WCS America Season 2
Premier League

Previews and Predictions
Heart vs viOLet
Alicia vs Bomber
Polt vs HyuN
TaeJa vs Pigbaby

Brackets and standings on Liquipedia

Countdown:

It is a quick turnaround for players in WCS America, as the Ro16 ended just three days ago and the quarterfinals are about to kick off today. With such a short time to prepare, the match ups should be intense and unscripted. WCS America certainly looks different than its European counterpart, as Terran is the most represented race in the top eight, with four of the boys in blue making it to the quarterfinals. In the end, eight Korean players will clash in this the final weekend of WCS America Season 2.

The first match of the day in the quarterfinals is a TvZ showdown between two players you wouldn't have been surprised to see in the top four of a 2012 MLG, Ax.Heart and viOLet. Although the two are a few years removed from when they were at their peak tournament performance, both have experienced a resurgence as of late, as viOLet has benefited from getting an athlete visa in the US and Heart is showing a level of play that hasn't been seen from him in a long time.

Axiom's Heart was for a long time a middle of the road Terran player, and his results and recognition reflected that. Being a "pretty good Korean Terran" is generally fairly high praise, but Heart wasn't known for much other than perhaps being a bit more cheesy than other Terrans at the time. He had a few good MLG events in a row back in 2012, but other than that hasn't had a huge impact on a Premier Tournament. All of that seems to be changing this year, as Heart has dropped his cheesy ways and become a respectable and dangerous dark horse contender.

Heart earned his way to the quarterfinals with some strong upsets and electrifying performances. He was placed into what was unquestionably the group of death in the Ro32 along with last season's champion Hyun, Jaedong, and Jim. Heart started off the group by upsetting Jaedong, and played Hyun close in an exciting series only to fall in the winner's match. However, he was able to take down Jim in the final match to get to the next stage. In the Ro16, Heart gave his most memorable performance in recent memory, as not only did he beat Pigbaby, but he also pulled off the greatest comeback of the season and potentially one of the greatest comebacks in all of Starcraft II against Xigua in game two of the winner's match. It was comparable to Mvp's comebacks against Tefel and INnoVation, and that is high praise indeed.

The good news for Heart here is that his TvZ has been one of the most fearsome in WCS America this season. On his kill list just this year are fearsome ZvT players like Scarlett and Jaedong. However, if there is one type of Zerg player that Heart has struggled marginally against it is a roach focused ZvT player (TSL Zergs) such as Hyun. viOLet showcased some strong roach/hydra timings to take out MajOr in the Ro16, and Heart will have to be prepared for such a TvZ style (on very short notice, as he only found out his opponent 3 days ago). Heart is one of perhaps a few "invisible Terrans" but with TvZ like his he could very well be pushing himself right into the spotlight.

Heart's opponent will be one of the two Korean-adopted-Americans to be playing in the quarterfinals: viOLet. viOLet is returning from a bit of a hiatus this year, and is attempting to get back to the form that earned him a spot as one of the top five Zerg players in the world back in 2012. His first few appearances in LANs after his hiatus showed a lot of rust and unfamiliarity, as it seemed that viOLet had lost a step after being pushed out of WCS competition in 2013 due to visa issues. However, with a third place finish at the recent MLG Anaheim and now reaching top eight in WCS America, viOLet seems to be coming back with a vengeance.

viOLet perhaps hasn't done anything groundbreaking in this WCS Season, but he has done what is expected of a player like him. He beat puCK and qxc to win his group in the Ro32, and finished second to Taeja by beating MajOr twice in the Ro16. His MLG run was a bit more impressive as he managed to win his pool with a 6-1 record over some stiff competition, and ended up finishing third in a strong field. viOLet certainly has recovered well from being knocked out in Challenger at the beginning of last season. The question is, can he continue to improve at this impressive rate and advance past the Ro8, or has viOLet hit his current cap? Only time will tell.

Unfortunately for viOLet, ZvT has been a matchup that has not been kind to him in recent weeks. Over the past month, viOLet is a disappointing 3-7 in ZvT Bo3's (MajOr is the only Terran that viOLet has beaten, winning over him at Red Bull Battlegrounds and twice in WCS). viOLet looked a rung below Taeja in the Ro16, and Heart has looked merciless in this recent TvZ's. viOLet's roach/hydra play against MajOr did look strong a few days ago, but will it be enough to stop Heart?

