Hello shoopers, look at your shops, now look back at me, now back at your shops, now back to me. Sadly, that isn't me...
Something something awesomeness made by disciple!
By ]343[, l10f and flamewheel
This post proves two things: that I'm a liar (since I came back), and that Teamliquid is pretty darn addictive. And I guess like myself, MSL decided to show up for the winter session as well. Honestly, I didn't think our beloved MSL would be coming back, what with all the legal drama going on over there in Korea and whatnot. Anyway, MBCGame decides to screw the rules they have a tournament and start the MSL again, and it's another file-sharing company! Though I don't know how I'm supposed to make jokes out of PDPop as compared to BigFile. I'll find something. Anyway, us remaining few BW writers are going to continue bringing you the news coverage that you love, though don't blame us if we spontaneously combust and disappear randomly!
Regardless, let's hope Blizzard doesn't sue us next!
- Group 1 Who needs practice when you can play cell phone games yet stomp scrubs anyway? Stork would rather stay up and increase his thumb's APM.
- Groups 2, 3, 4: Lomo, Juni, and HoeJJa advance past some similarly underwhelming players.
- Group 5: n.Die_soO beats up-and-coming Woongjin Terran hOn_sin, who had shattered the hopes and dreams of Jesus himself.
- Group 6: Crazy-Hydra manages to lose to the famous PvX enigma, Jaehoon.
- Group 7: Being Modesty isn't quite as good as being sHy.
- Group 8: Canata slices through some bad Zergs to get another shot at reaffirming his Survivor King™ status.
Afternoon Groups
- Group 9: hyvaa beats firebathero in a very entertaining series (other than the 9pool vs 14cc).
- Group 10: GoRush successfully takes out ToSsGirL, but can't handle the no longer hilaribad PerfectMan.
- Group 11: Grandpa Toss and PianO can't take a game off rookie Samsung Terran Reality.
- Group 12: Storm Zerg and Muta Stacker are 2:0'd in Ro4, and CuteAngel advances without much trouble.
- Group 13: yCh[z-zOne] takes out Major and Flying without dropping a set in an impressive showing over other rising players.
- Group 14: Watch out for MisO_Lt this season--after helping CJ to a Dream League championship, he's moved on to the big leagues to advance over Tempest and even Mind in good games.
- Groups 15, 16: Solid players Horang2 and Neo.G_Soulkey beat up some scrubs (excluding, of course, the always-brilliant Rock) to advance to the MST.
Evening Groups
- Groups 17, 18, 19: Killer, RuBy, and HyuN hardly blink while advancing over mediocre players. Two ACE players, old veteran XellOs and DT-master M18M, lose in the first round.
- Group 20: Another promising face from CJ's Dream League run, BByong doesn't even have to deal with Kwanro to advance.
- Group 21: Unlike his fellow all-in master in Group 20, Shine advances after some easy ZvTs.
- Group 22: Following the trend of victorious Hite Entus players, captain Orion upsets BeSt in a stunning 2:0 series and reinstating the SKT Protoss's image as a 2-matchup player.
- Group 23: Movie continues Hite's success as he advances over some easy competition.
- Group 24: Ssak upsets the usually-solid Pure as he passes his second ever individual league preliminary.
- Group 25: BaBy's rainbow socks still appear to be missing in an upset loss to KT Protoss Anyppi.
- Group 26: Leta shakes off his Proleague woes to take the final spot in the MST.
Now, before we continue onto our speculations on the MST, a word from our sponsor--
Just kidding, he got sued. Anyway, instead you can take a moment to look at this:
PDPop: partying hard since 2010.
Why, you ask? Because disciple asked me not to. That's the only reason. Hah!
Here's l10f with his predictions on how the Survivor Tournament is going to break down.
