WCS
Heroes of the Storm
What's going on? Who's winning? I don't get it. Do you ever catch yourself asking yourself that as you browse through the forums looking for answers to these questions? Even though TL.net always has awesome coverage, sometimes I find myself behind and have to painstakingly search the threads for results and standings. That's why I present to you:
2006 Pringles 2 MSL Results and Standings
-A Little MSL History-
04/02 KPGA 1st Tour - (T)BoxeR > (Z)YellOw
06/02 KPGA 2nd Tour - (T)NaDa > (Z)YellOw
08/02 KPGA 3rd Tour - (T)NaDa > (P)Reach
10/02 KPGA 4th Tour - (T)NaDa > (Z)ChOJJa
08/03 Stout MSL - (P)Nal_rA > NaDa
11/03 Trigem MSL - (T)iloveoov > (Z)YellOw
03/04 HanaFOS MSL - (T)iloveoov > (T)NaDa
08/04 Spris MSL - (T)iloveoov > (P)Kingdom
02/05 You're the Golf King MSL - (Z)GoRush > (T)NaDa
08/05 UZOO MSL - (Z)IPX > (P)Reach
01/06 Cyon MSL - (Z)ChOJJa > (Z)IPX
07/06 Pringles 1 MSL - (Z)IPX > (P)Nal_rA
Note: The dates are the dates of the finals.
-A Few Trends-
You'll notice that the first eight MSLs have been 7 Terran winners (largely in part due to NaDa and oov's dominance of MSL) and only 1 Protoss winner. But the last 4 MSLs have been won by Zerg players. When will there be a Protoss dominance? Maybe never.
-BOXER's Final Starleague-
Where would StarCraft in Korea (or even the world) be without BOXER? As many of you may know, Korean male citizens have a mandatory 2 year service in the army. If you refuse, you get kicked out of the country like the artist Yu Seungjun. Unfortunately, our beloved patriarch of the game has gotten his call to the army and he will no longer be able to play as a progamer after this Starleague. Though BOXER has more fame for winning back-to-back OSLs, he was unable to qualify for Shinhan Season 2 and will have to make Pringles 2 MSL a memorable one.
MrDX has started a BoxeR tribute site. If you want to go down Nostalgia Lane and see some good old BoxeR stuff, go to his BoxeR Forever site. It's well done and it has a link to this thread. UPDATE: The Korean community has found out about BoxeRforever.com and it has even made the front page of FF! Congratulations MrDX! BoxeR actually said he wants to read the messages from foreigners from this site, maybe he might read yours.
Update: HonestTea has informed the TL community that BOXER will no longer be able to play in the Pringles MSL due to his new schedule with the army, so BOXER forfeited his spot in the Group of 8. (New tournament rules regarding this discussed below.) Although BOXER only got to the Group of 8 (or quarterfinals), MBC kindly gave BOXER an exit as a quarterfinalist. This means that he gets to automatically be in Survivor Round 2. All is not lost for BOXER. CJ Media has organized a "Superfight", a king of grudge match between top players. Once again the sexy HonestTea provides us with up to date news. s2s2. This is probably the last time we will see BOXER play before he enrolls.
Note: Since this is BOXER's last starleague, I will honor him by making his name all caps. BOXERBOXERBOXERBOXER. Okay I'll stop =].
-The Players-
There are sixteen players in all. Four of which are seeds who were the top four from the last MSL. The remaining twelve players had to qualify through a Survivor League (formerly known as Minor League back in the day).
--Terran: The Pride Of War (5)--
Seed #3 Midas (SKTelecom T1)
Bifrost (OGN Sparkyz)
BOXER (SKTelecom T1)
NaDa (Pantech EX)
XellOs (CJ Entus)
--Zerg: Overcome All (6)--
Seed #1 IPX (CJ Entus)
ChoJJa (KTF MagicNs)
JJu (Samsung Khan)
Shark (MBC Hero)
SiLvEr (Pantech EX)
YellOw[ArnC] (OGN Sparkyz)
Note: The [Name] clan has split and YellOw[Name] is now YellOw[ArnC].
