Starcraft AI blog

I’ve thought through the SSCAIT knockout bracket. The upcoming match between PurpleWave and BananaBrain could go either way, but I think PurpleWave has an edge. If PurpleWave wins, then it is likely to defeat SAIDA in the next round, then an easier opponent in the following round. In the semifinal, PurpleWave would likely face Locutus and have chances but stand at a disadvantage. SAIDA is likely to cruise through the loser’s bracket. If SAIDA faces Locutus, it is a probable win. If it faces PurpleWave, then maybe it will have played enough games for SAIDA’s learning to find a solution, but if not, then PurpleWave will win again. In the other case, PurpleWave loses to BananaBrain in round 2. In this case it will likely struggle on to face Locutus in the loser’s final, and again stand at a disadvantage. SAIDA will cruise through the top, and the final will be between SAIDA and Locutus or PurpleWave. So I think SAIDA and PurpleWave are the most likely winners, with SAIDA as the best single pick because it has fewer likely ways to lose twice.

Steamhammer defeated Krasi0P as predicted, and faces Iron next. The match could go either way, but Iron has better chances. I think if Iron wins, then Steamhammer will likely make it to loser’s round 3 or 4 before dropping out. If Steamhammer wins, in the best case it might get as far as the loser’s round 5. Last year, Steamhammer lost in loser’s round 4, so the relative level of play seems similar.

In unrelated news, I’ve re-uploaded Randomhammer. It’s the tournament version, Steamhammer 2.1.4. The last uploaded version of Randomhammer was 2.1, so there are improvements that were previously only visible in zerg play. But note that the drop openings are not working properly. Drops are working in the development version, but I still have a bunch to do before I release it.