DreamHack Valencia 2016 Preview Text by TL.net ESPORTS Graphics by shiroiusagi

Calm Before the Storm



The Field



Brackets and standings on Brackets and standings on Liquipedia



Calm Before the Storm



The race is on then. Far from the regular grind of season-long leagues that we’ve become accustomed to, WCS 2016 has become a race of sprints, with events packed tightly into the calendar in the buildup to the three Seasonal events. Not two weeks from now, we’ll be off to IEM Shanghai, before jetting over to Montreal for the WCS Summer Championships. With one final BlizzCon pass to be awarded there, now’s the time to start making a push to be in peak form coming up to the finish line—not to mention the WCS points on offer. The race to Anaheim is reaching its final stage.





The Field by Destructicon



Note: Players have been grouped into tiers, although they are unranked in each of the three sections. Winrates are given for the period starting April 2016.



The Big Guns



Snute



Win percentage by MU: ZvP 69%, ZvT 70%, ZvZ 66%.

Notable recent victims: TAiLS, PtitDrogo, MarineLorD, SortOf, MajOr, Kelazhur, KeeN.

Tournament runs: Ro.4 HSC XIII, Ro.4 DH Austin, 2nd WCS Shanghai, 2nd WCS Winter



Overall, Legacy seems to fit Snute like a glove. Since his rise at the end of 2012, Snute's always been one of the strongest players on the foreign circuit, but he's always had trouble making it count at the business end of a tournament. From his repeated quarterfinal losses to his disappointing performances in WCS last year (Ro.8 / Ro.32 / Ro.16), there's always been a chasm separating his great play in the opening stages of an event to the grim losses that pepper each of his past runs. That's all changed in 2016, and he's pushing further and further now. Two silvers and two further top four finishes makes the first half of the year a success, but his wait for a trophy continues.





Neeb



Win percentage by MU: PvP 75%, PvT 82%, PvZ 71%.

Notable recent victims: Hydra, MaSa, Kelazhur, Harstem, TRUE, Bunny, KeeN, MajOr.

Tournament runs: Ro.8 WCS Spring, 2nd DH Austin, Ro.16 WCS Winter, Ro.16 DH Leipzig





Neeb is one of the biggest success stories so far this year in the foreigner scene. He's done quite well for himself following his race switch in Legacy. Whereas he barely had any presence in tournaments prior to 2016, now he's hinted that he has what it takes to go all the way. He's dominant in the NA online scene, and recently took his third consecutive win in the NA Regional Challenger setup, this time for the upcoming WCS Summer. The only question is how long it'll take him to put the pieces together in a major international event; with the exception of his run at Dreamhack Austin, the rest of his offline results haven't matched his repeated successes online.





ShoWTimE



Win percentage by MU: PvP 71%, PvT 70%, PvZ 64%.

Notable recent victims: SortOf, Bly, MarineLorD, TLO, Dayshi, PtitDrogo, Elazer.

Tournament runs: Ro.16 HSC XIII, 1st WCS Spring, Ro.8 DH Leipzig



While HomeStory Cup may have provided an immediate dent to his lustre, ShoWTimE enters Valencia as the incumbent WCS Champion. His PvZ ranks among the best that the foreign scene has to offer, notably taking out Nerchio in the Grand Finals of WCS Spring, while his other two matchups aren't exactly shabby either. Losing to TRUE and MaSa at HSC would have been a grave disappointment, and he'll be looking to show that his championship win was no fluke here.





Harstem



Win percentage by MU: PvP 48%, PvT 60%, PvZ 62%.

Notable recent victims: Scarlett, Snute, MaSa, TLO, HeRoMaRinE, GunGFuBanDa, uThermal

Tournament runs: 1st HSC XIII, Ro.16 DH Austin, 1st WCS Shanghai, Ro.16 DH Leipzig



The year of Harstem might finally be upon us. Harstem has shown promise for a while now, but in 2016 he's finally become a champion. Twice, actually; following up his gold in Shanghai with a second at HomeStory Cup. He's been one of the beneficiaries of EU's traditionally zerg-dominated scene, and his PvZ has shone so far this year. His PvP though has been his achilles heel in recent times, and with quite a few threats present in Valencia, he'd better have brushed up.





Polt



Win percentage by MU: TvP 63%, TvT 64%, TvZ 59%.

Notable recent victims: Scarlett, Solar, Bly, puCK, Neeb

Tournament runs: Ro.4 WCS Spring, 1st WCS Winter, Ro.16 DH Leipzig



To the untrained eye, it probably looks now like Polt is struggling, especially with late game TvZ. The reality of it though is that Polt has become a cyclical player, akin to TaeJa and sOs. For a few years now Polt has followed the pattern of excelling and putting on a great show towards the early parts of the year, around winter and into spring, before fading back and cooling down. It might be a side effect of fatigue and of being in the scene for so long. However even with this steady MO Polt has still managed to win at least 1 tournament every year and has racked in a impressive 4 WCS wins. Despite the high likelihood of Polt still being "cooldown" mode, he still shouldn't be under-estimated. If Polt really wanted to he could turn it on, show up with his trademark technical builds and game plans and there would be little anyone could do to stop him.





