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After a bit of a delay here's a synopsis of the groups so far. With multiple upsets this MSL has proven to be one of the most exciting ones yet. Enjoy.
Group A
1. (T)fOrGG 2-0 ► Advances to Round of 16
2. (T)Iris 2-1 ► Advances to Round of 16
3. (T)Leta 1-2 ► Eliminated
4. (Z)ZerO 0-2 ► Eliminated
Game 1: (T)fOrGG > (T)Leta on Athena 2
Game 2: (T)Iris > (Z)ZerO on Byzantium 2
Winners: (T)fOrGG > (T)Iris on Medusa
Losers: (T)Leta > (Z)ZerO on Medusa
Final: (T)Iris > (T)Leta on Destination
Group A was rather uneventful. The favorites of this group advanced without too many snags. Iris hit a little bump vs fOrGG but he took down Leta and ZerO easily. There were not any notable games from this series besides fOrGG showing great map abuse vs Iris on Medusa and Iris's game vs ZerO on Byzantium. The biggest story of this series was fOrGG trouncing both Leta and Iris. fOrGG seems out to prove his 3-1 trouncing of Flash in the previous MSL was not a fluke.
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Group B
1. (P)JangBi 2-0 ► Advances to Round of 16
2. (Z)YellOw[ArnC] 2-1 ► Advances to Round of 16
3. (T)Flash 1-2 ► Eliminated
4. (P)Bul_T 0-2 ► Eliminated
Game 1: (T)Flash < (Z)YellOw[ArnC] on Byzantium 2
Game 2: (P)JangBi > (P)Bul_T on Medusa
Winners: (Z)YellOw[ArnC] < (P)JangBi on Destination
Losers: (T)Flash > (P)Bul_T on Destination
Final: (Z)YellOw[ArnC] > (T)Flash on Athena 2
Group B had a couple unexpected results. Mainly the elimination of Flash and the advancement of YarnC. In the past YarnC was thought to be the next big thing before he dropped out of leagues and was put on the OGN Sparkyz 2v2. But recently YarnC has burst out. The really notable games from this Group was JangBi vs YarnC which was a back and forth battle between these two players and YarnC vs Flash on Athena where YarnC really exhibited beautiful Mutalisk micro.
Bul_T, the player who showed so much promise in his MST group, was easily taken down by JangBi and Flash giving him a fast exit to this MSL. That being said he is definitely a player to watch in the future.
Flash hit a rough spot in these games. He lost to YarnC's 9 pool in the first set, took down Bul_T easily, then was beaten by YarnC again in the 5th set. It seems lately that Flash is just catching the wrong player at the wrong time.
That being said, all the games from this group were nice games with the most notable ones being YarnC vs JangBi and YarnC vs Flash.
Group C
1. (T)FrOzean 2-0 ► Advances to Round of 16
2. (Z)Jaedong 2-1 ► Advances to Round of 16
3. (T)UpMagiC 1-2 ► Eliminated
4. (T)go.go 0-2 ► Eliminated
Game 1: (Z)Jaedong > (T)go.go on Medusa
Game 2: (T)UpMagiC < (T)FrOzean on Destination
Winners: (Z)Jaedong < (T)FrOzean on Athena 2
Losers: (T)go.go < (T)UpMagiC on Athena 2
Final: (Z)Jaedong > (T)UpMagiC on Byzantium 2
Group C was probably the most impressive Group so far game wise. All the games had a lot of action and were unique to say the least. Really the dark horse in this Group was Frozean who showed excellent play in both of his games. If he continues to play like this he will be a strong force in this MSL.
Jaedong vs go.go was a rush game which forced Jaedong to go 1 hatch mutalisks. Despite gaining an early lead when he took down Jaedong's natural. go.go could not hold it together against Jaedong's Mutalisk micro.
Up vs FrOzean was really the game to see. An action packed TvT on Destination with constant cliff abuse and mass tank vs tank fighting. If you don't watch any other game from Group C you must watch this one.
