"Where's the Proleague writeup?" and we've been all, *not here*



I know. I know. It's bad. But chill for a damned second and just hear me out.



So, a buddy of mine had this sick idea, right? He told us that because we weren't in sync with the actual Proleague schedule, we could skip a week and then we'd be alright. Or something. I don't really remember how it made sense. But just... like... the idea was that we'd take a week off and everything would be alright. We'd be in line with how they actually do stuff and stuff. Whatever. Look. We were misinformed.



So we took a week off...



...and then it all went to hell.



New years. TeamLiquid Writers Offices. Everyone's having a damned blast because riptide decided to make mustaju take a shot for every prediction he's gotten wrong since the end of his Paul the Octopus days. I don't remember much else, but when we woke up there was an elephant in the room. And I don't mean the metaphorical kind. You know, the kind that represents the fact that Brood War players are inherently superior to SC2 players? Nah. This one was alive and eating peanuts out of Kiante's beard. Turns out Kiante wanted TL to have a real mascot. Not some



So, anyway, we're busy shaking off the hangover and I check the calendar. It's January 6th. We missed an entire week. Holy hell do we have a lot of Proleague to recap.



I grab riptide and start yelling, "WAKE THE @#!#$ UP MAN! WE NEED TO SAVE BROOD WAR!"



He groans, unsticks his face from the floor, looks at me and deadpans, "Aye. I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me. A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day. An hour of woes and shattered shields, when the age of men comes crashing down! But it is not this day! This day we fight! By all that you hold dear on this good Earth, I bid you stand, Men of Broodwar!"



For riptide, not exactly his most coherent moment, I know. Give him a break.



So there we were. Missing an entire week of our lives.



We sat there thinking: Well, we could find out



Or we could bring you guys sweet sweet Proleague news.



We're going with that one.



W-- We got this. Trust me.



Just... Just give us a second. HP here. Okay. So uh, yeah we messed up. I know. You guys have been all,and we've been all,I know. I know. It's bad. But chill for a damned second and just hear me out.So, a buddy of mine had this sick idea, right? He told us that because we weren't in sync with the actual Proleague schedule, we could skip a week and then we'd be alright. Or something. I don't really remember how it made sense. But just... like... the idea was that we'd take a week off and everything would be alright. We'd be in line with how they actually do stuff and stuff. Whatever. Look. We were misinformed.So we took a week off......and then it all went to hell.New years. TeamLiquid Writers Offices. Everyone's having a damned blast because riptide decided to make mustaju take a shot for every prediction he's gotten wrong since the end of hisdays. I don't remember much else, but when we woke up there was an elephant in the room. And I don't mean the metaphorical kind. You know, the kind that represents the fact that Brood War players are inherently superior to SC2 players? Nah. This one was alive and eating peanuts out of Kiante's beard. Turns out Kiante wanted TL to have amascot. Not some cartoon floozy . We would have kept the damned thing if we could have just found an ESPORTS headband to fit it. Turns out they don't make them that big.So, anyway, we're busy shaking off the hangover and I check the calendar. It's January 6th. We missed. Holy hell do we have a lot of Proleague to recap.I grab riptide and start yelling,He groans, unsticks his face from the floor, looks at me and deadpans,For riptide, not exactly his most coherent moment, I know. Give him a break.So there we were. Missing an entire week of our lives.We sat there thinking: Well, we could find out what the hell happened over the last week ... you know, maybe try to figure out what exactly that "buddy of mine" really meant, or figure out what to do with this elephant...we could bring you guys sweet sweet Proleague news.We're going with that one.W-- We got this. Trust me.Just... Just give us a second. Table of Contents

Recaps:

R1 W5 & R2 W1



Battle Reports



Previews:

R2 W2



Check out the SK Planet Proleague 2011-2012 on Liquipedia



Round 1 From the desk of Riptide



Just a few months ago, the naysayers were talking about Broodwar dying. Now, we're in the first week of another round, and a mad, mad round at that.





Via the indomitable Simplistik.

