Match Rating: 7/10
Click for match play by play and commentary
Game 1 - Metalopolis
Close air positions, Ret at 2 and Cyrano at 12
Pylon at the bottom of the ramp, then forge first for Cyrano
Ret goes pool first
Ret gets his expansion on about 16, Protoss gets a cannon and nexus at his expansion
Zergling speed for ret, Cyrano transfers to his natural as the cybernetics core warps in
Cyrano sends his first zealot out for minor pressure, Ret getting lair and a roach warren
The scout zealot is surrounded and killed by zerglings, Ret getting burrow and burrow movement
Cyrano gets two stargates and more gateways, Ret takes his third
Pheonixes coming from Cyrano, but Ret scouts the stargates and the first two phoenixes
Ret starts getting hydralisks and a spore crawler
Ret's small group of roaches pressure the expansion
Only a few stalkers and sentries there to defend, Cyrano has to warp in more stalkers
Cyrano snipes some overlords with his pheonixes, but the roaches kill many pylons and stalkers
Cyrano gets two robotics, using about six phoenixes to harass drones
Despite the harassment, Ret is way ahead in supply thanks to his third base
Ret's hydras move out across a creep highway toward Cyrano's natural
The pheonixes are unopposed, but the hydralisks are doing tremendous damage
Two colossus force Ret to pull back, but not before he did a lot of damage
Phoenixes still killing overlords, Ret takes a fourth while Cyrano takes a third
Infestors out for Ret, getting a spire and hive
Ret is maxed and has a huge number of units, he throws his army into Cyrano's colossus army
Ret replaces the supply with mass corruptors, they obliterate the colossus and roaches hold the stalkers
Ret probes Cyrano's natural with a roach/corruptor army while expanding to another outside base
Ret also takes the near gold in the center, getting brood lords
Cyrano starts taking the gold on his side but Ret has six brood lords
Mass stalker army comes to fight, the stalkers are protected from roaches by force fields
Enormous three minute battle is fought above Cyrano's natural between brood lord/roach and stalker/colossus
Ret stays maxed throughout the battle as both players stream in reinforcements, Cyrano's supply drops steadily
Finally Ret hits critical mass and sweeps away the last of Cyrano's army, the gold is undefended
Cyrano concedes
Cyrano didn't pressure Ret early, and unfortunately for him Ret's macro is clearly a force to be reckoned with
Game 2 - Jungle Basin
Ret goes hatch first, Cyrano does a fast expand as well
Ret starts his pool on 16, forge and gateway at the top of Cyrano's ramp
Zergling speed for Ret, Cyrano chronoboosts his first zealot
Lair on about 35 supply for Ret, Cyrano adds a few gateways
Ret's zerglings go to Cyrano's rocks, but he puts a cannon there
Cyrano getting double stargates, Ret's hydralisk den is already finished
Phoenixes coming for Cyrano again, Ret extending creep with tumors and overlords
Double robotics again for Cyrano, Ret takes his third, scouted immediately by the phoenixes
Spire for Ret, robotics support bay for Cyrano
Zealots attack Ret's third, Ret saves it but only barely (16 hp left)
A stalker comes and finishes the job, phoenixes harass
Infestors out for Ret, Cyrano starts taking his third
Ret moves in with roach/hydra and forces Cyrano to cancel the third nexus
Ret pokes where Cyrano's rocks were but is repelled by colossus
Cyrano moves out with his colossus/stalker
Ret has a fearsome number of corruptors, they slaughter the colossus
Remaining roach/hydra clears away the stalkers
Ret getting hive, Cyrano still only on two bases
Ret moves in through the rocks with his army, Cyrano doesn't have enough let to defend
Cyrano surrenders
When Cyrano sniped the hatchery, he seemed like he had the advantage, but afterward Ret out-macroed and out-maneuvered him
Commentary: Cyrano was better than most people probably expected considering he was a teamless unknown player, but Ret was clearly on another level. Ret won both games through his very impressive macro, but in future matches his opponents probably won't be hands off in the early game. Like IdrA, he's going to have to be ready for both early game cheese and tricky mid-game strategies.
