pullarius1 Profile Blog Joined May 2010 United States 508 Posts #1 vs ST_RainBOw

Although TvT is statistically Clide's best match-up, he hasn't won a BOx against a Terran since the very first GSL open. He has lost two consecutive BO3's to relative unknowns Sound and Tankboy since. In fact, this will be Clide's first BO3 against a solid terran opponent. TvT is Rainbow's worst matchup. He is just %40 in the matchup overall, and is on a 1-13 losing streak in individual leagues. Add that to Rainbow's overall poor GSL showings since the Open seasons, and the likely winner of this match seems apparent.

Game 1:

+ Show Spoiler + Xel'Naga Caverns

Clide one-rax expands. Rainbow goes for an interesting thor-rush plus blue flame hellion drop build. Clide goes marine/tank/viking and wisely waits to land his command center until the first push comes. Clide snipes the hellion drop with his vikings, forcing Rainbow to retreat and expand. Clide senses the mech play incoming from Rainbow, so starts making marauders out of four barracks to complement his one-factory tank. Meanwhile, Rainbow starts building an interesting mech/viking army with hellions out of a reactored factory and tanks out of three with tech labs- quickly catching up to Clide in tank count.

Rainbow takes his gold, prompting Clide to try to siege beneath it in Rainbow's third. Rainbow lifts in time, so Clide breaks through the rocks into Rainbow's expansion, but his army gets caught and destroyed before doing much damage. Clide immediately gg's.

It seemed like the uncommon build from Rainbow confused Clide a little bit. There was no reason to throw away his entire army like that.

Rainbow wins.

+ Show Spoiler + Dual Site

Rainbow goes for early banshees. Clide expands behind... two barracks reapers? The reapers do good damage to Rainbows marines, hellions, and scvs before being taken out. Rainbow throws away his first cloakless banshees for a handful of marine kills as he expands. In all, Clide is left seven and ten supply workers ahead.

The game starts looking a lot like the previous one as Rainbow builds a heavily mech army, without thors this time, and Clide concentrates more on bio, but with more marines and only two barracks building marauders. Clide again picks off a full medivac and takes a third. Both players seem intent on losing this game, throwing away whole armies into siege lines in turn. But Clide comes out way ahead due to his third base and the fact that bio armies build so quickly compared to mech. Eventually Clide is up by a hundred supply and is able to bully Rainbow out of the game.

Clide wins.

+ Show Spoiler + Terminus RE, cross positions

Both players get early factories. Clide starts with blue-flame hellions, which is easily countered by Rainbow's early two-factory tank. Clide quickly transitions into a more normal marine/tank/viking and expands, but is quickly forced to contract when Rainbow's extreme fast tanks push out and set up a contain. Rainbow uses his map control to take his natural, and has it up and running before Clide's second command center manages to re-land. Rainbow backs off the contain once Clide takes control of the air with vikings, and both players take their thirds, and their fourths once tank lines stalemate in the middle of the map. Both players continue massing up their respective armies and take their fifths.

Clide makes the first aggressive move with a drop in Rainbow's main that destroys almost ten depots. More importantly, though, it draws all of Rainbow's vikings away from the front line, allowing Clide to take a sixth and negate Rainbow's fourth. When the two players max, Clide is up twenty tanks and vikings to Rainbow's sixteen of each, and twenty-four marines to seven hellions thanks to a lower scv count. Rainbow lands all his vikings to kill one of Clide bases. It succeeds, but with no other anti-air in Rainbow's army, they are stuck on the ground with Clide's fleet hovering menacingly over them. Rainbow strangely sends the grounded vikings attacking into a tank line and loses ALL of them in seconds. This allows Clide to land -his- vikings on Rainbow's sieged tanks, killing them all and giving Clide complete control of the middle of the map. From there, Clide easily uses his vastly superior tank numbers to tighten the noose and choke Rainbow out of the Super Tournament.



This was a great series to watch, totally unlike most TvTs in the GSL. Perhaps this was a glimpse into the future of the matchup.

Clide wins.



