Strategist Open Recap -Complexity,TSL,Dignitas,FXO

StarCraft 2 has had a number of shows dedicated to the community and strategy surrounding the game in the two years since its release. Recently, a new show began to broadcast, The Strategist. With its focus on teaching builds; from the basics of the build order, to the transitions and adjustments through scouting, it’s the perfect show for anyone wanting a true strategy-oriented experience. To celebrate their first few episodes, The Strategist recently hosted a tournament for the community, and what a tournament it was! Featuring a number of top level pro players, rising stars, and incredible games, The Strategist Open was truly an awesome experience.

While the prize pool might not have rivaled that of the GSL, that doesn’t mean that it didn’t attract some big names to the tournament. Seventy-five players entered into the tournament, including some big stars. Some of the biggest names were a trio of compLexity players, namely Kevin “QXC” Riley, Michael "Goswser" Dobler, and Joshua "TriMaster" Niven. Each of these players is a seasoned tournament veteran, with a number of MLG appearances under their belts, and even a GSTL all-kill for QXC. There were a few other big name foreigners too, as It’s GoSu’s Caleb "STX" Richards, Dignitas’s Jesper "Bischu" Johansson, and Team Dynamic’s Andrew "Attero" Golec all made tournament appearances. But the biggest competitors of all came straight across the Pacific from Korea. Both FXO’s Lee "asd" Dae Jin and TSL’s Ko "HyuN" Seok Hyun both took the field in the Strategist Open. ASD has a history of greatness, once making it into the second round of the GSL Code S, while HyuN is performing incredibly right now, having just beaten Zenio and Sniper in Code A, and coming one map short of a Code S berth against Genius. Since this tournament was single elimination, those seventy-five players had absolutely zero room for error. With a grand prize of $150, that one error could end up being very costly.

The big name players started off the tournament about as well as could be expected. Some players had a bye in the Ro128, but those who didn’t made it through fine anyway. The same held true for the Ro64 as well. But when the Ro32 came around, things started to get a little crazy. OpTiKcoyote took on fan favorite QXC and upset the compLexity Terran in the first game. The Bandana Terran came back in game two, but with the series on the line coyote pulled out a win in game three to knock the man who defeated Incredible Miracle out of the tournament.

The round of sixteen arrived, and the tournament had changed its tone. Anyone could fall. No one was safe. There were two big matchups this round. The first was between compLexity’s Goswser and Dignitas’s Bischu. The American and the Swede split the first two games, but Goswser pulled through in the end. The second featured TriMaster, who was ready to avenge his fallen comrade against coyote. It was quick, and it was clean. TriMaster rose victorious, and the pretender had fallen after two games.

The weak had finally been brushed aside, but the strong had not yet revealed who was the strongest. The Quarterfinals began as the remaining big name players all began to go head to head. HyuN took on STX, Attero fought against TriMaster, and Goswser battled with asd. HyuN and Attero disposed of their opponents quickly, but Goswser traded maps with asd before upsetting the Korean powerhouse 2-1. As the semifinals began, HyuN faced off against EroSennin, an unknown player who had played through a bracket of unknowns for a chance against one of Korea’s finest. Unfortunately for EroSennin, his luck had run out, and HyuN advanced to the finals. On the other side of the bracket, Goswser took on Attero, and dispatched him handily to keep his incredible run alive. Attero was able to take third place, but that was all he walked away with.

TSL.HyuN vs coL.Goswser. Two outstanding players, one final series. Game one opened up on Daybreak, and HyuN shocked everyone with a ten pool. He brought a fair number of his drones along with him, and with a little bit of BM, easily crushed Goswser’s hatch first build. Game two was on Shakuras Plateau, and Goswser tried to push with a large amount of zerglings and roaches, but with four spine crawlers backing them up, HyuN’s speedlings melted the army. HyuN countered against a completely defenseless Goswser to go up 2-0. Game 3 was on MLG Metropolis, and HyuN ten-pooled again. While he didn’t die outright, he was set back by failing to cancel his hatch. To catch up, Goswser got an absurdly fast lair, and goes for a fast infestor tech. But that fast tech was all for naught when HyuN simply out-massed him with a 40 supply lead. HyuN’s roaches swarmed into Goswser’s base as he marched to victory.

HyuN’s incredible play let him win the Strategist Open, but it was a group of amazing sponsors that let The Strategist put on the tournament in the first place. Much appreciation goes out to z33k.com, amove.tv, Shifting Gears, The Year in Starcraft 2011, Girls of Starcraft, Team Madness, Iowa Gamers Online, and Anomie. Without these fantastic sponsors, this tournament could not have happened. Be sure to tune into the Strategist every Sunday at 10 PM EST, at Twitch.tv/AmoveTV and stay tuned for news about future tournaments!

Tournament VODS

Links:
More Detailed Tournament Information
The Strategist Show - Including Episodes
Tournament Bracket

Last edit: 2012-08-22 06:34:57

Practice Hard, Win Easy

KingOctavious United States. August 22 2012 06:59. Posts 324

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Wow, seems like an awesome turnout!

Check out my book, The Year in StarCraft II: 2011, http://yearinsc2.com/ :D:D

Shadowfax Denmark. August 22 2012 08:57. Posts 43

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Awesome cant wait to check out the vods!

Follow me on Twitter @ShadowfaxSC. I have some cool stuff in the pipe works and be one of the first to find out!

igoDrMacro August 23 2012 05:58. Posts 2

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Great job with the tournament, can't wait for the next one!

thestrategisttv United States. August 23 2012 06:56. Posts 9

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The Strategist Open Tournament will be Rebroadcast tonight at 5:30PM Eastern. (8/22) Make sure to check out some of your favorite pro players over at http://www.twitch.tv/octaneproscii

Some of the teams in The Strategist Open Tournament:
Complexity
Dignitas
FXO
TSL
Light
And Many More!

Once again checkout the rebroadcast over at http://www.twitch.tv/octaneproscii

Practice Hard, Win Easy

Octanepro United States. August 24 2012 06:27. Posts 416

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Great job by our writers for putting this recap together. We hope to bring the TL Community another sponsored open tournament in the next few months!

Thanks TL for your great support.

Daily Terran Streaming - http://www.twitch.tv/octaneproscii

Zennith United States. August 24 2012 06:54. Posts 781

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Good stuff, but I have to say, calling Coyote a "Pretender" seems a bit harsh and unwarranted, especially since he did take out qxc. I don't even know Coyote, but I know I wouldn't be too happy with that.

Sentinel Gaming Competitive Team Manager | 1500+ points Masters Zerg | twitch.tv/zennith6

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