Saturday, January 10th, 10:00am AEDT. Save the date and get hyped, that’s when Stage 1 begins!
The World Championship Series Australian qualifiers are just a matter of days away. This is the beginning of an amazing new chapter for eSports in South East Asia. Support from Blizzard during 2013 and 2014 was limited when compared to the incredible World Championship Series from 2012, which saw a huge outpouring of passion from those participating in the event or spectating it. This year we are back to some overwhelming support from Blizzard and it’s very nice to see. Hype levels for 2015 are currently through the roof as the eSports scene in SEA gets bigger and bigger with more money being thrown in. The qualifiers this coming weekend are the first chapter in an amazing 2015. Twelve players will advance (along with four seeded players) to Stage 2. From there, four players will advance to the WCS Challenger league, earning themselves a minimum of $2,000 and more importantly, a shot to advance to the WCS Premier League, and fly overseas to participate in a LAN setting with some of the best players outside of Korea. In the past couple of years we’ve seen players like Petraeus, mOOnGLaDe and iaguz have good runs at international LAN events, but with two guaranteed players going overseas, you have to hope that SEA players will do better than ever in 2015.
With the preliminaries coming up, a lot of SEA StarCraft players are scrambling to practice, even up until the final day. Whether its mass laddering, or constant custom games with friends, trying to perfect a specific kind of timing down to the millisecond, the competition in 2015 has already gotten off to a blazing start. Will Exile 5’s KingkOng and PiG continue their reign of dominance over their fellow competitors? How about ROOT Gaming’s iaguz? Will Psi Storm Gaming’s new recruit EnDerr, or My Insanity’s Blysk finally prove to everyone that they belong at the absolute top of SEA, to be mentioned among those names? Is it possible that we see the games of a lifetime from lesser known players like Vivid or JaBiTo, able to make a career defining run and score some upsets (and potentially some SEA bounty money) along the way? Competition is a beautiful thing, wild and unpredictable. Let’s take a look at the competitors. Due to this being the first WCS event of the year for SEA, I shall be particularly thorough in examining each competitor.
What more can be said about Jared ‘PiG’ Krensel? Currently the face of Australian StarCraft 2, PiG was hard at work in 2014, attending many international tournaments and growing his stream into a reputable force for any lost Zergs looking for coaching and entertainment. With the exception of the occasions he ran into his arch nemesis KingkOng, who manages to snatch victory from PiG’s grasp at every conceivable opportunity, PiG was highly dominant in all the Australian tournaments he attended in 2014, most recently winning Melbourne’s Domination Cup without dropping even a single game, showing himself to be a clear step above even the fastest rising stars in Australia. PiG will be entering 2015 certainly as a favourite to seize one of the coveted Premier League speots. A highly skilled player even on an international scale, there may not be anything standing in the way of PiG’s ticket overseas. But pigs are known for being rather meaty, and perhaps a mighty axe, wielded by an even mightier man could stop him. And that brings us to…
ROOTiaguz
Last Ten Matches - TvT: 16-7
TvZ: 13-11
TvP: 7-15
Overall: 15-8
Ethan ‘iaguz’ Zugai was always a highly skilled player and thought of as one of Australia’s absolute undisputed top talents, and ever since Heart of the Swarm was released, his TvZ match-up became absolutely monstrous. Able to do the unthinkable and become the first (and to date, only) non-Zerg player to win an ACL, iaguz, already a formidable dwarf-like being, decided to hijack a steamroller and use it to seize even more momentum, joining ROOT Gaming and becoming one of the already reputable team’s top players. Drawing attention by most recently qualifying for the WCS AM Season 3 Ro16 last year, iaguz has somehow become an even deadlier foe, which could spell disaster for anyone unlucky enough to face him in a series.
x5.KingkOng
Last Ten Matches - ZvT: 12-11
ZvZ: 13-8
ZvP: 16-8
Overall: 11-11
He is many things. Beast, conqueror, destroyer and incredibly nice guy. Sam aka KingkOng is SEA’s resident Korean. Having spent many years playing for StarTale in their gaming house, KingkOng eventually moved to Australia to become a chef, playing StarCraft 2 on the side. Yet even when he has turned up to events with only a night or two of practice in months, losses for KingkOng are exceedingly rare. Sure, there are times when KingkOng can’t quite get the job done, and the last couple of online tournaments KingkOng has entered haven’t gone as he would have intended. Yet, we have seen time and time again that there is absolutely no one in SEA who can outperform and outplay KingkOng on the biggest stages, when victory matters the most. KingkOng has participated in five different ACLs across 2013 and 2014 and won a record setting four of them. His one loss comes from a Ro8 exit 1-2 to PiG at ACL Melbourne 2013. But the beast was not stopped, not even hurt. Merely slowed down, as he has completely crushed PiG in all their subsequent ACL encounters. Dropping games, let alone series, is incredibly uncommon for KingkOng in this kind of environment.
