You are a FOOL if you don’t watch ASL.
7pm KST Sunday / Monday / Tuesday
http://afreeca.tv/36855042
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCK5eBtuoj_HkdXKHNmBLAXg
The ASL is starting up once again, and it’s stupidly stacked. Let me tell you who’s playing and why you are a FOOL if you do not watch this tournament.
The prime of StarCraft: Brood War lasted until StarCraft 2 was released. At that point, money and talent were siphoned away from the original. It hit a very low point but never completely died, and is now reviving strongly here in Korea. This season literally looks as if we took a time machine back to the very best days of StarCraft 1. Here’s some examples:
4 of the 6 Dragons have returned.
Protoss was always underrepresented at the pinnacle of SC1 competitive play. During this time, there were 6 Protosses, nicknamed the “6 Dragons” who were head-and-shoulders above every other Protoss in the world. They were:
Bisu, Stork, free and BeSt are all in this tournament. Ridiculous.
The best 2 Zergs are both present.
The best 2 Zergs from the prime of StarCraft 1 are both here. JaeDong and EffOrt. WTF. So that means we already have 4 of the best 6 Protoss (including the actual top 2, Bisu and Stork) as well as the best 2 Zergs.
The best Gamer of all time has qualified.
And not only that, Flash is also dominating the Fish server ladder. Very few players have been able to hold their own against him so far.
The most aggressive Terran you will ever see is, surprisingly to me, back!
Lots of you will not know who Iris is, but you should. He was a fantastic Terran player that really had his own style. I always thought of him as the “Fireman Terran”…because in situations where other Terrans would run away, he would run forward. Dark Swarm comes up? Screw retreating. Stim and run through. He is a pleasure to watch. You won’t regret following this Terran.
Perhaps the “smartest” Terran is still going strong.
If there was a player I could liken to Nestea from the prime years of SC1, it would have to be Mind. His deep understanding of the game showed up brilliantly back in the day, when he dismantled Bisu who was on his way to Bonjwa status. Mind was probably my favorite Terran player (I was a Terran in SC1) of the era, even in a world with Flash and FantaSy.
StarCraft 2 Champions Return to their Roots.
Rain. Yes, that Rain. The Rain that had the most perfect defensive macro play of any Protoss in the history of StarCraft 2, was originally a SC1 player. He was an up and comer still when he switched to StarCraft 2, where he became easily one of the best of all time. He retired after winning multiple titles, but now is suddenly back to his original love, StarCraft 1.
Soulkey was already having some pretty damn good results in SC1 before going to SC2, but in SC2 he really left his mark, very notably with a reverse-all kill on INnoVation in the GSL Finals. Soulkey is killing it on the Fish server ladder, already ranked as 6th place.
Of course, the top 4 from the last ASL…
3 of these 4 were not top players before StarCraft 2 came out, but they stayed the course and have worked hard to achieve their spots amongst the elite (Last, Sharp, and the champion Eyewater AKA Shuttle). It will be interesting to see where they end up in the rankings with some serious champions returning to full activity. Sea already was a top tier Terran, and will no doubt continue to preform very well amongst the old crew.
Also, a great supporting cast…
Any player who can make it into the ASL is already one of the strongest gamers on earth, and I don’t mean to downplay these guys. GuemChi, by.hero, Movie and Light were all fantastic progamers back in the day. Many of the others were around but had less success. It takes, literally, years of being a SC1 progamer before you are even expected to begin posting results. Maybe its some of these guys’ times now. We’ll see.
You need to watch ASL. SC1 is the most mechanically challenging game on earth, and is the original creator of esports. Nothing has history like this game. If you can’t enjoy watching the best players ever battle each other in StarCraft 1, then there is no hope for you.