Nerchio



Win percentage by MU: ZvP 74%, ZvT 75%, ZvZ 73%.

Notable recent victims: uThermal, Bly, MaNa, Bunny, MarineLorD, TLO, Snute

Tournament runs: Ro.4 HSC XIII, 2nd WCS Spring, Ro.8 WCS Shanghai, Ro.4 WCS Winter





After a quiet HotS, Nerchio exploded back on to the foreign scene with great result after great result. He is frequently seen in the RO8 or higher of tournaments and is one of the strongest championship contenders now in the foreigner scene. Despite excellent multi-tasking, good build variety, and monstrous win rates in all match-ups, Nerchio was never able to string these all together into a championship. He just seems to lack that final uph needed to get him over the finish line. It's strange how the two pre-eminent foreigner zergs of the year have both had such trouble closing out tournaments—much like for Snute, 2016 has been a year of 'nearly' so far for Nerchio. Sooner or later, something's got to give.





Hydra



Win percentage by MU: ZvP 67%, ZvT 70%, ZvZ 81%.

Notable recent victims: MaSa, PiLiPiLi, Polt, MajOr, Beastyqt, puCK, Jim, Bly, KeeN

Tournament runs: Ro.16 WCS Spring, 1st DH Austin, Ro.4 WCS Winter, Ro.8 DH Leipzig



Hydra is in a state of flux right now and still looking for some stability. While his results aren't at all bad, with a couple deep runs and a gold from DH Austin, he just doesn't evoke that aura of dread that he used to when he first came to WCS. He is though a very dangerous foe and still one of the biggest hurdles anyone has to face on their path to glory. When he's on form, he can still take wins over anyone in WCS, but that version of Hydra has been a rare sight so far this year.











Upset Potential



puCK



Win percentage by MU: PvP 55%, PvT 50%, PvZ 66%.

Notable recent victims: PiLiPiLi, MajOr, Beastyqt, Welmu, Elazer, MaSa.

Tournament runs: Ro.8 DH Austin, Ro.4 WCS Shanghai



After a very quiet 2015, puCK's started to regain his old reputation as a dangerous upset threat. His run in Shanghai was testament to that—beating Snute, MajOr and Scarlett on the way to his best career result—although it has to be noted that on the two biggest stages of the year so far, he's disappointed twice, falling out in the opening round on both occasions.





MaSa



Win percentage by MU: TvP 52%, TvT 83%, TvZ 62%.

Notable recent victims: puCK, Kelazhur, ShoWTimE, Elazer, PtitDrogo, Stephano, NightEnD

Tournament runs: Ro.8 HSC XIII, Ro.4 WCS Spring, Ro.4 DH Austin, Ro.16 WCS Winter



MaSa's stock has really risen with Legacy. He's transformed from being a local monster to posing a significant threat to a lot of European players as well. MaSa likes to be aggressive, often relying on getting to the mid game to start dropping heavily in an attempt to tear his opponent apart with micro, and he's looking to firmly establish himself and the terran to beat here.





uThermal



Win percentage by MU: TvP 68%, TvT 61%, TvZ 64%.

Notable recent victims: Bly, Lambo, NightEnD, Nerchio, Elazer, MajOr, Beastyqt

Tournament runs: Ro.16 HSC XIII, Ro.16 WCS Spring, Ro.4 DH Leipzig



Of all the flavors of Terran in the foreign scene, uThermal is probably the most aggressive kind. He revels in early game chaos, often going for early timings or cheeses to either get himself a lead or net a easy win. His aggression makes a real danger in any competition he enters, as evidenced by his standout Ro.4 at DH Leipzig. The only negative is that he doesn't yet have many big name kills under his belt, but that could all change with one glorious run.





MarineLorD



Win percentage by MU: TvP 60%, TvT 89%, TvZ 61%.

Notable recent victims: PtitDrogo, Welmu, FireCake, Nerchio, uThermal, Serral, Lilbow, Dayshi

Tournament runs: Ro.8 HSC XIII, Ro.16 WCS Shanghai, Ro.16 WCS Winter, Ro.32 DH Leipzig



The death of mech seems to have hit MarineLord quite hard. He used to be a standard solid macro Terran, fully capable of reaching the late game where he slowly ground down his opponents. Standard macro is now vastly different in Legacy as players need to constantly fight to expand and scrap over precious few resources. There are signs that MarineLord is adapting though with a decent showing at HSC XIII and a statistically strong TvZ he could very well rebound if he manages to dodge the few existing Terrans. Following his controversial enforced break, it's time to see what he can do on the big stage.





