StarCraft 2: NYDUS WORM Whack-A-Mole!

[@rorydonaldson2794]

That was a crazy skilled opening. Both the attack and defence were both executed so well!

[@cristianh.187]

not for the zerg, he can just chain the nydus

[@yellowintherealm9596]

Yea, first minutes were amazing!

[@gavinjoel905]

InstaBlaster

[@theunsungone2507]

I don't play SC2 but I love watching Lowko casting while eating during my lunch break. But dude, this encounter was super fine for the 10 firsts minutes, and then ended up like those pimple popping videos: you watch it to be disgusted.

[@JenZHS]

Terran players be like: "The world champion is a zerg player again. Coincidence? I THINK NOT!"

[@TheSnisel]

I am a Terran player and I second this

[@WebWingRecords]

I am a Protoss Player and even I second this! I wouldn't care if it was Terran or Protoss to break the streak but I feel like a streak of Zerg winning for so long suggests that the game is NOT fully balanced.

[@JenZHS]

*Laughs in zerg*

[@MutenRoscher]

BeastyQT joined the chat

[@WebWingRecords]

@@MutenRoscher what is that supposed to mean?

[@knicklichtjedi]

The catch of the 10 High Templar won Dark the game! Really cool game!

[@VadimOm]

Says z Dark would've won anyways, game should not even get to this stage, lategame z is bullshit

[@UnordinaryCarl]

omegalul unbalanced game trash zerg 17 compositions vs 3-4 composition protoss

[@revetsllik7773]

Where is my “Heeeeelloooooo everyone”?

[@kotori87]

that's the most important part!

[@cassiohenrique6815]

*efryone

[@Odd1Out]

@LowKo, thats the best part man! Brings a smile to my face. Best start to every video mate :)

[@Gamer3172]

It s just insane how much value you can achieve with swarm hosts. It just seems unfair to me how easy you can kill a base without really risking sth.

[@jasonlynch282]

It's the very reason the nydus has nerfs on the test ladder.

[@errienteunisse8038]

@@jasonlynch282 Why are they ok with locusts being able to one round a base for literally no consequences from ages away? Why do they do so much damage?

[@DerPolygonianer]

@@errienteunisse8038 Yeah, my biggest gripe with the locusts is how much damage they do. Would be better to make them tankier with less damage. That way you could use them to shield your dds.

[@betelgeuse7645]

Why can Zerg make free units, while Protoss has to pay for their interceptors?

[@morthra2]

@@betelgeuse7645 Because interceptors don't have timed life.

[@Alexander_Sannikov]

"what's the response going to be? it's gonna be the fourth done in gas" :D

[@lucklaster6614]

I kinda feel for ShoWTime here. Then again I'm slightly biased to protoss.

[@TremereTT]

I think he is way too arrogant. Would prefere him to be a lot more humble or way more successfull.

[@cestlezooicimw]

How can anyone be biased for protoss?

[@peewypeabody4284]

I thought it would be GG when the templars were killed. I wonder, what if Swarm Hosts would be changed to be more like Carriers, as in, the need to rebuild locusts for minerals (say 5). The SH might then be cheaper or take less supply or something. I think free units are just a little to good.

[@yellowintherealm9596]

interceptors when built last... forever. Locusts have big cd, they live for 18 sec, cannot shoot up, are slow so need good positioning, also SW are very supply heavy and good basically just for harassing (which requires a nydus network, so add it to the cost, and nydus can be countered with good scouting and patrolling). SW are balanced, nydus makes them slightly more powerful but it's gonna be nerfed, so I think it's ok

[@peewypeabody4284]

@@yellowintherealm9596 good point about the nydus nerf. Let's see hoe that goes. Though free units might still be a little too good

[@nerdlord2288]

the swarm host are vulnerable to counterattacking with a couple sneaky voidrays could sneak behind the average player and snipe the nydus with the swarmhost in it losing any value youv gotten and putting you way behind in a moment

[@raydafuq3570]

​@@peewypeabody4284 they can remove free units if all other Zerg units get buffed. We need free units because our units that cost ressources aren't worth shit if you compare them to the other races. Swarm Hosts are useless after they used the locusts.

[@tylermix7804]

I just found your channel, I love it. You explain these huge high level games in ways that even the lowest SC scrub can understand and appreciate. You can bet I'll be watching all the ones less than an hour long!

[@Rama1118]

You're the man Loko, love watching your casts. Keep on being badass!

[@bubbasbigblast8563]

ShoWTimE probably won't like the next patch: the Void Ray is pretty great, if that stays (it probably won't,) but the change to Zealots is a big nerf, and Lurkers got a big buff. Don't know why Lurker's need a buff; Blizzard's probably upset they didn't get four Zergs in the finals, I guess.

[@Asphyx12]

Their stock holder that bet for zerg players might be the one who demanding it right?

