Eight players? How are we supposed to do a power rank with just eight players? Well, gotta make do with what you've got. Instead of a full-fledged power rank for this week's rather cozy, distinctly Korean Arena, we've decided to go in a different direction.
Me, I'm dancing on the inside to see such a thorough exhibition of Code S class skill. For others, HuK vs seven Koreans isn't exactly the most enticing tournament. So to help you along (those of you who aren't watching DreamHack), here's a list of eight points of interest going into this MLG weekend that might make things a little bit more amusing to watch.
Foreigner hope, from a Korean
Alongside Mill.Stephano, Empire|viOLet has come up as a fascinating case study in what effect geography has on player skill. Despite being based outside of Korea, both Zergs have defied previous conventional wisdom and cultivated a near Code S level of skill. Near is the key word here. viOLet has beat high flyers like HerO, MarineKing, and aLive, but he's also had the tar beat out of him by MC an obscene amount of times. With all seven other players at Spring Arena being arguably of Code S quality of higher, it will be a great chance to see how good a player can become outside of Korea. If viOLet can perform well at Spring Arena, then there might be uncomfortable implications for foreigners who complain about being at a disadvantage to Koreans.
How much does MLG hate Ganzi?
MLG has been consistent in making sure their games are appropriately scheduled across their multiple streams to avoid overlap between fan-favorite match-ups. In fact, it's so mechanical and precise, I'm pretty sure they're using some kind of algorithm to make those decisions. So far, I've figured it out as far as "Least priority: coL.GanZi." Here are some of the match-ups that have been scheduled at the same time as GanZi's games:
Now, consider the fact that Ganzi was the only player in the top six at Winter Arena to never get a main stage game, and you start to wonder if he accidentally insulted Sundance's family while trying to wish him a good day in English. It's an unfortunate situation for Ganzi, but with a strong performance, he can force himself into the spotlight on the final day. That, or he could try and dominate the 2v2 tournament...
HuK's Luck
Poor, EG.HuK. One day, Starcraft II fans started filing PvP in the 'easy' category, and suddenly HuK's consecutive top-four MLG finishes were being brushed off as being due to 'easy' brackets. Still, you can't blame viewers for preferring well-rounded players, and HuK hasn't exactly been doing great against Korean Terran and Zerg players. In particular, HuK's PvT has come under fire, with many pointing to his recent losses to Heart and Hack - not exactly household names - as signs of weakness.
Well, if HuK wants to silence any talk about bracket luck, then what's a better opportunity than a tournament without brackets? The eight man round robin guarantees HuK will face each and every one of the players at Spring Arena at least once, and should he emerge with an impressive record, then it would go a long way to shutting up the haters. Of course, it's a double edged sword. Should he disappoint in the group stage, and fail to qualify for the final day's elimination tournament, then many of the doubts will be justified.
Finding an identity: Heart
Like HuK, coL.Heart wasn't able to escape criticism at MLG Columbus, even with his incredible open bracket-to-third place run. He beat some proven players in viOLet, HuK, and GanZi during his run, but on that performance alone, he still didn't quite seem on the same level as past MLG third place finishers such as MC, DongRaeGu, and TheStC. He seemed more like Startale's Sound, an unknown player who entered HSC IV, finished in second, and departed without giving us any idea about where he stood as a player. Heart's open bracket elimination from IPL4 didn't teach us anything new, since that tournament was a hell from which not even Leenock, TaeJa or HerO could escape. Most recently, Heart walked all over BumblebeePrime in some Code A games, but that wasn't a particularly revealing result either.
Unlike Sound, however, Heart will leave Korea once more to receive a very thorough examination from some very skillful peers. Also like HuK, Heart's performance at Spring Arena will inevitably change the way we look at his run through the Winter Championship. Was he a shrewd opportunist, feeding on the weaker foreigners? Or is he a true Code S class predator?
Will Grubby become the best caster in the world after one event?
Ah, more meta-eSports.
For a long time, the caster scene has remained pretty stagnant. The various daily and weekly tournaments provide new casters a place to get experience, and MLG's also done a nice job in giving lesser known casters like Adebisi and Tumba some exposure, but the market for top tier casters is still dominated by the same old Tastosis's, Day9's, and TotalBiscuits. Wolf's opportunity at DreamHack Eizo Open, and mouz.Kaelaris' at IEM show that the scene isn't totally static, but holy s***, did that take a while to happen.
