Table of Contents
Round 4 Week 3 Preview
Lineups
TaeJa's Comeback
Again?
CJ's Sharp Fall
3rd to 7th
Bisu Check-up
#3
Player Spotlight
Light
Stats
Games of the week
Innovation vs TaeJa
Flash vs Soulkey
SK Planet Proleague table and results at Liquipedia
Round 4 W3 Preview
By: Wunder
As we pass the halfway mark on Proleague, surprises are still showing up, with Taeja making his triumphant return back into Proleague. We also reflect back on past two weeks of Proleague, as CJ takes a nosedive into seventh place. Then we'll give some recognition to a couple of players that may have been overshadowed by much stronger and explosive superstars. There are, of course, matches of the week, this time featuring the Liquid Terran and a rematch from the Thursday's group in WCS Korea.
Thanks to xpaperclip for formatting!
Round 4 Week 3 Matches
April 20
SK Telecome T1 vs EG-TL
PartinG < Neo Planet S > aLive
Brown < Whirlwind LE > TaeJa
soO < Bel'Shir Vestige LE > Jaedong
FanTaSy < Newkirk Redevelopment Precinct > Oz
Rain < Fighting Spirit > HerO
ParalyzE < Naro Station > JYP
Ace: Akilon Wastes
KeSPa 8th Team vs STX Soul
TRUE (Alone) < Neo Planet S > INnoVation (Bogus)
Cure (Speed) < Whirlwind LE > Trap
TY (BaBy) < Bel'Shir Vestige LE > Last
ALBM (check) < Newkirk Redevelopment Precinct > YoungJoo (Size)
Argo (Jaehoon) < Fighting Spirit > Mini
Terminator (Sang) < Naro Station > Dear
Ace: Akilon Wastes
PartinG < Neo Planet S > aLive
Brown < Whirlwind LE > TaeJa
soO < Bel'Shir Vestige LE > Jaedong
FanTaSy < Newkirk Redevelopment Precinct > Oz
Rain < Fighting Spirit > HerO
ParalyzE < Naro Station > JYP
Ace: Akilon Wastes
KeSPa 8th Team vs STX Soul
TRUE (Alone) < Neo Planet S > INnoVation (Bogus)
Cure (Speed) < Whirlwind LE > Trap
TY (BaBy) < Bel'Shir Vestige LE > Last
ALBM (check) < Newkirk Redevelopment Precinct > YoungJoo (Size)
Argo (Jaehoon) < Fighting Spirit > Mini
Terminator (Sang) < Naro Station > Dear
Ace: Akilon Wastes
April 21
Woongjin Stars vs Samsung KHAN
ZerO < Bel'Shir Vestige LE > hOpe
sOs (sHy) < Fighting Spirit > Stork
free < Akilon Wastes > JangBi
Soulkey < Whirlwind LE > Solar (Sola)
Flying < Naro Station > RorO
Light < Newkirk Redevelopment Precinct > Reality
Ace: Korhal Floating Island
KT Rolster vs CJ Entus
Zest (P7GAB,Wooki) < Bel'Shir Vestige LE > Bong
BarrackS < Fighting Spirit > herO
Crazy (Crazy-Hydra) < Akilon Wastes > EffOrt
Flash < Whirlwind LE > rare
Stats (Carno) < Naro Station > Bbyong
Cacia (Acacia) < Newkirk Redevelopment Precinct > Hydra
Ace: Korhal Floating Island
ZerO < Bel'Shir Vestige LE > hOpe
sOs (sHy) < Fighting Spirit > Stork
free < Akilon Wastes > JangBi
Soulkey < Whirlwind LE > Solar (Sola)
Flying < Naro Station > RorO
Light < Newkirk Redevelopment Precinct > Reality
Ace: Korhal Floating Island
KT Rolster vs CJ Entus
Zest (P7GAB,Wooki) < Bel'Shir Vestige LE > Bong
BarrackS < Fighting Spirit > herO
Crazy (Crazy-Hydra) < Akilon Wastes > EffOrt
Flash < Whirlwind LE > rare
Stats (Carno) < Naro Station > Bbyong
Cacia (Acacia) < Newkirk Redevelopment Precinct > Hydra
Ace: Korhal Floating Island
April 22
SK Telecom T1 vs KeSPa 8th Team
Brown < Naro Station > Argo (Jaehoon)
Rain < Korhal Floating Island > Cure (Speed)
Bisu < Whirlwind LE > ALBM (check)
soO < Neo Planet S > Terminator (Sang)
FanTaSy < Newkirk Redevelopment Precinct > TY (BaBy)
PartinG < Akilon Wastes > TRUE (Alone)
Ace: Fighting Spirit
STX Soul vs EG-TL
Mini < Fighting Spirit > JYP
INnoVation (Bogus) < Neo Planet S > TaeJa
hyvaa < Newkirk Redevelopment Precinct > aLive
Dear < Bel'Shir Vestige LE > HerO
Comet < Akilon Wastes > Oz
Trap < Korhal Floating Island > Jaedong
Ace: Naro Station
Brown < Naro Station > Argo (Jaehoon)
Rain < Korhal Floating Island > Cure (Speed)
Bisu < Whirlwind LE > ALBM (check)
soO < Neo Planet S > Terminator (Sang)
FanTaSy < Newkirk Redevelopment Precinct > TY (BaBy)
PartinG < Akilon Wastes > TRUE (Alone)
Ace: Fighting Spirit
STX Soul vs EG-TL
Mini < Fighting Spirit > JYP
INnoVation (Bogus) < Neo Planet S > TaeJa
