WCS America Season 2
Premier League

Ro8 Recaps
Heart, Bomber, HyuN and Pigbaby advance

Ro4 Previews
Heart vs Bomber
HyuN vs Pigbaby

Brackets and standings on Liquipedia

Ro4 Countdown:

4 players down, 2 to go until we crown our WCS Season 2 Champion. One past title holder has already fallen in his match against the reigning champ, and we also saw one big upset in the final series of the evening. The prospect of an All Terran Final Four was also dashed, but we do get to see each race represented in the semi finals. Things heat up in California as we get ready for the final day of the season.

Heart 3 - 0 viOLet

In the first matchup of the night Axiom's Heart made short work of viOLet in a 3-0 sweep. Although the series looked like it would most likely be fairly close on paper, Heart's TvZ prowess can no longer be denied. He never lost control in any of the games, and viOLet seemed unable to rattle Heart with standard ZvT or a roach heavy style.

In game one, viOLet opted to go for standard muta/ling/baneling play, but Heart was all over him from the start. His multitasking and harassment was superior to viOLet's throughout the game, and his macro kept him ahead of his Zerg opponent in supply for much of the match. viOLet tried gamely to hold on, but Heart was able to take a few good engagements and push to win the game. In game two, viOLet decided to switch it up and try his luck with a roach/hydra composition that looked so fearsome against MajOr, but to no avail. Heart did big damage with drop play, and viOLet's push into the natural was far too impatient. The Zerg army was shredded by tank fire from the high ground, and Heart was able to counter push to win game two. In the final game of the set, Heart appeared to have an even easier time. After doing significant economic damage with his early six hellions, his macro was just too much for viOLet, and his push out across the map ended up just killing off all of viOLet's roaches and securing Heart the series.

Although it was predictable that Heart would have won this series due to the TvZ we have seen from him recently, it is hard to believe that he dominated viOLet so thoroughly. The road ahead isn't any easier for Heart, but his displays so far this season look promising. He has been one of the most entertaining players in Season 2, and it's unlikely that Heart won't have many more fans after this incredible run.

Alicia 2 - 3 Bomber

After five intense, all-out scrappy games, RedBull.Bomber finally claimed revenge on Ax.Alicia by defeating the Axiom Protoss. Both players were at each other’s throats the entire time trying to punish every minor mistake. In the end, after all the bizarre strategies and shenanigans, Bomber emerged victorious and moved on to the semifinals.

Clearly thirsty for blood, Bomber came out of the gates with guns blazing, and Alicia was determined to match his intensity. In game one, Alicia’s one colossus fake straight into storm proved too costly for Bomber, who overcompensated with vikings. Feeling confident, Alicia then went for a proxy 8-gate against Bomber’s CC on the low ground. What initially looked like a build order win somehow turned into an epic comeback for the RedBull Terran. Thanks to Alicia’s mis-micro, Bomber managed to stabilize and win with a huge 2-base attack with SCVs. In the next game, Bomber responded with a unique marine/tank push off a Gangnam Terran. Alicia held on admirably but Bomber had just a few too many units. Up 2-1, Bomber had a golden opportunity to close out the series on Alterzim but over-extend in one fight, allowing Alicia to tie up the series with a counter-attack.

For the second season in a row, the series between Alicia and Bomber came down to a final game five. In one bold move, Bomber caught the greedy Alicia off-guard with his early bio force and sniped the natural nexus. Accordingly, Bomber’s trade of army for economic damage prompted Alicia to go for the counter. But this time, it was Alicia who over-extended which ultimately cost him the series. Finally, after a hard fought series of hyper-aggressive games, Bomber pulled through to earn his first ever trip to the WCS AM semis.

Polt 0 - 3 HyuN

The defending WCS America champ, Roccat.HyuN made short work of CMStorm.Polt in the quarterfinals with a clean 3-0 sweep. Granted, Polt’s TvZ level has declined in recent times but not many would have predicted such a one-sided affair. Meanwhile, if HyuN can win his semifinal match against Pigbaby, then he is guaranteed to face a Terran in the finals. We’ll find out tomorrow if the Roccat Zerg can hang on to his WCS crown.

