MLG Summer Championship Preview

The Groups

Group A

It’s not uncommon for a fairly good player to experience a sudden but usually brief burst in the level of his performance, so that for a noticeable period of time, he becomes the best in the world. The tradeoff of course is that this phenomenon is temporary, and may never manifest itself again. Like MarineKing before him, Taeja may be one of these players. For months now he has been collecting victory after victory for Team Liquid, though we have seen that even he, again like MarineKing, is not invincible.

This MLG he will face off against some of the best in the world. The matches will not be simple elimination or even double elimination. He faces pool play against his team mate, HerO, his friend from SlayerS, Ryung, TSL’s Revival, and others. The competition won’t end conveniently after a couple of matches. It will go on until everybody’s had their day, and that usually means playing beyond bedtime, eating badly, getting little rest, and then waking up the next day to do it again. For the best players this is usually of little consequence. Winners just win, and right now Taeja is one of them.

On the other side of the pool there’s qxc. Qxc has been around since the beta, when he made a name for himself through his aggressive drop play. He was essentially the prototype of the strong but not that strong North American Terran of today. This may have changed, but real life issues, including an impending education, stole him from us for many months. Fortunately for everyone involved, this has changed. Starting with his MLG performances qxc has been making a return. His first presence in the group stages of a Championship event may herald great things yet, or at the very least show us where he has come.

This used to be a common sight.
Photo by: MLG

Joining qxc on his great North American venture is Quantic’s Illusion, formerly of Vile. Vile players carved up a decent reputation for themselves as frequent bracket warriors at MLG, and it’s encouraging to see this legacy continue even after the team’s dissolution. In addition to Taeja, HerO, and themselves, these two terrans will have to face SlayerS_Ryung and TSL’s Revival, who are certainly no slouches. Both are as likely as anyone to make it far, but they’ve never really been favorites, and with HerO and Taeja as their competition, the standings are looking spindly.

Group B

The third of Liquid’s participants, Sheth has always had fair results in single play, but has had the most success in the team format. With Taeja and HerO backing him up there’s less pressure to perform, and that may benefit his play. It’s also something he may be thankful for given that his group includes three killer TvZers in Ganzi, Alive and Puma, and a Protoss player he has already lost to in Alicia. This is not an encouraging picture: perhaps we have become so accustomed to favoring Koreans that we lay our other competitors by the wayside, and Sheth is certainly a player who can compete with the best. Sadly, we find this is often the best description of foreign players, even though recently the tide, at least in European tournaments, seem to have changed slightly, with players like MaNa and Nerchio overtaking the Korean favorites. If anyone can do it here, there’s no reason to count out Sheth.

It’s not unusual to meet new faces and learn new names at MLG events. If you have a careful eye you can spot them navigating the Open Bracket in advance, till they make that one splash giving them the attention they deserved from the start. Binski is one of these players. It’s foolish to get in over our heads, of course. New blood must always be welcome in the scene, but the likes of Stephano and Thorzain don’t just show up overnight, even though we might secretly wish they did.

The four Koreans in this group are all S level players, and likely to be fearless. Alicia, Alive, Ganzi and Puma have been showing steady participation in western tournaments, usually knocking out whatever unfortunate foreign player crosses their path. This isn’t looking much different, with these four likely to fight over the top spot in the group, though none of them is really a level above the others.

Nerd slayer.
Photo by: GOMtv

Group C

Stephano has many skills, among them Starcraft 2. Presumably he practices this one the least, but it also happens to be the one he is most famous for. The Frenchman seems either invulnerable or lackadaisical, usually winning in either case, though he can sometimes be strained, and, more strangely, defeated. Looking at Stephano’s best, it does seem peculiar that he can in fact be defeated. One wonders if he doesn’t do it on purpose.

Team Legion must be very proud of GiX. Rubbing shoulders with this crowd is certainly an achievement. It’s in the interest of everyone that he continue to do it. After all, one of the strengths of Starcraft 2 is that no one quite manages to win everything. This makes for a lot of room, and for a lot of clearing of the air. GiX is not the only newcomer - he may prove to be part of a new guard soon to settle in with the old.

