Starcraft II MLG - Anaheim

Anaheim was filled with action and excitement as crowds amassed to watch and support their favorite players this weekend. I watched - like thousands of others - via MLG's streams. I watched and laughed at some of the signs I read as cameras panned the pack of gatherers. One sign made me laugh out loud...NERF KOREANS!

There were only a few matches that I cared to watch and I'm thinking that you didn't even have to watch to know the Koreans were going to go back home winners. Nevertheless, watching the strats and builds was well worth the time.

MLG opened the event with Naniwa v Huk, (who has been doing a bang up job lately) on the Red Team and Dong Rae Gu v TLO on the Blue Team. Both Huk and DRG took their opponents 2-0. No biggie for the losers, because these games were pool play (you know the dudes that swim whilst open bracket players work their asses off).

I'm going to interject this before continuing. With 256 players, MLG has to have rules. But excuse me, if it weren't for the open bracket players, who pay $70. to compete, there wouldn't be an MLG.

Starcraft is suppose to be fun, but too many complaints from both previous MLGs and this last one have been reported about the grueling schedule of the open bracket and the disrespect shown to open bracket players. (i.e. Not allowed a potty break, no time to eat or get something to drink, being DQd if you're a minute later than the 10 minute allotted time, way less than eight hours sleep, etc.)

Granted, with that many people, a rigid schedule has to be enforced. It's a marathon and the players that make it through have to have stamina in addition to excellent skills, and maybe a bit of luck. Still, they deserve as much respect as the "Star" players. If MLG can't afford to give them that respect, perhaps MLG should consider lowering the number of entrants. Just my opinion.

Like I said, there were only a few games that interested me. One was Idra v Boxer. We all know Idra's weakness is his own self, so I cheered on Boxer. And whilst in game two Idra displayed incredible defense, Boxer, with his perfect timing and game skills took the Zerg, 2-0. Yay!

Obviously, the Koreans dominate the game; nevertheless, I was really rooting for Boxer and the whole SlayerS team. Whilst I knew that the Koreans would outdo everyone there, I still wanted the It's Gosu team to go far and the Reign team to go home with their heads hung low. I think I got my wish. :D

Whilst Rumcake (I've said this before and I'll say it again, It's Gosu should have a player named Coke to go with the Rum. hehe) and linkO, from It's Gosu, went to the loser's bracket pretty quickly; Pokebunny, Sonkie and wbc fared better.

LinkO did much better in the loser's bracket as did Poke and Sonkie, but wbc was the one It's Gosu team member to make it out of the open brackets. And when it was announced that he eliminated Spades...well I just smiled. Woohoo! He got to go swim in the pool with the big boys.

During the Incontrol v Boxer game on Day two of the event, I was glued to the screen and cheering on...guess who? That wasn't even a fair game. lol Incontrol was, of course, being his greedy self, but Boxer caught him off guard several times and in game two forced him into passivity. Yeah, Boxer took him 2-0. Duh!

I think one of the most exciting games of the whole event was Rain, who struggled through the lower brackets to face Boxer. Okay, I'm just gonna say this now. If I were a gamer, I'd be in awe of Boxer. Over 30 years old, he's like the grandfather of Starcraft and e-sports, in general. Can't even imagine facing him in a competition.

Okay okay back to the Rain v Boxer match. The first game was an hour long. OMG! I thought I was watching avilo play. lol. Rain had some vulnerabilities, but was playing strong and took the first game from Boxer. Huh? Is that possible? You'd have to feel proud at that point. But even though Boxer lost the first game, he emerged the victor. Watching him defend and attack simultaneously was exhilarating.

At one point Boxer, a really nice guy, said, "I not this good, but because of all your cheers, I am better." awwww.

When it came near the end, Boxer, the master, had to play his grasshopper, MMA, the winner of MLG-Columbus. Was Boxer right when he said, MLG-Anaheim will be known as SlayerS MLG? Along with DRG and MVP, still standing were SlayerS Boxer, SlayerS MMA, and SlayerS Ganzi. Hmmmm.

It was hard watching MMA take Boxer; but proud of his apprentice, Boxer exited the booth with a great big smile. The Grand Finals was a match between SlayerS MMA and IMMVP. If MMA had won the BO3, it would have gone to a BO7. But the victor and champion of MLG - Anaheim was MVP.

I'm thinking that Koreans aren't going to be nerfed, but Terrans might. The only non-Terran to make it into the champion brackets was DongRaeGu, a zerg. But let's face it, Koreans have had the advantage of pro-housing and not having to worry about anything but practicing 10 to 12 hrs. a day for a lot longer than EU or US.

So, I'm disappointed for SlayerS team, but thrilled that Boxer showed these yungins what it's all about; happy that everyone had fun, unhappy that open bracket players don't get more respect and better treatment; all smiles that Reign didn't do that well, ecstatic that It's Gosu done good.

Props to Cruncher, Rain, Ganzi and Tyler for fighting their way into the pool and to Attero, wbc, White-Ra and MToD, who, with absolute determination and skill, battled through the loser's bracket victorious.

For all the details check out:

http://pro.majorleaguegaming.com/