ROUND ONE Incinerate vs. Pfieff Match: One Map: Showdown Players: Incinerate Terran Blue Bottom Pfieff Terran Orange Top Length of Match: 13:10

Showdown

The first match pitted Incinerate against Pfieff, with both competitors electing to play as Terran. Build orders were identical at the start of the game, with both players going supply depot and then barracks and finishing their builds at about the same time.






Pfieff sent an SCV out scouting and located Incinerate's position early on. His lone infiltrator lasted long enough to gather some early build information on Incinerate before a Marine was dispatched to destroy the enemy SCV.






Incinerate also sent an SCV to scout out the terrain, but instead of running into Pfieff's outpost, he built a bunker at a choke point on the map to disrupt any future ground assaults. Incinerate would draw first blood as a lone Marine crossed the path of his forward bunker.






At this point, the player's strategies took different paths. Perhaps with plans for a long game on his mind, Pfieff elected to build a Command Center. It was well placed so that, once built, it could be flown to a remote location available only by the air.






Incinerate, however, made the decision to next construct a factory. This would prove to be a decisive move as he prepared to employ the dreaded Siege Tank / Dropship combo.







With his economy rolling along at full steam and, Incinerate researched Siege Tech while building his Dropships. After constructing two Dropships, he was ready to put his plan into action. Incinerate loaded his first Dropship with 2 Marines, an SCV and a Siege Tank. As the second Dropship was filled with 2 Siege Tanks, he headed out to Pfieff's base.




Incinerate executed a surprise double drop onto both of the surrounding ridges. The first Dropship unloaded the Marines, SCV and Tank onto the ridge just below Pfieff's base. As the SCV started building a bunker, the Tank dropped into siege mode and began firing on the exposed outpost. Although Pfieff had siege Tanks of his own, the advantage of high ground would prove to be a deciding factor in the coming battle.



Incinerate then brought his Dropships to the top ridge above the mineral fields and began unleashing on Pfieff's stream of SCVs. At this point, any Siege Tanks that were being produced by Pfieff were being immediately hammered by Incinerate's Tanks on the hillside.





Pfieff tried to move his Siege Tanks to fire on the Tanks above, but the high ground damage modifiers -- plus the fact that Pfieff could attack only after Incinerate's Tanks fired and gave away their location -- gave Incinerate the biggest advantage in this match-up. A Comsat Station would have allowed Pfieff to spot for his Tanks, but unfortunately he never built one. Incinerate used his Dropships to full effect by spotting for his Siege Tanks on the hill.




Pfieff, realizing that he was out-maneuvered this time around, surrendered the match.

Length of Match: 13:10

Incinerate vs. Pfieff Match: Two Map: Snowbound Players: Pfieff Terran Blue Mid-Right Incinerate Protoss Purple Top Length of Match: 15:13

(4)Snowbound

Since both players chose to play as Terran in match one, they let fate decide their species selection by choosing Random for the second match. Incinerate drew Protoss while Pfieff pulled Terran again.

Incinerate proceeded to build up his base, constructing a Pylon, an Assimilator, a Gateway, another Pylon, and then a Cybernetics Core. He followed this with a Robotics Facility, a Support bay, then a third Pylon. The random species selection meant that neither player knew exactly was waiting for him. This, coupled with the map selection, made for some variations in build orders over the previous match.

Pfeiff built a Supply Depot, a Refinery, a Barracks, a second Depot and a Factory. He then stepped up his production by constructing two Star Ports simultaneously. After they were completed, he immediately began training two Wraiths.






After they were completed, Pfeiff sent his two Wraiths to pay a call on Incinerate's base. At this point in the game, Incinerate had only one Dragoon, no photon cannons and no Forge constructed. The two Wraiths began assaulting the mostly undefended outpost as Incinerate responded with the Dragoon.





This attack prompted Incinerate to immediately begin building a Forge so that Photon Cannons could be constructed. Pfeiff, however, could not press his attack as he did not have Control Towers and did not have Cloaking Technology for the Wraiths. If he had been able to keep the Wraiths out of harm's way through the use of Cloaking, he would have caught Incinerate at a great moment of weakness. Pfeiff was forced to retreat the Wraiths after scouting out the town and causing some havoc in Incinerate's Probe stream.


At this point, Incinerate took to the air and dropped a Shuttle load of two Dragoons into the stream of SCVs working the mineral fields. In his push for Wraiths, Pfeiff had sacrificed a solid ground defense and had to rush his Wraiths back to defend against the attack. Using SCVs and his Wraiths, Pfieff was able to kill the Dragoons. Pfeiff later commented that if he had one Wraith and Cloaking he would not have been able to defeat the two Dragoons.



During this time Pfeiff had built a second Command Center and was looking to fuel his war machine by flying it to another location filled with resources.









Incinerate followed up his initial attack with a dual Shuttle drop. He deployed three Dragoons and a Reaver just outside the SCVs that were busy mining minerals. Pfeiff, still undefended on the ground, had four Wraiths as defense. The Dragoons quickly dispatched three of the Wraiths as the Reavers began to ravage the base.

Amidst "good games" all around, Pfeiff lifted off of his all mobile buildings in an effort to prolong the game and let his second base get going. Incinerate quickly hunted down all of the remaining structures with Scouts and Corsairs and the match was all over except for - as they say -- the crying and the pouring of the virtual champagne.

Length of Match: 15:13

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