EPT![[image loading]](/staff/Zealously/The_Big_One.jpg)
The Big OneBaseTradeTV has always been one of the key pillars in the StarCraft community when it comes to event and weekly cup coverage, never failing to put on a show. Having hosted numerous small tournaments and show matches in the past, no single one has been of this caliber. They are bringinng us a featured online tournament running over the course of 3 days featuring players like Life, Jaedong, Stork, MMA and Bomber among many others. Once again we get to see Stork in action against non-Proleague players and more of players like Solar and Byul. Will Stork be able to perform better than he has at previous foreign events? Lets take a quick look at the groups and we'll let you decide on who will advance.
Group A -
Bomber, 
ByuL, 
JYP, OzThe first group consists of a group of veteran StarCraft players, all of them with their competitive roots in the early WoL scene. Bomber, being not only the recent Redbull Battlegrounds champion but also WCS runner-up comes into this tournament as one of the favored players. Though he may have had an early downfall at Dreamhack Valencia, Bomber has never been one to get down on himself when there is a goal on the horizon, and he will surely be back in good spirits for this (very significant) online tournament. Byul, on the other hand, is someone who has never tasted the sweetness of gold. Being on team Incredible Miracle, Byul resides in Korea and nowadays participates in both GSL and Proleague, where he made quite a name for himself as the "Wrecking Byul" early on in the season. Team Spectre's newly acquired recruit, JYP, is an irregular competitor in the tournament circuit these days. This will be his first tournament since the pick-up and it would be a great initial statement if he were to make it out of this group. Last, but not least, we have Oz. Oz has proven over and over that he more than capable of making it deep in both offline and online tournaments as he has become a frequent high placer in WCS AM. If he brings his A-game and the unique builds he was once famous for, there is little doubt that he too is more than capable of making it out of this group.
Group B -
Journey, puCK, Jaedong, LifeGroup B consists of our first foreign contender; IvD Gaming's puCK. puCK, being one of North America's greatest, has sparked many upsets in the past. Being a regular WCS AM Premier league competitor, puCK is now faced with an even greater challenge as this particular group hosts two GSL players, one of them being Life. Life's tournament dominance, while nowhere near that of late 2012, is still a force to be reckoned with even though he never made it to bracket play at the recent IEM Shenzhen event. Coming into this tournament however, one could actually question Life's chances of making it far seeing as ever since his Dreamhack Bucharest win, Life has been dropping out of tournaments a little too early for a player of championship quality. With this in mind, Jaedong must be feeling confident in his chances in this group. After another semi-finals placing at IEM Shenzhen (losing to an in-form Taeja), Jaedong once again hunts for a tournament title. This may only be a small tournament but he will take any glory he can get. Journey may be perhaps the most unknown player out of all those playing. Being one of the 4 Terran players and an ex-SKT1 player, Journey comes in as perhaps someone who just wants to make big enough of a statement in order to be picked up by a team.
Group C -
SuperNova, TLO, Solar, HarstemSuperNova is another player not only looking for a Heart of the Swarm championship but also a team. Being a regular ro32 Code S player, statistically he should have a good shot at getting out this group along with perhaps Solar. Solar comes in as the group favourite as his recent monster run at IEM Shenzhen was more than excellent. Losing 3-4 to none other than Taeja in the finals is not a disappointing finish considering Taeja is currently still in God Mode. With that and Solar's performances elsewhere in mind,this group should be easy for the Samsung Galaxy Zerg player. TLO and Harstem would have to pull something incredible out of the hat in order to make it through against opponents of this caliber. While TLO is known for sometimes bringing out incredible play, he also carries the reputation of boping early and under performing. And of course, once again it is the "Year of Harstem" so perhaps he'll miraculously plow his way to the finals.
Group D -
MMA, Stork, HyuN, RevivalThe group of death consist solely of well groomed players. MMA the second place 2014 WCS finisher and past GSL champon, Stork one of the illustrious TBLS, Hyun the 2014 S1 WCS Champion and Revival the WCS AM 3-4th place finisher. MMA keeps proving over and over again that he's one of the top Terran players and a great addition to the Acer roster. Stork having had rather disappointing foreign results, still stands strong in Proleague and defends Samsung Galaxy's honor both there and in individual tournaments. Now that he doesn't have Proleague to think about, Stork may come into this with the right mindset and perhaps more prepared. Hyun's run at Dreamhack Valencia ended earlier than many anticipated, so picking up some extra cash here would not be too bad. Given his online prowess in the past, he will neither be unfamiliar with the format nor unprepared for the challenges it presents. His WCS finishes speak for themselves and so he has a good shot at making it out of the group. Revival on the other hand has seen less overall success as compared to his opponents recently. With a solid WCS placement he comes into this group as perhaps not the favourite, but it wouldn't be a surprise if he made it to the brackets.
Live report thread
Hype video by Temp0
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