Countdown:

If you haven't read it yet, we suggest you check out our companion piece One After Midnight ahead of the WCS Europe quarterfinals.

It's been over a year since a non-Korean player last won a premier tournament as defined by Liquipedia. WCS Europe might be where that shameful streak ends. Welmu, Snute, and VortiX have gathered plenty of momentum headed into the final stages of the tournament and they have a realistic shot at keeping the WCS Europe title in Europe.


However, the Koreans are still the favorites as always, and they'll look to extend Korea's premier tournament streak to 38 wins in a row. We begin things on day one with StarDust vs. MC and jjakji vs. VortiX.

StarDust vs. MC

by Waxangel

It's official. Over two years have passed since MC has won a major tournament. The bosstoss' last win came at the IEM 2012 World Championship, where he defeated PuMa in the finals. I imagine that at this point, there are newer StarCraft 2 fans who don't even know who PuMa is. Even if we count Red Bull Battle Grounds: Austin, it's still been around twenty-two months since MC has last lifted a trophy and celebrated on stage. (Check out MC's detailed tournament history on Liquipedia)

As a player who's known to be an avid fan of professional wrestling and is very open about playing a character for the cameras, it can be hard to tell what's truly on MC's mind. We're all too familiar with the blustering confidence he brings to every interview, a trait that has not faded during his long championship drought. But one has to wonder how much confidence MC really has in himself nowadays. Are those "I will win"s just coming out due to habit, or does he still truly believe he is the best player at any given tournament?

Regardless of what's going on inside MC's head, his opponents would be wise to keep treating him as a dangerous title contender. His all-ins, even if somewhat dulled, are still backed by some of the most accurate force fields around. He's played in more high-stakes best-of-fives than perhaps anyone in the history of StarCraft 2, and that accumulated experience definitely matters. MC's been too long without a title to say there hasn't been a real and significant decline in his abilities, but he will always have a puncher's chance.

MC's opponent is going through a dry spell of his own. mYi.StarDust gave us one of the greatest Cinderella stories of all time by coming out of nowhere to win DreamHack: Summer 2013, but since then he has been unable to replicate that success. For some, that won't come as much of a surprise. After all, StarDust wasn't supposed to win DreamHack in the first place. He was a late convert to the SC2 scene who surprised people with a unique style in his first major tournament, and will never have the advantage of surprise again... right?

Yet, there's something about StarDust that makes you feel that his DreamHack victory wasn't just the story of an adorable, cheesy lucksack making the tournament run of his career. The way he thinks outside the box with some of his builds (the one-time brilliance of his double-forge gateway "all-in" style at DH: Summer impresses us to this day) is a unique strength, and the instinct he has for forcing bulls*** wins is almost MC-esque at times. His tournament record after DH hasn't been that bad either, finishing top four at DH: Valencia and ASUS ROG Winter 2014 (albeit, greatly buoyed by PvP).

I tend to agree with TL readers when rating StarDust: we expected to seem him make the Ro8, but we're a bit sketchy on his chances of going all the way. He falls into the MC category: not one of the favorites, but still a dangerous underdog.

Head to head and prediction: Who are the best PvP players of 2014? The answer is Zest, herO, sOs and StarDust. Yeah, StarDust.

He might be facing a lot more European opposition than the other three, but the fact remains that he's an absurd 43-18 (70.49%) on the year. That's an insane short term win rate when you consider that even the best players level out at around 60% over their careers (MC, PartinG, Rain, etc.).

Meanwhile, MC is going through a rough patch in the Protoss mirror, going 26-26 in 2014. Just going by the stats, I have to say that StarDust has the advantage. And honestly, given that this is PvP, a notoriously volatile match-up, stats are about the only thing I'm comfortable going on when making a prediction. Otherwise, I'd just clip five coins.

