WTL 2023 Summer - Viikko 7 Kertomus / Viikon 8 esikatselu

Julkaissut Platon

seuraajia: 0

kirjoittanut: Wax

After a relatively uneventful Week 7 that saw the rankings stay completely unchanged, we're in store for a treat in Week 8. While I didn't go back and check the schedule for every season, this is easily one of the most entertaining regular season weeks in WTL history.

To start, we have a massive clash between two championship contenders in DKZ and ONSYDE, with Maru vs Oliveira being the opening bout. Then, PSISTORM will fight for their playoff lives vs TL, with new signee Spirit finally eligible to play. There's also a solid mid-table battle between Shopify and ABYDOS, with both teams looking to improve their playoff seeding.

On top of that, the matches that are less interesting on paper have some intriguing twists when you take a closer look. BASILISK might not be guaranteed to stomp Starlight Twinkle, RotterdaM will be making his WTL debut in that match. Also, iG vs Berserker is the darkly humorous 'who's finishing in last place?' match, which should be of great interest to the WTL's most devoted fans.

Aikataulu huomautus: This week's games will be played on June 9th, June 12, and June 13th.

Viikko 7 uudelleen

Viisi parasta joukkuetta pääsee pudotuspeleihin.
Alimman 2 joukkueen on päästävä uudelleen karsintaan.
Pisteet jaetaan seuraavasti:
3 pistettä voitosta sarjassa, joka ei vaadi ässäottelua
2 pistettä voitosta sarjassa, joka vaatii ässä-ottelua
1 piste tappiosta sarjassa, joka vaatii ässä-ottelun
0 pistettä tappiosta sarjassa, joka ei vaadi ässä-ottelua
Invictus Gaming 1 - 5 BASILISKI
Katso VOD

XY päätti luopua juustosta ja mennä Serraliin kunniallisissa makropeleissä™ aloittaakseen sarjan, ja hänen rohkeutensa palkittiin yksipuolisella 0-2-tappiolla.

BreakingGG yritti myös pelata Reynoria suoraan ensimmäisessä pelissään, mutta voitti ennustettavasti Roach Warsissa. Sitten hän kokeili Nydus-juustoa toisessa pelissä, mutta Reynor käänsi sen ja otti 2-0-voiton ja lukitsi kolme pistettä BASILISKille.

MacSed managed to salvage a map for Invictus against Trigger, taking the first game of their series by defending his fast expansion against Trigger's one-base all-in. Trigger took a map for himself to end the series, beating MacSed in a mid-game brawl between Gateway armies.

Platinum Heroes 2 - 4 ABYDOS
Katso VOD

Mondo tuli otteluun 0-4-ennätyksellä ja näytti siltä, että hän voisi olla heikko lenkki, joka maksoi ABYDOS-pisteitä heikompaa Platinum Heroes -joukkuetta vastaan. Mondo kuitenkin veti painoaan tällä kertaa ja sai kauden ensimmäisen karttavoittonsa 1-1 ShaDoWnia vastaan.

Mondo got his win immediately, beating ShaDoWn on NeoHumanity with mass Hydra-Ling-Bane before his opponent had sufficient splash damage. Game two followed a peculiar pattern, with Mondo starting off with a Speedling cheese but still somehow finding himself in a late-game standoff fifteen minutes later. Ultimately, Mondo had to tap out to ShaDoWn's golden armada, as he couldn't transition out of his Lurker-based force in time.

Creator then took a 2-0 over Goblin to put his team on match point. Game one was a dizzying Blink-Stalker duel, with both players constantly putting themselves in weird, semi-basetrade situations. Creator was just a bit faster and more decisive with his movements, which gave him the victory in the last of these exchanges. Creator closed out with defense in game two, holding his fast expansion against Goblin's one base Stalker all-in.

NightMare finished the job for ABYDOS by taking a win against DnS on the very next map. The two played an action-packed game on Gresvan, where DnS's proxy-Robo led to much early skirmishing. NightMare came out ahead in those trades (Disruptors!), and was able to compound his lead and force the GG. DnS got himself a tie in the final game, successfully defending against a Cannon + proxy Gateway rush.

Joukkueeneste 5 - 1 Berserker eSports
Katso VOD

Ace-pelaaja Clem otti pisteen Liquidille ja teki maalin 2-0 Spatzia vastaan. Peli yksi oli ohi Spatzille ensimmäisten minuuttien aikana, kun hän menetti 10 koetinta yhdelle Hellionille yrittäessään omaa epäonnistunutta Adeptin häirintää. Spatz tuplasi menemällä välityspalvelin-Gatewayn häirintään toisessa pelissä, mutta Clem kohautti olkapäitään ja otti 2-0.

