SK_MC has been called a president and a boss, but there's a comparison that I find more and more apt as his career goes on: A zombie. A zombie with an appetite for dollars instead of brains.
The first time we tried to bury MC was after Gamescom 2011. The former GSL champion had gone to IEM Cologne in search of a reprieve after getting knocked down to Code A, but was instead crushed 3 – 0 in the finals by PuMa – the only Korean he faced in the tournament. The coroner's report left no doubt about the cause of death: "Blunt trauma from 1/1/1, caused by playing a pitiful race for too long."
It didn't even take a month for MC to rise up from his grave, lurch his way to MLG Orlando, and defeat the Terran trio of MarineKing, TheStC, and PuMa on his way to devouring another $3,000 of prize money in a second place finish.
A year later, toward the end of WoL, it seemed that brood lord-infestor would be the headshot that finally felled MC for good, as he dropped back down to Code A and suffered a series of embarrassingly quick eliminations in international tournaments (MLG: Ro32, IPL: Ro32, IEM: Ro8, HomeStory: Ro16, NASL: Ro16). But the arrival of HotS seemed to breath life back into his limbs, and he used innovative oracle play to win a cool $6,000 with a fourth place finish at the inaugural HotS MLG.
The early HotS boost didn't last long, and MC was back out of Code S almost as soon as he re-qualified, and he decided to switch regions to Europe. It was a struggle for MC to make it into the WCS Europe Premier League at all, dropping series to Noname and Grubby before finally grasping hold of a last chance ticket. In the Premier League, MC struggled to make it through the Ro32 and Ro16, suffering defeat at the hands of Stephano and VortiX along the way. When MC was then eliminated from an all-foreigner group at ASUS ROG Summer, it was as if we were seeing him literally decomposing before our eyes.
And yet, as decrepit as he was all summer, MC dragged himself through the playoffs, beating Welmu, beating MMA, and finally slugging it out with the ascendant duckdeok in a seven-game grand finals. Though MC fell short after a failed all-in in game seven, it was still $12,000 more in the bank, and an open reminder that prize money is never, ever safe from his grasp.
MC is still annoyed by the other $8,000 he left on the table. Photo: ESL
MC has never been shy about his goals and aspirations in pro-gaming: to make lots of money. Has any other player ever told his team to hurry up and find more sponsors so they could pay him more next contract?
Yet, there a new twist here. MC's career up to now has seemed to be more of a "money for money's sake" type of pursuit, he seems to have another kind of goal in mind as he heads into Gamescom for the Season Finals.
my earnings now $382,288 i will get $17712 more in this WCS SEASON FINAL so i must get 1st or 2nd and then $400000
$400,000 is a nice round number to aim for. But more than just hitting an arbitrary goal, a top two finish would be meaningful in sending MC $25,000 clear of the second place career earner in Mvp (check sc2earnings.com for full standings). That's margin is more than Mvp could cover in one single tournament, minus the exceptional case of Blizzcon and its $100,000 first place prize.
It's important because money is MC's legacy. The all-time greats of StarCraft II all have an achievement they can claim is unique to them. FruitDealer will always be known as the first GSL champion, Mvp has his unmatchable four GSL titles, and Stephano is the greatest non-Korean of all time. MC? No doubt he will be remembered for his piercing all-ins and how he whole-heartedly embraced being an entertainer, but his relentless pursuit of wealth is what sets him apart from all others. For now, MC can say he won the most money, but much like Stephano's title, his record can still be challenged. Mvp could easily take the prize winnings crown back, becoming not only the best player ever, but the wealthiest as well.
Mvp stumbled in the Ro16 of WCS Europe, and now it's MC's chance solidify his lead by extracting more money from Blizzard. Close friends they might be, but MC can't just let Mvp have everything. It's time to put that prize money – and the title of first player to reach $400,000 in prize winnings – in the bank.
WCS Season II Finals: Ro16 Group A Preview
MC, Jaedong, Rain, Welmu
Group A of the WCS Season Finals is most notable as a nightmare for EG.Jaedong. Despite having made significant progress in the ZvP match-up, Jaedong still needs to improve considerably if he wants to hold his ground against the best the world have to offer. With even NrS.Welmu – the weakest player of the group – presenting a significant threat, Jaedong has his work cut out for him as he plays the OSL runner-up SKT_Rain in his first match. Thus, barring an incredible ZvP epiphany achieved through several 15 hour training sessions and hallucinations caused by consuming copious amounts of Monster™, we have to consign Jaedong to his death in this group.
