Round of 8, Day 2

By confusedcrib and Divinek



vs

MVP vs Team Prime (Prime.WE)





+ Show Spoiler [Results] +

Tails <Xel'Naga Caverns> HongUn

Tails <Metalopolis> BBoongBBoong

Noblesse <Crossfire SE> BBoongBBoong

GuineaPig ( ) <Tal'Darim Altar> BBoongBBoong

GuineaPig ( ) <Dual Sight> Maka

GuineaPig ( ) < MarineKing

DongRaeGu <Terminus RE> MarineKing



MVP 4-3 Prime ) < Xel'Naga Fortress 4-3 Prime By confusedcrib and Divinekvs



The first two games of this series lacked anything very exciting. In the first game Tails waited for his opponent to make the ill fated move of expanding first in PvP and attacked before the expansion could compensate for its investment. He lost his next game in a lack lustre fashion, investing in a voidray-phoenix harass strategy that lands him no damage.



Game 3 was truly hilarious if you wish to watch back and forth action entirely because the players themselves appear to be clueless. Noblesse attempts a bunker push that makes little sense, and consequently fails. Following this he sends a large portion of his mining SCVs to attack, WHILE building another command center? He loses all of these for almost nothing. However the zerg responds heartily by attempting a baneling bust into entrenched sieged tanks. Greeeen goooo! Then Nobelesse allows himself to be caught of of position multiple times, flanked, and countered repeatedly. Then failing to build a single thor until the massive muta ball has done to much damage he has to leave the game.



GuineaPig demonstrated some trademark random play, going for one dimensional builds that are designed to work immediately and win him the game. In his first match he takes the game easily with some really nice blink stalker usage; then in his following games as zerg executes a baneling bust successfully against Maka. His final game was genuinely entertaining, though it was clear throughout that MKP was the superior player. Some cute play with DTs gain Guineapig solid map control and a sizable lead, and even though he has some macro to his name, MKP has the micro. Slowly chipping away at his opponent from all sides until he's able to force a crack MKP's micro and Houdini himself out of what looked like a terrible situation.



Yes! A close series, and a chance for MVP to bust out their potential new ace. This guy lived up to the hype in his premier match. Watching someone outplay MKP in the way he did was truly amazing, Dongraegu showed that he is going to be a real threat to anyone in the GSL or GSTL from this day forward. This guy's sense of timings and gameflow was absolutely amazing, always knowing best when to engage and how to position whatever he was doing. Clearly a fan of banelings from this game as they nearly greened out the earth before bringing an end to Prime and putting MVP on to the next round.



If you're going to watch any games from this series most definitely check out the last two, so good!



vs

Old Generation Starcrafters (oGs) vs StarTale (ST)





+ Show Spoiler [Results] + Hero<Xel'Naga Caverns> Squirtle

Zenio < Bel'Shir Beach > Squirtle

Zenio < Xel'Naga Fortress > Ace

MC <Dual Sight > Ace

MC <Crevasse > Bomber

MC <Metalopolis> July



oGs 4-2 StarTale 4-2 StarTale vs



Game One: Wait a Minute, Did I Just Witness a PvP Revolution?

+ Show Spoiler [Recap] +



This means that blink stalker, immortal, chargelot, archon is a valid army composition in PvP. When watching the battle frame-by-frame:







The way the army composition works is ingenious. First, the archons behind the zealots guarantees that you will win the zealot vs. zealot battle with less zealots than would normally be needed. This means that extra zealots can charge into the stalkers of your opponent. Zealots do some sick damage to stalkers, combined with the blink on top from your own stalkers and you should easily win the stalker battle. At this point you should be guaranteeing the survival of some zealots, some stalkers, some archons, and all of your immortals. With no tanking army left, immortals can just devastate colossus. This is an army composition that may indeed be the future of PvP, and definitely deserves further testing. Equal food, equal economy. One player has chargelots, blink stalkers, immortals, and archons; the other, zealot, stalker, and thermal lance colossus. Squirtle's gateway immortal army pushes into Hero's gateway + colossus army, attacking into a choke, and kills it convincingly. Squirtle opened this game with a proxy gate cheese, and because of that was behind to a lot of standard colossus timing pushes, but ignoring all of that, Squirtle used a non standard army composition to beat out a colossus composition, even without any fancy micro or positioning.This means that blink stalker, immortal, chargelot, archon is a valid army composition in PvP. When watching the battle frame-by-frame:The way the army composition works is ingenious. First, the archons behind the zealots guarantees that you will win the zealot vs. zealot battle with less zealots than would normally be needed. This means that extra zealots can charge into the stalkers of your opponent. Zealots do some sick damage to stalkers, combined with the blink on top from your own stalkers and you should easily win the stalker battle. At this point you should be guaranteeing the survival of some zealots, some stalkers, some archons, and all of your immortals. With no tanking army left, immortals can just devastate colossus. This is an army composition that may indeed be the future of PvP, and definitely deserves further testing.



Game Two: Zenio is good at ZvP, and the new map is very pretty



Game Three: Ace makes a kissy face while he plays, and that's not even the most awkward part of this game.



Game Four: Huh, They Picked MC



Game Five: Is this a Code S finals?



Game Six: You really did get your Code S finals in my Team League!



