EPT![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/Atrioc/survivorpic.jpg)
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Like the Phoenix
The NATE MSL was an emotional roller coaster: a blazing fire of ups and downs, great games and technical disasters that left fans dizzy and the Teamliquid forums overwhelmed with reaction posts.
With the dust finally settled and the flames, both literally and figuratively, died down - there really isn't anything left to say on the subject that hasn't been said. The inevitable march of time has turned the firey passion of nearly every Starcraft fan, regardless of opinion, towards the MSL to nothing more than dull ash. We simply cannot remain emotional about it for that long.
Yet from these ashes, like a phoenix, a new MSL is rising. New players are rising, new battles forming. Already we, as collective fans of great Starcraft, are regaining our hunger for the thrill and spectacle that only an individual league can provide. The storylines that only a grueling tournament produces. The beginning of Survivor is an important moment: the gunshot that starts the marathon. Those who watch closely can catch glimpses of who will still be running at the end.
The Format
How survivor works, for those who don't know, is as follows:
A: Player 1 vs. Player 2
B: Player 3 vs. Player 4
C: Winner of A plays Winner of B, with the victor advancing to the MSL 2-0
D: Loser of A plays Loser of B, with the loser being knocked out of the MSL
E. Loser of C plays winner of D, with the victor advancing to the MSL 2-1
The first two groups have already concluded, and there are some interesting results already:
Recaps / VODs
JangBi < Fighting Spirit > 
Orion![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/Pholon/vod.gif)
+ Show Spoiler +Crazy-Hydra < Fighting Spirit > 
Sea+ Show Spoiler +Winners:
JangBi < Match Point > Sea+ Show Spoiler + Losers:
Crazy-Hydra < Match Point > Orion+ Show Spoiler + Final:
JangBi < Odd-Eye 2 > Crazy-Hydra+ Show Spoiler + The only thing suprising here is how solid Jangib's PvZ was. Truly, his first game flawless execution of the goon push to destroy the simcity, control the center of the map, and then immediate switch to double stargate corsairs to finish off the predicted mutalisks was one of the most textbook PvZ dominations since the 6 dragons era. Following that up with an extremely solid game against Crazy Hydra where he grasped and held onto the advantage in a long macro game, slowly knocking out all of CH's options until he was forced to GG. Of course, we need to take into account that Orion and Crazy Hydra aren't exactly ZvP champions. Lets wait until the later rounds before making any judgements on Jangbi's seemingly large improvement in this matchup.
Sea, for his part, played pretty great and cruised through 2-0. I dont want to seem too hasty, but I really like the way he chose to play against Jangbi - its not easy to deflect a well-planned cheese (especially in TvP!) and Sea did it with grace. This kid is looking strong, and for once we may actually see him acheive some moderate success in an individual league. Fakesteve can only hope.
Game 1: ZerO < Fighting Spirit > Snow
+ Show Spoiler +
Game 2:UpMaGiC < Fighting Spirit > Hyuk
+ Show Spoiler +
Winners:ZerO < Match Point > Hyuk
+ Show Spoiler +
Losers:Snow < Match Point > UpMaGiC
+ Show Spoiler +
Final:Hyuk < Odd-Eye 2 > Snow
+ Show Spoiler +
ZerO < Fighting Spirit > Snow+ Show Spoiler +Game 2:
UpMaGiC < Fighting Spirit > Hyuk+ Show Spoiler +Winners:
ZerO < Match Point > Hyuk+ Show Spoiler + Losers:
Snow < Match Point > UpMaGiC+ Show Spoiler + Final:
Hyuk < Odd-Eye 2 > Snow+ Show Spoiler + Wow I honestly did not expect this at all. Zero making it through 2-0? Sure, of course, hes proven to be a really solid Zerg. But Hyuk advancing really throws me for a loop, though perhaps i'm still bitter about Proleauge finals. The fact is, Upmagic played bad. Really bad. His choice to proxy rax bunker rush Hyuk had a faint hint of desperation about it, and his decision to not cut his losses when it didnt work and instead pull more marines/SCV to fight waves of zerglings on an open field absolutely reeked of it. His TvP was predictably bad, which is dissapointing because - looking at his career as a whole here - if he doesnt start to put some serious work into it hes just going to be a less exciting, less memorable firebathero.
