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On February 27 2012 13:49 Bagration wrote:
Yes, the foreign seeds are basically affirmative action, and it is unfair.
But it is also necessary for the long term benefit of the sport. When you isolate the foreign and Korean scenes, the skill gap only grows until we have a BW situation, where a random Korean B-teamer can utterly outplay the best players of the foreigner scene.
Why is that an issue? Shouldn't the best players win? Yes, but it weakens the connection between the fans and the players. When most Korean players do not speak English, and thus have very little direct interaction with fans. The fanbase of SC2 is spread out all over the world, whereas the BW fanbase is now concentrated in Korea. It's hard as a fan to connect with someone who does not speak the same langauge as you and comes from a whole different cultural background.
SC2, if it wants to survive, needs to keep that international fanbase going strong. To be frank, I doubt SC2's Korean fanbase is enough to sustain the GSL, especially when BW is so much more popular. Foreigner seeds bring in more viewers, because people love these ideals of "diversity" and the "underdog" foreigner.
The GSL organizers know this. They gave seeds to Sen and Idra because these two players can bring in viewers. If it were only based off of foreign tournament results, Hero and Puma would have gotten the seeds. That is why I am a bit skeptical that Polt will get the seed, even though he has clearly earned it.
Furthermore, imagine you are a high level foreign progamer. You practice hours each day, but you still barely make enough to live off of, if you make enough to live off of. You expect them to move all the way to Korea to participate in the Code A qualifiers? Some players do, such as Jinro and carn, and I applaud them for their efforts, but they have spent so much time for so little return. Most players will not. It's basically a single elimination tournament that is nevertheless still very stacked, and if you mess up, it's another 2 months before the next one comes around.
We as a community lament the skill gap between foreign players and the Koreans, yet we want our players to earn their spots at the top. That would be nice, and I would love to see it. But I do not think that will happen unless we give the foreign pros seeds. It's a necessary evil in my opinion.
The scenes are only isolated because the foreigners keep losing. There are loads of foreigners living in Korea full time and if they were skilled enough to actually win games I'd imagine even more would.
Money isn't the problem. Skill and dedication is.
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If Idra gets a seed again for nothing, I'll set myself on fire.
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On February 27 2012 13:58 LuckoftheIrish wrote:Show nested quote +On February 27 2012 13:36 Zooper31 wrote:On February 27 2012 10:08 LuckoftheIrish wrote:On February 27 2012 10:05 Zooper31 wrote:On February 26 2012 20:29 Yaki wrote:On February 26 2012 20:29 Grovbolle wrote:
To pull in some foreigner money I guess that Stephano for instance (2nd in ROG and lots of good performances) could be a candidate
And fan favorites like Ret (did well in WB in MLG, vs MVP and other great players)..
I think giving HuK a seed would be a bit anticlimax as he has just lost his. As far as I know, Stephano isn't willing to return to korea. This, same for White-Ra. People need to stop mentioning them alrdy. On February 27 2012 10:05 LuckoftheIrish wrote:
There's not a lot of downside to inviting Stephano. If he doesn't accept, there are other equally-deserving players. If he does, you have easily the highest-profile foreign player you could have in the GSL. Lol worthy indeed. Not saying Idra or HuK or better, but they are definitely more well known than Stephano. Heck Incontrol is more well known. Stephano not accepting could be a good thing, depending on how Gom wants to handle the situation. Think about it; if he accepts, they get a high-profile foreign player. If he doesn't, they have the opportunity to offer to that to whoever they want with the cover of 'Stephano declined and we had to find a replacement.' That justification can be used to invite damn near anyone. Edit to cover your edit: You misunderstand. It's not about being well-known. Huk and Idra have been in GSL before. They've had runs, they've gotten knocked out early... it's fair to say they have a lot of history with that particular tournament. Stephano, though... He's clearly very skilled. He's also not especially respectful of Korea's place as the pinnacle of Starcraft. He's on record saying that he's not interested in going back there because he learned everything he could and can learn more in Europe. He comes across as a pretty arrogant guy (IMO) and that's an angle that can create a TON of drama and hype for GSL. He'd be new, he'd be the bad boy, the guy every Korean wants to take out, and he's the best foreign player who hasn't already competed and lost. That's a situation that creates drama and hype, which will turn into viewership. And again. If he declines, then GSL can invite Taeja (or whoever) and when everyone goes "OMG TAEJA? WHY TAEJA?", they can say "well, Stephano declined and we had to find a substitute on short notice. That meant we had to invite a Korean and Taeja was the best choice." Or whatever justification for whoever they need. Could be used to provide cover for a potentially controversial invite. Thats where our opinions differ. I don't think Stephano is that skilled at all, yet to win a single tournament. That's also where you're objectively wrong. He's won: SHOUTCRAFT, beating Thorzain and Grubby. IPL's UK qualifier, beating Grubby, DreAm, Sase and TAiLS. ESWC 2011, beating Grubby, MaNa and MarineKingPrime among others. IPL 3, beating Socke, Revival, Puzzle and MMA in qualifiers and HuK, Boxer, viOLet, Inori, TheSTC and Lucky, among others, in the main tournament. He also came second at Assembly, beating PuMa, MaNa, NightEnd, Happy and ReaL. So whether you're a fan or not (I'm really not) it's impossible to deny that he's a damned good player with solid results.