This makes absolutely no sense, because there's another elephant in the room that needs addressing: Some players are just better at casting than the current stock of professional casters. All of the players have far superior knowledge of the game, though not all of them are articulate or personable enough to bring that knowledge to the audience in an entertaining way. But the ones who can? They are pretty damn incredible.
From what we've seen so far, Grubby has the potential to become the very best. He's only been a guest caster at few events so far, such as the the open-mic at HomeStoryCup 4, or as a teacher overlooking his pupil Mill.Feast at the IEM World Championship. In those few guest appearances, Grubby killed with a combination of smarts and charisma. After a full weekend of casting, I can't help but think people will be wondering 'why settle for less?'
GSL Insurance
These players aren't just playing for money, pride, or a seed into the Spring Championship. Nope, there's something potentially even more valuable on the line: a Code S seed. None of the seven GSL players at Spring Arena One have secured a spot in next season's Code S. DongRaeGu and Heart have just begun fighting their way through Code A, HuK's fallen out entirely, and even MC, MKP, and PartinG aren't out of the woods yet. Unlikely as it is, they could very well drop out of the RO16, lose their Code A matches, and then get a tough Up/Down group draw.
Now, between now and the next Code S season, there will be quite a few more foreign tournaments which GomTV will look at as they decide how to distribute their two discretionary Code S seeds. DreamHack Eizo Open is coming this very weekend, there's going to be another, even bigger MLG Arena, and then there's the Spring Championship itself. Still, you can't rule Spring Arena One out. Consider TSL_Polt, who got a seed this season based on a variety of merits, but also largely due to his championship performance at ASUS ROG Assembly Winter. Besides Polt, the best players at ASUS ROG were Stephano, PuMa, HerO, Lucky and TaeJa - definitely a downgrade from this Spring Arena's eight. If DongRaeGu should somehow fail to reach Code S by regular means, but has Spring Arena One in his pocket, I'm pretty sure the GSL would be okay with using it as an excuse to shoehorn the megastar back in.
PartinG vs MKP – GSTL Rematch
Both ST_PartinG and MarineKingPrime might brush aside suggestions that there's any bad blood, but does anyone really believe it? With many pro-gamers insisting PartinG was robbed in the GSTL finals, PartinG's own claims of accepting the referee decision sound like some of the emptiest PR statements in eSports history. As for MKP, how pissed must he be about people suggesting that he and Prime didn't deserve to win the finals, even after his incredible four-win performance? I wouldn't be surprised if both players marked off April 20th on their calendars, and have been eagerly counting the days away.
No, a rematch at Spring Arena or any other tournament can no more change the past than Blizzard can implement LAN. But while this Spring Arena can't offer revenge for PartinG or affirmation for MarineKing, it's sure to give the winner of the match a special kind of satisfaction that no ordinary series could offer.
What's amazing about this match-up is that even without the backdrop of the GSTL finals debacle, this is probably the single best match-up in all of Starcraft II. Not only are PartinG and MarineKing the two best players at the PvT match-up, but they have a special chemistry reserved for only few select pairs. It's the chemistry Nestea and Mvp lacked when they were the best players in the world, turning their much anticipated meetings into lifeless disappointments. It's the same chemistry MMA and DongRaeGu have in droves, making every single one of their meetings an exciting encounter. For PartinG and MKP, their penchant for making great matches together might be even greater. The GSTL finals game looked like one of the greatest PvT comebacks before the untimely disconnect, their past MLG meetings have been filled with psi-storming, marauder-splitting excitement as well.
Their group-stage meeting is sure to be a treat. If they meet in the finals? We might see the best series of all time.
DRG vs MKP III
DongRaeGu had a few weeks to enjoy his position as best player in the world before MarineKing unceremoniously knocked him off his throne. The usurping came as a surprise, as MarineKing had been getting spanked by DongRaeGu as recently as early February this year. However, just as DongRaeGu was about to head into the GSL finals, MarineKing scored a major upset at Winter Arena and defeated DongRaeGu 4 - 2 in the finals. After spending a period of time as a player whose skill had peaked and then plateaued, MKP re-emerged looking like an entirely new player in his sweep through Winter Arena. At the Winter Championship, MKP showed Arena was no fluke and emerged victorious over DongRaeGu once more, this time by a score of 5 - 2, in even more one-sided games.
Their fortunes continued to contrast in the next GSL. DongRaeGu recently dropped out of the Code S RO32 as last place in his group, going 1 - 4 in set scores as he lost to TheStC and TaeJa. Meanwhile, MKP went 4 - 1 to finish first place in his group, taking out Zenio and July.
