Scrimmage report
Both division leader performed excellently in week 5. Demuslim wrenched out a 2-1 against Vibe using some bold and innovative build orders (like 3-base marauder timings and reaper into double CC) and also abusing Vibe's lack of upgrades in all the games.
In the ZvP for the night, Cruncher walked out enjoying a flawless victory over Lowely. On Crevasse, the zerg went for a very aggressive tech running double evo and rushing to infestors and hive off of three base but that led only to having 50 supply less when Cruncher's attack (preceded by a prolonged DT harassed) knocked on his door. In game 2, Lowely attempted a roach/ling all-in that failed miserably and although he tried to transition out of it, Cruncher's prism harass crippled him to the point of no return.
Division I Week 5 results
Hero2-0 WhiteRa
Demuslim2-1 Vibe
Cruncher2-0 Lowely
Sheth2-0 Fenix
Sheth and Hero scored two quick and relatively easy victories over Fenix and WhiteRa, respectively. But while Hero's win would mean almost nothing (although it does feel good being at the monstrous +10) lead, Sheth's put him in the comfortable fourth spot, almost destroying Fenix's hopes of getting a good placement.
Ingenuity, or how I learned to stop worrying and love upgrades
To be completely honest, I enjoyed W5D1 a great lot. Yes, it is still the group stage and this is not an MLG final but one should not care if you can just sit back, relax and enjoy some raw StarCraft 2 with all its brilliance and flaws.
DeMusliM was my personal hero for the night, mainly because the way he handled Vibe in sets 1 and 3 of their series but not all praises should go to him. The American Zerg also played straight-on beautifully and were it not for some crucial mistakes, we could've been observing a different winner.
Set 1 on Crevasse saw DeMuslim open with a very uncharacteristic build, as far as TvZ in concerned. After defending the roach/ling attack, DeMuslim turned to hellion production but instead of being overly aggressive and/or go to fast preigniter, the Brit just used the low cost of the unit to rush to a quick third and pour all his gas into mass marauders and their respective upgrades. Soon after his third was settled up, DeMuslim started his heavy aggression, which lead to Vibe's third falling twice, leaving the zerg economy in ruins. It was obvious that Viber had no idea what was about to hit him but the overall efficiency also proved how potent this build is and why terrans should put the marine/tank pushes aside for a bit and explore a different aspect of their race.
Game 3 was also a wild one. DeMuslim went for double CC build (but this time based on a hellion opening instead of the reaper rush on Altar) and soon moved out to take a gold - a decision that would put him in a very tough positional state. Although he enjoyed a flourishing economy for a while, Vibe's ling/muta harassment nullified it in time, giving the impression that the zerg was outplaying DeMuslim with ease. What Vibe's build lacked, however, was upgrades! As the game progressed further, this flaw made Vibe's job more and more difficult and, ultimately, he could not stop what was supposed to be DeMuslim's final attack. Great macro or not, one cannot simply stay on 0/0 lings and mutalisk and expect to beat terran. A valuable lesson, indeed, and as such it makes this game worth watching and analyzing.
Division Standings and Overview
Division I after Week 5
PlayerScorePoints
1st Hero5-0+10
2nd Demuslim4-1+5
3rd Cruncher3-2+1
4th Sheth2-2+1
5th Vibe2-2+0
6th Fenix1-3-4
7th Lowely1-4-6
8th WhiteRa0-4-7
That settles it then. HerO is crushing this group so hard that it's not even fun discussing it. And it was only logical that the Korean would end up here, after being undefeated for four straight weeks. HerO has only two matches left to play but beside giving his opponents a nudge out of the middle grounds, a loss or two won't disturb HerO's dominance that much.
DeMuslim is second in the group but he is by no means safe to lay back and whistle carelessly. Cruncher, Sheth and Vibe are right behind him, waiting for the Brit to slip and make a mistake. However, a deeper examination of the remaining weeks reveals a dark spot for the Swarm - of of their remaining matches is against HerO and if Liquid's machine performs just as monstrously, it will be really hard for the Americans to climb up.
Sadly, there is no hope for the bottom three. Although one would expect Lowely to not be a total face-crusher (after all he was and still remains the underdog in the division), it is unfortunate to see Fenix and especially WhiteRa in the very bottoms of the group. More luck next season, I suppose...
Barely Clairvoyant: Week 6 at October 26th
Division I Week 6 Matches
VibeVS WhiteRa
HeroVS Sheth
LowelyVS Fenix
A short week is coming on the 26th, made even shorter by the fact that Lowely vs Fenix would have little to no impact on the standings whatsoever. With that in mind, Vibe and Sheth have one of their most important matches ahead of them. Vibe is facing WhiteRa, who he absolutely must defeat in order to keep his chances for a higher placing alive. And although that could be an easy task (after all, WhiteRa has won just a single set in all five weeks thus far), Sheth's opponent, on the other hand, is HerO and, boy!, will that be an uphill fight. Judging from previous results I would say that the Korean would walk out the victorious but then again HerO has not played much PvZ in NASL and Sheth is certainly way above Lowely's class. If anyone can take a game off of HerO, that's certainly his ever-smiling team-mate.