[@morthra2]

Because Blizzard basically deleted the Infestor from the game with zero compensation. PvZ is going to be so lopsided I will be surprised if Protoss loses more than 30% of their games because Zerg *still* has no way to consistently end the game before lategame, while Zerg now no longer has any effective tools at killing late game Skytoss, with the Mothership now being immune to NP and the deletion of the Infested Terran. If ShoWTimE doesn't like the next patch for PvZ he will be more biased than avilo.

[@yellowintherealm9596]

Why complaining about a lurker's "upgrade"which requires hive tech and huge investment.. while protoss should be ready for carrier tech? Indeed lurkers are gonna be slightly weaker in mid game, so it's basically a nerf if protoss it's going for skytoss.

[@bayanzabihiyan7465]

​@@morthra2 ZvP will be fine. Charge All-ins got nerfed. Lurkers got a late-game buff. Infestors also got new ability, while not as good as infested terrans. It is still some compensation. Maybe Zerg will go for more agressive strategies against protoss now instead of pure defense until win-festors and GG-lords. or swarm-host lurker.

[@jackabeenyc]

I never felt like protoss was close to winning. It always seemed like zerg was on the attack and had a pretty big lead.

[@yellowintherealm9596]

Zerg won an eco battle, they both risked a lot (especially zerg investing in so many SWs without getting immediate value during mid game). Showtime sacrificing those high templars was huge.

[@ballboys607]

11:46 Where'd Rogue come from lol

[@MrWaffles4ever]

From behind... >.>

[@daikatarokamegawa542]

Blizzard HQ: Zerg has the most versatility in unit composition, hands down best and most numerous spellcasters, best scouting and map control mechanic, and a ton of maintenance free, low risk harassment and mobility options. The right move is of course, buff lurkers.

[@morthra2]

> Zerg has the most versatility in unit composition Zerg also has zero agency in the game. What units you can make are decided by what your opponent is making, not what you want to do. Zerg also has no all-ins that are consistent outside of ZvZ, further accentuating the "Rush Hive or die" playstyle. Zerg can't really go into a match planning "Hey, I'm going to make a Lurker composition" and win in the same way that Terran can decide to play Bio or Mech before the game starts. > hands down best and most numerous spellcasters The infestor is basically gone. NP is way less useful than it was, especially against Protoss now, because you can't use it on the mothership, and it's pathetically easy for Protoss to have a couple Tempests snipe any Overseers you bring, and Microbial Shroud is an absolute joke - it should make units standing in it unaffected by enemy spells (because right now a measly 50% damage reduction from enemy air units is trash, especially considering that it's a stationary thing). That would be neat, as a counter to Psionic Storm and Feedback. Maybe also an upgrade at Hive tech that lets Locusts shoot up. The only thing the Zerg got in return was a range buff to the Lurker, which doesn't help Zerg deal with air. > best scouting and map control mechanic, Which is necessary because Zerg has to be able to react to whatever the opponent is doing. > and a ton of maintenance free, low risk harassment and mobility options All of which are inconsistent unless you make massive investments in them. Even then, they're still pretty inconsistent. You need 6 mutalisks to kill an SCV in one volley. Here Dark made 18 (!!) Swarm Hosts. We're talking investments of 800/800/12 (for the Spire) on the low end, and 1800/1350/54 on the higher end. How much does it cost to do a 6-zealot runby? 850 minerals, for something with far less warning than the Nydus Worm (which itself costs, at *minimum*, 200/200 plus the units you put into it), which can be stopped by having literally two military units whack it. The simple fact of the matter is that Dark outplayed ShoWTimE here, hard.

[@daikatarokamegawa542]

@@morthra2 Nerfs to infestors were absolutely neccesary, NP was plain and simply, stupidly OP. Does it make sense that a unit that costs a shit ton of resources, and takes 3 and a half years to warp in, can be countered by a few units of energy? Since either NP or abducting it into a bunch of hydras would plain and simply nullify it. Not to mention the no-brain counter to literally any expensive unit either terran or protoss could make, is simply create a few infestors, NP half and be done with it, tempests cannot kill them in time. Overseers one, have both very good vision AND mobility, exacerbated with the increasingly popular Neumatized Carapace opener, and are an absurdly powerful counter to HTs when protecting spellcasters. Since feedback, unlike EMP, is targeted, just having some overseers in the mix, guarantees some of the feedbacks will not land on their intended targets, buying enough time to cast one more powerful spell, which can easily end a battle, specially if it's a fungal or abducting a MS. They also cost no population, but give scouting, deny production/research and are good meat shields. Queens, as Lowko has said in several ocassions, are if not the best, one of the best units in the game, and the buff to Nydus worm nullified the disadvantage of their ridiculously low movement speed off creep, as demonstrated here. ONE nydus not killed in time can be game over, and it's ridiculously cheap to spam, even if it's not used offensively, it can also be used defensively, to quickly move troops from one base to another, denying multi-pronged harass, and used to quickly reinforce in the middle of a battle, like a warp prism except for literally any ground unit. Outplayed hard? Showtime was hard pressed by all angles, with low investment, zero babysitting required harass, and don't you dare telling me firing off a locust wave against a nexus requires anything more than unloading, shooting locusts, then retreating to the safety of the worm. By the time a counter could hit, locust wave was off cooldown and, as demonstrated here, it is stupidly easy to deny economy by just firing off free units with ridiculous damage output. So yeah, Zerg has to react, if building the hands down best composition and being able to hard-counter literally anything your opponent throws at you, is a bad thing, then by all means nerf Protoss into that. Dark got literal and figuratively free harass the entire game, and being able to pay 50/50 to take out a base and a few workers is a deal any player would take. 50/50 if the worm dies, that's it.

