Photo Source: MLG
As we go into Day Two the Winter Championship, we take a look at the surprises, consider the expected, and wonder about what is still to come.
The first day went essentially as expected, though we saw some small variations on the theme everyone was expecting.
Pool A see MLG Winter Arena champ on top
In Pool A MarineKing was the name of the game. Prime’s Ace smashed his competition with play so solid it behooves us to look at him as the equal of MMA and MVP. While this was certainly unsurprising, the caveat is that MC failed to accomplish the same achievement, taking a single meagre win off SaSe to finish 1 - 2. GanZi and SaSe fared no better, creating the illusion that, for now, the three runner ups are on equal terms. The tie will be broken when new blood enters from the Open Bracket, though it remains to be seen if it’s going to be heavenly mana or a bullet to the head for those coveting MarineKing’s dominance.
Pool B see current GSL champ DongRaeGu in the front
Anyone could have told you Pool B was DongRaeGu’s, and the Korean zerg would have agreed. You could almost hear him thinking, “oh, NaNiWa, you,” as he promptly 2 - 0’d the Swedish protoss. What has come as somewhat of reversal was Liquid’s HayprO taking the second spot - for now - instead of NaNiWa, who along with DRG was chief contender for the top spot. Meanwhile, DeMuslim is right at the bottom. Hopefully, the Devil Terran hasn’t grown too fond of his moniker, as he might find the trek to heaven a little too difficult.
Tales to Astonish: The Incredible HuK predominate C group
HuK does not easily disappoint, and his position at the top of the ladder is certainly well earned, with ViOlet naturally being the toughest competition. It was disappointing to see Ret go 0 - 3 in the pool, and that will give Liquid’s other star zerg quite a run for his money when the time comes to claw his way through the championship bracket. Like Pool B, Pool C is neatly arrayed in tiers, with players going 3 - 0, 2 - 1, 1 - 2 and 0 - 3, usually a good indicator of how players are going to fare further into the tournament, though it is not by any means the final say.
Grubby fall to GSL experienced Korea trio
Probably the most unlucky of all foreigners, short of those having to compete in the Open Bracket, Grubby had to face three Code S players, two of which were protoss duelists. The outlook’s grim for the erstwhile champion of Warcraft 3, but for the three Koreans, it’s not saying much as they are all tied in games won and lost. Later today we will see which of them, if any, manages to take the upper hand once the Open Bracket reveals its yield.
| MLG Winter Championship Day 1 Standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Group A | Group B | |||||||||||||||||||||||
  MarineKing | 3-0 | 6:1 |  DongRaeGu | 3-0 | 6:1 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Ganzi | 1-2 | 4:5 |  HayPro | 2-1 | 4:4 | |||||||||||||||||||
 MC | 1-2 | 3:5 | Naniwa | 1-2 | 3:4 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Sase | 1-2 | 3:5 |  DeMuslim | 0-3 | 2:6 | |||||||||||||||||||
| From open bracket | 0-0 | 0:0 | From open bracket | 0-0 | 0:0 | |||||||||||||||||||
| From open bracket | 0-0 | 0:0 | From open bracket | 0-0 | 0:0 | |||||||||||||||||||
| MarineKing 2-0 MC GanZi 1-2 SaSe MarineKing 2-1 GanZi MC 2-1 SaSe MarineKing 2-0 SaSe GanZi 2-1 MC | DongRaeGu 2-0 NaNiwa DeMusliM 1-2 HayprO DongRaeGu 2-1 DeMusliM NaNiwa 1-2 HayprO DongRaeGu 2-0 HayprO NaNiwa 2-0 DeMusliM | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Group C | Group D | |||||||||||||||||||||||
 HuK | 3-0 | 6:1 | PartinG | 2-1 | 4:2 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Violet | 2-1 | 5:3 | TheSTC | 2-1 | 5:2 | |||||||||||||||||||
 Socke | 1-2 | 2:5 | Oz | 2-1 | 4:4 | |||||||||||||||||||
 Ret | 0-3 | 2:6 | Grubby | 0-3 | 1:6 | |||||||||||||||||||
| From open bracket | 0-0 | 0:0 | From open bracket | 0-0 | 0:0 | |||||||||||||||||||
| From open bracket | 0-0 | 0:0 | From open bracket | 0-0 | 0:0 | |||||||||||||||||||
| HuK 2-0 Socke viOLet 2-1 Ret Ret 1-2 Socke HuK 2-1 viOLet viOLet 2-0 Socke HuK 2-0 Ret | Oz 2-1 PartinG Grubby 0-2 TheStC Oz 2-1 Grubby PartinG 2-0 TheStC Oz 0-2 TheStC PartinG 2-0 Grubby | |||||||||||||||||||||||
