The first day of competition now complete, we take a look at the highlights thus far.
Group B
FML MC is out. #iem
— Michal Blicharz (@mbCARMAC) March 5, 2013
In a recent interview with MC, IEM’s Carmac, ever willing to play impresario to the showmen on his stage, was once again hyping an upcoming event. Part of Carmac’s modus operandi is extracting the kind of inflammatory statement (“Zerg players low skill”) that can pepper an otherwise less exciting event. MC, always willing to play the hero, never fails to come through, and though MC is always a safe bet, today he came up short, losing most of his matches and achieving a mere 6 - 7 in map score.
Taking the spotlight reserved for the President of Protoss was Liquid’Ret, who experienced a surprising resurgence. Liquid’s non-Korean roster has, for some time now, been undergoing a process of fracturing and personal reformation. Ret, having apparently hit his nadir several months ago, looks set to make a comeback. But this is all expected behavior. Analyzing the dutchman’s past tournament performances it’s hard not to spot a pattern: he starts out strong - the Ret we expect and know can manifest - then fizzles away inexplicably in the later stages. The following days will show us if this will hold true.
Following Ret into the playoffs are YoDa and First, both Koreans as dangerous as any in Western tournaments, but somehow YoDa lacks the edge that a Code S champion like First can bring. Needless to say they left middle of the road europeans like Kas and Xlord in the dust.
Check out the full standings here.
Group A
There’s little to be said about group A. The old order of Wings of Liberty seems to have survived intact, though, to be shrewd, we might notice that the Nerchio of a few months ago would have totally crushed his group. For now, Protoss seems to have a leg up - at least until the Zerg side has had enough time to better understand where ZvP is going.
Curiously, 2012’s new star Lucifron hit the bottom of the board along with Slivko, another recently ascended player who ironically made his name at IEM events. Like Sauron’s Ring of Power, it seems the Russian is destined to be undone where he was first cast.
Check out the full standings here.
Tomorrow will give us groups C and D, and a better picture of where the event - and the game - is going. Until then, you can check out our IEM World Championship coverage hubs below.
