Utah Game Developers: Building A World-Class Industry - Salt Lake City Comic Con - October 31, 2014

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By David Wise

When gamers think of the people and developers behind their favorite games, the most prominent studios in California, Seattle and Montreal usually come to mind. However, here in Utah, the game industry has blossomed over the last 20 years. The growth of the Utah game development field shows no signs of slowing down as more and more industry veterans choose to relocate to the Beehive State and bring along their trade.

At Salt Lake Comic Con 2014, Troy Leavitt, game director at Disney Interactive; Chris Diller, designer at Eat, Sleep, Play; Geremy Mustard, technical director at Chair Entertainment; Brad Butler, Art Director at XacFAQ; Brad Moss, president of React Games; Tony Evans, lead designer at Smart Bomb Interactive; and Zac Truscott, lead designer at Smart Bomb sat down for a panel to answer the question: why Utah?

“There’s a lot of talent here locally,” stated Leavitt. “There’s Evans and Sutherland. The University of Utah has a great computer science program. Brigham Young University has a fantastic art and animation program. I think there’s a great talent pool in this Salt Lake City, Utah area that we’ve been able to pull from. There’s a great history of gaming in Utah and a lot of great talent in Utah.”

“I’m the relative newcomer to Utah,” chimed in Evans. “Most of my career has been in California. The reason I decided to move Utah is that I found it offered a better work-life balance. It’s more family-friendly than most of the places I’ve seen and lived in California. The cost of living is reasonable; you can actually buy a house in Utah. I’ve been very impressed with the people coming out of the university here [the University of Utah]. They have a very comprehensive game design program and from what I’ve seen it does a good job of simulating what it’s like to work in a game studio.”

As to whether life in Utah affected the type of games these developers produced, Evans replied, “I work on Animal Jam, a non-violent game geared towards kids. I love it. It’s a change of pace from working on bloody, gory RPGs [role-playing games] like Dragon Age II and Knights of the Old Republic. Another great thing about being here is that Animal Jam has a near infinite pool of young play-testers.”

Leavitt weighed in on his experience with game production in Utah. “I think, for one thing, the LDS [Latter-day Saint] and family-friendly environment makes Utah a great match for Disney,” said Leavitt. “But before we were Disney, we were Avalanche, we worked with Eidos on a game called 25 to Life. We were protested by Mark Shurtleff, who was the attorney general about nine or 10 years ago, because it was a cops-and-robbers game, which meant you could shoot cops. What was interesting about the studio at the time was that there were some folks on the team who wouldn’t work on 25 to Life, and that was respected. That’s okay, if you don’t want to work on that type of game, you can work on one of our more family-friendly games. Once Disney bought us, our games were all family-friendly.”

For Butler, variety and innovation separated Utah developers from the better-known studios and publishers. “The game industry is, in all reality, 30 years old,” he explained. “Sure, there have been games before that, but in terms of hitting mainstream culture it’s only about 30 years old. If you compare that to Hollywood, we would still be in the black-and-white era. As we mature and hit the color stage for video games, I think that there’s a lot more room for expression and more room for a wider variety of games.”

Butler continued, “One thing that has been impressive, in terms of the game studios here, is that the studios have been very willing to explore new areas and be very innovative. Some of the West Coast gaming culture [publishing and development] and some of the East Coast publishers are very much stuck in the last generation of business models and the genres they choose. They fall more into the ‘summer blockbuster’ category, whereas everything we’re doing here falls into every other category. I think that’s amazing for Utah and Utah’s gaming culture.”

An audience member asked whether the Utah state government had been supportive of the game development industry. Butler offered his insight on the matter. “Utah has been a very strong supporter of Hollywood. There have been so many films shot here, so they definitely have seen the value of the entertainment industry,” he answered. “We’ve been working with the state government for the last several years to try to enlighten them on the benefits of gaming. As you can see here, there are a ton of game companies here in Utah who are hiring more and more people and thus are becoming a bigger factor. They aren’t on board yet with huge tax breaks, per se, but that will be coming I’m sure. They’re starting to catch the vision for the size of the business in general and what it can mean.”

