EPTI hope you eagerly waited for our newsflash this week.
This week didn't feature much in the domain of breakthrough announcements, but it certainly got its memorable moments.So make sure to check our newsflash every week!
The most prominent event of the week was of course the MLG Spring Championship in Anaheim.
My trip to America: Visit beach, win MLG, earn lots of money, go home
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Yeah, yeah. There is always hope. „What if“ situations are constructed every time. „Maybe a foreigner can claim a surprising triumph.“ Maybe, just maybe.
NOPE!
The final groups of the group stage are a prime example for the apparent imbalance of Koreans vs. foreigners. 19 Koreans and just 5 non-Koreans. That spells trouble for any high hopes. Two of those foreigners, namely SaSe and ThorZain, managed to get into the groups via the Open Bracket, which is itself a huge feat. But sadly it earns them (almost) no prize.
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DongRaeGu
The prize was again for Koreans to take. The favourites took it as expected. All the „what if“s, burning down to the ground. But that is ok. At least we got some awesome matches out of the whole thing, so make sure to check the VODs on the MLG page!
The winner is no one else but DongRaeGu, said to be the best Zerg player in the world and impressively backing that claim. Second place goes to Alicia, who managed to finally hit the big stage after some rather disappointing results overseas in the past. It was Alicia who also „saved“ us from another round of the classic final DRG vs. MKP when he beat MarineKing in the Loser's Final.
Cherish the small things
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Stephano
The title of best foreigner, while not as prestigious as the ultimate championship, had its own story this weekend. It would probably be a safe bet to assume that before the tournament nearly everyone expected Stephano to win this (rather sad) title. And maybe a big part of the community even expected him to get into the Top 3 (or at least hoped so).
Looking at the starting groups, neither Grubby, nor Socke made the impression to beat Stephano and the Open Bracket is a long road, filled with Koreans thirsty for success. Stephano definitely was a safe bet.
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SaSe
Surprisingly, someone who had to start from Round 1 in the Open Bracket managed the unthinkable and even barely scratched the Top 3: SaSe. With Beastyqt and Sleep, he had some formidable opponents in this way at the start, but he beat them sound. In the group, his 2 victories over Heart and Socke only earned him 5th place, but that was a good enough position for him to slay his way through violet, Rain, Grubby, Leenock and Polt before arriving at the Loser's Quarterfinal.
There, the ultimate showdown happened. The clash of the last remaining foreigners: SaSe vs. Stephano. Stephanos performance was solid and after so many tiring battles in a row, many saw SaSe already failing. But he proved otherwise and beat Stephano in a close series 2-1. His demise by the hand of Alicia one round after that cannot tarnish his awesome achievement. Watch out for SaSe in the future!
If you are interested in all the results of this weekend, check out the official brackets HERE and HERE.
Carrier has NOT arrived
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This MLG wasn't only the place for brutal Starcraft slaughter and terrible, terrible damage, it also gave us new insights into the upcoming expansion, Heart of the Swarm. Some changes have been made to the already preexisting builds and new units were added, while other were removed completely.
All the changes are a bit too much to include them in this short summary, but a few things are indeed noteworthy:
- The carrier is gone. Of course, the presented build is not the final version, but as it stands right now, there is no room for the carrier. Instead, we get a new battleship called Tempest with a whopping range of 22 (upgraded). Blizzard calls it „balanced“. An interesting idea in any case.
- Brood War units have kind of a comeback. The Oracle sounds like the Arbiter. The Widow Mine acts like the spider mine, but is built by the factory directly. And at last we got a flying defiler called Viper, with Dark Sw... I mean „Blinding Cloud“ and what have you.
- The Mothership is back!
It is too early to get excited, though. We are talking about blizzard after all. More changes are to be expected. We will keep you informed about everything!
The next step
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We talked about the big CBS deal in our last newsflash. The effects, which are still hard to predict, seem to rapidly come into effect. The article cited here mentions, that CBS will broadcast the MLG on live TV this fall. This would be a remarkable step for e-sports and could mark the start into a new era. Sundance of MLG has stated though, that this deal is not fixed yet. The trend, though, should be clear in any case.
Along with the broadcast, many new sponsors are said to be attracted to e-sports, knowing that CBS brings a lot of securities on the table. Our beloved e-sports is on a road of change. What may await in the future? Read up what we think on our weekly commentary "The e-sports manifesto". And tell us what you think.
„It's dead, Jim.“ „Don't worry, I never liked Brood War anyway!“
Although Brood War units are resurrected in SC2, Brood War fans have to swallow yet another bitter pill. As if the current situation wasn't bleak enough, the OSL adds another nail to the BW coffin: The currently running season of the OnGameNet StarLeague will be the last to feature Brood War. Starting next season, the whole thing is going to turn into a SC2-only league.
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What's depressing for some is a very joyous news, if you consider yourself a SC2 fan. Like originally announced, not only KeSPA players will be able to compete in the new OSL, but also foreigners and players from GOMtv's GSL. Thus, the new season promises epic matches on the highest level and should prove that the OSL is a worthy alternative of the already established Global Starcraft 2 League.
The preliminaries will start in the middle of July, brace yourselves!
Can you BE any more exclusive?
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No one can beat the TeamLiquid Starcraft League. At least not when it comes to exclusivity. After over a year since the end of successful third installation, we slowly set course for the TSL 4.
Of course, we cannot have a tournament without players, so those will have to be decided in a bunch of open qualifier tournaments, which will be held from next week onwards until the middle of July, five weeks in a row. Tuesdays in the EU. Wednesdays in NA and Thursdays in KR. Look up all the dates and the rules HERE.
Like the name „open“ suggests, those qualifiers will be open to everyone. So grab your chance and sign up!
Token self-advertisement
Guys, don't forget about the EU qualifier for the HomeStory Cup V powered by XMG this wednesday, June 13th! If you live in Europe, read up all the informations regarding this qualifier HERE.
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By the way: New GSL season started. We will keep you informed about that as well.
Our newsflash comes out every Monday, The e-sports manifesto every friday. Please visit our blog.
Cheers,
the TaKeTV team!
