In the second match of Group B of the IPTL's Premier Division, a Zerg-heavy Team SCV Life squad goes up against the compact, yet powerful Prime lineup. Both teams will be looking for a win in their first series, a very useful advantage to have with only four teams in each group. Let's see how they stack up.
The Lineups
Prime:
- MarineKing (T)
- Creator (P)
- BBoong (Z)
- ByuN (T)
- Maru (T)
- Classic (P)
- Salmosa (Z)
- AriA (Z)
Team SCV Life:
- Symbol (Z)
- Polt (T)
- HyuN (Z)
- Revival (Z)
- Shine (Z)
- inori (P)
- Cyrano (P)
- Punisher (T)
Potential Starters
Prime: ByuN (T)
Prime has the luxury of three legitimate star players; most people know MarineKing and Creator, but ByuN remains somewhat unknown in comparison. However, ByuN has had the most recent success in the GSL, reaching the semifinals last season before losing to the eventual champion, Seed. He did drop out in the round of thirty-two this time around, but ByuN remains a very strong player with his own exciting play styles. In a leadoff role, Prime's lesser-known Terran stud could easily capture a few wins against TSL, especially if his TvZ is up to par, and still have two ace-level players in Creator and MarineKing to back him up when he falls.
TSL: Revival (Z)
Honestly, I can see any of the non-Symbol Zergs for TSL taking the starting spot, but Revival gets the nod due to his consistent team league play. His individual achievements are lackluster, but Revival has shown the ability to take a couple of wins in clan wars, even scoring an all-kill against CheckSix and three kills against StarTale in TAC 3. A solid, but not particularly intimidating Zerg, Revival is the perfect kind of player to use in a leadoff role to gauge the other team, but on a good day he can be do much more than that.
Key Players
Prime: Creator (P), Maru (T)
Creator has taken one step closer to seizing the mantle of ace from MarineKing with his cruise to the Team Liquid Starleague 4 title, and that day could very well come during this team league season. He is a very patient Protoss player with builds well suited to the current meta-game of long macro games with late game army engagements. Creator would likely be an ace on any other team, and poses a major threat to any player on the TSL roster. Maru is an exciting, but young Terran player; the sixteen year old has still not settled at a consistent level of play, having before qualified for Code S but rarely showing games of that caliber on a regular basis. Prime would love to have him at his best and threaten some of TSL's lower tier members, but Maru will likely be an afterthought.
TSL: Polt (T), HyuN (Z)
The longtime captain and face of TSL, Polt has recently ceded the role of ace to Symbol, but he remains the only reliable non-Zerg player on the team. This makes Polt hugely important; the other team likely focuses on the Zerg matchups in practice, potentially opening the door for the Terran captain to grab a big number of maps. He will need to do this routinely for TSL to advance very far in this team league. HyuN is a player on the upswing, and the IPL audience might know him as the defending five-time champion of the IPL Fight Club, where he has defeated foes like Squirtle, MajOr and CranK. We are now beginning to see him slowly realize his true skill after switching over from Brood War late last year, and become a familiar face in Code A. Expect a strong showing for his against even the best competition.
The Aces
Prime: MarineKing (T)
MarineKing has been competitive at the highest level for a ridiculously long time, making it so very difficult to strip his title of ace despite the great tournament runs we have seen from Creator recently. What really cements his place are the legendary series we have seen from MarineKing against StarTale: his GSTL clinching performance at IPL4 and the best of eleven series all-kill in the KSL Team League. At the same time, he still remains a constant contender in Code S, having recently advanced to the round of sixteen by defeating MC in the final series of his round of thirty-two group. At any time, MarineKing can take off and spontaneously dismantle an all-star studded team with the absurdly aggressive play that has made him a powerful Terran and community favorite for the entire history of the game.
TSL: Symbol (Z)
Though the hype around him from the last GSL has died down a bit, as we are seeing a bunch of great Zergs like StarTale's Life pop up all over the place, you absolutely cannot sleep on Symbol. Alongside DRG and Stephano, he is one of the very best players among his race, and stellar in every matchup. His finish in the round of eight in the last Code S was considered a disappointment, and that more than anything goes to show just how strong he is. He has also earned his stripes in team league play, even performing the first reverse all-kill in GSTL history, taking out five Incredible Miracle players after Losira had run through the rest of the TSL lineup. Symbol will have one Achilles' heel, though; with the Zerg-loaded TSL lineup, every opposing team will be heavily practicing anti-Zerg builds, but that may not even be enough to stop the TSL ace.
Prediction
Prime: 5 > TSL: 4
This will be a very close match, but the strength of Prime's top two players will be too much. ByuN will come out and grab a couple wins before being forced out by Polt's strong TvT, and either MarineKing or Creator will be able to take down Symbol and secure the win for Prime.
The match will take place September 19th, be sure to tune in and catch the action!
Source : ign[dot]com
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