Two of the most contrasting players in the entire TSL, Kas and Life come into this match each bringing their own unique methods of success.
Kas is the veteran, the hardened warrior who has fought countless battles in online tournaments and on the ladder with his simple and effective Terran play. In 2012, Kas has had his usual success online, but he doesn't have the big international LAN results to give him the same kind of recognition as the biggest stars in the scene. Aside from stacking up his standard list of $200 online cups, Kas also did take the gold in the Ritmix RSL – a stacked tournament that went largely uncovered in the English-speaking scene.
Kas has pretty much done what everyone expects of him, playing at a consistently high level but lacking the breakout performance that will puts him on the list of “players we really want to see challenge Koreans”. His performance last week against fraer did nothing really to change that, with a quick 3-0 being just another in a string of solid victories. His games were almost exactly what you’d expect too, with his great experience shining both in holding off aggressive play and taking the W in macro games as well.
Life, on the other hand, is the super-young Korean phenom who burst onto the scene with some terrifying performances in GSTL for ZeNEX before they were absorbed into StarTale. He’s been around a little bit longer than that, but before 2012, he was mostly only mentioned in the context of “oh, do you mean Line? That guy's pretty solid!” He's actually similar to his teammate Line (aka Suhosin) in having a very unpredictable play style that doesn't shy away from completely random all-ins, but he also has a very solid macro game. Life has shown he can hang with Code S level competition, but he doesn't have a large enough body of work for him to be considered among the elite of Korean Zergs. His games against elfi only served to reinforce his current reputation, as he barely ecked out a victory over the foreigner in a dangerously close series of strange games after falling behind early.
One common thread the two share is their reputation for being absolute terrors online. TSL4 is precisely the environment the two players can thrive in, and they're sure to bring their best. Almost anything could happen in this match, and Life’s wild unpredictability could prove to be too much for Kas, or Kas could show his expertise in calming the chaos. To be honest, in this match, the biggest challenge for Life is himself – will he continue to throw games away with risky play, or will he be able to dominate a foreigner with mechanics in true Korean style?
This Ro16 match might be one of the highest level matches in the entire tournament. Sure, we had SaSe vs CoCa and Ret vs Squirtle in the previous round, but I don't think we'd be insulting anyone to say that Curious vs Squirtle is on another plane.
In case you're wondering, Curious is now #3 on TLPD Korean Elo rankings, while Squirtle is #4. That makes Curious the #1 Zerg at present, and Squirtle is second to only GSL champion Seed among his Protoss brethren. Curious has been in five straight Code S tournaments, while Squirtle is a former runner-up. Presently, they're both cruising along in WCS Korea Nationals, looking to represent their country in the Asian continentals.
There's really nothing to criticize about Squirtle, but you could kind of knock on Curious for being unable to bring his best when he's playing in Code S. However, this is TSL4, a tournament that's held online until the finals, and it's precisely the environment where players with live game jinxes can show what they can really do.
The best word to describe these two Startale racial aces is 'textbook.' There's nothing about the strategies they use that's out of the ordinary, but their ridiculously high level execution makes what they do very special indeed. A great example is Squirtle's WCS match against BBoongBBoongPrime (albeit, an outmatched opponent), where he turned the two base immortal timing into a work of art, cycling three immortals through one warp-prism, making sure they truly lived up to their names. In a larger scale example, Curious playing turtle-hive is like a demonstration in pure theorycraft, something you'd be tempted to use as proof that Zerg should always win late-game ZvP with perfect play.
Since this is a Startale team-kill, you can't look past the possibility that this series could take a weird turn. These two have honed their PvZ skills to this point by playing against each other, but there's an unusual twist in that they both had to play this very same match-up in the past week's WCS Korea Nationals. Neither player mentioned practicing with the other for their WCS games, suggesting they had somethings they wanted to hide for their TSL4 meeting. Against other players you'd could almost be sure of a great demonstration of textbook play, but given their familiarity with each other, we might see a duel of mind game one-upsmanship instead.
With KeeN scoffing at foreigners in his Ro32 victory interview and VortiX showing plenty of promise and success in recent times, this matchup is #1 on our upset watch in the Ro16.