Close air positions, Ret at 2 and Cyrano at 12
Pylon at the bottom of the ramp, then forge first for Cyrano
Ret goes pool first
Ret gets his expansion on about 16, Protoss gets a cannon and nexus at his expansion
Zergling speed for ret, Cyrano transfers to his natural as the cybernetics core warps in
Cyrano sends his first zealot out for minor pressure, Ret getting lair and a roach warren
The scout zealot is surrounded and killed by zerglings, Ret getting burrow and burrow movement
Cyrano gets two stargates and more gateways, Ret takes his third
Pheonixes coming from Cyrano, but Ret scouts the stargates and the first two phoenixes
Ret starts getting hydralisks and a spore crawler
Ret's small group of roaches pressure the expansion
Only a few stalkers and sentries there to defend, Cyrano has to warp in more stalkers
Cyrano snipes some overlords with his pheonixes, but the roaches kill many pylons and stalkers
Cyrano gets two robotics, using about six phoenixes to harass drones
Despite the harassment, Ret is way ahead in supply thanks to his third base
Ret's hydras move out across a creep highway toward Cyrano's natural
The pheonixes are unopposed, but the hydralisks are doing tremendous damage
Two colossus force Ret to pull back, but not before he did a lot of damage
Phoenixes still killing overlords, Ret takes a fourth while Cyrano takes a third
Infestors out for Ret, getting a spire and hive
Ret is maxed and has a huge number of units, he throws his army into Cyrano's colossus army
Ret replaces the supply with mass corruptors, they obliterate the colossus and roaches hold the stalkers
Ret probes Cyrano's natural with a roach/corruptor army while expanding to another outside base
Ret also takes the near gold in the center, getting brood lords
Cyrano starts taking the gold on his side but Ret has six brood lords
Mass stalker army comes to fight, the stalkers are protected from roaches by force fields
Enormous three minute battle is fought above Cyrano's natural between brood lord/roach and stalker/colossus
Ret stays maxed throughout the battle as both players stream in reinforcements, Cyrano's supply drops steadily
Finally Ret hits critical mass and sweeps away the last of Cyrano's army, the gold is undefended
Cyrano concedes
Cyrano didn't pressure Ret early, and unfortunately for him Ret's macro is clearly a force to be reckoned with
Game 2 - Jungle Basin
Ret goes hatch first, Cyrano does a fast expand as well
Ret starts his pool on 16, forge and gateway at the top of Cyrano's ramp
Zergling speed for Ret, Cyrano chronoboosts his first zealot
Lair on about 35 supply for Ret, Cyrano adds a few gateways
Ret's zerglings go to Cyrano's rocks, but he puts a cannon there
Cyrano getting double stargates, Ret's hydralisk den is already finished
Phoenixes coming for Cyrano again, Ret extending creep with tumors and overlords
Double robotics again for Cyrano, Ret takes his third, scouted immediately by the phoenixes
Spire for Ret, robotics support bay for Cyrano
Zealots attack Ret's third, Ret saves it but only barely (16 hp left)
A stalker comes and finishes the job, phoenixes harass
Infestors out for Ret, Cyrano starts taking his third
Ret moves in with roach/hydra and forces Cyrano to cancel the third nexus
Ret pokes where Cyrano's rocks were but is repelled by colossus
Cyrano moves out with his colossus/stalker
Ret has a fearsome number of corruptors, they slaughter the colossus
Remaining roach/hydra clears away the stalkers
Ret getting hive, Cyrano still only on two bases
Ret moves in through the rocks with his army, Cyrano doesn't have enough let to defend
Cyrano surrenders
When Cyrano sniped the hatchery, he seemed like he had the advantage, but afterward Ret out-macroed and out-maneuvered him
Commentary: Cyrano was better than most people probably expected considering he was a teamless unknown player, but Ret was clearly on another level. Ret won both games through his very impressive macro, but in future matches his opponents probably won't be hands off in the early game. Like IdrA, he's going to have to be ready for both early game cheese and tricky mid-game strategies.
