Big thanks to Daigomi for the banner
Game One: Much vs Hyun
Map: Hwarangdo
History: 0-0
This is Much’s third OSL, and his second consecutive. Last season was a definite disappointment for him as he lost 0-2 to Bisu after sweeping his group. His path the to next round this season looks good though, with two zergs in his group. Anyone who practices with the caliber of zergs Much does should be confident in the matchup.
As for Hyun, this is his first foray into the major individual league. He has started his career with an impressive 15-7 record, including being 11-4 in his last 15 proleague games. As part of an MBC team which manufactures successful players at an amazing rate, he is one to watch for this season.
+ Show Spoiler [Game Comments] +
This was a pretty standard PvZ with both players hitting midgame early. Much tried some cute cheese at the beginning but it was quickly shut down. Hyun looked to be in good position as he razed Much's second expansion and had his lurkers obliterate the fleeing probes. While Much regrouped by killing about 1000 lings who charged in a straight line, he did not have the answer for ultralisks. A doom drop in his main leveled everything and Hyun sent Much packing in the first game.
Hyun is Mr. Ling, and made smart choices the whole game.
Game Two: Rumble vs go.go
Map: Hwarangdo
History: 0-0
This is Rumble's second straight OSL, and he is definitely looking to improve on last season where he went 1-4 and failed to make it out of the group stages. Rumble has been playing since 2003, but never seems to be able to string more than one or two victories together. This group will be a challenge for him, but it does not feature any S-class talent, so this may be his best chance.
As for go.go, he is making his OSL debut. As a member of the scrappy Sparkyz lineup, he on the way up by going 9-4 in the past 4 months. OGN needs some success, and go.go just might be the guy to do it.
+ Show Spoiler [Game Comments] +
It is nice to see variation on the 3-hatch muta opening, and Rumble was rewarded for it early. The game featured some intense micro in the first 10 minutes. Rumble followed up his quick lurkers with a quick hive, and his micro allowed him to survive go.go's death squads.
The game turned out to be very entertaining as Rumble tried to limit go.go to his natural while go.go used a combo of mm and spider mines to fight the ultralisks armies. He had creative dropship use, but was over matched when it came to head-on fights. Rumble did a good job of starving go.go with his spell casting and showed a nice model for future zerg players on this map.
The game turned out to be very entertaining as Rumble tried to limit go.go to his natural while go.go used a combo of mm and spider mines to fight the ultralisks armies. He had creative dropship use, but was over matched when it came to head-on fights. Rumble did a good job of starving go.go with his spell casting and showed a nice model for future zerg players on this map.
Game Three: Winner’s match
Map: Andromeda
History: + Show Spoiler +
Hyun 0:0 Rumble
+ Show Spoiler [Game Comments] +
Rumble both played intelligently and got lucky early. His diagonal scout gave him less of a chance to be scouted right away, and also allowed him to see the lings streaming towards his 12 hatch. This allowed him to cancel and defend his base well with a sunken colony, getting his lair at a similar time as Hyun but having an extra hatchery as well.
From this tense opening the game evolved into an entertaining ZvZ. Both players turtled a bit, taking their naturals and their second gas. The match revolved around Hyun's offense and Rumble's defense, with both players showing off their scourge control and utilizing sneaky counter attacks. However, Hyun's mineral economy was weak and he lacked a third hatchery, which forced him to fight with scourge more than mutalisks. At the fifteen minute mark Rumble had survived long enough that his economic advantage widened the gap and he could finally attack. Great patience on defense won this match.
Game Four: Loser’s match
Map: Andromeda
History: + Show Spoiler +
Much 1:0 go.go
+ Show Spoiler [Game Comments] +
Considering he was facing elimination, go.go disappointed me by not letting his skill decide the match. His rush was scouted and blocked beautifully by Much's shield battery. Once the rush failed, Much had no problem disposing of go.go. Weak sauce.
Game Five: Final match
Map: Troy
History: + Show Spoiler +
Much 0:1 Hyun
+ Show Spoiler [Game Comments] +
We finished where we started, with Much and Hyun in the deciding game. It looked bad for Hyun early, as he failed at several all-in attempts, and things got only got worse once his mutalisks got a taste of two gate corsairs. Hyper-aggression is quickly becoming his trademark, but unfortunately for him Much is the true master of nexus d. He beat back wave after wave of lings with probes and cannons. Hyun's constant ling pressure cost him dearly back home as he could not deal with the corsairs ranging over his bases. In a tense game, Much kept his cool and advances to the next round.
This was a superb group of matches. All but one were tense and filled with tight protracted battles. They demanded a cool head from all the gamers, and the coolest of the group advanced to the second round.
Hey guess what? The next group is starting exactly 2 minutes from when I post this! Check out July in his new threads.
ame 1: FrOzean < Hwarangdo > Anytime
Game 2: July < Hwarangdo > Mind
Winners: < Andromeda >
Losers: < Andromeda >
Playoff: < Troy >
Cheers,
Mani