To another final he marches
Since June this year, SlayerS_Alicia has made it to the grand finals of the two largest, most prestigious tournaments in North America. Both times it didn’t go too well and his zerg opponents DongRaeGu and Stephano treated him as inanimate sparring doll, battering him with just about every tool in the zerg arsenal. Alicia was never close to winning a championship in his career regardless of his two silver medals and thinking otherwise is simply wrong.
Yet all this is of no importance as for Alicia and his fans, his results in the past few weeks have been a divine gift. After long months of irrelevance to the eSports scene, Alicia drank something mystical and there he is: no longer the player that receives the consolatory tap on the shoulder, but one who’s a factor, a contender who strolled through a personal reincarnation to return to the mattering world of eSports and kick some celebrity ass.
Currently with a guaranteed top four, Alicia has set eyes on yet another grand final, a second MLG one in a row. He resumed his excellent performance from day one with a spectacular, almost unheard of one hour long PvP set against HerO. Neither player got the memo that protoss mirrors are supposed to be the short, coin-flipping matches and just like that Entombed Valley was mined out and carriers outnumbered probes. Tied 1-1 with HerO, Alicia knew that this victory would mean making top four and a loss would send him to the LB against Violet and, having his last grand finals in mind, that would not be a pleasant prospect for the SlayerS protoss.
So Alicia persisted and delivered the first televised game in a long time in which carriers were used properly and their commander walked out victorious. Maybe Browder and Co. will reconsider after all…
After the PvP spectacle against HerO, Alicia’s next match against Oz seemed grey and dull but it sent him to the WB final, guaranteeing him a top four. His opponent will be the winner of Oz and Stephano, the protoss starting from a 2-1 extended series, and should he win, he will go against Alicia with the same score in the disadvantage. This is everything but bad for Alicia, surely he’s not dreaming of another NASL 3.
So, monsieur, we meet again
In the same bracket, Oz and Stephano will be facing each other for the second time this tournament.
The first series did not go well for the Frenchman. After taking the first map, Stephano was on his way to a second victory on Entombed Valley, using his blossoming economy, huge bank and a painful brood lord/infestor army to bully Oz back to his side of the field. Then he was served a mothership and all of a sudden all prospect of winning 2-0 vanished.
A misplaced army and a bad engagement sent Stephano to the LB but fortunately for him, he was dealt another ZvP in HerO. After a multitasking one-upmanship and a good old-fashioned full frontal beating, Stephano kept his tournament life by eliminating the famed PvZ-er and making top six at Summer Arena.
To make top four, however, Stephano will have to go through his old rival from one day ago. Oz is coming into the match with a 2-1 extended series advantage – an edge that would be stupid to neglect, considering Oz’s perfection thus far. Stephano made it to the NASL gold by going through a string of ZvPs but he’s also known for meeting an unfortunate end in the very last stages of the tournament. The prospects of back-to-back championships for the zergs are looking grim.
Who's First?
Eight months ago, those oblivious to the Korean stage asked a similar question: Who is Leenock? Why is he beating Boxer, MMA, Mvp, DongRaeGu, HuK and Naniwa? Is that allowed? What the hell, man?
Indeed, Leenock’s story in Providence is not unlike this of IM_First here in NYC. Losing in the very first round to SortOf, First dropped to the LB to face rising zerg sensation Snute in round one. We thought he would not survive this but he did. He eliminated TOP and then Puma, and Ganzi, and then Alive and is playing against Losira next – once the prince of the zerg and NesTea’s apprentice, now coming to NYC to take the crown that rightfully belongs to him.
The real question here is not if First can defeat Losira. His records certainly do not point the other way. It’s about where have IM been hiding this protoss and if we’re seeing Artosis’ new favorite player now that Seed and Alicia are officially and recognizably good. Having a four-game winning streak against Korea’s best terrans is no small feat but we all know how the world of eSports operates.
First will have to pull a Leenock and make it to the WB finals at least to make an impression to the wide public. And if he finishes at a place in accordance to his moniker… Well, prepare, world, for another protoss rising star.
Summer Arena day three: The opening matches
Losers Bracket B
StephanoVS
1-2 (ext. series) Oz FirstVS Losira
As we said, a tough game is ahead of Stephano. He might still be the best ZvP player outside Korea but now Oz knows - personally - that the Frenchman is beatable. He's seen his weaknesses, he played on par with him and he's coming into this with a 2-1 lead. Both logic and heart pull me towards the Korean.A match between teammates. First is on such fire that it's inhuman but then again so is Losira. The zerg players recently scored victories against Parting and Squirtle and looks like he's back on track with winning and all that Jazz. And he's way better in it than Snute.