JSLZenith (T) vs KyrixZenith (Z)
Match Rating: 7/10
Click for match play by play and commentary
Game 1 - Metalopolis
Cross positions, JSL at 8 and Kyrix at 2
Kyrix goes hatch first on 15, JSL does a one barracks expand on 18
JSL gets a bunker at his natural, floats his barracks there as well
Kyrix pokes with zerglings, starts zergling speed
JSL gets a second barracks and a factory, Kyrix starts his baneling nest
JSL starts researching siege mode, Kyrix takes a third
Kyrix morphs a large number of banelings, JSL puts up two engineering bays
The natural is walled off and covered by siege tanks
The banelings move around, some hit the command center but it lifts
The others kill a few SCVs but don't do very much damage
Kyrix adds a few more banelings, but the siege tank coverage is too much
Kyrix gets a spire, his third is up and running
JSL has a marine/marauder force with a dropship, but stays at home
Kyrix takes a fourth, but JSL sends his army towards it
Three tanks, decent amount of infantry, and dropship for JSL
JSL sniping creep tumors, sieges tanks on the center high ground
JSL drops Kyrix's main and tries to snipe the baneling nest, repelled
JSL attacks Kyrix's third and kills the hatchery, Kyrix tries to counter but is stopped
JSL moves into Kyrix's natural and fights a huge battle, Kyrix uses drones but he holds
JSL tries to take his third, Kyrix rebuilding his third
JSL going strictly mass marine, perhaps because he saw Kyrix had mutalisks
Kyrix is still using a lot of banelings and there's no siege tanks now
Kyrix attacks the planetary fortress at the third, damages it with a lot of banelings but doesn't quite kill it
JSL moves out with a ton of marines and a few tanks, heads for Kyrix's third
JSL takes out the third easily, Kyrix can't even try to defend
Kyrix concedes
Everyone knew what Kyrix was going to do, and JSL had the answer. He was in control from the point he held Kyrix's initial attack.
Game 2 - Delta Quadrant
Left positions, JSL at 10 and Kyrix at 7
Kyrix goes hatch first at the natural outside his base, pool afterward on 14
JSL getting gas this time, pokes with his first marine, almost loses it to drones
Factory and second gas for JSL, builds a hellion, Kyrix gets a roach warren
Kyrix sacrifices an overlord to scout and spots the factory and hellion
The hellion comes to pressure with five marines, almost kill the queen
The queen dies, as do a few drones, but roaches come out and repel
The roaches counter to JSL's ramp, but a siege tank holds them off
Dropship moves out with a tank and four marines
Tank on the high ground over the natural, marines on the low ground behind the minerals
JSL drops a second tank at the expansion while the first covers from the high ground
The roaches try to deal with it but the dropship picks up the tank whenever they approach
Kyrix manages to plant a spine crawler at the expansion
JSL expands to the rear expansion, Kyrix tries to clear the rocks at the gold
JSL brings another tank and takes out the hatchery
Mutalisks finally arrive for Kyrix and clear the tank off the high ground
The mutalisks probe JSL's base but turrets and marines are ready to defend
Kyrix expands to the gold and also to his original natural, gets a baneling nest
JSL moving out with a huge number of marines, three tanks, and two dropships
Mutalisks move into JSL's base and do some decent damage, the army starts go back
JSL changes his mind and moves in to the gold, basically no defenses there
The hatchery falls, Kyrix attacks with zerglings and banelings
About two thirds of the marines die, but the survivors and the tanks are now unopposed
Kyrix surrenders
JSL's micro at Kyrix's natural did far more damage than even he probably expected, and after that Kyrix was always going to need a miracle.
Commentary: Well, Kyrix has a very specific way of playing, but his success is rooted primarily in his strategy. Foxer and JSL both beat him using superior micro to defuse the aggression. This level of micro seems beyond most GSL players, so Kyrix probably isn't out of date quite yet, but he should be thinking about making adjustments. JSL meanwhile is in the round of 32 but already has taken two high profile scalps, eliminating oGsNaDa in the qualifiers and now his teammate Kyrix.
