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North American Star League Season 1

NASL Playoffs Recap / Grand Finals Preview

by confusedcrib, emythrel, and JimLloyd

It's still hard to believe that all of this is really happening. Three months ago, NASL started as one of the most ambitious projects in this game's short history. Trials and tribulations, those there were no shortage of. From missed games to inexperienced announcers, or problems with the player pool, it seemed like everyone had a bone to pick with the NASL.



And yet, here we are, days away from the Grand Final, where the NASL is prepared to realize and maybe even surpass all of its lofty goals. The sixteen players assembled in the finals represent a breadth of talent and international diversity that is unlike anything we've ever seen on a live stage. At the very least, this will be a one of a kind experience.



This weekend, NASL will have all of the elements needed to make this one of the greatest tournaments ever held.



I hope they pull it off.



To hype up the NASL Grand Finals, we have invited Xeris as a special guest contributor. Working behind the scenes, Xeris has been deeply involved in NASL since day one.

The North American Star League will be unlike any event we have seen. We will be witnessing the best players competing on the biggest stage, for the most money we've seen outside Korea. Unlike tournaments such as MLG and Dreamhack that have a foreign majority, or the GSL which has a Korean majority, both worlds will have an equal presence at the NASL Grand Finals. Moon, BoxeR, MC, July, Squirtle, Alive, Zenio, and PuMa will represent Korea while Ret, Sheth, MorroW, HasuObs, Sen, DarkForcE, and White-Ra will represent “The World,” [SeleCT is the middle-man, essentially representing both Korea and the World!].

The biggest question, is of course, will a foreigner be able to come out on top? One of the most interesting facts about NASL season one has been that, barring BoxeR, every Korean player has lost a game to a foreigner. Sure, the Koreans may have faced some disadvantages such as playing their games at 4am through unpredictable latency conditions, but that didn't stop them from dominating the Open Tournament and Season 2 qualifiers. There's no way around it: The Koreans faced the very best the world had to offer during the regular season.



Three Koreans couldn't even make it this far – oGs’s Ensnare narrowly kept his spot in the league, Startale’s Rainbow finished at the bottom of his division, and ST_Ace fell to the German terror, HasuObs in a deciding playoff match.



Looking at the foreign players; Ret earned his stripes by taking down MC in the regular season, Sheth defeated Moon, MorroW beat both Rainbow and Moon, Sen bested Zenio, DarkForcE topped Ensnare, and HasuObs edged out Ace (in addition, Strelok took down both NaDa and Squirtle). In fact, SeleCT is the only foreigner in the finals who failed to defeat a Korean player, although in his words, he took it easy against MC in his final group stage match.



The LAN environment, however, is a game changer. Outside LiquidHuK's incredible tournament run last June, Koreans at LAN events have been almost unbeatable (and many will argue that HuK's success was due to his Korean training). Despite HuK taking 1st place, places 2nd through 4th were occupied by Koreans at DreamHack, while at MLG Columbus the top 3 place finishers were all Korean.

There are some terrific match-ups in the first round. Sheth, a foreigner who has landed on the Korean home front matches up against Squirtle, the pioneer of international invasion himself. We have DarkForcE, an unexpected yet dangerous dark horse player takes on yet another surprise entrant, and team Korea's own underdog in Alive. HasuObs, whose dramatic victory over Ace gave him a coveted spot at this prestigious event is going to be playing Moon, whose seeks to purge himself of the regret from DreamHack.



If you’re a lover of ZvZ then you won’t want to miss Zenio against Sen, who are some of the best ZvZ players in the world. One player who won’t be playing ZvZ however, is Sweden’s MorroW, who has officially announced his switch to playing Terran against Zerg against the Brood War legend, July. A virtual unknown until a few weeks ago, TSL_PuMa has torn through all competitions lately, including Code-A, GSTL, and finally the NASL Open Tournament to earn a shot at regular season champion LiquidRet. Both players came from humble backgrounds, and in fact it is very likely that they were both practice partners in the eSTRO pro-gaming house at the same time in the fall of 2009. Interestingly enough, their paths cross again!



The Beast From the East, who managed to advance to the Grand Finals despite only playing six of his nine matches (two of which were forfeit losses, and one of which was a forfeit win) is going to duke it out with SeleCT, the in-betweener of the tournament. SeleCT and White-Ra both have incredibly unconventional styles based off of harassment and aggression. White-Ra is one of the most prominent user of the warp prism, oftentimes to deadly effect, while SeleCT himself has claimed that his multitasking is ‘the best’.