Gosubet
Since June this year, SlayerS_Alicia has made it to the grand finals of the two largest, most prestigious tournaments in North America. Both times it didn’t go too well and his zerg opponents DongRaeGu and Stephano treated him as inanimate sparring doll, battering him with just about every tool in the zerg arsenal. Alicia was never close to winning a championship in his career regardless of his two silver medals and thinking otherwise is simply wrong.
Yet all this is of no importance as for Alicia and his fans, his results in the past few weeks have been a divine gift. After long months of irrelevance to the eSports scene, Alicia drank something mystical and there he is: no longer the player that receives the consolatory tap on the shoulder, but one who’s a factor, a contender who strolled through a personal reincarnation to return to the mattering world of eSports and kick some celebrity ass.
Currently with a guaranteed top four, Alicia has set eyes on yet another grand final, a second MLG one in a row. He resumed his excellent performance from day one with a spectacular, almost unheard of one hour long PvP set against HerO. Neither player got the memo that protoss mirrors are supposed to be the short, coin-flipping matches and just like that Entombed Valley was mined out and carriers outnumbered probes. Tied 1-1 with HerO, Alicia knew that this victory would mean making top four and a loss would send him to the LB against Violet and, having his last grand finals in mind, that would not be a pleasant prospect for the SlayerS protoss.
So Alicia persisted and delivered the first televised game in a long time in which carriers were used properly and their commander walked out victorious. Maybe Browder and Co. will reconsider after all…
After the PvP spectacle against HerO, Alicia’s next match against Oz seemed grey and dull but it sent him to the WB final, guaranteeing him a top four. His opponent will be the winner of Oz and Stephano, the protoss starting from a 2-1 extended series, and should he win, he will go against Alicia with the same score in the disadvantage. This is everything but bad for Alicia, surely he’s not dreaming of another NASL 3.
So, monsieur, we meet again
In the same bracket, Oz and Stephano will be facing each other for the second time this tournament.
The first series did not go well for the Frenchman. After taking the first map, Stephano was on his way to a second victory on Entombed Valley, using his blossoming economy, huge bank and a painful brood lord/infestor army to bully Oz back to his side of the field. Then he was served a mothership and all of a sudden all prospect of winning 2-0 vanished.
A misplaced army and a bad engagement sent Stephano to the LB but fortunately for him, he was dealt another ZvP in HerO. After a multitasking one-upmanship and a good old-fashioned full frontal beating, Stephano kept his tournament life by eliminating the famed PvZ-er and making top six at Summer Arena.
To make top four, however, Stephano will have to go through his old rival from one day ago. Oz is coming into the match with a 2-1 extended series advantage – an edge that would be stupid to neglect, considering Oz’s perfection thus far. Stephano made it to the NASL gold by going through a string of ZvPs but he’s also known for meeting an unfortunate end in the very last stages of the tournament. The prospects of back-to-back championships for the zergs are looking grim.
Who's First?
Eight months ago, those oblivious to the Korean stage asked a similar question: Who is Leenock? Why is he beating Boxer, MMA, Mvp, DongRaeGu, HuK and Naniwa? Is that allowed? What the hell, man?
Indeed, Leenock’s story in Providence is not unlike this of IM_First here in NYC. Losing in the very first round to SortOf, First dropped to the LB to face rising zerg sensation Snute in round one. We thought he would not survive this but he did. He eliminated TOP and then Puma, and Ganzi, and then Alive and is playing against Losira next – once the prince of the zerg and NesTea’s apprentice, now coming to NYC to take the crown that rightfully belongs to him.
The real question here is not if First can defeat Losira. His records certainly do not point the other way. It’s about where have IM been hiding this protoss and if we’re seeing Artosis’ new favorite player now that Seed and Alicia are officially and recognizably good. Having a four-game winning streak against Korea’s best terrans is no small feat but we all know how the world of eSports operates.
First will have to pull a Leenock and make it to the WB finals at least to make an impression to the wide public. And if he finishes at a place in accordance to his moniker… Well, prepare, world, for another protoss rising star.
Summer Arena day three: The opening matches
Losers Bracket B
StephanoVS
1-2 (ext. series) Oz FirstVS Losira
As we said, a tough game is ahead of Stephano. He might still be the best ZvP player outside Korea but now Oz knows - personally - that the Frenchman is beatable. He's seen his weaknesses, he played on par with him and he's coming into this with a 2-1 lead. Both logic and heart pull me towards the Korean.A match between teammates. First is on such fire that it's inhuman but then again so is Losira. The zerg players recently scored victories against Parting and Squirtle and looks like he's back on track with winning and all that Jazz. And he's way better in it than Snute.
Gosubet
