EPTRo32: Group C Preview
Oz, 
qxc, puCK, 
viOLetCountdown:
by Darkhorse
With three consecutive days of games, week two of WCS America Premier League certainly has a plethora of exciting match ups in store. Group C opens the week with an interesting set of players including Oz, the Season 1 finalist looking to prove his run was no fluke, viOLet, who can finally put that American Visa to work by advancing to the offline Ro16, and two American players in puCK and qxc who should not be overlooked for advancement in this group.
As mentioned above,
PkD.Oz had an incredible run in Season 1 only to be defeated by Hyun 4-2 in the finals. Longtime fans of the ex-EG Protoss shouldn't be too surprised by his accomplishment, as he managed to make top 4 in Season 3 of 2013 with only a 3-2 loss to Polt keeping him from the finals. Oz certainly has an impressive pedigree heading into this season where he is probably a candidate to make another deep run. However, Oz did not look dominant in almost any phase of Season 1, and perhaps had one of the easiest paths to the finals of any player. He came out second in the Ro32 after losing handily to Alicia and narrowly defeating the much diminished Nestea twice. In the Ro16, he managed to avoid playing Hyun and defeated puCK 2-1 in the winner's match to advance to the Ro8. Though Oz picked up an easy win against Arthur in the quarters, he had to fight tooth and nail to get by Revival and reach the finals.While no one should take anything away from Oz's finals run, he is by no means a lock to repeat such a feat. Oz has been known to be fairly inconsistent (lest we forget he went from PvP savant to PvP dud in the short span of one fateful interview) and he will need to prove that he is able to consistently stay around the top of WCS America. The group draw here for Oz is decent and he should have a good chance of advancement. However, he is certainly in danger here. puCK gave Oz quite a bit of trouble in their Season 1 meeting, and viOLet's ZvP has been solid recently. It will be up to Oz to set the tone and establish himself as a truly dominating force in WCS America.
Oz's first opponent is the American Terran
coL.qxc, who is participating in his first WCS Premier League this season despite being one of NA's strongest Terrans for several years now. He has been frustratingly close to qualifying several times including last season, where he lost 3-1 to SeleCT in close games in Challenger and was denied entrance to Premier League yet again. However, this season he has finally entered the top 32 of the region, albeit under unfortunate circumstances (Minigun's health issues forced him to forfeit their Challenger match). qxc can usually be found in a variety of online cups and team leagues in his absences from WCS, and he has had a solid but not spectacular record there over the past few months. In all likelihood, qxc will have to over perform in a big way to advance here in this very tough group.qxc's first matchup against Oz will be a tough one for the American Terran. TvP is his lowest rated matchup and Oz is certainly no slouch when it comes to PvT. In all likelihood, that series will go to Oz, unless the veteran qxc has some tailor made builds to take out the season 1 finalist. After that match, things look a bit better for qxc. viOLet and puCK are both solid opponents to be sure, but qxc can certainly beat both on a good day. It's a tough group draw for qxc in his first Premier League, but fans of the Complexity Terran should not abandon hope. We may yet see qxc in the Ro16.
viOLet is the third player in this group, and seems to finally have his visa issues sorted out. He was forced to forfeit in the Ro16 twice in 2013 due to not having a proper visa to attend the offline portion of the tournament, which was a source of frustration for the tournament, the fans, and most of all, viOLet himself. Now that he has secured an athlete's visa, he will be gunning for the Ro16 and his first chance to prove himself in the offline setting in WCS America. He has looked solid in recent tournament play, with a top four finish at Lone Star Clash 3 and a dominating run through the Homestory Cup IX American qualifiers. Overall, he looks to be slowly returning to the the viOLet of old, the viOLet who won two Premier tournaments and was top four in four more in the span of only a year. As stated above, the peak of viOLet's career was incredible, and he was a threat to take almost any international tournament. However, his play has taken a dip since the vise issues he struggled with throughout 2013. His recent results show a possible return to form, and his win over Desrow in Challenger showed strong ZvP overall from the teamless Zerg, a matchup which he will have to rely on heavily to advance from this group. viOLet is showing stronger form than he has been in months, and it's about time that he makes it to the offline portion of WCS without a hitch.
One more game. One more game would have put
IvD.puCK in the Ro8 of last season. He defeated Hyun in a huge upset in the opening match of his Ro16 group, and managed to tie the series 1-1 with Oz in the winner's match. Unfortunately, Oz managed to take the narrow victory, and Hyun defeated puCK in the rematch to send him out just shy of making the quarterfinals. Those two opponents went on to be the finalists for Season 1 of WCS America, and puCK was forced to wait for next season. Well next season is here, and puCK has an early chance at revenge with Oz in his Ro32 group. He has been proving himself over time to be one of the strongest of North America's Protosses, and his PvP and PvZ match ups are dangerous to almost any opponent. He has a chance to prove himself as a title contender and potentially as the foreign heavyweight in the region with advancement from this group.The stage is definitely set for a puCK advancement here. HIs first match is against viOLet, and his PvZ is his highest rated matchup. viOLet plays a similar aggressive roach style to Hyun, whom puCK defeated last season, and I would give puCK the slight edge in the matchup overall. Should puCK make the winner's match, anything can happen. His PvP is solid and the matchup is volatile, so beating Oz is conceivable especially in an online setting. Their last meeting was close, and it would not surprise me to see a rematch go the way of the American.
Overall Thoughts and Prediction:
Call me crazy, but I have a feeling that puCK is going to show up in impressive form for this group. If he manages to make the winner's match against Oz it could go either way, and with a toss up, why not pick the American? If Oz does lose to puCK he should still manage to make it out of the group. viOLet has improved recently, but shouldn't be able to take down one of the best players in the region in the deciding match. As much as I would like to predict a qxc advancement, he will most likely fall to the fourth spot in this group.
Oz > qxc
puCK > viOLet
Oz < puCK
qxc < viOLet
Oz > viOLet
puCK and Oz advance.
