Thanks to disciple for the gnarly banner.Another season, another offline prelims leading into the most prestigious tournament of them all in Korea, the OnGameNet StarLeague. This season is special though. For the first time since 2001, we are looking at the possibility of a three-peat champion in the OSL, something completely unprecedented in the history of the league. However, before we get there, there are 179 hungry players vying for 24 spots in the EVER2009 OSL.
If you've ever watched an offline preliminary, you know that anything and everything is possible. Every season, there is at least one major upset that happens that turns everyone on their ear, and every season this is the time which we cheer for the greats of old, hoping for one more run. This is the time when we see what underdog will rise up and challenge for the Royal Road for this season.
Since this is the 5
th rendition of the EVER OSL, everything in this preview will be bunches of five.
Five Potential New Faces
The most exciting thing about offlines is seeing a new, great player rise up from nothing to becoming a great player. The offlines is where these players grind it out and try their hand at making the OSL for the first time, maybe even walking the Royal Road. It's always fun to try and pick who the most successful of the bunch, but here's five tips on who to keep an eye on.
#5. M18MVitals
Name: Son Seok Hee
Team: Samsung KHAN
Age: 19M18M's first blip on the radar was having the unlucky draw of playing BeSt in WCG Korea while he was still rofl-stomping Protoss players left and right. Not-so-surprisingly, his PvT has seemed to be solid, winning multiple series against other Terran players his skill level. He's come close in a few different offline preliminaries, but never quite sealed the deal. He's also never had a group like this - hyvaa, Dongrae, Pusan and keke (yeah, that keke) are the notable players. I'd be shocked to see him make it any less further than the finals of his group.
#4. GosI[Flying]Vitals
Name: Shin Jae Wook
Team: eSTRO
Age: 19Flying, a young-gun eSTRO Protoss, made his first televised appearance at the end of the 08-09 Proleague, winning over Jaehoon, and has been walking the walk since, going 9-3 with an all-kill of a topped out MBC lineup in the STX Masters. His biggest question mark is his PvP, which we have yet to see against a solid starter, and with Tempest in his group, that might pose a problem, but keep an eye on Flying as he tries to make it out of Group F.
#3. herO[jOin]Vitals
Name: Kim Joon Ho
Team: WeMade FOX
Age: 17herO[jOin], while not the most impressive Zerg in the planet, has some hidden potential that I think can be tapped this season in the offline preliminaries. He hasn't been the strongest in the preseason map tests or the other offseason events, but he had some impressive wins in Minor League this season over players who are A-team players for their respective teams, including true royal-road candidate last season MBC Protoss IrOn - his first round opponent. To his benefit, Group L is a fairly weak group, with sAviOr playing the role of high-seed.
#2. MongVitals
Name: Choi Ho Seon
Team: SK Telecom T1
Age:20Is it a surprise that one of SK Telecom T1's most touted new prospects is a Terran? Didn't think so. Mong saw some screen time lately, including two nice wins in the STX Masters over YellOw[ArnC] and type-b. His screen time has been limited, but he's definitely a player to keep an eye on, especially with a group as weak as his - SangHo is the seed. He stands a good shot to run through Group B and on to his first OSL this season.
#1. PerfectManVitals
Name: Kim Tae Gyun
Team: Hwaseung OZ
Age: 18The world got their first glimpse of PerfectMan in the Proleague playoffs when he was thrust into the spotlight against Iris who was playing with hot hands at the time. Expected to completely fold under the immense pressure, PerfectMan did the exact opposite and rose to the occasion, blindsiding and embarrassing CJ Entus' captain Terran. A week later, he lost to an all-in from Bisu, but not without putting up a fight. His group is bookended by a couple of slumping champions of old, Mind and Anytime. Group W should be a fairly easy fight for the young OZ Protoss.
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Five Easy Picks
Every season there are a few players that you have to wonder why they're still toiling in the offline preliminaries. Then you remember they blossomed late and missed the last OSL. These are five picks for easy entry to the 2009 EVER OSL.
#5. LuxuryVitals
Name: Park Chan Soo
Team: KT Rolster
Age: 21The Lost Saga MSL champion had a huge falling-off after his championship run, but if WCG Korea showed us anything, it's that this MSL champion still has some gas left in the tank, and it isn't carrying him to B-teamville. Luxury showed some signs of life in WCG Korea, and what a better time to jump start his play than an offline group where the next best players are Tester and Justin. He should easily roll through Group Q to the OSL where we will really see if he has the mental fortitude to carry on again.
#4. LightVitals
Name: Lee Jae Ho
Team: MBCGame HERO
Age: 19Light had the misfortune of running into YellOw[ArnC] at the beginning of last season's OSL while trying to carry his team singlehandedly in Proleague simultaneously. Unlike Jaedong, the pressure became too great for Light, who crumbled in the individual leagues while staying strong for his team. Right now, with no Proleague going on, Light should roll easily through his group without breaking a sweat. YoonJoong could pose a potential threat, but not likely, as Light's mind is free and clear at this point. Group N is his for the taking.
