

In This Issue



R6 Week 3 Recap



Why Shanghai? Why Not Shanghai?

An opinion piece on

SPL's grand finals venue



The High Ground

GOTW: Bisu vs. RorO



R6 Week 4 Previews



A Gift

No, not midichlorians.

But something for you, dear reader Not so long ago, in a country far far away...



Week III

PROLEAGUE STRIKES BACK



It is a dark time for Brood War fans. Although the GSL Super Tournament has ended, the GSTL has driven BW forces from their hidden base and pursued them across the galaxy.



Evading the dreaded SC2 Starfleet, a group of freedom fighters led by riptide have established a new secret base on the remote molten world of Char.



The evil lord Milkis, obsessed with finding young riptide, has dispatched thousands of remote probes into the far reaches of space....





On DES, there are opinion pieces that its reporters sometimes write up on various issues and events. One reporter, Nam Yoon Sung in particular, writes up a lot of them, including many articles analyzing players and making predictions and such. I thought that his opinion piece on the Proleague finals held in Shanghai instead of the iconic Gwangahnri beach this year was a good read and would be a good piece to share with the TL BW community. Whether or not you agree with him, read on and have some food for thought!







Fans of eSports complained, “For the last 7 years, the Proleague finals have always been held in Pusan Gwangahnri Beach, which has been established as the holy land for eSports, so why are they being held in China instead of our country?”



Their complaints are being voiced as the opinion that the fans have been continuously cheering on and supporting 10 progaming teams season after season, and if the most important championship finals are being held overseas, then aren’t the fans that have been supporting their teams over the course of a year being made into fools? There are quite a considerable amount of fans who take days off in order to go directly support their favorite teams at live stadiums, but if the finals are held in China, then their opinions of their efforts coming to naught should also be listened carefully to.



There are also opinions of, “There are also no instances of major leagues and tournaments that have longer histories than eSports such as the NBA holding finals overseas. Even though we do not know whether if that’s the same case with season opening games or event matches, crucial matches such as the championship finals not even being held in one’s own country is nonsense.”



The fans are entitled to their opinions. For 7 years, the Proleague finals have been held in the summer at Pusan Gwangahnri that it has been nailed in firmly as a fundamental tradition to keep on having the finals there, and to the fans, the announcement that the finals would be held in China was like a bolt out of the blue for them. They were only able to have feelings of loss. It is also correct to point out that holding the championship finals in China is quite unreasonable. Fans preparing for the finals together all during that time along with having a thorough ending also has great significance.



For the eSports industry, there are various reasons to the background as to why the Proleague finals are being held in Shanghai, China. One of them is that there are limits to Korea’s geographical location and the resources it has. eSports has been finding more content and has been growing for 10 years, but the truth is that it has been encountering limits with its rather small market scale.



With 2 broadcasting channels and 10 progaming teams, there are bound to be many times where they face obstacles. The truth is that before the 10-11 season opened, by seeing the disbandment of 2 progaming teams, officials started having doubts whether the growth of the cultural content of eSports had any real value at all as an industry. In 2006, the progaming teams joined together with corporations at the time when there was a rush for organizations to establish themselves, and the officials were not just trying to aim for the effectiveness of publicity. They wanted more than 100,000,000 won (approximately $9,240 or €6500) invested in funds every 10 years along with a foundation that would be made to be able to continue to bring in substantial profits.



However, that goal wasn’t to be the case. The operation of the progaming teams was continuing to go into deficit and substantial profits failing to reach less than half of the amount invested was the status quo.



Seeing the situation, the truth is that the eSports administration along with the progaming teams’ officials wanted to exploit a new marketplace. In reality, if we look at the data collected from last September’s Korean Air OSL Season 2 finals that was held in China, the Chinese marketplace’s interest in eSports compared to Korea was substantially bigger. Starcraft does have less popularity than Warcraft 3 there, but on the day of the finals, the audience that arrived there was not that small. Due to the Chinese government’s policies, they authorized that the permitted space could not accommodate many fans, and thus in reality only around 1000~2000 people were allowed to enter, but there were many fans whose disappointment was appeased by standing around the venue.



Not only the fans, but the Chinese broadcasting media also became diversified and the desire for eSports content increased. OGN’s broadcast of the OSL finals together with Shanghai media group’s SITV’s broadcast received hot responses. There was a glimpse of the possibility of discovering a new market. In fact, after the OSL finals had ended in China, it was confirmed that there was an increase in demand for OGN content in China along with an increase in the number of viewers from China watching the OGN broadcast in real time.



In the case of the OSL continuing on to Proleague having a huge success in China, marketing eSports content to China is of course, a chance for Korea and China to have cultural exchanges with each other and preparation for opportunities to be able to extend eSports.



Along with the 10 progaming teams participating in Proleague, with the exception of Air Force ACE, most of their sponsoring companies have targets to develop their business in China. CJ Group’s food and broadcasting divisions are operating in China for the time being, and STX is attracted by the idea of spreading their business to Chinese shipyards and is currently continuing their business relations with China. SK Telecom along with Hwaseung let us know that they are currently working towards trying to enter the Chinese market with their communication and clothing goods branches.



eSports may look like a small industry, but from the standpoint of the operation of the progaming teams’ companies, there is no mistaking that there is an opportunity for eSports to exceed Korea and be able to raise the level of brand recognition in China.