It's hard not to jump to conclusions. MKP is a player known for his work ethic, a player who starts practicing earlier than the others, and turns his computer off only after others have long since gone to bed. While DongRaeGu certainly put in a lot of effort to win a GSL championship, it's easy to see how a player could lose some of their drive after winning it all, without even consciously noticing it. It's a simple explanation for a simple observation: One player tries harder, one player tries less. One gets better, one gets worse.
Or, who knows? Maybe DongRaeGu had the worst day of his life in the Code S RO32. Maybe MarineKing is having the luckiest streak in his career, to go alongside his most skillful one. Whatever the truth is, DongRaeGu will be more motivated than ever to repair his reputation. The PlayXP reading DongRaeGu will be more acutely aware of his public image than anyone, and he knows there's a story to set straight.
As for MKP, he'll have to protect his throne for the very first time - a strange thing for a man who has called himself a king. Now he must prove that he is fit to rule, or suffer the fate of his predecessors.
I'm most excited for DRG vs MC. If he beats Dongraegu then he's basically destroyed all the best zergs without losing a single series all year. MC fighting! :D
Awww, I thought you were going to do all the players individually, rather than a selection of stories.
Still, fun to read as always! However, Sound actually game 2nd, rather than 3rd, at HSC4. I remember because he got absolutely stomped by MC in the finals.
There have been more MLG threads made about this than there are actual players, and I can't say I'm particularly interested given Dreamhack is this weekend too, but there should be some interesting storylines and a Parting vs MKP rematch would be nice (even if they're likely to play a rather more important series in the GSL next week).
On April 20 2012 05:40 TeamLiquid ESPORTS wrote: However, just after DongRaeGu won the Code S title and looked stronger than ever, MarineKing scored a major upset at Winter Arena and defeated DongRaeGu 4 - 2 in the finals.
Didn't MKP beat DRG at winter arena before DRG won GSL Season 1? Though their match in code S happened earlier I think.
It's hard not to jump to conclusions. MKP is a player known for his work ethic, a player who starts practicing earlier than the others, and turns his computer off only after others have long since gone to bed. While DongRaeGu certainly put in a lot of effort to win a GSL championship, it's easy to see how a player could lose some of their drive after winning it all, without even consciously noticing it. It's a simple explanation for a simple observation: One player tries harder, one player tries less. One gets better, one gets worse.
Both (P)ST_PartinG and (T)MarineKingPrime might brush aside suggestions that there's any bad blood, but does anyone really believe it? With many pro-gamers insisting PartinG was robbed in the GSTL finals, PartinG's own claims of accepting the referee decision sound like some of the emptiest PR statements in eSports history. As for MKP, how pissed must he be about people suggesting that he and Prime didn't deserve to win the finals, even after his incredible four-win performance? I wouldn't be surprised if both players marked off April 20th on their calendars, and have been eagerly counting the days away.
Meh. Parting and MKP are really good friends and tweet at each other often. I think their statements were genuine... not that friends can't be rivals and want to beat each other all the more.
Dreamhack looks like a joke compared to MLG when it comes to the player skill involved. Dreamhack has... Polt, puma and genius? MLG is freaking stacked.
Both (P)ST_PartinG and (T)MarineKingPrime might brush aside suggestions that there's any bad blood, but does anyone really believe it? With many pro-gamers insisting PartinG was robbed in the GSTL finals, PartinG's own claims of accepting the referee decision sound like some of the emptiest PR statements in eSports history. As for MKP, how pissed must he be about people suggesting that he and Prime didn't deserve to win the finals, even after his incredible four-win performance? I wouldn't be surprised if both players marked off April 20th on their calendars, and have been eagerly counting the days away.
Meh. Parting and MKP are really good friends and tweet at each other often. I think their statements were genuine... not that friends can't be rivals and want to beat each other all the more.
Same. I saw MKP & Parting pm'ing each other a bit when MKP was streaming a few days ago. I did not sense any tension or bad blodo at all.
but the market for top tier casters is still dominated by the same old Tastosis's, Day9's, and TotalBiscuits.
Where is the kid, where is the shaun "the kid" clark. the mighty apollo
True enough, the kid gets better, whilst still butchering metaphors like a king. However the article is most correct Grubby casting blows the usual suspects combination of bluff, bluster and "this is terrible what is he doing" clean out of the water. It's generally true though that a majority of people will accept something dumb said with confidence over something smart said with a maybe. Otherwise seems an odd little scrap, good players sure, but size and context feels a bit show matchey. Is it weird that I feel more psyche for the Grubnalysis than the tournament?
