EPTIf you see any typos tell me
Group A:
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/4Rebl.png)
A well seeded group with 2 top contenders, a challenger and a home favorite. Classic group, but should not give any huge surprises.
EG.Puma
Puma should need no introduction, he has been a strong force in the foreigner scene for quite some time winning NASL S1, NASL S2, IEM Cologne,taking second at Dreamhack Winter 2011 and third at IEM Ghangzhou. A very strong 2011 from the Korean EG Terran.
Although he is by no means invincible he will pass this group. Kas vs. Puma for first place.
Why you should watch his games: First off he's Korean, he was very good in BW and he's very good at SC2. He's been called the master of 1/1/1, but I'm not sure if he still does it. Either way, expect what you usually do out of a Korean Terran: Multitasking, timings, sick macro sprinkled with a sick cheese when you least expect it.
Empire.Kas
Kas is one of the best if not the best foreign macro Terran, but still without the huge results. Not to say he is inexperienced, with a third at IEM Kiev (over Zenio), a third at WCG2011 and a host of very good online results he certainly has made his mark. Many feel however that he is meant to win a major tournament, perhaps Assembly Winter 2011 is his turn.
Kas will pass the group, his match vs. Puma will decide first place.
Why you should watch his games: Outstanding macro play, nothing flashy just 1rax FE into a shitload of units. Nice if you appreciate that.
RoX.TitaN
A fairly new player on the pro scene, but he showed great potential towards the end of 2011 by defeating some very good players at Dreamhack Winter 201 and WCG 2011. (2-1 NightEnd, 2-1 HuK, 2-0 Kas, 2-1 KiWiKaKi and 2-0 supernova)
Most recently he attended IEM Kiev where he lost all his series in the group play with only a single game won vs. White-Ra, but he did defeat Ret 2-1 in NASTL just 20 days ago.
I'd very much like TitaN to pass the group stage, but he is matched up against phenomenal opponents that in the end will be too strong for him.
Why you should watch his games: From the little I've seen of him he has a bit unorthodox style, and it's always nice to watch the underdog play.
Empire.Welmu
Another up and coming European Protoss, he was unexpectedly (by myself at least) picked up by Empire not too long ago – and with the way empire is shaping up that means a lot. Nothing major in his accomplishments apart from some online performances and winning the Finnish WCG 2011 qualifier.
I don't have high hopes for Welmu in this group, but you never know. He's been kinda quiet lately and hasn't played much for Empire in the team leagues. Perhaps he has been saving his strategies for this tournament : )
Why you should watch his games: One of the Finnish hopes and an upcoming European player. If you remember his replay packs on TL you might want to see how he has improved.
Prediction:
Kas
Puma
TitaN
Welmu
Games you shouldn't miss:
Kas vs. Puma
TitaN vs. Kas
Welmu vs. Puma
Group B:
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/k26fz.png)
A ridiculously close high level group. Going by foreign TLPD(excluding Koreans) it has #1(Stephano), #2(Happy), #6(MaNa) and #20(NightEnD).
Millennium.Stephano
The great foreign hope Stephano has had a strong 2011 and a very strong 2012. The current foreign player with the most cash won in tournaments (and that with him starting to win mid 2011). He should need no further introduction.
Stephano should win this group even considering how strong it is, his ZvP is amazing and he has a very good grip on MaNa.
Why you should watch his games: He will be safe against every cheese while still able to outmacro his opponents in a long game, he is not afraid to put pressure on his opponent if he smells greediness from his opponent. You should watch his games because he is a Zerg player that plays Zerg as an RTS race not as a drone-gambler.
Mouz.MaNa
This Polish Protoss has had a steady solid Starcraft 2 career so far, his Dreamhack Winter 2010 finals games vs. Naama were nailbiting games noone should have forgotten. He, like Kas, has yet to net his major tournament win, but has shown high level play at Assembly Summer 2011(#2), ESWC 2011(#2) and IEM Cologne(#3).
A bit hard to call, but sadly I think MaNa will come out third in this group. He has slim chances versus Stephano and Happy's PvT has looked very scary lately.
Why you should watch his games: Solid protoss macro play, likable fellow.