Besides the affordable housing, great talent pool, family-friendly environment, and innovative game production, Evans found another compelling reason to work in Utah. “One of the great things about Utah studios, from what I’ve seen, is that they really encourage that work-life balance,” he said. “You can maintain the 80-hour work weeks for the first couple of years, but if you really want to work in this industry more than a couple of years you really need to master the art of letting go, to quote Frozen.”

The panel of industry veterans only represents a small percentage of the booming game industry in Utah. The state has proven successful in both attracting outside talent, as well as fostering top-tier, home-grown game developers. While Utah game developers aren’t nearly as famous as their counterparts in California, Seattle and Montreal, they continue to leave their imprint on gaming culture worldwide.

David Wise is an Official Salt Lake Comic Con Blogger.

Check out David’s other work on Twitter and DogFaceNoSpace.com!

Tags: salt lake city, Salt Lake Comic Con, Salt Lake Comic Con Blog, utah, utah game developers

University of Washington: Autumn Twilight - Collegiate StarLeague - December 29, 2014

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By David Wise

@wiselingsc2

KawaiiRice at the live CSL 2012-2013 tournament finals .

One of the most storied teams in the Collegiate Starleague is the University of Washington StarCraft II squad. Washington finished in second at the CSL Season 5 finals and took third place in the Azubu Collegiate Champions finals in 2013. This season, Washington suffered the loss of Patrick ‘Caliber’ Coury to graduation but still remains tied for second in the highly competitive West Division with a 5-2 record.

I caught up with Washington’s CSL coordinator Adrian ‘Kawaiirice’ Kwong to talk about the inner workings as well as the difficulties in the day-to-day function of the StarCraft II squad. Kwong explained that the relationships formed in the team are what led to its initial success. “In the past it would be our confidence and friendship which in turn allowed for our informal coaching system,” stated Kwong. “I’m not a great ‘formal’ coach but our relationships allowed me to work with our players during the Azubu CSL season. Nowadays, however, nobody really plays the game so things have changed.”

In 2012, the team supplemented its regular coaching routine with a boot-camp during holiday. I asked if Washington still carries out that sort of training. “I would not have the passion to run a boot camp anymore, and the prize pool doesn't warrant it,” replied Kwong. “I only open SC2 to play one game every Saturday and I would find it too disrespectful to host a boot camp and play other games while telling others how to play.”

Kwong also reflected on the 2012 and 2013 CSL seasons, when Washington finished 2nd and 3rd respectively. “Our key to success was having Caliber and I on the team,” said Kwong. “Having two high Grandmaster-level players is enough to make it far in playoffs. We were also fortunate to have several talented patch Zergs who were willing to learn back in Lings of Liberty, as well as one of the best 2v2 teams in the league in Chemist and Rawls. However, almost all of those players have graduated.”

However, despite the loss of these high-caliber players, Washington is still within striking distance of the top spot in the West Division. The Washington coordinator seemed pleased with the team’s performance thus far. “I came in with no real expectations so I am pretty satisfied. I think we have a good shot at making the playoffs but me not practicing is going to hurt going onwards in the season,” he replied. This doesn’t mean that Washington is ready to rest on its laurels, however. “Any school that knows how to submit a lineup with character codes is a huge threat,” stated Kwong.

KawaiiRice, Caliber and Binski watch their friend Tilea at MLG Anaheim 2014, in a display of camraderie.

Kwong also delved into the administrative aspects of running the team. “People ask me to regurgitate things like maps, dates of matches, lineups, rules, etc. that they can check for themselves,” he stated. Being a coordinator is like being a tournament administrator. When you put everything in people's faces they still prefer to ask you instead and it makes unnecessary work.” Administrative issues aren’t the only challenge that faces Washington. “Recruitment prior to the season start was a little rough. Now, we have a decent amount of people that hang around online but our biggest challenge is getting everyone involved,” said Kwong. “Since we are fielding pretty much the same players every week and not doing really anything outside of CSL matches, there are others who basically don't get to play and probably don't feel like a part of the group.”