FireCake



Win percentage by MU: ZvP 52%, ZvT 41%, ZvZ 44%.

Notable recent victims: Polt, HuK

Tournament runs: Ro.8 DH Austin, Ro.8 WCS Winter, Ro.32 DH Leipzig



The further we get into 2016, the more evidence starts to pile up—it's becoming clear that FireCake peaked right after the Legacy launch. 3rd at DH Winter and 2nd at HSC XII were laudable results, but now in 2016 he hasn't registered anything near that level of magnitude. The promise of 2015 was replaced by solid results (Ro.8 at WCS Winter / DH Austin) and then by grave disappointments (first round eliminations at WCS Spring and HSC XIII). His winrates have fallen to pieces—compare a 60% winrate from November to March, to a 45% winrate from April onwards. Like many zergs, it seems that it's his ZvT that's hardest hit, and hopefully he'll have arrived with some more refined play.





Elazer



Win percentage by MU: ZvP 54%, ZvT 67%, ZvZ 63%.

Notable recent victims: FireCake, MaNa, SortOf, MarineLorD

Tournament runs: Ro.16 HSC XIII, Ro.8 WCS Spring, Ro.8 DH Austin, Ro.16 WCS Shanghai, Ro.8 WCS Winter



Elazer's has become a series regular in the RO16 of tournaments he takes part in, an overall improvement from last year. However it feels like he has a lot of work still before he can be considered a championship contender. His style is utterly standard, and his predictability is probably a factor behind his repeated failures against tougher opposition. So far, he's still 'that Polish zerg who's not Nerchio', and he'll need to show us some more here to change that perception.





viOLet



Win percentage by MU: ZvP 33%, ZvT 65%, ZvZ 49%.

Notable recent victims: iaguz

Tournament runs: Ro.8 WCS Spring, Ro.16 DH Austin, Ro.8 WCS Winter, Ro.4 DH Leipzig





viOLet is still looking for his big break, a return to glory that has eluded him since the days of WoL. It's entirely possible that phase of his career is long past and he'll spend the rest of his time as a solid Ro16 filler, but that hasn't stopped him from trying and pushing on. We've said time and again that his forte back in his 2012 glory days came in stacked weekenders (IPL 5, for example), and that the 2016 format will benefit him. While his results are better than in 2015, there's still little hope of a championship right now.





Bly



Win percentage by MU: ZvP 70%, ZvT 54%, ZvZ 59%.

Notable recent victims: Namshar, uThermal, GunGFuBanDa, Zanster, MaNa

Tournament runs: Ro.16 DH Austin, 2nd DH Leipzig



Bly was a wildcard throughout his early days in WoL, and that first impression still holds true six years and two expansions later. His great strength comes from his pure unpredictability, mostly off the back of really crazy cheese or aggression and coupled with a strong will to just go on. His aggressive builds almost netted him a gold at Leipzig and keeps him a constant threat wherever he goes, despite his high profile failures in recent months.





Long Shots





MajOr



Win percentage by MU: TvP 72%, TvT 63%, TvZ 74%.

Notable recent victims: Kelazhur, Bly, Harstem, Beastyqt, KeeN.

Tournament runs: N/A



Legacy has not been kind to MajOr. Last year, he established himself as a clear mid-tier player; capable of qualifying for Premier all three times, yet unable to do anything with that status once he got there. If he hasn't quite taken a backwards step this year, he's let people go past him; he's exited both tournaments that he's attended this year at the first hurdle. Despite being statistically his best MU, MajOr doesn’t have many big name zergs in his recent kill count, indicating that it might be inflated from local competition, whereas his TvT and TvP are where he manages to get the job done.





Jim



Win percentage by MU: PvP 57%, PvT 53%, PvZ 52%.

Notable recent victims: Ryung, Harstem

Tournament runs: Ro.16 WCS Spring.



It’s been slow going for Jim this year. Previously he was a regular face in the early rounds of WCS, always bringing upset potential. There was strong talk going into 2015 that China would be one of the strongest SC2 scenes following the WCS split, but that clearly hasn't materialised. As one of the leading Chinese players in HotS, Jim's fall has been abrupt, from constantly threatening the Americanised Korean crew in 2013-14 (take his 5th place finish in WCS NA 2013 S2, for example) to his current status on the outskirts of the foreign scene. Reaching the Ro.16 at WCS Spring is his only achievement in Legacy so far, and it feels like he hasn’t quite yet adapted to Legacy, coming to Tours with some particularly weird / ineffective builds. However Jim does have a few things going his way. First his PvP and PvZ are statistically his strongest MUs in a scene filled with Zergs and Protoss. It’s true that these stats might be inflated from success in his local scene, but Jim did take out Harstem to reach his Ro.16, proving that, at least in PvP, he can still bring the upset potential.





