WCS America - Premier

Ro16: Group A Preview
Oz, Jaedong, Ryung and not viOLet


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by DarkLordOlli

As we head into the Ro16 of WCS America, we see a fairly predictable cast of players, with few upsets occurring in the first round of the tournament. Yes, the defending champion, Liquid`HerO, dropped out early in a shock defeat, but the top sixteen consists mostly of our usual cast of foreign sponsored, globe-trotting, Korean prize-money hunters. While there are a few foreigners mixed into the bunch as well, we'll start the Ro16 with an all-Korean group.

Sadly, group A saw one player already drop out without playing even a single game, as Azubu's viOLet was unable attend the tournament due to the same visa issues that prevented him from playing in season one. Expect a fierce fight between the two EG teammates Jaedong and Oz and Axiom's Ryung as they try not to be the player who failed to advance from a three man group.

Group A: Jaedong, Oz, Ryung

Dodging Bullets

All three players in this group seemed to have avoided a worse possible fate in one way or another. viOLet's forfeiture makes it easier for all the players to advance, but everyone has reason to feel good at an individual level.

The Tyrant EG.Jaedong has successfully avoided facing a Protoss in his first series of the night, instead taking on AX.Ryung. Now, while Ryung has displayed excellent TvZ for a long time now, dating back to the days of Wings of Liberty, the former SlayerS Terran is still a fortunate draw considering all the other possibilities.

JD could have drawn CranK, Alicia or - god forbid - Jim. Just by not getting JvP as his first match, Jaedong has already half succeeded. Having displayed great ZvT in the recent past, overcoming players like INnoVation, Flash, and TaeJa, even a player like Ryung shouldn't faze him too much. Furthermore, the only ZvP he might have to play is against his EG teammate Oz, who showed some questionable PvZ in a loss to Revival in the finals of IEM Shanghai. The rules are always changed whenever two players who know each other very well face off, and in Jaedong's special case of ZvP, the Tyrant will gladly take any possible advantage that could help carry him through.

AX.Ryung has also historically had problems against Protoss, with the TvP matchup being the one thing preventing him from reaching greatness in Code S during the WoL era. While Ryung is certainly stronger against Protoss now than he was during his SlayerS days, he was still eliminated from the last WCS AM by one of them (HerO). Coupled with the opinion of lots of vocal Terran players out there that Protoss currently has the upper hand in the matchup and you can't help but think that Ryung might not be entirely unhappy avoiding a Protoss in his first match. His TvZ on the other hand looked phenomenal against mOOnGLaDe and in GSTL where he attained a clean 100% winrate in the matchup including wins over big names such as Life, KangHo and Curious.

As for EG.Oz, the bullet he dodged should be fairly obvious. The wizard starts off with a 2-0 walkover against viOLet in his first match, and just needs one series win against anyone to advance to the Ro8. After looking absolutely unlike himself in the IEM Grand Finals, receiving a brutal 0 - 4 beating at the hands of his teammate Revival, Oz should be all the more pleased about getting to skip a PvZ. Whether or not nerves affected him in Shanghai - this writer tends to think they did - Oz still showed a potential weakness in his PvZ matchup.

As far as preparing goes, the two EG-TL players should have an advantage as they might not have bothered to specifically prepare for one another, having been practice partners for a good part of the last Proleague season while Ryung has to study both. The dynamics of this group are fun, and make it seem like each of these three players has a good shot at making it through - until you realize that only two can advance at the end of the day.

So, who will it be?

On paper, Oz should be in prime position to advance from this group in one way or another. Starting in the Winners' Match is a rare gift even for a player of his veteran status and he only has to win one series to book himself a spot in the Ro8. Last season it was Oz's teammate aLive who started off with a walkover against viOLet, and he managed to convert that into a fifth place finish and a spot at the combined season finals.

That said, Oz needs to be wary as both of his opponents are more than capable of beating him in a best of three. Whoever advances to face him will come in with at least some momentum on his side and wind in his sails.

Group A was always going to be a closely fought group, with or without viOLet. And while viOLet's forfeiture seems to have made it easier for everyone, it will make elimination that much more painful for the unfortunate third place player.

Predictions!

Jaedong > Ryung
Oz > viOLet
Jaedong < Oz
Ryung > viOlet
Jaedong > Ryung

Oz and Jaedong advance.

Writers: DarkLordOlli
Graphics: Pathy
Editor: Waxangel.