[SPL] Dog Days To Come Text by riptide Graphics by HawaiianPig

Shinhan Proleague 2010/2011 - Team Liquid Coverage





In This Issue



R6 Week 1 Recap



Brightest Day

Can CJ do it this time?



Starcraft of Unbelievable Legend

STX will suck rise!



R6 Week 2 Previews



Dog Eat Dog

In R6, it's survival of the fittest. riptide: C'mon, throw in a buck!



Milkis: Uh-uh, I don't tip.



Imperator: You don't tip?



Milkis: Nah, I don't believe in it.



mustaju: You don't believe in tipping?



Csheep: You know what these gfx guys make make? They make shit.



Milkis: Don't give me that. He don't make enough money, he can quit.



riptide: I don't even know a SC2 pro who'd have the guts to say that. Let me get this straight: you don't ever tip?



Milkis: I don't tip because society says I have to. All right, if someone deserves a tip, if they really put forth an effort, I'll give them something a little something extra. But this tipping automatically, it's for the birds. As far as I'm concerned, they're just doing their job.



Imperator: Hey, our gfx this week are nice.



Milkis: They're ok. Not anything special. : C'mon, throw in a buck!: Uh-uh, I don't tip.: You don't tip?: Nah, I don't believe in it.: You don't believe in tipping?: You know what these gfx guys make make? They make shit.: Don't give me that. He don't make enough money, he can quit.: I don't even know a SC2 pro who'd have the guts to say that. Let me get this straight: you don't ever tip?: I don't tip because society says I have to. All right, if someone deserves a tip, if they really put forth an effort, I'll give them something a little something extra. But this tipping automatically, it's for the birds. As far as I'm concerned, they're just doing their job.: Hey, our gfx this week are nice.: They're ok. Not anything special.









Aaand we're back. If last week led you to believe that Proleague coverage was in a crisis, you were correct. If you thought PL coverage was gonna die though, you were wrong. We're here to stay! Milkis is taking a well deserved break, but the PL update goes on. Joining me are the illustrious Csheep, Imperator, mustaju and HawaiianPig, along with guest writer Kiante, and together we hope to give you a taste of the week gone by, and an appetite for the week to come.



We're excited about this PL update, and we hope you are too. Apart from our usual weekly recaps and previews, we have fan pieces for CJ and STX, and a look at the round ahead and what it means for each team. With the



Enjoy, sports fans. Good games! Aaand we're back. If last week led you to believe that Proleague coverage was in a crisis, you were correct. If you thought PL coverage was gonna die though, you were wrong. We're here to stay! Milkis is taking a well deserved break, but the PL update goes on. Joining me are the illustrious Csheep, Imperator, mustaju and HawaiianPig, along with guest writer Kiante, and together we hope to give you a taste of the week gone by, and an appetite for the week to come.We're excited about this PL update, and we hope you are too. Apart from our usual weekly recaps and previews, we have fan pieces for CJ and STX, and a look at the round ahead and what it means for each team. With the PL finals being held in Shanghai this time , we are entering unchartered territory here, and what better way to do it than with a good look at what we should expect? One thing's for sure - you have a lot to read as you get ready for tomorrow's games, and we hope you will respond and tell us what you like about PL coverage and also what we can do better. Ultimately, this is for you.Enjoy, sports fans. Good games!

Being a CJ fan is sometimes heartbreaking. Watch your team do very well in Winners League, and then lose in the first round of the Winner's League playoffs to SKT. Watch them rampage their way through the SPL playoffs, only to lose in the ACE match to SKT. CJ has dared to be great, and SKT has always been there to extinguish our greatness until next season.



And here we are, proleague drawing to a close, the playoffs waiting in the wings. CJ was consistently strong this season, second only to SKT and KTFlash because of Winners League. CJ fans have seen this all before: see the goal, taste it, and have it snatched all away by Bisu, Best, and Fantasy. But this season, things will be different. Even though SKT is ahead of CJ in the rankings right now, it may not stay that way, with a little luck. At best, CJ will be atop the mountain, waiting for the likes of SKT and KT to meet us in the grandest of stages. At worst, we will be forced to ascend that mountain, with KT and SKT looking down upon us, laughing at our struggle, ready to defeat us, as they have done so many times before.



