[UHF]

S Class - Week 01 - Testing the waters
I know there is another thread, but it's kind of a mixture of stuff at the moment. The more interest the better right?

So, the time has finally arrived and the big guns are coming out to play! Interestingly enough, I feel like the first weeks team match-ups are extremely even across the board (at first glance). I'm not particularly comfortable making any guesses as to who will win or lose in the first round - it's way too hard! Also, the way this week is set up will probably make next week just as hard to gauge!

I expect there to be a lot of nerves going around, and almost expect some players to under-perform. Being the new year, and coming off the Christmas break, I also suspect a bunch of rusty players that will take a couple weeks to degrease the joints.

Match of the week:
There is no doubt that Nv vs fray and xG vs iM matches are going to be huge and will probably grab the most attention this week. However I'm personally looking foward to Flash vs Eve, as I think there is a really good rivalry here and it will be interesting to see the state of both teams and their players (generally an unknown quantity).

Games to look out for:
AgUy vs Shieldz
One of the first sets of the S Class league - both players leading the charge not only for their teams, but really setting a precedence for things to come. AgUy also recently was promoted to the Iris A-team, and will looking to put in a solid first performance.

JazBas vs Ninja
Just so damn hard to predict how this will play out. Being the forth set, it might turn out to be dead-weight (other than points), but it could be the hinge of either team winning, or drawing into the Ace match.

Poker vs Light
Poker has been monstering so many players lately, it's becoming quite scary. Coming up against one of the best Protoss in the region, this is going to be great test for both players.

Blysk vs Yekke
I feel like there is some kind of rivalry here and maybe I'm way off base, but these guys seem to always hit each other. I have both of these players in my Fantasy team, so it kind of sucks for me, but i think this is going to be a fantastic set. Yekke has been showing some really good play lately, we'll see if he can continue his form.

ProAnnn vs Pox
Simply because I never catch ProAnnn playing, and I think the skill level here will provide an entertaining set. Pox has been a great up-and-comer, now he needs to push on harder if he wants to get the traction he needs to go to the next level.

Team Nv - what's been happening?
Being privey to all the insider knowledge, I thought I'd give a short update on the teams doings and what to expect!

Set 1 Nvdeth vs frayPetraeus
Set 2 NvRossi vs frayHuT
Set 3 NvmOOnGLaDe vs frayiaguz
Set 4 NvJazBas vs frayNinja

Going into SEACL with the first round starting tonight, it's no secret that there is some expectation hanging over Team Nv's head. When your line-up hosts both the WCS Oceania champion, the WCS New Zealand champion and two of the finest Terrans from the region, there is some base level of quality that you're almost expected to produce. However, they've drawn into one of the toughest opponents of the league, and many have tipped Nv to fall to their first round opponents!

mOOnGLaDe
Recently (this week) returned on a long trip back from IEM Poland. Having monstered some big names at the event (Dream & Grubby), but narrowly falling short of getting out of groups (1 map short!), GLaDe is in as good of form as he has ever been. Is he able to bounce back after battling the cold snow of Poland and a long, tiresome trip home? Of course! Expect Andy to take no prisoners (sorry guz!)

deth
deth put a lot of gametime in over the summer, especially in HotS where he has been doing extremely well. Unfortunately deth has been out of action for a little while, having recently moved house and encountering ISP troubles. Will the short break have any effect? If deth has any say in it then no, as he will sharpen up quick with the time he had before the round start. However he has a tough battle ahead, drawing into arguably the teams hardest match-up of the round.

Rossi
Similar to deth, Rossi put in a lot of practice over the break and you could often catch him on stream, sweltering and sweating it out in the summer heat. The ASL (Asia Starcraft League) kept Rossi busy with competitive play, where he ran deep into the tournament before being eliminated in the R016. Keen as ever to get stuck into the SEACL, look towards Rossi to lead the charge for the team (he's my captain in Fantasy League for a reason!)

JazBas
JazBas has been keeping himself busy with the Collegiate Starleague (CSL), with his team (University of Auckland) coming as close as you could get to a paid international trip to the finals before getting knocked out. Sometimes people find it hard to gauge where JazBas sits in relation to almost everything, and I plan to keep it that way!

It will interesting to see how the guys go, as even though they are keeping on top of their game, they have been pretty busy IRL as well. Either way, this is going to be a super exciting week for both Nv and fray, and I expect some huge plays, a lot of tension, and ultimately one team looking for payback!

What do you think?
So what are you looking forward to the most? Matches? Teams? Players? How are your Fantasy picks looking now you can see the line-ups?

Edit: Apologies to Light for in-factual comment!

[ToRSpookToR]

Games i am looking forward to:
1. Rossi vs HuT - i ******* love HuTs tvt id say rossi is the better player but hut has a strong tvt and ill be interested to watch/steal their builds particularly huts.
2. Deth vs Pet - i think pet should win this quite comfortably he pracs heaps is a very strong player, deth has been playing HoTS much more than WoL i have been told he is a very very smart player. As a pet fanboy this interests me.
3. Ninja vs Jazbas - Holy crap out of your listed matches to watch i can pretty comfortably pick the winners but this will be tight very interested in the result. Third because zvz.

[nGenLight]

I am offended. I never self-proclaimed anything, ever.

Spook: What? Quote me.

Quick Comments

	ToRSpookToR:	you were saying proann or someone else is the best from memory
	ProAnnn:	Light has no need to self-proclaimed. He is widely recognized as the best toss in SEA
	ROOTPetraeus:	hahaha offense will always be taken! :P

[iM tgun]

Ctrl+f, tgun, 0 results, read blog anyway. Good blog

Except Shieldz will win his match pretty easily imo.

