WCS Europe 2014
Season One

Brackets and standings on Liquipedia

VODs on Youtube

As the Challenger League qualifiers begin and we start the great WCS cycle all over again, we decided to take a look back at the saga we watched unfold over the course of three months. Yes, it's recap time.

In lieu of a more weighty tone, we decided to just go with whatever stories and moments we thought would be the most fun to retell. After all, isn't that what we're all here for in the first place? We hope you enjoy our assorted recollections of WCS Europe Season 1.

Hail To The Boss-In-Chief

by XXTN

On Sunday, April 13, 2014, the Protoss President reigned supreme in Europe as he ended a 2 year championship drought. That’s 686 days since his last premier tournament win at Red Bull Battlegrounds. To put this in perspective, Stephano was still on Millenium, The Avengers was playing in theatres, and Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus were still somewhat normal.

In retrospect, MC has always shown a pattern of falling into a slump, only to resurrect and win a tournament despite the odds being stacked against him. After finishing 2nd in NASL S1 in 2011, MC faced the first real adversity of his burgeoning StarCraft 2 career, dropping down to Code B in September and finishing a disappointing 6th at MLG Providence and 3rd/4th at the Blizzard Cup (by his standards at the time). But with the start of 2012, MC went on a tear between January and July, winning HSC4, IEM S4 WC, and Red Bull Austin. MC has limped out of the early rounds of countless tournaments with his pride wounded, only to come back with a fury in the next competition.

Following his departure from SK Gaming, MC was posting subpar results in the early months of 2014. Although MC snatched 2nd place at the relatively easy IEM Sao Paulo, he fell in the Ro16 at IEM Cologne and bowed out in the first round of the IEM World Championship with a 1-3 loss to San. Perhaps fatigued from too much travel, MC showed poor decision making and sloppy control that was uncharacteristic of a man who typically thrived under the spotlight.

Given those results and his lousy form, many of us found ourselves saying that MC had no chance. But at the same time, we still believed somewhere in our hearts that MC would do what he does best – overcome the impossible and win. Which is exactly what he did at WCS Europe Season 1.


After coasting through the Ro32 and barely squeezing past the Ro16, MC cheesed his way past Stardust in the quarterfinals with a score of 3-1. He would go on to face jjakji who came off a 3-0 sweep of Vortix. With a combination of MC-esque timings and a proxy oracle in Game 4, MC crushed jjakji 3-1 and found himself in a rematch of last season’s finals against MMA. Showing us he could win with timings as well as macro games, MC dethroned MMA with a 4-2 score and proved all his doubters wrong.

Throughout the tournament, MC stuck to his signature style of prepared builds, incisive timing attacks, and sheer brute force. If MC's killer instinct had seemed dulled in the months leading up to WCS Europe, he went straight for the throats of his opponents once he reached the quarterfinals. For example, he cannon rushed Stardust on Yeonsu, and then built double proxy-gates in Stardust’s main the very next game. Against jjakji, MC demonstrated his knack for two-base timing attacks; he busted the natural with a Voidray-gateway all-in on Habitation Station and then shredded jjakji apart with four Colossi on Frost. What’s scary is that even when players knew the all-ins were coming, MC just didn't care and carved his way through their defenses with pristine control. Finally, MC showed us he can also play long macro games in his grand finals series with MMA. In games 5 and 6, MC showed great strategical prowess as he took smarter fights and deflected all of MMA’s drop aggression with perfect storms and army splitting.

Though occasionally inconsistent, MC has proven time and time again that he can recover from a slump and overcome any disadvantages he has on paper. His hyper-aggressive play style can make or break him, but that’s something we’ve come to expect from, and even love about MC. Now with a WCS title under his belt and 2000 extra points, MC has become the #2 ranked player in the world and has re-established himself as a dominant force in HotS.

Savor this one while you still can MC... because you’re heading into Dreamhack Bucharest with a huge target on your back. I pray that WCS Europe S1 was just one stop on the ascent of a very tall mountain. Good luck Mr. President!

The Times They Are A Changin'

by peanuts

All throughout WCS Europe, we repeated countless times that it had been some 650+ days since MC had won his last major title at Red Bull Battlegrounds: Austin in 2012. In fact, we just did it AGAIN a few hundred words ago. To give everyone a sense of just how long it has been between titles for MC, we've compiled a snapshot of what the SC2 scene and the greater world looked like around the time of MC's last championship win:

• Mitt Romney won the Republican primary for the US presidential election.
  
  
• To reach the finals of Red Bull Austin, MC had to beat Mill.Stephano.
  
  
• Mvp had just recently defeated Squirtle 4-3 in one of the greatest GSL finals of all time.
  
  
• SaSe and NaNiwa were training at the Startale house in Korea.
  
  
• MLG announced their partnership with KeSPA, and the invitation of several KeSPA players to a special tournament at MLG Anaheim.
  
  
• Battleship was playing in theaters.
  
  
• With a couple weeks left in the regular season, the NASL Season 3 division leaders were: PuMa, DeMuslim, HuK, LoWeLy, and Puzzle.
  
  
• The schedule for the final Brood War OSL was announced.
  
  
• Slayers-Evil Geniuses had just announced their partnership for GSTL Season 2 (which started the day after Red Bull).
  
  
• Carly Rae Jepsen's Call Me Maybe reached #7 on the Billboard Hot 100.
  