Match 18: TSL_aLive vs LeenockfOu

Alive has been a TvZ monster so far, going 12-3, 2-0ing Code S stalwarts Zenio and Check, and, most importantly, beating Leenock in both of their previous engagements, each in the GSTL. While Alive has recently graduated from Code A, Leenock just fell out of it, and will have to grind through through the Code B gauntlet if he wants to return. Ever since beating Clide, Guinea Pig, and then barely losing to MKP in the third Open, the cherubic Leenock has been slowly sliding down the SC2 ladder. But summer is finally upon us, so perhaps without classes in the way, Leenock will be able to make his comeback in the next few seasons.

Game 1:

+ Show Spoiler + Crossfire

Leenock hatches first. Alive 2-raxes with a bunch of scvs and starts to bunker push the natural. Leenock very patiently makes a ton of zerglings, cuts off the reinforcing marines, and takes out the bunkers. Alive walls off fairly late and starts to turtle. Leenock, knowing he has his opponent pinned, drones hardcore for a bit, then makes a lair, a spire, and a baneling nest with burrow and speed. Alive expands and settles into marine/tank off of one factory. Leenock gets an in-base third hatchery and a third base in the corner. Leenock starts building a huge muta flock and expands twice more, taking his entire side of the map.

Alive starts to push out across Crossfire with a large marine/tank army, but Leenock counterattacks into the main, drawing Alive's forces back into his own base. Leenock wrecks a good chunk of the terran base, including an amazing in-base baneling bomb at 18:20. Leenock now has more mutalisks than Alive has marines, all with +2 carapace, and Alive quickly gg's.

Leenock wins

+ Show Spoiler + Xel'Naga Caverns

Leenock hatches first again. Alive opens with reactored hellions and two barracks. Leenock scouts its and decides he can hold it off with just speedlings and banelings. Alive attacks with a bunch of hellions and marauders, bitbybitting most of his scvs with him. It fails pretty spectacularly when Leenocks banelings smash through the scvs and hellions, leaving only a handful of marauders to fight off twenty making speedlings. Alive leaves the game.



This was a surprising and uncharacteristically poor showing from Alive, Hopefully he had just underestimated his opponent due to their past games, or else Alive is in for a rough time in Code S.

Leenock wins.

+ Show Spoiler + Alive got deaded.



Leenock wins.



Match 19: ZeNEXByun vs LegalMind

Up until hitting MC in Season 2, which was his last TvP, Byun was on a 10-0 winning streak in the matchup, including wins over Genius, Killer, and Trickster. Although he's been in a 3-7 slump since the February GSTL, it would be surprising to see Byun lose to such a weak protoss. LegalMind made it into the first season of Code S based on a run to the RO16 in the first Open over two weak opponents, and has lost seven straight matches since. Also, LegalMind seems to be going it alone now as he is no longer wearing the SlayerS jersey.

Game 1:

+ Show Spoiler + Tal'Darim Altar, cross positions

Byun one-rax expands into four barracks. LegalMind fakes a three gate expand, but it actually five-gating with two hidden gateways. It works, despite three bunkers and a clutch repair at 11:00.

LegalMind wins.

+ Show Spoiler + Xel'Naga Caverns

Byun two-raxes (RT) with concussive shells. LegalMind expands after core. Byun bunker pushes the expansion and LegalMind's micro is too poor to hold it without significant damage, missing a key force field and blocking his zealots. When Byun finally retreats to set up a contain, LegalMind has lost his natural, a lot of his probes, and is stuck on gateway tech, while Byun has expanded and teched to stargate for medivacs. LegalMind breaks the ensuing light contain and re-expands. Just has his second nexus finishes though, Byun's second attack comes and quickly ends the game.

Byun wins.

+ Show Spoiler + Crossfire

LegalMind again expands after core. Byun goes for a marine/tank/banshee push off of one base and one of each UPS. LegalMind gets a few more gateways, a robotics facility, and a forge. Byun pushes out at 8' and siege-bunkers the plateau closest to the protoss natural. Byun does some clever sentry sniping with his banshees, eliminating precious gas-heavy units. LegalMind gets two immortals and tries to break the contain, but they get stuck behind stalkers on the ramp, allowing the sieged tanks to easily wreck Legal's gateway army! He realizes his mistake and pulls back, but next, better -controlled push just doesn't have enough units in it, and LegalMind gg's.



