An AMAZing Finish! Reflections on Dreamhack Bucharest - ROOT Gaming May 3, 2014

Click here for the original article.

At the Polyvalent Hall in Bucharest, Romania, ROOT Gaming's Jason ‘Amaz’ Chan blazed through the 128-player Dreamhack tournament and finished tied for third place. He seemed nigh unstoppable until Peter ‘Gaara’ Stevanovic finally put an end to Amaz’s amazing run in the semifinals. I asked Amaz about his experiences at Dreamhack as well as other aspects of his Hearthstone career.

-

First off, how did you get started with Hearthstone?
Amaz: As I hit the seven-year mark of playing World of Warcraft, Hearthstone was announced. It immediately grabbed my attention because I am a big fan of card games. The Warcraft universe and my love for the fantasy genre made the game a no-brainer to play!

Did you make any special preparations for Dreamhack? What was your mindset going into the tournament?
I played a little more a few days before Dreamhack to get “in the zone” but in a tournament setting, it really depends on how much you played the game. Being positive and focusing on every single correct play was my strategy going into the tournament, as there isn’t much room for mistakes in any round.

This was your first offline Hearthstone tournament. What were the biggest differences between playing online and in an offline setting?
In an offline tournament, what carries me forward is my experience with the game. I know that many players go “auto-pilot” in a tournament setting with their plays, so it’s important to practice a lot even when you aren’t preparing to play a tournament. I traveled a lot when I was young so the sleeping schedule wasn’t much of an issue.

At Dreamhack Bucharest, you tied for 3rd in a tournament of 128 players. Did you expect to advance this far? Were you disappointed that you did not place higher?
I did not go into the tournament with any expectations, especially with the volatile nature of a single elimination. I was glad I made that far and looking back, I made some really good calls. I lost the semifinals to Gaara because I made mistakes. While I was of course disappointed, this lets me know that I still have a lot to improve as a player.

From the ro32 onward, you ran a Hunter and a HandLock deck. Your stream and YouTube viewers probably know you best for running a Priest deck. Is Priest competitive? What was your thought process on choosing the decks for the tournament?
I did not bring Priest because I thought there were going to be a lot of Zoo Locks. When I found out there weren’t that many, I was definitely regretted not bringing Anduin. The HandLock was actually to mainly counter ZooLock. The midrange hunter was just too strong not to bring.

In your first game against Ekop, it seemed like you were on the ropes until you top-decked the Starving Buzzard. Did you feel that Ekop could have taken either game?
If I were Ekop, I would have chosen the River Crocolisk for Tracking in order to chance one more card for the 1 missing damage he needed. For the second game, he put out Ysera instead of using Druid of the Claw. While it’s hard to play the right play every single time, I felt like those were the mistakes he made.

Ekop stated that you were lucky during the match. How do you respond?
I cannot deny that I got lucky in the matches, but there were actually a lot of outs I could have top-decked to win either game. If Ekop did not make any mistakes with his plays, he could have won the series. Still, I have a lot of respect for him!

In your series versus Gaara, you seemed to have a lot of trouble against his Ramp Druid. What separated his Druid deck from the other Druids you faced in the tournament?
Not much. It was my fault that I played poorly in the second match. I also wish that I brought my Priest deck against his ramp Druid. That would have been pretty exciting!

In the second game versus Gaara, you decided to use two Soulfires that cost you very valuable cards (Faceless Manipulator and Alexstrasza). Why did you decide to use Soulfire at those particular instances? If you could do it again, would you still take the risk or would you play more conservatively?
The first Soulfire was definitely incorrect and that really comes back to my inexperience with playing HandLock. It takes over two hundred games played with a deck to really know it and obviously my preparation was not enough.

What would you do differently against Gaara if you were to face him again in the future?
Not making any misplays is probably what I will have to do!

In the post-match interview, Kripp mentioned that you teach the saxophone. Does any part of playing music or musical theory translate into playing Hearthstone?
Hahaha I wish! Much of Hearthstone strategy actually came from poker, which I played around with for a year or so.

Did you have a positive experience at Dreamhack? Do you plan to attend other offline events in the future?
Dreamhack for me was all about meeting other Hearthstone players and having a fun time. The 3rd place finish was the icing on the cake. There were also many people who came up to me and recognized me. Meeting these people was definitely a highlight of my trip. I will definitely try to attend more events in the future.

Any shoutouts?
My teammate Xixo and his friends helped me prepare my Hunter deck before going in the tournament and that helped a lot! He is a really good player and I look forward to seeing him in tournaments too.

Thanks to everybody in Bucharest who made my trip so enjoyable. Savjz, Gnimsh, Reynad, Gaara, Frodan, Kripp, and many people whom I’m probably forgetting at the moment were all friendly people!

And of course, shoutout to ROOT. Watch out for us in future tournaments!

-

Amaz can be found on Twitter and on Twitch.

Written by David Wise (@WiseLingSC2).

Picture from esportsmax.com

Call of the Wild: Iaguz’s Passion for StarCraft - Blizzard WCS Portal May 7, 2014

Click here for the original article. 

by David Wise

 

Few pro gamers have as much experience as Ethan ‘Iaguz’ Zugai. The Australian Terran was a dominating presence in the South East Asia StarCraft II scene as he won more than $5000 in local tournaments since the game’s release.

Iaguz reflected briefly on the Australian StarCraft fan base: “Australia does have quite a few StarCraft fans, but it doesn’t have quite as many fans for Australian StarCraft. You can get a pretty good turnout at a BarCraft for a GSL finals. In 2012, we ran WCS Oceana and that got a huge turnout. However, most of them don’t really know Australian StarCraft because it’s not as popular as it used to be.”

In January 2014, Iaguz joined ROOT Gaming and relocated to the team’s gaming house in Northern California. Touching briefly on his decision to join ROOT Gaming, Iaguz explained, “They had a team house and they were going to let me stay in it. No one else was asking. No one else was offering this, so I figured this was a pretty good deal.”

Once Iaguz arrived at the ROOT Gaming house, he adapted to his surroundings with confidence and authority. “Sometimes, CatZ or someone else in the house will be like ‘Ahhh! There’s a spider!’ There are no spiders in this country. What you have are arachnids. They aren’t spiders,” said Iaguz.
“I wake up and play a bunch of StarCraft. If I feel like playing more, then I do. If not, I don’t. I’m not sure if I’m playing more StarCraft now than when I was in Australia but I’m definitely improving,” Iaguz says of his training regimen.