The series as a whole was actually most notable for its opening game in my opinion, perhaps introducing the future of PvP now that the 4 gate is dissipating. A lot of viewers I feel came into this matchup looking to see just how good MC is, unfortunately, this is not the place to see that. MC executed a pretty standard blink stalker build, held a weird all in, and won a base trade. By far the only note worthy games were brought by Squirtle/Hero and Zenio/Squirtle, other than that this series was much less then I was expecting going into it. All of these top level players were playing really awkward games. The nunchucks were probably the highlight of the whole thing. The first two games of this series lacked anything very exciting. In the first game Tails waited for his opponent to make the ill fated move of expanding first in PvP and attacked before the expansion could compensate for its investment. He lost his next game in a lack lustre fashion, investing in a voidray-phoenix harass strategy that lands him no damage.Game 3 was truly hilarious if you wish to watch back and forth action entirely because the players themselves appear to be clueless. Noblesse attempts a bunker push that makes little sense, and consequently fails. Following this he sends a large portion of his mining SCVs to attack, WHILE building another command center? He loses all of these for almost nothing. However the zerg responds heartily by attempting a baneling bust into entrenched sieged tanks. Greeeen goooo! Then Nobelesse allows himself to be caught of of position multiple times, flanked, and countered repeatedly. Then failing to build a single thor until the massive muta ball has done to much damage he has to leave the game.GuineaPig demonstrated some trademark random play, going for one dimensional builds that are designed to work immediately and win him the game. In his first match he takes the game easily with some really nice blink stalker usage; then in his following games as zerg executes a baneling bust successfully against Maka. His final game was genuinely entertaining, though it was clear throughout that MKP was the superior player. Some cute play with DTs gain Guineapig solid map control and a sizable lead, and even though he has some macro to his name, MKP has the micro. Slowly chipping away at his opponent from all sides until he's able to force a crack MKP's micro and Houdini himself out of what looked like a terrible situation.Yes! A close series, and a chance for MVP to bust out their potential new ace. This guy lived up to the hype in his premier match. Watching someone outplay MKP in the way he did was truly amazing, Dongraegu showed that he is going to be a real threat to anyone in the GSL or GSTL from this day forward. This guy's sense of timings and gameflow was absolutely amazing, always knowing best when to engage and how to position whatever he was doing. Clearly a fan of banelings from this game as they nearly greened out the earth before bringing an end to Prime and putting MVP on to the next round.If you're going to watch any games from this series most definitely check out the last two, so good!, Did I Just Witness a PvP Revolution?, and the new map is very pretty: Ace makes a kissy face while he plays,, They Picked MCThe series as a whole was actually most notable for its opening game in my opinion, perhaps introducing the future of PvP now that the 4 gate is dissipating. A lot of viewers I feel came into this matchup looking to see just how good MC is, unfortunately, this is not the place to see that. MC executed a pretty standard blink stalker build, held a weird all in, and won a base trade. By far the only note worthy games were brought by Squirtle/Hero and Zenio/Squirtle, other than that this series was much less then I was expecting going into it. All of these top level players were playing really awkward games. The nunchucks were probably the highlight of the whole thing.

Opening with a Protoss

By confusedcrib



Both teams in this matchup opted to open up with a protoss player, and I believe that this is the best decision you can make in a team league with the meta game how it is right now. All of the teams with solid protoss, (oGs, ST, MVP, and Prime) opened up with protoss players. I believe that the line of thinking with this is that at worst, the player will have a coin flippy, underdeveloped match up of PvP and be able to play standard against other races if needed.



Another benefit of opening with a protoss is that there are so many valid cheeses, from 3 gate void ray, to Anypro style 7 gate 1 robo 2 forge, that if the other team opens with a strong player, you can have a valid chance of cheesing them out in any matchup. Right now, Protoss probably has the most confidence going into every matchup, and so they're a great opening race in a team league.



Also worth noting, both teams chose their unestablished players to start with. This negates any snipe players from being deployed until it is too late to deploy them. I guarantee you, both of these teams have players set up to snipe July or MC, but if all of a sudden oGsWhat'sHisName ends up taking out multiple players in a row, you're going to be in the tough spot of having to use a snipe player out of what they've been training to snipe. Opening with a Protoss, and at that a relatively unknown one, is without a doubt the right play by both teams here. Both teams in this matchup opted to open up with a protoss player, and I believe that this is the best decision you can make in a team league with the meta game how it is right now. All of the teams with solid protoss, (oGs, ST, MVP, and Prime) opened up with protoss players. I believe that the line of thinking with this is that at worst, the player will have a coin flippy, underdeveloped match up of PvP and be able to play standard against other races if needed.Another benefit of opening with a protoss is that there are so many valid cheeses, from 3 gate void ray, to Anypro style 7 gate 1 robo 2 forge, that if the other team opens with a strong player, you can have a valid chance of cheesing them out in any matchup. Right now, Protoss probably has the most confidence going into every matchup, and so they're a great opening race in a team league.Also worth noting, both teams chose their unestablished players to start with. This negates any snipe players from being deployed until it is too late to deploy them. I guarantee you, both of these teams have players set up to snipe July or MC, but if all of a sudden oGsWhat'sHisName ends up taking out multiple players in a row, you're going to be in the tough spot of having to use a snipe player out of what they've been training to snipe. Opening with a Protoss, and at that a relatively unknown one, is without a doubt the right play by both teams here.

Semifinals

By confusedcrib and Divinek



vs

SlayerS vs For Our Utopia (fOu)





+ Show Spoiler [Results] + Taeja < Xel'Naga Caverns > Leenock

GanZi < Xel'Naga Fortress > Leenock

GanZi < Tal'Darim Altar LE > Choya

GanZi< Crevasse > GuMiho

Alicia < Crossfire SE > GuMiho

MMA < Dual Sight > GuMiho

MMA < Metalopolis > sC



SlayerS 4-3 fOu 4-3 fOu By confusedcrib and Divinekvs



Wow was I hyped up for this match, these teams have some of my personal favourite players in the entire league. MMA and sC in the same match?! Christmas so soon?



With Taeja rolling off an all kill in the first round he no doubt came into this game with plenty of confidence behind him. However, Leenock did not care for this and he wanted to show him just what he can do with his favourite unit. I have never seen infestors used so extensively and beautifully. Leenock played amazing with his infestors this game, he made it seem like there were 100 on the map when in reality there were only 6. The fungals forced the terran into remaining on his half of the map much longer than he would have liked. Throwing down that green goop at every opportunity allowed Leenock to amass a monster economy, and some equally monstrous units his ultralisk pack. After this it was a-move (and little dance jig) to victory. Why so good Leenock?



Unfortunately Leenock falls in his second game to a creative speed reaper strategy from GanZi. The Terran's micro faulters at many points, where the zerg matches him by faultering with macro. Leenock invests far too much into mutas that aren't able to accomplish anything substantial and eventually banks a ton of money, into a supply block, while marines are stimming all over his mutas.



Ganzi continues rolling on, right through Choya. The fOu coach simply played too passive in this game, leaving plenty of room for Ganzi to sneak an extra base and employ his sick drop usage and emps to make his lead too great. Ganzi then runs into the wall that is Gumiho, taking significant damage from Gumiho's cloaked banshee opening. Once Gumiho takes control of the game he uses this control masterfully, and once Ganzi entrenches his army in the middle of the map, Gumiho merely circumvents the ground force all together and destroys his opponents main.



