Reach, otherwise known as the herotoss or mantoss, is one of the most successful protoss players ever. He posted dominant results from 2002 through to 2005 and this is the story of his last successful assault on the major leagues.
Uzoo MSL
The First Couple Games
Reach entered UZOO MSL from MBCGame Survivor, having not participated in YATGK MSL. Reach, had been absent from the majors for a while, besides a 3rd placing in EVER 2004 OSL but is a sure fan favourite. Reach has always been popular for his masterful PvT and solid PvZ and his OSL win in SKY 2 OSL over Boxer and his devastating loss to JulyZerg in Gilette OSL. His first couple of opponents were nothing but cannon fodder for the man toss. He sliced and diced TheMarine and then toured Mingu (one, two) for an easy ticket to the Winner's Semis.
The Winner Bracket Semi-Finals
Reach would now meet the up and coming star IPXZerg, or as we know him, Savior. There were very high hopes for this game from reach, and the result shocked a lot of people. Nevertheless the two games are a good watch especially if you are interested in Savior
Game 1
Game 2
With that loss Reach was forced into the loser bracket where...
Loser Bracket Quarter Finals
Reach ran into the Perfect Terran - Xellos. Reach ran amok over Xellos and took victory in two decisive sets and introduced to 101 ways to cook xellos. But if you're interested in the two games here they are;
Game 1
Game 2
When I look back on the clip in particular it reminds me that Reach has got more talent and skill in his little finger than bisu will ever have in his entire body. The mantoss is to be feared and revered by all; and that clip shows why that must be so.
The Loser Bracket Semi-Finals
Reach now met the fiercest TvP monster of all time - iloveoov. I won't dwell too much on the pre-match context as I had a brief chat about this in this blog. On TL the question on everyones mind was - who was going to stop oov? Despite him falling to the winners curse, he looked untouchable. He tore up the loser bracket of Uzoo and was the heavy favourite over Reach. The resulting clash was one of the finest displays of PvT in history.
Game 1
Game 2
Game 3
The Bo5 answered the question to teamliquid; who could beat oov? Reach on crack. The series was absolutely insane, Reach was playing on a different level of PvT to oov the entire time - something very rare especially against a player like oov.
The Loser Bracket Final
Up in the winners bracket, IPXZerg (Savior) had just defeated Chojja and thus sent him down to fight Reach for a spot in the grand finals. Chojja at this time was pushing it for the best zerg in the progaming scene, he looked very frightening in all 3 matchups. Also, Zergs tend to preform better against Protoss who are on their own team as they know their style very thoroughly, so once again Reach was the underdog in this confrontation.
Game 1
Game 2
Game 3
Game 4 (7th in MSL Top 100 - long game)
Game 5
the Reach/Chojja Bo5 is one of the great PvZ series prior to the Bisu revolution. It has it all, drama, action, pimpest plays and a comeback. It has it all and the games are also great standalone. But just clear your day if you intend on watching the series, its a good 2 hours long.
The Grand Final
Reach would play the grand final against the man who put him into the loser bracket - Savior. After Reach's impressive performance against Chojja, many people had Reach to win the final against the 'new guy'.
Game 1
Game 2
Game 3
Game 4
In a way, this series represents the end of Brood War as we knew it. We would enter the era of Savior and with it came a plethora of new faces on the scene. The OSL/MSL Veterans began OSL/MSL hopefuls and one by one the slipped into the Offline Prelims. But on the other hand, it was a good series for a final - although the Reach/Chojja series was better. It was the perfect way for Savior to usher in his time of reckoning.
Aftermath
Reach's Uzoo run had some of the great games of 2005, not only that they remain great even in 2008. Reach's brutal PvT style exhibited in this tournament should be noted by the new generation; those games are just epic. In addition to that, the Losers Final was epic. Rarely do PvZ's last the full 5 games, and game 4 certainly looked like a 3-1 for Chojja was coming up. It is a great series and a must watch Anyway, i wanna close this blogs by thanking Live2Win who uploaded all the Uzoo vods to Google - fucking EPIC effort man much much appreciated <3<3
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Here's an extra special vod for you
Here is the infamous Reach vs Rock @ RoV; one of the best PvP's ive ever seen. Super agressive, super entertaining, super micro. I dont think ill get another place to put it, so mayaswell dump it here
Reach vs Rock
Here is the infamous Reach vs Rock @ RoV; one of the best PvP's ive ever seen. Super agressive, super entertaining, super micro. I dont think ill get another place to put it, so mayaswell dump it here
Reach vs Rock