The attraction of holding the Proleague finals in Shanghai this time, whether it is the intention of Shinhan Bank or to guarantee Korean Air to be the sponsor next period, OGN’s aim to boost their organization has raised some questions, but since the Chinese marketplace is very similar to Korea’s situation, there is no changing the truth that it is an area that has much interest in eSports and that there is a chance to be able to expand eSports’s infrastructure there.



After KeSPA announced title sponsor Shinhan Bank’s intention to hold the Proleague finals in Shanghai and permission was received, OGN and MBCGame were not able to hold the finals in their locations and received a presentation instead, and the station with higher marks, OGN, was chosen as the broadcasting station in charge of managing the Proleague finals.



There was a possibility for the less experienced station MBCGame to assert that the decision was a drawback against them, but MBCGame was already aiming at the Chinese eSports market for the next term, and in order to develop their various projects there, they were in a situation where they were moving as quickly as possible to carry them out.



OGN, by purchasing CJ Media; with what they had been able to gather with CJ Group, they were able to promote plans of developing the Chinese market multilaterally and received responsibility for supervising over the Proleague finals in Shanghai.



For fans that had wanted the finals to be held in Gwangahnri, the feelings of loss that they are bound to have are plenty of empathy, sympathy, and suppression. The disappointment of realizing that the players they had continuously supported and cheered on during a whole year will only be able to be seen on screen has also hit home.



However, an understanding is needed that a new venture and trial for eSports is necessary in this crucial period. 2011 is a point in time where a new image for the next 10 years must be painted. During the last 10 years in Korea, not only the individual leagues, but Proleague has also been running smoothly and refining its foundation. With this process, without the fans’ interest and love, it would have been difficult for eSports's contents to take root.



By improving its foundation to a certain extent in Korea, the Proleague finals held in China is not a trial for its fans to disregard and ignore it; acceptance is required as part of an effort to jump to a bigger stage. If the 2011 finals in Shanghai turns out to be a success, the finals will not be continuously held in Shanghai every year. It is a trial to test the waters for the sake of market development in China, and if that opportunity is seized, then the finals can be held in Korea again on a much larger scale. In order to take the first step to a bigger stage and further develop the market in China, the possibility of having a larger, grander scale and impact is the explanation from KeSPA and its officials as to why the Proleague finals were chosen to be held overseas this year.



In order for KeSPA to satisfy the domestic fans, they should make more stages for the Proleague finals and create an environment where many fans are able to watch the finals in China at the actual spot where it takes place as much as possible.



The Proleague finals to be held in China is not an incomprehensible decision made by the policy makers; understanding needs to take place that it is a trial in order for eSports to take a step towards growth. In this case, with the results of eSports continuing to grow and achieving genuine growth, it could exceed Korea and mark the beginning of a new era where eSports is consumed by the world as a cultural product of Korea.