I think the bolded win over MMA is the only win over an at the time Code S player and it was a meaningless game where both players had already qualified and was online.
Stephano is obviously really good but he's not really proven he's Code S level and I see no reason he shouldn't be made to win his spot in Code S.
If he's as good as his fanboys think he wouldn't struggle in Code A.
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On February 29 2012 09:51 Bagration wrote:Show nested quote +On February 27 2012 12:16 Fionn wrote:On February 27 2012 12:08 red4ce wrote:
I hope they give one to Ret. Highest placing foreigner at Sao Paolo and took down MVP at Winter Arena. Ret has said he'd be willing to go back to Korea to give it another try and a code S seed could be just the incentive to push him over the fence. Polt and other Koreans are no-no, they can qualify the normal way. The other seed can go to Naniwa or Huk. Don't bother with Stephano cuz he already said he's not interested in Korea. Koreans can qualify the normal way? SO CAN FOREIGNERS. It's a Korean tournament. It shouldn't be a Korean's fault if they kick ass at an international tournament and rack up impressive wins that because they are Korean they can't get a seed. Naniwa and Huk both live in Korea. Huk can qualify the normal way. So can Naniwa. We need to make pro gaming a viable career, and many pros don't have the means to travel to Korea for the qualifiers. For a Korean player it can be as simple as taking a day playing in the qualifiers a bus ride away, whereas a foreign pro needs to arrange transportation and lodging, as well as possibly visas to do the same. Yes, Huk and Naniwa live in Korea but they aren't the only pros who have a shot at the seed. Dimaga and Kas have had solid results, but you can't expect them to go to Korea for the Code A prelims (even the Code A prize money would barely cover their costs). Finally, we should not be miserly towards foreigners when giving out these seeds just because Sen and idra underperformed. They are a very small sample size. The new system has been out only for 1 season thus far, don't be so quick to demand changes. Wait and see
They have teams. Most of those players are paid a salary and if they're not they could certainly find a team who could pay them a salary.
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On February 29 2012 20:22 -Archangel- wrote:Show nested quote +On February 29 2012 19:29 iky43210 wrote:
wasted to give to naniwa, give it to someone who actually stands a chance
Kas, Stephano, or Sen are good candidates. Maybe nerchio if he would stop sucking so hard at lan events You are kidding right? Of all of those names only Stephano has a better win record against koreans.