Cross positions, JSL at 8 and Kyrix at 2
Kyrix goes hatch first on 15, JSL does a one barracks expand on 18
JSL gets a bunker at his natural, floats his barracks there as well
Kyrix pokes with zerglings, starts zergling speed
JSL gets a second barracks and a factory, Kyrix starts his baneling nest
JSL starts researching siege mode, Kyrix takes a third
Kyrix morphs a large number of banelings, JSL puts up two engineering bays
The natural is walled off and covered by siege tanks
The banelings move around, some hit the command center but it lifts
The others kill a few SCVs but don't do very much damage
Kyrix adds a few more banelings, but the siege tank coverage is too much
Kyrix gets a spire, his third is up and running
JSL has a marine/marauder force with a dropship, but stays at home
Kyrix takes a fourth, but JSL sends his army towards it
Three tanks, decent amount of infantry, and dropship for JSL
JSL sniping creep tumors, sieges tanks on the center high ground
JSL drops Kyrix's main and tries to snipe the baneling nest, repelled
JSL attacks Kyrix's third and kills the hatchery, Kyrix tries to counter but is stopped
JSL moves into Kyrix's natural and fights a huge battle, Kyrix uses drones but he holds
JSL tries to take his third, Kyrix rebuilding his third
JSL going strictly mass marine, perhaps because he saw Kyrix had mutalisks
Kyrix is still using a lot of banelings and there's no siege tanks now
Kyrix attacks the planetary fortress at the third, damages it with a lot of banelings but doesn't quite kill it
JSL moves out with a ton of marines and a few tanks, heads for Kyrix's third
JSL takes out the third easily, Kyrix can't even try to defend
Kyrix concedes
Everyone knew what Kyrix was going to do, and JSL had the answer. He was in control from the point he held Kyrix's initial attack.
Game 2 - Delta Quadrant
Left positions, JSL at 10 and Kyrix at 7
Kyrix goes hatch first at the natural outside his base, pool afterward on 14
JSL getting gas this time, pokes with his first marine, almost loses it to drones
Factory and second gas for JSL, builds a hellion, Kyrix gets a roach warren
Kyrix sacrifices an overlord to scout and spots the factory and hellion
The hellion comes to pressure with five marines, almost kill the queen
The queen dies, as do a few drones, but roaches come out and repel
The roaches counter to JSL's ramp, but a siege tank holds them off
Dropship moves out with a tank and four marines
Tank on the high ground over the natural, marines on the low ground behind the minerals
JSL drops a second tank at the expansion while the first covers from the high ground
The roaches try to deal with it but the dropship picks up the tank whenever they approach
Kyrix manages to plant a spine crawler at the expansion
JSL expands to the rear expansion, Kyrix tries to clear the rocks at the gold
JSL brings another tank and takes out the hatchery
Mutalisks finally arrive for Kyrix and clear the tank off the high ground
The mutalisks probe JSL's base but turrets and marines are ready to defend
Kyrix expands to the gold and also to his original natural, gets a baneling nest
JSL moving out with a huge number of marines, three tanks, and two dropships
Mutalisks move into JSL's base and do some decent damage, the army starts go back
JSL changes his mind and moves in to the gold, basically no defenses there
The hatchery falls, Kyrix attacks with zerglings and banelings
About two thirds of the marines die, but the survivors and the tanks are now unopposed
Kyrix surrenders
JSL's micro at Kyrix's natural did far more damage than even he probably expected, and after that Kyrix was always going to need a miracle.
Commentary: Well, Kyrix has a very specific way of playing, but his success is rooted primarily in his strategy. Foxer and JSL both beat him using superior micro to defuse the aggression. This level of micro seems beyond most GSL players, so Kyrix probably isn't out of date quite yet, but he should be thinking about making adjustments. JSL meanwhile is in the round of 32 but already has taken two high profile scalps, eliminating oGsNaDa in the qualifiers and now his teammate Kyrix.
Foxer (T) vs NEXLine (Z)
Match Rating: N/A -- Match not played due to NEXLine's hospitalization. By rule Foxer advances to the round of 32.
