Introduction | Clash of the Titans | Planning for the finals
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Grand Finals Preview

We're finally here. After a full season of 126 grueling matches and 617 games, only the finals remain. And what a finals it will be! After the questionable production put on by the OGN/SpoTV duo last season alongside the upheaval that took place in the Korean scene prior to the season's start, expectations were hardly soaring for the new incarnation of Proleague.
Those doubts were quickly forgotten as SpoTV managed to not only lived up to the task of producing Proleague like a tournament of its prestige deserved, but attract a live audience of the like we had rarely seen with any frequency in Starcraft II.

If the first Starcraft II Proleague demonstrated all the potential pitfalls of producing a year-long league, with its fixation on MINDMINDMIND and a cheap venue, this season has demonstrated the power of dedication. The new venue and improved production has, with the risk of sounding far too nostalgic, restored some of Proleague's glory and properly introducing it to Starcraft II.

Beyond just the tournament's facelift, this season has been a rollercoaster, to say the least. From the trainwreck CJ Entus rising to make the playoffs and fall only a few stalkers short of the finals, to Zest's obliteration of SKT, to MVP's miraculous rise in Round 2, to Marineking's return sustaining Prime's hopes into the very last weeks. While the season may have seen its fair share of shutouts and one-sided matches, no one can say that it hasn't been a season of great storylines, culminating in the best finals we could have asked for.

In their sixth Proleague finals meeting, SK Telecom T1 and KT Rolster will fight for the title of Proleague champions once more, showing that even though things may change, some things will always remain the same.

Clash of the Titans

by Zealously
Read about SK Telecom here and KT Rolster here

Some rivalries start small. In PC Bangs, in basements, and on the very smallest of stages. Your local football rivalries, the kids that grow up with determination fuelled by the presence of childhood rivals, and the teams that advance from the very bottom of the pack, slowly fighting their way to the top. In these rivalries, the fans grow alongside the players, in both number and passion. At first few and far between, the fans of these grassroots organisations that eventually reach stardom slowly but surely grow until they become fanbases worth the name, fans of the most passionate kind.

The rivalry between Korea's two greatest teams, SK Telecom T1 and KT Rolster, did not start this way. SK Telecom T1 and especially KT Rolster (then KTF MagicNs) reached the top quickly by virtue of their ability to both nurture and buy talent, and once they had secured their places atop the Brood War hierarchy, they never left. Boasting the deepest and most star-studded lineups, these were two teams created for the sole purpose of winning, and winning a lot.

As two of the Brood War scene's wealthiest teams, the two Telecom teams have never had to worry about money. In the eyes of many, they were the FC Barcelona and Real Madrid of Starcraft, taking two very different paths to success but reaching it all the same. Where SKT's original core was that of BoxeR's Orion, KT's seemingly bottomless pockets allowed them to secure every star player they wanted or needed.

To illustrate the magnitude of these two team's domination, their players made a total of 53 out of a potential 110 Starleague finals spots, with the other 10 teams sharing most of the rest. But their unparallelled dominance in individual leagues is only one half of the Telecom legacy, and arguably the less important one. Although their players have clashed violently in Starleague finals many times, the matches that are most vividly remembered were not played out in individual leagues. Their true legacy lies with Proleague.

For teams sporting the most intimidating lineups in professional Starcraft, it would have been preposterous for these two teams not to establish a legacy in the tournament where it mattered the most. KT (then known as KTF) and SKT ranked among Korea's richest teams, and they repaid the faith their sponsors put in them by delivering results. But in spite of their many battles across both team leagues and individual leagues, SKT was pulling ahead. Their players performed when it mattered, something that could not always be said for KT. The years-old rivalry was, although KT occasionally rose to meet the lofty expectations fans placed upon them, a fairly one-sided affair. Although KT was a match for SKT in individual leagues, BoxeR's team was unquestionably the more succesful one in Proleague.



With players like iloveoov, Midas, Canata, BeSt, FanTaSy and Bisu – all champions or future champions – it isn't difficult to see why SKT was the team for long stretches of time. Their lineup was difficult to match, and their aces suffered none of the unpredictability that plagued KT. Barring a major paradigm shift, it was difficult to see how they could be overthrown.