Another issue that faces Washington, as well as most other CSL teams, is the influx and departure of team members each season. Touching on the effect of these shifts on the CSL squad, Kwong stated, “University of Washington CSL is basically on its deathbed.”

Despite these challenges, time issues don’t affect the success of Washington’s StarCraft squad. “Even if we had free time we wouldn't be playing StarCraft II,” replied Kwong. “So it doesn't really affect us.”

The University of Washington, regardless of its challenges, rose above most of its competition to come within striking distance of the top spot in the West Division. Whatever the future of this CSL squad holds, this season could certainly be one of Washington’s best yet. Washington’s strong performance thus far composes a fitting twilight for this CSL powerhouse.

Series of the Week: Berkeley vs Washington - Collegiate StarLeague - November 28, 2014

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By David Wise
@wiselingsc2

The University of Washington came into this series second in the West division, the toughest division in the Collegiate Starleague. Despite the loss of Patrick ‘Caliber’ Coury to graduation, Adrian ‘KawaiiRice’ Kwong has led the Washington squad to a stellar 3-1 record, with victories over University of California, Los Angeles and San Jose State University.

Last season, the University of California, Berkeley StarCraft team posted an impressive 6-2 record without the help of its ace Conan ‘Suppy’ Liu. However, this season, despite the return of Suppy to the team’s roster, Berkeley only eked out two victories and an equal number of losses. The Bears went into the series with something to prove to the rest of the schools in the West.

Game 1 - King Sejong Station

Based [Zerg – Washington] vs ooDi [Terran –  UC Berkeley] 

OoDi opened with a dual-pronged Hellion/Bio-drop attack that scored fifteen drone kills. Based’s Ling counter-attack at Oodi’s natural  failed to deal enough damage to bring him back into the game. From that point, ooDi’s macro snowballed past Based’s. OoDi’s subsequent Bio-Mine push forced the “GG” out of the Washington Zerg.

Winner: ooDi - UC Berkeley

Game 2 - Merry Go Round LE

AiuR [Protoss – Washington] vs Abstinence [Terran- UC Berkeley] 

After both Grandmasters fast expanded, Abstinence transitioned into a three Barracks pressure attack which AiuR easily repelled. However, the Berkeley Terran’s Stim Medivac follow-up run-by succeeded in sniping AiuR’s third and inflicting damage in his main. In the late-game, both players battled at the watch tower with their maxed-out armies. Abstinence’s substantial Viking fleet dispatched AiuR’s Colossi with ease, which allowed the Terran army to overrun the Protoss forces and secure the game.

Winner: Abstinence – UC Berkeley

Game 3 - Nimbus LE

KawaiiRice [Zerg – Washington] vs Suppy [Zerg – UC Berkeley]

KawaiiRice played cloak-and-dagger with his Lings, as he hid them from Suppy’s scouting forces in order to mount a surprise attack in the early game.  However, despite retaining the element of surprise,  KawaiiRice only managed to score one Drone kill and a Queen with the gambit. The failed attack left Suppy with the worker and tech lead. In the mid-game, both Zergs transitioned into Mutalisks. KawaiiRice managed to morph enough Spores in time to repel Suppy’s Muta siege. KawaiiRice counter-attacked with Lings and Mutas which succeeded in cancelling Suppy’s fourth base. KawaiiRice also sniped multip le workers at his opponent’s natural before Suppy’s mutas forced him out. Unfortunately for KawaiiRice, he could not keep pace with Suppy’s Muta production and subsequently conceded the game and the series.

Winner: Suppy [UC Berkeley]

Final Score: UC Berkeley 3-0 Washington

UC Berkeley finally overcame its administrative issues and displayed its championship form against Washington. The series featured matches between Grandmaster and Professional StarCraft players, which demonstrates how impressive this sweep was for Berkeley. This week, University of California, Davis will put Berkeley’s momentum to the test. The Bears will have to consistently perform at this high level in order to make it to the playoffs. The West continues to prove ultra-competitive and the rest of the season will be no different. 