Gumiho shows us he's not a one game wonder plowing through the fearsome Protoss Alicia. Some fantastic multi tasked harass in combination with great EMPs won this game. It appeared as though Gumiho was going to keep rolling right on through SlayerS clutch player MMA. However this man does not go down without a fight, one hell] of a fight. Drastically down from some awesome early game harass in the form of blue flame hellions from Gumiho, MMA finds himself in a difficult position. But using some of the best multi pronged harass I have ever seen MMA claws himself back into the game. Striking at every location and every opening possible MMA wants to show why he's the Slayer's ace. The never ending abuse of Gumiho's immobile tank army is enough for MMA to somehow make a sick comeback.



All I can say is this game did not disappoint. These guys are so evenly matched, and so very very good. It just so happened that MMA was better. They both traded blows and army exchanges, using sick diversion drops and marine bombs to break enemy tank lines. Eventually MMA catches sC out of position when all his units are in their drop ships and manages to stop the drop, break sC's army, and destroy his 3rd all in one fluid motion. Wow.



vs

MVP vs Old Generation Starcrafters (oGs)





+ Show Spoiler [Overall] + Genius < Xel'Naga Caverns > Hero

GuineaPig ( ) < Hero

GuineaPig ( ) < NaDa

DongRaeGu < Dual Sight > NaDa

DongRaeGu < Crossfire SE > SuperNoVa

DongRaeGu < Crevasse > MC



MVP 4-2 oGs ) < Tal'Darim Altar LE ) < Xel'Naga Fortress 4-2 oGs vs



Again both teams decide to open with their Protoss. MVP decides on putting Genius out first, incredibly questionable. When your team is so light on high caliber Code S players, there is no reason to have such a powerhouse lose in the first set.



Genius goes for a standard colossus + stuff army composition while Hero uses blink stalkers to delay Genius' attack. Good blinks on top of Genius' colossus allows them to be sniped out, so that when the big engagement happens it will be easier to deal with. Genius is up food with colossus as he pushes and Hero just rolls over it with blink stalkers and charge lots. Hero transitions into colossus afterwards to 1a for the win. This transition into colossus can be compared to Squirtle's transition into archon immortal from the round of 8, either way, the PvP revolution is here.



MVP then sends out the player that they really should have opened with, GuineaPig, the high level protoss turned random. Liquid'Tyler once commented, when discussing Liquid'TLO's play as random, how difficult it is to play PvP as a random player. It is the most technical of matchups, where one or two probes makes the difference between one sided victories and humiliating defeats. Guinea Pig makes the smart decision and four gates, winning with what's probably the only build he knows for PvP. GuineaPig's "taunt" is a really, really, awkward camera wave: if I was rating taunts I'd give it an zero out of five. Oh, and the match too.



oGs decides to throw Nada at the problem. Other top players on oGs such as Inca and Zenio both have weak matchups, and they don't want to send out their ace player MC right away, so Nada was a good choice. Nada plays super safe, and is able to 1a with stim timing and crush through GuineaPig's macro Protoss, really showing that he is not ready for big macro games against the Code S players quite yet. But in other news, from this point forward, no one is ever allowed to poke fun at the observer ever again.







DongRaeGu is really smart. There is something beautiful and subtle that happens in his game versus Nada that Zergs need to experiment with. As Zergs take their third they want to drone like fiends while it is building, hence why a lot of terran timings hit as the third goes up. RaeGu waits for the timing he knows is coming (marine hellion) and after holding it, instead of putting 300 minerals into drones and the other 300 into the third base, he double expands to a risky gold and his safe third. The gold allows for saturation with less drones, making up for the opportunity cost of the fast fourth. He then mines only gas from his fourth base. This combination allows for a near equal amount of minerals and gas to be mined. And what costs equal minerals and gas for Zerg? Banelings and mutalisks, both of which are pretty good against Terran. Nada was also seconds late on the marine/hellion timing, allowing for banelings to be out in time, so the timing didn't do anything near the damage it needs to. Both of those plays combine for Nada's loss, and DongRaeGu plays a really good ZvT.



The most interesting part of the match between DongRaeGu and Supernova is Supernova's opening. Supernova goes for a one barracks bunker rush and then follows it up with reactor hellions, a pretty cool way to apply pressure. But after this is shut down by DongRaeGu's smart roach opening, Supernova just doesn't catch back up. He goes for a marine maurader timing, probably not the best move on a map like Crossfire, where tanks and positioning reign king; it gets shut down very well by DongRaeGu. After this, DongRaeGu shows the strength of roach baneling as well as his double expansion fanciness from last game.



Well. MC gets hit by a roach speedling attack and loses to the guy that didn't even prepare for PvZ because of it. And that's the series.



Post Game Thoughts / The Importance of Preperation in a Team League:



This series was decided by the coach's decision making rather than the player's. MVP could have lost it when they put GuineaPig against Hero. MVP got really lucky that GuineaPig's four gate worked, putting him out there as a random player in any spot but the first one is a huge risk. Had he not worked out against Hero, then going into the rest of the series oGs would have been able to play extremely confidently and not been so hesitant to use MC.