[@MrNxou]

A very keen play by dark its really hard to outmacro a game and he was ahead the whole game

[@OnigoroshiZero]

The finals were so underwhelming. Reynor is like an extremely specialized weapon that deals tons of damage to a single end-game boss (Serral), but completely useless against everything else (every top Korean player). Dark destroyed Reynor in the finals, he gave a game probably because he was bored, Reynor didn't had a chance to make anything happen by himself. Serral vs Dark finals would had been so much better.

[@aleksandarjovanovic1836]

@Tegridy Farms Because Protoss is joke right now.

[@OnigoroshiZero]

@Tegridy Farms Special, Elazer, Neeb and ShoWTimE can do this too, they are still inferior to the top 5-7 Korean players. Reynor will lose 8-9 out of 10 times against top Koreans, just because he won once doesn't say anything. In the finals Dark crushed him.

[@raydafuq3570]

@@aleksandarjovanovic1836 Protoss was never a joke lol

[@Thomas-zg6sf]

I think a major issue for Showtime was to not add on additional probes at the 25 min mark. He had 2 nexi in the north but not full saturation and cannot max out anymore. He even builds a second Robo without having enough resources. Just using the existing one is enough. A stronger economy and a switch to air units would have been great - either carriers or even phoenix play although later could have been easily countered by a lot of Hydras.

[@charalamposmitakos966]

zerg are OP .....locus does soooooo much dmg and you really have no way to stop it......

[@injectormajor]

yep, thinking the same thing

[@jasonlynch282]

Stop the nydus from taking position. Patrol units outside of base borders can achieve this.

[@lolply54]

Jason Lynch after the patch yeah maybe, but now with nydus spawing one after the other with no delay is impossible not to make a mistake and once you have made it, it’s a base and full probe complement

[@jasonlynch282]

@@lolply54 true, though pull probes and also 1 or 2 storms can erase the locusts. I am looking forward to the nydus nerfs going into game.

[@lolply54]

Jason Lynch what you say it’s true but that’s a big investement both in micro and resources and there’s no guarantee (locust can cross a storm)... Maybe reducing locust Hp? It means that they are a pure harrasing unit but if met with a full stack, they’ll die before killing everything. (I’m scared for next patch tho: toss now got it’s only viable front Line unit nerfed in exchange for a speed buff to “flank”, even tho there’s no front and some new and not so good upgrades mostly in speed. Toss as still the problem of having too many hit or miss units and too few reliable ones imo (best example is the disruptor or better glorified baneling)

[@thomasbrandoras5278]

Awesome match! Awesome caster!

[@Sectsoldier]

I get excited every time I see Dark zerg

[@jeancsantiagopichardo6334]

Lowko ❤️ Edit: not enough lowkos, breed more swarm hosts

[@jkobain]

Those lowkusts I adore so much!

[@mikasa1126]

as a zerg player .. we re so op

[@GenJuhru]

pro level are, below that... it's a free for all

[@Arhatu]

If zerg have Nydus worms so large that an army can move trough it, why can't they destroy buildings and crush units wtih them.

[@commandcenter6354]

(A.) Balance reasons (B.) Everything is out of proportion in gameplay compared to the size of everything in the story, with nydus worms not being big enough to destroy most buildings.

[@khrome7183]

Gears of war would sue

[@rayvincyful1]

@@commandcenter6354 Yeah. The Spear of Adun will obliterate absolutely everything.

[@aznable1000]

Why can Terran building float indefinitely? Why can't Terran building just crush what ever is sitting under neath it and land anyway? Why can't I kamikaze Terran buildings into enemy army? How can ground units shoot down star ship like BC and Mothership? Why is Mothership so small? Where does its Purifier Beam go?

[@Arhatu]

@@aznable1000 Spoken like a terran at heart.

