Group A (starts in )

Sziky
KameZerg
OyA
Models


Sziky vs KameZerg

This matchup quite clearly favors our Hungarian Zerg. While he was inactive for quite some time, Sziky is one of only a handful of players to ever have been unanimously considered the “best foreigner”. And while he still doesn't seem to be quite at the level where he's a BSL favorite, he did finish the ladder qualifier in sixth place by ticking in at a very respectable 2393 MMR.

KameZerg, on the other hand, qualified through his gosuleague performance from the previous season. He did play 23 games on his BSL account despite being pre-qualified and clocked in at 2158 MMR. He is a solid player for sure, but in this company, he's an underdog. At the same time, ZvZ is a notoriously volatile matchup, and it is a Bo1. Still, this is one of the more one-sided group stage matchups.


OyA vs Models

This one is far harder to call. Our Swedish Protoss OyA is known for wild aggression and a dedication toward killing workers rivalled by few. He combines a fairly unorthodox and unpredictable style of play with very solid mechanics—a dangerous combination in any tournament setting.

Our Canadian Protoss Models has less tournament experience but is a thoroughly solid player who fares very well on the ladder. Having a background from the fastest map scene, his macro is impeccable, and he is also very apt at controlling larger armies. I think this is a very tight game where OyA will open as the aggressor and Models will be the initial defender, but in terms of who wins, I think it's close to a 50/50.

I believe whoever wins will have a hard time against Sziky, but Sziky isn’t insurmountable. The loser is likely to dispatch of KameZerg and probably go into a rematch in the final elimination match.


Group B (starts in )
eOnzErG
CheeTech
kogeT
DragOn


EOnzErG vs CheeTech

Again, a rather one-sided matchup to start off the group. Eon has been one of the top dogs of the foreign scene for years now while CheeTech is a veteran Polish Protoss player who narrowly managed to qualify. CheeTech is a competent player with some tricks up his sleeve, but frankly, Eon is on another level. At the same time, Eon does get a bit boneheaded in ZvP games, and there's a potential for him to stay too aggressive too long without closing the game out. However, if Eon sticks to macroing like a beast, he should take it.


kogeT vs DragOn

This is a juicy matchup. It is perhaps the sole reason why Group B is the group of death. Both players are veterans in the tournament scene, and both consistently perform very well. I would argue that Koget has had a slightly higher peak level than Dragon, but frankly, it's close, and it could go either way. Koget is a bit more of a wildcard with many different approaches while Dragon tends to play an exceptionally measured style that focuses on getting fast expansions and staying on top of his macro while getting arbiters.

If I were a gambling man, I would say this matchup ends up being played twice, because the winner is a slight underdog against Eonzerg while the loser is a fairly big favorite against CheeTech, and I see Koget being somewhat more likely to snatch the second place spot or even the first one. Either way, this group will see a player who may well have qualified from many other groups end up getting eliminated.


Group C (starts in )
MADiNHO
Cryoc
TerrOr
Avi-Love

MADiNHO vs Cryoc

From my perspective, this is another arguable group of death because all four players have all made their marks on the foreign scene.

Both these players have chosen appropriate names for how they approach the game. The Norwegian star player Madinho is, indeed, rather crazy, while also possessing the flair of a 90s Brazilian football star, and he tends to produce wildly entertaining games. The German Cryoc on the other hand, is cryogenically cold, calculated and methodological, favoring safe play with a logical and linear progression.

Madinho is a favorite here, although less so than what you see in the aforementioned two groups. In the previous BSL, Madinho played an epic series against spx, which started with a nearly one hour long tvt, but which was followed by a proxied 6rax – indicating that he might not always be in possession of the patience required to truly excel in this matchup. At the same time, this is a bo1, which should speak to his favor.


TerrOr vs Avi-Love

Two proleague veterans face off...this one has the ingredients to be an exciting spectacle. Terror has qualified for every season since BSL3, and Avi only missed out on S3 and S6. They have actually faced off in BSL elimination matches twice, and both times Avi was sent home.

At the same time, Avi performed fantastically in BSL8 by winning both his groups with 3-0 in zvt games while Terror was sent home in an emotionally devastating manner following a loss against Crossy. There are elements speaking for and against both players. Firstly, Terror himself prefers the other matchups, but Avi has a very strong ZvT. Additionally, Avi only has to prepare for one matchup while Terror might be equally (maybe even more) focused on the TvT matchup. The previous time I watched them face off, Avi won a very convincing victory. Avi claims to be somewhat lacking motivation, but with our notoriously disparaging Dane, this might just be a way of alleviating pressure off his shoulders and enabling him to perform at his highest level. Coming off a hiatus spent playing Warcraft 3, he certainly had few problems rising through the ladder ranks.