VortiX showed plenty of confidence in his ZvT in the post-game interview after a solid victory over BabyKnight and is no stranger to taking down high level Terrans, with recent victories over SeleCT, Beastyqt, Kas, and Happy. His opening and style in ZvT varies a bit, with both multiple queen builds and early Zergling speed in his repertoire, yet favoring the slightly older mutalisk-baneling centered midgame. VortiX has shown success both in handling aggressive play and in long macro games, sprinkling in his own aggression from time to time. In the foreign scene, VortiX is pretty much a full package Zerg that has been steadily on the rise, but he is still untested against Koreans due to limited participation in larger tournaments.
KeeN brings confidence and solid aggressive Terran play to the table. Falling to NaNiwa and Stephano in his previous DreamHack appearance, and to BabyKnight and LoweLy in the recent FXO Invitational, KeeN may have misplaced his confidence against foreign players a bit, but he did look good in his 3 - 0 victory over Welmu in the Ro32. Aside from his international escapades, Keen is making his way back into Code S contention, although he will have to pass through next month's Up/Down matches to turly prove his worth. Right now, it's hard to say he's on the level of top Terrans in the world, like Byun, GuMiho, MKP and others, which makes VortiX a potentially dangerous opponent. Keen will certainly have confidence going into this match, but we will have to wait to see if it ends up being overconfidence.
Both players can play a wide variety of builds that make them unpredictable players, and we’ll likely see a wide variety of TvZ games in this series. Both players are likely to have to test their macro play against some kind of all-in, unless they happen to choose the same game map on which to execute such a strategy (in which case, there should be some entertaining chaos).
Beyond the obvious implications going forth in TSL4, this match is also one of much interest for fans in the international scene. VortiX has been touted as one of the best 'unknown' players for a while now, and Keen will provide a valuable litmus test for his ZvT ability. In recent times we’ve seen top class Terrans begin to fight through their TvZ woes, but KeeN could yet struggle against an opponent he underestimates. Any result is possible, but VortiX has the best chance of an upset this round.
This is the TSL4 'insurance match,' as we like to call it. With foreigner vs Korean, or Korean vs Korean duels in all seven other Ro16 matches, there would have been a possibility of an all-Korean quarter-final without this one foreigner vs foreigner battle. Not that we have anything against an all-Korean quarter-final if it means that those eight were the best players in the tournament, but after TSL3, we can't deny that it was tremendous fun following the story of foreigner hope.
MajOr and JonnyREcco aren't the most famous or most established players in the international scene, but as we should all know from TSL's past, fame is no adequate measure of skill. In true TSL fashion, they pulled off a pair of stunning upsets in the Ro32, with MajOr defeating TSL's Hyun while JonnyREcco defeated TSL3 loser runner-up NaNiwa. After the TSL Ro32, MajOr went on to win WCS Mexico without dropping a single map, while JonnyREcco went to ASUS ROG and played a tight series with Millenium's fOrGG before suffering a 2 – 3 loss (he was later eliminated by MaNa). After being on the periphery of the international scene just a few months ago, suddenly these two players are demanding your attention.
Both players prefer to play the ZvT match-up, and from their recent series against strong Korean players fOrGG and Hyun, their confidence is well placed. MajOr's mech and hellion play was particularly impressive against Hyun, with the dogged hunting of drones being key to his victories. On the other hand JonnyREcco looked like another solid player of standard ZvT in his loss against fOrGG, although given that limited sample of games and the large number of skilled ZvT players in the international scene, it's hard to say he's a true stand-out player yet. Let it suffice to say that 2 – 3 against fOrGG at a serious live tournament was an impressive haul for a newcomer to the scene, and with a few repeat performances he might start to earn comparisons to players like Ret or Nerchio.
TSL has been a tournament where players have had break-out performances, and these are two players who could use that kind of opportunity more than anyone. The stacked Korean field means that it will be harder than ever for a foreigner to make an impact, but the potential reward is that much higher. If MajOr and JonnyREcco truly understand what's at stake and can push their games to another level, we could have a classic match on our hands.
