The first week of DHM Valencia regional competition saw SpeCial and Nice continue their reigns in Latin America and Taiwan/HK/Macau/Japan, while the Oceania & Rest of Asia region welcomed a first-time champion in Vietnamese Zerg player MeomaikA. All three players have earned flights and accommodations to compete at the live season finals at DreamHack Valencia, as well as seeds into the third group stage of the event.
DHM Valencia moves on to the second week of regionals on May 24th, with North America starting group stage competition, Europe playing out the second half of its group stage, and China playing out its regional in its entirety.
Say what you will about Rogue in best of seven matches—the truly most inevitable thing in StarCraft II is SpeCial winning the Latin American regional. Headed into the finals against Kelazhur, SpeCial had already won all six DHM: Latin America tournaments held under the EPT system, and little had changed inside the region for fans to expect a different outcome.
Indeed, the finals ended up being a TvT showcase for Juanito. Not only did he use his signature mech strategies, but he also experimented with some fast 2-Starport play which flummoxed his Brazilian opponent. He ended up taking a comfortable 4-1 victory (with a 1 map winners bracket advantage), with Kelazhur salvaging one map by breaking SpeCial before he could get his mech dug in.
With the victory, SpeCial improved to a perfect seven-for-seven finals record in DHM: Latin America tournaments, and also made it fifteen consecutive LATAM regional championships won when adding in WCS and Copa America results as well. In the post match interview, a less than enthused SpeCial quipped "I guess it feels good, right? I should at least win this one." Once you've won fifteen straight, maybe even winning can start to feel routine.
Taiwan/HK/Macau/Japan was the other regional that welcomed a repeat champion in week one, though 'only' a two-time consecutive champion in this case. Despite struggling with illness over the weekend, Nice won his second straight Taiwanese title with yet another finals triumph against regional rival Has. In previous seasons, Nice had commented that his superior macro play would allow him to beat Has as long as his defense held up. That proved to be the case in this particular finals as well, with Nice successfully deflecting Has' attacks to take a solid 4-2 victory. The victory gave Nice a total of five championships in seven DHM: Taiwan events, with Has winning the remaining two.
Oceania & Rest of Asia continued to be the most chaotic and least predictable of all the DreamHack Masters regions, producing its fifth unique champion in seven seasons of play. Vietnamese Zerg player MeomaikA claimed the DHM regional championship for the very first time, defeating the defending champion TeebuL 4-1 in the grand finals. Overall, it was a very successful tournament for the "Rest of Asia" portion of the region, with TeebuL representing Pakistan and 3rd place player Ranger representing Malaysia.
MeokmaikA made sure to celebrate with style after winning the championship, crowning himself with a ring of laurels and wearing it throughout the winners interview. Despite this ostentatious display, MeomaikA also made some jokes at his own expense, thanking Ranger and TeebuL for 'helping' him with his problem match-up of ZvT by knocking all the Terrans out of the tournament in the earlier rounds.
If the Oce Region was actually competetive, it would be so HYPE and unpredictable. But it just feels like the only reason, it s so volatile is, that the Level of Play is so low, that it s more about who actually practised and who plays other games instead. Like Risky isn t even playing SC2 at all and is anouncinf retirement After every season, yet he still qualifies. The entire aus scene just shifted to AoE4 and then came Back for the DH regional. Why Don t they merge Oce with Taiwan?
thats a good question oce and taiwan should be one group and than give europe the 1 more spot , would be fair from a skill level view
its a tragic poor players like skillous showtime maxpax lambo elazer would most likely get a spot in the other regions but in europe they only get a spot with much luck ore bracket luck because of serral reynor heromarine clem
its not fair they work hard play better and beeing discriminated for beeing europeans
On May 24 2022 20:42 tilhorizon wrote: thats a good question oce and taiwan should be one group and than give europe the 1 more spot , would be fair from a skill level view
its a tragic poor players like skillous showtime maxpax lambo elazer would most likely get a spot in the other regions but in europe they only get a spot with much luck ore bracket luck because of serral reynor heromarine clem
its not fair they work hard play better and beeing discriminated for beeing europeans
To be fair, Region look helped EU Players bridge the gap to the Koreans. It would have happened at some point regardless - Player Population is just way bigger here- but it defnatly helped the scene in the past. Region look didn t have the same effect in the other regions though, they are to small to flourish on their own and just get weaker without tougher competition. Look at NA, wich has fallen of significantly over the last couple of years compared to EU.
