BigFan Profile Blog Joined December 2010 TLADT 24439 Posts Last Edited: 2014-09-06 07:32:00 #1



1999 Tooniverse Progamer Korea Open:

The first BW tournament that took place in 1999 was called Tooniverse Progamer Korea Open. It had 16 players face off in group stages till the end of Ro8. After the Ro8 was finished, the two top players in each group faced each other (1st against 1st and 2nd against 2nd) in bo3 series. By the end, two players emerged, and who would play a bo5 to determine the winner. The prize was a hefty $45,000. At the time, race picking was just fine so both finalists would go on to choose races depending on their preferences leading us to watch both ZvZ and TvZ in the finals.





Love the look!

Maps:

All of these were ladder maps released by Blizzard and were used in future tournaments:

-> Siegable mineral lines, ramp positions or expo locations for imbalances

-> lot of narrow chokes and ledges which can be abused

-> island map forcing a unique style of play (drops/mass air)

-> famous map, "better" than the other three though still lacking



Metagame:

Please note that since most of the vods are missing, these assumptions are made on the back of several games that I've watched. The finals were available giving us a glimpse of the TvZ and ZvZ metagame from back then. Suffice it to say, the layout of the maps played a great role in the metagame and players were rather passive in their games. Macro styles weren't in at the time either.



TvZ:

Terrans felt the need to get most tech structures in their base before getting an expo. It's understandable when considering that scouting was nonexistent at the time so players played in the dark. The threat of lurkers or mutalisks is something of concern. Getting MnM with tanks/vessels seemed like the norm though lack of medics and bad control by Terran players (sieging tanks in sunken range, no hold position etc...) lead to less than optimal results. On island maps such as Snowbound, opening 2 port valkyrie seemed common to stop mutalisks and help with getting dropships though it also left the Terran vulnerable due to lack of ground units.





That's all on one base!

Zerg players were a bit better than Terran players when it comes to expoing. In general, they would one base till they start morphing a lair (with or without a hydra den) before grabbing an exp or two which they would sunken up. Lurkers were also used to help with defense. If left alone, you can be seeing guardians very soon! Island maps saw hydra drops used despite the high air count of terrans. Of note is the fact that since Terrans were passive, this allowed the Zerg to get away with an expo that was basically defenseless.



ZvZ:

Players would stay on one base and go for pool then gas into lair adding another hatch soon after. They would focus on zerglings early on and might try for an attack or just defend while working on their mutalisks count. Due to lack of advanced micro techniques and poor micro, air battles came down to who had the higher mutalisk count and who did the better job of targeting with scourge. Expansions would be taken though depending on the outcome of a fight, it might be hard to hold. Sunkens were used to help defend. If behind, better hope hydras can help against the mass mutalisk style.





Mass hydras are best bet when behind.

PvZ:

Zergs would go for pool first into expansion. Sunkens and zerglings were used for defense with more hatcheries added as the game progressed. They would eventually morph a lair and go for mutalisks with scourge support against corsairs so we see that muta/scourge combo being used in the matchup though scourge usage is correlated with corsair usage.



For protoss, depending on map, 2 gating into expansion 'seemed' common. Templar archives and stargates were added soon after as well. Cannons were also placed near or in mineral fields to help defend against any possible attacks. Corsairs were used but whether they were a staple or not is anyone's guess due to lack of games.



Notables:

- ends up winning the tournaments in a close 3-2 series.