GuMihofOu (R) vs STMonster (Z)
Match Rating: 6/10
Click for match play by play and commentary
Game 1 - Jungle Basin
GuMiho rolls Protoss, Monster scouts early with a drone to find out
Hatch first for Monster, very fast nexus for GuMiho
GuMiho pressures with two zealots and kills a few zerglings, almost kills a queen
Monster starts working on GuMiho's rocks, GuMiho puts a pylon there and sees them
Monster massing lings and pokes the front, a sentry blocks them
Void ray coming for GuMiho, scouted by an overseer
Very large number of zerglings out for Monster putting more pressure on the rocks
Void ray picking off overlords, then attacks Monster's main with two phoenixes
Monster gets hydras, GuMiho getting a robotics and blink
GuMiho moves out with a medium-sized stalker/zealot force
Monster expands to the center expansion, GuMiho pokes
Roach/hydra for Monster, spire building, colossus coming for GuMiho
GuMiho takes the other center expansion, corruptors out for Monster
Both players at similar levels of supply, both players jockeying for position
Monster moves around the high ground and forces a battle with a good concave
The corruptors destroy the colossus easily, the remaining ground forces push back the stalkers
GuMiho doesn't have enough stalkers to handle the numbers of roach/hydra, he loses his third
GuMiho concedes
Well played by Monster, but GuMiho looked like a surprisingly credible Protoss player.
Game 2 - Metalopolis
Close air positions, GuMiho as Terran at 6 and Monster at 8
Hatch first for Monster, GuMiho gets gas and then builds a command center in his main
Poking with four marines, then turns around, zergling speed coming for Monster
Hellion out for GuMiho, blue flame being researched, poking again with six marines and the hellion
The marines get surrounded but the hellion sneaks into the main and sees the lair is coming
Expansion up and running for GuMiho, spire begins for Monster
GuMiho making a lot of hellions with a reactor, spire only half done
Baneling nest coming as well for Monster, five hellions poking the natural
GuMiho scans and kills three creep tumors, 11 mutalisks coming now
Armory for GuMiho, he puts a depot at Monster's third an slows the expansion
Mutalisks clear the depot, but can't do a lot of harassment
Lots of banelings and mutalisks for Monster
GuMiho does a good job fighting off banelings, but the mutalisks are reaching a critical mass
Monster takes the gold as his fourth, GuMiho trying to take his third
Mutalisks and banelings force the command center to lift, he clears away the banelings
But the mutalisks kill the command center
Monster pushes in with more banelings, again GuMiho's marine micro is sufficient to defeat them
Mutalisks start killing barracks, forcing GuMiho's marines to try to come back
GuMiho drops the main and tries to snipe the pool, but zerglings and mutalisks stop it
GuMiho tries to take the gold base, Monster attacks but siege tanks and marine micro defeat him
Siege tanks in range of the gold base, but they are cleared by mutalisks
Mutalisks stand and fight a large clump of marines, whittle them down
Very few units left for GuMiho
GuMiho surrenders
Despite winning most of the battles, GuMiho was outmatched strategically, unable to secure a third base or prevent Monster from getting his.
Commentary: GuMiho's micromanagement of blink stalkers and stimmed marines was quite impressive, but his build orders didn't seem optimized, putting him at a disadvantage in the midgame. He was able to win battles against greater numbers, but he didn't seem to have plans for moving beyond two bases. Monster played well, but against most players he won't be able to sustain the kind of tactical losses he did today.
GuMiho rolls Protoss, Monster scouts early with a drone to find out
Hatch first for Monster, very fast nexus for GuMiho
GuMiho pressures with two zealots and kills a few zerglings, almost kills a queen
Monster starts working on GuMiho's rocks, GuMiho puts a pylon there and sees them
Monster massing lings and pokes the front, a sentry blocks them
Void ray coming for GuMiho, scouted by an overseer
Very large number of zerglings out for Monster putting more pressure on the rocks
Void ray picking off overlords, then attacks Monster's main with two phoenixes
Monster gets hydras, GuMiho getting a robotics and blink
GuMiho moves out with a medium-sized stalker/zealot force
Monster expands to the center expansion, GuMiho pokes
Roach/hydra for Monster, spire building, colossus coming for GuMiho
GuMiho takes the other center expansion, corruptors out for Monster
Both players at similar levels of supply, both players jockeying for position
Monster moves around the high ground and forces a battle with a good concave
The corruptors destroy the colossus easily, the remaining ground forces push back the stalkers
GuMiho doesn't have enough stalkers to handle the numbers of roach/hydra, he loses his third
GuMiho concedes
Well played by Monster, but GuMiho looked like a surprisingly credible Protoss player.