On May 24 2022 20:42 tilhorizon wrote: thats a good question oce and taiwan should be one group and than give europe the 1 more spot , would be fair from a skill level view
its a tragic poor players like skillous showtime maxpax lambo elazer would most likely get a spot in the other regions but in europe they only get a spot with much luck ore bracket luck because of serral reynor heromarine clem
its not fair they work hard play better and beeing discriminated for beeing europeans
To be fair, Region look helped EU Players bridge the gap to the Koreans. It would have happened at some point regardless - Player Population is just way bigger here- but it defnatly helped the scene in the past. Region look didn t have the same effect in the other regions though, they are to small to flourish on their own and just get weaker without tougher competition. Look at NA, wich has fallen of significantly over the last couple of years compared to EU.
Did region lock really do anything for player development that wasn't gonna happen anyway? Like, did Neeb, Serral, Reynor, and Clem ever say they would have quit StarCraft if not for region lock?
People want to ascribe cause and effect to everything, but this is just coincidence to me. Korean talent stagnates and world talent emerges regardless of policies in the scene.
I definetly think region lock helped, not only the top players in EU, but also the general playerbase. Just less prize money that gets "sucked out" of the region, so it allows players to play longer.
I think the region-lock is just to keep the scene alive in most region, not for development purpose. At least we know those guys will make some money playing SC2 professionally and preserve their presence in the region. So I dont mind it, and the issue with the slot for DH Season Final has been solved with the open bracket starting this year. My only beef with this whole thing, is how the HELL they are going to expect the final tournament to be wrapped up in 3 days?
On May 24 2022 21:55 tigera6 wrote: I think the region-lock is just to keep the scene alive in most region, not for development purpose. At least we know those guys will make some money playing SC2 professionally and preserve their presence in the region. So I dont mind it, and the issue with the slot for DH Season Final has been solved with the open bracket starting this year. My only beef with this whole thing, is how the HELL they are going to expect the final tournament to be wrapped up in 3 days?
That's where you will see who has the stamina to play for 10+ hours a day, and who won't.
On May 24 2022 21:55 tigera6 wrote: I think the region-lock is just to keep the scene alive in most region, not for development purpose. At least we know those guys will make some money playing SC2 professionally and preserve their presence in the region. So I dont mind it, and the issue with the slot for DH Season Final has been solved with the open bracket starting this year. My only beef with this whole thing, is how the HELL they are going to expect the final tournament to be wrapped up in 3 days?
Well it s not even doing that There is like no scene in OCE, they all Play different games and only come Back to grab some cash when its DH Regionals again. Thats why it s so volatile, they Don t practise consistently Like non of them plays in any of the weekly cups
On May 24 2022 20:42 tilhorizon wrote: thats a good question oce and taiwan should be one group and than give europe the 1 more spot , would be fair from a skill level view
its a tragic poor players like skillous showtime maxpax lambo elazer would most likely get a spot in the other regions but in europe they only get a spot with much luck ore bracket luck because of serral reynor heromarine clem
its not fair they work hard play better and beeing discriminated for beeing europeans
To be fair, Region look helped EU Players bridge the gap to the Koreans. It would have happened at some point regardless - Player Population is just way bigger here- but it defnatly helped the scene in the past. Region look didn t have the same effect in the other regions though, they are to small to flourish on their own and just get weaker without tougher competition. Look at NA, wich has fallen of significantly over the last couple of years compared to EU.
Did region lock really do anything for player development that wasn't gonna happen anyway? Like, did Neeb, Serral, Reynor, and Clem ever say they would have quit StarCraft if not for region lock?
People want to ascribe cause and effect to everything, but this is just coincidence to me. Korean talent stagnates and world talent emerges regardless of policies in the scene.