hyvaa < Newkirk Redevelopment Precinct > aLive
Dear < Bel'Shir Vestige LE > HerO
Comet < Akilon Wastes > Oz
Trap < Korhal Floating Island > Jaedong
Ace: Naro Station
April 23
Woongjin Stars vs KT Rolster
sOs (sHy) < Fighting Spirit > Stats (Carno)
ZerO < Neo Planet S > Crazy (Crazy-Hydra)
Light < Newkirk Redevelopment Precinct > hitmaN
Soulkey < Bel'Shir Vestige LE > Flash
Flying < Akilon Wastes > Zest (P7GAB,Wooki)
BrAvO (hon_sin) < Korhal Floating Island > Motive
Ace: Naro Station
sOs (sHy) < Fighting Spirit > Stats (Carno)
ZerO < Neo Planet S > Crazy (Crazy-Hydra)
Light < Newkirk Redevelopment Precinct > hitmaN
Soulkey < Bel'Shir Vestige LE > Flash
Flying < Akilon Wastes > Zest (P7GAB,Wooki)
BrAvO (hon_sin) < Korhal Floating Island > Motive
Ace: Naro Station
TaeJa's Comeback
Just when many were beginning to suspect that EG-TL was slipping back into their old groove, the long lost Terran from Liquid finally showed up in the third week of the round, taking over Liquid`Zenio’s spot in the lineup. Absent for most of Proleague, Taeja has made sporadic appearances throughout the rounds, and although he made a good impression in round 1, defeating players like Innovation and Ty, his recent performances have not only been erratic, they’ve been disappointing. With his recent Code S performance behind him, and his Acer Teamstory Cup appearances, is Taeja back on form? Can we expect the Taeja we knew in 2012? Or will we see yet another poor performance?Well, in his first match of the week, he takes on Brown, a Protoss player who has gotten yet another chance to prove himself in front of his team. Though it would be a huge upset for Brown to take out Taeja in one of his first few games, it would also be a large indicator of how Taeja is currently doing if he actually does lose to the ex-SlayerS Protoss. A loss to Brown would not bode well for Taeja going into his next game, which is a rematch against Innovation. Though both players advanced into the Ro16, Innovation has not been plagued by wrist injuries recently, and has been destroying both GSL and Proleague alike, having not dropped a single game in this round so far. Taeja might be able to best a rookie Protoss trying to find his way relying on his talent alone, but Innovation will be a whole different beast, Taeja will have to be at his best to take out STX Soul’s anchor.
CJ's Sharp Fall
Last week was a poor week for CJ Entus fans, as their team lost both matches. This brought their solid position at third crumbling down, landing at seventh by the end of the week. CJ Entus is 0-4 this round, with EffOrt and Bbyong being the only two players with a positive win ratio. Hydra, herO, Skyhigh and Bong, are all negative, and while Bong and Skyhigh could have an excuse or two, herO and Hydra are are part of CJ’s core, and they have not been pulling their weight.Hydra is currently 0-4 this round, losing every single match thrown at him. His matches follow a predictable pattern with him able to keep up with his opponents but just barely falling short by the time. Out of all the KeSPa players, HotS seems to have affected him the most. Has he been significantly hit by the infestor nerfs? Is he finding drops a lot harder to deal with? It’s hard to say, but this week he’s playing against KT’s Cacia, someone we haven’t seen play at all during the entirety of this season. With losses to TRUE and Zenio in previous weeks, Hydra will have to win this game to prove that he isn’t just dead weight for his team.
herO has been faring a little bit better than his Zerg teammate, going 2-4 this round, but he’s lost both ace matches that he got put up for, both of them PvPs. Similarly to Hydra, this week herO is facing another one of KT’s lower-tier players, this time in the form of Barracks. Barracks has only played once this season, against CJ’s Songduri, in a match he lost. With both herO and Hydra getting easy picks this week, it will be a real test to whether these two star players of CJ will continue to be able to anchor their team.
