves of stalkers. Each time he would focus down an immortal - making sure Puzzle could never have enough to have a secure defense - but never breaking through the lines either. There were several close calls for Puzzle, but he ended up stabilizing after withstanding many assaults.
Having the breathing room to do so, Puzzle finally teched up to blink. This made it a battle of blink stalkers and immortals vs only blink stalkers, ensuring Puzzle's victory and securing him a Code-S spot.
Puzzle:
Tassadar:
Game Seven: Bel'Shir Beach
+ Show Spoiler +
Puzzle won 4-2.
Code-S RO8
Interviews from PlayXP, translated by Phosgene - Day One & Day Two
IMNesTea vs ZeNEXCoCaGame One: Dual Sight
+ Show Spoiler +
Nestea > Coca
Nestea employed a cute bit of trickery, going for a hatch first build with a quick expansion to his gold base. Coca went for a more standard hatch first build, and was utterly vexed when he scouted out Nestea's base. Seeing just a pool and gas before his overlord was forced to depart, he naturally assumed it was some sort of aggressive build and played very cautiously. On the other hand, Nestea happily powered up and switched to mass roaches off his superior gold base income.
Coca later caught drift of Nestea's hidden gold base but it was too late. Nestea was able to mass a huge amount of roaches from his gold base and used them to overrun Coca with ease.
Nestea: 3.5/5
The endearingly hyperbolic Tastosis declared Nestea a genius for employing this strategy, but I think I think 'very clever' will suffice.
Coca: 1.5/5
Was fooled for a little too long.
Nestea employed a cute bit of trickery, going for a hatch first build with a quick expansion to his gold base. Coca went for a more standard hatch first build, and was utterly vexed when he scouted out Nestea's base. Seeing just a pool and gas before his overlord was forced to depart, he naturally assumed it was some sort of aggressive build and played very cautiously. On the other hand, Nestea happily powered up and switched to mass roaches off his superior gold base income.
Coca later caught drift of Nestea's hidden gold base but it was too late. Nestea was able to mass a huge amount of roaches from his gold base and used them to overrun Coca with ease.
Nestea:
The endearingly hyperbolic Tastosis declared Nestea a genius for employing this strategy, but I think I think 'very clever' will suffice.
Coca:
Was fooled for a little too long.
Game Two: Xel'Naga Caverns
+ Show Spoiler +
Nestea > Coca
Coca went for an extremely intricate doubleling attack, involving sneaking four early zerglings out and taking them on a twisty path through Xel'Naga Caverns to avoid every possible standard overlord location. It was akin to playing frogger blind after memorizing the car patterns and timings, which Coca executed perfectly.
After all that work, Coca managed to shoot himself in the foot by fudging up some fairly simple control, exploding his banelings harmlessly on Nestea's queen instead of any vital units. Nestea just countered with his roach ling afterwards, at which point he should have won the game. However he displayed some shoddy micro, allowing Coca to survive and stay in the game for a few more boring minutes.
Nestea: 2.5/5
Coca: 1.5/5
Coca went for an extremely intricate doubleling attack, involving sneaking four early zerglings out and taking them on a twisty path through Xel'Naga Caverns to avoid every possible standard overlord location. It was akin to playing frogger blind after memorizing the car patterns and timings, which Coca executed perfectly.
After all that work, Coca managed to shoot himself in the foot by fudging up some fairly simple control, exploding his banelings harmlessly on Nestea's queen instead of any vital units. Nestea just countered with his roach ling afterwards, at which point he should have won the game. However he displayed some shoddy micro, allowing Coca to survive and stay in the game for a few more boring minutes.
Nestea:
Coca:
Game Three: Bel'Shir Beach -
+ Show Spoiler +
Nestea > Coca
Coca opened pool first against Nestea's hatch first, but was unable to do worthwhile damage. Coca attempted to transition to roaches while expanding, but Nestea caught this timing perfectly with a mass speedling attack. Coca just couldn't defend two locations with his handful of roaches, getting completely picked apart by Nestea's hyper-mobile zerglings.
Nestea: 3.5/5
Coca: 1.5/5
Coca opened pool first against Nestea's hatch first, but was unable to do worthwhile damage. Coca attempted to transition to roaches while expanding, but Nestea caught this timing perfectly with a mass speedling attack. Coca just couldn't defend two locations with his handful of roaches, getting completely picked apart by Nestea's hyper-mobile zerglings.
Nestea:
Coca:
Game Four: Xel'Naga Fortress -
+ Show Spoiler +
Nestea won 3-0.
Game Five: Terminus SE -
+ Show Spoiler +
Nestea won 3-0.
HongUnPrime.WE vs oGsMCGame One: Xel'naga Caverns -
+ Show Spoiler +
HongUn > MC
In a battle offensive fourgate vs fourgate, MC accidentally made a pylon too close to his choke. With his warpgate research having finished just seconds faster, HongUn pressed this small advantage by sniping down this pylon while MC's troops were just momentarily withdrawn to await the next round of warp-ins. This supply blocked MC and he lost the game.
MC: 1/5
Careless pylon positioning as the defending player.
