As it is a strangest occurrence to see a terranless GSL grand final nowadays, all eyes were turned to Oz and Curious - the two best Code A players, aiming for a spot up high.
Game 1 on Crossfire
Oz opened with a very greedy quick nexus build which, to his credit, he had timed perfectly so Curious' initial zergling found no crack in the wall-off. The zerg immediately threw down an expo hatchery of his own but had no intention at all to go into the later stages of the game. He transitioned into a roach warren and to his luck even managed to get rid of the scouting probe before it saw his plan. The roach/ling all-in hit Oz's wall-off like a battering ram and, although the protoss fought valiantly, there were simply not enough units for him to stop the zerg.
Game 2 on Belshir Beach
Once again Oz opened with a fast expand build (although with its much safer gateway first version) which worked out well for Curious as well since he was not going for any early rushes and instead sat back, droned and teched to roaches.
The game was going flawlessly for both players until Oz moved out with a 6-gate push and was met at the centre by Curious' roach force. This was the dead of all of Oz's sentries - a loss which he tried to make up for by focusing back on the macro game as he took a hidden third at the top right. But Oz's mistake could not be overlooked by an experienced player of Curious' calibre. The zerg followed up with a big roach attack and only the perfect forcefield prison at the ramp helped Oz stay alive for a little longer.
The pressure from Curious continued, though, as relentlessly as it should. By that time the zerg had found the hidden third and launched two separate attacks, sending his roach army towards the protoss main and his ling force to the third in attempt to destroy it. Once again Oz held but Curious was already massively tech switching to mutalisks, aiming to end this game there and then.
Eventually, as the protoss third finally fell, Oz initiated a base race but odds were not in his favour. Curious had too many mutalisks and had a mining base up while Oz had none. In a few minutes the score was 2-0 for the StarTale player.
Game 3 on Tal'Darim Altar
After successfully deflecting the 10-pool opening by Curious and getting his second nexus up, Oz transitioned to a 6-gate push but everything went wrong for him. Once again, his forces were met by an overwhelming amount of roaches, which this time even had burrow researched so Oz's damage to the zerg army was close to minimal. Oz tried to do a second gateway attack a bit later when his blink was done but Curious already had hydras out. The carnage was not even fun to watch.
Game 4 on Daybreak
By that time one could see that Oz was falling apart, because his decision to go for a proxy double gate in the most important match of his GSL career would seem particularly odd. Short story shorter - Curious managed to cancel his fast hatchery in time to throw two spine crawlers at his mineral line, putting himself in a state of utmost safety, which brought him the 4-0 victory and the much desired Code S spot.
Editorial Verbiage
It feels to me that Oz was not prepared at all for this series. I can't see another reason for this crushing loss besides not PvZ-ing his ass out in practice and actually trying to come up with strategies that have not been dead for months now.
Oz's persistence about sticking to those ridiculous and easily predictable gateway rushes is strange to say the least. Both set 2 and 3 reminded me of the previous encounter between Oz and Curious in the GSTL Season 1, where the protoss almost lost the game after gift-wrapping all his sentries in the exact same way. What's even more peculiar is that I am sure Oz knows that PvZ has developed a lot throughout the recent months (due to both patches and newly created playstyles) and he still played the way he did - a behaviour unbefitting a Code A grand finalist.
Of course, one cannot blame Oz for simply being a player. First, because he isn't one and, second, because Curious is no slouch by any extent. In fact, set 1 (and the entire series from there on) could've gone either way, as we saw how godly forcefields could be in the hands of Oz. In the end of the day, this final is yet another story of a player reaping what has been sown by his own mistakes.
Not everything is lost for Oz, fortunately. He has earned his up-and-down spot and will get the chance to fight on October 19th. Let's hope that Keen, YuGiOh, JYP and HongUn would not be much of a trouble.
Game 1 on Crossfire
Oz opened with a very greedy quick nexus build which, to his credit, he had timed perfectly so Curious' initial zergling found no crack in the wall-off. The zerg immediately threw down an expo hatchery of his own but had no intention at all to go into the later stages of the game. He transitioned into a roach warren and to his luck even managed to get rid of the scouting probe before it saw his plan. The roach/ling all-in hit Oz's wall-off like a battering ram and, although the protoss fought valiantly, there were simply not enough units for him to stop the zerg.
Game 2 on Belshir Beach
Once again Oz opened with a fast expand build (although with its much safer gateway first version) which worked out well for Curious as well since he was not going for any early rushes and instead sat back, droned and teched to roaches.
The game was going flawlessly for both players until Oz moved out with a 6-gate push and was met at the centre by Curious' roach force. This was the dead of all of Oz's sentries - a loss which he tried to make up for by focusing back on the macro game as he took a hidden third at the top right. But Oz's mistake could not be overlooked by an experienced player of Curious' calibre. The zerg followed up with a big roach attack and only the perfect forcefield prison at the ramp helped Oz stay alive for a little longer.
The pressure from Curious continued, though, as relentlessly as it should. By that time the zerg had found the hidden third and launched two separate attacks, sending his roach army towards the protoss main and his ling force to the third in attempt to destroy it. Once again Oz held but Curious was already massively tech switching to mutalisks, aiming to end this game there and then.
Eventually, as the protoss third finally fell, Oz initiated a base race but odds were not in his favour. Curious had too many mutalisks and had a mining base up while Oz had none. In a few minutes the score was 2-0 for the StarTale player.
Game 3 on Tal'Darim Altar
After successfully deflecting the 10-pool opening by Curious and getting his second nexus up, Oz transitioned to a 6-gate push but everything went wrong for him. Once again, his forces were met by an overwhelming amount of roaches, which this time even had burrow researched so Oz's damage to the zerg army was close to minimal. Oz tried to do a second gateway attack a bit later when his blink was done but Curious already had hydras out. The carnage was not even fun to watch.
Game 4 on Daybreak
By that time one could see that Oz was falling apart, because his decision to go for a proxy double gate in the most important match of his GSL career would seem particularly odd. Short story shorter - Curious managed to cancel his fast hatchery in time to throw two spine crawlers at his mineral line, putting himself in a state of utmost safety, which brought him the 4-0 victory and the much desired Code S spot.
Editorial Verbiage
It feels to me that Oz was not prepared at all for this series. I can't see another reason for this crushing loss besides not PvZ-ing his ass out in practice and actually trying to come up with strategies that have not been dead for months now.
Oz's persistence about sticking to those ridiculous and easily predictable gateway rushes is strange to say the least. Both set 2 and 3 reminded me of the previous encounter between Oz and Curious in the GSTL Season 1, where the protoss almost lost the game after gift-wrapping all his sentries in the exact same way. What's even more peculiar is that I am sure Oz knows that PvZ has developed a lot throughout the recent months (due to both patches and newly created playstyles) and he still played the way he did - a behaviour unbefitting a Code A grand finalist.
Of course, one cannot blame Oz for simply being a player. First, because he isn't one and, second, because Curious is no slouch by any extent. In fact, set 1 (and the entire series from there on) could've gone either way, as we saw how godly forcefields could be in the hands of Oz. In the end of the day, this final is yet another story of a player reaping what has been sown by his own mistakes.
Not everything is lost for Oz, fortunately. He has earned his up-and-down spot and will get the chance to fight on October 19th. Let's hope that Keen, YuGiOh, JYP and HongUn would not be much of a trouble.