what? Kas has not participate in GSL, Sen was the ONLY foreigner out of 6 or so that participated that remained in code A and not get knocked out (idra, morrow, huk, xigua, mcsed). Just that feat alone puts him far better suited than Naniwa had ever achieved in GSL
you do realize Naniwa has a massive 1-11 record in GSL right? Sen is far more qualified than Naniwa, and Kas and Nerchio both has far more potential if Nerchio can fix his lan problem
naniwa may have a good record against koreans in foreign tournaments like MLG, IPL etc. He did really well in MLG winter arena given how extremely competitive it is. But when he enters the GSL stage he just chokes. we need new faces in there, no more disappointing ones
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On February 29 2012 20:47 iky43210 wrote:Show nested quote +On February 29 2012 20:22 -Archangel- wrote:On February 29 2012 19:29 iky43210 wrote:
wasted to give to naniwa, give it to someone who actually stands a chance
Kas, Stephano, or Sen are good candidates. Maybe nerchio if he would stop sucking so hard at lan events You are kidding right? Of all of those names only Stephano has a better win record against koreans. what? Kas has not participate in GSL, Sen was the ONLY foreigner out of 6 or so that participated that remained in code A and not get knocked out (idra, morrow, huk, xigua, mcsed). Just that feat alone puts him far better suited than Naniwa had ever achieved in GSL you do realize Naniwa has a massive 1-11 record in GSL right? Sen is far more qualified than Naniwa, and Kas and Nerchio both has far more potential if Nerchio can fix his lan problem naniwa may have a good record against koreans in foreign tournaments like MLG, IPL etc. He did really well in MLG winter arena given how extremely competitive it is. But when he enters the GSL stage he just chokes. we need new faces in there, no more disappointing ones
LOL he doesn't choke. He's been struggling with PvZ ever since he got there, it was always his weakest matchup especially against abusive zerg builds. This cost him mlg providence against FXO Leenock and two of his code a games against FXO Lucky, both these players play an abusive style in PvZ. Now MLG Winter arena has proved that he has learn how to defend against that style.
Like everybody knows that naniwa had an awful pvz, before he went to Korea he had trouble beating foreign zergs even!
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On February 29 2012 20:32 Seraphone wrote:Show nested quote +On February 27 2012 13:58 LuckoftheIrish wrote:On February 27 2012 13:36 Zooper31 wrote:On February 27 2012 10:08 LuckoftheIrish wrote:On February 27 2012 10:05 Zooper31 wrote:On February 26 2012 20:29 Yaki wrote:On February 26 2012 20:29 Grovbolle wrote:
To pull in some foreigner money I guess that Stephano for instance (2nd in ROG and lots of good performances) could be a candidate
And fan favorites like Ret (did well in WB in MLG, vs MVP and other great players)..
I think giving HuK a seed would be a bit anticlimax as he has just lost his. As far as I know, Stephano isn't willing to return to korea. This, same for White-Ra. People need to stop mentioning them alrdy. On February 27 2012 10:05 LuckoftheIrish wrote:
There's not a lot of downside to inviting Stephano. If he doesn't accept, there are other equally-deserving players. If he does, you have easily the highest-profile foreign player you could have in the GSL. Lol worthy indeed. Not saying Idra or HuK or better, but they are definitely more well known than Stephano. Heck Incontrol is more well known. Stephano not accepting could be a good thing, depending on how Gom wants to handle the situation. Think about it; if he accepts, they get a high-profile foreign player. If he doesn't, they have the opportunity to offer to that to whoever they want with the cover of 'Stephano declined and we had to find a replacement.' That justification can be used to invite damn near anyone. Edit to cover your edit: You misunderstand. It's not about being well-known. Huk and Idra have been in GSL before. They've had runs, they've gotten knocked out early... it's fair to say they have a lot of history with that particular tournament. Stephano, though... He's clearly very skilled. He's also not especially respectful of Korea's place as the pinnacle of Starcraft. He's on record saying that he's not interested in going back there because he learned everything he could and can learn more in Europe. He comes across as a pretty arrogant guy (IMO) and that's an angle that can create a TON of drama and hype for GSL. He'd be new, he'd be the bad boy, the guy every Korean wants to take out, and he's the best foreign player who hasn't already competed and lost. That's a situation that creates drama and hype, which will turn into viewership. And again. If he declines, then GSL can invite Taeja (or whoever) and when everyone goes "OMG TAEJA? WHY TAEJA?", they can say "well, Stephano declined and we had to find a substitute on short notice. That meant we had to invite a Korean and Taeja was the best choice." Or whatever justification for whoever they need. Could be used to provide cover for a potentially controversial invite. Thats where our opinions differ. I don't think Stephano is that skilled at all, yet to win a single tournament. That's also where you're objectively wrong. He's won: SHOUTCRAFT, beating Thorzain and Grubby. IPL's UK qualifier, beating Grubby, DreAm, Sase and TAiLS. ESWC 2011, beating Grubby, MaNa and MarineKingPrime among others. IPL 3, beating Socke, Revival, Puzzle and MMA in qualifiers and HuK, Boxer, viOLet, Inori, TheSTC and Lucky, among others, in the main tournament. He also came second at Assembly, beating PuMa, MaNa, NightEnd, Happy and ReaL. So whether you're a fan or not (I'm really not) it's impossible to deny that he's a damned good player with solid results. I think the bolded win over MMA is the only win over an at the time Code S player and it was a meaningless game where both players had already qualified and was online. Stephano is obviously really good but he's not really proven he's Code S level and I see no reason he shouldn't be made to win his spot in Code S. If he's as good as his fanboys think he wouldn't struggle in Code A.
