[WCS AM] RO32 Group G Premier Season 2 2013 - Page 2

Here We Go Again

- The Old Guards and the New

The new WCS America, now run by the North American Starleague (NASL), kicks off tonight starting with Group G. As it is rightful the man who ended the last WCS AM season by lifting the trophy, Liquid'HerO, will be playing the first game of the new Premier League season. HerO does not really require an introduction. Whether you're new to watching StarCraft 2 or a seasoned veteran, you've probably heard of HerO. He has been a torch for protoss through thick and thin, always hanging around at the top of the protoss ranks. His first opponent, EG.Oz.RC, is no stranger to standing in the protoss spotlight either as he was once considered the most solid protoss player in the world by many for a decently long time. Since this match will be a PvP, there is one thing that deserves a mention here - Oz' fall from grace towards the end of Wings of Liberty. The wonderful and powerful wizard made the costly mistake of calling the Protoss mirror a purely skill based one that had nothing to do with luck. Oz stated that he would play and beat anyone who thought otherwise. As it just had to happen he then entered the worst PvP form of his entire career and has ever since been looking for a way back to where he once was - the highest ranks of the Protoss race. Coupled with a solid Proleague record, this WCS America might just be what he's looking for.

- Have we met?

Oh yes, they have. Let the truth be dropped upon you. This group's ZvZ between Acer.Scarlett and ROOTViBE is a rematch of the 2012 WCS North America Finals. A real blast from the past, a different time when the Koreans had to slaughter each other in the brutal pit that was WCS Korea as there was nowhere else to go. Now, that of course makes both Scarlett and ViBE's route to the original final a lot less impressive than say HerO's was last season but don't let that deceive you. Both players tore through the 2012 version of WCS America, with Scarlett dropping a grand total of a single map and ViBE only surrendering to Scarlett, the eventual champion. Scarlett's impressive ZvZ proved too much to handle for ViBE back then as the Canadian version of Sarah Kerrigan took him out 4-0 in total. But hey, that was Wings of Liberty and this is not. ZvZ has gone a bunch of changes in HotS already, with mass roach midgame into eventual Swarmhosts currently looking to be the go to style. This series may just come down to whoever has a more solid grip on the volatile and rapidly evolving ZvZ matchup.

- Predictions!

HerO has to enter this group as a clear favorite. Not only is he the reigning WCS America champion but he has also been one of the hottest protoss players competing internationally. His PvZ has looked vastly improved recently and flashbacks of the classic HerOesque PvZ are occurring more frequently. Having defeated Scarlett 2-0 in convincing fashion last season and the zerg queen apparently not being comfortable against protoss (see her post in this thread), I don't know if either of the zergs in his group has what it takes to beat him if he performs to his standards. The match against Oz will be critical. The two protoss players are known to be good friends and now practice together in the EGTL house. As cliché as it sounds, there might just be mindgames in this one. Overall though, HerO's PvP has been a lot more stable than Oz' in HotS and HerO seems more on point right now.
Scarlett's ZvZ has always been very good, even keeping up with the best in the world so this jump-in-writer favors her to take the series against ViBE. Where we go from there is up in the air. The simple and not very creative answer would be HerO going through in first place and the other three battling it out for the second spot.

HerO > Oz
Scarlett > ViBE
HerO > Scarlett
ViBE < Oz
Scarlett > Oz

Yeah, I'm not all that creative.