And then there are the others. There is an undisputed master in Oz, a champion in Violet, and a strangely resilient Rain. Two years ago we wouldn’t have given Rain as much chance to be here as now, but let’s give credit where credit is due. He makes it work somehow. Another man in a similar position is Grubby, who used to be hobbling but has gained steadier legs. Frankly, Grubby has won more championships than all his opponents combined, so we could just say it’s only a matter of time until he masters the game like no one else. We’ll err on the side of caution, however, and say that Stephano, Oz and Violet are going to have words with him about that.

Dancing moves are the least of this man's worries.
Photo by: Cameron Carson

Group D

Or: the new guys versus Losira. And Goody. It’s like having very weird group sex. First, Daisy, Sasquatch and Caliber are names that only six months ago would have raised eyebrows as well as some questions. Who are these guys? Where did they come from? Why are they in MarineKing’s spot? It beats us, but results don’t lie, and that’s why we’re looking forward to seeing them in action.

What to say of Losira? Nestea’s protegè and the other IM zerg seemingly destined for greatness. He disappeared off the map for a while, doing Korean weeklies as he attempted to get back into GSL and now here he is again. IM have always been stingy with foreign appearances, but it’s certainly a relief to see one of their number represent this team.

And then there is Goody, the Panzer General. Another man whose success makes no sense. Reputedly slow, mechanically inefficient, he must have a mind for strategy like few others if he can overcome such hurdles and crush his betters. It’s wise to suspect Goody’s showings will be some of the best this tournament, a bit like city walls crashing before the ark of the covenant, except there’s no god, just a merry German boy with a lot of tanks behind him.

The Royal Road

MLG’s Open Bracket must be somewhat of a Royal Road for a new generation of players. While in the past a player winning a tournament in his first attempt would be said to have walked this celebrated path, we have had cause to christen a slightly different achievement: winning - like Naniwa and Leenock - an MLG starting from the Open Bracket.

However harsh, however unlikely, this has never been an impossibility. The pools contain only so many players, and everybody else - unfortunates, exiles, newcomers - must start on square one. This has made this phase of the competition particularly difficult. It’s where the aspiring progamer discovers he goes up against MarineKing in his first round, and it’s where a finals worthy match like Stephano vs Mvp might kick off the entire event. Most of these matches go unaired; their results are tweeted and announced via the stream. There is always a great number of stories made and lost as the rounds trailblaze sunup to sundown, following the schedule conveyor belt style. Where GSL tests preparation, MLG drills stamina. They are both just as tough.

And every new event brings in another haul of big competitors. We’ve got regulars, we’ve got returning guests, we’ve got fresh meat and even more besides. We’ve got all the flavors, the meats, the sweets, the charcoal and the fire. We’ve even got the spark and the flint it came from - and it’s all gonna roast.

Here are some of our choicest morsels:

EG.HuK - Two time winner, entertainer extraordinaire, HuK has been underperforming this past year. Let’s hope he breaks the trend.

coL.Tri-Master - Once surprised us all by breaking into Championship Losers’ Bracket.

GoSuHwangSin - MLG regular. His deadly all in play and perfected cheeses help him make more headway than you’d think.

coL.Heart - One of the new regulars. Since signing with Complexity, Heart has been showing great MLG results, getting tantalizingly close to a championship.

EG.ThorZain - This is one battlefield the King in the North is likely not to conquer.

And they said Evil Geniuses didn't suit him.

coL.Killer - A Code S Protoss, Killer is true to his name. Unfortunately, he may still need a bazooka.

EG.Idra - Maybe he will, maybe he won’t.

d.Select - The last we saw of Select he was still a mid-tier Terran but an S level singing sensation.

EG.JYP - One of the new school Protoss players loved by Artosis. Joining Evil Geniuses has served him well.

EG.Suppy - If Suppy’s recent showings are to be believed, he’s a force to be reckoned with. As is everyone else on this list.

TheSTC - The other Supernova, there was no doubt he would survive oGs disbanding.

EG.Demuslim - Was once close to winning a championship. He may do it yet.

MarineKingPrime - The monster.

Leenock - The other monster.

EmpireBeastyqt - The inheritor of EmpireKas’s will - and results. He should go very far, but never does.

GoSuViBe; GoSuDDE; KawaiiRiceLight; iS_Axslav - Having been with MLG from the start, they’ve always proved it’s foolish to discount them.

The ROOT crew: see above.