Reigning champions KT Rolster began the season with a hat trick of losses, but then recovered sufficiently to end up #2 at the end of the round, just behind a rampaging CJ. Yes, you heard that right. A rampaging CJ. With Effort at the helm and Movie backing him up, the age old outfit is looking in fine form at 5 - 2 and 18 - 11 in terms of matches and games respectively, they are certainly the team to beat in R2. As discussed, KT Rolster sit at #2 with a 4 - 3 record in terms of matches, narrowly beating out SKT T1 and KHAN, both of whom who have the same score. KT's per game record however is 17 - 13 and this puts them ahead of T1 at 16 - 13 and KHAN at 14 - 14.



Enough with the numbers, though. Let's get real. Heading into the penultimate round of of the first Term of the 2011-2012 season, CJ, KT, SKT and KHAN are clearly leading the pack. Sure, points wise they are only a little ahead of ACE, Stars, STX and T8. Given both past performance and current form however, I maintain that these standings aren't going to change a lot this season. In fact, as it stands, I'd say the playoff four are all but set.



Then again, this is Professional Starcraft, and as we all know, plz don't gg till it's gg. In particular, there is a wildcard here, a wildcard that has severely underperformed. Team 8, led by a slumping (5-2!) Jaedong. Baby has been batting on, but much to Coach Ju Hoon's dismay, the team itself did not do as expected in R1. In fact, in their last R1 game, T8 lost to STX, with Sea, Baby and Jaehoon all dropping games, and that, fellow Broodwar fans, is sad.



As I



We don't need four fat cats sitting pretty at the top of the pack.



We need violence, and not just pushing and shoving, some light roughhousing among old friends.



We don't need a bar brawl.



We need a war.



And for that to happen, we need more teams than there are playoff spots.



We need Team 8 because they have the talent to take the top four down. They may not have a sponsor, they may not have fancy uniforms or fan clubs, but they have Jaedong, Baby and Sea, a truly terrifying lineup if the stars align. Jaedong is Jaedong, Baby is showing fine form and Sea, it must be said, though always strong in Proleague, has been cheesed mercilessly so far.



Also friends, as you already know, Team 8 has a Star-Aligner, a man who forged superstars like Lim Yo Hwan and Choi Yun Sung with his bare hands, who stared into the depths of space and pulled two bonjwas from the vast blackness around him.



He can do it. He hasn't yet, and if you're a little skeptical by now, you are welcome to it. But I maintain that if anyone can make this team great, if anyone can wash over the disappointments of 2011 and give us an outfit to not just follow and root for, but fear, it is Ju Hoon. He has done it before, and as a Broodwar fan, my wish for 2012 is that he will do it again.



Here's to a 2012 of good games, great plays and the twin thrills of beautiful victories and crushing defeats.



Here's to a 2012 of 8 teams, 5 top contenders and zero mercy.