Every ACL (or an event such as this which is just as important) people ask the question “How much has KingkOng been practicing?” but every time KingkOng proves that the answer is entirely irrelevant as he crushes the competition regardless. For some people who are seeking a true blue 100% Australian bloke representing them in WCS, KingkOng isn’t the hero they want. But dammit, he’s the hero we all deserve, and the one we need right now.
PSISTIM.EnDerr
Last Ten Matches - ZvT: 15-4
ZvZ: 12-12
ZvP: 13-11
Overall: 11-14
Oh, EnDerr. Poor, underrated EnDerr. EnDerr’s story from 2011-2013 was a sad one, as he consistently played at a top level in SEA, yet never got mentioned among the absolute top names. 2014 however, turned that all around. Starting the year off with a victory over Petraeus to make it into WCS Challenger League, EnDerr became an absolute winning machine in SEA over the course of the year, winning more SEA tournaments than anyone else in the year and in the process winning the respect of anyone who was unfamiliar with his amazing gameplay. Recently keeping his pro gaming dream alive by joining Psi Storm Gaming and seeded into the 2nd Stage, EnDerr gets a little bit of extra time to sharpen his skills and prove once and for all that he is on the level of those players like PiG and iaguz. I initially did place him in the tier below this one, but I think it’s about time we all give EnDerr the respect he deserves. The respect he has earned. Welcome to the top tier, EnDerr.
Started From The Bottom Now We Here – The Next Level
Blysk is the best Singaporean player and one of the best Protoss players in SEA. Yet, for a man with so much hype and so much respect, Blysk has unfortunately failed to deliver the results he really wants, falling below his expectations at important tournaments like ACL in 2014. I truly believe that Blysk comes into these qualifiers with something to prove. Not just to others, but to himself. I don’t think many (or even any) of us can truly comprehend how badly Blysk must want this. It’s time for him to leave past mistakes behind and ascend to the next level.
Arrive Play Tournaments Vanish Repeat
Such is the code of the mysterious Singaporean Protoss known as Lobo. Everyone knows this guy has skills, but no one really seems to actually know anything about him. As such, writing about him is challenging.
He definitely has some talent, even if things haven’t been going his way as of late. He’s been playing in the Korean dominated Leifeng Cups very often, and at times has secured some very impressive results in them. He’s still a darkhorse after all this time but he could definitely show some great results.
Alopex has always been a good Zerg player, but in 2014 the Chinese Ambassador really exploded out onto the scene and got some very nice results, such as at the Domination Cup near the end of the year. Despite a rocky start to the year, Alopex has proven he is one of the top talents that Australia has to offer. Playing mainly on the Korean (where he has managed to reach Grandmaster) and Chinese ladders and constantly improving, 2015 could certainly be the year of Alopex.
All hail King Henry! RivaL is very highly respected by his peers for his great in game skill. For a long time, due to RivaL’s relative lack of presence online, he was greatly overlooked, even when he achieved great results in Melbourne LANs. However, ever since he became more involved with the scene and joined eCKo eSports, RivaL has become a name that almost every SEA player fears seeing their name next to in a tournament bracket. RivaL isn’t a consistent dominator, however seeing him do poorly is also incredibly rare. RivaL is without a doubt Melbourne’s top Zerg at the moment, and he’ll be looking to follow up on recent good performances at LANs by bringing some dominance to the online realm of the qualifiers as well.
The ol’ British chap himself, Fennerm8 has managed to do something that very few other SEA players have been able to do, and that’s build himself up as a recognizable brand, with many video guides and replays helping young Zergs looking for aid, in addition to his very consistent streaming schedule. Fenner surprised many when he went overseas to stay in the ROOT House. Although it appeared Fenner had maybe plateaued at that point, managing to stay around the lower side of NA GM, his ROOT experience turned him into a roaching machine, and significantly improved his gameplay. Many Terran players were crushed before the endless parade of roaches entering their bases. Fenner has remained at a decent level in SEA for many years now, and it may finally be time that he steps up to the next stage of talent.