oGs needs to be better prepared next time, in a team league their line up is very predictable and some of their players have hugely flawed play in particular matchups. If oGs wants to ever win one of these, they need to take the competition seriously and plan their lineup with snipe players, not just wing it and hope MC and Nada can carry them. Wow was I hyped up for this match, these teams have some of my personal favourite players in the entire league. MMAsC in the same match?! Christmas so soon?With Taeja rolling off an all kill in the first round he no doubt came into this game with plenty of confidence behind him. However, Leenock did not care for this and he wanted to show him just what he can do with his favourite unit. I have never seen infestors used so extensively and beautifully. Leenock playedwith his infestors this game, he made it seem like there were 100 on the map when in reality there were only 6. The fungals forced the terran into remaining on his half of the map much longer than he would have liked. Throwing down that green goop at every opportunity allowed Leenock to amass a monster economy, and some equally monstrous units his ultralisk pack. After this it was a-move (and little dance jig) to victory. Why so good Leenock?Unfortunately Leenock falls in his second game to a creative speed reaper strategy from GanZi. The Terran's micro faulters at many points, where the zerg matches him by faultering with macro. Leenock invests far too much into mutas that aren't able to accomplish anything substantial and eventually banks a ton of money, into a supply block, while marines are stimming all over his mutas.Ganzi continues rolling on, right through Choya. The fOu coach simply played too passive in this game, leaving plenty of room for Ganzi to sneak an extra base and employ his sick drop usage and emps to make his lead too great. Ganzi then runs into the wall that is Gumiho, taking significant damage from Gumiho's cloaked banshee opening. Once Gumiho takes control of the game he uses this control masterfully, and once Ganzi entrenches his army in the middle of the map, Gumiho merely circumvents the ground force all together and destroys his opponents main.Gumiho shows us he's not a one game wonder plowing through the fearsome Protoss Alicia. Some fantastic multi tasked harass in combination with great EMPs won this game. It appeared as though Gumiho was going to keep rolling right on through SlayerS clutch player MMA. However this man does not go down without a fight, oneof a fight. Drastically down from some awesome early game harass in the form of blue flame hellions from Gumiho, MMA finds himself in a difficult position. But using some of the best multi pronged harass I have ever seen MMA claws himself back into the game. Striking at every location and every opening possible MMA wants to show why he's the Slayer's ace. The never ending abuse of Gumiho's immobile tank army is enough for MMA to somehow make acomeback.All I can say is this game did not disappoint. These guys are so evenly matched, and so very very good. It just so happened that MMA was better. They both traded blows and army exchanges, using sick diversion drops and marine bombs to break enemy tank lines. Eventually MMA catches sC out of position when all his units are in their drop ships and manages to stop the drop, break sC's army, and destroy his 3rd all in one fluid motion. Wow.Again both teams decide to open with their Protoss. MVP decides on putting Genius out first, incredibly questionable. When your team is so light on high caliber Code S players, there is no reason to have such a powerhouse lose in the first set.Genius goes for a standard colossus +army composition while Hero uses blink stalkers to delay Genius' attack. Good blinks on top of Genius' colossus allows them to be sniped out, so that when the big engagement happens it will be easier to deal with. Genius is up food with colossus as he pushes and Hero justover it with blink stalkers and charge lots. Hero transitions into colossus afterwards to 1a for the win. This transition into colossus can be compared to Squirtle's transition into archon immortal from the round of 8, either way,MVP then sends out the player that they really should have opened with, GuineaPig, the high level protoss turned random. Liquid'Tyler once commented, when discussing Liquid'TLO's play as random, how difficult it is to play PvP as a random player. It is the most technical of matchups, where one or two probes makes the difference between one sided victories and humiliating defeats. Guinea Pig makes the smart decision and four gates, winning with what's probably the only build he knows for PvP. GuineaPig's "taunt" is a really, really, awkward camera wave: if I was rating taunts I'd give it an zero out of five. Oh, and the match too.oGs decides to throw Nada at the problem. Other top players on oGs such as Inca and Zenio both have weak matchups, and they don't want to send out their ace player MC right away, so Nada was a good choice. Nada plays super safe, and is able to 1a with stim timing and crush through GuineaPig's macro Protoss, really showing that he is not ready for big macro games against the Code S players quite yet. But in other news, from this point forward, no one is ever allowed to poke fun at the observer ever again.DongRaeGu is really smart. There is something beautiful and subtle that happens in his game versus Nada that Zergs need to experiment with. As Zergs take their third they want to drone like fiends while it is building, hence why a lot of terran timings hit as the third goes up. RaeGu waits for the timing he knows is coming (marine hellion) and after holding it, instead of putting 300 minerals into drones and the other 300 into the third base, he double expands to a risky gold and his safe third. The gold allows for saturation with less drones, making up for the opportunity cost of the fast fourth. He then mines only gas from his fourth base. This combination allows for a near equal amount of minerals and gas to be mined. And what costs equal minerals and gas for Zerg? Banelings and mutalisks, both of which are pretty good against Terran. Nada was also seconds late on the marine/hellion timing, allowing for banelings to be out in time, so the timing didn't do anything near the damage it needs to. Both of those plays combine for Nada's loss, and DongRaeGu plays a really good ZvT.The most interesting part of the match between DongRaeGu and Supernova is Supernova's opening. Supernova goes for a one barracks bunker rush and then follows it up with reactor hellions, a pretty cool way to apply pressure. But after this is shut down by DongRaeGu's smart roach opening, Supernova just doesn't catch back up. He goes for a marine maurader timing, probably not the best move on a map like Crossfire, where tanks and positioning reign king; it gets shut down very well by DongRaeGu. After this, DongRaeGu shows the strength of roach baneling as well as his double expansion fanciness from last game.Well. MC gets hit by a roach speedling attack and loses to the guy that didn't even prepare for PvZ because of it. And that's the series.This series was decided by the coach's decision making rather than the player's. MVP could have lost it when they put GuineaPig against Hero. MVP got really lucky that GuineaPig's four gate worked, putting him out there as a random player in any spot but the first one is a huge risk. Had he not worked out against Hero, then going into the rest of the series oGs would have been able to play extremely confidently and not been so hesitant to use MC.oGs needs to be better prepared next time, in a team league their line up is very predictable and some of their players have hugely flawed play in particular matchups. If oGs wants to ever win one of these, they need to take the competition seriously and plan their lineup with snipe players, not just wing it and hope MC and Nada can carry them.

Bel'Shir Beach: Fun in the Sun

By SirJolt

This week saw the introduction of Bel’Shir Beach to the GSTL map pool, throwing a new map-type in alongside the ash-worlds, cave-networks and megacities we’ve come to know so well. Bel’Shir Beach takes place on one of the few maps worth fighting for – a resort planet, ripe for holiday goers of any race, no matter how many limbs. Given the fact that we have gone through all of Brood War and SC2 so far without seeing anything quite so picturesque, Bel’Shir Beach is a rare gem indeed.



Sadly, this perennial pleasure is not without its pick of potential problems.



Coral Atoll or Volcanic Caldera?



The biggest question raised by Bel’Shir beach is, of course, one of geology. In a perfect world, we would have some clear source of information, perhaps a geological survey. In the absence of such a survey we must use deduction. Fear not, however, for we can determine much from the geology of the map itself and hopefully shed some light on the map’s structure.