On April 20 2012 07:24 Ventor wrote: Dreamhack looks like a joke compared to MLG when it comes to the player skill involved. Dreamhack has... Polt, puma and genius? MLG is freaking stacked.
Yeah I mean DH will only have 2x as big prize pool + 2x big first place money and Naniwa, Polt, Genius, PuMa, SaSe, Thorzain, Nerchio, Ret, TSL-Hyun, MVPMonster, Socke, Morrow, TLO .........etc....
0.o
I think your message is a joke rather, a funny one! Haha
Everyone wanna beat MarineKing, but how do you prepare against such an enigmatic player? There is always a new micro-oriented build ready to take on what ever hits him.
Grubby really is a fenomenal caster. His knowledge of the game is encyclopedic, he's extremely articulate, funny and smart. He knows every nook and cranny of every map, every trick in the book, and he's got the most prestigious career of any foreigner in the esports world. I'd love to see him become a caster eventually.
It's hard not to jump to conclusions. MKP is a player known for his work ethic, a player who starts practicing earlier than the others, and turns his computer off only after others have long since gone to bed. While DongRaeGu certainly put in a lot of effort to win a GSL championship, it's easy to see how a player could lose some of their drive after winning it all, without even consciously noticing it. It's a simple explanation for a simple observation: One player tries harder, one player tries less. One gets better, one gets worse.
Just an incredible picture. Ganzi might not be on Slayers anymore, but I hope Ganzi does well at this tournament. He's a really awesome guy and great player, but very underrated and out of the spotlight
MKP is sitting in our warm up area. Kid traveled around the freaking globe to America with only clothes, a keyboard, mouse, and passport. No money, no wallet, nothing. Incredible lol.
It's hard not to jump to conclusions. MKP is a player known for his work ethic, a player who starts practicing earlier than the others, and turns his computer off only after others have long since gone to bed. While DongRaeGu certainly put in a lot of effort to win a GSL championship, it's easy to see how a player could lose some of their drive after winning it all, without even consciously noticing it. It's a simple explanation for a simple observation: One player tries harder, one player tries less. One gets better, one gets worse.
To be fair: HuK did have the easiest possible groups in - most - of his MLG runs.
Like the last arena, he only met 1 korean which wa Oz in a PvP. Given it is Oz and PvP beating him 2-0 was quite good, but he was absolutely demolished by DRG and Marineking. Same goes for his the winter championship where he had to face only 1 "real" korean, in heart; a cheesy code A/B player. Who proceeded to beat him twice in the tournament. His most notable win the whole tournament was again a korean protoss, now Parting.
I am not gonna say Huk is bad, he is not. But I do still think he has not proved himself to be one of the greats.
Remember Polt's incredible run throught the lower part of open bracket, going 23-3 or something like that ? Not a single game on main stage back then. Polt himself even talked about it when he finaly got a main stage game because of his new rivalry with Stephano.
I'm sad for GanZi. The guy has always been put into the " It's just another korean terran" category. He's so good tho. :<
Should Huk fall flat, can we freely use the pet name "Luk" without moderation?
On April 20 2012 08:33 MLG_Adam wrote: MKP is sitting in our warm up area. Kid traveled around the freaking globe to America with only clothes, a keyboard, mouse, and passport. No money, no wallet, nothing. Incredible lol.
Oh man~ does MLG pick up the tab for his room + meals? I'd definitely offer to buy his meals if it was being held in Dallas T.T;
On April 20 2012 08:33 MLG_Adam wrote: MKP is sitting in our warm up area. Kid traveled around the freaking globe to America with only clothes, a keyboard, mouse, and passport. No money, no wallet, nothing. Incredible lol.
About Ganzi dominating the 2v2 tournament. I played (and beat) him in a custom 4v4 earlier in the week and it was his first ever team game. So if you plan on placing bets on the 2v2 games I suggest not betting on Ganzi...
On April 20 2012 08:33 MLG_Adam wrote: MKP is sitting in our warm up area. Kid traveled around the freaking globe to America with only clothes, a keyboard, mouse, and passport. No money, no wallet, nothing. Incredible lol.
Gods don't need money or food.
Flash will smite you down like Sodom for worshipping false idols. MKP sounds like he's expecting everyone else to take care of him. I really hope he grows up a bit. And how could he not take money to the states? It's not like he doesn't have money. Either his head is 100% on the game, or 100% on the clouds. xD
It is not just PartinG and MKP waiting for their encounter, I can assure you of that. My favourite matchup being played by my respective favourite players to watch in that matchup, add in the drama and rivalry and you got one excited Toss fanboy out for revenge.