Prediction: StarDust 3 – 1 MC

VortiX vs. jjakji

by Waxangel

VortiX and jjakji meet again in a rematch of the Vasacast Invitational finals. There, VortiX won a close 3-2 victory that earned him the $2,500 grand prize and also raised foreign hopes to levels that hadn't been seen since NaNiwa defeated Revival to earn a play-in spot at BlizzCon 2013.

mouz.VortiX has always done well in WCS Europe, placing top 16, top 8, and top 4 in previous three seasons. He has defeated Korean players in the past, holding victories over players like ForGG, MC, and StarDust in WCS. Why then, does VortiX's current run feel so different?

For the most part, it's due to the events of March 23-25. In the span of three days, Vortix recorded the following victories: 2-1 MMA, 3-1 StarDust, 3-2 jjakji, 2-0 MMA, 2-0 Mvp. THAT was something VortiX had never done before. He had always been consistent and capable of scoring the occasional upset, but he had rarely been a player to get streaky and make runs. The VortiX that was an all-killer for Karont3 in Acer TeamStory Cup had finally showed up to play in individual leagues. If that momentum can keep going, then VortiX could ride it all the way to a championship.

It's too early to say for sure that VortiX is enjoying a second prime, or that he has surpassed his previous peak where he placed 2nd place in WCS Europe 2012. There's no game-breaking unit composition to help him out this time around, and the competition in WCS Europe is tougher than ever. But the potential to make a career defining run is definitely there.

As for mYi.jjakji, I'm going to just shamelessly re-hash the same storyline we've pinned on him this entire tournament: he's in danger of becoming ForGG 2.0. Come on, just look at the similarities between the two! Came out of nowhere to win a championship in Korea and moved to Europe years later: check. Dominated the European ladder and online tournaments on arrival: check. Has come close to, but hasn't actually won a big tournament since moving to Europe: big, big check.

The only thing jjakji has to do to make his succession of the smug-line complete is to go into his first WCS Europe with high expectations, only to get eliminated by the European Zerg hope in the knockout stages. ForGG was eliminated by Stephano (the Frenchman's parting gift to the foreign SC2 scene before retiring) in WCS Europe Season 1 of 2013, and now jjakji is in danger of repeating that fate at the hands of VortiX.

jjakji still maintains an unwavering confidence in his abilities, and you can't blame him for that. In a series of five, straight up macro game, he's favored to beat just about anyone in the European scene. Yet, for whatever reason, he just can't seem to win that championship.

Head to head and prediction: Though both VortiX and jjakji are capable of playing great in a macro game, there's a high chance that this series will end up like the Vasacast finals: heavily influenced by cheese.

jjakji, like many a Korean Terran, has been a near lock to use a 2-rax proxy build at least once in a series. Such play from jjakji is almost too predicable, and VortiX will have it in mind on all of the two-spawn maps. jjakji could keep going for his predictable cheeses, or look to cash in on his reputation by going for a 2-rax on one of the larger, four-spawn maps. VortiX is a more unpredictable with his aggression, forcing out rounds of roaches at timings that seem almost random. It might serve jjakji well to stay his greedy tendencies for just this series, as it will be hard to predict when and where an all-in could hit. Depending on how each player's risky/safe builds line-up against each other, we could see three games end inside eleven minutes and maybe just a single standard game.

While this should be a close series, I've got to go with VortiX here. I just can't look at jjakji's tournament results and tell myself "THIS time, he'll figure it out."

Prediction: VortiX 3 – 2 jjakji

Countdown: or whenever EU ends.

WCS America's quest to become the world's weirdest StarCraft 2 tournament is nearly complete. The ostensibly American tournament has somehow come to be hosted in Germany, played out by an all-Korean cast of players, and bartended by a Ukrainian in White-Ra. Coming straight out of Scranton, commentator Nathanias is the only person keeping any "America" in WCS America, and he's just one bout of food poisoning away from dropping out.


Strange circumstances aside, WCS America showcases a rather exciting elite eight. Two-time WCS America champion Polt seems like the favorite to win again, but the other seven players have all proved their mettle in recent months. The first WCS America championship of 2014 is up in the air.