Ryan ‘NXZ’ Jones has had his ups, and he has had his downs. NXZ is a highly respected player, and ever since his breakout tournament performance at ACL Brisbane 2013, has become one of the top Zerg names in Australia, and Australia’s most visibly emotional player in tournaments since the retirement of tgun. NXZ recently left Team Exile 5 and for a time it appeared as if the StarCraft 2 road was at an end for him. But now NXZ has struck back with renewed passion and drive to ascend to the next level. He’s shown flashes of greatness such as when he was the only player to take a game off KingkOng at ACL Sydney last year, but they always faded with the moment. Now, at last, if there’s ever a time for NXZ to make an impact and make his presence felt permanently, it’s now. He has been training hard and with a field of competitors this stacked, it’s do or die. Once you go Ryan, there’s no point in tryin’.
Hayden ‘Wally’ Bell, perhaps the fastest rising star in all of SEA. From 2013 until now, Wally has been improving at an absolutely frightening rate. Known for playing a huge amount of ladder games, the consistency and frequency of Wally’s practice has paid off huge dividends as he is now a legitimate threat for any SEA player in a tournament. Although he may suffer from a poor mindset at times, there is no doubt that Wally is an incredibly skilled player, even at the times when he himself may not believe it. With such an incredible run in 2014 and such momentum on his side, 2015 might very well be the undisputed year of Wally. Go forth, Wally! Canberra is rooting for you!
TtSYF.Frustration (interview included!)
Last Ten Matches: 13-14
The sole notable player currently active in Western Australia, Ashley ‘Frustration’ Cox had vanished from the scene for quite some time, until he suddenly exploded back into action in 2014, bigger and better than ever before. In the past, Frustration was known for a bad attitude, but upon his return he posted a blog stating he was going to make changes to himself, and he appears to have followed through. Securing some very impressive results in 2014, such as a Top 6 finish at ACL Sydney, and even managing to take games off the implacable KingkOng, Frustration has a chance to make a huge name for himself and become the face of Protoss in SEA.
Hi Frustration, the WCS Qualifiers are this weekend? How ready are you?
Hey Soundwave, I'm doing well, I have been practicing on KR a lot but haven't gotten much PvZ. But I feel I can still do well and I am pretty ready!
You came back to playing SC2 earlier last year, and managed to have a great run at ACL Sydney. How important was that tournament to your motivation for SC2 going forward?
They were very important as if I didnt do well at ACL Sydney I probably would have quit StarCraft in the pro scene and just played casually, so the fact I got Top 8 and did really well has pushed me to get better and try to get even better results.
Looking at the list of sign-ups for the qualifier is there anyone in particular you would like to play/eliminate?
Honestly, I would love to eliminate people like Wally and KingkOng as they are probably the toughest Zergs I would face, but people I would like to play are Zergs that struggle vs Protoss . But seriously, I am playing for the money so whoever I get, I get and I will be trying my hardest.
How do you balance clubbing and SC2? Have you cut down on the clubbing recently in order to practice more for these qualifiers or still going strong?
I have cut down on clubbing lately, in the last 2 months I have had no money at all so I haven't been clubbing for about 2 months, so all my time has gone into SC2 and CS:GO, but once I get a job again I might go back to clubbing or stay with what I am doing now. It depends on WCS and what's happening with ACL.
Good luck in the qualifiers, Frustration! Do you have any shout-outs?
Thanks! Good luck to you too if you are playing! Shout-out to my fans who have been cheering for me and SYF Gaming for taking me in.
Daniel ‘deth’ Haynes was in the past overshadowed. With such incredible Terrans in Australia such as iaguz, Rossi and even the party animal himself YoonYJ, deth was always a very solid talent and a threat to anyone in a tournament, but he found it difficult to stand out above the rest of the pack. With the release of Heart of the Swarm, deth’s results seemed to start to improve, with him actually outperforming all his fellow Terrans at ACL Brisbane 2013. Soon after that, though…he retired from competitive play.
But something about StarCraft 2, it’s hard to quit playing forever. deth floated around for a while, showing up to a tournament or two even in the midst of his retirement, but as of late there has been a huge surge of activity from deth, playing and streaming his ladder games and even managing to pick up some impressive wins at the recent Domination Cup in his home city of Melbourne, such as a 2-0 over RivaL. deth is back and meching some destruction happen. What would it mean for deth to qualify for WCS? Only the man himself can answer that question.
Crimson has been one of the top talents in New Zealand for a couple of years now. He has many long periods of time where he stops playing, for one reason or another. But when he returns he always tries to practice hard and return to make an impact. What an impact he could potentially make here, in this field of top level SEA talent.