Hongun: 2.5/5
Not much to judge him on.
In a battle offensive fourgate vs fourgate, MC accidentally made a pylon too close to his choke. With his warpgate research having finished just seconds faster, HongUn pressed this small advantage by sniping down this pylon while MC's troops were just momentarily withdrawn to await the next round of warp-ins. This supply blocked MC and he lost the game.
MC:
Careless pylon positioning as the defending player.
Hongun:
Not much to judge him on.
Game Two: Tal'Darim Altar LE -
+ Show Spoiler +
HongUn > MC
A fourgate vs fourgate game, where a minute of confusing chaos decided everything.
The short version of the story: While HongUn and MC's very first round of warp-ins battled it out in the center of the map by MC's sorta-proxy pylon, HongUn decided to use all four warp-ins from his next round on zealots inside MC's main (he had a proxy pylon hidden close-by). And even though this meant abandoning his stalkers in the middle to a horrible death, he made up for the troop loss by completely wrecking MC's economy.
MC decided he could only win by counter-attacking and destroying HongUn's economy as well, but this proved to be the incorrect decision as HongUn's extra minute or so of mining had completely made up for his troop deficit. Going into the elimination race, HongUn had a few hundred more army value in total. Even worse, MC hadn't even saved up enough money to build a new hidden building in the case of an elimination battle, while HongUn could at least build an assimilator (though MC didn't know this). Seeing that he was going to lose the elimination battle badly, MC GG'd out.
MC: 1.5/5
HongUn: 3.5/5
A fourgate vs fourgate game, where a minute of confusing chaos decided everything.
The short version of the story: While HongUn and MC's very first round of warp-ins battled it out in the center of the map by MC's sorta-proxy pylon, HongUn decided to use all four warp-ins from his next round on zealots inside MC's main (he had a proxy pylon hidden close-by). And even though this meant abandoning his stalkers in the middle to a horrible death, he made up for the troop loss by completely wrecking MC's economy.
MC decided he could only win by counter-attacking and destroying HongUn's economy as well, but this proved to be the incorrect decision as HongUn's extra minute or so of mining had completely made up for his troop deficit. Going into the elimination race, HongUn had a few hundred more army value in total. Even worse, MC hadn't even saved up enough money to build a new hidden building in the case of an elimination battle, while HongUn could at least build an assimilator (though MC didn't know this). Seeing that he was going to lose the elimination battle badly, MC GG'd out.
MC:
HongUn:
Game Three: Metalopolis -
+ Show Spoiler +
MC > HongUn
Asked to try his hand at a longer game, HongUn did not fare so well. Both players opened with three gate robo builds, which diverged into blink stalkers for HongUn while MC went for colossi. It looked like it would be an interesting duel between the sword and shield, but it was quite anticlimactic as HongUn clumsily hurled all of his troops at MC's defenses, only to get disassembled with precision.
MC was able to safely expand on the back of that resounding defensive effort, and then handily defeated HongUn's second attempt with more stalkers. HongUn tried to salvage the game with a hail-mary base trade attack when MC marched in with his superior army, but gave up once he realized his buildings were getting killed a LOT faster, and that he didn't have any money for a new nexus.
MC: 3.5/5
On a side note, MC's observing sniping was excellent in this game. It gave him a huge advantage in terms of being able to use his robotics for producing more useful units, keeping a tab on his opponent's position, and making HongUn's low -> high blinks more difficult.
HongUn: 1.5/5
Asked to try his hand at a longer game, HongUn did not fare so well. Both players opened with three gate robo builds, which diverged into blink stalkers for HongUn while MC went for colossi. It looked like it would be an interesting duel between the sword and shield, but it was quite anticlimactic as HongUn clumsily hurled all of his troops at MC's defenses, only to get disassembled with precision.
MC was able to safely expand on the back of that resounding defensive effort, and then handily defeated HongUn's second attempt with more stalkers. HongUn tried to salvage the game with a hail-mary base trade attack when MC marched in with his superior army, but gave up once he realized his buildings were getting killed a LOT faster, and that he didn't have any money for a new nexus.
MC:
On a side note, MC's observing sniping was excellent in this game. It gave him a huge advantage in terms of being able to use his robotics for producing more useful units, keeping a tab on his opponent's position, and making HongUn's low -> high blinks more difficult.
HongUn:
Game Four: Crossfire SE -
+ Show Spoiler +
HongUn > MC
Shades of the Code-A finals as MC allowed HongUn's probe to get inside his main and build a pylon, automatically losing him the game as he had gone three gate against HongUn's fourgate.
MC: 1/5
HongUn: 3/5
Shades of the Code-A finals as MC allowed HongUn's probe to get inside his main and build a pylon, automatically losing him the game as he had gone three gate against HongUn's fourgate.
MC:
HongUn:
Game Five: Dual Sight -
+ Show Spoiler +
HongUn won 3-1
ST_Trickster vs LosirAGame One: Dual Sight -
+ Show Spoiler +
Losira > Trickster
Would it be a spoiler to tell you the overarching story for this series? Every single game, Trickster went for a forge FE into some kind of two base all-in attack. Every single game, Losira powered as hard as he could off of three bases and then tried to defend the all-in. So these games were pretty clear cut. Losira holds, automatic win. Trickster breaks the line, then he wins (well, except game three, sorta).
