EPTWCS America Group C Preview
by XXTN
In a surprising twist, iaguz and Jim - the two foreigners of group B - advanced over NesTea and Alicia last week. After an action packed July, August begins with a stacked group featuring Polt, MacSed, Oz, and Jaedong. Can the lone foreigner MacSed follow his teammate and fellow countryman to the Ro16? To do so, he would have to go through three Koreans who have all fallen just a few games short of winning a premier tournament this year.
Starring in today’s opening match,
CMStorm.Polt looks primed to snatch first place. The 2-time WCS champion has consistently been one of the top players in North America. Already with two consecutive top 8 finishes in WCS this year, Polt remains the favorite to advance from a very tough group. Since he got swept by HyuN in the quarterfinals of last season, Polt has bounced back well by taking second place at Battle Grounds Atlanta, his fifth runner-up finish in 2014. He then went on to win the first Battle Grounds Global Qualifier by taking down the likes of Suppy, First, Mvp, and Impact. Just yesterday, Polt advanced from the American Qualifiers for IEM Toronto. Now he will face yet another serious challenge from three tried and proven players… time to see if he’s up for the test.Arguably the smartest player in the game, Polt can adapt to almost any type of situation or style that he encounters. Polt is also a notoriously great problem solver, as he is known for his uncanny ability to play from behind. Having resolved most of the TvZ issues that have plagued him over the past few weeks, Polt looks all around very solid. Furthermore, the fact that there are two protosses in this group bodes well for our American hero, given that TvP is statistically his best matchup. For the past few months, Polt has been demolishing protoss with multi-pronged drops and his signature nexus sniping. Expect to see lots of calculated aggression and guerrilla tactics from Polt today.
Polt will put those TvP skills to use against the talented Chinese protoss
ig.MacSed, who has been a long time Premier League mainstay. MacSed has made five consecutive PL appearances - including two Ro8 finishes - all dating back to S2 of last year. After losing in the first round last season, MacSed has earned a chance for redemption by defeating Ryung 3-1 in his CL match. Unfortunately, the Chinese protoss now finds himself in a difficult group against three veteran Koreans. For him to advance from this group would require a big upset. That being said, it’s still possible for MacSed to steal the series away from Polt. Just a few days ago, he routed Ryung in macro games with a solid phoenix/colossus style. As for the other matchups, PvP is statistically his strongest, and he can make timing attacks work in PvZ. In addition, MacSed could prove difficult to prepare for, as most of his games come from Chinese weekly online cups. The added element of surprise could be enough to see MacSed through to the next round. As the WCS AM S1 runner-up,
Oz poses a major threat when he’s on his game. This experienced protoss has shown flashes of brilliance in the past with deep runs back in Code S and more recently in WCS America. Every now and then, Oz has proven that he’s capable of beating “better” players on a good day, but his recent form doesn’t look quite so good. To be fair though, Oz has been playing against some tough opponents. He was knocked out of MLG Anaheim by HerO, eliminated from WCS S2 by Pigbaby, and then lost to Bomber and JYP in the group stages of “The Big One”. Once again, it looks like Oz just can’t catch a lucky break, as he has been drawn into another stacked group.He may have to take some risks and gamble with a few all-ins against three of the NA region’s finest players - an approach that has worked out well for Oz in the past. The odds may be stacked against him but this is a position that Oz is familiar with. He has had to fight and scrap throughout his entire career and today will be no different.
The other WCS runner-up in today’s group is none other than the Tyrant,
EG.Jaedong. After an incredible performance in WCS 2013, JD has shockingly bombed out of the Ro32 in the first two seasons of 2014. He looked completely off in those groups as he finished last both times. Now after advancing from Challenger via a walkover, Jaedong is back looking for redemption. He has recovered well since dropping out in S2 and looks sharp and refreshed. With two semifinal runs at DH Summer and IEM Shenzhen, JD appears to be back in full form - but can he translate that weekend success to a Monday group? With so many new faces grabbing WCS points at every turn, Jaedong needs to go far in this final season if he wants to keep his top 16 spot for Blizzcon.Jaedong has been eliminated by protoss opponents in the last two seasons, and that number could rise to three with MacSed and Oz in this group. ZvP is also Jaedong’s weakest matchup and has proven to be an Achilles’ heel in the past. However, he has shown the ability to address his vP problems, namely in the 2013 WCS S2 finals where he beat Rain, MC, NaNiwa, and First. While JD won’t get to play his famous JvZ, it is difficult to believe that someone with his determination and talent is not a favorite to advance. He still has solid mechanics and thrives in standard macro games but remains vulnerable to cheeses. Therefore, don’t be surprised to see some well prepared builds (and well prepared pylons) against Jaedong.
Overall Thoughts and Predictions
Polt has consistently been an elite player and I see him as the best bet to advance in first. He defeated MacSed in their one and only meeting in RSL S5 and beat Oz in both of their WCS meetings from last year. His biggest potential challenge is Jaedong who he swept in the 2013 S2 finals but lost to in LSC 3. This should be a close series if meet, with Polt having the minor edge. As for the final spot, JD should advance in second if he can tighten up his ZvP. He split his two matches with MacSed in ATC S3 and has never lost to Oz in a ranked series. Finally, Oz is the wildcard of this group: he is comfortable in PvP and also has the potential to exploit JD’s vP weaknesses.
Polt > MacSed
Oz < Jaedong
Oz > MacSed
Polt > Jaedong
Oz < Jaedong
Polt and Jaedong to advance