Just want to point something out, NesTea and MvP had one series in October that remains one of the most memorable series in SC2. They weren't all bad..
Both (P)ST_PartinG and (T)MarineKingPrime might brush aside suggestions that there's any bad blood, but does anyone really believe it? With many pro-gamers insisting PartinG was robbed in the GSTL finals, PartinG's own claims of accepting the referee decision sound like some of the emptiest PR statements in eSports history. As for MKP, how pissed must he be about people suggesting that he and Prime didn't deserve to win the finals, even after his incredible four-win performance? I wouldn't be surprised if both players marked off April 20th on their calendars, and have been eagerly counting the days away.
Meh. Parting and MKP are really good friends and tweet at each other often. I think their statements were genuine... not that friends can't be rivals and want to beat each other all the more.
Pretty sure the author himself doesn't believe in what he wrote, it's just the obligatory pump-it-up stuff, "they gonna cut each other's throats" etc. The match is certainly very interesting though, even if MKP and Parting aren't, like, the worst enemies in reality.
Grubby might be the most charismatic person I've ever gotten to meet personally in gaming(shit... even if I left out the gaming part it wouldn't be a gigantic stretch), I hope he kills it. His previous tidbits of casting have been amazing.
Man the tournament is so stacked. Off the the top of my head, other than the aforementioned DRG v MKP and MKP v Parting, you have other dream match-ups like DRG v MC.
On April 20 2012 08:33 MLG_Adam wrote: MKP is sitting in our warm up area. Kid traveled around the freaking globe to America with only clothes, a keyboard, mouse, and passport. No money, no wallet, nothing. Incredible lol.
Gods don't need money or food.
Flash will smite you down like Sodom for worshipping false idols. MKP sounds like he's expecting everyone else to take care of him. I really hope he grows up a bit. And how could he not take money to the states? It's not like he doesn't have money. Either his head is 100% on the game, or 100% on the clouds. xD
You sound incredibly silly saying that MKP should grow up.
He has been to MLGs before and obviously if he doesn't think he will need money then why should he bring money? Besides, if he does need money he can just tell MLG to take it out of his check.
tourney looks so sick, people been raggin on huck alot latley. damn. if his pvt is up to par at all i think he will do good at the tourney. omg if he won it would be so amazing for sc2 and esports, even if you hate huk it would be great! the lone foreigner slayin dem koreans. regardless it all looks great, im buying my pass this weekend for sure
I dont see anyone flaming HuK ? ...the hell... did Fioon or w/e his name is write this ? :p. Anyways, cant wait to watch this, hope HuK can make it far and hopefully he wont be sick...again. =_='
On April 20 2012 08:33 MLG_Adam wrote: MKP is sitting in our warm up area. Kid traveled around the freaking globe to America with only clothes, a keyboard, mouse, and passport. No money, no wallet, nothing. Incredible lol.
On April 20 2012 08:57 TheBamf wrote: To be fair: HuK did have the easiest possible groups in - most - of his MLG runs.
Like the last arena, he only met 1 korean which wa Oz in a PvP. Given it is Oz and PvP beating him 2-0 was quite good, but he was absolutely demolished by DRG and Marineking. Same goes for his the winter championship where he had to face only 1 "real" korean, in heart; a cheesy code A/B player. Who proceeded to beat him twice in the tournament. His most notable win the whole tournament was again a korean protoss, now Parting.
I am not gonna say Huk is bad, he is not. But I do still think he has not proved himself to be one of the greats.
Your memory is flawed regarding Columbus. He had both Violet and Heart in his group as well as Ret/Socke who he beat at the other event you are speaking of who apparently you think are pushovers. After the group stage at Columbus he went on to beat Naniwa and Parting before losing a 4-2 extended series to Heart. That is 3 Koreans in the one plus Naniwa and if you payed attention to SOTG you would see Tyler talking about how PvP is won based on skill now and not luck(most of the time) so trying to discredit that is silly too.
On April 20 2012 08:57 TheBamf wrote: To be fair: HuK did have the easiest possible groups in - most - of his MLG runs.
Like the last arena, he only met 1 korean which wa Oz in a PvP. Given it is Oz and PvP beating him 2-0 was quite good, but he was absolutely demolished by DRG and Marineking. Same goes for his the winter championship where he had to face only 1 "real" korean, in heart; a cheesy code A/B player. Who proceeded to beat him twice in the tournament. His most notable win the whole tournament was again a korean protoss, now Parting.