So game one saw Trickster doing a seven gate all-in while Losira made speedling-roach. Actually let's just assume Losira always made speedling roach, because seriously what else is Zerg gonna have to stop an all-in. Anyway, there was some micro, and since I can't really describe every single battle, I'll say Trickster's force fields were good, but not good enough, so he eventually lost after attacking a lot.
Losira: 3.5/5
Defended an all-in.
Trickster: 2/5
Failed an all-in.
Would it be a spoiler to tell you the overarching story for this series? Every single game, Trickster went for a forge FE into some kind of two base all-in attack. Every single game, Losira powered as hard as he could off of three bases and then tried to defend the all-in. So these games were pretty clear cut. Losira holds, automatic win. Trickster breaks the line, then he wins (well, except game three, sorta).
So game one saw Trickster doing a seven gate all-in while Losira made speedling-roach. Actually let's just assume Losira always made speedling roach, because seriously what else is Zerg gonna have to stop an all-in. Anyway, there was some micro, and since I can't really describe every single battle, I'll say Trickster's force fields were good, but not good enough, so he eventually lost after attacking a lot.
Losira:
Defended an all-in.
Trickster:
Failed an all-in.
Game Two: Metalopolis -
+ Show Spoiler +
Trickster > Losira
Trickster lived up to his name and did something more interesting than his previous seven gate, brute force all-in build. This time he went stargate into mass gate, and used two different proxy pylons to attack different positions at once. One pylon went up near Losira's third base, while one went up on the low-ground below Losira's main while his voidrays provided vision.
Being forced to split his defenses in two locations, and against land and air as well, seemed to put Losira off balance compared to his skillful hold in game one. Losira held out well against a few waves of assault, but he just couldn't fight off Trickster's unrelenting attacks in the end.
Losira: 2.5/5
Did not defend an all-in.
Trickster: 3.5/5
Succeeded at an all-in.
Trickster lived up to his name and did something more interesting than his previous seven gate, brute force all-in build. This time he went stargate into mass gate, and used two different proxy pylons to attack different positions at once. One pylon went up near Losira's third base, while one went up on the low-ground below Losira's main while his voidrays provided vision.
Being forced to split his defenses in two locations, and against land and air as well, seemed to put Losira off balance compared to his skillful hold in game one. Losira held out well against a few waves of assault, but he just couldn't fight off Trickster's unrelenting attacks in the end.
Losira:
Did not defend an all-in.
Trickster:
Succeeded at an all-in.
Game Three: Crossfire SE -
+ Show Spoiler +
Trickster > Losira
The one game where Trickster tried his cheesiest-cheese ended up being the one game where he won a long-term victory.
Trickster started off trying to mineral & pylon wall cannon+zealot rush against Losira's hatch first build, but he cancelled two pylons after he was somehow displeased with their placement. This put him in a bad situation where he had gone cannon-gate for a failed cheese rush, and now had to build a late nexus to catch up.
Despite these early hitches, Trickster still transitioned fairly well into a normal mid-game PvZ. He made good use of voidray pressure to keep Losira off his back while he took a third base of his own, putting himself in a very satisfactory 3 vs 3 base situation.
Trickster started building up a formidable ball of warpgate units + colossi, which may have very well ended the game had he not carelessly lost two colossi during transit. Fighting with the support of force fields on the narrow passageways of Crossfire, he was able to cost effectively kill of mountains of roaches and hydralisks, but was unable to reach any of Losira's mining bases.
After that attack, the game started to take the look of a TvAnything, as Trickster kept making slow progress into Losira's territory. His main force would clash with Losira's army, losses would be incurred on both sides, but Trickster would have just enough left to make continued forward progress. This eventually got him all the way to the gold base on Losira's side of the map, which he set up as an expansion and a threatening advance staging area for his forces. More importantly, it took away one of the few mining bases Zerg could look forward to taking safely on a low resource map like Crossfire, and Losira found himself actually fighting an uphill resource battle against a Protoss opponent.
With more than enough money behind him and plenty of sentries to abuse the narrow pathways, Trickster was able to keep engaging Losira in favorable positions. Losira showed some great macro to keep pumping out the hydras and roaches to keep him in the game, but eventually he ran out of steam and was forced to GG.
Losira: 3/5
Trickster: 4/5
The one game where Trickster tried his cheesiest-cheese ended up being the one game where he won a long-term victory.
Trickster started off trying to mineral & pylon wall cannon+zealot rush against Losira's hatch first build, but he cancelled two pylons after he was somehow displeased with their placement. This put him in a bad situation where he had gone cannon-gate for a failed cheese rush, and now had to build a late nexus to catch up.
Despite these early hitches, Trickster still transitioned fairly well into a normal mid-game PvZ. He made good use of voidray pressure to keep Losira off his back while he took a third base of his own, putting himself in a very satisfactory 3 vs 3 base situation.
