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Posted on November 5, 2013, Ryan Visbeck State on StarCraft: WCS 2013 Grand Finals Starts Nov. 9

State on StarCraft is a weekly column on Game Front by Ryan “State” Visbeck, a pro StarCraft 2 player. Each week State brings you his unique perspective on all things StarCraft, including tips, tricks and stories from the front line of competitive play.

NOTE: “State” is officially sponsored by Game Front.



The Grand Finals of the 2013 World Championship Series starts Nov. 9.

This Friday, 16 of the world’s best gamers will compete at BlizzCon for $250,000 and the ‘World Champion’ title for 2013. Though BlizzCon is only a few days away, the final player has yet to be decided.

Last week, we touched on the tiebreaker scenarios that may define this year’s Global Finals. Following IEM New York, two players on the bubble—Kim “Revival” Dong Hyun and Johan “NaNiwa” Lucchesi—have been neck-and-neck for the final slot at BlizzCon.

Revival’s Top 2 finish in WCS Challenger League last week tied him and NaNiwa for 16th place in the WCS Global Standings. Tuesday, both players will compete in a best-of-five series at the Blizzard offices in Irvine, California.

The winner will qualify for BlizzCon. The loser will watch from the sidelines.

The second tiebreaker scenario was between Korean players Han “aLive” Lee Seok and Jung “Mvp” Jong Hyun, who last week were tied for 13th place with 3600 WCS Points. Just like Revival, aLive placed in the Top 2 of his group—sweeping it with a 4-0 map score—and inched his way past Mvp to secure the 13th seed at the Global Finals.

With that victory, aLive will now face the reigning WCS America champion Choi “Polt” Seong Hun in the first round at BlizzCon. Mvp—who many fans predict to be the favorite this weekend—will face Brood War legend Lee “Jaedong” Jae Dong instead.

NaNiwa and Revival play their best-of-five tiebreaker Tuesday at 11:00 AM PST. That series, as well as the WCS Global Finals, can be watched live on Blizzard’s official WCS portal.

I’m really looking forward to BlizzCon this weekend! I’m already thinking of ways to share the experience with you guys. Let me know what kind of coverage you’d like to see from me at BlizzCon!

This week’s replay pack features five Stargate-focused PvZ games from the Korean server. Enjoy!

Check back every week for a new State on StarCraft post from Ryan “State” Visbeck!