Dont even really need to mention Snow here, as he didn't really show any memorable qualities and got Hyuk'd right out of the MSL, which is nothing to brag about. Overall not a terribly exciting group, but Zero advancing at least means a good player is advancing rather than getting knocked out by some cheese.
Predictions
Group 3:
GuemChi < Fighting Spirit > greatJuly < Fighting Spirit > ReallyWinners: < Match Point >
Losers: < Match Point >
Final: < Odd-Eye 2 >
One of the most exciting groups of the MST in my opinion - not because any of these four players are particularly high level (my apologies to the Guemchi-for-Bonjwa campaign) but simply because they are all very close in skill level and each have extremely unique playstyles. Guemchi, fresh off his very solid Winner's League performance that included an all-kill of CJ, is my pick to take the group 2-0, and while the rest of the matches could really go either way I'm going to have to say that Really seems like the strongest runner-up. July is a living legend and is never short of a clever agressive build, but is far too prone to game-dropping lately to dominate anyone here, and great - despite his namesake - is only decent, and will continue his tradition of not stepping his game at all, playing decently, and taking games from those that make mistakes
Predicted to Advance:
GuemChi, ReallyGroup 4:
Game 1: hero < Fighting Spirit > Midas
Game 2:Hydra < Fighting Spirit > Leta
Winners: < Match Point >
Losers: < Match Point >
Final: < Odd-Eye 2 >
hero < Fighting Spirit > MidasGame 2:
Hydra < Fighting Spirit > LetaWinners: < Match Point >
Losers: < Match Point >
Final: < Odd-Eye 2 >
Hero, despite what you may be thinking, has got to be breathing a sigh of relief. Last season his MST group contained none other than Terran vs Zerg titan and eventual finalist Flash - and he still managed to scrape by. With his toughest opponent here being Leta (who, by the way, is the clear favorite to take this group if he plays anything like what he is capable of) he can look forward to cheesing out a 2-0 or a safe 2-1. Hydra is the wildcard here because we really dont have enough games to analyze of his - but his performance in ZvZ indicates he could definitely stop Hero's run, if not anyone elses. Midas has fallen a long way since the days where he was the only one who could push prime-sAviOr to his limits, and realistically speaking is the underdog against everyone here save Hydra.
Predicted to Advance:
Leta, heroGroup 5:
Game 1: Bogus < Fighting Spirit > YellOw[ArnC]
Game 2:MVP < Fighting Spirit > EffOrt
Winners: < Match Point >
Losers: < Match Point >
Final: < Odd-Eye 2 >
Bogus < Fighting Spirit > YellOw[ArnC]Game 2:
MVP < Fighting Spirit > EffOrtWinners: < Match Point >
Losers: < Match Point >
Final: < Odd-Eye 2 >
It shouldnt cause me so much difficulty to pick Effort as the favorite here, but watching his extremely sub-par Winner's league performance lately is really making this a tough choice. Personally, however, I tend to forgive small streaks of losses once a player has proven they are capable of coming back from them (Bisu for example, is tough to bet against in a group stage no matter how poorly he tends to perform in them) - whether Effort is truly one of those S-class players honestly remains to be seen. If he plays like he did against Lomo in WL, then he is out of here 0-2 or 1-2, but if he plays like the Effort that made him the rising star of CJ then he is by far the best player here. Yarnc is my safe pick, and I think hes solid enough to advance out of here (a ZvT and ZvZ group? What more could he ask for!) no matter what. MVP and Bogus are middling Terrans that have occassional nice games, but their best TvZ is worse than the Zergs best ZvT, so unless someone has an off day the only wins they will be getting are against each other in the loser's match.
Predicted to Advance:
Yarnc, EffOrtCheck back next week for more Teamliquid MSL coverage of Groups 3-4 and Previews of 6,7,8!
Thanks to Pholon for the VOD links !
![[image loading]](http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/6726/everybodylovesmidasnu2.jpg)
