What to Watch for at MLG Dallas

Hello TL, consider this my mini viewers guide as to some of the fun players or stories to watch for during the Dallas event this weekend. I encourage anyone else to feel free to add whatever they are interested to watch for here as well.

Machine's bad luck

There is no doubt the player with the absolute worst MLG luck in 2010 has been EG.Machine. In Raleigh he had to play his teammate iNcontroL in round 1. In DC he had to play Liquid`Ret in round 1 and then iNcontroL again in losers bracket round 3. This is ridiculously bad luck for one of the best zerg players in North America. He goes into Dallas with no MLG points as a result of all of this ridiculously horrible bracket luck so again he will be relatively unseeded and at risk of playing another massive first round or two.

EDIT: Is it really happening again?! WTF! (pic courtesy of Whiladan)+ Show Spoiler +
Sheth Who?

+ Show Spoiler +

One of the most interesting players on all of the player list for MLG Dallas is that of the zerg player named Sheth (or Chosen) who has quite a history of being an extremely good player but almost never showing up to lan events in person. I won't go into much detail about it here but the average viewer should know Sheth doesn't participate in lan's. He just doesn't. To be on the list for Dallas, even if he is very inactive lately, is absolutely something to watch for...

afterthought edit: even if it's watching for his post somewhere on TL saying "sorry can't make it." it's still worth watching for. Why would he purchase a $60 pass to not show up?
NrG (Sixjax) players

NrG is sending 4 players to Dallas. They are still pretty far under the radar in terms of name or player recognition but anyone who followed broodwar would know they had quite a solid broodwar squad and look to be now emerging as a formidable SC2 force. ahhboxxah a really talented terran player recently all killed team EG in a clan war. dde is playing very solidly on ladder as is Vibe a very solid zerg player. All of them will be worth watching for and any of them could easily upset a major EG, Liquid, Root or Fnatic player.
MLG debut of TLO, AlLaboUtyOu, Fenix, Sen, new EG faces and more

AlLaboUtyOu is making his MLG debut, as are Liquid TLO and Fnatic beasts Fenix and Sen. Not to mention new EG acquisitions of Axslav and Strifecro are making both their MLG debut AND live EG debut. AlLaboUtyOu is a very strong Terran player who has spent time at #1 in the world rankings on the ladder and won various different tournaments and online events. There are also plenty of other top quality players attending their first MLG event but it'd take forever to list them all here. All kinds of amazing things to watch for in terms of new MLG faces and storylines.
Hoods up (and other random traditions/things)

A recent trend that has started to spread thanks mainly to Huk is more and more top players are starting to game with hoodies on and hoods up. Maybe it helps the player keep focus on the monitor when fans are crowded around? Maybe it's because MLG keeps their event locations freezing cold. Either way players like Huk, ajtls, Nony(Tyler) are spotted with hoods up during major matches. + Show Spoiler +

Will there be more players with hoods up, maybe sunglasses on (Elky style!?) Who knows, maybe it's a non story but it's something I like to watch for and MLG is great at providing player cameras and live coverage, cant wait!
How will Torch do?

Torch qualified for GSL season 1 and did decently well at D.C, he is definitely a talented and unique player. Some say he's quite allin, he personally doesn't see himself as that allin. He goes for what Koreans would call, strategic plays. He's going to be seeded going into Dallas because he has MLG points. He recently qualified and played some intense games vs LzGaMeR in the EG cup. How will he fare at Dallas? Only time will tell.
Will SeleCt make another deep run?

Select was a hero of D.C, having to play his way through the long and daunting road of the losers bracket. He got 2nd place in the end losing to IdrA in the grand finals. He's going to be playing in GSL3 qualifications soon and has no doubt been practicing quite a bit over the past few weeks since his strong showing in D.C. How will he do in Dallas?
Mothership watch

Will we see a mothership in Dallas? Prehaps the most memorable moment from D.C was when Huk used a very strange and definitly unplanned strategy of mothership rushing against SeleCt in game 2 of the loser bracket finals. Needless to say it did not work out very well for him but hey, it was one of the fan favorite moments of the entire event.
+ Show Spoiler +
"tahts halo"
"don't worry"

Odds are low that this kind of feat will be repeated in Dallas but who knows...
IdrA vs Nony

Any and every SC2 fan should absolutely root for this matchup to happen at some point during MLG Dallas. Considering how well both players are playing recently it may very well. Nony's been constantly having better results as of late and after dominating IdrA 4-1 in a gosucoaching showmatch earlier this week, he definitely seems to be on the upswing. IdrA is IdrA, always a threat and practically a favorite to win any event he enters. These two have quite a long history, both are Americans, have faced off in WCG USA, TSL2, and countless other showmatches and in practice. Both are very exciting players to spectate and always seem to put on a good show. Please let a Nony vs IdrA matchup happen! Either way, it'll absolutely be interesting following both players navigate their brackets in Dallas and both will be expected to do well.

So these are a few of the fun things I'll be watching for. How about you?

