EPTWith Thorzain’s ascent to fame in TSL3, many of us wondered, is this a new dominating force in Terran? His victory there came at the expense of the always-focused Naniwa, as he showcased an extraordinary variety of openers that confounded and, eventually, crushed Naniwa in a nail-biting final. He abused the 1/1/1 before it was mainstream, he narrowly failed to defend a hyper-aggressive blink stalker push with siege tanks (who expands with tanks in TvP?), and routinely kited the living hell out of every Protoss army with a blanket of EMPs and a notoriously upgraded bioball. And this is after Blizzard nerfed his pet Thor-strike-cannon-v-Protoss build mid tournament.
It. Was. Glorious.
But could this man continue to perform?
His control is impeccable, his patience is legendary, and his builds are so tight that they lie like nooses around his foes.
Yet since then he has been met with mixed, though strong, results.
He met a 3rd place finish in IPL2, an era when cries of “Terran IMBA!” were loud. His second place to the Korean Terran-slayer DongRaeGu at DreamHack Valencia demonstrated foreign dominance, but not a caliber ready for facing Korean vigor. He was swept under the rug by a reinvigorated Idra at IPL3, and was unceremoniously sunk in the second ground of pool play at Dreamhack Winter 2011. DongRaeGu, Idra, Ret, and Naama are no pushover opponents, but for a man sometimes hyped as the best foreigner in the world, this is hardly the domination expected by some.
And now Thorzain has arrived at the NASL2 championships in Ontario,California.
Though none of the Korean Code S royal guard are in attendance, this bracket will unmistakably push Thorzain to his limits - it is littered with champions.
The Gracken has been better than ever, patching up many of his early-aggro build holes. HuK’s unit control is unmistakably phenomenal. Sen’s Ling/Bling/Muta is awe-inspiring at every turn. The whimsical variations of “standard” showcased by Hero confound many. Then there is last year’s champion, Puma, who is nothing less than a beast of an opponent. And this says nothing of the other worthy challengers who fight uphill for their claim to the title in California.
Battles will be fought, landscapes littered with bones and bullets. Only one will rise out of the dust. It is Thorzain’s chance to show us why it will be him.
