The NSL enters the top 4 after a very interesting series of team matches to determine the number of players that came out of each group 4 remain standing. Both Taiwanese and Korean players were invited to participate while Taiwan has found itself on the wayside with both of their representatives in Slam and Ian finding themselves ousted in the group stages. The two Koreans MVP.Lure and LG-IMDreamertt stand strong against the Chinese on their home land after making close calls against Jim and Toodming. Unfortunately for them Jim and TooDming were more like mini-bosses now the Chinese big boys are here, XiGua and MacSed will not fall easily and it’ll be an impressive feat for them to defeat the two beasts.
Match 1: LG-IMdreamertt vs iG.XiGua
While WCS China was taken by surprise by Wayi.Comm do not doubt for a moment that XiGua is emperor around these parts, his demolishing of loner and stunning win over squirtle at IPL5 are both signs that the man is the one to beat. Dreamertt meanwhile is looking for something; anything to push him out of the shadows. YoDa got called the best player on IM and has started to make a credible case. With yoda coming out of anonymity dreamertt must be even more desperate to secure a name for himself and defeating xigua would make a great step. With anonymity however comes a key advantage for dreamertt and that is preparation, while dreamer can happily browse the many games that XiGua has on record against his fellow Chinese players and his scarce international outings however at the same time dreamer is mostly stuck with cross country chats with his team mates and friends as well as lure who is protoss to help him get ready while XiGua has all of China behind him.
It’s not to say that dreamertt lacks the skill to win the match, he has claimed wins over the likes of bboongbboong offline as well as surprise wins over players such as leenock in minor online tournaments but that being said it was a very long time ago as well as his 3-2 win over TooDming but is it enough to defeat the juggernaut of the Chinese scene? In the group stages it wasn’t and I’m going to side with China and say no again xigua will repeat his win and secure China’s place in their own finals.
XiGua 3-1 Dreamertt
Match 2: MVP.Lure vs iG.MacSed
Only MacSed can rival XiGua in China, his 3rd place at WCG 2012 (A bizzare event to say the least) with wins over fellow Chinese player Jim, LG-IMYongHwa and FXO.LoWeLy as well as a solid map taken off ST.PartinG on top of a starswar 7 victory over Sen and Grubby highlight a player with ability to compete with the best. That being said lure is not quite as anonymous as his Korean compatriot dreamertt, he might not have the big titles but he has shown that he can compete in the GSL with multiple qualifications throughout the year and a solid run to the top 4 of a Korean TSL qualifier both paint a picture of an at worst solid low tier code A player and that alone is enough to give him decent stock beyond his native peninsula.
Now how do the two match up? MacSed gets the edge here based on recent history and opponent quality, it’s hard to argue against wins over yonghwa, grubby and parting especially given that lure’s only notable calling card in PvP is a win over AZUBU.InCa a long time ago and it’s been a long time even back then since defeating inca in PvP could be considered a great thing (Not to say it's not a solid accomplishment though). When all is said and done I believe the dual juggernauts of the Chinese scene shall defend national pride and MacSed will claim his spot for the dual native finals (A feat that say America is yet to do).
MacSed 3-2 Lure
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