When you want to make progress, you take 'baby steps,' or at least that's the conventional wisdom.But at Anaheim, MLG hopes to prove that you don't need to make baby steps when you're fully capable of taking giant, leaping bounds.Building on the foundations of MLG Columbus – a tournament that had a great stream, fantastic crowds, and strong international representation – Anaheim is striving to show that Columbus was just a test drive.Nine Koreans have entered the competition, to ensure that the world's greatest Starcraft power is ably represented. Meanwhile, the foreigners will compete with new resolve after being thoroughly trounced at Columbus. EG committed their players to a boot camp to hone their skills, while FXO returns after training in Korea itself.The Columbus convention center struggled to hold the massive crowd of Starcraft II fans – this time Starcraft II takes its rightful place at center stage with ample seating for all. And in a momentous step for any international organization, MLG is partnering with GomTV to offer the Korean audience a stream in their own language.The expectations were high after Columbus, but MLG seems more than glad to meet them.

Pool Competition Preview By: tree.hugger

Group A

We're all doomed.



Prediction: With MLG's forgiving seeding structure, the only place really worth having is first. Each of the matches between this group's 'Big Three' has the potential to decide the standings. DRG's aggressive and opportunistic ZvP will play well against NaNiwa, but not against HuK. However, NaNiwa could easily undo the damage by beating HuK's vulnerable PvP, leaving a group winner to be decided by differential, or failing that, a FFA wrestling match on the mainstage. Don't count out HayprO playing spoiler here, but he seems an unlikely choice to top the group. Of the open bracket players, Alicia would certainly do the most damage, but to win the group would mean solving a lot of issues, especially in PvZ. I honestly can't say I would favor him against anyone except TLO.

Group B

Fan wars.



Prediction: This is probably the most open race for first place in MLG, mainly because Boxer is not the prohibitive favorite that his fellow countrymen are. Indeed, IdrA is the most likely winner of the group, but won't do it cleanly. A group win by Incontrol, Sheth or Sjow would be considered a heavy upset, but each are capable enough players to trip up someone else. Unlike the other groups, the main question for Group B is the identity of the open bracket player. A terran player especially could do it, neither of this group's players is particularly comfortable in that match-up. If GanZi or Rain make their way into this group, they could make a serious impact.

Group C

Dark horses.



Prediction: MMA demolished his MLG group in Columbus, and should not have any serious difficulties here. His primary threats are Socke and the open bracket player, but it remains hard to see how that would actually occur, or who would have the ability to do it. As has been mentioned before, Alicia and GanZi are dangerous, but MMA is better than both. Socke seems to have a great group otherwise, and should come out in a great position for the knockout rounds.

Group D

Something to Prove.



Prediction: MVP is the favorite in this group, and doesn't seem to have a challenger at first glance. But things might not be all kittens and butterflies for the former GSL champion. SeleCT, who has frequently been cited by Koreans as one of the foreign scene's better players is not to be underestimated. And my super sleeper pick for a deep run in the tournament, mOoNan, is coming to MLG after a month of Korean competition as well. Remember that QXC beat the stuffing out of MVP in the IM terran's last major appearance. MVP should take this group, but there are more pitfalls than first appear.