Compare lucky and Stephano in Assemply thats all i got to say to you. They played the same opponent and the replays is there.
And if you do you can see a gigantic skill difference and is not like Lucky is a bad player. He did qualify to code S last season and played code S this season.
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On February 29 2012 21:18 HappyChris wrote:Show nested quote +On February 29 2012 20:32 Seraphone wrote:On February 27 2012 13:58 LuckoftheIrish wrote:On February 27 2012 13:36 Zooper31 wrote:On February 27 2012 10:08 LuckoftheIrish wrote:On February 27 2012 10:05 Zooper31 wrote:On February 26 2012 20:29 Yaki wrote:On February 26 2012 20:29 Grovbolle wrote:
To pull in some foreigner money I guess that Stephano for instance (2nd in ROG and lots of good performances) could be a candidate
And fan favorites like Ret (did well in WB in MLG, vs MVP and other great players)..
I think giving HuK a seed would be a bit anticlimax as he has just lost his. As far as I know, Stephano isn't willing to return to korea. This, same for White-Ra. People need to stop mentioning them alrdy. On February 27 2012 10:05 LuckoftheIrish wrote:
There's not a lot of downside to inviting Stephano. If he doesn't accept, there are other equally-deserving players. If he does, you have easily the highest-profile foreign player you could have in the GSL. Lol worthy indeed. Not saying Idra or HuK or better, but they are definitely more well known than Stephano. Heck Incontrol is more well known. Stephano not accepting could be a good thing, depending on how Gom wants to handle the situation. Think about it; if he accepts, they get a high-profile foreign player. If he doesn't, they have the opportunity to offer to that to whoever they want with the cover of 'Stephano declined and we had to find a replacement.' That justification can be used to invite damn near anyone. Edit to cover your edit: You misunderstand. It's not about being well-known. Huk and Idra have been in GSL before. They've had runs, they've gotten knocked out early... it's fair to say they have a lot of history with that particular tournament. Stephano, though... He's clearly very skilled. He's also not especially respectful of Korea's place as the pinnacle of Starcraft. He's on record saying that he's not interested in going back there because he learned everything he could and can learn more in Europe. He comes across as a pretty arrogant guy (IMO) and that's an angle that can create a TON of drama and hype for GSL. He'd be new, he'd be the bad boy, the guy every Korean wants to take out, and he's the best foreign player who hasn't already competed and lost. That's a situation that creates drama and hype, which will turn into viewership. And again. If he declines, then GSL can invite Taeja (or whoever) and when everyone goes "OMG TAEJA? WHY TAEJA?", they can say "well, Stephano declined and we had to find a substitute on short notice. That meant we had to invite a Korean and Taeja was the best choice." Or whatever justification for whoever they need. Could be used to provide cover for a potentially controversial invite. Thats where our opinions differ. I don't think Stephano is that skilled at all, yet to win a single tournament. That's also where you're objectively wrong. He's won: SHOUTCRAFT, beating Thorzain and Grubby. IPL's UK qualifier, beating Grubby, DreAm, Sase and TAiLS. ESWC 2011, beating Grubby, MaNa and MarineKingPrime among others. IPL 3, beating Socke, Revival, Puzzle and MMA in qualifiers and HuK, Boxer, viOLet, Inori, TheSTC and Lucky, among others, in the main tournament. He also came second at Assembly, beating PuMa, MaNa, NightEnd, Happy and ReaL. So whether you're a fan or not (I'm really not) it's impossible to deny that he's a damned good player with solid results. I think the bolded win over MMA is the only win over an at the time Code S player and it was a meaningless game where both players had already qualified and was online. Stephano is obviously really good but he's not really proven he's Code S level and I see no reason he shouldn't be made to win his spot in Code S. If he's as good as his fanboys think he wouldn't struggle in Code A. Compare lucky and Stephano in Assemply thats all i got to say to you. They played the same opponent and the replays is there. And if you do you can see a gigantic skill difference and is not like Lucky is a bad player. He did qualify to code S last season and played code S this season.
