EPTPlayers
Z - iNcontroL
Z - Machine
T - IdrA
T - Artosis
T - Yosh
P - G5
P - NonY
P - Louder
P - Future
? - Unknown
Groups are not out yet but I am assuming the final will be 2 groups of 5 with a round robin style tournament with the top 2 from each group advancing to the final 4. The final 4 will probably be a normal tournament format with the seedings going - Group A #1 vs Group B #2 and Group B #1 vs Group A #2 with a losers bracket.
October 2-5. Only 1 player goes to Germany for the Grand Final.
iNcontroL iNcontroL is replacing Skew via the US Open. Skew decided to drop out due to simply not caring about sc anymore. iNcontroL is at the top of the list of players for a reason. He is the defending champion and is undoubtedly looking to retake what is his. iNcontroL is one of the worst mechanic players in the field and one of (if not the) smartest in the field. He is a true thinker and plays his respective race as uniquely as anyone in the world. Will human kinds representative out last this field of robots and reclaim his crown as USA Champion? Only time will tell.Artosis is a player who sticks out. He has represented USA twice at the Grand Finals and has placed in the top 5 in WCG USA every single year but has sadly never won it. Maybe his current job in Korea has given him some builds to break his cherry and bring home the title and represent WCG USA one more time. Either way, he is the most lan experienced player in the field (yes even more then IdrA) and as always is the black sheep no one expects to go far but always seems too. Lets see what the US Open champion can do.
IdrA is a progamer for CJEntus and has been to USA Finals last year (his only time) and lost in the group stages playing PvT vs his group of 5 Terrans. This year will be a different story for sure as he is one of the heavy favorites to win and is playing more then anyone right now.
NonY is a strong player who has top 4'd in WCG USA before. He did very well in the TSL and in various other online tournaments this year. He is another top contender which many feel will take 1st. NonY is probably only out matched by IdrA in mechanics and is probably overall the most solid player in the field. He is a very heavy favorite to win along with IdrA.
G5 (me ^_^) is apparently (IdrA interview -_-) known as a very abusive player and the maps "favor" my race. I guess I will just abuse and try to BO win every game vs every player and hope for the best. Woohoo~
Machine is the only Zerg player and has the advantage of being the only Zerg player. With ZvT being his best and ZvZ being his worst, he is in the best position he could have hoped for. Machine has been around for a while but never even qualified for Regionals until this year and now he is at the National Finals. Machine is the most solid Zerg in America (imo he has one of the most solid play styles of any foreign Zerg) and has the advantage of only having to practice 2 match ups. Also, with only 1 Zerg player, there may be many players who just skip TvZ / TvP practice leading up to the finals, this also plays into Machines hands. Machine has fast hands, great macro and a very solid player and could cause some upsets in this tourney. Watch out for this man. + Show Spoiler +
If I were to give Machine any advice, it would be to take advantage of the fact that everyone knows his play style and will skip PvZ / TvZ practice. If I were him, I would learn some sneaky / unexpected BO's (not just saying cheese). Everyone will probably be playing standard / cookie cutter build orders vs him and he should prepare for this accordingly.
Nyoken Nyoken has dropped out due to unknown (unknown to me) reasons and a replacement hasn't been announced yet. It's going to be sad to see a USA Finals without Nyoken
. Love ya man~ Maybe USA Finals Veteran and South Regionals 3rd LzGaMeR will replace him? Yosh reminds me of Froz a lot in the sense that he is a very seasonal player and comes to life around WCG time and when he is active, he plays A LOT. He placed 2nd in 2005 (I think 2005) and qualified for the Grand Finals but gave up his spot to Cocoa for school. He is a monster in all match ups and says his TvT is his best match up. The few things this man does play in, he does extremely well in. He is currently top 3 in Ascension (and will remain there for life) and was the first foreigner to A- in the last ICCUP Season (Season 5) before having his account hacked. Yosh is a very quiet / nice guy and you won't even notice him until he rapes the bahjesus out of you and your looking around thinking "wtf just happened?". Look for him to do very well.
Louder is an old school player. He isn't a great threat to anyone here imo. I guess we will just see what he does.
Future is another old school player who I believe is a bit out of shape. He shouldn't be too big of a threat to anyone but I hear hes a nice guy and I look forward to meeting him. As with Louder, I guess we will just see how he does.
Predictions anyone?