Trickster started building up a formidable ball of warpgate units + colossi, which may have very well ended the game had he not carelessly lost two colossi during transit. Fighting with the support of force fields on the narrow passageways of Crossfire, he was able to cost effectively kill of mountains of roaches and hydralisks, but was unable to reach any of Losira's mining bases.
After that attack, the game started to take the look of a TvAnything, as Trickster kept making slow progress into Losira's territory. His main force would clash with Losira's army, losses would be incurred on both sides, but Trickster would have just enough left to make continued forward progress. This eventually got him all the way to the gold base on Losira's side of the map, which he set up as an expansion and a threatening advance staging area for his forces. More importantly, it took away one of the few mining bases Zerg could look forward to taking safely on a low resource map like Crossfire, and Losira found himself actually fighting an uphill resource battle against a Protoss opponent.
With more than enough money behind him and plenty of sentries to abuse the narrow pathways, Trickster was able to keep engaging Losira in favorable positions. Losira showed some great macro to keep pumping out the hydras and roaches to keep him in the game, but eventually he ran out of steam and was forced to GG.
Losira:
Trickster:
Game Four: Xel'Naga Fortress -
+ Show Spoiler +
Losira > Trickster
Trickster repeated his strategy from game two, employing a void ray + mass gate all-in after his forge expansion. However, he didn't employ the great tactic of attacking from two locations as he had on Metalopolis, making it that much easier for Losira to put together a calm and collected defense. It was an extremely easy defensive task for Losira, who didn't look threatened at all during the attack.
Inevitably, Losira won with his vast economic advantage, going into a very one-sided base-trade to eliminate Trickster.
Losira: 3.5/5
Too good to be threatened by any ordinary all-in.
Trickster: 2.5/5
Why he would go for a less powerful version of the same strat, I don't know.
Trickster repeated his strategy from game two, employing a void ray + mass gate all-in after his forge expansion. However, he didn't employ the great tactic of attacking from two locations as he had on Metalopolis, making it that much easier for Losira to put together a calm and collected defense. It was an extremely easy defensive task for Losira, who didn't look threatened at all during the attack.
Inevitably, Losira won with his vast economic advantage, going into a very one-sided base-trade to eliminate Trickster.
Losira:
Too good to be threatened by any ordinary all-in.
Trickster:
Why he would go for a less powerful version of the same strat, I don't know.
Game Five: Terminus SE -
+ Show Spoiler +
Losira > Trickster
Trickster went for his forge FE again, this time following it up with a DT drop. Losira already had an overseer out.... so you can guess how that went.
Having gone for robotics and DT tech and having nothing to show for it, Trickster was put at another massive economic disadvantage versus the very greedy Losira. With way more money, Losira just made an enormous amount of burrow-roaches and flattened Trickster straight up.
Losira: 3/5
Trickster: 1.5/5
I wonder why he opted to go all-in in most of the games. Obviously he knows his level and Losira's level better than the spectators, but at least from the sample of games we got to see Trickster looked quite alright in a long game (game 3), while Losira was a beast at defending all-ins.
Trickster went for his forge FE again, this time following it up with a DT drop. Losira already had an overseer out.... so you can guess how that went.
Having gone for robotics and DT tech and having nothing to show for it, Trickster was put at another massive economic disadvantage versus the very greedy Losira. With way more money, Losira just made an enormous amount of burrow-roaches and flattened Trickster straight up.
Losira:
Trickster:
I wonder why he opted to go all-in in most of the games. Obviously he knows his level and Losira's level better than the spectators, but at least from the sample of games we got to see Trickster looked quite alright in a long game (game 3), while Losira was a beast at defending all-ins.
ST_Bomber vs ZeNEXByunGame One: Terminus SE -
+ Show Spoiler +
Bomber > Byun
Early game shenanigans included Bomber going for fast banshees and -
You know what, it's f***ing Terminus. I don't know why I'm going through these meaningless motions. Let's do this more realistically.
The game began with both players sitting on three bases a piece, approaching max population in mech armies. The next move for both players was to secure their fourth bases at the central expansions in the map.
Byun made a mistake by wasting a small but significant amount of troops in a poor contain effort outside Bomber's base, which allowed Bomber to easily reverse the tables and contain Byun with a more dangerous force. This allowed Bomber to take his fourth and fifth bases while Byun put together a force tasked with breaking through. In addition, it gave Bomber time to put up five barracks with tech-labs so he could make a transition into tank-marauder.
Byun broke out but ended up losing a lot of troops in the process, whereas Bomber just instantly re-maxed off of his absurd income. When Byun next tried to advance, Bomber sprung his mass marauders upon him to crush his army and take the game.
Bomber: 4/5
Total, absolute control.
Byun: 2/5
Early game shenanigans included Bomber going for fast banshees and -
You know what, it's f***ing Terminus. I don't know why I'm going through these meaningless motions. Let's do this more realistically.
The game began with both players sitting on three bases a piece, approaching max population in mech armies. The next move for both players was to secure their fourth bases at the central expansions in the map.