--Protoss: Victory After Victory (5)--
Seed #2 Nal_rA (KTF MagicNs)
Seed #4 Kingdom (SKTelecom T1)
DaezanG (Hanbit Stars)
PuSan (MBC Hero)
TerAtO (OGN SparkyZ)
--Team Distribtuions--
OGN Sparkyz: 3(Bifrost, YellOw[ArnC], TerAtO)
SKTelecom T1: 3(Midas, BOXER, Kingdom)
CJ Entus: 2(XellOs, IPX)
KTF MagicNs: 2(ChOJJa, Nal_rA)
MBC Hero: 2(Shark, PuSan)
Pantech EX: 2(NaDa, SiLvEr)
Hanbit Stars: 1(DaezanG)
Samsung Khan: 1(JJu)
eNature Top: 0
STX SouL: 0
-The Maps-
As has been tradition, starleagues use 4 maps. MSL will do the same. They usually keep an old map or two and introduce some new maps. Last MSL they introduced a solid macro map known as Arcadia which has been slightly edited. They also borrowed the Shin Peaks of Baekdu from OGN. They introduce two new maps called Blitz (which features some small 815 style ramps) and Longina... I mean Longinus.
--Arcadia 2--
Some changes to note are the isolated gas expos at 3 and 9, they are more easy to defend from Tanks. But the gas naturals have had their wall moved closer to the minerals so they are more exposed.
![[image loading]](http://i4.tinypic.com/2dja23s.jpg)
--新 백두대간 (Shin Peaks of Baekdu)--
HEAVILY modified. The bases are no longer on lower ground but on higher ground. There are two ramps leading to the bases. One has a 40 patch of mineral. Cheese is still in for the map! The fastest rush route is still only accessible by the smallest units (MMF, Broodlings, Zerglings, Hydras, Zealots, and Peons). Note that the difficult landscape makes large army maneuvering so there will be dozens of small skirmishes during a game.
![[image loading]](http://i7.tinypic.com/2hcj24i.jpg)
--Blitz--
There are 815 style ramps for the fastest route. Longer routes for larger units.
![[image loading]](http://i8.tinypic.com/2zhl3zp.jpg)
--Longinus--
Whoever controls and occupies the center will definitely have an upperhand on this map.
![[image loading]](http://i6.tinypic.com/2ibndkl.jpg)
-The Recaps-
TL.net houses an awesome staff who are really mature and really care about the community enough to make awesome News Recaps of every day. Our recappers (so far) include: Manifesto, and Carnac. I'm sure other people like ManaBlue, TKWL, OctoPuSs, and Hot_Bid will chip in somehow. Please whenever you can give them a thank you, cause they freaking deserve it.
Group of 16 Day 1 (Thu 8/24) - by Carnac (Includes Game 1 and 2 for Groups A and B)
Group of 16 Day 2/3 (8/31, 9/7) - by Mani (Includes Game 1 and 2 for Groups C and D, Loser's for all groups)
Group of 16 Day 4 (9/14) - by Mani (Includes Winner's games for all groups)
Group of 16 Day 5 (9/21) - by OctoPuSs (Includes Tiebreak games and B2 Wildacard)
Group of 8 Day 1 (9/26) - by Mani (Includes Game 1 and 2 for Group A and B)
Group of 8 Day 2 (10/3) - none written D= (Round of 8 Loser's bo3s)
Group of 8 Day 3 (10/12) - by Mani (Round of 8 Winner's bo3s)
Group of 8 Day 4 (10/19) - by Mani (Round of 8 Tiebreak bo3s)
Semifinal Day 1 Recap (10/26) - by Mani (Semifinal Match SiLvEr vs JJu)
Semifinal Day 2 Recap (11/2) - by Mani (Semifinal Match sAviOr vs Nal_rA)
-Results and Standings of Group of 16-
Selection for the groups is rather complicated, but I'll do my best to try and explain it. The group selection is known as "Steel Draft," I have no idea why. The players are ranked 1-16. Seeds obviously are 1-4 and are sent to Groups A-D, respectively. The bottom 4, 13-16 are reversely put into Groups A-D. Then the remaining 8 players, 12-5 get put into a spot. But here's the catch, ah yes the catch: those who are 12-5 get to switch themselves with anyone who already has a spot (except the seeds), so it's like picking who you're gonna play first. After that complicated procedure is done, the seeds can switch around anybody they want to be their first opponent. It's an entertaining procedure though very complicated cause players diss other players. IPX managed to get all the OGN players in his group.
Note: The order of the groups is important. A1-A2 and A3-A4 play each other first. It's not like OSL, where losing twice means you could hopefully tie for 3rd or even second. A win and a loss are VERY important.