-Nam Yoon Sung, DES

Source: http://esports.dailygame.co.kr/news/read.php?id=45395



On the 9th, after KeSPA announced that the Shinhan Proleague 10-11 season finals were going to be held in Shanghai, China, there was wide opposition and protest from the netizens’ public opinion. They pointed out that it was an unreasonable decision.Fans of eSports complained, “For the last 7 years, the Proleague finals have always been held in Pusan Gwangahnri Beach, which has been established as the holy land for eSports, so why are they being held in China instead of our country?”Their complaints are being voiced as the opinion that the fans have been continuously cheering on and supporting 10 progaming teams season after season, and if the most important championship finals are being held overseas, then aren’t the fans that have been supporting their teams over the course of a year being made into fools? There are quite a considerable amount of fans who take days off in order to go directly support their favorite teams at live stadiums, but if the finals are held in China, then their opinions of their efforts coming to naught should also be listened carefully to.There are also opinions of, “There are also no instances of major leagues and tournaments that have longer histories than eSports such as the NBA holding finals overseas. Even though we do not know whether if that’s the same case with season opening games or event matches, crucial matches such as the championship finals not even being held in one’s own country is nonsense.”The fans are entitled to their opinions. For 7 years, the Proleague finals have been held in the summer at Pusan Gwangahnri that it has been nailed in firmly as a fundamental tradition to keep on having the finals there, and to the fans, the announcement that the finals would be held in China was like a bolt out of the blue for them. They were only able to have feelings of loss. It is also correct to point out that holding the championship finals in China is quite unreasonable. Fans preparing for the finals together all during that time along with having a thorough ending also has great significance.For the eSports industry, there are various reasons to the background as to why the Proleague finals are being held in Shanghai, China. One of them is that there are limits to Korea’s geographical location and the resources it has. eSports has been finding more content and has been growing for 10 years, but the truth is that it has been encountering limits with its rather small market scale.With 2 broadcasting channels and 10 progaming teams, there are bound to be many times where they face obstacles. The truth is that before the 10-11 season opened, by seeing the disbandment of 2 progaming teams, officials started having doubts whether the growth of the cultural content of eSports had any real value at all as an industry. In 2006, the progaming teams joined together with corporations at the time when there was a rush for organizations to establish themselves, and the officials were not just trying to aim for the effectiveness of publicity. They wanted more than 100,000,000 won (approximately $9,240 or €6500) invested in funds every 10 years along with a foundation that would be made to be able to continue to bring in substantial profits.However, that goal wasn’t to be the case. The operation of the progaming teams was continuing to go into deficit and substantial profits failing to reach less than half of the amount invested was the status quo.Seeing the situation, the truth is that the eSports administration along with the progaming teams’ officials wanted to exploit a new marketplace. In reality, if we look at the data collected from last September’s Korean Air OSL Season 2 finals that was held in China, the Chinese marketplace’s interest in eSports compared to Korea was substantially bigger. Starcraft does have less popularity than Warcraft 3 there, but on the day of the finals, the audience that arrived there was not that small. Due to the Chinese government’s policies, they authorized that the permitted space could not accommodate many fans, and thus in reality only around 1000~2000 people were allowed to enter, but there were many fans whose disappointment was appeased by standing around the venue.Not only the fans, but the Chinese broadcasting media also became diversified and the desire for eSports content increased. OGN’s broadcast of the OSL finals together with Shanghai media group’s SITV’s broadcast received hot responses. There was a glimpse of the possibility of discovering a new market. In fact, after the OSL finals had ended in China, it was confirmed that there was an increase in demand for OGN content in China along with an increase in the number of viewers from China watching the OGN broadcast in real time.In the case of the OSL continuing on to Proleague having a huge success in China, marketing eSports content to China is of course, a chance for Korea and China to have cultural exchanges with each other and preparation for opportunities to be able to extend eSports.Along with the 10 progaming teams participating in Proleague, with the exception of Air Force ACE, most of their sponsoring companies have targets to develop their business in China. CJ Group’s food and broadcasting divisions are operating in China for the time being, and STX is attracted by the idea of spreading their business to Chinese shipyards and is currently continuing their business relations with China. SK Telecom along with Hwaseung let us know that they are currently working towards trying to enter the Chinese market with their communication and clothing goods branches.eSports may look like a small industry, but from the standpoint of the operation of the progaming teams’ companies, there is no mistaking that there is an opportunity for eSports to exceed Korea and be able to raise the level of brand recognition in China.The attraction of holding the Proleague finals in Shanghai this time, whether it is the intention of Shinhan Bank or to guarantee Korean Air to be the sponsor next period, OGN’s aim to boost their organization has raised some questions, but since the Chinese marketplace is very similar to Korea’s situation, there is no changing the truth that it is an area that has much interest in eSports and that there is a chance to be able to expand eSports’s infrastructure there.After KeSPA announced title sponsor Shinhan Bank’s intention to hold the Proleague finals in Shanghai and permission was received, OGN and MBCGame were not able to hold the finals in their locations and received a presentation instead, and the station with higher marks, OGN, was chosen as the broadcasting station in charge of managing the Proleague finals.There was a possibility for the less experienced station MBCGame to assert that the decision was a drawback against them, but MBCGame was already aiming at the Chinese eSports market for the next term, and in order to develop their various projects there, they were in a situation where they were moving as quickly as possible to carry them out.OGN, by purchasing CJ Media; with what they had been able to gather with CJ Group, they were able to promote plans of developing the Chinese market multilaterally and received responsibility for supervising over the Proleague finals in Shanghai.For fans that had wanted the finals to be held in Gwangahnri, the feelings of loss that they are bound to have are plenty of empathy, sympathy, and suppression. The disappointment of realizing that the players they had continuously supported and cheered on during a whole year will only be able to be seen on screen has also hit home.However, an understanding is needed that a new venture and trial for eSports is necessary in this crucial period. 2011 is a point in time where a new image for the next 10 years must be painted. During the last 10 years in Korea, not only the individual leagues, but Proleague has also been running smoothly and refining its foundation. With this process, without the fans’ interest and love, it would have been difficult for eSports's contents to take root.By improving its foundation to a certain extent in Korea, the Proleague finals held in China is not a trial for its fans to disregard and ignore it; acceptance is required as part of an effort to jump to a bigger stage. If the 2011 finals in Shanghai turns out to be a success, the finals will not be continuously held in Shanghai every year. It is a trial to test the waters for the sake of market development in China, and if that opportunity is seized, then the finals can be held in Korea again on a much larger scale. In order to take the first step to a bigger stage and further develop the market in China, the possibility of having a larger, grander scale and impact is the explanation from KeSPA and its officials as to why the Proleague finals were chosen to be held overseas this year.In order for KeSPA to satisfy the domestic fans, they should make more stages for the Proleague finals and create an environment where many fans are able to watch the finals in China at the actual spot where it takes place as much as possible.The Proleague finals to be held in China is not an incomprehensible decision made by the policy makers; understanding needs to take place that it is a trial in order for eSports to take a step towards growth. In this case, with the results of eSports continuing to grow and achieving genuine growth, it could exceed Korea and mark the beginning of a new era where eSports is consumed by the world as a cultural product of Korea. On DES, there are opinion pieces that its reporters sometimes write up on various issues and events. One reporter, Nam Yoon Sung in particular, writes up a lot of them, including many articles analyzing players and making predictions and such. I thought that his opinion piece on the Proleague finals held in Shanghai instead of the iconic Gwangahnri beach this year was a good read and would be a good piece to share with the TL BW community. Whether or not you agree with him, read on and have some food for thought!