SKillous laittoi joukkueensa voiton partaalle DIMAGAa vastaan ja pelasi yhden sarjansa Glaive-Adeptsilla ja sitä seuranneen Zealot-hyökkäyksen. Kuitenkin vanhan koulukunnan Zerg onnistui pitämään joukkueensa hengissä ottamalla pelin kaksi, tankkaamalla Psi Stormsia kasvoillaan voittaakseen SKillousin aidolla parvella.

It seemed like Papi had a chance to continue the comeback against MaNa, as he took the lead in game one after holding off MaNa's proxy-Robo cheese. However, he dealt with MaNa's follow-up Immortal drop very poorly, which allowed MaNa to win with an unusual, one-base, two-Robo all-in. With all three points in hand, MaNa took a final win for the road to keep Liquid at #3 in the standings with a +17 map differential.

ONSYDE Gaming 4 - 2 瘦死骆驼 (nälkäiset kamelit)
Katso VOD

Huomautus: Tämän sarjan todellinen ottelujärjestys poikkesi yllä esitetystä ajoitetusta ottelujärjestyksestä.
Vaikka Ryungin ja TooDmingin oli alun perin tarkoitus pelata sarjan kolmannessa ottelussa, joidenkin aikataulumuutosten seurauksena nämä kaksi siirtyivät lähetyksen kärkeen. Ryung pääsi molemmilla kartoilla etuajassa Bansheen häirinnällä, jota hän seurasi Marine-Tankilla ensimmäisessä pelissä ja taistelumechin kanssa pelissä 2-0.

In a surprising twist, Ryung's 2-0 actually ended up being quite important for ONSYDE as Maru gave up his first map loss of his season against Firefly. The plucky Protoss stole a map off of Maru in an extremely close basetrade, where his Blink-Stalkers raced Maru's 3-Barracks Marine-Marauder in a destruction derby. While the finish was tight, the lack of Medivacs helped Firefly's Blink-Stalkers barely prevail in the end. Maru got his tying point very quickly in game two, going for a series of proxy-Starport Hellion/Mine drops that completely ravaged Firefly's economy.

Solar päätti sarjan Cyania vastaan pidättäen Oracle-Stalker-hyökkäykset ennen kuin aloitti vastahyökkäyksen Roach-Ravagerin kanssa ensimmäisen pelin ottamiseksi. Cyan otti lopullisen kartan hyvällä Glaive-Adept-pelillä, mutta se oli vain moraalinen voitto, koska ONSYDE oli jo varmistanut täydet kolme pistettä.

Starlight Twinkle 1 - 5 Dragon KaiZi Gaming
Katso VOD

Oliveira got his team off to a strong start with a 2-0 over Cham. Game one was a fairly one-sided beatdown, with Oliveira's bio mopping up Cham's Roach-Ravager army. The second game got a bit hectic after Cham forced a basetrade, but the superior firepower of Oliveira's bio won out once more.

herO teki nopeasti 3-0 joukkueelleen Nizzaa vastaan, kun hänen proxy-Stargate Oracle nappasi Nicen täysin vartioimatta ja teki suuria vahinkoja. Nice otti pisteen takaisin samalla tavalla kuin hänen nopea Dark Templar -tekniikka yllätti heron.

Dark locked in win-sarjan voitto ReWhitea vastaan, murskaamalla Protossin ensimmäisessä pelissä massamutaliskeilla. Sitten hän nousi lopullisella kartalla ja voitti nopeasti Nydus-Queen-Ling all-inillä.

Shopify-kapina 4 - 2 PSISTORM Gaming
Katso VOD

Shopify ace ByuN got his team going by taking down Gerald on NeoHumanity in game one, winning with heavy 3-Barracks pressure while holding off proxy-Oracles. Gerald survived for longer in game two, but ultimately couldn't keep up with ByuN's multi-directional bio attacks and surrendered another GG.

SpeCial started his match against Lambo by channeling ByuN, opening with 2-Barracks and transitioning into non-stop Marine pressure. However, Lambo was held strong on defense, and eventually overpowered SpeCial with his superior tech and economy. SpeCial attempted to go for his signature BC-into-mech in game two, but Lambo had it scouted every step of the way. After defending against harassment and establishing a powerful economy, Lambo ruthlessly busted through SpeCial's defenses before they could be fully entrenched.

That left MaxPax to pick up a rather empty 2-0 victory against Scarlett to finish the day, wielding the 'herO style' Stalker-Oracle strategy expertly in both games. Still, if PSISTORM somehow pulls off a late-season run to make the playoffs, these map points may actually end up mattering.

