|
Jul 21 2009, 2:06 PM
|
Fontong
Staff Member
News Team
Posts: 112
Joined: Apr 7 2009
Send PM
|
Roar of the Earth
When sleeping Giants awaken...
e-Stars Heritage League
Have you ever wanted to see the old rivalries come back to life? The Lim-Jin rivalry, the Three Protoss Kings, the return of the Dreamer, Nada vs Savior, to name a few. These are only the matchups set to occur in the preliminary rounds -- there are bound to be epic matches in the upcoming semifinals and grand final. For those who followed the Starcraft scene since Boxer took the throne, or the time of the Holy Wars between Savior and the Death God, this is a chance to relive those times and see history repeat itself. For anyone who knows only Bisu, Flash, and Jaedong as their Starcraft gods: This is your history lesson. Pay close attention, for these players are the ones who have made Starcraft the true competitive sport that it is today.
Now, I will present brief battle reports with VOD links. Just click the links if you don't want to be spoiled!
Nal_Ra vs Nada @ Outsider:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7MIjGwMn5A&
The title for this game should speak for itself. The Dreamer himself vs the Tornado terran. Nal_Ra was one of the Three Protoss Kings, and invented the forge first fast expand (sorry for all those people who though Bisu invented it). He was known for his increased usage of cannons at a time when it was thought that making static defense was unimportant if one could make more offense. After seeing his expansions hold against streams of Zerg units only using a couple cannons and reavers, there is no doubt which style was more effective.
At first, all we see in this game is an old, out of shape Protoss getting beaten down by an active player's harass skills. A chorus of oohs and ahhs go up as the screen pans over a boatload of metal sitting in Nada's natural.
Most Protoss units would be warping back to Auir at this point
Ra's units aren't just any protoss units though.
Cleaned up.
This game is far from over at this point though, but I don't want to spoil the entire thing for people who haven't seen it yet. Watch the rest for some awesome arbiter play from Ra, including ramp blocking stasis' and tactical expo sniping recalls. Nada plays great as well, as should be expected. I am most impressed that Ra was able to come out of retirement so strongly after a year of inactivity.
Yellow vs Tossgirl @ Destination:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KH9I2d41QTM&
This game isn't particularly good...
The images will explain all. Yellow doesn't mess around, and his drones eat human babies for breakfast. It's not every day that drones kill as many SCVs as they did in this game. This game was revenge for every zerg who has ever been SCV rushed. Not to mention that Tossgirl seems to have a mental block against playing a straight up game.
Hong Jin Ho's drones have no mercy.
I could do this all day.
Better run home to your momma now - the drones are coming!
This game makes me wish there were more women playing professional Starcraft. Tossgirl just isn't a good representative for women in this sport. First of all, she isn't good so people just stereotype women as poorer players compared to men. This obviously isn't true -- January was considered a strong player even against men back in her days of being a player. Second, STX Soul just presents her as a sex symbol, thus compounding the issue of her not being good. In the eyes of the community, Tossgirl is no more than a pair of boobs that plays C-Team level Starcraft. I sincerely hope than a superior female player can come and rescue the image of women's Starcraft before it is too late.
Savior vs Kingdom @ Neo Medusa:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4oBXS1C16U&
The Devil Toss, now a coach for SK Telecom T1, versus the Maestro of Zerg, who was at one point one of the most feared players of all time. For those who don't know the history, Kingdom was a member of the (Old) Three Protoss Kings along with Nal_Ra and Reach. These three were fighting against all odds at a time when no other Protosses could hold up against the other races. For a long time, Protoss was considered the weakest of the three races. Out of the three, Kingdom was most noted for his micro -- especially when using goon/reavers. Savior, to say the least, is one of the 4 bonjwas, so if that isn't enough for you I don't know what would be.
This game starts off just about as standard as possible, nothing at all abnormal from either player. Kingdom seems to have a solid build, and comes out with a decent sized speedzeal force in time to put some pressure on Savior and force a lot of zerglings plus a sunken. My favorite part of the game comes next, when Savior comes out with lurkers while Kingdom has only zeal/con and no observers.
Thinking with your manliness is essential for playing Protoss.
Kingdom keeps on sniping lurkers as Savior tries to leapfrog them forward, and manages to prevent a lurker contain this way. I thought it was a great play by him, which also showed that he still has the control and position skill that he was once famous for. Sadly, Savior's skill starts to show over the rusty Kingdom, and he starts making some fatal errors.
Not a good idea to lose 3 templar on a map where Protoss can only take 2 easy gas.
Fear the Zerg's 4th base on Medusa
I believe that it is essential to keep the Zerg from getting a 4th base on a map like Medusa. When the Zerg is going lurkers to try to negate the increased zealot numbers due to the min only, there simply isn't room to allow the Zerg to take a 4th base and start pumping even more gas heavy units. The ability to break the temple backdoor makes things even worse for a Protoss, who must defend both the front and the back simultaneously or simply just loose. Hint: defending the backdoor requires gas -- cannons alone just won't cut it against any sort of determined attack.
Boxer vs Reach @ Python:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2zUBgNd0tE&
The Mudang Protoss vs the Emperor... This is one matchup that lived up to its name. This rivalry started in 2002 when Reach edged out Boxer in the semifinals of the KPGA Tour 3rd League, and then defeated him again in the Finals of the 2002 Sky OSL. Boxer, surprisingly, takes us for a wild ride on the macro train. We don't see any flash micro for him today, unfortunately. Reach in his typical aggressive style attempts a bust on the 3rd, attacking right into the end of Boxer's defensive line.
Reach's trademark shuttle bombs
Delaying the 3rd from mining...
Despite Reach's manly efforts, Boxer does manage to get his 3rd up and running. The game is now in full swing, but I don't want to spoil the ending for this one, so go watch it!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
|
To reply to this post you must log in or register here.
|
|
|
Great job Fontong and gogo Nal_ra (even though you lost T_T)