- V-Gundam who would go on to create the



With BW having been played from back in 1990s, it's no surprise that it's history runs quite deep. We, the viewers were gifted with such amazing and dedicated players and constant shifts in the metagame leading to what BW is today. To truly appreciate something as beautiful as BW, I believe we must take a look back to its roots. It's only by seeing how things progressed over the years can we gain a better appreciation for the game. With this blog series, I plan to look at the individual tournaments (OSL/MSL/GomTV) one at a time in chronological order to see metagame shifts and the rise of new strategies and notable players. I'm also hoping that I'll be able to compile a list of great games to share. So, without further ado, here's BW in all its glory:The first BW tournament that took place in 1999 was called Tooniverse Progamer Korea Open. It had 16 players face off in group stages till the end of Ro8. After the Ro8 was finished, the two top players in each group faced each other (1st against 1st and 2nd against 2nd) in bo3 series. By the end, two players emerged, TheBOy and Freemura who would play a bo5 to determine the winner. The prize was a hefty $45,000. At the time, race picking was just fine so both finalists would go on to choose races depending on their preferences leading us to watch both ZvZ and TvZ in the finals.All of these were ladder maps released by Blizzard and were used in future tournaments: Ashrigo -> Siegable mineral lines, ramp positions or expo locations for imbalances Showdown -> lot of narrow chokes and ledges which can be abused Snowbound -> island map forcing a unique style of play (drops/mass air) Lost Temple -> famous map, "better" than the other three though still lackingPlease note that since most of the vods are missing, these assumptions are made on the back of several games that I've watched. The finals were available giving us a glimpse of the TvZ and ZvZ metagame from back then. Suffice it to say, the layout of the maps played a great role in the metagame and players were rather passive in their games. Macro styles weren't in at the time either.Terrans felt the need to get most tech structures in their base before getting an expo. It's understandable when considering that scouting was nonexistent at the time so players played in the dark. The threat of lurkers or mutalisks is something of concern. Getting MnM with tanks/vessels seemed like the norm though lack of medics and bad control by Terran players (sieging tanks in sunken range, no hold position etc...) lead to less than optimal results. On island maps such as Snowbound, opening 2 port valkyrie seemed common to stop mutalisks and help with getting dropships though it also left the Terran vulnerable due to lack of ground units.Zerg players were a bit better than Terran players when it comes to expoing. In general, they would one base till they start morphing a lair (with or without a hydra den) before grabbing an exp or two which they would sunken up. Lurkers were also used to help with defense. If left alone, you can be seeing guardians very soon! Island maps saw hydra drops used despite the high air count of terrans. Of note is the fact that since Terrans were passive, this allowed the Zerg to get away with an expo that was basically defenseless.Players would stay on one base and go for pool then gas into lair adding another hatch soon after. They would focus on zerglings early on and might try for an attack or just defend while working on their mutalisks count. Due to lack of advanced micro techniques and poor micro, air battles came down to who had the higher mutalisk count and who did the better job of targeting with scourge. Expansions would be taken though depending on the outcome of a fight, it might be hard to hold. Sunkens were used to help defend. If behind, better hope hydras can help against the mass mutalisk style.Zergs would go for pool first into expansion. Sunkens and zerglings were used for defense with more hatcheries added as the game progressed. They would eventually morph a lair and go for mutalisks with scourge support against corsairs so we see that muta/scourge combo being used in the matchup though scourge usage is correlated with corsair usage.For protoss, depending on map, 2 gating into expansion 'seemed' common. Templar archives and stargates were added soon after as well. Cannons were also placed near or in mineral fields to help defend against any possible attacks. Corsairs were used but whether they were a staple or not is anyone's guess due to lack of games. Freemura ends up winning the tournaments in a close 3-2 series.- V-Gundam who would go on to create the gundam rush was eliminated in the group stages. Former BW EiC "Watch Bakemonogatari or I will kill you." -Toad, April 18th, 2017

BigFan Profile Blog Joined December 2010 TLADT 24439 Posts #3 On September 06 2014 13:24 itsjustatank wrote:

everytime i see V-Gundam's handle



+ Show Spoiler + https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyJwuNZn140 everytime i see V-Gundam's handle

lol yes, me too! That's what comes to mind whenever I think of his name lol yes, me too! That's what comes to mind whenever I think of his name Former BW EiC "Watch Bakemonogatari or I will kill you." -Toad, April 18th, 2017

Stratos Profile Blog Joined July 2010 Czech Republic 6104 Posts #4 On September 06 2014 12:52 BigFan wrote:

Due to poor micro, mutalisks battles came down to who had the more mutalisks and who did the better job of targeting with scourge.