In the Oceana/South East Asia WCS America qualifier for Season 2, Iaguz dominated his bracket and secured a place in WCS Challenger. Notably, all of Iaguz’ opponents during the qualifier played Zerg.
“Most of the best players in South East Asia are Zerg,” he pointed out. “In any deep tournament run, sometimes you don’t have to play versus Zerg. However, you will not be able to win a tournament in SEA with sub-par game versus Zerg. It has always been my best matchup too, which is nice.”

In the qualifier, Iaguz defeated Yoo ‘KingKong’ Chung Hee twice. KingKong delivered Iaguz’ only loss in that stage, taking the second qualifying spot in the process.
Iaguz offered “I’ve played him loads of times in tournaments. We have defeated each other plenty of times. I felt a bit lucky. King Kong has two modes. You never know which one is going to come out during a tournament.

“King Kong used to be on Startale. He has many Korean pro-gamer buddies. When he works with them, prepares with them for a tournament, he can be unstoppable. He wasn’t unstoppable this time, thankfully. He can be terrifying when he is.”

After qualifying for WCS Challenger, Iaguz mentioned the opponent he dreads the most.
“I hope I don’t get Jaedong. What the hell is Jaedong doing in Challenger? Get out of there. If I do get him, I will switch to Protoss and practice Cannon rush. It will give me better odds than Terran,” he disclosed.
Fortunately, for Iaguz, he avoided the matchup versus Lee ‘Jaedong’ Jae Dong. Instead, he will face off versus Incredible Miracle’s Lim ‘NesTea’ Jae Duk in WCS America Challenger.

“I’ll play StarCraft until my hands fall off, then we’ll see what else happens,” he stated, explaining his passion for StarCraft II.

His family has reacted positively thus far to his StarCraft endeavors. “They are really excited. They don’t fully understand StarCraft, but they understand that I’m good at it. They like that. I have a big family and they are all really supportive,” said Iaguz.

On his secrets to hair and beard care, Iaguz offered: “You don’t shave it, that’s the secret. Most people get it wrong when they cut or shave. It’s simple: don’t shave.”
Iaguz takes his immense pro-gaming experience to WCS America Challenger looking to secure that precious spot in Premier League for Season 2. NesTea, his opponent in Challenger, is the only obstacle in Iaguz’ path.

David Wise is a writer for the Collegiate StarLeague and ROOT Gaming. He is also the captain of Team QTLing.

What Lies Ahead: Binski Wins the LSC3 Collegiate Seed - Collegiate StarLeague May 7, 2014

Click here for the original article.

This past weekend's Lone Star Clash 3 qualifier saw competitors such as Caliber, ZergZingZing, Aidan and TheoRy go head to head for the coveted collegiate seed into the tournament, but binski stood at the top of the hill by the end of the day. We took a few minutes to speak with him about the competition and what lies ahead in Austin, Texas.

By David Wise

@wiselingsc2

Sungbin ‘binski’ Lee tore through the Lone Star Clash 3 CSL Qualifier this past weekend, dropping only a single map in the entire tournament. Binski, a University of North Texas student, will receive travel, housing, and a spot in the pro invitational at Lone Star Clash for winning the qualifier.

Binski’s love for real-time-strategy games began with WarCraft 3 custom games. He eventually transitioned into StarCraft II. “I thought StarCraft II would be fun as well, so I bought it,” he stated. Binski would go on to become one of the top contenders in the CSL, acting as a player and a coach for the University of North Texas StarCraft squad [Editor's note: UNT won season 5 of the CSL]. He would also join the now defunct Light eSports. “I love hanging out with my CSL friends,” he affirmed. “My parents think it’s a waste of time. I don’t blame them, obviously. I love my family.” When he is not studying or blasting opponents away in StarCraft, Binski enjoys reading The Sandman, his favorite comic.

During the LSC CSL Qualifier, Binski seemed nigh unstoppable. He detailed his mindset during the tournament. “Win, always do what you practice, believe in yourself, etc. Luckily KawaiiRice [Adrian Kwong] was there tell me to quit tilting when I lost that game. ” he stated. Even though he only dropped a single map in the tournament, Binski displays only humility about his performance. He explained, “[I only dropped one map] only because hendralisk [Henry Zheng] and MaSa [Maru Kim] both forfeited. I have seen them play before and both are insanely good. I probably would have been destroyed. I feel that I didn’t necessarily deserve my qualifier spot as the tournament didn’t have all of the best CSL players trying to qualify.”

Binski playing on the MLG Raleigh stage in 2012. [photo by Ian O'Connor]

For the qualifier, Binski explained how he practiced. “My training regimen is just watching VODs and ladder, really. Ladder gives you a lot of different styles and builds to play against so you won’t get into the habit of consciously or unconsciously meta-ing or countering your practice partner,” said Binski. “It’s tough balancing StarCraft II and life. I’m always regretful as I know that I could be much better if I didn’t have school and other obligations at the same time.”

Binski looks forward to Lone Star Clash with great anticipation. He explained, “It will be a really fun experience for me as I have a lot of friends up in Austin to visit and hang out with. As for the competition, every single person who qualified or was invited are all very good and better than I am, so no expectations here. I am just going to have fun and play my best.”  

Despite displaying great modesty about his skill, Binksi is sure to provide rugged competition at Lone Star Clash as well as entertaining, exciting games. When I asked Binski for any final words, he answered, “Thank you to ForGG [Park Ji Soo] because I copy all his builds and watch his stream. Thank you to friends, family, Patrick ‘Caliber’ Coury, KawaiiRice, and Xeris [Duran Parsi]. That’s it, no one else.”

Watch the VODs from the LSC3 qualifiers:
Day 1
Day 2 (check out the post-win interview!)

ROOT Gaming Welcomes ErA and Xixo to the Hearthstone Roster! - ROOT Gaming April 15, 2014

Click here for the orignal article. 

 We at ROOT Gaming are proud to announce the addition of Erik ‘ErA’ Anderssen and Sebastian ‘Xixo’ Bentert to the ROOT Hearthstone squad! ErA, a 22-year-old player from Sweden, and Xixo, a contender hailing from Germany, will join Jason ‘Amaz’ Chan, Sebastian ‘Eggy’ Swierard, and Jeffrey ‘SjoW’ Brusi on the diverse and highly competitive ROOT Hearthstone roster. ErA is currently rank 80 Legend on the NA ladder. Xixo is Legend on the the EU, NA, and Asia ladders.