[ToRSpookToR]

Originally Posted by iM Light

Spook: What? Quote me.

You were playing a Protoss in PvP and you said that their PvP was better than yours i may be mistaken i think it was in a blog ill try to find it.
ahh nvm i was mistaken sorry please disregard

Originally Posted by iM tgun

Except Shieldz will win his match pretty easily imo.

I agree shieldz pracs a lot on KR and CH pretty strong toss when he doesn't make manner nexus....

[|Erasmus|]

Originally Posted by ToRSpook

You were playing a Protoss in PvP and you said that their PvP was better than yours i may be mistaken i think it was in a blog ill try to find it.

He called out aequitas I believe as claiming he was the best PvPer (or Light thinking he was good at PvP) or something.


EDIT: agree with spook on HuT vs. Rossi too. I also like HuTs TvT and should be an interesting matchup.

[ToRSpookToR]

yeah thats what i was refering to he never said he was the best toss or anything along those lines though.

[NOM]

deth has been pretty damn inactive from the past month or so, No internet connection since the 10th, only just restored yesterday.

And deth playing HoTS more than WoL is a load of bull. he has an even balance between the two but takes HoTS more seriously and is more stream worthy to his viewers.

It will be very interesting watching the game. I can't really make any judgements on who will win because I havn't been able to watch steams and such. for the past 2 months with work then no internet hah

Quick Comments

ToRSpookToR:

bigbird lied to me

[Snx.Mufasa]

Originally Posted by UHF

Set 4 NvJazBas vs frayNinja

this is gonna be so good

can't wait.

[syfSoundwave]

I'm looking forward to Spook vs Polaris.

[UHF]

Originally Posted by iM Light

I am offended. I never self-proclaimed anything, ever.

Get your facts right, you spastic.

I could have sworn you said somewhere in a thread, or maybe in a podcast, that you thought you were the best Protoss in the region. Something about your motivation for playing and improving.

I consider you a very humble person, i just thought I'd heard it in the past. I wasn't taking a dig at you at all, i'm sorry if I'm off mark and have removed the comment.

I'm offended you'd call me a spastic though, when I'm genuinely being nice and considering you one of the players to watch in the league.

Quick Comments

Dingobloo:

change it to self proclaimed no-proclaimer

[nGenLight]

I never said I was the best Protoss in the region, ever. What I said in the podcast was that there was no active Protosses and that I when someone takes my place (representing Protoss) is when I take my leave. Whether I believe I am or not is another story, but I never pro-claimed or declared it. I know you probably didn't intend to offend me, but I was very offend. Being seen as hubris and arrogant is something I really despise.

I'm sorry to have offended you by the word spastic, didn't know you'd be so offended by that. I consider you a very nice guy. There is no need to be nice to me (I don't need the sympathy thanks), I just didn't enjoy reading myself doing something that would make me vomit.

[UHF]

Originally Posted by iM Light

I never said I was the best Protoss in the region, ever. What I said in the podcast was that there was no active Protosses and that I when someone takes my place (representing Protoss) is when I take my leave. Whether I believe I am or not is another story, but I never pro-claimed or declared it. I know you probably didn't intend to offend me, but I was very offend. Being seen as hubris and arrogant is something I really despise.

Ah yeah that was the comment I was thinking of. No, i am sorry for indirectly painting that portrait (a bit silly on my part in retrospect). And it's all good! Can't wait for the games mate!

[iM tgun]

Shots fired

and now shots have been collected. Darn >: (

[Cyanide]

nowkiss.jpg

[TCPLemminks]

I believe Light's claim was that evveryone else was underestimating Aequitas, not that he was the best Protoss. Unless you guys are referring to his initial challenge in which case I don't remember.

[nGenLight]

In Hindsight UHF I was out of line and lost my cool for calling you that, I've removed it. I know you had no bad intentions but I feel like you might have had an inkling of a thought that it might have offended me since you did say no offense.

Otherwise I loved the writeup, awesome read.

I just hope I can show some good games tomorrow

[AvPoker]

Originally Posted by iM Light

In Hindsight UHF I was out of line and lost my cool for calling you that, I've removed it. I know you had no bad intentions but I feel like you might have had an inkling of a thought that it might have offended me since you did say no offense.

Otherwise I loved the writeup, awesome read.

I just hope I can show some good games tomorrow

Don't worry you will, I'm not sure about myself though. Still trying to fix my internet this entire week, played like 10 ladder games this week asides from tournaments.

[nirvAnA]

Originally Posted by UHF

Blysk vs Yekke
I feel like there is some kind of rivalry here and maybe I'm way off base, but these guys seem to always hit each other. I have both of these players in my Fantasy team, so it kind of sucks for me, but i think this is going to be a fantastic set. Yekke has been showing some really good play lately, we'll see if he can continue his form.

They are actually really good friends. They were class mates in high school then class mates again in pre-u which is super coincidental!

and lol cmon light you're losing your cool too easily lately over really small stuff. its apparent to anyone with a clue that you're the best protoss in SEA and have been for a long time now. so suck it up!

Quick Comments

syfSoundwave:

Yeah man, no one will think you're arrogant for stating obvious facts...

[nGenLight]

It wasn't about being best Protoss or whatever. It was just that it painted a portrait of arrogance and hubris, which is something I absolutely do not want to be associated with. I really hate when other people do this (putting themselves ahead of other players, making excuses and getting all cut up when losing).

Also being the best Protoss in SEA means absolutely nothing when the best players are all Zerg. It is definitely not something I would be remotely proud of or claim to be.

But fair point I did lose my cool. Had a bad morning, I apologise.

Quick Comments

	LaughingMan:	We all love you Light <3
	TAEdgE:	poof