Bisu vs RorO

Wednesday, June 22nd 2011



Things look grim for RorO. Though Circuit Breaker is a decent ZvP map, It's Bisu's best match up and T1's Protoss is currently 7-0 over him.



RorO get's to be the brown Zerg, spawning bottom right, while Bisu is wearing a French Blue-coated Protoss uniform at the top left corner. Cross positions at Circuit Breaker, sound the macro alarm, captain!



Bisu opts for forge expand, while RorO goes for overpool and gets an extractor while double expanding.



Not much happens until Bisu decides to put some pressure with his first Zealot. The Zealot forces a Drone pull, but get's quickly nullified by some Zerglings. Lacking that Zealot in the front wall, RorO pulls a Zergling run by.





It even caught the observer off-guard. I had to rewind the game 10 times to get this shitty screenshot



Spire is done for RorO and as he starts the catch-me-if-you-can game at Bisu's base, he sees a Stargate blinking and a Templar Archives warping in. Why not do it again?





This one was a little easier



RorO kills the lonely Zealot inside Bisu's base and now has six Zerglings against one Zealot and some warping cannons. Bisu shows some good crisis management and loses nothing. Two cannons were forced. Zerglings did get harmed in the process.



Two more hatchies are laid down, one at each natural (bottom right and top right) with some sunkens. The turtling game begins.



Bisu has map control but it's worth nothing as he decides to amass a Zealot army. RorO is happy to drone up, lay a 4th base at the 1 o'clock expansion while making nothing but Hydras. RorO is now on four working bases, while Bisu is still on two. The clock is ticking for Kim Taek Yong.



Bisu engages at RorO's nat and loses half of his army. It works as a diversion until his third is up. Lurkers are on the field and RorO decides it's a good time to put some pressure on.



Bisu holds his position at his third, kills some Hydras, but get's obs sniped and is forced to run back to his cannon. While this happens Bisu loses all his five corsairs.



Bisu has switched now to Dragoon and High Templars, And starts a potentially game ending push against RorO's third, but an observer snipe forces it to stop. Another observer comes and gets sniped as well. As we see no reinforcements from RorO we start wondering if he's alive, his third is under heavy siege and he only has some lurkers left.





Uh oh.



As the observer shows a flock of Mutalisks, we fear no more for our fellow Zerg's life. The newly built Mutas with the help of some Hydras attack Bisu's building 4th base at 12 o'clock. Bisu decides he can hold and doesn't cancel the Nexus.





doesn't cancel the Nexus.



Bisu still has a very scary army walking around, while all RorO has is some lurkers and about 7 sunkens in his third, and even less in his natural. Luckily for RorO, Bisu decides to go for his third.







A newly built Nydus allows RorO to reinforce his third as all his Sunkens die. Reinforcements arrive and clean up. Bisu again trades an army for an expansion, as his fourth goes up.



A storm drop at 1 o'clock kills 10 drones in exchange for a shuttle and two Templars. Bisu has now taken 9 o'clock and has 3 mining bases to RorO's four.



Bisu marches forward to RorO's building 5th base. RorO can't directly engage since Bisu's army is gas heavy. goes for a counter on Bisu's third with pure ling. RorO loses his hatch and Bisu loses cannons and about 8 probes but keeps his nexus.



A series of lurker drops keep Bisu distracted from directly engaging. As he sees defiler on the map, he knows where the game is going now and warps another Robotics Bay and gets some Reavers out.



As soon as 6 o'clock is taken, it sieged by Reavers. Dark Swarm holds long enough for a pincer attack to happen. Bisu trades his gas heavy army for a newly built hatchery.







Then, the unexpected:





I don't think there's any minerals there RorO



Bisu engages a still building hatchery at 5 o'clock and gets pincered by RorO. When he loses his army I check my video player to see if I didn't rewind the VOD by mistake.



I never though I would say this, but Hydralisks reinforce the proxy hatchery getting attacked by a Zealot. Drones join the battle.





Please re-read the last sentence to see how weird it sounds





Oh Wow.



Bisu engages on the 5 o'clock base again, near the ramp and gets pincered. RorO is happy third time is not a charm. The hatchery does go down though, and a shuttle with two Reavers makes it out of the fray. Together they will fly, and look for adventures. After some skirmishes they collect together 47 kills and get killed go to Reaver heaven, where scarabs do what you tell them to.



Bisu is now on a weird spot. He has killed most of RorO's army, he killed a lot of drones with Reavers and Templar drops, but ultimately has no place to expand because the bottom left expansion was taken and reinforced by RorO with a proxy hatchery and a nydus.



The next five minutes of the game seem to be taken out of a weird UMS micro map. Bisu has the bottom left base's natural, while RorO holds the main. Bisu is reinforcing via ground and RorO via Nydus. Reavers are dropped, storms go off, plagues land over lots of units, scourge suicide into nothing.



The moment one of the defenses falls, it's game. Bisu knows RorO has the advantage with the Nydus and attacks it...







Twice:







Bisu's Nexus gets taken down and rebuilt. He pushes up the ramp because RorO lost some of his army killing that Nexus.





