KeSPA Cup Preview: The Road to Blizzcon

Brackets and standings on Liquipedia

by TeamLiquid ESPORTS

Only four tournaments remain until all of the WCS Points have been distributed. Only four tournaments stand between the current standings and a finalized Blizzcon roster. It will be a mad scramble to the top as only the top 8 have been solidified.* While Life and Jaedong are not 100% locked in, they are all but guaranteed a trip to Anaheim. The last 6 spots are all up for grabs. Here are the remaining tournaments beyond the WCS/GSL:

1) KeSPA Cup
2) DH Moscow
3) DH Stockholm
4) Red Bull DC (no announced WCS Points yet, but all other live Red Bull events in 2014 have had points)

The first two tournaments completely overlap and, as expected, have completely different players. Therefore the 16 attendances at Kespa Cup will not be able to get additional points unless their teams fly them out to DH Stockholm (which is not likely given their tendencies over the past year). For many of the players in Kespa Cup, this is do or die. It is no longer enough to just cheer for your favorites to win: now you must also cheer against others if your player is to have a hope of survival. Pick a side because from this moment onward, we’re at war.

On the Very Cusp
1) sOs - No one makes you think of money grubbing quite like $O$. His greatest story isn't that he was one of the old dual aces of WoongJin Stars, or that he is currently one of the dual aces of Jin Air, or the fact that he was last year's Blizzcon champion. It’s that he only seems to win when the prize money is given out in exact 100,000 dollar amounts. Unfortunately for him, he will be put to the ultimate test. Can he win when they aren't giving out 100k checks? Is he really willing to dirty himself with checks that come in a sum less than 100k? We’re about to find out.

2) soO - The biggest loser of the (now defunct) season finals was soO. If they had existed, he would have guaranteed his Blizzcon spot with 3 more second place finishes, cementing his spot as the greatest SC2 Kong of all time. Instead, he is the greatest SC2 Kong of all time with three consecutive GSLs now under his belt.

3) Classic - After being dragged down and killed by the embodiment of evil in GSL, Classic is now at a major crossroads in his life. On the left is Sniper, beguiling him to become the avatar of the Power of Protoss age. On the right is Zest, a player who has proven himself to be more than just what the meta had made him. Can Classic prove that his GSL was no fluke? Or will he have the worst slump of any GSL champion after their championship?

4) herO[jOin] - While Classic got kicked out by Shine, at least he can say he didn't get lose to Super and Reality. It’s been a road of hard knocks as herO has lost GSL Code A, Red Bull Online and IEM Toronto in succession. Much like Classic, KeSPA Cup promises to be herO's last shot to reach Blizzcon. At least even if he loses, he won’t become the Sniper of his race.

5) Rain/Pigbaby - Both are hovering around 2,000 WCS points, well within range of qualification. Both are still alive in their WCS/GSL regions. Both are in Kespa Cup and will be facing monsters in their initial matches. PigBaby must fight Zest, one of the greatest Protosses in the world while Rain faces the unstoppable force of Broodlord/infestor. And both must win, if only to personally kill the chances of possible usurpers taking their spots at Blizzcon.

6) Flash - I’ve never seen a hype train crash that swiftly or loudly since Lucifron in 2013. God Damn. Despite that horrific meltdown in the GSL Ro16 the train is still chugging along, prepared to drive straight to the finals of Kespa Cup. Will the One True God be reborn or will the hype train explode?

Threats Abroad

MMA/YoDa/Solar - All three are still alive in WCS/GSL and will be competing in DH Moscow. By the way things are looking they will likely be at Stockholm as well. These three players have the largest amount of possible WCS points to gain and are the biggest threats to the chances of other fan-favorite players (like Flash).

The Last Shot

Anyone still in GSL/WCS has a shot to make it to Blizzcon if they can snatch the crown. For simplicity's sake I've put them into two groups: The Hopefuls and the Snipers. Those in the Hopeful group are still alive in their respective regions and can secure a spot with either a high placing or a victory. Those in the Snipers group are already qualified. They have no other reasons to win other than to make money and/or ruin other people’s aspirations.

The Hopefuls:

viOLet, Scarlett, Golden, Serral, soO, Check, DRG, TLO, VortiX

HerO, MaNa, Pigbaby, Rain, Jim, HuK, Stats, Solar, Miniraiser, Welmu, Harstem

iaguz, ForGG, Dayshi, Happy, YoDa, Heart, INnoVation, Cure, Bunny

The Snipers:

HyuN, Jaedong

Zest, StarDust, MC, San

TaeJa, Polt



The Player Haters

“In order for me to succeed, others must also fail.” - Probably how jjakji feels right now

This duo of players is on the very cusp of elimination. Both have been eliminated from WCS yet despite that, both are still fairly high in points. Both have much smaller chances to change their destiny in their own hands and must pray that others fail spectacularly. They are:

Snute - Widely considered the best foreigner player in the world at this very moment. However, he kind of wishes bad things on WEC; the only reason it didn't have WCS points was a late application. At least he gets to attend Moscow and Stockholm in order to stave off death.

jjakji - With nothing to play in, Jjakji will be spite incarnate as he prays and watches his comrades all fail with bated breath. Hell, if I was Jjakji I’d Skype up every player in DH Moscow and tell them the weaknesses of MMA/Yoda/Solar and then I’d Skype JYP and bribe him to give shoulder rubs to every player at Kespa Cup except Zest, Stardust, soO, Bomber and San.

That One Asshole

Dear - He really really really shouldn't even get a write-up, given that he’s at 0.16%. Except he’s on Samsung, the only Kespa team willing to send players anywhere with some consistency. He would need to win both Dreamhacks to have a shot at Blizzcon. Given that he did this exactly one year ago, taking GSL and the Season Finals, look to Dear to kill your favorite player’s dreams of making it to Blizzcon.

*All stats and percentages come from Die4ever’s http://sc2.4ever.tv/?page=player_list)

Writers: stuchiu
Graphics: shiroiusagi
Photo: GOMeXP. Blizzard
Editor: CosmicSpiral