GGL Wire

The GomTV Star Invitational enters it’s semi-finals stage, with players now playing best of five matches to see who advances. Only two Terran and two Protoss players remain now, so tune in tonight to see Nick “Tasteless” Plott casting the action!

The full schedule is available, as always, at gsi.gomtv.com.

View stream setup and info here at the GSI homepage.

Map list:
Blue Storm
Katrina
Baekmagoji
Blue Storm
Katrina

Hit the jump for the matchups.

Match One: Flash(T) v AnyTime(P)

Both Players made it out of group A, only to find themselves playing each other again. Flash has been performing at an incredible level, taking down JaeDong in both the GSI and OSL (he’s scheduled to play Bisu next). His playstyle against Jaedong ranged from an aggressive double barracks proxy, to a more conservative Baekmagoji setup. Anytime has been playing a sturdy Protoss game as well, taking down Much to advance. Although he took a loss to Flash in the group stage, he has a better chance here in a best of five match.

Predictions:

Blue Storm: Flash > AnyTime
Katrina: Flash > AnyTime
Baekmagoji: Flash < AnyTime
(Yes, I know it’s best of five, but these maps repeat)

This one’s really a hard call for me. Blue Storm could go to either player, depending on if either of them uses a cheese build. Katrina is going to Flash if AnyTime uses the standard Carrier manuevers. Terrans for the most part have adapted and prepared, using Goliath heavy builds and Wraith techs. Baekmagoji doesn’t look pretty for either players. It lacks decent room to do anything, but the double gas at the opening base leaves means AnyTime can pick up more resources with an expo, while Flash might have to pressure him to keep up in economics.

Match two: Beserker (aka Iris) v Stork

We saw both players go 2-0 against their opponents. Iris devastated Bisu on both maps, shrugging off an attack on Blue Storm and scrapping Carriers in record time. He played brilliantly in both games, ready for Bisu’s strategy each time. Stork, on the other hand, did just as well. His proxy Robotics Facility bought him enough time to exploit a small window of opportunity, and exploit it he did. Unable to defend against the drop, Sea conceded the game on Blue Storm. On Katrina, Stork’s Carriers swept across the map, disabling Sea’s tank position. Quickly losing ground, Sea gave up the game, unable to defend against the Dragoon and Carrier push.

Predictions:

Blue Storm: Iris < Stork
Katrina: Iris > Stork
Baekmagoji: Iris < Stork

I don’t think Iris will proxy against Stork on Blue Storm. Stork has little problem defending against the strategy, and Iris seems to play better as the game progresses. On Katrina, however, Stork needs to play wisely and not opt for Carriers; Iris’s game sense can smell them a mile away. Baekmagoji might get turned into a macro battle. Chances are Stork will have more resources available, but he’ll have to break Iris’s position to do any decent damage.