HERE – WE – GO!
DreamHack: Bucharest 2013 is upon us and me-oh-my do we have one hell of a monster tournament to look forward to. 64 players, 3 group stages, and a $26,950 USD prize pool.
32% of participants this weekend will be made up of notable Korean progamers, while the rest of the field will be comprised of various International players from over 15 countries worldwide. Interestingly enough, this will be the first DreamHack of the year where a US player will not be participating. The lone North American representative, HuK, will be battling his way through the tournament for a shot at not only the lucrative prize pool, but the oh so valuable WCS points that come along with a top 16 finish.
As one of the last events outside of WCS Premier league, this weekend’s DreamHack open will be one of the most exciting, competitive, and down right entertaining tournaments of the year and perhaps of all time. This post will highlight my players to watch this weekend, as well as my predictions for who will walk home with the 1st place prize.
RO64 Players to watch
Group K is shaping up to be the most intriguing group of the RO64 for me. Why is that you ask? It currently features 3 players that could easily make some noise in the RO32:
ABomB is a creative Irish Protoss from the team mYinsanity who can throw some curve balls at ill-prepared opponents right off the bat. His teammates include the likes of StarDust and Jjakji, so if he’s been practicing hard for Bucharest watch out.
Krr is an old school Lithuanian Protoss from Alien Invasion who most recently came in 2nd place at the ESET Masters Season 2 Qualifiers. He’s one of my favorite players to watch in the EU scene and his defense oriented, macro-heavy death-ball style can absolutely crush players who haven’t prepared to tread the deep waters of any PvX match-up. Look for Krr to easily advance from this group if he can get past…
Tefel, a Polish Zerg player from Dignitas who’s been a mainstay of WCS EU premier and challenger leagues all season long. He currently sits at #72 on the overall WCS Standings (500 points) and while he may not have a shot at the top 16 (current cut line is 2375 points), he will be hungry for a berth in the final group stage of the tournament. If his early opponents have prepared for his style by watching his VODs, Tefel could be facing a bigger challenge than he expects in the early stages of the open.
Other Notable RO64 Players: elfi, Ret, Bunny, Bly, ToD, SjoW
Top Zerg Players
Life is one of the many players in this tournament that simply can’t make it to the WCS Season Finals (based on points alone), but that’s no reason to count him out this weekend. Although his recent performances in major tournaments have been disappointing when you consider the amazingly rapid success he enjoyed during the end of 2012/beginning of 2013, he is still the second best zerg in the world according to aligulac.com and most recently defeated Bomber to win the Ritmix Russian Starcraft II League Season 5. This guy knows how to win a tournament, and don’t be shocked if he ruins the party for those players on the WCS Season Finals points bubble.
HyuN has a seriously good chance at making it to the WCS Season Finals, and his road to the finish line starts at DreamHack Bucharest. You may be wondering why Jaedong isn’t included in this list of top zerg players and the primary reason for that is HyuN’s victory over Jaedong in the finals of DreamHack Valencia. Although HyuN’s play style is relatively predictable and his recent PvZ performances are questionable, his execution is often flawless and he’s very familiar with this weekend’s field of players. Combine these factors of experience and skill with the hunger for advancing to the WCS finals, and we may very well see HyuN with yet another DreamHack trophy in his hands on Sunday.
Top Terran Players
INnoVation is the current points leader in the race to the WCS Season 1 Finals AND the number 1 ranked player in the world according to aligulac.com – that right there is damn impressive. It also puts the biggest target on his back going into the open this weekend. The man known as ‘Bogus’ in some circles seems rejuvenated since being picked up by Team Acer, and he’s easily the favorite to win it all. However, INnoVation is still alive in WCS GSL Season 3, so don’t be shocked when he keeps his builds solid and conservative in an effort to further lock in his spot as the leader in WCS points. Seeing as he’s still without a DreamHack trophy though, I could be wrong, but expect him to coast while protecting his secret plans for GSL domination.
