WCS EU CL S3 Day 1

WCS EU CL S3 Day 1 - preview

madals

United Kingdom624 Posts

July 28 2014 10:09 GMT

Tomorrow launches the start of WCS EU Challenger League S3. As with other seasons, I am going to be doing a brief write up of the games to start discussion going!

Remember, games will be streamed live here! Tuesday, Jul 29 4:00pm GMT (GMT+00:00)

Day 1 promises to be a hard fought start to Challenger. Some big names are already running and will be facing off against some new comers and also some people who have more recently risen to fame!

Slivko vs uthermal (ZvT)

Slivko made it into the challenger groups via the Wildcard qualifier - arguably one of the hardest qualifiers to get through. While historically his zvt is his weakest match-up, recently his practice and form are showing good things - up to nearly 70%. Notably, in the last few months Slivko has been able to take games off of MMA & GoOdy as well as beating uThermal the one time they met in March, 2-0.

uThermal is a dutch player who is certainly making much more of a name for himself. Recently, he has been really climbing the ratings by posting strong results. Also worth noting is his TvZ is currently VERY strong - 87.5% winrate in the match up. This isn't all against weaker players, he took a 2-0 victory over Liquid Snute in DH Summer and a 2-1 over Tefel at HomeStory CUp IX!

Stats
+ Show Spoiler +

Poll: Who will win?

uThermal (22)

65%

sLivko (12)

35%

34 total votes

Your vote: Who will win?

(Vote): sLivko
(Vote): uThermal

Namshar v TLO (ZvZ)

Namshar may not be a name familiar with many - he is a Sweedish Zerg player who had his first official game of SC2 in Mar 2013! Since then though, he has had a steady ranking. Importantly for him, his ZvZ is both his best matchup and currently his best match up. Revently, in ZvZ he has taken maps off Bly and paranoid to get through the wildcard qualifier.

On the other side, TLO is a name many will be a lot more familiar with. A staple of the Team Liquid line up, TLO is an established player. Currently, his ZvZ is a little on the low side statistically at 43.5%, but factoring in he took a game off Scarlett, hendralisk, miniraser and impact in the last couple of months it is little surprise his win % may be a little low.

Stats
+ Show Spoiler +

Poll: Who will win?

TLO (32)

73%

Namshar (12)

27%

44 total votes

Your vote: Who will win?

(Vote): TLO
(Vote): Namshar

Heromarine v Jjakji (TvT)

I am going to say it, THIS TVT IS GOING TO BE AMAZING. While the initial reaction may just be putting all your money on the force that is jjakji - lets look at some facts

Heromarine is an incredibly consistant player, his win % for each match up are within 1% of eachother with a 60% tvt winrate recently. Having played a lot of TvT in the ATC vs people such as innovation, ryung and taeja - this guy certainly knows his stuff. Back at HSC IX, heromarine faced off vs Jjakji and was able to take a game.

Jjakji on the other hand is on paper still the favorite coming into this series. A form of 71% vs Terran is a good place to be. Like Heromarine, he lost vs innovation in the ATC, but has been able to smash terrans in DH Summer. Jjakji will be looking to prove he is still a top contender in EU.

Stats
+ Show Spoiler +

Poll: Who will win?

Jjakji (22)

61%

Hermarine (14)

39%

36 total votes

Your vote: Who will win?

(Vote): Hermarine
(Vote): Jjakji

Sacsri v Bunny (ZvT)

Sacsri is quickly making a big impact on the international SC2 scene. The mYi blessing is in full swing this zerg, although they have just picked up a new player... has it moved on? Statistically Sacsri is a boss - 76% win rate vs T at the moment with wins vs the likes of ForGG, ByuN etc etc all under his belt at some time. Not to mention he is currently on a winning streak!

Bunny isn't all out of tricks though - a 68% win rate vs Zerg and a solid performer for Team Liquid Bunny definitely has what it takes to put up a solid fight! He has recently takent games off of Scarlett, Armani and Nerchio as well as a close 2-1 vs Jaedong in DH Summer.

Stats
+ Show Spoiler +

Poll: Who will win?

Sacsri (18)

55%

Bunny (15)

45%

33 total votes

Your vote: Who will win?

(Vote): Sacsri
(Vote): Bunny

Starnan v MMA (PvT)

StarNaN, i'm sorry to report the stats are against you. A 42% win rate vs T currently isn't the best footing to be going up agaisnt such a strong Terran. However, all is not lost - in DH Summer StarNaN was able to take a game off of MMA and in the E-Sports SM GF he took a map off of ThorZaIN. There is definitely the capability for an upset here!

MMA on the other hand has the double edged sword of being the favorite. While the confidence will always be good, complacency certainly isn't. Sitting with a 71% win rate vs P with wins vs people such as MaNa, Daisy and Patience - things can seem good. However, he also dropped that game vs StarNaN in DH Summer - one of only 15 games he has lost to P in the last 3 months.

Stats
+ Show Spoiler +

Poll: Who will win?

MMA (28)

78%

StarNaN (8)

22%

36 total votes

Your vote: Who will win?

(Vote): MMA
(Vote): StarNaN

Remember, games will be streamed live here! at Tuesday, Jul 29 4:00pm GMT (GMT+00:00).

Casters (both of who will be in the studio this time!):

Madals
PengWin