But overthrown they were. In 2009, one young Terran rose to upset this natural order. Lee Young Ho, better known as Flash, brought his team to two consecutive Proleague championships, defeating SKT in the finals both times. A rivalry that had previously been one-sided was now a struggle for SKT. Despite a bench of players like Canata, Bisu, FanTaSy and BeSt, SKT still fell short against KT, forcing them to not only accept defeat, but do it twice. Fueled by the rivalry and their will to win, SKT finally overcame the Flash constant in the finals of Brood War's last Proleague finals, taking the win 4-3 and cementing them as the most accomplished team in Brood War's Proleague.

The move to Starcraft II not only shook things up by rearranging the rosters and showing the accomplished veterans that the younger players weren't to be trifled with, it upset the natural order of things within KeSPA. The Telecom teams were no longer on top of the food chain. The rivalry remained, dormant, insignificant if neither team could make a run to the finals. There was promise, there was potential, but the star-studded lineups that had won countless championships in Brood War remained weaker, overthrown by teams like CJ, STX, and Woongjin. Despite the heroics of newfound hope Rain, SKT no longer had the depth they needed to go all the way. KT suffered a similar fate as not even Flash's 44-21 record could carry them through the playoffs past a rampant STX. While good, the Telecom teams weren't the best, a situation they had not been in for years.

This season, that changed. In a a twist of fate reversing the story from ten years ago, SK Telecom's acquisitions in the off-season coupled with their already strong roster ensured that they would never have to worry about depth again, while KT were mostly aided by the development of their own, older players. Although their approaches to ensuring success differ greatly (as they always have), no one can question the result. After seven grueling months and a grand total of 303 games, the two ancient* teams have reached the finals, overcoming their separate struggles to once again stand on top.
*in Starcraft terms

Unlike grassroots teams with humble beginnings and no lofty expectations, KT Rolster and SK Telecom belong to an exclusive group of teams that are supposed to do one thing only: win. They are defined by their ability to win in all situations and overcome challenges that would defeat most other teams. Unlike other teams, KT and SKT are greater than just their players because they, like the greatest teams in the world of athletic sports, have legacies that transcend those players. Legacies rooted in their innumerable championships. The very core of these two teams is their ability to win and their history of doing so.

The rivalry between KT Rolster and SK Telecom T1 was forged in battle between the two greatest teams in Starcraft history. These two titans will clash in a Proleague finals for the sixth time, but only one can emerge victorious and build a new legacy, in a new game.

Planning for the Finals

If you have followed our Proleague coverage this season, you will have read countless previews dissecting and discussing the player choices in every situation and on every map possible. A lot of thought goes into a line-up, even more so when the championship is at stake. While things may seem reasonably simple from the sidelines, top teams do not only win because they have the right players, they win because they know when and on what maps to use those players. Every time the lineup for a match is revealed, we are seeing the results of potentially hours upon hours of planning and theorycrafting.

So when facing a team that has made it all the way to the Proleague finals on the back of both great players and solid pre-match decision making, what goes through your head as a coach when you tackle the most important match this year? What might have gone through the collective head of KT's coaching staff as they tackled the seemingly insurmountable task of beating SKT in a Best of 7?

Destructicon and banjoetheredskin are here to tell you.

SKT

Out Boxer is one of those maps where we can see just about anyone and just about anything. It is commonly used for highly specialized sniper builds and strategies. TY has shown creative play on the map before, utilizing an exploit to dominate CJ herO. Flash has been fielded quite a few times on Out Boxer, even though he has had minimal success. SKT will identify that KT likes to field terrans on the map, and therefore leave it to Soulkey to play his best matchup. Should mech be the strategy of choice on Out Boxer, as it has been with good success previously, Soulkey is certainly capable of beating the best terran mech players, especially on a map that is conducive to swarm host play. Should KT choose to field Stats instead, which is not all that unlikely given his preference to Skytoss and success with it on this map, Soulkey can still be confident to win. Not only is Soulkey’s ZvP top-notch, only ever losing to the best of the best, but Stats plays a relatively predictable style that can be easily studied and countered. Soulkey is a very solid overall player and is more than capable of beating anyone who KT fields on Out Boxer.



