EPT
Another ASL season is upon us! In the last ASL, Flash was crowned the victor after he beat Sea while the ASL before that saw Shuttle beat Sharp to take first place! While much has changed since the early days, most of the same players and a handful of others fill the ranks of this latest ASL. Newer players who qualified after returning include GGaemo, Snow, HyuN and Shine while a new unknown amateur, Purpose looks to make his mark after beating Nada in the Busan qualifiers.
All of TBLS is present this ASL as well. While Flash and Jaedong are seeded later on due to their Top 4 finish, both Bisu and Stork will have to play from the start to reach their level. Finally, the addition of the new map, Camelot should also make for some entertaining games. With the first set of games set to start in , go on, read our previews below and let's all get ready for some BW!
All of TBLS is present this ASL as well. While Flash and Jaedong are seeded later on due to their Top 4 finish, both Bisu and Stork will have to play from the start to reach their level. Finally, the addition of the new map, Camelot should also make for some entertaining games. With the first set of games set to start in , go on, read our previews below and let's all get ready for some BW!
Table of contents
Liquipedia
The Pack Surrounds Its Prey
How absolutely fitting that the new rookie into the league gets placed into a group of 3 solid veterans. Welcome to the big leagues Purpose, time for you to put on your big boy shoes and prove to us what you can do.
Game 1: Shuttle vs Purpose
The former ASL1 winner who got absolutely embarrassed in the ASL2 wants some redemption for his horrid play last season. Luckily, he’ll have a fairly easy showing in his first opener against Purpose. Now, the rookie could be some random god that we don’t know about, so we’ll have to see to make sure. It’s generally difficult to write previews about upcoming players but I still expect Shuttle to be able to take this one, even if PvZ is his weakest matchup by far. Also, Camelot seems to be a map that Zergs will not like, as while the close elevated 3rd gas base might be close, it will be difficult for Zergs to take additional gases on this map especially if Protoss goes for its traditional 6-gate mid-game army.
Game 2: Mong vs Soulkey
Now, I know what everyone is thinking right now, “OMG SOULKEY BEAT FLASH IN THE ACE HES A GOD!” First, let’s not overhype him too much. Soulkey beat FlaSh, yes, but one game isn’t enough to prove to me he’s ready to come back to his old form. Mong is also slumping quite hard lately, and while TvZ is his best matchup at about 58%, he’s on a 6 streak skid. Is this good enough to beat Soulkey? My gut is telling me yes, but I think it will be a close match. Perhaps Mong will closely watching Soulkey vs FlaSh to understand where FlaSh went wrong and be able to shore up on those weaknesses. Camelot also poses potential danger for Zerg. While the 3rd base gas is relatively easy to take, the issue is attempting to take a 4th gas on this map. By the time you try to obtain the corner 4th gas bases, Terran will already have starport tech to either drop or irradiate lurkers defending to allow marines to stream into the base.
Winner’s Match: Shuttle vs Mong
Shuttle’s match up that put him over the top of Sharp to win the ASL1, will face Mong in the winner’s match. Ever since his ASL1 win though, Shuttle has gone 5-11 in his PvT matches. While he might have beaten Light 2-1 to advance to the SBB Finals against FlaSh, beating Light’s TvP is nothing to be proud of. Mong in the meantime is still sitting at around a 55% TvP, who seems to be able to beat the mediocre and weaker Protoss players but lose to the strong PvT players like Rain and BeSt. Since Shuttle is what I would consider a weaker Protoss, I think Mong will be able to take this.
Loser’s Match: Soulkey vs Purpose
You now come to think of it, this is the easiest way for Soulkey to get eliminated, to go into a coin flip in a ZvZ. That being said, I still think the pro can find ways to gain incremental advantages in this matchup and use them to ride himself to the victory. He demonstrated that ability against the weaker MIsO in the ATB on Outsider.
Final Match: Shuttle vs Soulkey
Soulkey did lose the final match in the Round of 16 with Movie, mind you, so there are chances that he will lose here in the final match in another ZvP where I believe he should win. However, with this map being Outsider and being very non-standard and Zerg-favored, it will come down to more creativity from Shuttle to win. Soulkey has shown great usage of air, especially in the game against FlaSh in ATB, and he still knows how to utilize the short rush distances for hydra and ling busts. Shuttle might try to play to his name sake with shuttle harassments and go corsair/reaver. That being said, Shuttle’s PvZ is his weakest matchup while Soulkey’s ZvP is his strongest. And as of late, Soulkey has been improving drastically to get back to his KeSPA era strength.
Mong and Soulkey advance to the Round of 16!
Game 1: Shuttle vs Purpose
The former ASL1 winner who got absolutely embarrassed in the ASL2 wants some redemption for his horrid play last season. Luckily, he’ll have a fairly easy showing in his first opener against Purpose. Now, the rookie could be some random god that we don’t know about, so we’ll have to see to make sure. It’s generally difficult to write previews about upcoming players but I still expect Shuttle to be able to take this one, even if PvZ is his weakest matchup by far. Also, Camelot seems to be a map that Zergs will not like, as while the close elevated 3rd gas base might be close, it will be difficult for Zergs to take additional gases on this map especially if Protoss goes for its traditional 6-gate mid-game army.