DuSt.DemiLove (interview included)
Last Ten Matches: 9-14
For a long time, there was only one notable player from India, and that was raZiel. There was an up and coming player named DemiLove who had joined Team Red Viperz, and was hyped up a little bit at the time, by those who had played some games with him. It took him a solid year or so of hard work, but DemiLove has risen to a high level within SEA, and given India a second chance at glory. DemiLove is an exceptionally hard worker and has even managed to break into Korean Grandmaster, a very notable accomplishment. India has lacked WCS representation until now, is this DemiLove’s time?
Hi DemiLove, the WCS Season 1 qualifiers are just a couple of sleeps away! How are you feeling going in to them?
Pretty good, hoping to get past Stage 1. That would itself be a huge relief for me and then I can worry about Stage 2.
How have you been preparing for the qualifiers? Even with such a huge bracket, have you been preparing for anyone in particular?
I would love to knock out NXZ if I get the chance. My ZvZ has gotten slightly better, but I would like to avoid Alopex and Pezz only exception is Frustration :P .
You're pretty well known for being up high on the #dedication thread, and managing to play lots of ladder games. How do you maintain a good mindset with so many games, and is the mindset you have on ladder similar to the mindset you have in tournaments?
My mindset varies on ladder. I just try to play the macro game and learn from it and in tournaments I either get too cocky and make a move to lose me the game or mess up my build. In tournaments if my opponent plays a style I hate I just tend to all-in them because I hate to play the macro game their way.
In the past, India has been very underrepresented in SC2. For a time there was raZiel who had a bit of a presence in SEA, but for the most part India has never really had a hero. Do you think about this at all when you aim to succeed, or is it a non-factor?
Not many people play SC2 here. Most people play Dota/CS:GO and only care about money. But yeah, it would be cool to be the first Indian SC2 player to succeed by winning a huge tournament. Making challenger/premier would be really hard but doable although premier is a dream for me.
HAHA. I just like changing the name of my account every season instead of playing under the same boring smurf name! Whoopsy was my initial ID before I changed to DemiLove. PS: I love Seolhyun from AoA now.
:P Good luck in the qualifiers DemiLove and thanks for the interview. Any shout-outs?
Shoutout to my Team DuSt Gaming! My manager Ricky who gets me Koreans to play customs on KR! And a HUGE Shoutout to THE DANKMEME CREW!!!!!
The Train Is Now Arriving At Our Destination: Potential Upset City
A long time ago, there was a clear contender in Thailand. Someone who could represent their country even in the shark infested water that was SEA. That man was RedArchon, and he’s gone now. Thailand spent a while with no hero, no one to represent them…until now.
In 2014 StriKE came out of pretty much nowhere, and has managed to make an immediate impact and show himself as a worthy successor to RedArchon. Boasting impressive scalps over renowned players like EnDerr, StriKE’s chances to show the strength of Thailand are at an all-time high here.
A member of Sydney Collegiate StarCraft, not a whole lot is known about Vivid. He is a solid Master level Zerg player and that’s unfortunately about all the information I have on him! He’s been around for a while and has no doubt picked up a free tricks. Don’t underestimate him!
A relative newcomer to the scene, Swarmstika is a determined and hard-working player who has found a special joy in the art of cheese, and has used it rather finely to take a game off even players such as the calibre of Arthur! Recently, Swarmstika has been trying to perfect his macro more, but can still strike ferociously with well-practiced cheeses at any time!
After impressive results in the GPDL and the eCKo Winter LAN in Adelaide, many had coolbeans pegged as a shoe-in for a Master league promotion and perhaps even the next big thing. As of yet, coolbeans has not lived up to such high expectations, but he has proven himself as close to that Master level and a step away from being able to upset some big names.
Alpha is one of Queensland’s most recognizable pillars in StarCraft 2. Many players who have shown potential, or even flashes of greatness, have come and gone. NovaX, Birkses, Aiya, ForbZ, Xormentor. They’ve all put away their keyboard and moved on, but Alpha has stayed as one of the only true constants of Queensland and has remained at a very solid Master level, showing flashes of greatness himself. He occasionally has bad bracket luck (such as being one of three people at ACL Brisbane not to make the group stage when he ran into two highly skilled players in Val and Peppy) and yet it seems as though Alpha remains unperturbed, as he is still going strong and not letting his motivation fade away. Will Alpha’s long struggle culminate in a happy ending or is he destined to move on like his QLD peers?
Perhaps the youngest competitor in WCS SEA this season, JevyN (formerly known as JevynSlayer) is only at the age of 14, and he has managed to reach high Diamond. Currently impressive in the #dedication thread, JevyN is improving at a rapid rate and perhaps could even be a legitimate contender in season 1 next year!
