As the first major Heart of the Swarm event is well underway, caution is advised as we get to grips with the metagame changes going in to the full release of the latest version of StarCraft II. With the second season of GSL 2013 offering regular betting opportunities and the 2013 MLG Winter Championship taking place next weekend, there’ll be plenty of opportunities to fulfill your StarCraft betting needs over the coming weeks. We’ve been taking in the IEM Season VII World Championship and seeing how the balance changes have been affecting the playing field and seeing if those players at the top in Wings of Liberty are still playing at the same level.
Overall, IEM has thrown up few surprises until now. The Koreans are still dominating and we haven’t seen any indicators that this will be changing any time soon. Aside from fan-favourite MC who demonstrated a weakness against Zerg, which we expect to be quickly rectified, the top tier have taken a clean sweep through the tournament. With no further Wings of Liberty tournaments, the LG-IM representatives of YongHwa, YoDa, First and Mvp have dominated the competition and we will be looking forwards to their teammate Seed’s debut against SK Telecom’s star Rain next Friday. No doubt countless hours have been put in by the Incredible Miracle house’s residents and we expect this to show throughout their roster.
The main foreigner hope, Stephano, does not seem to have gained the same understanding so far, admitting on Twitter that he is “totally lost against Terran” and that it is “Impossible to attack with tanks and mines. Impossible to leave your base with Medivacs.” More worrying is his lack of knowledge about new units such as widow mines and the Viper’s cloud ability. Combined with his admission that his timings are weak and assertion that whilst he understands how to counter certain plays, that he’s simply unable to hold them off. With no free time to prepare before MLG due to his appearance at the HoTS launch event in France and a long travel time, we don’t expect any major changes prior to MLG and it would be no surprise to see him fall to Polt or Creator in the quarter finals in Dallas.
One foreigner who has shown significant improvement is Ret. Defeating MC and First is no mean feat and shows the potential of the Dutchman. As one of the technically superior European zergs, there’s the possibility that this promising performance could be exactly what he needs to propel himself back into the top of the scene after a quiet end to WoL. A big run next weekend at MLG is possible.
Unfortunately things for his racial companions have not been anywhere near as fruitful. Zerg’s dominance during 2012 has been well documented and it could now be time that the “patch zergs’” fun is over. We’ll be opposing those overhyped mid-tier players until indications prove otherwise.
Betfair:
Bet on Henrik Stenson to become the BMW PGA Championship Winner.
Paddypower:
Back Australia to take the Ashes home with them.
Betway:
Back Rafael Nadal to become the Mens French Open Winner.
Coral:
Back One For Arthur to win the Grand National.
Bet365:
Back Mexico to win the Confederations Cup.