And last, but not least, we’ll be seeing MC, the head of the first very Starcraft II dynasty go up against the one known simply as the Emperor.

These undoubtedly amazing games will be made even better by the stellar group of announcers who will cast the event. The casting archon, Tasteless and Artosis will be flying from South Korea to lend their unique flavor to the games. Their reputation has reached legendary status and they are widely considered the best English casting duo ever to pick up a mic. Joined by them will be Day9, who retired as a professional gamer in 2007 and has been one of the biggest community men ever since. His contributions range from running tournaments, providing countless insight and analysis for new players, and as we all know, using his charm and wit on the broadcast stage. And of course, where would we be without our own anchors, iNcontroL and Gretorp. These two full-time progamers have shouldered the burden and carried the league all the way from its inception until now. These five casters will enhance what already promises to be a most epic event.

The Grand Finals are the culmination of a long labor of love that began in November of 2010. Back then, the NASL wasn't much more than a fantasy, a ‘wouldn’t this be cool?' idea. We had seen OSL and MSL for ten years, and we had just seen the creation of the new GSL as well. Could we, a ragtag group of e-Sports fans, with our motley agglomeration of talent and experience, re-create that pinnacle of e-Sports experience, for the first time in America? And so, we built this studio from the ground up and worked hard every day to prove that if you have enough passion, desire, and motivation, you can make anything a reality.



Whether the NASL lasts 3 seasons or 300, we believe that we're leaving a positive impact on the community. We've spent more nights than we care to count, working in the office until 4 AM, since we know that it's all worth it. Because as much as we're excited to run a tournament and crown a worthy champion, in the end we know that it's the members of the Starcraft II community who are the true winners.



So to all the long-time fans, casual viewers tuning in, or naysayers giving us a final chance: the NASL Season 1 Grand Finals will be one to remember. The greatest players in the world, in front of the greatest fans in the world, playing for a prize worthy of them. That's what we sought out to achieve, and we hope you will enjoy the weekend, the games, and all the fun.





KiwiKaki vs MoMan on Terminus



The highlight game of the play-offs is another great ZvP, thought I really think I ought to be giving other match-ups some love. However, they simply aren't producing the goods right now in NASL. The entire series between Kiwi and Moman is one well worth seeing, as both these players are very creative and fun to watch; the following game being a prime example.





The game begins with Kiwi spawning at the 9 o'clock position and MoMan at the 6 o'clock. The chess game begins almost immediately with the Zerg choosing to 8pool while Kiwi looks to going for a forge expand. Kiwi is the first to find his opponent and immediately scouts the early pool with MoMan's overlord scouting the low-ground pylon and forge seconds later.



The first round of lings pop and head right for the Protoss main, but Kiwi is one step ahead, he immediately throws down a cannon at his main mineral line, 6 lings run right by the forge and in to the Protoss main to be greeted by the warping cannon and MoMan decides that the unprotected pylon and forge are a better target for now.







Meanwhile Kiwi has hidden a proxy pylon at the Zerg's 3rd location and follows it with 3 gateways, he cunningly places the gateways to make it almost impossible for the Zerg to attack the pylon.







Kiwi builds an extra gateway back at his main, allowing him both to disguise his intent with the proxy gates and to provide some small protect for his main. Believing he has foiled Kiwi's plans, Moman begins to Drone pump and take his first gas. The lings run back in to Kiwi's main and this time are greeted by an operational cannon.



The proxy gates have now finished and Kiwi is Chronoing out Zealots as fast as he can while the last 3 lings continue to run around the Protoss main. Moman is still pumping drones, thinking he is completely safe, but a scouting ling spots 3 advancing Zealots as they run up the ramp from the 3rd to the nat. 5 Zealots waltz in to the Zerg's main completely uncontested and begin to go to work, 12 lings pop and moman pulls everything he has in to the defence. Some incredible kiting micro by Kiwi means that he only loses one zealot in the first engagement while Moman takes slightly more significant loses.







