Terran vs Zerg. A long history of war between them.

7 battles... but there was only 1 victory for the Zerg.

This is the real deal. Might vs Power.

Continuous attacking, superior battling ability,

unstoppable offense, the God of War!

JulyZerg!!

Mass units, amazing macro,

Explosive Power, the Monster Terran!!

ILoveOov!!

Their abilities are beyond what should be humanly possible.

The God of War versus The Monster

Can he be the first one who wins 3 championships?

Can the God of War take the Golden mouse?

Or will the monster Terran take his 2nd championship?

If so, he will be one step closer to the Golden Mouse himself.

This is the Shinhan Bank Star League Finals!!

15 vs 1. The one and only Starleauge.

Who will be the ultimate one?

Hello game fans.

Shinhan bank has been with us from the beginning.

This is Shinhan Bank's Star League Final showdown!

This stage is filled with Star Craft fans.

Let's start this final with your cheering!

This is the final we've been waiting for,

And we can't wait anymore! Let's meet the finalists!!

Might vs Power. The god of war vs The monster.

This is the real deal.

Quater finals vs TheRock

Semi finals vs Pusan

An overflowing mass of units. The god of war, JulyZerg!

The first Zerg champion. The first Zerg champion who beat a Terran.

The God of War made the impossible seem possible.

Tonight he is trying to become the first 3-time winner.

Can he take the golden mouse?

He will do everything possible,

The God of War; JulyZerg!!!!!

Quater finals vs Boxer

Semi finals vs Casy

He is the Monster Terran. ILoveOov.

He, once again, overcame that wall that was his master.

To have another battle with Boxer under the same conditions,

he must beat JulyZerg and win the championship.

The monster Terran. ILoveOov!!

The final battle is about to begin!

At this point, JulyZerg is the one who's closest to the Golden mouse.

Oov is just one step behind him towards the golden mouse.

JulyZerg vs Oov. Oov vs JulyZerg!

These top players will have their final matches tonight!

Like Shinhan Bank who's been with us from the beginning,

I will introduce the people who will be with me till the end.

First, this is Um Jae-Kyung!

Hello I am Um Jae-Kyung.

And this is Kim Do-Hyung.

Hello. This is Kim Do-Hyung.

JulyZerg, who's challenging for the golden mouse.

And Oov, who's trying to get closer to it.

We will have short interviews before the matches.

First let's meet JulyZerg.

How do you feel now?

Hello. I am JulyZerg from POS.

So many people came here today,

So I will try to show you some exciting games.

Thank you.

People use 'the first' to describe your records.

I am sure you are looking to win the golden mouse.

What's your thought on that?

Before thinking about the golden mouse,

I am focusing on the upcoming matches,

Since it's something that follows after you actually win.

I will win to achieve my 3rd championship title and the golden mouse.

From your interview with other media

you said you will make another 'Lim Jin War'

But Zerg has a bad record on the Lim Jin Wars...

I will change the history, so Zerg will win the war.

That was my intent during the interview.

After many great games and battles,

I will win. That's what I foresee.

I see.. the Lim Jin War isn't over yet. JulyZerg will end the story.

Your father was in China on a business trip, but he came back to see you here.

Any word for your parents and these fans?

My father came back from china to see this final.

For my parents, I will win.

Thank you for the interview.

Let's meet Oov now.

The first question is the same. How do you feel right now?

I am nervous now.

Uh.. I've practiced so hard for this final,

So I am also excited to show my game.

Oh excited. This is first time I heard the word 'excited' during the interview.

You said you were nervous... Somehow it doesn't go with "Oov".

I've always been nervous before a game...

And to hide that nervouseness, I've lied.

That's why I always say "I am very confident."

To be honest,

I am nervous now.

And my opponent is JulyZerg.

I will keep myself sharp and alert.

You said "matches with JulyZerg helped me improve my TvZ" during interviews,

Remember the Gillette Star League? Both of you started with a similar situaion.

You lost during the semi finals and JulyZerg walked on the Royal Road.

Do you remember the match?

Yes.. I remember very clearly.

I will avenge it tonight.

I see. Your parents are also here, as well as your fans.

Any words for your parents and your fans?

I will win.

I see. We don't need any more words than that.

These finalists will prepare for the battles to come.

After all the mathces are over, we may have the owner of the Golden mouse,

or we may have one more 2-time champion.