Frozean vs Jaedong was similar to go.go vs Jaedong in the sense that Jaedong was forced to go 1 hatch Mutalisks. Frozean succeeded, unlike go.go, in holding the Mutalisks and finally pushing out and crushing Jaedong.
go.go vs Up and Jaedong vs Up were relatively quick games with Jaedong taking down Up with fast lings and Up putting a clinic on go.go.
Group E
1. (P)Kal 2-0 ► Advances to Round of 16
2. (P)Stork 2-1 ► Advances to Round of 16
3. (T)Sea 1-2 ► Eliminated
4. (P)HerO 0-2 ► Eliminated
Game 1: (P)Kal > (P)Stork on Athena 2
Game 2: (P)HerO < (T)Sea on Byzantium 2
Winners: (P)Kal > (T)Sea on Medusa
Losers: (P)Stork > (P)HerO on Medusa
Final: (T)Sea < (P)Stork on Destination
Group E was somewhat uneventful past the fact that Kal beat Stork in the first set. The games for the most part tended to be one sided. Kal had little trouble in this group with his quick 2-0 vs Sea and Stork, while Stork hit a minor snag when losing to Kal in his best match up. Again, the matches were rather one sided.
Once again Sea was eliminated from a league, another blow to his TL Fanbase. It seems that Stork is his bane and brings the worst out of him game wise.
The games from this group weren't bad but the did not have the excitement and uniqueness of Group C.
Group G
1. (P)free 2-0 ► Advances to Round of 16
2. (T)NaDa 2-1 ► Advances to Round of 16
3. (Z)sAviOr 1-2 ► Eliminated
4. (T)Dongrae 0-2 ► Eliminated
Game 1: (P)free > (T)Dongrae on Medusa
Game 2: (T)NaDa > (Z)sAviOr on Destination
Winners: (P)free > (T)NaDa on Athena 2
Losers: (T)Dongrae < (Z)sAviOr on Athena 2
Final: (T)NaDa > (Z)sAviOr on Byzantium 2
Group G was interesting. NaDa and Free advanced. Free put a total clinic on Dongrae and NaDa. The notable game of Free's was his game vs Dongrae where he had the most phenomenal Reaver micro.
The real story of this group though was the 3 TvZs. The games felt like games played in 2000 with constant 1 base play vs 2 hatch Mutalisks. NaDa vs Savior in the 2nd set ending early with NaDa doing a fast 2 rax rush before Savior's Sunkens were completed. Savior's game vs Dongrae was a close match with both players playing off 1 base Terran and 2 base Zerg for the majority of the match. The final set between Savior and NaDa was again, 1 base vs 2 hatch play, with a couple back and forth moments.
The games from this group are definitely worth a watch for both the nostalgia and quality of the games.
Group H
1. (T)Hwasin 2-0 ► Advances to Round of 16
2. (P)Tempest 2-1 ► Advances to Round of 16
3. (T)RuBy 1-2 ► Eliminated
4. (T)fantasy 0-2 ► Eliminated
Game 1: (T)Hwasin vs (T)fantasy on Destination
Game 2: (P)Tempest < (T)RuBy on Athena 2
Winners: (T)Hwasin > (T)RuBy on Byzantium 2
Losers: (T)fantasy < (P)Tempest on Byzantium 2
Final: (T)RuBy < (P)Tempest on Medusa
Group H was one of the most interesting groups. Tempest managed to make it past 3 of the top Terran's in progaming with some unique builds and risky play. Possibly the two biggest upsets from this group are Tempest advancing and fantasy dropping his TvT vs Hwasin after exhibiting such amazing TvT as of late.
Despite being known for his incredible macro PvT, Tempest, showed that he can play cheesy/creative with a ballsy cannon rush vs RuBy in the 5th set and a 12 nex mass Dark Templar follow up against Fantasy. If Tempest can both harness his incredible macro and continue to mix in strategies like this he will be a strong force in this MSL.
The other story from this group is Hwasin. Hwasin had been having a rough time since WCG where he went 1-3 vs fOrGG and in the Incruit OSL where he was 2-0ed by Thezerg. Despite these rough patches it seems that Hwasin is back after his beastly showing against RuBy and fantasy.
The games from this group were phenomenal.