2011 GSL January Code S Quarterfinals: Day 1

I already discussed these games a little bit yesterday in my preview but you can boil it down to a David and Goliath battle in the first match as unheralded choyafOu takes on GSL 2 Champion IMNesTea followed by a clash of two players with lots of hype and not a lot of GSL results so far, IMmvp and TSLTrickster.

choyafOu Protoss T-#16 Map Veto: Blistering Sands 2010 Results: DNQ, ro64, ro8 GSL 4 Results: L TSLRain W TSLTrickster W ZeNEXKyrix W oGsHyperdub W TheBestfOu L IMmvp	vs.	IMNesTea Zerg #2 Map Veto: Delta Quadrant 2010 Results: ro64, Champion, ro8 GSL 4 Results: W PoltPrimeWE W MakaPrimeWE W oGsZenio W SlayerSBoxeR
Maps: Scrap Station, Lost Temple, Metalopolis, Jungle Basin, Shakuras Plateau

IMmvp Terran #27 Map Veto: Jungle Basin 2010 Results: DNQ, ro32, ro16 GSL 4 Results: W TSLFruitDealer W oGsjookTo W oGsZenio W TheBestfOu W oGsHyperdub W choyafOu	vs.	TSLTrickster Protoss #19 Map Veto: Lost Temple 2010 Results: ro8, DNQ, DNQ GSL 4 Results: W ZeNEXKyrix L choyafOu W TSLRain W SlayerSBoxeR L oGsZenio W oGsZenio
Maps: Scrap Station, Xel'Naga Caverns, Shakuras Plateau, Delta Quadrant, Steppes of War

choyafOu (P) vs. IMNesTea (Z)
Match Rating: 7/10
VOD Link

Click for match play by play and commentary

Game 1 - Scrap Station

Pylon then gateway on low ground for choya, gas then pool for NesTea

choya puts a pylon at NesTea's natural

NesTea gets zergling speed

choya puts his cybernetics core next to his gateway on low ground, partially walling himself off

NesTea gets rid of the pylon and starts his hatch at about 21 supply

Zerglings poke the partial wall-in but a stalker is behind it so they go to the expansion's rocks instead

choya getting a stargate, NesTea getting a roach warren

Void ray coming for choya, then a nexus as it finishes

The void ray kills NesTea's overlord, NesTea immediately gets a lair

Three more gateways for choya, who has switched to phoenixes

NesTea puts spore crawlers at his chokepoint and both hatcheries, choya gets a fifth warpgate

NesTea getting a hydralisk den and building roaches as choya's army approaches

choya moves in with stalkers, sentries, and some zealots with phoenix cover

NesTea sends his roaches, zerglings, queens, and drones to desperately defend

The phoenixes lift the queens, then start killing overlords

Somehow NesTea keeps managing to scrounge up more roaches to fight choya's constant stream of units

The battle keeps going back and forth as both players fight with ridiculously injured units

choya on one base but NesTea obviously can't make drones

Slowly the tide starts to turn in favor of NesTea as he gets enough minerals to add zerglings to his defending units

With the zerglings holding the stalkers in place, the roaches shoot down the last stalkers

choya concedes

Great strategy by choya, but absolutely incredible defense by NesTea. There wasn't much anti-air...if choya had just had one more void ray or phoenix (or done a better job microing the one of each that he had) things might have ended differently.

Game 2 - Lost Temple

Cross positions, choya at 12 and NesTea at 6

Again choya gets a quick double gas and puts a pylon at NesTea's natural

NesTea kills the pylon and takes his natural, choya getting a stargate

Zergling speed for NesTea, phoenix coming for choya

Evolution chamber and roach warren for NesTea, choya uses a force field to trap and kill the zerglings poking his ramp

NesTea sees the stargate and phoenixes with his overlord moving along the high ground behind choya's base

NesTea gets spore crawlers, choya snipes an overlord with a stalker

Four phoenixes arrive at NesTea's base but with spore crawlers protecting the queens they can only kill a drone or two

choya takes his natural and gets a forge and robotics, NesTea getting a hydralisk den

The phoenixes come back in the base, but with hydralisks out there's no opportunity to harass

Observer and robotics bay now for choya, NesTea researching drop

choya making a warp prism and putting cannons at his natural

Thermal lance research begins for choya

choya starts a nexus at the island, colossus almost out

NesTea sets up his hydralisk drop but choya's phoenixes spot it

NesTea does the drop in choya's base anyway. The colossus and some stalkers are there to meet it.