Here's to a 2012 of war. Just a few months ago, the naysayers were talking about Broodwar dying. Now, we're in the first week of another round, and a mad, mad round at that.Reigning champions KT Rolster began the season with a hat trick of losses, but then recovered sufficiently to end up #2 at the end of the round, just behind a rampaging CJ. Yes, you heard that right. A rampaging CJ. With Effort at the helm and Movie backing him up, the age old outfit is looking in fine form at 5 - 2 and 18 - 11 in terms of matches and games respectively, they are certainly the team to beat in R2. As discussed, KT Rolster sit at #2 with a 4 - 3 record in terms of matches, narrowly beating out SKT T1 and KHAN, both of whom who have the same score. KT's per game record however is 17 - 13 and this puts them ahead of T1 at 16 - 13 and KHAN at 14 - 14.Enough with the numbers, though. Let's get real. Heading into the penultimate round of of the first Term of the 2011-2012 season, CJ, KT, SKT and KHAN are clearly leading the pack. Sure, points wise they are only a little ahead of ACE, Stars, STX and T8. Given both past performance and current form however, I maintain that these standings aren't going to change a lot this season. In fact, as it stands, I'd say the playoff four are all but set.Then again, this is Professional Starcraft, and as we all know, plz don't gg till it's gg. In particular, there is a wildcard here, a wildcard that has severely underperformed. Team 8, led by a slumping (5-2!) Jaedong. Baby has been batting on, but much to Coach Ju Hoon's dismay, the team itself did not do as expected in R1. In fact, in their last R1 game, T8 lost to STX, with Sea, Baby and Jaehoon all dropping games, and that, fellow Broodwar fans, is sad.As I said at the very beginning , I want Team 8 to succeed. And now, you should too. This season has been good so far this season. CJ has emerged as a force in Proleague after many a season, and KT and SKT have some competition. KHAN too is giving everyone a run for their money. But we need more of the above.We don't need four fat cats sitting pretty at the top of the pack.We need violence, and not just pushing and shoving, some light roughhousing among old friends.We don't need a bar brawl.We need a war.And for that to happen, we need more teams than there are playoff spots.We need Team 8 because they have the talent to take the top four down. They may not have a sponsor, they may not have fancy uniforms or fan clubs, but they have Jaedong, Baby and Sea, a truly terrifying lineup if the stars align. Jaedong is Jaedong, Baby is showing fine form and Sea, it must be said, though always strong in Proleague, has been cheesed mercilessly so far.Also friends, as you already know, Team 8 has a Star-Aligner, a man who forged superstars like Lim Yo Hwan and Choi Yun Sung with his bare hands, who stared into the depths of space and pulled two bonjwas from the vast blackness around him.He can do it. He hasn't yet, and if you're a little skeptical by now, you are welcome to it. But I maintain that if anyone can make this team great, if anyone can wash over the disappointments of 2011 and give us an outfit to not just follow and root for, but fear, it is Ju Hoon. He has done it before, and as a Broodwar fan, my wish for 2012 is that he will do it again.Here's to a 2012 of good games, great plays and the twin thrills of beautiful victories and crushing defeats.Here's to a 2012 of 8 teams, 5 top contenders and zero mercy.Here's to a 2012 of war.

Bogus vs. Stats Sniper Ridge

+ Show Spoiler +



Because Bogus did not see the zealot, he decided to push out the dragoons using marines and his first tank. Stats took this opportunity to kill all the marines and tanks while only losing his zealot. With the crucial first tank dead, Bogus lost all map control, and had no idea what Stats was doing. Bogus then decided to go for a mid game 3 factory push while taking a third at 6 o'clock to maximize the positional advantage. However, Stats attacked with a handful of dragoons and an observer at the perfect time, killing two more tanks and ending any hope of a 3 factory push. Without a sufficient number of tanks, dragoons would simply crush the push.



Bogus tried anyway, moving out with a few tanks and vultures. With a good zealot drop, Stats killed even more tanks and looked like he would end the game right there. Bogus barely defended his natural, sacrificing most of his SCVs there. Stats secured his third and got to arbiter tech while the Terran still sat at three factories two tanks.





Expecting GG any moment..



Bogus knew the only hope he had left was to sit in his base and get a large army to go for one final push. He decided to risk taking 6 o'clock with the few units he had left. He then built turrets and set up mines to try and defend the incoming attack. Even though he was left 45 supply behind, the SCVs arrived at the perfect time to barely defend the 6 o'clock base.



Just when it seemed as though Bogus had set the basis for an impossible comeback, Stats recalled into Bogus's main, killing the two armories. This delayed Bogus's push that bit more, and Stats took another base at 11 o'clock. Stats, knowing now that he was far ahead, decided to end the game by shoving his army to 6 o'clock. Despite the fact that Stats had the superior army, a perfectly placed supply depot allowed Bogus's army to come out on top. Bogus, finally able to catch his breath, sent vultures to harass Stats, killing a large number of probes at 11 o'clock.





Hero supply depot!



Stats, seeing that simply sending army after army was not working, decided to mix in high templars and take the 12 o'clock expansion. Bogus's vulture sniped the first three templars, buying himself some time. 20 minutes into the game, Bogus finally had an army to match Stats's army. Bogus, out of resources except for his 6 o'clock, moved out towards Stats's natural, sniping templars along the way. Stats decided to kill the 6 o'clock to stop Bogus from mining, but his units ended up getting trapped and he lost everything without killing the command center.