But this time, things are different. CJ is even deeper than before, with a Protoss lineup to rival that of SKTs. Horang2 has proven he can take games off of Bisu, Movie is prepared for any SKT Zergs that poke their heads up. Leta is ready to rain down fire with his wraiths, and Skyhigh is prepared to demolish the likes of Ssak and Fantasy. An Effort trained Hydra is waiting in the wings, waiting to strike at any unsuspecting player that makes it through the rest.



CJ has shown that they have the ability to destroy any team throughout round 5. 4-0ing teams such as STX and OZ shows that CJ can power through the middle teams, but their 4-0 of SKT showed that they can demolish any other team if they put their mind to it, even a team as strong as SKT.



So although things look similar, they will be different. I think CJ will power their way through Round 6 as they did Round 5, eventually getting first place in the rankings. But even if I am wrong, I see us ascending the mountain, and fighting with SKT to get higher. But this time, our day will come.



And so we shall utter the mantra of the CJ Entus Corps.

Starcraft of Unbelievable Legend

Frankly, it’s hard being a STX fan. Deep down, you know your team has it in them to be the most dominant team Proleague has ever witnessed, but they always come up one step short.





-HonestTea, Tribal Colors



This excerpt, penned by HonestTea over three and a half years ago, curiously proves just as true today as it did back then. Ever since STX’s playoffs appearance two seasons ago, following STX has been a rollercoaster of highs and lows. Calm and Kal vary between being Starleague contenders to not even making a lineup appearance, and the rest of the team suffers too from this inconsistency.



Regardless, it is always abundantly clear to at least myself that STX has it in them to win it all. The problem is that they need to realize their potential. As we saw in last year’s playoffs, STX has what it takes to go toe to toe with the best, losing to SKT in two 3-4 series, with both of the ace matches opening with what seems like a sure win, only to falter in the last moment. Indeed, STX’s recent career can be summed up as “almost, but not quite.”







"My only fear is, I always sabotage myself when I’m on the verge of happiness. In my young life, I’ve seen that every time I’m about to achieve true happiness some little piece of me says ‘you don’t deserve this’ and another little piece says ‘I agree’."



When STX is at their best, the lineup of Calm, Kal, Bogus, hero, Shuttle, hyvaa, Classic, Modesty, Frozean, and even Last is formidable. In terms of sheer numbers, STX is by far the deepest team in that they have the most legitimate options of any team to field in a series. Each and every one of these players can take games off the best of the rest, but the problem is that it doesn’t always happen.



STX’s overall performance this season has been disappointing compared to last season’s second place in the regular season. But it is in this position that STX is perhaps the most comfortable. We are not used to being the dominating powerhouse that is the clear favorite agsainst all other teams, but rather the darkhorse candidate who can surprise everyone, even ourselves, in winning in spectacular fashion.



As R6 begins, I recognize in STX signs of the ancient flame – the slumping Kal came back in full force to play one of the best PvZs of his life to take home the ace match against great from Samsung. Despite a 2-3 loss to Zero in the MSL, Calm is showing glimmers of his old ZvZ dominance in Proleague again. A grueling season of Bo7s have trained and conditioned Bogus into one of the best Proleague players on the scene right now, and a worthy ace candidate for STX. The lineup of hero, Shuttle, Bogus, Frozean, Modesty, hyvaa, Classic, and Last have been consistently getting stronger. While it seems the likes of Samsung and Oz, other middle tier teams fighting for a spot, are declining, STX is on the rise. And with this rise comes once again the hope for a Proleague gold.



