WCS Season One
Premier League

WCS Ro32 Group B
Kelazhur, TLO, Polt, Jim

Brackets and standings on Liquipedia

Sunday, Feb 15 11:00pm GMT (GMT+00:00)


One of the biggest fears fans had during the announcement of WCS 2015 was the possible disappearance of the Union's beloved Captain America. Sure, he wasn't actually American, but audiences throughout the nation quickly became attached to Polt after he had decided to reside in the US for his career and education. Fortunately for the fans, and sadly for the players, Polt's athlete Visa allowed him to stay in the country and compete in the revamped WCS. It's been over a year since his last WCS title, and he must be licking his lips at the prospect of a tournament purged of his biggest rivals.

With an 87% winrate against foreigners, it seems as if Polt has very little to fear in Group B. Whenever Polt has been stopped, it has always been at the hands of someone from his home nation. But he couldn't have been given a trickier foreign group, as each one of his matchups could be tested. Of all three, his TvZ has—though this might be overstating it—consistently been the most worrying. It remains his weakest matchup, and he was ousted in 2014's first two seasons in the round of 8 by a combined score of 1-6 against Revival and HyuN. The chaotic drop heavy style that Polt prefers has lost efficacy in the matchup, and he never really mastered mech and the 4M parade push doesn't play to his strengths. His cleverness and tactical ingenuity have yet to find their place in current TvZ, though this criticism is nitpicking at a 66% winrate (77% vs foreigners). He will first have to defeat a protoss, however, and it is the matchup where the Five Star General has traditionally shined. The manic I'm-everywhere-at-once way of TvP is currently one of the ideal styles to play the matchup, and as mentioned earlier, it is where Polt excels the most. He picks apart his opponents with his swift movements such that they appear visibly frustrated, and very few protoss have been able to repel his raids.

One reaction to this style is the comeback of the phoenix-colossus experiment. One notable match that showcased the build's strengths was Terminator vs TaeJa in Code A, but one of the leading proponents of the build all the way back in 2013 was the Chinese protoss Jim. It was seen as a Chinese quirk that only the bravest protoss could risk using, but MyuNgSiK memorably used it to qualify for IEM Shanghai in 2013. It has flitted in and out of the protoss playbook since then, but Jim could use it as the repellent for Polt's drops. Phoenixes, when used effectively, can shut down almost any form of harassment while punishing terrans that overextend. Unfortunately for the current emperor of China, his PvT has dipped severely over the past few months. It's still at a very good 60%, but many of his wins come from unknown Chinese players. Defeating Polt will go a long way in announcing his championship credentials, but more likely than not, he'll have to defeat the remaining two players to advance. His PvZ, despite his predictable penchant for all ins, is still his best matchup, and he has never fallen out of Premier League due to foreign competition before.

The X-Factor of the group will likely be TLO. He's used to being tagged as a wild card, and it's due to a combination of his trickery and his inconsistency. After an impressive 5th place in WCS Season 1 2013, he has yet to return to the playoffs. He's still never fallen out of Premier League completely, but it's been a while—IEM Sao Paulo 2014—since he's placed well in a tournament. It's always that same story with TLO, and we've been saying the same thing about him forever. The amiable German will always be a fan favorite, but it's about time he reminded us that he's still a force to be reckoned with. He has extra incentive since he had to beat his teammate Ret in Challenger League—the customary Liquid teamkill—and it's certainly possible with enough preparation. If he is able to deflect Polt's harassment and scout Jim for all ins, it's not inconceivable that he could wrestle a series win away from them. Yet at the same time, he could just die to whatever Kelazhur has in store for him.

And that's pretty much Kelazhur's big weapon in this group: the element of surprise. He rolled CatZ 3-0 in Challenger League and it was certainly a good result, but we have little else on the Brazilian Terran. This is only his second premier tournament (and his first big tournament outside of Brazil), his first being IEM Sao Paulo 2014. He finished third in his group at that event, one that was notoriously weak, so it's difficult to blame us for having meager expectations for him. It's a good feeling to finally have more players from different countries in Premier League, but it will take a while for them to catch up.

Overall Thoughts and Predictions:

While it seems like it would take quite a bit of bravery or madness to liquibet against Polt, all three players in this group have a chance of destabilizing Captain America with a well planned strategy. TLO and Jim are both known for their expansive playbooks, while Kelazhur is about as mysterious as they come. It will still take quite a bit of luck to knock him out in the Ro32, and the three foreigners will likely have to settle for second place. Jim has repeatedly shown that only the top Koreans can get the best of him, if at all, and China's best WCS player should keep going strong.

Kelazhur < TLO
Polt > Jim
TLO < Polt
Kelazhur < Jim
TLO < Jim

Polt and Jim to advance.

Writers: lichter.
Editors: lichter.
Graphics: v1.
Stats: Aligulac