Disclaimer: There's alot of pictures in this report so it may take a while to load. But don't let that disuade you... =)

For those of you who don't know, Aus-1 is an Australian gaming server set up by a bunch of guys who were fed up with the ridiculous amounts of lag we poor Aussies are forced to endure on B.net. Over time Aus-1 has developed into a large gaming community of players from all over Australia and the surrounding regions. And like any gaming community there are challenges and tournaments. This report is of the first game in the best of 3 series to determine the winner. So please read on and discover for youselves who will be the master of Aus-1.

The arena chosen for the first match was Forsaken Valley, a four player 192x128 Desert map. Both players randomed letting fate decide their races. Microman morphed in as yellow Zerg at the 11:00 starting position while KingofMusketeer landed his Command Center as blue Terran directly opposite his opponent at the 1:00 position.

The Stage is Set
King begins the game in classic Terran style starting a wallin at the ramp entrance to his base. A Supply Depot is erected quickly followed by a Barracks. Another Barracks and Depot are added and Marines are trained before a Refinery is completed to allow the gathering of Vespene Gas.

Micro starts out by quickly expanding to the 10:00 expansion point, then adds a Spawning Pool before expanding again to the 9:00 main. He then adds an Extractor at his Main and sends four Zerglings to scout his opponent. The Zerglings traverse the map only to be cut down by gauss rifle fire from those Marines in the picture who previously had been doing very little.

After seeing his Zerglings slain mercilessly Micro begins upgrading the Hatchery at his main to a lair and at the same time adds a Hydralisk den with the intention of teching to Lurkers to show those dastardly Marines what for.

King has other ideas however and a lone SCV makes his way to just outside the Zerg Main. There he constructs an Engineering Bay while back at home an Academy is begun. Once completed, the E-bay begins to float out over the Zerg base. By now the brave SCV has been sent help in the form of eleven Marines and three Medics. The SCV makes his way to the edge of the Zerg creep and constructs a Missile Turret. Soon the Marines follow and begin to assault Micro's base.

Due to his early expansions Micro has only one Sunken Colony for defence. He quicly begins to morph three more but King's Marines and Medics storm through the Zerg base and it is soon destroyed. Micro manages to hatch three Hydralisks but they to are torn apart by massed rifle fire. Once the Zerg threat is cleared the SCV begins construction of a new Command Center. Meanwhile Micro begins reinforcing his 9:00 expansion and takes a risk by expanding again, this time to the 7:00 Main.

Many players would give in at this point but Microman still has a few tricks up his sleeve. However he has been dealt a severe blow, losing his Lair, Spawning Pool and Hydralisk Den while King has gained a new expansion and begun work on a Factory at his main.

How Things Stand...

Micro's lone Lurker that he managed to morph attempts to extract some vengeance on the Marines but a quick comsat and a newly made Siege Tank put an end to that threat as the Terran forces continue on steam rolling into Micro's 10:00 expansion. The Marines and Siege Tank eliminate the single Sunken Colony and four Zerglings and soon another of Micro's bases is nothing but a mass of ruined biomatter. Micro runs his Drones away to his new Main at the 7:00 position and sets up Sunken Colonies and a Spire.

King begins a Starport in his Main as his forces set up camp outside Micro's 9:00 expansion. The lone Tank goes to siege mode and begins to pound the Sunken Colonies from the top of the ramp. Micro attempts to counter by sending his Drones to attack the tank but they are beaten back, proving once and for all that Marines > Drones.

However this gives Micro enough time for two Lurkers to morph. They quickly burrow and dispatch the Tank. A comsat scan enables the Marines to defeat one of the Lurkers, but the other turns the majority of King's troops into red splotches before it is destroyed. The remaining Marines retreat a safe distance from the Zerg base.

Meanwhile at his new main Micro adds a Queen's Nest and begins the upgrade from Lair to Hive, while King adds another Barracks taking the total to three and two more Starports.

King again attempts to take Micro's 9:00 expansion, this time with four Tanks, some Marines and a Vulture for support. Unfortunately for him, Micro has just finished morphing in eight new Mutalisks. The Mutas dispatch the Marines and then deal quickly with the Tanks.

The force of Mutas continues on toward King's Main Base as Micro makes his first offensive move of the game. However King's base defence of two Missile towers, twelve Marines and three Wraiths are more than enough for the task and the Mutas are soon defeated.

