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 Plexa Administrator February 10 2008 23:35. | Profile Blog # |
Cover image by Pachi
The Road Ends Here
by Plexa
TeamLiquid: Final Edits
Ten months ago, 12 teams set off on a journey to find glory, victory and cash. After 16 weeks of solid competition Samsung Khan staked their claim to the first seat in the Grand Finals. After a further 16 weeks of bloodshed Lecaf Oz took the second seat. In under a week, the two titans of Proleague will do battle; the winner will be remembered in the history books for years to come, the loser will be forgotten.
Change is a word which captures the essence of the first Shinhan Proleague. After two years of joint Proleague held by MBC and OGN, KeSPA and IEG assumed control of the event shaking the scene to the very core. The inner workings of the league had changed. Air Force ACE was introduced to the league changing the number of teams from 11 to 12. The maps were more questionable than ever, some being severely imbalanced or downright ridiculous (hi DMZ). SKT1 lost their dominance, giving rise to two teams that had not seen major success in a long time.
Many things have changed, but we’re looking at one of the best finals in Proleague history.
The two Grand Finals teams boast the two best players in the world, something which hasn’t happened since the joint Proleague started. Both Jaedong and Stork made a name for themselves in Proleague before they rose to success, both having received MVP awards for various seasons.
Traditionally, the team with the greatest depth wins the grand finals, so Jaedong and Stork’s support crew are going to be more important than ever.
Khan is a team raised by January, the only woman coach in progaming. The impact of January on the team is undeniable. She cares for Samsung as a mother does to her children. Her affection for her team shines through in interviews – ‘My boys are so nice, polite and cute.’ Her parental bond with the team has developed a strong, tightly knit team chemistry to go along with wall to wall talent.
Stork’s impressive showing in the first round of Proleague paved the way for Khan’s success. He went 16-4 against a field of strong players, a winrate of 80%. Stork lead the team by example, and the rest of the team quickly followed in his footsteps. Khan’s convincing 4-0 of Lecaf in the finals of Round 1 proved that they were now the dominant force in Proleague. But obviously, Stork and January can’t win this alone.
FireBatHero is Stork’s right hand man. In Round 1 he had an impressive 11-2 record and has posted good results all year. He may be the most hated progamer in existence right now, but you can’t argue with results. Love him or hate him, he consistently puts on an excellent [read: bizarre] show with his ceremonies.
Across the two teams, FireBatHero is the most experienced and consistent Terran. Thus he is a strong favourite against any Terran player Lecaf can send. But on top of that he is Khan’s best bet at matching Jaedong in a straight up game. No matter how much you resent him, his TvZ is impressive. FireBatHero is on the up, and this will be the biggest game of his life, with a distinct lack of good Terran maps he very well could be the Jaedong sniper.
Sigamari is the other key to Khans success. While his results the past season haven’t been the best, he is responsible for the co-ordination of the teamplay sets. Prior to Sigamari’s reign at the top of the 2v2 ladder, the teamplay set was often disregarded by teams as insignificant. Sigamari changed that and showed the world that 2v2 was critical to victory.
While the regular season’s teamplay sets are important, the Grand Final teamplay sets are absolutely critical. The 6th set determines whether an Ace match will be held or not and carries an immense responsibility for the team members. With Sigamari at the forefront of Khan’s 2v2 effort, he has ensured Khan impressive results in 2005 Round 2 and 2007 Round 1. With Chariots of Fire in the 6th set position, Sigamari’s best map for 2007, Sigamari should play a vital role in the team.
As Sigamari faded in Round 2, Jihyun and Cuteboy stepped up to the plate and joined Stork in representing Khan. The two are hopeless at 1v1, but together they mesh into a teamplay powerhouse, accumulating an impressive 9 win, 2 loss record in Round 2. Of the all the 2v2 combinations between the two teams, the Jihyun/Cuteboy team is the most successful. No doubt they will be sent in the 3rd set on Hwangsanbul.
