StarCraft II - IPTL - NsHoSeo needs a good showing vs Karont3 to advance to Up and Downs

Contender Division Group B has the most difficult situation to asses. Why? Currently, there are 3 teams with similar score: Team Empire 1-2 (10-13 in small points), Team Dignitas 1-2 (10-11) in small points and New Star HoSeo 1-1 (6-7) with one game left. Who’s going to join Karont3 e-Sports Club in the Up and Down Matches?

The game between the Spanish organization and Koreans is going to be the decisive factor in establishing the final result in their group.

Karont3 e-Sports Club line-up: LoLvsxD (Z), LucifroN (T), Ryo (P), VortiX (Z), AlaStOr (Z), MikOeL (T), Verdi (P)

New Star HoSeo line-up: Tassadar (P), jjakji (T), Seal (Z), Sculp (T), SalvatioN (T), Brave (P)

Potential starters

Karont3 e-Sports Club: AlaStOr (Z), MikOeL (T), Verdi (P)

Three players that I’ve put above are the ones loaned from other teams purely for the “Team Games:” AlastOr is playing for French organization, Team LDLC.com, MikOeL represents another Spanish team, Aprender, and Verdi wears Vega Squadron tag together with DaNa, Polish player who will probably represent his country in the upcoming WCG 2012 Finals.

So far, both Spaniards have opened a game for Karont3 with Zerg falling to BlinG and MikOeL defeating Beastyqt, but later losing to Brat_OK. Now it’s time for Verdi to open the most important match for the Spanish team thus far.

New Star HoSeo: Tassadar (P), Sculp (T), Seal (Z)

New Star HoSeo went from being one of the best teams in Korea to a mediocre organization with one star player on the roster and average key players. They’ve lost four players over the last 3 months and their IPTL performance wasn’t as good as people would expect especially in one of the weakest groups in Season 1.

So far, both Brave and SalvatioN opened a game, so now it’s time for one of the core NSH players to be the lucky participant in the opening game against Karont3. Just like with the Spanish, NSH starters represent all three races available in Starcraft 2. Should be interesting.

Key players

Karont3 e-Sports Club: MikOeL (T), Verdi (P)

Both have decent results in IPTL and look strong against New Star HoSeo. I can see Verdi taking even a double-kill if Karont3 decide to use him in this match. As for MikOeL, he should be able to win at least one match just like he did against Team Empire, but will probably lose the next one. One should bear in mind that mediocre Korean player is still a level above decent European. We will see if that’s true in this case as well.

New Star HoSeo: Tassadar (P), SalvatioN (T)

So far besides jjakji they are the only players to grab a win in IPTL Season 1, thus it is safe to assume that they might be able to do it again especially against core Karont3 players. However, even when most of Karont3 roster is out there are always LucifroN and Vortix left who might be more than enough for NSH this time.

Ace players

Karont3 e-Sports Club: LucifroN (T), Vortix (Z)

Duran brothers are currently considered top Europeans with a huge potential that they’ve been showing for the past few months. IEM and DreamHacks were perfect tournaments for them to shine and make room for themselves among the best of the best in the world.

Both had a huge experience with Warcraft 3, but back then it was LucifroN who managed to achieve some international recognition. This time it is Vortix leading the family with impressive results lately.

But, are they going to fall in a slump as always? LucifroN was a one game wonder back in W3 era and after three / four good tournaments he quickly became another pray among beasts like Grubby, Moon or Sky. Is the same thing going to happen to Vortix? Let’s hope not.

New Star HoSeo: jjakji (T)

Although he failed to stay in GSL Code A jjakji is the best player on NSH, but despite his unstable play he managed to grab a victory for NSH in their match against Team Empire. However, in NSH match against Team Dignitas he wasn’t able to defeat Bischu.

Prediction

New Star HoSeo 1 > 5 Karont3 e-Sports Club

At this point Karont3 is just too much for NSH. If Team Dignitas was able to defeat NSH 5 – 1 then Karont3 will crush them even harder. I expect to see one game won by jjakji  and that’s it. In that case, Karont3, Team Dignitas and Team Empire will have 1-2 score so their small points will count when deciding who’s going Karont3 in the Up and Down Matches. However, if NSH win then both them and Karont3 are the undisputed winners of Contender Division Group B.

Tune in on October 19th to our stream to watch Karont3 e-Sports Club against New Star HoSeo live!

Source : ign[dot]com

Last Resort: "Eight Bells" Review

Note: Full spoilers for the episode follow.

After Julian and his prisoners were sidelined last week, that situation was front and center in this episode, creating another tough – and ultimately fatal – situation for the Colorado crew.