Viikon MVP: SR.Lambo

Viikolla 2 oli runsaasti 0-7-tuloksia, mutta lähes kaikki ne olivat selkeän suosikin ja raskaan altavastaajan välissä. Vain yksi 2-0 voittaja otti voiton ottelussa, jota pidin hieman haastavana: Lambo vastaan SpeCial. Myönnettäköön, että Lambo oli maltillinen suosikki otteluun - valitsin hänet jopa voittamaan 2-0. Kuitenkin, koska viikosta puuttui vaikuttavampi 2-0, minun piti antaa Lambolle nyökkäys.

I did briefly consider giving Firefly the award for stealing a 1-1 against Maru, but I'm pretty reluctant to pick 1-1's over 2-0's. Also, the Camels ended up earning 0 points from the match, and it was hard for me to reward what was ultimately just a moral victory.

Viikon MVP:t:

Viikko 7: SR.Lambo
Viikko 6: DKZ.herO
Viikko 5: Nestemäinen
Viikko 4. PH.DnS
Viikko 3: Kaikki SSLT/瘦死骆驼/Starving Camels
Viikko 2: ABYDOS.Cure
Viikko 1: BASILISK.Serral

Esikatselu: Runkokausi, viikko 8

Perjantai 09. kesäkuuta 12:00 GMT (GMT + 00:00) Tulitikut

ONSYDE Gaming vs Dragon KaiZi Gaming

ONSYDE on pelannut kiinteän pelaajajärjestyksen Maru-Solar-Ryungista joka viikko (paitsi yksi viikko, jota Crank pelasi), joten sinun täytyy ihmetellä, mitä DKZ ajatteli lähettäessään Oliveiran Marua vastaan. Kaikki maaliskuun jälkeen saadut tulokset vahvistivat sen, mitä useimmat ihmiset jo ajattelivat IEM Katowicesta: se oli Oliveiran elämän ihme. Silti DKZ:llä ja Oliveiralla on oltava syy valita tämä ottelu – ehkä he ajattelevat, että maailmanmestarilla on edelleen psykologinen etu 6SL:n voittajaa vastaan.

Koska uskon, että Maru voittaa 2-0, Solarin ja herO:n pitäisi olla sarjan todellinen swing-ottelu. Solar on jatkuvasti ollut yksi vuoden 2023 parhaista online-pelaajista, kun taas herO on pelannut erittäin hyvin viime viikkoina lyhyen muodonpudotuksen jälkeen. Luulen, että 1-1 on todennäköisin tulos kahden WTL-ympäristössä ehdottomasti menestyvän pelaajan väliseen yhteenottoon.

The final match favors DKZ quite heavily, with Dark playing his best match-up against Ryung's clear worst. My 'bold' prediction here is that Ryung is going to all-out cheese against Dark, and whether or not he successfully hides his proxies will decide if he can steal a map.

Ultimately, I think a 3-3 tie is the most likely result in the initial three series, which would send us to a very exciting ace match. Both Maru vs herO and Maru vs Dark have the potential to be very entertaining, especially with Gresvan being pre-set as the ace map. I'm going to give Maru the slightest edge in a BO1, out of deference to his 6SL title and 13-1 WTL record.

Ennustus: ONSYDE Gaming 4 - 3 Dragon KaiZi -peliä

Team Liquid vs PSISTORM Gaming

Following their loss to Shopify last week, PSISTORM are now five points below the playoff cutoff with matches against TL, ONSYDE, SSLT, and Berserker remaining. You don't have to go through all the match combinations to realize that this is a MUST WIN match if PSISTORM is to have any hope of making the playoffs at all.

PSISTORMin onneksi uusi allekirjoittaja Spirit on vihdoin oikeutettu pelaamaan. Puolalainen Terran pelaa uransa parasta StarCraft II:ta vuonna 2023, ja se näkyi myös WTL:ssä, missä hän teki 8-3 ennätyksen ennen kuin hänet joutui väliaikaiseen siirtopysähdykseen.

The transfer means Spirit is actually playing SKillous for the second time this season, with the two players fighting to a 1-1 draw during the SLT vs TL match. I don't think Spirit can settle for that result this time—he needs a 2-0 for PSISTORM to feel good about their chances.

The second match is a real puzzler, with Namshar making his season debut against Elazer. Gerald and SpeCial might not be in great form, but I have to think there were some outside-the-game circumstances for PSISTORM to reach so deep into their bench. The randomness of ZvZ might give Namshar a chance of stealing a 1-1, but a 2-0 Elazer win is the outcome I'm picking.

MaxPax vs Clem is a fantastic match to potentially end this series, with Europe's best Terran going up against its best Protoss. MaxPax has had a slight edge against Clem in head-to-head matches as of late, but the Aligulac.com odds still see them as being close to even. While I'd love to see this extend into an ace match and be decided in a pseudo-BO3, I think Liquid will be able to end things earlier with a 4-2 victory.