Overall Predictions:

Both of these players are currently on a large upswing, as viOLet is looking to reclaim the form he had back in late WoL while Heart is skyrocketing to levels that he has never attained in his entire career. While both of these players have been playing well recently, the thing that I can make a judgement on is the specific matchup that will be played. With Heart's recent TvZ prowess on display and viOLet in a bit of a ZvT slump sans MajOr, I think Heart may very well reach his first ever WCS Semifinal with a win here.

Heart 3-1 viOLet

For the second season in a row, Ax.Alicia and RedBull.Bomber will face off in the WCS AM quarterfinals. The last time they met, Alicia managed to escape the ro8 with a narrow 3-2 victory after a tightly contested and quick series of games. To be honest though, those games were quite sloppy and underwhelming coming from two top tier players. Now fate has given them a second chance to make things right and show us what they’re truly capable of. Since both players are known for their inconsistency and volatility, I believe this will be a close series that can swing either way.

From Gangnam all the way to Los Angeles, Alicia has always been considered a solid player but never really a favorite to win a premier tournament. Nevertheless, the Korean Protoss finds ways to surprise us even when the odds and viewers are against him. In 2012, Alicia finished second place at three premier WoL tournaments (2 MLGs and NASL S3). Last season, he quietly made his way to the Ro8 and upset Bomber for his best result of 2014 thus far. Now he is in a position to make a second consecutive semifinal appearance – a result that will surely silence his critics. But despite his modest success, Alicia has yet to capture a premier level title. In this regard, Alicia reminds me of Squirtle: a talented Protoss who has the potential to be a threat but can’t go all the way. That being said, Alicia has played well throughout this WCS season and has a good chance to prove everyone wrong.

Alicia managed to advance from both group stages in first place and has only dropped two maps this entire tournament. It’s understandable that Alicia can be overshadowed by guys like Polt, HyuN, and TaeJa... but come on, seriously? To have those kinds of results and still not be considered a serious contender for the title… something has to be wrong there. Looking at the bracket, if Alicia gets past Bomber and meets viOLet in the semis, then we could be seeing Alicia again at the grand finals. I say this because Alicia defeated four Zergs, including HyuN and NesTea, on his way to the Ro8. However, now is not the time for Alicia to be worried about PvZ; first he must take care of his PvT.

Statistically, PvT is Alicia’s best matchup and there are four Terrans in the Ro8. While that may look favorably on paper, Alicia hasn’t played a Terran of Bomber’s caliber in a televised match for about two months. Therefore, his PvT style and build orders will be difficult to predict. Bomber has to expect the unexpected. The last time they played, Alicia won with a variety of all-ins ranging from voidray + gateway to mass gates off two base. As of now, it’s hard to say whether Alicia will stick to his timings or opt for more standard play. We could see anything from proxy stargate to mass blink stalkers to DT rush – anything to end the game quickly.

Alicia will certainly need to keep some tricks up his sleeve for a player like Bomber. Unlike Alicia, Bomber is someone who has been to the top and knows what it takes to get there. However, it has been a while since he won a major tournament. Bomber’s last taste of glory came in August 2013 at the WCS S2 Grand Finals. Since then, he has switched WCS regions from Korea to America but has yet to win a title under Red Bull. There were high expectations for Bomber to win last season but Bomber’s Law kicked in at the Ro8 and cut his campaign short. There’s just no telling when the Law will decide to rear its ugly head again.

Despite making it to the quarters, Bomber has shown some vulnerability in his recent matches. He had a disappointing 13-16th finish at MLG Anaheim and then barely squeezed through his WCS Ro16 group. Moreover, he doesn’t have many ranked TvP matches under his belt: the last good Protoss he played at a tournament was Stork at HSC. However, on the bright side, Bomber defeated Stork 2-0 with ease and also maintains a 63.4% win rate in PvT – his best matchup on paper. He also looked solid in his Ro32 group when he crushed Crank 2-0, but that was quite a while ago. A lot can change in a few weeks, and Bomber is notoriously inconsistent.

Bomber’s TvP reached it’s peak at the time when Protoss had no answers for the SCV pulls. This style suited Bomber particularly well because he likes to overwhelm his opponents with numbers alone. Actually, this is the way he likes to play in all three matchups. But as Protoss began to develop counters to the SCV pulls, Bomber initially struggled to adapt but eventually solidified his TvP. Now Bomber has learned to incorporate standard TvP with his own unique builds. Against Crank, he went for two early rax and pumped out a bunch of marines which caught the Protoss completely off guard. Bomber is someone who can go for early aggression or fast triple orbital, and he’s also not afraid to occasionally “pull the boys”.