Starcraft of Unbelievable Legend – fighting! Frankly, it’s hard being a STX fan. Deep down, you know your team has it in them to be the most dominant team Proleague has ever witnessed, but they always come up one step short.This excerpt, penned by HonestTea over three and a half years ago, curiously proves just as true today as it did back then. Ever since STX’s playoffs appearance two seasons ago, following STX has been a rollercoaster of highs and lows. Calm and Kal vary between being Starleague contenders to not even making a lineup appearance, and the rest of the team suffers too from this inconsistency.Regardless, it is always abundantly clear to at least myself that STX has it in them to win it all. The problem is that they need to realize their potential. As we saw in last year’s playoffs, STX has what it takes to go toe to toe with the best, losing to SKT in two 3-4 series, with both of the ace matches opening with what seems like a sure win, only to falter in the last moment. Indeed, STX’s recent career can be summed up as “almost, but not quite.”When STX is at their best, the lineup of Calm, Kal, Bogus, hero, Shuttle, hyvaa, Classic, Modesty, Frozean, and even Last is formidable. In terms of sheer numbers, STX is by far the deepest team in that they have the most legitimate options of any team to field in a series. Each and every one of these players can take games off the best of the rest, but the problem is that it doesn’t always happen.STX’s overall performance this season has been disappointing compared to last season’s second place in the regular season. But it is in this position that STX is perhaps the most comfortable. We are not used to being the dominating powerhouse that is the clear favorite agsainst all other teams, but rather the darkhorse candidate who can surprise everyone, even ourselves, in winning in spectacular fashion.As R6 begins, I recognize in STX signs of the ancient flame – the slumping Kal came back in full force to play one of the best PvZs of his life to take home the ace match against great from Samsung. Despite a 2-3 loss to Zero in the MSL, Calm is showing glimmers of his old ZvZ dominance in Proleague again. A grueling season of Bo7s have trained and conditioned Bogus into one of the best Proleague players on the scene right now, and a worthy ace candidate for STX. The lineup of hero, Shuttle, Bogus, Frozean, Modesty, hyvaa, Classic, and Last have been consistently getting stronger. While it seems the likes of Samsung and Oz, other middle tier teams fighting for a spot, are declining, STX is on the rise. And with this rise comes once again the hope for a Proleague gold.Starcraft of Unbelievable Legend – fighting!



We are drawing near to the end of yet another glorious year of Proleague. For the first time, the battlefield has been narrowed to just ten teams. However, this just means that the competition will be all the fiercer. With one last round to go before the playoffs, every team will be giving it their best in this last stretch to get a spot in the playoffs.





After five rounds, three teams have clearly emerged as the favorites to win the 2010-2011 Shinhan Bank Proleague: perennial favorites SK Telecom T1 and KT Rolster, and the reborn CJ Entus. All three teams boast win-loss differentials nearing +30, and the third place, CJ Entus, is five wins above the fourth ranked team, Woongjin Stars (the second largest gap in the rankings, the largest being the six wins separating Fox and Ace at the bottom). These teams have shown themselves to be a cut above the rest, and their playoff chances are looking to be quite secure.



SK Telecom T1





+ Show Spoiler + What do I even say here? It’s SKT. Any Broodwar fan should realize the significance these three letters hold, for better or for worse. Year after year, SKT has proven themselves to be the team to beat, and this year is no different. Currently ranked number one in the standings, and with this year’s Winner’s League gold to boost, SK Telecom is, whether you like it or not, primed for another Proleague finals. Bisu has proven himself to be one of the top players of Proleague. Despite poor individual league performances, Bisu has maintained a Proleague win ratio of close to 80% (79.73, if you were wondering) in this past season. After ceding the position of SKT ace to fantasy for a season, Bisu has convincingly taken it back. Fantasy has been his usual self, capable of simultaneously extraordinary genius and catastrophic failure. A near 60% win rate, however, still places fantasy as SKT’s other main pillar of support, and let us not forget that when (it’s hardly a matter of “if” at this point) SKT is in the playoffs, fantasy abilities, with the help of Oov, are daunting. Familiar faces like Best, the SKT Zerg trio, and newcomer Sun round out the core SKT lineup, and they’ve all proven themselves to be capable of winning games for SKT. The first week of R6 saw SKT dispatch Woongjin and STX, the “middle tier” teams, with ease. SKT – looking strong.