I am not gonna say Huk is bad, he is not. But I do still think he has not proved himself to be one of the greats.
Your memory is flawed regarding Columbus. He had both Violet and Heart in his group as well as Ret/Socke who he beat at the other event you are speaking of who apparently you think are pushovers.
He did say most, not all...
After the group stage at Columbus he went on to beat Naniwa and Parting before losing a 4-2 extended series to Heart. That is 3 Koreans in the one plus Naniwa and if you payed attention to SOTG you would see Tyler talking about how PvP is won based on skill now and not luck(most of the time) so trying to discredit that is silly too.
Again, all PvP's. No one in the world that knows what they're talking about would say that HuK isn't one of the best PvP'ers in the world. That said, being a beast in one matchup doesn't make him "one of the greats".
Kinda lame that DreamHack doesn't get as much exposure as MLG ... Of course it's not the same line-up of players but I think it's still an important tournament !
*Also wanted to add that tournament overlapping is really bad organisation, not Starcraft II being so global that we have 150 high profile tournaments every week.
1 thing that interests me here is that MKP, Parting, and MC still have their current Code S runs to look after while DRG has nothing to lose (he could never lose to Ace >_>). Will be interesting to see if this makes any noticeable impact in the outcome of this event as I doubt any of those 3 players wants to give away any free information to the rest of Code S (especially considering MKP and Parting are in the same group and both have a chance of going up against MC in RO8 if he were to advance). We won't really know until we can compare the play here to the play in Code S but it should be fun to see.
I think grubby will be great like look at his experience in professional gaming. He is in that group of people artosis, tasteless, day9, incontrol...etc whos opinion about SC2 I actually respect like he may not be getting results but he does know a good bit about the game. Oh and he did cast a few times already this isn't his first event but it was spotty but one thing I remember was reddit threads saying "wow grubby is a great caster" so I don't think he will be bad at all.
On April 20 2012 08:57 TheBamf wrote: To be fair: HuK did have the easiest possible groups in - most - of his MLG runs.
Like the last arena, he only met 1 korean which wa Oz in a PvP. Given it is Oz and PvP beating him 2-0 was quite good, but he was absolutely demolished by DRG and Marineking. Same goes for his the winter championship where he had to face only 1 "real" korean, in heart; a cheesy code A/B player. Who proceeded to beat him twice in the tournament. His most notable win the whole tournament was again a korean protoss, now Parting.
I am not gonna say Huk is bad, he is not. But I do still think he has not proved himself to be one of the greats.
Your memory is flawed regarding Columbus. He had both Violet and Heart in his group as well as Ret/Socke who he beat at the other event you are speaking of who apparently you think are pushovers.
After the group stage at Columbus he went on to beat Naniwa and Parting before losing a 4-2 extended series to Heart. That is 3 Koreans in the one plus Naniwa and if you payed attention to SOTG you would see Tyler talking about how PvP is won based on skill now and not luck(most of the time) so trying to discredit that is silly too.
Again, all PvP's. No one in the world that knows what they're talking about would say that HuK isn't one of the best PvP'ers in the world. That said, being a beast in one matchup doesn't make him "one of the greats".
Either way Im pretty sure he said one korean so w/e
I wont call MKP being the best player in the world before he wins a GSL(probably this season). After MMA and DRG maybe the best player in the world title is empty right now but fiercely contested by newcomers like alive squirtle parting etc etc
On April 20 2012 16:50 Waterflow wrote: Now you need to do an article about Dreamhack Eizo Open aswell so you don't seem so biased towards MLG Spring Arena
On April 20 2012 19:00 Ireniicus wrote: Just a thought but would it not have made more sense to have had this event in Korea as practically everyone playing in it lives there?
cheaper to bring eight guys to NYC, than fly all your production guys from NYC to kor
On April 20 2012 19:00 Ireniicus wrote: Just a thought but would it not have made more sense to have had this event in Korea as practically everyone playing in it lives there?
cheaper to bring eight guys to NYC, than fly all your production guys from NYC to kor
Its up to DRG to show his GSL awfull games were just a fluke, and that he looked at Symbol and Losira's games vs MKP. I have a feeling either Parting or DRG might take it, if both fail MKP will run over the rest and take an easy win.
On April 20 2012 07:24 Ventor wrote: Dreamhack looks like a joke compared to MLG when it comes to the player skill involved. Dreamhack has... Polt, puma and genius? MLG is freaking stacked.
Yeah I mean DH will only have 2x as big prize pool + 2x big first place money and Naniwa, Polt, Genius, PuMa, SaSe, Thorzain, Nerchio, Ret, TSL-Hyun, MVPMonster, Socke, Morrow, TLO .........etc....