Flash definitely loves Merry Go Round. With a 5-1 record on the map, why wouldn’t he? He has excellent TvZ, but his TvP can be vulnerable. Although the map itself is not great for protoss, with a difficult to take third and a layout favorable to drops, PartinG is one of the best in the business at PvT. TY is the only other player who might be fielded on Merry Go Round, but PartinG beat him when they last met on this map. TY might play a rather unpredictable style, but in that one game he didn’t, and he suffered for it. Flash, on the other hand, is fairly predictable in the matchup. Should PartinG meet either one of them, he will be well aware of what he needs to do to not lose, and as long as he’s not losing, PartinG may as well be winning. His multitasking and micro are as good as anyone’s and he will go toe-to-toe with KT’s terrans. Should they choose to field a zerg for whatever reason, 2 base builds are strong on this map, which also favors playing PartinG. It might be predictable, but that hasn’t stopped PartinG before, mentally or in reality. Should KT field a protoss, PartinG’s PvP is good enough that SKT can feel confident in their chances. He can certainly beat anyone, and that’s what matters. In one game it’s hard to favor anyone over PartinG in the mirror matchup, and overall that makes him a very solid choice for Merry Go Round.



Zest appears to be fielded on King Sejong Station fairly often and with pretty good success. SKT T1’s best chance of beating Zest is in PvP, given their lack of terran depth and Zest’s best matchup being PvZ. The best PvP player on SKT T1 is Rain, and Rain himself is pretty good on King Sejong Station. Of course there is always the risk of Rain losing, as it is PvP and Zest is an outstanding player, but Rain’s recent performance, particularly in important PvP matches (see game 7 vs herO in the semifinals), has been as good as anyone. He always seems to have a build planned out that works really well particular to the map, such as the last time he beat Zest on Habitation Station with a stargate robo expand. Should Rain meet a zerg or terran on the map, he is likely to do just as well. Winrates of 69% and 80% in the matchups, respectively, demonstrate prowess that KT could at best only match. Rain has been SKT T1’s ace in 70% of ace situations, and in them he is 4-1. Should he get a match against either Zest or Flash, who are the two most likely to be fielded on the map (and also happen to be the two aces), expect Rain to do as well as anyone.



Dark is a very good zerg and has had success on Overgrowth before. Even though it was only one game, he beat CJ herO in a macro game, who has himself shown a very good record in the matchup. Dark is undoubtedly more comfortable playing on Merry Go Round, a map on which he has five wins, but with the risk of running into Flash’s stellar TvZ, the weaker ZvT player Dark will want to avoid that situation altogether. It is unlikely he will meet a Terran on this map, as it does favor zerg slightly, and with a perfect 4-0 combined record in the other two matchups, Dark looks in fine position to win on Overgrowth. Even if he were to have to play his apparent weakest matchup in ZvT, the advantages zerg have on the map could be all he needs to come out on top. TY would realistically be the only terran to be fielded on this map at all, and Dark ought to know well in advance his tendencies for aggressive play so that he can prepare accordingly. Dark’s ZvP on Overgrowth demonstrated superb macro, utilizing excellent creep spread and seamless tech switching to dismantle CJ herO. It is doubtful KT would want to contend that. In ZvZ, he shows a preference for more economical openings, but was faced with early pools in both games he played. However, he held with flawless ling baneling micro and utilized his advantage to crush before the game developed much further. What’s there to lose by fielding Dark on Overgrowth?



soO is an excellent all-around player. If he meets a protoss, this is a good map for his preferred muta-corruptor style. Only a player of Zest’s caliber is likely able to defeat soO in a PvZ, and it’s not very probable he will be fielded on this map. If he meets a terran, he can go toe-to-toe with the best, as he has beaten Maru on this map before. soO’s only concern might be to meet a zerg on this map, as it is his weakest matchup in Proleague and not particularly conducive to the mass roach vs roach wars that he has most success with. However, outside Proleague his ZvZ has been nearly as good as his other matchups, and it’s far from a large disadvantage to play a zerg on Habitation, especially given the caliber of KT’s zergs. soO should be expecting a ZvZ just because it seems fairly obvious he will play on this map, so he should also therefore anticipate a snipe build to come his way. No matter which zerg he gets, one can be sure he will be playing safe and scout very cautiously. He might usually like to go hatch first, but we might see a pool first just to be safe. Ultimately though, every one of soO’s matchups is incredibly strong. KT fielding anyone besides a zerg is near guaranteed a loss and that’s always a good position to be in if you’re soO.