The backup 1v1 crew comprises of a mixed bag of treats. On one hand we have JJu, the Straight Zerg, who at his peak reached #3 on KeSPA, and on the other we have Freedom, the Warcraft 3 convert. These players will try to smooth over the rest of the games and possibly scrape a point to support Stork, FBH and the 2v2 teams. Nerves could be quite a big factor for these guys. Jangbi, as we all know, performs very badly under immense pressure, and Odin has never experienced it before.
Image by KizZBG and Pachi
One theme that emerges strongly from Kahn is their unity as a pseudo-family. They consistently post excellent team play results and their team atmosphere is unmatched. Each player in the team fits into the family nicely, whether it is the guidance of the old master Sigamari, the fresh explosion of Stork as the next generation, or January’s mothering of the team. They are a family unit, and stand united as a single entity every Saturday. They are the Brady Bunch, on show and ready to make the final leap to glory.
Plus were the punching bags of the Proleauge a few years ago. With the rise of Anytime in 2005, they gained more of a reputation. Jaedong’s Proleague rampage in 2006 further earned them credit. In 2007 they rose to become one of the most feared teams in progaming. Ultimately, Jaedong and Anytime are responsible for this impressive feat. This season, Anytime ravaged the Proleague while Jaedong slaughtered Terran, Zerg and Protoss alike in the individual leagues.
When a struggling e-Sports team becomes one of the greatest teams of present day you have to wonder how it happened.
Coach Cho (not to be confused with CJ’s Coach Cho) has built this team on rock solid foundations. He has endured some of the hardest times a coach can face in Proleauge but has built two great champions in Anytime and Jaedong. The bond he has with each of his players is strong – especially his bond with Anytime. Together they changed the face of Plus from a D- grade team to something worth talking about.
Since 2005, Lecaf have been working solely towards one goal – victory. Underlying all their hardship is the virtue of dedication. There is no team more dedicated to taking this title than Lecaf. Never content with second place, Coach Cho has worked tirelessly this season to ensure his aces are in pristine condition every time they are sent out. Jaedong in particular has been extremely busy these past three months and it takes an incredible coach to keep him fresh and lethal even after he won an OSL.
Like Khan, Lecaf also have a unique bond with their coach. Coach Cho is the only coach who is engaged to be married. After saying in 2006 that if Lecaf won the championship he would propose (Lecaf then failed against Hero) he stayed true to his word in 2008 when Lecaf finally did win the league. After defeating CJ, he proposed. With the spirits in Lecaf being higher than ever, they are set to move forward to victory.
Jaedong can only clinch the series in the Ace match – Lecaf must win 3 matches to get there first. Thus, Jaedong will be relying on his team to get the job done. Anytime is without a doubt the Proleague Superman for Lecaf. He was awarded MVP for Round 2 and is an infernal demon slaying ninja. He strikes with lethal precision and should be feared by Khan.
Across the two teams he is easily the third best player, making him a strong contender in the Grand Finals. Khan lacks a strong anti-Protoss outside of Stork and will struggle to field anyone to stop him. There is no player (except for Stork) that has a chance at taking him down in a straight up game.
Aside from the two powerhouses, their lineup looks more like swiss cheese. ForGG completed the Anytime/Jaedong chimera that tore through Round 1, but as he continued into Round 2 he started to lose it. That being said there is no reason he couldn’t be played in the finals; he is still a weapon. He preformed a nice Spark Terran-esque build which took down the ZvT specialist Kwanro, clinching the series for Lecaf by giving them at worst an Ace match. Thus, we could see ForGG acting as a sniper in the Grand Finals; he certainly has the potential.
Hiya filled in for ForGG this season, going 7-1 (only losing to Boxer) and crushing names like Darkelf, Bisu and Flash. He failed in his sniping duties on Baekmagoji against CJ – losing to Much in a terrible display. But he is certainly capable of pulling something out on these maps, hopefully a standard game win. He is solid in all three matchups and is no push over by any means.
