ESFI World

The second to last Global Challenge tournament in this season's IEM circuit takes place Wednesday, February 8th through the 11th in Sau Paulo, Brazil. We're previewing the tournament somewhat differently this time. Our panel of writers were to answer each question in 140 characters or less - the same limitation that Twitter placed on the length of each tweet. Let's see what everyone had to say...

Who will win the tournament?

John King: You know who won't win? A Protoss. But my money's on Supernova, because he's the most legit Korean

Reece Flexner: Is there a Korean? Yes? Then him. Oh there are three? Is there a Terran? Perfect. Him. No, don't tell me who. Even money on the Korean T.

Michael Radford: We're all winners when the tournament is run by someone who gives more to winners than to Boxer!

Joseph Gum: Futbol, as the newly built Arena de Sao Paulo will be perfect in its second event as a host arena for the FIFA World Cup.

Conrad Janzen: SuperNoVa. He's the player that puts the imba back in Terran. His play is sick and he'll dominate the mostly non-Korean crowd at Sao Paulo.

There are nine Zerg players attending. Will one of them finish in first place?

Brad Carr: There may be a Zerg majority, but that doesn't mean that the playoffs will be Zerg dominated, with DeMuslim and SuperNoVa involved.

Reece Flexner: Kiev proved that that flooding the field won't work. Over half the players were Protoss; none got to the semis. Newly Empire Violet, maybe.

Michael Cohen: My basic statistics course says yes. Doesn't help that they spread all the Zergs out evenly. I also don't see a MMA or MVP in sight, so...

Joseph Gum: Do the rules allow only nine players on a side? If they cut the goalkeeper and a defender and rush with a pool of six midfielders/strikers, maybe...

Samuel Lingle: Uh... No? If a Zerg player wins it'll be because they're really good at Starcraft.

Will this event have any effect on the IEM points race, other than the top 2 going to Hannover?

John King: No. Koreans will take the spots and throw off the point distribution, like they always do.

Reece Flexner: I forget, IEM points are worth double on Mondays, right? Or is that during eclipses? Only a few of these players are in the running, so no.

Jacqueline Geller: No. KiLLeR, Feast and viOlet will simply use the tournament points to secure their spots at Hanover, but that's about it.

Joseph Gum: An exhibition tournament is an exhibition tournament.

Conrad Janzen: Real, Violet go to Hannover. If you take 1st-4th place, you qualify for the final event. Tournament Sao Paulo sponsored by Cricket-Sounds

IEM Sao Paulo is being played during the week, ending on Saturday. The player lineup is also somewhat lackluster. Will people be watching this tournament?

Brad Carr: Euros will eat up this group stage and everyone will find common ground in the playoffs, but can ESL's BitterDaM hype up in time?

Reece Flexner: Of course! Brazilians love competition! Olympics, MMA, esports. They all share the same viewership base, so this should be a huge hit.

Michael Radford: It will be a bit awkward, but since all esports fans are unemployed or students, it should be fine.

Joseph Gum: Of course - the first event at Arena de Sao Paulo, local fans will fill the stadium to see the facilities before the World Cup!

Samuel Lingle: No one watched NASL, did they?

DeMusliM has been absent from many tournaments lately but everyone still expects him to do well. How well will he do this week in Brazil?

Michael Cohen: He's been showcasing some practices during the stream with EG in addition, he's got a nice round-up of enemies. Toughest one is Feast.

Reece Flexner: Come on, have a little faith.There is still time for him to drop out.

Photo: Zhang Jingna

Jacqueline Geller: DeMusliM hasn't injured himself lately, and the less impressive competition in Sao Paolo could give Ben a chance to win something big-ish.

Joseph Gum: DeMusliM will have to prove that he can beat the defense two on one to score after an extended period away from the spotlight.

Samuel Lingle: Finally getting some face time at a live event might be enough to vault him back into the #1 spot on studcraft2.com.

Is there anything to say about the state of Protoss given only three players are in attendance with no big names?

Brad Carr: Perhaps the trend of 'Protoss is SC2 easy mode' in the non-Korean community is starting to affect the meta game?

Reece Flexner: Potiguar is a big name. Only DarKFoRcE and SuperNoVa have more letters, and those are compound words anyway.

Joseph Gum: A family such as Protoss will always shine, regardless of their names.

Michael Cohen: They're lazy, but how can you blame them when they can warp in anywhere. They need to chronoboost their efforts (Kiev had 9 Protoss).

Samuel Lingle: Protoss needs to hire the Zerg propaganda machine to get something going for them, because whatever they're doing right now isn't working.

Western vs. Eastern hemispheres: who will take home gold? Does anyone from the Americas stand a chance?

John King: Korea is located in the Eastern hemisphere, as will be the winner of this tournament.

Reece Flexner: Have we confirmed that Demuslim lives east of the Prime Meridian? KiLLeR and Fenix are both solid. Maybe they can pull a jetlag-less coup?

Jacqueline Geller: Stand a chance? Hm, no. Even with 'weaker' KR players, the classic KR - EU - AM hierarchy of results should play out in some way.

Joseph Gum: USA stands no chance, especially after their best players have competed in the grueling Super Bowl.

Conrad Janzen: Illusion is showing some of the best play in a long time but SuperNoVa is Korean. Do I need to even explain? Korean imba, needs nerf!

Which player will benefit the most given the tournament format and player pool?

John King: The lesser-known players will break through. This is the chance for Illusion and sYz to prove themselves.

Reece Flexner: Considering the choice of game (StarCraft 2) and format (it's not Code S), I would have to say the Koreans benefit.

Michael Cohen: Fenix and DeMuslim, both are inexperienced as of recent and are coming from a "refreshed" place. DeMuslim doesn't speak a Hispanic language.

Samuel Lingle: Ret could take advantage of the lack of Protoss and his strong vZ to win his first tournament in quite a while.

Conrad Janzen: Illusion will do well enough to make it to Hannover. SuperNoVa wins with the player pool because there is only 1 other strong Korean player.

Will "Bitterdam" finally get a tan and spare our eyes from the blinding paleness?

Brad Carr: It's all about the lighting, right? Maybe there'll even be makeup to help keep the reflection coefficient down?

Reece Flexner: I hope Mr. Bitter remembers to wear a hat in the sun. The scalp is very easy to burn, and it is hard to catch melanomas early up there.

Jacqueline Geller: Pale white SC2 nerd commentators with a tan? I doubt it. Does Artosis get a tan when he vacations? No. They're pale nerds for life.

Samuel Lingle: If they can't manage to do it during the middle of Summer in Sao Paolo, they're probably just vampires or something.

Conrad Janzen: I never noticed because Mr. Bitter has been blinding me with the top of his head. Rotterdam will continue trying to hit #1 masters.

Photos: PlayXp.com, Readmore.de