Frost is probably the most standard map in the entire pool, almost always leading to a macro game. On that note, Classic is one of the best macro players in the business. Classic excels in PvP, a common matchup for this map, and he does well enough in PvZ and PvT to not be a liability. He can expect either a zerg or a terran here, with Stats also being a distant possibility. Given that this is the sixth set and is not even guaranteed to be played, it’s unlikely to see Flash fielded. TY, however, has a strong macro TvP game that favors aggression and multitasking. Classic ought to expect this out of KT, given that they don’t have a strong enough zerg lineup to exploit his weakest matchup. A PvP is possible, but Classic’s best matchup is not worth the challenge for Stats, a weak mirror matchup player himself. Classic's tendency to go for defensive phoenixes in PvT could work very well against TY, and if they are confident that's who KT will field on Frost, then Classic is an excellent choice.

KT

One important thing to consider as KT is that SKT T1 is very highly unlikely to field a terran, with
FanTaSy and BrAvO both having looked very poor this season. Therefore, it is almost entirely unnecessary to consider the possibility of meeting a terran unless the player is particularly poor in the vT matchup.



Soulkey’s weakest matchup in Proleague might be ZvP, but that doesn’t really indicate a weakness overall. sOs showed a really strong build that took down the Iron Wall of Korea on this map, utilizing Stargate units to counter his opponent's preferred roach hydra style. Stats is well known for his Skytoss PvZ style, and has seen success with it on Out Boxer. The map for the most special of all sniper builds seems like a good choice for a player whose style can play well against Soulkey’s. Soulkey will know something along the lines of a triple stargate build is coming his way, with the possibility of an island base, but he won’t know exactly what. Because Soulkey is not one who typically goes early pool in ZvP, Stats has the strength of being the one with the more prepared build. Stats might have a concern if SKT T1 decided to field a protoss instead of a zerg, but that seems unlikely as Rain will be saved to snipe Zest and Classic is highly likely to be on Frost. Overall, odds are Stats will get a PvZ, which is ideal for him, so he is a good choice on Out Boxer.



Flash’s strongest matchup is TvZ. The mine buff essentially takes us back to early 2013, except with fast hellbat transformation. It’s safe to say that Flash’s TvZ is probably as good as ever, and on his favorite map, which tends to favor terran slightly in the matchup, he is going to be scary. As good as Soulkey or soO might be in ZvT, giving Flash his favorite matchup on a map good for terran seems like a needless risk. PartinG, on the other hand, has shown all throughout Proleague that he has Flash’s number. Only having played one PvT on Merry Go Round this season, PartinG demonstrated that he plays it pretty much how he would play any other map: with blink. It was enough to take down Flash’s terran teammate TY, and the fact that Flash has a much more predictable macro into SCV pull style makes it even easier to prepare as PartinG: stay on blink colossus and defend the SCV pull. Flash might not be very good at any other style of TvP, but he knows PartinG will expect this of him. Flash needs to pull out all stops and utilize the Polt-style-friendly nature of the map to his advantage. Letting it go into a long macro game is dangerous with PartinG, but the map in that scenario favors Flash, and with his impeccable macro it is not as bad as it might seem for Flash. If SKT T1 should field a zerg, then Flash will be much happier and less concerned, so he is still the best choice for Merry Go Round.



They wanted it, so they can have it. The King Slayer has been KT’s best player outside of Proleague, and two wins shy of being best on the team in Proleague. Although in Proleague he has shown better results in PvZ, he is no joke in PvP - a match-up Zest has revolutionized. His seemingly 8-8 record is not to be taken lightly. PvP is certainly the more likely matchup of the two that he would lose, and Rain himself is excellent in the mirror, but Zest ought to expect this one on his favorite map. He is in a very similar situation to Stats, playing on a comfortable map and content with any matchup contingencies, with the advantage of being a much stronger PvP player. While it’s not necessarily a favorable matchup for KT, it is the best they can hope for against Rain with Flash’s less-than-excellent TvP. Rain has shown very sharp builds in the past that are smart for the map, almost forcing his opponents to do exactly what he wants them to. Rain tends to prefer a macro-oriented style, so expansion play is to be expected. Zest has shown unique builds on Sejong himself though, and something uncommon such as a blink dt build could throw Rain off if his build is designed to counter a more common style that Zest displays more often. Either way, the two aces will likely meet and it’s a toss up as to who could win, but there is definitely no significant disadvantage to playing Zest.