HyuN took an early lead in game one when his speedlings managed to cancel Polt’s CC and delay the Terran economy. He then capitalized on this lead by executing a perfectly timed out 2/2 roach/hydra attack to finish the job. On the following map, HyuN used a nydus to ferry roaches into Polt’s main while Terran was across the map. Polt failed to spot the nydus early on and that cost him the game. The third and final game can be summed up by Polt trying desperately to hang on against wave after wave of roaches and banelings. Each miraculous hold seemed to take a toll on the American hero until he could no longer bear the burden and had to gg.

Overall, HyuN showed some hyun-believable ZvT today – his builds were precise, calculated, and cleanly executed. He was very aggressive and applied constant pressure on his opponent, and as a result, Polt was never able to comfortably play his game.

Pigbaby 3 - 0 TaeJa

The end of the night could not have been more surprising as TaeJa was defeated by a resplendent Pigbaby in 3 straight games. Coming into the evening, almost everyone would have put their money on the King of Summer, who had won his past two tournaments in dominant fashion. It wasn't just the result that shocked the SC2 world, but the manner in which it was dispensed. In retrospect, we probably should have respected a former Kespa Protoss to come in prepared and play well, but it is generally tough for any Protoss to beat Taeja, let alone a teamless Proleague castoff. Pigbaby's stock has risen dramatically since his win last night, and it will be interesting to see if he can royal road his way to a WCS America championship.

The key unit throughout the entire series was unquestionably the observer for Pigbaby. In an effort to shut down Taeja's drop heavy style and widow mine openings, Pigbaby prioritized getting out a very high number of observers, which he would spread all across the map. This ended up giving Pigbaby a huge edge, as he was always on top of Taeja's drops before he could take damage, and never suffered that infamous defeat of PvT where your whole army starts to die from cloaked ghosts when you don't have an observer with your army. Game one was simply a matter of Pigbaby defending brilliantly until he had a strong enough army to engage. He was patient and picked the correct end game fight in order to push for the win. In game two, Pigbaby once again defended flawlessly and held on to an upgrade lead before pulling Taeja apart with an attack on the third and a zealot warp-in in the main. Game three saw Taeja make some good colossus snipes, but at the cost of a significant chunk of his bio. After all of Taeja's pressure was done, Pigbaby had been able to maintain a stronger army and was able to push for the win once more.

Not many people would have expected Taeja to go out 0-3 during the Summer months, especially after his performance a few weeks ago at Dreamhack. However, you cannot take anything away from Pigbaby, as he dominated the final series with solid and prepared play. Protoss players who have struggled against Taeja should take note, because Pigbaby put on a clinic in how to beat him last night: build 7 observers. The King of Summer is thus once again denied his Great White Whale: a WCS title.

You have to think that for Bomber, coming this agonizingly close to a third Premier Tournament title should feel familiar. But after over 4 years in the scene, those 2 tournament wins have come few and far between. For someone of Bomber's talent, that's nothing less than a disappointment. This is the furthest he's been since his personal sponsorship with Red Bull, and he's definitely one of the fan favorites left.

Fortunately, two of the players that Bomber seems to be unable to beat, Polt and TaeJa, have been knocked out in the other side of the bracket. That leaves Heart and one of HyuN and Pigbaby remaining.

For Heart, on the other hand, this is as far as he's come since 2012 MLG Winter Championships. He's never won gold, and he's never been considered one of the best players on the planet. After serving up clinic after clinic in TvZ, at the very least he's now one of the most exciting players in the matchup. Now, he has to prove that in the mirror.

While he was formerly a very cheesy one or two base Terran, he has now become a solid macro terran that relies on his mechanics and micro to squeak out wins. His games against XiGua in the Round of 16 will go down as some of the year's best, and it also displayed a new found resiliency. His inexperience at this stage of tournaments should be a concern, but it's not the only factor where he lags behind Bomber.