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Life is not really known for the best mechanincs ... On the other hand Kas is. It may be save but if Kas is going to survive early game he will pull Life apart in the later game.
On August 11 2012 14:54 Lysanias wrote: Life is not really known for the best mechanincs ... On the other hand Kas is. It may be save but if Kas is going to survive early game he will pull Life apart in the later game.
life can play great macro games as well... he just chooses to randomly all in constantly for no reason
Psyched! Life, Squirtle, Vortix, Recco ftw!! Hmm a lot of Zergs though -.- On a different note: the interviews for day3 and 4 wont be there, am I right?
On August 11 2012 14:54 Lysanias wrote: Life is not really known for the best mechanincs ... On the other hand Kas is. It may be save but if Kas is going to survive early game he will pull Life apart in the later game.
other then that i don't care to much who wins and i am only rooting for Vortix becuase keen was supposedly dismissive of foriegners didn't actually see the interview.
wtf is that , i just waited toe fuckin countdown twice and now it says in 3 hours ? ?????!?!?!? man its in the middle of the night then.... not funny dudes
I certainly don't mind, since I'm following IPL and watching Taeja is just pure porn, and I also have the circadian rhythm of a cat on cocaine. But I can understand a lot of Europeans being upset :/
in addition, i think its not new to tl that ipl is today isnt it ? why delay it then ... or why dont announce it instantly that thwere will be such a huge delay....1 hour late, new timer, 1 hour late new timer ...
On August 12 2012 06:06 Tatuunka wrote: in addition, i think its not new to tl that ipl is today isnt it ? why delay it then ... or why dont announce it instantly that thwere will be such a huge delay....1 hour late, new timer, 1 hour late new timer ...
I guess they were just waiting to see if there was going to be another Bo9, and it was only just decided. Kinda sucks, but understandable.
very disappointing that TSL is postponed so us Europeans get screwed had setup my day so as to get all the work i needed to do done and would have several hours free to sit and watch TSL but now TSL is gonna be starting when it should have finished......very poor planning. Its not as if IPL was a spur of the moment tournament!
On August 12 2012 06:07 Vaftrudner wrote: Kinda sucks, but understandable.
No its not. There is(was) barcraft for this and they postpone it for several hours just like that.
Good fucking job .. next time think before you make such stupid decision.
Agree, i was thinking about going to Prague, just to watch it with other Starcraft nerds. Now i am glad i didnt, coz its 1 hour for me to travel there and 1 back. But still I feel for those who went there ....
Its TL's decision to make delays without warning or explicit reasoning. TL's decision to reschedule.
I understand their reasoning, their team is on the BIG stage and that doesn't happen very often, but people get very excited about these things and some have planned their days around TSL4.
On August 12 2012 06:42 BesideHimself wrote: I love how people are blaming IPL for this.
Its TL's decision to make delays without warning or explicit reasoning. TL's decision to reschedule.
I understand their reasoning, their team is on the BIG stage and that doesn't happen very often, but people get very excited about these things and some have planned their days around TSL4.
Nobody is blaming IPL.. Its completely ok to reschedule but at least say it before hand and dont postpone hour after hour
I had a little TSL4 party with my best friend, snacks and stuff and suddenly it got delayed by hours, so we nearly fell asleep (europeans here... TSL was about to start around 3 am for us until it got cancelled) and finally dismissed our fun evening to go sleeping. ~.~" Kinda disappointed by TSL organisation.
On August 12 2012 06:42 BesideHimself wrote: I love how people are blaming IPL for this.
Its TL's decision to make delays without warning or explicit reasoning. TL's decision to reschedule.
I understand their reasoning, their team is on the BIG stage and that doesn't happen very often, but people get very excited about these things and some have planned their days around TSL4.
Nobody is blaming IPL.. Its completely ok to reschedule but at least say it before hand and dont postpone hour after hour
On August 11 2012 14:54 Lysanias wrote: Life is not really known for the best mechanincs ... On the other hand Kas is. It may be save but if Kas is going to survive early game he will pull Life apart in the later game.
Life has top 5 mechanics among Korean zergs.
You must have seen alot more of his games then i have, to me he just comes over as a gimmicky player with strange builds and early aggression. But i will look forward to it tonight then and see if i can agree with that bold statement.
