EPTAM Challenger: Day 1 Preview
by Darkhorse
WCS America is a tournament that wastes little time, as only two days after the qualifiers concluded the Challenger League matches are scheduled to begin. As always, Challenger League in WCS America is a melting pot as far as participating players, as representatives of the US, Canada, China, Korea, Taiwan, and Australia will be in action over the three day event. One pressure packed best of five will determine the fates of these 32 players, as half will move on to greater heights in Premier League while the others will be forced to try their luck next year.
EG.HuK vs 
IvD.Phog:Believe it or not, Huk has been one of the most consistent players in WCS America. Over the five season existence of the league, Huk has been a Premier League participant in all five. Unfortunately, Huk has been eliminated in the Ro32 in three of those five seasons, and has never cracked the Ro16 in his two tries. Try as he might, Huk just can't seem to break out in WCS, despite pulling off some truly impressive victories in Premier League over the past year.
While Huk has struggled in Premier, his five season streak should tell you that Challenger League hasn't been as much of an issue. Over the past month in the PvZ matchup Huk has been solid, defeating every single non-Korean challenger he has faced including players like Snute, TooDming, and TLO. Huk should be one of the better contenders from North America, and he should be able to get back to Premier for his sixth straight season.
Huk's opponent phog is one of several up and coming North American Zergs, but he hasn't made a big impact upon WCS. In fact, this is the first season that he has managed to make Challenger League after trying in every season thus far. Besides being on one of the stronger North American teams out there, there isn't much notable about phog at this point. As for his past results, phog's two victories over Huk in Copa America Season 1 about a month ago should give him some level of confidence heading into this match. Despite that, phog will still be the underdog here against the more established and accomplished Huk.
Prediction: Huk 3-1 phog
Ax.CranK vs 
ShanaMatch two looks to be one of the more lopsided affairs of the night, as the fearsome Korean Protoss CranK will take on the unknown amateur Chinese player Shana. CranK has been a solid player in WCS, having had several strong finishes including one stint in the top eight back in Season 1 of last year. However, he did have his worst showing in WCS yet last season, as he failed to make the Ro16 for the first time ever in the tournament. With a good draw here, CranK is likely primed to make another run at Premier League and get back to the top 16 where he belongs.
This is looking like a massive uphill battle for Shana, but I want to give him credit. He managed to make the final of the WCS Qualifier for China where he lost to iAsonu. Following the unfortunate incident of iAsonu being suspended from WCS due to win trading with fellow Chinese pro XY, Shana was given the chance to fight for the spot with the other semifinalist from the qualifier. Shana won, and will be playing in most likely the biggest tournament of his life. The scenario in which he got the spot is unfortunate and the opponent that he drew is one of the most difficult in the tournament, but he should be proud to have made it into Challenger League.
Prediction: Crank 3-0 Shana
coL.hendralisk vs ViBEIn the grand tradition of WCS America Challenger League, two fine North American Zergs will be pitted against one another where only one can move on to Premier. It is a sad incident when it occurs, but there is no way around it. For the second straight season, this ZvZ includes hendralisk, who managed to 3-0 Scarlett in last season's Challenger utilizing clever builds and well thought out strategies. hendralisk has been a North American player on the rise, with solid performances at Red Bull and in pool play at MLG Anaheim. He has proven his ZvZ to be quite proficient, and he should be confident heading into this match.
hendralisk's opponent is the former ROOT player, ViBE. Anyone who has followed Starcraft II's North American scene for any length of time knows ViBE, as he is a veteran who has long been considered one of the stronger American players. Although he has made recent appearances at tournaments like Red Bull and MLG, ViBE has yet to make a significant splash as his MLG games (like all of the open bracket) were not broadcasted, and he was knocked out of Red Bull Atlanta fairly early by Bomber. In ZvZ, ViBE has always seemed like someone who can take sets off of nearly anyone, but has lacked consistency. This match should be back and forth and exciting, but only one player will advance.
Prediction: hendralisk 3-2 ViBE
EG.Suppy vs Sol.GuitarcheeseFor part two of our two course meal of North American ZvZ we have the lovable Suppy taking on the up and coming Guitarcheese. Suppy is one of the best players in the United States right now if not the best, but unfortunately this has mostly meant several late tournament/qualifier eliminations for Suppy at the hands of other top North Americans such as Scarlett. He has been one of the few Americans to find some footing in Premier League, but after a promising 3-0 of aLive in last season's Challenger, Suppy fell out of Premier quickly with two losses to Arthur. Suppy's ZvZ is strong, but he needs to be wary of this matchup if he hopes to reach Premier League for his fourth time.
Guitarcheese is Suppy's Challenger League opponent, and although his name doesn't carry as much weight as his EG adversary, he is a player that should not be overlooked. Last season, Guitarcheese was a fairly heavy underdog after being drawn to face the Taiwanese Zerg Sen in Challenger, but he showed up ready to play. In a nail bitingly close series, Guitarcheese narrowly lost 2-3 and was forced to try his luck in the Challenger qualifiers once again. This season he is back, and he is ready to show off the ZvZ that gave Sen so much trouble in last season's Challenger. Expect another close series where either player could seize the opportunity and claim victory.
Prediction: Suppy 3-2 Guitarcheese
Fnatic.Neeb vs BailsThe final match of Challenger League's first day in Season 3 will feature two Americans battling in a TvP. Our Terran challenger Neeb has been one of the pleasant surprises of WCS America thus far. Neeb (who is for some reason still on Fnatic's Academy team seriously guys give him a promotion) has made the last four seasons of Premier League, and even made his first Ro16 in Season 1 when he qualified for the offline portion of the tournament in Germany. While he won't be able to show off the TvZ that has put players like Revival and Check on the ropes, Neeb is no slouch against Protoss either. This matchup is not an easy one to predict, but I think it is safe to call Neeb the favorite to advance back to Premier League.
The American Protoss Bails is Neeb's opponent and is making his second Challenger league attempt this year. Although he lost to Huk 3-1 and did not make Challenger in Season 2, Bails has looked impressive throughout the WCS America Qualifiers. He managed to reach the finals of the first qualifier where he unfortunately lost to Scarlett, but he was able to rally and qualify through the second qualifier losing only two maps. There isn't much recent data on Bails' PvT, but he is here to make Premier League, and he won't be intimidated by an opponent like Neeb.
Prediction: Neeb 3-1 Bails
