MLG Providence Wrap-up

Andrew “Drewbie” Moysey

After his return from training Korea everyone was expecting to see a new and improved Drewbie come and dominate his way though the open bracket at Providence. Sadly this wasn’t the case, but don’t let that fool you. Drewbie is a very strong player with tons of talent. He just needs to sort out the mental kinks that come with playing at a live event with everyone watching you. Once he starts to deal with pressure a little bit better expect to see Drewbie rise to the top.

Drewbie (right) along with CatZ (middle) and Ryan (left) at MLG Providence 2011

Unfortunately the pressure was a bit too much for him at Providence, where he only won one match. To be fair though, he had to take on Leenock (who won the tournament) in round three of the Open Bracket. Had Drewbie not gone up against Leenock, who knows how far he would have climbed the open bracket.

Paulo “CatZ” Viscarra

CatZ is another player who would probably have climbed pretty high in the bracket had he not run into the players he did. He started out the tournament strong only losing one map in his first three matches. However in round four of the upper bracket, CatZ ran into three time GSL champ NesTea, widely considered the best Zerg player in the world and a master of the Zerg vs. Zerg match up. CatZ, whose style is heavily focused on out “metagaming” his opponent, didn’t have the information he needed to get an edge on NesTea. Once CatZ was sent into the lower bracket, his first match was against MarineKingPrime, one of the strongest Terrans in Korea. Despite his best efforts, CatZ went out in round six of the lower bracket.

coL.CatZ at MLG Providence 2011

It’s important to note that CatZ crushed his first three opponents, who weren’t “jobbers” either. In round three of the open bracket he took down EG.LzGamer, a very accomplished American Zerg player. If CatZ didn’t run into NesTea and MKP there no doubt that he would have gotten far in the bracket.

Ryan “Ryan” Rushia

Ryan was the unknown factor coming into this tournament. We really had hopes that he would be our “Open Bracket Hero” like TriMaster, Goswser, or CrunCher. Unfortunately luck was against Ryan and he went out in round one against Phantaxx with a score of 1-2. After being sent into the lower bracket, Ryan proceeded to crush his next three opponents, that is until he ran into Phantaxx again in round four. Phantaxx just had Ryan’s number and ended his hopes of being the Open Bracket Hero with a score of 0-2.

coL.Ryan at MLG Providence 2011

Of course we would have liked to see Ryan do better, but considering this is his first major event in a while, it’s understandable that nerves would get to him. With continued training and a bit more experience in the spotlight, we expect Ryan to start posting some impressive results.

Hwang “Keen” Kyo Seok

We at compLexity were expecting a lot from Keen on his first trip to America. He is a Code S Terran player who possesses the skills to take a game off anyone. After taking out big names like Liquid Tyler, RGN.Spades, FXOz and xSixMajor (xSixCuteAngel at this tournament), I’d say he left a pretty good impression on his new American fans.

Keen tore up the open bracket, only losing to the Korean Protoss Liquid Hero. Once in the lower bracket, Keen went on to defeat FXOz (one of the most impressive Protoss players in Korea) sealing his spot in the championship bracket. Once in the champ bracket, Keen took down the macro Terran xSixMajor, an especially impressive feat considering Major has been in Korea honing his skills the last few months. Unfortunately Keen was defeated by Incredible Miricle’s Losira, a GSL and MLG finalist. We at compLexity are extremely proud of Keen’s performance. He had a rough road though some of SC2’s biggest names and took them down with ease. Expect to see more from Keen both in the GSL and at future live events.

Kim “sC” Seung Chul

Much like how DRG is seen as the “Terran Killer” for Zerg, sC is the “Zerg Killer” for Terran. His hyper aggressive, bio-centic style has allowed him to consistently make it deep into the GSL’s Code S tournament. Lately he had a few medical issues that interrupted his practice. Thankfully those medical issues are behind him now and sC is back and dominating Zergs as well as Terrans and Protosses.

coL.MVP sC at MLG Providence 2011

sC’s road through the open bracket was about as difficult as they come. His first match was against the Terran player vileHasHe, leader of the team Vile Gaming. Despite meeting such a difficult opponent in the first round of the tournament, sC had no problem 2-0ing him. sC’s next notable opponent was the fan favorite MarineKingPrime, a fellow Code S Terran. sC managed to take down MKP 2-1 in round three of the upper bracket. After MKP sC had to face off against the Canadian Terran Gosu.DDE, a very accomplished player who has a host of tournament wins under his belt. Much like with MKP, sC sent DDE down to the lower bracket with a score of 2-1. Finally sC met his match in the upper bracket when he had to go up against IM.Losira. What’s funny is that these players have a bit of a rivalry going on in the GSL, sC is known for consistently and successfully Bunker rushing Losira over and over again. Unfortunately the Bunker rush gods weren’t smiling over Providence for sC. Once he was in the lower bracket, sC had to face off against MarineKingPrime again. Upset over their last meeting, MKP went all out winning two games forcing extended series rules to come into play. Despite the edge the extended series gave to sC, MKP just wouldn’t fall. It wasn’t until game seven that sC was knocked out by MKP. While it would have been nice to see sC in the championship bracket, we are still extremely proud of his accomplishment especially considering the players he had to go though. sC is definitely a player you want to watch in the GSL as well as any other tournaments we can get him to.

