ThisIsJimmy battles MLG Anaheim Open Bracket
When StarCraft 2 takes center stage at MLG Anaheim this weekend, all eyes will undoubtedly be on the player booths. What many spectators and stream viewers will miss; however, is the fierce competition taking place off-stage in the tournament area. Therein, the best players in the world will not only challenge each others’ skill, but their mental fortitude as well. What we’re talking about, of course, is the MLG Open Bracket.
Under Major League Gaming’s new 2011 event format, the top sixteen players ranked by MLG Points along with four Korean invites compete in the Championship Pool Play. As for everyone else attending, they receive the honor of battling through one of the most challenging StarCraft 2 competitions: the Open Bracket. MLG Anaheim will be no different, and just might have the toughest Open Bracket of any MLG event to date.
While players such as White-Ra, Jinro, FXOz, GanZi, Alicia, and FXOchoya might be the favorites to advance out of the open bracket, there are many other strong players in contention. One of which, is Check-Six’s Jimmy “ThisIsJimmy” Van Sise.
Like numerous other players attending MLG Anaheim, such as Fenix, Pokebunny, CatZ, and Axslav, ThisIsJimmy is a staple of the North American StarCraft 2 scene. The ten year StarCraft veteran began playing in the beta and has attended every MLG event since StarCraft 2 was first added last year. For players in ThisIsJimmy’s position, the Open Bracket has become a primary topic of discussion.
Jimmy “ThisIsJimmy” Van Sise competing in the Open Bracket at MLG Columbus.
“MLG’s 2011 format is pretty ridiculous,” he says. “If you aren’t in the top 16 (Pools) you have a very slim chance of breaking in to the top 16. I understand that the top 16 should get an advantage but it is just way too much right now and leads to the same people being at the top every time.”
Regardless of whether you have the same opinion of ThisIsJimmy, the numbers agree – there has been very little turnover of players in the top sixteen seeds. Of the players originally seeded into Pool Play at the start of the year at MLG Dallas 2011, all but five remain in the top sixteen heading into MLG Anaheim. That equates to roughly a 69% player retention. Between Dallas and Columbus only three of the original 16 seeds (qxc, painuser, & antec) were knocked out. From Columbus to Anaheim, only two more of the original 16 seeds have been knocked out (gretorp & tyler). Furthermore, several of the players currently in the top 16 might not even have secured their current seed if not for HuK and Socke’s absence from MLG Columbus.
“It is frustrating as a player,” says ThisIsJimmy. “I made it through the Open Bracket to the Championship Bracket at MLG Dallas this year and still had to go through more players if I had wanted to make top 16. If you aren’t good enough to compete with the top players in the world, you have no chance of even making the top 16.”
While this statement should be viewed as a good thing, as a tournament structure’s primary goal is to facilitate the performance of the best players, the argument whether all the best players will be attending can be debated. For example, many of the top European talent, such as Socke, MorroW, ThorZaIN, Kas, and Strelok, do not regularly attend MLG events. Furthermore, when they do attend, the challenge and schedule of the Open Bracket is a less then desirable environment to compete under.
In this way, the Open Bracket may actually deter top European talent from competing in every MLG circuit event if they already not qualified for the Championship Pool Play. “[Yeah] I think it does,” remarks ThisIsJimmy. “It is a huge expense to travel over here and with little chance of making it out of the open bracket it just can’t be worth it for most players.” Not to mention, of course, the time commitment to travel across the Atlantic. Finally, even if players do spend their time and money making arrangements to compete in the MLG Open Bracket, they usually find themselves jet-lagged and playing sub-standard.
Fortunately, domestic players such as ThisIsJimmy generally have more time prepare, and in better conditions. “I think I am in great shape right now,” he says. “I have practiced a good amount. (At the moment) My strongest matchup is either TvP or TvZ depending on the day. TvT is always my weakest and I have gotten better at it but I still want to avoid Terrans if possible at MLG.”
“I would like to avoid all of them for as long as possible,” continued ThisisJimmy. He is talking about the Korean competitors GanZi, choya, Alicia, and Oz, who will undoubtedly make the Open Bracket even more challenging. “It would be great though to take one of the Koreans out and I would welcome that challenge. Hopefully, it comes later on in the bracket though. If you don’t make it through a few Winners Rounds then you are really setting yourself up for an incredible challenge.”
Heartbreak exits to tournaments, though, are unfortunately a familiar situation for ThisisJimmy. He explains, “I have had a lot of hard losses in tournaments and show matches and it definitely motivates me to work harder. All I can do is just correct my mistakes and try again next time. I have been playing Starcraft for a long time and I’m not going anywhere soon so there will always be more tournaments and matches to look forward to. I’m grateful for any recognition I get in the community and I don’t think I deserve more.”
CheckSix StarCraft 2
 Leader (coach) |
Zerg |
| Lure |
Protoss |
| Shadow |
Protoss |
 Arcanne |
Protoss |
 Sinatra |
Protoss |
| LagLovah |
Protoss |
| ThisIsJimmy |
Terran |
 Maker |
Terran |
| ver |
Terran |
| nEaNs |
Terran |
| BoO |
Terran |
| Mystik |
Zerg |
| Mkengyn |
Zerg |
| Cheesy |
Zerg |
| Makoplux |
Random |
What is gaining more recognition is ThisIsJimmy’s team: Check-Six Gaming. Along with their up-and-coming accomplishments, Check-Six announced the acquisition of former MVP team players Lure and Leader yesterday. “I think we are one of the top teams in NA right now,” says ThisIsJimmy. “We can compete with any team out there and are doing very well in ESEA right now at 7-1. We almost qualified for the GosuCoaching Premier League recently too when we took 2nd place to Complexity. I think we are all improving quite quickly and work well as a team.”
Looking at MLG Columbus performances alone, ThisisJimmy’s teammate Shadow took an impressive map off ThorZaIN and Mystik defeated players such as EGDeMusliM, coLstalife, and FnaticMSITT1. Meanwhile, Mkengyn, another Check-Six teammate, is highly regarded by many pros as one of the best players in North American no one has heard about. Unfortunately, Mkengyn is only seventeen years old so it’s unlikely he will be competing at LAN events until he turns eighteen. According to ThisisJimmy though, “Either Maker or Shadow” is the best player on Check-Six. “Don’t hurt me other teammates,” he humorously adds.
With MLG Anaheim only days away, ThisIsJimmy and his teammates will certainly have the opportunity to gain that recognition. Whether or not the MLG Open Bracket grants them favorable seeds is still undetermined, but ThisIsJimmy’s continued hunt for a big tournament win and WCG USA qualification remain. “Big thanks to all the fans I have, especially those who watch my stream, watch Starcraft Connection or visit HotkeyIt.com,” he says. “You guys are the coolest. Also, shoutouts to Check-Six Gaming, and our sponsors, Tt ESports, PureTrak, and Gamers Uniform!”
MLG Anaheim 2011 Pro Circuit Event
MLG Anaheim is the third event on the 2011 MLG Pro Circuit taking place July 29-31 at the Anaheim Convention Center. The event will feature $14,000 in total prize money and $5,000 for the event winner.
Photos: ThisIsJimmy.net
