Iron Squid - Group C preview

Two groups are done and two to go. After an epic but tragic final that saw the dramatic fate of Mvp being eliminated by losing to IdrA and MC, it is time to unleash the foreigners’ biggest hope. Four Koreans are already qualified, Stephano enters to break their domination.

One lonely Protoss

 

It must be said, the Polish has been quite unlucky with the group drawing. Very good to brilliant when playing against a Terran, the Protoss suffers when facing a player from the swarm. With Life and Stephano, MaNa will have to get to work and make something happen, especially considering the almost unbeatable ZvP of Stephano. In addition of the two Zergs, MaNa will be in a world of trouble to rely on his best match up as the two Terrans of the group are both Korean and both GSL winners. The very likable Mouz player will enter the tournament as an outsider but that does not mean he will not surprise every one and reach the Ro8.

An exemplar captain

 

Qualified through the second qualifier which was even tougher than the first one, Life is an already confirmed player on the Korean scene. Last Zerg standing in the GSL Super Trophy, he also reached the GSL Code A several times. Life is also the captain of team ZeNEX and he always tries to carry its colors as high as possible. He really is the key player of the line-up and brings light in the tough times ZeNEX has been through the last months, rumor even had it closing its doors due to financial issues. ZeNEX is still alive and its spearhead will compete in Iron Squid after defeating many known players in an amazingly stacked qualifier. Well at ease against Terran and Zerg, Life got a real shot in this  group, but cannot be considered as a favorite with Jjakji and MMA in the same group.

 

The foreigners’ hope

 

Stephano might be the only French guy being considered as one of them by the Americans, which is maybe due to the fact he took over IdrA’s spot as best foreigner. Le French has been on aheater for the last six months winning tournament after tournament and shutting every month by his showing in international events. As many successful foreigners, Stephano got quite a temper and sometimes gets into troubles, which does not compromise his talent. After his victory in Paris at ESWC in October, he wants to shine again in front of his fans. Unfortunately the French is in an especially troublesome group, as he has to face two GSL champions in his worst match-up: ZvT. Stephano will have to bring his A game to have a chance to defeat either Jjakji or MMA.

 

A winner looking for an international name

Surprising winner of the last GSL of 2011, Jjakji is a now a respected player. The Terran plays a very spectacular style with innovative strategies that should please the Iron Squid audience. With one only mirror match, Jjakji has a good shot of making it to the round of 8 as both his TvZ and TvP are top notch. Slightly disappointed by his last GSL performance, he will try to make it up by going big in the Iron Squid, as he could come to Paris to compete in his first international event. His TvT has been his only weakness lately so once the match against MMA done, he will be in his comfort zone.

 

A “Father” to avenge

After the elimination of BoxeR, his “son” MMA now bears alone all the hopes of team SlayerS. The Korean is a fantastic player and maybe sometimes the best player in the world. His TvZ is nearly unbeatable and Stephano and Life will have to face hell. His TvT is also very solid and he will be the favorite against Jjakji. Only TvP could be considered as his Achilles’ heel but with only MaNa -a non Korean Protoss- in his group, he should do more than fine. MMA needs to remain careful because he will be the man to beat for the other four players, a man who is yet to win a title in Europe.

Preview written by LeLfe