I asked both ErA and Xixo how they came across their nicknames. “My gamer tag is ErA, it's just a mix of my first & last name. The meaning behind it is me being too uncreative to come up with some epic nickname!” replied ErA. Xixo explained, “The first online game I played was Silkroad Online. One of the people in my guild had the gamertag ‘Xixo’. When I started playing World of WarCraft, all the nicknames I tried were already taken. I cycled through all of the ones that I could think of and eventually settled on ‘Xixo’.”

Both Xixo and ErA began their eSports careers similarly. ErA played StarCraft II competitively for a year. He won online tournaments and even qualified for WCS Sweden during the final season of Wings of Liberty. Xixo met StarCraft II players from Mouz Gaming at IFA 2011. The pro-gamers were so nice that Xixo went out and bought the game the same day! When I asked whether either of them expected to be a pro-gamer in a competitive card game, Xixo answered, “Totally! ..not.” ErA explained that he did not expect it either.
I sat down with these Hearthstone masters for a discussion of Hearthstone and eSports.

-

Which is your favorite Hearthstone class?

ErA: My favorite Hearthstone class is Priest because of fun cards like Thoughtsteal and fun combos such as Crazed Alchemist into Cabal Shadow Priest. Thoughtsteal is a card that makes the games that you play more unique. One game is never like the other because your deck always contains four extra random cards. It's a class that comes down a lot to improvisation. When I play other classes, the games tend bleed together and the game feels a bit more repetitive.

Xixo: I have to go with Warrior. Killing 9 mana minions for 1 feels good.

Which Hearthstone class currently gives you the most trouble?

ErA: It depends which class I'm playing at the time. After playing a lot of Priest, I've got to go with Handlock. Especially latest version that can pull 28 damage out of nowhere!

Xixo: Even though I currently play control Warrior, I still hate playing against Hunter. Leeroy Jenkins plus Starving Buzzard with Unleash the Hounds is painful.

Why do you play Hearthstone? What is it about Hearthstone that you like?

ErA: Why Hearthstone indeed. It is a very addictive yet relaxing game, unlike something like StarCraft II, that you can play while listening to a podcast or browsing the net during your opponent’s turn. It’s a simple, chill, fun game!

Xixo: I started playing Hearthstone when I heard about the first season of Fight Night. I noticed that the game had a competitive community so I wanted to be the best! I also really enjoy the RNG (random number generation) factor in this game because it makes risk calculation more fun.

What is your philosophy when constructing a new deck?

ErA: Deck creation for me is usually a never-ending process. I can't say that I have a specific technique. If I make a new deck, I mash a bunch of good cards together. Then I make small improvements of one card here and there whenever I sense a weakness in accordance to the current meta.

Xixo: I think about the idea of the deck I want to build. Is it something others already play with, or a new one with some obvious card choices? I build from there and add cards I like. Once I finish the deck, it's easy to adjust by taking notes on how often a card is wanted when it’s in play.

What is the best card in Hearthstone?

ErA: Unleash the Hounds. When combined with Starving Buzzard, Timber Wolf, and/or Leeroy Jenkins, it's simply far too strong. Being able to draw between two to six cards and fill your board for four mana is just unbelievably broken. I would suggest making Unleash the Hounds 3 mana (a middle ground between the old and the current version) and perhaps buff something else, such as the Gladiator’s Longbow. Perhaps increase its durability but render it unable to hit enemy heroes. This way Hunters will not just go for the enemy hero but they will make strategic trades. As it stands right now, Hunter is a very easy class to play. I understand that some classes need to be easier than others for the game to appeal to everyone, but the strategic thinking required to play hunter at a competitive level is just a bit low as it stands right now.

Xixo: Faceless Manipulator.

If you could be any Hearthstone card, which one would you be?

ErA: Crazed Alchemist maybe? Perhaps I could try his recipes. I've always been fascinated about how chemicals affect the brain.

Xixo: “Convincing" people as Cabal Shadow Priest should be fun!

Do you wish for more stuff to click on in the Hearthstone interface?

ErA: Umm, I don't really care. I never click them anyways as I'm usually alt tabbed during the opponent’s turn. I just like clicking the sand to the beat of the music I'm listening to if I'm not alt tabbed. The ability to draw in the sand would be so cool!

Xixo: Something that changes the color dependent on the speed you click on it to show your APM (actions per minute) would be fun.

If there were one thing you could change about Hearthstone, what would it be and how would you change it?

ErA: I would make Holy Fire cost 5 mana. Priest has a lot of trouble against 4-attack minions and over the top horrible reach after nerfing the Mind Control mana cost. I don't think buffing the Holy Fire cost would be too much to ask for.

Xixo: Delete Hunter by... deleting Hunter, i guess.

When you’re not busy dominating the Hearthstone ladder, what do you enjoy spending your time on?

Era: I like going out jogging in the woods in the morning and I have a passion for skiing. Other than that, I do play a lot of Hearthstone. Maybe watch a movie now and then?

Xixo: Farming mod-status on as many Twitch.tv channels as possible. I also like food.

Do you see yourself being involved in eSports long-term?

ErA: I don't know. I quit my job the moment I got into the Hearthstone Beta. I'll probably just play Hearthstone for as long as I'm having fun.

Xixo: I'm currently in high school with four out of eight exams done. Once I am finished, I will either start studies or take a break from it - let's see where Hearthstone goes!

What do you hope to accomplish as a ROOT Hearthstone player?

ErA: I hope to improve and become the best I can.

Xixo: I hope become the best player and part of the best team would be awesome, so let's do that!

ErA, if you could have a lifetime supply of Hearthstone cards or a lifetime supply of meatballs, which would you choose?

ErA: Meatballs!

Xixo, if you could have a lifetime supply of Schnitzel or a lifetime supply of Hearthstone cards, which you choose?

Xixo: Schnitzel. I eat way too much to pass up on that.

-

Xixo and Era are sure to bring good times and great honor to the ROOT Hearthstone division. Their passion for Hearthstone is undeniable and we look forward to seeing them compete and dominate!

