Thanks for the kind words, everyone. I'd like to point out that within the individual tiers there is no ranking. I don't consider Frustration to be the best player in A Tier for example, just because I wrote about him first.
Realised this after my post, still don't rate probe as highly as you do but that's fine.
Nice write up. I guess I've fallen off from the sc2 scene lately, and I probably won't be coming back unless Lotv is amazing.. Gl to everyone this coming wcs
Looks like nearly all the big names and top tier have signed up, should be a very competitive weekend as you'd expect! Great chance for people to get a good share of the $2500 with no PiG or iaguz competing.
Seems like low signups from the casual B/C tier range however, which is a little disappointing.
Fantastic write-up again Mr. BurgerMan!! Always make me feel pod inside when you write about me
I'll try to play my best this coming weekend even though haven't played for 1 week coz was doing volunteer work at the province.
Glhf to everyone!!
Keep in mind seeding isn't really important because there are tons of total beasts like Probe, RivaL and Azure with no points so yeah, good luck guys, may the luck of the bracket be with you.
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The Transformer Zerg, Jadron Burgerman @Soundwave
Hi guys, just a short little update previewing the 4 seeded players and giving a super quick overview of the players who qualified in Day 1. I'll cover it more thoroughly in a later article.
KingkOng may not have made Premier League last season, but don't think for a second that he isn't still the final boss of SEA and the top dog. KingkOng, whether he's practiced or not, is an absolutely insane and terrifying opponent. He'll 9 pool a 14/14 and win, because he's just that good. KingkOng has had a few international opportunies before, though apart from a 2nd place finish at the Hong Kong eSports Tournament, they haven't gone to his liking. People outside of SEA do not really know of KingkOng. They don't respect him, they don't fear him. KingkOng is a nice guy so I doubt he's thinking about that, but it's about time for KingkOng to put total paralyzing fear into the international scene just like he's terrorized Australian tournaments for the last couple of years.
People are going to be doubting KingkOng coming in here simply because PiG was finally able to one-up him last season, but if you've been part of the scene for long enough, you'll know that KingkOng always gets the last laugh.
EnDerr is the player that everyone fears seeing their name next to in the many weekly SEA tournaments. He has won more of these weeklies than anyone else, but when it comes to big victories, EnDerr has got to be incredibly frustrated. So many times he's demolished the competition only to fall at the final hurdle, this was his story last season, as he defeated all opponents in his path, even managing to push the insane TvZ of iaguz to the limit, but ultimately EnDerr fell in Game 5. It's been like this for so long, and whilst players like PiG and iaguz get all the international exposure, EnDerr, forever consistent, has to sit back and watch this take place, while thinking to himself how close he was, and with a few differences it could be him up there. Is this finally EnDerr's time? He was closer than ever last season, can he succeed this time?
NXZ gets to enjoy his first ever seed to the second stage of a WCS qualifier. When we think of NXZ, we think of his underdog run to 4th place at ACL Brisbane 2013 and the explosive passion he shows, in victory or defeat. NXZ is a very skilled player and a nice guy, but he's going to have a lot of trouble standing out amongst the hugely talented pack of individuals present in Stage 2. But NXZ is of course familiar to underdog runs and overcoming the odds, all it takes is a couple of upsets of someone like KingkOng (remember that he was the only person to take a game off KingkOng last ACL!) to secure a spot in Challenger and secure THE DREAM.
For a long time, Blysk has been not only the best Singaporean player but one of the top Protoss players in SEA/Oceania. Note that I say "one of", because he's never had that one result that clearly puts him above Pezz, Probe and others. This is his chance to make it to the top. If he made it to Challenger, he might finally, after all these years, be able to be called the UNDISPUTED best Protoss in the region. He has some sick momentum on his side, already. He came close last time and not too long beat PiG and iaguz in the same tournament, an insane feat. This is literally Blysk's best opportunity ever.
Qualified Players
ESC.DemiLove
DemiLove wrecked face today, he looks like he's in prime form for Challenger. He only dropped a game to Crimson and Wally. Can anything stop him?
PSiArc
PSiArc was also dominant today, taking out RivaL early and then steamrolling through until he lost to Demi in the winner's finals.
Albion
Albion suffered a loss 1-2 to Wally early but then went on an absolutely insane tear through the loser's bracket, slaying Zergs left and right, including Alopex and Law. He ended up placing Top 4.
SLCN.Law
Once again, Law finished highly in Stage 1. We'll see if he can carry that momentum a bit further on Day 2 this time.
eCKo'Azure
Azure made his WCS debut in a big way, crushing MightyKiwi 2-0 in the first round, before slaying Vaisravana, RunaMoK and Law before finally falling to DemiLove.
Lobo
It was business as usual for the enigmatic Lobo, he qualified without much trouble.
fray'Wally
Wally has arguably the hardest bracket for qualification, taking on Albion and StriKE early in order to qualify. Can he break the curse and make it past the Ro16 in Stage 2?
fray'Alopex
Alopex recieved a lot of hype from the people. He was off to a rocky start, dropping a game to Fullmetal and losing to Law, but he came back and powered hard through the loser bracket, ultimately qualifying with a 2-1 victory over the mysterious NA GM Terran, Seither.
Fenner
Fenner was taken out by Eddie early in a huge upset, but he was able to rebound and take out StriKE and RivaL to qualify. It seems Fenner's ZvT and ZvZ are still in prime form, at least.
eCKo'Probe
Probe was questioned by many as a choice in S Tier, but he showed some solid play today, although the only truly difficult opponent he defeated was mOOnGLaDe, which he did with a 2-0 score. He's got a lot to prove on Day 2.
Vivid
Vivid managed to have an underdog run and qualify for Day 2 again, he had the easiest path there, only having to take out someone named Leon and Eddie. He has a lot to prove if he wants people to respect him for his in-game skills and not his bracket luck.
DynSL.Frustration
Frustration was in a bit of a rush today, he upset mOOnGLaDe 2-1 early on, and then defeated Yours to qualify. He seems to have serious momentum on his side, and we'll see if he can carry it into Day 2.
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