MSL 2008 ClubDay Group G match Report

Welcome to the group G MSL 2008 ClubDay game report! After fOrGG calmly pressed through group A alongside Iris, it’s time to check out group B, with special focus on the Maestro sAviOr and NaDa. Joining us on the commentary position is Kang Min a.k.a. Nal_rA for a welcoming appearance after his retirement.

free vs

dOnGraE @ Medusa

First game of the day, Free (Pretty[gm]) versus the new-coming Terran, dOnGraE (CoY[S.G]). Free summons a nexus at 7 o’clock, while dOnGraE lands a command center at 2. Free decides to open with a relatively conservative 2 gate dragoon, whilst dOnGraE decides that a 1 tank/ marine into expansion would be a good choice.

This certainly works to his favour as he gradually pushes free’s forces away from any harassing opportunity. But Free keeps on the pressure and manages to destroy dOnGraE’s weak push and continues on the attack. The Terran is then forced to throw everything he has on the Protoss to thwart the microing dragoons. He manages quite nicely while at the same time sneaks in a single vulture which, similarly to group A Leta’s vulture, proceeds to snipe probes one by one before getting dispatched.

At this point both players are pretty much equal, with small forces and both struggling to keep their natural expansions. But then free provides us huge entertainment as he throws a reaver drop for good measure. This is truly devastating for dOnGraE, as free’s reaver control is far superior to anything the Terran commander has got to offer. In fact, around 6 tanks fall to the godsend reaver micro along with numerous SCVs. Free decides to expand once again since the reaver drop gave him a huge window of opportunity, whilst poor dOnGraE is barely hanging on.

At this point the game resembles a bad nightmare as free is literally toying with the injured Terran. Calculative and precise to the extreme, free launches a high templar drop, which pretty much shuts down dOnGraE’s economy. A dragoon and zealot push later, and dOnGraE finds himself completely outclassed and concedes.

Overall, total domination by the Protoss player. Completely smashed. Quite embarrassing really.

NaDa vs

sAviOr @ Destination

And here we go! The true highlight match of group B. NaDa vs sAviOr in what promises to be a conflict of epic proportions. You can almost sense the thousands of NaDa and sAviOr fans chanting songs of support as the two timeless giants prepare to do battle.

Map is Destination, with NaDa at top position and sAviOr at bottom. Things start off pretty normal until NaDa decides to throw an engineering bay at sAviOrs natural expansion position, completely denying his chances of getting an early gas! Quite a nice move by the Tornado Terran as the increased bay hitpoints, compared to a depot, provide a further nuisance that sAviOrs’ drones have to deal with. At this point sAviOr is forced to play a 2 hatch into lair opening and NaDa proceeds with a safe two barracks and early gas build order.

As sAviOr morphs his spire, he must have completely miscalculated NaDa’s forces as he hasn’t built and single sunken and NaDa simply moves forward with a small M&M force and nicely proceeds to erase the Zerg infestation. Very poor play indeed by sAviOr as he was caught virtually with his pants down. GG. A very anticlimactic game between the two, which ended in less than 7 minutes. Seems like group B is fairly straightforward but it nevertheless feels very disappointing.

free vs

NaDa @ Athena 2

Winner match on the 3-player map Athena, a map with multiple centre area walkways. Initially appears good for Protoss flanking opportunities but with Terran being able to (ab)use the elevated platforms. NaDa is at 9 oclock and free at 3.

Both players start on fast exp build orders. But Free decides to mix things up when he warps a stargate alongside a robotics aimed for a reaver harass. But NaDa is prepared with very nicely turrets and Free is forced to retreat his shuttle.

But at this point, he is pumping carriers out of 2 stargates! The Tornado Terran then decides he needs to pressure as the Protoss has pretty much dictated the whole game up to this point. He pushes out with many tanks but amazingly Free is able to deal massive damage using just a shuttle, 2 zealots, a reaver and mind-blowing micro. It’s worth mentioning at this point that NaDa had no comsat stations and therefore very limited scouting opportunities and of course no idea about the carrier rush.

And it shows with the worst way possible as two carriers start taking out multiple tanks. NaDa pushes forward to deal as much damage as possible since he hasn’t even got an armory but the tank and vulture army just melts to interceptor fire, mass dragoons and that veteran reaver that caused so much pain to the Terran commander.

At this point it is pretty much GG as Free tears up NaDa’s expansion and Lee Yoon Yeol admits defeat.