Both division leader performed excellently in week 5. Demuslim wrenched out a 2-1 against Vibe using some bold and innovative build orders (like 3-base marauder timings and reaper into double CC) and also abusing Vibe's lack of upgrades in all the games.
In the ZvP for the night, Cruncher walked out enjoying a flawless victory over Lowely. On Crevasse, the zerg went for a very aggressive tech running double evo and rushing to infestors and hive off of three base but that led only to having 50 supply less when Cruncher's attack (preceded by a prolonged DT harassed) knocked on his door. In game 2, Lowely attempted a roach/ling all-in that failed miserably and although he tried to transition out of it, Cruncher's prism harass crippled him to the point of no return.
Division I Week 5 results
Hero2-0 WhiteRa
Demuslim2-1 Vibe
Cruncher2-0 Lowely
Sheth2-0 Fenix
Sheth and Hero scored two quick and relatively easy victories over Fenix and WhiteRa, respectively. But while Hero's win would mean almost nothing (although it does feel good being at the monstrous +10) lead, Sheth's put him in the comfortable fourth spot, almost destroying Fenix's hopes of getting a good placement.
Ingenuity, or how I learned to stop worrying and love upgrades
To be completely honest, I enjoyed W5D1 a great lot. Yes, it is still the group stage and this is not an MLG final but one should not care if you can just sit back, relax and enjoy some raw StarCraft 2 with all its brilliance and flaws.
DeMusliM was my personal hero for the night, mainly because the way he handled Vibe in sets 1 and 3 of their series but not all praises should go to him. The American Zerg also played straight-on beautifully and were it not for some crucial mistakes, we could've been observing a different winner.
Set 1 on Crevasse saw DeMuslim open with a very uncharacteristic build, as far as TvZ in concerned. After defending the roach/ling attack, DeMuslim turned to hellion production but instead of being overly aggressive and/or go to fast preigniter, the Brit just used the low cost of the unit to rush to a quick third and pour all his gas into mass marauders and their respective upgrades. Soon after his third was settled up, DeMuslim started his heavy aggression, which lead to Vibe's third falling twice, leaving the zerg economy in ruins. It was obvious that Viber had no idea what was about to hit him but the overall efficiency also proved how potent this build is and why terrans should put the marine/tank pushes aside for a bit and explore a different aspect of their race.
Game 3 was also a wild one. DeMuslim went for double CC build (but this time based on a hellion opening instead of the reaper rush on Altar) and soon moved out to take a gold - a decision that would put him in a very tough positional state. Although he enjoyed a flourishing economy for a while, Vibe's ling/muta harassment nullified it in time, giving the impression that the zerg was outplaying DeMuslim with ease. What Vibe's build lacked, however, was upgrades! As the game progressed further, this flaw made Vibe's job more and more difficult and, ultimately, he could not stop what was supposed to be DeMuslim's final attack. Great macro or not, one cannot simply stay on 0/0 lings and mutalisk and expect to beat terran. A valuable lesson, indeed, and as such it makes this game worth watching and analyzing.
Division Standings and Overview
Division I after Week 5
PlayerScorePoints
1st Hero5-0+10
2nd Demuslim4-1+5
3rd Cruncher3-2+1
4th Sheth2-2+1
5th Vibe2-2+0
6th Fenix1-3-4
7th Lowely1-4-6
8th WhiteRa0-4-7
That settles it then. HerO is crushing this group so hard that it's not even fun discussing it. And it was only logical that the Korean would end up here, after being undefeated for four straight weeks. HerO has only two matches left to play but beside giving his opponents a nudge out of the middle grounds, a loss or two won't disturb HerO's dominance that much.
DeMuslim is second in the group but he is by no means safe to lay back and whistle carelessly. Cruncher, Sheth and Vibe are right behind him, waiting for the Brit to slip and make a mistake. However, a deeper examination of the remaining weeks reveals a dark spot for the Swarm - of of their remaining matches is against HerO and if Liquid's machine performs just as monstrously, it will be really hard for the Americans to climb up.
Sadly, there is no hope for the bottom three. Although one would expect Lowely to not be a total face-crusher (after all he was and still remains the underdog in the division), it is unfortunate to see Fenix and especially WhiteRa in the very bottoms of the group. More luck next season, I suppose...
Barely Clairvoyant: Week 6 at October 26th
Division I Week 6 Matches
VibeVS WhiteRa
HeroVS Sheth
LowelyVS Fenix
A short week is coming on the 26th, made even shorter by the fact that Lowely vs Fenix would have little to no impact on the standings whatsoever. With that in mind, Vibe and Sheth have one of their most important matches ahead of them. Vibe is facing WhiteRa, who he absolutely must defeat in order to keep his chances for a higher placing alive. And although that could be an easy task (after all, WhiteRa has won just a single set in all five weeks thus far), Sheth's opponent, on the other hand, is HerO and, boy!, will that be an uphill fight. Judging from previous results I would say that the Korean would walk out the victorious but then again HerO has not played much PvZ in NASL and Sheth is certainly way above Lowely's class. If anyone can take a game off of HerO, that's certainly his ever-smiling team-mate.
