I'm just gonna break the rules and list everyone I'm cheering for
-Tyler - chillToss will return! -TLO - not only is he generally considered an underdog against most big-names, but his CTS makes him an even bigger underdog - but he's so creative and talented, it would be amazing for him to dominate -Jinro - again-same! XD -Huk - keep rackin' them wins -Boxer - self-explanatory -MMA - son of Boxer xD -Destiny - same sentiment as OP
Boxer- just thinking about him in the finals, onstage and people cheering for him gets me all riled up with nerd chills. Such an awesome dude.
Besides boxer, i have a lot of love for most of the players, so it's tough to pick out individuals. Would be cools to see HD do well just to promote his casting,
Idra- I like Idra, and wouldn't mind seeing him go far in the tourney, but I don't think he deserves a win with his mentality.
I am not a fan of CoL, mainly due to it seems that these guys just have a lot of money, but I don't think any of their players have a lot of skill, excluding their recent Korean pick ups.
Sheth- seems like a cool dude and I love how respectful and polite he is, but after ditching his team in Korea, as their capatin after merely two weeks, he doesnt seem like champion material to me. If you want to be a pro, act like one.
Love how some people have really "hipster" attitude towards certain players, specially with Spanishiwa; "his fans are so annoying" "Husky hyped him" "he's gone too far with his 'innovative' build" I'd expect a little more depth in those "hopes to fail" but then again, opinions are opinions whether they seem justified or not, I guess...
Win: Huk: He's really talented and works really hard. Spanishiwa: Creative playstyle (White-Ra also qualifies for this). Idra: Needs to control his emotions a little bit, but his macro is so solid.
Personality-wise: qxc: Funny, nice, a little narcissist and a great player. Boxer: He has such a good vibe and is an icon of e-sports. Choya: Loved him talking to himself in the booth and really like him as a coach, seems to be very active and passionate in his role.
Not-so-cool: Sheth: Good player but leaving his team while being the captain... that's a little bit dissapointing, he could have improved a lot staying in Korea.
Win: 1) MMA: I am a huge MMA fan and have been since his emergence in the GSTL. He hasn't been doing as well, but that doesn't mean I don't find him extremely entertaining and endearing. He isn't the best, but he's my favorite.
2) BoxeR: How can you not root for him?
3) QXC: Yes, this is a little flavor of the month (week?) I realize. Even so, I really liked his casting with wolf, and basically being the only FXO foreigner to actually show significant improvement. He's also a quirky and entertaining guy. Lose: 1) Sheth: I don't get it. I have no idea how he has gotten so many fans. It seems like it happened over night. A lot of it has to do with him being "manner" which is a term I intensely loathe. I have nothing against Sheth, but I have never been really impressed by his play and I am not attracted to him being so "manner".
2) MVP: I'm really tired of people saying MVP is the best terran in the world. MVP hasn't shown any brilliance in a long time. He's quite good. Amazing even. He could still be top 10 terran in the world, but he isn't the best. I mean, his banshee control isn't THAT bad.
3) Foreigners: More specifically bad(most) foreigners.Yeah, call me a hater, but I am so tired of foreigners for the most part being extremely lazy and bad. I'm so tired of watching games with foreigners in them and seeing all their fans when in reality 70% of the foreigner "pros" can't hold a candle to even mediocre koreans. It's time to separate the wheat from the chaff.
Positive: - Top 10 Korean (including SeleCT) As it stands I do not believe in more than a handful of players currently to be able to really stand stronger in comparison to the scene one year from now. I still think we need to get our asses kicked to shape up, we have to not only become ridiculously good but catch up as well. I'm scared it's sort of plausible to have close to none foreign heroes to root for, one year from now.
- NaNiwa #1 The only foreigner I truly get passionate about him having success. I love his story, I love how he climbed to the top. And now he plays brilliantly, I get tingly every match. Always feel he has everything planned out, incredibly solid play. <3 Also we have been able to see him develop as a person and it reveals a very amiable personality. Do well and Code S or bust!
- The whole FXO team After all the critique they have recieved over the past months they have an amazing opportunity to sweep into the championship bracket and show that their plan and philosophy is already paying dividends and everyone wishes they bought shares earlier.
Honorable mention: - Jinro and HuK Like all my reasoning, they represent a lot of excellent qualities. Hardwork dedication, sacrifice. I have much respect for it, it must be incredibly hard. So not only do I hope they do well because of their story but also because once again they represent the dominating Korean way to practice, which I'm a huge fan girl of.
- IdrA Whether you care about the various antics surrounding him or are one of the ballers who doesn't give a shit and only cares about the game he plays, he really is one of the best players the foreign scene has to offer, for him not to be able to beat the Koreans and place himself amongst them would be a terrible blow. Indicating the Korean saucers are closer than we think :o
Negative: I have no real negatives, I want everyone to play their best, show good games. And have whatever wins or losses they will have. In particular I hope people with a similar story of hard work will make a splash, so there is one more person I can have respect for.
Best of luck to everyone, I hope everything goes well and players as well as spectators will make it an amazing event and show once again what makes these special. And please create very cool cheerfuls! Maybe a cloth you span over x amount of people
MVP - It kind of hurts to see the guy that really put well rounded Terran play on the map being in something of a slump lately. A big win here in front of an excellent crowd (MLG crowds <3) would probably do a lot for his confidence.
FXO representatives - They went to Korea, they took a bit of a beating, they endured, they picked up a huge win, and now I'm hoping that the fruits of their efforts allows at least a couple of them to make a decent run in the open bracket. Included in this is Choya who's an all round nice guy but catches a lot of hate despite the fact he's fairly creative in a lot of his play.
WhiteRa - it's WhiteRa, come on!
Failure:
EG representatives - Just all lose early and often kk.
Destiny - never has a player so consistently mediocre had so many fans.
Tyler (sorry) - I do not have any sympathy for a pro on one of the big name teams who doesn't actually practice properly.
To succeed: Tyler- He needs the boost and he CAN do it MMA- as above Destiny- This list needed a Zerg and he may have to show a top performance to be picked up again.
To fail: Incontrol- Not a hater, but shouldn't be such a vocal member of the community. MVP- His unimpressive reign as Terran king is long over. MC- As good as he is something needs to shatter his aura of invincibility.
SeleCt He didn't do well in Columbus and I'd really like to see him with a top finish.
Socke He has really consistent results in the MLG events and missed Columbus because of the German EPS Finals. I'm hoping he keeps his Top16 seed.
While I don't wish for any player to perform badly, here are the players I think might be struggeling.
TLO His CTS has proven to be quite problematic for him and it makes me sad to see him being held back. I don't think he had ample time to catch up after his break and his group is stacked with great players, which doesn't help either. Hope he proves me wrong.
Tyler After losing his seed, he has to go the long way through the Open Bracket. It will be quite difficult t o regain his Top16 spot.
Spanishiwa Will be rooting for him every game. He made Zerg fun again for me. But it's his first showing at a big event and the Open Bracket is loaded with talent.