With the addition to the updated MVP roster and the partnership between Startale, Yeo-Flash Wolves alongside the coaching of Redbull's very own Bomber, the reign of the Telecom dynasties might be over.
When looking at the SK Telecom Pro League, the era for SC2, historically speaking, is relatively small. It's been around for 3 years now compared to the 6 years of Brood War. During that time the team SK Telecom have with out a doubt been the most consistent and generally speaking "best" team within the league. 6 first place finishes. 3 second place finishes. And 2 third place finishes. Out of 15 seasons they have placed within the top three 11 times. On paper, they are since long, the greatest.
The ugly brother of SKT is of course the rivalry company KT Rolster, who haven't had the same consistency through out the history of Pro League, but when discussing modern Brood War, they were without a doubt competing with SKT for first place. In 2009 they changed the game entirely, they took what was looking like a prodigy child that could become a great A- Teamer like maybe Killer or Sea.
And they turned him into a God....
since then Flash have been with out a doubt, the greatest Brood War Terran of modern times, and one of the greatest players to ever touch the game. He became a macro machine who showed the infinite potential of perfection and mechanics.
When SC2 rolled a long and the era of BW was over SPL did the smart transition and kept the league alive within the new game. Since then many of the BW legacies like MBC Game HERO, Lecaf OZ and STX Soul have disbanded and we are left with only the top dogs. Them being Samsung Kahn, CJ Entus and the Telecom duo. They have never dropped their dominance. And with Pro League being the most prestigious Starcraft tournament in the business, many teams have taken the challenge to overcome the legendary Brood War entities, and all have failed. Miserably.
2012 looked like a promising year for a new team to take the crown. The Western civilization gathered their resources to journey into Asia, so that they together could fight a greater foe. The fan favorite, the pioneers of non-Korean Starcraft, one of the most promising non-Korea based teams, aka. Team motherfucking Liquid, shook hands with the absolute power house and the malicious brilliance that is Evil goddamn Geniuses and thus, EG-TL was born. The Unholy Alliance.
Holy shit....
This, ladies and gentlemen, and anything in between, was hype.
This was it. How could they stop us?!
One of the top three most successful foreigner of all time, EG.Huk, who can 8-Gate anyone!
Mother fucking Jaedong. Like comeone. JAEDONG! It's Jaedong. The dong. He's already one of the BroodWar wonder child's, the greatest Zerg of modern times, hes got ton of Pro League experience and have been the ace player for every PL team he's ever been on.
EG.Stephano, the most sucesfull foreigner of all time.
EG.Puma the father of the 1-1-1. Also an relatively experienced Brood War player.
The star duo of TeamLiquid Hero and Taeja.
EG-TL had a healthy combination of all races, a Brood War legend, and a all around steady team of anything from snipers to well rounded players. Like this was perfect. Play off seemed like a guarantee.
Stomped. Completely. Even with the resurgence of the great Coach Park, we couldn't reach play offs. This was dark times for anyone who had gotten their hopes up. Turns out that Pro League was a bigger monster than we could ever imagine.
ROUND TWO, FIGHT!
In steppes, the power house of Starcraft II. Incredible Miracle.
We realize now that Starcraft 2 is a very different game from Brood War. Maybe we need more than just a well rounded team along side the beast that is Jaedong. Maybe the absolute elite of Starcraft 2 Koreans can pack a punch. I mean, these Brood War legends are all old guys. Let's show them what our game is all about. Let's see if they can get a long with the times. Duuuude.
Out comes IM, partnership with Startale. Now we have, MOTHERFUCKING Mvp! The King of Wings. His arch nemesis, Startale.Life, the greatest Zerg of Starcraft II. And a shit ton of well rounded Protoss players, in a meta game, where Protoss were the coolest. IM had a fantastic team house, right in Soul and a coach with experience in team leagues. Okay, for real, this time we must have found the winning recipe. Right guys? Right?
So what's changed this time? What does MVP and Startale-Flash Wolves have that EG-TL and IM didn't? (Honorable mention to Prime, who also have been slaughtered by the SPL monster.)
Well, let's start of with MVP. They have something that neither EG-TL or IM managed to get. A play off spot! Seriously, in the second round of the 2014 season, MVP finished 4th with 51 points, just under KT-Rolster with 61. They also went 4-0 against KT, and then 4-3 against CJ Entus in the first and second play off rounds. Now that is a strong indicator that MVP knew something the EG-TL and IM did not. Now let's just throw the fact that they placed last in the upcoming rounds out of the window and focus on this performance. Also the MVP that's entered now is not the same as MVP of 13-14. This is MVP 2.0. With the experience and knowledge of their last run.
During the same season, MarineKing was seeded at least once almost ever match that Prime played. And he was rather consistent, and people may argue that this was during MK's second slump period. Then what happened? MVP picked up the MarineKing and he fucking resurrected from the dead. With a second place finish at the Hot-Six Cup tearing apart herO, Zest, Stats, Parting and finally going out 4-1 to $o$. I mean If that's not a sign of a comeback, I don't know what is. And now under the guidance of MVP, who must be hungry for a good performance, I'm willing to bet my right testicle that MKP will show up with a bang. And with the addition of the genius that is Liquid'Taeja accompanied by a well rounded team living together in a team house. I mean. How can I not be a little optimistic about this.
StarTale-Yeo will however be the wildcard of this season. I'm not even willing to make anything there. I have a hunch telling me they will be absolutely demolished. However there are factors coming into play that makes me thing, maybe. Just maybe. They will be a slam dunk. I mean aLive's been a lot in pro league, and actually played well under the guidance of Coach Park.
I do have an undeniably feeling that the Telecom dynasty might have a run for their money for the first time by a team other than a Brood War legacy and It might very well be MVP but StarTale-Yeo do have just that little extra x-factor, that mysterious hint, the underdog story that just can become true.
I might just be stupidly naive at this point but gosh darn it I want to believe.
Rounding up, this will be a very exciting year of PL, as always. However this first round will set the tone for what could become a big paradigm shift within the prestigious team league, and that is something to keep an eye out for. It would without a doubt be the biggest upset of SC2 to date. Even bigger than Sjow vs Life. So make sure that you are watching closely, because a Christmas miracle might occur.
I'm hype as fuck and I hope you are also. Tune in and tell your friends to tune in. This will be interesting!
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Hello I'm IcookTacos, I like Starcraft and to write about Starcraft.
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