The final four have begun the “Extinction Event” as so wonderfully coined by the SSL writing staff. Protoss have been eliminated. Only a sole Terran remains and the most worthy of this spot. Mind has had the toughest road of the final four finalists. He has gone undefeated this tournament against Killer, Movie, Larva, and finally Bisu. Mind’s display of invincibility in this tournament will be tested as he must face two more Zergs in order to win the league.Three Zergs fill in the remaining spots of the Kongdoo Starz League. The two players representing group C, ZerO and hero , advance in opposite fashions. Zero was tested thoroughly by the toughness of Mong as the series went to a third game. Hero had it easy as his hydra tactics crushed Free. The final participant, Kwanro , was able to defeat top ZvZ-er and zerg favorite, Killer. Kwanro may be considered an underdog, but he has wins against the best Protoss and Zerg on the scene.This Saturday the swarm has one agenda, eliminate the final Terran. Revenge for the disappointing Zerg performance in the SSL must be made up in the KSL. Can Mind carry the pride of the Terran or will the hive mind infest this finals?

Game 1 was played out perfectly for hero. Hero decided to go for a heavy hydra ling bust at the backdoor expansion of Free. Free opened gate, backdoor expand which was perfect for hero. Using a drone to mine out minerals at the temple and destroying it with lings, hero was able to complete his hydra/ling rush. Mutalisks were created for a follow up attack. From there the damage was too much and Free was defeated after a series of overlord drops in his main.Game 2 was a basic 3 hatch hydra build. Free went for forge expand into corsair this game. The corsair timing was too late for Free to discover hero’s build. The hydras stormed the front and all the probes at the natural were killed off. The economic damage was enough to force a GG from Free in the following hydra attack.

Game 1 was quite a spectacular game from the Terran point of view. Mind exposed a deadly timing mech push on the new map Demian. The game started off relatively even. Bisu was able to obtain his third base easily and Mind in took his third without trouble. Arbiter play was the choice tier 3 unit for Bisu while Mind built a large number of factories. Finally, Mind pushes out with his army and Bisu only has one arbiter at his disposal. Mind’s timing was so perfect as stasis was not completed. Finding a spot on Demian to siege and contain the natural of Bisu, the situation became dire. Bisu refused to fight head on and in turn recalled his army into Mind’s main. Barely any damage was done as the queued units of Mind popped out of the factories to kill off the Protoss forces. Bisu refused to learn his lesson and attempted a second recall in the main, only resulting in more Protoss death. The game was lost and Bisu tapped out.Game 2 wasBBS. Mind opened up Barracks, Barracks, Supply Depot in his natural with a close spawn position to Bisu. Bisu opened 12 nexus and sent his scout to cross spawn. He performed every wrong opening move possible before Mind’s army stormed his main. Bisu knew immediately he had lost the game to the finest cheese Mind had to offer. In game 2, Mind was a Munster!

Game 1 was played on new map Avalon. It was most definitely an odd game. Zero opened taking 3 bases that included his backdoor expansion and a low gas income. This could only mean one thing, lurkers over mutas. Mong prepared exceptionally in game one and opened up with double starport wraith. Zero took heavy damage from the air as he attempted to survive off hydras and refused to build a spire. Mong observed Zero’s stubbornness and had a heavy bio mech push prepared. With the aid of only one science vessel and no scourge on the map, Zero’s massive amount of lurkers were rendered useless. Mong was able to quickly leap frog his units across the map, closing the already short distance between his opponents natural. Zero’s army fell swiftly and conceded game 1.Game 2 was played on Fighting Spirit. This match went very similar to the Hiya vs Zero matchup in the round of 16. Zero opened 2 base hive in order to use defensive defilers against the might of Mong’s early bio meching forces. Mong’s advances with tanks were easily dismantled. Zero played with huge efficiency as he retained his mutas from the early game and reused them to decimate Mong’s third and fourth consistently throughout the game. Mong continued to play aggressive, regardless of his economy. Zero looked unbreakable as he transitioned into ultras and drop overlords. The combination was too deadly and game was claimed by the swarm.Game 3 was a hard fought battle between Zero and Mong. This was the only matchup to reach the ace match and there was no doubt why. After Mong dismantled Zero in game 1 and Zero overpowered Mong in game 2, it was truly a tossup on who would advance from this group. Zero spawned in the top left hand corner and Mong spawned in the bottom right. For the second game in a row, Zero refused to take a third until Lair tech was done. 2 base Zerg versus 2 base Terran, Mong was unable to take any advantage before defilers were able to come out. Mong opened with bio and fought to apply pressure at the third and natural of Zero.As the game continued, Mong once again went for a double expansion while building on a mech force to take into the late game. The map was starting to split, however a solid muta harass was able to stall mining of Mong’s expansion while zerg carapace upgrades were able to finish. A constant sieging of Zero’s fourth absorbed a lot his attention. Eventually, fully armored ultras were able to storm the battle field and in combination with dark swarm overwhelmed Mong for the victory.

