Scouting Report: SK’s T-side Mirage
This will take a look at SK’s Mirage T-side (the boltz version) and what it is that makes them special. For this report I only focus on their LAN games.
In the majority of cases on their gun rounds, they run this default: Boltz (passive pa), Taco/Cold/Fallen take mid control, and fer takes T apts and then goes to underpass.
3 top mid, fer from underpass. This is the setup. This was used in 13 gun rounds, the other variations used were cold + one taking mid, fallen and fer both taking underpass which gives fer the option to get into window, or 4 coming from top mid. Other openings included a 4A execute with one player in mid or at T apts or a B execute (though these were much rarer).
From that basic default the two areas of contest were connector and ladder room. In the old iteration of SK it was fer and felps who were sent to take them respectively. In this iteration it is fer and coldzera respectively. These are critical areas that must be contested for as long as possible. This is because the faster fer gets there, the faster fer can make a play. On top of that by taking ladder room and connector, fer and coldzera put heavy pressure on anyone in window which effectively bisects the rotational defense between the two sites. A third possible area of play is boltz at palace, though it’s much less likely.
After those areas are gained SK have 3 variations. They can either split on A, split on B, go back and execute on A with 4 players with coldzera lurking in the middle.
When looking at potential weaknesses of the SK default, there are a few potential answers. The teams that ImAPet have coached have all focused on delaying fer from getting to connector for as long as possible by use of aggression, nades, and counter-nades. After that all other choices are a gamble. You can try to push boltz at palace but because he is holding the passive angle the duel should favor him and even if you trade, you’re stuck in a 4v4.
This looks to be the most consistent answer. The other riskier choices is to contest mid early (though the speed at which fer comes flying out means that SK will get the backstab on early aggression), push out B apts to potentially flank SK’s mid control (dangerous as you run into coldzera or fer depending on where you go), or to go for a pick early with an AWP.
