Table of Contents
Week 4 Preview
Two weeks left
Rare Appearances
Major's Dream Come True
Match of the Week
Samsung KHAN vs EG-TL
SK Planet Proleague table and results at Liquipedia
Yes We KHAN!
By: Wunder
As we round the halfway mark of the final round for the regular season, things are slowing down as some teams begin to realize they have no chance of making the playoffs and, as a result, start to field their less experienced players. This week features a first time appearance by Major, as well as appearances from other players we haven’t seen for a little while.
More importantly, all eyes rest on Samsung as they continue to fight for their survival. As the only team who has a chance to break into the top four, this week will be their most important yet.
Thanks to xpaperclip for formatting!
Round 6 Week 4 Matches
June 22
STX Soul vs Woongjin Stars
Trap < Bel'Shir Vestige LE > Soulkey
Dear < Newkirk Redevelopment Precinct > free
Classic < Neo Planet S > sOs
INnoVation < Akilon Wastes > Flying
Mini < Naro Station SE > Aria (NaGi)
hyvaa < New Fighting Spirit > BrAvO
Ace: Korhal Floating Island
CJ Entus vs SK Telecom
Bunny < Whirlwind LE > Bisu
Hydra < Neo Planet S > Rain
herO < Bel'Shir Vestige LE > PartinG
Trust < Naro Station SE > FanTaSy
EffOrt < New Fighting Spirit > s2
Bong < Akilon Wastes > BeSt
Ace: Newkirk Redevelopment Precinct
Trap < Bel'Shir Vestige LE > Soulkey
Dear < Newkirk Redevelopment Precinct > free
Classic < Neo Planet S > sOs
INnoVation < Akilon Wastes > Flying
Mini < Naro Station SE > Aria (NaGi)
hyvaa < New Fighting Spirit > BrAvO
Ace: Korhal Floating Island
CJ Entus vs SK Telecom
Bunny < Whirlwind LE > Bisu
Hydra < Neo Planet S > Rain
herO < Bel'Shir Vestige LE > PartinG
Trust < Naro Station SE > FanTaSy
EffOrt < New Fighting Spirit > s2
Bong < Akilon Wastes > BeSt
Ace: Newkirk Redevelopment Precinct
June 23
EG-TL vs Samsung KHAN
HerO < Whirlwind LE > TurN
aLive < Neo Planet S > RorO
Zenio < Bel'Shir Vestige LE > Kop
Oz < Naro Station SE > Shine
Revival < New Fighting Spirit > Reality
JYP < Akilon Wastes > JangBi
Ace: Newkirk Redevelopment Precinct
KT Rolster vs Team 8
Stats < New Fighting Spirit > Terminator (Sang)
Action < Naro Station SE > Argo (Jaehoon)
Crazy < Korhal Floating Island > TY (BaBy)
Flash < Neo Planet S > MajOr
Zest < Bel'Shir Vestige LE > Savage (Ryul2)
hitmaN < Whirlwind LE > Cure (Speed)
Ace: Akilon Wastes
HerO < Whirlwind LE > TurN
aLive < Neo Planet S > RorO
Zenio < Bel'Shir Vestige LE > Kop
Oz < Naro Station SE > Shine
Revival < New Fighting Spirit > Reality
JYP < Akilon Wastes > JangBi
Ace: Newkirk Redevelopment Precinct
KT Rolster vs Team 8
Stats < New Fighting Spirit > Terminator (Sang)
Action < Naro Station SE > Argo (Jaehoon)
Crazy < Korhal Floating Island > TY (BaBy)
Flash < Neo Planet S > MajOr
Zest < Bel'Shir Vestige LE > Savage (Ryul2)
hitmaN < Whirlwind LE > Cure (Speed)
Ace: Akilon Wastes
June 24
STX Soul vs CJ Entus
Mini < Neo Planet S > Hydra
INnoVation < New Fighting Spirit > herO
Trap < Newkirk Redevelopment Precinct > Bunny
Classic < Whirlwind LE > EffOrt
Dear < Akilon Wastes > Trust
hyvaa < Korhal Floating Island > Bong
Ace: Naro Station SE
Woongjin Stars vs SK Telecom T1
Light < Korhal Floating Island > FanTaSy
BrAvO < Bel'Shir Vestige LE > Bisu
sOs < Akilon Wastes > PartinG
Flying < Newkirk Redevelopment Precinct > BeSt
Soulkey < Whirlwind LE > Rain
free < Naro Station SE > s2
Ace: Neo Planet S
Mini < Neo Planet S > Hydra
INnoVation < New Fighting Spirit > herO
Trap < Newkirk Redevelopment Precinct > Bunny
Classic < Whirlwind LE > EffOrt
Dear < Akilon Wastes > Trust
hyvaa < Korhal Floating Island > Bong
Ace: Naro Station SE
Woongjin Stars vs SK Telecom T1
Light < Korhal Floating Island > FanTaSy
BrAvO < Bel'Shir Vestige LE > Bisu
sOs < Akilon Wastes > PartinG
Flying < Newkirk Redevelopment Precinct > BeSt
Soulkey < Whirlwind LE > Rain
free < Naro Station SE > s2
Ace: Neo Planet S
June 25
EG-TL vs KT Rolster
JYP < Bel'Shir Vestige LE > Stats
HerO < Newkirk Redevelopment Precinct > Flash
aLive < Neo Planet S > Zest
Oz < Akilon Wastes > Crazy
Revival < Naro Station SE > hitmaN
Jaedong < New Fighting Spirit > MyuNgSiK
Ace: Korhal Floating Island
JYP < Bel'Shir Vestige LE > Stats
HerO < Newkirk Redevelopment Precinct > Flash
aLive < Neo Planet S > Zest
Oz < Akilon Wastes > Crazy
Revival < Naro Station SE > hitmaN
Jaedong < New Fighting Spirit > MyuNgSiK
Ace: Korhal Floating Island
Standings
Rare Appearances