Overall, I see Cryoc having a hard time making it out of this group, but as for the other three, it’s hard to claim that any player is clearly favored over the other. Avi is very good at playing against mech, and Madinho and Terror both tend to get a healthy tank counts in their ZvT games. Terror does overall have the best tournament results of the three...but it feels like this is more due to his TvP being top notch, and that won’t help him here.


Group D (starts in )
Dewalt
Lancerx
babo
Casper

Dewalt vs Lancerx

This is one of the least unlikely upsets. Lancer is a smart player with a high top level, and he can deliver very good single game performances, especially in PvP and PvT. Lancer should not be disregarded by players who have faced him in ladder and been surprised by his occasional lackluster performance. He is one of few players who play better on the big stage. Still, there is no doubt Dewalt is the better player of these two Russians and the obvious favorite.


Casper vs babo
This one has the potential to cause some flared tempers, and I'm looking forward to it for the drama alone. Both players are aggressive players, especially Casper, who is both inside and outside of the game. I do consider Casper the better player of the two, but in a Bo1, there's absolutely a fair chance for babo to snatch a win through some clever tactical play that exploit Casper's aggression and lack of defense against backdoors. He also has top notch mutalisk micro, even in a laggy setting. Still, babo would have preferred a group with more ZvZ, a matchup where he is legitimately a top contender. In his other matchups, his results against top notch competition leave something to be desired.

I expect Dewalt to waltz off into first place, and I favor Casper to take the second spot. While hot-headed, his mechanics are very solid and his relentless aggression is hard to deal with.


Group E (starts in )
trutaCz
Favorit
Gosudark
spx

trutaCz vs Favorit

In my opinion, this is the single most lopsided matchup in any of the groups. Trutacz performed spectacularly well during the ladder stage and snatched first place with an amazingly impressive 2533 MMR. Favorit qualified through getting Top 4 gosuleague the previous season, and his BSL9-Favorit account was a full 400 points behind Trutacz’s account. Now, while Favorit is a slow player whose macro tends to slip a bit during longer games, he is also a solid player with good standard play and very good army management. I don't picture it being sufficient against an opponent of this caliber though.


Gosudark vs spx
Gosudark has been having some good performances as of late. In fact, in a recent BSL tournament, he ended up reaching the finals after upsetting Trutacz in the loser bracket final. spx is no slouch either and consistently performs well in tournaments. At the same time, Gosudark is notoriously cheesy, and sadly, games against him are played on a lower turn rate than what most of the European players are really used to and excel at. This combination can be a bit tricky and frustrating to deal with, and I think Gosudark has a good chance at beating spx in a Bo1.

However, even if that were to happen, I don't picture him repeating an upset against Trutacz in the final match. I'd give spx a better shot at that—if he ends up winning the first round game. It’s highly likely that Trutacz snatches first place while the second place goes to spx or Gosudark. Favorit is not out of the game, but he would most likely have to win a Bo3 against spx to make it, which I honestly find rather unlikely.


Group F (starts in )
cRoSs
CadenZie
UltrA
Kaido

cRoSs vs CadenZie

This is a high level zvz game between two of the most magnificent mutalisk users of the foreign scene. Scottish Cadenzie is back in Korea and quickly rose to S rank, while the Korean Crossy lives in Canada and has improved at a very impressive rate the previous months. Crossy is an absolute machine. During the ladder stage, he first (for unknown reasons) tanked his 2400 account down to 1700 through losing something like 35 straight games, before he made a new account, played 130+ games in 3 days, and was right back up in one of the top spots.

Both these players have, through their Korean connections, elements of high level understanding unbeknownst to most of the scene, but neither of them have the years of experience competing that many other players do. I do give Crossy a slight advantage here, but Cadenzie does have a legitimate shot at winning this. Crossy's mutalisk control is fantastic, but it's possible to throw him off his play through doing strategies he is not familiar with. I expect something fairly standard from Cadenzie, though.


UltrA vs Kaido

Kaido is the big unknown in the Ro24, the one player who has almost no high level tournament performances in the past. Yet, it is obvious he is no slouch; hitting nearly 2300 MMR is impressive either way you slice it. Ultra has a lot of experience playing BSL. At the same time, whenever he has been matched against top zerg competition, he has fallen short. The one time he advanced from his group, it consisted of three Protosses...not three Zergs.

He tends to favor SK Terran and has good macro. I can certainly picture him taking out Kaido in the first game. It is also plausible that the mutalisk-heavy favored playstyles of Crossy and Cadenzie get hurt by the lower-than-ideal turn rate against Ultra, so he's not out of the running, but I'm definitely inclined to say that Crossy takes the first spot.