EPT
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The first WESG never possessed any of its self-proclaimed splendor. Written off as a joke by many, the event was nothing more than a contrived coronation for long awaited champion
TY. This year’s edition, however, has flourished where the inaugural iteration languished. Five players forfeited their spots before the affair even kicked off, but when the roster was finalized, it featured three of the most in form Koreans, as well as luminaries from across the globe.32 became 16 and 16 was halved to 8.
Dark, Classic and Maru unsurprisingly locked up spots in the Round of 8. Serral, Elazer, Scarlett and Neeb justified the hype by making it through as well. Intruding upon their preordained battle was Reynor. The 15 year old Italian is only in attendance because someone else could not make it. Having cleared two group stages, he finds himself at the apex of a storm which has been brewing all week.The community loves events like WESG. Foreigners and Koreans have been at odds since the very beginning of StarCraft II and a clash between those factions is always a highlight. These encounters become battlefields upon which discorant fanbases wage their own war. For some it’s the perfect opportunity to gloat. For others it’s merely an opportunity to hope for the unlikely and cheer for the underdog. The games themselves are often one sided drubbing, but whether it’s beating a Korean or losing to a foreigner, the stakes are rarely so high.
Maru entered WESG after beating
sOs twice in six days to secure top four finishes at IEM: Katowice and in GSL Season 1. He’s been the best Terran in recent weeks. Strong in the mid game, he has proven quite adept with the difficult to juggle late game compositions. His opponent in the Round of 8 is Reynor, who took second in a three man group before securing advancement by eliminating iAsonu. The Italian is outgunned and overmatched, but he’s playing with house money at this point. The most lopsided quarterfinal is sure to end as we all expect, but a few of Maru’s characteristic momentary lapses could make it an interesting affair.Serral and Neeb are the last two WCS Circuit champions. The similarities end there. Serral is having the best year of his career, while Neeb has been underwhelming. A semifinal exit at WCS Leipzig and a poor showing in Katowice are nothing to write home about, especially after he dominated the foreign scene so comprehensively a year ago. Compare his safe, quite possibly boring style to Serral. The Finn makes ZvP look like a cakewalk with daring moves and mechanics Neeb only dreams off. Should Serral move on, he once more faces off against a Korean in the semifinals of a premier event. Last time, Classic swatted him away like a gnat. Serral may be well on his way to inheriting the mantle of king of the WCS Circuit, but Koreans remain the ultimate test. Neeb triumphed where so many others had not in 2016. Serral will have to do better if he wants to surpass the American Protoss in that respect as well.
Serral wasn’t the only candidate to supplant Neeb however. Somewhere between winning IEM Pyeongchang and making the Round of 8 in GSL, many believed Scarlett to be the next foreign hope. If dropping out early at IEM Katowice raised concerns, being swept from a stage in which a foreigner had not stood in years by
soO brought the fervor to an end. That’s not to say Scarlett hasn’t represented herself well over the course of WESG. Wins over ShoWTimE and Nerchio are evidence that the class with which she defeated sOs in February has not gone up in smoke. At the same time, maybe the cart was being put before the horse.She will get another crack at a Korean this weekend, though Dark represents a very stern test. His air of invincibility against foreigners might have been sundered by Elazer at BlizzCon 2017, but Dark has looked excellent since then. The only real misstep was losing to
Trap, a match which might not have shocked those who watched them do battle over 11 games in ONPOONG. Dark has gotten back on track, though, dropping only two maps so far in WESG while a GSL semifinal waits back in Korea. Victories in China and Seoul would see him assume the mantle of best player in the world. Classic and Dark met in the finals of the WESG Asian-Pacific qualifier. While Dark will have to contend with Scarlett, Classic will have his own hurdle to clear before getting another chance at his former teammate. Classic won that final 3-1 in what was the first offline event won by a Korean in 2018. He very nearly claimed the second as well. He cruised through IEM Katowice as the presumed best player in the world, but was dismantled by Rogue at the critical moment. He then lost to
Stats in the GSL quarterfinals, a result fans hope will not be the start of a precipitous decline. He has seemingly righted the ship in Haikou, albeit against inferior competition. Wins over puCK and Sioras are commendable, but Dark and Maru are standing between Classic and a championship. If he even gets that far. His quarterfinal opponent is not one to overlook. Elazer, who broke Dark’s spell half a year ago, will be looking to hand Classic his first loss against a foreigner since fall 2016.There’s no man more fitting for the job. Classic made quick work of Serral’s calculated standard play, but Elazer is a tempest. His playstyle might challenge Classic in some of the ways Rogue was able to. Elazer has been struggling for form in 2018, performing just well enough to retain relevancy while simultaneously disappointing. Defeating Classic would go a long way to restoring some of his luster, though it’s as tall a task as any he has faced. He is not alone in that sense. Reaching this stage of the tournament was almost like shooting fish in a barrel at times, but the final five foreigners now find themselves in shark infested waters. The finish line approaches, as fans gather on both side of the fence. Korea and The World do battle once more. From which faction will the champion emerge?
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Writer: Mizenhauer
Editor: Mizenhauer
Images: Not Mizenhauer
