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Climb to the Top - PvP Night
 

I have been planning to start a blog for a while now after the CrAzerk inspired spate of blogs about people’s journey to become a better SC2 player. I finally decided to do it after yesterday’s GPD.
I’m a diamond Protoss who first started playing SC2 as a bronzie. After something like 5 months I managed to work myself up to where I am today – Diamond. If people like it, this blog will tell of my climb all the way to the top. Some games will be ladder and some from tournaments.

Yesterday I finally managed to make it to a GPD. I wasn’t very confident going into it, thinking anything past ro16 very unlikely.

Ro64 – TheSouthLord vs TAFadey PvP Shakuras Plateau
Ahhhh PvP. I’m ok at PvP but I feel like in tournaments even if I’m much better than my opponent, all it takes is one missed FF or a small micro mistake and I’m out. My scout spots a 12 gate, 1 gas and saved up chrono boost so I decide to go for a defensive 4 gate. Unfortunately for me, Fadey isn’t 4 gating, he is going for some weird defensive 3 gate thing with an eventual robo at 6.20. After not being attacked I add my second gas and robo while he goes for Colli. At 8.15 I proceed to expand and go for a robo bay myself.

He hits a nice timing, having 2 colli to none from me. Luckily for me, my first colli arrives during the fight and along with some warp ins and some not so flashy micro from him, I push him back. He continues to attack with stalkers, zealots and colli but my natural kicks in and I continue to repel him. Eventually I push out and take out his army. GG Replay here http://www.z33k.com/starcraft2/tourn.../matches/69855

Ro32 – TheSouthLord vs TAsCarLet PvP Tal'Darim Altar LE
OMG PvP again. This turns out to be one of those awkward games where both players go for defensive 4 gates and it’s like so... what do I do now? I decide to push, which on reflection isn’t a very good idea. He also gets the same idea but luckily for me, hasn’t scouted yet. So his units go on a long trek around the other 2 possible positions to find me. I go into his base, kill the pylons powering his gates and most of his probes and then when his units finally arrive home, because I’m able to keep warping in I win the battle. GG Replay here http://www.z33k.com/starcraft2/tourn.../matches/69880

What should you do when both players defensive 4 gate?

Ro16 – TheSouthLord vs SorC PvP Typhon Peaks
WTF WTF WTF PvP AGAIN. GGGRRRRR. And to top it off I’m being casted. In the few games I have been casted for I have always seemed to get incredibly nervous and play like shit so I’m pretty sure this is the end for me.

I was planning to go defensive 4 gate again in this game but I scout a quick 2 gates for the 3 stalker rush. From experience I find that most people doing this don’t like 4 gates so I decide to go for a super quick 2 gate robo colli rush. He goes for a 3 gate robo into expand build.
I chrono out 2 colli and thermal lance and hit a timing that SorC has no chance of stopping with only 1 colli of his own. GG Replay here http://www.z33k.com/starcraft2/tourn.../matches/69892

I’m super pleased, it’s the first game I have ever won while being casted. I’m greeted by a nice happy face from my clan mate Prohan once I finish.

Ro8 – TheSouthLord vs souljah PvP
ROFL is this some sort of prank, more PvP? I’m actually reasonably confident with PvP in bo3s because I feel like I have quite a few nice strategies and some cool tricks up my sleeve that I can demonstrate in a bo3. Again, this match is casted by the wonderful System.

Game 1 The Shattered Temple
This game I just go straight for a 4 gate because he goes for a 2 gas opening. I manage to set up 2 pylons at his ramp with my probe being supported by my first zealot and stalker. I misplace them; neither of them can warp stalkers straight into base if I have vision, though I can onto the ramp. Souljah goes for a 2 gate robo build but a few small mistakes mean that he has no chance as my first few rounds of units flood into his base. GG

Game 2 Xel'Naga Caverns
This game I decide to put the pressure on with a trick fake proxy. I need to do a huge amount of refinement of this style because my probes heading out to build buildings at this fake were spotted twice though souljah doesn’t realize. What I should do is send 1 probe out to build the fake pylon and gate while sending a normal timed scout from my main. I also need to practise actually going for a real proxy gateway or forge rush. The fake throws souljah off and he fails to scout my gas and gets supply blocked.
I transition into a weird phoenix build which on reflection wasn’t all that good an idea. My phoenix get some kills and scout that he is going for a chargelot archon build.

I follow my phoenix up with an expansion and robo, feeling like my phoenix will make him feel like he has to play defensive to avoid my phoenix getting to many probe kills. My expo is well before his and I continue to harass his workers.

I transition into a colli, void gatway army which I think is a nice counter his army. Along with the probe advantage my phoenix have given me I am super far ahead. The battle comes and I frantically try to pick up his archons with my phoenix but it doesn’t seem to happen. It doesn’t matter, my army is just too big and I progress to the ro4. GG

Rather than being greeted by a happy face, Prohan he is like “Micro your damn army”. At that point I realize, I was trying to pick up a massive unit and Prohan seems to find this rather funny. If I hadn’t been so far ahead and his zealots hadn’t been so bunched this could have cost me the game so I feel incredibly lucky. Replays here http://www.z33k.com/starcraft2/tourn.../matches/69898

Ro4 – TheSouthLord vs Dohwee PvT GSL Terminus SE

Game 1 GSL Terminus SE
PvT is by far my worst matchup so I’m very unhappy. I decide to DT rush but he gets a quick reaper and I’m hugely afraid of my shrine being scouted. I chrono out a zealot and 2 stalkers and spread them around my base. Then I realize I don’t have a proxy pylon for my DT's to warp to. I need to remember when doing strategies that require a proxy just to leave a probe in the proxy position. So I’m forced to send a stalker as an escort my proxy building probe which allows his reaper to slip through and scout my shrine.

Of my first 3 DT 2 are scanned and a turret picks up the 3rd with me doing zero damage except forcing 2 scans and a turret. He has already expanded so from there it’s game. There is nothing I can do and his MMM army is just too big. GG

Game 2 Xel'Naga Caverns
This game I decide to go for a 3 gate expand but I lose my first zealot and stalker chasing after a marine to 2 marauders. Immediately any map control that the 3 gate expand usually provides is gone and I am forced to delay my expansion. From there I transition into a 5 gate push but I’m already behind and I only have 2 zealots. Without zealots there is really nothing tanking or doing the damage so his marine, marauder, bunker, SCV combination holds comfortably.

Realizing how far behind I am, I decide to go for an super risky expansion at the gold. This gets up and running but my colli are delayed meaning I really don’t have much of an army. Despite heaps of spotting pylons, a 2 medivac drop comes in unspotted at my main. My units are out of position at my gold so I decide to go for a push. In reflection I think because I was a base up I should have just sent some units back to deal with it and waited for colli. His main army is poking out and I try to catch it with FF. These FF than hinder me as I try to push, cutting half of my stalkers out of the battle. Along with some bad FF this means that despite 2 medivacs worth of units not in his army I lose the battle. GG replays here http://www.z33k.com/starcraft2/tourn.../matches/69901

I’m out of the tournament but I don’t really care, it’s been a fun night and I have qualified for the master’s cup.

Please give me feedback. If this is total crap, tell me. If you have some, advice tell me. If you would love for me to continue, tell me.