Zerglings kill the colossus and the hydras begin to rip through the base

With choya's few defending units stuck at the natural, the hydras snipe choya's main nexus

NesTea getting a spire while he destroys just about everything in choya's main

The natural is more or less safe due to the cannons and colossus there

The hydralisks get in range of the robotics with several queued up colossus and destroy it

choya sets up his warp prism in the back of NesTea's main

The first group of mutalisks fly into choya's totally undefended island expansion and start killing probes

choya concedes

This NesTea guy is pretty good. He scouted what choya was doing, then coolly demolished him.

Game 3 - Metalopolis

Close air positions, NesTea at 3 and choya at 12

Pool first for NesTea. choya puts a pylon at NesTea's natural for the third game running.

NesTea takes his natural at 21 supply and starts zergling speed

choya hides a pylon at the 9 o'clock main

Twilight council for choya, spine crawler and roach warren for NesTea

Dark shrine now for choya plus a nexus at his natural

NesTea sacrifices an overlord to scout choya's main, sees basically nothing there, and gets another spine crawler and a spore crawler at his natural

Forge for choya, lair starts for NesTea

Two DTs warp in from a pylon at the bottom of choya's main and head for NesTea's natural

Blink starts for choya as his DTs enter the mineral line. The spore crawler detects them, so they both die immediately.

Hydralisk den and drop research coming for NesTea

NesTea sends an overseer and some zerglings to check around the periphery of his territory for DTs

choya takes a third and sends stalkers to NesTea's third. Problem: NesTea doesn't have a third and is doom dropping choya's main.

Hydralisks, roaches, and zerglings drop out of the overlords and rapidly destroy everything in the main including the nexus

Spire coming back at NesTea's base while his hydralisks start shooting down from the high ground

NesTea takes a third, though a DT finds the hatch as it morphs

choya force fields the ramp to try to slow down NesTea's army, but NesTea just drops around it

choya has enough stalkers to hold NesTea's army from the main, but reinforcing hydralisks arrive and turn the tide

Just in time, choya warps in two DTs and manages to avoid losing the nexus at his natural and his last stalkers

Retreating zerglings spot choya's third and the production buildings he's remaking there

NesTea has switched to mutalisks, but he did have to cancel his third base due to the DT

The mutalisks head toward choya's third, but an archon finishes just in time to drive them off

They switch to the natural but blink stalkers get there to defend

NesTea takes his third and sets up spine crawlers at the front of his natural

NesTea to roaches, making 21 at once at one point

Meanwhile choya blinks in to attack NesTea's mutalisks only to get surrounded by zerglings

The stalkers fight free but only after heavy losses

Now augmented by the large group of roaches, NesTea's army moves up to choya's base and routs the stalkers

Half the roaches clean up the stalkers while the other half take down the natural's nexus

choya surrenders

Wow. NesTea brushed off the DTs like they were a minor irritant, crushed choya's main, then ground up the last traces of resistance.

Commentary: I think everyone expected NesTea to win this pretty easily, but man, what a dominating performance. For a moment in game 1 choya looked like he might win a game. Then he didn't. Then it went downhill for him in a big way. choya actually came in with some pretty creative strategies, knowing that he had very little chance to win in a standard game, but NesTea still adapted and countered everything he did. IMNesTea has yet to lose a game in GSL 4 and after performances like today's it's hard to see when he's going to start, though it's probably safe to say that all 6 players still alive in the quarterfinals are better than choyafOu.

IMmvp (T) vs. TSLTrickster (P)
Match Rating: 7/10
VOD Link

Click for match play by play and commentary

Game 1 - Scrap Station

Nexus on 20 supply for Trickster, factory for mvp

mvp starts building a bunker at Trickster's choke, but a zealot kills it

Starport and hellion coming for mvp

The hellion and five marines move to Trickster's natural

The hellion attacks the probes while the marines attack the defending stalker

Trickster sends his probes to help and loses every probe at the expansion for his trouble, thanks to the hellion

A second stalker arrives but the hellion withdraws before it dies

mvp getting a raven, stim, and more infantry. Trickster has a robotics and an observer out

The first observer gets driven out of mvp's base immediately by the raven and marines

Trickster gets a stargate, banshee coming for mvp

mvp's army starts attacking the rocks while his banshee goes to Trickster's mineral line

The banshee kills three probes and withdraws without taking damage

mvp sends SCVs to join his army as the last set of rocks goes down

An immortal joins the stalkers and sentries but mvp pushes them back into the natural

The stalkers try to focus down the banshee while zealots warp in, but SCVs repair the banshee

A phoenix arrives but there's not much else left

Trickster concedes

Trickster cut corners to fast expand and got, ahem, burned by mvp's hellion. After killing all the probes at Trickster's expansion, mvp was too good to lose that kind of advantage.