> Due to lack of advanced micro techniques? Maybe? Sounds better and perhaps even more accurate..



Great blog with the analysis rather than just player focus, looking forward to more! > Due to lack of advanced micro techniques? Maybe? Sounds better and perhaps even more accurate..Great blog with the analysis rather than just player focus, looking forward to more! En Taro Violet

BigFan Profile Blog Joined December 2010 TLADT 24439 Posts #5 On September 06 2014 16:14 Stratos wrote:

Show nested quote +

On September 06 2014 12:52 BigFan wrote:

Due to poor micro, mutalisks battles came down to who had the more mutalisks and who did the better job of targeting with scourge.

> Due to lack of advanced micro techniques? Maybe? Sounds better and perhaps even more accurate..



Great blog with the analysis rather than just player focus, looking forward to more! > Due to lack of advanced micro techniques? Maybe? Sounds better and perhaps even more accurate..Great blog with the analysis rather than just player focus, looking forward to more!

hmm not a bad change. I wanted to say something similar but more along the lines of non-existant muta micro but wasn't sure. Will look into changing it, thanks for suggestion. I'm hoping to do something similar to the rest though more detailed when it comes to the metagame due to having a ton of games to watch but it'll likely take a while between blogs seeing what I'm trying to juggle these days XD hmm not a bad change. I wanted to say something similar but more along the lines of non-existant muta micro but wasn't sure. Will look into changing it, thanks for suggestion. I'm hoping to do something similar to the rest though more detailed when it comes to the metagame due to having a ton of games to watch but it'll likely take a while between blogs seeing what I'm trying to juggle these days XD Former BW EiC "Watch Bakemonogatari or I will kill you." -Toad, April 18th, 2017

Stratos Profile Blog Joined July 2010 Czech Republic 6104 Posts #6 make it awesome! Tbh I haven't seen the games in a while but maybe both lack of techniques and generally poor micro would be fitting :p certainly considering today's standards.. Yeah take your timemake it awesome! En Taro Violet

BigFan Profile Blog Joined December 2010 TLADT 24439 Posts #7 On September 06 2014 16:27 Stratos wrote:

Tbh I haven't seen the games in a while but maybe both lack of techniques and generally poor micro would be fitting :p certainly considering today's standards.. Yeah take your time make it awesome! Tbh I haven't seen the games in a while but maybe both lack of techniques and generally poor micro would be fitting :p certainly considering today's standards.. Yeah take your timemake it awesome!

ya, no worries. Let's just say, the games failed to impress haha. Going from 2014 BW to 1999 BW, it's just amazing at how much things changed. That's the plan, as awesome and informative as possible! :D ya, no worries. Let's just say, the games failed to impress haha. Going from 2014 BW to 1999 BW, it's just amazing at how much things changed. That's the plan, as awesome and informative as possible! :D Former BW EiC "Watch Bakemonogatari or I will kill you." -Toad, April 18th, 2017

quirinus Profile Blog Joined May 2007 Croatia 2484 Posts #8 Great read! Thanks for writing this! All candles lit within him, and there was purity. | First auto-promoted BW LP editor.

Heyoka Profile Blog Joined March 2008 Temple of EE-Sama 22504 Posts #9 I love that they are playing in what appears to be a combination throne & park bench. Everything about those old tournaments rocks, especially the smoke machines and space suits. You can see the tables rock back and forth when the players move sometimes.



The play is great too, what little I've seen from around the 99-00 era is really hilarious. @RealHeyoka | DreamHack StarCrafty Man

GeckoXp Profile Blog Joined June 2013 Germany 1948 Posts #10



https://www.youtube.com/user/scbwvodsZocKa/videos



this is the archive of the former German VOD Database called "ExVods" run by Zocka(eX. It has tons of gosu material of the old days. Recommended! Interesting. Maybe add VODs next time directly. If you did not find any, or only little, maybe try this channel:this is the archive of the former German VOD Database called "ExVods" run by Zocka(eX. It has tons of gosu material of the old days. Recommended! "Was macht Gecko da aus meiner BWCL." - Annihilator

DarkNetHunter Profile Joined October 2012 1224 Posts #11 Cool read :D



It's incredible how much BW developed over the time of its existence, the amount of change is brilliant.