KT Rolster





+ Show Spoiler + When SKT is mentioned, KT is often right behind. Last year’s Proleague winners are only one game behind SKT, and is, just like SKT, poised for another Proleague finals. Boxer and YellOw defined Broodwar, and parallel to that, SKT and KT defined Proleague. After an interlude of Samsung Khan, Hwaseung Oz, and CJ Entus competing for dominance, these two telecom giants are back to reclaim the throne. After finally defeating their rivals in the finals last season, KT is looking to repeat that performance. And when we talk about KT, we must also talk about Flash. The Ultimate Weapon has the highest winrate of the season, at 82.81%, and is set to grab another MSL gold, and a golden badge with it, this weekend. Statistically, there is little dispute that Flash is the best player in the world right now. Any team facing KT must devote large amounts of energy to countering Flash, and if the series goes to the ace match, woe be upon the unfortunate soul whose duty it is to defeat Flash. It is an understatement to say that Flash’s teammates are in a different class than Flash. For reference, Flash was rank 4 in the FPL R5 rankings, and you have to go down 22 places to find another KT member. Stats showed great promise, but has recently gone back to mere mediocrity. Accompanying him in mediocrity is KT’s recent acquisition Crazy-Hydra, Mafia Zerg Action, young talent Barracks, and resurgent veteran Hoejja. All of them are in that zone of consistent inconsistency, in that they’re equally likely to win and lose a game. With new faces constantly being sent out by KT, it’s clear that KT is still looking for that solid core lineup to use in the playoffs. As R6 started, a 1-4 loss to Ace of all teams threatens to bring back the murmurings of “KTFlash, one man team.” To their credit, KT was in similar circumstances when they took home the gold last season, so it will all hinge on which side of inconsistency KT’s lineup falls on when the playoffs come – surprising upsets or cracking under pressure? Update: The series against Samsung last night again shows how on a good day, KT doesn't even need Flash to win. But will that day come in the playoffs?



CJ Entus





+ Show Spoiler + Contrary to SKT and KT, CJ is one of those fabled “deep” teams. Where SKT has Bisu and fantasy and KT has Flash as defined anchor players, CJ has always boasted a large and diverse roster, and tends to aim to win before the ace match through sheer number of consistent players. The combining of Hite and CJ players into one team has shown great results over the past five rounds, and with the name change back to CJ, the team is definitely looking to win their first Proleague. As with SKT and KT, CJ’s spot in the playoffs is already all but secured. A diverse line-up of Leta, Hydra, Movie, Horang2, Snow, Skyhigh, each of whom can be counted on for a solid win, and if needed, an ace appearance. Convincing wins over Ace and Oz in week 1 has shown that CJ looks to continue its domination throughout R6.



The one common thread that binds these top three teams is that they’re proven they’re solid, consistent, and competitive. For these three teams, R6 is less a matter of struggling to qualify, and more of one to solidify their lineups, gauge the opposition, and some jockeying for seeding position in the playoffs. The grand finals are already looming on the horizon for them, and each one has a very real chance at taking home the gold.





The next 6 spots in the rankings are unusually close – only four wins separate the fourth ranked Woongjin Stars and the ninth ranked WeMade Fox. Truthfully, any of these teams have a shot at making the playoffs (though some much more realistic than others, for sure), and once there, they all have potential to be darkhorse contenders for the gold. The focus for these teams is completely different than the previous three – they still need to qualify, and will fight tooth and nail for those last three spots in the playoffs. Their sights are more immediate, more pressing, and I’m going to predict that it is from these teams that the most exciting games of R6 emerge.