Solid games by Byun. LegalMind wasn't that terrible, but we likely won't see him in the Top8 of Code A any time soon.

Byun wins



Match 20:SlayerS_Alicia vs oGsMC

We haven't seen much of Alicia's PvP yet, but we know that he can hold his own in both of the other matchups. MC, on the other hand, has displayed his mirror matchup skills quite often, racking up a 86% winning percentage at home and 79% abroad over 45 games. However, earlier this month MC lost 2-0 to Ace, a mediocre PvPer at best, in the NASL, so he is certainly not invcible in this difficult and technical matchup.

Game 1:

+ Show Spoiler + Metalopolis – cross positions

Both players take both gasses, but MC pulls his probes off one and four-gates instead. Alicia gets four defensive gateways and a robotics facility. (Godly stalker micro at 5:00) MC attacks, but some fancy probe micro from Alicia saves him from the initial onslaught, trapping some zealots with a handful of probes to rescue a sentry (10:00 “BEAUTIFUL WITH THE PROBES.” 10:30 “ALICIAISAGOD”) Alicia holds until an immortal comes out and destroys three stalkers cleverly trapped in a corner by a single forcefield. MC gg's.

Alicia wins.

+ Show Spoiler + Crevasse – Alicia clockwise

This time it's Alicia who aggressively four-gates, and MC who defensively four-gates. Both players have some flubbed micro, but MC leaves just a couple stalkers with 4hp and takes a couple more hits from zealots on his stalkers, and eventually Alicia snipes a critical pylon powering three warpgates, ending the game, and eliminating the second former champion from tournament.

Alicia looked so solid these games. It would be hard to point out any significant flaw at all.



Alicia wins.

+ Show Spoiler + Is the Protoss God willing to prevent ownage, but not able? Then he is a noob. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is not pro. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh ownage? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call himself Protoss God?



Alicia wins.



Match 17: TSL_Clidevs ST_RainBOwAlthough TvT is statistically Clide's best match-up, he hasn't won a BOx against a Terran since the very first GSL open. He has lost two consecutive BO3's to relative unknowns Sound and Tankboy since. In fact, this will be Clide's first BO3 against a solid terran opponent. TvT is Rainbow's worst matchup. He is just %40 in the matchup overall, and is on a 1-13 losing streak in individual leagues. Add that to Rainbow's overall poor GSL showings since the Open seasons, and the likely winner of this match seems apparent.Game 1:Match 18: TSL_aLivevs LeenockfOuAlive has been a TvZ monster so far, going 12-3, 2-0ing Code S stalwarts Zenio and Check, and, most importantly, beating Leenock in both of their previous engagements, each in the GSTL. While Alive has recently graduated from Code A, Leenock just fell out of it, and will have to grind through through the Code B gauntlet if he wants to return. Ever since beating Clide, Guinea Pig, and then barely losing to MKP in the third Open, the cherubic Leenock has been slowly sliding down the SC2 ladder. But summer is finally upon us, so perhaps without classes in the way, Leenock will be able to make his comeback in the next few seasons.Game 1:Match 19: ZeNEXByunvs LegalMindUp until hitting MC in Season 2, which was his last TvP, Byun was on a 10-0 winning streak in the matchup, including wins over Genius, Killer, and Trickster. Although he's been in a 3-7 slump since the February GSTL, it would be surprising to see Byun lose to such a weak protoss. LegalMind made it into the first season of Code S based on a run to the RO16 in the first Open over two weak opponents, and has lost seven straight matches since. Also, LegalMind seems to be going it alone now as he is no longer wearing the SlayerS jersey.Game 1:Match 20:SlayerS_Aliciavs oGsMCWe haven't seen much of Alicia's PvP yet, but we know that he can hold his own in both of the other matchups. MC, on the other hand, has displayed his mirror matchup skills quite often, racking up a 86% winning percentage at home and 79% abroad over 45 games. However, earlier this month MC lost 2-0 to Ace, a mediocre PvPer at best, in the NASL, so he is certainly not invcible in this difficult and technical matchup.Game 1: @pullarius1