EPTTable of Contents
Young (North) Americans
Introduction
Scouting Report
Country by country
Three's a Crowd
Axslav, Sheth, and Ver talk WCS
Check out the WCS NA Finals on Liquipedia
Young (North) Americans
An introduction from the host nation, by Jimlloyd
The Battle.net World Championship Series fulfills the promise of America. The dream might have lost some of its luster over the decades, but the fundamentals remain the same: A determined young man or woman can work hard, cultivate his or her talent, and have just as good a chance as anyone -- regardless of race, creed, or color -- to achieve success. Everyone who owns Starcraft II* can take part in the open qualifiers for WCS and test themselves in a tournament that will include the best players in the world, and maybe even hope that they could become the World Champion.
What this means in practice is that the WCS offers to viewers the opportunity to see new players who would otherwise be excluded from invite-only tournaments or those that involve onerous (and costly) travel, which, while often tremendously entertaining and certainly have their place, necessarily fall short in introducing hitherto unknown talent. Additionally, the quality of players that these aspirants must face ramps up slowly every stage, which gives them experience in playing in a major tournament without the pressure of immediately having to face off against MarineKingPrime (this is guaranteed to be the fate of some players at MLG's open bracket). While it’s reasonable to suspect that this would just crown a bunch of “big fish in little ponds,” the successful players in these tournaments have gone on to prove themselves against higher-caliber opponents. Some have even been picked up by major teams -- WCS in other parts of world has so far brought players like JonnyRecco (now with Dignitas), Scarlett (now with Acer), further into the spotlight. Oh, and we can't forget WCS Korea and the discovery of a new SC2 phenom known as “8th Team JD.”
What makes this aspect of the WCS particularly appealing from the perspective of an American fan is that there are quite a few up-and-coming players who constitute something of an American youth movement in SC2 -- EG’s newest (checks calendar, yes it’s still August) addition Suppy and Quantic’s Illusion have had the most success, but there are a number of other Young Americans who have recently made waves in tournaments (goswser, GatorEd, Fitzy), With the United States providing a huge number of players of incomparable skill, it’s not a matter of it, only who will step up and take the spotlight.
[The same paragraph about IdrA that you’ve read 100 times before.]
What’s more, the North American finals include countries other than America! (Who knew?) Our Canadian neighbors occupy a vast land rich with frozen ponds, tar sands, and Starcraft talent, and the latter will be on display in Raleigh, Canadian champion Scarlett leading the way. One could make the argument that the Canadian talent at WCS this weekend is more prominent than the American; HuK, of course, has won major international tournaments, Scarlett is finishing off a tremendous summer, and the experienced TT1 always shows good form. It would be a terrible national tragedy for a neighboring country to come to Raleigh and win the North American finals.
Relatedly, the seemingly always under- or over-estimated MajOr will lead Mexico in an attempt to re-balance the sporting rivalry between the two countries by stealing a victory on American soil; with USMNT's historic victory in Estadio Azteca no doubt still stinging, all of Mexico will be standing behind MajOr and his countrymen this weekend. With his performance in the nationals, it’s hard not to overlook everyone other than MajOr, but this tournament will give us the chance to get a glimpse of the Mexican scene. Although I’m confident that a Yankee will walk away with the title, there are few players about whom we know less than the Mexicans, and it wouldn’t shock me if some of them provided us with some surprises.
That’s been the story of most of the WCS so far -- lesser-known or younger players being given the opportunity to take the stage against elite competition and making the most of it. North America is a land filled with lesser-known and younger SC2 players, and that should provide for a great tournament. While it’s true that the structure of invitationals or tournaments with arduous qualification systems are more likely to produce the highest level Starcraft, the WCS series has brought back the possibility of the unexpected. You can’t just look at the bracket and say, “Stephano’s only going to play ZvP, isn’t he?” or “MVP and Nerchio are on opposite sides, so . . .” It’s a major tournament and instead of being surprised by who lost in an occasional upset, we’ll be surprised throughout by who wins. That’s exciting.
