GSL Season 2 Preview

With season 1 of the GSL finished, a huge number of players are migrating to Starcraft 2 to take their chances at getting the huge prize pool

The first season the GSL is finished, with Korean Zerg player Fruitdealer, AKA Cool, taking home the first place prize. But with the allure of a giant prize pool, not to mention the fact that the tournament is open to anyone and everyone, what is in store for the GSL in the future?

With the Season 2 preliminaries starting soon, over 2500 players have signed up to compete in the huge tournament. In fact, with so many players, GOMTV has had to extend the preliminaries from two days to four, stating that "it is impossible that pick 64 player among the 2500 applicants, so we have to schedule on weekdays." This is huge news for Starcraft 2 as an e-sport, boding well for the future of the game.

With that many players interested in competing in the second season, who are the names you should be watching out for? Is there going to be someone who can topple the Zerg powerhouse that is Fruitdealer?

The answer may lie in the huge number of confirmed players transitioning from older games to Starcraft 2. Large numbers of Brood War and Warcraft 3 Gamers are signed up to participate in the second season, along with the return of many players from the first season. Here's a sneak peak at the power houses making the transition from either Brood War or Warcraft 3 to Starcraft 2.

Brood War Players

Returning to the GSL will be Team SCV Life, which competed in the first season. Aforementioned Zerg player Fruitdealer took home the first victory at the GSL, but to let that victory overshadow his teammates excellent performances would be a misstep. Both sSKS and Clide had strong performances during the GSL, making it to the quarter finals and the round of 16 respectively. Team SCV Life will likely remain a strong presence during the next GSL.

In the next tournament also expect to see STARTALE, which includes former Brood War players Rainbow, JulyZerg, ACE, and Qoo)Max. Keep an eye on these guys in the upcoming season, as they have huge potential.

MVP and ZergBong from team IM, or "Incredible Miracle" will be participating in the second GSL. Although neither of these players made a huge name for themselves in Brood War, they are still likely to be strong contenders in this tournament, considering how new Starcraft 2 is.

Also worth noting is that recently KeSPA announced that NaDa is now officially retired, and will be playing solo in the upcoming GSL. In addition, there has been rumor of BoxeR coming the Starcraft 2 as well, looking to make the GSL his first tournament.

Warcraft 3 Players

Making the transition from the Warcraft Universe to the Starcraft Universe can't be an easy one, as the games tend to reward players for different skill sets. That hasn't stopped some of the biggest names in Warcraft 3 from going after that prize money though, with #1 Ranked ReMinD and #2 Ranked Lyn taking their shot at the huge prize pool in the GSL. Joining them will be #5 Moon, #13 FoCuS, #14 Soccer (using the ID Rhapsody currently), and #24 RohJinWook. With such highly regarded Warcraft 3 players joining, we're looking at some exciting games very early in the second GSL season.