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Hello and welcome to our new installment of amateur Brood War news coverage. With ABC coming to a halt due to the sheer amount of content needed to be covered (don't get me wrong, this is a good news for BW scene!), we thought it would be a better idea to focus on specific tournaments, but in greater detail. I'm sure you've been seeing our TLS and SOSPA coverage plastered all over the front page of Teamliquid, but now it's time to branch out a little.
Gambit's Cup returned in perfect time with Round 2. Bolstering an amazing $1850 in prizes, it's no wonder that pretty much all the top teams ushered to participate in what is rapidly becoming a staple of team competition in foreign BW scene. We even saw a formation of some new teams wanting their piece of the prize money. Spirits run high, competitive spirit is exponentially increasing and friendly banter between players is keeping the atmosphere light. BW is in the air!
While TLS is going strong as an individual league in foreign BW scene, Gambit's Cup is looking to make its foothold as the Team League which complements the individual league, a proleague to the OSL.
In this recap we give you an overview on all the teams participating as well as an interview with the man behind the organization of Gambit's Cup, LRM)nOoNe.
Overview of Teams
by nagisama & corumjhaelen
sas
Managers:
Skzlime, 
ZarakiProtoss:
LocDog, dRaW, DewaltTerran:
Bizzy, LuMiX, PezZerg:
Michael, Sziky, 
Cute, v0rtisas will definitely be the team to beat this round after their decisive victory in round 1 over LRM. They finished round 1 having lost only one of their matches, and even that set was taken to a final game seven before they went down.
With five of their strongest players in the round of 16 for TLS, they will not be short of practice, either. Both dRaW and dewalt have strong momentum after crushing their round of 24 groups in the TLS undefeated. While this round of Gambit’s Cup will be Proleague format instead of the Winners League format, sas has the depth in their roster to also be the favourites to finish at the top this round, too.
Players to watch out for:
LRM
Managers:
Game, 
jinuProtoss:
HulkToss, Yan, Semih, DragOn, dOTYTerran:
MADiNHOZerg:
Bakuryu, TechnicS, Kolll, INF3cted, CaStrO, Shad, vOddy, NeMuLos Reyes del Mambo has been a staple of foreign clan leagues for a very long time now. They have won many ICCup clan leagues, and were the runner-up in the first two Gambit Cups, losing the first one very narrowly to the alliance of team sas and Nb. Their main strength is obviously their Zerg line-up. Even though they lost trutaCz to team NW, and that Kolll and CaStro seem extremely inactive, Bakuryu and TechnicS, their two best players in round 1 are still here. On top of that, they got vOddy and more importantly the new recruit NeMu, which makes for a very scary line up. And it's not like INF3cted is a bad player either.
Now, if their Terrans are probably out of the equation, their Protoss line-up got a big boost with the coming of dOTY. His form is also in question, but there's no doubt that with a little motivation he could bring a lot to the Zerg heavy team. DragOn and especially Semih could also make their weight count, as they are strong players. Overall a scary team, and an obvious favorite for the playoffs.
Players to watch out for: Bakuryu, TechnicS, vOddy, NeMu.
SJ
Managers: H00ligan,
ArtunitProtoss:
v1, M0B, Jumper, vAriOusTerran:
fuNny, TerranBoy, sMacker, TerrOrZerg:
fLip, WhistlerRacepickers:
NapoleonSJ finished second of the first round regular season, and should therefore appear as a heavy favorite. Nevertheless, they lost a lot of their players during the long transfer season in between rounds. They still have quite a few scary players though. Without Bibiane and Bizzy around, TerrOr might be the best Terran left in the foreign scene. King DT, while not a top notch player can certainly win games. fLip and Whistler are pretty good Zergs when in form, but will they be? Finally Napoleon had a decent showing in TLS and has been part of the scene for quite some time. If he can get a record as good as what he had in the first round (10-5), he could be instrumental in getting SJ to the playoffs again. They'll have to earn their spot though.