*Provided they've paid 60 dollars and registered with the company and agreed to a long list of terms and conditions related to the always-connected DRM,
Scouting Report: WCS NA
by GoSuPokebunny
The United StatesProtoss:
Perfect, iS.Insur, NrS.RaNgeD, Liquid`NonY, area.HellokittyQuantic.StateTerran:
Quantic.Illusion, Quantic.theognisZerg:
Mystik, Quantic.Hawk, ROOTViBE, EG.IdrA.RC, ROOTFitzyherecoL.Goswser, daisuki, EG.Suppy.RCBeyond the first few months of Starcraft II, America has not exactly had the best reputation for producing star players. America’s representation may look deceptively weak to some, especially to those who are only familiar with the famous names like IdrA, Sheth, or qxc. However, the fact that players like Sheth and qxc failed to qualify tells you something – and it’s not that Sheth and qxc are overrated. The reality is that America is surprisingly deep on talent. The problem was that much of that talent was stuck on a level where they couldn't threaten the Koreans reliably, and were getting stamped down on their own server. WCS was a breath of fresh air and a chance for many previously discouraged American players to put their best foot forward.
The Ace: Quantic.Illusion (Editor's Note: After arguing about it for a while, we let this stand)
While this may not be a total surprise, despite his not being able to tear through WCS America, Illusion is still America’s best representative, both in current times and for the potential future. Illusion is a solid, all-around Terran player with fairly even skill at all three match-ups and , Illusion has consistently shown success both against international and local competition. Having recently been training with other Quantic members in California certainly hasn’t hurt his game, and Illusion’s eyes will certainly be on the championship this weekend. He is unpredictable and deadly, and a clear step above the rest of the Terrans in America (of which there is only one in this tournament, but… there are others too).
Best Zerg/Protoss: EG.Suppy, Quantic.State
The hype train behind Suppy has shown no signs of slowing down, even though he's been tagged with the so called "EG Curse." After a breakout performance at MLG Anaheim, Suppy made the most of it by getting a shot on the biggest team in North America. Having multiplied his stream viewer count many times over and coming through with a respectable performance at ASUS ROG, there is no real reason to doubt Suppy. To be honest, the other American are very good as well, and most of them are just as scary as Suppy. However, they’re less proven in big tournaments environments (with the exception of IdrA), which might count for a lot before this is all over. IdrA is a hard player to compare Suppy against, as he has more experience against top competition than anyone on the entire American side, but for a player of his stature, he's surprisingly inconsistent against the similarly skilled players he'll need to beat in this competition.
The Protoss pick is awfully hard, as no one has stood out particularly on the international tournament scene. They’re all solid online players who occasionally take down a big name opponent or win a cup, but no single player has significant edge on the others. By a narrow margin, I'm going with Quantic.State. A hard practicing Protoss living in the Quantic house, State has flown under the radar as of late, but he’s just as good as ever.
Possible Dark Horses: NrS.RaNgeD, Quantic.Hawk
In my mind, there's not much separating either of these players from Suppy or State. However, as is the case for many of the American players gathered, they don't have that one big tournament run they can put out there as evidence of their ability. NrS.RaNgeD is a veteran of the scene, having been a solid American player since Brood War. He quietly trained in Romania for much of the last year, where he won a few online tournaments, but not enough to draw much attention. Unfortunately he was given a walkover loss in the losers bracket of WCS USA after already securing a WCS NA seed, so we'll never know how the tournament would have played out if he had continued to play. His dedication is unquestionable with the long trip to Romania, and he’s just as talented as any of the other players in the mix.
Quantic.Hawk is a hard one to predict, as he's repeated cycles of activity-inactivity throughout his entire career. As of late, he’s been plenty active, practicing at the Quantic house, though there hasn't been any tangible result to show for it (by now you can tell, this is a recurring trend for American players). Again, it’s hard to pick one of these American Zerg players over the others, but Hawk is one that I feel has a real chance to be a surprise.
CanadaProtoss:
Quantic.DdoRo, TD.Attero, ROOTTT1, TubbyTheFat, EG.HuK.RCTerran:
ROOTDrewbie, GoSudde, StalifeLighTZerg:
Acer.Scarlett, GoSuOstojiyIt goes without saying that Canada has had more success in Starcraft II than the USA. Even with poster boy HuK and his headline-making international success aside, Canada has featured prominent players in the MLG circuit like KiWiKaKi, TT1, and SLush. Canadians have generally had the upper hand when it comes to inter-Americas competition, and they’ll be looking to keep the status quo with a very strong set of representatives. Unlike North America, the majority of Canada’s most famous players have made it through to the second round of competition (inactives KiWiKaKi and SLush aside), with a couple of new faces mixed in. Most of the Canadian players are veterans of the scene, even with the previously inactive Stalife rising to the occasion and grabbing himself a spot. Everyone on Team Canada is every bit as strong as their American counterparts, with only TubbyTheFat standing out as a true wildcard. The Canadians will definitely have their goals set high with a burning desire to prove that the joke’s on the Americans.