MST Predictions
By l10f
By l10f
If it was still last season, this group would be extremely easy to predict. Two players that perform better than the other two. However, with Jangbi's recent loss streak, and HoeJJa's decent ZvP, I believe HoeJJa will have the edge on the first set. Hydra is the favorite in this group, although his weak ZvZ might cause trouble for him against HoeJJa if there are any upsets in this group. Ssak is no joke either, he has shown in the preliminaries that he can take down an experienced player like Pure. Overall a hard group to predict. Hydra should take it 2-0, but any of the three other players could take the 2nd spot.
JangBi < HoeJJa
Ssak < Hydra
Hydra > HoeJJa
Ssak > JangBi
Ssak > HoeJJa
Group 2: (11/11 19:30 KST)
great vs Canata
Neo.G_Soulkey vs Shuttle
Ssak < Hydra
Hydra > HoeJJa
Ssak > JangBi
Ssak > HoeJJa
Group 2: (11/11 19:30 KST)
great vs Canata
Neo.G_Soulkey vs Shuttle
Again, we have a group with one clear favorite, Soulkey, and three other players that could possibly take the group. Shuttle has only played PvP this season, and he's not doing that well, considering how it's his best matchup. Canata's unrivaled MST records must be taken into account as well, and as long as he avoids Shuttle in the loser's set, he should be able to take the 2nd spot from this group.
great < Canata
SoulKey > Shuttle
SoulKey > Canata
great > Shuttle
Canata > great
Group 3: (11/13 17:00 KST)
Action vs BByong
Shine vs Tyson
SoulKey > Shuttle
SoulKey > Canata
great > Shuttle
Canata > great
Group 3: (11/13 17:00 KST)
Action vs BByong
Shine vs Tyson
Another difficult group to predict. Some might say Action is the clear favorite in this group, but Shine and Tyson aren't pushovers either. I think it will turn out to be either Shine or Action vs Tyson for the final set, and with Triathlon being the map for the final set, the Zergs should be able to take it home for the 2nd spot from this group.
Action > BByong
Shine > Tyson
Shine > Action
Tyson > BByong
Action > Tyson
Group 4: (11/13 19:30 KST)
free vs Reality
RuBy vs HoGiL
Shine > Tyson
Shine > Action
Tyson > BByong
Action > Tyson
Group 4: (11/13 19:30 KST)
free vs Reality
RuBy vs HoGiL
free and RuBy should take this easily, unless Reality causes any upsets, which is very possible. HoGiL has no chance. Even his "good" matchup, ZvP, hasn't looked good in a while.
free > Reality
RuBy > HoGiL
free > RuBy
Reality > HoGiL
RuBy > Reality
Group 5: (11/18 17:00 KST)
Bisu vs Orion
HyuN vs Really
RuBy > HoGiL
free > RuBy
Reality > HoGiL
RuBy > Reality
Group 5: (11/18 17:00 KST)
Bisu vs Orion
HyuN vs Really
Another easy group to predict, Bisu is on a roll, and Really is 2-0 TvZ this season. HyuN loves to create upsets, but not this time.
Bisu > Orion
HyuN < Really
Bisu > Really
HyuN > Orion
Really > HyuN
Group 6: (11/18 19:30 KST)
RorO vs Lomo
Horang2 vs s2
HyuN < Really
Bisu > Really
HyuN > Orion
Really > HyuN
Group 6: (11/18 19:30 KST)
RorO vs Lomo
Horang2 vs s2
With four mediocre players being in one group, I'll have to use their current momentum to predict the matches. I think it'll be a while until we see Lomo win on a televised game again. Horang2 has been playing rather well lately (except losing to Jaehoon of all players), but his weak PvZ might be his downfall with two good ZvP players in the group.
RorO > Lomo
Horang2 < s2
s2 > RorO
Horang2 > Lomo
Horang2 > RorO
Group 7: (11/20 17:00 KST)
Midas vs n.Die_soO
Anyppi vs ZerO
Horang2 < s2
s2 > RorO
Horang2 > Lomo
Horang2 > RorO
Group 7: (11/20 17:00 KST)
Midas vs n.Die_soO
Anyppi vs ZerO
ZerO and Midas are clear favorites in this group. Anyppi may have beaten BaBy in the preliminaries, he still has yet to prove himself, and soO, unlike Hyuk and s2, will always be a T1 Zerg.