Nice



Win percentage by MU: PvP 47%, PvT 53%, PvZ 56%.

Notable recent victims: N/A

Tournament runs: Ro.32 DH Leipzig



Nice is a mysterious player thus far. The former yoe Flash Wolves Protoss has seen little action outside his local scene. His rare moments of glory came from NationWars III, where he defeated Snute and TargA. However, the rate at which the Legacy meta is developing means that results from half a year ago are practically irrelevant. Even if his PvZ might have been enough to catch a strong Zerg like Snute off guard back then, there is no guarantee that he can replicate the results now.





Probe



Win percentage by MU: PvP 76%, PvT 58%, PvZ 54%.

Notable recent victims: iaguz, PiG

Tournament runs: Ro.16 DH Leipzig



There isn't much to say about Probe right now. Despite playing since Wings he has had no major results so far, always being outshined by his more flashy compatriots, mOONGLaDe, iaguz and PiG. However he seems to have picked up steam with the release of Legacy, managing to reach the Ro.16 of DH Leipzig. Probe is a bit of a anomaly in that he is a Protoss player coming from a scene that is mostly Zerg heavy with a pinch of Terran. This could be good news for him given the zerg heavy nature of the Legacy and DH thus far.





MaNa



Win percentage by MU: PvP 79%, PvT 70%, PvZ 54%.

Notable recent victims: uThermal, Dayshi, Hydra, Nerchio

Tournament runs: Ro.16 HSC XIII, Ro.16 WCS Winter



Despite a rock solid final season from MaNa towards the end of HotS, which culminated in a WCS silver, he has yet to replicate that success this year. It's been a swift dropoff from WCS champion-hopeful to merely filling in the spots in the bracket, but with his solid results online recently, MaNa will be looking for a much stronger performance here.





Lilbow



Win percentage by MU: PvP 51%, PvT 57%, PvZ 63%.

Notable recent victims: Dayshi, Snute, Bunny

Tournament runs: Ro.16 DH Leipzig





The biggest reversal of fortune this expansion probably goes to Lilbow. At the end of HotS he took the foreigner scene by storm with his aggressive and tailored style, prompting many to label him as the next foreign hope. However his brutal manhandling by Life, coupled with his inability to adapt to LotV, seems to have broken him. With Lilbow's recent announcement that he wants to switch to Overwatch this might be the last we get to see of him.





Kelazhur



Win percentage by MU: TvP 72%, TvT 63%, TvZ 72%.

Notable recent victims: TAiLS, puCK, Hydra, Nerchio, uThermal, MaSa, Harstem

Tournament runs: Ro.32 DH Austin, Ro.32 DH Leipzig



Kelazhur has failed to kick on from his promising showings last year. His appearances this year have all ended in the Ro.32, and he's failed to leave any real impact on the scene so far this year. He did however show some promise by defeating Hydra, Nerchio and Harstem in a few online cups, he just now needs to find a way to bring this same form to offline events.





Dayshi



Win percentage by MU: TvP 61%, TvT 38%, TvZ 52%.

Notable recent victims: FireCake, Harstem, Lilbow, PtitDrogo

Tournament runs: Ro.16 DH Austin, Ro.16 WCS Winter



Dayshi is around the same place he was last year. He did have a bit of a weaker showing towards the end of HotS and early LotV but now he's back to being a regular in the early rounds of tournaments he enters and he's had a fair bit of success against his fellow compatriots. Statistically his TvZ and TvP are his strongest so if he gets enough momentum he could still make a impact.





Bunny



Win percentage by MU: TvP 54%, TvT 65%, TvZ 66%.

Notable recent victims: Snute, SortOf, Elazer, Kelazhur, TLO, PtitDrogo

Tournament runs: Ro.8 HSC XIII, Ro.16 WCS Spring



Another victim of LotV's enforced changes is Bunny. The TL Terran showed enormous growth in the early parts of 2015, reaching back to back semifinals in WCS. However he just simply couldn't adapt to the meta change into mech, and now he seems to be having a hard time finding his groove in the faster-paced Legacy meta. He is showing slow and steady progress though, with a RO16 showing in WCS and a RO8 in HSC XIII, however he has a long way to go before he can strike fear back into the hearts of his opponents.





Lambo



Win percentage by MU: ZvP 70%, ZvT 54%, ZvZ 48%.

Notable recent victims: Namshar, Bunny, Beastyqt, Elazer

Tournament runs: N/A



Lambo suffers from one big issue right now. At a 48% winrate in the past three months, it's his ZvZ is letting him down, especially with the high number of zerg players in the foreign scene now. Its probably the biggest reason he struggles so far in 2016 compared to last year where he made a few RO16 runs. If he has some bracket luck to dodge most of the high level zergs and get mostly Protoss, he might make a RO16 now as well, but that doesn't feel very likely.





