Mana & Snute at WCS Premier Season 3
September 07 2015
"WCS is the most important tournament for Non-Koreans in terms of prize money. Succeeding in WCS is very important in order to continue as a pro gamer. It is also the tournament with one of the largest audiences. Also the Polish fans are fantastic."
- Snute
"WCS is a chance to earn a lot of money, gain exposure due to the largest popularity and also fulfill your dreams as a progamer who wants to compete. "
- Mana
For every foreigner player, WCS is everything. It has the most prestige, draws the most viewers and boasts the largest prize pool of any league. It is the most important event for any foreign player, especially as this iteration will probably be the last HotS WCS. For both Liquid players, this could be even more than that.
"Of course. I've been dreaming about biggest Starcraft 2 tournaments coming to Poland. We had IEM Katowice, IEM World Championship in Katowice and now WCS global finals. I am extremly extatic or even more because I am a part of this as a player." - Mana
The decision to host it in Krakow makes it personal for one of our players. Poland is Mana’s home country and in many ways, his rise is tied to national events from WCG 2010 in Brood War to WCS 2012 in SC2. He has been Poland’s best SC2 player and while Mana has always had fervor to be one of the best in the world, that desire seems to get more intense every time he gets to play in front of his home crowd. In the Round of 32 Mana knocked out Xigua and TLO to advance to the Ro16. He now looks to defeat MarineLord, elfi and Zanster to move on to the main event. Look to Mana to do anything to get to the playoffs and to carry Poland’s hopes on his back.
"I don't think I have a good chance to win the entire thing. I have realised that I am slower than I used to be and I need a lot of time to fix this problem that I didn't have in the past. All I want to happen to me is that I will play for 100% of my skill and won't do any stupid mistakes, then I will be happy even though I will lose at the first stage. At least I gave my best."
- Mana
"I don't think I'm the favorite to win, skill wise I should be somewhere in the Ro8 or Ro4. But on a good day I know I can win, so that's what I want to do."
- Snute
Snute has been one of if not the greatest foreigner SC2 players in HotS. He has consistently been at the top level, particularly in the last two years and is one of the few players you could consistently count on to beat any Korean in any group stage. At IEM Shenzhen, he ably beat GSL champions Rain and Classic to move on to the playoffs. In WSC he defeated both Jim and Elazer to advance to the Ro16. Despite that, Snute still searches for his first Premier Championship. With HotS winding down, this is one of his last chances to grab a trophy before the new expansion comes in.
Being the last WCS, the stakes are higher than ever for both Liquid players. Tune in on the action on September 6th at http://www.twitch.tv/starcraft.