MajOr: Our Mexican hero, probably best known for predicting the next biggest Terran superstar, has finally gotten his time in the sun with his first official appearance in the regular season. Prior to this, we had seen Major play in The Special where he took on his teammate, Terminator, and showed some good TvP chops, narrowly losing to a storm timing. With Team 8 out of the running for the Playoffs and Major tweeting that Team 8 is looking to cut him along with three other members, this looks like Team 8’s way of sending Major off with a small present. However, as luck would have it, his first and probably only Proleague match this season will be none other than Flash himself. There isn’t that much to say other than the fact that we haven’t really seen much from Major since WCS AM S1, where he didn’t really show great games against aLive. Regardless, all we can do now is believe in him and hope for the best.
BeSt: SKT seems to have been rotating through their b-team as of late, with SoO, Brown and Paralyze all getting some of the limelight this round. This week it’s BeSt’s turn, the captain of the team and someone we haven’t seen for over a month. Being in both matches for SKT this week, BeSt has two opportunities to showcase his strength, especially since he only has to prepare for one matchup: PvP. Whether or not SKT’s gamble will pay off remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure: SKT needs at least one win this week to stay ahead of Samsung or risk dropping below the cutoff for the playoffs.
BrAvO/Aria: In a surprising move, WJS has decided to mix their starters up a bit and field both Bravo and Aria this week. What this means is that it leaves out ZerO, the "second string" Zerg that has been a staple for WJS throughout the season. With WJS still holding a four game lead over second place KT Rolster, they definitely have a lot of leeway in the next few matches. While this could be a calculated move to try and get as much exposure to the newer players as possible, ZerO has not been performing up to snuff and it could be a sign that Woongjin is struggling to find the players needed to perform.
Kop: The Samsung Terran hasn’t seen much play in recent weeks, mainly due to the fact that both TurN and Reality have been doing reasonably well. However, with Kop’s inclusion this week, this leaves an under-performing Stork out of the starting lineup. With each game being absolutely critical for Samsung at this point, they can no longer field Stork purely off his reputation and BW skill, and this may have been the TurNing point where they face the Reality of the situation.
Match of the Week
by Wunder
EG-TL vs Samsung KHAN
With not many critical matches this week, EG-TL vs Samsung KHAN is probably the best match to watch, as almost every game Samsung plays had a large impact on the overall rankings. Compound that with the fact that EG-TL has been on their hottest streak this entire season, and this match is shaping up to be a scorcher. We take a look at two of the most important games and how they can affect the outcome of the match.
EG’s invisible Terran, aLive, has been tasked with one of the toughest opponents Samsung has in their roster. RorO, the last Wings of Liberty GSL winner, may not been doing as well as Soulkey, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have the chops to take down a Terran like aLive. While RorO has still been proving himself in the battlefield of WCS Korea, aLive scurried off to WCS AM, where he almost made the finals but lost 3-1 to his teammate, Revival. Going into this game, aLive is the clear underdog up against the titan RorO - but as we’ve seen in the past weeks, EG-TL has gotten better and better at preparing builds for their players, especially when they are outclassed. What I expect to see is aLive going for an aggressive opener to take an early game lead, with which he will try to capitalize on, and win during the mid game. If aLive takes this game, EG-TL could very well take this entire match 4-0. However, if RorO defends successfully and wins, the looming shadow of Jangbi encroaches ever closer.
The sixth set of this match features an absolutely crucial PvP for both teams. Jangbi, the Protoss ace for Samsung and the winner of the last two BW OSLs, has truly come into his own as of late. Going into this game, JYP will be hard pressed to pull the wool over Jangbi’s eyes, as the Samsung Protoss is well versed in the art of PvP. Having said that, he has made some questionable decisions, losing to Bisu in a long macro PvP by taking bad engagements and executing poor zealot run-by attempts. So while Jangbi has shown weaknesses in his play, it will be entirely up to JYP to see if he can exploit them and bait Jangbi into choosing to engage into a fight he cannot win. With this being the sixth set, the winner of this game could very well be ending the match 4-2, or tying the series up 3-3 to bring it to an ace. With the matches in between being a toss-up, we could head into this sixth game in every possible circumstance, which means to say that both players have to play their absolute best come Sunday afternoon.