Midas > n.Die_soO
Anyppi < ZerO
ZerO > Midas
n.Die_soO < Anyppi
Midas > Anyppi
Group 8: (11/20 19:30 KST)
hero vs PerfectMan
Juni vs Leta
Anyppi < ZerO
ZerO > Midas
n.Die_soO < Anyppi
Midas > Anyppi
Group 8: (11/20 19:30 KST)
hero vs PerfectMan
Juni vs Leta
Leta is the huge favorite in this group, and he should be able to get through 2-0 no problem. The second place is hard to predict, because Little July is very inconsistent and PerfectMan has the momentum from his recent Proleague victories. Juni also has a good chance if he meets PerfectMan in the final set, but it'll be hard for him to get there.
hero > PerfectMan
Juni < Leta
Leta > hero
Juni > PerfectMan
Juni < hero
Group 9: (11/25 17:00 KST)
sKyHigh vs Jaehoon
yCh[z-zOne] vs Stork
Juni < Leta
Leta > hero
Juni > PerfectMan
Juni < hero
Group 9: (11/25 17:00 KST)
sKyHigh vs Jaehoon
yCh[z-zOne] vs Stork
Skyhigh and Stork are the clear favorites in this group, and I don't see any upset happening here. Jaehoon might fail miserably to yCh in the loser's set for hilarity points though.
sKyHigh > Jaehoon
yCh[z-zOne] < Stork
Stork > sKyHigh
yCh[z-zOne] > Jaehoon
yCh[z-zOne] < sKyHigh
Group 10: (11/25 19:30 KST)
Stats vs hyvaa
MIsO vs HiyA
yCh[z-zOne] < Stork
Stork > sKyHigh
yCh[z-zOne] > Jaehoon
yCh[z-zOne] < sKyHigh
Group 10: (11/25 19:30 KST)
Stats vs hyvaa
MIsO vs HiyA
Stats is the easy favorite in this group, and HiyA would be the 2nd favorite if it hadn't been for his recent slump. HiyA is definitely a better player than hyvaa, but hyvaa just might be able to take HiyA down. Don't count on it though.
Stats > hyvaa
miso < HiyA
Stats > HiyA
miso < hyvaa
HiyA > hyvaa
Group 11: (11/27 17:00 KST)
Violet vs Killer
FrOzen vs Snow
miso < HiyA
Stats > HiyA
miso < hyvaa
HiyA > hyvaa
Group 11: (11/27 17:00 KST)
Violet vs Killer
FrOzen vs Snow
Taking FrOzen out of the equation right away, Snow, Violet, and Killer are all good players. Out of these three, Snow has been playing the best lately, and although I think Violet might take Killer out on the first set on Aztec, if they meet again on Triathlon, Killer should be able to take the final set.
Violet > Killer
Frozen < Snow
Violet < Snow
Frozen < Killer
Killer > Violet
Group 12: (11/27 19:30 KST)
Hyuk vs sHy
Movie vs Classic
Frozen < Snow
Violet < Snow
Frozen < Killer
Killer > Violet
Group 12: (11/27 19:30 KST)
Hyuk vs sHy
Movie vs Classic
Who is sHy? He beat Tiny and Sharp in the preliminaries, but that doesn't really tell us much about how he can perform against players that constantly play on Proleague. Hyuk and Movie would normally be the favorites in this group, but Hyuk has been MIA this season in Proleague, especially since it's Bo7 now. Something must be up, and Classic's lucky chin should be enough for him to defeat Hyuk. Movie vs Hyuk in the final set is difficult one to call, especially since the map is Triathlon. Either could take it, but I think Hyuk has a slightly better chance on that map.
This kick-off post brought to you by the steadfast MSLers l10f and flamewheel... And ]343[, who I kind of sort of but didn't really trick into writing for this. Graphics by disciple, and Flash looks totally badass. Let's get ready for some Survivor!