EPTRo32: Group E Preview
HyuN, 
Jim, 
Heart, JaedongCountdown:
by Peanuts
Group E has the potential to be everyone’s least favorite group of the Ro32, with at least some portion of the Internet bound to be left in tears when it's all said and done.
The majority of fans will be pulling for
EG.Jaedong, the Tyrant-who-sorta-has-a-crown. Jaedong has had many near-successes in previous WCS seasons, and he could be primed to make another championship run if he's found his form again. Though he reached the finals of WCS America last year, he was taken out in a close finals by CMStorm.Polt in one of his five 2nd place finishes. Jaedong has won championships at NorthCon and Lone Star Clash since then, but there's no denying that those titles don't carry the same prestige as winning the WCS Premier League.Jaedong suffered an infamous loss against Taiwanese Protoss Has in last season’s Ro32, sending him down to the Challenger League before he could even glimpse American soil. As painful as that loss was, it may have been a much needed wake-up call for Jaedong. Since then, Jaedong has gone on to win the championship at Lone Star Clash 3, reached the top four of DreamHack Bucharest, and carried the load for Evil Geniuses in Acer TeamStory Cup with a 13-9 record (one notable no-show not withstanding).
Though Group E is filled with difficult opponents, Jaedong looks to be in good position as he starts his championship campaign. He has played well in ZvT in the past few months with a 13-6 record, while the famed JvZ is as strong as ever.
If JaeDong wins his first set, there’s a good chance that he’ll end up squaring off against
Roccat.HyuN, the defending champion of WCS America. Starting off in 2011 as a mainstay in online cups, HyuN continued to grow as a player in StarCraft 2 until he finally achieved his goal of winning a major championship at DreamHack Valencia '13. He hasn't neglected his old stomping grounds after making it big, and he showed us that his WCS America championship form hasn't gone anywhere by racking up a boatload of money in online tournaments in between WCS seasons. Most notably, he won FragBite Masters Spring, taking home the $12,000 grand prize. Having played (and won!) so many games against high caliber players, HyuN is primed and ready to go in WCS America. With a 56-22 (71.79%) record against Zerg in the past 2 months, HyuN is aptly described as a master of ZvZ. Considering that his main competition in the group will probably be JaeDong, it’s almost certain that sparks will fly. The Roccat Zerg's recent stats in ZvT (43-19) and ZvP (70-22) are just as impressive, and there's no one he should fear in this group.
HyuN will find himself paired up against one of the top players in all of China,
iG.Jim. Jimcredible, as he was once coined after an all-kill of EG in ATC, has consistently proved himself as a threat to foreigners and Koreans alike. The Invictus Gaming Protoss has had a tumultuous career in WCS. He had a marvelous Premier League debut where he finished in fifth place, but since then things have gone downhill. A harsh draw against newcomer Bomber saw Jim get knocked out of Challenger League earlier this year, but Jim has bounced back by immediately re-qualifying all the way from the bottom. While he's been missing in WCS America, Jim has been getting plenty of good results in China: 1st place G-1 League, Ro4 WCG, 1st place RedBull ECL, R08 StarsWar S3, 1st place CPL. Calmly dismantling is a good way to describe Jim's style of play. Favoring early-mid game aggression, Jim likes to apply pressure on his opponents while still keeping options open to transition into the late game. Of course, he's more than happy to go for the all-out all-in if the opportunity presents itself. Though Jim is historically a strong PvZ player, lately the matchup has been giving him some problems. Also, his performances in ATC -- the tournament where he regularly plays against international opposition -- have been slipping, with a 6-8 record across the season.
Rounding out this group is Axiom's
Heart, who is playing the wildcard role that he must be very accustomed to by now. Ever since he debuted in Code A with consecutive proxy-factory all-ins against Bomber, Heart has been on the radar as a player who's very capable of causing upsets. Though he's rarely seen on the podium, you can rely on Heart to get a decent result at any tournament he goes to and surprise a few people on the way.Having transitioned from being an all-in heavy player in WoL to a macro-game player in HotS, Heart is not a player to be underestimated. He plays the methodical, grind-it-out style of Terran very well, and could prove to be an unexpectedly difficult obstacle for HyuN and Jaedong to overcome.
Predictions:
Jaedong > Heart
HyuN > Jim
Jaedong > HyuN
Jim > Heart
HyuN > Jim
JaeDong and HyuN advance.