If you take a look at Schnitzel’s Aligulac page and his rating graph, it appeared that 2014 was going to be an insane year for Schnitzel. Starting the year off with out of nowhere domination, Schnitzel’s Protoss skills eventually took a backseat to the allure of reckless randomness. Oh, don’t worry. Regardless of what race he rolls, he can take you out. Sure, he hasn’t had quite the success with Random that he had with Protoss, but that’s to be expected. I think most people will get at least a little nervous playing against Schnitzel, never knowing exactly what kind of rush or all-in is coming their way. He is a man who knows how to exploit the advantages of Random to their fullest.
Arrival has always been a solid Master level Zerg, but he was very quiet from 2013 until the end of 2014, where he joined Exile 5’s academy. Arrival is already taking his game to the next level because of this, and he is fully capable of causing some upsets. Also, Arrival, if you read this, try and get BearPack to play again please!
Metalcore is better known in SEA as a commentator, and a rather good one at that. However, he is able to channel his senpai avilo and unleash the full fury of turtle mech to great effectiveness. Just ask RivaL as to the power of Metalcore’s mech. He is not entirely one dimensional though, no, no. One step away from Master league, Metalcore can strike you with any number of builds. It’s just likely they’ll involve tanks.
Osiris has been around the scene for quite some time. He’s on and off, and he’s never really been able to break out of Diamond. He does represent a clear threat for others at his level, though.
Back in 2010, Azz was without a doubt one of the most fearsome players in all of SEA. However, he acquired a full time job and since then was never able to commit a lot of time to StarCraft 2, although even with him playing very inconsistently, taking breaks of many months at a time, he still remains a clear threat, and has some very deadly all-ins up his sleeve. Although the days of Mr. Confident may be long gone, Azz’s skills are not.
Hey Azz, you've been playing a bit of SC2 in the new year. What's brought you back for the moment?
Moving between jobs and more time. SC2 is a bit weird where it gets more and less fun often.
You've always been kind of on and off like that. How much does your skill deteriorate after such a long break? You hadn't played in a while before ACL Brisbane 2013 when you defeated Light 2-1, for instance. Will you be able to repeat something like that or is the rust going to be greater?
Skill deterioration can be reversed quickly if you dedicate a large portion of time for a few weeks soley to ladder and strong opponents. However, I don't have the motivation for this type of play, as it would require late nights and I am too busy.
So that means you don't rate your chances very highly then? Do you have any specific goals in mind like Top 16 or Top 24, or are you playing purely for fun with no such goals in mind?
My goal is to make Top 8. It's important to have some type of goal because it will influence your play. If I play for fun someone might be very unfortunate in Round 1/2 but I will likely fall out playing in this manner.
Looking at the list of sign-ups is there anyone you'd like to run into?
NXZ or KingkOng. I enjoy the matches with them. Unlikely to win them but it'll be fun. deth also.
You say you're busy, so with limited practice time what exactly have you been doing to prepare?
Some late night practice on some nights with team members, but it's casual. I'm just making sure a few builds are working and seeing how it goes.
How long are you planning to stay active for? Will it depend on your performance?
When I start my new work I will be moving closer to that location. Performance isn't really a factor.
Thanks for the interview, Azz. Good luck in the qualifiers!
Rendorian can play both Terran and Zerg at a Diamond level. Currently representing Revolt Gaming, Rendorian comes into the Diamond skill area of the qualifiers as a bit of a wildcard. This is a chance for him to get a couple of nice scalps and make a bit of a name for himself.
snexwang is a solid former Master player currently stuck in Diamond due to the reduced size of Master league and more importantly, an utter lack of #dedication. He goes into these qualifiers with limited practice and fears of getting Protossed. However, snexwang has shown potential and brief glimmers of brilliance in the past. Can he bring them out? If not, that’s okay. He’s still got Counter-Strike.
Law is one of the most hyped players in all of SEA. His friends and teammates have described him to me as an absolute insane beast, an incredibly skilled machine. Unfortunately, he’s never been able to bring it to a tournament. He’s good, no doubt. He’s very good, and has beaten many great players and taken games off many more. But for whatever reason (nerves, perhaps?) he isn’t one of the absolute best in SEA, even though from the sounds of things, he should be. This is Law’s chance, his time. How far can he go? Only time will tell, but he is absolutely one of the players you should be watching this year.
