Insomnia 48 will be play host to the ESET UK Masters 2013 Season 1 Grand Finals this weekend. Following events of the MLG Winter Championship last weekend where we witnessed arguably some of the most exciting and innovative Starcraft 2 games ever, we can't wait to see what is in store this weekend at the ESET UK Masters. Just ahead of time we kick off our event coverage by taking some time to look at the 12 players that qualified through online qualification and who we might see come break through the BYOC Open qualifier.
The Protoss Invites
Having reached the finals of 4 previous insomnia events, including two 1st place finishes, Dignitas' BlinG is by far the best hope for a British player in this event. BlinG has continually shown himself to be one of the strongest talents in UK Starcraft since his first international event in 2011, when he surprised everyone by getting Top 8 at the World Cyber Games. The competition this season is undeniably stronger than previous events but don't count him out, BlinG is unquestionably dark horse in this event.
HasuObs is a player we may not hear from too often but he has been around the block enough times since his Warcraft3 days to be a threat to anyone. Known for his standard methodical play, this guy is a regular, tearing it up on the European tournament scene and is unquestionably the strongest Non-Korean protoss attending. His crowning achievements in Starcraft 2 thus far have been his 4th place spots at IEM Guangzhou and TSL3 but his tournament placings include a long of list of cash prize finishes. Speaking of Warcraft3 veterans, we of course can't forget NightEnD. It has been some time since his top 4 finish at Dreamhack Winter in 2011 and it is fair to say he is by no means the best in Europe right now. That being said, NightEnD has years of tournament experience behind him so don't count him out entirely.
As one of the three Koreans attending, CranK will be hoping to make the Cynical Brit himself proud with no less than first 1st place finish in his first Heart of the Swarm tournament. With the entire Axiom roster having switched their focus from Wings of Liberty ahead of time due to their GSTL partnership with Acer and the House of the Swarm invitational, CranK should be incredibly prepared going into the finals.
Finally, the last protoss to have made it through the online qualifiers is none other than BabyKnight. the baby faced Dane who grabbed everyone’s' attention with his run in the Battle.net World Championship. Still, it's hard to know what to say about BabyKnight, we know he is good but we've seen little from him in recent months to really gauge his chances in this tournament which features so many strong invites. Of course only time will tell, his first challenge is the group play where he is placed in the already difficult Group A.
HasuObs is a player we may not hear from too often but he has been around the block enough times since his Warcraft3 days to be a threat to anyone. Known for his standard methodical play, this guy is a regular, tearing it up on the European tournament scene and is unquestionably the strongest Non-Korean protoss attending. His crowning achievements in Starcraft 2 thus far have been his 4th place spots at IEM Guangzhou and TSL3 but his tournament placings include a long of list of cash prize finishes. Speaking of Warcraft3 veterans, we of course can't forget NightEnD. It has been some time since his top 4 finish at Dreamhack Winter in 2011 and it is fair to say he is by no means the best in Europe right now. That being said, NightEnD has years of tournament experience behind him so don't count him out entirely.
As one of the three Koreans attending, CranK will be hoping to make the Cynical Brit himself proud with no less than first 1st place finish in his first Heart of the Swarm tournament. With the entire Axiom roster having switched their focus from Wings of Liberty ahead of time due to their GSTL partnership with Acer and the House of the Swarm invitational, CranK should be incredibly prepared going into the finals.
Finally, the last protoss to have made it through the online qualifiers is none other than BabyKnight. the baby faced Dane who grabbed everyone’s' attention with his run in the Battle.net World Championship. Still, it's hard to know what to say about BabyKnight, we know he is good but we've seen little from him in recent months to really gauge his chances in this tournament which features so many strong invites. Of course only time will tell, his first challenge is the group play where he is placed in the already difficult Group A.
The Zerg Invites
Ret has thus far shown that he is one of the best zergs in Europe right now, with stunning games in his group at the IEM World Championship, ultimately making it to the Ro8. He was stopped in the Ro16 at last weekends MLG Dallas but you can forgive him when you consider that he was facing none other than Flash and that he made the deepest runs of any European in either tournament. Ret is on fire and hungry to win an event this year and with none of the top-tier Koreans, this could be his for the taking.
Similarly hungry for glory is team-mate Snute who will be replacing Nerchio as he was unable to attend. Team Liquid's most recent pick-up has some momentum behind him going into this weekend after recently winning 3 back-to-back Swedish LANs. With half of the groups filled at this point ahead of the BYOC qualifier, Snute finds himself placed in the toughest group alongside BabyKnight and ForGG.
He may not be as well known as his countrymen Nerchio or Mana but Tefel has nonetheless on occasion shown himself to be able to take down high calibre players including attendees Ret and TLO. Although he lacks a championship win, you can be confident that he will be able to make it out of group play at least.
Similarly hungry for glory is team-mate Snute who will be replacing Nerchio as he was unable to attend. Team Liquid's most recent pick-up has some momentum behind him going into this weekend after recently winning 3 back-to-back Swedish LANs. With half of the groups filled at this point ahead of the BYOC qualifier, Snute finds himself placed in the toughest group alongside BabyKnight and ForGG.