Everyone, please give a big hand to these players!

In the year 2004, he debuted on the Gillette Star League

He's the only one to walk the royal road as a Zerg player.

He beat the Hero Protoss Reach by a score of 3-1 at the finals,

and he became the first Zerg champion.

And he acquired his nickname the God of War.

But as the OSL curse says,

He then lost to the Storm Zerg Yellow at the quarter finals

But he trained hard.

On the next IOPS Starleague, he beat GoodFriend and became one of the two finalists.

There were people saying that Zerg can never win against a Terran at the OSL finals.

He proved it by losing to the Genius Terran Nada by 0-3.

But the God of War didn't step back.

In 2005's Ever Starleague, he fought GoodFriend who is the student of Nada.

He showed us amazing Muta control and won the championship.

He became a 2-time champion and the first Zerg who beat a Terran at the finals.

He holds all the Zerg records here in Ongamenet history.

People say Zerg are in a dark age during the Shinhan Bank league,

but he's trying to resurrect Zerg.

6 consecutive Starleague appearances, 4th time to appear on the final,

2-time championship winner,

He has all the prestigeous records for Zerg.

It's not JulyZerg who chose Zerg. Zerg chose JulyZerg.

The God of War JulyZerg.

For him, Oov is just a sacrifice for the golden mouse.

His first appearance on OSL was the Gillette Starleague.

On the semi final, he lost to JulyZerg, who was also a rookie like him.

Although he couldn't walk the Royal Road like JulyZerg, he wasn't disappointed in himself.

In the 2004 Ever Starleague, he defeated his master, Boxer,

and won his first championship.

But since it was a match between him and his master,

he couldn't really enjoy the moment.

The tears on Boxer also made Oov sad.

IOPS Starleague 16. Ever Starleague quater finals.

In the SO1 Starleague he couldn't stop the legend of the fall and landed on 3rd place.

But he resurrected with his team.

The fate drove him to another match with his master,

after another victory, he finally smiled.

There are no more obstacles for him to celebrate a championship.

JulyZerg isn't an important figure for Oov now.

All he wants is another match with Boxer on the finals,

for the golden mouse.

The god of war is just a road he must step on.

Yes. Shinhan Bank is with us from the beginning to the end!

This is the final showdown!

Oov and JulyZerg. Record-wise or whatever-wise,

They are the best players for the final games.

Uhh.. yes.. uh...

Until now, there have been 17 finals. This is the 18th one.

There was always an exciting story on the final.

Like background stories and relationships you know..

The big battle between power vs power. This is it!

Unfortunately we can have Terran vs Protoss vs Zerg play.

Everyone's saying this is the match.

These two are the best Zerg and the best Terran at this time.

So I am really excited about these games.

Also JulyZerg has been the #1 on KESPA rankings,

but Oov became #1 on March.

They are rivals now. This is another Lim-Jin war.

July also said "I will change the history of Lim Jin War. Zerg will win at the end."

That's what July declared!

They are also feeling that

they became rivals to each other.

Neither of them wants to step back.

Uh... it was dark so I couldn't see well...

anyway, not only their fans and families, Shinhan bank supporters and other associates are here too.

The Final's format is BO5. Let's look at the map order.

The first map is Shinhan Cultivation Period. This is a hot issue.

There have been a lot of exciting matches on this map.

From the beginning to the end,

you can't guess who will win the game.

Also the balance between Zerg and Terran is another issue.

Generally speaking...

We can say Oov has the advantage on maps, order-wise.

As you see, Shinhan Cultivation Period is the 1st and 5th.

So Oov has a little more confidence than July.

But July is the one who ignores rules.

Coach Park also said "July will ignore the balance issue and take the golden mouse."

SK T1 had a blasting year for 2005. They swiped all the prizes.

I heard they prepared a special training room for Oov only. He prepared a lot.

As you saw from the intro movie we made,

They are Gillette Starleague classmates.

On the semi final, July beat Oov and walked the royal road

After that he added another championship and became a 2-time champion.

Now he's looking for the golden mouse.

Look at this chart. Championship after championship.

If one's on top, another is kinda way below.

Anyway, if Oov had won the semi final which they first met,

Oov might be the one who's trying to grab the golden mouse.

Their score is 4-4 in Ongamenet. True rivals.

If you include other leagues too, it's 13-9.