I think it helped the Players next in line, that are all pretty good now but were struggling a few years ago vs top Koreans. Like 3-4 years ago Heromarine lost to ?Creator or Patience? In the IEM Open breaket and said, je was the underdog anyways. Now he s probably the 2nd best macro Terran besides Maru on the planet
On May 24 2022 21:55 tigera6 wrote: I think the region-lock is just to keep the scene alive in most region, not for development purpose. At least we know those guys will make some money playing SC2 professionally and preserve their presence in the region. So I dont mind it, and the issue with the slot for DH Season Final has been solved with the open bracket starting this year. My only beef with this whole thing, is how the HELL they are going to expect the final tournament to be wrapped up in 3 days?
That's where you will see who has the stamina to play for 10+ hours a day, and who won't.
And I fail to see how making the tournament a marathon of 12+hours competition become a good indication of player skill, especially with the jet lag and traveling with it. Its the equivalent of having the entire GSL in 3 days, and players who are non-KR cant travel to the place until 1 day before the tournament. If you look at WESG and GSL vs World, where international traveling are also required, the schedule are very reasonable and make sense in general. I guess this is because of the offline audience who also travel internationally and cant make it work with 5-day vacation instead of 3-days, but for me as a online viewer, I do get fatigued from watching long broadcast and find it less appealing.
those are all good points in the end after thinking about all the pros and cons if we dont get rid of the region locks i still think oce /taiwan should be 1 region getting 1 slot and eu gets 1 more
there was a time the region lock did help the global sc scene but today its outdatet
how do you explain that situation to those hard working better playing full time eu sc players getting nothing while those half time hobby sc players from oce who only playing at those events stealing away the sc2 money
On May 24 2022 23:06 tilhorizon wrote: those are all good points in the end after thinking about all the pros and cons if we dont get rid of the region locks i still think oce /taiwan should be 1 region getting 1 slot and eu gets 1 more
there was a time the region lock did help the global sc scene but today its outdatet
how do you explain that situation to those hard working better playing full time eu sc players getting nothing while those half time hobby sc players from oce who only playing at those events stealing away the sc2 money
Demi already complaining about the comments on Twitter, kinda predictable (at least contrary to some others he's civil enough). Now as much as many from the region are trying to go toxic to kill any debate, this won't go away.
On May 24 2022 23:00 tigera6 wrote: And I fail to see how making the tournament a marathon of 12+hours competition become a good indication of player skill, especially with the jet lag and traveling with it. Its the equivalent of having the entire GSL in 3 days, and players who are non-KR cant travel to the place until 1 day before the tournament. If you look at WESG and GSL vs World, where international traveling are also required, the schedule are very reasonable and make sense in general. I guess this is because of the offline audience who also travel internationally and cant make it work with 5-day vacation instead of 3-days, but for me as a online viewer, I do get fatigued from watching long broadcast and find it less appealing.
That runtime is similar to how the WCS Season Finals were compressed before the pandemic, as recent as 2019 (there it was only 3 days) : 2019 WCS Fall
Now the viewership probably changed and players have different needs (not judging either good or bad). But endurance is part of the skill level too. If you can't play well for more than a X or Y set of hours, it might be problematic.
Now I do think that Valencia runtime is way too short. This should be extended for at least one day, if not two
That runtime is similar to how the WCS Season Finals were compressed before the pandemic, as recent as 2019 (there it was only 3 days) : 2019 WCS Fall
Now the viewership probably changed and players have different needs (not judging either good or bad). But endurance is part of the skill level too. If you can't play well for more than a X or Y set of hours, it might be problematic.
Now I do think that Valencia runtime is way too short. This should be extended for at least one day, if not two
Actually its not the playing that is the issue to me, its the waiting that was the deal-breaker, as least for the IEM when 2 groups playing after another. And then Ro12 and Ro8 are 3 bo5 apart in term of waiting time, I guess it would make sense for WoL, HoTS set up where we dont have many super lategame (Someone correct me on that). But on the current LoTV meta, where normal game last 12-15 minute, and most game passing that in the playoff bracket into late game (20-25 minute), meaning everything is dragging out for too long. I love watching a long series, but 8 of them consecutively on the same day?? Sorry, its just not that entertaining anymore unless I am cheering for a specific player.