That leaves us with a three-way battle between NrS.Welmu, SKT_Rain, and SK_MC to grab the two tickets into the quarter-final round. While PvP has made leaps and bounds in HotS toward discarding its old reputation as volatile match-up, regular Proleague viewers will also tell you that the good ol' coin flip is just one dark shrine away. Perhaps the threat of instant death isn't omnipresent as it was before, but this is still the match-up where we expect the most upsets and unpredictable results.
That bodes well for the lone foreigner Welmu, who has a surprisingly decent chance of making it through a group of three Koreans. He may not have been able to back up his confidence in PvP when he faced MC back in WCS Europe, but he's had time to hunker down and delve even deeper into his best match-up. His 2 - 1 win over Duckdeok in the WCS Europe Ro16 shows us he's more than capable of beating championship caliber Koreans in PvP, and a PvZ against Jaedong should also be palatable.
MC is in a similar boat as Welmu. While he knows the dangers of PvP very well, he should still feel alright about his chances of beating either Rain or Welmu. Also, the PvJaedong would be a welcome proposition should it happen.
It might actually be SKT_Rain, the favorite of the group, who is least happy with the draw. Despite showing great all around play to reach the Auction OSL Finals, the PvP's have to scare him. Not only has he lost to foreigners before in PvP (vs. BabyKnight @ WCS 2012), but it's clearly his weakest match-up at the moment. He never managed to break out of a long PvP slump in Proleague, which contributed hugely to his SKT's elimination from the playoffs as he lost to STX's Dear and Trap in back to back series. With his latest result being a 0 - 2 loss against PartinG in WCG Korea, you have to question his confidence heading in. But, at the end of the day, he IS the OSL champion, and he IS the ace of one of the best KeSPA teams. With the potential promise of a rematch against Maru waiting in the elimination rounds of the tournament, it would be a shame if Rain went out so early.
Predictions
MC > Welmu Rain > Jaedong MC > Rain Welmu > Jaedong Rain > Welmu
Good Preview, but Jaedong's PvZ has most certainly been improving and this group is a chance for him to show it. I think he will be able to get out of the group.
Welmu over Jaedong? JD has beaten several Protoss players that are a lot better than Welmu. That being said, it wouldn't surprise me to see him go 0-2 in the group.
On August 21 2013 09:00 Darkhoarse wrote: It's interesting that MC has earned more than MVP to me. I don't think anyone would say MC has had a better career. Still a boss tho! Gogo MC/Jaedong!
On August 21 2013 09:00 Darkhoarse wrote: It's interesting that MC has earned more than MVP to me. I don't think anyone would say MC has had a better career. Still a boss tho! Gogo MC/Jaedong!
MC has went to a lot more foreign tournaments so it's reasonable that he has more. Also thanks for the preview!
hmm I'm kind of surprised by this one. I mean initially I lol'd at poor JD too, but really thinking about it, he has a good shot at getting out.
Rain is going to murder him ofc, but MC and Welmu? JD might actually be favored over those two, or at least 50/50 with MC (MC won the last encounter but it was close).
Also, MC over Rain? Rain has been struggling in PvP, but that's against scarier competition to what MC's been up against lately.
Hard to imagine Rain going out so early indeed, but that might also be his Achilles' heel. Never comfortable to be in this position. Skillwise he should make it through though. For Welmu it's quite the opposite, he has nothing to lose but the event might be a little oversized for him atm. Hope he learns, we need more ambitious foreigners around.
Otherwise however, I find this group kinda difficult to predict. Especially I wouldn't give MC too much edge against Jaedong, who's had more than ever all the reasons in the world to work on his JvP. All of this should be quite entertaining.
If you look from October 2011 to present, in Mvp's list there are 25 tournaments. In MC's list there are 41.
Holy shit, wow. That's a huge difference, I didn't realize it was so big.