Ennustus: Joukkueen neste 4 - 2 PSISTORM Gaming

Aikataulumuutos: Toinen pelipäivä on 9. kesäkuuta
Perjantai 09. kesäkuuta 12:00 GMT (GMT + 00:00) Tulitikut

Shopify Rebellion vs ABYDOS

ABYDOS on edelleen yksi hämmentävämmistä joukkueista WTL:ssä, sillä sillä on neljä parasta kokoonpanoa täydellä voimalla, mutta se yksinkertaisesti kieltäytyy ottamasta sitä käyttöön. Vaikka Mondo palaa penkille DRG:n tilalle, tämä on kolmas viikko peräkkäin, jolloin ässäpelaaja Cure ei pelaa. Ja silti heillä on hyvä mahdollisuus poistaa Shopifysta joitain pisteitä.

Lambo versus DRG is basically a dead even match in my eyes, and I'll predict a 1-1 while knowing it could easily swing 2-0 either way. If ABYDOS somehow gets some points out of this match, it will be because DRG rolled high and got the 2-0 on the day.

The ByuN vs. NightMare match-up is the key advantage Shopify have, with TvP monster ByuN being heavily favored to win in a 2-0. NightMare is cunning enough to occasionally steal maps off stronger players in PvZ, but I just can't see him pulling it off in PvT.

Harstem vs Creator is the PvP mirror image of Lambo versus DRG, where I arrive at a 1-1 prediction as a middle ground amid the chaos. In the end, I'm predicting Shopify to win off the strength of ByuN in TvP, but the two mirrors could easily complicate things.

Ennustus: Shopify Rebellion 4 - 2 ABYDOS

Starlight Twinkle vs BASILISK

When ONSYDE Gaming's Crank made his WTL debut, he did it in the safest way possible against the winless Berserker eSports. RotterdaM and BASILISK are being a bit more daring, deploying the caster/captain/Protoss against the 2W-5L Starlight Twinkle.

While Solar and Maru had to rescue ONSYDE from Crank's 0-2 start, RotterdaM might be able to hold his own here. Unlike Crank, he's actually played some official tournament matches this year, and he managed to go 1-2 against Creator, 1-1 against goblin, and 1-2 against MaxPax in PvP. While he's definitely the underdog against Nice, a 1-1 tie isn't out of the question.

Of course, you expect Reynor and Serral to clean up with 2-0's if RotterdaM stumbles out the gates. However, you have to remember that Reynor hasn't completely beat the 50/50 allegations yet, and a ZvZ against Cham could be surprisingly tricky. I can definitely envision a scenario where Rotti goes 0-2 to start and Reynor goes 1-1 against Cham, costing BASILISK a point.

ennustus: Starlight Twinkle 2 - 4 BASILISKI

Tiistai 13. kesäkuuta kello 12 GMT (GMT + 00: 00) Tulitikut

Invictus Gaming vs Berserker eSports

This is the highlight match of the season for a particularly perverse group of fans, as it's very likely to decide who suffers the ignominy of finishing in last place.

Three of the players involved in this match have zero map wins so far: Mixu (0-6), Spatz (0-10), and BreakingGG (0-12). Surely (hopefully), they'll all get a win on the board here?

In what might seem like a surprise, I'm going to give Berserker the slight edge due to DIMAGA. Sure, his 2-6 record is worse than iG ace MacSed (5-9), but I've been impressed by the quality of his play in straight-up macro games against strong players.

ennustus: Invictus Gaming 3 - 4 Berserker eSports

Platinum Heroes vs 瘦死骆驼 (Starving Camels)

The Camels currently stand at #6 in the rankings due to hugely overperforming against the stronger teams in the WTL—this week we'll see if they get the job done against an opponent they 'should' beat.

This match is awfully hard to predict, largely because of the pair of PvP's that start things off. DnS vs. Cyan and goblin vs. Firefly are essentially coin flips, though perhaps I'd give Firefly a slight edge purely based on vibes (the dude is just really good in WTL, man).

Haluan sanoa, että ShaDoWn vs TooDming on ottelu, jossa Platinum Heroesilla on selvä etu, mutta TooDmingilla on käsittämättömän hyvä WTL-kausi 5-5-ennätyksellä. Kaiken kaikkiaan, vaikka pidän Heroesista hieman enemmän paperilla, minun on asetettava Camelsin puolelle niiden mittaamattoman ja käsittämättömän WTL-ihmisensä vuoksi.

ennustus: Platinum Heroes 3 - 4 瘦死骆驼 (nälkäiset kamelit)