I still remember the shock of finding out that Sparrow, a long time mid Master player from New Zealand (who also had a brief run as Zerg), had 2-0ed Alopex in the SEACraft Weekly (run every Monday night! There’s your cheap plug, Philo!). What had happened here? Is Sparrow the new up and coming Terran hope? Sure enough, Sparrow posted some great results. None as good as his defeat of Alopex, but the important thing is he has the drive and #dedication to make that not a one-time thing, but a consistent occurrence. Recently joining the Exile 5 Academy, Sparrow has absolutely nowhere to go but up. He very could be the future mayor of Terran Town in SEA.
Everybody’s favourite Singaporean, Elusory! Recently departing from his managerial role in SYF Gaming, Elusory is not to be underestimated at all. A former Master Terran who also has some chops with Protoss and Zerg, Elusory is a solid talent and can take out some players who may be favoured versus him. If not, who cares? Elusory is a moderator on SC2SEA and an incredibly valuable guy to have around, doing tons of work organizing tournaments and the like. We love you, Elusory!
The man known as DTFlames, with his crazy DT builds, and proxy Nexus builds, Ravenflames is one of the absolute top Diamonds in SEA at the moment, boasting a very impressive four GPD Open victories, with an additional three second place finishes. Ravenflames has been able to defeat players like Sparrow, and even been able to out-DT Frustration, one of the top DT masters in SEA. The sky is the limit for Ravenflames.
SouL is perhaps the undisputed Master of Protoss cheese in SEA. At the very least, he is the DT King. This man boasts some incredible results, including taking a game off KingkOng and a 2-0 win over PiG. This is because they made the mistake of thinking SouL to be a typical Protoss, when he is anything but. Among people around his level, people are well aware of his cheesy nature, and thus he hasn’t been as successful. That said, he is still one of the best players in all of South Australia and even if you think you have him figured out, he can throw a cheese at you that you’ve never seen before and knock you out. SouL, perhaps more than anyone else here, embodies the pure danger of aggressive Protoss play.
Infected is a solid Diamond level talent. There isn’t too much to talk about with him, but as with all the others, it will be a good opportunity for him to show his skills and make an impact.
Representing the Philippines, Barsala comes into this tournament as another Diamond player looking to make an impact. His team, Revolt Gaming, has been going through some hard times recently. Barsala’s success in this tournament could be fairly important for them, and also build them credibility in the scene.
ProzeR is a very friendly young man from the Philippines. He is a high Diamond player and has achieved some decent results before. He was recognized as someone to look out for when he was invited to the SEA Rising Star Invitational #1. In there, he managed to take a game off the favoured Schnitzel, who ended up having a great tournament run. It’s these flashes of superstardom that makes everyone keep ProzeR in the back of their mind as someone who could jump out of nowhere and score some upsets.
ChadMann has a rather interesting history in SC2. Back in 2012, when he was but a young Gold Protoss, he managed to do the unthinkable and qualify for ACL Groups. He became infested somehow and currently represents the swarm, but he carries with him a strong spirit and the ability to make the impossible become a reality. With cheesy builds up his sleeve like TargA banes and the Jerry build, ChadMann has been able to defeat favoured players like Pox in tournaments. If his variety of cheesy builds, learned from years watching the SEA meta as the Manager of Frenetic Array’s SC2 team can’t get the job done, he has some solid macro to fall back on. ChadMann is to be underestimated by no means, as he had an incredible run at ACL Brisbane 2014, taking games off favoured players Peppy, Petrify and Soundwave. Taking games off three separate skilled players is no fluke and it’s a testament to how you should watch out for ChadMann, even if you think you have a good read on him.
How do I talk about myself? Well, I’m a Zerg player representing the SYF Gaming Academy and I’ve spent the last two years trying to go from a mid-Master player to a Grandmaster. Step by step, inch by excruciating inch, I’ve managed to claw myself to a level close to Grandmaster. Peaking at Top 50 Master last season, I’m not satisfied. I plan to push myself harder and further then I ever have before. I’m so close I can taste it. I’ve been around the scene for quite some time and the pain of my head bumping against the glass ceiling for so long brings out a determination and fury in me that few can comprehend. It’s my time, or at least I hope so.
Where did this come from? Spending the last year or two inactive, Cabracan was formerly a Top 3 Terran in New Zealand. He was decently well known within the community, often popping up in chatbox. Nobody knows where he’s been or what he’s been doing, but we do know that he is back and he is signed up for the WCS Qualifiers. Who knows what we can expect from him?
JaBiTo was a rather good Terran, one of the best in SEA, back in 2012. He even attended IEM Singapore and managed to beat European pro Protoss Tarrantius 2-0. JaBiTo was quiet until near the end of 2014, when he has been participating in more tournaments recently and looks to not have lost a step skillwise. He’s still a dangerous adversary, that’s for sure.