Oov has few more wins from July.

But July has a better record on longer matches like a BO5 series.

Oov is doing great recently.

But in the year 2004 he lost to July and failed to go on to the final.

Right. That's something he can't forget.

Also when they collided in IOPS, July won again.

In the SO1 Starleague, Oov took revenge on July. So it's little bit more even now.

But when you consider the importance of each match,

July won the bigger ones.

If you include show matches, special games, etc. Oov has 13-9 score.

But if you see OGN matches only, this is like Oov's revenge match.

Right. Let's see how they are doing now.

July always prepares quick. He's joined now.

As soon as Oov joins, we will start the game.

We will see the faces of these two finalists.

Check them now.

From the beginning to the end.. Shinhan Bank is with us.

The Shinhan bank Star League final!

This match will finish up the Starleague started in 2005.

One of July's two championships was

the 2005 Ever Star League. He played that final here in Kintex.

July beat quite a lot of other Zerg players.

He's on the top position.

The only bad one is that IOPS final which he lost to Nada 0-3

I think it was March 5th.

As you know, today is March 4th.

It happened nearly the same day as today.

So he may remember that painful day.

But this place is also when Zerg beat Terran for the first time in a final.

Right here Kintex.

He must look on the bright side,

Their score is 4:4

Oov won more if you include other matches, but July won the more important games.

The first map is Shinhan Cultivation period. People are saying Zerg has a big disadvantage here.

Let's look at the map and discuss.

From the Dual Tournament games that held yesterday,

Each Terran from Group E and F won over Zerg,

So TvZ has become 10:2

We can say this map has a huge advantage for Terran.

But strange enough, Oov doesn't support it.

Oov said "Zerg are okay on this map"

Once he even said "This is a Zerg map!" although he was joking.

But when he was serious, he said "Well.. Terran has the advantage but

10-2 makes no sense."

He believes Zerg has a good chance to win on this one.

And the opponent is July, it won't be easy like 10-2.

July also said "Zerg is okay on this map"

This is Oov's poster. "Thank you. $20,000 have been deposited in Oov's Shinhan Bank account"

It will happen if he wins.

It starts from Boxer, but anyway, it's same amount of money.

And this is JulyZerg. Can he win his 3rd championship?

This is July's poster. "The savior of Zerg"; and of course he is.

He was the first Zerg champion.

Also, he's strong enough to shake off those rumors and jinxes.

It's because July appeared so many times during finals,

people always say Zerg has a dark history during Star Leagues,

since you must rely on July untill someone else rises up.

Yes. Even though the map has

a terrible score for Zerg,

since it's July, You can expect something from him.

Even if Oov goes for an early rush,

if July can utilize his unit control, he can do well later.

We can also describe it like this,

other Zergs can't really shine because of July.

July wins championships and does very well.

So other Zergs see July and rate him as a superior high class gamer.

And assume he will overcome all those disadvantages.

But when they actually play, it's different.

So you may say other Zergs have a disadvantage because of July.

And it looks like July also thinks the same way.

Since this map will be used on both the 1st and the 5th games.

The 1st game will decide the flow of whole series.

Same thing applies to Oov too.

When you think about TvZ, Oov comes up.

Among these maps we will see tonight,

Rush Hour2 is the best map for Zerg.

But it doesn't really matter.

Oov has no losing record on Zerg favored maps.

That means Oov also ignores those records and data.

As we mentioned before, July has been ready..

as soon as Oov's ready we can start the first match.

July dominated Pusan who is his teammate on the semi final.

But Oov had a tough battle against Casy. It was 3-2.

So some people say July has the momentum.

But if you see the data it's not like that.

Oov has a 4-0 winning streak against Zerg.

Also his TvZ percentage is the 2nd highest on OGN. Boxer's is the top.

If he wins this final 3-1 or better, he will have the best TvZ percentage.

But July's ZvT is 1-5 since SO1.

When you look at this data, you can say Oov has the momentum.

As we were saying that, Oov has joined.

We are ready now.

As soon as I get the signal,

the map for the 1st game; and it can be on the 5th game too.

we will start the important match.

Alright. Oov vs July. July vs Oov. Let's go.

From the beginning to the end. Shinhan Bank is with us.

The Shihan Bank Star League Final.

This is the 18th Star League final.

We may have the owner of the golden mouse after the 18th final.

