WCS Season One
Challenger League

Happy vs Majestic
Welmu vs Beastyqt
Harstem vs Serral
MaNa vs HeRoMaRinE

Brackets and standings on Liquipedia

Thursday, Jan 22 5:00pm GMT (GMT+00:00)

Happy vs Majestic

When Blizzard decided to start on a clean slate in 2015, much was made about the chaos and unpredictability that it would cause. Many stable Premier League players may have felt aggrieved, but the results of the qualifiers show that most of last year's Premier and Challenger League players were able to make it. Happy, of course, has the distinction of being one of the few players to have never fallen out of his respective Premier League. He's been at the top for 6 straight seasons, a feat that should not be underestimated. Over that time, some can argue that Happy has changed very little in his approach to the game, especially TvP. He makes units, makes bases, waits for 200 supply, and then attacks. While his style can be called "turtley" or "passive", very few have described it with the derision that's often saved for the worst swarm host or mech offenders. This is because the Russian plays the game with a sort of refinement and understand that goes beyond "hit 200 and hope for the best". He stays calm under pressure; he isn't afraid to commit resources to his defense; he lays out his units methodically every time. You'd think that such a predictable player would easily get figured out, but he ended WCS EU 2014 on a high note by reaching the Ro8, defeating Serral, Grubby, Harstem and Miniraser before losing to Golden. No one was surprised that he was tied as the furthest reaching European, and I doubt he'll surprise anyone if he makes it far into the tournament now that the field of Koreans has been reduced.

Majestic on the other hand is quite the mystery. We've seen very few of his games—he played 2 games in ATC vs INnoVation and Ryung and in DH Valencia—and only his ladder opponents really know what he plays like. But he went through one of the more difficult qualifier paths in EU, defeating chubZ, Dayshi, sLivko and TLO. Three of those players (two of which are more established) failed to reach Challenger, and a few other previous WCS players were deposed by the likes of Majestic. He is the new breed of EU players that we're only beginning to get to know, and that of course is to his advantage (perhaps not in article writing length, though). We've talked at length about up-and-coming players having the element of surprise, which is key in a strategy game that puts such a premium on scouting information. He should have studied Happy's play well enough to know how he'll likely approach the game; he should have builds prepared for CC-first or a possible 3rax early pressure. A good game plan will go a long way in bridging the gap in experience, and this will be the biggest stage so far for Majestic to show that a gap in skill does not exist.

The match will be decided by what Majestic has in store, but it's difficult to look past 6 straight Premier League appearances. He's EU's best bet at achieving what could be a WCS version of the NesTea Award (10 straight seasons in the highest division), and Happy has repeatedly shown that even though you know what he'll do, he just does it too well to be stopped. After all, slow and steady wins the race.

Prediction: Happy 3 - 2 Majestic

Welmu vs Beastyqt

The second match of the evening has a lot in common with the first. Beastyqt was once considered a contender for best macro terran in Europe along with Happy, while Welmu was once an unheralded player that broke predictions in WCS.

In 2011 and 2012, many considered Beastyqt one of the best terrans in Europe. Although he also shared Happy's propensity for macro games, Beasty was far more active on the map and used his army movement and harassment to give his economy an opportunity to flourish. Unfortunately for Beastyqt, he was never quite able to put together a strong tournament run. He did place third at an MSI Battlegrounds, but it was against foreigners back in 2012. Many expected him to raise his game when he moved into MrBitter's Razer Academy Team House in order to train, but a return to Europe was met with disappointment when he only managed one Challenger League appearance and one quick Ro32 exit. He retired in September 2013, only to come back 8 months later. In WCS EU S2 qualifiers, he lost to Golden, ThorZaIN, Lambo and Guru, and didn't participate in season 3.

Perhaps it would have been enough to call him washed up, but he proved his doubters wrong by blazing through DeMusliM, Zeth, uThermal, MorroW and Dayshi in order to qualify on the very first day. There's some evidence to show that he still plays like the Beastyqt we've come to know, but much of his participation since his return has been online in smaller tournaments. This is his first big break since he dusted off his keyboard to play again, and he should feel a little disappointment that he had to be drawn against Welmu.

After all, Welmu is one of the most successful foreigners in WCS EU. He's made three separate Ro8s including his debut in Premier League, and he's never fallen in the Ro32. While he's struggled to make a mark in the bracket stages especially when pitted against a Korean, those concerns have been dampened by the 2015 system. While many people touted Bunny or Snute as Europe's big hope in 2014, it was always Welmu that looked most likely to succeed in the WCS format. His 4-0 sweep of YoDa and MC in Season 2's Ro16 was particularly memorable, and he's quietly put together one of the best resumes in Europe. He doesn't play a particularly unique or exciting style, but Welmu has all the less tangible requirements necessary to be a top protoss: he knows exactly when to move out and when to stay in his base, he senses how to organize his units to take advantage of positioning, and he's developed a better sense of how to maintain leads. All this combined with his positive attitude make him an easy player to bet and cheer for.