[@ninjachihuahua4843]

Ive been wondering, when he intros the players does he say, "Blue Protoss pieces" or "Blue Protoss Species" ? It sounds like the first one but the latter makes more sense.

[@lleo3638]

He means units are like pieces of chess

[@miggyisme5284]

Shot everytime lowko says "a little bit"

[@bruderdasisteinschwerermangel]

The swarm hosts seem a bit broken Dark was a able to snipe a nexus without any risk or costs involved...

[@yellowintherealm9596]

Any risk? SW have huge supply cost and do nothing except spawning a couple of timed-life units which cannot shoot up. They suck at defense and create a huge gap in zerg's army composition. They are good just for harassing, indeed they need the nydus in order to be used effectively (so add nydus to their cost). For all these reasons protoss pros don't complain about them, and most of the time zerg lost to protoss when using SW. Also consider that nydus it's gonna receive huge nerfs (14s cd it's huge), and it deserves it, so SW are gonna be even more risky (again, if you don't manage to use them for harass, you are basically gonna die)

[@celtic13th]

@@yellowintherealm9596 "SW have huge supply cost and do nothing except spawning a couple of timed-life units" - High DPS, free, units that remain aerial until they land every 43 seconds. This is relatively balanced so you bringing it up shows you're not keen on the stats.. "For all these reasons protoss pros don't complain about them" - Lowko even notes in this video that Showtime has been vocal about it. "Also consider that nydus it's gonna receive huge nerfs" - And that means that in the current meta, it's a problem -which you even recognize, so why bother with this post to refute what you agree with..?

[@peja5081]

@@yellowintherealm9596 i see.. showtimes not pro player

[@jungoogie]

If you've watched enough of these types of games from the pro scene, you'd see JUST as many games where Zerg can't contain Protoss and loss out because the protoss is able to storm out the swarm host attacks and the zerg just gets instantly all in'd and dies. Showtime didn't respect the potential attacks and didn't dedicate air units to seek out overseers like he should have and DUDE did it cost him.

[@yellowintherealm9596]

I already said that Nydus needs tweaks (too powerful and too cheap), and it's gonna be nerfed in the incoming patch. I thought Showtime complained about the SW + Nudys strategy in current patch, not about Swarm hosts on their own.. I say it again: Swarm Hosts have huge potential, but they have and cause a lot of weaknesses too. Their current overpowerness is linked to the positioning provided by current Nydus, which is gonna be nerfed so also the SW + Nydus strategy it's gonna be way weaker. Honestly I find Swarm Hosts a very interesting unit, difficoult to balance but currently in a nice shape, capable of granting huge value but also strategically risky if your opponent is smart and in a good state.

[@justthinkingthoughts]

Can you neuro a prism or medvac with units in it? And what happens to those?

[@Yagamiar15]

this was an absolutely beautiful game.

[@isurusampath007]

Damn! Thats some mad skills!

[@nerd0815]

*Casts a game of WCS world champ* *asks himself what Serral would do* 😂😂

[@rickhunter17]

Showtime should inherent Rain’s moniker the “Archangel Toss”

[@Daniel-dt4cx]

Perhaps a dumb question, but how did Dark usurp Serral as the World Champion? I don't follow the tournament circuit that closely

[@CortezHoratio]

The finals were at Blizzcon, Reynor beat Serral, then lost to Dark. See this page under 'Global Finals' subheading. liquipedia.net/starcraft2/2019_WCS_Global_Finals

[@slimiboy4689]

Was that just a reference to WWLD - What would Lucifer do? :D

[@tkn9931]

If high templar and disruptor splash damage hurts the own protoss units and tank splash hurts the own terran units, lurker splash should damage the own zerg units as well or non should.

[@tkn9931]

@@t-builds9410 Then remove it for the protoss and terran players, so it's even.

[@DioBrando-qi9so]

or fungal grwoth should make friendly damage

[@yourfavoritetrader1496]

@@tkn9931 nah because hellions don't hurt friendlies.

[@gavbav]

That high templar massacre hurt so much to watch

[@timmcc6899]

A Dark vs Serral grand final was a missed opportunity ... I remember Dark saying when he got his trophy he was looking forward to showing Serral he was a force to be reckoned with.

[@SydusIsHere]

wouldnt it just be better if blizz sets up hubs in each country for the players to play at instead of having to flying everywhere? then once the winner is present, fly out all the players for a end of season party thing so all the questions a reviews and what not could go on?

[@phantom3969]

people complain zerg is op, but did you see the avg apm of both players at the end? and its not like the match wasnt close...

[@raydafuq3570]

people always ignore that. Zerg always has to do more and play better than other races to even stand a chance.

