EPT
Air Force ACE vs WeMade FOX
Bottom of the barrel ACE faces off against lackluster WeMade. The military’s draw is nearly the best they could have hoped for – OversKy ZvP, fOrU PvT, BoxeR TvZ – giving them some hope of taking it to the closer. This is one of the best shots ACE has at claiming a match, so one hopes they are able to. One can never discount NaDa though; WeMade is definitely advantaged.
STX SouL vs eSTRO
eStro is plainly overmatched, despite SouL sending a somewhat sub-par lineup. Calm and Hwasin should be near-guaranteed wins, though perhaps the neophytes on eSTRO may have tricks up their collective sleeves. UpMagic on Requiem seems to be a popular theme, so I’d tip him for the W. The fourth game is a wildcard – Notice is developing quite well under the tutelage of Hwasin, but SangHo has experience. I’d guess Notice for the 3-1 simply because SangHo is ass terrible. July to win closer if it gets there.
MBCGame HERO vs Lecaf Oz
These two ProLeague titans face off for positioning in the upper echelons, with both sides sending top lineups. Sea is simply a better TvTer than fOrGG, especially since it’s ProLeague; thus I expect HERO to lead off with a win. Saint will practice like crazy and Backho is rather unintelligent, lending MBC an extended lead. Jaedong’s ZvZ and HiyA’s TvP [sorry Pusan] should tie it up, after which we will see some sort of epic battle on Chupung. I have slightly more faith in Jaedong over any of MBC’s aces, so a close win for Lecaf.
CJ Entus vs Samsung KHAN
While Samsung reiterates its strong ProLeague performance, CJ is, due to a dropoff in individual performance, only middle-of-the-pack. Fortunately for them, EffOrt is really shaping up to be one of CJ’s best cards. Great is one of KHAN’s few zergs that they trot out every once in awhile to serve as cannon fodder, but his ZvZ is quite respectable. I’m expecting EffOrt to take it, though. The second game is a tossup; sAviOr should win the third and fbh should take the fourth. I want to see sAviOr vs FBH on Andro, but probably won’t get it if it goes to ACE. Stork vs EffOrt or something, in which case our Dino toss will edge it out for KHAN.
SK Telecom T1 vs KTF MagicNs
The best and greatest team rivalry in ProGaming heats up with completely different faces. KTF’s draw is pretty much the worst they could have gotten – ZvP against Bisu, PvP against Best, TvT against Fantasy – but then the KTF players are no slouches either. Luxury, Best, Hyuk, Flash, then Flash against Midas on Harmony for a KTF 3-2. Either that or a T1 3-0 if Bisu beats Luxury.
OnGameNet SPARKYZ vs Woongjin Stars
Woongjin is starting to flex their economic muscles, adding two coaches and buying back GGPlay from CJ. This infusion of money gives them two strong players – free and GGPlay – who should hopefully improve their ProLeague chances. For some reason, however, they are not fielding Free this match. Leta, Yarnc, and go.go look fairly intimidating across the line. Leta should take PianO fairly easily. The second game is of most interest, as Yarnc is coming off of a hard 0-3 fall while Guemchi, the “King of ProLeague”, is not doing much on his supposed throne. GGPlay in a Woongjin uniform is also worth a gander. Go.go to take the fourth, so either Sparkyz in 4 or Free takes it for Woongjin in 5.
STX SouL vs WeMade FOX
STX’s all-out balls to the wall lineup. No NaDa for Fox. Things look rather grim for our green-and-black clad warriors. RorO is a goner; so is Pure considering Kal’s play against Stork. Hwasin TvZ is always a joy to watch, so I’d keep an eye out for that one. Mind will probably win against Calm, but I’m not seeing WeMade lasting through the initial onslaught. SouL in 3. I doubt they’re sending out NaDa in the fifth set since he’s practicing like a madman for his match against free. So SouL in 5 if it gets there.
Air Force ACE vs eSTRO
Another solid draw for ACE against the other sick man of ProLeague. Daezang should probably win against by.funny; Oversky against Sangho should be entertaining but only because both players play so… strangely. Drones = 1 vs Dragoons = 0? BoxeR TvZ on Requiem – what’ll we see this time? Someday the Emperor will integrate lockdown into standard TvZ. fOru will most likely lose against Tester, after which Reach will be unveiled to annihilate all comers in the closer.