Back in 2011 or 2012, Beastyqt would have had an overwhelming advantage. But now, Welmu has risen to become one of Europe's biggest stars. The most dangerous thing about Welmu is that he continues to improve at a steady pace. Only his health and Koreans seem to have the power to stop him, and it looks like both problems are past him for now.

Prediction: Welmu 3 - 1 Beastyqt

Harstem vs Serral

Adored for his gregarious personality and clinical protoss gameplay, Fnatic.Harstem is back for yet another #yearofharstem. This fan favorite broke into the PL top 16 twice last year, and now he is looking to pick up right where he left off. Though he wasn’t the most consistent player around, Harstem did have some brilliant performances sprinkled throughout the year. Who could forget when he came out of left field to defeat jjakji and YoDa in the WCS S2 Ro32? But despite those memorable showings, Harstem has had his fair share of struggles. He barely managed to squeeze his way into Challenger in the 6th European qualifier, where he took down notable player such as StarNaN and roof. While Harstem may not be in the running for best foreigner (let alone best European), he is still a dangerous foe who has proven capable of taking series off top-flight European talent. He defeated Dayshi, Snute, and Kas in the IEM Taipei European qualifiers but finished just one spot shy of qualifying directly. Now with the exit of the Koreans, can Harstem make it 2 #yearsofharstem in a row?

At only 16 years of age, mYi.Serral is a very young and promising new talent with much room for improvement. Make no mistake, he is without a doubt the underdog in this match. Signed by mYinsanity earlier last year, Serral got the opportunity to attend three Dreamhacks, but he fell in group stage 3 each time. He finally made it to PL in S3 but was eliminated in last place in his Ro32 group. After several attempts in qualifiers, Serral finally advanced into CL through the “Last Chance Qualifier”. Now can he build upon that foundation in this season? Well, the odds are not in his favor, as he must play his worst matchup against a seasoned protoss in Harstem. Serral is not afraid to invest in the late game, but his inexperience may hinder his execution in these scenarios. Having Rain as a teammate to practice with will certainly help, but can this young Finnish Zerg make the leap in such a short amount of time? Though I believe the day will not be his, Serral is still young and I have a feeling we’ll be seeing a lot more of him in the future.

Prediction: Harstem 3 - 1 Serral

MaNa vs HeRoMaRinE

For most folks, New Year’s is a time to hit the gym. For Liquid`MaNa, New Year’s is a time to hit the Ro8. Mana’s 2014 could easily be summed up with “Well… I mean, you didn’t retire.” The Polish Protoss played particularly passably, pursuing prizes, but projections panned out poorly. While Mana was always able to perform well, he never seemed to be able to make a deep run. Most of his year was spent in the Ro16, narrowly missing out on advancement, as he repeatedly hit the Korean wall. However, the former BW star’s form improved steadily, up from uncharacteristic Challenger League finishes in 2013, to one of Europe’s top protoss with a win in "Who's The Best European?". With a focus on macro play (although sometimes too much macro. FireCake, never forget), MaNa relies on strong fundamentals and excellent micro to win games. Though he took some time adjusting to HotS, he’s since adopted a more aggressive edge in the early game, shunning his old safe stalwart strategies.

MaNa’s run through the qualifiers was not the most difficult, but it was fairly significant to him historically. Kicking it off with the old Germany/Poland rivalry from Brood War, MaNa steamrolled PrimeLoT, only to find himself up against a fellow Pole, DieStar, whom he had played in WCS Poland 2 years prior. After a 2-0 there, MaNa was faced with another WoL standard, DeMusliM. Mana showed that we aren’t somehow stuck in a timeloop to 2011 by 2-0ing the British Terran. Finally, the Liquid Protoss squared off against Happy, and in a war of micro, came out on top.

While MaNa is certainly the old guard fighting to keep up, his opponent is very much the opposite. HeRoMaRinE is one of the most promising up and coming talents in Europe. From the rare species Foreignus Terranae, the young German has risen to prominence over the past two years, first in his national scene and lately the international stage. Originally an online focused player, HeRoMaRinE has started attending more LANs over the past few months. Though his success at international events has been less than stellar, he’s taken the EPS by storm. With a 2nd place finish at Winter 2014 and a 1st place finish in the Summer season, the young German has quickly reached the top ranks of the country’s deep roster.
The Mouz Terran’s route to Challenger League was more challenging than MaNa’s, yet he managed to blaze through it with ease. On the first qualifier, the Mouz star went 8-0, taking down FireCake, TLO, Petraeus and Zanster. With this run under his belt, the young upstart is poised to make a strong start in this year’s WCS.

Prediction: MaNa 2 - 3 HeRoMaRinE

Writers: lichter, XXTN, peanuts.
Editors: lichter.
Graphics: v1.