You will be unhappy if you take a look at other Z's that have 3-0'd Puma. IEM Guangzhou... You should note that Seraphone's point stands, there is a lack of proof, which makes you resort to arguments that can be ridiculed easily.
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im pretty sure GSL will only seed foreigners since koreans have there shot to get into Code S and fail becuase theyre not code S level
there interested in bringing in more viewers and bringing in foriengers bring in those viewers and potential for more foreign sponsorshi[p
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On February 29 2012 20:27 namste wrote:
If Idra gets a seed again for nothing, I'll set myself on fire.
hey , i never liked Idra , but i know 2 things about him ... he brings more viewers and interest to the games , at least he did , it may be fading a little bit...
I dont want to be rude , but he really should try Terran , he played terran in Broodwar and probably has tried in sc2 ..
He quits to many games , and rages too much about races , so terran fits him better than anyone...
As for the seeds , if they only want foreigners , call Naniwa , Stephano , Huk or Idra !
if they want Koreans call polt and another good player/ex champion that falls to Code B or A. (if leenock loses up/down for example )
I think they should try to give 2 spots to BW current pros ( good ones like jaedong) , that would bring great publicity for SC2 in Korea ..
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On March 01 2012 03:21 tapk69 wrote:Show nested quote +On February 29 2012 20:27 namste wrote:
If Idra gets a seed again for nothing, I'll set myself on fire. I think they should try to give 2 spots to BW current pros ( good ones like jaedong) , that would bring great publicity for SC2 in Korea ..
haha thats an interesting idea^^
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I think its between Polt(rog), Huk (highest non code s finish at mlg)and violet (iem and mlg)
personally Id like polt and huk
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On March 01 2012 03:17 Forikorder wrote:
im pretty sure GSL will only seed foreigners since koreans have there shot to get into Code S and fail becuase theyre not code S level
there interested in bringing in more viewers and bringing in foriengers bring in those viewers and potential for more foreign sponsorshi[p
dr. chae already stated
code s seeds will be given with no regard to nationality
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Switzerland2892 Posts
Just give the seeds to high level Koreans that fell from code s/a recently (Polt, Bomber,...) or to some good Koreans that couldn't show their skill in GSL but are good if they want an underdog (life,...)
Otherwise, if they want to give one or two of them to foreigners give it Huk or Naniwa, but not sure if it's a good idea
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On February 29 2012 20:27 namste wrote:
If Idra gets a seed again for nothing, I'll set myself on fire.
This struck me as really, really funny and I'm not sure why. Well played though.
Polt on any measurable scale deserves the seed. The other one should probably go to Violet, Stephano, or Huk, in that order. Violet's IEM win over Supernova was pretty impressive, Stephano would probably decline but he always produces top results, and Huk, despite the relatively easy bracket, still produced a solid result at MLG.
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Germany599 Posts
On February 29 2012 20:47 iky43210 wrote:Show nested quote +On February 29 2012 20:22 -Archangel- wrote:On February 29 2012 19:29 iky43210 wrote:
wasted to give to naniwa, give it to someone who actually stands a chance
Kas, Stephano, or Sen are good candidates. Maybe nerchio if he would stop sucking so hard at lan events You are kidding right? Of all of those names only Stephano has a better win record against koreans. what? Kas has not participate in GSL, Sen was the ONLY foreigner out of 6 or so that participated that remained in code A and not get knocked out (idra, morrow, huk, xigua, mcsed). Just that feat alone puts him far better suited than Naniwa had ever achieved in GSL
Sen has a guaranteed spot in (atleast) Code A next season as he'll play the up/down matches I think. I don't see why he should get a Code S spot again :/
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Seems funny to discuss on TL what GomTV is going to do rather than wait for GomTV to do it o_O
speculation is fun and everything but..
