On February 10 2013 14:21 EtherealDeath wrote:Going to update as I post.
http://drop.sc/303571The moment speed starts, Mango goes cyber core into immediate 2 more gateways the second the cyber core starts. Really strange because this map is very long to go gateway pressure by ground on (and even if it were gateway pressure it would not be done this way as on a long map like this you give your opponent much time to respond, while weakening your econ greatly for any transition or followup), as Mango does not even attempt to place a proxy pylon on the map. Looks fine at first - but then lings start being produced en masse and Mango priorities zealot sentry over probe production... interesting. There is no chance of putting on serious pressure if you're making sentries as well. If Flo (we shall not say whose smurf this is) is doing anything other than this random all in, which I would like to remind you Mango has not tried to scout at all, then Mango would die. The guy's got 28 probes at 7:16. This does not happen at GM level. This gets you killed.
And then camera stops moving completely from 6:26 to 7:16, except once to make probes. Yes that's right, he goes back to his nexus to manually make probes instead of just doing it from the hotkey group... never seen a GM do that but ok.
You might say - ah but wait, he tried a failed cannon rush at first, this explains his low probe count. Actually, this in my eyes makes it even stranger. All his chronos once cyber core is up goes on his warpgate tech. Why? The only reason I can think of, given that he stayed on the 3 gates that he made asap without ever attempting to add more gates or tech in time to do any real push, is that he knew a low drone all in was coming. His play makes no sense to me otherwise. I cannot see this build being strong against much else. Note that the zerg's nat started at 2:47 and his 3rd at 3:44. Mango's build is dead to everything other than the one thing Flo did here. I was GM myself, with PvZ being my best matchup. Correct me if you have another opinion, but I cannot see what Mango here having any chance against standard ZvP play.
Suspicioius meter: 8/10.
http://drop.sc/303567It appears cannon block is Mango's typical line of play, as he does it again this game, and this time it forces the nat to cancel. Immediate warning lights that go off - this guy does not care about spreading pylons around his base to scout for nydus. What might a zerg do after being cannoned? Could go nydus, could go macro, could go fast muta. Now Mango sees a drone coming out - but really this is a bad excuse to not pylon up because you never know, and not pyloning can be suicidal. Note that Mango feels safe enough to not only not pylon his main, but also to make 0 gateway units until his wg finishes at 10:00. Instead he is just massing up phoenix in his main with no map vision. Now of course massing up to 4 phoenix is often done, sometimes even more for the element of surprise. However by now there could be nydus even with hydraling in his main - this guy has got 0 scouting and doesn't care to try to scout, same as in the game vs Flo. Rest of the game is fairly straightforward after the mutas are hard countered.
Suspicious meter: 6/10
http://drop.sc/303569Starts off with a cannon block as usual. What is special here is when the drone goes to make the hatch, 2 probes follow to get the hatch but are late, not 1. But this could just be disorientation, that's nothing. But then, a spire starts, and immediately a stargate starts. Then in all strangeness, there's both a spire AND a nydus, and the moment the nydus starts Mango rings his main with pylons, despite being at 37/60 supply and showing a complete disregard for the possibility of nydus before (remember, he tried no followup scouting on Rhythm in the previous replay).
Suspicious meter: Alone this would be simply 0/10. However given the cumulative watching of just PvZ so far, something smells wrong. His play looks different here, as if he were lacking confidence that he usually plays with.
http://drop.sc/303570Our 4th PvZ. Mango goes yet again for cannon wall. This time however, the zerg panicks or something, and never goes lair. Mango just happens to deviate from his norm and pure chrono his nexuses, does not get a stargate AND does not spread pylons, and just goes for straight up warpgate prism col push. This could just be a random deviation. However this does not seem to feel right from what I've been watching of Mango's PvZ, and how he spends chronos and what he goes for. Notice even at 8:50 he is content to be on 1 sentry, with only 1 warpgate complete. If a nydus or a 1 base muta tech happens as has happened twice already, he will take heavy damage. But he does not care, doesn't even try to scout until obs really late, too late for any useful scouting really.
Suspicious meter - On it's own, 2/10. With what I've seen so far, 8.5 / 10.
http://drop.sc/303573Actually tries to scout for once with his cannoning probe when the zerg for goes mass ling after cannon block, spots extra lings, and immediately full wall add more gate add another cannon, which ofc is the proper response given what he saw. Not much else to say, the zerg let a probe stay hidden.
Suspicious meter - 0/10.
http://drop.sc/303568PvT. Not much to say here either. Just a no scout 4 gate immortal push that happens to hit a 1 rax gas expand and ofc win. However, note when pressure hits at 6:10 and he sees 2 marauder and a marine, and is pushed back with 1 stalker 1 sentry - he uses his FF here and now is out of energy. The terran could keep pushing with reinforcements - or he could retreat. What does our no scouting protoss do? He doesn't warp in any more units. Just stays on 1 stalker and 1 energy-less sentry, sitting by his nexus. Between his sentry finishing at 6:09 and his first warpin round at 7:25 he does not make any units DESPITE the early marauder marine pressure hitting him, which should signal it is no normal 1 rax gasless FE, and despite having used up all his energy on the first poke. He even feels safe to walk out on the map to the terran nat with his 1 stalker 1 sentry during this 1:16 period of no warpins (2 unused warpin cycles) AFTER the terran pressure still with 0 scouting of the map - he hasn't even tried to scout the terran's nat for an expand/bunker or anything all game! How does he know the map is clear for him to move out, or that the terran wasn't stocking up more units for another poke at say 7:00? If the terran actually went 2 rax and pushes around 7, Mango is dead. He didn't warpin for 2 cycles, and one warpin cycle will not save him vs a 2 rax pressure.
Suspicious meter - 9/10.
All in all, I'm fairly suspicious that Mango was hacking in the majority of these games. There is too much play that makes utterly no sense / pointless risk at GM level.
EPT