[@SZRLM]

27:24 was painful to watch also i might have made s hit squad of say dts to try to run and snipe the nydus network to get a bit of a reprieve from the swarm hosts

[@Captialklondike9549]

It’s really difficult to overextend when you have tunnels which can instantly let you escape a fight, and units which spawn free dps

[@yellowintherealm9596]

@@noblecyborg-savage gonna receive it (edit: 14s) plus more nerfs. New patch is incoming, things are gonna be more balanced

[@yellowintherealm9596]

Also remember protoss can destroy the unique attack ability of a huge supply cost unit with a couple of storms every minute.. Not a single pro complains about SW

[@horatiovelvetine8194]

@@yellowintherealm9596 14 seconds bro not 40

[@yellowintherealm9596]

@@horatiovelvetine8194 you are right. Still huge

[@yagdraspack7370]

Hi Lowko have a great day :D

[@FilmHerald]

So many people crying about swarm hosts in the comments. Swarm hosts are terrible defensive units. If you see an opponent going swarm hosts, the best thing to do is just go kill him. If they use the locusts, back off, wait for them to die, then attack again. The only reason ShoWTimE couldn't make this work is because Winter's Gate is a gigantic map, so by the time his army could get to Dark's base, Dark was mostly ready to defend with other units.What makes them so good offensively is the nydus worm, which lets them be anywhere on the map without any risk. But that's getting a nerf soon so this style of play will likely become a lot less common.

[@kotori87]

Lowko: "Serral vs Dark in a best of seven match, I'd bet Serral wins nine times out of ten" me: Oh Lowko, you know better than to do math on the Internet :D

[@M4RCi92]

He'd win 9 out of 10 best of 7 matches is what Lowko meant.

[@_Hal9000]

Is Serral more Zerg than human?

[@Xport9]

Dayum. This match is nuts!

[@corbindallis1237]

Dude lost chance of the title whack-a-worm Or is that just me

[@r3sistxwampa685]

Always love some pro level swarm host

[@ninosegers]

8 o'clock is lowko time

[@alexanderalexander4598]

I know i am dutch

[@felipedacruz6582]

4:00 pm here brazil :)

[@TKGZONE]

anyone know when this game was aired?

[@Jawzah]

I find it little bit odd that walking crawlers do not "bleed" while rooted outside of creep do. I'd tweak the crawlers a bit by making them bleed while walking - units while walking (even "nyduswormable") make them cost 1 supply but make them quicker to build and give them bunkerlike ability to be absorbed back to minerals while on creep (might take some time rather than instant - bunkers could also have some time to be disassembled). I'd also make shield batteries not start with full energy but have quicker summoning time to make them bit more defensive and bit weaker on offense (yep the crawlers would be better early game denfse too with that but not have the ability to circumvent 200 supply max in the endgame - I'd also like to give Mutalisks ability to mutate into something good at endgame to compensate - maybe to an artillery ground unit and to VIpers because whynot.. Vipers are quite important so I assume they have to be available without spire play but say they could be made from hives like queens but with cost of reduced or no larva production while building rather than normal larva based build to make them more special if Mutalisks are one way to make them.. I think lore- and stylevise mutalisks should be mutable and while OK units theycould have something to make them more attractive since they are really fun for viewers..).. Zerg have some problems with lack early game anti air - quicker Spore Crawlers that can be reabsorbed could help with that a bit..Hmm - if crawlers did cost supplu the Zerg would kind of be left with no no supplu static defense but how about if infestation pits were able to make infested terrans with cost of health to the pit with limit to only be able to go down to 50% health - they'd be kind of static defenses then with ability to queens to boost their production with infuse.. Well queens are bit OP and no brainery already - maybe make their anti air attack bit weaker - with the quicker aborbale Spore Crawlers compensating for that.. Of course most of uss probably would like to see the scourges from SC1 be back .. maybe with spawning pool AND evo chamber being requirement - or a spore crawler beign required and able to fuel them if they'd be limited time units bit like infested terrans.. Or they could be HIGH supply units to make them kind of extra expendable - dronelike suicide flyers needing remote control from Overlords..

[@Jawzah]

And if infestation pits can make Infested Terrans make the Infestors transports - and fatty again and be able to negate timer when carrying infested terrans and deploy any unit they can carry (maybe not Ultralisk or any massive unit) with "egg throw" (but pick up only from short range) .. I'd also like to see hydralisk den rather than infestation pit being requirement for hive because "SC1 sense" - hydralisks were "core units" for zerg and kind of still should be - why should the zerg need infestation pits to advance to hives?? - Does not make sense - seems like something that they did on some patch for some now obscure reason and it was simply left that way rather than there being a real reason for it to be that way. Really - that bother me - does anybody know since when and why it was made so that the Zerg need infestation pits for Hives rather than hydralisk den? Kerrigan made it that way to infest the Zerg with Terrans??? Nydus (un)load speed could be dependent on the units transport weight - would make sense.