Players to watch out for: TerrOr, fLip, Napoleon.
iwL-
Managers:
Slavuti4, ASmOdeyProtoss:
Executer, Specter, KycT, Pono4ka, Artanis, Powert, GeNTerran:
Bender, 
JusticeZerg:
Ace, PaSs, Bandy, SacreD, FenitoFormerly known as SiR, team iwL- is looking to make a bigger impact in round 2 of Gambit's Cup under the new name. This Russian based team will have to prove themselves with their Protoss heavy lineup. Having made some decent upsets in round 1, the iwL- team will definitely have to step up their game if they wish to improve their overall results. To help them with that, they have two Hungarian mercenaries in the form of Ace and PaSs. Two time second place ISL finisher Ace, will definitely be the player to watch out for. The question remains, does iwL- have a deep enough roster to not rely on a single player? It remains to be seen.
Players to watch out for: Ace, Specter, PaSs.
FoX
Managers:
NoisE, L_MasterProtoss:
Elegant, Fold, KiVa, Mewka, WandS, Shrinker, WhiteTerran:
Quirinus, Reclusive, hulksmashZerg:
ihufa, Minx, (vo__o)vRandom:
dsyxelicAfter a less than desirable finish in the first round of Gambit’s Cup, Fox looks to be in trouble this round with the loss of Karate and Bibiane. The loss of Bibiane was an exceptionally painful blow to Fox. The Canadian Terran accounted for 80% of Fox’s wins in round 1, including an all-kill of team China, the very same team that took the only win versus sas. All hope is not lost however; Fox has recruited some new members including shrinker, the Norwegian Protoss who has taken games off notable players such as INF3cted, Modesty, and TTF. fold has also been undergoing intense training, recently reaching B- on ICCup and taking games convincingly off top players like trutaCz and Bakuryu. To round up the roster they also have WandS, quirinus, ihufa, and Reclusive. Fox has a tough road ahead, but it’s too early for them to fold. They will definitely give other teams a run for their money.
Players to watch out for: fold, WandS, shrinker.
iFU
Managers:
eOnzErG, 
ZerGgBoYProtoss:
Must, AlfiO, Finger, SplaxTerran:
Cryoc, Marwin, Heaven, spx, Terranman, andreyy, TTF, ExZerg:
Pauline, BylatWhile the current leader of the ICCup Clan League might not be the favorite to win the league, they certainly are a force to be reckoned with. Cryoc, andreyy and TTF make for a pretty good Terran line up. Must and AlfiO are two Protoss in-form and can be a menace to many players, AlfiO had a pretty good record going 8-4 in round 1. But, surprisingly maybe, their most dangerous player is certainly eOnzErG, who is in absolute beast form at the moment, with very convincing play so far in TLS and excellent performances in recent Defiler Tours. While he is not Sziky, he'll certainly make for a scary ace player. Overall the International Federation of Untouchables might not look like the scariest team, after all, they finished last in the first round of this Gambit's Cup, but they shouldn't be taken lightly.
Players to watch out for: eOnzErG, AlfiO, Must.
NW
Managers:
Mazur, AvangarDProtoss:
MistrZZZ, AMLAcZ, Sneazel, BonythTerran:
RadleyZerg:
Pike, ZZZero, trutaCz, Predator, Julia, SouthParkRandom:
Choosy, SurgeonNew to this round, we have the all-Polish team, NetWars. Hailing from the Polish Starcraft forums of the same name, NW boasts some powerhouse Zergs that are also in the TLS. Among them are Julia and trutaCz, both of whom finished first in separate TLS Qualifiers, with ZZZero and and Pike qualifying through points. Most notable of the Zergs is SouthPark, who recently made it out of his round of 16 group in convincing fashion, going 2-0 where many believed the opposite would happen given the group he was in. His dominating play has turned many heads and he is definitely someone to look out for from NW.
Players to watch out for: SouthPark, trutaCz, ZZZero, Pike.
FR
Managers:
yoda, npoTBeHbProtoss:
idegel, trofl, Werdi, SkyToss, rdsTerran:
Dima, gagZerg:
korea, mgndan, BandyContrary to what I initially thought when I first saw their name, FR is not a French team, and is instead an all-Russian team. With Protoss heavy roster, this new team in round 2 is headed by Mafia Caster yoda*, organizer, webmaster, and founder of the Russian BW portal defiler.ru. With even my all-knowing source having next to zero information (except that those with TLPD entries are good) to help me with, the strength of Fire Resist yoda is completely in the air. One thing is for certain though, their opponents will have to fear Russian mafia in case they beat them!