Winner Interviews

by Seeker



Player Interviews by HungryApp

Translated by Seeker



ZerO

Player Interviews by HungryAppTranslated by Seeker





Regarding today’s match, said, “I feel proud because my performance was good. I was really upset about losing yesterday’s match. But I think a good result was able to follow because I cleared my mind. It’s a solid map so I think that’s why I was able to establish the result that I got because I played like I always do.”



We then asked ZerO how he felt about the new maps being used for Starz League. “I don’t know for sure yet because I haven’t played a lot of matches on them yet. However, personally, I don’t like them. I prefer to use maps that I am already used to."



We then asked him about his semifinals opponent, . “Back when Kwanro was on a different team, I lost to him a lot. But then he joined the same team as me so I know his style really well. I won’t lose to him as easily as I have in the past.”



When asked about shutting down ’s dropship plays with scourges, ZerO stated, “During practice, I fell victim to a lot of dropship plays. So I prepared a lot. I think the result of my preparations came out this match.”



Finally, we asked ZerO to say something regarding the upcoming semifinals match. “Now that I’ve made it to the semifinals, I want to win the championship no matter what. I will prepare really well for every single game ahead of me from here on out so I can play great matches.” Source: Kim Mu Young of HungryApp Regarding today’s match, ZerO said, “I feel proud because my performance was good. I was really upset about losing yesterday’s match. But I think a good result was able to follow because I cleared my mind. It’s a solid map so I think that’s why I was able to establish the result that I got because I played like I always do.”We then asked ZerO how he felt about the new maps being used for Starz League. “I don’t know for sure yet because I haven’t played a lot of matches on them yet. However, personally, I don’t like them. I prefer to use maps that I am already used to."We then asked him about his semifinals opponent, Kwanro . “Back when Kwanro was on a different team, I lost to him a lot. But then he joined the same team as me so I know his style really well. I won’t lose to him as easily as I have in the past.”When asked about shutting down Mong ’s dropship plays with scourges, ZerO stated, “During practice, I fell victim to a lot of dropship plays. So I prepared a lot. I think the result of my preparations came out this match.”Finally, we asked ZerO to say something regarding the upcoming semifinals match. “Now that I’ve made it to the semifinals, I want to win the championship no matter what. I will prepare really well for every single game ahead of me from here on out so I can play great matches.”





When asked how he felt about winning, stated, “Thanks to the fact that I keep winning in this Starz League, I have never felt so good before. Since I won yesterday’s match, I showed a new and daring build and I was also feeling confident for game three. helped me out a lot for my preparation on



He then went on to say, “I also thought about doing a BBS build just like Pure recommended, but I had a lot of worries as to whether or not it was going to work. Even though I practiced a lot once the build was recommended to me, that kind of strategy is a strategy where either scenario A or B happens, so I got really nervous. I was also worried about the fact that the momentum could potentially shift over to ’s side if it ended up getting blocked. Thanks to that, I kept worrying about the same things over and over again.”



We asked Mind as to whether or not he felt that he had gotten closer to winning the championship. “I think a human being’s mind tends to change in the heat of the moment. Even though I defeated Bisu, the hardest opponent I foresaw for this season, I still can’t help but think that the next match will also be difficult. All I did was get a little closer to the championship, but I can’t say anything for certain."



Mind also stated that for the semifinals, “Even though I don’t know who my opponent is going to be yet (T/N: We now know it's ), I still plan to prepare really hard. It was difficult to prepare for this match since I was on a tight practice schedule, but now that I have a lot of time, I think I’m going to be able to prepare well. Especially because I won, my mind is at ease and the fact that I gained confidence from this is going to be a big help.”



We asked Mind how he felt about defeating Bisu. “I don’t feel sorry for beating him since I remember a time when I had a six game losing streak against him. In fact, since he is such a strong opponent, I kept feeling a lot of pressure right up until the moment that I won."