The tail of Lecaf consists of Shinhwa, Lomo, Dongrae, and Backho. None of these players are really anything special. Shinhwa hasn’t been on his game since 2006, but is always there if Lecaf need a sniping option. Lomo and Dongrae are easily superceded by ForGG and Hiya. The friendly Backho really adds nothing to the team when you have the God of Death walking around with his scythe sharpened (FBH im looking at you).
While these guys add nothing to the 1v1 lineup, Shinhwa/Lomo have emerged as the preferred 2v2 team for Lecaf. While they are nothing special, they know how to get the job done when it matters. Against CJ, they clinched the series 4-2 in the second teamplay set. The other 2v2 map, Chariots of Fire, demands a Protoss – so perhaps little Backho will get an opportunity to shine after all.
Lecaf is here to win a championship. They have struggled through adversity and hardship and fought through countless obstacles and setbacks. And now, finally, they have reached the peak of the mountain. There is no team more dedicated to winning than Lecaf, and their hopes and dreams rest squarely on the shoulders of Jaedong and Anytime to carry them through this last hurdle. They say good things take time – Lecaf’s success took an eternity. It’s about time they kicked some ass.
There is a large part of the Grand Finals which will take place off stage. This is the tension that is building between Lecaf and Khan. The two have had a non-existent relationship at best. Khan and Lecaf have never really gotten along. In the All-Star Coaches 2v2, Kahn and Soul were pitted against Lecaf and eSTRO showcasing the rivalries between the teams.
Things may have been relatively placid in 2007, but things heated up after the MSL Preliminaries. Bright, one of Lecafs next generation Zerg players, double 5 pooled Stork. Stork lost the first set, defended the second set 5 pool successfully, but lost to a timing hydra rush in the third set. January was enraged and demanded blood. In the PSL she told reporters that she was tempted to order her own players to cheese rush any Lecaf players they came across.
With the impending Grand Final, this extra spice into the cooking pot adds to an already exciting finals matchup. Both teams have the best players in current competition. Both teams are fighting for their pride against one another. Both teams want revenge; Khan after the MSL prelims fiasco and Lecaf for their 0-4 defeat in the Round 1. With an evenly divided skill distribution and two similar yet vastly different coaching styles, anything could happen.
With everything on the line, the final on Saturday will be one that will be remembered for years to come. Clear your day, unplug the phones, call up your friends and neighbors, hit up either the Daum or Gom stream, grab the chips, dip and beer and get ready for one hell of a night.Last edit: 2008-02-11 02:16:08 |
| | ~ Spirit will set you free ~ | |
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| LegendaryDreams Canada. February 11 2008 01:50. Posts 1324 | Profile Blog # |
Excellent post. Will be looking forward to watching the finals next week.  |
| | http://www.twitch.tv/legendarydreams/videos |
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 jkillashark United States. February 11 2008 01:51. Posts 5245 | Profile Blog # |
| This is so awesome. Plexa I'm so happy that you are writing for TL:FE. This is good stuff. |
| | Do your best, God will do the rest. 고린도전서 10:31. |
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 Daigomi South Africa. February 11 2008 01:56. Posts 4302 | Profile Blog # |
Brilliant Plexa. This is really a perfect summary of what's going down in the grand finals. I'm rooting for Lecaf, although I wouldn't mind a Samsung victory. All in all, it should be an interesting match.
On a side note, I didn't realise it was Bright who pulled the double five pool against Stork. Gogo Bright! I like Stork, but I feel that the five pool is under utillised in progaming, and love to see all instances of it, especially in such important matches.
Only one slight problem I have: "Across the two teams he is easily the third best." makes it sound like he's not good enough, especially since you mention two teams. Perhaps saying "he is easily the third best player" or something similar will clear up the slight ambiguity.
Very nice writeup. |
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| Plexa Administrator February 11 2008 02:00. | Profile Blog # |
| in case anyone is wondering, im guessing 4-3 to Lecaf with stork and his 2v2 buddies winning for Khan |
| | ~ Spirit will set you free ~ | |
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| OctoPuSs Canada. February 11 2008 02:00. Posts 5273 | Profile Blog # |
Nice read Plexa!
