Another MLG, another week forcing teams to divide their players between GSTL and foreign event. This time around, however, teams have apparently decided that the alure of a trip to IPL4 outweighs possible gains in Columbus and elected to keep more resources at home. Perhaps watching what happened to an Incredible Miracle sans Mvp, NesTea, and Losira was enough to scare them off trying to get by on the bare mimimum.

Both teams here lose a small but important part of their lineup, with FXO sending Oz abroad and oGs wishing TheStC success in America. It's tough to say if either got the better end of that trade, pound-for-pound Oz is the stronger player but TheStC is a more vital component of his team's roster.

The GSTL trail for both of these teams has been one of hardship, near-misses, and warming victories. FXO has had a bumpy ride, from falling to SlayerS in the first day of bracket play to bouncing back and taking them down in a rematch last week. In between they pummeled a dying ZeNEX but were overtaken by MVP.

Meanwhile Old Generations hasn't had a match that has taken less than nine games to decide. Each time they come to play it comes down to the wire, and win or lose, needing the entire length of the set before closing it out. They have enjoyed a dark horse in the form of VINES, while Fin has yet to put up a win in this league. The TeamLiquid piece of their lineup is enjoying more playtime recently, HerO stepping into the booth for three games against MVP and Zenio once against SlayerS, a trend that is likely to continue tonight.

When it comes down to it, FXO is the stronger team. Old Generations can put up wins, but they always struggle to get there. Their roster is largely players who are playing worse than they were months ago, and the loss of TheStC will hurt them. FXO has an opposite story, Leenock looked in form in his most recent Up/Down matches, and GuMiHo's biggest threat is TheStC who isn't a factor here. Even Choya looked more than prepared last week, and should do well in the opening match today given that preparation for InCa is often as simple as building a robotics.

While it may not be a landslide, FXO has the roster to grind oGs down to earn their way into the semifinals.

Mimicking the situation SlayerS and FXO found themselves in a week ago, StarTale and New Star HoSeo will meet again for a rematch of their first week in the bracket. Their last clash ended in embarrassing fashion when HoSeo fell to a Bomber all-kill, the only clean 5-0 victory this season.

In his following sets Bomber hasn't been nearly as impressive so HoSeo can perhaps breathe a sigh of relief. PartinG is also traveling this weekend, making the StarTale Protoss threat more one-dimensional. Still, they have Curious, Squirtle, and a back-to-Code-S July behind their Terran ace which is going to be tough for HoSeo to deal with in succession.

Though they may have been the team on the wrong side of both all-kills in this season, or perhaps because of it, HoSeo is a team that always comes to the match with a box of tools rather than objects of blunt force. A group that always rises to the occasion, they survive on smart builds and clever play, crafting their wins with delicate maneuvers that rely on precision rather than pure strength. Their only obvious star is Jjakji, who has never played a huge role in their team matches, forcing them to eek out victories here and there between Seal, San, and Sculp (at least that one time).

After AcE went all out in the match against Prime with celebrations and post-game antics, only to later lose the series, we can hope they are both more prepared both to win and have more calculated places planned for over-the-top victory dances.

Predicting StarTale to advance, but HoSeo has a knack for squeezing by at times when we least expect it.