Bogus, now ahead in supply for the first time, used his army advantage to kill Stats's natural and 9 o'clock base. Still ahead in expansions, Stats remained calm and built up another army in his main and 11 o'clock expansion. Bogus decided to use his map control to his advantage by taking the center expansion while moving up towards 11 o'clock. Bogus killed both 11 o'clock natural and 12 o'clock with his remaining army. While this happened, Stats used his army from his main to kill 6 o'clock and attacked the center expansion.



Now that they each had one expansion left, Bogus retreated to secure his center expansion. Stats retook the 9 o'clock base and used all his stocked resources to create another army. Bogus was rebuilding his 6 o'clock expansion when Stats recalled his main base. Bogus sent all of his vultures to defend the recall, but the recall was only a bait; Stats took this time to attack the center expansion which only had tanks left. Zealots dropped from shuttles decimated Bogus's tank count, returning the game to Stats's favor.





49 vs 29 supply, 30 minutes into the game



Bogus sent out a few vultures and killed a few probes and templars, but a good recall to Bogus's 6 o'clock finished off Bogus's last mining expansion. No longer mining, Bogus pushed out with whatever army he had left. Bogus seemed to have the bigger army and pushed up towards Stat's final expansion. With the army counts now at 49 to 29 in Stats’s favour, Stats's four templars stormed to kill the remaining army, forcing Bogus to concede.



Bogus, though he had lost, leaves a remarkable impression, having almost won an impossible game. Stats started at the bottom left corner to face Bogus, against whom he had a 0-4 record. Even lady luck seemed to be on Bogus's side this game, as he spawned at the bottom right corner. When Protoss starts counterclockwise from the Terran on Sniper Ridge, Terran can easily pressure the Protoss, securing a 3rd base at the same time. Knowing this, Stats decided to pressure early by making a zealot before dragoons.Because Bogus did not see the zealot, he decided to push out the dragoons using marines and his first tank. Stats took this opportunity to kill all the marines and tanks while only losing his zealot. With the crucial first tank dead, Bogus lost all map control, and had no idea what Stats was doing. Bogus then decided to go for a mid game 3 factory push while taking a third at 6 o'clock to maximize the positional advantage. However, Stats attacked with a handful of dragoons and an observer at the perfect time, killing two more tanks and ending any hope of a 3 factory push. Without a sufficient number of tanks, dragoons would simply crush the push.Bogus tried anyway, moving out with a few tanks and vultures. With a good zealot drop, Stats killed even more tanks and looked like he would end the game right there. Bogus barely defended his natural, sacrificing most of his SCVs there. Stats secured his third and got to arbiter tech while the Terran still sat at three factories two tanks.Bogus knew the only hope he had left was to sit in his base and get a large army to go for one final push. He decided to risk taking 6 o'clock with the few units he had left. He then built turrets and set up mines to try and defend the incoming attack. Even though he was left 45 supply behind, the SCVs arrived at the perfect time to barely defend the 6 o'clock base.Just when it seemed as though Bogus had set the basis for an impossible comeback, Stats recalled into Bogus's main, killing the two armories. This delayed Bogus's push that bit more, and Stats took another base at 11 o'clock. Stats, knowing now that he was far ahead, decided to end the game by shoving his army to 6 o'clock. Despite the fact that Stats had the superior army, a perfectly placed supply depot allowed Bogus's army to come out on top. Bogus, finally able to catch his breath, sent vultures to harass Stats, killing a large number of probes at 11 o'clock.Stats, seeing that simply sending army after army was not working, decided to mix in high templars and take the 12 o'clock expansion. Bogus's vulture sniped the first three templars, buying himself some time. 20 minutes into the game, Bogus finally had an army to match Stats's army. Bogus, out of resources except for his 6 o'clock, moved out towards Stats's natural, sniping templars along the way. Stats decided to kill the 6 o'clock to stop Bogus from mining, but his units ended up getting trapped and he lost everything without killing the command center.Bogus, now ahead in supply for the first time, used his army advantage to kill Stats's natural and 9 o'clock base. Still ahead in expansions, Stats remained calm and built up another army in his main and 11 o'clock expansion. Bogus decided to use his map control to his advantage by taking the center expansion while moving up towards 11 o'clock. Bogus killed both 11 o'clock natural and 12 o'clock with his remaining army. While this happened, Stats used his army from his main to kill 6 o'clock and attacked the center expansion.Now that they each had one expansion left, Bogus retreated to secure his center expansion. Stats retook the 9 o'clock base and used all his stocked resources to create another army. Bogus was rebuilding his 6 o'clock expansion when Stats recalled his main base. Bogus sent all of his vultures to defend the recall, but the recall was only a bait; Stats took this time to attack the center expansion which only had tanks left. Zealots dropped from shuttles decimated Bogus's tank count, returning the game to Stats's favor.Bogus sent out a few vultures and killed a few probes and templars, but a good recall to Bogus's 6 o'clock finished off Bogus's last mining expansion. No longer mining, Bogus pushed out with whatever army he had left. Bogus seemed to have the bigger army and pushed up towards Stat's final expansion. With the army counts now at 49 to 29 in Stats’s favour, Stats's four templars stormed to kill the remaining army, forcing Bogus to concede.Bogus, though he had lost, leaves a remarkable impression, having almost won an impossible game.