He may not be as well known as his countrymen Nerchio or Mana but Tefel has nonetheless on occasion shown himself to be able to take down high calibre players including attendees Ret and TLO. Although he lacks a championship win, you can be confident that he will be able to make it out of group play at least.
The Terran Invites
ForGG burst onto the Starcraft 2 scene in 2011 when he won his first Code A undefeated, yet this former OSL champion has still to grab the top spot at a major event since his transition from Brood War despite some strong results last year with 2nd place finishes at ESWC and Dreamhack Valencia as well as a 3rd place finish at ASUS ROG Summer. Known for his strong mechanics and aggressive play, ForGG currently placed firmly at the top of the EU Grandmaster league and definitely the one to watch out for this weekend.
With his victory at IEM Singapore it would be impossible to deny that Sting is one of the strongest contenders at attending. That said however, in none of his series at that event did he display any dominance as he managed narrowly edged out his opponents all the way, earning himself the nickname 'Tightrope Terran'. He by all means holds the potential to take out anyone in the world but his results thus far do not inspire unwavering confidence in his play.
Even though he has shown himself to be one of the top terrans in Germany, there isn't much we can say about KrasS as he flies under the radar somewhat. He was able to reach the final of the 2012 edition of the ESET UK Masters, where he was defeated by BlinG so we will have to see if he can make another deep run this time around against stiffer competition. Also attending the event will be fellow German terran, HeRoMaRinE. At the age of only 15 he has shown a strong presence online but lacks experience in an offline tournament environment and will be looking to gain some valuable experience. Sharing a group with CranK however, some lessons might be learnt the hard way.
With his victory at IEM Singapore it would be impossible to deny that Sting is one of the strongest contenders at attending. That said however, in none of his series at that event did he display any dominance as he managed narrowly edged out his opponents all the way, earning himself the nickname 'Tightrope Terran'. He by all means holds the potential to take out anyone in the world but his results thus far do not inspire unwavering confidence in his play.
Even though he has shown himself to be one of the top terrans in Germany, there isn't much we can say about KrasS as he flies under the radar somewhat. He was able to reach the final of the 2012 edition of the ESET UK Masters, where he was defeated by BlinG so we will have to see if he can make another deep run this time around against stiffer competition. Also attending the event will be fellow German terran, HeRoMaRinE. At the age of only 15 he has shown a strong presence online but lacks experience in an offline tournament environment and will be looking to gain some valuable experience. Sharing a group with CranK however, some lessons might be learnt the hard way.
Who to look out for in the BYOC Open Qualifier
The final part of Team Liquid's zerg Triumvirate, TLO, missed out on a spot through the online qualifiers but will be taking his chances in the open bracket. TLO has been on form in recent months with Top 8 finishes in HomeStoryCup VI and IEM Katowice. He was unable to advance out of his group in his first Heart of the Swarm event at IEM WC but given a few weeks to adjust and a new training schedule, it will be exciting to see if he can take the whole thing.
We haven't heard much from Ziktomini in recent months but definitely one to keep an eye out for at the ESET UK Masters. This young zerg demolished his way through UK scene stalwarts JonnyRecco, Lau and DeMusliM to claim 1st place at the WCS UK National last year. Although we will have to see how Ziktomini has adapted to Heart of the Swarm now that zergs are no longer in as comfortable of a position they were towards the end of last year, he has shown great play under pressure and is definitely a cert to make it into the groups.
This will be a big tournament for JonnyRecco and what better place for him but insomnia 48, with 1st and 3rd place finishes at i46 and i47. Having recently parted ways with his team Dignitas, he definitely has something to prove going into this weekend in the hopes of picking up a new sponsor and we'll see if the home turf will give him any advantage.
Finally a player with a special place in hearts of those at GosuGamers from his time at the now defunct GG.net team. Ourk narrowly missed out on a trip to the WCS EU Finals last year when he was narrowly defeated by DeMusliM in the UK Nationals, sadly going home with a 4th place finish. Along side his team-mate BlinG, he is one of the best protosses that the UK has to offer and another likely candidate to make through into group play.
We haven't heard much from Ziktomini in recent months but definitely one to keep an eye out for at the ESET UK Masters. This young zerg demolished his way through UK scene stalwarts JonnyRecco, Lau and DeMusliM to claim 1st place at the WCS UK National last year. Although we will have to see how Ziktomini has adapted to Heart of the Swarm now that zergs are no longer in as comfortable of a position they were towards the end of last year, he has shown great play under pressure and is definitely a cert to make it into the groups.
This will be a big tournament for JonnyRecco and what better place for him but insomnia 48, with 1st and 3rd place finishes at i46 and i47. Having recently parted ways with his team Dignitas, he definitely has something to prove going into this weekend in the hopes of picking up a new sponsor and we'll see if the home turf will give him any advantage.
Finally a player with a special place in hearts of those at GosuGamers from his time at the now defunct GG.net team. Ourk narrowly missed out on a trip to the WCS EU Finals last year when he was narrowly defeated by DeMusliM in the UK Nationals, sadly going home with a 4th place finish. Along side his team-mate BlinG, he is one of the best protosses that the UK has to offer and another likely candidate to make through into group play.
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