Empire.Happy
Happy wowed us with his famous youtube clip of his marine micro a while back, but didn't live up to the hype until recently(late 2011/early 2012 imo). His TvT has been steadily improving(esp. mech style), his TvP is among the most interesting in the foreign scene and his TvZ is his (statistically) best matchup. This might be the first LAN tournament that happy shines, he has the ability and now it is up to him to show it. His weakness is late game macro, his strength is unit control and unit positioning.
Happy will advance 2nd, I don' t think he can touch Stephano (yet), but the two TvPs are great for him. He'll struggle more against MaNa than NightEnd, but he'll pull through.
Why you should watch his games: Flashy unit control playstyle, TvP DEATHBALLS with up to 25 ghosts. Don't miss em.
FnaticRC.NightEnD
NightEnd is a good Protoss player that plays a very passive style, it is easy to forget NightEnD when talking about European Protosses, but he is in my opinion better than most people rate him. As a bonus his interviews will make you smile.
NightEnD will sadly place last, in any other group he might have fought for the second place, but in group B shit is real.
Why you should watch his games: As an aspiring Protoss player you should take notes on how to play defensive, as a Terran or Zerg player you should watch to find out where to find holes in said strategy.
Prediction:
Stephano
Happy
MaNa
NightEnd
Games you shouldn't miss:
Stephano vs. Happy
Happy vs. MaNa
Happy vs. NightEnd
Games you can safely skip:
Stephano vs. Nightend (One sided)
Stephano vs. MaNa (Very one sided)
Group C:
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/aWE2B.png)
Group C is the low profile group. Moon has been quiet (except for the expectations surrounding him), ReaL is on a Fairly low profile team not making too much noise, ClouD is on aTn and except from some insightful TL posts and the Homestory cups you don't hear much from him and lastly you simply do not talk about BRAT_OK – he just might Kill you.
FnaticRC.Moon
Everyone should know moon, he has shown very good results in the foreign scene while practicing wc3 simultaneously. He has now been focusing exclusively on SC2, what that means is hard to say as none of us are privy to how much time he poured into wc3 previously – Not to say that the difference in practice is trivial by any means.
His form as of late is hard to gauge as he failed to qualify for Code A and there really hasn't been much else going on for him. I didn't watch the single broadcasted game he played in 2012.
Moon will take first place, he has had a long time to prepare for this now, he will be hungry to show a good performance for his new team and he does not get nervous.
Why you should watch him: Previously Moon has shown some unorthodox strategies, but that was a long time ago. You should watch Moon play SC2 because it is like watching Usain Bolt trying to play football – he'll do shit really fast, but does he have enough practice in to do well?
Type.ReaL
As I said in the introduction, ReaL is kind of low profile. He did well at IEM Sao Paulo losing 2-3 to SuperNoVa in the semis, got to the quarter finals at Homestory Cup IV losing 2-3 to ST.Sound.
Apart from that he is a Korean progamer living in Europe and he plays well.
ReaL will place 3rd, this is because I personally have to believe that mid level Koreans living outside of Korea can't be among the top of the foreigners. From what I've seen of him he has been all-innish, the European players will prepare accordingly.
Why you should watch him: He is Korean, he is Protoss and very good at Starcraft 2. I do not relate much to him so I rarely watch his games, sorry.
ImbaFXO.Brat_OK
Brat_OK is a solid foreigner Terran with decent LAN performances, he qualified to the NASL playoffs twice in a row and to Blizzcon 2011 as well. He is just below the top of European Terrans, but is easily forgotten because he is rarely interviewed or similar in English. He will again do decent here in Assembly, but will not go past the first round of the playoffs unless he gets an easy bracket.
Brat_OK will take 2nd, possibly in a three or two-way tie.
Why you should watch Brat_OK: Good mechanics from (foreign) Brood War, good aggressive multitask play. Death stare.
aTn.ClouD
With over 5000 posts on teamliquid, he should not be a new face to anyone. ClouD is, like Brat_OK, just beneath the top of the European Terrans. He has shown great macro play (his ESWC 2011 run was good), but is said to have nerve problems[Citation Needed]. Thankfully GoOdy is not in his group, as that would spell disaster for him. He seems to be sick of the game and has been vacationing in Italy as far as I know. I should add that he did win the first EPS Germany cup just a while back, so he is by no means bad.
ClouD will sadly not advance, but I am not too sure – aTn does not play in the clan leagues I watch and he has not been in many high profile games as of late. He could be beasting up in practice ready to take on Assembly for all I know.