Kiwi decides that his best move for the moment is to wait at the Zerg's ramp while he waits for his next round of Zealots to finish and Moman continues to pump lings. The Zealots move in once more and kill a morphing Spinecrawler but are then quickly surrounded by lings and drones. Having dealt with the pressure for now Moman sends his ling force out for a counter but then decides to go for the proxy gates instead. The placement of the gates and pylons prove to be too good for any significant damage to be done before Kiwi's Zealots are able to defend them however and the lings have to fall back to the Zerg main.



Kiwi has been making probes while Moman has been forced to make only lings and the Zerg is stuck on only 14 drones. The Zealots return to the Zerg main for another attack and once more get surrounded, but this time Kiwi manages to position them in a more effective formation.







Just as it seems the Zealots will be cleaned up, 2 Stalkers arrive at the party but are also quickly surrounded and killed. It seems the rush is finally over as Moman has enough lings to deal with any newly spawning units while he works on killing the proxy gates.







The worker count stands at 14 to 24 in favour of the Protoss, however Kiwi still only has 1 gateway, 1 cannon and a cyber core back at his base. With the Proxy gates gone it looks like he might be in some trouble and Kiwi decides that a Stargate is his best option for a follow up. With the rush now dealt with, Moman begins to pump drones once more and starts to level the playing field. The Zerg finally expands at the 11 minute mark as the first Voidray begins to build.



A huge ling force arrives at Kiwi's main, but some excellent worker micro allows the 1 stalker and 1 cannon to do significant damage and Kiwi cleans up the army losing only his cannon and about 8 Probes.







Having seen the Stargate, Moman begins to build multiple Queens as he still only has a spawning pool and 2 Hatches. The creep spread has not yet connected the main and nat but MoMan already has 2 Queens in his main ready to fight. Upon reaching the Zerg main the first Voidray turns tail and instead begins to start picking off outlying Overlords. After making a second Voidray, Kiwi begins Phoenix production. Moman sends a ling counter to the Protoss main, Kiwi has very little defence but somehow manages to clean up the attack.



The supply and worker counts both favour the Zerg heavily but Kiwi has the tech advantage for now and keeps Moman occupied with the Voidrays. Kiwi finally expands as his Phoenix force becomes large enough to pick up the majority of Momans 5 Queens. The Hydralisk den has finished but Moman has yet to produce any, and the Voidrays roll in with Phoenix support and go to work on Momans Queens. However, Kiwi makes a huge misstep and doesn't lift all the Queens and instead allows them to transfuse, leading to the loss of BOTH his voidrays. Kiwi does manage to kill off 3 Queens with the Phoenix before Hydralisks arrive to drive them off.







The game settles down as Kiwi finally has a small standing army back home of Sentries and Zealots. Moman is going for mass Hydras and sends them to the front of the Protoss nat accompanied by a small ling force. Kiwi throws down 3 more cannons just before the attack hits and the fight is on. The forcefields from Kiwi aren't great and combined the excellent range of the Hydras it spells doom for Kiwi's Zealots. The second set of FF's are much better but only delay the inevitable push forward in to the nat.







Moman brings in more and more lings and Hydras along with some overlords to absorb cannon shots and distract the small flock of Phoenix. When the FF's finally break Kiwi is forced to pull all the probes from his nat in to the fight as he is left with only Sentries in his army. Moman decides to focus the Cannons as they are the only thing dealing significant damage at this point; once they fall the Sentries and Probes follow quickly. Kiwi warps in some last ditch Stalkers but there are simply too many Hydras for him to deal with and he is forced to GG.







