[Volition]

Volition's Final Write-Up

.. and then there were two
Finally, we have the grand final announced for tier 5, the longest running tier of the SEACL. Longest running due to the fact that Perth Penguins and Zerocraft managed to make their semi final last about three weeks, but here we are.

In my typically over analytical style, which usually infuses a massive headache, which then leads me to making wild guesses as to who will win each week, here is a little summary of each team, and their run through the seas


Terror "going to destroy this league" Australis

TA has consistently (and loudly) stated that they will crush their opponents and win this season. Sometimes when no-one was asking the question, and occasionally when they were playing teams with substantially lesser depth and quality players. Some have found this arrogant, some obnoxious. I myself found this to add a little drama to the League, and really it wasnt ever taken further than a few statements.

Their final position on the ladder speaks for itself. Number 1. But was it the crushing victory they had stated they would achieve all season? Undoubtedly they were the best in the league this season, but then consider the following results:-

a) drew with QED Mixed Lollies;
b) drew with Perth Penguins; and
c) had a Loss to Zerocraft, before taking their revenge in the first week of the finals (and convincingly so).

In all other games, they crushed their opponents and asserted their dominance on the League. But then there were these three matches - two draws and a loss against the other top 3 teams. I wonder whether there is a little bit of doubt, that 5 games can decide whether their statements throughout the season were actually statements of facts, or wild boasts. It all comes down to these 5 games, and TA has it all on the line.

Perth "let's reschedule, we have beer to drink" Penguins

The Perth Penguins came into this season with a middle of the road team, expected to do well but not cause massive upsets - middle of the road. Was I wrong with that prediction.

Each season there will be teams that underperform, and teams that will have a great season when you consider their lineup. The Penguins are in the latter category. For some of the teams that underpeformed, consider how the Penguins operate:-

a) In terms of games played and promotions, practically everyone in the Penguins got promoted during the season. The divisions each of these guys were in at the start of the season is nothing compared to the beast of the team that has finished the season
b) a city based clan, that actually meet in real life, and as i understand, play heaps together.

The Perth penguins did something that a lot of other teams were unable to do during the season - the calibre of the whole team improved. While a few players in Slugs, or VB were promoted, the mass promotion of the Penguins really stood out throughout the last season. But they aren't playing a team that has just stayed the same. The only team that got more promotions (and as such improved more) was their opponents this week - Terror Australis.

The question is, has this team improved enough to take on the best team this season?

The last time they met

After searching the archives, these teams met in Week 10, and havent met in the finals yet. The result:-

TA Edarus and Friends [3] vs. [3] Perth Penguins

TARogue [0] - [2] InvaderZim
TAEaeron [2] - [1] Telfiri
TAChadMann [2] - [1] Moosable
TAMinimat* [2] - [0] head
TAMarinefifty [0] - [2] MrCrow

While point score was 3-3, and the game score was 6-6, in terms of overall matches won, TA has the edge 3-2. TA is not infallible, but Perth Penguins have shown that they can go toe to toe with the TA, and come out equals. But that was regular season, this is the finals. Not just any final, the grand final.

To do any more analysis without seeing the actual line-ups would be useless. I could talk about MrCrow's dominance throughout the season, or how TA now has multiple diamonds (did we come to a result about no of diamonds that can play in grand finals?). So I will be completing this write-up further, in the following categories:-

Matchup Analysis
[coming soon, post your teams damn it!]

Interview with Edarus, leader of tier 5 TA
[to be added - will only be added after lineups have been published]

Interview with Zealo, leader of Perth Penguins
Thanks for your time. Please introduce us to the 5 member that have made the grand final week, and an explanation as to why these guys have made the grade? Who was on the cusp that just didn't quite make the team?

InvaderZim: the random player. this guy has always amazed me with his starcraft brain. he can look at a pro game, and tell you exactly what's happening and what the outcome will be. unfortunately his net connection can be a bit dodgy, so he rarely practices and when he does, his play suffers. also he barely uses the keyboard when he plays, cause he's a baller.

Telfiri: One of the top 2v2 players in the team, which of course makes him one of my favourites. he's too busy too practice often but if he's practiced for the final he should be pretty fun to watch

Moosable: The most important figure in the perth starcraft scene at the moment. this guy has single handedly organised and run about 20 barcrafts for us (so far). most including awesome give-aways from sponsorships he's secured. my theory is that he uses some sort of sorcery to make this happen. as well as all his free time, he's donated a significant amount of his own cash to the prize pool for the perth WCS qualifiers (which he's organised and running) which will include a live 8 man tournament held in a pub. i think all this has eaten into his practice time over the last few months, but he is still definitely in our strongest 5.

MrCrow: the guy with a million apm. it was no surprise to anyone when he got promoted from plat to diamond. one of my favourite people to practice with, pretty much unstoppable when he shows up to a match.

Head: i didn't know this guy until he joined the penguins, but it was immediately obvious his skill was far above his status as a gold player at the time. it was also obvious that he was incredibly organised and dedicated, which made him an ideal captain. if he needs to play on saturday, i'm confident he'll handle the pressure and bring us home the championship.

every single one of our other players was 'almost' named in the lineup this week, this team has incredible depth and if we are forced to sub anyone in on the day it won't hurt our chances at all. my biggest regret is that frisco can't play this weekend. he started the season in silver and has a record this season of 6-0, a couple of those in the very tough game 4 slot. his promotion to plat is well deserved.


The first and second matches are probably the most vital, with restrictions as to your opponents in terms of leagues. Who are you sending out, and who do you think the other grand finalist will send out?
telfiri and zim are our players for these games. a good start would be great but i don't consider them any more or less important than the other 3 games. TA has such a huge lineup i haven't even tried to 2nd guess them on their lineup. probably at least 1 zerg though

The Ace Game - while it is only worth 1 point, this is the one that should contain the best players for each team. But that is not always the case. Tell us about the strategy you are employing, based in who you think your opponent will field?
our 3 players to fill these slots are pretty much pre determined by the league order rule. the order amoung them was determined entirely by who i thought would do better on which starting map. i'm sure marine50 will show up in game 4 or 5, but other than that i couldn't even guess.

Anything else you would like to add?
i'm looking forward to this, hopefully we get to watch chadmann cast all 5 games i'm sure penguins players will make up the bulk of the WA SoO BSG and PD divisions so this will be a great preview for that

for a team that started as "wouldn't it be fun for a bunch of barcraft attendees to enter this? anyone want to sign up?" the penguins have already exceeded all expectations and i'm sure everyone is as proud of them as i am. i hope they stick together and enter teams in future competitions

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