TaeJa is straight up one of the most dominant modern Terran players in Starcraft II. Since joining Team Liquid, he’s won five major tournaments, including DreamHack Valencia in 2012. No one can argue against his builds, his micro, and his experience – we can also consider the fact that he’s currently #9 in the WCS Finals points standings and come to the ultimate conclusion that Taeja is the one guy you do not want to run into this weekend. Expect the winner of the entire tournament to be the one to knock out Taeja, because if he isn’t the one to take the gold, that’s historically what happens.
Top Protoss Players
sOs is going to make it to the WCS Season Finals, but I’m hesitant to include him among the elite this weekend. Don’t get me wrong, he has everything it takes to go deep in the tournament, but his ability to finish the job in majors is unproven. Combine that with the fact that he’s never competed in an open-style format like DreamHack and I just don’t think he’s going to finish in the top spot. Look for sOs to have one of the best finishes among protoss players, but don’t be shocked when he gets upset by a top-ranked foreigner.
HerO hasn’t razzled and dazzled in the 2013 tournament scene like his Team Liquid counterpart Taeja, but let’s not forget that this guy won WCS Season 1 AM and is regarded as the third ranked protoss in the world according to aligulac.com. He’s placed in the 3-4 spot in 3 out of the 4 majors he’s participated in this year and knows what it takes to win a DreamHack. If HerO’s been practicing his PvP, I think he can make a deep run – he’s rock solid in PvZ (so long as he avoids HyuN) and his PvT has always been his strongest match-up. There’s no pressure on him to win this weekend as the #8 ranked player in WCS Season Finals points, but I expect him to be putting a lot of pressure on himself to reclaim that feeling of supreme victory and win his second DreamHack tournament of his career.
Wildcard of the Tournament
TLO currently sits in the #20 spot for overall WCS Season Finals points – i.e. he’s on the bubble. This can result in one of two scenarios: major pressure that results in personal failure or a “rising to the occasion” of sorts that propels him into the top 16 of the WCS Finals points standings. For this reason, TLO is my wildcard pick to rock out and make some waves this weekend. With a favorable draw of the terran player Heart starting out in his group, TLO will be crossing his fingers to avoid having two solid protoss players join them in Group Stage 2. PvZ has been unkind to TLO recently, as he was knocked out of WCS EU RO32 by top protoss duckdeok, but if I know TLO he’ll be refining his style up to the minute in an effort to finish as high as he possibly can. A top 5 finish won’t give him the points he needs, so look for TLO to have his sights set on making it to the top 4.
The Foreign Hope
HuK who? Sure, he hasn’t broken a top 16 finish this year, but HuK is still one of 17 foreigners in the top 50 of WCS Season Finals points. He’s alive in WCS AM Season 3, he’ll be at IEM New York, and with a top 2 finish this weekend he can theoretically still make it to the WCS Season 1 Finals. Did I mention he’s the only player competing from North America? Sure it’s a long shot, sure it’s unlikely, but that’s why he’s my pick as the foreign hope this weekend.
The Winner
Flash needs to make some serious moves this weekend. Like HuK, he’s still alive in his WCS region, he’ll be at IEM New York, and with a top 2 finish this weekend he’ll be one step closer to his goal of qualifying for the WCS Season 1 Finals. When God has a clear formula and straightforward path to accomplishing his goals, can he be stopped? I’m of the opinion that the answer to that question is no – however, Flash has yet to win a major tournament in Starcraft II. Will this be the weekend where he breaks out and sets the eSports world on fire? As my pick to win it all this weekend, I sure hope so. Look for Flash to go all-in (in more ways than one), pull out every trick in the book, and finish this weekend as the last man standing.
If you enjoyed this blog I hope you’ll join me in another enjoyable experience on www.twitch.tv/basetradetv tomorrow & championship Sunday where I’ll be casting the group stages of DreamHack: Bucharest alongside @Rif_Kingz.
With 19 streams in 8 different languages, there will be plenty of amazing Starcraft 2 action for everyone to enjoy. I hope your favorites do well, and I encourage you to tweet at me – @DOOMeSports – with your thoughts on this article and to @DreamHack thanking them for organizing such an amazing production.
GG