EPTRo32: Group F Preview
Alicia, 
hendralisk, TooDming, 
IllusionCountdown:
by Waxangel
WCS America hasn't been kind to Americans thus far. Nor Canadians. Nor Chinese. Basically, it's been a pretty sucky tournament to be in for anyone who isn't a Korean progamer. Ten out of ten available Ro16 spots have gone to Koreans pros so far, with valiant challenges from foreign pros like HuK, Neeb, Jim and qxc ruthlessly stamped down.
Tonight, Group F will offer the foreigners a guaranteed spot in the Ro16 as lone Korean Alicia goes up against a multi-national coalition of TooDming, Illusion, and hendralisk. Chinese, American, and Canadian fans will look on hoping that their country might be represented in the live Ro16 (unless you're some kind of snooty elitist).
Our "villain" of the day is Axiom's
Alicia, who made a deep run in last season's Premier League to finish in fourth place. Though Alicia was swept 0-3 by HyuN in an underwhelming semifinal series, he had an impressive tournament run including wins over Oz, Revival, and Bomber. Going up against a semifinalist is a daunting task, but there is some encouraging news for the foreigners. With a 6-11 record ever since the end of WCS Season 1 – and a number of losses to foreigners sprinkled in – Alicia looks like he could be vulnerable. While we doubt that hendralisk, TooDming, and Illusion are rubbing their hands in anticipation, they might have just a little bit more reason to hope.
The challenger with the best chance could be Chinese Zerg
ZOO.TooDming, who debuted in WCS Premier League last season and reached an impressive Ro16 finish. Though TooDming dropped a series to Heart, he took care of business against MaSa and Scarlett to advance from the Ro32 group stage. Since then TooDming has stayed active in a variety of Chinese tournaments, splitting games against familiar names like Jim, Top, and MacSed.coL.hendralisk is the Canadian representative in the group, and he comes in with impressive credentials against North American opponents. He made a notable run through the NA qualifiers to reach Challenger, and then handed Scarlett a 3-0 loss to reach the Premier League. More recently, he blazed through the MLG Anaheim qualifiers to earn a seed in the pool-play stage of he tournament. Though hendralisk doesn't have a very extensive vs. Koreans record, it is worth noting that he racked up four wins for Complexity in a recent ATC match against Axiom, including a win against Alicia.The lone American in the group is also heading into the group with a head of steam. Illusion put in a very impressive Challenger League performance against EG's JYP, scoring an unexpected 3-0 sweep to earn his return to Premier League. Though Illusion has never been able to convert his talent into a deep tournament run in the past, American fans will be hoping this season is when he finally puts it all together.
Prediction: Come on, Koreans don't lose in WCS America unless you're Jaedong.
Alicia > hendralisk
TooDming > Illusion
Alicia > TooDming
hendralisk > Illusion
hendralisk > TooDming
Alicia and hendralisk advance.
but i have this bad feeling that toodming might advance