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Naniwa and Polt dont know why people think violet deserves it? he won iem when there was barely any good players there... only good one there was supernova and thats it
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On February 29 2012 20:32 Seraphone wrote:Show nested quote +On February 27 2012 13:58 LuckoftheIrish wrote:On February 27 2012 13:36 Zooper31 wrote:On February 27 2012 10:08 LuckoftheIrish wrote:On February 27 2012 10:05 Zooper31 wrote:On February 26 2012 20:29 Yaki wrote:On February 26 2012 20:29 Grovbolle wrote:
To pull in some foreigner money I guess that Stephano for instance (2nd in ROG and lots of good performances) could be a candidate
And fan favorites like Ret (did well in WB in MLG, vs MVP and other great players)..
I think giving HuK a seed would be a bit anticlimax as he has just lost his. As far as I know, Stephano isn't willing to return to korea. This, same for White-Ra. People need to stop mentioning them alrdy. On February 27 2012 10:05 LuckoftheIrish wrote:
There's not a lot of downside to inviting Stephano. If he doesn't accept, there are other equally-deserving players. If he does, you have easily the highest-profile foreign player you could have in the GSL. Lol worthy indeed. Not saying Idra or HuK or better, but they are definitely more well known than Stephano. Heck Incontrol is more well known. Stephano not accepting could be a good thing, depending on how Gom wants to handle the situation. Think about it; if he accepts, they get a high-profile foreign player. If he doesn't, they have the opportunity to offer to that to whoever they want with the cover of 'Stephano declined and we had to find a replacement.' That justification can be used to invite damn near anyone. Edit to cover your edit: You misunderstand. It's not about being well-known. Huk and Idra have been in GSL before. They've had runs, they've gotten knocked out early... it's fair to say they have a lot of history with that particular tournament. Stephano, though... He's clearly very skilled. He's also not especially respectful of Korea's place as the pinnacle of Starcraft. He's on record saying that he's not interested in going back there because he learned everything he could and can learn more in Europe. He comes across as a pretty arrogant guy (IMO) and that's an angle that can create a TON of drama and hype for GSL. He'd be new, he'd be the bad boy, the guy every Korean wants to take out, and he's the best foreign player who hasn't already competed and lost. That's a situation that creates drama and hype, which will turn into viewership. And again. If he declines, then GSL can invite Taeja (or whoever) and when everyone goes "OMG TAEJA? WHY TAEJA?", they can say "well, Stephano declined and we had to find a substitute on short notice. That meant we had to invite a Korean and Taeja was the best choice." Or whatever justification for whoever they need. Could be used to provide cover for a potentially controversial invite. Thats where our opinions differ. I don't think Stephano is that skilled at all, yet to win a single tournament. That's also where you're objectively wrong. He's won: SHOUTCRAFT, beating Thorzain and Grubby. IPL's UK qualifier, beating Grubby, DreAm, Sase and TAiLS. ESWC 2011, beating Grubby, MaNa and MarineKingPrime among others. IPL 3, beating Socke, Revival, Puzzle and MMA in qualifiers and HuK, Boxer, viOLet, Inori, TheSTC and Lucky, among others, in the main tournament. He also came second at Assembly, beating PuMa, MaNa, NightEnd, Happy and ReaL. So whether you're a fan or not (I'm really not) it's impossible to deny that he's a damned good player with solid results. I think the bolded win over MMA is the only win over an at the time Code S player and it was a meaningless game where both players had already qualified and was online. Stephano is obviously really good but he's not really proven he's Code S level and I see no reason he shouldn't be made to win his spot in Code S. If he's as good as his fanboys think he wouldn't struggle in Code A.
