[deL]

Dox. Koreans have nothing to do but play the game and they get paid for it - you can't expect anywhere near the same flexibility for people who often have a job + uni on top of their gaming. Especially on SEA.

Fatigue is a factor yes (though I don't agree that having a nap makes any different, it can actually make you more tired), but seeing it is on weekdays there's not much choice. If this were on a weekend I am sure it would be something like midday or early afternoon Singapore time.

Dox is right though, Bo3 is the way to go. You're already losing some legitimacy tot he tournament without GLaDe. It would look really bad if the next 2-3 favourite seeds were knocked out by Bo1 shenanigans to some retarded player. You can't compare this with OSL/MSL because Korea has a lot more depth than SEA and BW is a much more refined game with less chance for big upsets. Similarly with DreamHack etc it's a field where like every player would have a reasonable chance of winning and not many people would be surprised. Here, however, it would be quite an upset if anyone outside of 2-3 guys won it.

PREDICTIONS

My predictions are quite similar to Yoz really.

Group 1: YoonYJ + iceiceice
I have some doubts about ice as I know his practice has not been up to scratch lately with work and army commitments. In contrast Yoon has been practicing for the big Sydney LAN and should be in top form. I would not be surprised if JazBas makes an appearance at the top of the group, especially with ZvZ.

Group 2: FXOFilthy + inF
I think Filthy is a class above everyone in this group, and has been practicing quite hard. Kowi played poorly in the GSL World Championship qualifiers with some dubious decisionmaking and macro so I think Revenant could edge him out here.

Group 3: NeoRedArchon + aLtAaron
Despite RA getting his arse handed to him by SEn, he is still top dog in this group alongside Aaron. I could see Jesse taking one of the qualifier spots off one of these two though with some well executed "strategic risk assessment" tactics.

Group 4: TAEdgE + Fah
Fah was really impressive in the Code A events and I can't go past him here, especially in what is essentially a group custom made to send EdgE straight to the finals. Having said that, I can see OxygeN or Roz cheesing their way in. I'd be very surprised if anything else happened.

Hard to go past Yoz's pick of Filthy to take this tournament out, especially in the reduced latency of the SEA server from his home in Western Australia - so close to Singapore. His NA and Korea practice as well as great connections to mOOnGLaDe and friends for practice means he is one of the favourites for this whole event. Other favourites include RedArchon, Aaron, EdgE and YoonYJ. Also ice if he has been practicing enough. If someone not in that list wins I'd be very, very surprised or there was a lot of cheese.