[@jenjenhocho3188]

Lowko, I've been watching your GoW playthrough over on your 2nd channel and I can sincerely say that Lowko blindness is driving me crazy. 😵

[@k7332]

Could have used host from behind army to force them into combat oi

[@StarryTemplar]

They can just Build Bunch Shield Battery to Defend the Swarm Host without losing so much army.....

[@ApichartNakarungutti]

I like Dark, he the one who play Zerg and I cheer, but I'm fan of ShoWTimE and Protoss, and I still feel bad in this match, and the next patch is... huh, forget about it.

[@FragnarokNethermaster]

I’m still sad about Serral going for Ultras. I feel that Serral ‘the Korean destroyer’ would’ve been such a match for Dark’s aggressiveness

[@manithierry-mieg7600]

How do you manage to say "dark" just before the epic sound?

[@VArsovski10]

I kinda laughed at the moment where it was saying Vision: Dark (and indeed it was :D)

[@lightdx7008]

Somehow this slow hit and run tactic with Nydus, swarm host and lurkers seem scarier to me than swarming all units around without caring about casuality thanks to a near infinite army.

[@draakisback]

So I am not sure your logic about dark and serral holds. I like serral and I think he's easily the best Zerg on the planet when he's playing well but remember, the Korean tournaments are played over a couple of weeks where as Western tournaments tend to be only a few days long. Serral should be better in a situation where he has to play well consistently for a couple of days where as dark should be better when he's got more time to internalize the games he did play.

[@TheExtremeJoey]

Pure skill👌

[@alexb372]

Where can I send you a couple replays that I think you'd freak out over?

[@diegoduque298]

I love you Lowko. One thing I've noticed is that lately most of your casts are PvZ, not Terran games. Hope you can post some! Thank you!

[@GuruEvi]

Terran can't even get to the finals. It's mostly Zerg with some Protoss sprinkled in. With the upcoming Zerg and Protoss buffs, I'm not seeing that change.

[@lofarr8495]

Crazy game! Gotta say, i love nydus play!

[@ahima1982]

I'm looking forward to the nydus nerf. Happens almost every zerg game in the current meta.

[@chrislaine6708]

The new commander is out

[@gogos1003]

A pity we were robbed of serral vs dark but to answer to your question serral would lose to raynor who will get stompt by dark

[@MrTubeStuck]

Man, Swarm Host + Nydus against Protoss feels like a mid game cheese tactic at this point. I havent seen a pro game where this tactic was employed and the Protoss won, the Protoss mid game feels too clunky to survive a sustained guerilla tactics.

[@billnye69]

Zerg winning with free units again.

[@pjtrow]

storm is also a cd based ability...stop arguing pls thx

[@iridium9512]

peT if storm is so great, then why does it only cover 1/50 of the area that locusts do? Why does it deal only 80 damage? Why has storm never been used to snipe a base? That's right, because it doesn't deal damage to buildings. Unlike free damage locust.

[@yellowintherealm9596]

Those 23 Swarm Hosts cost around 100 supply (plus unit cost, plus tech), why shouldn't I be able to kill a nexus in few seconds with them? They are not really.. "free"..

[@iridium9512]

@@yellowintherealm9596 well hey, when I build 100 supply of Zealots, why shouldn't I be able to snipe Zerg bases in a couple of seconds for free at basically no risk to myself? Oh wait, is it because Zealots are real units and losing them sets me back 5000 minerals, where losing Locusts only sets you back 30 seconds before you can try again, isn't it?

[@yellowintherealm9596]

Dude you can do way better use of 100 zealots supply, while SW are effective just for harassing.. if you don't manage to do that (using a nydus most of the time) those 100 supply worth 10.. it's a strategy game indeed

[@cray2362]

15:00 why'd he bile his own overlord?

[@yellowintherealm9596]

Ahahah I did the same question, he probably hates balloon flies :/

[@Not0bito]

The game was over when those templars got smoked

[@aznable1000]

You know what would be great? A f*cking warning when the Nydus is popping up. Why is that everyone can detect a tiny missile fired from a random Terran building anywhere on the map, which almost never land on anything other than empty field or building, but nobody even try to bring a seismic detector after being raped by the Nydus 10000 times? Also, some restriction (e.g. need creep) will be nice too. Ghost need to stand there to channel the nuke, even though they can't switch target or lock on to moving target. Why is Nydus a fire-and-forget thing? Not to mention Nydus can be used multiple times. This is just not fair.