Byun made a mistake by wasting a small but significant amount of troops in a poor contain effort outside Bomber's base, which allowed Bomber to easily reverse the tables and contain Byun with a more dangerous force. This allowed Bomber to take his fourth and fifth bases while Byun put together a force tasked with breaking through. In addition, it gave Bomber time to put up five barracks with tech-labs so he could make a transition into tank-marauder.
Byun broke out but ended up losing a lot of troops in the process, whereas Bomber just instantly re-maxed off of his absurd income. When Byun next tried to advance, Bomber sprung his mass marauders upon him to crush his army and take the game.
Bomber:
Total, absolute control.
Byun:
Game Two: Xel'Naga Caverns -
+ Show Spoiler +
Bomber > Byun
This game was pretty straight forward. Byun went mech vs Bomber's bio, but made a major mistake by engaging marauders in a bad position and losing a handful of his early tanks. Mech grows exponentially more powerful as tank numbers rise (and exponentially weaker as they die), and he could ill-afford such a blow at an early phase in the game.
Bomber had all the initiative to go up to four bases and take an insurmountable lead by the time Byun had rebuilt his army to the point where he could take his third. Bomber toyed with Byun with a while - even using nukes - before finishing him off.
Bomber: 4/5
Builds on a lead like no other.
Byun: 1.5/5
Lacked caution considering that he was taking a huge risk being aggressive while his tank numbers were still low.
This game was pretty straight forward. Byun went mech vs Bomber's bio, but made a major mistake by engaging marauders in a bad position and losing a handful of his early tanks. Mech grows exponentially more powerful as tank numbers rise (and exponentially weaker as they die), and he could ill-afford such a blow at an early phase in the game.
Bomber had all the initiative to go up to four bases and take an insurmountable lead by the time Byun had rebuilt his army to the point where he could take his third. Bomber toyed with Byun with a while - even using nukes - before finishing him off.
Bomber:
Builds on a lead like no other.
Byun:
Lacked caution considering that he was taking a huge risk being aggressive while his tank numbers were still low.
Game Three: Crossfire SE -
+ Show Spoiler +
Byun > Bomber
In a surprising turn of events, both players decided to go for the old marine-tank composition on one of the most mech-friendly maps in the pool. The name of the game in marine-tank is "Press E" first, and Byun proved to be better at it. No, actually Bomber was just really bad at it. In the first major engagement of the game, Bomber made a terrible marine attack into a tank backed position.
That battle put Byun ahead significantly, and he continued to pressure while taking more bases. Bomber then engaged in another, even worse fight where he lost all of his marines to tanks yet again. That one sealed the game.
Bomber: 1.5/5
Terrible bio engagements.
Byun: 3.5/5
"Siege mode and wait for your opponent to f*** up" has been a valid strategy for thirteen years, are you surprised it worked again?
In a surprising turn of events, both players decided to go for the old marine-tank composition on one of the most mech-friendly maps in the pool. The name of the game in marine-tank is "Press E" first, and Byun proved to be better at it. No, actually Bomber was just really bad at it. In the first major engagement of the game, Bomber made a terrible marine attack into a tank backed position.
That battle put Byun ahead significantly, and he continued to pressure while taking more bases. Bomber then engaged in another, even worse fight where he lost all of his marines to tanks yet again. That one sealed the game.
Bomber:
Terrible bio engagements.
Byun:
"Siege mode and wait for your opponent to f*** up" has been a valid strategy for thirteen years, are you surprised it worked again?
Game Four: Xel'Naga Fortress -
+ Show Spoiler +
Byun > Bomber
In one of the more humorous showings from Bomber, he decided to blindly go marauder-tank after Byun's banshee opener. Bomber was banking on Byun to go mech, but in fact Byun was actually going for marine-tank. As we know, marauders are pitiful against marines so Byun had no trouble setting up a powerful low-ground siege beneath Bomber's main and chewing up anything that came to contest it.
After gobbling up his fill of marauders and tanks at his low-ground siege, Byun regrouped his forces for a final attack on Bomber's natural to force the GG.
Bomber: 1.5/5
How about another scan to see what your opponent is doing, for the love of God.
Byun: 3.5/5
In one of the more humorous showings from Bomber, he decided to blindly go marauder-tank after Byun's banshee opener. Bomber was banking on Byun to go mech, but in fact Byun was actually going for marine-tank. As we know, marauders are pitiful against marines so Byun had no trouble setting up a powerful low-ground siege beneath Bomber's main and chewing up anything that came to contest it.
After gobbling up his fill of marauders and tanks at his low-ground siege, Byun regrouped his forces for a final attack on Bomber's natural to force the GG.
Bomber:
How about another scan to see what your opponent is doing, for the love of God.
Byun:
Game Five: Tal'Darim Altar -
+ Show Spoiler +
Byun > Bomber
On the gigantic expanses of Tal'Darim altar, we got to see both players execute their grand strategies. Byun went for his specialty in mech, while Bomber brought his anti-mech strategy of marauder-tank. It was an exciting slugfest with some twists and turns, but it really all came down to blue-flame hellions and Bomber's inability to stop them.
No, not even mister #3 on Korean ladder with a 70% win ratio could avoid losing several dozen SCVs to hellions over the course of the game. That gave Byun an economic backbone where Bomber had none, and eventually allowed Byun to overpower his opponent and collect the GG.