*Hopefully he won’t send the goons after me for thinking he was French.
Players to watch out for: dima, gag, Bandy.
PaiN
Managers:
SiX, RyderProtoss:
M, nVerted, Arcneon, G5Terran:
ElenaZerg:
Assault, twenty, Cosy, Huni, OctZergRandom:
Pirayaya, HanDyRejoice people, clan PaiN has reformed! What can they do against the heavy favorite sas, though? Well, a few name do ring a bell. Assault and Arcneon can certainly win games. OctZerg is a pretty well-known name too, and in-form, his zerglings all-ins are scary. Cosy qualified for TLS, so he could do well, even if he went out 0-2 in the round of 24. And finally, old school favorite G5 will play on this team, making sure it will be cheered for by pretty much everyone! While I don't expect to see PaiN at the very top, they should be able to place among the middle teams and make their mark while establishing their name as the new team on the scene (although not that new).
Players to watch out for: G5, Cosy, OctZerg.
Interview with LRM)nOoNe
by 2Pacalypse-
Hi nOoNe. Could you please introduce yourself to our readers and tell us in what way are you involved with the BW community?
nOoNeHi! My name is Justin. I’m a cheesy Zerg player. For events excluding Gambit’s Cup, I’m the team LRM manager. I’ve been doing referee and counter-abuse work for the BW community for about two and a half years now. I was the Head Admin of iCCup for a while and I used to do BW shows about replay analysis. Hmm… oh, I was the team NA leader as well. I think that’s everything!
You took over the organization of Gambit's Cup this round. How did that go and what are your plans in improving it?
nOoNeThe transition went smoothly; Eywa helped me with everything I needed along the way. I was fortunate enough to have Sayle and L_Master agree to help cast and to have shiroiusagi and Stratos help with the aesthetics.
The most important aspect that I want to change is the archiving system. For the previous two seasons, it was difficult to find VODs and results of previous matches; it will be different this season.
What are your thoughts on the number of participants in Gambit's Cup? Were you expecting less or more teams?
nOoNeI didn’t anticipate that any new teams would join, so I was happy to see such interest from new participants. It increases the prize pool as well as the amount of brood war, which is always good.
Continuing on that question, what are your thoughts on the current BW scene and what's your opinion on how it will look in 2 years? Will it be feasible to have Gambit Cup even then?
nOoNeRegardless of what outsiders may think, the current BW scene is thriving. As long as there is money to be won, people will continue to practice and produce excellent games. With that being said, once the money runs dry, we will likely see more people migrate to sc2 or LoL.
Regarding future seasons of Gambit’s Cup, it relies heavily on Eywa. With Eywa virtually gone from the scene, it will be difficult to find funding.
Are you gonna search for potential sponsors in future seasons since Gambit's Cup has become quite a fixture?
nOoNeI will try to find additional sponsors. The amount of free time I have will greatly decrease starting in the summer, so hopefully I find funds by then.
I can't help but greatly enjoy the map pool you chose, which brings certain amount of nostalgia. Can you tell us how did you choose the maps and why didn't you include the "current" maps like Electric Circuit or Ground Zero?
nOoNeThe “current” maps have been used non-stop since their release. With the lack of new maps, the map pool has grown stagnant. I hope to break the redundancy of the map pool by using older maps.
The map pool I have chosen caters to a wide variety of styles and allows for some truly unique strategies. I am sure the players will show us some amazing games.
Tell us what is your favorite team and which one you want to win (excluding the LRM of course!).
nOoNeAfter LRM, I want sas to win. I have a lot of old practice partners in sas and I’m a Michael fanboy.
Ok, seeing as we're short on time, I'd like to thank you for the interview. Do you have any last words you wish to say to people on why should they follow Gambit's Cup?
nOoNeI will try my best to make this the best foreigner team league people have watched. If anyone wants to make a comment or a suggestion, please feel free to pm me. Thank you!