Finally, we asked Mind to say something regarding the upcoming semifinals match. “I have a tendency to lose whenever I feel that I am doing well, so for this next match I plan on preparing for an awesome performance where I will have no regrets.” Source: Jang Jeong Woo of HungryApp When asked how he felt about winning, Mind stated, “Thanks to the fact that I keep winning in this Starz League, I have never felt so good before. Since I won yesterday’s match, I showed a new and daring build and I was also feeling confident for game three. Pure helped me out a lot for my preparation on Avalon . Actually, the player who recommended the BBS build to me was also Pure."He then went on to say, “I also thought about doing a BBS build just like Pure recommended, but I had a lot of worries as to whether or not it was going to work. Even though I practiced a lot once the build was recommended to me, that kind of strategy is a strategy where either scenario A or B happens, so I got really nervous. I was also worried about the fact that the momentum could potentially shift over to Bisu ’s side if it ended up getting blocked. Thanks to that, I kept worrying about the same things over and over again.”We asked Mind as to whether or not he felt that he had gotten closer to winning the championship. “I think a human being’s mind tends to change in the heat of the moment. Even though I defeated Bisu, the hardest opponent I foresaw for this season, I still can’t help but think that the next match will also be difficult. All I did was get a little closer to the championship, but I can’t say anything for certain."Mind also stated that for the semifinals, “Even though I don’t know who my opponent is going to be yet (T/N: We now know it's hero ), I still plan to prepare really hard. It was difficult to prepare for this match since I was on a tight practice schedule, but now that I have a lot of time, I think I’m going to be able to prepare well. Especially because I won, my mind is at ease and the fact that I gained confidence from this is going to be a big help.”We asked Mind how he felt about defeating Bisu. “I don’t feel sorry for beating him since I remember a time when I had a six game losing streak against him. In fact, since he is such a strong opponent, I kept feeling a lot of pressure right up until the moment that I won."Finally, we asked Mind to say something regarding the upcoming semifinals match. “I have a tendency to lose whenever I feel that I am doing well, so for this next match I plan on preparing for an awesome performance where I will have no regrets.”





When asked how he felt about making it to the semifinals, Kwanro stated, “I did not expect to do as well as I am doing right now for this league. A part of me is actually feeling the pressure of the fact that advancing to the semifinals means that I have yet another match ahead of me. But there is also a part of me that really wants this now that I was able to achieve a victory that I did not anticipate.”



We then asked him about his feelings towards the league in general. Kwanro said that, “From the semifinals and on, skill won’t matter. The victory can be decided by just one mistake so I will have to focus for every single game. Regarding the two new map additions to this league, I don’t think they’re that bad. Avalon is a map that requires strategic play, but I liked maps like these from back when I was a progamer, so I like these.”



Kwanro also went on to say that today’s match took on the scenario that he foresaw. “For today’s match, my past experiences really helped. I played out today’s scenario based on my past semifinals and finals experiences and I think that ended up being more effective than practicing. Just like I did for today, I plan on laying out a good scenario for my next match.”



Regarding his semifinals opponent, Kwanro stated that, “Even though I don’t know if my semifinals opponent will be or (T/N: We now know it's ZerO), I personally would like to face ZerO. This is because I am more confident in ZvZ than ZvT.”



Regarding the semifinals match, Kwanro said, “The first game will probably be the most important. Even though I don’t feel any pressure regarding this semifinals match, the nerves one feels before a match begins is something that you cannot control since you don’t get to experience things like that on an everyday basis. If I can take this nervousness and convert it into a thrilling feeling so that I can enjoy the match, then I think I will be able to establish a good result.”



Finally, Kwanro stated, “I hope that the fans will be able to enjoy the matches along with me without caring about the end result. I’m sure that they will probably congratulate me if I win, but I hope they realize that there’s nothing that can be done if I end up losing.” Source: Jang Jeong Woo of HungryApp When asked how he felt about making it to the semifinals, Kwanro stated, “I did not expect to do as well as I am doing right now for this league. A part of me is actually feeling the pressure of the fact that advancing to the semifinals means that I have yet another match ahead of me. But there is also a part of me that really wants this now that I was able to achieve a victory that I did not anticipate.”We then asked him about his feelings towards the league in general. Kwanro said that, “From the semifinals and on, skill won’t matter. The victory can be decided by just one mistake so I will have to focus for every single game. Regarding the two new map additions to this league, I don’t think they’re that bad. Avalon is a map that requires strategic play, but I liked maps like these from back when I was a progamer, so I like these.”Kwanro also went on to say that today’s match took on the scenario that he foresaw. “For today’s match, my past experiences really helped. I played out today’s scenario based on my past semifinals and finals experiences and I think that ended up being more effective than practicing. Just like I did for today, I plan on laying out a good scenario for my next match.”Regarding his semifinals opponent, Kwanro stated that, “Even though I don’t know if my semifinals opponent will be ZerO or Mong (T/N: We now know it's ZerO), I personally would like to face ZerO. This is because I am more confident in ZvZ than ZvT.”Regarding the semifinals match, Kwanro said, “The first game will probably be the most important. Even though I don’t feel any pressure regarding this semifinals match, the nerves one feels before a match begins is something that you cannot control since you don’t get to experience things like that on an everyday basis. If I can take this nervousness and convert it into a thrilling feeling so that I can enjoy the match, then I think I will be able to establish a good result.”Finally, Kwanro stated, “I hope that the fans will be able to enjoy the matches along with me without caring about the end result. I’m sure that they will probably congratulate me if I win, but I hope they realize that there’s nothing that can be done if I end up losing.”