Clare is another one of those Diamonds trying to ascend to the next level. A Singaporean Terran, Clare is hoping to fill the void in Singapore that hasn’t been filled ever since the retirement of players such as ProAnnn, Kyzer and DrakE.
The Malaysian scene has been busted wide open, and there isn’t really any big shot who can represent the country in a way they would like. HeaVeNxG is working hard to try and make it happen. In the past, the best Malaysian players have been Protoss players, such as Cobo. Can HeaVeNxG rise up to the challenge?
Eros was picked by ChadMann at the start of the year as someone who may not win an ACL any time soon, but will steadily improve this year and be a force to be reckoned with in 2015. Unfortunately for the two of them, Eros had an extended break from StarCraft 2 and has only recently started to play again.
With his forward momentum halted by his break, it remains to be seen what Eros can do at this stage in time. He was known for being a bit cheesy back in the day, is that still the case?
A controversial figure who is trying to take steps to right his past wrongs, ZergCola is a Diamond player who favors ling/bane all-ins in ZvZ. I would not wager on seeing anything too out of the ordinary from ZergCola, but as I say many times in this article, absolutely do not underestimate anyone.
RunaMoK reminds me a lot of myself in that we’ve been in a fairly similar skill level for 2 years or so now and are only now approaching the Grandmaster level. RunaMoK has lots and lots of #dedication and is often found at the top of the threads about it. He has slowly but surely worked his way up the food chain and is now in a position where he is a threat to any player he goes against.
Recently joining the Exile 5 Academy was a huge help to RunaMoK, as with PiG and others able to coach him and iron out any bad habits he may have in his play, 2015 may finally be the year RunaMoK comes into his own as a true force to be reckoned with. It all begins here.
I hadn’t heard of Yours until his appearance at ACL Sydney in 2014. A member of Sydney Collegiate StarCraft and also a new member of the Exile 5 Academy, Yours has already proven that he is a force to be reckoned with as he has secured a spot in high Master and looks poised to make Grandmaster any day now. The coaching from PiG, JunO and others has obviously helped him out a lot as in the span of a few months he has turned from an obscure outsider into a legitimate contender to finish in the Top 12. I don’t think anyone apart from his teammates really knows what he’s capable of, but it will be interesting to find out.
Phoenix made his first big tournament appearance at ACL Melbourne 2013. The tournament didn’t quite go as planned, but he definitely showed some potential in the games he played there. This was proven to be true, as he became a pretty strong Zerg in SEA in 2014, able to take games off many of the higher tier SEA players. Unfortunately, he’s recently been crippled by internet issues, and this has severely affected both his motivation and his practice. Is this the end? No, of course not. Think of his ID. He is a phoenix. From the ashes he will be born anew, and rise again. These WCS qualifiers are his chance.
Big Andy aka NaMeK is a long-time member of Eternal E-Sports. For a long time, he was an honourable macro Protoss, and he sought to always win his games through pure skills alone. Constant struggles with the PvZ match-up however, forced him into a life of immortal/zealot. He is still a very solid Diamond macro Protoss, but he has now grown stronger with the addition of a few choice all-ins into his arsenal. NaMeK does suffer from confidence and motivation issues on occasion, but with performances such as a second place in the last GPD League, there’s no doubt that NaMeK is on the fast lane to Master league as soon as he ladders consistently with a good mindset. He tests himself here in the WCS qualifiers. Will the joy of competition motivate him? Or will he lose in the first round and fall into a black pit of depression?
The other Indian player. raZiel isn’t as skilled as DemiLove, but he had quite a presence in 2012, where he was much more active. raZiel shows up from time to time to play in some online tournaments, and remind people that DemiLove isn’t the only good Indian player. You can’t help but wonder what a good performance in these qualifiers would do to raise his stock in the eyes of the SEA community.
Recently finished with university for the moment, Zeno Rafael (who has a really cool name) is SYF Gaming’s token Terran, and he is one of the many players knocking on the door to Master league. zeNo isn’t going to blow anyone’s minds, but I feel he can have a solid performance and beat most of the other Diamond players. zeNo has his whole SC2 life ahead of him, and how he performs here doesn’t really matter, because either way, he’ll end up moving on to bigger and better things.
South is a young Protoss player hailing from Canberra, Australia. He comes in and out of the scene quite a bit, but every time he is active he shows that he has some legitimate skills. He had a nice run through the open bracket at ACL Sydney last year and is probably only going to continue to improve. While he does have thoughts of switching to Zerg, for now it looks like South will stay on the Protoss path and maybe make some upsets happen.
