EPTRo32: Group G Preview
Polt, 
Courage, MajOr, 
MacSedCountdown: 0m 0s
by Darkhorse
In yesterday's Group F, TooDming became the first foreigner to reach the Ro16 after eleven straight Korean advancements here in WCS America Season 2. Now you could say things like, "There were three foreigners in the group so one had to get out," but hey – a win's a win.
Today's group is another one of those three foreigner groups with two Chinese players in MacSed and Courage battling the Mexican Terran MajOr to see who will be the next foreigner to advance into the Ro16. With Polt in the group, it is likely to be a battle for second place, but of course all three of the others would like to book their trips to LA for the live portion of the tournament.
The heavy favorite in the group has to be the Tactical Genius and sorta-American
CMStorm.Polt. While his hopes of a WCS America three-peat were dashed by his teammate Revival in last season's quarterfinals, Polt is still a threat to take the WCS crown in any season. It bears repeating that Polt is the only two time WCS champion across all regions, and should take a Korean-less group with relative ease.Of course, this does not mean that Polt is completely safe. As players like HerO and Jaedong can attest to, no one is safe in WCS America, even if they are multi-premier tournament winners. Polt doesn't necessarily have a "weak" matchup, or at least a matchup that would qualify as "weak" for the average SC2 progamer, but his TvZ has looked relatively weak since his loss to Revival in last season's Ro8. He subsequently was beaten down 4-2 by Jaedong in the finals of LSC3 and has lost important matches in online qualifiers to the likes of viOLet and Armani. If Polt can get over the TvZ hump in his first match of the night, he should most likely come out on top in this group.
The Chinese Zerg
ZOO.Courage will be the first player to challenge Captain America. Much like the other Chinese players, he doesn't offer us much data to go on as far as predicting his placement. Last season his ascension through WCS America stalled in Challenger as he drew one of the toughest opponents he could have in Axiom's Alicia and lost 1-3. This season he managed to 3-0 TheStC to advance to Premier, but that doesn't say much considering TheStC had been in poor form for some time and actually announced his retirement immediately following his loss in the match. The Chinese Zergs always seem to bring interesting builds to the table, and Courage will no doubt be looking to follow the footsteps of his Zerg teammate TooDming who advanced last night. The opening match will be an incredible challenge for Courage, as Polt's TvZ mixes brilliant micro with great multi tasking. If Courage hopes to win, he will likely have to put the pressure on Polt early and not let him get comfortable. Should he lose his first match, he has a huge mountain to climb, as MajOr is no slouch in the matchup either and Courage currently holds a dismal 1-8 record against MacSed in streamed matches.
Always one of the strongest players in the NA,
MajOr is now one of two remaining North American hopes to make the Ro16 of Premier League. The interesting thing here is that (dare I say it?) MajOr seems like a reasonable candidate to advance here. He seems to be in good form as he has carried Mexico into the Semifinals of Nation Wars II over strong opponents Finland and Canada and beat down KingKong 3-0 in Challenger to make it back to Premier. He had a tragic Season 1, in which he won his opening set in a shocking upset over Taeja but fell to CranK in the winner's match and lost the rematch to Taeja to fall out of Premier. He will no doubt be glad to avoid another three Korean group, and will be looking to improve on his Ro32 finish last season.MajOr He had a disappointing showing at LSC3, but he can make up for that and more by advancing here. The young foreign Terrans Neeb and MaSa were halted; the old guard of qxc and Illusion fell just the same. Can MajOr surpass them all and be the first American in the Ro16?
Not if
iG.MacSed has anything to say about it! The Chinese Protoss has, believe it or not, been one of the more consistent players in WCS America (a region where consistency is hard to come by). Last year he impressed by achieving two straight Ro8's in WCS, a feat not matched by any other foreigner. Last season he once again advanced to the offline portion with a win over his Ro32 group, but then fell flat in the Ro16 with hard losses to both Taeja and TooDming. MacSed hasn't missed the offline portion of the tournament in three straight seasons, showing that he really seems to handle the online Ro32 well.As usual with the Chinese players, it is hard to discern what kind of form MacSed is currently in. He has been a workhorse for iG in the Acer Teamstory Cup this season, where he currently holds a so-so 11-10 record. Other than that and a few Chinese cups, MacSed has been pretty quiet since Season 1. MacSed truly plays his own game, relying mostly on timing attacks and colossus builds in PvT and a wide array of two base aggression in his PvZ. His strong head to head record against Courage should give him confidence should the two meet, but his chances against the Terrans are harder to assess.
Overall Thoughts and Prediction:
Please. Polt is Captain America, the two time champ, and one of the biggest stars in the SC2 scene today. He can't possibly lose here, right? The melee to grab the second spot in the group should be brutal, but MacSed seems to be the most consistent and solid of the remaining three. Unfortunately for MajOr, I foresee him playing excellently but falling out of the group in a heartbreak loss. I'd like to see him prove me wrong, but I am calling yet another group going by without an American advancing past the first round.
Polt > Courage
MacSed < MajOr
Polt > MajOr
Courage < MacSed
MajOr < MacSed
Polt and MacSed advance.