Woongjin Stars





+ Show Spoiler + A solid and diverse team, overall. This season’s acquisition of Light really helped round out Stars, who has traditionally had a weak Terran lineup. As we head into R6, Stars is starting to find an ace in Zero, who will be playing in the MSL finals this weekend. Overcoming two strong Zerg opponents, Zero is adding ZvZ to his top-notch ZvT and ZvP. Light isn’t performing at the S-class level he was a season ago, around the time of his MSL run, but is still very solid and consistent overall. His shaky TvP has been much less of a hindrance with the general slump of Protosses not named Bisu, and he is still one of the top Terrans behind Flash and fantasy. Soulkey, Zero’s partner in crime (the two are just adorable together, really), was actually the top Zerg performer in R5. With free and Really both being slightly out of shape but still holding the ability to win games to round out the line-up, Stars is currently leading the middle tier teams, with an impressive 4 place rise after the games of R5, and would be certainly a welcome addition to the playoff roster.



Samsung Khan





+ Show Spoiler + The once Proleague champions have fallen on hard times. With the abysmal condition that Stork is in, Khan lacks both a well-defined ace to lead the team and a large and diverse line-up to consistently win games. Khan definitely still has the ability to compete with the best, as evidenced by their 4-2 upset of CJ in the last week of R5. The fact remains that Stork is scary when he plays well. The problem is that, right now, more often than not, he doesn’t. The mix of old and new Protoss and Terran players that Khan keeps fielding can look great when they do well, but half the times, they will lead to many a January facepalm. As is the norm when Stork is slumping, Great is the team’s ace, and he suffers the same problem of inconsistency, winning about as much as he loses. Just as their win against CJ showed that they have the potential, so did their loss in week 1 of R6 to STX, 3-4, show that they need to bring it up a notch if they want to keep their precarious playoff spot.



STX Soul





+ Show Spoiler + Omitted. See my opinions on STX in Starcraft of Unbelievable Legend



Hwaseung Oz





+ Show Spoiler + Oz fans may find little sympathy for the laments of Khan fans. If anything, Oz has fallen on even harder times than Khan. For the past few years, the success of Oz has been tied directly to the performance of Jaedong. And truth be told, the current occupier of the Zerg throne is not in the best of shapes. Despite strong early performances, Jaedong has started dropping games left and right in many games that he, as the second best player in the world, shouldn’t be dropping, to the point that people are once again raising the question of a slump. Compared to the 80% ratios of Bisu and Flash, Jaedong has only a 67%, and in R5, actually went (well) below 50% with a 41.7% winrate. Though Anytime’s return and victories for Oz have been heartening, in the end, Oz cannot win off Killer, Hiya, and Lomo. And with Jaedong dropping games to nameless Fox Zergs as he did in week 1 of R6, Oz is not looking in good shape as R6 opens. If Jaedong can’t get back into form, Oz may have to once again say good-bye to the playoffs.



MBCGame Hero





+ Show Spoiler + For a long time, it was Light and Sea holding down the fort for MBC. The departure of Light for Woongjin left MBC’s roster looking bare and vulnerable, and MBC’s performance has reflected that in its suffering. Sea is solid and consistent as always, and Tyson can win games when needed, but MBC’s overall lineup is nowhere deep enough for this Bo7 format, while lacking a S-class ace to hold down the fort. MBC has slowly slipped into the bottom of the rankings. Hope remains, however, as MBC defeated Stars in week 1 of R6, with Sea taking down his old partner Light. If MBC can find some new talent in the last 9 games of R6, they might still have a chance, however slim, of making the playoffs.