Game 2 - Metalopolis
Close air positions, GuMiho as Terran at 6 and Monster at 8
Hatch first for Monster, GuMiho gets gas and then builds a command center in his main
Poking with four marines, then turns around, zergling speed coming for Monster
Hellion out for GuMiho, blue flame being researched, poking again with six marines and the hellion
The marines get surrounded but the hellion sneaks into the main and sees the lair is coming
Expansion up and running for GuMiho, spire begins for Monster
GuMiho making a lot of hellions with a reactor, spire only half done
Baneling nest coming as well for Monster, five hellions poking the natural
GuMiho scans and kills three creep tumors, 11 mutalisks coming now
Armory for GuMiho, he puts a depot at Monster's third an slows the expansion
Mutalisks clear the depot, but can't do a lot of harassment
Lots of banelings and mutalisks for Monster
GuMiho does a good job fighting off banelings, but the mutalisks are reaching a critical mass
Monster takes the gold as his fourth, GuMiho trying to take his third
Mutalisks and banelings force the command center to lift, he clears away the banelings
But the mutalisks kill the command center
Monster pushes in with more banelings, again GuMiho's marine micro is sufficient to defeat them
Mutalisks start killing barracks, forcing GuMiho's marines to try to come back
GuMiho drops the main and tries to snipe the pool, but zerglings and mutalisks stop it
GuMiho tries to take the gold base, Monster attacks but siege tanks and marine micro defeat him
Siege tanks in range of the gold base, but they are cleared by mutalisks
Mutalisks stand and fight a large clump of marines, whittle them down
Very few units left for GuMiho
GuMiho surrenders
Despite winning most of the battles, GuMiho was outmatched strategically, unable to secure a third base or prevent Monster from getting his.
Commentary: GuMiho's micromanagement of blink stalkers and stimmed marines was quite impressive, but his build orders didn't seem optimized, putting him at a disadvantage in the midgame. He was able to win battles against greater numbers, but he didn't seem to have plans for moving beyond two bases. Monster played well, but against most players he won't be able to sustain the kind of tactical losses he did today.
IMJunwi (Z) vs. TSLGuineaPig (P)
Match Rating: 7/10
Click for match play by play and commentary
Game 1 - Lost Temple
Close air positions, GuineaPig at 1 and Junwi at 3
Hatch first on 15 for Junwi, GuineaPig gets...a second pylon, wow.
GuineaPig finally puts down an expansion on about 18, still no gateway
Forge now placed at the natural choke, then a gateway
Roach warren for Junwi, constant chronoboosting of probes for GuineaPig
Roaches go to poke the natural, there are two cannons there
GuineaPig adds two more cannons, still has no units
GuineaPig gets a stargate and then void ray, Junwi gets a nydus
GuineaPig stops the first attempt at nydus with probes
The second finishes long enough for a few roaches and zerglings to get out
Many void rays now for GuineaPig, stuck in his base though for nydus defense
3 void rays, 2 phoenix for GuineaPig, Junwi getting hydralisks
3 void rays, 3 phoenixes heading into Junwi's natural
Only a few hydras and a queen there to defend, the phoenixes lift them easily
The voidrays kill the hydralisk den, then the remaining hydralisks, nothing left to hit air
Junwi concedes
The "Sky Protoss" strategy looked surprisingly good. Junwi's switch to hydralisks was way too late.
