dignitas/TargA's Road to the Battle.net WCS EU Round of 8

Over the past several weeks, Kristoffer 'TargA' Marthinsen has participated in the Battle.net World Championship Series Europe. The Norwegian Zerg worked his way through multiple online qualifiers to earn a place in WCS EU Challenger League, and extremely strong opposition throughout Challenger League to win a spot in EU Premier League.

During group play, TargA has gone from underdog to Cinderella, beating former Premier League finalists and securing his stake in the Season 3 Finals event October 5-6th. TargA’s road from perdition to deliverance has been winding, and filled with twists, turns, and close calls. Let us take a look back at how TargA became a WCS EU quarterfinalist.

 

Challenger League Online Qualifiers

TargA’s first two online qualifiers saw him fall in the round of 32 by a score of 2-1, firstagainst the German Protoss Socke, then against the Spanish Zerg AlaStOr. The third qualifier saw the Team Dignitas Zerg rise to the occasion against formidable opposition. TargA defeated mousesports hOpe 2-0, Genius (formerly of AZUBU) 2-0, and finally Complexity Gaming’s viPro 2-1 to qualify for WCS Challenger League Season 2. 

 

Challenger League Round of 40 vs. Mill.ForGG (T)

Season 1 Global Finals attendee, Millennium ForGG would try to make TargA’s stay in the bracket stage a short one. TargA drew first blood with early zergling pressure against a quick third Command Center. The pressure scored two critical run bys into the Terran mineral lines and allowed the Team Dignitas Zerg to take 4 bases and overwhelm his opponent. ForGG responded in Game 2, holding off immense pressure from TargA’s 3-base roach/ling/bane aggression, and establish a bio/medivac presence that could not be dealt with. The Ace match saw TargA take advantage of a lack of scouting by ForGG. The Norwegian Zerg executed a beautiful 9-pool against an ill-fated Command Center on the low ground, killing several SCVs attempting to finish the Barracks and eventually overwhelming the base. 2-1 TargA 

 

Challenger League Round of 24 vs. XMG.ToD (P)

TargA again drew first blood; out-macroing XMG ToD and finishing with a very entertaining baneling drop timing finisher. (A must see!) 

ToD then retaliated by taking to the skies, powering through TargA’s roach/ling army with void rays. The deciding game was a 65-minute marathon that saw both players using everything including the ‘kitchen sink’. TargA traded extremely well in resources with his swarm host/brood lord with corruptor composition, but ToD ultimately was able to mass carriers and void rays with archons, which was able to render TargA’s ‘free’ anti-ground units ineffective. ToD wins 2-1 in a crazy Game 3. TargA drops to Challenger Group Stage.

 

Challenger League Group Stage vs. ShoWTimE (P), AcerBly (Z), San (P)

In the first set, TargA faced the German Protoss, ShoWTimE. After falling to gateway/immortal timing in Game 1, TargA capitalized on a greedy expansion with 2 base pressure that led to a fast equalizer. In Game 3, the Zerg player fell victim to a clever warp prism and sentry play in his main base, with force fields blocking reinforcements from going up the ramp and sealing the set. 2-1 ShoWTimE. 

 

TargA then faced Acer Bly, who participated in Season 1 Premier League. TargA took an early lead when Bly’s muta/ling aggression failed to do enough damage, allowing the Team Dignitas Zerg to counterattack with a massive roach/hydra/infestor force for a decisive win. The following game saw a reversal of fate. TargA’s muta/ling/bane failed to do enough damage while Bly was able to deny his later expansions and mass a decisive roach force that ended tied the series. Ace point saw early zergling and baneling aggression from both players, but TargA’s defensive banelings and queens defended a committal attack, giving TargA a decisive supply lead and leaving Bly unable to recover. TargA takes the series 2-1.

 

The last obstacle between TargA and Premier League was a best of 3 against the former GSL semifinalist San. After falling 0-1 to a nice gateway timing attack, TargA rebounded with two straight wins, including an exciting Game 3 finisher, where TargA’s Ultralisk Cavern went unscouted, and his ling/ultra force shredded through the Protoss opponent. TargA wins 2-1 to advance to WCS EU Premier League.