Evidence for both the coral atoll and caldera theories presents itself in the shape of the map, which the diagram above outlines quite neatly.





Fig. 1: The pristine sands of Bel'Shir, precious mineral resource or desiccated husks of long dead arthropods?



The sand across Bel’Shir’s centre archipelago clearly shows a light enough colour to be composed of the calcite bodies of decomposed coral polyps, which also flies in the face of the volcanic caldera theory insofar as volcanic soil would likely be darker in colour and sustain a plentiful variety of plants. Of course, in making this assumption we presume that alien polyps would leave calcite husks, but given the general morphic regularity of animals in SC2, that doesn’t seem too great a stretch.





Fig. 2: Trees, green with what we might only assume is chlorophyl; further evidence for the morphic regularity of cross-world life in SC2.



In favour of the volcanic caldera argument there is the fact that there are islands at the core of the ring, which would be in line with a mid-peak nearer the volcano’s cone. Moreover, those islands are more densely forested, suggesting that the soil there is richer in nutrients, as it might be if it had been covered in volcanic ash years previous.



+ Show Spoiler + There is a secret third option, whereby the ring is the outer rim of a vast asteroid impact site, but given the relative size of the crater and the fact that beyond the rim appears also to be below sea-level, it seems safe enough to chalk that idea up to the most preposterous of geological speculation.



Preposterous, I tell you.



Wildlife:



We may well be able to deduce a healthy amount about the environment by learning about the indigenous fauna that inhabit it. These crustacean-styled animals are equally at home on land or in water, and, as everyone knows, amphibious creatures aren’t to be trusted, having not committed yet to life on land or at sea, like all right-minded animals.





Fig. 3: Amphibious critters, raising one important question: Can zerglings swim?



In the interest of science we dispatched a probe to perform a dissection of the animal in question, a “scantipede:”





Fig. 4: Please do not try this at home. That probe is specially trained and has a great deal of expertise. Moreover, he is a soulless husk, a relentless killing machine.



What have we learned from this exercise?



One: a probe’s particle beam is singularly unsuited to the delicate processes of forensic science.



Two: in opposition to our expectations the humble scantipede bleeds red. Usually, in crustaceans we’d expect the “blood” (or haemolymph) to be a bluish color (owing to its copper-enriched haemocyanin-based circulatory system).



What does this teach us about Bel’Shir beach? Likely that there’s a lot more iron about than expected, or that there isn't water deep enough for that kind of circulatory system to be successful (it being more likely to tire an animal out than the iron-based system so clearly espoused by our indigenous friend up there). The idea of there being an abundance of iron on Bel’Shir tallies well with the lack of Xel’Naga watchtowers, which we might surmise suffer from electromagnetic interference.



Zerg, of course, have black blood – a substance whose composition I daren’t guess at.



+ Show Spoiler [Balance Issues] + Terran:

There are a couple of issues that might arise here. My biggest concern will be that Terrans, being dedicated to raves,



They’ve also got fear on their side, have you ever seen what fighting a war in deep space, sealed into a suit of armour does to your complexion? Marines are going to need to tan up.



Zerg:

Sand gets everywhere, right into all the little cracks. You know that feeling when you get sand right up in your gooch? It’s almost impossible to get out. Have you seen how many legs the average Zerg unit has? They’re pretty much all gooch. Goodnight zerglings and roaches. Hydras seem like they might have an advantage, but I’m pretty sure infestors are just like big slugs and can’t move on sand.



Whatever you do, don’t research ‘ling speed; the high chafe factor will likely result in loss of HP as they run, and their dragonfly wings will get all wet and useless in the shallows.



Protoss:

This one could go either way, but I’d imagine the sand will get right into stalkers and immortals and corrode their clean legs off (ideally we’d need to have some idea of the salinity, but for the moment that would just be speculation). At the same time, the Protoss really have the most to fight for on this one. I mean, sure, the Terran will do anything for a big dance party, but ever since the destruction of Aiur, the Protoss have been pretty much homeless…



And if there’s one thing my childhood has regrettably taught me all too well, it’s that homeless people love beaches. There are a couple of issues that might arise here. My biggest concern will be that Terrans, being dedicated to raves, nightclubs and recreational stimpack use , have a natural affinity for beaches. There’s every chance the average Terran bio ball will crack out Ibiza Mix 97 and get off its collective face on stim packs, then just concussive shell to the beat. Ever notice that Medivac heal-ray looks a lot like a green laser show?They’ve also got fear on their side, have you ever seen what fighting a war in deep space, sealed into a suit of armour does to your complexion? Marines are going to need to tan up.Sand gets everywhere, right into all the little cracks. You know that feeling when you get sand right up in your gooch? It’s almost impossible to get out. Have you seen how many legs the average Zerg unit has? They’re pretty much. Goodnight zerglings and roaches. Hydras seem like they might have an advantage, but I’m pretty sure infestors are just like big slugs and can’t move on sand.Whatever you do, don’t research ‘ling speed; the high chafe factor will likely result in loss of HP as they run, and their dragonfly wings will get all wet and useless in the shallows.This one could go either way, but I’d imagine the sand will get right into stalkers and immortals and corrode their clean legs off (ideally we’d need to have some idea of the salinity, but for the moment that would just be speculation). At the same time, the Protoss really have the most to fight for on this one. I mean, sure, the Terran will do anything for a big dance party, but ever since the destruction of Aiur, the Protoss have been pretty much homeless…And if there’s one thing my childhood has regrettably taught me all too well, it’s that homeless people love beaches. This week saw the introduction of Bel’Shir Beach to the GSTL map pool, throwing a new map-type in alongside the ash-worlds, cave-networks and megacities we’ve come to know so well. Bel’Shir Beach takes place on one of the few mapsfighting for – a resort planet, ripe for holiday goers of any race, no matter how many limbs. Given the fact that we have gone through all of Brood War and SC2 so far without seeing anything quite so picturesque, Bel’Shir Beach is a rare gem indeed.Sadly, this perennial pleasure is not without its pick of potential problems.The biggest question raised by Bel’Shir beach is, of course, one of geology. In a perfect world, we would have some clear source of information, perhaps a geological survey. In the absence of such a survey we must use deduction. Fear not, however, for we can determine much from the geology of the map itself and hopefully shed some light on the map’s structure.Evidence for both the coral atoll and caldera theories presents itself in the shape of the map, which the diagram above outlines quite neatly.The sand across Bel’Shir’s centre archipelago clearly shows a light enough colour to be composed of the calcite bodies of decomposed coral polyps, which also flies in the face of the volcanic caldera theory insofar as volcanic soil would likely be darker in colour and sustain a plentiful variety of plants. Of course, in making this assumption we presume that alien polyps would leave calcite husks, but given the general morphic regularity of animals in SC2, that doesn’t seem too great a stretch.In favour of the volcanic caldera argument there is the fact that there are islands at the core of the ring, which would be in line with a mid-peak nearer the volcano’s cone. Moreover, those islands are more densely forested, suggesting that the soil there is richer in nutrients, as it might be if it had been covered in volcanic ash years previous.We may well be able to deduce a healthy amount about the environment by learning about the indigenous fauna that inhabit it. These crustacean-styled animals are equally at home on land or in water, and, as everyone knows, amphibious creatures aren’t to be trusted, having not committed yet to life on land or at sea, like all right-minded animals.In the interest of science we dispatched a probe to perform a dissection of the animal in question, a “scantipede:”What have we learned from this exercise?a probe’s particle beam is singularly unsuited to the delicate processes of forensic science.in opposition to our expectations the humble scantipede bleeds red. Usually, in crustaceans we’d expect the “blood” (or haemolymph) to be a bluish color (owing to its copper-enriched haemocyanin-based circulatory system).What does this teach us about Bel’Shir beach? Likely that there’s a lot more iron about than expected, or that there isn't water deep enough for that kind of circulatory system to be successful (it being more likely to tire an animal out than the iron-based system so clearly espoused by our indigenous friend up there). The idea of there being an abundance of iron on Bel’Shir tallies well with the lack of Xel’Naga watchtowers, which we might surmise suffer from electromagnetic interference.Zerg, of course, have black blood – a substance whose composition I daren’t guess at.