Bomber: 1.5/5
Progressively worse defense against blue flame hellions.
Byun: 3.5/5
Really, if you're dogged enough with blue flame hellions, you can beat almost anyone with Terran.
On the gigantic expanses of Tal'Darim altar, we got to see both players execute their grand strategies. Byun went for his specialty in mech, while Bomber brought his anti-mech strategy of marauder-tank. It was an exciting slugfest with some twists and turns, but it really all came down to blue-flame hellions and Bomber's inability to stop them.
No, not even mister #3 on Korean ladder with a 70% win ratio could avoid losing several dozen SCVs to hellions over the course of the game. That gave Byun an economic backbone where Bomber had none, and eventually allowed Byun to overpower his opponent and collect the GG.
Bomber:
Progressively worse defense against blue flame hellions.
Byun:
Really, if you're dogged enough with blue flame hellions, you can beat almost anyone with Terran.
![[image loading]](/staff/Hydro/GSL/backtotophydrofinal.png)
Code-S Semi-Finals:
Saints, Puppies, and Cats with Glasses
Saints, Puppies, and Cats with Glasses
by Fionn
Here we are, dear friends, on the cusp of another Code S Finals. Are you excited? Only two more series till the ninth singles GSL championship is decided. Yeah, yeah, the last eight got progressively worse, and only one out of the eight has gone to the deciding seven set (where MarineKing promptly cheesed), but there is still hope! We have probably the most stacked semifinals of all-time. No other tournament in the world, yeah, I said it, THE WORLD , can match up to these semifinals. We have the best protoss in the world and two time champion, MC; the best zerg in the world, who has won the championship twice, Nestea; the former Code A champion who is considered by most to be the top terran in the world, Bomber; and finally, rounding it off, another former Code A champion, the
Wait - wait, what?
You're telling me that MC lost? To HongUn? You're kidding, right? The guy who has been saying in every interview that his wrist is about to fall off and he's going to retire soon? You're joking, right? HongUn said that he was barely practicing and thought he had less than a 0% chance in his match against MC. This is MC; the guy eats tosses for breakfast in the GSL. How in the world did that happen?
Oh well, it isn't the end of the world, right? We still have Nestea vs. Bomber to look forward to in the final. The God of Zerg versus the fastest rising star in the galaxy. How could that final disappoint us? We might not have MC, but Bomber has shown dominating play. The guy is a complete and utter beast. I can't wait to see Nestea, the only member of the Big 3 (also including MVP and MC) to continue his dominance, against the person everyone in Korea has said might be the best player in the world for months!
...Hold on, you're telling me he lost, too?
After being up 2-0 in a series that Artosis claimed Bomber showed the greatest TvT play ever in SC2? He went from being a beast to losing three in a row to Byun? Well, uhm, that wasn't expected. That leaves us at a crossroads, and I need to break down these semifinals. Let's see how everything stacks up going into tonight's semifinals.
![[image loading]](/staff/Waxangel/GSL/fionn/NESHongUn.jpg)
HongUn vs. the World, the Community, the God of Zerg, and Artosis
Let's be honest here people, a lot of us (and that might be an understatement) are hoping for a Nestea win. Not only because he's one of the most beloved players in the entire world, his games bring amazing excitement, and he's going for the first ever three GSL crown - but because we’re wondering how long can HongUn play until his wrist falls off? He regularly comments that he barely practices, that he is thinking about retirement, and is just fighting on for the fans, his team, and family that cheer for him.
Nestea shouldn't lose, right? It is true HongUn's best match up in the game is PvZ, but that shouldn't matter. This is Nestea we're talking about. He's 17 and 3 against protoss. He has some of the sickest strategies we've ever seen. MC might have lost in a best-of-five PvP series to HongUn, but it can't happen to him, right? This can't be a coinflip victory. HongUn can't cheese Nestea in a best of five series. I'm just going to keep telling myself that it's impossible for HongUn to beat him. A man who barely practices, with a severely injured wrist, shouldn't be able to take down Professor Tea.
Nestea hasn't dropped a single map this tournament. He rolled through July, Ensnare and Coca. No one has been able to touch him this entire GSL. You can't imagine that HongUn could be the one to beat him, right? Artosis would probably eat five swords if HongUn could beat his hero.
Let's look at HongUn, though. It can't be all about Nestea. Here are some excerpts from his interviews this tournament, translated by the talented Phosgene:
Q: You made it to the round of 16, how do you feel?
A: I hardly practiced. I didn’t feel any nerves during group nominations, and I could not find the fire to get excited for these games. I came out today after playing Clide about 10 times.
Q: If that is true, what is the reason for that?
A: To be honest, my wrists don’t feel so well. I felt like “should I be playing if I am hurting?” And it might be because I am an only child, but my parents would not look favorably at that.
Q: If your wrists feel bad, everything must be more difficult. Shouldn’t you go to the hospital like sc1’s Flash?
A: Well, it is not as big of a news because I haven’t had a career like him… (laugh) And I feel like I may not want to keep on playing games if I have to go through surgery. And even if I do get treatment, there is a chance that it may not heal well.