0.o
I think your message is a joke rather, a funny one! Haha
and nearly all of the players you just mentioned, would be clear favorites for last place @ spring arena one ;o
I expect a great tournament. I would bet my money on DRG this time, but hope that MKP delivers a good showing!
On April 20 2012 07:24 Ventor wrote: Dreamhack looks like a joke compared to MLG when it comes to the player skill involved. Dreamhack has... Polt, puma and genius? MLG is freaking stacked.
Yeah I mean DH will only have 2x as big prize pool + 2x big first place money and Naniwa, Polt, Genius, PuMa, SaSe, Thorzain, Nerchio, Ret, TSL-Hyun, MVPMonster, Socke, Morrow, TLO .........etc....
0.o
I think your message is a joke rather, a funny one! Haha
and nearly all of the players you just mentioned, would be clear favorites for last place @ spring arena one ;o
I expect a great tournament. I would bet my money on DRG this time, but hope that MKP delivers a good showing!
They don't even colide on time schedule ? Then what is all this crying about ? Both look fantastic. 1 is small that is stacked the other is big wich is also stacked. It's going to be a fantastic weekend for those who enjoy watching starcraft.
On April 20 2012 07:24 Ventor wrote: Dreamhack looks like a joke compared to MLG when it comes to the player skill involved. Dreamhack has... Polt, puma and genius? MLG is freaking stacked.
Yeah I mean DH will only have 2x as big prize pool + 2x big first place money and Naniwa, Polt, Genius, PuMa, SaSe, Thorzain, Nerchio, Ret, TSL-Hyun, MVPMonster, Socke, Morrow, TLO .........etc....
0.o
I think your message is a joke rather, a funny one! Haha
and nearly all of the players you just mentioned, would be clear favorites for last place @ spring arena one ;o
I expect a great tournament. I would bet my money on DRG this time, but hope that MKP delivers a good showing!
I think NaNiwa, Polt, Genius, PuMa, SaSe, Hyun and Monster have something to say about that.
Also Dreamhack will have one big ass venue with a big crowd cheering + Apollo and Wolf. iNcontroL in the sofa ^^ lol. I guess in MLG Spring Arena they will have like a staff of 10 people watching. ^^
Sure MLG Spring Arena is crazy stacked with sickening good players and one short Canadian. BUT...... how fun is a 8 man tournament with only 1 foreigner in it?
Sure it's nice to see these monster koreans duke it out together with 1 foreigner but it's still just 8 players. It's not a big tournament. Skillwize it is though.
But i can see it getting a bit meh after watching a few matches. Korean vs korean, top 7 koreans.
I don't mind seeing koreans meeting koreans. That's awesome! But that's what GSL is for. And also it wouldn't hurt if there were a little bit more foreigners i that lineup so that one could eihter see them get destroyed or maybe do decent. Would be more entertainment value.
On April 20 2012 19:00 Ireniicus wrote: Just a thought but would it not have made more sense to have had this event in Korea as practically everyone playing in it lives there?
cheaper to bring eight guys to NYC, than fly all your production guys from NYC to kor
Out source production to GOM. Put some fake NYC skyline template. Fly in Grubby, JP, Sundance. Tastosis is in place so is Legend (sorry Abidisi)
On April 20 2012 20:36 Waterflow wrote: lalalalaaaa
They have 24h to post a article about DH. Notice that this one was posted within 24 hours to the start of the tournament.
Oh. And Wax. MLG production when it comes to arenas suck. Hell even NASL season 3 production is way better than MLG arena. Right now in NA (based on production) NASL s3 >> MLG/IPL Live events (crowd factor) >> MLG Arenas >> IPL online shows.
NASL S3 live finals (??? - they fired the sound and camera guy) but we will see.
On April 20 2012 20:36 Waterflow wrote: lalalalaaaa
They have 24h to post a article about DH. Notice that this one was posted within 24 hours to the start of the tournament.
I misunderstood Waxangels comment. I thought he was talking about DH when he was infact talking about GOM. But i dunno if i agree with his comment anyways
On April 20 2012 05:57 Dodgin wrote: Expecting HuK and Violet for last place in the group stage.
Parting will win if he can avoid DRG and beat MC in PvP ( Which hasn't looked all that difficult in a long time honestly )
I don't think you're giving Parting's PvZ enough credit. Do remember that in the last two MLG's he's been the only Protoss not to mention player to actually beat DRG in a BO3, and almost beating him in the extended series, aside from MKP that is.