Bisu check-up #3
As per our weekly preview, we check up once again on the Revolutionist, and see how his transition to Heart of the Swarm and slow rise back to stardom is faring. After a 2-0 win in the first week, Bisu was riding high on his comeback. (Though to be fair Bisu was facing two relatively weak players in Action and Turn.) So when he faced Classic, a player fast becoming Innovation’s right hand man in STX Soul, it wasn’t a huge surprise that Bisu took his first loss since his return.Unfortunately, this week Bisu is playing only once, being subbed out for Paralyze in the first match. Nevertheless, he is facing ALBM, the Team 8 Zerg who has been on the rise lately, qualifying for the Challenger League in WCS Korea and replacing Savage as Team 8’s second Zerg in the line-up. It is definitely a step up from his game against Action, and it will be somewhat of a pivotal moment for Bisu and his fans, as the outcome of this match could decide whether he will continue to be fielded, or be benched in the future.
Player Spotlight
by Wunder
There's always a lot of talk about Flash, Innovation, Rain, RorO, or Jaedong. But what about the little guys? What about the solid players who continually get overshadowed by the superstars? In this new feature, we seek to highlight some players that may or may not have gotten the recognition they deserve throughout the round. They have performed admirably and although they aren’t the best in their teams' respective rosters, they still deserve a bit in the spotlight.
Light
The first player to grace this feature, is none other than the Invisible Terran. 3-0 this round, with wins over HuK, Savage and Hydra, Light has been the invisible workhorse behind Woongjin Stars. While ZerO, sOs and free have all dropped a game or two, Light has been unyielding in his games. While his wins may not have been as spectacular as his compatriots, and though he may never be the Ace Terran player Stars needs, he’s the Terran player they deserve. With wins over Fantasy, Skyhigh and Hyvaa in the past, Light is a force to be reckoned with, and he is definitely not a weak link in Woongjin’s armor.
Stats
Being on KT Rolster is a tough prospect, and for Stats, it’s made worse by the fact that he has to share his spotlight with another Protoss in Zest. Having Flash overshadowing you and your accomplishments is one thing, but having another Protoss next to you doing just as well is just another rung on the ladder that you have to climb. But while Flash and Zest gathered praise for their all kills and streaks, Stats quietly started Proleague with a 7 game win streak, only losing in round 2.
The player formerly known as Chintoss has been somewhat of an anchor for the team in recent times, as Flash struggles with his 1-4 record this round, Stats has taken up the temporary mantle of ace, and has proven himself worthy, taking down Jaedong, aLive and Stork. This week, Stats faces his newest challengers, Bbyong from CJ and sOs from Woongjin Stars. While Bbyong is no aLive, the CJ Terran is still a dangerous player and can cause the infallible Stats to slip up. Meanwhile, sOs is a beast of a player, dominating Woongjin’s Protoss line-up and crushing through his Premier Division group.
Games of the Week
by Wunder
We have yet another great TvT lined up this week, courtesy of Taeja and Innovation. With STX Soul on the cusp of breaking through the bottom four, and EG-TL desperately in need of another win, the outcome of this match will be crucial in deciding who succeeds in their goal. With both players advancing through to the Ro16 in the WCS Korea Premier Division, it is hard to predict who has the upper hand in this fight.
On one hand, you have Taeja, who defeated Fantasy, a strong TvTer in his own right, and advanced first in the group. But on the other, you have Innovation, who has shown remarkable consistency in his time with Heart of the Swarm, and while he hasn’t displayed his TvT recently, he did beat Taeja in the last Wings of Liberty GSL a few months back. Nevertheless, this rematch is a must-watch, and a great match to welcome Taeja back into the fold of Proleague.
Speaking of rematches, we have yet another one for you this week, as Woongjin’s Soulkey takes on KT’s Flash in what is sure to be an explosive match. Having just seen them play in the latest group for WCS Korea, it will be interesting to see if Soulkey can use these next few days preparing a special strategy against the Ultimate Weapon. While the game on Star Station showed that Soulkey’s roach/hydra needed some fine tuning, the game on Whirlwind showcased both player’s fantastic mechanics and decision making. From Flash’s parade of marines and widow mines, to Soulkey’s adamant defense of his fourth, that game was an excellent display of two great players clashing constantly. Unfortunately for Soulkey, he lost the match, but he was still able to advance from his group.
With KT in the danger zone, Flash has to snap out of the funk that has been plaguing him in Proleague, and show the same level of skill he displayed in his Premier Division groups. While Woongjin have a lot of games to spare, it would be a personal victory for Soulkey to take revenge on Flash and show him that he can’t simply rally units across the map if he wants to win.