Apparently, it wasn't enough to put the three of the most skilled foreign BW players of all time in the same MLG Columbus group. Wasn't hard enough. What MLG needed apparently was to ensure a group so incredibly strong that there wouldn't be a need to watch anything else. Consider that the only player in this group who is not a current, past, or guaranteed future GSL player is... the odds on Korean favorite to win the tournament.None of these players need any introduction, but we'll do it anyway. MvPDongRaeGu is making perhaps the most anticipated foreign scene appearance in Sc2's young history. Not only do a clear plurality of fans believe he will win the tournament, but he is the sentimental favorite, and an MLG win will catapult him directly into the Code S slot he clearly deserves. But the path to the big show runs through Liquid`HuK , the recent Dreamhack and Homestory Cup double champion and an established Code S player in his own right. Then there's Dignitas.NaNiwa who is already headed to Korea by way of MLG, and has recently vowed to "get out of this period of mediocre second and third places at tournaments". These three players are all favorites to win the tournament.Rounding out this group are Liquid`HayprO and Liquid`TLO , two players who have likely never been such underdogs in a group before. Of the two, HayprO has a serious chance to play spoiler, while TLO's recent injury makes him a sentimental favorite, but not a betting one. Oh yeah, and then there's the mystery candidate, the top finisher from an absurdly stacked Open bracket. There's no reason to doubt that even more GSL talent will make this a group battle for the ages.If you're looking for a build order, stick to watching Group A. If you're looking for an argument, Group B is your ticket to internet acrimony. The players in this group don't just have talent on their side, most of them also have a legion of ravenous fanboys ready to spin the game results faster than a dancing zergling.Of course, the group is headlined by the crown prince of controversy, EGIdrA , who is returning to MLG liketo Abbey Road. It is on the MLG stage that IdrA both shines, and lovingly crafts ESPORTS memories with the frequency of hallmark cards. Joining IdrA on the battlefield is his teammate and fellow holder-of-strong-options, EGiNcontroL who will be looking to repeat his Dallas performance, and not his Columbus one. Both EG'ers are coming out of a team bivouac in the arid expanses of Arizona, which should sharpen their play just in time for this weekend. The Korean in the group is not just any Korean, but the Emperor himself, SlayerS_BoxeR . This is his second trip to Southern California in the past month, having just competed in the NASL finals. The attraction at MLG will be his battle with IdrA, which is the first in-person meeting of a storied relationship. The first Boxer SC2 game seen by the foreign community was against IdrA, and there was a phony controversy over their NASL match. But most importantly, it was Boxer's ingame chat phonetic error that bestowed upon the Gracken the most famous of nicknames.In this group of big names and famous personalities, Liquid`Sheth is the straight man of the group. Universally regarded as a nice guy, Sheth recently returned from a Korean trip that yielded mixed results. Officially picked up by Liquid as of several hours ago , Sheth will be making his debut with less practice and preparation than normal, but with some serious positive vibes. Finally, Dignitas.SjoW is not nearly as well known among the NA community. While a strong player who initially made some waves with unorthodox views on scouting, SjoW's play has drifted into the mainstream and hasn't yielded big results recently.Group C is by no means a cakewalk, yet it contains a stable of players who haven't quite gotten their due for this MLG. Yet holding the reigning champion and some of the most consistent players in the scene isn't something to ignore, and by the closing rounds of the tournament, it wouldn't be surprising to see a couple representatives from this group still standing.The first person who can't be counted out is SlayerS_MMA , who won MLG Columbus in memorable fashion, but hasn't gotten as much hype as his countrymen on the return trip. Part of that is likely due to his untimely loss to Puzzle in Code A which highlighted his ongoing struggle with TvP.But it's worth remembering that Puzzle eventually won Code A, and that MMA easily dispatched KiWiKaKi in the last MLG. He returns to MLG under the radar again, but no less of a favorite. The most decorated foreigner in this group is Liquid`Ret who can usually coast to a respectable finish on talent alone. Whether or not he can challenge the front-runners in this tournament is another question entirely. When they played in Code A, Ret was undone by illness, but still managed to give extremely close games. MMA has improved tremendously since. RGNSLush is in the familiar position of MLG underdog. Yet he is one of MLG's most consistent top performers, culminating in a stunning 5th in Columbus. This MLG is his first with Team Reign. His former teammate, coL.Drewbie is another underdog who is capable of springing the occasional surprise, although his Columbus was a disappointment. For both of these players, it'll be interesting to see how their post-ROOT teams have affected their play. By contrast, the final seeded player in the group is a model of consistency. I have a habit of underestimating aTn.Socke , and I repeated my error with Dreamhack Summer. This time, the German protoss has a favorable group, and has been playing well recently.The David to Group A's Goliath, Group D is like that team in that sports movie that you watched once. You know, the team with all the scrappy kids who got cut from the rich team. Yeah, that one. Everyone in this group has had recent struggles, and naturally, they'll have to work them out together. In that sports movie, the scrappy team wins the championship, and learns the value of perseverance. Can that happen here?The most successful player in this group over the past month has been RGNKiWiKaKi , but his triumphs have come in Poker, and not Sc2. After five days in the World Series of Poker, KiWi netted a cool 40k, but can that haul make up for five days of lost practice time? Because that's what's really important here. The mercurial IMMVP is the Korean invite to the group. I have this debate with Waxangel about whether or not MVP is overrated (I say yea). There is no debate though that his results in GSL July were underwhelming. He'll be hoping that a vacation stateside and some foreigner bashing is just what he needs to re-energize his Sc2 fortunes. Also returning from Korea is FXOmOoNan who seemed too overcome by nerves in the GSTL spotlight to live up to his potential. However, it's impossible to discount a month of intensive training on the Korean server and on more familiar ground mOoNan has a great chance to make a surprising run.Another player coming to MLG after some special training is EGMachine . This may be his last chance to hold onto a seed he almost entirely earned at MLG Dallas 2010. Since that unlikely fourth place finish, Machine has had real difficulty achieving results, despite being invited to a large portfolio of events. EG is betting that their pre-MLG boot camp was enough to turn things around. The final invited player to the group is the one with the best results in the past few months. But just because Dignitas.SeleCT has been performing up to his usual high standards doesn't mean that he comes into MLG baggage free. SeleCT's otherwise stellar career has lacked the kind of marquee win that defines so many other top players. His MLG Columbus showing was a surprisingly poor performance, going 0-5 in his group. As the difficulty goes up each MLG, so too do the potential rewards. A deep run here would bring SeleCT back into the forefront of the foreign scene's best players.