Irvine vs Berkeley: Not What You Might Expect - Collegiate StarLeague - November 6, 2014

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By David Wise
@wiselingsc2

The match between UC Irvine and UC Berkeley marked the first time that these two collegiate e-sports titans faced this season. UC Irvine finished last season at the top of the West 1 Division, the most-competitive division in the CSL. UC Berkeley also performed exceedingly well last year, as it posted a 6-2 record without their ace player Conan ‘Suppy’ Liu. The following occurred in the series.

 

Game One

ImThatOneGuy (Protoss – UC Irvine) vs BubbaGump (Protoss – UC Berkeley)  

BubbaGump opened the game with Oracle harass but he only managed to score a few worker kills. The match stabilized until BubbaGump moved out with his Immortal-heavy force in the late-game. BubbaGump almost sniped ImThatOneGuy’s third base but failed to finish the kill. As BubbaGump retreated, ImThatOneGuy whittled off much of the Berkeley Protoss’ force. BubbaGump could not withstand the counter-onslaught and ImThatOneGuy took game one for UC Irvine.

Game Two

Power (Random [Terran] – UC Irvine) vs Arka (Protoss – UC Berkeley)

Power opened the game with Hellion and Widow Mine harass. However, Arka successfully repelled the Terran gambit. Power continued the harassment with Bio drops which also failed to deal damage. However, Power’s aggressive play pinned Arka in his base and succeeded in delaying the Protoss’ second expansion. Power took full advantage of the situation and utilized this valuable time to macro up to a powerful Bio-Viking composition. Arka found himself out of position as the Terran force hit, which allowed Power to gain a massive concave and obliterate the Colossus-heavy Protoss army. Arka could not muster up enough reinforcements and Power took the game and the series for UC Irvine.

Due to administrative issues, the UC Berkeley 2v2 team forfeited its match, which allowed UC Irvine to claim the 3-0 sweep. While almost nobody expected UC Irvine to be a pushover in this match, it was stunning to see UC Berkeley fall in a sweep. UC Irvine proved, once again, that it is a powerhouse in collegiate StarCraft.

______________________________________________________

I caught up after the series with the UC Irvine coordinator, Jasper ‘Power’ Chou, to pick his brain on his team’s amazing performance.

Me: Many expected this series to be a high-level match but not many expected either school to sweep. What do you attribute the success of this series to?

Chou: Probably their 2v2 team not being able to show up. I think that they have one of the stronger 2v2 teams in the CSL. As the ace player, I had builds prepared but I don't know if it would had mattered if they had gotten to the ace match because Suppy is, in my opinion, the strongest player in CSL right now.

Me: Last season UC Irvine was #1 in the West 1 Division, the most competitive division in CSL StarCraft. This year, you are 2-0 so far in the West Division. How do you prepare as a team for your matches and how do you keep maintaining these consistently high results?

Chou: We don't really prepare. I just ask the club ‘who wants to play?’ and ‘what map do you want to play on?’ The older players on the team have already accepted the fact that we missed our chance to get super far in CSL a few years ago, so basically we just try to get everyone in the club and on the team a chance to play and get involved. Since this is a game, having fun is the number one priority.

Me: You are a high-level Random player. You exhibited really good mechanical skills in your match versus Berkeley's Arka. How do you differ from other Random players and how do you prepare to compete at such a high level with all three races?

Chou: I used to play an extremely large amount of games in Wings of Liberty through multiple accounts which allowed me to build a large understanding of all the matchups. I still use a lot of similar builds from Wings of Liberty. What people don't know about me is that I was on FXO.NA until it disbanded during Wings.

Me: ImThatOneGuy illustrated his game knowledge in the Protoss mirror-matchup. Were you nervous when BubbaGump almost sniped your teammate's third base? How do you explain how he keeps his cool in such a potential game-turning situation?