VortiX



Win percentage by MU: ZvP 55%, ZvT 100% (2-0), ZvZ 61%.

Notable recent victims: SortOf, Namshar

Tournament runs: N/A



VortiX right now is the biggest question mark of the tournament. Ever since his return to SC2 he's only taken part in WCS Spring and given his exit in the RO32 (a poor 0-3 loss to Nerchio) we haven't been able to see much of his play. His style is a mystery right now, and since WCS Spring, he's played a mere two maps.





Namshar



Win percentage by MU: ZvP 54%, ZvT 51%, ZvZ 58%.

Notable recent victims: Lambo, NightEnD, Snute, Bly, TLO

Tournament runs: Ro.16 HSC XIII, Ro.8 DH Austin, Ro.32 DH Leipzig



Namshar's in a meta that pushes players to more aggressive forms of macro and expansion, Namshar removes the macro from the equation and just goes for aggression. His biggest talent seems to be his ability to still surprise and beat good players time after time. And as long as his aggression gets the job done, why not roll with it?





SortOf



Win percentage by MU: ZvP 69%, ZvT 78%, ZvZ 53%.

Notable recent victims: Welmu, PtitDrogo, uThermal, Namshar, Bunny, Kelazhur

Tournament runs: Ro.16 WCS Winter, Ro.16 DH Leipzig





SortOf doesn't have the most solid mechanics of the foreign scene, but he makes up for it with smarts, strange tactics and clever builds. This has helped him thus far remain in the early rounds of tournaments but hasn't given him much headway in regards to winning them.





TLO



Win percentage by MU: ZvP 50%, ZvT 65%, ZvZ 51%.

Notable recent victims: Scarlett, Lilbow, Beastyqt, SortOf

Tournament runs: Ro.16 HSC XIII, Ro.8 DH Leipzig





Many probably looked at LotV with eager anticipation at all the wonderful and creative new builds and tactics TLO could bring to the table. And with fresh toys like the new Overlords, Nydus, Lurkers and changed SH, the potential was there. However it never came to be as TLO seems to play standard now more then ever. He's dropped off from the consistent playoff contender of HotS, and maybe he needs to tap that extra bit of creativity to give himself a shot in the arm.







