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xGTL Playoffs Round 1

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Tomorrow, 2nd placed Gamecom Nv take on 3rd placed rivals Wayi Spider. The winner will move on to face the winner of Gama Bears vs Xeria Gaming with two lives, while the loser will face off against the loser of the other match in an elimination match.


Introducing Wayi Spider:
Key Players:
Nifi may be a familiar name after his appearance at Blizzcon 2011.
Kong was recently picked up by FXOpen.
NaIZa (along with Gamecom Nv's mOOnGLaDe), is one of the only players in the tournament with GSL booth experience.

For those unfamiliar with Wayi Spider, they are an established Taiwan-based eSports team. Boasting their own gaming house in Taiwan, their team spans game genres the likes of FPS and Racing, in addition to SC2. They are certainly worthy of recognition. Their subteam, Spider Korea, was established to cater for their growing Korean-based roster, although the up-and-coming Koreans remain a part of the greater Wayi Spider team.


Introducing Gamecom Nv:
Key Players:
mOOnGLaDe seems to be hitting peak form with strong local and international performances.
YoonYJ was the next best finisher at WCS for Nv and has been a premier SEA terran a long time.
Rossi has the best individual record in the xGTL.

With Gamecom Nv's xGTL roster down to just 4 active players (thanks to the transfer lock keeping recent pickup JazBas out of the lineup, along with the pre-season retirement of Pinder), team manager Dox may need to play in a pinch if the teams take it to a game 5. The Nv Terran Connection is strong, and under the guidance of newly appointed coach GTR, it may just get a bit stronger.


The Matchup:
The last time these two teams faced off, Wayi Spider came out on top with a major win, netting them 2 points. Hot on the heels of a successful WCS Australia campaign which saw every Nv member qualifying for the Australian finals, and mOOnGLaDe and YoonYJ qualifying for the Oceania finals, the training the team undertook might continue to pay off in the xGTL, and could give Nv the edge they need to reverse the result this time round.

While there is a strong Terran flavour in Nv's lineup, mOOnGLaDe is in crushing form after his recent trip to IEM Cologne (where among his achievements was a 2-0 victory over ST_Bomber). The Nv and SEA superstar could just be the deciding factor in this match. Currently in transit from Germany, his success may to an extent depend on his ability to recover from (or avoid altogether) jetlag. With a mere four hours between his touchdown in Australia and the start of the match, this match might just be decided by one man's ability to get some sleep on a plane. I'm sure Nv will be hoping to take care of business in the other 3 matches to give the mighty zerg a break. Wayi will be no pushovers though, and this has the potential to go right down to the wire.

Prediction:
Gamecom Nv 3-2 Wayi Spider

Catch the Nv vs Wayi action this Wednesday, 22nd August 2012 9pm AEST

Stream:
www.twitch.tv/benjisc2

Schedule:
Winners Round 1:
Tuesday, 21st August 2012 8pm AEST
Wednesday, 22nd August 2012 9pm AEST
Winners Round 2:
Friday, 24th August 2012 9pm AEST
Losers Round 1:
Tuesday, 28th August 2012 9pm AEST
Losers Round 2:
Wednesday, 29th August 2012 9pm AEST
Grand Final:
Friday, 31st August 2012 9pm AEST

Learn More:
xGTL Finals Information on SC2SEA.com
xGTL on Liquipedia