The PokerStrategy.com TSL seeks to bring our disparate community together in a single tournament to determine a true international champion. You've been enjoying the clash between the Europeans and the Americans every week during the TSL Qualifiers, and we've got eight of out thirty-two spots locked. You can catch up on the results of the TSL Qualifiers so far here. Now we turn our eyes to Asia as we begin to unveil our thirteen mystery invites.
We know you've been eagerly anticipating who we've invited into the TSL, but we're going to have to make you wait just a little bit longer to find out the complete list. Each week we will unveil the invites from one race. This week we are announcing the Protoss invites. Next week we will announce the Zerg invites and the following week we will announce the Terran invites. Before we get into the Protoss invites, you might like to enter our raffle by completing the quiz over at PokerStrategy.com - you never know, you might be the lucky person getting an all expenses paid trip to Korea!
After qualifying for GSL Season 2, NsPGenius said this in his interview:
Q. You’re being considered one of the top Protosses.
A. People compare me a lot with sSKS, but since he didn’t qualify this time, I think I’m the top protoss (laughs).
It's comments like these which have gained him an anti-following in Korea. Some progamers have actively conspired to train together to beat him. Is it because they don't like his attitude? Possibly. But more likely it's because he's a damn scary opponent. He was the winner of the Blizzcon Korean Qualifier tournament over Maka and followed that up with a Blizzcon win over Loner. Despite the GSL title eluding him, he is still one of the most accomplished Protoss in the world. His early exits in GSL1 and 3 were due to some crazy Terran all-in play which is indicative of how other players perceive him. His tremendous skill intimidates his opponents and he is a worthy competitor in this season of the TSL.A. People compare me a lot with sSKS, but since he didn’t qualify this time, I think I’m the top protoss (laughs).
You've watched his stream. You've seen him at MLG. You've seen him warp in the Hukership. Now you're going to watch him in the TSL. Hailing from Canada, TLAF-Liquid`Huk has been at the forefront of Starcraft II since the beta and boasts multiple tournament wins. Perhaps most impressive is his win was at MLG Raleigh over KiWiKaKi. Together with his performances at MLG D.C. and MLG Dallas, Huk was the #1 Ranked player for the 2010 MLG Procircuit. Since the conclusion of MLG D.C., Huk has been training in Korea in the Liquid-oGs house and will be participating in the upcoming GSL Code A matches as he was a recipient of one of the Code A seeds. Huk has temporarily left Korea to participate in some international events. You'll get to see him in action at the Assembly Winter in Helsinki next weekend as well as a number of smaller events during the week. Huk is a player to look out for as he currently holds the #7 place on the Korean Ladder meaning his play is solid, fearsome and consistently good.
There was a time when the world was wondering whether we'd have a Protoss make the Round of 8 of a GSL. Then oGsMC came along and took the scene by storm with his exhilarating aggressive style of play. One by one, he decimated his competitors in GSL S3 and was eventually crowned champion. In doing so he became a beacon of hope for all the struggling Protoss users out there. Despite poor results before GSLS3, MC was regarded as one of the strongest Protoss in Korea noted for his incredible mechanics. MC was also the first active SC1 Progamer to switch to SC2 and was on the MBCHeroes A-Team before his switch. While his official SC1 record was lacking, he was about to make waves on the scene as he playing exceptionally well in the KeSPA Dream League boasting a 10-3 record. We got to learn a lot about MC's personality through the show "Hyungjoon Becomes a Progamer". Despite his fun loving personality, MC means business. He epitomises the killer instinct and is going to be a competitor everyone looks to avoid in the TSL.
There are now ten invites remaining. The next invite announcement will take place at the same time next week - on air, just before the finals of the TSL Qualifier #6 on the official TeamLiquid stream. A news post will also be moved out to accompany the on air announcement, just in case you miss the cast! Don't forget, next week we will be announcing our Zerg invites - let the speculation run wild!
Stay tuned for our recap of the 5th TSL Qualifier.
This TSL is sponsored by PokerStrategy.com, the world's largest poker school and community. With hundreds of Poker VODs and an assortment of learning material in 18 different languages, PokerStrategy.com offers the chance for aspiring Poker players to learn from a beginner to a professional level. Sign up using TL's referral link.
Discuss with other fans in the TSL3 Forum.