WCS Premier: Snute

It's been nearly three weeks since the completion of WCS 2015 Challenger League, but it feels like months. The retooled WCS format has already brought a breath of fresh air to the game, and there was an anticipation in the air to see how the Premier field would shake out. Now, we're just hours from the start, and it involves our very own Norwegian zerg, Snute.

He's fought of illness and traveled to the ESL studios in Burbank, CA to do battle with an international cast of players. While Snute's group lacks the star power wattage of some of the others, it contains a few players who are much more deadly than their reputations might indicate. With the long trip behind him, it will be imperative for Snute to gather together his focus and be wary against the upstarts arrayed against him. This is WCS Premier and nothing can be taken for granted.





The format will be familiar to anyone who has followed Sc2 for any length of time. It's a simple dual tournament structure, with the top two moving on.

First up, Snute is scheduled to face AT.uThermal. Make no mistake, the Dutch terran is Snute's most dangerous opponent on paper. He qualified in the third European qualifier with a nasty streak against zerg opposition. Prospect, Lambo, and Serral were no match and each fell 0-2 in turn. In Challenger, uThermal continued his spree with a 3-1 score over Bly to secure his placement in Premier. High grandmaster players on the European server have rated uThermal for a long time, and his ladder form has started to translate into his tournament play. That's not good news for his opponents.

The other match will feature iG.XiGua vs ROOT.Astrea. The Chinese zerg is a veteran of the scene and at 28 years old, the oldest player in the tournament. (Sen is a day younger) He passed the test of the Chinese qualifiers with ease, and bested the protoss player Clavie in Challenger. However, he has never had rousing success outside China and his true level is hard to judge.

Astrea is one of the least known of all the Premier players. Still in high school, he will face a player nearly a decade older. While having played at a high level since at least 2012, this appearance will be the highlight of the American protoss' career to date. It's tempting to say he will just be "happy to be there", but that would do him a disservice. To reach this point, he defeated Scarlett twice, once in the qualifiers and the second time in a grueling 3-2 Challenger series. No doubt Astrea is ready for the big time.

Still, given the quality of players in this group, Snute is the favorite.


Estimated by Aligulac. Modify.

Here are the predicted results:

iG.XiGua < 1-2 > ROOT.Astrea
Liquid`Snute < 2-1 > AT.uThermal
Liquid`Snute < 2-0 > ROOT.Astrea
iG.XiGua < 1-2 > AT.uThermal
ROOT.Astrea < 1-2 > AT.uThermal

Liquid fans would be happy with these results.But little is given. The unique difficulties that come from preparing for all three races against hard to research players will wear on Snute. He must be on his toes, because he is a much better known player and consequently easier to prepare for. Such are the pitfalls of success.

The stakes are higher and higher. It's worth $1.500 to advance to the Ro16. Even better, all those matches will be in Germany. And without the Korean invasion, this tournament and the $30.000 first prize are wide open.

Snute fighting!

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