TL Map Contest 5 - Finalists & Voting Text by Plexa Finalists



The finalists for the fifth Team Liquid Map Contest have been chosen after over a week of careful judging. As it has been nearly a year since the last TLMC was held and each mapmaker was allowed three entries, a record number of high quality maps found their way into the contest, making it extremely difficult to narrow the list down to a final seven.



Voting will be open until Tuesday, Feb 24 6:00pm GMT (GMT+00:00). You can vote by choosing your favorite map in the poll at the bottom of this post. Before you vote, however, we encourage you to click on each of the maps to see their higher-resolution images. Additionally, the Strategy team has offered a brief description of each map, highlighting their strongest features and explaining how they think the maps will play out. However, we would first like to describe how the finalists were determined.



Judging Process



As with every season of TLMC, the maps were initially screened for quality so that the judges could have a manageable list of maps to fully evaluate (we had a record number of entries, exceeding 150!). This process left only the highest quality maps for the judges to work with. The maps were arranged in a spreadsheet containing no information that could identify the maps as belonging to any particular mapmaker as to avoid any author biases.



At this point the TL Strategy team and multiple professional players took over the judging process. They carefully considered each of the shortlisted maps and eventually settled upon a much smaller list 1v1 maps. Most of these maps were carefully tested by the whole team with an aim to assessing balance and whether or not the maps features were viable or not. At the conclusion of this process the TL Strategy team had settled on a diverse pool of seven maps which they felt were both balanced and enjoyable to play on.



With the judging process now explained, we are proud to present the prizes for this season of the TeamLiquid Map Contest. We are hugely thankful to Blizzard for providing an outstanding set of prizes for the finalists. They sat down and worked out a set of prizes that went above and beyond to cater to the interests of the mapping community. Including making this TLMC the first contest where finalists will receive a new contributor portrait (more information below).



Prizes

1st PLACE

Legacy of the Void Beta Ladder Map Spot



(Blizzard will work with the winning map maker to feature one of their other maps on the LotV Beta ladder.)

Legacy of the Void Beta Key



Community Commander Portrait



Dev Signed – StarCraft II 2015 Wall Calendar



StarCraft II Kerrigan Vinyl Figure



StarCraft II Jim Raynor Vinyl Figure



Zergling/Baneling Reversible Plush



Alex Ross Limited Edition Laser Cell Lithograph – SC2 Justice



StarCraft II Razer Spectre Gaming Mouse



StarCraft II Razer Banshee Gaming Headset



StarCraft II SteelSeries Heart of the Swarm Mouse Pad



2nd & 3rd PLACE

Legacy of the Void Beta Key



Community Commander Portrait



Dev Signed – StarCraft II 2015 Wall Calendar



StarCraft II Kerrigan Vinyl Figure



StarCraft II Jim Raynor Vinyl Figure



Zergling/Baneling Reversible Plush



Alex Ross Limited Edition Laser Cell Lithograph – SC2 Justice



StarCraft II Razer Spectre Gaming Mouse



StarCraft II Razer Banshee Gaming Headset



StarCraft II SteelSeries Heart of the Swarm Mouse Pad







TO ALL FINALISTS

Legacy of the Void Beta Key

(Limit one per mapper, if multiple entries are finalists)

(Limit one per mapper, if multiple entries are finalists)

Community Commander Portrait



For information about the new 'Community Commander' Portrait check out Blizzard's recent post about it.



Below are the finalists for TLMC5. You can view them all conveniently in this imgur album. We strongly recommend using this because it allows you to view the maps in high resolution very easily.



Adun's Shrine | Caevrane Adun’s Srine brings a whole bunch of new, modern elements to the battlefield. The multiple pathways into external bases brings a much needed refreshment into the layouts of the map, and the general different style of this map is something we’ve never seen before.



Cactus Valley | Ferisii A map à la whirlwind, army movements will eventually funnel into the center of the map. With only a single path circling around the map, central control will be key in establishing succeeding bases and open up aggressive options. The initial third base can be taken on either side, depending on spawning positions and playstyle..



Coda | IeZaeL Similar to overgrowths expanding patterns, the third can be taken either linearly, while assuming a defensive posture, or at the pocket base, exhibiting an aggressive stance. Ensuing bases will be on high ground similar to Merry Go Round, but will be more of a focus of attention with the watchtower in the middle, and being the direct path to the opponent..



Echo | Uvantak Deceivingly small, Echo brings back the high ground ridges from Cloud Kingdom. The many ramps around the map, coupled with high ground, gives many options for counter attacks and army movement, and should be watched closely. Not much airspace is behind or around the initial bases; focusing on a ground army early on will be much more beneficial..



Neo Emerald Plaza | IeZaeL Initially there is only one path to the opponent, while other paths can be opened up by killing rocks. The third base is protected by rocks as well, but could be cut off by a rock tower between the natural and the third. This map screams split map, as rocks along almost every ramp cut the top half from the bottom half, giving a natural progression to expansions.



Ganymede | Uvantak Continuing on with the theme of high ground ridges, Ganymede brings in some elements from Blue Storm with the high ground ridge in the middle, albeit with more flexibility. More paths to attack and retreat from and choke points everywhere, after taking the third base this map becomes very tight and confined, and succeeding bases after three become distant and harder to defend.



Timberwolf | lorestarcraft The last map of the bunch, and the only to feature gold minerals. This map takes the overgrowth approach with expansions, but the middle of the map is much different with high grounds and low grounds scattered throughout. Fortunately, the only exposed base is the gold so this might not be worthwhile to take, with the high ground right behind the minerals.







The vote has now closed, thank you for voting. Results will be available soon.



Voting closes in



In addition to the public vote, we will also be conducting a progamer vote to see which maps they prefer. Once both polls conclude, we will combine the results with an equal 50/50 weighting and ties resolved by pro vote. We'll release the final rankings of the maps as soon as possible after the votes conclude. If you have any unanswered questions please do not hesitate to ask them below or PM Plexa or The_Templar who will be happy to answer them.



Thank you to all entrants for making this the most competitive and high quality TLMC to date and thank you to Blizzard for the opportunity to host this contest and the amazing set of prizes. Best of luck to the finalists.







Administrator ~ Spirit will set you free ~