Grand Finals

By Heyoka



vs

SlayerS vs MVP





+ Show Spoiler [Overall] + Ryung < Xel'Naga Caverns > Genius

Min < Terminus SE > Genius

Min < Crevasse > Keen

Frozen < Tal'Darim Altar LE > Keen

Frozen < Bel'Shir Beach > viOlet

Frozen < Xel'Naga Fortress > GuineaPig ( )

GanZi < Crossfire SE > GuineaPig ( )

GanZi < Dual Sight > DongRaeGu

MMA < Metalopolis > DongRaeGu By Heyokavs



Thanks to both previous season finals becoming rather drawn out slug-fests, expectations were high coming into this series. This time around the finals began with a relatively slow start, but ramped up quickly and finished with the kind of bang you hope to see when a



MVP decided to start off with Genius again, who 'did his thing'. Meaning he fumbled around with some void rays for a while but was left untouched long enough to upgrade things like storm, and win from there.



The second game was completely without note, Genius tried a forge FE and lost to burrow. Game 3 was relatively low econ with zerg units throwing themselves at a mech army for a while and eventually running out of steam.



After there things got interestnig, Frozen had a cute blink build on Tal'Darim, running stalkers into the back of Keen's base and then blinking to the front to kill empty bunkers and overpower the Terran. Highly entertaining, especially during the parts where Moletrap and DOA argued about whether or not he had vision to the high ground. It turned out that he did, and we all learned something valuable.



Game 5 felt very unusual, like taking a sip of milk that doesn't quite taste right but isn't at the expiration date yet which makes you think its still good. Frozen opened with void rays and did a lot of damage, but took a really long time to expo and viOlet looked briefly like he might stabilize. Then he died. Fun but awkward.



Frozen attempted the same trick in a PvZ against GuineaPig but didn't have nearly the same success, and then it was GuineaPig up against a



A single game away from victory GanZi plays Dual Sight in an odd manner, proxying a barracks and factory and going for a heavy one base mech all-in. The game is tense with DongRaeGu holding just barely when he pulls drones, two separate times. The kind of defense reminiscent of NaNiwa and ThorZaIN's



Amazingly this brings the series to a 9th game, coming down to the wire as with finals before it. SlayerS tags in MMA, the man who earned them the same trophy just a month ago, to battle GSTL gosu DongRaeGu. It is difficult to express in words how awesome this game is for a deciding battle, the lead swings back and forth several times with MMA dropping constantly and holding the gold just long enough to take it home. Excellent play by both, the voices of the commentators begin to crack after shouting through it which is typically the mark of a finals worth watching.



SkyCrawler has a good series of battle reports



Final final note: stream bonjwa SlayerS_Cella continues to improve his appearance and now looks like a serious badass in a suit. Thanks to both previous season finals becoming rather drawn out slug-fests, expectations were high coming into this series. This time around the finals began with a relatively slow start, but ramped up quickly and finished with the kind of bang you hope to see when a strangely ornate trophy is involved.MVP decided to start off with Genius again, who 'did his thing'. Meaning he fumbled around with some void rays for a while but was left untouched long enough to upgrade things like storm, and win from there.The second game was completely without note, Genius tried a forge FE and lost to burrow. Game 3 was relatively low econ with zerg units throwing themselves at a mech army for a while and eventually running out of steam.After there things got interestnig, Frozen had a cute blink build on Tal'Darim, running stalkers into the back of Keen's base and then blinking to the front to kill empty bunkers and overpower the Terran. Highly entertaining, especially during the parts where Moletrap and DOA argued about whether or not he had vision to the high ground. It turned out that he did, and we all learned something valuable.Game 5 felt very unusual, like taking a sip of milk that doesn't quite taste right but isn't at the expiration date yet which makes you think its still good. Frozen opened with void rays and did a lot of damage, but took a really long time to expo and viOlet looked briefly like he might stabilize. Then he died. Fun but awkward.Frozen attempted the same trick in a PvZ against GuineaPig but didn't have nearly the same success, and then it was GuineaPig up against a Jaedong killer . GanZi did a cool tank/marine pressure build and chokes out the Zerg, slowly inching forward and restricting Guinea's options.A single game away from victory GanZi plays Dual Sight in an odd manner, proxying a barracks and factory and going for a heavy one base mech all-in. The game is tense with DongRaeGu holding just barely when he pulls drones, two separate times. The kind of defense reminiscent of NaNiwa and ThorZaIN's TSL Finals game 6 Amazingly this brings the series to a 9th game, coming down to the wire as with finals before it. SlayerS tags in MMA, the man who earned them the same trophy just a month ago, to battle GSTL gosu DongRaeGu. It is difficult to express in words how awesome this game is for a deciding battle, the lead swings back and forth several times with MMA dropping constantly and holding the gold just long enough to take it home. Excellent play by both, the voices of the commentators begin to crack after shouting through it which is typically the mark of a finals worth watching.SkyCrawler has a good series of battle reports ready to read if you're interested in actual analysis, the latter games of this series were really fantastic and make the GSTL feel incredibly promising as a format.Final final note: stream bonjwa SlayerS_Cella continues to improve his appearance and now looks like a serious badass in a suit.