A: I hardly practiced. I didn’t feel any nerves during group nominations, and I could not find the fire to get excited for these games. I came out today after playing Clide about 10 times.
Q: If that is true, what is the reason for that?
A: To be honest, my wrists don’t feel so well. I felt like “should I be playing if I am hurting?” And it might be because I am an only child, but my parents would not look favorably at that.
Q: If your wrists feel bad, everything must be more difficult. Shouldn’t you go to the hospital like sc1’s Flash?
A: Well, it is not as big of a news because I haven’t had a career like him… (laugh) And I feel like I may not want to keep on playing games if I have to go through surgery. And even if I do get treatment, there is a chance that it may not heal well.
Q: You made the round of 8. How do you feel?
A: My feelings are mixed. My body feels unwell, but the results were good, so I guess I am happy too.
Q: How is your wrist situation?
A: It still hurts a lot.
Q: So, how much did you practice?
A: I tried to avoid it as much as possible. I also practice by reducing the amount of movement I do with the mouse.
Q: Were you in pain during the match?
A: I was hurting during the match. But my opponent likes to prolong the game before attacking, so I didn’t think I was particularly in any disadvantage.
Q: Does that mean you give up?
A: I am about halfway there. But I will get the chance to play the game, so we will see how the match goes.
Q: Do you still want to win even though you are hurting?
A: My mind still wants to, but because of my hurting body, my mind’s resolve weakens.
Q: Do you have any plans to stop playing to get treatment for your wrists?
A: I think if it gets to there, I will probably retire and do something else. To be honest, being a progamer was my 2nd dream, and I still have something I really want to do. People are having a hard time just getting up to code S, but I am still sitting here. And since the fans are always looking for great matches in code S, when it becomes the day that my body cannot meet those expectations, I will probably retire. Of course, until that day comes, I will do my best.
A: My feelings are mixed. My body feels unwell, but the results were good, so I guess I am happy too.
Q: How is your wrist situation?
A: It still hurts a lot.
Q: So, how much did you practice?
A: I tried to avoid it as much as possible. I also practice by reducing the amount of movement I do with the mouse.
Q: Were you in pain during the match?
A: I was hurting during the match. But my opponent likes to prolong the game before attacking, so I didn’t think I was particularly in any disadvantage.
Q: Does that mean you give up?
A: I am about halfway there. But I will get the chance to play the game, so we will see how the match goes.
Q: Do you still want to win even though you are hurting?
A: My mind still wants to, but because of my hurting body, my mind’s resolve weakens.
Q: Do you have any plans to stop playing to get treatment for your wrists?
A: I think if it gets to there, I will probably retire and do something else. To be honest, being a progamer was my 2nd dream, and I still have something I really want to do. People are having a hard time just getting up to code S, but I am still sitting here. And since the fans are always looking for great matches in code S, when it becomes the day that my body cannot meet those expectations, I will probably retire. Of course, until that day comes, I will do my best.
Q: How is your wrist situation?
I plan to go to the hospital regularly. Since I can’t practice much I have less confidence in myself, but I think the heavens are helping me.
Q: It feels like you exude a whole different feeling ever since the round of 16, almost as if you are refining your skills even more.
A: Every time I advance further, I feel like I want to keep my promise to do well for my friends even more. Even my dad came out to buy me some food and told me to advance to the round of 4. And all of that really played into today’s match.
I plan to go to the hospital regularly. Since I can’t practice much I have less confidence in myself, but I think the heavens are helping me.
Q: It feels like you exude a whole different feeling ever since the round of 16, almost as if you are refining your skills even more.
A: Every time I advance further, I feel like I want to keep my promise to do well for my friends even more. Even my dad came out to buy me some food and told me to advance to the round of 4. And all of that really played into today’s match.
How can someone in this much pain, thinking about retirement, and almost never practicing be in the semifinals of the GSL? In the group stages, it looked like he was going to get taken out immediately by Supernova, but by some crazy luck, Supernova played possibly one of the worst games in GSL history and threw the series away. This allowed HongUn to advance to play Zenio, who was extremely jet lagged and tired from the NASL that occurred only days before. The result? Zenio played terrible, HongUn played less terrible, and he advanced in one of the ugliest series in GSL history. Finally? He gets to face MC, a guy who was already looking past HongUn and his 0% PvP win rate. MC came in cocky, played bad, and got beat in four games.
This is easily the weirdest run I've ever seen in the GSL. I've watched every single GSL and this outdoes San in the fifth GSL and Line from the recent Super Tournament. There is no reason why this guy should be in the semifinals, but like he said, the heavens must be helping him.
My theory? He must be getting some help outside this world. Who else currently is having wrist problems, but still playing through the immense pain? Who else is also questioned about his wrist after every victory?
TLO?
Nope, the reason for HongUn's success is plain and simple.