-

Era can be found on Twitter as well as his Twitch.tv stream.

Xixo can also be found on Twitter as well as his Twitch.tv stream.

-

Written by David Wise (@wiselingsc2)

Starcraft 2 "March Madness" Predictions (collaboration) - Collegiate StarLeague March 22, 2014

Click here for the original article.

Daniil 'CHL' Pauley analyzes the playoff brackets and gives his final four predictions, with responses from Stefan Ruffley, David Wise and Tyler O'Keefe. What do YOU think of their picks?

 Initial Analysis by Daniil 'CHL' Pauley

@cheeseheadlogic

Click HERE for CHL's bracket predictions

If sitting at my computer picking the NCAA tournament wasn't stressful enough, now I have to make picks for the CSL March Madness, too? Good thing I got a couple of extra hours and a rampant procrastination habit.

Certain matchups will be clear cut, while a few others had me reaching for a coin to flip. Let's keep the breakdown simple though. When looking at the bracket we'll call the top-left section the Raynor region, bottom-left the Kerrigan region, top-right the Zeratul region, and finally the bottom-right the Abathur region.

We'll begin with the Raynor region: a 16-team melting pot where all roads point to Toronto's supremacy. This region holds a strong focus on Canada East/West teams with a few others peppered in from other divisions. With that information alone I wouldn't expect too much to come from there. Big storyline will have to surround Wisconsin-Madison and how well they play. If they can field a seven man team each weekend I see them making it into at least the sweet sixteen. Toronto might have an interesting matchup against South Alabama in the round of 32, but I wouldn't raise many red flags as we saw GT take care of them with ease towards the end of the regular season. Either way Toronto is my pick to come out of this region.

Lets drop down to the Kerrigan region. I'm really hyped for this portion of the bracket. Utah, Berkeley, UC San Diego, Texas Austin, Purdue, Virginia, and Rutgers are just some of the teams you'll find here. By Ro16 I promise there will be no such thing as a bad matchup. Ro32 gave me some issues in a couple spots such as the potential matchups between UC San Diego and Berkeley, and Purdue versus Virginia. On paper a lot of these schools are very even, especially that potential Purdue-Virginia matchup. Virginia is one game behind Purdue in overall record only because of their silly forfeit in the early part of the season. The Cavaliers get a vote of confidence due to using a slightly deeper roster during the regular season, that extra experience poises them to have a stronger showing in a bigger series. Their road to victory will end shortly in the next round once they play Texas-Austin. The Longhorns will have a nice ride through the first couple rounds, and should continue that until the elite eight. Hellokitty's squad added two more players in time for playoffs, and with minimal map loses throughout the season I see them always getting to an ace match at worst, if not 4-0'ing some of the early competition. Even as great as UT is, they're not my pick to come out of this region. There's only one team that knows what it's like to go deep into playoffs and that’s UC Berkeley. One of the deepest and most experienced rosters in all of the CSL. Abstinence, Oodi, Goky, Sunshine, Sky, TwentyoneJ, and Navman are the likely rotation. They will take revenge on UC San Diego, they will out muscle undefeated Utah, and they will, in a deep series, out muscle UT Austin. Expect to see the Golden Bears in the final 4.

Back over to the top-right is the Zeratul region. Competitive yes, but it resembles the Raynor region so there isn't really too much to go over. Anyone that has watched the CSL will know that Georgia Tech and Maryland CP will run the table. If you look at potential matchups, Georgia Tech definitely has the tougher road though. Versus teams like Florida and MIT I see the Yellowjackets getting battle-tested before a very tough matchup versus Maryland CP. In a 7-game series I see Georgia Tech entering the final 4.

One region remains, Abathur. Abathur, Abathur, Abathur. If the Zeratul region reflects the Raynor region, then the Abathur region reflects the Kerrigan region. You'll find Chicago, Ohio State, Ryerson, Rice, Washington, Oregon State, and UC Irvine there. The cool story in this region is Washington having to take the long road to get to where they want to be. A team that rose several questions during the regular season should give a good showing come the playoffs. I see several wins through the ACE match in the Huskies' future. Though my final 4 pick from this region is the cinderella story of the CSL, Chicago! Just like UT Austin, the Phoenixes added two more players to their roster right before playoffs. How they will win...I'm not sure. Everytime it looks questionable on paper; but they will find a way, all the way to the final 4.

Let's wrap this up with some final 4 predictions! Toronto, Berkeley, Georgia Tech, and Chicago are the squads. I have Berkeley doing Toronto dirty in a six game series. Both have talented squads with depth, but unless Toronto forces it to an ACE match I can't see them winning. Over on the other side Georgia Tech vs Chicago. Georgia Tech will finally put a stop to Chicago's historic run. I see that series actually ending in five games. Georgia Tech is just too good and too talented. Maybe if things last year went a little different we could have had this final. In a predicted final of Berkeley vs Georgia Tech I see Georgia Tech reigning supreme and bringing a title back to the East.

Think you can pick/predict better? Let me know your final 4 picks @CheeseHeadLogic.

CHL's Grand Finalist prediction: GEORGIA TECH. 

---

Stefan Ruffley's reponse
@TheSRuff

As just a lowly writer for the CSL, I'm much less versed in all of our wonderful CSL playoff teams. Compared to the vast and ever growing knowledge of CHL, how could one ever compete? Well considering I remember the days when CHL knew literally nothing about StarCraft I think I can give it a shot.

My final four are Utah, Toronto, Maryland CP, and Irvine. Yes, all teams that were first in their divisions, very cookie cutter and somewhat lame. But these teams all stick out in my mind after thinking through all the games I watched. All very strong teams, all fairly well rounded, and yes they all have the ability to be champions. Utah has a great line up and literally dropped two games the entire season. It's hard to see them losing to anyone before the final four, despite the chance of facing Berkeley early on. Toronto has an even deeper roster than Utah and has some very big players that can secure ace matches for their team, with the only obstacle in their way being Wisconsin-Madison.  I really had to fight with to pick Maryland CP over Georgia Tech. Both teams had great seasons and Georgia Tech has the deeper roster, but something just tells me that Maryland CP will be able to pull off the big win and make it into the final four. Last but not least we have Irvine, the team that has impressed me the most this season. They only had two matches not reach the ace match this entire season, but except for one odd loss they always came out ahead. They have the toughest road ahead of them as well, having teams like Washington and Chicago to beat to even make it to the final four. But this season showed they have the players and the ace to do so.