Upon first inspection, it looks like these two players are evenly matched in TvT, unfortunately, we must look at foreigner inflation (that is, how much your winrates are boosted by beating foreigners). Taking only Korean mirrors into account, Bomber has an impressive 66% winrate, while Heart bottoms out at 48%. The last time these two players met, Bomber cleaned house with 3 straight wins at Lone Star Clash. It shouldn't be indicative of how this match will play out, but it will certainly be in the back of Heart's mind.

The way I see it, Bomber will try to play with initiative while Heart will spend most of his games trying to macro (and throw in a cheese or two for throwback's sake). The former has a plethora of builds available while the latter has shed his one base ways. However, even if Bomber is able to take an advantage into the mid game, Heart has the micro and force of will to claw back from disadvantages. This should be the pattern that this series follows, but Bomber should be good enough to close it out.

Overall Predictions:

Bomber won last time, and I think Bomber will win again. He is a proven talent in TvT where he's beaten players considered among the best in the matchup. As for Heart, he is no slouch, but he hasn't had a memorable offline TvT win in a while. If anything, it will come down to his ability to keep his nerves in check and his knowledge of Bomber's builds. It's doable, but with 1 day between series, I don't think the Axiom Terran can prepare well enough. And yes, I did go one Bomber preview without mentioning his Law.

Oops.

Bomber 3 - 1 Heart

The defending champ rolls on, and now he faces a Protoss, which was once HyuN's famed matchup, mostly because of roaches. His ability to do more and get more value out of his roaches is unparalleled, and with the unit one of the cruxes of the macthup, it's understandable that he has had much success in it.

This season, HyuN has only played 1 ZvP, a loss to Alicia. However, he did look good at MLG Anaheim with victories against HuK, puCK, and Alicia, but he lost twice to Trap. At DreamHack Summer, he beat HuK but lost to Sjaak and MC. This is a cause for concern for his fans, as it appears that he has been experiencing trouble with top level Protosses that prefer to be aggressive. HyuN is at his best when he's able to split his army and use roach hit squads while dealing the killing blow with tech switches, so keeping him on the back foot and constantly forcing him to build units has been one of his clear vulnerabilities. However, he is also the most experienced player left in WCS AM, and that has to count for a lot. He is the defending champion so no one can doubt his ability, so it will come down to how well he matches up to his opponent. Against just about anyone, that means he is favored.

Proving that preparation is better than apparent talent or momentum in WCS events, Pigbaby's experience as a Proleague player on Jin Air has paid dividends despite all the doubts that people have with his playstyle. While he has often shown a more aggressive and all-in style in his games so far, he changed things up to beat TaeJa handily. He looked more like a Rain than a MC in his preference for knowledge through observers than risky map presence, and you have to believe that he'll be prepared for his next opponent despite the quick turnaround.

One of the most difficult things about predicting Pigbaby games is the fact that, aside from random qualifiers, WCS AM is his only tournament. This makes it impossible to know what his playstyle is going to be like, as a series or two is too few to determine how he tends to play. With no knowledge of what he looks like on the ladder, we basically have to take a shot in the dark in our predictions and hope we're right.

However, if one thing is for certain, it's that Pigbaby is good. While many still felt like he was lucky to make it to the Round of 8 on the back of all ins and foreigners, his victory of TaeJa during one of his peaks shows that he isn't a one trick pony, and certainly isn't here because of good fortune. Against Zerg, Pigbaby also has a love of timing attacks and trickery, but with only 7 PvZ series this year, Pigbaby could surprise us and change things up again. He has beaten iAsonu, XiGua, and Revival this season, so he's no slouch, but will he be able to handle HyuN's roach style?

Overall Predictions:

Out of all the players HyuN has faced recently, Pigbaby most resembles Trap. Known more for 2base timings and planned build orders rather than impressive macro, Trap surprised everyone by winning MLG Anaheim off the back of an impenetrable late game. The two Protosses have a lot in common, and Pigbaby should like this comparison. It might not have appeared likely at the start of the season that the former Jin Air man could win the season, but I expect him to come within an inch of making the Grand Finals.

Hyun 3 - 2 Pigbaby

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