  
• ByuN was showing up for Prime's matches in GSTL and actually playing.
  
  
• Oz had just left FXO and joined Fnatic. He's been on two more teams since.
  
  
• The transitional season of Proleague had just started, with both StarCraft 2 and Brood War being played.
  
  
• oGs announced they were disbanding. TSL, NS HoSeo, SlayerS, fOu/FXO, Azubu, STX SouL, and Woongjin Stars have all subsequently disbanded.

MMA Doesn't Know What To Do With His Face

Besides his great performance to reach second place, the second most noticeable thing about MMA at WCS Europe was the number of times he got caught derping for the camera.



Sorry, MMA. If you had won, we'd be mocking MC here instead. Still, there's no reason to feel bad. This is just one more thing you have in common with other great champions.

Series Of The Tournament: Kas vs Grubby

by Waxangel

In a tournament that was decided in a live Bo7 between two legendary champions from Korea, the actual best series occurred in an online Bo3 between two, uncrowned European pros. Kas and Grubby met in the loser's match of Group F in the Ro32, with the loser facing elimination from the tournament while the winner would receive one more chance at reaching the Ro16.


It wasn't what anyone would call a pretty series, or a demonstration of technical perfection. No, it was a scrappy, no-holds-barred, bare-knuckle brawl in the dirt.

Luckily for us as viewers, those are the kinds of games that are often the most exhilarating to watch. Advantages and momentum became meaningless concepts as the balance of power wavered like a colossus on one leg. Each battle, drop, backdoor attack, or secret expansion seemed like it could be a game deciding move, until a riposte from the other player sent the game back into chaos. Even when both players took a breath to try and settle things down, it wasn't long before the games plunged back into mayhem. And this went on for all three games. In the end, the games were decided by whoever could find a way to rein in the insanity for just a few moments and carry out a plan.

This was a great series, worthy of being played for a fabulous prize in front of a fanatical crowd. But we'll happily settle for having been able to have seen it at all.

International Flavor

by Zeweig

WCS Europe has always had a wide variety nations participating. It's not just players from the many countries in continental Europe – players from as far away as Israel, South Africa and South Korea have tried to qualify.

This first season of WCS Europe 2014 was extra special as a total of eighteen countries were represented in the Challenger and Premier Leagues, making it the most international WCS event to date. That's even more countries than at WCS Europe 2012, where diverse representation was an explicit goal. In contrast, the famed melting pot of WCS America featured just nine different flags last season.

A special shout-out goes to newcomers ABomB and StakimaN, who managed to fight their way into the Challenger League and allowed Ireland and Bulgaria to join the WCS Europe family.

Excerpt From Mr. Chae's Diary: April 11, 2014

by Waxangel Mr. Chae

Dear diary,

I've always considered my ability to stay calm in any situation to be my greatest strength.

For instance, that time Sniper won Code S – now THAT was a disaster. But I kept my cool, gathered whatever footage I could of our historic finals in the United States for marketing purposes, and stayed the course until Sniper and BL-Infestor mercifully passed into history.

When that doofus PartinG conspired to draft himself, Life, INnoVation, and Flash into one Ro16 group, I didn't despair. I turned lemons to lemonade, pushed INnoVation as the unstoppable machine, and set up the back story for Soulkey's dramatic win. Then, I quietly removed group selections entirely a year later.

I've steered the GSL through a great many other hazards during my time at its helm. Which is why lately, I was surprised to find myself fretting so much over a little detail in the Global Tournament.

God knows we couldn't afford to waste travel and board on international players. We simply wanted players like TaeJa, INnoVation, and MMA back in a GSL studio. An online qualifier on the Korean server – good luck with that! As for the invitations given to the finalists of each WCS region, there was no chance of a foreigner making it with NaNiwa and Stephano retired. The plan was foolproof.

Then, Snute won a small European cup against HyuN. VortiX won an online cup against jjakji. Welmu all-killed a line-up consisting of some of our former Code S players in a clan war. Even after so many years and so many ordeals, I found doubt seeping into my mind. And because of foreigners! I am embarrassed to admit it, but it is true. I even caved into the temptation to watch the quarterfinals of WCS Europe. To see if everything would unravel.

Of course, everything ended up going as planned. jjakji destroyed VortiX. MMA crushed Snute. San flattened Welmu. Crisis – could I even call it a crisis? – averted.

I suppose I am not as calm and collected a director as I thought. Though I am disappointed in myself right now, at least I have learned a lesson. Next time, if there is a next time, I will not doubt the outcome.

Young Love Blossoms In The Spring

The best subplot of WCS Europe was not one of vengeance, redemption, or even triumph.

No, it was one of love.

Best On The Mouse, Best On The Mic

Man, does MC have a way with words. Not only was he the best player in WCS Europe in terms of in game performances, but he killed everyone on the mic as well. Here's MC explaining his unorthodox colossus-timing attack to an appreciative ToD.


It's clear that ToD knew MC was a funny guy who could handle himself on camera but he probably didn't expect to get carried for the entire segment and left in the backseat.

We're dying to see more of MC dishin' it on the mic, and it's almost a shame that MC will be defending his title next season as an active competitor. Almost.

Writers and contributors: Darkhorse, peanuts, stuchiu, Waxangel, XXTN, and Zeweig.
Photos: ESL.
Editors: Waxangel, Wunder.