Why you should watch him play:
![[image loading]](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OvonoKii_ds/SFsywaZ-JjI/AAAAAAAABvs/LvcJUjJFiE4/s400/cookiemonster.jpg)
Prediction:
Moon
BRAT_OK
ReaL
ClouD
Games to watch:
Moon vs. BRAT_OK
Moon vs. ReaL
BRAT_OK vs. ClouD
Group D:
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/Sgiwc.png)
Two top tier Koreans(by foreign standards), two up and coming foreigners. A well seeded group, but I doubt there will be any surprises.
Liquid`HerO
HerO is good. He has done well at every foreign event he has gone to. HerO is a candidate to take the #1 prize even if he is jet-lagged, nervous and has diarrhea. His control is world class, he does wacky warp prism or pheonix plays and he does it while macroing.
HerO will fight SeleCt for the first place, it will be a close series. He does have a PvP against Seiplo that could knock him off the first place, but regardless he will advance.
Why you should watch him play: Solid macro play with sick micro, watching him tear apart opponents is beautiful.
Dignitas.SeleCt
SeleCt has been at a steady high level in the foreigner scene, he plays an aggressive macro style Terran. While he has always been good, his time spent in Korea as of late makes him a bit hard to predict. Will he show up to this tournament good, or will he show up to this tournament very good? If the way he has been tearing up the korean ladder is any indication he will be a force to be reckoned with.
SeleCt will, as mentioned, fight HerO for first place. Their close match coupled with the (slim) chance that Seiplo takes a game/series of Hero makes me put SeleCt as the first place in this group.
Why you should watch him play: Back from a significant amount of time grinding out games on the korean server it will be exciting to see how good he has become. Aggressive multi pronged harass with solid mechanics.
Ai.Seiplo
Swede and a B-level European protoss, Seiplo is an underpracticed competitive player. He did very well at Dreamhack Winter 2011, placing 5-8th after defeating HuK, Genius, SarenS and TLO. If those games are any indication, I'd say his PvP is something to be feared(56.84% on foreign TLPD in PvP).
It remains to be seen how much effort he has put into preparing for this tournament, but I find it very unlikely that he'll advance to the playoffs. He'll have to beat HerO in the PvP and win against sYz. Against SeleCt he has no chance.
Why you should watch him play: Swedish pride, stalker control, underdog.
BLAST.sYz
The only notable Portuguese player to my knowledge sYz is like Seiplo a bit under the radar. He was top 5 on foreign TLPD (excluding Koreans) a while back, but quickly fell back down. A strong player, but not good enough to challenge the great players at a tournament like Assembly.
3/4th place, depends on how the match between him and Seiplo goes (honestly I have no idea) and how the PvP goes.
Why you should watch him play: Underdog, Portuguese pride.
Prediction:
SeleCt
HerO
Seiplo
sYz
Games you shouldn't miss:
SeleCt vs. HerO (!!!)
HerO vs. Seiplo
Games you can safely skip:
SeleCt vs. sYz
Group E:
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/hVzw8.png)
A hard group to call, the First place is reserved for JYP, but second place is very open.
EG.JYP
EG's most recent acquisition, a Korean Protoss that showed promise throughout 2011, did well Homestory Cup IV(3rd) and made Code S last season. Is said to have a PvT weakness (6-24 20% KR TLPD), but does that apply against Satiini and DieStar? With recent wins against Artist and The StC I think we can assume that it will not matter too much in this group.
JYP will place first.
Why you should watch him play: He is Korean, he is very good at the game and chances are you are either an EG fan or an EG hater; either way you must watch to see him succeed/fail.
Tt.White-Ra
One of the most prominent foreigner Starcraft 2 players, the old veteran White-Ra arrives in Finland with a whole lot of experience, good mood and skill. He consistently posts good results, but is weak against players who simply defend the cute harasses he attempts. I believe he has been touring in Asia for PR? I hope he shows up prepared.
White-Ra will place 3rd, he won't be able to touch JYP and Satiini will make a strong showing.
Why you should watch him play: Special tactics.
eS.Satiini
Very talented player from WC3 who then suffered from fear of airplanes he did not get to show his skill offline, but he has now been cured. Regardless, he has not shown great results offline. As this tournament is in Finland I guess he has been focusing on Assembly. I hope so because he does not lack for talent.
