Countdown:


by Peanuts

At the end of two months, the first season of WCS Europe 2014 is drawing to a close. The ending is a mirror image of the previous season: after a long, grueling season, MMA and MC have proved they are better than the rest. Between them, they have won four GSL titles, eleven premier tournament trophies, and almost $700K in prize money. This is a true battle of legends.

Acer.MMA is a man who’s come back from the dead. After being one of the world’s most accomplished and venerable Terrans, second only to Mvp in 2011, MMA seemed to drop off the face of the earth in 2012. He fell in the first rounds of the MLG's Spring Arena (to today’s opponent, in fact), Code S, Code A, and IPL 5. Once a monster of GSTL, sniping any Zerg in sight, the player once called the heir to Boxer would soon find himself with no wins across two seasons of GSTL. Soon after, SlayerS would disband, leaving MMA teamless. After an initial burst of hope following his pickup by Acer, fans soon went quiet after a change in colors seemed to do little for MMA's fortunes.

But with time, MMA would rise again. From his new home at the Axiom-Acer house, MMA felt that old fire stirring inside him. A solid 2-2 record in 2013's GSTL Season 1 as well as some promising matches in ATC showed that MMA was finding his footing. Then, in the summer of 2013, MMA exploded. Ending WCS EU S2 in the top four, he then went on to storm every teamleague in sight. 31-14 in ATC S1 (2 all kills), 17-3 ATC S2 (1 all-kill), 5-2 in GSTL 2013 S2. He took out Snute, Flash, Ryung, and ForGG to make a semi-final appearance at Dreamhack Bucharest. And finally, after 537 days, MMA would finally take home a Premier title again, winning WCS EU S3 over MC in convincing fashion.

MMA is continuing his momentum in 2014. He’s managed to blitz through the group stages in WCS, only being slowed temporarily by Vortix in the Ro16. He regained his momentum by thrashing Snute in the Ro8, and taking out fearsome Premier League newcomer San in the quarterfinals.

For MC, the concept of a slump is totally foreign. Since the start of his career, the boisterous Protoss has never gone more than 2 months without hitting a round of 8. Though there have been dry periods in terms of victories, MC was, is, and always will be a serious contender for every tournament that he enters.

A 2 time GSL champion, MC matches MMA in the peak of his achievements. Veiled within his overall consistency, however, are occasional pitfalls. After winning GSL March in 2011, MC would find himself eliminated in the Ro64 in the GSL Super Tournament. In addition, he’s currently on a 686 day break since last winning a Premier tournament. The last time MC took home the gold, we were still playing Wings of Liberty, MC had to beat Mill.Stephano, Seed was a Code S finals class player, and American gas was under $4 a gallon.

Titles have eluded MC, but it hasn't been for lack of trying. 2013 was a good year for the BossToss. He hit the Ro4 twice and reached finals twice. Both times in the WCS EU Season Finals, he found himself narrowly missing out on a title (3-4 against Duckdeok, 2-4 against MMA). At IEM Shanghai and RedBull New York, he was swept in slightly less successful semifinals. The thirst is still there, and MC is looking for a win. Last season, MMA took it all to end his title drought. Will MC use this season as the chance to end his own?

Thoughts and Predictions: Both of these players are highly proficient players in the TvP match-up. MMA is sitting with a career 63% win rate in TvP, compared to MC’s 60%. Neither of them are at the absolute top of the match-up at the moment, but we can argue few players are as experienced as they are when so much is on the line. They've overcome all sorts of setbacks and disadvantages on paper to get here, and they'll surely bring their best play to WCS Europe's grand finale.

MMA is a player who forged his mettle in team leagues. He’s a player who learned to adapt to whatever situation was at hand, play to the map, and diversify his strategies to prevent snipers. In his current TvP, it shows. Like Bomber, MMA is a fan of early pushes. Often hitting with a clump of 8-10 Marines and a sprinkling of Marauders, he pokes to try and whittle away some Protoss army or do a touch of economic damage. However, if he can’t find an opening, MMA will wait and ramp up aggression with a consistent amount of drops. Seeking to constantly pull the Protoss army out of position, the Acer Terran ensures that major engagements happen on his terms, often forcing a surround or denying proper positioning with colossi.

MC is a player who lives by the old adage “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. Since 2010, MC has been relying on his micro to break his opponents with a variety of 2 base all-ins and timing attacks. Since then, while the specifics have changed, the core concept has remained the same. MC is a player who loves early aggression and transitioning into a gateway timing of some sort. With the recent prevalence of Blink all-ins, he’s often pushed the strategy to its limits, masterfully baiting mines and forming perfect surrounds. However, this midgame focus also makes MC prone to losing games that go longer than 20 minutes long. As soon as the super late game begins, he can start to slip.

With both MC and MMA having played TvP series in the semifinals, it will be interesting to see how they change things up for the finals. MC showed four different all-in builds against jjakji, and we have to wonder how many he has left in the bag. MMA has opened reaper in almost all of his games, giving him plenty of opportunity to scout any Protoss shenanigans. MC has seen those games, and will surely adapt to the information.