Note: Players have been grouped into tiers, although they are unranked in each of the three sections. Winrates are given for the period starting April 2016.: ZvP 69%, ZvT 70%, ZvZ 66%.: Ro.4 HSC XIII, Ro.4 DH Austin, 2nd WCS Shanghai, 2nd WCS WinterOverall, Legacy seems to fit Snute like a glove. Since his rise at the end of 2012, Snute's always been one of the strongest players on the foreign circuit, but he's always had trouble making it count at the business end of a tournament. From his repeated quarterfinal losses to his disappointing performances in WCS last year (Ro.8 / Ro.32 / Ro.16), there's always been a chasm separating his great play in the opening stages of an event to the grim losses that pepper each of his past runs. That's all changed in 2016, and he's pushing further and further now. Two silvers and two further top four finishes makes the first half of the year a success, but his wait for a trophy continues.: PvP 75%, PvT 82%, PvZ 71%.: Ro.8 WCS Spring, 2nd DH Austin, Ro.16 WCS Winter, Ro.16 DH LeipzigNeeb is one of the biggest success stories so far this year in the foreigner scene. He's done quite well for himself following his race switch in Legacy. Whereas he barely had any presence in tournaments prior to 2016, now he's hinted that he has what it takes to go all the way. He's dominant in the NA online scene, and recently took his third consecutive win in the NA Regional Challenger setup, this time for the upcoming WCS Summer. The only question is how long it'll take him to put the pieces together in a major international event; with the exception of his run at Dreamhack Austin, the rest of his offline results haven't matched his repeated successes online.: PvP 71%, PvT 70%, PvZ 64%.: Ro.16 HSC XIII, 1st WCS Spring, Ro.8 DH LeipzigWhile HomeStory Cup may have provided an immediate dent to his lustre, ShoWTimE enters Valencia as the incumbent WCS Champion. His PvZ ranks among the best that the foreign scene has to offer, notably taking out Nerchio in the Grand Finals of WCS Spring, while his other two matchups aren't exactly shabby either. Losing to TRUE and MaSa at HSC would have been a grave disappointment, and he'll be looking to show that his championship win was no fluke here.: PvP 48%, PvT 60%, PvZ 62%.: 1st HSC XIII, Ro.16 DH Austin, 1st WCS Shanghai, Ro.16 DH LeipzigThe year of Harstem might finally be upon us. Harstem has shown promise for a while now, but in 2016 he's finally become a champion. Twice, actually; following up his gold in Shanghai with a second at HomeStory Cup. He's been one of the beneficiaries of EU's traditionally zerg-dominated scene, and his PvZ has shone so far this year. His PvP though has been his achilles heel in recent times, and with quite a few threats present in Valencia, he'd better have brushed up.: TvP 63%, TvT 64%, TvZ 59%.: Ro.4 WCS Spring, 1st WCS Winter, Ro.16 DH LeipzigTo the untrained eye, it probably looks now like Polt is struggling, especially with late game TvZ. The reality of it though is that Polt has become a cyclical player, akin to TaeJa and sOs. For a few years now Polt has followed the pattern of excelling and putting on a great show towards the early parts of the year, around winter and into spring, before fading back and cooling down. It might be a side effect of fatigue and of being in the scene for so long. However even with this steady MO Polt has still managed to win at least 1 tournament every year and has racked in a impressive 4 WCS wins. Despite the high likelihood of Polt still being "cooldown" mode, he still shouldn't be under-estimated. If Polt really wanted to he could turn it on, show up with his trademark technical builds and game plans and there would be little anyone could do to stop him.: ZvP 74%, ZvT 75%, ZvZ 73%.: Ro.4 HSC XIII, 2nd WCS Spring, Ro.8 WCS Shanghai, Ro.4 WCS WinterAfter a quiet HotS, Nerchio exploded back on to the foreign scene with great result after great result. He is frequently seen in the RO8 or higher of tournaments and is one of the strongest championship contenders now in the foreigner scene. Despite excellent multi-tasking, good build variety, and monstrous win rates in all match-ups, Nerchio was never able to string these all together into a championship. He just seems to lack that final uph needed to get him over the finish line. It's strange how the two pre-eminent foreigner zergs of the year have both had such trouble closing out tournaments—much like for Snute, 2016 has been a year of 'nearly' so far for Nerchio. Sooner or later, something's got to give.: ZvP 67%, ZvT 70%, ZvZ 81%.: Ro.16 WCS Spring, 1st DH Austin, Ro.4 WCS Winter, Ro.8 DH LeipzigHydra is in a state of flux right now and still looking for some stability. While his results aren't at all bad, with a couple deep runs and a gold from DH Austin, he just doesn't evoke that aura of dread that he used to when he first came to WCS. He is though a very dangerous foe and still one of the biggest hurdles anyone has to face on their path to glory. When he's on form, he can still take wins over anyone in WCS, but that version of Hydra has been a rare sight so far this year.: PvP 55%, PvT 50%, PvZ 66%.: Ro.8 DH Austin, Ro.4 WCS ShanghaiAfter a very quiet 2015, puCK's started to regain his old reputation as a dangerous upset threat. His run in Shanghai was testament to that—beating Snute, MajOr and Scarlett on the way to his best career result—although it has to be noted that on the two biggest stages of the year so far, he's disappointed twice, falling out in the opening round on both occasions.: TvP 52%, TvT 83%, TvZ 62%.: Ro.8 HSC XIII, Ro.4 WCS Spring, Ro.4 DH Austin, Ro.16 WCS WinterMaSa's stock has really risen with Legacy. He's transformed from being a local monster to posing a significant threat to a lot of European players as well. MaSa likes to be aggressive, often relying on getting to the mid game to start dropping heavily in an attempt to tear his opponent apart