Zero vs. Firebathero Ground Zero

+ Show Spoiler +



The game unfolds to Zero’s advantage, with FBH’s first few marines narrowly missing a free overlord kill before getting surrounded and torn to pieces just outside their own natural along with a medic and firebat. Three zerglings make their way up into FBH’s main, causing some minor mayhem and granting Zero momentum and map control. Zero plants his third at the northwest main before mutas are out and without having to waste minerals on sunkens.



Firebathero gears up for a push on Zero’s third with a sizeable medic/marine force. Zero delays his progress as much as he can manage by picking at FBH’s army with his muta stack. Firebathero arrives at Zero’s third to find two lurker eggs blocking the ramp. Just before the lurkers hatch, Zero attacks from all sides with mutas, lings, and an already finished lurker up the ramp, crushing Firebathero’s force.







FBH has a group of unsupported marines halfway to Zero’s natural by the time his first force is cleaned up. Not surprisingly, this second attack is just as easily repelled, but this time FBH manages to retreat with the better part of his force intact, showing some nice anti-muta micro along the way.



Now getting a little careless, Zero follows the retreating marines with five lurkers. FBH’s marines regroup with reinforcements and turn around, catching the unsupported lurkers still advancing. The mutas are just a little too late to draw fire, and Zero loses three of his lurkers for almost nothing against a good arc by FBH.







Firebathero pushes out again, this time with tanks and vessels to support his pre-defiler push. Staying on four barracks, he flies a command center out the 1 o’clock and starts a couple more factories, preparing for a bio->mech transition. Zero defends the timing attack rather aggressively with a large lurker force. Zero gets hit with a painful irradiate on his mutas and suffers a few lurker losses as FBH once again reaches the ramp to his third. Defilers are out in plenty of time and Zero traps FBH’s army in the northwest natural with dark swarmed lurkers and wastes all of the terran troops there.







Firebathero is in a much nicer position by the end of the attack; his bio->mech switch is well under way and Terran is going up to three bases against a three base Zerg. The cracks in Zero’s play that have led him to struggle this season are also beginning to show. Never is this more apparent than when his subpar multitasking costs him a great opportunity to attack FBH’s undefended third with mutas while defending with dark swarm at his third.







Instead he doesn’t send them in until afterwards and, though he forces a lift, is chased out pretty quickly.



FBH flies a command center to the 3 o’clock while Zero takes the northwest natural and the 7 o’clock simultaneously. FBH stays aggressive on all fronts, planting mines all over the map and attacking Zero’s new 7 o’clock with vultures and a new MnM vessel force.







At a steadily widening supply disadvantage, Zero’s troops are spread too thin and FBH manages to get a group of MnM into the 7 o’clock, killing all the drones there and keeping Zero down to four bases against four.



Zero starts switching to a more hydra-heavy composition while FBH, having built a huge vulture force, finally starts building up a tank goliath army at home. FBH throws away a fair number of vultures at the southeast main, losing them to a pair of lurkers stationed there before clearing them out and starting his fifth base.



