EPTWith the round of 16 completed and the brackets drawn for the playoff portion of the first season of the StarCraft II World Championship Series in the European region, fans have lots of new matchups between old favourites to look forward to. Of the eight finalists, three are imports - Snute, jjakji, and San, who competed in WCS AM and KR previously (San switched in 2013 WCS S2). Two - StarDust and Welmu - are making their second appearances in the Europe playoffs. The remaining three are all on their third consecutive playoff runs, and no one is shocked to see Mun Seong 'Acer | MMA' Won, VortiX, or MC back in the bracket.
The Players
StarDust
Since joining mYinsanity and winning Dreamhack Open: Summer in 2013, StarDust has looked incredibly competitive. Despite a lack of tournament victories in the period since his breakthrough in Sweden, he has continued to play competitively and could easily win the playoffs outright. His biggest impediments will be the terrifying Terrans - teammate jjakji looks nigh-unstoppable in TvP, and will know his builds and style intimately, and MMA is also easily one of the top five players in TvP out there today.
MC
Do you know MC? The first-ever Korean pro to make the switch from Brood War to StarCraft II has certainly prospered since, and continues to lead the pack in overall prize money won in SC2. His increasingly commanding grasp of English and great sense of humour make him an accessible player, but he’s no slouch in-game either. Despite a slower 2013 season, MC remains a contender. If he can defeat StarDust, he will be banking heavily on VortiX advancing over jjakji for a chance at the grand final, where he will hope to break the string of silver medals that he has collected in WCS EU thus far. His PvT might be competitive with MMA, but his lagging PvP could struggle against San.
VortiX
A recent meeting with his first-round opponent, jjakji, can only be both inspiration and drive for the young Spaniard, VortiX. One of only eight foreigners to make an appearance in the seasonal or global WCS finals in 2013, and the only one to do so in 2013 WCS Season 3, VortiX is widely considered to be the best non-Korean StarCraft II player out there, and by a wider-still margin than previously since NaNiwa’s hasty retirement. It would be no surprise to see VortiX in, or even winning, the grand final this season, but each round will be a hard-fought victory or narrow defeat for Juan.
jjakji
Perennially an afterthought, mYinsanity’s summer pick-up of jjakji brought attention back to the talented young Terran. Since his late 2011 GSL victory, his results have been moderate, but the jjakji of the last 3-4 months is not one to be forgotten or ignored. If he can get past VortiX in the first round, he is a definite favourite to carry the tournament altogether. The rematch of the recent Vasacast final is sure to be an exciting one, and both players are no doubt sharpening their builds in anticipation.
Snute
The talented Norwegian Zerg player has the unfortunate luck of facing last season’s WCS EU champion in his first playoff round, and despite being potentially the next-best foreign pro to VortiX, the skill gap between the two is fairly wide. If Snute did upset and defeat MMA, he would likely move on to face the PvZ clinician, San, who has only lost three PvZ sets in the last five months (winning 33 in the same period).
MMA
GSL Champion. Team Liquid’s kryptonite. Most recent WCS EU champion. First SC2 pro to obtain the Triple Crown. The Legend Killer is back to collect his crown, and seems well-situated to do so. Strangely, his biggest concern might be the foreign Zerg, VortiX, as these two have traded blows many times and neither is clearly dominant over the other. Best of luck to MMA in his quest to join Polt as a back-to-back WCS season champion.
San
Since putting on public classes in flawless PvZ at ASUS ROG back in February, San has set a new standard in how to best Zerg players. His PvZ ELO is the highest on record at aligulac (http://aligulac.com/records/race/?race=P) by a nearly 100-point margin. Unfortunately, the odds of him getting to face a Zerg player are limited. His likely meeting with MMA in the semi-final will be one of the highlight matches of the entire bracket, if it comes to pass, as the winner between these two is the statistical favourite to win overall.
Welmu
Finnish Protoss player Welmu is already sitting at what is effectively a tie for his best-ever finish in WCS or any major tournament. If he were somehow able to best San, a match with Snute could go either way, but the likely semi-final against MMA would probably go in MMA’s favour. If Europe holds and the final were the wildly unlikely matchup of VortiX vs. Welmu, that would be Welmu’s best chance at succeeding in this tournament. As it is unlikely, Welmu can enjoy the guaranteed seed into 2014 WCS Season 2 Premier League, and continue to train hard for next season as well.
