Finals: Sen vs Zenio

The battle of the malleable Zergs
 

Alan LaFleur

Twitter:lafleuralan

It is not everyday that we are treated to a ZvZ between two Zergs that understand the matchup so well. Zenio being the Korean is probably the 2nd best at the mirror matchup behind The God of ZvZ, Nestea. Sen has probably the best grasp of the mayhem that is ZvZ in the foreigner scene, even better than IdrA. None of us can really guess at what type of unit composition, build order, or any type of structure in play between these two great competitors. What we can expect though is pure, calculated mayhem.

HOW THEY GOT HERE

After beating one of the top Korean Zergs in week one, Sen propelled himself to a 2nd place finish, going 7-2 in the group with decisive wins over IdrA, MaNa, Socke, and Tyler. Sen has been known as one of the better foreign Zergs and consistently shows it in competition. According to the Teamliquid Progamer Database, Sen has an international elo of 2308 but the 2nd highest elo in ZvZ, second only to Nerchio who has a lot more games of ZvZ played. In the NASL, he has a 4-1 record against IdrA and Zenio, the two Zergs he has faced. Lately, Sen has been hot in his last ten games of ZvZ going 7-3 in competitions with losses coming to the God of War, July, at 2011 Dreamhack Summer. There is no doubt in my mind that Sen deserves to be in California for the NASL Finals and I would never be shocked if he made it far unless he has to play Strelok - he seems to have Sen’s number.

Zenio rebounded nicely after losing in week one to Sen only losing one more match and that was against Drewbie. After losing to Drewbie, the GSL Code S Zerg did not drop a single game until the playoff qualifiers where he lost one game to Dde. Zenio rode that winning streak to a top seed in the playoff qualifiers where in the Seed 11 Qualifier Finals he got to meet up with IdrA, his nemesis. If you are a fan of IdrA rage (who isn’t?) the series did not disappoint as Zenio took two quick games off of IdrA due to some sneaky play. At one point, IdrA told Zenio - the guy that has a dominating record against him - to earn the ‘GG’.

Zenio is probably the hottest player coming into the finals...and I’m not talking his hair here. He has won 7 matches in a row to get to this spot, but in order to win an NASL Season 1 Championship he will need to win 4 more against the best of the best in Starcraft 2.

THE HISTORY

When these two high level Zergs met in week one, viewers were treated to an awesome display of multitasking and decision making from one of the players. That player was Sen.

Sen is known for his decision making and multitasking. Lets go back to that week 1 against Zenio in game 2 on Crevasse. Sen snuck in a Spire during the micro-fest that is early game ZvZ. With the Mutalisks he was able to control the map, kill drones, but the most important thing was that he went after every overlord he could find halting the production for the Korean Zerg. That type of decision making is what won him that game because taking out the supply of Zenio allowed Sen to get drones and a large lead in the army count, and he never looked back.

There is no doubt that in the foreigner scene, Sen has the best understanding of ZvZ at the moment. The style of the FnaticMSI Zerg also tends to be the style that gives Zenio trouble. The decision making that he uses and just says, ‘I’m going to do this whether you like it or not’ gives Zenio trouble, especially if he isn’t ready for it. Couple that with the multitasking and you have a winning combination against the Korean Zerg. I believe Sen will take this match and will probably face Strelok. Although Sen’s ZvT is probably his worst matchup, he has a good record against Strelok.

Make sure to tune into the NASL Grand Finals on July 8th to see not only this matchup but the likes of Boxer, MC, Ret, Sheth, White-Ra, and many many more. Don’t miss a minute of the action!