Your New Favourite Team
A Look at eSTRO in the Winners League
eSTRO has long been the underdog of Proleague, always featuring a cast of decent players, but none that were ever considered top five in the league in any way, shape, or form. That's all changed in recent months, however, as the league's most underrated team has become one of its shining stars thanks to a collection of breakout performances. eSTRO has long been a team in development, but now its finally looking like it's moving into production. Here are a few reasons why you should watch out for eSTRO in this season's Winners League:
The Real Deal
Really got a lot of flack last year due to his 50% record, but the record looks a lot more impressive when one realizes he went 33-32. In Korea, he's a player that is claimed to be highly-regarded in the community and considered one of the top five Terrans in the league. Looking at his performance this season, it's easy to see why. At 18-7, Really is sporting one of the best record's in the league. His wins haven't been free money either; he's legitimately defeated some of the best around, including Sea, Kal, and fantasy. Best of all, he crushed Flash's seemingly unstoppable TvT streak with not a cheesy game, but in a straight-up macro match. Really becomes even more frightening in TvP, where he currently owns a monstrous 11 game winstreak. For the first time in eSTRO history, they've found a true ace player that is fully capable of taking them further then they've ever gone before.Too Legit to Quit
January 10, 2010
eSTRO vs KT Rolster
Action <Fighting Spirit>Violet
GosI[Flying] <New Tornado>HoeJJa
Really <Match Point>FlashUpMaGiC <Neo Moon Glaive> Luxury
Ace Match: <New Heartbreak Ridge>
eSTRO wins 3-0
A Little More Action
Last Winners League was the first time we saw Action. "Who the fuck was this?" everyone asked. "This" turned out to be eSTRO's newest product. Fresh out of a dominating Minor League performance, Action was eSTRO's hope for the future. For awhile, he surely didn't live up to the promise, playing exactly how everyone thought he would - like a rookie. The '09-10 season started later on, and then everything just flat out changed for the rookie. Opening the season with a 4-0 win, he immediately took hyvaa's position on the team and become eSTRO's new lead Zerg. Recently, he's garnered some major wins in the form of Violet, sKyHigh, and Mind, all while gaining the acceptance of fans everywhere. This kid has shown some of the most exciting Zerg play we've seen in awhile and is only getting better by the day. A lot of people thought Shine might have been the end of the new lineage of Zergs; it looks like they'll have to make room for one more.
Flying Potential
eSTRO has become one of the leading teams when it comes to recruit, and its shown in their recent results. Newcomer Gosi[Flying] has been an absolute revelation in the league, not only picking up critical wins for the team despite being the youngster, but also using the Protoss tech to full force, making for some of the most exciting games in recent memory - especially in PvZ. fancy also made his debut this week, and showed even more potential, using a flurry of UpMagiC-inspired plays to take his first official win. With players like these coming out of the woodwork for eSTRO, they'll soon have the deepest roster in Proleague, something which no one could have imagined just a few months ago.
Evil Geniuses
UpMagiC has long been known as one of the most creative players in the league, but now he's gotten the whole team into it. eSTRO, week in and week out has delivered some of the most inspired play in the business, with players like Flying using dark archons, fancy and his use of science vessel shenanigans and BC's, Action and his fantastic swarm abuse, and of course, the magician himself and his crafty build orders. eSTRO's ability to throw wrench after wrench at their opponent makes them one of the most dangerous - and exciting - teams to the league.
The Winners Touch
hyvaa has always been a solid player - even great on some occasions - but often suffers from inconsistency. Last season, however, hyvaa ended up being eSTRO's secret weapon going 16-9 and nearly all-killing team after team. He's simply got the go.go/HiyA mentality when it comes to this format: his standard play is super-solid and lends itself to the long grind of Winners League play. hyvaa has already made his mark in Week 1 with two wins. I expect him to continue breaking the odds and lead eSTRO to a surprising top six finish.This article is dedicated to KnightOfNi, wherever you are hiding.
.