"It's over Anakin Bisu....I have the HIGH ground"









God, why did I put RorO in my anti-team... Things look grim for RorO. Though Circuit Breaker is a decent ZvP map, It's Bisu's best match up and T1's Protoss is currently 7-0 over him.RorO get's to be the brown Zerg, spawning bottom right, while Bisu is wearing a French Blue-coated Protoss uniform at the top left corner. Cross positions at Circuit Breaker, sound the macro alarm, captain!Bisu opts for forge expand, while RorO goes for overpool and gets an extractor while double expanding.Not much happens until Bisu decides to put some pressure with his first Zealot. The Zealot forces a Drone pull, but get's quickly nullified by some Zerglings. Lacking that Zealot in the front wall, RorO pulls a Zergling run by.Spire is done for RorO and as he starts the catch-me-if-you-can game at Bisu's base, he sees a Stargate blinking and a Templar Archives warping in. Why not do it again?RorO kills the lonely Zealot inside Bisu's base and now has six Zerglings against one Zealot and some warping cannons. Bisu shows some good crisis management and loses nothing. Two cannons were forced. Zerglings did get harmed in the process.Two more hatchies are laid down, one at each natural (bottom right and top right) with some sunkens. The turtling game begins.Bisu has map control but it's worth nothing as he decides to amass a Zealot army. RorO is happy to drone up, lay a 4th base at the 1 o'clock expansion while making nothing but Hydras. RorO is now on four working bases, while Bisu is still on two. The clock is ticking for Kim Taek Yong.Bisu engages at RorO's nat and loses half of his army. It works as a diversion until his third is up. Lurkers are on the field and RorO decides it's a good time to put some pressure on.Bisu holds his position at his third, kills some Hydras, but get's obs sniped and is forced to run back to his cannon. While this happens Bisu loses all his five corsairs.Bisu has switched now to Dragoon and High Templars, And starts a potentially game ending push against RorO's third, but an observer snipe forces it to stop. Another observer comes and gets sniped as well. As we see no reinforcements from RorO we start wondering if he's alive, his third is under heavy siege and he only has some lurkers left.As the observer shows a flock of Mutalisks, we fear no more for our fellow Zerg's life. The newly built Mutas with the help of some Hydras attack Bisu's building 4th base at 12 o'clock. Bisu decides he can hold and doesn't cancel the Nexus.Bisu still has a very scary army walking around, while all RorO has is some lurkers and about 7 sunkens in his third, and even less in his natural. Luckily for RorO, Bisu decides to go for his third.A newly built Nydus allows RorO to reinforce his third as all his Sunkens die. Reinforcements arrive and clean up. Bisu again trades an army for an expansion, as his fourth goes up.A storm drop at 1 o'clock kills 10 drones in exchange for a shuttle and two Templars. Bisu has now taken 9 o'clock and has 3 mining bases to RorO's four.Bisu marches forward to RorO's building 5th base. RorO can't directly engage since Bisu's army is gas heavy. goes for a counter on Bisu's third with pure ling. RorO loses his hatch and Bisu loses cannons and about 8 probes but keeps his nexus.A series of lurker drops keep Bisu distracted from directly engaging. As he sees defiler on the map, he knows where the game is going now and warps another Robotics Bay and gets some Reavers out.As soon as 6 o'clock is taken, it sieged by Reavers. Dark Swarm holds long enough for a pincer attack to happen. Bisu trades his gas heavy army for a newly built hatchery.Then, the unexpected:Bisu engages a still building hatchery at 5 o'clock and gets pincered by RorO. When he loses his army I check my video player to see if I didn't rewind the VOD by mistake.I never though I would say this, but Hydralisks reinforce the proxy hatchery getting attacked by a Zealot. Drones join the battle.Bisu engages on the 5 o'clock base again, near the ramp and gets pincered. RorO is happy third time is not a charm. The hatchery does go down though, and a shuttle with two Reavers makes it out of the fray. Together they will fly, and look for adventures. After some skirmishes they collect together 47 kills andgo to Reaver heaven, where scarabs do what you tell them to.Bisu is now on a weird spot. He has killed most of RorO's army, he killed a lot of drones with Reavers and Templar drops, but ultimately has no place to expand because the bottom left expansion was taken and reinforced by RorO with a proxy hatchery and a nydus.The next five minutes of the game seem to be taken out of a weird UMS micro map. Bisu has the bottom left base's natural, while RorO holds the main. Bisu is reinforcing via ground and RorO via Nydus. Reavers are dropped, storms go off, plagues land over lots of units, scourge suicide into nothing.The moment one of the defenses falls, it's game. Bisu knows RorO has the advantage with the Nydus and attacks it...Twice:Bisu's Nexus gets taken down and rebuilt. He pushes up the ramp because RorO lost some of his army killing that Nexus.



As the road to Gwanganri gets narrower and narrower, the race for the final few playoff spots becomes even closer. Playoff spots could very well be decided this week as there are a number of very important games this week. Spectators better have their Kleenex ready because tears will flow when this week ends. Whether for good or bad, I can not say but the feelings brought on by this coming week will validate to ourselves just why we continue to watch this amazing game. Get the popcorn out because the end of this race hasn't climaxed and oh what a satisfying climax it will be. Ooooh yeahhh.