Oh Captain, My Captain

By Divinek



Besides being the captain of a now two time GSTL championship team, MMA has undeniably become the greatest high pressure player in the entire league. He has always been one of if not the best player on SlayerS and in perhaps all of the GSTL. His humble beginnings in this league were no different from where he is now; being played as the last line of defense again ZeNEX in the Ro8, though back then he was known as Jjob. Once three of his team mates had fallen to HyeJun it was MMA’s turn to attempt for the reverse all kill, but winning 4 games in a row for any person is extremely difficult at the highest levels of competition. Even under these conditions, in his first GSTL appearance, MMA only fell short of the reverse all kill by one game. These were the markings and the beginnings of an amazing team player.



In the next season the team decided to deploy this young man’s talents in a situation where the entire match was not assuredly riding on his every win. Yet again MMA managed to win 3 games in a row, knocking out notable players like ST_July and ST_Squirtle before allowing Ryung to clean up the final win to put Slayers on to the next round. This little experiment in changing MMA’s position in the lineup proved successful, and no doubt reinforced his ability to beat the best under these high pressure settings.



In the finals of the GSTL2 MMA was decidedly switched back into the anchor position, allowing his teammates to perform the brunt of the damage against the opposition of IM. When MVP seemed like he might win 3 straight sets and secure a championship for IM, he met MMA who would begin to prove that he is the greatest match point player of all time. This game was one for the ages, and a very fitting one for the final point of the GSTL 2, putting Slayers a top the league upon the shoulders of their Michael Jordan in MMA. Slayers had won their first championship when viewed as the extreme underdogs the heavy weights of IM. Highlighting MMA’s performance is not meant to dwarf the contributions of his team mates, but no one is better suited as a last line of defense than MMA.



Jump ahead to our most recently completed GSTL 3 we see MMA is all too familiar position of having the fate of Slayer’s in the team league yet again resting on him. With his team down 3-2, and Gumiho coming in with plenty of momentum, MMA was forced into nothing less than his best. He was even put drastically behind in this game by some excellent early game harass from his Terran opponent. But the artist formerly known as Jjob showed us that he never brings his B game only his MMA game! Clawing his way back with some of the most amazing multi-pronged harass and relentless aggression I’ve ever seen in this team league. If you haven’t watched this match please do, MMA does not disappoint. After that game, not only did MMA have his teams every breath inhaling from his unit losses and exhaling in relief from his brilliant moves, but now he had to face the powerhouse in sC.



SC really does not get enough credit for just how good he is, as of late this guy has been playing phenomenally and demonstrating he can be the best in a very clean fashion. This came out in the game against MMA, these two were so evenly matched for most of the game it was beyond impressive. Trading blow for blow, and brilliant tactical strikes for siege line breaks. MMA was eventually able to find the perfect timing to catch sC’s army out of its position and blast on through the terran lines to take the series for Slayers yet again. Two high pressure, extremely close games for MMA, two extremely beautiful victories.



To the finals against the dark horse of the tournament MVP, MMA finds himself in the familiar position against the teams ace Dongreagu. Up to this point the guy was a Zerg beast, looking like an unstoppable force for his team. Using the nerd tears garnered from victory to water his Zerg plants, an act only engaged in for embarrassment as we all known Zergs are carnivores. MMA couldn’t seem to shake the déjà vu of last round, finding himself behind economically and rather intensely so in supply. But let’s take a look at how MMA deals with this.





that's quite the zerg army you have there...





QUITE the army





oh god here it comes



*Insert micro here and lots of tank splash*

*Insert micro here and lots of tank splash*







Don't you know who I am?





