The first of the four groups, also the one that has almost everyone picking the previous MLG champion NaNiWa to come out on top once again. Though if we were to look back at the first event of the season, not many would have put Slush ahead of drewbie in terms of where the two Root members would finish. Gretorp who recently left Fnatic takes the 4th seed in this group, but with his time dedicated to casting, it'll be a tough fight. There's also the addition of a Korean invite into the groups, and out of the 4 coming in this way, this first group ended up lucky.
By now we all know of his amazing 26-2 run, with being 24-0 before the finals to win MLG Dallas. He also had a close second place finish recently in the TSL3, but from various interviews he's not happy. He's coming back to the USA for only one thing, and that's a victory. With some of the best gamers in Europe on his team, it's obvious that he will be coming in at top form once again, though this time he doesn't need a marathon to win, he needs to be consistent.
As of late for this champion, he has had no issue at all destroying any North American who tries to take him in a series. Although he recently failed to qualify for at the WCG Swedish qualifier, he will not have to worry about facing a Protoss unless it's from the open bracket. Based on the facts above and his track record as of late, he should take first in his group. Unless a fellow Swede makes a trip through the open bracket to Group A.
If you asked me before the last MLG who I thought would make the top 10, I can honestly say that I wouldn't have had Slush to be apart of that. Though he shocked a lot of people by taking 9th, and with Socke back in Germany for EPS he gets a 8th place seed but a group with a team mate.
Take a look back at the last MLG for Slush though, in a group with InControL, TLO, PainUser and Mihai. Slush went 3-1 and lost out because of his loss to InControL. In a group situation he does quite well, but I feel he'll be fighting for 3rd and not 1st in his group.
The man who went undefeated in his MLG Dallas group until a certain dignitas player made his way into Group D, is looking for revenge at Columbus. Unlike NaNiWa he has to prepare for a game against every race, but the Flash always has something interesting up his sleeve. I mean how can't you when KiWiKaKi and Catz are only feet away where you live.
Among the North American Terrans (and there are a lot of them), I would rank drewbie near the top. There just seems to be certain times where he is on his game, and not even in the best in the world can touch him. While others it's like a distraction can cause a snowball effect and a single mistake costs him everything. Either way, if he can find a way to beat NaNiWa he will win this group. Otherwise it will be quite upsetting to not see him take second place.
All around super nice guy, who has dedicated a lot more time to the NASL as of late. Though he is still streaming quite constantly, he recently left his team of Fnatic. Though it's not like he doesn't have more than a few practice partners that he could prepare with, and it's very easy to come up with a build designed to snipe a player (look at Nazgul vs IdrA from last year). The real question is, how much dedication is Gretorp putting towards this?
Stuck in a group that has two top Canadian gamers, and who some consider the best Swedish gamer. Also the addition of Moon and anyone from the open bracket, Gretorp will be fighting an uphill battle. I hope to see him improve on his Dallas performance where he went 0-4, but I still see him getting 5th or 6th.
One of four Koreans being sent over in the new MLG/GOMtv partnership. Though ranked the highest in seeding which puts him into Group A, a lot of people are claiming he's the worst of the bunch. Though we've seen before that previous WC3 prowess can have a quick turn around and create domination. ThorZaiN may come to mind for a few, or NaNiWa, maybe Kas as well.
We've seen Moon playing in the NASL and he's actually being doing amazingly with only ZvZ's bringing him losses. It's a wild card adding the Koreans into the mix and I'm excited to see what they will do, and even more with Moon I find myself scratching my head. He'll either be battling Slush for 3rd or we'll see him take down NaNiWa and claim Group A.
What ever happens at MLG Columbus, GosuGamers will be there live to give you updates, news, pictures and interviews. So be sure all weekend long to be on GosuGamers.net!