The Ace: Acer.Scarlett
There were only two real candidates for this spot, Scarlett and HuK. It all came down to a simple question: 'What have you done for me lately?' In that sense, HuK just couldn't make a case that held up to Scarlett's. Scarlett has given us enough proof since IPL4 that her performance in Vegas wasn't a fluke, and that we can continue to believe in her for the time being. We know that HuK is one the most successful non-Korean players in the scene, but his recent tournament results were underwhelming. Scarlett may be inexperienced compared to HuK, but she passed her first center ring test with flying colors by winning WCS Canada. Anything less than qualification for the world finals will likely be a big disappointment for Scarlett, and it would be surprising to see her fall out before the top four.
Best Terran/Protoss: GoSu.DDE, EG.HuK
GoSu.DDE is quite an enigma. He’s the kind of player that doesn’t really practice all that much, and just recently started hotkeying production facilities. Yet, he still finds a way to have better mechanics than almost every Terran in North America. DDE is armed with a diverse playstyle full of timing attacks and macro builds alike, and he can certainly be a wake-up call to a big name who isn’t expecting an intense match.
Alright, alright, we’ll at least give EG.HuK credit as the best Protoss, even if he misses out on the ace nomination. What more is there to say about HuK that hasn’t already been said? We know he has the potential to be one of the world’s elite, but a series of disappointing performances certainly haven’t helped his case. HuK is clearly not happy with his recent showings, and we'll have to wait and see how he tries to redeem himself at WCS and MLG.
Honorable Mention: GoSu.Ostojiy
I had to give Ostojiy a shout out somehow. It's just bad luck for him that Scarlett edges him out of being the best Zerg in his country, since he would certainly have that spot if he were American. With a #2 finish at WCS Canada, a pool play qualification at MLG Winter, and countless victories against North American competition, it’s safe to say no one will be taking him lightly in this tournament. With solid macro and plenty of all-ins at his disposal, Ostojiy is scary for anyone in the tournament.
Possible Dark Horse: TD.Attero
TD.Attero has been around forever. After playing Random throughout the beta, Attero turned into a top NA Protoss, but just hasn’t quite made it into the spotlight. Another one of those players that you just really can’t count out, I’d look for Attero to make a surprise or two against any of the players previously mentioned. Playstyle-wise, he’s relatively uninteresting, but when he’s on his game, he’s just as good as anyone.
MexicoTerran:
ROOTMajOr, LgN.Maker, 
CLOUDZerg:
JimRiSiNg, Zapo, isurusDarkMexico has always been disconnected from the USA/Canada scene, and they've come to be more a part of the Latin America/South America scene. But Mexico is still a part of North America by some political geographical standards, and thus they will be joining the WCS NA finals as mystery competitors. To be honest, we know very little about the six representatives from from Mexico, and what kind of competitive flair they will bring.
Ace/Favorite: ROOT.MajOr
Considering that few TeamLiquid users follow the South/Central American scene, when they hear Mexico, they think MajOr. And rightfully so. Known for both his ability to create drama and his skill at Starcraft, MajOr is not only a national champion, he’s a legitimate contender to conquer the entire continent. Touted for his Korean-style practice regime and being one of the recipients of the dreaded Artosis-hype, MajOr has the ability to wreck anyone in the Americas with solid macro play. Favoring slow and steady mech builds that are only infrequently seen in America, MajOr brings a strong Korean style to the tournament. Perhaps the biggest question for MajOr is what ID he uses at the event… Okay, that was bad.
Dark Horse: LgN.Maker
Since we can’t JUST talk about MajOr, LgN.Maker is the clear second best on a Mexican roster full of unproven players. While Maker has no large tournament successes to his name, he’s a player who’s name will at least look familiar to those who follow high GM NA streams, ladder rankings, etc. Other than that, he’s a rather unremarkable Terran, but he’s someone we wouldn’t be surprised to see finish in the upper half, with maybe a top eight finish not being out of reach. There just isn’t a whole lot to be said for this group of players, other than the fact that this is probably the biggest cross-scene contact to date.
Three's a Crowd
iS.Axslav, Liquid`Sheth, and Ver
Thanks, Pokebunny! That was a good scouting report. But for the sake of getting a broader view of the WCS NA situation, we also asked a few more experts... as in three more pros who didn't make it in.