On April 20 2012 05:57 Dodgin wrote: Expecting HuK and Violet for last place in the group stage.
Parting will win if he can avoid DRG and beat MC in PvP ( Which hasn't looked all that difficult in a long time honestly )
I don't think you're giving Parting's PvZ enough credit. Do remember that in the last two MLG's he's been the only Protoss not to mention player to actually beat DRG in a BO3, and almost beating him in the extended series, aside from MKP that is.
That's totally true but DRG is still probably the toughest opponent in the world in PvZ and DRG has everything to play for being knocked out of GSL while a lot of the other players still have Code S coming up.
He could beat DRG it's entirely possible just one of the more unlikely things to happen.
On April 20 2012 22:48 Waxangel wrote: Behind the shoulder watching of PartinG's PvZ at IPL4 makes me think he's almost even with DRG, hmmm
Interesting :o
I guess my opinion on his PvZ is not really well formed because the only PvZ I have seen him play that I can remember is against DRG in GSL season one and the winter arena where he won 2-1 but later lost the extended series. that was a while ago and probably doesn't reflect his current PvZ.
Your PvT has gotten even stronger since last season
Frankly, my mirror matchup and vZ are quite weak. I am confident that I can win against any terran though. My vT was already strong but t seems to gotten even stronger today.
from his ro32 interview so I guess that's what I base this off of, but maybe he was just being modest.
On April 20 2012 05:40 TeamLiquid ESPORTS wrote: No, a rematch at Spring Arena or any other tournament can no more change the past than Blizzard can implement LAN.
great writeup, I love how you don't make any assumptions about slumps with DRG and MKP, they could be lucky or unlucky, or it could be practice. We don't know and you addressed the uncertainty and built up my hype! <3
On April 20 2012 08:57 TheBamf wrote: To be fair: HuK did have the easiest possible groups in - most - of his MLG runs.
Like the last arena, he only met 1 korean which wa Oz in a PvP. Given it is Oz and PvP beating him 2-0 was quite good, but he was absolutely demolished by DRG and Marineking. Same goes for his the winter championship where he had to face only 1 "real" korean, in heart; a cheesy code A/B player. Who proceeded to beat him twice in the tournament. His most notable win the whole tournament was again a korean protoss, now Parting.
I am not gonna say Huk is bad, he is not. But I do still think he has not proved himself to be one of the greats.
Your memory is flawed regarding Columbus. He had both Violet and Heart in his group as well as Ret/Socke who he beat at the other event you are speaking of who apparently you think are pushovers. After the group stage at Columbus he went on to beat Naniwa and Parting before losing a 4-2 extended series to Heart. That is 3 Koreans in the one plus Naniwa and if you payed attention to SOTG you would see Tyler talking about how PvP is won based on skill now and not luck(most of the time) so trying to discredit that is silly too.
Wasn't impressive of HuK to win against NaNiwa with 2 incredibly lame cheeses. Not even real games. NaNiwa has and will destroy HuK in real games.
I have to say, I wasn't going to purchase a ticket for the MLG Spring Arena, because I bought the last Arena and was disappointed at the lack of an audience and thus complete absence of fan energy (and no awarding ceremony at the end, either!)
But I bought a ticket for this Arena for one reason and one reason only: Grubby casting.
On April 21 2012 04:31 Jeremy Reimer wrote: I have to say, I wasn't going to purchase a ticket for the MLG Spring Arena, because I bought the last Arena and was disappointed at the lack of an audience and thus complete absence of fan energy (and no awarding ceremony at the end, either!)
But I bought a ticket for this Arena for one reason and one reason only: Grubby casting.
Well played, MLG. Well played.
You're such a sucker. But yeah... Grubby sure is awesome.
But on the other hand... DreamHack has that audience and fan energy you are searching for. It has amazing casters: Apollo and Wolf and they have free high quality stream.
So your choice is kinda illogical. Other than the Grubby part.
On April 20 2012 19:00 Ireniicus wrote: Just a thought but would it not have made more sense to have had this event in Korea as practically everyone playing in it lives there?
cheaper to bring eight guys to NYC, than fly all your production guys from NYC to kor
Why not use GSL production crew
You guys don't realize how expensive is that view of manhattan skyscraper in the background. :D
EPT
Mill.Stephano, 
coL.GanZi." Here are some of the match-ups that have been scheduled at the same time as GanZi's games:
ST_PartinG // 
<3 
![[image loading]](http://enzchomp.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/lim_yo-hwan1.jpg)
if free