The vulture death toll keeps climbing and the supply gap narrows slightly, but Zero is still in a very rough spot. He dark-swarm-lurker-drops the 1 o’clock, forcing a lift, but manages to get few SCV kills with his poor micro. Firebathero cleans up, securing yet another expansion at the southeast natural.



Zero tries another drop at the southeast main, only to find himself spotted by a couple well-placed goliaths and cleaned up. Firebathero meanwhile sends a tank force to the doorstep of Zero’s northwest natural across the map. Darkswarmed lurkers, accompanied by a large wave of cracklings, overwhelm the poorly supported tanks and Zero takes a much-needed victory.







Ultras finally pop for Zero and he starts cleansing his side of the map of FBH’s presence. Using ultralisk drops he clears the few tanks defending FBH’s southeast main and nat. Firebathero sends a few tanks and vultures to defend while setting up a new offensive position outside of Zero’s northwest natural.



Firebathero is once again repelled from Zero’s doorstep, and Zero’s attack on the southeast main and natural also fails to do severe damage, with his ultras alone simply unable provide the damage output to do more before reinforcements show up.



Zero pushes back to Firebathero’s northeast natural, simultaneously lurker dropping the high ground ledge above his southeast natural. He then launches another attack on FBH’s southeast base. Again, ost of the damage is inflicted on the defenses rather than the bases themselves, as the ultra heavy force rips up the tanks and ultra ling reinforcements destroy a group of poorly supported reinforcing tanks.







Firebathero eventually secures these two bases with tanks, but the damage is done, and suddenly Zero has a window of opportunity to overcome his economic disadvantage. The Woongjin Zerg exploits a newly created opening at the three o’clock to force a lift and kill a respectable number of SCVs. Once this is done he again directs all of his aggression at the southeast main and natural. Zerglings break through and shut down both bases while a battle rages outside the natural.







Firebathero eventually overpowers Zero’s effective but thin offense and lands his command centers. Zero’s situation is becoming desperate; the collapsing Woongjin zerg swings his forces around the north side of the map and puts everything into an offensive on FBH’s production facilities in his main.



Most of firebathero’s forces are drawn to the south, and Zero easily pushes into Zero’s natural and up his ramp. He overcomes the initial defenses there, but FBH flies in with vessels to irradiate everything in sight. By the time troops from the south make it back to defend, there is little left to defend against.