Who wins it all? I have to say Irvine, just because of their ability to always pull out wins even if it all comes down to the ace match. Besides the fact that their captain and ace is a random player, which fixes my slight bias toward Terrans.

Stefan's Grand Finalist prediction: UC IRVINE.

---

David Wise's reponse
@WiseLingSC2

The schools that surprised me the most this season are the University of Utah and the University of Washington. With the departure of their Grandmaster players Sangjae “ZergZingZing” Park and Huy “SCDPride” Troung, I did not figure that the Utes would go undefeated in the regular season. However, thanks to the discipline and teamwork they exhibited the Utes accomplished that feat. If the Utes can defeat UC San Diego or UC Berkeley in the playoffs, I fully expect them to clinch the title.  

Washington surprised me, but not positively.  The Huskies played well and finished second in the West 2 division, but Adrian “KawaiiRice” Kwong has proven to be a huge wild card. The most glaring example was his loss to an in-base proxy Gateway versus Brigham Young University’s Jared “Derajn” Noel. Washington also had issues forfeitting this season. I still believe that the Huskies can go far in the playoffs as long as their administrative issues don’t hamper them and if KawaiiRice rises to his performance in previous seasons.

UC Irvine finished in the top spot in the West followed by the UC San Diego and UC Berkeley. Berkeley hasn’t been the unstoppable juggernaut we’re used to seeing since Conan “Suppy” Liu left the team. However, the Bears still eked out a 6-2 regular season record and few other schools can match their playoff experience. UC Irvine has a few obstacles in the path to playoff glory, namely Washington and UChicago. If Irvine can overcome these titans, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them competing in the finals.

While there are numerous other teams that have the potential to win it all this year, I am excited to see how far the University of Texas, Austin can go in these playoffs. The Longhorns’ opposition in their path to the finals seems somewhat lackluster at first. Brigham Young University forfeited its spot in the playoffs, giving the Longhorns either a Bye in round of 32 or a rather easy matchup versus the University of New Mexico. Their first real test will come in the round of 8 versus either Utah, UC San Diego, or UC Berkeley. If Zifeng “hellokitty” Wang and the Longhorns can overcome any of those round of 8 opponents, the CSL title is well within their grasp.

David's Grand Finalist precition: UT AUSTIN.

---

Tyler O'Keefe's reponse
@MrKeefster

I won’t lie to you guys, I spent five minutes at most on my NCAA bracket. But this, this is serious business. This is Starcraft! I agree with a few of CHL’s predictions. Obviously, certain matchups will be clear-cut. While team “Bye” certainly has the overwhelming statistical advantage, I don’t believe they’ll make it all the way this year.

In the Raynor region, I pick the U.S.A. coming out on top of Canada. By U.S.A., I do not mean the United States of America, I mean the University of South Alabama. By Canada, I really mean the University of Toronto. But all of those details are beside the point and focus of my analysis. Thats right folks, U.S.A. is making it all the way in this region. U.S.A., U.S.A.!

Down in the Kerrigan region, we have the truly terrible teams. Teams like Rutgers, UT Austin, UC San Diego, and UC Berkeley that never seem give us the results we hope for. By this, I mean they win. They win a lot; significantly more than I do! These are the teams with deep rosters, big name players, and history. I’m going to agree with CHL and his infinite wisdom here, I’m giving the advantage in this region to UC Berkeley.

Zeratul is awesome. So is the region named after him. I can, with little certainty, tell you that University of Maryland College Park is going to come out on top here. Not only do I have a few friends at UMCP, I also… well that’s really it. I’d love to see a school in the East go all the way, and I have faith in these guys. No pressure, team! No pressure.

Abathur’s region is by far the best region, if only because it is named after the main character featured in the Heart of the Swarm campaign, Abathur. There is really one stand-out team in this region, George Washington University. Either this is a sick joke or somehow, some way, this team managed to get into the playoffs. The FBI is still investigating a potential bribery scandal and the whole situation has been dubbed “Star-Gate” (get it? It’s both a Protoss structure and a scandal-naming trend). I say GW is going to take this region by surprise and make their way to the final four.

Ultimately, U.S.A. will fall to Berkeley and UMCP will be somehow defeated by the scrappy George Washington University. In the finals, I predict the Berkeley will take the first three games off the GW. Of course, breakout player “Gloob” (the self proclaimed “God of Mech”) will start to turn things around. In the biggest upset in sports history, the Colonials will come out on top of Berkeley 4-3, thus saving e-sports forever. Kappa.

Tylers's Grand Finalist precition: George Washington University.

America's Sweetheart: Polt's Incredible Journey -Blizzard WCS Portal March 11, 2014

Click here for the original article. 

by David Wise 

 

Choi ‘Polt’ Seong Hun has become one of the most unlikely of American heroes. After securing a triple-crown (winning a premier StarCraft II tournament in the Americas, Europe, and Asia) by clinching the Major League Gaming Spring Championship in Anaheim last spring, Choi the took out Lee ‘Jaedong’ Jae Dong in a convincing 4-0 sweep for the World Championship Series America Premier League title in Season 2. Choi followed this with a repeat championship in WCS America Premier League Season 3, taking out Han “ByuL” Ji Won 4-1 in the finals.

Like many young Koreans, Choi played StarCraft: Brood War, albeit not on a professional level. Assuming his handle from one of his favorite games: The Legend of Heroes: Song of the Ocean; Polt began playing StarCraft II purely for fun. Reflecting on his actual start in the competitive world of StarCraft II, Choi stated, “I started competing when GSL was launched the first time. I didn’t think I would be playing this game for a long time at first.” Choi’s decision to compete did not sit well with his parents at first. “They didn’t like my decision to be a professional gamer, but they seem to be okay with it now,” Polt says.

Choi moved to the United States in 2013 after leaving Team SCV Life and began studying at the University of Texas in Austin. He explained his motivation for attending the flagship UT school saying, “I decided to come to America to experience American culture and learn English, not for graduate studies. I chose UT Austin because I have a few friends here. I’m taking an ESL (English as a Second Language) program.” The strain of competing professionally in StarCraft II coupled with English courses required a delicate balancing act. “It’s very difficult for me to handle both things at the same time,” says Polt. “I usually focus on gaming except the time I have exams or finals. Also, I always feel sleepy because I can’t sleep enough.” When asked if competing in WCS affected his grades in any way, Choi responded, “Maybe yes, but I don’t care. Important things are learning English and being fluent in English. Grades are not important.” Straddling two cultures, Polt also noted his observations on the Korean and American education systems, “I expected American schools to have different education policies from Korean ones, but it was almost the same.”