I hope that if you put further blogs out that you will eventually compile them all together to add to the BW General section as they may get lost in the Blogs later!



Learn from the mistakes of others. You can't live long enough to make them all yourself.

Liquid`Drone Profile Joined September 2002 Norway 25996 Posts #12 On September 06 2014 13:24 itsjustatank wrote:

everytime i see V-Gundam's handle



+ Show Spoiler + https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyJwuNZn140 everytime i see V-Gundam's handle



funny, every time I see any type of reference to any game or anime with "gundams" in them, my mind immediately goes to the progamer. :D funny, every time I see any type of reference to any game or anime with "gundams" in them, my mind immediately goes to the progamer. :D Moderator I had to change my quote to seem more serious because I'm trying to use myself in an academic text :(

vult Profile Blog Joined February 2012 United States 9278 Posts #13 God damn those outfits. Why can't progaming be that way now? kekeke "I used to play random, but for you I play very specifically." -iNcontroL, impersonating TLO flirting with Apollo, ASUS ROG 2012. RIP Geoff. || Pats and Jags

JieXian Profile Blog Joined August 2008 Malaysia 4430 Posts Last Edited: 2014-09-06 17:54:29 #15



On September 06 2014 16:14 Stratos wrote:

Show nested quote +

On September 06 2014 12:52 BigFan wrote:

Due to poor micro, mutalisks battles came down to who had the more mutalisks and who did the better job of targeting with scourge.

> Due to lack of advanced micro techniques? Maybe? Sounds better and perhaps even more accurate.. > Due to lack of advanced micro techniques? Maybe? Sounds better and perhaps even more accurate..



Oh come on you're nitpicking man -.- Look at that throne! Maybe BW should be made like that again to gain publicityOh come on you're nitpicking man -.- Please send me a PM of any song you like that I most probably never heard of! I am looking for poeple to chat about writing and producing music | http://www.youtube.com/c/JeiShian |

Stratos Profile Blog Joined July 2010 Czech Republic 6104 Posts #16 Well I thought it'd be cool to mention that there are advanced micro techniques that were only discovered years later, something I found quite intriguing as a newcomer to the scene ^^ that's a fact that would end up having huge impacts in the strategy development. Some strategies that are considered standard now weren't something that no one would ever think of or sth people weren't fast enough for, but something that just didn't work at all until someone figured out a tiny glitch that made it all possible.



That means we really have multiple editions of SC:BW to look back at, and in that mindset a lot more things we see start making sense. Maps will also play a crucial role in this. En Taro Violet

BigFan Profile Blog Joined December 2010 TLADT 24439 Posts #17



Thanks for the comments and links. ya, funny place where they played but pretty cool overall. Wonder if the idea was to get people to start watching then hook them with the game or something. On September 06 2014 23:55 DarkNetHunter wrote:

I hope that if you put further blogs out that you will eventually compile them all together to add to the BW General section as they may get lost in the Blogs later!

Well, seeing as there's a ton of OSLs/MSLs etc... this blog series won't be done for years unless I watch a tournament in 2 days lol. My goal now is to just try and keep the blogs coming improving with each tournament. I can probably do something in the end but that's far off into the future for now Well, seeing as there's a ton of OSLs/MSLs etc... this blog series won't be done for years unless I watch a tournament in 2 days lol. My goal now is to just try and keep the blogs coming improving with each tournament. I can probably do something in the end but that's far off into the future for now Former BW EiC "Watch Bakemonogatari or I will kill you." -Toad, April 18th, 2017

JieXian Profile Blog Joined August 2008 Malaysia 4430 Posts Last Edited: 2014-09-07 06:17:46 #18 On September 07 2014 03:13 Stratos wrote:

Well I thought it'd be cool to mention that there are advanced micro techniques that were only discovered years later, something I found quite intriguing as a newcomer to the scene ^^ that's a fact that would end up having huge impacts in the strategy development. Some strategies that are considered standard now weren't something that no one would ever think of or sth people weren't fast enough for, but something that just didn't work at all until someone figured out a tiny glitch that made it all possible.



