SBENU SC2 Starleague 2015 Season 3

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C for Classics

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Thursday, Jul 30 9:30am GMT (GMT+00:00)

This is it. The Clash of Titans. The Rumble of Giants. The Group of Death. This perfectly crafted group of these top, well-known powerhouses from each of their respective races has us wanting, nay, expecting some of the best games of StarCraft we have seen this year. If each of these players show up in top form, those games will happen. It's hard for any tournament to rival a group like the one we had just the other week - Stats, ByuL, Maru, Zest - in quality, but this one might.

Like the previous group, we want to see all of them proceed to the Round of 8 but unfortunately, that will obviously not happen. It is really hard for me to say which two players I'd rather see leave the group and differentiate that from which two players I predict will most likely leave the group. It's a really hard choice and one I'd rather not make, but I'm sure you will agree it has to be this way.

So let's instead stay in the land of daydreams for a little while longer and talk about the games we wish to be most hyped for. Here's a little ranking of potential greatness each series can achieve.

#1: INnoVation vs. Life

This will be THE match of the night, should it occur; we all want to watch the MacroMachine™ Terran and He-Who-Always-Finds-A-Way duke it out in single combat. INnoVation seems to be getting back to his extraordinary best, and Life is struggling to keep his time under the sun at the top of his world, but has map advantages. By the way, these two have developed somewhat of a rivalry. Both players have risen to the top of their game for their respective race, but INnoVation seems to always be one step ahead. From the start of their progaming careers until now, INnoVation is up 6-5 in matches against Life. We hope to see both players pull out all the stops, mix it up with some macro, some surprise rushes, see some awesome plays, all in the name of besting the other to show who of them deserves a shot at the championship. Can Life even the score, or will INnoVation gain an even larger lead against his rival titan?

#2. Life vs. sOs

We all know how good Life is in basically all matchups, but where he statistically shines at is ZvZ. Life will not get to play ZvZ in this entire group, which means sOs has a chance. However, allow me to backtrack, as this sounds like I'm saying sOs is not a great player in his own right. sOs is #17 in world Aligulac rating after all for a reason: he's one of the best Protoss players in the world, which makes this match up a worthy watch. If INnoVation vs. Life is the clash of Terran and Zerg titans, this would be the Zerg and Protoss version. The problem with sOs is that he is not very consistent in his ability to defeat the top players of the other two races - he did recently all kill a strong CJ lineup, but has yet to follow it up - but the way he plays shows us that he has a very unique way of thinking about the game. This unorthodoxy gives him a better chance to beat better players than him than most could. Prepare for a most creative ZvP series which will certainly not disappoint.

#3. INnoVation vs. sOs

With the aforementioned unorthodox way sOs looks at, thinks about, and plays StarCraft, sOs also has a chance to pull a fast one over INnoVation should this matchup occur. Also helping the case for sOs is that PvT is statistically his best matchup. INnoVation, however, consistently crushes sOs as of late. Fun fact however: sOs beat INnoVation in his first official StarCraft II match debut. And while that has little to do with recent results, it's nice memorabilia at least. What would be way better for sOs though is a win against a top class opponent who's looking in strong form.

#4. herO vs. sOs

IEM Katowice 2014. If that doesn't get you excited...



#5. herO vs. Life

Just a few weeks ago, we'd have probably put this match at the very top. But the fact is that neither player is at their absolute best right now. herO and Life have both been struggling against the very best of the best as of late, and will need to show better form in this group if they're to advance - and if they're to entertain us in their encounter.

#6. herO vs INnoVation

One of these guys likes SCV pulls. The other is very good at holding SCV pulls. I'm expecting SCV pulls that may or may not work.

Predictions:

To put it laconically: We will be sorely disappointed if great games do not come about at all on this day.
It's what we're expecting and hope for with every iota of passion in our little nerd hearts.

herO < INnoVation
Life > sOs
INnoVation > Life
herO < sOs
sOs < Life

Writers: Brindled.
Graphics: shiroiusagi.
Editors: DarkLordOlli.
Photo Credit: Shayla
Stats: Aligulac