If Stephano doesn't stand a chance in code S then no foreigner does
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On February 29 2012 21:18 HappyChris wrote:Show nested quote +On February 29 2012 20:32 Seraphone wrote:On February 27 2012 13:58 LuckoftheIrish wrote:On February 27 2012 13:36 Zooper31 wrote:On February 27 2012 10:08 LuckoftheIrish wrote:On February 27 2012 10:05 Zooper31 wrote:On February 26 2012 20:29 Yaki wrote:On February 26 2012 20:29 Grovbolle wrote:
To pull in some foreigner money I guess that Stephano for instance (2nd in ROG and lots of good performances) could be a candidate
And fan favorites like Ret (did well in WB in MLG, vs MVP and other great players)..
I think giving HuK a seed would be a bit anticlimax as he has just lost his. As far as I know, Stephano isn't willing to return to korea. This, same for White-Ra. People need to stop mentioning them alrdy. On February 27 2012 10:05 LuckoftheIrish wrote:
There's not a lot of downside to inviting Stephano. If he doesn't accept, there are other equally-deserving players. If he does, you have easily the highest-profile foreign player you could have in the GSL. Lol worthy indeed. Not saying Idra or HuK or better, but they are definitely more well known than Stephano. Heck Incontrol is more well known. Stephano not accepting could be a good thing, depending on how Gom wants to handle the situation. Think about it; if he accepts, they get a high-profile foreign player. If he doesn't, they have the opportunity to offer to that to whoever they want with the cover of 'Stephano declined and we had to find a replacement.' That justification can be used to invite damn near anyone. Edit to cover your edit: You misunderstand. It's not about being well-known. Huk and Idra have been in GSL before. They've had runs, they've gotten knocked out early... it's fair to say they have a lot of history with that particular tournament. Stephano, though... He's clearly very skilled. He's also not especially respectful of Korea's place as the pinnacle of Starcraft. He's on record saying that he's not interested in going back there because he learned everything he could and can learn more in Europe. He comes across as a pretty arrogant guy (IMO) and that's an angle that can create a TON of drama and hype for GSL. He'd be new, he'd be the bad boy, the guy every Korean wants to take out, and he's the best foreign player who hasn't already competed and lost. That's a situation that creates drama and hype, which will turn into viewership. And again. If he declines, then GSL can invite Taeja (or whoever) and when everyone goes "OMG TAEJA? WHY TAEJA?", they can say "well, Stephano declined and we had to find a substitute on short notice. That meant we had to invite a Korean and Taeja was the best choice." Or whatever justification for whoever they need. Could be used to provide cover for a potentially controversial invite. Thats where our opinions differ. I don't think Stephano is that skilled at all, yet to win a single tournament. That's also where you're objectively wrong. He's won: SHOUTCRAFT, beating Thorzain and Grubby. IPL's UK qualifier, beating Grubby, DreAm, Sase and TAiLS. ESWC 2011, beating Grubby, MaNa and MarineKingPrime among others. IPL 3, beating Socke, Revival, Puzzle and MMA in qualifiers and HuK, Boxer, viOLet, Inori, TheSTC and Lucky, among others, in the main tournament. He also came second at Assembly, beating PuMa, MaNa, NightEnd, Happy and ReaL. So whether you're a fan or not (I'm really not) it's impossible to deny that he's a damned good player with solid results. I think the bolded win over MMA is the only win over an at the time Code S player and it was a meaningless game where both players had already qualified and was online. Stephano is obviously really good but he's not really proven he's Code S level and I see no reason he shouldn't be made to win his spot in Code S. If he's as good as his fanboys think he wouldn't struggle in Code A. Compare lucky and Stephano in Assemply thats all i got to say to you. They played the same opponent and the replays is there. And if you do you can see a gigantic skill difference and is not like Lucky is a bad player. He did qualify to code S last season and played code S this season.
I know people like to use these tournament results to back their claims, but it only back their claims in regards to Code A qualifiers and to a lesser extent maybe ups and downs. If you watch Lucky's GSL games, there's usually an overarching plan that he has, something he prepared and practice for, whether it works or not is a different matter.
That said, Stephano will probably do well, but I'm not sure how he will stack up in GSL's format because he seems to not be the kind of player that's good at preparing for others that much.
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EPT
