With both teams having several players performing at a very high level, this should quite easily be a highlight of the season even in its early stages. Kwanro'll be playing against his old team for the first time for added potential hilarity. It looks pretty even on paper, and I really, really want it to go to an ace match. Mainly because there is a good chance that, if that happens:
- Stars will send free
- SK will send Fantasy
And as we all know, free's games are where amazing happens. Especially against Fantasy, as their most recent matchup from last season's OSL showed. For those that didn't see it, it's here, but I've compiled the awesomeness in words and pictures for you below.
+ Show Spoiler [image heavy] +
free spawns at 5 and Fantasy at 7 on Grand Line. It's not that interesting early on, Fantasy walling off, free going 12 nexus, so let's go round the crowd:
A good start. Shortly afterwards, Fantasy decides to be tricky:
Yes, a hidden expansion. With this additional economy, Fantasy should be well placed to profit in this game, assuming it's not scouted...
Which might happen, as free places a random pylon in what would be that base's third. The probe continues...
Yep, free knows what's up. Fantasy, fearing that free will just a-move zealots/goons to it, moves all his SCV's away and lifts, flying the CC all the way to where his normal third expansion would be:
In the age that it takes to get over there, Fantasy's patented vulture harassment is able to do precisely nothing, while free happily macros and techs up, going arbiters. With a handy ground force built up, it's time to 1a2a3a:
The push wipes out much of Fantasy's army, leaving him with just two and a bit bases against free's four. This situation is not pretty for him, free expands all over the map and pumps arbs off of two stargates. Which makes for a lot of stasis:
Normal people with sensible gg timing would pack it in shortly after this, as goons are able to push up the ramp into his main, more or less untroubled as tanks are stasised at will. Fantasy however plays on. This calls for more direct measures:
Everyone loves stasising workers. Fantasy, however, refuses to gg, as he now has science vessels out. Some well placed EMP's ought to neutralise a lot of the tactical advantage of free's arbiters...
That's assuming you hit them. Fantasy's ploy fails horribly. With just two bases to free's everything else, free opts for the only way left to end the game:
Scouts. But how to deploy them?
RECALL TATATATATATA TATATATATATA into gg
Hopefully we will get something that matches that level of epicness. Please let it happen one time. Nobody wants to see Canata/Really followed by several ZvZ's. Stars fighting.