WOW I came away wildly impressed by Impact and Trust.

I've always liked Impact as a tier 3/4 Zerg, but he just kept hitting sharp timings and roach rushes and didn't drop a map vs Zest and Gumi

Rooting for Trust is like rooting for the 15-year old virgin in the 80's teen movie... he tries hard and has come so far... but the eventual winner goes home and ****s the prom queen

Classic is the best Protoss alive.

I used to think it was sOs, because of his unconventional approach in ALL matchups, but especially PvP....

Then I used to think it was Stats, as a fundamentally sound Protoss in all matchups... but I can't overlook his Ro32 exit last season,

So I'm fine with saying it's actually Classic.

Some great games from Hurricane

...Protoss imba.

i, too, had special and ragnarok coming out of the TY/sOs group

special dude, wear a longer shirt or higher pants or something. his belly was literally poking out of the bottom of his shirt.

-How to beat BC rushes as Zerg

-The ace match vs Special was a clinic in how to hold off a 2-base marine/tank push

G1, Ragnarok picks exactly the perfect engage, on creep with flanks from 2 sides, and stomps the immortal/sentry push for the win.

G2, Classic goes for a completely different opening, suicides his air units onto 11 worker kills, and STILL Ragnarok picks exactly the perfect engage in The First Big Fight to hold it off. But then Classic perfectly balances attacking with pulling back and waiting for storm to finish, and eventually closes it out.

BEST PROTOSS ALIVE

G1, kind of a bop. You can't get stim, a few marines, a raven, a third, AND switch into mech while being able to hold off a perfectly normally timed, upgraded attack.

G2, Amazing comeback! I lol'ed IRL for quite a while with "The Depot sends its regards"

Classic BEST PROTOSS ALIVE

Just a clinical takedown where small edges become insurmountable

I found myself rooting for Ragrnarok.

I was surprised when game 2 just straight up ended

I thought about offering just 500:1 on $20 after all that talk about 8 Protosses in Ro8, glad I didn't now

WOW Game 1 was amazing... dovetails with what I was saying about why SC2 is better than Brood War. Parting goes for an unconventional opening that perfectly counters the prevailing meta, which leads into a full-blooded struggle in the mid-game with both players making good moves. That segues into a late game that Parting ultimately closes out with good micro picking off smaller groups of units from the edges, and good tech choices to fight the ranged liberators with tempests, colossi, and oracle reveals.

Game 2: I think Gumiho showed he's the stronger player overall, and reveals a weakness in Parting's approach. And Tastosis mentioned this, Parting's just all aggressive all the time, and a solidly defensive Terran just turtled up, deflected everything, and macro'ed up enough to push out and end the game.

Game 3: What a fantastic game-theory choice by Parting to go Dark Shrine after losing big to that unique 2 concussive-shell marauder counterattack! Then sends his observer to escape by the skin of his teeth TWICE to bait out all the scans.

Just fantastic games all around!

Game 1: LOL "if only we had a word for a pylon that powered everything..."

On a more serious note, seems like all the rage for Zergs these days is quick Nydus-based attacks. Even if it doesn't work initially, playing Nydus whack-a-mole can be strong when the 3rd is far by ground from the main.

Game 2: That's the soO ZvP we've come to know and love... herp derp roach/ravager rush ends the game. Dear was dead when the natural was breached, he just didn't know it yet. Related: immortal/warp prism micro with a good player micro'ing is just comical at this point.

Game 1: Welp, can't lose the warp prism... gg.

Game 2: "Look-a-that!

...Did soO just die?

...Yeah man."

Perfectly executed cannon rush with a transition into the Robo that wins the game.

Game 3: Game 1 was a flop losing the warp prism... Perfect execution in Game 3.

Parting out in 1st to the Ro8!

What a time to be alive

Strong lean towards Gumiho.

Game 1: Kind of a bop.

Game 2: Again... kind of a bop.

I have a tough time formulating opinions on that 2nd tier of "good Protosses." Classic is BEST PROTOSS ALIVE, Stats is also tier 1, and Zest bounces back and forth from tier 1 to tier 2.

But that tier 2 is a very nebulous group where I can't quite tell who's rising and who's falling. I thought Dear was rising, from his Ro32 showing. But today makes me think otherwise.

I think Patience is rising, but I'm not quite sure yet.

Eager to see his games to find out.

Gumiho vs. soO.

The most outside-the-box Terran who's always challenged what Terran could do with mech, morphed into a solid, defensive style with excellent macro and micro

vs

The tournament legend, who has never climbed the mountaintop, yet we've come to expect a standard of excellence at this stage in tournaments.

I remember in Wings of Liberty when TvZ a) always got to the midgame, and b) was always endless hordes of ling-bane-muta crashing into marine-marauder-medivac-tank, and games were decided on who could take and hold a 4th.

Thankfully, the game has evolved since then, and there is much more complexity in the matchup.

Stoked to see these two players going up against it in a win-or-go-home decider match!

I'm rooting for soO.

I just want to see him win one!

Game 1: I'm shocked, SHOCKED that soO went for a quick roach/ravager rush and snowballed it to a win.

Do these pros even watch the games?

"Mut-Mut justice."

Game 2: "Ooh, this is NOT going well for Gumiho."

...Well then.

soO moves on!

Kinda shows how unexploitable immortal-sentry is, without doing wild cheese like Soo's Nydus rush against Dear. Parting only lost a game because of stupidly losing his warp prism, immortals OP, shield batteries OP.

LOL Gumiho.

Pretty funny that Soo 2-0s two guys who both beat him in GSL finals in the past

Definitely interested to see Classic vs Trap to settle who the best Protoss alive is right now. I'm leaning Classic, but it wouldn't shock me if Trap wins, he's been in great form all year.

Dark showed that he has the best ZvP out of anybody... which is good because he'll need it. I'd love to see him get over the hump and take down the GSL!!

Classic is the most annoying kind of Protoss to watch, he just spins the wheel of two base all-ins before each game, and it's such a dumb race that it works

Thank god Dark saved us from the horror of an all-Protoss ro8

go dark! He plays the kind of Zerg that I would imagine Protoss players love

lol, Dark showing just how much someone like Hurricane can benefit from a favorable lineup. Getting this far, Hurricane:
- Advanced in 2nd from Ro32 (beat Solar twice, lost to Classic)
- Advanced in 2nd from Ro16 (beat Fantasy, lost to Classic, beat Ragnarok)
- Advanced in Ro8 against Parting (who still seems to be finding his old form)

Finally he runs into a capable player in an elimination situation, who absolutely smashes him.

I thought Trap was done for after Classic swatted away that cannon rush. Very impressed with how he turned it around.

GOOOOOOOO Dark!