by Porcelina

Sometimes you experience a very somber atmosphere in life when it ends. As an outsider looking in, you never really know what the occasion will hold for the survivors, the friends and those left behind. SlayerS seemed a monolithic structure in a young world; stable, secure and reputable. Where other teams struggled with the bare minimums, they were prosperous. Where the competition consisted of unknowns and failed pro-gamers from a different era, SlayerS had BoxeR. Where other teams were gray and indistinguishable, their existence more a matter of fact than a reason to celebrate, SlayerS were vibrant, inviting and the kind of team foreigners loved to love.

Then it ended. Abruptly for many, unexpectedly for the casual observer and in great drama for everyone concerned. Dreams had unraveled, each individual strand turning into something else. New opportunities for the lucky few, a search amidst the great unknown for most and a nightmare for the ones caught in the center.

The GSTL match between SlayerS and MVP was the goodbye. It was a goodbye after a period of accusations, a time of strife. Those outside of Korea, with no inside knowledge of how the world of StarCraft II or perhaps StarCraft in general wondered what was on the minds of people there. It was watched with curious eyes. Would there be a cold reception? Would people even care? Would anyone show up, or would this be treated as another anonymous Saturday GSTL match?

As it turns out, this was an occasion for Mokdong to be filled. Likely, some wanted to say goodbye, some wanted to see the spectacle, some wanted to see BoxeR. But people came. And people cheered loudly. The crowd was animated for once, delighted for every small SlayerS triumph, groaning each time something went wrong. People wanted to cheer. They wanted to show that there was support and love; for SlayerS, for StarCraft and for BoxeR. It was almost a surreal experience to be watching the least relevant match in the GSTL become the most celebrated.

The Will of a King – The Rise of SlayerS

Coach Cella, who probably has had other things on his mind as of late rather than refining team strategies to take out MVP given his former b-team, sent out YugiOh first. Meanwhile, Killer, playing a new role as player coach of MVP, returned in kind with Noblesse. In many ways, this was a classic first round Code A encounter - both players somehow belong there. Yugioh of course has a long history of excelling in Code A while being somehow picked by team mates as a sacrificial lamb in Code S and most recently becoming the premier example of eSF players having mental breakdowns at the mere thought of approaching pachyderms. Noblesse on the other hand is more of the same, but not quite as illustrious or memorable.

Act 1. Noblesse.

When the King of Code A goes up against a representative of the Code A gray masses, it is reasonable to expect the king to win. A king has to lord over someone, and a rather ordinary member of his own kingdom is of course a good start. While Yugioh has looked like a very sorry version of himself recently, the game on Whirlwind gave some indication of a different side unveiling itself. While Noblesse played a decent early and midgame, spreading the SlayerS player thin with drops and hellions, he was never able to push his advantage into a very tangible way of winning. Yugioh was still able to tech up, first to infestors and then brood lords and was able to punish his MVP opponent for overstaying his brief welcome. Taking advantage of a bio force that could no longer be on the offensive, he turned the tide of the battle and went on the offensive with harassing lings and infestors. Facing brood lords controlling the middle and unable to hang on to workers at peripheral bases, Noblesse was losing ground by the minute and would ultimately type in the good game unable to come up with any reasonable answer to any of the questions asked by Yugioh.

Act 2. Vampire.

Welcome to Ohana, the poster child for soul trains. However, while some do have soul, others don’t and Vampire was made to look very pale indeed by Yugioh. Engaging the train in the middle, Yugioh first delayed the arrival before he decided to derail it completely. Setting up a fair amount of spines at home, he went straight for Vampire’s natural with roaches and lings. Vampire had walled off, but the damage output of Yugioh’s combined forces breached the sanctity of the natural. As Vampire was busy trying to counteract the damage done by attacking Yugioh’s bases, he missed the force field that would have saved his main base and capitulated shortly thereafter.

Act 3. Keen.

After beating a Code A regular and a Code S newcomer, the time had come for MVP to unleash a more familiar Code S face to take on the King. KeeN has shown a propensity for mass production of hellions and for aggressive early plays in general, things Yugioh has found it difficult to deal with in the past. However, as was the case with Vampire on the previous map, Keen let the Zerg into his base rather by accident. Walling off his natural with what turned out to be space for zerglings to walk in; Yugioh took full advantage of the offer and essentially ended the game there and then. Faced with a superior economy, a superior army and superior tech, he tried in vain to come back but soon realized that he was the third victim of Yugioh’s new found attitude and form.