welcome to MMA world



That was one of many examples where MMA obtains maximum efficiency from his units. Sure there are opportunities like there where the zerg could have picked better angle or time to attack, but it is also the mark of a great player when he can make his opponent THINK it's a good idea to attack into his army. In reality we saw how good of an idea it was there. MMA is a relentless player, if you give him room to breath he will simply suffocate you. There have always been stories told of players who have unbelievable skill in the practice room, able to roll team mate one after the other, but when these people get on TV it all falls apart. MMA is as far from that image as a player can get, he THRIVES on the adrenaline. He lives for the chance to win under the highest pressure settings against the best opponents. MMA seems unbeatable when his team needs him most, good luck to the teams next series trying to get through this guy. Besides being the captain of a now two time GSTL championship team, MMA has undeniably become the greatest high pressure player in the entire league. He has always been one of if not the best player on SlayerS and in perhaps all of the GSTL. His humble beginnings in this league were no different from where he is now; being played as the last line of defense again ZeNEX in the Ro8, though back then he was known as Jjob. Once three of his team mates had fallen to HyeJun it was MMA’s turn to attempt for the reverse all kill, but winning 4 games in a row for any person is extremely difficult at the highest levels of competition. Even under these conditions, in his first GSTL appearance, MMA only fell short of the reverse all kill bygame. These were the markings and the beginnings of an amazing team player.In the next seasonthe team decided to deploy this young man’s talents in a situation where the entire match was not assuredly riding on his every win. Yet again MMA managed to win 3 games in a row, knocking out notable players like ST_July and ST_Squirtle before allowing Ryung to clean up the final win to put Slayers on to the next round. This little experiment in changing MMA’s position in the lineup proved successful, and no doubt reinforced his ability to beat the best under these high pressure settings.In the finals of the GSTL2 MMA was decidedly switched back into the anchor position, allowing his teammates to perform the brunt of the damage against the opposition of IM. When MVP seemed like he might win 3 straight sets and secure a championship for IM, he met MMA who would begin to prove that he is the greatest match point player of all time. This game was one for the ages, and a very fitting one for the final point of the GSTL 2, putting Slayers a top the league upon the shoulders of their Michael Jordan in MMA. Slayers had won their first championship when viewed as the extreme underdogs the heavy weights of IM. Highlighting MMA’s performance is not meant to dwarf the contributions of his team mates, but no one is better suited as a last line of defense than MMA.Jump ahead to our mostrecently completed GSTL 3 we see MMA is all too familiar position of having the fate of Slayer’s in the team league yet again resting on him. With his team down 3-2, and Gumiho coming in with plenty of momentum, MMA was forced into nothing less than his best. He was even put drastically behind in this game by some excellent early game harass from his Terran opponent. But the artist formerly known as Jjob showed us that he never brings his B game only his MMgame! Clawing his way back with some of the most amazing multi-pronged harass and relentless aggression I’ve ever seen in this team league. If you haven’t watched this match please do, MMA does not disappoint. After that game, not only did MMA have his teams every breath inhaling from his unit losses and exhaling in relief from his brilliant moves, but now he had to face the powerhouse in sC.SC really does not get enough credit for just how good he is, as of late this guy has been playing phenomenally and demonstrating he can be the best in a very clean fashion. This came out in the game against MMA, these two were so evenly matched for most of the game it was beyond impressive. Trading blow for blow, and brilliant tactical strikes for siege line breaks. MMA was eventually able to find the perfect timing to catch sC’s army out of its position and blast on through the terran lines to take the series for Slayers yet again. Two high pressure, extremely close games for MMA, two extremely beautiful victories.To the finals against the dark horse of the tournament MVP, MMA finds himself in the familiar position against the teams ace Dongreagu. Up to this point the guy was a Zerg beast, looking like an unstoppable force for his team. Using the nerd tears garnered from victory to water his Zerg plants, an act only engaged in for embarrassment as we all known Zergs are carnivores. MMA couldn’t seem to shake the déjà vu of last round, finding himself behind economically and rather intensely so in supply. But let’s take a look at how MMA deals with this.That was one of many examples where MMA obtains maximum efficiency from his units. Sure there are opportunities like there where the zerg could have picked better angle or time to attack, but it is also the mark of a great player when he can make his opponent THINK it's a good idea to attack into his army. In reality we saw how good of an idea it was there. MMA is a relentless player, if you give him room to breath he will simply suffocate you. There have always been stories told of players who have unbelievable skill in the practice room, able to roll team mate one after the other, but when these people get on TV it all falls apart. MMA is as far from that image as a player can get, he THRIVES on the adrenaline. He lives for the chance to win under the highest pressure settings against the best opponents. MMA seems unbeatable when his team needs him most, good luck to the teams next series trying to get through this guy.

Team leagues are the best part of Starcraft.It's a fact, provable with science and charts. Team leagues give the most varied games, the widest selection of players, and the greatest storylines. The GSTL is quickly becoming the best part of GOM's regular tournament cycle, and May's tournament lived up to that standard.Before the tournament even began, GOM managed to spark controversey by announcing IM's exclusion due to their method of team selection. We also got a new map as usual, this time a wonderous beachscape fit for a weekend retreat.If your weekend retreats end with tears and bloodshed.Going into this week the spotlight was on Boxer's team, SlayerS. After a "good but not great" performance across GSL Code A they still have to go out and prove themselves in any way they can. The GSTL presented a stage to do so, and once again Boxer showed his ability as coach and general strategist.The first day of the tournament began with SlayerS player Taeja crushing through his old team. The day then took a turn for the weird in the second half when fOu managed to trip up TSL enough to walk away with the win.The second day gave us games that were at the very least less depressing, some closer matches and more interesting scenarios. This also marks the first GSTL in which OGS made it past the first round, though in fairness in both February and March's tournaments they played the even winners.After watching the first two days of play and noticing that most teams were sending out a Protoss to start their matches, confusedcrib decided to scribble down some notes on why that might be. Think of it like investigative reporting, but done by sitting at a typewriter and conducting thought experiments instead of having to leave the safety of home.The semifinals this month were very...different than last time. Sharing only 1 team (SlayerS) in common, this time around the top 4 teams included MVP (who did not participate last month), oGs, and fOu (who were both eliminated their first round).That is one other joy of the team format, things shake up much more easily. Especially in a single elimination format as unforgiving as this one, turnover between months is extremely high. Awesome. To the max.One of the most important parts of GSTL, and one reason its the best league, is its role as testing ground for new maps. Remember the dark before time, when every GSL map was the size of a storage closet? When there was exactly 1 route from base to base, when games had to end before players got a third base because thereGSTL began the trend of fixing that mess . This month they continued the proud tradition with an exotic beach resort map, a creation so beautiful that it nearly stopped the game during Team Liquid Attack when TLO and Tyler discovered you can build things in the water.SirJolt, our resident terrain expert is on the case to tell us whats up with this luscious battleground.When all was said and done, SlayerS was able to recapture victory and walk away as two time champions. Taking 9 games, MMA was burdened with the task of making damn sure the trophy went back to his house, and he delivered in a tense and entertaining game. Sound familiar Team leagues require a different kind of player. They require a player who can look past his own career, his personal struggles with the leagues, and play his best knowing the hopes of his teammates and coaching staff are resting on him. MMA is turning out to be that kind of player, the man who can be trusted to step up and play no matter how dire the situation.Some games were played, some tears shed, a few absurd ceremonies occured. Boxer proved for the second or maybe third time that he knows his stuff when it comes to managing talent, apparently there is something to him being The Emperor. When SlayerS won last time it felt natural to appropriate them with a Cinderella story label, but soon we may have to look at them as an established dynasty.All in all, a pretty successful team league. GOM has appropriately noted how awesome this event is and will be expanding the format in the near future, a very smart move if you ask me (which no one did, but they).

This GSTL update brought to you by the fine writers at Team Liquid. Thanks to Divinek, confusedcrib, intrigue, SirJolt, and Hydro/HawaiinPig for the graphics. Just by reading the preceeding paragraphs you could probably tell that but in my day we always had official sounding sign offs and it formats the post nicely you know? As if we are a legitimate news outlet. Anyway our same group will probably continue GSTL coverage in the future so might as well get to know them now.