Game 2 - Shakuras Plateau
Cross positions, Junwi at 5, GuineaPig at 10
Hatch first on 15 for Junwi, forge on the low ground for GuineaPig
Nexus at 20 for GuineaPig, chronoboosting probes
Complete wall in at GuineaPig's choke with two cannons
Junwi takes a third base, still no attacking units for GuineaPig
Double stargate for GuineaPig
Proxy pylon at Junwi's third, then two cannons...no, three cannons
Four cannons now. 38 probes for GuineaPig and no attacking units
Voidray and phoenix out for GuineaPig, Junwi's third dies
Junwi tries to take a different third, but the void ray kills it
Hydras out for Junwi but most are killed by phoenixes
Gateways and a robotics for GuineaPig, more void rays as well
Robotics support bay, void rays break down the rocks to expand between mains
Junwi tries to put a hatchery in the center map expansion
Junwi's mass hydras take out the cannons at his original third
Junwi tries to take a fourth as well but void rays force a cancel
Hydras start knocking down the rocks outside GuineaPig's third
GuineaPig's voidray/zealot army, with one colossus supporting, throw the hydras back
GuineaPig pushes out, hydras supported by an infestor try to fight them
Junwi puts down fungal growth on everything, but the hydras die anyway
Nothing left for Junwi to oppose GuineaPig's army
Junwi surrenders
Junwi still didn't have an answer for the Sky Protoss strategy
Commentary: Always nice to see players using unusual strategies. GuineaPig's high economy into void ray and colossus build is definitely something that hasn't been used in GSL before. Junwi didn't seem to have seen it before either and wasn't able to come up with a solution in either game.
Close air positions, GuineaPig at 1 and Junwi at 3
Hatch first on 15 for Junwi, GuineaPig gets...a second pylon, wow.
GuineaPig finally puts down an expansion on about 18, still no gateway
Forge now placed at the natural choke, then a gateway
Roach warren for Junwi, constant chronoboosting of probes for GuineaPig
Roaches go to poke the natural, there are two cannons there
GuineaPig adds two more cannons, still has no units
GuineaPig gets a stargate and then void ray, Junwi gets a nydus
GuineaPig stops the first attempt at nydus with probes
The second finishes long enough for a few roaches and zerglings to get out
Many void rays now for GuineaPig, stuck in his base though for nydus defense
3 void rays, 2 phoenix for GuineaPig, Junwi getting hydralisks
3 void rays, 3 phoenixes heading into Junwi's natural
Only a few hydras and a queen there to defend, the phoenixes lift them easily
The voidrays kill the hydralisk den, then the remaining hydralisks, nothing left to hit air
Junwi concedes
The "Sky Protoss" strategy looked surprisingly good. Junwi's switch to hydralisks was way too late.
Game 2 - Shakuras Plateau
Cross positions, Junwi at 5, GuineaPig at 10
Hatch first on 15 for Junwi, forge on the low ground for GuineaPig
Nexus at 20 for GuineaPig, chronoboosting probes
Complete wall in at GuineaPig's choke with two cannons
Junwi takes a third base, still no attacking units for GuineaPig
Double stargate for GuineaPig
Proxy pylon at Junwi's third, then two cannons...no, three cannons
Four cannons now. 38 probes for GuineaPig and no attacking units
Voidray and phoenix out for GuineaPig, Junwi's third dies
Junwi tries to take a different third, but the void ray kills it
Hydras out for Junwi but most are killed by phoenixes
Gateways and a robotics for GuineaPig, more void rays as well
Robotics support bay, void rays break down the rocks to expand between mains
Junwi tries to put a hatchery in the center map expansion
Junwi's mass hydras take out the cannons at his original third
Junwi tries to take a fourth as well but void rays force a cancel
Hydras start knocking down the rocks outside GuineaPig's third
GuineaPig's voidray/zealot army, with one colossus supporting, throw the hydras back
GuineaPig pushes out, hydras supported by an infestor try to fight them
Junwi puts down fungal growth on everything, but the hydras die anyway
Nothing left for Junwi to oppose GuineaPig's army
Junwi surrenders
Junwi still didn't have an answer for the Sky Protoss strategy
Commentary: Always nice to see players using unusual strategies. GuineaPig's high economy into void ray and colossus build is definitely something that hasn't been used in GSL before. Junwi didn't seem to have seen it before either and wasn't able to come up with a solution in either game.
No comments:
Post a Comment