This week, we lead with Boxer vs Yellow. Why? Because it's Boxer vs Yellow.The last time he met a Zerg in Proleague, The Emperor nuked him into submission. Of course, King Hong is not just any old Zerg, and Boxer knows it. While this isn't EVER 04, we wouldn't be surprised with a bunker rush, and with the taste of defeat at the hand of Yellow's Allstars ensemble fresh in his mouth, Lim Yo Hwan may just pull out the big guns for this. Either way, this is going to be an epic game on an aptly named Tornado. For those of you who are *cough* unaware of the greatest rivalry in Broodwar, we bring you a snippet from a News post by Last Romantic, one of the most rabid KTF/YellOw fans on TL.

On July 09 2009 13:29 Last Romantic wrote:
The Lim-Jin Rok should need no introduction. This rivalry defines progaming. 33-28 Emperor leads; Kong’s weakness in StarLeague finals is compensated by his special event strength. Coca Cola OSL to MBC King of Kings, KPGA Tour to EVER OSL, WCG to Superfight to Kespa All-Stars these two are the greatest, most popular, and most influential progamers of all time.

One-time teammates, long-time friends, eternal rivals. One, the champion, perfect in word and deed. The other, a tragic hero, consistent in his inconsistency. We know Him as the legend with an entire pronoun dedicated to His exclusive use. His bionic control and innovative plays onstage and industry development backstage are without peer. On the other hand, YellOw is shortchanged, his GhemTV StarLeague win all but forgotten. But there was a time when he was at the eye of the storm, where every zerg unit was a manifestation of his aggressive will.

YellOw is BoxeR seen darkly in a mirror. Both rose through IS, pioneers of a new gaming career, subsisting on a single bowl of ramen daily. They dueled league after league, sharing Kespa #1 and #2 for longer than any other progamers. EVER ’04 was a break in their idyllic rival relationship. BoxeR followed a triple bunker rush against his friend with another island-map bunker rush in the following OSL. The vengeful storm dropped a game against DoGGi, eliminating BoxeR from the league.

Don't get us wrong, there are other great games in store for you as well. We're starting with this though because it's going to easily be the most watched game of the week. Before we get into the details though, let's take a look at the recent history of Proleague.

Last week we ground to a halt as our favourite league entered a week long lull, allowing the teams some reprieve from its gruelling schedule, while the tortured fans impatiently awaited the coming week of play from rejuvenated players. Thankfully, our attention was successfully sustained by events offshore, including the recently concluded WCG in Chengdu, in which the Korean team, unsurprisingly, departed with all 3 medals in a performance that almost rivalled 2004's.

This week, we return to the real stuff. As proleague resumes and enters the 6th week of R1, most of the games may have already been played, but the conclusion has been all but decided. With a match tally of 6-1, KT Rolster currently sits firmly at the top of the leaderboard, thanks, in most part, to the duo of Flash and Luxury winning the majority of their games. However, with 4 matches left to play, the #1 spot is by no means out of reach for the other teams. While KT, Flash, and to a lesser extent, Luxury, seem unstoppable at the moment, they can certainly solidify their position with a couple more wins next week.

Closely behind KT is WeMade FOX, the dark horse of R1, surprising everyone by going 6-2 despite a lineup that barely features any big names - in fact, looking at who they've fielded makes you wonder how they're even winning games. The whole team seems to consist of either players who had some notable achievements in the past but haven't performed recently like Mind and Midas, or young upstarts that have never really showed any results (Baby, Pure, Roro and Shine should come to mind). In spite of this, WeMade FOX is in second place, and are in a position to possibly even overthrow the current leaders to take #1. Tough matches against the giants, KT and SKT, lie in the coming week, but if this underdog can once again display some of the finesse that has brought them so far, victory will not be a mere fantasy.

Rounding up the top 3 is STX Soul, the team that came out of nowhere last season to establish itself as a powerhouse. Their performance in R1 has been somewhat lacklustre and inconsistent at times, but they've won games where it mattered to bring themselves to a 5-2 score at the end of week 5. The road ahead for them is similarly fraught with obstacles in the form of MBC, KT and SKT, and we look forward to see how they will perform in the face of adversity.