TY has shown in the past that he is capable of finding exploits in maps and working them to their fullest potential. Overgrowth, however, does not have the most conducive layout to such play, So TY is not the best pick, especially when Overgrowth in general is favored slightly for zerg. Protoss? Well, Zest and Stats are used already, and KT must not have a lot of faith in MyuNgSiK, having fielded him so infrequently. If the map is zerg favored, a ZvZ seems like the most likely scenario, with Dark being the most likely Zerg to come out. He might be 2-0 thus far, but that is too small a sample size to say he is unstoppable. Action has shown strength in ZvZ and when he can expect a zerg opponent, his best chances are on a map he has had success with. Dark, in his two ZvZs, showed that he prefers not to go for the early pool, but has superb micro against early pool play. Action has this important information to use when devising a snipe build, as he knows it will probably have to be off two bases if he wants to get the best of SKT T1’s rising zerg star. Should Action by a stroke of misfortune draw a protoss instead of Dark, it would likely be PartinG or Classic. Both have predictable styles in the matchup, so Action has the flexibility of playing to counter them or utilizing his ability to come up with creative builds. Action is somewhat underrated and, given the circumstances, a solid choice on Overgrowth.



soO is a fantastic player, not only by virtue of his skill but because of his lack of distinct weaknesses. Although Dark and Soulkey are both technically options for SKT on the map, soO's prowess in all three match-ups makes him a great catch-all player for this map. It’s definitely not going to be easy to find a matchup that favors KT’s player against him. Between TY and Sleep, Sleep is the safest choice. If soO has any weakness at all, it is probably ZvZ. Sleep tends to play a reactionary style in the mirror matchup, relying on his strong decision making to compensate for slightly subpar mechanical skill. A snipe build would be more unexpected from him, even if soO knows he is facing an inferior player. He has the reputation of a player who probably wouldn’t do something like a 10pool baneling allin, which has proven a real issue for soO in the past. Habitation Station can be a tricky map to scout on, as Hydra displayed with his excellent snipe build against Soulkey. The cards are laid out for Sleep to surprise soO, even if the latter is anticipating a well-prepared build intended to prevent him from powering up into the macro game in which he is so well-versed. Should Sleep draw a protoss instead of soO, his preference for swarm hosts in the matchup is strong on Habitiation Station, and he could very well drag it out and win a macro game against even the best SKT T1 protoss.



To round out the lineup, KT will need to have faith in their other strong terran player. Playing their two less proven players before one of their core four is a risk, on the chance he doesn’t even get to play, but it is one worth taking. Classic has good PvT, but it is not oustanding. He almost always plays a standard macro style, which is part of the reason he can be expected to play on Frost. In this case, TY can anticipate pretty much everything Classic will do. TY is the Proleague extraordinaire when it comes to preparing sniper builds, and a map as standard as Frost would likely make Classic think that would not even be possible. But TY is a creative player, and he could very well pull out an aggressive strategy that surprises Classic. Should he play out the macro game, his drop-heavy style is still very strong, and Classic will have to be extra careful to deal with that on a map that is in general pretty good for drops. Should TY draw a zerg instead of Classic, he would be playing arguably his favorite matchup. With notoriously aggressive and abusive strategies in TvZ, a zerg will likely have to play less greedy than normal on Frost just so he doesn’t die to TY. TY is a great player, aided by the format, and the possibilities for him are endless on a map that is so expected to produce standard play.

Writers: Zealously, Destructicon, banjoetheredskin,
Graphics: shiroiusagi
Contributors: DarkLordOlli, Soularion, CosmicSpiral, Trasko, peanuts, lichter, Zeweig
Photos: Proleague
Artwork: Blizzard
Editors: Zealously, Shellshock, DarkLordOlli