StarDust
Since joining mYinsanity and winning Dreamhack Open: Summer in 2013, StarDust has looked incredibly competitive. Despite a lack of tournament victories in the period since his breakthrough in Sweden, he has continued to play competitively and could easily win the playoffs outright. His biggest impediments will be the terrifying Terrans - teammate jjakji looks nigh-unstoppable in TvP, and will know his builds and style intimately, and MMA is also easily one of the top five players in TvP out there today.
MC
Do you know MC? The first-ever Korean pro to make the switch from Brood War to StarCraft II has certainly prospered since, and continues to lead the pack in overall prize money won in SC2. His increasingly commanding grasp of English and great sense of humour make him an accessible player, but he’s no slouch in-game either. Despite a slower 2013 season, MC remains a contender. If he can defeat StarDust, he will be banking heavily on VortiX advancing over jjakji for a chance at the grand final, where he will hope to break the string of silver medals that he has collected in WCS EU thus far. His PvT might be competitive with MMA, but his lagging PvP could struggle against San.
VortiX
A recent meeting with his first-round opponent, jjakji, can only be both inspiration and drive for the young Spaniard, VortiX. One of only eight foreigners to make an appearance in the seasonal or global WCS finals in 2013, and the only one to do so in 2013 WCS Season 3, VortiX is widely considered to be the best non-Korean StarCraft II player out there, and by a wider-still margin than previously since NaNiwa’s hasty retirement. It would be no surprise to see VortiX in, or even winning, the grand final this season, but each round will be a hard-fought victory or narrow defeat for Juan.
jjakji
Perennially an afterthought, mYinsanity’s summer pick-up of jjakji brought attention back to the talented young Terran. Since his late 2011 GSL victory, his results have been moderate, but the jjakji of the last 3-4 months is not one to be forgotten or ignored. If he can get past VortiX in the first round, he is a definite favourite to carry the tournament altogether. The rematch of the recent Vasacast final is sure to be an exciting one, and both players are no doubt sharpening their builds in anticipation.
Snute
The talented Norwegian Zerg player has the unfortunate luck of facing last season’s WCS EU champion in his first playoff round, and despite being potentially the next-best foreign pro to VortiX, the skill gap between the two is fairly wide. If Snute did upset and defeat MMA, he would likely move on to face the PvZ clinician, San, who has only lost three PvZ sets in the last five months (winning 33 in the same period).
MMA
GSL Champion. Team Liquid’s kryptonite. Most recent WCS EU champion. First SC2 pro to obtain the Triple Crown. The Legend Killer is back to collect his crown, and seems well-situated to do so. Strangely, his biggest concern might be the foreign Zerg, VortiX, as these two have traded blows many times and neither is clearly dominant over the other. Best of luck to MMA in his quest to join Polt as a back-to-back WCS season champion.
San
Since putting on public classes in flawless PvZ at ASUS ROG back in February, San has set a new standard in how to best Zerg players. His PvZ ELO is the highest on record at aligulac (http://aligulac.com/records/race/?race=P) by a nearly 100-point margin. Unfortunately, the odds of him getting to face a Zerg player are limited. His likely meeting with MMA in the semi-final will be one of the highlight matches of the entire bracket, if it comes to pass, as the winner between these two is the statistical favourite to win overall.
Welmu
Finnish Protoss player Welmu is already sitting at what is effectively a tie for his best-ever finish in WCS or any major tournament. If he were somehow able to best San, a match with Snute could go either way, but the likely semi-final against MMA would probably go in MMA’s favour. If Europe holds and the final were the wildly unlikely matchup of VortiX vs. Welmu, that would be Welmu’s best chance at succeeding in this tournament. As it is unlikely, Welmu can enjoy the guaranteed seed into 2014 WCS Season 2 Premier League, and continue to train hard for next season as well.
Click through to see the predictions!
Shuffle & Repeat - WCS EU Ro8