Among those 18, we had 7 TvZ finals.

Terran has won 6 times.

The total score is 20-8. Terran is leading.

Or we will have another 2-time champion. We will start with your applause!

The game has started. This is July's base.

He is the white Zerg.

And this is his opponent Oov.

The red Terran

Oov said "This isn't a Terran map. Zerg has a decent chance"

The reason why he said it was

He looked like he was confident on this map

But he considers this map only 55:45 or 60:40 in favor of Terran

If he prepares a lot and wins a match, it's good.

But he doesn't want to hear "Oov won an easy game on a Terran map!"

Oov is blocking his entrance.

The reason why we have a 10-2 score on this map,

is that the rushing distance is short.

Another reason is Terran can easily defend the entrance with few units.

So Zerg has a hard time using fast Lings, like 9-pool Speedlings.

They can't harrass with Lings early on.

Terran has more choices than Zerg.

Before the final, I privately asked them about his map.

July looked around and said "Is Oov around here?"

So I said he was with his parents.

July said "The map is okay"

It seemed like he doesn't want Oov to hear that.

July doesn't look like he's doing a 1 Hatch build.

He will produce 6 Lings first, then expands safely.

We just saw coach Joo and Seo.

Coach Seo also studied Shinhan Cultivation Period a lot.

He also drew the conclusion that the map is not in huge favor for Terran.

July is taking the natural expansion,

and Oov scouted July's base.

July had two options.

He could've made Lings and took his natural like this.

Or he could've gone for 9 Drone 1 Hatch play.

If he had went for the 2nd option, the 12-6 starting positions would not be good.

Positioning wise, July started okay.

Since July took the natural expansion,

Considering Terran's timing.. usually Zerg players go for Lurkers.

If Zerg goes for Mutas since they got the natural,

the distance is so short, which means they can get harassed.

Oh July is breaking the natural obstacles.

He has to use those Lings before Terran comes out.

He can attack the Terran's back as well as take the natural base close to Terran's main.

If you exclude the fact that the rushing distance is short,

this map is like Guillotine.

There are no hills or upper ground. The map is flat.

The bases are surrounded by walls only.

Guillotine was known as a Zerg map.

Because there are many Gas expos on the map.

If Zerg destroys the neutral buildings and makes multiple paths,

This map becomes like Guillotine.

That's the fun of Cultivation Period.

Oov is building another Barracks instead of a Factory.

He can strike before Lurkers come out.

If July doesn't make enough Sunkens he will be in trouble.

If July can come inside Oovs base and spots the 3 Barracks, he will have good chance.

Oov successfully destroys Lings.

How many units can July produce before Lurkers come out?

Oov can produce more..

He may have a good chance before Lurkers come out.

July's increasing his sunken count. He must delay Oov.

Wow!! Oov is thinking,

Even though he sends those Marines,

July will have solid defense. It's 12-6 position.

So instead, he killed an Overlord. He just got one.

Another good thing is he's not showing his 3 Barracks build to July.

He's not letting July scout.

July may need to save some Hydralisks.

Oooh. The 2nd wave of troops are the main force.

He will go for Han Bang!

July has no Lurkers yet.

This can work! See those Firebats!

He also has many Medics!

This can be a quick game!

Considering Oov's control.. this is not good.

He has 3 Barracks.

July's Lurker timing wasn't bad. But Oov's preparation was better.

Hydralisks aren't fighting and Sunkens are trying to delay!

Can July do anything after he loses the natural?

Ahhh.. he only has 1 Sunken left.

Even though Lurkers come out, the damage has been done.

Lurkers come out! Two left!

The troops are going in to the main!

He just needs to kill Drones.

July prepared a defensive line but Oov penetrated it.

Right now Oov just needs to..

July's economy is down.

If Oov prepared a 2 Rax build, he couldn't have done this.

This is not all. More will come.

It's all Oov's build

July didn't see it coming at all.

He managed to save some Drones. That's amazing.

But he only has a few Lurkers.

And he loses them all...

Gee Gee

July's empty handed. Geeeeee Geeeeeee

Oov could've used his scans earlier,

But he saved them for a moment like this.

In 7:44, he made 3 Barracks and finished the game.

There are Oov's parents.

Oov took the map he must win.

Can he be another 2-time championship winner?

Oov took a victory on the first map and is leading the score by 1-0.