#3. HiyAVitals
Name: Ku Sung Hoon
Team: Hwaseung OZ
Age: 20HiyA's coming-out party was the Winners League, really, and he's been a force ever since. While he's no S-Class player, he shouldn't have problems with an offline group, especially with his monster TvP. His TvZ is good enough to carry him through whatever second-rate Zerg is thrown at him and he'll probably ace Group X with little worries.
#2. JangBiVitals
Name: Heo Yeong Moo
Team: Samsung KHAN
Age: 20JangBi is JangBi, no matter how you slice it. He has his moments where he just loses it, but for the most part. In fact, he'd be the #1 choice for an easy pick if it weren't for a certain reigning champion being in the offlines. He ran into some bad luck in the form of YellOw[ArnC] learning some quick ZvP in WCG Korea early on, but he's still one of the best players out there when he's on, and it's about time he came back on for a while. Group U's biggest threat to him is HoeJJa. But I think
Huhneunim can handle HoeJJa with ease.
#1. CalmVitals
Name: Kim Yoon Hwan
Team: STX SouL
Age: 20Calm is hot off his MSL win, where he displayed excellent mental-prowess to take out any threat that the brackets could throw at him. EffOrt? Piece of cake. Jaedong? Jaewho??? Kwanro? Kwanrolled, sucka. Group R only has one other Zerg - Saint - but Calm's no slouch in the other matchups either, and he shouldn't have any problems beating the chumps OGN prepared for him. Casy? Purple? Bee? Yeah, thought so.
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Five Classic Players To Root For
#5. sAviOrVitals
Name: Ma Jae Yoon
Team: CJ Entus
Age: 21Jaedong, I'mma let you finish, but Ma Jae Yoon's OSL run was one of the greatest of all time. Greatest of all time! Savior's Shinhan3 OSL run was epic on so many levels, people still talk about it today. So naturally, we want to see him back in an OSL. While he doesn't have an easy easy group, Group L isn't the hardest either. He's probably got a fifty-fifty shot to make it through to the next round at the very least.
#4. ReachVitals
Name: Park Jung Suk
Team: Air Force ACE
Age: 25Reach's transfer to ACE breathed some new life into his career. Seeing more 1v1 play for him seemed to boost his play to a higher competitive level, and he showed some flair in his play as time went on. Group K is the kind of group that suits an old-school comeback: a bunch of mediocre names and unheard of no-namers. Of course, there's always the chance of an upset, but the odds look good for
Mantoss.
#3. GoRushVitals
Name: Park Tae Min
Team: Air Force ACE
Age: 24Last season before KeSPA decided they wanted to play God and alter the potential outcome of one of the Round of 36 groups, GoRush seemed to be playing strong and had a good shot at probably beating BackHo and later Tester. Instead, stupidity reigned supreme and he got eliminated early on, not getting a chance to show his true abilities. Now he sits in a very easy group for him to advance to the next round, with Really being the biggest threat to him in Group P.
#2. YellOwVitals
Name: Hong Jin Ho
Team: Air Force ACE
Age: 26 showed that he's still got some left in the tank when he took it to Bisu on Heartbreak Ridge in Proleague, and then again in the eStars Seoul Heritage League. In the Heritage League, especially, he showed that he still has the mental fortitude to make it past the early parts of a tournament, and he should be able to translate that to success in a fairly weak Group M. Horang2 and Thezerg can both be threatening, especially Horang2 when he's on his game, but YellOw still stands a really good shot to make it through to the OSL.
#1. BoxeRVitals
Name: Lim Yo Hwan
Team: SK Telecom T1
Age: 29While sKyHigh is certainly tough competition, and he is definitely a major threat to eliminate BoxeR, you can't help but feel that BoxeR will do it again and pull off a miraculous run deep into the tournament. Part nostalgia, part fanboy-ism, BoxeR is sure to be the #1 old-schooler cheered for by StarCraft fans around the world. Sweetly enough, aside from sKyHigh, BoxeR could be a favorite over any one of the players in Group H.
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Five Players to Forget
#5. FireFistVitals
Name: Kim Jae Choon
Team: KT Rolster
Age: 22FireFist got a lot of hype in the offseason for no reason - he won some games over good players in offseason events, but he's also played a lot of mediocre players. UpMagiC and Jaehoon may not be cream of the crop, but it's unlikely that he can take the two of them on back-to-back, and it's highly doubtful that he will make the Round of 36 from Group E.
#4. BeStVitals
Name: Doh Jae Wook
Team: SK Telecom T1
Age: 19It sounds ridiculous, but BeSt is ripe for upsetting here. The odds of him ending up facing a Zerg in the finals for Group S is about 50%, and that's likely to be his downfall. His PvZ is just awful, so any Zerg encounter he is probably behind the 8-ball. His PvT and PvP are no longer nigh-untouchable either, so any player could realistically pull off an upset over the macro-blitz that he brings to every game.
