Let's boil down what happened in the match between Grubby (P) v. Rain (T) and talk about what made it so fun.

This is why StarCraft 2 has such high entertainment value in the e-Sports world: its high-energy tendencies lends it to being naturally engrossing for even non-SC players (though being familiar with the game is certainly recommended).

In what was one of the first gripping StarCraft 2 pro matches of the night at MLG Raleigh 2012, Grubby (pictured right) and Rain (pictured left) duked it out in a back-and-forth Protoss vs. Zerg slugfest for three maps. The two traded blows a few times, fought hard to lay waste to the opposition's expansions, and made enough small misplays to make the match anyone's win.

Game 1: Grubby vs. Rain - Entombed Valley



The round started off on Entombed Valley, where Grubby pulled four probes to murder Rain's fast-expanding SCV, punishing the land grab early and putting Grubby in a position of confidence. After Grubby successfully killed two SCVs and delayed the command center without losing a probe, his aggressive run continued as he sent two stalkers and forced a bunker placement. The game's pace didn't ever miss a beat, even entering mid-game; Grubby continued to pin-down Rain, focusing on map control while teching to colossi; meanwhile, Rain used semi-successful drop play in an attempt to distract Grubby and force a withdrawal to his base for defense.

With Grubby's army out-of-position and defending against drops, Rain was able to recover the advantage and brute-force his way into Grubby's base with a bio-centric army, killing off the Protoss quickly.

Grubby's continued aggression in the early-game may have been unsustainable, contributing to his control (and game) loss.

Rain 1-0 Grubby

Game 2: Grubby vs. Rain - Cloud Kingdom

Performing a gasless expand, Rain's early strategy featured an early expo and two Rax; similarly, Grubby played safe with a one-gate-expand, creating a fairly passive early game. The slow start led to Rain working on his upgrades and base expansions -- he started a third expansion early, while Grubby teched up and claimed his own third.

With both players continuing to develop their tech, only minor conflicts occur, most resulting in no more than a few scrapes.

Once Rain got his medivacs online, he was in a position to begin dropping (the downfall of Grubby in the previous game), forcing Grubby to respond with aggression. Masterful Storms and a large, flanking Zealot army were able to thin the ranks of the Terran army, inevitably resulting in a GG from Rain.

Grubby 1-1 Rain

Game 3: Grubb vs. Rain - Daybreak



Despite the map being larger this time around, Rain went for a 1-Rax-Expand instead of going for an immediate command center. Grubby, once again, went 1-Gate-Expand.

Only minor scuffles occurred in the early game as both players teetered on edge; Rain started going for drops again, but having seen through his opponent, stayed on two-bases and played it extremely safe.

While Rain revisited his game plan, Grubby built up a force of three Colossi, at which point he moved to secure his third. Rain skillfully multi-tasked to drop on Grubby's main, force a cancel on the third expand, and use his Vikings to kite and harass Colossi.

Rain took a huge supply lead as he successfully established his third base, meanwhile Grubby remained stuck on his first two; Rain continued to macro-up against his opponent, but when Grubby held his ground strategically and firmly, his Protoss deathball was able to clean-up the remnants of the Terran army.

Grubby 2-1 Rain

If that's not enough action for you, keep your eyes glued to our twitter page and front page as more game recounts and pro galleries are posted!

- Steve "Lelldorianx" Burke and Keegan "HornetSting" Gallick.