WeMade Fox





+ Show Spoiler + In my mind (no pun intended), Fox’s lineup is in a state similar to KT’s, with the exception of Flash. A host of players who certainly have it in them to win games, but can’t seem to do it in a consistent fashion, and as a result, they hover around the 50% mark, and will always lose to the stronger teams. The end result is that Fox is the second to last team right now, and chances of qualifying for the playoffs are slim. Mind enjoyed a resurgence with his MSL run, but it seemed to last only a short while, and no significant Proleague performance accompanied his MSL run. Baby, Roro, Shine, and Pure are all decent players, but they’re all not quite good enough to be called “good.” Fox’s wins have all come against weaker, slumping teams, and none of them have been all that impressive. Barring a miraculous turnaround, Fox’s performance in R6 will be the same as the previous five rounds, leading to an absence from the playoffs. But if that turnaround happens, Fox can definitely be a powerful team.



The unifying trend of these teams is that when they’re good, they’re really, really good. But can all of the players on a team be good on the same day, when it matters? It is again consistency and depth that separates the top teams from the next tier, but in their inconsistency lies a special kind of attraction. I repeat my prediction that the fiercest, most exciting games will come from these teams, and none of them should be counted out. Anything can happen.





Airforce Ace





+ Show Spoiler + Everyone loves ace, but it’s impossible for them to make the playoffs. Sorry, but that’s the blunt truth. They’re certainly fun to watch, and have taken some unexpected upset victories. Ace will still give it their best for the R6 games, though, and the performance of the middle tier teams against ace can make or break their playoff chances, and as is with the case of KT, games against Ace can be a chance to gauge the abilities of the other teams

Interesting to note is that we have a top tier and a middle tier, but no bottom tier aside from lone Ace. It just once again drives home the point of how close the competition is. Here’s looking forward to an exciting R6. We are drawing near to the end of yet another glorious year of Proleague. For the first time, the battlefield has been narrowed to just ten teams. However, this just means that the competition will be all the fiercer. With one last round to go before the playoffs, every team will be giving it their best in this last stretch to get a spot in the playoffs.After five rounds, three teams have clearly emerged as the favorites to win the 2010-2011 Shinhan Bank Proleague: perennial favorites SK Telecom T1 and KT Rolster, and the reborn CJ Entus. All three teams boast win-loss differentials nearing +30, and the third place, CJ Entus, is five wins above the fourth ranked team, Woongjin Stars (the second largest gap in the rankings, the largest being the six wins separating Fox and Ace at the bottom). These teams have shown themselves to be a cut above the rest, and their playoff chances are looking to be quite secure.The one common thread that binds these top three teams is that they’re proven they’re solid, consistent, and competitive. For these three teams, R6 is less a matter of struggling to qualify, and more of one to solidify their lineups, gauge the opposition, and some jockeying for seeding position in the playoffs. The grand finals are already looming on the horizon for them, and each one has a very real chance at taking home the gold.The next 6 spots in the rankings are unusually close – only four wins separate the fourth ranked Woongjin Stars and the ninth ranked WeMade Fox. Truthfully, any of these teams have a shot at making the playoffs (though some much more realistic than others, for sure), and once there, they all have potential to be darkhorse contenders for the gold. The focus for these teams is completely different than the previous three – they still need to qualify, and will fight tooth and nail for those last three spots in the playoffs. Their sights are more immediate, more pressing, and I’m going to predict that it is from these teams that the most exciting games of R6 emerge.The unifying trend of these teams is that when they’re good, they’re really, really good. But can all of the players on a team be good on the same day, when it matters? It is again consistency and depth that separates the top teams from the next tier, but in their inconsistency lies a special kind of attraction. I repeat my prediction that the fiercest, most exciting games will come from these teams, and none of them should be counted out. Anything can happen.Interesting to note is that we have a top tier and a middle tier, but no bottom tier aside from lone Ace. It just once again drives home the point of how close the competition is. Here’s looking forward to an exciting R6.

Poll: How did you like this TL Proleague update?



It's so beautiful, I cried a little. (334)

82%



I didn't feel anything. I think I'm dead inside. (74)

18%



408 total votes (334)82%(74)18%408 total votes Your vote: How did you like this TL Proleague update? (Vote): It's so beautiful, I cried a little.

(Vote): I didn't feel anything. I think I'm dead inside.