Also, take into account that MC won a GSL Open Season when the prize money amount was much greater than a regular season. If MC and Mvp's first GSL championships were switched, Mvp would be sitting at #1 right now.
This is kind of an interesting group in that no player looks particularly strong. Welmu is a foreigner, MC hasn't shown dominating play in quite awhile, Jaedong has to deal with the famed JvP, and Rain, although definitely deserving of his #2 power rank spot, hasn't had strong results in PvP lately.
Sad for Jaedong! His worst matchup against 3 protoss, 2 which are quite dangerous and 1 that can be unpredictable :/ Either way, Jaedong fighting! Hopefully Rain advances as well!
THis is going to be a shiznizzlebangclangclingking group!!~...I agree with their predictions...please please please please please please plaeasep leasep leasdpaelapl sdaple apls MC and RAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Welmu isn't going to win a single match guaranteed. There shouldn't be any foreigners in the Finals anyways, they are all walkovers in their groups except for Scarlett. Even Scarlett is a free match if she manages to get out of the group stages (aka beat MMA).
Rain is going to embarrass all of them and Jaedong is going to make it out second.
On August 21 2013 12:25 Cattlecruiser wrote: Welmu isn't going to win a single match guaranteed. There shouldn't be any foreigners in the Finals anyways, they are all walkovers in their groups except for Scarlett. Even Scarlett is a free match if she manages to get out of the group stages (aka beat MMA).
Rain is going to embarrass all of them and Jaedong is going to make it out second.
I strongly, strongly disagree with MC beating Rain. I think he is capable of beating JD, because JD's PvZ is sketchy, sometimes he plays beautifully and other times he plays like he is just a mechanical monster with no game knowledge.
But MC vs Rain? eh. Rain was one of the top Protoss' in PvProleague, and he got 2nd in WCS Korea. WCS Korea's ro8 looked better than the top 8 players from both WCS EU and WCS AM.
The thing about MC is you never quite know what you're gonna get from him. Even now, he's fully capable of showing up and wrecking everyone on his way to 1st in the group. He's also fully capable of coming in last.
god I pray for a miracle and jaedong advances 1st out of this group 4-0. Man if he loses I will probably not watch the rest of wcs as him/scarlett are the only players I would watch.
People totally overestimating MC... And underestimating Jaedong... Three second place finishes in premier tourneys is pretty good. He's definitely getting better over time. Rain/Jaedong
On August 21 2013 14:17 XtreMe_au wrote: People totally overestimating MC... And underestimating Jaedong... Three second place finishes in premier tourneys is pretty good. He's definitely getting better over time. Rain/Jaedong
Inb4 JD actually takes 2nd place falling to... let it be TaeJa, cause summer is not over, rite :D?
I wanna see Rain vs Maru again. Rain gogogo And MC is gonna fall. He moved to this finals through some miracle. Just got very lucky. In this group no chance. ofc only vs JD
Rain will make it, no doubt. Would be really cool to see Jaedong and MC advance together, but that's probably not going to happen. As long as Welmu doesn't make it out, I guess I have to be satisfied.
Rain should be used to PvProleague, so I don't expect him to fall out there. I wouldn't count Jaedong out though, his JvP improved - and let's be honest, MC and Welmu are not exactly the hardest guys. With a bit of luck, it might go this way for JD:
MC > Welmu Rain > Jaedong Jaedong > Welmu MC < Rain Jaedong > MC
I think that if Welmu will go to ro8 he must win his first match against MC. Rain will most likely win Jaedong and Welmu vs Rain might be really good for Welmu because I don't expect Rain to know who Welmu is and how scary his pvp can be, it might catch Rain offguard (And Welmu most likely knows everything about Rain)
If Welmu vs Jaedong happens I have a feeling that JD wins, I think he might be the hardest opponent for Welmu.
Prediction:
Welmu > MC Rain > JD Welmu < Rain MC > JD Welmu > MC
MC and Rain looks logical but I don't know why, I think there will be an upset and JD is going to make it. Welmu has a decent PvP iirc but I don't think he can take more than one BO3. So I predict JD and Rain to go through.