Overall Predictions
This series is difficult to predict because both players have shown inconsistent results and unpredictable play. I believe it would be in Alicia’s best interest to keep the games short because Bomber will be very difficult to stop once he gets his macro going. Therefore, I would expect Alicia to stick with the same game plan from last season: hit the Terran with a flurry of all-ins and keep him on his toes. However, if Bomber has been preparing for this match, he will almost certainly be aware of this possibility. If he scouts well and can identify the builds, then I think he has a good shot of claiming revenge. Will history repeat itself, or will the Law hold off for just one more day?

Bomber 3 - 2 Alicia

Polt is in many ways one of the founding fathers of SC2. He is one of the few players still alive from the first class that played in GSL Open Season 1 back in 2010. He is the first to have ever used the 1-1-1 in an official match, his first ever official match against MC. Many thought he was the villain when he pointed out Jinro’s weakness in his GSL games. But it wasn’t arrogance as much as the blunt truth. Polt has always been a careful study of his opponents and his meta. That is why he found MMA’s weakness in the Super Tournament Finals. That is why he transformed himself almost overnight from a 1 base rusher to a solid 3 base Terran. It is also why he was one of three players to have thrived during the era of blink stalkers in 2014.

While other Terrans consistently died trying to emulate the impossible micro or instincts of players like Taeja or Maru, Polt side-stepped that problem altogether. Polt understood his own weaknesses as well as his strengths. Polt just doesn’t have strong macro. He has decent enough macro to stay in the game. His battle micro is okay to above average (He suffers in large engagements but is superb in small skirmishes). What Polt is amazing at is tactical decision making. He forces his will upon the field and controls his enemy with feints, backstabs, surrounds and clutch decision making. How many times have we seen Polt pull out a comeback after taking a disadvantage in the early or mid game? Over a dozen times in just HotS alone by my count.

It is that intelligence, that force of will that separates Polt from the rest of his race. Others have come close to this style (most notably Ryung on long maps like Whirlwind or Red City), but none have been able to do it so consistently at the top level of competition. And that is why it is so easy to root for Polt. He often finds himself on the losing side of the game early on, but he forces the game into a battle of army movement. A battle of tactical decision making. And he wins again and again and again leaving the spectators in awe of his tactical genius. Last year, several of his games were included in the Best Games of the Year, and for some reason they were mostly nervy base trades from a disadvantage, only to win.

It is that gameplay that captured our imaginations. But it was his out of game actions that have solidified him as the figurehead of WCS NA. He moved to America, plays in America, learns English. In his first few seasons of WCS NA he was playing SC2, going to school and had a part-time job for months on end. In interviews he answers questions with his infectious charm and smile. When he wins he waves the Navy Jack in celebration. He has even cast WCS live in English. What started out as ironic chants of USA USA has become sincere chants of love and admiration for a player that is amazing both in and out of game. He is a player, a personality and even casted on his birthday. He is the darling of America and the player America loves the most.

Despite that seemingly overwhelming popularity, he faces an opponent that entertains almost as much as he does. HyuN is a showman. He has been all his pro gaming life. In BW he had a famous ceremony that had him walking in drunk to group ceremonies. In SC2 he walked into ComicCon cosplaying as Spider-man (much to DRG’s embarrassment). While just a funny moment that was forgotten later, that moment of the two of them walking on has always struck me as an important revelation of Hyun’s character.

No matter the game, no matter the situation Hyun will always be Hyun. He is comfortable with who he is, where he stands and how he plays. It’s why he wears an assortment of crazy pants. It’s why when the entire Zerg world moved on in ZvP to Swarmhosts and Muta-Corruptor while he alone stuck to the mass aggressive tech switches of early HotS. When nearly every zerg player in the world plays muta ling/bling he stuck religiously to the roach hydra builds. When asked why, he said it was because he liked to play that way. He found it fun.

And Hyun can make it work. He forces it to work because his instinctual sense of what the opponent will do next is second to none. His macro is some of the best in the world. And most importantly, he has some of the best mini-map awareness of any zerg which, coupled with his instincts and macro, ensures that his mass tech switches are the most deadly in the scene. When Hyun plays it feels like a force of nature: an overwhelming cyclone that smashes everything in its path.