with micro, and he's looking to firmly establish himself andterran to beat here.: TvP 68%, TvT 61%, TvZ 64%.: Ro.16 HSC XIII, Ro.16 WCS Spring, Ro.4 DH LeipzigOf all the flavors of Terran in the foreign scene, uThermal is probably the most aggressive kind. He revels in early game chaos, often going for early timings or cheeses to either get himself a lead or net a easy win. His aggression makes a real danger in any competition he enters, as evidenced by his standout Ro.4 at DH Leipzig. The only negative is that he doesn't yet have many big name kills under his belt, but that could all change with one glorious run.: TvP 60%, TvT 89%, TvZ 61%.: Ro.8 HSC XIII, Ro.16 WCS Shanghai, Ro.16 WCS Winter, Ro.32 DH LeipzigThe death of mech seems to have hit MarineLord quite hard. He used to be a standard solid macro Terran, fully capable of reaching the late game where he slowly ground down his opponents. Standard macro is now vastly different in Legacy as players need to constantly fight to expand and scrap over precious few resources. There are signs that MarineLord is adapting though with a decent showing at HSC XIII and a statistically strong TvZ he could very well rebound if he manages to dodge the few existing Terrans. Following his controversial enforced break, it's time to see what he can do on the big stage.: ZvP 52%, ZvT 41%, ZvZ 44%.: Ro.8 DH Austin, Ro.8 WCS Winter, Ro.32 DH LeipzigThe further we get into 2016, the more evidence starts to pile up—it's becoming clear that FireCake peaked right after the Legacy launch. 3rd at DH Winter and 2nd at HSC XII were laudable results, but now in 2016 he hasn't registered anything near that level of magnitude. The promise of 2015 was replaced by solid results (Ro.8 at WCS Winter / DH Austin) and then by grave disappointments (first round eliminations at WCS Spring and HSC XIII). His winrates have fallen to pieces—compare a 60% winrate from November to March, to a 45% winrate from April onwards. Like many zergs, it seems that it's his ZvT that's hardest hit, and hopefully he'll have arrived with some more refined play.: ZvP 54%, ZvT 67%, ZvZ 63%.: Ro.16 HSC XIII, Ro.8 WCS Spring, Ro.8 DH Austin, Ro.16 WCS Shanghai, Ro.8 WCS WinterElazer's has become a series regular in the RO16 of tournaments he takes part in, an overall improvement from last year. However it feels like he has a lot of work still before he can be considered a championship contender. His style is utterly standard, and his predictability is probably a factor behind his repeated failures against tougher opposition. So far, he's still 'that Polish zerg who's not Nerchio', and he'll need to show us some more here to change that perception.: ZvP 33%, ZvT 65%, ZvZ 49%.: Ro.8 WCS Spring, Ro.16 DH Austin, Ro.8 WCS Winter, Ro.4 DH LeipzigviOLet is still looking for his big break, a return to glory that has eluded him since the days of WoL. It's entirely possible that phase of his career is long past and he'll spend the rest of his time as a solid Ro16 filler, but that hasn't stopped him from trying and pushing on. We've said time and again that his forte back in his 2012 glory days came in stacked weekenders (IPL 5, for example), and that the 2016 format will benefit him. While his results are better than in 2015, there's still little hope of a championship right now.: ZvP 70%, ZvT 54%, ZvZ 59%.: Ro.16 DH Austin, 2nd DH LeipzigBly was a wildcard throughout his early days in WoL, and that first impression still holds true six years and two expansions later. His great strength comes from his pure unpredictability, mostly off the back of really crazy cheese or aggression and coupled with a strong will to just go on. His aggressive builds almost netted him a gold at Leipzig and keeps him a constant threat wherever he goes, despite his high profile failures in recent months.: TvP 72%, TvT 63%, TvZ 74%.: N/ALegacy has not been kind to MajOr. Last year, he established himself as a clear mid-tier player; capable of qualifying for Premier all three times, yet unable to do anything with that status once he got there. If he hasn't quite taken a backwards step this year, he's let people go past him; he's exited both tournaments that he's attended this year at the first hurdle. Despite being statistically his best MU, MajOr doesn’t have many big name zergs in his recent kill count, indicating that it might be inflated from local competition, whereas his TvT and TvP are where he manages to get the job done.: PvP 57%, PvT 53%, PvZ 52%.: Ro.16 WCS Spring.It’s been slow going for Jim this year. Previously he was a regular face in the early rounds of WCS, always bringing upset potential. There was strong talk going into 2015 that China would be one of the strongest SC2 scenes following the WCS split, but that clearly hasn't materialised. As one of the leading Chinese players in HotS, Jim's fall has been abrupt, from constantly threatening the Americanised Korean crew in 2013-14 (take his 5th place finish in WCS NA 2013 S2, for example) to his current status on the outskirts of the foreign scene. Reaching the Ro.16 at WCS Spring is his only achievement in Legacy so far, and it feels like he hasn’t quite yet adapted to Legacy, coming to Tours with some particularly weird / ineffective builds. However Jim does have a few things going his way. First his PvP and PvZ are statistically his strongest MUs in a scene filled with Zergs and Protoss. It’s true that these stats might be inflated from success in his local scene, but Jim did take out Harstem to reach his Ro.16, proving that, at least in PvP, he can still bring the upset potential.: PvP 47%, PvT 53%, PvZ 56%.: N/A: Ro.32 DH LeipzigNice is a mysterious player thus far. The former yoe Flash Wolves Protoss has seen little action outside his local scene. His rare moments of glory came from NationWars III, where he defeated Snute and TargA. However, the rate at which the Legacy meta is developing means that results from half a year