It all got pretty horrific – it’s vague what Cortez did to appease Julian at one point and stop him from initially killing anyone, though it’s hard not to guess it was sexual. But what was clear was that her fellow prisoner, Brannan, was willing to put his life and hers over their fellow crewmember, when he directly named Redman as the one Julian should kill. It was a suitably gut-wrenching moment, as he was protecting Cortez, yet also himself, over the life of his “brother” and again demonstrates that Last Resort is not going to back down on putting these characters in situations no one would ever want to face.

In D.C., I was glad to see more of Bruce Davison’s Admiral Shepard, and one hell of an uneasy alliance with Kylie, as he called her “A parasite who traffics in war.” The plans for the Perseus being stolen from her add again to the conspiracy scenario, with the implication her own dad may be involved. Also, we finally got to physically see Jay Karnes after two episodes of hearing him. Of course, he was only onscreen briefly, an on Kylie's TV no less - in an amusingly gradual rollout for the character.

Far less enthralling were the James/Tani scenes, despite James’ amusing line, “I’m sorry your dad didn’t hate me more.” I like both actors -- Dichen Lachman did some terrific work on Dollhouse -- but Tani’s “My mom got sick and I’m stuck with my dad who I don’t get along with” storyline sticks out like a distracting sore thumb among the intrigue and tension of Last Resort. I hope she can somehow be better integrated as time goes on.

Putting Prosser back on the sub is good to see, aided by Marcus telling Prosser he still would take Prosser at his word not to retaliate against him – and the fact that Prosser seemed suitably stirred that Marcus would still trust him in that way. Plus, the continued hatred between Prosser and Daisy works well, even getting darkly humorous at times with her excellent retort, “You didn’t hang yourself with your shoelaces. We all have our disappointments”

The sequence where the Colorado had to avoid a series of depth charges was well done. With a TV budget, it’s not like they can have blockbuster movie style effects constantly. But while much of the action was only from the POV of those onboard the sub, there were enough actual shots of the sub in danger to convey the scenario, coupled with the work of the cast to sell the tension of the sub being bombarded from above, while in danger of colliding with a trench below.

Marcus essentially bending over for Julian was a troubling part of the episode – but the good thing is, it was meant to be troubling, and put him at true odds with Sam for the first time. Marcus’ worry that the Colorado can’t deal with battling Julian’s men in the midst of their other crisis is valid, but at same time… just how far can you push Marcus? One of his men was actually killed by Julian now, which makes Julian a true threat (to the Colorado and on the show), but also it makes Marcus look weak and even cowardly not to retaliate. The good news is, it’s clear the Last Resort writers aren’t ignoring this fact… even as I look forward to seeing just how Marcus finally gets his payback, at the “Time and place of my choosing.”

Lastly, I want to commend Sahr Ngaujah for his performance as the oh-so easily offended Julian, whose need to be respected -- he was so upset Marcus hadn't come to talk to him already! -- is what makes him so dangerous.

Source : ign[dot]com

Charlie Sheen Talks WWE/Daniel Bryan Storyline and His Potential SummerSlam Appearance

It was a bit of an awkward situation for the WWE recently when the man they’d promoted as their “Social Media Ambassador” for the 1000th episode of RAW, Charlie Sheen, quit Twitter just a couple of weeks that episode aired – cutting off his main social media connection in the process.

Sheen ended up appearing on the 1000th episode periodically via Skype, which ultimately led to a war of words between the actor and wrestler Daniel Bryan – which, given how WWE operates, most fans assume is setting up some bigger confrontation between the two, likely at SummerSlam, which will take place in Los Angeles again.

Wrestling Wrap Up: WWE RAW’s 1000th Episode

That potential turn of events hasn't been met enthusiastically by some WWE fans, who’d prefer Bryan not be in a storyline so outside the wrestling world. But for the time being, there hasn’t been any actual confirmation on Sheen returning to WWE or specifically at SummerSlam.

Today, at the TCA (Television Critics Association) press tour, I had the chance to ask Sheen about his recent appearance on WWE RAW and the controversial actor said, “Well, the numbers worked for us. Because I cancelled Twitter, I had to do that as a backup plan. It was fun. It was the deepest into that world I’d ever gone. And I guess the guy who was egging me on is a real problem. And he and I will solve that later. Print that.”

Sheen then added, “It was a promotional tool for our show [Anger Management] and I think everybody is going to win on that one. But it was exciting just to step into a different world that I didn’t ever really believe existed – and still don’t!”

When I asked him if perhaps he might look to solve those issues at a televised event on August 19th (as in, SummerSlam), Sheen replied, “Oh, there’s gonna have to be a lot of money on that one, but yeah, if it’s the right look at that moment, sure, why not?”

All of which would seem to imply... It’s probably a safe bet you’ll see him there. The question is, do you want to see him there?

Source : ign[dot]com