The aftermath will show that only two players will advance. Players who went 2-0 will be first in their group. Players who finished 2-1 will get second in their group. (Duh.) But this is important because the players will be regrouped for the Group of 8 play.
Because BOXER unfortunately had to forfeit his spot, the third places from all the groups will play a wildcard for the second place spot in BOXER's group.
--Group A-- (IPX, TerAtO, YellOw[Name], Bifrost)
1. YellOw[Name] 2-0 -> advances to Group A as A1
2. IPX 2-1 -> advances to Group B as A2
3. Bifrost 1-2 -> B2 Wildcard
4.
A Game 1: IPX > TerAtO @ Longinus
A Game 2: YellOw[ArnC] > Bifrost @ Shin Peaks of Baekdu
A Loser's: Bifrost > TerAtO @ Blitz
A Winner's: YellOw[ArnC] > IPX @ Blitz
A Tiebreak: IPX > Bifrost @ Arcadia 2
--Group B-- (Nal_rA, BOXER, SiLvEr, PuSan)
1. BOXER -> Advances, but forfeits spot due to Army D=
Note: Since BOXER is unable to play in the group of 8, the winner of SiLvEr vs Nal_rA will take his spot as B1. The B2 spot will be determined by a wildcard format. The four third places of each group will play a game 1, game 2, and then winners to decide the B2.
2. [b]SiLvEr 2-1 advances to group B as B1
3. Nal_rA 1-2 -> B2 Wildcard
4.
B Game 1: BOXER > Nal_rA @ Blitz
B Game 2: SiLvEr > PuSan @ Arcadia 2
B Loser's: Nal_rA > PuSan @ Longinus
B Winner's: BOXER > SiLvEr @ Longinus
B Tiebreak: SiLvEr > Nal_rA @ Shin Peaks of Beakdu
--Group C-- (Midas, JJu, DaezanG, ChOJJa)
1. DaezanG 2-0 -> advances to Group B as C1
2. JJu 2-1 -> advances to Group A as C2
3. ChOJJa 1-2 -> B2 Wildcard
4.
C Game 1: JJu > Midas @ Shin Peaks of Baekdu
C Game 2: DaezanG > ChOJJa @ Blitz
C Loser's: ChOJJa > Midas @ Arcadia 2
C Winner's: DaezanG > JJu @ Arcadia 2
C Tiebreak: JJu > ChOJJa @ Longinus
--Group D-- (Kingdom, NaDa, XellOs, Shark)
1. XellOs 2-0 -> advances to Group A as D1
2. Kingdom 2-1 -> advances to Group B as D2
3. NaDa 1-2 -> B2 Wildcard
4.
D Game 1: NaDa > Kingdom @ Arcadia 2
D Game 2: XellOs > Shark @ Longinus
D Loser's: Kingdom > Sharks @ Shin Peaks of Baekdu
D Winner's: XellOs > NaDa @ Shin Peaks of Baekdu
D Tiebreak: Kingdom > NaDa @ Blitz
B2 Wildcard
The Wildcard is SINGLE elimination. This means once loss and you get sent back to Survivor.
Nal_rA 2-0 -> Fills in for B2
NaDa 1-1 -> Out
ChOJJa 0-1 -> Out
Bifrost 0-1 -> Out
Game 1: Nal_rA > Bifrost @ Blitz
Game 2: NaDa > ChOJJa @ Arcadia 2
Winner's: Nal_rA > NaDa @ Longinus
-Results and Standings of Group of 8-
There will be two groups of 4. Group A will compose of A1, B2, C2, and D1. Group B will compose of A2, B1, C1, and D2. Those who got first in their group from the group of 16 play will get to do something called thumbs down. Those of you familiar with WarCraft III will know that thumbing down concerns choosing a map you don't want to play.
The group of 8 play is slightly more complicated. The first two games will be played a best of one. Those who win will be sent to a best of three Winner's Match and the losers will be sent to a best of three Loser's Match. Then there will be a best of three Tiebreak Match for the loser of the Winner's and the winner of the Loser's. I hope you can understand, try taking a glance at last season's group of 8 play to understand better.