Alicia vs. Bomber

by Darkhorse

Bomber vs. Alicia is a clash of two true veterans of the competitive Starcraft 2 scene. Both players have been around since 2011, and we originally expected them to be GSL regulars for their entire careers. But a few twists, turns, and team changes later, here they are playing in the quarterfinals of WCS America.

The two players come in with contrasting back-stories. AX.Alicia: the solid player who people expect in the Ro8 but don't expect to win. Bomber: the player people expect to win but often ends up getting eliminated way before that. Reaching the quarterfinals in a tournament this stacked is already a great accomplishment, but both players will have their eyes set on the championship.

Alicia can be described by one word since joining Axiom: solid. He is not spectacular. He hasn't had a breakthrough tournament win. What he has done is provide good but not great performances in teamleagues and has been a fairly consistent player in WCS America (top 5, top 16, top 32, top 8). Looking at the player list for Premier League prior to the season beginning, Alicia was a player one could have easily predicted to make it this far. That's what Alicia does: play well enough to get noticed, but not well enough to go the whole way.

Alicia has absolutely demolished those modest expectations with his play through the group stages. He has barely looked troubled throughout the tournament, going 8-1 in maps with his only loss coming from an in-form Revival in ZvP. His play so far has raised expectations of Alicia, and now he can be seen as a potential dark horse contender for the WCS America championship. Alicia doesn't have the fan following of players like Hyun or Bomber. He doesn't have the tournament winnings of Polt or Taeja. What he does have is an impressive run through WCS America so far and an ability to upset anyone else in the Ro8 bracket.

As odd as this sounds, Alicia may have gotten a favorable draw by getting Bomber as his Ro8 opponent. PvT is Alicia's best matchup overall and he hasn't lost a PvT in 2014. In addition, Alicia's teammate Crank played Bomber in the Ro16 and managed to take a game off the Redbull Terran. The two of them will almost certainly be working together to find a way to defeat Bomber in the matchup. Finally, Bomber was already upset by the Protoss player Arthur earlier in the tournament, and Alicia may be able to take cues from those games in an attempt to duplicate the result.

Bomber has always been an enigma in the competitive Starcraft 2 world. One day he'll look unstoppable, his destiny to win championships and conquer the SC2 world. The next day he'll look overconfident and error-prone, leading fans to doubt if he can ever become a dominant force. Bomber's legendary inconsistency even spawned the notorious "Bomber's Law:"


However, Bomber's 2013 went a long way towards disproving the law. He finished top 8 in two straight WCS Korea seasons and became the Starcraft 2 World Champion with his victory at the Season 2 finals. His top four finish at Blizzcon, only losing to eventual champion sOs, cemented his place as one of the top players of 2013.

Bomber's transition to WCS America following his 2013 performance brought both excitement and expectations from fans. Instantly he was considered one of the front-runners to claim the Season 1 prize. Bomber did not disappoint fans in the qualifiers, advancing through the Ladder Wildcard Qualifier and dominating Jim 3-0 in Challenger League to advance to Premier.

The first group stage pitted him against Jaedong in easily the most anticipated match of the Ro32. With an easy 2-0 victory, Bomber looked poised to cruise into the Ro32. But a funny thing happened on the way. The underdog Protoss player Arthur caught Bomber napping and took a 2-1 victory, sending Bomber to the elimination match. Bomber even looked pressured by the Taiwanese Protoss Has, but managed to take a 2-0 victory. In the Ro16, a 2-0 TvT defeat at the hands of Polt created another blemish on Bomber's WCS America record. Bomber has been far from the unstoppable juggernaut some expected when he announced he would play in WCS AM, but he still has every chance to grab the Season 1 title.