Choi’s comments on his adjustments to life in America are revealing. “There are so many things because Korean and American culture are really different. The most difficult thing is language contrast. I miss Korean food that is sold on a road so that people can eat easily.” Polt says. “It’s not easy to make friends because I and English-speaking people have distinct thinking, yet socializing is not that difficult.” After a while, Choi found living away from Korea much less burdensome, “Since I adjusted to living in the U.S., there are not many problems for now.”

In 2013, Choi won back-to-back WCS America titles. “I like and feel comfortable in warm places and the WCS America stage in the Red Bull offices is very warm. Maybe you think it’s not a big deal, but it’s really important for me,” Polt says. These championships clinched Choi a spot in the 2013 WCS Global Finals at BlizzCon, where he was tripped up in the quarterfinals by Kim “sOs” Yoo Jin, who would go on to win the WCS Championship. “[sOs] played very well. However, if I had any information about his play-style, I think I could beat him,” Polt says with confidence.

In the months since Polt’s WCS championships, the team at Blizzard has offered various balance adjustments to each of the three races in StarCraft II. Polt suggested a possible change in Terran unit design, “I’ll be glad if the Thor is changed. The Ultralisk and Colossus are very powerful but not the Thor.” Commenting on the changes he wished for the Thor, Choi offered, “I think it’s better to have a slow Thor, so maybe a ground damage buff? The anti-air is still strong.”

Polt showed his TvP strength with an exceptional performance at Intel Extreme Masters Cologne, where he defeated top Protoss contenders Grzegorz ‘MaNa’ Komincz, Son ‘StarDust’ Seok Hee, Kim ‘Classic’ Doh Woo, and Jung ‘Rain’ Yoon Jong before finally falling to Song ‘HerO’ Hyeon Deok in the finals. After defeating Rain in a close series, an exhausted Polt commented, “I don’t know what to say! I’m so, so happy right now… Protoss, actually, is so OP!” Paul “ReDeYe” Chaloner singled out Polt’s dominating performance in the tournament as a counterpoint. “No, no, no, no! Protoss easy now!” Choi playfully retorted, “It’s easy just for me!” This speaks to Polt’s intense preparation for the tournament as well as his marvelous discipline. His incredible play and multitasking, such as his minute-long, quadruple Nexus snipe against HerO on Daedalus Point, elevated IEM-Cologne into one of the most exciting StarCraft II tournaments to date.

Polt touched on the non-Korean StarCraft scene, specifically whom he deemed as having the best chance of winning a premiere tournament, “its Scarlett if she isn’t injured. Her ZvP might be her weak point but her ZvZ and ZvT are so strong,” Polt says enthusiastically. Asked about his feelings relating to many American StarCraft fans anointing him the great American hope, Polt replies, “I’m so grateful to my fans for letting me have that name, and I’m trying to do my best as always. But, it would be nicer if they had a real American hope, like Scarlett? Maybe both she and I could be it?”

2014 brought numerous changes to the StarCraft landscape. Blizzard streamlined the WCS system, and implemented a partial-region lock in order to foster better competition from non-Korean StarCraft contenders. 2014 also saw Choi become the second StarCraft II pro-gamer to receive a P-1A visa, a status reserved for internationally recognized athletes. Polt explained that it was extremely laborious and costly to procure the visa. He even ceased his studies at UT Austin since receiving the P-1A in order to focus on his pro-gaming endeavors.

With regard to the changes to the WCS format and how it would affect him, Polt explained that since he is already in Premiere League and the top eight players are the same, there wouldn’t be much of a difference for him. “WCS America has always been favorable for me,” Polt says with full confidence. In terms of who represents the biggest challenge for him this year in WCS, Polt ponders and then offers, “it might be Jaedong.” We’ll have to wait until Season 2, perhaps, to see how that unfolds as Jaedong lost in the opening round of Premier League play in WCS America.

Polt will look to build on his recent success with a series of battles in Group G of WCS America Premiere League beginning at 3:00 p.m. PDT on March 11. His all-American group includes Alex ‘Neeb’ Sunderhaft, Chad ‘Minigun’ Jones, and Chris ‘Illusion’ Lee. Polt wants to win StarCraft titles as well as master the English language in 2014, and his work ethic and loving interaction with his fans have endeared him to American and non-American StarCraft II enthusiasts alike. Polt is off to a great start this year, with a second place finish in IEM-Cologne and a spot in the upcoming $100,000 winner-take-all IEM Katowice event.


David Wise (@wiselingsc2) is a writer for the Collegiate Starleague as well as the captain of Team QTLing (@TeamQTLing).

Reflections of a CSL Coordinator - Collegiate StarLeague November 18, 2013

Click here for the original article.

A little slice of life of a team coordinator as seen through the eyes of one of our own writers.

By David Wise

My first season with the Brigham Young University Collegiate StarLeague StarCraft II squad was quite interesting. About a month or so into the season, our coordinator, Adam, stepped down from the position as his schedule prevented him from properly carrying out his duties to the team. He asked if anyone wanted to volunteer for the position. I said yes. My first season in the CSL and I found myself, an undergraduate student will little experience managing people and even less experience in eSports, handling the duties of a CSL coordinator.        

Rough Starts, Reactive Planning

The first few days passed without difficulty. I asked for people on the team Facebook group to commit to play on Saturday as well as to give me their StarCraft II IDs and add codes so I could send CSL the roster for Saturday. To those who committed to play, I asked that they show up at least thirty minutes early for registration purposes. That Saturday, a day that expanded my perspective on the duties of a CSL coordinator,  required strenuous multitasking. Even with two monitors, I found keeping everything in line difficult as I was communicating with my team in the StarCraft client, team stragglers on Facebook, CSL admins on RaidCall, looking up and adding players from the schools we were competing against from a huge Google doc and e-mailing Alan, the match admin, our roster versus each school (CSL requires coordinators to submit a roster before each series, not just for the day). On top of this, one of our team members listed his Battle.net ID instead of his StarCraft II ID which led to confusion trying to set up his match until we finally resolved the problem.

