EPTThe Case for Polt
It has been over six months since the Super Tournament was rocked to its core when Polt rolled through some of the best players in Korea to take home the $100,000 prize at the GSL Super Tournament. Polt's never been able to recapture that past glory, and he's had his share of ups and downs since. In fact, he went through one of his worst stretches in recent weeks, getting eliminated from Code A and captaining the hopelessly undermanned Team SCV Life to an elimination from the GSTL as well.
However, by winning the championship at ASUS ROG Assembly Winter, Polt proved that he belongs in Code S, the world's toughest competition. Not only does he belong there, but there's a real way back in. Here's a relevant quote from an interview with GSL director Mr. Chae.
The Code S seed isn't just for foreigners. To be exact, it's a seed we offer in consideration of foreign tournaments. You can think of it as similar to the Code S seed available to the MLG winners last season. However, compared to last year when we only gave Code S seeds to MLG winners (regardless of their nationality), this year we're going to consider many foreign tournaments together when awarding this seed. The players could be Korean players or foreign players.
Alright, Mr. Chae. Let's be real here. Polt has to get one of the two Code S sponsor seeds, right? Let's break it down in detail.
Polt faced very tough competition at Assembly.
On his way to the championship, Polt went through Taeja and HerO – two very good players who are awaiting the final round of Code A matches, and seem to have a good shot at making it into Code S next season. He then defeated Lucky, an underrated player who played in Code S this season, and finally Stephano, considered by many to be the best foreigner in the world. Not only were they all skilled, Code S class opponents, but they forced Polt to prove himself in every single match-up. While Polt definitely has a best match-up in TvP, there was no bracket luck for him at Assembly. In detail:
vs. Taeja: Once more, Polt showed that his marine-tank play is still in a class of its own. With both players going for marine-tank in all three games, Polt was able to take the advantage, using better positioning and early expansions to gain big leads in the first and third games, taking the series and making it to the quarterfinals.
vs. Hero: Polt's TvP is still awesome, and he proved it by beating HerO for what seems like the umpteenth time in the past few months. Hero didn't play particularly well, but he didn't play terribly either. Polt was able to stop him at every corner, engaging the Protoss army on his own terms and winning each time the two forces clashed. He held off two-base gateway push easily to reach the semi-finals.
vs. Lucky Wow. If you are reading this and haven't checked out the Polt vs. Lucky series, do yourself a favor and watch them now (around the 07:00:00 mark). TvZ was considered as Polt's weakest match-up coming into the tournament, but you might consider it to be the strongest now, just because of this series.
With the recent nerf to ghosts, a lot of people were wondering how Terran would be able to stop the combination of brood lords and infestors. Polt showed that late game Zerg had another weakness outside snipe: its immobility. Polt went to work all around the map, dropping everywhere and taking out tech buildings and expansions Lucky couldn't afford to lose. Lucky was constantly stuck in awkward spots where his army was halfway between attacking and defending, unable to do a satisfactory job at either. This gave Polt enough breathing room to get enough vikings and thors to simply brute force the Zerg to death, despite having a less efficient composition.
vs. Stephano: Polt refused to die in this series. Stephano had just thrashed PuMa 3 – 0 in the semi-finals, and he was hungry for more Korean blood. He took an early advantage in many of the games in the finals, but Polt was just too tenacious. Polt made sure he only fought where he wanted to, and that every engagement would go as efficiently as possible. Though Stephano's exploits are becoming the stuff of legend in the international community, Polt showed Stephano that there was more step for him to take.
Foreigners have disappointed historically
There's a big difference between wanting to see foreigners play in GSL, and wanting to see them [i]win[i/] in GSL. After seeing IdrA drop out of the GSL entirely in only a few weeks, NaNiwa go 0 – 10 in the GSL, and SaSe go 1 – 6, I think we know that difference very well. While Sen did a little better by qualifying for the up-down matches, we all know his Code S games were not at the required level.
The seed criteria should apply equally to Koreans in a purely merit based system. It might be tempting to go for NaNiwa and HuK based on MLG Winter Arena, but players like viOLet and Polt actually took first place at their respective tournaments. Having players that you know can play at the Code S level is better for the quality of the league overall, than taking a gamble on foreigners and hoping something will happen.
Strong performances in multiple online tournaments
Polt not only won Assembly, but he's spent the last few months touring the international online circuit and getting great results there as well. He secured a ticket to IPL4 very recently, winning a gigantic, open online qualifier. He went through a crazy line-up of Inca, HerO, Dream, TheStC, Creator and Bomber to win the entire tournament and book his trip to Las Vegas. Add his qualification to the third season of the NASL, his two 700 euro Millennium Cup victories (beating Thorzain 3-0 in both finals) and the various wacky European tournaments he enters at the dead of night, and he is heads and shoulders above every other non-Code S player, Korean or non-Korean when it comes to international tournament results in the past few months.
"But he just fell out of Code A! Why give it back to him right away?"
Well, maybe that's a straw man question. I think fans of Starcraft II will be very aware of the historical precedence here.
MMA? Fell out of Code A against Puzzle in a blowout. Went to MLG Anaheim, got 2nd place to MVP, and got the Code S seed. A few months later won the GSL, the Blizzard Cup, and is considered one of the best players in the world. No one would say he didn't deserve his spot.
MC? Fell out of Code A against Monster in sloppy fashion. Went to MLG Orlando, got 2nd place to Huk, and got the Code S seed. A few months later and he has been in the Blizzard Cup and GSL 2012 Season One top eight, proving that he deserves to be in Code S.
DongRaeGu? Never qualified through Code A to make Code S. Went to MLG Raleigh, got 3rd place behind Bomber and Coca, and got the Code S seed. A few months later and he is in two straight finals, going for his first GSL championship against Genius on March 3rd.
All three players were given seeds into Code S. They have all proven that anyone can get unlucky and find themselves outside of Code S, and will reward you if they are given a second chance. Don't you think that if the opportunity were there, the Polt we saw at Assembly could be a force in Code S?
No, Polt isn't a massively popular foreigner whose participation could be converted into a few thousand ticket sales. What he is, is an excellent player who has proved he can not only compete in the GSL, but can compete at its highest level.
Mr.Chae, don't get caught up in names. Your league might be called "Global," but that's far from the reason it's successful. Tournaments outside Korea desire your players and their borrowed credibility for one reason: they are the absolute best Starcraft II players. Fans buy yearlong tickets without second guessing you for one reason: you have the absolute best Starcraft II players. The international seed should not be a short-sighted marketing device, but a way to catch the rare player who falls through the cracks, and maintain the GSL's elite reputation.
Choose wisely.
(though I hope not).
