EPT
Round 1:
First up to pick was the number one seed: Iloveoov. He had just been awarded the best gamer award earlier in the evening, which had been presented by Nada. Looking sheepish with his SKT T1 uniform, oov told the crowds that the past years success was in the past, and he was looking forward to the upcoming year. What about the OGN curse? Well he did say that the last season was very tiring with so many game 5s, but that after losing to Chojja the other day he was so mad that he practiced until dawn. No one can question his motivation anyways. Oov then stepped up to select Clon, because he was a first timer. After an uncomfortable pause, the announcers laughed and ripped into oov, telling him that Clon actually participated in an OSL in 2001. Looking very abashed, oov mumbled something while Clon glared at him. In rebuttal, Clon simply stated that although oov didnt know much about him now, he sure would by the end of the groups.
Second up is the poster boy for progaming, Boxer. He must be determined, because he had instructed oov not to pick a certain player. After appoligizing (for like the 100th time) about the OSL fnials, he was asked about game 4 vs oov. Could he have won if oov had lifted and floated to an island? According to the Emperor, he had starved himself and had some money in the bank for an extra scv or two. So who would he choose? Why was there a particular player that Boxer had reserved? Pfshh, the answer should be obvious. Looking for a towel boy in his group, Boxer selected Doggi and unconsciously rubbed his hands in preparation for the slaughter to come. Doggi tried to recover from the humiliation of being Boxers hand-picked victim, but his actions would speak louder than words momentarily
Third was the sexiest Korean around, Reach. He dazzled the cheering masses with an embarrassed smile while stepping to the dias. He said briefly that he did not want to pick a teammate, and then quickly picked Jju, who was very manner in saying that he would not pick another KTF member with his selection.
The fourth seed, he resurgent Chojja stepped up next, and declared he would choose a terran because he is happier when he beats a terran. Spoken like a true zerg player, loving the screams and torn up bodies. He said he chose GoodFriend because of his good bionic control, but the announcers pointed out that Chojja has stomped all over GF in the past, and that was the more likely reason.
After the big dogs had picked, the rest went pretty smoothly:
Group A 1 oov > 8 Clon > 9 July > NaDa
Group B 2 Boxer > 7 Doggi > 10 Yellow > Max
Group C 3 Reach > 6 Jju > 11 Midas > SaferZerg
Group D 4 Chojja > 5 GF > 12 Sync > GoRush
Some notes
The highlight of the night came when Doggi, after being humiliated by Boxer, selected Yellow during his round. This created a huge buzz in the theatre, but one would have to think that Doggi sealed his fate with this selection. The good news is that if both Yellow and Boxer make it out of the group stages, they have an opportunity to meet in the finals. Also, Nada was never actually selected, because July was forced into taking him to make the groups even with races (2T and 2Z). NaDa is maybe the ONLY player that is universally feared, and that 3-0 pounding of Reach only cemented that reputation.
The group of death this season is a little harder to pick out. I would like to say Group B because of Boxer and Yellow, but one has to think they are going to roll right through Doggi and Max. The group that shows the biggest likelihood of a titan going down would be A. Clon is old-school, but has seen limited success, and is going against three former champions. July is the one with something to prove, as he barely limped out of the groups last season only to fall listlessly to Yellow.
The sponsor for this StarLeague is IOPS, a Korean based Mp3 Company. I dont know a lot about them, but it seems to follow the trend of Korean e-sponsors.
Maps:
The maps for this season will be :
- Requiem
- Guillotine
- Alchemist
- and a new one I havent seen called Parhaes Dream
Schedule
Here is the upcoming schedule for the group stages:
Week 1 - 12/17
Oov(T) Clon(Z)
Yellow Max(Z)
Reach(P) Jju(Z)
Sync(T) GoRush(Z)
Week 2 - 12/24
July(Z) Nada(T)
Boxer(T) Doggi(T)
Midas(T) Saferzerg(Z)
Chojja(Z) GoodFriend(T)
Week 3 - 12/31
Oov(T) July(Z)
Doggi(T) Max(Z)
Reach(P) Midas(T)
GoodFriend(T) GoRush(Z)
Week 4 - 01/07
Clon(Z) Nada(T)
Boxer(T) Yellow(Z)
Jju(Z) Saferzerg(Z)
Chojja(T) Sync(T)
Week 5 - 01/14
Nada(T) Oov(T)
Doggi(T) Yellow(Z)
Saferzerg(Z) Reach(P)
Goodfriend(T) Sync(T)
Week 6 - 01/21n(Z) July(Z)
Max(Z) Boxer(T)
Jju(Z) Midas(T)
GoRush(Z) Chojja(Z)
Things get going in a week!
![[image loading]](http://www.ongamenet.com/files/map/Alchemist1.0_l.jpg)
