We take a look at IEM World Championship so far, and offer our thoughts on what is to come.
Tumbling from the Battlements
There was one surprise in the group stage and that was Feast. The Belgian protoss wrestled two Koreans, downed Empire’s Kas, overcame EG’s Idra, and unexpectedly lost to DarkFoRcE. He came in first. Supernova, the erstwhile favorite, came in second, having been given a run for his money.
By and large, our predictions were uncannily accurate: of the ten Koreans present, eight have made it to the playoffs, two have fallen. Any foreigner looking to win will have to pass a gauntlet made up entirely of S class players. And then, of course, there is MMA, the proverbial final boss standing atop his fortress.
Group A
MMA cut through his group as only the Emperor’s son could, taking away a clean 10 - 0 in map score, while JYP and Violet fought over the scraps. Interestingly, Socke was one point of map score away from entering the playoffs (6 - 6 to JYP’s 6 - 5), showing that the German protoss cannot be easily discounted, nor can he be easily relied upon. The very bottom of the group is composed by dKiller and Strelok. Whatever expectations there were for Killer, we have long known Strelok is a solid terran, one of Ukraine’s four riders of the Apocalypse, and his bitter defeat marked the first in a series of disappointments we did not entirely expect.
Group A | ||
MMA | 5-0 | 10:0 |
Violet | 3-2 | 7:5 |
JYP | 3-2 | 6:5 |
Socke | 3-2 | 6:6 |
Killer | 1-4 | 3:9 |
Strelok | 0-5 | 3:10 |
Group B
Group B was the least predictable of the tournament, and WhiteRa’s substitution of Ret didn’t help things. The fighting devolved into a brawl, as each protoss bludgeoned, bit, and knifed his way through the games. When the dust settled, it seemed not even pvp expert MC came away without a bloody nose, the group ending in a three-way tie broken only by map score. It’s difficult to say what might have happened had Ret been present - certainly the number of pvps worked in elfi’s favor, giving him an edge he is likely not to find against potential terran and zerg opponents.
While WhiteRa, a perennial fan favorite, has not been a serious contender for any title for a long while now, Grubby is relatively fresh into the game, and continuing to deliver disappointing performances. His paltry 1 - 5 run against mostly European players may cast a shadow he will have to shrug off in future events.
Group B | ||
MC | 3-2 | 8:5 |
Elfi | 3-2 | 8:6 |
HasuObs | 3-2 | 6:5 |
Nerchio | 3-2 | 6:5 |
White-Ra | 2-3 | 5:7 |
Grubby | 1-4 | 3:9 |
Group C
The only reason SeleCT didn’t get out this group is that there were already three Koreas bucking for the playoffs. Puma once again showed us why he is an opponent to be feared, demonstrating the kind of control MarineKing would envy, showing off his terrifying ghost control, stellar decision making, and shark-like ability to sense weakness. There is only one player in Hanover whom Puma is not favored against, and that is MMA.
Taking up the rear is Killer, who has given us a glimpse of what he may bring in the next season of GSL, and Zenio, confirming his status as all around solid zerg - but still missing that one key element to the composition of a monster.
No one probably expected Mana to finish last. Dimaga’s performances have varied wildly as of late, but Mana is a young star ready to take its place in the sky, and it is disheartening to see it snuffed out like this. Doubtless we will see better from him, but for now, we can only sigh.
Group C | ||
Puma | 4-0 | 8:2 |
Killer | 4-1 | 9:5 |
Zenio | 3-2 | 7:5 |
Select | 1-3 | 5:7 |
Dimaga | 1-4 | 4:9 |
Mana | 1-4 | 4:9 |
Group D
It feels almost wrong for Feast to have taken first place in his group, yet here he is. We are still smiling. Whether he can back up this performance by advancing through the playoffs - and continuing this trend in future tournaments - is something else entirely. Wait and see is the approach to take.
Kas apparently subscribes to Dimaga’s philosophy, as an otherwise strong player continues to play either uninspiringly or inconsistently. We know Kas is good, and we will be there when he reminds everyone why. We’ve seen ReaL before, but somehow he remains an unknown quantity, a protoss destined to stay in limbo until it is finally clear whether he is ladder good or tournament good. Finally, for IdrA the rule seems to have become do great or do nothing. This time it was the latter.
Group D | ||
Feast | 4-1 | 8:2 |
Supernova | 3-2 | 7:6 |
DarkForce | 3-2 | 7:6 |
Real | 2-3 | 5:6 |
Kas | 2-3 | 5:7 |
Idra | 1-4 | 4:9 |
Unto the Breach - The Playoffs
MMA has one point to make and it is resting on the tip of his sword. Hanover is his, and whoever wants to challenge that simple fact must be prepared to play better than they have ever played before, even Puma. Eyes will be set on Feast and elfi, this tournament’s hero protoss players, though it remains to be seen whether elfi’s uncanny style can once again take him far, and whether Feast can withstand the carnage coming his way.
Hasuobs must face Killer in pvp, a matchup which could equalize the two, or set them further apart on the spectrum of skill as the games unfold. Killer is the favorite here, but it would be foolish to look Hasuobs in the face and tell him ‘no’.
The expression ‘dark horse’ must be pregnant with meaning for DarkFoRcE now. Once again, we have a mirror match up, but the german zerg is no slouch, posing a threat to anyone foolish enough to take him lightly, especially in zvz. Even so, Violet remains the probable victor.
If the group stage was wave one of the assault on Korean invincibility, the cannon fodder has been shrugged off, and the toughest and cleverest have persevered. Tomorrow we will see just how tough and clever the survivors really are.