Chou: From my perspective, as long as no probes were lost at the third base the game is still even. I wasn't nervous because ImThatOneGuy spoiled the results before it was over on stream when he got out of the game. As for him keeping his cool? His hair is probably the primary reason for his composure.

Me: Anything else?

Chou: I think KespadA (one of our Zergs) would appreciate it if CSL casters continued to call him Kespa-Panda. He feels extremely cute listening to it.

UC Irvine powered its way to a 2-0 start this season while Berkeley fell to 1-1. The West Division continues to prove extremely competitive and entertaining and we will undoubtedly see many more exciting matches to come.

CSL SC2 Season in Review: 2013-2014 - Collegiate StarLeague - October 22, 2014

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By David Wise
@wiselingsc2

The Collegiate StarLeague season is upon us once again. The best collegiate e-sports warriors from across the continent will soon duke it out for school pride and internet glory.

In anticipation for this exciting year of StarCraft, I compiled a list of the top teams and players from last season. There are also a few interesting facts below that even the most ardent CSL fan might not know! For a more detailed recap of last season’s CSL finals at MLG, feel free to read this game-by-game breakdown.

The top ten CSL teams from the 2013-2014 season

These are the top teams from the previous season. Throughout the season and the playoffs, these teams stood out above the rest. The squads came together from various backgrounds and interests to bring honor and glory to their respective schools. It should be noted that there are schools that are not on the list that could arguably qualify as one of the top ten. The difficulty of these picks attests to the many stacked and talented StarCraft II collegiate teams are out there.

1. University of Western Ontario

Before the playoffs started, those familiar with the CSL season were predicting teams such as the University of California, Irvine, the University of Texas at Austin, and other powerhouse schools to take the championship. However, after they secured a spot in the playoffs in the wildcard tournament, Christopher ‘Ostojiy’ Ostojic and the rest of the University of Western Ontario squad blazed through the post-season in dominant fashion. Western Ontario left teams such as Penn State, the University of Maryland, College Park, and the University of Florida in the dust before it vanquished the University of Toronto in the grand finals to secure the CSL title. Western Ontario’s championship run proved to be a refreshing and entertaining surprise.



2. University of Toronto (pictured above)

During the CSL StarCraft season, the University of Toronto went undefeated as it posted a perfect 8-0 record. In the playoffs, compLexity Gaming’s Henry ‘hendralisk’ Zheng and the rest of the True Blues toppled Carnegie Melon University, the University of California, Los Angeles, as well as the University of Texas at Austin on their path to the finals. They finally fell to the University of Western Ontario in the finals after a season-long display of teamwork and StarCraft prowess.

3. University of Texas at Austin

The Longhorns reigned undefeated in the Midwest 1 Division in season play. In the playoffs, they only dropped one map and defeated powerhouse teams, such as Utah and Purdue, before finally giving way in the semi-finals to the University of Toronto.

4. University of Chicago

The University of Chicago posted a perfect record in season play to take the top spot in the Midwest 2 Division. Its playoff run was also outstanding as it defeated Ohio State University, Rice University, and UC Irvine for a spot in the semi-finals before it finally buckled to the University of Western Ontario, the reigning champions.

5. University of California, Irvine

The ultra-competitive West 1 Division was up for grabs, especially since UC Berkeley’s Conan ‘Suppy’ Liu took leave from the CSL last season. In this staked division, UC Irvine came out on top with a 7-1 record. Irvine bested the Rochester Institute of Technology and former CSL champions University of Washington in the playoffs before an upset loss against the University of Chicago.

6. University of Utah

The Utes came into the season with a significant disadvantage: the loss of grandmasters Huy ‘SCDPride’ Troung and IvD Gaming’s Sangjae ‘ZergZingZing’ Park. Despite this, the University of Utah, under the leadership of Brandon ‘Magnet’ Gibson, posted an undefeated season record. In the playoffs, Utah bested University of California, San Diego and reached the quarter-finals, where they finally lost to UT Austin.