Satu is a longtime veteran of the SEA scene, but in all this time he’s never been able to stand out way above and beyond his peers. However, with his recent return to action in 2014, Satu has been working hard and pushing himself and this increase in skill, combined with retirements of some of the old guard, have left him as the undisputed best player in South Australia. It seems as if, relatively to the rest of SEA, Satu might be better than ever and this could be his chance to find the golden ticket. Run home, Charlie! Run home as fast as you can!
Pokemon is a player from Melbourne who is known for his 300+ apm. He has bounced around the last few seasons from Diamond to Master, and ladders with many different accounts. Impressively, even with such consistently high apm, he is able to still play more games than most, as he is routinely seen in the Top 10 of the #Dedication threads. Pokemon is spoken of highly by some of his teammates, and maybe it’s about time he put that 300 apm to efficient, deadly use.
Future (SEA GM, Diamond NA) Ninji (SEA GM) Mokss (Gold, from the Philippines) tyR (Diamond) FriendlyDeer (Master Zerg from New Zealand) NaturalHacks (Diamond) Tiamat (Diamond Protoss from the Philippines) lotsofwind (Diamond Zerg, from Singapore) adusti (Diamond Zerg, from Thailand) DsYFeR (Diamond) Berserk (Diamond) Voidreaver (Diamond) MaNiAJaCe (Diamond) Vrynza (Diamond from Indonesia) RaiN (Diamond) Lapack (Diamond) Espeon (Diamond SEA) MiowH (Diamond Zerg from the Philippines) WrongIlIlIlI (Diamond) LgGameJothQF (GM SEA) LeonNine (Diamond Protoss from Singapore)
I don’t know anything about these guys, but I researched what I could. These guys are all signed up for the qualifiers. Don’t underestimate them, because you never know when you’ll run into someone with some sick skills! If any of these guys happen to read this, please get more involved with the community! We’d love to get to know you!
The people of Japan have nowhere to turn to as far as qualifying for WCS. Being a scene similar to our own in that it is a small group of under the radar but passionate players, this is a shame. However, this year, the people of Japan are allowed to strut their stuff in the SEA Qualifiers. We may not know much about them, but I think you’ll find that makes it all the more intriguing. PSiArc was a good player back in the day, and a name you may recognize. I think we can all peg him as Japan’s best at this point. He even took a couple games off Axiom’s Alicia not too long ago. Keep an eye out for these mysterious dudes. I hate to stereotype, but I am thinking of them as ninjas at this point. They’ll emerge from the shadows and strike with lethal precision.
All of these fearsome competitors are signed up to participate in the Season 1 WCS SEA Qualifiers this coming weekend! Now that you know their stories, you can truly know the stakes behind each match. This is an event that you absolutely will NOT want to miss. Make sure to catch every minute of it at http://www.twitch.tv/aclproSC2
I am Jordan Hamburger, ID Soundwave. I am participating in these qualifiers for myself. When I was in school I absolutely hated writing this many words, but I find it very easy to write about StarCraft. I just open a Word/Notepad document and let the thoughts roll out. This article took me several hours to type up, over the course of three or four days. I'll hopefully be publishing some more stuff in the future. Not nearly as comprehensive as this of course, but still worth your while. Please cheer for me in the qualifiers this weekend and keep in touch on SC2SEA, and also follow me on Twitter @TtSYF_Soundwave. Shout-outs to SYF Gaming!!
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The Transformer Zerg, Jadron Burgerman @Soundwave
Last edited by syfSoundwave; Sat, 10th-Jan-2015 at 6:24 AM.
Watch out for the Japanese players people. TMjpg is at least mid GM NA high master KR level and as well as psiArc and enza they are around top masters KR
It is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know your enemies but do know yourself, you will win one and lose one; if you do not know your enemies nor yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle.
Sun Tzu 孫子
"If storm finishes I survive, otherwise terran is op" xGKingDelete 2012
Top read, good stuff Jordan.
Yeah ENZA and PsiArc are both pretty solid players and Vaisranna is a decent zerg who i remember beat iG.Cloudy 2-1 and showed good games against Arthur and Jim in a recent Leifeng.
oh ok I didn't realise he hadn't signed up sorry ^^
Yeah. Not sure I have it in me for another year. I think I've proved myself a top competitor with consecutive 4th place finishes in ACL and finishing it off with a bang at Melbourne LAN placing 2nd.
As for now I won't be playing in this WCS qualifier, we'll see if I can get the time/passion to practice for upcoming qualifiers in the future though.
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