For anyone who enjoyed the inaugural HungryApp Kongdoo Starz League and its electrifying finals, KSL2 is finally back and better than ever! Sponsored by VANT36.5 and others, the VANT36.5 National Starleague is set to start in a short order! Making use of an open qualifier format, the tournament will put on display the strongest players of the day.
With the return of old competitors such as Bisu, Sea and hero as well as newer (older) faces such as July and Leta, the action is expected to be off the charts! 2 port wraiths! 4 pools! Proxy 2 gates and a whole lot of other strategies that will satisfy any BW fans. So, get ready! In closing, we also wish to thank our readers in advance and hope you enjoy our coverage of this Starleague. Now, let's get started -- the Round of 32 group A starts in , casted in both Korean and English!
Table of Contents
Group A
After the conclusion of SSL 11 finals, everyone thought that it would be the last time that they see Bisu performing on a grand stage. This is why it came as a pleasant surprise to see him participate in the qualifiers for the VANT NSL. As star studded as the group is, no one should pose a threat to Bisu as he seems to have regained his bearings after his fall in the previous SSL finals. While he has not played in any online tournaments since then, he has played a large number of balloon matches against players like hero, EffOrt and current Elo leader Sea. For one more time, Bisu returns to an offline tournament and without his OGN curse weighing him down, the full might of the revolutionist will come to fruition.
Not just the poster boy of the tournament, ya know.
Kwanro rolls into another offline tournament and much like last time, he has stayed completely quiet since his quick exit from SSL 11. Due to his timeless ZvZ and his capability to upset just about anyone regardless of his current state of play, Kwanro is a pretty dangerous opponent despite the other members of this group.
Anyone who has ever followed the latter years of the BW pro scene would know very well who Leta is; the player who was popular for his 2-port wraiths in ZvT, who popularized wraith play in TvT and of course being the guy with the smiley face on a team which had only straight faces (-_-). Since the end of his progaming career, Leta has been working at his father's shoe shop and not much was heard from him until last month when he appeared on Britney's stream and a couple of days later started streaming on his own. With less than 3 weeks of streaming and practice, he has managed to qualify into the tournament without much of a problem, though it remains to be seen what he can actually do against such formidable opponents. With a group selection set for the Ro16, Leta has to get in on that!
Pretty much the only reason why Leta has to make it through
Bale's chances to rise above this group are not impossible due to his untested ZvZ, however, his ZvT and ZvP are not up to par with current mid level players. Facing opponents in all 3 races who have a history of tearing Zergs apart does not bode well for the young Zerg. This is going to be harder than anything he has faced before!
Group B
ZerO's biggest weakness is his inconsistency. Some days, he plays like a living god and on other days, he under performs terribly. Despite that, he is still a top 3 Zerg and not someone to mess with. ZerO is currently on a hot streak against terrans on his stream and I would not be one to bet against the King of Queens even against strong TvZers, PianO and Rush.
The only reason this is funny/terrifying is because of Woongjin Zergs
Once again, PianO meets his former teammate in the same group. Such is his fate to be in a group of either ZerO or GuemChi with an attempt to team kill in every tournament. PianO has stayed relatively the same for the most part with excellent TvZ and an improving TvP but at the large cost of his TvT which became his biggest crutch in the KDS Starleague Season 2, a dangerous trade-off against a player of Rush's caliber.
Unlike offline tournaments, online tournaments rarely have a storyline. Of course, Rush proved to be the exception in the KDS Starleague Season 2. This former CJ Entus B-teamer burst into the scene going 2-0 in his Ro32 and Ro16 groups and beating SSL champion hero in a Bo5 in the Ro8 only to fall to Mong in the 5th set of the semifinal match. During this whole time, he has built up quite the hype train and makes this group a whole lot more interesting than what people would expect. Rush is someone to keep an eye on, even with his relatively untested TvP.
The Hype is Real!
Britney advancing from this group is highly improbable, an assessment that would sadden any player, but not Britney. For as long as he is in the booth, he can not be his wacky self with the secondary Korean casting crew of himself, Terror and Larva. Infact, if you are a fan of Britney and his antics, you must actively root against him for he does not belong in the confines of the progamer's booth, but, behind the casting desk.