On August 11 2012 14:54 Lysanias wrote: Life is not really known for the best mechanincs ... On the other hand Kas is. It may be save but if Kas is going to survive early game he will pull Life apart in the later game.
Life has top 5 mechanics among Korean zergs.
You must have seen alot more of his games then i have, to me he just comes over as a gimmicky player with strange builds and early aggression. But i will look forward to it tonight then and see if i can agree with that bold statement.
u sure ur not mixing up life and line?? lol, recently life has been playing like line however if you have seen most of his previos games, he wins lots of them straight up.
On August 11 2012 14:54 Lysanias wrote: Life is not really known for the best mechanincs ... On the other hand Kas is. It may be save but if Kas is going to survive early game he will pull Life apart in the later game.
Life has top 5 mechanics among Korean zergs.
You must have seen alot more of his games then i have, to me he just comes over as a gimmicky player with strange builds and early aggression. But i will look forward to it tonight then and see if i can agree with that bold statement.
u sure ur not mixing up life and line?? lol, recently life has been playing like line however if you have seen most of his previos games, he wins lots of them straight up.
Euh ... i might have, though the GSL code S matches i know was Life, i might have mixed the other games before that in my mind that were rather gimmicky and could be very well be Line. My apologies.
On August 11 2012 14:54 Lysanias wrote: Life is not really known for the best mechanincs ... On the other hand Kas is. It may be save but if Kas is going to survive early game he will pull Life apart in the later game.
Life has top 5 mechanics among Korean zergs.
You must have seen alot more of his games then i have, to me he just comes over as a gimmicky player with strange builds and early aggression. But i will look forward to it tonight then and see if i can agree with that bold statement.
u sure ur not mixing up life and line?? lol, recently life has been playing like line however if you have seen most of his previos games, he wins lots of them straight up.
Euh ... i might have, though the GSL code S matches i know was Life, i might have mixed the other games before that in my mind that were rather gimmicky and could be very well be Line. My apologies.
On August 11 2012 14:54 Lysanias wrote: Life is not really known for the best mechanincs ... On the other hand Kas is. It may be save but if Kas is going to survive early game he will pull Life apart in the later game.
Life has top 5 mechanics among Korean zergs.
You must have seen alot more of his games then i have, to me he just comes over as a gimmicky player with strange builds and early aggression. But i will look forward to it tonight then and see if i can agree with that bold statement.
u sure ur not mixing up life and line?? lol, recently life has been playing like line however if you have seen most of his previos games, he wins lots of them straight up.
Euh ... i might have, though the GSL code S matches i know was Life, i might have mixed the other games before that in my mind that were rather gimmicky and could be very well be Line. My apologies.
life hasn't been in code S haha; that was line
lol i give up, i'll just watch pfff one of those 2 get another name !
On August 11 2012 14:54 Lysanias wrote: Life is not really known for the best mechanincs ... On the other hand Kas is. It may be save but if Kas is going to survive early game he will pull Life apart in the later game.
Life has top 5 mechanics among Korean zergs.
You must have seen alot more of his games then i have, to me he just comes over as a gimmicky player with strange builds and early aggression. But i will look forward to it tonight then and see if i can agree with that bold statement.
u sure ur not mixing up life and line?? lol, recently life has been playing like line however if you have seen most of his previos games, he wins lots of them straight up.
Euh ... i might have, though the GSL code S matches i know was Life, i might have mixed the other games before that in my mind that were rather gimmicky and could be very well be Line. My apologies.
life hasn't been in code S haha; that was line
lol i give up, i'll just watch pfff one of those 2 get another name !
Call Line Suhosin, things get a lot easier from there.
Kinda sux, that at 16:30 cet clock says "3h 30 min", so I set everything at 20 cet, and when launching it at 20 it's already on and one bo5 played. Can someone PM me with Kas vs Life result ? Thx
On August 14 2012 03:13 TooS wrote: Kinda sux, that at 16:30 cet clock says "3h 30 min", so I set everything at 20 cet, and when launching it at 20 it's already on and one bo5 played. Can someone PM me with Kas vs Life result ? Thx