Polls and player list here: http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=165514

Last edit: 2010-11-06 11:36:12

@LuckyFool88

crazeman November 02 2010 08:45. Posts 617

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Nice write up... but I think you should add in a "WILL HE MOTHERSHIP RUSH?!?!" section

GenoZStriker United States. November 02 2010 08:46. Posts 2554

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Machine vs. Axslav round 1, calling it and Sheth troll. "Hey guys I'm not going anymore." I also think that 50% of players will hood up for Dallas

Last edit: 2010-11-02 08:46:49

eSports Prodigy & Illuminati member.

motbob

United States. November 02 2010 08:48. Posts 11455

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I don't really have any suggestions of specific things to look forward to. All I know is that this is gonna be the greatest SC2 LAN event ever, by far. 3 days of pure SC2 bliss.

Last edit: 2010-11-02 08:49:57

<marttorn> lucky I don't live in a culturally diverse place

knyttym United States. November 02 2010 08:54. Posts 5666

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Nice lay out.

I'm mostly going to watch for Sen, TLO, and Sen. Sen because he doesn't have much of a presence in US/Eu tournaments. He has been around since the beginning of beta but I haven't gotten to see him play many tournaments overall. TLO is always interesting to watch but his recent transition to zerg will be really fun. Lastly Jinro because he is quite high on the Kr ladder, is on oGs A-team, but hasn't posted results quite yet in GSL.

Next is SeleCt since people have had plenty of time to figure out his style so now what does he have in stores? He is going out to GSL3 which has qualifiers pretty soon so I am excited about what he can do.

Lastly, I wonder if blizzard is going to patch the day before MLG again XD

smiteam.net

Manifesto7 Osaka. November 02 2010 08:55. Posts 24933

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Nice preview. Added to the spotlight, feel free to keep filling it in.

@Manifesto7 - Who says terran is underpowered! I'm #1 Gold

LuckyFool United States. November 02 2010 08:56. Posts 8284

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Yeah that's true and a great point about SeleCt. He's practicing REALLY hard for GSL3 qualifications so he's going to be a threat to win Dallas for sure.

@LuckyFool88

Antoine United States. November 02 2010 08:58. Posts 6238

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i think you mean acquisitions, not accusations =P

Flash Sea Action Snow Midas | TheStC Ret Tyler MC | RIP 우정호

MoreFaSho United States. November 02 2010 08:59. Posts 1408

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I thought Sheth never shows up to anything, does he live in dallas?

Edit:
LOL, I need to read more carefully. I'm still betting he doesn't show up based on everything I've seen/ heard.

Last edit: 2010-11-02 08:59:59

SnowFantasy November 02 2010 09:00. Posts 3653

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Don't forget the NonY shirt we didn't get to see in D.C.

http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?id=158497#2

LuckyFool United States. November 02 2010 09:05. Posts 8284

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The Nony shirt is not happening at Dallas anymore because sadly the shirt that iNcontroL ordered is still on backorder.

and thanks Antoine that was a spellcheck fail lol!

Last edit: 2010-11-02 09:06:02

@LuckyFool88

iPAndi Costa Rica. November 02 2010 09:08. Posts 2204

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awesome :D thanks lucky

Nightmare1795 wrote: I played a guy in bronze who said he was Japanese. That was the only game I ever dropped a nuke, which was purely coincidental.

Diamond United States. November 02 2010 09:16. Posts 9005

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Lol nice write up!

I got $50 esports dollars (going all in here) that Sheth does not show. For DC he started playing for 2 days before the event and then ended up not going.

Sheth is like the BJ Penn of SCII. Infinite natural talent, 0 desire to be one of the best when he could do so easily. It's a shame

Edit: You forgot about Nony going to be on stream with a shirt of iNcontroL's choosing. That's going to be amazing!

Last edit: 2010-11-02 09:19:10

Check out ESV TV at http://www.esvtv.com ****** TaeJa, he's pretty good.

SnowFantasy November 02 2010 09:21. Posts 3653

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On November 02 2010 09:05 LuckyFool wrote:
The Nony shirt is not happening at Dallas anymore because sadly the shirt that iNcontroL ordered is still on backorder.

and thanks Antoine that was a spellcheck fail lol!

Seriously?

Man that sucks.

Senx Sweden. November 02 2010 09:27. Posts 5019

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On November 02 2010 09:21 SnowFantasy wrote:

Show nested quote +

Seriously?

Man that sucks.

Yupp http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=165514&currentpage=5#82

"trash micro but win - its marine" MC commentary during HSC 4

NrG.NeverExpo Canada. November 02 2010 09:29. Posts 1871

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Thanks for the segment luckyfool, appreciate the recognition. Our players aren't really used to playing big live events so im hoping their nerves don't get the better of them. They also picked a fun event to start out with, TONS of big names here~

GL Guys~

Leader/Manager of Team NrG. | http://NrGSC2.com Come Visit! :D TwitteR: @NrGSC2

deth2munkies United States. November 02 2010 09:47. Posts 1804

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Wooo! Now I gotta wear a hoodie with the hood up to rep Protoss...I think I only have one on me though...

drooL Germany. November 02 2010 10:15. Posts 2060

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like that one, good write up. machines bad luck is so saddening, he really is a zerg machine and deserves more recognition.

@nowSimon / Wild for the night fuck being polite / good music on facebook.com/dissolvedarts

MythicalMage November 02 2010 10:21. Posts 1354

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You should add in Torch especially after his crazy series against LzGamer in the EG tournament.

Peanutsc United States. November 02 2010 10:25. Posts 266

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Great post!

Machine has had terrible luck in MLG, but he did really well in the EG Masters Cup and I will definitely be watching him. I'm really looking forward to the tournament now that I know about stuff to focus on!