Greetings, Starcraft 2 fans. Today I’m excited to bring you another event preview. This time we’re going to talk about GPL 2017 Season 3, which will be held in Shanghai/China starting on August 9th and ending on August 16th. The lineup will consist of only Chinese players, but don’t worry! There will be a twitch channel covering all the games in English, so you won’t miss out on any of the action.
Tournament structure
This event will feature 16 guys, broken down into:
- Top 8 WCS Circuit Points in 2017 get a direct invite
- 2 players qualified from the previous event (StarCraft of China #3)
- 6 players from the open qualifiers.
The tournament will be divided into two group stages and then finish with a double elimination playoff.
For the 1st stage, players are divided into 4 groups with 2 guys from the open qualifiers and 2 with direct invites. The matches will be played in a round robin best of 3s format, with the top 2 in each group advancing to the 2nd stage, meaning that 8 pros will be already sent home after this phase.
In case the players tie in the number of wins, the standings are decided by Head to Head record and then ‘Win-Lose’ game difference (in case of a 3-way tie).
For the 2nd group stage, the 8 guys left standing will again be divided into 2 sections with a best of 3 round robin format. The top 2 in each group will advance to the playoffs, and the bottom 2 will be eliminated. The standings are determined the same way as in the first stage, in case of a tie.
The playoff is a standard double elimination bracket. All matches here will be played as a best of 5, except for the grand finals which can have up to 7 games to decide the winner.
Prize pool
GPL 2017 season 3 features a 58.000 Chinese Yuan prize pool, which translates to roughly $8.850 USD. The rewards are as follows:
- 1st place: $4.400 USD
- 2nd place: $2.200 USD
- 3rd place: $1.200 USD
- 4th place: $750 USD
In addition to this, all matches during the group stages will also net the players some money, which will be added on top on their final prize:
- A 2-0 win has a $225 USD reward
- A 2-1 win has a $150 USD reward
And to finish it off, maybe the greatest reward for this tournament is that the top 2 guys will get invited to the 2017 WCS Montreal, where they will fight for a share of the $100.000 USD and a spot in the 2017 WCS Global Finals, held later this year during Blizzcon (with the insane prize pool of $700.000 USD, it’s going to be the biggest event in a StarCraft 2 history).
Preview of the confirmed players
Eight Chinese professionals with the most WCS Circuit Points who got direct invites to the event are (remember that this rank doesn’t account for the South Koreans):
Nickname | Rank in the world | Race |
---|---|---|
IAsonu | 10 | Zerg |
TooDming | 19 | Zerg |
Time | 22 | Terran |
Cyan | 30 | Protoss |
MacSed | 36 | Protoss |
Jim | 47 | Protoss |
XY | 47 | Terran |
Rushcrazy | 57 | Protoss |
So far we have 4 Protoss, 2 Terrans and 2 Zergs guaranteed to play. Let’s talk a little bit more in depth about each of these players now:
#8 – Rushcrazy:
Rushcrazy currently plays for the team IG and his only notable result was getting a 4th place finish at the last season of GPL. His first pro match was in 2011, and despite being around the scene for a while, never had any big impact, not even within his own region.
He has under $5.000 USD in earning throughout the career and his winrate in recorded matches is only 39,29%. This means he probably won’t be contending for the title here, and getting through to the 2nd group stage could be considered as a success for him.
#7 – XY:
XY is also a guy from the IG team, having joined them way back in 2011. He’s a veteran in eSports terms, being aged 30 and having competed professionally in Starcraft 1: Brood War. He’s considered by many to be the 2nd best Terran in China – and might never reach that #1 spot, as he slowly gets further and further away from his peak level of play.
XY has over $60.000 USD in earnings with the overall winrate 54,76% in pro matches (with his best matchup being Terran vs Terran). He’s a guy who will fight for the top 4 in this event and will surely aim for that desired WCS Montreal invite.
#6 – Jim:
Our 3rd player in this list is also from team IG, and he is only 21 years old. Despite being so young, Jim has been one of the top Chinese gamers since the year 2012. So far, he has accumulated 9 Major trophies and placed 4th in 2 different Premier tournaments. In earnings, he has upwards of $130.000 USD.
Jim’s form isn’t so good at the moment, so he’s gonna have to prove to himself and fans that he can still compete at a high level and dominate the scene. His overall winrate in pro matches is 58,73%, and the best matchup is Protoss vs Protoss.
Can Jim surprise everyone with performances close to his peak level in 2014-2015? We’ll have to wait and see.
#5 – MacSed:
4th player on our list, the 4th member from IG (they sponsor 5 of the 8 pros directly invited). Aged 28, MacSed is a known name to most Starcraft 2 fans. Being one of the best guys in China, MacSed competed in numerous events overseas – albeit always as the underdog and never achieving any notable results in premier tournaments.
In China, however, he’s feared as he should be and gonna challenge for the title. MacSed has his eyes set on that Montreal invite. With a 54,30% winrate and good PvP and PvZ, he will try to show once again why he’s one of the best Protoss in the country.
#4 – Cyan:
Cyan is a player who stepped up to the pro scene a little later. His first notable results were in 2014, while many of opponents here were already playing professionally in 2010. He has $36.000 USD in prizes and always looking for more.
His recent form is one of the best in China. Despite lacking the same experience as the others, he’s one of the invitees with the top track records in 2017, with many deep runs in Majors.
#3 – Time:
The best Terran in the region, and he’s only 17. Time has a huge potential to grow and has already shown during this year that he can dominate the Chinese scene and even challenge foreign players. This event is the perfect opportunity for him to get a chance to display his skills in a global WCS Montreal LAN.
His best matchup is Terran vs Protoss, and since many of the strongest opponents are Protoss, things are looking good for the young Time.
#2 – TooDming:
TooDming is also among the Chinese veterans. He is a professional gamer since Brood War and has since then maintained a spot as one of the scariest Zergs of the country. His winrate is high on all of the 3 matchups – around 57%. He carries 5 Major trophies under the belt in Starcraft 2.
TooDming is one of the favorites to win and qualify for Montreal, and failing to do so would be a big disappointment for his fans and himself.
#1 – iAsonu:
IAsonu is the absolute favorite for the title here. With 24 years old, he’s relatively new to the scene compared to some of the other veterans. But this year alone, he has already won 3 Majors and came at 2nd place in another 2. No one comes even close to these kinds of results in the region.
He’s the most fierce opponent China has to offer, and can even go toe to toe with many pro foreigners in oversea tournaments. If IAsonu shows up at his peak level, I don’t see anyone taking the trophy away from his hands – the opponents will have to fight for the 2nd place.
Thanks for reading my preview and staying until the finish. I will see you in my next piece. Good luck!