EPTRo16: Group B Preview
jjakji, 
Grubby, Dayshi, 
Snute: by Waxangel
As has been the case in many tournament groups,
mYi.jjakji comes in as the favorite to advance in first place. A descendant in the line of mechanically superior, flawlessly textbook Terran players from Korea that have terrorized the foreign scene since 2011, jjakji was pegged from before the start of the season as a top candidate to win it all. However, considering the fearsome reputation jjakji has, you can't help but feel that his actual results have been disappointing.There's nothing bad about his placements in major tournaments since moving to Europe: 3rd HSC, top 12 NorthCon, top 4 IEM Sao Paulo, top 8 IEM Cologne, top 8 IEM Katowice, 4th SeatStory Cup, 2nd Vasacast Invitational. But from the praise jjakji receives from fellow progamers, his GSL championship pedigree, and his own abundance of confidence, you expect jjakji to already be a champion in Europe, not a championship contender.
As we mentioned in the preview for jjakji's Ro32 group, the cautionary tale he has to heed is that of ForGG. As feared as the Millenium player once was, he was unable to take full advantage of his initial dominance upon arriving in Europe, failing to win a major title. It's far too soon to say jjakji is going to repeat that fate, but he definitely needs to pick up the pace. For a player like jjakji who firmly believes he can win the WCS EU championship, getting out of this group should be a given, not a goal.
There's a trio of Europeans in Group B will take their best shot at derailing jjakji's hype-train for good. First off, there's
Grubby, a player who has already gained some glory at jjakji's expense. Forced to work his way into the WCS EU Premier League from the qualifiers, Grubby capped off a brilliant qualifier run with a 2-1 victory over jjakji. Though jjakji would make it through himself via the losers brackets, Grubby had doused cold water on his campaign to conquer the WCS Europe Premier League before it even started.Since then Grubby's record has offered the mixed bag we have generally come to expect from him. After being a symbol of slow and steady improvement earlier on in his SC2 career, Grubby has plateaued without being able to make another leap. Which is not to say he's settled in a bad place: he's a Premier League regular who has it within in him to go on deep runs every once in a while. Grubby even made it to the semifinals of WCS Europe in 2013's Season 2, and was a single game away from making the finals. The problem for Grubby has been making those runs a consistent thing. Even if Grubby can't summon the ability to defeat jjakji on the night, he should be closely matched against his European colleagues as they fight for the other Ro8 spot.
Mill.Dayshi has already upset a championship-winning Korean in WCS Europe this season, defeating San in the Ro32. Considered one of the most promising new players in Europe in 2013, Dayshi half lived up to expectations by qualifying for two WCS Premier Leagues but failing to make it to the Ro16. 2014 has already been something of an improvement as he has reached his first Premier League Ro16. At SeatStory Cup, Dayshi fought some close series against both Snute (2-3) and Grubby (4-2). Even if jjakji comes into the group in monster form, Dayshi will have more than a fair chance of reaching the Ro8 against his foreign foes.Finally there's
Liquid`Snute, a player who has gone from being called the best non-Stephano foreigner to being called washed up, and has now ended up in some kind of strange, in-between zone. As with Grubby and Dayshi, he has enjoyed a good start to 2014, winning a couple of Norwegian LANs, successfully making the switch from WCS America to WCS Europe, and of course, winning the first SeatStory Cup tournament. However, ZvZ factored heavily into Snute's successes, and he will be unable to rely on that match-up in this group. Snute's performance in this group will help us find out how much he owes his SSC win to match-ups and good fortune, and how much is due to his improving skill.Overall Predictions:
Even if jjakji is destined to become ForGG in the future, it's hard to see him falling out of this group. He may have problems against fellow Koreans, and he may have problems with planning for longer series. Neither of those will be an issue here.
Assuming jjakji advances in first place, it's really hard to say which of the three Europeans will advance along with him. Grubby and Snute might be more experienced and accomplished than Dayshi, but Dayshi looked every bit their equal (or against Grubby, maybe slightly superior) when he faced them very recently at SSC. But in the end, I've decided to go with the player with the best recent tournament result in Snute.
jjakji > Grubby
Dayshi > Snute
jjakji > Dayshi
Snute > Grubby
Snute > Dayshi
jjakji and Snute advance.
