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There was never a tournament like it...

My friends, I would like to take you back into the mist of time. The year is 2001. The music sucks (doesn't it always?), the Essendon Football club was beginning it's tragic decline, and al-Qaeda did a little renovating of the Manhattan Skyline (too soon?). Myself, I was in high school, and my grades were suffering at the hands of a little game called Starcraft: Broodwar.

More significantly, I was playing Brood War in the year that the 1.08 patch dropped. This was the last major balance change and, most significantly, it introduced REPLAYS.

Given this was the era of the 56k modem, and televised Starcraft was only just getting started, prior to this if you'd wanted to get a taste of top level play you had to read a Battle Report. With 1.08 the entire community, and in particular aspirational newbs like myself, had gone replay crazy. Top level replays dropped into the community like a blockbuster movie hitting the cinemas, and this year, the year of the replay, there was one event to rule to them all: WCG 2001.

Players like the legendary Xd's~Grrrr... and `Slayers`Boxer would be on display for the first time in replay format at a major competitive event. While I was looking forward to those players, as was everyone, there was another players' fortunes in particular that I was keeping tabs on. A player by the name of [o]Mr.X.

Some background

[o]Mr.X was a Bulgarian Zerg who had achieved some excellent results to that point in his career, including 2 KBK (the major Korean tournament of the day) top 16 finishes, and had gained E-Fame through his collaboration with Battlereporter extraordinaire, Breeze. If you only read one Battlereport in your life time, read this master piece by Breeze http://www.battlereports.com/search.php?author=breeze .CRAZY. For the Warcraft 3 nerds in the house, you may know Mr.X better as SK-Insomnia, who if memory serves took out the inaugural Warcraft 3 WCG crown.

So yes, I was very keen to see the star of the written word on the big screen, so to speak.

Mr.X did not disappoint. He was a notch above most of the players in his group, but one game still sticks in my mind as being a particularly epic encounter. His opponent I'd not heard of prior to this event, a stranger from the orient, he went by the name of [alt]nirvana , and this is the tale of their clash.

The map was Legacy of Char http://wiki.teamliquid.net/starcraft/Legacy_of_Char, and the match up Terran Vs. Zerg, with Nirvana the Terran and Mr.X the zerg. Early expansions were damned easy to take, and the middle corridor was a siege tanks delight. The mains were also quite close together, and siege able from the low ground. While the map was definitely a Protoss graveyard, I don't recall there being a huge advantage for either Terran or Zerg, with them both having a number of options to exploit.

Round 1, FIGHT!

Mr.X spawns as Zerg in the top left, while SEA legend Nirvana takes Terran in the bottom right.

Now back in 2001 the game was still very raw, which was another reason 2001 WCG was such an amazing event. There were different play styles, and many of them viable in their way. Mr.X was a macro based player, in a time where macro Zergs were MEN. If you were Zerg, it wasn't just about droning. It was about expanding. They kill a hatchery, you put down 2 more. You then proceeded to throw ALL THE UNITS at your opponent. To reflect this, Mr.X opened with a hatch first, followed by GAS (long distance spawns on Char) and then a Spawning Pool.

Nirvana's play style at this point in time I don't know much about. I believe he was a race picker, and he went for the conservative route of a double Rax opening followed by gas. A starport was the tech of choice, the games first action coming with a lone hero-Wraith ™ scouting out Mr.X, who has been going for a fast Mutalisk tech. The Wraith snipes an overlord before exercising the better part of valour in retreating from some freshly hatched Mutas. Nirvana erects some turrets and a bunker for anti-muta defense and thoroughly denies Mr.X's harass.



While the mutas were flying over, Mr.X slipped out a drone with a plan to taking the bottom left main expansion with Nirvana still on one base. Terrans at the time opted for heavy early pressure and were happy to one base it for extended periods. Soon enough, Nirvana moves out with a heavy duty squad of M&M's and a drop ship. The plan? An elevator drop into Mr.X's main.

It's a good plot given that Mr.X has gone for Muta tech ahead of Lurkers. In BW, much the same as in SC2, the worst thing you can do against a Mutalisk user is let them pin you down and macro up. Now, if ever you're wondering to yourself why Blizz decided to make Medivacs flying dropships of win, one need look no further than the original Dropship. Which was, and I'm being kind here, a slow sack of shit. Typically, Mr.X is able to pick it off rather easily, and end the elevator before it could do a heap of damage.



Nirvana takes this small defeat in stride, and expands to his natural while preparing for siege tech. Mr.X takes the bottom right expand now that the threat has been contained. Both sides are on roughly 60 supply, with Mr.X sporting a healthy Muta ball and Nirvana with a handy squad or M&M's.