In the meantime, FBH sends vultures to the 9 o’clock and 7 o’clock where he devastates Zero’s already weak drone count. Zero is out of options and his position on the map quickly disintegrates. FBH wipes out the 7 o’clock and after some brief and futile struggle, Zero GG’s. Zero spawns as the teal hatchery in the southwest against firebathero’s orange Terran in the northeast. Zero opens 12 hatch into 3 hatch muta while FBH plays a one rax fast expand, following it up with a quick ebay and academy before his second barracks.The game unfolds to Zero’s advantage, with FBH’s first few marines narrowly missing a free overlord kill before getting surrounded and torn to pieces just outside their own natural along with a medic and firebat. Three zerglings make their way up into FBH’s main, causing some minor mayhem and granting Zero momentum and map control. Zero plants his third at the northwest main before mutas are out and without having to waste minerals on sunkens.Firebathero gears up for a push on Zero’s third with a sizeable medic/marine force. Zero delays his progress as much as he can manage by picking at FBH’s army with his muta stack. Firebathero arrives at Zero’s third to find two lurker eggs blocking the ramp. Just before the lurkers hatch, Zero attacks from all sides with mutas, lings, and an already finished lurker up the ramp, crushing Firebathero’s force.FBH has a group of unsupported marines halfway to Zero’s natural by the time his first force is cleaned up. Not surprisingly, this second attack is just as easily repelled, but this time FBH manages to retreat with the better part of his force intact, showing some nice anti-muta micro along the way.Now getting a little careless, Zero follows the retreating marines with five lurkers. FBH’s marines regroup with reinforcements and turn around, catching the unsupported lurkers still advancing. The mutas are just a little too late to draw fire, and Zero loses three of his lurkers for almost nothing against a good arc by FBH.Firebathero pushes out again, this time with tanks and vessels to support his pre-defiler push. Staying on four barracks, he flies a command center out the 1 o’clock and starts a couple more factories, preparing for a bio->mech transition. Zero defends the timing attack rather aggressively with a large lurker force. Zero gets hit with a painful irradiate on his mutas and suffers a few lurker losses as FBH once again reaches the ramp to his third. Defilers are out in plenty of time and Zero traps FBH’s army in the northwest natural with dark swarmed lurkers and wastes all of the terran troops there.Firebathero is in a much nicer position by the end of the attack; his bio->mech switch is well under way and Terran is going up to three bases against a three base Zerg. The cracks in Zero’s play that have led him to struggle this season are also beginning to show. Never is this more apparent than when his subpar multitasking costs him a great opportunity to attack FBH’s undefended third with mutas while defending with dark swarm at his third.Instead he doesn’t send them in until afterwards and, though he forces a lift, is chased out pretty quickly.FBH flies a command center to the 3 o’clock while Zero takes the northwest natural and the 7 o’clock simultaneously. FBH stays aggressive on all fronts, planting mines all over the map and attacking Zero’s new 7 o’clock with vultures and a new MnM vessel force.At a steadily widening supply disadvantage, Zero’s troops are spread too thin and FBH manages to get a group of MnM into the 7 o’clock, killing all the drones there and keeping Zero down to four bases against four.Zero starts switching to a more hydra-heavy composition while FBH, having built a huge vulture force, finally starts building up a tank goliath army at home. FBH throws away a fair number of vultures at the southeast main, losing them to a pair of lurkers stationed there before clearing them out and starting his fifth base.The vulture death toll keeps climbing and the supply gap narrows slightly, but Zero is still in a very rough spot. He dark-swarm-lurker-drops the 1 o’clock, forcing a lift, but manages to get few SCV kills with his poor micro. Firebathero cleans up, securing yet another expansion at the southeast natural.Zero tries another drop at the southeast main, only to find himself spotted by a couple well-placed goliaths and cleaned up. Firebathero meanwhile sends a tank force to the doorstep of Zero’s northwest natural across the map. Darkswarmed lurkers, accompanied by a large wave of cracklings, overwhelm the poorly supported tanks and Zero takes a much-needed victory.Ultras finally pop for Zero and he starts cleansing his side of the map of FBH’s presence. Using ultralisk drops he clears the few tanks defending FBH’s southeast main and nat. Firebathero sends a few tanks and vultures to defend while setting up a new offensive position outside of Zero’s northwest natural.Firebathero is once again repelled from Zero’s doorstep, and Zero’s attack on the southeast main and natural also fails to do severe damage, with his ultras alone simply unable provide the damage output to do more before reinforcements show up.Zero pushes back to Firebathero’s northeast natural, simultaneously lurker dropping the high ground ledge above his southeast natural. He then launches another attack on FBH’s southeast base. Again, ost of the damage is inflicted on the defenses rather than the bases themselves, as the ultra heavy force rips up the tanks and ultra ling reinforcements destroy a group of poorly supported reinforcing tanks.Firebathero eventually secures these two bases with tanks, but the damage is done, and suddenly Zero has a window of opportunity to overcome his economic disadvantage. The Woongjin Zerg exploits a newly created opening at the three o’clock to force a lift and kill a respectable number of SCVs. Once this is done he again directs all of his aggression at the southeast main and natural. Zerglings break through and shut down both bases while a battle rages outside the natural.Firebathero eventually overpowers Zero’s effective but thin offense and lands his command centers. Zero’s situation is becoming desperate; the collapsing Woongjin zerg swings his forces around the north side of the map and puts everything into an offensive on FBH’s production facilities in his main.Most of firebathero’s forces are drawn to the south, and Zero easily pushes into Zero’s natural and up his ramp. He overcomes the initial defenses there, but FBH flies in with vessels to irradiate everything in sight. By the time troops from the south make it back to defend, there is little left to defend against.In the meantime, FBH sends vultures to the 9 o’clock and 7 o’clock where he devastates Zero’s already weak drone count. Zero is out of options and his position on the map quickly disintegrates. FBH wipes out the 7 o’clock and after some brief and futile struggle, Zero GG’s.