An Empire Sniped – The Fall of SlayerS

Sniper was the third Code S player deployed by Killer to try to stop the King of Code A. While a new face, it has been apparent for a while that Sniper is DRG’s lieutenant and a possible heir. On Antiga, he looked superior to the SlayerS Zerg in every measurable way. Ling/bling wars went his way early on, developing a slight lead. He used that to launch a roach attack on his opponent who had taken a very risky third; essentially crippling Yugioh’s economy. He played out his advantage in a calculated and safe way, not skimping on neither economy, army nor tech and ended Yugioh’s streak and the spectator’s wish for an unlikely all-kill.

Intermission: SlayerS ‘Eve.

So this was to be the first time a woman had played a televised match in Gom’s circuit of StarCraft II competitions. A lot has been written about Eve, from her apparent lack of skill, via her resemblance to, and singing with Korean pop star IU, to her alleged status as a pure PR symbol. All those things aside, the fact is that she had never been a part of SlayerS competitively. She was clearly not in the best position to play, her main race apparently being Protoss but having to play Terran due SlayerS never having officially changed her registration (obviously, they never imagined they would have to play her). And she lost against a Sniper that has never scouted quite so meticulously for cheese before in his life in rather unspectacular fashion, as it turned out that a delayed four factory hellion attack off two base was not quite enough to overcome mutalisks. But the crowd roared, they cheered and applauded the symbolism of Eve playing. And when she had lost and looked distraught, the chants of ‘It’s OK!’ filled the studio.

End Intermission.

In short order came Arthur, miso and Brown. Sniper took out all three with relative ease, Brown coming the closest to posing any real threat. We got to see the players of SlayerS EGMCSLRCMonster team play in studio, see them play in front of a crowd who wanted them to hopefully win but at least look good in defeat. And it was clear that this was not a match SlayerS had any real intention of winning. This was to have the players who had somehow avoided the worst of the fallout and perhaps suffered the greatest from it have a chance to shine. It is easy to say that MMA has suffered a lot from what happened with SlayerS, especially during the tumultuous period leading up to the collapse. However, MMA can play show matches whenever he feels like it, he can get a team and he is free to carefully choose his career path. Arthur, Miso and Brown are not so lucky. They are the ones who might have promise, who might have futures and who will find it very difficult to find a new opportunity in a world where SlayerS no longer exists.

Some may be disappointed of being robbed of a last chance of seeing Genius against DRG. However, while Genius must feel like he has had some real rotten luck in his team switch, he looked his usual mischievous, cheerful and supportive self as the three b-teamers were sent out. As much as a lot has gone wrong with the team, a good and forward-thinking decision was made in letting their unsung heroes get a piece of the spotlight in the final hour.

MVP squared

Sniper is the only real contender for MVP. He became the third player in three consecutive matches to all-kill SlayerS, following in the footsteps of Gumiho from FXO and YongHwa from IM. He looked comfortable in every match, never really at a risk of losing. His play was that of a Code S regular playing against not-quite-Code S caliber players and relishing in the opportunity to outplay every single one.

For his efforts, he secures his team the opportunity to face Incredible Miracle in order to advance. While it may be worrying that three players in a row lost before Sniper stepped up, it is not certain how much can be learned from what unfolded. It was a special night, and Yugioh certainly delivered an atypical performance. Noblesse looked pretty much like most Terrans do on Whirlwind going up against similarly skilled Zergs. Then both Vampire and Keen made glaring mistakes that one has to assume they do not make very often in practice, and definitely do not make habitually in the GSL. While LG-IM’s roster certainly is powerful, it looks susceptible to Zerg. Monster, Sniper and DRG represent a trio well equipped to exploit any such weakness.

The End is the Beginning is the End

SlayerS started with one strong man. As it turned out, one strong man was not enough to carry the team forever.

As with team as with match; it was a spectacle to observe. It started off on a high note and it had its successes initially. Then it failed and petered out. But as the team and the match became one and the same at the very end of things, people were still smiling amidst the sadness of the occasion.