MLG Summer Arena Preview

In the preliminaries for the MLG Summer Championship we do not only get to see the cream of the crop from Korea, but also the rising stars of the foreign community. We see an interesting mix between veterans and those who are on their way to fame. Players like SortOf, Cytoplasm, roof and Sasquatch struggle to make their way through the brackets which are spiced with almost legendary athletes such as Losira, Ganzi and Sheth. Amongst these two groups another one emerges; legionnaires from Korea that joined Western teams to shake up the foreign scene, including the likes of Daisy, ReaL, Golden and up until his departure from Team Empire, viOLet.

Winner of MLG Spring Arena 2 and now without a team: viOLet.
Photo by: MLG

Once again we got to see the draft system in use, which allows the top half of the qualified players pick their favored opponent from the bottom half. What has to be kept in mind during this procedure is not only the objective strength of each indiviudal player, but also the race, playstyle, and, more often than one would think, personal rivalries.

The Brackets

Bracket A
Alicia	vs	Sasquatch	Ryung	vs	Sheth
One of the most renowned Protosses against a Complexity Academy up-and-comer. This can be the big breakthrough for Sasquatch, but that will be highly unlikely.			Here we have two players that we know are good, but who still seem to underperform regularly. But when in doubt, give the Code S player an edge.
Gosubets			Gosubets
HerO	vs	Cytoplasm	Tefel	vs	Grubby
Cytoplasm has been growing stronger and stronger lately, while HerO's performance is always so-and-so. If he catches a good day, it will be a walkover and if not, it will be close.			Those two are generally very close in skill and even with the current strength of Zerg, you probably won't find a less predictable match in the rest of the tournament.
Gosubets			Gosubets
Oz	vs	roof	Rain	vs	viOLet
The Protoss veteran is about to face the German whose first big result is qualifying for this Arena. Something has to go terribly wrong for Oz to lose.			With the current state of TvZ and considering that viOLet is the reigning champion of the Spring Arena, the Zerg has a more than slight advantage.
Gosubets			Gosubets
Illusion	vs	RevivaL	qxc	vs	Stephano
While Illusion has been able to gather experience with a couple of offline events as of late, RevivaL is probably one of the lesser Koreans in this tournament. It could go either way.			As they meet on day one, it's unlikely Stephano will be compromised like he was the last time, and if he manages to carry over his spirit from NASL, he will definitely move on.
Gosubets			Gosubets

With the number of players in each bracket and the possibilities of upsets it is difficult to predict a clear favorite, but three players stand out more than others. HerO, who has the capabilities to completely dominate an opponent with his insane Warp Prism play, as long as his emotions are in order and he manages to remain calm. We have viOLet, a cheerful and chipper personality, who has won tournaments in sickness and in health, and is hungry for more. Last but not least there is Stephano, the Enfant Terrible of StarCraft 2. Incredibly gifted, but with a mindset that often holds him back from becoming the very best.

SlayerS'Alicia's second place at the Spring Championship should not be forgotten either.
Photo by: Liquipedia

Bracket B
PuMa	vs	Welmu	Dream	vs	TaeJa
While Welmu has been doing moderately well in the EU scene, PuMa has a bunch of big tournaments and victories under his belt. There's not much else to say.			The only TvT we see in the first round might as well be called the kid's table. It will be close, but TaeJa has fared well recently and beaten some strong Terrans.
Gosubets			Gosubets
SortOf	vs	First	Snute	vs	Ganzi
First, for BW enthusiasts better known as Anyppi, has just this year made his move to SC2. Those should put him close to SortOf skillwise, who has had a couple of really good games in the past few weeks.			Snute is to many the personified rise of European Zergs lately, but he is nonetheless facing Ganzi, who has proven time and time again that he can shred his enemies to pieces.
Gosubets			Gosubets
aLive	vs	Daisy	Top	vs	Golden
Since Daisy signed with ESC in May, he made quite the splash on various occasions. If his recent results are anything to go by, aLive will have a tough time beating him.			TOP is one of the former oGs members you didn't hear much from lately while Golden toured the US placing high in many of the tournaments he entered. For renown alone, Golden should take this.
Gosubets			Gosubets
ReaL	vs	Losira	GoOdy	vs	SaSe
Since he's staying in Germany, ReaL has done fairly well in national tournaments and a few others. But once he faces 'real' players, he soon starts to crackle. That being said, Losira has fallen far from his legacy.			Calling SaSe NaNiwa's clone would not be fair. But it is obvious that a bit of his skill has rubbed off onto him in Korea. Unlike GoOdy, he is one that can consistently challenge the Koreans.
Gosubets			Gosubets

This bracket is even more difficult to predict than the other one. We have even more strong Koreans, and even more players that are known for major upsets. Looking at the Europeans in this group, SaSe is probably the most consistent player. His matches, if it comes to that, against Ganzi, aLive or TaeJa have the potential to be among the most interesting of the Arena. And even if it doesn't, with the refreshingly high amount of Terrans in this bracket we are almost bound to see an exciting TvT along the way. And who knows, maybe Terrans aren't dead after all.

Links: Liquipedia, GosuBet, MLG