Overall Predictions:

This will be a battle between the old WCS NA Champion and the current WCS NA Champion. The fight between Polt’s resilience and intelligence against Hyun’s instincts and brute force. And a fight between two ex-teammates. The deciding factor will be if Polt has learned anything from his last fight with Hyun. If he has formulated a counter strategy then he can take it. If not, Hyun will probably move on to the semi-finals.

Hyun 3-2 Polt

The final match of the night looks to be the most one sided on paper as Liquid'TaeJa, who has won his last 26 Premier Tournament maps, is challenged by Pigbaby whose only appearances since leaving Jin Air have come in WCS America. And while Pigbaby has performed impressively here so far, almost anyone would look like an underdog against TaeJa in his current shape.

You must be getting tired of reading this every single time we write a preview about TaeJa but have you noticed what time of the year it is? I know, I know. We should probably find something fresh. Then again, if it ain't broke... And it most definitely ain't broke. The only reason why you are reading about TaeJa's summer over and over is because he just won't stop winning. In fact, he has not lost a game since the 10th of June when Innovation beat him 2-1 in the Dragon Invitational. A Dreamhack and a WCS America group later he has now amassed a 21 map winstreak. And to find the last best-of series that TaeJa has dropped to a protoss you have to dig even deeper: four months ago, sOs beat him 3-1 on his way to a 100k prize check. TaeJa is running hot and anyone he faces will have to play the series of a lifetime to take him down.

His recent success has even sparked the revival of a debate as old as StarCraft itself - "who's the best terran in the world?". Maru has had that title secured for a while now and even though that still seems to be the consensus in the community, TaeJa's runs have at least managed to make a few threads pop up, even though they are usually buried again rather quickly. But I guarantee you: if TaeJa keeps on going, more and more are going to appear. And they will stay open longer and longer.

A common argument against TaeJa is that he "earns his money by beating second class Koreans and foreigners". However, if we look at his recent victims - Jaedong, HerO, Oz, MC for example - these are players that can compete with the best, believe it or not. Yes, GSL Code S is and probably forever will be the toughest tournament in the entire world. But if TaeJa wins WCS America in the same fashion he won the last HSC and Dreamhack - and anything else would probably mean disappointment for him - he might have a legitimate say in the discussion. And a prime opportunity to prove himself one last time at Blizzcon.

You almost have to feel sorry for Pigbaby. Against anyone else left in the competition he probably would not have been as severe an underdog. He would not be favored against Hyun, Polt or Bomber but I could at least present a more positive outlook on the series if he was playing against either of them. As it stands, the only way I see Pigbaby taking any maps off TaeJa at all is if he manages to trick him. TaeJa, like many other terrans, has experienced his fair share of map losses to various protoss all ins. Summer TaeJa has an uncanny ability to know exactly what's going on at all times, but the way he simply chokes players to death in a macro game, especially in TvP, should scare Pigbaby a whole lot more.

To be fair to him though, I have to note that his performance in WCS America has been admirable so far. He only dropped two maps in total to reach Premier League where he went on to impressively beat Revival and Huk to take first place in a stacked group that also included Liquid'HerO. The only series he has lost ever since leaving Jin Air unfortunately happened the last time he played a terran - against Heart in the Ro16. Nevertheless, Pigbaby tenaciously fought his way through Oz and XiGua to reach the Ro8 after all.

Ironically, his win record over the last four months is almost as high as TaeJa's, the only difference being that Pigbaby has played a total of 10 series over that period... against TaeJa's 34 Bo3+ series. But unless Pigbaby's absence has concealed far greater strength than he has shown so far, his win-loss ratio is likely to suffer drastically at the hands of TaeJa.

Overall Predictions:

I don't think TaeJa loses a map. That may sound drastic and discredit Pigbaby's impressive run in WCS America, but it took a championship-winning sOs to defeat a much weaker TaeJa to ring a Bo5 off him. With HerO, MC, Patience, Oz and Arthur among his recent murders, I consider TaeJa to be much, much stronger now than he was at IEM Katowice and with all due respect, sOs is a level above Pigbaby. I'd be happy if he managed to give TaeJa a run for his money or even score an upset but I don't think TaeJa will falter.

TaeJa 3 - 0 Pigbaby

Writers: Darkhorse, XXTN, stuchiu, DarkLordOlli
Photos: ESL.
Editors: lichter.