On another look, I don really mind the setup you refer to if that is what they are doing, like the busiest day is the first day where all the group stages and most of the knockout stage are played. Then 2nd day have the bracket stage up to Ro8, then the semi-final and final on the same day. But they have ALL the group at each stage play at the same time, along with the knockout bracket. Then we have 2 matches at a time for the Ro24 and Ro16, which speed up the time considerably.
On May 24 2022 23:06 tilhorizon wrote: those are all good points in the end after thinking about all the pros and cons if we dont get rid of the region locks i still think oce /taiwan should be 1 region getting 1 slot and eu gets 1 more
there was a time the region lock did help the global sc scene but today its outdatet
how do you explain that situation to those hard working better playing full time eu sc players getting nothing while those half time hobby sc players from oce who only playing at those events stealing away the sc2 money
Seeing an EU fan complain about this when the EU scene has been such a massive beneficiary of region lock is mind numbing.
It doesn't matter whether Serral would have still gotten good or not. When looking at the life of the game EU players have won ridiculous amounts of money that would have been won by KR players without region lock. The EU scene has undoubtedly benefitted the most in terms of $ due to region lock.
On May 24 2022 23:06 tilhorizon wrote: those are all good points in the end after thinking about all the pros and cons if we dont get rid of the region locks i still think oce /taiwan should be 1 region getting 1 slot and eu gets 1 more
there was a time the region lock did help the global sc scene but today its outdatet
how do you explain that situation to those hard working better playing full time eu sc players getting nothing while those half time hobby sc players from oce who only playing at those events stealing away the sc2 money
Seeing an EU fan complain about this when the EU scene has been such a massive beneficiary of region lock is mind numbing.
It doesn't matter whether Serral would have still gotten good or not. When looking at the life of the game EU players have won ridiculous amounts of money that would have been won by KR players without region lock. The EU scene has undoubtedly benefitted the most in terms of $ due to region lock.
the only thing that is mind numbing is your statement
Maru not qualifying through code S in the very season Meomaika makes it to the finals really makes me sad - he'll probably try the open signups though ?
On May 25 2022 09:43 [PkF] Wire wrote: Maru not qualifying through code S in the very season Meomaika makes it to the finals really makes me sad - he'll probably try the open signups though ?
He did say in the interview that ONSYDE gave us, that he will try to play in all (major) tournament that has EPT points. So I guess its too big (of a prize pool) to pass up on Maru part, the issue would be the schedule conflict with GSL, I think they would work around that , like a 1-week break or something,
On May 24 2022 23:06 tilhorizon wrote: those are all good points in the end after thinking about all the pros and cons if we dont get rid of the region locks i still think oce /taiwan should be 1 region getting 1 slot and eu gets 1 more
there was a time the region lock did help the global sc scene but today its outdatet
how do you explain that situation to those hard working better playing full time eu sc players getting nothing while those half time hobby sc players from oce who only playing at those events stealing away the sc2 money
Seeing an EU fan complain about this when the EU scene has been such a massive beneficiary of region lock is mind numbing.
It doesn't matter whether Serral would have still gotten good or not. When looking at the life of the game EU players have won ridiculous amounts of money that would have been won by KR players without region lock. The EU scene has undoubtedly benefitted the most in terms of $ due to region lock.
the only thing that is mind numbing is your statement
On May 25 2022 09:43 [PkF] Wire wrote: Maru not qualifying through code S in the very season Meomaika makes it to the finals really makes me sad - he'll probably try the open signups though ?
He did say in the interview that ONSYDE gave us, that he will try to play in all (major) tournament that has EPT points. So I guess its too big (of a prize pool) to pass up on Maru part, the issue would be the schedule conflict with GSL, I think they would work around that , like a 1-week break or something,
Thanks, had missed that interview. Hopefully he'll take part in that big EPT tourney as planned !
EPT
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2022 DreamHack SC2 Masters Valencia - Regionals![[image loading]](/staff/Waxangel/EPT/Valencia2022/latamgroups2.png)
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2019 WCS Fall
