Team Liquid and Fnatic are in Korea for the upcoming week, as they will face off against one of the top 4 teams of the Nexon Sponsorship League in the first group of the Nexon Invitational Super Match, with three games to be played tomorrow, October 28th and again the same three match-up's on Thursday, October 31st. Each day the first round of games starts at 12:00 CEST and runs until 15:00 CEST.
Favourites on familiar ground
Team Liquid in Korea, what could be more perfect? Not only are the North Americans staking their claim recently as the third best team in the west, but they will have the strongest support from their organization for this trip and all the local knowledge that years of StarCraft competitions has brought to the organization. The only question about Team Liquid's performance is the same as it ever was; how will they perform on LAN? A new lineup and with all of their big victories against teams like Na`Vi and Empire being marred by concerns about server advantages, This is going to be where Liquid have to step it up and prove that they can translate online performances into offline performances before heading into next month's MLG Columbus.
Will a LAN event re-ignite Fnatic?
Fnatic have been fairly inconsistent since their Top 8 finish at the International, reaching a good level of play for a few days before falling back down into a lull. They seem to still be able to take games when giving the opportunity to play classic heroes such as Adrian 'Era' Kryeziu's Lifestealer, but attempts at transitioning new strategies from scrims into official matches have been met with mixed results. Still, Fnatic are a group who tend to perform better on LAN, and especially if they have a chance to warm up before their first game. This is going to make or break their chances against Team Liquid in Korea.
Korean challenger look to their Captain
Rounding out the group will be Under Rateds, one of the top four teams in the Nexon Sponsorship League. Although the team is likely to earn it's name against the much more well known Westerners, the one player to look out for is likely to be their Captain and solo mid, S4L. His performance on heroes such as Templar Assassin, Pudge and Shadow Fiend has single-handedly won some games for his team up against their countrymen, and how well he can hold up against the likes of Kai 'H4nn1' Hanbueckers and Sam 'Bulba' Sosale will be telling of how big or small the gulf between the two scenes actually is.
| NISM prize distribution | |
|---|---|
| Score | Prize money |
| 4-0 | $15,000 |
| 3-1 | $10,000 |
| 2-2 | $7,500 |
| 1-3 | $5,000 |
English coverage will be provided by Toby 'TobiWan' Dawson via the OnGameNet twitch stream, while Korean coverage will be available on AfreecaTV. Interested South Korean fans are invited to visit OnGameNet's studio at Ipark Mall Esports Stadium.