Bomber has struggled somewhat in the TvP matchup in Premier League so far. A 2-1 loss to Arthur does not inspire an incredible amount of confidence in his ability to defeat a more solid Protoss like Alicia. However, Bomber's TvP losses this season have mostly come from all-ins. If he can safely get to a three base stage of the game, his incredible macro can overrun any opponent. TvP is his best matchup over the course of his career, and his SCV pulls are still lethal. Bomber is the favorite here based on past performances, but this will no doubt be a difficult match for him. Bomber will have to bring his best play if he hopes to defeat both Alicia and the Law.

Overall thoughts and Predictions: Alicia enters this match on a hot streak, but I expect Bomber to shut him down here. After some tense moments in the group stages I expect Bomber to have worked on being safe from any sort of blink stalker pressure and will be able to press games into the macro situations where he thrives. Alicia will take one of these macro games but Bomber will not be denied his spot in the Ro4.

Prediction: Bomber 3 – 1 Alicia

TaeJa vs. HyuN

by DarkLordOlli

The second series of the night features two mainstays of the international scene in 2013 in Team Liquid's Taeja and Roccat's Hyun. Neither player needs all that much introduction, as both have been competing at the absolute highest level for over two years now, earning their fair share of money. But even though they've had great careers so far, the recent months haven't exactly been a stroll in the park.

After heating up in the summer of 2013, Liquid`TaeJa went a on-six month money-making spree that netted him around $100,000 as he won five different tournaments. Almost predictably, TaeJa is going through a routine period of cooling down and wresting his wrists, tagging in his teammate HerO to be Liquid's main star in the meanwhile.

The extent of Taeja's wrist injuries is hard for us outsiders to tell, but he seemed to be in poor enough health to seriously consider retirement immediately after IEM Katowice (a tournament where he finished in the top four). Only after extended talks with TL and his family has Taeja finally decided to keep playing, albeit with a now more relaxed schedule.

One has to wonder if TaeJa has reached an Mvp-like turning point in his career. Mvp in 2011 was a monster, dominating the scene and looking like a player with no equal. Then, wrist injuries started to kick in, forcing him to become a different kind of player. From there on out, Mvp has been a cunning veteran, relying more on his strategies, series planning, and experience to win tournaments. The days where he just outmuscles people with better macro and micro are long gone.

Is that where TaeJa is headed? Maybe, maybe not. Where he stands gameplay-wise is hard to tell right now. He's 0-2 in ATC, but looked he looked strong in his WCS Ro16 group where he advanced in first place. His last two TvZ series were a 3-1 against Life at IEM Katowice and an 0-4 loss to Ragnarok in the King of the Iron online series. Yeah, we don't know to make of that. At least he's favored against HyuN in one aspect: He's 16-3 against him all-time.

Roccat.HyuN had a good 2013, making $50k dollars for himself and winning a championship at DreamHack Valencia. However, only he can tell us exactly how much of that money actually went to his bank account after the Quantic Gaming owner ran away with over 20k of prize money and overdue wages.

That forced HyuN to consider retirement at the time, but like TaeJa, he decided to stay the course. That's all thanks to the his fans and esports supporters in general, who chipped in selflessly with donations. Also, it didn't hurt that he found a new team in Roccat, one that seems far more reliable than Quantic. Even though Spider-HyuN's initial results for Roccat weren't the best (he admittedly stopped playing for a while after getting cheated by Quantic), he's picked himself right back up and looks to be the good ol' non-swarm hosting, roach loving Zerg we know.

While Hyun's macro-oriented, swarming ZvT is unfamiliar for many opponents, he hasn't had much success using it against TaeJa. This might be explained by analyzing their preferred styles in the matchup - Hyun sticking to his trusted gigantic roach/baneling attack waves and Taeja being a fan of tanks even when others choose the widow mine as their splash unit of choice. This time however, Taeja arrives in Germany with his aura of invincibility at an almost all-time low. This could be Hyun's time...

... but I'm still picking Taeja. 

Prediction: Taeja 3 – 2 Hyun