EPTBefore the GSL August Finals at AX-Korea in Seoul, South Korea GOMTV has arranged an "AllStar Match" for our viewing pleasure, which is taking place in a SPL-Team League-esque format it would appear.
Our 10 "chosen" to take place in this star studded slug-fest are as follows (from lowest voting % to highest voting %)
StarTale_
FruitDealerIMLosiraLiquid'
JinroStarTale_
JulySlayerS
MMAMarineKing.PrimeWESlayerSBoxeR
oGsMCEG.HuKIM
NesTeaThe two teams will be coached by Mr. Chae (Team Jupiter) and Engine (Team Venus)
The 5 Matchups have been pre-determined to be (Team Jupiter on the left, Team Venus on the right):
Liquid'Jinro vs StarTale_FruitDealer
oGsMC vs IMLosirA
StarTale_July vs SlayerSBoxeR
SlayerSMMA vs MarineKing.PrimeWE
IMNesTea vs EG.HuK
This event begins at 05:00 GMT (+00:00) before the GSL August Finals at 09:10 GMT (+00:00) I hope everyone tunes in, I for one am expecting some awesome matchups.
Since I haven't seen an official TeamLiquid Write-up and it doesn't seem like there will be any Liquibets for this event so far, I'm taking the liberty to write my own match predictions, read them at your own risk.
Match One: Liquid'Jinro vs StarTale_FruitDealer
I don't think anyone would argue with me when I say that both the Swedish Gorilla Terran and our GSL Open Season 1 champion are in a bit of a slump right now. I think the biggest question when looking at this match-up is "Who's slump is worse?". We saw Jinro at MLG Raleigh fail to make it out of the Open Bracket, falling just short to Complexity Gamings' TriMaster, who had a very impressive showing, this loss coming shortly after Jinro fell out of Code A. Meanwhile, FruitDealer has been showing a small amount of recent success, managing to cling to his Code A spot for another season. I love Jinro as much as the next person, but I predict this match going in StarTale_FruitDealer's favor.
Match Two: oGsMC vs IMLosirA
An Up&Down match re-match. These two players could not have played a more recent televised set. During the Up & Down Day 2 for the end of GSL August/GSL October LosirA took down MC and clung to his Code S spot, while our Kratoss Protoss fell down into Code A like MVP before him. The biggest question with this match-up is "Who practiced more?" In the Up & Down Matches, LosirA seemed to sweep MC under the rug on the way to reclaiming his Code S pendant, will he be able to do so again? I want MC to rise back up, and begin the resurgence of Protoss hope, but against LosirA, I think tonight is not the night. LosirA takes Game 2.
Match Three: StarTale_July vs SlayerSBoxeR
A Brood War tale, three time champion, and golden mouse recipient in the form of JulyZerg facing off against the former bonjwa BoxeR. I can't come up with a story better than this for these matches, and I think this may be the closest match in the series. July recently fell in the GSL August Semi-Finals to IMMvp, while BoxeR is struggling on the edge of Code A. July, fresh off his stinging 3-1 defeat to MVP will have an edge in this matchup, and I have to give him the win. July takes Game 3.
Match Four: SlayerSMMA vs MarineKing.PrimeWE
A TvT between two VERY experienced TvTers, an extremely close match. The SlayerS ace MMA who in recent history has won an MLG, made it to the SuperTournament Finals, dropped out of Code A, only to regain Code S status at MLG Anaheim, falling to Polt.PrimeWE again in the Ro16, the biggest question is "Can MarineKing match the TvT levels of MVP and Polt?" Personally, I don't think so. MarineKing DID make it back into Code S after falling to TvT mastermind and teammate of MMA's SlayerSGanZi, and I think this combined with MMA's extreme ability to multitask, I expect this to come down to a nailbiter, with MMA edging out MarineKing. MMA takes Game 4.
Match Five: IMNesTea vs EG.HuK
I'm not even sure what to write at this point. HuK is a fantastic player, and arguably the best foreigner around currently, but can he stand up to the might of 3-Time GSL Champion IMNesTea? I think not, and that's all my preview really comes with. HuK is a fantastic foreigner and player in general, but he's not on the same level as NesTea. I predict NesTea to easily take Game 5 and clinch the win for Team Jupiter.
I hope you enjoyed this little article, I certainly had fun writing it.
For more information straight from the source, as well as photos and other GSL information please check out the original source: http://www.gomtv.net/event/GSL1YearAnniversaryEvent.gom
EDIT: Fixed the TLPD-izer errors.