fin The game begins with Kiwi spawning at the 9 o'clock position and MoMan at the 6 o'clock. The chess game begins almost immediately with the Zerg choosing to 8pool while Kiwi looks to going for a forge expand. Kiwi is the first to find his opponent and immediately scouts the early pool with MoMan's overlord scouting the low-ground pylon and forge seconds later.The first round of lings pop and head right for the Protoss main, but Kiwi is one step ahead, he immediately throws down a cannon at his main mineral line, 6 lings run right by the forge and in to the Protoss main to be greeted by the warping cannon and MoMan decides that the unprotected pylon and forge are a better target for now.Meanwhile Kiwi has hidden a proxy pylon at the Zerg's 3rd location and follows it with 3 gateways, he cunningly places the gateways to make it almost impossible for the Zerg to attack the pylon.Kiwi builds an extra gateway back at his main, allowing him both to disguise his intent with the proxy gates and to provide some small protect for his main. Believing he has foiled Kiwi's plans, Moman begins to Drone pump and take his first gas. The lings run back in to Kiwi's main and this time are greeted by an operational cannon.The proxy gates have now finished and Kiwi is Chronoing out Zealots as fast as he can while the last 3 lings continue to run around the Protoss main. Moman is still pumping drones, thinking he is completely safe, but a scouting ling spots 3 advancing Zealots as they run up the ramp from the 3rd to the nat. 5 Zealots waltz in to the Zerg's main completely uncontested and begin to go to work, 12 lings pop and moman pulls everything he has in to the defence. Some incredible kiting micro by Kiwi means that he only loses one zealot in the first engagement while Moman takes slightly more significant loses.Kiwi decides that his best move for the moment is to wait at the Zerg's ramp while he waits for his next round of Zealots to finish and Moman continues to pump lings. The Zealots move in once more and kill a morphing Spinecrawler but are then quickly surrounded by lings and drones. Having dealt with the pressure for now Moman sends his ling force out for a counter but then decides to go for the proxy gates instead. The placement of the gates and pylons prove to be too good for any significant damage to be done before Kiwi's Zealots are able to defend them however and the lings have to fall back to the Zerg main.Kiwi has been making probes while Moman has been forced to make only lings and the Zerg is stuck on only 14 drones. The Zealots return to the Zerg main for another attack and once more get surrounded, but this time Kiwi manages to position them in a more effective formation.Just as it seems the Zealots will be cleaned up, 2 Stalkers arrive at the party but are also quickly surrounded and killed. It seems the rush is finally over as Moman has enough lings to deal with any newly spawning units while he works on killing the proxy gates.The worker count stands at 14 to 24 in favour of the Protoss, however Kiwi still only has 1 gateway, 1 cannon and a cyber core back at his base. With the Proxy gates gone it looks like he might be in some trouble and Kiwi decides that a Stargate is his best option for a follow up. With the rush now dealt with, Moman begins to pump drones once more and starts to level the playing field. The Zerg finally expands at the 11 minute mark as the first Voidray begins to build.A huge ling force arrives at Kiwi's main, but some excellent worker micro allows the 1 stalker and 1 cannon to do significant damage and Kiwi cleans up the army losing only his cannon and about 8 Probes.Having seen the Stargate, Moman begins to build multiple Queens as he still only has a spawning pool and 2 Hatches. The creep spread has not yet connected the main and nat but MoMan already has 2 Queens in his main ready to fight. Upon reaching the Zerg main the first Voidray turns tail and instead begins to start picking off outlying Overlords. After making a second Voidray, Kiwi begins Phoenix production. Moman sends a ling counter to the Protoss main, Kiwi has very little defence but somehow manages to clean up the attack.The supply and worker counts both favour the Zerg heavily but Kiwi has the tech advantage for now and keeps Moman occupied with the Voidrays. Kiwi finally expands as his Phoenix force becomes large enough to pick up the majority of Momans 5 Queens. The Hydralisk den has finished but Moman has yet to produce any, and the Voidrays roll in with Phoenix support and go to work on Momans Queens. However, Kiwi makes a huge misstep and doesn't lift all the Queens and instead allows them to transfuse, leading to the loss of BOTH his voidrays. Kiwi does manage to kill off 3 Queens with the Phoenix before Hydralisks arrive to drive them off.The game settles down as Kiwi finally has a small standing army back home of Sentries and Zealots. Moman is going for mass Hydras and sends them to the front of the Protoss nat accompanied by a small ling force. Kiwi throws down 3 more cannons just before the attack hits and the fight is on. The forcefields from Kiwi aren't great and combined the excellent range of the Hydras it spells doom for Kiwi's Zealots. The second set of FF's are much better but only delay the inevitable push forward in to the nat.Moman brings in more and more lings and Hydras along with some overlords to absorb cannon shots and distract the small flock of Phoenix. When the FF's finally break Kiwi is forced to pull all the probes from his nat in to the fight as he is left with only Sentries in his army. Moman decides to focus the Cannons as they are the only thing dealing significant damage at this point; once they fall the Sentries and Probes follow quickly. Kiwi warps in some last ditch Stalkers but there are simply too many Hydras for him to deal with and he is forced to GG.