That means we really have multiple editions of SC:BW to look back at, and in that mindset a lot more things we see start making sense. Maps will also play a crucial role in this.



Of course techniques were to be developed! Just look at that this game linked above, it was a 2 gate rush with 3 zealots and ~5 probes and he still charged at the zerg base after seeing a sunken and ~ 10 lings. Not to mention the mutalisks fearing the cannons (might be really strong in the past, I don't know), shitty cannon placement, not enough cannons... etc etcetc



Of course techniques were to be developed! Just look at that this game linked above, it was a 2 gate rush with 3 zealots and ~5 probes and he still charged at the zerg base after seeing a sunken and ~ 10 lings. Not to mention the mutalisks fearing the cannons (might be really strong in the past, I don't know), shitty cannon placement, not enough cannons... etc etcetc



It was like watching a D- or E game.



Even BigFan could easily trash them :D, maybe even take them on 2v1 haha It was like watching a D- or E game.Even BigFan could easily trash them :D, maybe even take them on 2v1 haha Please send me a PM of any song you like that I most probably never heard of! I am looking for poeple to chat about writing and producing music | http://www.youtube.com/c/JeiShian |

BigFan Profile Blog Joined December 2010 TLADT 24439 Posts #19 On September 07 2014 15:16 JieXian wrote:

Show nested quote +

On September 07 2014 03:13 Stratos wrote:

Well I thought it'd be cool to mention that there are advanced micro techniques that were only discovered years later, something I found quite intriguing as a newcomer to the scene ^^ that's a fact that would end up having huge impacts in the strategy development. Some strategies that are considered standard now weren't something that no one would ever think of or sth people weren't fast enough for, but something that just didn't work at all until someone figured out a tiny glitch that made it all possible.



That means we really have multiple editions of SC:BW to look back at, and in that mindset a lot more things we see start making sense. Maps will also play a crucial role in this.



Of course techniques were to be developed! Just look at that this game linked above, it was a 2 gate rush with 3 zealots and ~5 probes and he still charged at the zerg base after seeing a sunken and ~ 10 lings. Not to mention the mutalisks fearing the cannons (might be really strong in the past, I don't know), shitty cannon placement, not enough cannons... etc etcetc



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xQjEDnFhAM



It was like watching a D- or E game.



Even BigFan could easily trash them :D, maybe even take them on 2v1 haha Of course techniques were to be developed! Just look at that this game linked above, it was a 2 gate rush with 3 zealots and ~5 probes and he still charged at the zerg base after seeing a sunken and ~ 10 lings. Not to mention the mutalisks fearing the cannons (might be really strong in the past, I don't know), shitty cannon placement, not enough cannons... etc etcetcIt was like watching a D- or E game.Even BigFan could easily trash them :D, maybe even take them on 2v1 haha

JieXian, while I agree in general, I prefer to say that their gameplay was unrefined and their macro was almost non-existant to the point where most current players today even in the lower ranks would compete and beat them but that's with 15 years of experience and meta game changes lol.

JieXian, while I agree in general, I prefer to say that their gameplay was unrefined and their macro was almost non-existant to the point where most current players today even in the lower ranks would compete and beat them but that's with 15 years of experience and meta game changes lol. Former BW EiC "Watch Bakemonogatari or I will kill you." -Toad, April 18th, 2017

Hesmyrr Profile Blog Joined May 2010 Canada 5592 Posts #20



Actually, I wonder how long it would have taken these players to catch up if all the "modern" secrets were clearly revealed for them to learn? The discussion reminds me of that old korean comic about a B progamer suddenly returning to the past and owning everyoneActually, I wonder how long it would have taken these players to catch up if all the "modern" secrets were clearly revealed for them to learn? "If watching the MSL finals makes you a progamer, then anyone in Korea can do it." - Ha Tae Ki