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Violet ISL Round of 4
by unknown · 2012-12-16
The skill level of Shakuras players continually increases, and it has been clearly evident in this ISL. Last season's finals is now this season's Round of 4, and the other Ro4 match is a tight contest between the best Terran in the game facing off against the hottest Zerg player. Ladies and gentlemen, (lol no girls play this right?) ARE YOU READY FOR THE ROUND OF 4!!!!
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* HidE (80% vZ) vs Mafia Zerg (68.1% vZ)
All Time Series : HidE 5 - 2 Mafia Zerg
Last season's final is this season's semifinal. The two players that recently battled over the "Another Tournament" top tier championship face off in the ISL, their 3rd major series as of late. In the past series however, HidE has won 3-1. The Butcher's dominance in Shakuras demands the need of a rival, and everytime, Mafia Zerg has stepped up to the plate and gotten squashed. HidE was taken to the brink by the extremely skilled, very mechanically gifted, high experience 1 , and in the end, HidE still sealed the deal with a 3-2 victory. Meanwhile, Mafia Zerg defeated the arguably more talented Kolll 3-1, a very big win over a player who is very dominant in individual leagues. This ZvZ clash has been seen before however, and I truely believe HidE is too good to be defeated in a series.
LB : HidE 3 - 1 Mafia Zerg
Before we go in depth on this rematch of the last ISL final, let's talk a little about how these two players got here and what does it potentially mean. HidE had a tough fought battle with 1 , that brought memories of the time when TORRES took BIRDMAN to 5 games during Prop 19 ISL. Many expected HidE to sweep his ro8 match, and many were indeed surprised if not outright shocked when 1 took the series all the way to game 5. Mafia Zerg entered his quarterfinals match as a slight underdog against the mighty Kolll , the man who many thought would the only one capable of stopping HidE . However, the current ISL silver medalist was not to be denied another chance at a finals appearance, and he took the series rather convincingly 3 to 1. 3 to 1, that is how Mafia Zerg 's and HidE 's last ISL match ended up, in favor of the butcher. On paper both zergs seem very similar, with HidE only edging his opponent with a couple of stat points and despite HidE 's monstrous successes during the last few seasons Mafia Zerg , who recently popped his 11 strat, has proven himself to be very much capable of mounting a serious title challenge. This is a game where HidE is the clear favorite to win and what a better way for him to setup his second ISL finals appearance than to beat the man he had to best last season for the gold, but it would be unwise to rule Mafia Zerg out of the running just yet.
VD : A rehash of last season's final,HidE 3 - 1 Mafia Zerg
* Xello (76.1% vZ) vs Badger (67.1% vT)
All Time Series : Never Played
Badger has been on an absolute tear, ripping out the hearts of Shakuras managers by defeating fan favorites TORRES and Nal_rA . He now puts his eyes on the legendary Birdhunter, a battle in which the Xello might have the advantage. It's his best matchup, going up against Badger 's worst. However, Badger has already slain top TvZers in TORRES and Blungy , whereas Xello has beaten Hatred and Harmony , not exactly top notch Zergs. This quick change in high ability will be very difficult for Xello to handle, and so Badger will have the advantage here. Xello does have a knack of showing up big in big games, so I would not be surprised if this is closer than my prediction.
LB : Xello 1 - 3 Badger
The second semifinal match brings us an exciting TvZ, interestingly enough the statistically weakest matchup of both players involved: with Xello & Badger , the"second aces" of FTS and NB respectively, matching up. If we were to only look at the stats of these two majestic players, we might be quick to conclude that Badger will not have too much of a hard time in reaching the final, to potentially play his teammate and cohort HidE . However, Xello has established himself as perhaps the deadliest terran to currently roam shakuras, and he has netted quite a few impressive victories over good zergs recently. Having beat Hatred and Harmony to reach the ro4 in this ISL and holding various victories over the BIRDMAN , Xello 's TvZ seems to be in decisive shape come saturday. On the other hand, Badger had an amazing season in proleague and has stepped up a gear since joining NB, and one hast to go as far as the ro62 of ISL 7, when he lost to Ghost , to find a remarkable defeat against terran. A teamkill in the finals seems almost destined, but with his recent performances against zergs Xello might just be the player to stop that from happening and shining a little light for the struggling terrans everywhere.