All in all, the group B matches have so far been complete dominations and this game is no exception. The reaver drop severely slowed out NaDa and his lack of scouting/scan was detrimental. Nice play by Free but one can’t help but feel that this match should have been a lot more exciting. But a match worth looking at if only for the cost effectiveness of the reaver/shuttle combo.

sAviOr vs

dOnGraE @ Athena 2

Losers’ match with both players fighting for survival. Zerg starts at 9 and Terran facing him at 2 oclock. CoY slaps down two barracks and an academy and the Maestro goes for early pool and gas into fast exp with spire tech. Then dOnGraE tries to pressure sAviOr as the spire finished and muta start to morph. The Terran force calmly retreats as muta goes for some harass. But he is stopped cold as dOnGraE had kept on pumping m&ms from 3 barracks and the mutalisks are unable to do any significant damage, while the Terran infantry numbers continue to grow.

And then it happens. DOnGraE sends in a respectable infantry mass when the mutas were too busy harrassing and slams at the Zerg expansion. SAviOr must have thanked The Force for his timing skills as 2 lurkers hatch JUST in time and pretty much keep Zerg in the game. But the Terran is not finished and immediately attacks with an even bigger force but they get massacred in pools of flesh and blood by lurkers and standard sAviOr muta micro.

At this point CoY starts to crumble as he carelessly losing a vessel to scourge and decides to send maybe TOO many marines to dispatch a single hatchery. SAviOr calculates this move perfectly and backstabs the careless Terran with lurker/ling. Although not being able to finish him off he stops any expansion opportunities for dOnGraE and the Terran is hanging from the skin of his teeth, while the Zerg empire grows on 3 gases.

DonGraE knows that if he doesn’t react now he will be soon overpowered so throws everything he has. But once again sAviOrs forces are just too numerous and again he thwarts the assault getting another vessel kill. CoY’s main is mined out at this point and he has just finished his natural expansion. Not a great position by any means… But he still manages to survive a dark swarm attack with the help of cleverly placed mines. A nice little move indeed.

The game is straightforward from this point and onwards. After a little last-ditch struggle by dOnGraE, scourged vessels, plagues and ultralisks seal his fate. DOnGraE is out of the MSL. But it’s not over for sAviOr just yet, as he now faces NaDa.

NaDa vs

sAviOr @ Byzantium 2

Winner of the game follows Free to the next round. Following the previous game, sAviOr must be pretty pissed-off by the “cute” engineering bay on the expansion point. Both highly experienced players on the ropes, the final Group B match turns out to be a real nailbitter. At some point in history sAviOr used to massacre Terran after Terran until his eventual decline, now completely replaced by Jaedong. NaDa on the other hand although not as dominating as he used to be, is still a scary opponent in the TvZ match up.

The Maestro spawns a hatchery at 7 oclock and NaDa is overseeing him at 10 oclock on the 4 player map. SAviOr seems quite happy with his result vs dOnGraE and he follows up the same build order with added spice of speedling rush. NaDa loses a badly placed depot and masses up from two barracks.

A little pressure from the Terran and sAviOr is forced to place sunkens and NaDa nicely reacts with an expansion of his own. The mutalisks take to the skies and the usual harass begins but with little effect to the Terran base. At a crucial moment in the game NaDa hits the Zerg natural but then retreats for fear of losing his forces to mutalisks and timely placed lurkers, avoid a mistake that dOnGraE had committed in the previous game.

But sAviOr has a card up his sleeve and taking full advantage of the mutas mobility proceeds to wreck havoc on the now undefended Terran natural. NaDa’s forces scramble to defend but at that point sAviOr had dealt significant damage.

NaDa really must have had some kind of sixth sense as an amazingly built hero-bunker was placed that, in all honesty, kept NaDa in the game as the mass of lurkers, lings and mutalisks just weren’t enough to deal with 350 hitpoints of Terran steel, while the crowd goes absolutely mental.

At this point, sAviOr is at a disadvantage as his economy is far inferior and hasn’t yet secured a third gas. At another extremely decisive point sAviOr throws a massive lurker/ling blow to the natural expansion and again NaDa is left with only a handful of units and by some miracle, still in the game. But the Zerg casualties were too much and sAviOr is also left practically without an army. NaDa’s macro shines as he immediately masses up a deadly Terran blob of death.

sAviOr is in big trouble as he again goes around the Terran army and slams against the expansion for yet another assault. But the Terran is has reached critical mass now as tanks, marines and the retreating forces of Terran melt anything Zerg. After a push, sAviOr GGs and is now out of the 2008 ClubDay MSL.

Overall thoughts: Fairly predictable outcomes from the group. sAviOr as usual is not what he used to be. DonGraE got toyed around, NaDa’s ZvT against a weakened Maestro got him through the group and Free is still caressing his hero reaver.