Once more into the Breach.
King is determined to oust the Zerg presence from the 9:00 position and he again commits his forces to the attack. He sieges his lone Tank, this time protecting it with eight Wraiths. At the same time he expands to the 5:00 Main.

Micro attempts to break the siege on his base with Guardians but King sends his Wraiths to intercept. They quickly overpower the few Mutas and blast the Guardians from the sky and the expansion is lost.

While this is transpiring, a Zergling scout discovers King's expansion attempt at the 5:00 position. Determined to not let his enemy gain too much of an advantage Micro dispatches a force of Cracklings which tear apart the still building expansion.

Micro attempts to send a squad of Craklings to aid his beleaguered expansion at 9:00 but as we all know Wraiths > Zerglings and Micro's attack force is reduced to a large red mess.

Micro's gang of Zerglings, fresh from razing the Terran expansion, are looking for a new challenge. They head to the Terran main where they destroy a Barracks, kill three Marines and two SCV's before they are sent to Zergy heaven by Marine reinforcements.

Stand them up, knock them down

King has been steadily amassing his forces outside Micro's one remaining base. Once the Wraiths have finished destroying the 9:00 Zerg base, King sends his "Wraith Squad of Doom^TM" now numbering ten into the Zerg base in an effort to end the game. But Micro has other ideas and a combined force of Kamikaze Scourge, Hydras, and spore colonies see off the offending Wraith Squad.

The rest of King's forces finally arrive, too late to support the wraiths. Resolutely they charge into the Zerg base only to be cut down by Cracklings, Hydralisks and Lurkers. While his troops are shredded, King again expands to the 5:00 position.

Micro's four Lurkers begin the trek to his original starting position, stopping along the way to spike a few Marines and a Firebat who were standing around. They manage to burrow at the 11:00 position but a scan and some Wraith put an end to the threat.

Micro has been steadily amassing Hydralisks at his Main and when he has fifteen they set out to the 5:00 position to halt King's expansion attempt. They March into the undefended colony and in a furious burst of acid spines it is destroyed.

King has is meanwhile pushing towards Micro's Main with a large force of Tanks and Wraiths. A group of Zerglings alerts Micro of their presence by being blasted to pieces by combined cannon and laser fire.

Micro takes his victorious force of Hydras (which now contains two Lurkers)loads them onto Overlords and sets out for King's Main. The Hydras drop on the outskirts of the base and begin to move in. It is not to be as his attack force is smashed to pieces by the combined fire of eight Siege Tanks while only doing minimal damage in return. King quietly expands to the 9:00 position he spent so long trying to remove the Zerg from.

Undeterred, or perhaps feeling the strain of having only one mining base, Micro sends out Drones and expands to the 5:00 spot from which he just evicted King. At the same time he loads up another Overlord and sends it north, stopping to raze the Terran Command Center before continuing to the 11:00 Terran Base. After a brief battle that base to is destroyed. King does not even send forces to help as he is busy preparing for his hammer blow on the Zerg main.

And the dunes ran red with blood...

The Hammer Falls
And when the hammer falls it falls hard. Eight Siege Tanks supported by Wraiths and Marines and Medics set up on the outskirts of the Zerg creep and begin to rain Arclite death. The few Zerg troops which attempt to stem the flow are dispatched by Wraiths or Tanks. More reinforcement stream in and Micro's base is crushed.

Things look grim for Microman. His last base is operational, but he has no troops and his tech structures are gone. He decides to take a gamble and morphs in an Ultralisk cavern. Meanwhile King begins moving his forces toward Micro's last bastion. Micro sends his remaining four Hydralisks via Overlord into King's Main. They succeed in destroying a number of Supply Depots before Terran reinforcements can dispatch them.

King's forces have reached the last Zerg outpost. Once more the Tanks siege raining their lethal payloads upon the enemy. Micro commits his three Ultralisks to the fray but they are blasted to pieces after destroying only a single tank.

Micro's 'never say die' attitude persists and yet another Hatchery is erected, this time at the 3:00 main right below King's Main. The Tanks once more do their work destroying the newly formed base. In a final show of defiance, Micro sends a single Drone to King's base where it succeeds in destroying an Armoury before Micro concedes the game.

The End of the Beginning