On the very top of the bracket we have an Acer team-kill match-up between MMA and Nerchio that’s very likely to be the highlight of the night.
MMA arrives having the upper hand. The “son of Boxer” has been on the rise ever since he took top four last season and recently coined another top four at DreamHack Bucharest, considered by many to be most intense DreamHack event to date. Although still having to walk a few more inches before reaching his 2011 form of unbeatable Terran force, MMA is certainly going there, one big step after another.
What the reborn MMA has inherited from the player who was once the ace of SlayerS is the ability to slaughter Zergs cold-bloodedly and this is where Nerchio’s troubles begin. The Polish powerhouse had very rough eight months since the start of 2013 and only during the current season of WCS Europe did his fans see a resemblance to the player who conquered DH Bucharest and HomeStory Cup V in 2012. Although ZvT remains Nerchio’s best match-up (his premier league record this season is 4-0 against Shuttle and ForGG), there’s still catching up to do compared to MMA’s current form. What foreign fans should hope for is that Nerchio has had a long and thorough talk with Scarlett regarding how the latter ousted MMA in the Season 2 finals.
Prediction: MMA 3-2 Nerchio
At the time of this article, there is no hotter foreigner in WCS Europe than Vortix. Reaching the playoffs for a second time in a row now, the Mouz’s Spaniard is the only one with a 8-0 map score after the group stage, has defeated proven names from the European scene and continues to live up to his 2012 hype.
Granted, Vortix’s run made it so that he maneuvered around every Korean presence, missing MVP in the Ro32 and MC in Ro16, and so one could argue that the Moreno brother had it a bit easy. After all, facing Showtime and Noname is arguably an easier task than playing a many-times Code S champion, but the fact stands for itself: Vortix has all the momentum and stopping him will be a tall order.
To overcome the odds is on StarDust, once a DreamHack champion and now a player trying to recapture that esteem once again. When StarDust lifted the Summer trophy, people cheered for his Cinderella story but also asked through the noise of applauds if the Korean will be another one-hit wonder like many before him. His strong showing in Valencia suggested otherwise and so did his more than decent runs at Assembly Summer and DreamHack Bucharest but doubt there is still. The Korean’s finishes have been declining since the summer and although he hasn’t gone in bad shape per se, I do believe his chances are slightly worse than Vortix’s.
Prediction: Vortix 3-1 StarDust
Seeing Targa in the playoffs is very likely the biggest surprise of the entire tournament. Ever since day one, the Norwegian has been tossed into the harshest groups but somehow he’s managed to endure. In the Ro32 he survived the company of ForGG, Naniwa and ToD only to then top a group of StarDust, Welmu and Happy, shocking everyone watching, myself included.
One week after the end of the group stage, this author is still aghast. Outside one single good run at Valencia 2012, Targa has never been a serious contender for a premier title so seeing him so deep is an event by itself. Although his story here is likely to end with MC butchering him, his results alone justify indulging in the possibility of an upset. After all, if he can slap down three big Protoss names, why can’t he do it to a fourth one?
There’s just one slight problem. Although Targa may have displayed some ZvP skills in his matches against Naniwa, ToD and Welmu, the quarter final in question places him against the cash-craving MC, a player who has his eyes fixed on the $400,000 in earnings milestone and will play with extra ferociousness this weekend. In any other day and in any other tournament Targa would have a real chance but not so much today, not when MC wants a trophy like never before.
Prediction: MC 3-1 Targa
During WCS Europe Season 2, Duckdeok was a player doubted by many. Not only did he eliminate some of Europe’s favorite sons but he did it through a frowned-upon playstyle, one staying away from the “fair” and “proper” “macro games”. Even as he killed a high-roller after high-roller, few gave him the benefit of the doubt and believed he would eventually be stopped. Surely Naniwa can do it. Or at least Grubby. Or MC…
As duckdeok now returns as defending Europe champion, his reception is, ironically, not that much better than last season. The audience might have come in terms with his victory and smiled when Carmac lifted him on his shoulders but it’s nevertheless convinced in its majority that a repeat championship there will be not.
There’s still hope for a good run for duckdeok, however. Genius has been struggling to come back into relevance ever since his Code S silver medal at the start of 2012 and he’s never been known for his invincibility in PvP so this might be a match the champion can take home. The Protoss mirror hasn’t changed that drastically from last season around so if Duckdeok can oust Naniwa, Grubby and MC to lift the trophy surely he can overcome a Korean way out of his prime.
Prediction: Duckdeok 3-1 Genius
Rotator photo: ESL