Saturday, 25th of June

KT Rolster vs WeMade FOX

On OGN @ 13:00 KST vs



Want to hear an interesting fact? Flash has lost his last 5 proleague games. Flash has a bad wrist. On the hand attached to his bad wrist, he has 5 fingers. Clearly, this is a sign that the worst is all beyond him and his PL losing stream will finally end. However, for Flash's sake, I hope that KT benches him. There is no reason for him to play when playoff spot is secured and his health is way more important. Now, discounting Flash, there still remains possibility of some amazing games. Hopefully, we also get the Wemade that was up 3-0 vs T1 after crushing Bisu, Best and Fantasy and not the Wemade that ends up losing to T1 zergs. (KT zergs?) Baby also better bring a second layering of rainbow socks just to ensure that he doesn't lose them again too. This is also a huge must win for Wemade as any more losses from now on can mean playoff elimination.



Samsung KHAN vs MBCGame HERO

On MBC @ 13:00 KST vs



Samsung just came off a huge upset win against CJ that no one expected. CJ fans may blame the loss on Horang2 not eating his Frosted Flakes and Hydra's cyborg eye going rusty and needing to be oiled but Khan finally showed some hunger and playoff desire. They clearly want to go to the playoffs but do they have enough left in them? To make matters worse, I'm sure every Khan fan and Stork himself remembers the last time that these two met. You know that people are still butthurt over what Hyun did to Stork that day but it got the result done. However, MBC's chances of making the playoffs at this point seem slim to none so it's much better for the coaching staff to give the rookies actual TV experience. This is more of a long-term plan in hopes that they will crush when next season comes around. It's not like Khan has ever been adverse to strange lineup decisions though. Never.



Sunday, 26th of June

STX SouL vs CJ Entus

On OGN @ 13:00 KST vs



CJ may have just been upset by Khan but the real story is how STX lost to Ace. They were up 3-0 and yet still managed to lose. Soon after, FBH was seen hugging his own mother. STX can not afford any more losses at this point as they currently remain out of contention for the playoffs. This does not bode well when they are playing a team who has almost managed to crush everyone that they meet. Trolluary's beauty clearly rendered her team immune to the TigerToss train. When this night ends, we'll see a sad, bleating cheep and the end of the longest party ever in Estonia.



Hwaseung OZ vs SK Telecom T1

On MBC @ 13:00 KST vs



Oh no. The fanboys are coming. The fanboys are coming. The walls LR thread is being swarmed. We're all doomed. No one is going to want to miss this game or the ban list after this game. Jaedong is currently in one of his "don't ever get to play against Protoss for month(s) streaks so hopefully that ends tonight. It would be interesting to see him play Bisu considering how often Bisu has lost to zergs in his past few games. Oz also really has to somehow fix this trend of Hiya and JD both can't win in the same PL series if they want to keep their playoff chances alive. No one knows what side of Oz will show up and that only makes this game more exciting. The only potential drawback is a slew of pvp and zvz mirrors instead of a string of awesome zvp's. Of course, Killer is going to destroy some random t1 noob in the ace match and then proceed to do an amazing ceremony while stripping off shirt and everyone will soon be clamoring for Nada's Body to be renamed into Killer's Body. Fuck Yeah.



Monday, 27th of June



Air Force ACE vs Woongjin Stars

On OGN @ 18:00 KST vs



Ace has no chance of making the playoffs but it doesn't mean that they are just going to roll over and be placemats. Don't take ACE seriously and you can lose just like that. Woongjin also has a history of losing games just like this so Ace winning here really wouldn't be much of an upset. Zero and Soulkey are also pretty likely to potentially not get zvt with how Terran focused Ace is lately. However, speaking of Ace zerg line, Peace always has some kind of dirty cheese planned and Military Dong is no pushover.



Samsung KHAN vs WeMade FOX

On MBC @ 18:00 KST vs

Must-win does not even begin to describe this game. Wemade losing here basically gets to say byebye to playoffs while a Samsung loss is the last thing that Khan fans need right now. Stork's form has been almost non-existent lately but Jangbi really has been picked up the slack. It's almost like Khan Protoss is like Highlander and Jangbi is finally "The One" yet again. Khan's zerg line is nothing to praise either and Wemade's depth has gotten even stronger with the rise of Wooki. Of course, Shine can be seen slithering in the shadows waiting to strike for when the Dinotoss least expects it. Meanwhile, posters in the LR thread will proclaim statements like, "BAN ME IM DONE WITH BW" while pretending to flip their middle finger up upon seeing a smug and victorious Shine standing over a fallen bird.



Tuesday, 28th of June

Hwaseung OZ vs STX SouL

On OGN @ 18:00 KST vs



Another of the must win games that could very well decide just who makes it into the playoffs. For fans of zvp and zvz, this is the match to watch. Any other matchups is clearly bogus and we are constantly going to see only zergs and protoss. One interesting note about this matchup is that JD and Bogus recently met in the ODT where they played on Neo Bloody Ridge, the same map that the ace match is on. What does this mean? Probably some kind of cheese/proxy. It's not like Bogus is adverse to proxying either. Just ask Bisu.



KT Rolster vs MBCGame HERO

On MBC @ 18:00 KST vs



Hopefully, KT is still benching Flash here as him playing would just be nonsensical and stupid. Him playing could very easily mean future damage to himself and a loss to someone like Jaehoon. It also would be really nice to see a MBC victory based on their young blood to give them confidence going into next season. They really haven't had a good year in any regards but seeing them win over a playoff team with players like Tiny, Lazy, Sang, and Check would be the perfect sign that MBC will be a force to be reckoned with next season.