[@cubecrasher7606]

So here is, what I dont like about Zerg - "map hacks" (creep) - ability to easily trade cooldowns or energy for recources (locusts and infested terrans) -basicly free scouting Most of these are balanced, or at least can be... My actual problem with them is, that these are all absolutely annoying mechanics on their own, but the combination of them makes the problem. In general Zerg seems to be in a wierd spot. Traditionally it was Zerg, that always traded worse, but that was okay because Zerg mined more. At the moment Zerg can easily trade equally but still mine more. Units like swarm hosts, infestors or to a tiny degree broodlords can easily deal damage without truly endangering themselves. If someone can manage their Zerg spellcasters perfectly, you can not win. In general it seems (careful, this is an OPINION) that if both players play perfect, Zerg will always win. I am probably biased, as I dont play a lot of zerg. I dont mind criticism, just keep it reasonable. I would love to be convinced about Zerg.

[@yellowintherealm9596]

Well, not arguing about everything (because I don't know the game that well and it would require a lot of time), but I can say that the Swarm Hosts transition costs... a lot. In this game Zerg for a long time was mining "less" than protoss ('cos Swarm Hosts are a big investment and ar crap at defence), but won the eco battle thx to SW's efficiency (and Nydus positioning, but that's gonna be nerfed, and it's ok because Nydus is too strong). Zerg wasn't mining more while getting huge value in trades, when it happens often depends on the opponent being behinde or doing something wrong (not pushing in a crucial moment for example). Losing those high templars for free at the end was a huge error by Showtimes, but Zerg was already winning. About Zerg in general, yea they have the best scouting and vision tools in the game, like overlords and overlord speed (which is gonna be nerfed/reverted though), changelings, creep spread (also gonna be slightly nerfed, removing the canceling option), even zerglings are useful, fast and cheap. They are designed this way, but also protoss has useful and safe scouting tools (allucinations are great), while terran can scan whenever and wherever he wants (but it costs energy, so potential income from mules). Remember zerg it's considered to be the class which requires the higest APM in the game. It's true that a "perfect" zerg should technically win most of the times, especially in late game with great spell casters, but it's also true that controlling at the same time Infestors + vipers + queens injects + the rest of the army is sick.. even Serral (who has probably the best multitasking in ST2) doesn't use together infestors and vipers most of the time even if he could, 'cos it's simply crazy. Even spreading creep requires some APM, and can be denied easly especially by terran so is something you have to do constantly the whole game.

[@yellowintherealm9596]

I hope I could help you :) One final consideration... Beasty recently said that one huge factor why zerg is also performing well is due to the maps: outgoing patch has few choke points and wide areas on the maps, which makes playing especially terran more difficoult. I don't know about the new maps, maybe it's too early to judge how the three races would perform there, but I think the game is going in a good direction with the incoming patch

[@cubecrasher7606]

@@yellowintherealm9596 I am not arguing about Zerg winning fair and square in this one. This was a great game, but protoss just made more mistakes. I am just not happy with zerg overall. But yes... Zerg wont be as "bad" after the nerfs. Also its more of a personal problem for me. I just dont like Zerg... I dont play much myself either. Thanks for the constructive criticism.

[@elishashmalo3731]

Jeez what a great game

[@DioBrando-qi9so]

Lowko, please bring more TvT PvP ZvZ or TvP. Or viewer submitted games. High level ZvT or ZvP is boring because it is like 70% sure that the zerg will win.

[@bigboy4008]

Zerg have many many many free units, whit much DPS and time live

[@MrZiva82]

This title won the universe :)

[@jamesyang4898]

why would you complain about the warp prism giving protoss the reinforcement/avoiding the defenders advantage when nydus can literally bring your whole army there. The specialty that once only protoss has, zerg has a even better version of it. ffs, if I could I would roll my eyes all the way to the back of my head.

[@karolchruzik1919]

Poor Dark became world champion and Lovko fanboys about serral half his game

[@Menevolence]

hello lowko great video, have a good day :D. see you tomorrow!

[@Ngoroso]

This was beautiful. :-o

[@alband91]

27:53 Die Lurker Mauer played against Die Mauer

[@Omikron1112]

Has a StarCraft II Protoss player ever won the highest or ever been the best of the best? or is it that rare?

[@Jailbird830]

Rare

[@dominus6695]

What would be so fun to see is other races using the nydus backwards, with some research or a specific building next to it.

[@deafdanny6299]

that would make nydus worms never built in a pro game ever again, thus the research useless. You watch this game friendo?

[@Kkylon]

It sucks when players can abuse the fact that Blizzard doesn't want to give anything but Zealots speed. Zerg is so IMBA

[@AntiT42]

keep crying whinner

[@raydafuq3570]

l2p scrub. Protoss is Captain A move.

[@Kkylon]

@@raydafuq3570 bruh this is a year old.

[@raydafuq3570]

@@Kkylon still true.

[@tahmidt]

Terrible cannon rush by Showtime. If he just wanted a kill on the natural then he could’ve done it with half the resource that he invested.

[@DavidEduardoCortelezzi]

I saw it live. Insane but I didn't like a bit that whack-a-mole play-style. It feels like super overpowered and forces to be on defensive the whole time.