Some action briefly occurs, as Mr.X decides to take back the initiative and engage in some Muta harass at Nirvana's main while his army is out. However, Nirvana had built a bunker near his mineral line, and a bunker full of marines is bad news for all but the deathliest of Muta balls. Mr.X loses some Mutas, and does little damage. But Mr.X isn't done, he swings around to the natural, and picks off an SCV, before engaging with a small M&M ball. Now M&M's > Mutas of course, but not in small numbers, and the noble soldiers meet a quick death.



Mr.X presses his advantage, attacking Nirvana's production facilities. A barracks falls, before reinforcing marines drive the Mutas off. It's not all bad for Nirvana, however, as Mr.X was slow to withdraw his Mutas and only 5 survive the engagement, although more are in production. Meanwhile, Nirvana has secured his expansion. It's 3 bases Vs. 2, which are never terrible odds for a Terran.

A relative lull ensures. Mr.X takes a 4th (the bottom left natural), begins researching Lurker tech while adding to his death ball. Nirvana builds up his army, and scans Mr.X's third. Remarkably, the supplies are dead even at the 13 minute mark, after their exchanges both players are on roughly 80 supply.

Nirvana is the player to break this period of detente when he drops the bottom left main expansion with a single payload of marines and medics. Not an amazing force, however the timing was genius. Mr.X's Muta flock was on the other side of the map, and the expansion is razed to the ground before they can arrive.

At this stage Nirvana has the advantage, albeit a slight one. He has a supply lead, and is preparing to take his third. Mr.X, however, has finally gotten Lurkers into the game, and mobilises a hydra/lurker force to pressure Nirvana's third, while retaking the base that was raised.



Mr.X soon discovers, however, that tanks go BOOM, and decides not to commit. Nirvana mean while continues his drop campaign and lands a marine squad at the base he had just raised. The drop goes less well than last time, and is thoroughly denied. It was, however, little more than a feint. Nirvana using the absence of an army to claim the centre aggressively. Shit just went up a notch.

Let's Dance

Nirvana drives his army through the centre all the way up to Mr.X's base. He has a very well rounded army. Tanks and Science Vessels to deal with Lurkers, and good M&M coverage. He also has the ability to siege Mr.X's main from the low ground. His army, however, is isolated. Mr.X has a force behind it and in front of it. There is no retreat.

Mr.X for his part does not greatly desire a head on collision. He has Hive tech, and his Greater Spire is morphing. Time is what Mr.X needs, as his evolution chamber is sniped from the low ground and drones are denied mining at the main base. Nirvana senses this, and pushes forward. Marines and Tanks engage in a deadly tango with an army or Lurkers, all the while time ticks away.
And then, the Guardians hatch.



This is a real game changer as tanks lose command of the battlefield. Irradiate can only do so much, and Nirvanas expeditionary force is slaughtered to the last man.

This levels things up, it's 3 mining bases vs. 2 with late game tech on the field. Both sides have been doing a good job of upgrading their units, but Nirvana holds a slight edge with 2/2 marines and 3/3 on the way. Mr.X plans on switching his tech back up, planting a Ultralisk Cavern and a Defiler Mound, and he has 8 hatcheries on the field for serious unit production.

Nirvana lands a sizeable force of M&M's at the constantly besieged bottom left main expansion. Mr.X is quick to respond, and Nirvana is unable to snipe the valuable Defiler tech. Mr.X capitalises on this success by laying down 5 (!!) expansion hatcheries, in pretty much every conceivable location, including the northern centre island expand. Nirvana does his best to punish this greed by dropping at the bottom left natural, netting some drone kills, driving the rest off and eventually raising the hatchery. Mr.X attempts to use Guardians to lay siege to Nirvana's third, but Wraiths and Irradiate > Guardians quite severely. Nirvana's Hero-Wraiths ™ then proceed to wipe out every drone at the nearby expansion. Nirvana appears to forget about their heroics, however, and does not react in time when they are surrounded by Hydras and blasted from the sky.



Cannon to the left of him, Cannon to right of him, Cannon in front of him volleyed and thundered...


So who is winning? It's tough to say. Nirvana has been landing solid tactical victories, but is losing the war. Mr.X commands the all important centre thoroughfare with a vicious combination of Hydralisks, Lurkers, and Ultralisks. Nirvana's army is no less impressive consisting of the standard Terran fare of M&M's, Tanks, Science Vessels and Wraiths. However, time is again not on his side.

Nirvana's Jedi game sense must have been working for him, as he senses it is go time. He charges into the middle, and catches Mr.X's forces badly organised. Excellent use of Defensive Matrix (rendering Lurkers high DPS worthless) and poor flanking from Mr.X swings the early stages of the Battle for the Centre in Nirvana's favour.