Those weren’t the only difficulties that Saturday.  Our third round opponent, the University of Maryland College Park, had run over into the time slot allotted into the third round. UMCP ran thirty minutes behind schedule while two of our team members needed to leave for work shortly. I found myself needing to be the “bad guy” for the team, informing CSL admins of our opponents’ tardiness and my teammates’ work schedule. I calmly but relentlessly kept contact with both the opposing team’s coordinator as well as the CSL admins, hoping to get our matches on the way or at the very least attempt to score the forfeit win if they couldn’t start before our team members needed to leave for work (about an hour after the start time for round 3). Fortunately, Alan, the match admin, managed to start our matches on time and we avoided the ugliness of forcing a forfeit. For me, this was pretty difficult as I abhor confrontation and drama. However, a coordinator’s responsibility sometimes requires speaking up in a calm, professional manner in order to stand up for the team.          

The frantic pace of gameday is hardly the only challenge CSL coordinators face.  Luis Conceicao, a graduate student in the University of Ottawa’s Master’s of Criminology program, described roadblocks with scheduling, “Some of us work and for those that do it’s often hard to guarantee availability for match times. Often, the matches can be rescheduled but this isn’t always the case and is not always easy either. In these scenarios we try to find alternatives but if that’s not possible we are stuck forfeiting our match.” Recruitment also proved difficult for the Ottawa team, “This year in particular though, I’ve had a hard time getting players. The player base seems to be less active and we don’t have any high level players. So this is leading into considerations between divisions one and two amongst our team. While we don’t particularly want to get stomped in division one, we don’t want to stomp in division two either.”

 

"...The CSL program can both be an outlet for college students to have fun or train up their level of play." (UMN Twin Cities/Glitch Gaming)

Sam Viesselman, a staff member for Glitch Gaming and a University of Minnesota Twin Cities student studying Biomedical Engineering, shed light on his struggles with team management, “This is my first year as a coordinator and there are more difficulties running a CSL team than I anticipated. The first is recruiting both new players and keeping players from previous years. Another tough thing is structuring a team. At the end of the day, we're all doing CSL because we enjoy it, so forcing players to play practice games and showing up to weekly practice can quickly suck the fun out of program. Overall, it's been a learning experience trying to manage people on all the same team with different goals, levels of dedication, and aspirations.”

The Right Stuff

So what exactly constitutes a “good” CSL coordinator? According to Viesselman, communication is key, “In my opinion, a good coordinator will be very communicative with their team and listen to his player's suggestions. As I previously mentioned the CSL program can both be an outlet for college students to have fun or train up their level of play. It's important to structure your team in a way that makes sense with the player's desires or you can cause a loss of interest in your team quickly.” Conceicao’s response echoed Viesselman’s sentiments, “In the end, I think motivating your players is most important. I want to get them to practice together, and work on new builds and game plans but due to time constraints, school, work, life, etc. It’s not always easy. As a team we try to ensure players are playing their preferred matchups if at all possible and get good maps for the races/builds as well.”

When I reflect on my own performance as a CSL coordinator, I feel the weight of failure regarding recruitment. I, too, have seen the number of players willing to compete decrease, whether due to an intense work/school schedule or graduation. I hope to remedy this issue this season as BYU’s two best players from the previous season have graduated. While this will not be easy, I am confident that I will accomplish it given the right amount of time and work.

We lost our third round series versus UMCP that day 3-1 but it was a pretty good run considering we only had one Masters player (Adam, our previous coordinator) on the roster that day and we had advanced one round further than our rival school, the University of Utah (to be fair, they have a better StarCraft team). We reveled somewhat as we chatted in our team’s Facebook group. At that moment, despite the struggles and responsibilities of my position, I found great joy and pride in the small victory we had achieved as a team.

To me, that is the greatest feeling afforded to the position: the team camaraderie, and the knowledge that I had in whatever miniscule degree, helped make that happen.  

---

David Wise (@wiselingsc2) is a writer for the CollegiateStarleague and a content contributor to the Blizzard WCS Portal.

David is also a proud member as well as captain for team QTLing.

An American Gosu's Journey - Blizzard WCS Portal September 3, 2013

Click here for the original article.

 

by David Wise

Michael “Goswser” Dobler’s professional StarCraft II career has spanned continents. The Cincinnati native established a name for himself in StarCraft II by upstaging Choi “Polt” Seong Hoon at Major League Gaming Orlando in 2011. Since then, Goswser has defied expectations and posted impressive results for Team Millenium by upsetting Jung “Mvp” Jong Hyun during Iron Squid – Chapter II, ascending to the round of 4 in ShoutCraft America, seizing a top 8 placement at ASUS Republic of Gamers Summer 2013, and securing a round of 4 finish at DreamHack Valencia 2013. His placements at ASUS Rog and DreamHack Valencia were also notable as Goswser was the highest placing foreigner at both events.

Goswser had a common introduction to the world of eSports. “I was a fan of Brood War for about a year and-a-half before Starcraft II came out and I just watched a lot of Proleague games, OSL as well. I think that was the only eSport I followed before Starcraft II.” Goswser transitioned into a pro-gaming career, first joining Team Complexity. In December 2012, Millenium added Goswser to its roster and he relocated to France to train in the Millenium team house. The now-Millenium Zerg player reflected on his loved ones during this period. “My friends and brothers thought it was pretty cool. Everyone was pretty supportive and accepting. Nothing has changed that much really. Going to France was more of a big change, but even then, they were supportive,” said Goswser. He also shared his motivation for joining Team Millenium. ”The major US tournaments had many more Koreans than the European tournaments, so it’s harder to make a breakout performance. Also, the only major American team at the time that wanted me was Complexity, so I looked for European teams that might give me more opportunities.”

Living in a foreign land has been an interesting change for the American. Touching on his experiences as an expatriate, Goswser admitted, “there isn’t actually that much to adjust to. It is pretty easy to communicate to everyone in English for the things I need to do and life is pretty simple.” There have been a few differences in culture and lifestyle have caught Goswser’s attention, however. “The French food is a bit different, and unless people are talking directly to me, they don’t speak English. Also, stores are usually only open 5 or 6 hours a day. Restaurants only open a couple hours for lunch and then close until dinner and they are not open very late either. It is really inconvenient and strange for an American,” said Gowswer. When asked about his efforts to learn French, Goswser replied, “I attempted it but then I got bored and played StarCraft instead.”

