EPTSBENU SC2 Starleague 2015 Season 2
3SL Main Event
Group A
Maru vs Hurricane
Zest vs Leenock
Brackets andLeenock gs on Liquipedia
Starcraft II Starleague
Lambs to the Slaughter
by Destructicon
It's clear from the get go that Maru is the king of this jungle, and everyone else is the prey scrambling to get out of his way. After the lion stakes his claim and retires to his slumber it will be up to the rest to scrap it out for a spot in the Ro8.
And speaking of the young Jin Air ace, he is having the time of his life right now. After his loss to Dark at IEM Katowice,
Maru has gone on an absolute tear: he won the NSSL in dominating fashion, he qualified for the GSL and he defeated everyone sent against him in Proleague, including wins against Zest, Life and Stats in the critical semi-final match vs KT. Maru looks hotter than a supernova, and with winning records against everyone in his group, no one looks able to touch him. If Maru plays his early game cautiously to avoid death from any all-ins he should breeze through the group.
Hurricane has finally managed to offset months of disappointments and mediocre results by qualifying for the main event of the S2SL with a clean 3-0 record over Rogue. For his troubles he is to be served on a silver platter as Maru's first victim. Hurricane's chances look slim here; Maru has defeated much stronger protoss lately while Hurricane himself has struggled in the match up in Proleague. If he has any hopes of reaching the next stage, he'll have to rumble with the rest of the group. He has show that he has what it takes to plan and win a PvZ series against a strong foe, so he could conceivably take out Leenock. However even if he defeats Leenock he has to go up against a PvP specialist in Zest. The odds are stacked again Hurricane here, who looks like he'll be brushed aside once more by the KeSPA titans.Zest finds himself in a odd spot in his career. Last year's breakout performance of winning 3 Korean tournaments, a feat not replicated since the days of NesTea and Mvp, gained him the title of player of the year. Now, Zest finds himself in the position of having to defend his claim from many new challengers, both old and new. So far Zest hasn't delivered. His results in Proleague, while still good, haven't lived up to his standards, and his early exits in the qualifiers of the big Korean tournaments have been embarrassing. Zest however did somewhat redeem himself with a win at IEM Katowice, and through his efforts in Proleague he was also awarded a spot in the S2SL. It has become clear that Zest's worst matchup is PvT, and while a 60% win rate is still nothing to scoff at he still seems to struggle against the very best terrans in the world. However through meticulous preparation he crushed Bbyong and now only has to worry about last season's terran finalists. If Zests wants to be in the talks regarding best player of the year at the end of 2015 he has to overcome his demons and he has to start right now.For
Leenock the roles seem to have been reversed. Whereas before he was at the top of the food chain, a championship contender favored to win anything he attended, a nightmare to deal with for whoever he was matched against, he is now the lone gazelle on a savanna full of hungry predators. To his credit Leenock has managed to overcome adversity. He qualified for last season's NSSL and made a good run before crashing into Maru. Despite that defeat, Leenock is still a beast in the matchup, and he faced off against Flash and defeated him to secure his spot in this group. Unfortunately, even with ZvT being his best matchup, a rematch against Maru could spell disaster for him. And despite doing very well against protoss last season, he faces a very different caliber of player in Zest. However it is noteworthy that Leenock managed to defeat Zest in Prolague recently. If Leenock is to have any sliver of a chance, he'll need to pull out all the stops and outwit everyone in his group.Prediction:
Maru > Hurricane
Zest > Leenock
Maru > Zest
Hurricane < Leenock
Zest > Leenock
Maru and Zest advance.