Wednesday, 29th of June

SK Telecom T1 vs Air Force ACE

On OGN @ 13:00 KST vs



Last time these two played, T1 just narrowly beat Ace and since then, Ace has gotten better and better. Ace is going to fight tooth and nail this game and it's going to be awesome. What Ace lacks in starpower, they make up for in scrappiness. Another interesting thing is that this will be Canata's first game vs T1 since going to Ace. Games vs his former t1 teammates could be interesting although only Canata is able to turn nukes vs protoss into a dull and boring game. However, his ability to fail at cheesing zergs and with how t1 zergs are known for their zvt, we could be in for a barrel of laughs and hyuks. Unfortunately for Ace, the ace map is Neo Aztec and the chances of one of their terrans beating a t1 protoss there in tvp is highly unlikely.



Woongjin Stars vs CJ Entus

On MBC @ 13:00 KST vs



The real winner of this match is the fans. No matter the winner, an entertaining winner's interview is guaranteed. It also would be nice to see Stars win this match just to ensure that they are in the playoffs. However, they need to stop choking in important matches. Who do they think they are, STX? Anyways, Zero vs Horang2 could be pretty cool as well as Light vs any CJ Protoss as Light's tvp has improved a lot since going to Stars. It would also be interesting to see Light vs Hydra but only if Light doesn't have Woongjin Terran syndrome like his previous two games vs the One-eyed wonder. Soulkey and Leta have also had some interesting history so another chance to see them play would be awesome. For example, remember when Soulkey got crushed by 1rax double CC into 3port wraith into standard game? Anything can happen when these two players and when these two teams meet. As the road to Gwanganri gets narrower and narrower, the race for the final few playoff spots becomes even closer. Playoff spots could very well be decided this week as there are a number of very important games this week. Spectators better have their Kleenex ready because tears will flow when this week ends. Whether for good or bad, I can not say but the feelings brought on by this coming week will validate to ourselves just why we continue to watch this amazing game. Get the popcorn out because the end of this race hasn't climaxed and oh what a satisfying climax it will be. Ooooh yeahhh.Want to hear an interesting fact? Flash has lost his last 5 proleague games. Flash has a bad wrist. On the hand attached to his bad wrist, he has 5 fingers. Clearly, this is a sign that the worst is all beyond him and his PL losing stream will finally end. However, for Flash's sake, I hope that KT benches him. There is no reason for him to play when playoff spot is secured and his health is way more important. Now, discounting Flash, there still remains possibility of some amazing games. Hopefully, we also get the Wemade that was up 3-0 vs T1 after crushing Bisu, Best and Fantasy and not the Wemade that ends up losing to T1 zergs. (KT zergs?) Baby also better bring a second layering of rainbow socks just to ensure that he doesn't lose them again too. This is also a huge must win for Wemade as any more losses from now on can mean playoff elimination.Samsung just came off a huge upset win against CJ that no one expected. CJ fans may blame the loss on Horang2 not eating his Frosted Flakes and Hydra's cyborg eye going rusty and needing to be oiled but Khan finally showed some hunger and playoff desire. They clearly want to go to the playoffs but do they have enough left in them? To make matters worse, I'm sure every Khan fan and Stork himself remembers the last time that these two met. You know that people are still butthurt over what Hyun did to Stork that day but it got the result done. However, MBC's chances of making the playoffs at this point seem slim to none so it's much better for the coaching staff to give the rookies actual TV experience. This is more of a long-term plan in hopes that they will crush when next season comes around. It's not like Khan has ever been adverse to strange lineup decisions though. Never.CJ may have just been upset by Khan but the real story is how STX lost to Ace. They were up 3-0 and yet still managed to lose. Soon after, FBH was seen hugging his own mother. STX can not afford any more losses at this point as they currently remain out of contention for the playoffs. This does not bode well when they are playing a team who has almost managed to crush everyone that they meet. Trolluary's beauty clearly rendered her team immune to the TigerToss train. When this night ends, we'll see a sad, bleating cheep and the end of the longest party ever in Estonia.Oh no. The fanboys are coming. The fanboys are coming. TheLR thread is being swarmed. We're all doomed. No one is going to want to miss this game or the ban list after this game. Jaedong is currently in one of his "don't ever get to play against Protoss for month(s) streaks so hopefully that ends tonight. It would be interesting to see him play Bisu considering how often Bisu has lost to zergs in his past few games. Oz also really has to somehow fix this trend of Hiya and JD both can't win in the same PL series if they want to keep their playoff chances alive. No one knows what side of Oz will show up and that only makes this game more exciting. The only potential drawback is a slew of pvp and zvz mirrors instead of a string of awesome zvp's. Of course, Killer is going to destroy some random t1 noob in the ace match and then proceed to do an amazing ceremony while stripping off shirt and everyone will soon be clamoring for Nada's Body to be renamed into Killer's Body. Fuck Yeah.Ace has no chance of making the playoffs but it doesn't mean that they are just going to roll over and be placemats. Don't take ACE seriously and you can lose just like that. Woongjin also has a history of losing games just like this so Ace winning here really wouldn't be much of an upset. Zero and Soulkey are also pretty likely to potentially not get zvt with how Terran focused Ace is lately. However, speaking of Ace zerg line, Peace always has some kind of dirty cheese planned and Military Dong is no pushover.Must-win does not even begin to describe this game. Wemade losing here basically gets to say byebye to playoffs while a Samsung loss is the last thing that Khan fans need right now. Stork's form has been almost non-existent lately but Jangbi really has been picked up the slack. It's almost like Khan Protoss is like Highlander and Jangbi is finally "The One" yet again. Khan's zerg line is nothing to praise either and Wemade's depth has gotten even stronger with the rise of Wooki. Of course, Shine can be seen slithering in the shadows waiting to strike for when the Dinotoss least expects it. Meanwhile, posters in the LR thread will proclaim statements like, "BAN ME IM DONE WITH BW" while pretending to flip their middle finger up upon seeing a smug and victorious Shine standing over a fallen bird.Another of the must win games that could very well decide just who makes it into the playoffs. For fans of zvp and zvz, this is the match to watch. Any other matchups is clearly bogus and we are constantly going to see only zergs and protoss. One interesting note about this matchup is that JD and Bogus recently met in the ODT where they played on Neo Bloody Ridge, the same map that the ace match is on. What does this mean? Probably some kind of cheese/proxy. It's not like Bogus is adverse to proxying either. Just ask Bisu.Hopefully, KT is still benching Flash here as him playing would just be nonsensical and stupid. Him playing could very easily mean future damage to himself and a loss to someone like Jaehoon. It also would be really nice to see a MBC victory based on their young blood to give them confidence going into next season. They really haven't had a good year in any regards but seeing them win over a playoff team with players like Tiny, Lazy, Sang, and Check would be the perfect sign that MBC will be a force to be reckoned with next season.Last time these two played, T1 just narrowly beat Ace and since then, Ace has gotten better and better. Ace is going to fight tooth and nail this game and it's going to be awesome. What Ace lacks in starpower, they make up for in scrappiness. Another interesting thing is that this will be Canata's first game vs T1 since going to Ace. Games vs his former t1 teammates could be interesting although only Canata is able to turn nukes vs protoss into a dull and boring game. However, his ability to fail at cheesing zergs and with how t1 zergs are known for their zvt, we could be in for a barrel of laughs and hyuks. Unfortunately for Ace, the ace map is Neo Aztec and the chances of one of their terrans beating a t1 protoss there in tvp is highly unlikely.The real winner of this match is the fans. No matter the winner, an entertaining winner's interview is guaranteed. It also would be nice to see Stars win this match just to ensure that they are in the playoffs. However, they need to stop choking in important matches. Who do they think they are, STX? Anyways, Zero vs Horang2 could be pretty cool as well as Light vs any CJ Protoss as Light's tvp has improved a lot since going to Stars. It would also be interesting to see Light vs Hydra but only if Light doesn't have Woongjin Terran syndrome like his previous two games vs the One-eyed wonder. Soulkey and Leta have also had some interesting history so another chance to see them play would be awesome. For example, remember when Soulkey got crushed by 1rax double CC into 3port wraith into standard game? Anything can happen when these two players and when these two teams meet.