7. University of Florida

The Gators performed excellently in the playoffs. Florida upset Georgia Tech and defeated the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities to reach the quarter-finals where they finally fell to the University of Western Ontario.

8. École de technologie supérieure 

The Quebecois engineering school tied for first in the Canada East Division with a 6-2 record. ÉTS defeated Dalhousie University, South Dakota School of Mines, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison to reach the round of eight where it succumbed to the University of Toronto.

9. University of Maryland, College Park

UMCP went undefeated in season play. The Testudos defeated the University of Central Florida in the playoffs and advanced to the round of sixteen, where they lost a close series to the CSL champions, the University of Western Ontario, 3-4.

10. University of California, San Diego

After it survived a grueling season in the West 1 Division, UC San Diego overcame the University of Victoria and UC Berkeley in the playoffs. The University of Utah ended UC San Diego’s playoff dreams 4-2 in the round of sixteen.

Most Valuable Players

The CSL sticks to a Proleague format for StarCraft II, which places heavy emphasis on team strength. However, there are still those individual players who have performed exemplarily and gone above and beyond to improve their teams’ standing.



1. Chris ‘Ostojiy’ Ostojic – University of Western Ontario (pictured above)

The ace player for the CSL champions reigned victorious in all his post-season matches. In the grand finals, Ostojiy’s macro proved far too much for his Terran opponent, Tornto’s Zero. Thanks to Ostojiy’s performance and leadership, Western Ontario was able to overcome its season record and secure the CSL StarCraft crown.

2. Henry ‘hendralisk’ Zheng – University of Toronto

The University of Toronto posted a perfect season record in the Northeast 1 Division thanks, in no small part, to the knowledgeable and talented hendralisk. In the post-season, hendralisk dropped a couple of maps but he came through when it counted. In the semi-finals against UT Austin, hendralisk held off hellokitty’s Blink Stalker timing to win the ace match and secure Toronto’s place in the finals. Hendralisk also won his match in the grand finals against Western Ontario’s BlackOwl. Unfortunately, that was Toronto’s only map point in the series.

3. Zifeng ‘hellokitty’ Wang – University of Texas at Austin

Many CSL fans considered UT Austin as a favorite to win the championship. Much of that confidence stemmed from former Fnatic StarCraft II pro Zifeng ‘hellokitty’ Wang. Hellokitty’s innovative Protoss play helped UT Austin achieve an undefeated season. In the playoffs, he posted a perfect map record until he finally dropped a game in the semi-finals ace match against Toronto’s hendralisk. Hellokitty also led UT Austin in a sweep of the powerhouse University of Utah. Hellokitty has since retired from StarCraft II and we at the Collegiate StarLeague wish him the best of luck in all his future endeavors.

Honorable Mention – University of Chicago Collegiate StarCraft Team

The University of Chicago achieved great things this past season. Besides posting a perfect 8-0 record in season play, the Chicago StarCraft squad made it to the round of four. What makes this story even more remarkable is that Chicago was the only round of four team that didn’t feature a StarCraft II pro on its roster.

“The University of Chicago was the Cinderella story of the year, overcoming their ranks to come out on top with an undefeated regular season record in the MidWest 2 Division,” stated Collegiate StarLeague Production Director and noted StarCraft II caster Daniil ‘CheeseHeadLogic’ Pauley. “Chicago easily became one of my favorite teams to follow as the season went along. Great job to all at the University of Chicago!”