--Group A--
B2 Nal_rA 0-1, 2-0 in Loser's, 2-0 in Tiebreak -> Semifinal
C2 JJu 1-0, 2-1 in Winner's -> Semifinal
Group A Game 1/2
Group A Game 1: JJu > YellOw[ArnC] @ Longinus; JJu->Winners, YellOw[ArnC]->Loser's
Group A Game 2: XellOs > Nal_rA @ Arcadia 2
XellOs->Winners, Nal_rA->Loser's
Group A Loser's (bo3) Set: Nal_rA vs YellOw[ArnC]
A Loser's Game 1: Nal_rA > YellOw[ArnC] @ Shin Peaks of Baekdu
A Loser's Game 2: Nal_rA > YellOw[ArnC] @ Longinus
Nal_rA -> A Tiebreak, YellOw[ArnC] -> Survivor.
Group A Winner's (bo3) Set: XellOs vs JJu
A Winner's Game 1: JJu > XellOs @ Blitz
A Winner's Game 2: XellOs > JJu @ Arcadia 2
A Winner's Game 3: JJu > XellOs @ Shin Peaks of Baekdu
JJu -> Semifinals, XellOs -> A Tiebreak
Group A Tiebreak (bo3) Set: Nal_rA vs XellOs
A Tiebreak Game 1: Nal_rA > XellOs @ Longinus
A Tiebreak Game 2: Nal_rA > XellOs @ Shin Peaks of Baekdu
Nal_rA -> Semifinals, XellOs -> Survivor
--Group B--
A2 IPX 1-0, 2-0 in Winner's -> Semifinal
B1 SiLvEr 0-1, 2-0 in Loser's, 2-0 in Tiebreak -> Semifinal
Group B Game 1/2
Group B Game 1: Kingdom > SiLvEr @ Arcadia 2
Kingdom -> Winner's, SiLvEr -> Loser's
Group B Game 2: IPX > DaezanG @ Shin Peaks of Baekdu
IPX -> Winner's, DaezanG -> Loser's
Group B Loser's (bo3) Set: SiLvEr vs DaezanG
B Loser's Game 1: SiLvEr > DaezanG @ Arcadia 2
B Loser's Game 2: SiLvEr > DaezanG @ Shin Peaks of Baekdu
SiLvEr -> B Tiebreak, DaezanG -> Survivor
Group B Winner's (bo3) Set: IPX vs Kingdom
B Winner's Game 1: IPX > Kingdom @ Longinus
B Winner's Game 2: IPX > Kingdom @ Blitz
IPX -> Semifinals, Kingdom -> B Tiebreak vs SiLvEr
Group B Tiebreak (bo3) Set: SiLvEr vs Kingdom
B Tiebreak Game 1: SiLvEr > Kingdom @ Blitz
B Tiebreak Game 2: SiLvEr > Kingdom @ Longinus
SiLvEr -> Semifinals, Kingdom -> Survivor
-Semifinals-
Those that advanced from their group get paired with someone from the opposite group. Top advancer from 8 Group A plays B Tiebreak advancer and 8 Group B top advancer plays the A Tiebreak advancer. The matches will be best of five with the winners of their respective semifinals playing each other for either the guts or the glory.
A1 JJu -> Loser's Final
B2 SiLvEr -> Final
B1 sAviOr
A2 Nal_rA
--Semifinal Match A (JJu vs SiLvEr)--
Game 1: SiLvEr > JJu @ Arcadia 2
Game 2: SiLvEr > JJu @ Blitz
Game 3: JJu > SiLvEr @ Shin Peaks of Baekdu
Game 4: SiLvEr > JJu @ Longinus
SiLvEr -> Final, JJu -> Loser's Final
--Semifinal Match B (sAviOr vs Nal_rA)--
Game 1: Nal_rA > sAviOr @ Shin Peaks of Baekdu
Game 2: sAviOr > Nal_rA @ Longinus
Game 3: sAviOr > Nal_rA @ Blitz
Game 4: sAviOr > Nal_rA @ Arcadia 2
sAviOr -> Final, Nal_rA -> Loser's Final
*****Grand Final*****
This is it folks. This is where 16 players turn into 2 fighting for the esteemed title of Pringles 2 MSL Champion. This will also be a best of five.
SiLvEr 1-3
sAviOr 3-1 -> Pringles 2 MSL Champion!
Final Game 1: sAviOr > SiLvEr @ Longinus
Final Game 2: SiLvEr > sAviOr @ Blitz
Final Game 3: sAviOr > SiLvEr @ Shin Peaks of Baekdu
Final Game 4: sAviOr > SiLvEr @ Arcadia 2
Enjoy
jkillashark
(I'm copying Mani because I want to be Manli like him. XP)