Both players are no stranger to a big stage. Historically, the record is 10-8 in MMA’s favor. Both are in top form. The games will be hard to call, but the answer seems to emerge as you scrutinize each player’s style more and more. MC has a bag of tricks dating back to 2010, and MMA has seen all of them. Safe, standard play with touches of aggression is almost guaranteed to slowly breakdown the GEM Protoss. All MMA has to do is scout, defend, and attack at the right times... Well, it all sounds so simple on paper. MC will try to show MMA that knowing is just half the battle.

MMA 4 - 2 MC

Countdown: or whenever EU ends.


by Darkhorse

The first season of WCS America 2014 culminates with a finals match-up that few expected to see at the start of the season. From a field that initially included players like Polt, HerO, Jaedong, TaeJa, and Bomber, it is PkD.Oz and Roccat.HyuN who have persevered until the very end. Triumphing over both world class opponents and career related drama, they will now fight to be the first WCS America champion of the year.

PkD.Oz was one of the three players that was released by Evil Geniuses after EG-TL's Proleague venture came to an end, and he spent a lengthy period of time as a teamless free agent. However, Oz's performance this season has proved that his skill or drive to succeed did not declined as a result. Playing out of the Incredible Miracle house (thanks to head coach Hirai's kindness), Oz has kept up the kept up with a Korean training regimen while competing in the WCS America region. It's helped him make one of the best runs of his entire career, improving on last season's top four finish to reach the finals.

It will be Oz's second finals appearance in a premier tournament since last year's IEM Shanghai. Back then, Oz completely failed to rise to the occasion, losing 0-4 to Revival. In the semifinals of WCS America, Oz was able to exorcise those demons, defeating Revival 3-2 to reach the finals. After six top-four finishes in premier tournaments in his career, Oz is hungry for his first major championship. He has all the experience he needs, having played in just about every major competition in the history of StarCraft 2. He knows what it's like to reach the finals and feel the crushing disappointment of defeat. He knows that it's time to win.

Roccat.HyuN faced team troubles that dwarfed the struggles of the long-teamless Oz. After getting cheated out of over $20,000 by former team Quantic and getting hung out to dry, it's not surprising that HyuN even considered retiring. And that was just three months ago. With the help of the community, his fellow progamers, and Roccat, Hyun has pulled himself out of a difficult situation and made a furious comeback. He has easily topped his previous best WCS America finish of Ro16 and is now one series away from winning the championship.

As a Code S finalist and a Dreamhack Champion, there's was no doubt that HyuN was an extremely good player. However, in his run up to the WCS America finals, HyuN is showing the Starcraft world a new peak in his career. He ZvZ'd his way through the Ro32 with wins over Revival and Byul, overcame long-time nemesis for the first time ever TaeJa in the quarterfinals, and crushed Alicia 3-0 to reach the finals. The "best Zerg" picture being as cloudy as it is right now, a championship for HyuN would shoot him straight to the top of the discussion.

Oz has played 3 PvZ's over the course of this WCS season. Two of those series came against Nestea in the Ro32, where Oz showed he was easily capable of handling Nestea's predictable mass-mutalisk style. That will be a useful skill against HyuN, who is very adept at making jarring switches to mutalisk tech to catch his opponents off guard. While Oz played well against "the Creator of the Universe," he will have to play even better against HyuN, who is undoubtedly playing at a high level than Nestea right now.

The other PvZ victory for Oz came just yesterday in the semifinals where he defeated Revival 3-2. The series was a hard fought, scrappy affair, with both sides showing sloppy play at times. However, Oz was able to come out with a win, using a variety of strategies to secure victory. His ability to defeat Revival's unique brand of swarm host play -- one supported by mass roaches and corruptors -- was particularly notable. Also impressive was Oz's play on Alterzim, a tooth and nail fight in the dirt that demonstrated Oz's ability to think fast and stay calm in chaotic games.

Hyun's ZvP has been up and down throughout the season, but his 3-0 sweep against Alicia suggests that right now, he is in remarkable form. His trademark style of endless roach-hydra waves should serve him just as well against Oz as it did against the Axiom Protoss. Though it's a predictable style, even a top KeSPA lke herO had trouble holding it off at the IEM World Championship. HyuN doesn't care if Oz sees it coming. He'll look to beat four GG's out of him with stellar macro and killer instinct.

Overall thoughts and Prediction: Hyun and Oz were actually both in Group A of the Ro16, but did not play each other as Oz quickly won the group while Hyun had to make his way through the loser's match. Oz's has a good PvZ track record in WCS, but he didn't seem particularly confident in his chances when interviewed after beating Revival, saying "everyone knows" that his PvZ is his weakest match-up.

Perhaps that underdog mentality is what he needs. Hyun's roach/hydra pushes may prove difficult for Oz to hold, even if he 100% knows they are coming. All-ins or cheesy builds might serve Oz well here, as HyuN has shown weakness to such tactics in the past.

Both players have worked hard to get here, and have surprised many with their performance to make the finals. But only one can emerge as the victor.

Hyun 4 - 2 Oz