Nirvana pushes his advantage, driving towards the bottom left (again!), seeking to shut down Mr.X's economy. He takes a good siege position and proceeded to rain Arclite onto Mr.X's mineral line. Meanwhile both small squads of reinforcing Hydras and Marines collide in the centre, with mixed results.



Nirvana has succeeded in shutting down 2 of Mr.X's mining operations, and he holds a 20 supply lead over the Bulgarian Zerg. But his natural is bone dry, and he is down to a single mining expansion himself. Nirvana makes a bold gambit and starts constructing a CC the un-occupied top right main base, next door to 2 of Mr.X's own expansions. Much must be risked in war.

Supplies are roughly 150 to Nirvana, and 130 to Mr.X, but Nirvana has again allowed an army to become trapped while laying siege to a base, this time in the bottom left. Last time Mr.X employed Guardians to break the siege, this time he has Defilers.

SIDEBAR: I realise that not everyone reading this will be familiar with Broodwar. If ever there was a unit to QQ about, it was the Defiler. This bad boy, on top of the fungal growth equivalent in Plague, had a spell known as Dark Swarm. Any unit under this Swarm could take no damage (with the exception of siege tank splash). i.e. those 3/3 marines of yours may as well be shooting blanks.

Mr.X hits Nirvana's bottom left force with every thing he has got. The flank comes in, dark swarms go down and marines die. This shit was fking Gallipoli. Never. Stood. A. Chance.



You've got to pay the price

While this is taking place, a small squad of marines razes one of Mr.X's hatcheries on the right hand side, and he has begun mining, albeit slowly, from his own right hand main expansion. Nirvana shows some remarkable game sense, and loads up a drop ship to send to the unscouted northern island expansion of Mr.X and takes it out. I wish I'd been keeping a count of the number of hatcheries Nirvana has taken down this game, but my rough approximation is that the count stands at eleventy-billion.

Unfortunately, all success comes at a price. Expansions have been taken down so often, that a number of bases that SHOULD have been mined out are still functioning, meaning that Mr.X holds a decisive income advantage, even if he is down in supply by around 130 to 150. So what do you do in this situation? Well, you drop the bottom left expansion OF COURSE. 2 drop ships unload their cargo, and once again the bottom left hatchery gets taken down like a drunken prom queen.

Mr.X sends his army to respond, and Nirvana again uses this as an opportunity to punch through the centre.



The battle starts off well for Nirvana, but plague goes down on his tanks and Zerg units stream in for all sides. In what I can only see as a blunder, he has left a significant squad of marines back at his base, and the tanks are unsieged. This is a bad engagement, the Broodwar equivalent of burrowed banes tearing through a seemingly unstoppable army. It hurts.

Mr.X, has taken a beating for the previous 15 minutes, but at this stage it appears more a rope-a-dope. Like Ali in the Rumble in the Jungle, he has taken everything thrown at him, and he is still standing. He has been getting hit yes, but Nirvana has been punching himself out. Now it's his turn.

Mr.X gathers his forces, taps A, and clicks MOVE.



There can be only one

The front door is getting kicked in, and Nirvana is out of minerals at his main. To make matters worse, Mr.X has gotten wind of Nirvana's right hand ninja-expand and cracklings swoop in.

Nirvana creates a fearsome siege line, and many Zerg units break upon it. Arclite fires, SCV's repair tanks, and briefly the attack is halted.

But it is a pyrrhic victory. Nirvana is dry on minerals, his army smashed, and his tanks weakened. He does the only thing left to do, gathers everyone of his SCV's and makes a final charge across the great chasm of Char. A funny thing I noted during this battle, is that medics and SCV's do surprisingly well under a dark swarm, but not well enough.


One, by one, by one, they fall. Until all that is left is silence, and Nirvana is left with no choice, but to tap out.




And then.......?

The epic battle was largely inconsequential in the scheme of things, as both [o]Mr.X and [aLt]nirvana advanced from the group stage.

Mr.X won his first game in the finals before running into some guy called Boxer; the Emperor then at the height of his powers. No Zerg stood a chance against Boxer in 2001, and Mr.X was no different. Boxer's timing attacks and micro-management were streaks ahead of his peers, and it showed in every game he played the tournament, not dropping a single game (though given a notable shake by Elky).

Elky took second place, with GoRush in 3rd position. Another notable to make the finals was Liquid`Nazgul, who showed amazing PvT throughout the entire tournament, even taking out Korean legend V`Gundam.

As for Nirvana? Well, maybe he would like to share....