So that's it for this week.



Or is it?



Nope.



I loved that Bisu/RorO photoshop so much I made it into a wallpaper. Happy Proleague Day.



Oh? It isn't your Proleague Day?



Well enjoy it anyway.



Click to embiggen:





1280x1024



Also: 1600x1200 1600x1050 1600x900 Also: Nope.I loved that Bisu/RorO photoshop so much I made it into a wallpaper. Happy Proleague Day.Oh? It isn't your Proleague Day?Well enjoy it anyway.Click to embiggen:

riptide is off fighting the Dark Side of Starcraft at the far reaches of the galaxy this week, so you're stuck with me, Hawaiian Pig, protector of prettier side of the SPL News Team. Once again, this week's Proleague update arrives just in time for the start of play, so be sure to tune in and join us in watching KT vs Fox and Khan vs MBC.Naturally, we wouldn't send one of our most skilled BW Knights out to take on the forces of evil alone. The young padawan, mustaju, is also away this week, joining riptide in the good fight. Filling in for him is the ever capable harem who provides us with this week's preview . And, as always, our guest writer Kiante gives us a thorough look at last week's games in this issue's recap . The force is strong in this one...It cost us a hefty price, but the nefarious bounty hunter, IntoTheWow, has dropped by to provide us with some valuable reconnaissance on one of most pivotal battles of the past week: Bisu vs. RorO. Swing by The High Ground to see what he's learned. I'm told RorO has been watching SC2... and has picked up some ruthless Nydus tactics.Our diplomatic ambassador, Spica, has returned from the senate with news of the Proleague Grand Finals. The murmurs of dissent with regard to moving the venue from Korea to Shanghai, China has had even the Emperor of KeSPA a little unnerved. Loyalist reporter Nam Yoon Sung sheds light on why this move is actually a good one that will benefit everyone and grow the empire. Go check that out. Or, of course, if you're the kind of person who watches the Star Wars trilogy inorder, you can just scroll on down and check out the recap for last week's games.May the ESPORTS be with you.