 

WCS EU Premier League Round of 32 Group A vs. Alliance.Naniwa (P)

Naniwa, fresh from his WCS Season 2 Global Finals appearance at Gamescon, tried to make a statement in the first set of WCS EU Season 3. Games 1 saw nice colossi placement melt with TargA’s aggressive roaches, giving Naniwa the opportunity to counterattack and win. Game 2 saw an ultra-late game 38-minute marathon, where TargA fought valiantly but was unable to deal with the high DPS and splash damage (including some VERY nice storms) of the Protoss army. TargA falls to the Loser’s Bracket 0-2.

 

WCS EU Premier League Round of 32 Group A vs. XMG.ToD (P)

TargA then met XMG ToD, who knocked him out of the bracket stage of Challenger League one month earlier. ToD’s passivity along with good scouting from TargA allowed the Norwegian Zerg to take safe expansions and eventually attack and out-macro the Protoss before ToD was able to reach critical mass. Game 2 saw TargA’s aggression lack sufficient damage, and ‘le ToD’ grew his own aggressive force of colossi/archon/immortal that evened the set at 1. In the decider, TargA employed a beautiful tactic on the French Protoss, pressuring the natural expansion and committing the enemy army, then subsequently transitioning to attacking the third base that was undefended. ToD was able to muster a scary force of void rays but the firepower of TargA’s hydralisks along with the nice transfusions from his queens secured the game and the set. TargA advances to the Final match 2-1. 

 

WCS EU Premier League Round of 32 Group A vs. [A].Naniwa (P) *Ace Match*

TargA would then have to face his first round opponent Naniwa, who fell to Millennium's ForGG in the Winner’s Match. Game 1 saw TargA take his first win against the Swedish Protoss with an excellent surround by roaches with not enough sentry energy for force fields. Game 2 produced TargA’s only short loss. Naniwa hit a 3-gate zealot attack on TargA’s third, eventually destroying it. TargA’s counterattack with roaches was met with void rays and the series became even. Game 3 on Polar Night featured a fantastic final fight with TargA pulling his queens to provide both extra air support and more importantly adding crucial transfusions, keeping the Zerg forces alive and writing TargA’s ticket to the round of 16. TargA wins in a great game! 2-1

 

WCS EU Premier League Round of 16 Group A vs. Empire Hqppy (T) 

TargA kicked off the Round of 16 against the Russian Terran Empire’s Happy, who advanced by beating SaSe and Season 2 champion duckdeok. TargA started out strong in Game 1, holding off the drop pressure applied by Happy, and eventually massing an overwhelming force of mutalisks that were intercepting full drop ships and pulled the Terran apart for the win. The second game combined excellent scouting by TargA, a missed read by Happy, and 10 early roaches into a quick and decisive set. TargA advances to the Winner’s Match 2-0. 

 

WCS EU Premier League Round of 16 Group A vs. EuroSoft Welmu (P)

The last person between TargA and the WCS EU Season 3 Finals event was EuroSoft’s Welmu, a player that attended the Season 2 finals at Gamescon. Welmu came out swinging in Game 1, infiltrating the Zerg base with dark templar and causing a loss of a hatchery and ultimately the game.

Game 2 saw more cheese from Welmu in the form of a cannon rush that seriously damaged the natural expansion of TargA and reduced him to 10 workers. TargA was able to somehow rebuild his economy and army to the point that when Welmu’s follow up immortal/sentry attack came, TargA was able to position his forces in a way that he drew out excessive sentry energy which caused force fields to run out mid-fight - allowing the Zerg player to flank and overrun Welmu's forces The game then transitioned into a late game, featuring a brood lord/corruptor/queen death march across the map. Even against stalkers with blink, TargA’s queens transfused the Zerg army seemingly endlessly, smashing the Protoss force and claiming the win.

Check out this video made by Blizzard about Game 2. In the deciding match, TargA returned the favor for cheeky play in Games 1 and 2. He opened with a greedy triple hatchery opening followed up with a full scout that allowed the Zerg to prepare for and defend the Protoss zealot aggression with the mothership core. Welmu then transitioned into stargate and ultimately void rays, but TargA again utilized mass queens alongside hydralisk and infestor support to provide almost infinite health for his units and overpowering Welmu and solidifying the win, the match, 1st place in the group, and his ticket to the quarterfinals at the WCS Europe Season 3 Finals October 5-6th. 

TargA’s accomplishment is massive. He is the first Team Dignitas member to reach a WCS quarterfinal in the current format. Caster and former dignitas member Apollo commented on stream on several occasions that TargA is an extraordinarily hard worker, and it must make winning all the sweeter. Be sure to follow him on Twitter over at @TargA01.

Gogo TargA Fighting!!