[@JaytothaT42069]

its easy to counter though.... ive been stomped by toss more times than not doing that style...

[@countw4506]

Nice

[@kentpoos]

this is some stinky pro cheese

[@Maltesfilm]

PandaYin Yeah cheese... the amount of skill needed to play like Dark did is incredible high. It really takes away from his achievement to just call it cheese.

[@kentpoos]

​@@Maltesfilm hence "pro" cheese :P

[@rockatrion]

Imbaaaaaaaa

[@Twisted_Mind_Man]

Swarm hosts are so broken

[@jkobain]

WWSD tattoo! Yay!

[@sethplayers]

Hi man ! So you good 🥰

[@moglimann2158]

What I really don't get: Everyone is complaining about locusts being 'free units'. They are not really units, they're just temporal - you can as well see them as projectiles rather than units. Invest the money (or even supply) worth 17 SH in e.g. DT, they snipe a base just as fast. Additionally, most of the time SH are not adding anything to your army. So they are almost exclusively a harrasment tool -> if the opponent can prevent the first couple of waves from dealing too much damage, you're likely to lose. Also Zerg doesn't have too many good harassment against Toss or Terran (the other way around though... Warp Prism, DT, Medivac, Oracle, Liberator,...). Also about "...Nydus Swarmhost is so unfair, you deal a ton of damage without any risk...": Battlecruisers teleport in deal a ton of damage, teleport out - looks pretty much the same to me. Don't get me wrong, the results clearly show that Zerg is a little bit op at the top of the skill level right now, but I think you can't just say: "The two things Zerg has to offer (Nydus and Infestor) are OP, so nerf 'em!" The other races shine at other things (the pros may be too good at defending against those, though )! So imo balancing is far more complicated than just nerfing the few things that seem too powerfull at a given time.

[@Telhias]

Fine. I am ok with not considering them free units if hallucinations will deal damage. On the other hand zergling is not a harassment unit at all. I agree that disruptor has a great DPS and is not a dead unit like SH at all when on CD. It is not like disruptor has to stand still until it deals damage when SH can simply unload and disappear within 3 seconds. On a serious note. People are complaining about Zerg not because any specific mechanic but the combination of them all. The difference matters only on the highest level ~50 to players world wide. For example What can Protoss do in late game against Broodlord/Corruptor/Viper? Hope Zerg makes a mistake. Zerg has economic advantage, map control mechanic, efficient resource trading mechanic, fight deciding spells, instant transportation mechanic, mass of detectors, ability to quickly remax with completely different composition, fastest recovery of economic losses and probably many more. The thing is that Zerg are too good at being Zerg from the lore. They have an answer for everything and have many times more viable builds than Terran or Protoss at any given time. Again it doesn't matter on ladder. When playing a Zerg he will make enough mistakes that you can easily counter whatever strategy he goes for. It is your fault you lost. SH are very vulnerable so as soon as they don't pay attention to it for a second all of them are dead. Resources wasted. The complainers are mostly those who watch the tournaments and see the disproportionate amount of Zerg taking top places. When two players with godlike skills compete against each other Zerg will be favored every time. Zerg skill ceiling is simply that much higher. People complain about every mechanic that is used to win a match. This game it was "free units" so people complain about SH. When we see Skytoss, people complain about Viper/Infestor. Actually scratch that. Whenever we see infestor, people complain about it.

[@Katandusty]

how to lose by losing 10 high templars by showtime

[@raydafuq3570]

The salt in the comments is just gold. You guys should realize that a Zerg has to play 3 times as good as his opponent to even have a chance. Buff Zerg.

[@arxda.t1337]

Lol

[@0101-s3u]

from my perspective reynor won, dark just defeated the guy tired after defeating serral

[@user-lb3tg2qx8b]

Repeat everyone: Zerg is fine, zerg is balanced!

[@jungoogie]

Showtime let the ball down and I won't pity him. I've seen enough stomps where swarm host attacks fall flat and protoss all in on the pro level.

[@yellowintherealm9596]

Shrek is fine, shrek is balanced!

[@VArsovski10]

IMO the only nerf Zerg really, like REALLY needed was make Caustic bile of Corruptors be locked under a heftier research, say 150/150/90 or sth.. THAT WAY when Protoss goes for air Zerg doesn't have an immediate easy response to both defend AND harass at the same time though.. They probably overnerfed the Zerg quite a bit for next season, but guess wouldn't mind if we see some more of the T/P action for a while :)

[@TheHighborn]

i'm still salty about Serral loosing lol.

[@TheHighborn]

spoiler: god i was so happy when the HT died

[@TotalPapi]

calling a German the Wall....am I the only one who sees the irony?

[@eztvlight1202]

German humor is on point :,DD