![[image loading]](/staff/Waxangel/GSL/fionn/FlashHongUn.jpg)
HongUn is being watched over by his Guardian Bonjwa
Flash, the current #1 in the Brood War world, one of the five bonjwas, and patron saint of RSI sufferers around the world, must be overseeing HongUn while he plays and willing him to victory. He must be taking over HongUn's body during key moments and using his divine powers to shift the game to HongUn’s favor. Supernova throwing away his game against HongUn? Nope, it was just Flash helping a pious fellow win another game. Zenio's jet lag? Flash must have made the flight get delayed a few hours with his holy influence. MC? Flash must have taken away all MC's energy drinks the night before.
With the blessing of ‘God’ behind him, HongUn will take on Nestea and try to advance to the finals. Can he do it? Well, if this were BW, probably, but Nestea doesn't care about saints or injured wrists. All he cares about is another title and $50,000 in his pocket. Watch out, HongUn. Professor Tea is coming for you and he's not going to show any mercy.
![[image loading]](/staff/Waxangel/GSL/fionn/BYUNLosira.jpg)
The Nureongi Terran vs. The Smiling Assassin
He did it! Byun completed his lifelong dream! No, no, getting semifinals in the GSL is cool and all, but what Byun wanted most of all was a new puppy. If you haven't been following the story, his team, ZeNex, made a deal with Byun. If he could ever make it to a GSL semifinal, they would allow him to get a dog to raise in the team house. Against all odds, and even down 0-2 in his series against Bomber, he fought back and won the dog that he was dreaming about for all these tournaments.
Here's a comment by him after he defeated Bomber in the Ro8:
Q: Well, now that we are at this point, we can’t go without talking the puppy situation. (**If you have not been following the Byun/Puppy situation, basically… Byun has a deal with the team that he can raise a puppy at the teamhouse if he gets to a GSL semifinals.)
A: I heard that Bomber likes puppies too. And I heard that the StarTale teamhouse had one at one point. During the games today, all I could think about was getting this puppy. And when I lost concentration during the 5th set, I tried to focus on the puppy, which made me concentrate extra hard in order to win.
A: I heard that Bomber likes puppies too. And I heard that the StarTale teamhouse had one at one point. During the games today, all I could think about was getting this puppy. And when I lost concentration during the 5th set, I tried to focus on the puppy, which made me concentrate extra hard in order to win.
So, if you ever want your player to make one of the biggest comebacks in history against a top tier player, just tell them they can get a puppy if they win, and they'll roll over their opponent. Obviously the next question after learning that he gets a dog is what kind of dog will he be getting? The answer is a Nureongi. If you've never heard of one, it might be because they're usually not kept as pets in Korea and instead bred for their delicious, succulent meat.
In a lot of ways, it fits Byun perfectly. No one thought that Byun was going to get anywhere. Most of the community thought he was just going to be livestock for Bomber to devour when they faced off. Not many people believed he had a legit shot of making it this far when he was paired with MVP, SC and Zenio in the first round. I thought he was going to get knocked out in the group stages. When it got to the round of sixteen, he had to face Nada. Did people think Byun was going to win that series? Liquibet shows 8,299 people thought he was going to lose and only 600 people thinking he was going to take it. Byun's whole run through this tournament has been people thinking he was just fodder for someone to beat to get into the next round.
Byun isn't livestock and neither is the puppy (Editor’s note: Don’t be so sure after the puppy is fully grown…) he will be getting after the semifinals tonight. He has beaten SC, MVP, Nada and Bomber to get into the semifinals. He hasn't been the favorite once this entire tournament. The first half of his journey is over by securing his pet, but now it's time to get some cash to buy his new dog some toys.
On the other side, we have Losira. Taught and mentored by Nestea, he has sky rocketed to being the third best zerg in the world behind his master and DRG. He has improved his ZvT ten fold since we saw it in previous tournaments and was even able to beat MarineKing in the group stages. He then followed that up by getting revenge for his master by beating TOP in the next round (TOP knocked out Nestea in the Super Tournament) and proving that his ZvT wasn't any joke.
Losira is full of personality and just like Byun, he's one of most fun loving and happy gamers you will see in Korea. Every time you get a picture of Losira, 99% assured you will see him with a gigantic smile on his face (that 1% being the picture above). He is legitimately ecstatic when he wins a game. If I could choose five progamers to hang out with or get to know, Losira would be near the top of the list. All reports say he's a great guy and very friendly to everyone he meets.
Down to the actual match itself, I would say it's 50/50. Losira's ZvT used to be awful, but now it's improved rapidly in a month. Byun says he hates TvZ, but it's statistically better than his TvT. Losira does have the advantage of having Nestea in his corner, but Byun has defeated the tougher foes to get into the semifinals. Whoever advances from this match will give us great games in the finals. Both have exciting styles and have already given us some of the best games in the entire tournament.
Will we see a Master vs. Apprentice Grand Final with Nestea vs. Losira? If so, it would be the first ZvZ final in the GSL. Could we see Nestea vs. Byun? A battle of the two-time champion versus the ultimate, no pun intended, underdog?
Nah, this is the GSL, we'll probably get HongUn winning it all and becoming HongtimusPrime.WE with St.Flash leading him the whole way.
Predictions:
Nestea 3 - 0 HongUn
Byun 3 - 2 Losira