Now, taking a look at the other side of the leaderboard, we have Khan languishing in last place with a laughable 1-7 score, rivaled only by Air Force ACE, a team that everyone dismissed as punching bags. Conspiracy theories about January's marriage and Khan's performance aside, it has been really disappointing to see Khan's fall from grace. Jangbi and Firebathero have both not been pulling their weight, and Stork alone has not been able to carry the team. Surprisingly, on the occasions when Khan has actually made it to the ace match, Stork was not sent out, leading to what could've been potentially avoidable losses for the fledging team.

Please sir, may I have some more?

The strange ace player selections have also found themselves manifested in another team - Hwaseung Oz. Whatever happened to this team? This mystery is something many fans are trying to figure out, as the second place finisher last season finds itself wallowing in 3rd last with a score of 3-6 in R1. Coach Cho's repeated stubborness in refusing to send Jaedong out for the ace match has cost them numerous games, with Killer failing to live up to expectations. Jaedong himself has not been playing as invincibly as last season, the weight of carrying his team probably taking its toll on the zerg player. With just 2 matches left to be played, Oz is going to be hanging around the bottom, but hopefully they can redeem themselves with some wins going into round 2.

Looking forward to next week, we expect that having gone a week without your daily progaming gruel, you'll be starving for some games, and it seems like all the stops have been pulled. Week 6 looks fantastic. Living up to Week 5 isn't going to be an easy task. Week 5 brought us a bucketload of fantastic games and one of the most electric Proleague Match-ups in a long, long, long time. Go watch KT Rolster versus SKT Telecom T1 right now and don't come back until you do.

With that being said, here are the games you better stay up to watch this week!

Bisu versus Mind on Tornado

Mind has always been known for his TvP. In fact it was his TvP that won him an MSL championship against Bisu in the past. While both players appear to be losing just a bit of their form recently, this is their chance to show just how skilled they are.

XellOs versus Luxury on Outsider SE

Luxury has been playing really well in Proleague recently, while XellOs hasn't been seen much on the Airforce line-up. XellOs is still one of the most beloved progamers on TeamLiquid. Ace matches haven't often been about the daunting skill of the ace players and this is no different. While Luxury will probably take this, a XellOs comeback would be something to talk about for days to come and on a map as dynamic and entertaining as Outsider SE, who knows what's gonna happen here?

Stork versus Kal on Outsider SE

PvP isn't a particularly popular match-up, this is undeniable. However, Stork and Kal are two of the most creative and skilled Protosses of the modern era. Stork is in better form but both players are renowned for creative builds and entertaining play. This is probably going to be one of the better PvP's this round and is well worth staying up for.

Leta versus Sea on Moon Glaive

Oh look it's another TvT on Moon Glaive with high caliber players. Sea is TeamLiquid's golden boy and damn has he been playing some nice StarCraft lately. Leta is inconsistent these days but isn't bad by any means. Solid game, good team matchup, worth a watch.

EffOrt versus free on Match Point

Brilliant ZvP versus stunning PvZ on a great map. This is gonna be a fun game, in fact CJ Entus versus Woongjin is looking to be an excellent general match. Check for this in the Small VODs thread, or better yet, watch it live. If both players play in top form, this is going to be one hell of a StarCraft game.

Lim Yo Hwan versus Hong Jin Ho on Tornado

There is nothing that can be said. If you don't watch this game, you don't deserve to call yourself a broodwar fan. This is THE all-time rivalry. This defines oldschool. This isn't just a game between progamers, it's a war between legends. Be there.

An emperor encounters the fury of a storm...

We start with LIM-JIN ROK and we end with LIM-JIN ROK! Tuesday is going to be awesome, and we hope you'll be there with us to share the moment live. If you're like us and this week long break did you more harm than good, then rest assured that Proleague is back and back with the good stuff. So, here's to a week of spectacular games, and we'll see you next week as usual for more of the best from Korea. Good night, and good games!

This Proleague update was brought to you by Team Liquid's PL 2009-10 coverage team - riptide, heyoka and pangshai. Thanks to keit as usual for the stellar graphics and DoctorHelvetica for Week 6 previews!

Last edit: 2009-12-03 00:14:13

#1 midas fan

FortuneSyn Cook Islands. November 21 2009 04:29. Posts 1682