Park “DongRaeGu” Soo Ho

What can be said about DRG? He’s been one of the most successful Korean Zerg players and is adored by the SC2 community. He’s best known for taking first place at the DreamHack Valencia Invitational and IEM Season VI – Global Challenge New York as well as dominating the GSL’s Team League. Thanks to his previous success at MLG Raleigh, DRG was seeded fairly high in the championship bracket.

DRG’s first watch was against Leenock, where he crushed him 2-0. After Leenock, DRG had to face off against the “Mad Scientist Protoss” KiWiKaKi. DRG rolled though him with a score of 2-1. Then DRG had to play MMA, a GSL champion, winner of MLG Columbus, and a player DRG has a rivalry with. Knowing how to deal with pressure, DRG made quick work of MMA defeating him with a scoreo f 2-0. The last stop for DRG before the winners bracket final was playing the “Obamatoss” oGsMC, another GSL champ and widely considered one of the best Protoss players in the world. Again DRG ploughed though him easily with another 2-0. In the winners bracket final we had a teamkill, Naniwa vs. DRG. Apparently Naniwa’s training at the MVP house with DRG is paying off considering Naniwa beat DRG 2-0. After the teamkill, DRG fell to the lower bracket final where Leenock got his revenge, sealing DRG’s fate in third place with a score of 3-4.

coL.MVP DRG and coL.Naniwa on stage prior to their upper finals match
*Photo courtesy of silverfire

DRG played fantastically this past weekend and should be proud of his achievement. He went up against the best players in the world and came out in the top three. When you consider that he played these games half-way around the world away from his friends and family, living out of a hotel, eating food hes not accustomed to, you can’t help but gain an immense amount of respect for him. Imagine playing under those conditions, jet lagged and uncomfortable, going up against the players he did. It really is unfathomable how well DRG deals with pressure when all eyes are on him. We at compLexity couldn’t be more proud of DRG and expect to see him do just as well, if not better when he plays in the DreamHack Winter tournament this upcoming weekend.

Johan “Naniwa” Luchessi

All eyes were on Naniwa this event. He had skipped MLG Orlando in order to stay in Korea to train. Before he could play in the National Championship, Naniwa needed to play in the MLG Global Invitaional semifinals. On Friday night Naniwa faced off versus Incredible Miricle’s MVP, a three time GSL champ as well as a Blizzcon champ and a player widely considered to be the best Terran in the world. Naniwa wasn’t discouraged in the slightest by his opponent. He proved that MVP is beatable and took him down 2-1. After MVP, Naniwa had to play MVP’s teammate, NesTea. Again the odds were stacked against Naniwa, and again Naniwa triumphed. After winning the Global Invitational, the likely hood of Naniwa winning the National Championship seemed high.

Thanks to his first place finish at MLG Dallas, Naniwa was seeded at the top. He only needed to win four matches to take first place. Despite the short journey, those four matches happen to be against the best player in the world. Naniwa first took on NesTea for the second time this weekend. Proving the Global Invitational finals were no fluke, Naniwa defeated NesTea 2-1 continuing their rivalry. After NesTea, Naniwa took on HuK in the semifinals. Again, Naniwa won with a score of 2-1. Then came the teamkill versus DRG. After the DRG game came the grand finals versus Leenock. Despite showing absolute dominance versus Zergs like NesTea and DRG, Naniwa just couldn’t best Leenock’s early aggression specifically designed to punish Naniwa’s fast expand style. While it would have been nice for Naniwa to take first, we are still extremely proud of his achievement.

coL.Naniwa following his Global Invitational Championship win

It is important to note how flawless Naniwa’s execution was this weekend. Even the commentators were blown away by how precise his timings were. Such a high level of execution only comes from extreme training. It’s also important that fans notice how, despite being in tied matches with MVP, HuK  and NesTea twice, Naniwa kept his cool and pulled through in the clutch. Naniwa truly shows what is capable when the perfect mix of training, confidence, and raw talent come together. Be sure to watch the GSL’s Code S tournament as Naniwa secured himself a spot thanks to the MLG/GSL exchange program. Also look for Naniwa at the DreamHack Winter tournament this upcoming weekend with his teammate DRG.

coL.Final Boss – Halo: Reach

Thanks to their success at the previous MLG stops this year, coL.FB was seeded into the championship winners bracket round two where their first match was versus Crowd Pleasers. coL.FB had no problem dealing with Crowd Pleasers, beating them 3-1. The next match was versus GL Triggers Down, one of the strongest Halo teams in the MLG circuit. Again, coL.FB had no problems beating them 3-0. coL.FB received their first loss at the hand of Instinct in round three with a score of 1-3. Dropped into lower bracket round six and realizing what was on the line, coL.FB refocused and brought their A game to the next match versus apex Revolution. In an impressive match, coL.FB came out the victor with a final score of 3-1. After apex, coL.FB had to take on Active Rush, whom they defeated 3-1. Finally coL.FB met their end at the hand of Fnatic Classic with a score of 1-3. coL.FB ended up in sixth place, not as high as they wanted, but nothing to be ashamed of either. With some heavy practice during the off season, expect to see a new and improved coL.FB on the MLG 2012 Circuit.

coL.Final Boss at MLG Providence 2011

This past weekend was absolutely phenomenal for compLexity and its players. On behalf of the organization allow me to congratulate each and every compLexity member at MLG Providence. You guys went up against the most difficult players and came out ahead. With a bit more practice and experience, we known each of you has the potential to take home a championship. Let’s make the MLG 2012 season the season of compLexity.