TeamLiquid: Which country has the strongest 'team'?
Axslav: Canada. Sheth: USA. Ver: US. Canada has Scarlett, Ostojiy, Ddoro, and Huk but the U.S. depth is a real threat, as nearly any of them can beat anyone else there. Canada may have better quality but is definitely outnumbered and may simply lose to random luck.Who is the best player from each race?
Axslav: Zerg: Scarlett. Protoss: TT1. Terran: MajOr.
Sheth: Zerg: Suppy. Protoss: HuK. Terran: MajOr. Ver: Zerg: Suppy. Protoss: HuK? Terran: Foreigner Terrans are irrelevant, especially in WCS.Best player overall?
Axslav: Scarlett is the best player there, Ostojiy is probably the second best.
Sheth: Overall, MajOr.
Ver: Suppy, Scarlett, Ostojiy, and potentially Vibe are all viable contenders for this spot, and as they'll have to compete with each other, it will really come down to who has the best ZvZ.
Any underrated players that viewers should look out for?
Axslav: fitzyhere might surprise and I think Insur will as well.
Sheth: People should look out for Suppy. Underrated: IdrA.
Ver: Suppy has been quietly on the rise for some time now. After his performance last MLG and considering all the open slots, it's really a travesty that he's not seeded in group play. Ddoro is also a quiet player who may do extremely well or bomb out randomly. Vibe is probably the biggest wildcard there. He had a near-perfect wcs run while simultaneously dropping out early in MLG. He clearly has the ability, but maybe not the consistency. Mystik deserves a mention if only for making 4th at NA WCS after not practicing for the month beforehand.
Ostojiy is probably the most underrated, despite his previous MLG/WCS success and exposure. He's always been an incredibly good and hard working player even before the patch doesn't get the respect he deserves.
Who was the best player to not make it into WCS NA? (You can say yourself)
Axslav: Myself
Sheth: Me;;;
Ver: Sheth, without question.
How big a threat are the Mexican players, minus MajOr?
Axslav: Maker might win a game or two but really Major is the only favorite to make top 8.
Sheth: I have no idea about any of the Mexican players except MajOr and Maker, and I think only MajOr is a real threat.
Ver: No threat.
How do you think the 'big names' will do, like IdrA, HuK, Scarlett and so forth?
Axslav: Huk can do well if he runs into mostly Protoss opponents, Idra is always hard to tell how well he'll do. He can put forth some amazing games but also sometimes just fall apart. I think they both have very good chances to get into the top 7 and make it to the world finals, but I wouldn't be too surprised if one of them didn't make it.
Sheth: I don't see a big name winning it (not Idra, Huk or Scarlett).
Ver: Depends if they are playing in MLG or not. Of the ones who are playing in both tournaments, a good number will flop while some pull through. It's very easy to be screwed over by scheduling due to playing both at once; this happened to Idra and Sheth at Anaheim, and possibly several others as well. With so many players at such similar skill levels, 'favorites' is not a particular meaningful term.
What did you think of the WCS system? Do you think it's a good way to pick national/continental representatives?
Axslav: For the amount of time they have double elim is definitely the way to go, group stages can be a bit more reliable for determing player skill in a larger variety of matchups, but can take too long to complete.
Sheth: I'm ok with it, 7 of the top top top will get picked for sure.
Ver: Double elim is a great format at determining a top 2 or 3, but rather lacking for figuring out the top 8 or 16, because then brackets really matter. Once you start widening everything to 8 or 16 players, too much luck gets involved.
How dead are we in the World Finals?
Axslav: I think we can definitely stand up decently to the European players, but the Koreans will of course be the big favorites. Scarlett especially I think can stand up to any of the europeans and even many of the koreans.
Sheth: Oh, we are super dead. We are actually either vampiric or zombielike. But either way, we are definitely dead.
Ver: NA has a lot of strong Zergs and many foreigner Zergs have shown the ability to compete with Koreans. Scarlett and Suppy in particular have displayed very respectable performances against great players from Europe or Korea. There's no reason why NA can't turn some heads and put up a strong fight.
Thanks for the answers.
Axslav: Shoutout to my team and sponors: Steelseries, WWGP, Deviant Arts, Zemotion, and Twisted Oak Studios, and looking forward to seeing the NA team compete at the World tourney.
Sheth: Thanks for reading, please watch my stream if you see it on!
Ver: No comment.