Interesting facts about 2013-2014

• The semi-finals series between the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Toronto was Zifeng ‘hellokitty’ Wang’s final series as a professional-StarCraft II player.
• The reigning CSL champion, the University of Western Ontario, barely made it into the playoffs. The team secured a spot in the post-season via a wildcard qualifier.
• The finals between the University of Toronto and the University of Western Ontario represents the second time the CSL hosted an all-Canadian StarCraft championship series. The season four grand finals between the University of British Colombia and the University of Waterloo were the first.
• The CSL playoffs were rich with pro-talent. Players such as ROOT Gaming’s Patrick ‘Caliber’ Coury, Lok-Yin ‘KawaiiRice’ Kwong, and Fnatic’s Zifeng ‘hellokitty’ Wang, among others, competed for their schools’ eSports bragging rights. The grand finals featured pro-gamers Chris ‘Ostojiy’ Ostojic and compLexity Gaming’s Henry ‘hendralisk’ Zheng.
• University of California, Berkeley was Suppy-less last season but it still managed to eke out a 6-2 season record in the highly competitive West 1 Division. The Bears lost in the second round of the playoffs to UC San Diego.
• The CSL Finals took place at Major League Gaming Anaheim. In addition to duking it out for the CSL championship, Ostijiy and hendralisk also participated in the MLG open bracket. Former CSL Season 5 champion binskii also battled through the MLG bracket!

Hopefully this gave a glimpse of understanding into the craziness that was last season’s StarCraft II collegiate league. Each season exhibits new and unique stories about the players and schools that compete in the CSL. This year will prove likewise so stay tuned and join us for this year’s unfolding drama!

WCS Global Finals: The Last Four - Blizzard WCS Portal - November 8, 2014 (BlizzCon 2014)

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Nov 8, 2014 by David Wise

In 2014, professional StarCraft II players competed in hundreds of series and thousands of matches around the world in the StarCraft II World Championship Series. At StarCraft’s crowning event –the 2014 WCS Global Finals– 16 finalists slugged it out across Southern California until four emerged from the maelstrom. These eSports heroes come from all three WCS regions, which attests to the high-caliber StarCraft talent worldwide. These four remain as the best StarCraft II players in the world and they’ll be battling for StarCraft’s ultimate title, $100,000 and the Gosu Trophy. All they have to do is get through each other. The following series will cap this incredible year of StarCraft.

Yun ‘TaeJa’ Young Seo (Terran – Team Liquid) vs Lee ‘Life’ Seung Hyun (Zerg – StarTale)
 The most consistent Terran in Heart of the Swarm will face off against one of the world’s best anti-Terran specialists. Taeja’s year proved very productive as he secured the top spot at IEM Shenzhen, DreamHack Summer, and HomeStory Cup IX along with numerous other top four placements. In the Global Finals, Taeja overcame Eo ‘soO’ Yoon Su and stood victorious after a brutal series against Lee ‘INnoVation’ Shin Hyung in order to reach the semifinals. Life’s year in StarCraft included a first place finish at DreamHack Bucharest as well as a top four finish in GSL Season 1. The former GSL champion stunned Zest and dominated San to reach the semifinals, where he will put his Zergling micro to the test against Team Liquid’s premiere Terran.  Life and Taeja will undoubtedly produce one of this year’s best, if not the best, Zerg vs Terran series.
 
Kim ‘Classic’ Doh Woo (Protoss – SK Telecom T1) vs Mun ‘MMA’ Seong Won (Terran – Team Acer)
Classic proved his StarCraft II prowess this year when he took first place in GSL Season 2. At the Global Finals, Classic defeated TvP specialist Choi ‘Polt’ Seong Hun and performed an amazing comeback against Kim ‘herO’ Joon Ho to secure his spot in the semifinals. This year, MMA won WCS Europe Season 3, DreamHack Moscow, and placed second at WCS Europe Season 1. The Acer Terran defeated Son ‘StarDust’ Seok Hee, pulled an upset victory against Choi ‘Bomber’ Ji Sungm and now finds himself facing the world’s deadliest Protoss in the round of four. The two former GSL champions face off for a spot in the championship series in what is sure to be a Terran vs Protoss skirmish for the ages.

The final day of BlizzCon is upon us and the best is yet to come. StarCraft fans around the world will witness the highest-echelons of professional StarCraft from the game’s absolute best. Join us as we crown this year’s WCS Global champion.

