[TSL4] Semifinals Preview

KEEN LIFE

CREATOR STING

MVP_Keen < Daybreak > ST_Life
MVP_Keen < Cloud Kingdom > ST_Life
MVP_Keen < Metropolis > ST_Life
MVP_Keen < Ohana > ST_Life
MVP_Keen < Entombed Valley > ST_Life
MVP_Keen < Antiga Shipyard > ST_Life
MVP_Keen < Daybreak > ST_Life
The story of the TSL4 thus far has been strong, lesser-known Korean players ripping through the competition in matches that couldn’t really be called surprises, and while certainly not being unknowns, they haven’t quite been the biggest favorites coming in. Keen and Life represent those qualities to the fullest, and while they have performed fairly well in the Korean scene, they aren’t exactly the guys you’d come up with for a major tournament semifinal, especially considering the Korean Qualifier lineups. With Keen known to be a bit cheeky with his out of game antics and Life perhaps being a little cheekier on the battlefield, this match will feature an interesting blend of non-standard Koreans looking for a big win and a spot in the Finals. Despite both having met before with Keen coming out on top with a 3-1 victory in the final TSL4 qualifier, this will be the first high-stakes encounter for the two, with Life’s qualifier spot having already been secured.

Keen is certainly more of the veteran than Life, having been a fringe Code S player for over a year now. Despite having scored some surprise victories this year in the GSL, Keen hasn’t really ever shown gameplay that makes us say “wow, this guy is a step above everyone else”, and his interviews have somewhat reinforced that with his own opinion of himself not being too much different. By no means does this mean he’s a poor player or undeserving of the victories he’s had, but he hasn’t given us a whole lot of spark that makes us think he might bring another level of play to this match. Keen’s style has always been diverse and well-rounded, willing to go for macro plays, timing attacks, and early surprises alike. He has previously specifically expressed his willingness to bring out the tricks should he feel unconfident in a macro game, and it would be no surprise to see him mix it up quite a bit in what will surely be an interesting Bo7. Keen’s TSL4 run thus far has consisted entirely of foreigners, with two fairly narrow victories over rising Zergs VortiX and JonnyREcco. Despite both series going down to the wire, Keen displayed a fairly solid skill level, and it would hard to make a case for him being an undeserving winner in either series – he played solid and won in a variety of games, however, he did look vulnerable. He’ll likely have to step up his game a notch if he wants to take out his deadly opposition…

ST_Life. A rising young Korean Zerg that is not a complete newcomer, we still have the feeling that there’s a possibility Life could be something more than he’s been – a team league killer who can take down the big names and sweep up those of a lower caliber, but not someone who can put it all together for a nice tournament run. TSL4 could be that tournament for him, but it’s hard to say a 3rd or 4th place finish would really be enough to prove anything more to us, and it’s really going to come down to his performances from this point forwards to say if we can start comparing him to high Code S players. His gameplay thus far has been stellar, but not something to write home about, with nailbiters against elfi and Curious sandwiching a shellacking of Kas. His first two series weren’t exactly the best indicators of his skill or potential, as his games versus elfi were rather odd and Kas just seemed to roll over against the tough Korean competition. His games against Curious were relatively impressive, he certainly didn’t play bad, and Curious is a consistent Code S level Zerg that we can benchmark against, but it’s still ZvZ. That being said, Life’s GSTL and online performances have shown a level of Zerg play that is not something to be overlooked. He’s one of those guys that you can say is really skilled, and imagine he’s a terror to practice partners and ladder opponents as he prepares himself for future matches. A trip to the finals would certainly be an excellent opportunity both for Life as the StarCraft professional and Lee Seunghyun as the 15 year old Korean, and he won’t be letting this pass by quickly.

The match could go in all sorts of directions, with both Life and Keen showing no hesitation in mixing it up. Life does have plenty to study of Keen’s games from the TSL and even GSL, while Life perhaps is a little more of a wild card. However, with the state of Korean TvZ being in a little bit of chaos right now with players trying to reinvent themselves a bit, it’s hard to say exactly what kind of shape these players will be in on match day. Keen’s performances haven’t quite yet been enough to convince me he can bring it to a level from barely beating up and coming foreigners to taking down top Korean Zergs, while Life hasn’t given me a reason to doubt his performance against any level of Terran save the absolute best. I would take Life as the favorite here, but the match will certainly be action-packed, diverse, and could be anyone’s game.




CreatorPrime < Metropolis > Sting
CreatorPrime < Daybreak > Sting
CreatorPrime < Cloud Kingdom > Sting
CreatorPrime < Antiga Shipyard > Sting
CreatorPrime < Ohana > Sting
CreatorPrime < Entombed Valley > Sting
CreatorPrime < Metropolis > Sting
What happens when one of the most strategic players who crafts his game to every opponent goes up against one of the most rock solid players in existence, who rarely ever changes up his play? This Starcraft version of 'unstoppable force vs immovable object' is exactly what Sting vs Creator is. In one corner you have a player who extensively researches and meticulously prepares for each set, and in the other you have a player who is renown for doing the same thing every game with incredible precision.

Last week Creator took out WCS: Korea after demolishing Protoss after Protoss in the final few rounds. In doing so he's put himself on the map as one of the very best Protoss players in the world, and has become the favorite for this match. For fans of Creator, his WCS victory was a long awaited validation of the skills they knew he had. Despite previously only being a "Code A Protoss", Creator has made significant contributions to the PvT metagame in the form of his safe double forge build. Variations on this build remain the staple PvT build of choice by many top level progamers, such is the significance of this build.

Creator is well know for perfecting builds and playing the same build repeatedly, even in tournaments like the GSL. Some people have interpreted this as a kind of weakness, suggesting the he is not a flexible player and his predictability means he can easily be taken advantage of. But in practice, this isn't the case. Creator thorough practice with the small selection of builds that he does do has allowed him to know the correct response to whatever situation arises. Hence he can react to what his opponent correctly, accurately and in a polished manner. Currently Creator is 10-0 in the TSL and has just won a major tournament; clearly his approach to the game is (finally) paying dividends.

Sting couldn't be any further from this as a player. Every match we've seen from him in the TSL has had him playing games tailored towards his opponents style. Take his series against First, for instance. Even in the Banshee/Thor game on Daybreak, which First won, Stings reasoning behind using the build illustrated his reliance on preparation;
Sting is prepared to use whatever build gives him the highest chance of a victory - even if it seems counter intuitive to some (like doing a 1-1-1 in today's metagame).

While Creator's approach to the game makes him a well rounded player at the price of being predictable, Sting's approach to the game gives him the ability to beat anyone in the world given time at the price of being too reliant on his preparation. When Sting's opponents play as he expects, there is nothing they can do to defeat him. As long as Sting executes the build right (which he does) there should be nothing that can be done to stop him. However, when his opponents deviate from what Sting had planned for he often makes bad decisions and can wind up losing the game (like the Thor/Banshee game referenced earlier).

While Creator is the favorite coming into this, Sting actually is in an excellent position to take the series. If Creator does not change up his style then you can expect Sting to take advantage of this and assuming he doesn't mess up, he could cause another upset. Creator needs to recognize early on that Sting is playing to his style, and needs to change things up. If he does that, then I'm confident he will be able to take the series without problems. In any case, it's going to be an interesting semifinal - one which will shed insight into the never ending battle between immovable objects and unstoppable forces.

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