Game 2 - Xel'Naga Caverns

Two gas this time for Trickster, factory for mvp

mvp drops out of the game

While the problem is dealt with, Artosis tries to explain why, despite Trickster being the best Protoss in the world, he always loses to banshee rushes. The explanation doesn't go well.

Not a moment too soon, the game is restarted. The players are in opposite locations.

Same builds so far, two gas for Trickster and a factory for mvp

Bunker at the ramp and a hellion coming for mvp

Trickster gets a nexus at about 25 supply, starport and blue flame for mvp

The first hellion goes up Trickster's ramp, fights a sentry, and loses. Interesting.

Two more gateways and a robotics for Trickster

mvp sends a dropship with two hellions toward Trickster's main

Raven now for mvp, meanwhile a stalker pokes his ramp

Two hellions come down the ramp and show their blue flame upgrade

Those two hellions go to the expansion while the drop happens in the back of the main

The two hellions in the main go for the probes, but get delayed by force fields

Then Trickster warps in two stalkers to block them further

The hellions get cleaned up after doing very little damage

Stim and a banshee coming for mvp, immortal for Trickster

Four hellions threaten the natural but withdraw in the face of defending stalkers

Stargate for Trickster. mvp is sending a ton of SCVs to join his army.

mvp moves into Trickster's natural with 9 hellions, a bunch of marauders, a few marines, a raven, and plenty of SCVs

Trickster's zealots die instantly to the blue flame hellions. The stalkers are blocked by a point defense drone.

The hellions are shot down by the immortal, but the marauders crush the stalkers and then finish off the immortal

Trickster concedes

This was a different flavor, but at the core it was another one base hellion pressure into timing attack build from mvp. This is proving to be way more effective against Protoss than I would have thought.

Game 3 - Shakuras Plateau

Top positions, mvp at 10 and Trickster at 2

Marauder, concussive shells, then command center on 23 for mvp

Nexus on about 27 for Trickster, but mvp moves in with an SCV, a marauder, and a marine and starts building a bunker

The bunker is out of sight range from the nexus that is warping in

A second marauder arrives and they keep working on the nexus

Suddenly the marauders dart toward the ramp and catch the sentry, and with concussive shells it can't retreat

Now there's only a stalker to defend. They continue up and kill it. Probes rush to defend.

The probes push them back down to the natural but only with terrible losses

Two marauders get into the bunker while reinforcements come up

Probes, a zealot or two, and a stalker attack the bunker, but a mule is called down to repair

Finally Trickster manages to push mvp's infantry down the ramp and then throw up force fields

Trickster has eight sentries now so he can at least hold his natural

mvp has taken his third at the 7 o'clock main, now he's getting stim and lots of barracks

Trickster takes down the rocks between bases with his mass sentry army, mvp gets a marine into his base

Trickster takes down the rocks force fields the defending marauders

Lots of sentries but not enough stalkers. The marauders focus down each sentry.

There are so many sentries that another group of stalkers arrives to reinforce before they are done.

For a moment it seems like Trickster might destroy mvp's army, but with reinforcements arriving from all the barracks he can't make it happen

Trickster tries again, but medivacs are out now, making his marauders that much stronger

mvp moves his marauder army down to attack the proxy pylons. Force fields and stalkers move to counter but there's not much they can do.

Temporarily there's a stand off. mvp is taking a fourth base, Trickster still trying to get his natural up and running

While the standoff continues at the top of the map, mvp drops a group of marauders at Trickster's natural and snipes the nexus

Trickster has to send his entire stalker/sentry army just to clean up the marauders at his natural

Trickster did force mvp to cancel his fourth, but he doesn't know about the third

mvp moves his army across the top of his map keeping most of it in dropships to avoid force fields until they are in the main

Trickster surrenders

Another game where Trickster was a little light on defense while expanding. mvp had expanded even earlier so he should have been in the same boat, but with just a marauder and a marine he basically hit Trickster in the mouth, then took another expansion while Trickster was still trying to recover that sealed the win.

Commentary: Trickster isn't as far behind mvp in skill as these results make him look, but there were some gaps in his openings and mvp ruthlessly exploited them. It reminds me a lot of the Jinro/oGsMC semifinal in GSL 3, though in that match it was the Terran with the narrow vulnerabilities and the Protoss who capitalized on them perfectly. IMmvp hasn't lost a game in GSL 4 yet. Can he keep up his pace in the semifinals?