VD : A messy struggle for the chance to appear in their first ever ISL final, Xello 3 - 2 Badger
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Thanks to VaultDweller for helping me make this a cool double-writeup. Also Loneeee gave some predictions, which is helpful. Rooting for Mafia and Xello personally. DOWN WIFF FORBENZ :D
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* HidE (80% vZ) vs Mafia Zerg (68.1% vZ)
All Time Series : HidE 5 - 2 Mafia Zerg
Last season's final is this season's semifinal. The two players that recently battled over the "Another Tournament" top tier championship face off in the ISL, their 3rd major series as of late. In the past series however, HidE has won 3-1. The Butcher's dominance in Shakuras demands the need of a rival, and everytime, Mafia Zerg has stepped up to the plate and gotten squashed. HidE was taken to the brink by the extremely skilled, very mechanically gifted, high experience 1 , and in the end, HidE still sealed the deal with a 3-2 victory. Meanwhile, Mafia Zerg defeated the arguably more talented Kolll 3-1, a very big win over a player who is very dominant in individual leagues. This ZvZ clash has been seen before however, and I truely believe HidE is too good to be defeated in a series.
LB : HidE 3 - 1 Mafia Zerg
Before we go in depth on this rematch of the last ISL final, let's talk a little about how these two players got here and what does it potentially mean. HidE had a tough fought battle with 1 , that brought memories of the time when TORRES took BIRDMAN to 5 games during Prop 19 ISL. Many expected HidE to sweep his ro8 match, and many were indeed surprised if not outright shocked when 1 took the series all the way to game 5. Mafia Zerg entered his quarterfinals match as a slight underdog against the mighty Kolll , the man who many thought would the only one capable of stopping HidE . However, the current ISL silver medalist was not to be denied another chance at a finals appearance, and he took the series rather convincingly 3 to 1. 3 to 1, that is how Mafia Zerg 's and HidE 's last ISL match ended up, in favor of the butcher. On paper both zergs seem very similar, with HidE only edging his opponent with a couple of stat points and despite HidE 's monstrous successes during the last few seasons Mafia Zerg , who recently popped his 11 strat, has proven himself to be very much capable of mounting a serious title challenge. This is a game where HidE is the clear favorite to win and what a better way for him to setup his second ISL finals appearance than to beat the man he had to best last season for the gold, but it would be unwise to rule Mafia Zerg out of the running just yet.
VD : A rehash of last season's final,HidE 3 - 1 Mafia Zerg
* Xello (76.1% vZ) vs Badger (67.1% vT)
All Time Series : Never Played
Badger has been on an absolute tear, ripping out the hearts of Shakuras managers by defeating fan favorites TORRES and Nal_rA . He now puts his eyes on the legendary Birdhunter, a battle in which the Xello might have the advantage. It's his best matchup, going up against Badger 's worst. However, Badger has already slain top TvZers in TORRES and Blungy , whereas Xello has beaten Hatred and Harmony , not exactly top notch Zergs. This quick change in high ability will be very difficult for Xello to handle, and so Badger will have the advantage here. Xello does have a knack of showing up big in big games, so I would not be surprised if this is closer than my prediction.
LB : Xello 1 - 3 Badger
The second semifinal match brings us an exciting TvZ, interestingly enough the statistically weakest matchup of both players involved: with Xello & Badger , the"second aces" of FTS and NB respectively, matching up. If we were to only look at the stats of these two majestic players, we might be quick to conclude that Badger will not have too much of a hard time in reaching the final, to potentially play his teammate and cohort HidE . However, Xello has established himself as perhaps the deadliest terran to currently roam shakuras, and he has netted quite a few impressive victories over good zergs recently. Having beat Hatred and Harmony to reach the ro4 in this ISL and holding various victories over the BIRDMAN , Xello 's TvZ seems to be in decisive shape come saturday. On the other hand, Badger had an amazing season in proleague and has stepped up a gear since joining NB, and one hast to go as far as the ro62 of ISL 7, when he lost to Ghost , to find a remarkable defeat against terran. A teamkill in the finals seems almost destined, but with his recent performances against zergs Xello might just be the player to stop that from happening and shining a little light for the struggling terrans everywhere.
VD : A messy struggle for the chance to appear in their first ever ISL final, Xello 3 - 2 Badger
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Thanks to VaultDweller for helping me make this a cool double-writeup. Also Loneeee gave some predictions, which is helpful. Rooting for Mafia and Xello personally. DOWN WIFF FORBENZ :D