#3. FirebatheroVitals
Name: Lee Sung Eun
Team: Samsung KHAN
Age: 21Unfortunately for our favorite pelvic-thruster, three Protosses and a 36% win ratio versus the heirs of Aiur stand in between him and the Group V bid for the EVER OSL, so it's actually a pretty good bet that Firebathero will spend another season watching from the sidelines as his KHAN teammates sit in the booths.
#2. LomoVitals
Name: Son Ju Heung
Team: Hwaseung OZ
Age: 19It's been a while since we've seen anything from Lomo, and his play has been deteriorating. His TvZ is his sole savior, as his TvP and TvT are both in the low 40s. Unfortunately for him, Group A sports more Protoss and Terrans than Zergs, and he's going to face an uphill battle, specifically against Movie, who is now in the hotseat to perform for CJ Entus with Much's departure.
#1. MindVitals
Name: Park Sung Gyoon
Team: WeMade FOX
Age: 17The MSL champion is far removed from his prime, when he was a solid pick to go deep in any leagues. These days, it's a question of whether he will even make it at all. Having to go up against AnyTime, PerfectMan and Orion won't make his life any easier as all are capable of taking a series off of the weakened Terran. Group W does not look to take too kindly to the WeMade Terran.
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That's a wrap for this article. Be sure to check out the games and see which new players advance, which old-schoolers go home, and who is the darkhorse to make a deep run beyond expectations this season. The OSL Prelims begin at 10:00 AM KST (9 PM EST, 3 AM CET, 6 PM PST) so everyone should be able to catch a few games out of it, as the whole tournament in itself takes the better part of a day to be completed. There will be upsets. There will be cinderella stories. There will be drama.
Full Group ScheduleShow/Hide Spoiler
Morning
Group A
Lomo vs Actually
koala vs Clay
SoO vs 45[Name]
hwan vs Movie
Group B
SangHo vs SungEun
MIsO vs Midas
yoOn vs Mong
Princess vs GuemChi
Group C
Sea vs Fenix
fOru vs Chavi
s2 vs Classic
Sky[kaL] vs HoGiL
Group D
hyvaa vs Sse[kal]
M18M vs Dongrae
Pusan vs BByong
By.Rage vs keke
Group E
UpMaGiC vs Yuki
yeOngJae vs Spear
FireFist vs ASuka-Jr
hOn_sin vs Jaehoon
Group F
Iris vs Mell
Major vs GosI[Flying]
FrOzean vs ZerG[kaL]
Revival vs Tempest
Group G
RorO vs Rex.IU
jjonga vs PuMa
SaiR vs Neo.G_Soulkey
Paralyze vs July
Afternoon
Group H
sKyHigh vs neo.g_zerO
Haran vs BoxeR
Last vs Rarity
JaewOo vs 815
Group I
Pure vs Lucky
Fancy vs DaezanG
aMeBa vs ToSsGirL
maestro vs Much
Group J
Kal vs Just
tiny vs LuCifer
RuBy vs hwata
Britney vs Miracle
Group K
free vs remember
TosSLove vs Shark
Modesty vs Reality
Rush vs Reach
Group L
sAviOr vs kimtaeyeon
herb vs ggaemo
IrOn vs herO[jOin]
Someday vs PianO
Group M
Horang2 vs Wrath
NeeL vs Nbs
YellOw vs Moon
TurN vs Thezerg
Group N
Light vs Wuk
Brave vs n.Die_soO
BaBy vs Lake[Shield]
Sharp vs YoonJoong
Group O
fOrGG vs haitai
Action vs HakSoo
Bogus vs by.mingu
MvPzerG vs NaDa
Evening
Group P
Really vs hOdduk
Dove vs Crazy-Hydra
Killer vs Snow
Ryung vs GoRush
Group Q
Luxury - Bye
Special vs han
Justin vs Smile
Haha vs Tester
Group R
Calm - Bye
Stats vs Favian
Saint vs Bee
Purple vs Casy
Group S
BeSt vs DDONG
Barracks vs Rock
Juni vs ClouD
Grape vs HyuN
Group T
great vs Wizard
GoZip vs XellOs
GanZi vs Devil
IsaC vs Hyuk
Group U
JangBi - Bye
DarkElf vs eagle
Notice vs hungry
GgMaN[Name] vs HoeJJa
Group V
firebathero vs Dear
Hydra vs Tazza
MVP vs Sacsri
tHuNdeR vs Violet
Group W
Mind vs KT.MGW)Protoss
Suny vs PerfectMan
Orion vs Firebat
yCh[z-zOne] vs Anytime
Group X
HiyA vs invade
Trap vs Peace
oDin vs Say
Dream.t)Marine vs Shine[kaL]
[OSL] A History of Drama, The offline preliminaries return...
Sep 29 2009, 11:05 PM