Satiini will place 2nd. Even with JYP's weakness to Korean Terrans, I doubt Satiini will make much happen against him. White-Ra and DieStar are players he has the potential to beat though, it remains to be seen how much it helps him to play on “home turf”.
Why you should watch him play: The #1 Finnish hope in my opinion, underdog and somewhat unknown.
MǂDieStar
DieStar is another talented European Terran, but he has not shown top results as of yet in SC2, although he regularly beats good players online. He balances his practice time with studies at the university and does not practice with Millennium at their team house.
Although good, DieStar is not good enough to place higher than 4th in this group.
Why you should watch him play: Up and coming EU terran, Polish Pride.
Prediction:
JYP
Satiini
White-Ra
DieStar
Games you shouldn't miss:
Satiini vs. White-Ra
White-Ra vs. JYP
Group F:
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/b1fnf.png)
Like group E, this group has a clear favorite and a tough battle for 2nd place.
SlayerS.Taeja
Taeja is the king of the ESV TV weekly tournaments, was for a season Code S and is currently in Code A. He qualified by winning the ESV TV Season 2 Grand Prix 1, a tournament some would say was harder than Assembly itself. A contender for first place at Assembly.
Taeja will take first place.
Why you should watch him play: Korean Terran, watch how foreigners fall apart against him. An inspiration for Terran players. His first International appearance.
Acer.elfi
Elfi is an interesting player, he is not very fast, he does not have the best macro or the best decision making, but his builds are abusive, well thought out and well executed. Most notably he finished third at the ASUS ROG Stars Invite and second at IEM Guangzhou. Elfi has beaten some very good players at lans before and should not be discounted. In the past Elfi has done very well with his PvP fake fourgate expand build, but adelscott must be aware of this.
Elfi will take second, he will lose to Taeja, win against Adelscott and most likely beat Jinro.
Why you should watch him play: Finnish hope, cool strategies, short games.
MǂAdelscott
Adelscott is a top French Protoss with regular podium finishes at French LANs, but in the international scene he is yet to get his major win, his best finish was at Assembly Winter 2011 (#3).
Recently he has attended Homestory Cup IV (knocked out in first group stage) and Dreamhack Winter 2011(knocked out in first group stage). Used to have a heavy upgrade heavy gateway style of play, but I am not up to date on it.
Adelscott will place 4th, he might beat Jinro, but I doubt it. And historically Elfi's PvP has been something to be feared. Taeja is untouchable to him.
Why you should watch him play: Innovative heavy macro Protoss play.
Liquid`Jinro
After his very convincing MLG Dallas 2010 win and back to back GSL ro4 finishes Jinro gradually fell down to code A and then out of GSL completely. He has since attended numerous international LANs and attempted to re qualify to code A, both without much success. He has shown signs of resurgence as of late so it remains to be seen how well he performs at Assembly. Jinro's playstyle is macro oriented and defensive, he has a weakness in TvP.
Jinro will place 3rd, he will not beat Taeja and I very much doubt he'll be able to beat both Protosses, he might defeat one of them, but not both. His chance to advance lie in taking a game of taeja and a three way tie for 2nd place.
Why you should watch him play: Jinro is a veteran of the scene and a likable fellow, he plays a solid Terran style.
Prediction:
Taeja
elfi
Jinro
Adelscott
Games you shouldn't miss:
Taeja vs. Jinro
elfi vs. Adelscott
Games you can safely skip:
Taeja vs. elfi
Group G:
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/Mf0HB.png)
Well seeded group, has a clear favorite a clear second and a skilled underdog + a local(ish) hero.
FXO.Lucky
Lucky is a Korean with a sacred duty: to keep foreigners out of GSL. He was responsible for the elimination/demotion of Jinro(GSL August 2011), Naniwa(GSL November 2011), HuK(GSL 2012 S1 UP&Downs) and Idra(GSL 2010 S1 Code S). Apart from his day job as foreign killer he also attended IPL3 as his sole international visit where he placed 2nd. He is currently in Code A with a shot at UP&Downs next season.
As this group only has foreigners it is clear Lucky will place first. Also he is better.
Why you should watch him play: Top Korean Zerg play.
ImbaFXO.Strelok
Strelok is another foreign Terran that is not quite at the top. He has very good macro and timings, but tends to fall in the trap of just sending units over to his opponent's base without controlling them properly. Strelok has had moderate success ever since the release of Starcraft 2, qualifying for many tournaments but either not advancing or having problems that make him unable to travel.