The Millenium team house in Marseille, France provides a practice environment for the team’s pro-gamers. Dobler said that he found the training environment to be good, depending on how many people are present at any given moment. The team environment galvanizes all who play there Goswser acknowledged, “Park ‘ForGG‘ Ji Soo practices a ton so it motivates everyone else.” Dobler also provided additional insight into his training regimen, “A lot of ladder and when I’m preparing for specific matches, or if I want to practice one matchup, then I’ll train with other pros. Usually teammates, but sometimes other pros. I train for most of the day. I don’t have a specific regimen. I don’t need to stick to a schedule to practice a lot.” When asked if training in Europe had any correlation to his recent performance, Goswser replied, “Maybe. It’s hard to tell if that’s the reason I’ve improved or if it was just training a lot.”

Most recently, Goswser performed impressively at Dreamhack Valencia and ASUS ROG, as he secured a top 4 and a top 8 finish, respectively, while ending both contests as the last remaining foreigner. As for which factors contributed to his recent success, Goswser responded, “Being better than the people I played. Also, I attribute them to the strength of North America.” He elaborated on his expectations for his final sets at ASUS ROG and Dreamhack, “I thought Ko Seok ‘Hyun‘ and Yoon ‘TaeJa‘ Yeung Soo would beat me pretty badly, but the games were closer than I expected. Both of them went on to win the tournament, so I don’t feel bad about those losses.”

Goswser also competes in the World Championship Series. Despite living in France, the American pro-gamer opted to compete cross-server in WCS America. He said he hasn’t found cross-server ping troublesome. ”I can only think of one time where it affected my play, it hasn’t been much of an issue,” said Goswser. Despite not displaying results as impressive as his other finishes, he remains optimistic about his prospects in WCS America, “I’m crossing my fingers that I will get less Koreans. I’ll still be competing in North America.”

Goswser has demonstrated remarkable discipline and passion for StarCraft over the past couple of years. His desire to win is undeniable. Concerning his future and longevity as a pro-gamer, Dobler stated that it depends on his success but it is something he wishes to pursue long-term. However, he does plan to return to school once he finishes his stint as a professional gamer. If his recent results are indicative of the future, his continent-spanning pro StarCraft career promises to be bright.


David Wise is a WCS Contributor. You can find more of his work at Collegiate Starleague.

Summer Warriors (collaboration) - Collegiate StarLeague August 27, 2013

Click here for the original article.

 

by: Paul Benson and David Wise 

If you close your eyes and imagine the phrase “summer break” and you’re like me, an image (or two) of sun and vacations comes to mind. I once spent a summer in upstate New York wakeboarding, playing Diablo 2, and persuading my friend to do the Ocelot torture scene on the “Extreme” difficulty.

Collegiate StarLeague players are different – these athletes set their minds to the game (and their future careers) because they know what is common sense to all in the industry: e-sports doesn’t take breaks.

Now that the Summer Collegiate Champions has played out to the Round of 16, we take a moment to look at each group in detail and see how the warriors stack up against each other as they enter the arena.

Group A:

KawaiiRice

SaroVati

TheoRy

shake

Group A sports serious competition. In StarCraft 2, KawaiiRice (Adrian Lok-Yin Kwong; University of Washington) is certainly an e-sports veteran but he’s not alone in this group. SaroVati (Brian Zhao; University of Alberta) plays for Clarity Gaming. TheoRy (Derek Travisano; Georgia Institute of Technology) plays for FXO North America. Shake (Justin Griffin; Sage) is the dark horse of the group, so keep an eye on him.

While the play level of the group should be high - SaroVAti’s impressive run in Alienware’s Pro-Am tournament (Jan ’13) stands out. He beat ViBe and qxc to face Grubby in the finals. If you’re a betting man, expect to see him in the Ro8.

Group B:

Massan

Caliber

hellokitty

Schnitzel

As the most daunting group of the Ro16, Group B will undoubtedly test wills as well as entertain StarCraft fans. This group boasts the talents of Ohio State’s Corey “Schnitzel” Schnedl, a Terran who is both deadly and delicious. He looks to topple CSL powerhouse and ROOT Gaming pro Patrick “Caliber” Coury from the University of Washington. Also present is Fnatic’s Zifeng “hellokitty” Wang from the University of Texas at Austin, who posted impressive results at WCS America and ShoutCraft America. Quantic’s Harry “MaSsan” Cheong from Georgia Tech finishes off this group of death.

This promises to be a slugfest as only two of these titans can advance to honor and internet glory in the Ro8.

Group C:

binski

hendralisk

Poo

Tbeezy

I look at the list and thing “Group C is strong, too!” It’s getting so that you can barely find a strong CSL player that’s not already on a progaming team. Group C houses two players from Infinity Seven: Binski (Sung-Bin Lee; University of North Texas) and Tbeezy (Tim Gandioco; University of California-Davis); but, here we have another two from Complexity: Poo (Alek Hrycaiko; University of British Columbia) from the Academy, and hendralisk (Henry Zheng; University of Toronto).

“Alek is a hardworking player,” says Marcus “AGIANTSMURF” Bazan, a team mate from Complexity Academy. “He's taken up a leadership role as a player/captain during team leagues this summer. As a player, he has a play-to-win mindset and refuses to let thoughts of game balance impact his work ethic.”

With strong votes of confidence to Poo’s dedication over the summer, I’d look for him to move to the Ro8.

Group D:

Suppy

Abstinence                                          

Isaac

SniXSniPe

Does anyone else Suppy? We at the Collegiate StarLeague sure do! Group D features Conan “Suppy” Liu from Evil Geniuses as well as his CSL Terran teammate Alan “Abstinence” Yao whom Suppy recently described as “the second best player” on the Berkeley squad. Ohio State’s “Isaac” Smith and his cool Zerg configurations promise to make things interesting in this stacked group. Also seeking to conquer Group D is University of Houston’s Michael “SniXSniPe” Niven who will undoubtedly shake things up with his tri-racial proficiency as a Random pro.

This is must-see StarCraft as some of the best players of the American scene duke it out for a chance to advance to the Ro8 and a shot at becoming the last man standing: the CSL Summer Collegiate Champion.