ago are practically irrelevant. Even if his PvZ might have been enough to catch a strong Zerg like Snute off guard back then, there is no guarantee that he can replicate the results now.: PvP 76%, PvT 58%, PvZ 54%.: Ro.16 DH LeipzigThere isn't much to say about Probe right now. Despite playing since Wings he has had no major results so far, always being outshined by his more flashy compatriots, mOONGLaDe, iaguz and PiG. However he seems to have picked up steam with the release of Legacy, managing to reach the Ro.16 of DH Leipzig. Probe is a bit of a anomaly in that he is a Protoss player coming from a scene that is mostly Zerg heavy with a pinch of Terran. This could be good news for him given the zerg heavy nature of the Legacy and DH thus far.: PvP 79%, PvT 70%, PvZ 54%.: Ro.16 HSC XIII, Ro.16 WCS WinterDespite a rock solid final season from MaNa towards the end of HotS, which culminated in a WCS silver, he has yet to replicate that success this year. It's been a swift dropoff from WCS champion-hopeful to merely filling in the spots in the bracket, but with his solid results online recently, MaNa will be looking for a much stronger performance here.: PvP 51%, PvT 57%, PvZ 63%.: Ro.16 DH LeipzigThe biggest reversal of fortune this expansion probably goes to Lilbow. At the end of HotS he took the foreigner scene by storm with his aggressive and tailored style, prompting many to label him as the next foreign hope. However his brutal manhandling by Life, coupled with his inability to adapt to LotV, seems to have broken him. With Lilbow's recent announcement that he wants to switch to Overwatch this might be the last we get to see of him.: TvP 72%, TvT 63%, TvZ 72%.: Ro.32 DH Austin, Ro.32 DH LeipzigKelazhur has failed to kick on from his promising showings last year. His appearances this year have all ended in the Ro.32, and he's failed to leave any real impact on the scene so far this year. He did however show some promise by defeating Hydra, Nerchio and Harstem in a few online cups, he just now needs to find a way to bring this same form to offline events.: TvP 61%, TvT 38%, TvZ 52%.: Ro.16 DH Austin, Ro.16 WCS WinterDayshi is around the same place he was last year. He did have a bit of a weaker showing towards the end of HotS and early LotV but now he's back to being a regular in the early rounds of tournaments he enters and he's had a fair bit of success against his fellow compatriots. Statistically his TvZ and TvP are his strongest so if he gets enough momentum he could still make a impact.: TvP 54%, TvT 65%, TvZ 66%.: Ro.8 HSC XIII, Ro.16 WCS SpringAnother victim of LotV's enforced changes is Bunny. The TL Terran showed enormous growth in the early parts of 2015, reaching back to back semifinals in WCS. However he just simply couldn't adapt to the meta change into mech, and now he seems to be having a hard time finding his groove in the faster-paced Legacy meta. He is showing slow and steady progress though, with a RO16 showing in WCS and a RO8 in HSC XIII, however he has a long way to go before he can strike fear back into the hearts of his opponents.: ZvP 70%, ZvT 54%, ZvZ 48%.: N/ALambo suffers from one big issue right now. At a 48% winrate in the past three months, it's his ZvZ is letting him down, especially with the high number of zerg players in the foreign scene now. Its probably the biggest reason he struggles so far in 2016 compared to last year where he made a few RO16 runs. If he has some bracket luck to dodge most of the high level zergs and get mostly Protoss, he might make a RO16 now as well, but that doesn't feel very likely.: ZvP 55%, ZvT 100% (2-0), ZvZ 61%.: N/AVortiX right now is the biggest question mark of the tournament. Ever since his return to SC2 he's only taken part in WCS Spring and given his exit in the RO32 (a poor 0-3 loss to Nerchio) we haven't been able to see much of his play. His style is a mystery right now, and since WCS Spring, he's played a mere two maps.: ZvP 54%, ZvT 51%, ZvZ 58%.: Ro.16 HSC XIII, Ro.8 DH Austin, Ro.32 DH LeipzigNamshar's in a meta that pushes players to more aggressive forms of macro and expansion, Namshar removes the macro from the equation and just goes for aggression. His biggest talent seems to be his ability to still surprise and beat good players time after time. And as long as his aggression gets the job done, why not roll with it?: ZvP 69%, ZvT 78%, ZvZ 53%.: Ro.16 WCS Winter, Ro.16 DH LeipzigSortOf doesn't have the most solid mechanics of the foreign scene, but he makes up for it with smarts, strange tactics and clever builds. This has helped him thus far remain in the early rounds of tournaments but hasn't given him much headway in regards to winning them.: ZvP 50%, ZvT 65%, ZvZ 51%.: Ro.16 HSC XIII, Ro.8 DH LeipzigMany probably looked at LotV with eager anticipation at all the wonderful and creative new builds and tactics TLO could bring to the table. And with fresh toys like the new Overlords, Nydus, Lurkers and changed SH, the potential was there. However it never came to be as TLO seems to play standard now more then ever. He's dropped off from the consistent playoff contender of HotS, and maybe he needs to tap that extra bit of creativity to give himself a shot in the arm. Credits:

Writers: Destructicon

Complementary Writing: munch

Editors: munch

Graphics: shiroiusagi.

Photos: Red Bull

Stats: Aligulac



The race is on then. Far from the regular grind of season-long leagues that we’ve become accustomed to, WCS 2016 has become a race of sprints, with events packed tightly into the calendar in the buildup to the three Seasonal events. Not two weeks from now, we’ll be off to IEM Shanghai, before jetting over to Montreal for the WCS Summer Championships. With one final BlizzCon pass to be awarded there, now’s the time to start making a push to be in peak form coming up to the finish line—not to mention the WCS points on offer. The race to Anaheim is reaching its final stage.