Strelok has the necessary skills to make it through this group, but has disappointed in the past. Still, I place him as 2nd.
Why you should watch him play: Macro heavy Terran play with well thought out timings, educational for Terrans. He is also a likable fellow.
Acer.Bly
Bly is a part time progamer balancing Starcraft 2 with his studies, he has shown good results online, but not yet made an appearance at a major LAN. I don't think nerves will hold him back as he competed in WC3 before Starcraft 2.
Bly will finish third, he could take second, but I believe Strelok to be too strong. He'll have no chance in the ZvZ against lucky, but Bischu is someone he can defeat.
Why you should watch him play: Upcoming Ukrainian Zerg.
Dignitas.Bischu
Apart from some strong team league appearances his best accomplishment is getting coin flipped out of Dreamhack Winter 2010. Which is kind of funny. He is not as far as I know a full time professional. His PvP is his statistically best match up(60.49% TLPD), but that will not help him here.
With a lackluster PvZ I have to place him as 4th.
Why you should watch him play: Good unit control, Swedish pride.
Prediction:
Lucky
Strelok
Bly
Bischu
Games you shouldn't miss:
Strelok vs. Lucky
Games you can skip safely:
Lucky vs. Bischu
Group H
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/L1RSN.png)
Nice group, Polt is a clear favorite, TLO and BlinG fights for the 2nd place and PhoeNix has something to prove.
TSL.Polt
Polt has a GSL under his belt and is a very strong Korean Terran, as of late he has fallen from very top of the Korean Terrans, but he he is still stupidly strong. Polt is the only GSL winner in this tournament. Internationally Polt plays in quite a few online cups and does very well (MSI Pro cups++) his latest achievement is qualifying for IPL4 after beating Bomber 2-0, Creator 2-1, TheStC 2-0, Dream 2-1, HerO 2-0 and BratOK 2-0. Internationally offline he hasn't done much, but he holds record for most wins in lower bracket at MLG (18 games).
Polt won't have any problem taking 1st in this group.
Why you should watch him play: Sick Korean Terran play, a GSL winner. Timing Attacks, Unit Control and smart builds.
Type.PhoeNix
PhoeNix is like ReaL kinda quiet in the scene, but has fewer achievements. He has won a handful of online cups and offline he has a decent performance at IEM NY 2011 and a lackluster performance at Dreamhack Winter 2011 (winning a single game in group play). From what I've seen of him he seems to play a low drone count unit heavy style, often roach ling.
PhoeNix will place 4th in this group, yes even if he is Korean.
Why you should watch him play: Unit heavy aggressive Zerg play, high level by European standards.
Dignitas.BlinG
BlinG is an exciting up and comer from Europe, he has shown his skill online and in clan leagues for Dignitas and currently trains with Millennium at their house in Marseilles. His offline performances are not impressive, going out in groups at HSC #4(Beating DarkHydra) and taking third at LDLC Winter Trophy only beating Tarson. Currently crowned the King of the England by TotalBiscuit BlinG plays a macro Protoss style with very nice unit control. Watch out for his warp prism High Templar shenanigans.
BlinG will fight TLO for the 2nd place, I think it will be close. I give him a small advantage since I am not too sure on TLO's current form.
Why you should watch BlinG play: Up and comer with good unit control and solid macro. British pride!
Liquid`TLO
TLO has been a famous player in Starcraft 2 all the way since the beta, famous for switching races, inventing builds and using unusual unit compositions. Struggling with carpal tunnel syndrome and race switching syndrome TLO has slowly fallen from being a top foreigner to just a good foreign player. Offline TLO has played in numerous tournaments and invitationals and more often than not won a series or a couple in group play and quickly get eliminated. In 2012 TLO has shown signs of clawing his way back to the top, winning the Heat Charity tournament and killing three Prime players in IPL TAC(MarineKing, Creator and AnnYeong).
TLO will like already mentioned fight for 2nd with BlinG, my gut feeling says he is quite not ready for this.
Why you should watch him play: Crazy strategies, good multitasking. Bearded German puppy.
Prediction:
Polt
BlinG
TLO
PhoeNix
Games you shouldn't miss:
Polt vs. BlinG
TLO vs. BlinG
TLO vs. Polt
+ Show Spoiler +
First time I do something like this, I honestly thought I knew more about the players than I do.
Also: probably wrong on several predictions!