I think you should talk about Frozean a bit in your article, he is very likely to be used by Samsung. |
| | Depression is just a sarcastic state of mind. Liquid`HerO Fighting! |
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| Plexa Administrator February 11 2008 02:06. | Profile Blog # | |
| | ~ Spirit will set you free ~ | |
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 NeverGG  United Kingdom. February 11 2008 02:09. Posts 5368 | Profile Blog # |
| Excellent article. I'll be covering this as my first live report for NeverGG (focusing on Khan naturally.) It looks set to be a very interesting series of matches. Oh and that manip of the Khan team using the Super Junior movie poster never ceases to amuse ^_^; |
| | 우리 행운의 모양은 여러개지만 행복의 모양은 하나 |
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| ZidaneTribal United States. February 11 2008 02:13. Posts 2631 | Profile # |
hopefully stork gets matched up vs anytime that would be fun to watch 
if i was stork i'd teepee lecaf's building or somethingLast edit: 2008-02-11 02:14:55 |
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| Titusmaster6 United States. February 11 2008 02:17. Posts 3354 | Profile Blog # |
| Sweet post, way to hype me up. I am really hoping for FBH vs. Jaedong. |
| | Shorts down shorts up, BOOM, just like that. |
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| trollbone France. February 11 2008 02:17. Posts 1440 | Profile Blog # | |
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| fusionsdf Canada. February 11 2008 03:47. Posts 15354 | Profile Blog # |
| I still think its funny that the two deepest teams didnt make it to this stage. |
| | SKT_Best: "I actually chose Protoss because it was so hard for me to defeat Protoss as a Terran. When I first started Brood War, my main race was Terran." | |
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| freelander Hungary. February 11 2008 03:56. Posts 3953 | Profile Blog # |
plexa really needs a unique, progamerish logo
this pure tl.net is just too lame for him ^^ |
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| Daigomi South Africa. February 11 2008 03:56. Posts 4302 | Profile Blog # |
fusion, so was I for a while, but I think it's most easily explained by neither teams aces firing. All strong teams have one or two aces, backed up by a strong team. With Iris and Savior out of it, they're aces were replaced by strong players, and their backup team, instead of having strong players (like Much in it), was suddenly only mediocre, because Much was in the role of ace. It's like having a team ranked from 1-6 in strength, and then taking out number 1 and 2, and moving everyone up two spots- it lowers the quality of the whole team.
That's mostly CJ, but I think MBC had a similar problem in that they lost a few games they should have won. In every match there are one or two players that should win, and then one or two that you think have an average chance of winning. In MBC vs CJ those players that should have won didn't win, and because of that they didn't go through.
Obviously this is very simplified, but that's just how I see it. |
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 SonuvBob Administrator February 11 2008 04:03. | Profile Blog # |
| Great read, Plexa! I hadn't realized the double 5-pool at PSL was Lecaf vs Samsung, always nice to see some pre-match drama. |
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| Hyperionnn Turkey. February 11 2008 04:18. Posts 4877 | Profile Blog # |
Great read! I'm rooting no team here. (ANGRY MBC FAN) But i expect a good fight from both teams.
+ Show Spoiler +SAMSUNG, PLEASE SEND JJU AGAINST JAEDONG TO 4 POOL HIM Last edit: 2008-02-11 04:20:09 |
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 koryano321 United States. February 11 2008 04:21. Posts 309 | Profile # |
| GOGO LECAF~~ lecaf needs to somehow place a stork vs jaedong and anytime vs fbh in order to win ^^; |
| | Scorpio2012 wrote: i guess god is about as useful as a protoss scout |
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| fanatacist February 11 2008 05:13. Posts 10000 | Profile Blog # |
On February 11 2008 01:51 jkillashark wrote:
This is so awesome. Plexa I'm so happy that you are writing for TL:FE. This is good stuff.
QF undeniable T. |
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