From here on forward I'm going to put all my effort to be perceived by everyone as a strong player. I'm sure there were many people who predicted Byung Goo hyung's victory but I'll make sure nothing as such happens from now on.source
Rain and MC all the way. really want the boss toss to achieve his earnings goal ever since he was robbed of being a 3 time protoss GSL champion from Seed!
Find this article pretty disappointing in terms of how it is written and a tad disrespectful :S The meaning behind it is not bad but the way it is worded makes it sound pretty awful >.< (The MC part that is)
Also being the player with the biggest prize money winnings to me says your the best player...MVP has one the biggest competitions and the most times, but he rarely stepped out of Korea in that time where as MC was globetrotting his way picking up cheques left right and centre, that is why if he gets top of that money list he thoroughly deserves to be the best which he clearly would be as he has won the most money...
I think the predictions are right but i would say;
On August 21 2013 14:17 XtreMe_au wrote: People totally overestimating MC... And underestimating Jaedong... Three second place finishes in premier tourneys is pretty good. He's definitely getting better over time. Rain/Jaedong
Inb4 JD actually takes 2nd place falling to... let it be TaeJa, cause summer is not over, rite :D?
Woah, this is not WCS AM you know, I think JD+Taeja finals is highly unlikely.
JD only has to practice Protoss, and gathering from his super close series with MC at IEM, that JD lost just due to a last minute micro error. I'm confident JD will put the hurt on MC and get out of his group.
On August 21 2013 21:55 below66 wrote: we gotta start making threads earlier and putting these games in the calender events sooner if we want more viewers.
You can submit events yourself to make sure they're in the calendar nice and early!
You're silly if you think Welmu has a higher chance of beating Jaedong than the other way around. Jaedong recently beat Protoss players like Oz, Jim, Stardust, and Welmu's worst matchup is PvZ. Look at their match history on TLPD: Jaedong's ZvP is better than Welmu's PvZ. Of course Jaedong will still have a lot of trouble against Rain and MC, but he can definitely beat Welmu.
People act like ZvP is an automatic loss for Jaedong but it's most certainly not.
On August 21 2013 12:25 Cattlecruiser wrote: Welmu isn't going to win a single match guaranteed. There shouldn't be any foreigners in the Finals anyways, they are all walkovers in their groups except for Scarlett. Even Scarlett is a free match if she manages to get out of the group stages (aka beat MMA).
Rain is going to embarrass all of them and Jaedong is going to make it out second.
Passive aggressive? Go on the loo or get it all out in one shout. You might get a heart attack one of these days.
On August 21 2013 12:25 Cattlecruiser wrote: Welmu isn't going to win a single match guaranteed. There shouldn't be any foreigners in the Finals anyways, they are all walkovers in their groups except for Scarlett. Even Scarlett is a free match if she manages to get out of the group stages (aka beat MMA).
Rain is going to embarrass all of them and Jaedong is going to make it out second.
Passive aggressive? Go on the loo or get it all out in one shout. You might get a heart attack one of these days.
LMFAO sal sal I have a resting heart rate of a tortoise, sounds like your about to have an aneurism over there. Sucks to suck.
Come on, it's not like JD's vP is that horrible where it's an auto-loss (to Welmu of all people). He's beaten some solid Toss in the last couple months too.
Wait, Broodlord-Infestor felling MC? Wasn't he the one who made Tastosis collective brain explode with Mothership/Colossus/HT/Carrier/Voidray in the closing days of WoL?
But if you count other games besides SC2/HotS in Flash already did the 400k, Fatal1ty also.....but quite impressive that Jaedong is Top3 earner overall and could become No.1 soon ...and even sooner if he manages to win big
EPT
SK_MC has been called a president and a boss, but there's a comparison that I find more and more apt as his career goes on: A zombie. A zombie with an appetite for dollars instead of brains.![[image loading]](/staff/Waxangel/WCS2013/season2finals/duckdeokandmc.jpg)
Mvp (check sc2earnings.com for full standings). That's margin is more than Mvp could cover in one single tournament, minus the exceptional case of Blizzcon and its $100,000 first place prize.
MC, 
Welmu
EG.Jaedong. Despite having made significant progress in the ZvP match-up, Jaedong still needs to improve considerably if he wants to hold his ground against the best the world have to offer. With even 
![[image loading]](/staff/Zealously/Rain.jpg)