Game 2: Mong vs Soulkey
Now, I know what everyone is thinking right now, “OMG SOULKEY BEAT FLASH IN THE ACE HES A GOD!” First, let’s not overhype him too much. Soulkey beat FlaSh, yes, but one game isn’t enough to prove to me he’s ready to come back to his old form. Mong is also slumping quite hard lately, and while TvZ is his best matchup at about 58%, he’s on a 6 streak skid. Is this good enough to beat Soulkey? My gut is telling me yes, but I think it will be a close match. Perhaps Mong will closely watching Soulkey vs FlaSh to understand where FlaSh went wrong and be able to shore up on those weaknesses. Camelot also poses potential danger for Zerg. While the 3rd base gas is relatively easy to take, the issue is attempting to take a 4th gas on this map. By the time you try to obtain the corner 4th gas bases, Terran will already have starport tech to either drop or irradiate lurkers defending to allow marines to stream into the base.
Winner’s Match: Shuttle vs Mong
Shuttle’s match up that put him over the top of Sharp to win the ASL1, will face Mong in the winner’s match. Ever since his ASL1 win though, Shuttle has gone 5-11 in his PvT matches. While he might have beaten Light 2-1 to advance to the SBB Finals against FlaSh, beating Light’s TvP is nothing to be proud of. Mong in the meantime is still sitting at around a 55% TvP, who seems to be able to beat the mediocre and weaker Protoss players but lose to the strong PvT players like Rain and BeSt. Since Shuttle is what I would consider a weaker Protoss, I think Mong will be able to take this.
Loser’s Match: Soulkey vs Purpose
You now come to think of it, this is the easiest way for Soulkey to get eliminated, to go into a coin flip in a ZvZ. That being said, I still think the pro can find ways to gain incremental advantages in this matchup and use them to ride himself to the victory. He demonstrated that ability against the weaker MIsO in the ATB on Outsider.
Final Match: Shuttle vs Soulkey
Soulkey did lose the final match in the Round of 16 with Movie, mind you, so there are chances that he will lose here in the final match in another ZvP where I believe he should win. However, with this map being Outsider and being very non-standard and Zerg-favored, it will come down to more creativity from Shuttle to win. Soulkey has shown great usage of air, especially in the game against FlaSh in ATB, and he still knows how to utilize the short rush distances for hydra and ling busts. Shuttle might try to play to his name sake with shuttle harassments and go corsair/reaver. That being said, Shuttle’s PvZ is his weakest matchup while Soulkey’s ZvP is his strongest. And as of late, Soulkey has been improving drastically to get back to his KeSPA era strength.
Mong and Soulkey advance to the Round of 16!
Put in more EffOrt
EffOrt is in a group with ex-A teamers, and he’ll need to regroup himself after his abysmal finish at the ASL2, not even being able to advance to the Round of 16. This group will be a good test to show where his play stands, whether he needs to really double down and practice harder, or he’s finding back his groove.
Game 1: EffOrt vs Snow
EffOrt has been looking much stronger on sponmatches, having a 69% winrate in the month of March for ZvP. The only Protoss that he’s struggled against are the cream of the crop for PvZ in Bisu, BeSt, and Movie. Otherwise, he’s done very well against Protoss and I expect him to do well against Snow. Snow has historically struggled in PvZ, holding a 43% winrate in the KeSPA era. Against arguably the best ZvP player right now, I don’t think Snow can hold off EffOrt’s swarm. The map of Camelot might help Snow a bit but I don’t think he can quell the tide of Zerg.
Game 2: Shine vs Free
Shine’s reintroduction to the pro scene is going to be against Free, and while he has been back for quite some time now, his PvZ leaves much to be desired. Both players struggle in the Protoss vs Zerg matchup and while Free probably is favored here because he has actually been back and playing, Shine can definitely leave a formidable challenge. Once again, it is difficult to judge players who have not been in the scene or not played recently, but I think that Shine can potentially upset Free here. However, remember that this is Camelot and it does not look like a good Zerg map. Perhaps Free can use the 6 gate play to his advantage and take good map control and deny Zerg a 4th gas.
Winner’s Match: EffOrt vs Free
EffOrt will get another chance to prove himself in a ZvP on Circuit Breaker. But Free isn’t Rain and EffOrt knows his mistakes. Expect EffOrt to dominate the map with a faster mineral-only 3rd base before expanding across the map to muster a large enough army to combat the 6-gate timing. I hope to see mutalisks from EffOrt to try and snipe high templar, as Zergs have been skimping on that tactic more recently. Free needs to be able to scout properly to see how EffOrt plays out the early game, whether he opts for his aggressive tendencies or he wants to settle into a longer macro game.
Loser’s Match: Snow vs Shine
Snow’s lost some pretty hilarious PvZs like a game vs Larva where he opened gate-first and died to a simple overpool when he couldn’t protect his pylon powering the gateway. That being said, he’s really favored the newer gate-first strategy and that could make him susceptible to a well-designed counter build from Shine. Especially on Circuit Breaker which seems to be a pretty standard map for the gate-first, Shine could prepare a 9 pool speed and crush Snow’s build. Snow’s high templar control needs work as well, but when he can protect them, his storms are very good. Still, I think Shine should be aware of the early zealots and be able to push back Snow.
Final Match: Free vs Shine
Classic rematch in the same group where Free and Shine will once again battle it out. This time; however, Shine will get a favorable map on Outsider. Free’s corsair control leaves much to be desired and Shine’s early scourge play can snipe early sairs. Shine also can abuse the short rush distance for his strong hydra bust style while controlling the air with scourge. After playing a few more ZvP throughout the day, I think that Shine has a better chance towards the end of the day to get more accustomed to the offline tournaments again and pull through.
EffOrt and Shine advance to the Round of 16!
![[image loading]](http://imgur.com/a/PCyRn)
they call me a god.
