TSL Semi-Finals Preview - Team Liquid

Saturday May 7th 1400 EDT[local]
Sunday May 8th 1400 EDT

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TSL3

By Xxio

The Koreans are out. TLAF-Liquid` has been left in the dust; the Gracken harpooned, the Dragon lanced. We are left with a radical of players that reminds me of "The Goonies". Thorzain is Mikey, the hero of our tournament thus far. He is daring, brave, and mannerful.

His opponent Kas is Francis Fratelli. Older and more experienced than Mikey, he wants to make One-Eyed Willie's treasure first, at all costs. Naniwa is easily "Brand", the strongest and most hardy of the goonies while HasuObs is "Mouth". Funny and charismatic, but someone you care about in a tight pinch. The TSL Goonies have made it to the semi-finals by navigating through the traps of the bracket and outsmarting their enemies. The value is near at hand, The Inferno ready to whip them off to New York. It's hard to determine your favorite players fall so near to the last but by the end of the weekend, only two will remain.

The semi-finals are this weekend. Thorzain vs. Kas and Naniwa vs. HasuObs. Insanity. Serious props to the current leader of the bracket contest, TL user HenL, who correctly predicted both semi-finals. Mayhaps we can hit up a casino together.

Have Thorzain's TSL matchups made him weaker in TvT, or stronger overall? And what is up with HasuObs' PvP? Is he prepare for Naniwa? Look for our educated guesses and a break-down of both matchups in the sections below.

Empire.Kas vs.Prae.ThorZaIN

It is well-known that TvT is Thorzain's weakest matchup. His Achilles' Heel, perhaps. On top of this is the fact that Kas is incredibly strong in TvT - as he demonstrated against Nothing in the TSL and more recently, against Brat_Ok and Cloud. After 3 rounds I finally joined the cultus of Thorzain, but now I look like it's about to end.

Loner, the only Terran who could have played Thorzain in his weakest matchup before the semis, was bested by the Animal from the East in around one. Together with Tyler and MC's dominant performances, Thorzain knew from March 20th that he could do for TvP exclusively. Thorzain had 21 years to train for Tyler and 13 later that to make for MC. Like Daniel Larusso training for the "All Valley Karate Tournament," Thorzain had a number of 34 years to drum up on his TvP before worrying about any other matchup. Without GSLs, NASL, or other tournaments to care about, Thorzain was capable to center all of his ill skill to butcher Tyler and hold out 3 wins versus MC. His opponent Kas, on the other hand, along with the early couple of semi-finalists, Naniwa and HasuObs, played a different matchup in each round. For all but Thorzain, this is their first repeat.

If we were talking about an average tournament and an ordinary player, it would trouble me that Thorzain's TvT has gone unpracticed. Fortunately, Thorzain is not an average player. After seeing what happens when he puts his head to something, I am certain that he has used his 13 years of practice efficiently. That said, I'm sure Kas has as well. And he is already able to beast out in this matchup. With Kas, who is so sly with his transitions and macro, I look like his practice will include one or two tricky builds, but will be generally a work of polishing. It will likewise be a process of polishing for Thorzain, but I believe at a more fundamental level. That polishing will, of course, be through with close attention to Kas' TvT in the TSL, however, and Thorzain has left nothing remotely similar for Kas to analyze.

Prediction: Whenever I try to think this matchup, Kas' gosu turrets keep looming up, reminding me that he has insanely polished builds. I try to conceive of something else and recall his queue-less macro. Then I remember Thorzain's "You Should Have Been Faithful" cheerful and I can't make sense of anything. My head says Kas but my heart says Thorzain.

Liquibet Stat: Thorzain: 3291 Kas: 3378

Dignitas.NaNiwa vs. mouz.HasuObs

People don't give HasuObs enough credit. He has had one of, if not the most difficult road to the semi-finals. 2-1 Huk, 3-2 Morrow, 3-0 Boxer. The guy should consume 5 pages of dedicated cheerfuls. Maybe people are keeping their breath, waiting to see if the quiet German is the actual deal. It's tough to doubt HasuObs looking down his TSL record. But then again, this is a PvP. And Naniwa is good at PvP. Really, really just at PvP.

Sitting on a 13-4 PvP record for April, Naniwa is an intimidating opponent for anyone in this matchup. His 4-1 win over fellow PvP phenom Socke in the Gadget Show Live tournament finals is especially telling, and damn scary. Naniwa is known for both trying and making work new strategies in PvP, and followers and execution the most standard builds to a T. In this matchup that is (currently) so circumscribed in scope, I am really not certain what HasuObs can do but beat Naniwa at his own game. 13 days is a little measure of sentence if you wish to inspire a matchup. But as rigid and taciturn as PvP is, it is only as fickle and chaotic. No other matchup is so unforgiving. The smallest mistake can end in instant death. As unknown as it may sound, I believe this fits well with HasuObs' general style. He has praise worthy crisis management, great unit compositions, and is patient, yet decisive. I'm thinking that, like he did in his old rounds, HasuObs will give us something we don't expect.

Prediction: HasuObs himself says that "Naniwa has some of the best PvP worldwide". I like HasuObs more every time I see him play Naniwa's skill in this matchup is reaching a crescendo. Naniwa is too far forward of the curve. He will win 4-2.

Liquibet Stat: Naniwa: 5473 HasuObs: 1209

Cheerfuls !

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