Blizzcon NA Phase Two Preview - Liquid Hearth - October 4, 2014

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Blizzcon NA Phase Two Preview

Preview and a look back to Phase One

By David Wise

On the 5th and 6th of October, the sixteen remaining North American Hearthstone pros will compete in New York City’s Hammerstein Ballroom for Phase Two of the Hearthstone World Championship: Americas Qualifier Tournament. These players will duke it out for one of four spots in Blizzard’s 2014 Hearthstone World Championship at BlizzCon and a chance at the $250,000 prize pool.

Since the Phase One qualifiers, the metagame has shifted quite dramatically thanks to huge balance changes from Blizzard. The nerfs to Leeroy Jenkins and Starving Buzzard are sure to have a noticeable impact on the choice of decks coming into the Phase Two qualifiers. In the Phase One qualifiers, Midrange Hunter and Miracle Rogue decks comprised almost half of the decks from the top fourteen players. In fact, all the top fourteen finishers (with the exception of ThatsAdmirable) ran a Hunter deck. It is doubtful that the Phase Two qualifiers will see the same Hunter/Rogue density as in Phase One, so this Phase should have an emphasis on the deck-building talents of these Hearthstone pros.

Twisted, Staz, Tarei, Kuhaku, Stunner, Chakki, and TidesofTime all chose to run both Hunter and Rogue decks in their Phase One run. It will be interesting to see how they tweak their deck construction strategies going into the next phase of the qualifiers. Only ThatsAdmirable played Secret Mage, which undoubtedly helped allow him to go on a 5-0 run in Phase One. ThatsAdmirable is another player who may have to adjust his strategy going into Phase Two. While in Phase One the meta was pretty solved -- as the above players all playing Hunter and Miracle show -- the Phase Two meta should be more open. The option to play Mage and always ban Hunter may not be a viable strategy anymore.

Japan’s Dtwo, Australia’s Stunner, and Deathstar will also compete in the top sixteen of the Americas qualifier. These players chose to run decks that some of the other top 16 finishers overlooked. Stunner and Deathstar were the only players who opted to run Zoolock in Phase One and qualify for Phase Two. Dtwo on the other hand, was the sole Ramp Druid player to make the top sixteen. Will these players continue to attack the meta from a different angle or will they swim with the current this weekend?

In Phase One, StrifeCro, TidesofTime, ThatsAdmirable, and Chakki played through the entire qualifier undefeated. This attests to the decision-making ability of these top-tier pros as well as the game knowledge required to make such decisions. If these players can keep their cool and not fall into any meta-traps, they could very well go to BlizzCon.

New strategies as well as fresh twists on old deck favorites will come to light at the Hammerstein Ballroom. The games should prove to be epic and intense as every player will give their all in order to make it to the big money at BlizzCon. The only obstacle is every other pro competing in Manhattan.

Trends from Phase Two EU

The Phase Two qualifier for the EU region was the first major tournament after the Buzzard and Leeroy nerfs. Let's take a look at those results to see what they may predict. But first, the meta results from Phase One NA:

Deck Archtype	Top 14 #	Top 14 %
Midrange Hunter	13	92.85
Miracle	7	50
Warrior	4	28.57
Handlock	4	28.57
Shaman	3	21.42
Undertaker Priest	3	21.42
Paladin	2	14.29
Token Druid	2	14.29
Zoolock	2	14.29
Ramp Druid	1	7.14
Secret Mage	1	7.14

Here, are the results from Phase Two EU:

From this we can clearly see that the meta was more balanced after the patch. Hunter's stock absolutely tanked after the patch, and if Phase Two EU is a good indicator, Priest and Paladin were some of the biggest winners with Handlock also getting a boost.

One of the most important notes from Phase Two EU, however, was the overwhelming number of control decks. The meta overall was very slow and this could be one of the most important factors heading in to the NA event.

Will the NA players stick with the trend of playing slow control decks? Or will some of them strike out and try to counter the Paladin/Handlock control meta with more all in aggro decks?

The Groups

The smarter you become, the more you realize how little you know.