GOMTV Star Invitational: Group D preview

Marking the end of group play, Group D continues the StarCraft GOMTV Star Invitational’s best of the best going head to head. The quartet is composed of players whose chances are as good as anyone else’s in the 16-man fight for the title. Before Bisu’s move to SKT1, the group had 3 MBCHero members. The players are all familiar with each other’s styles, meaning some cheese tactics and innovative plays can also be expected.

Cast of Characters

Name: Taek-Yong Kim
Alias: Bisu[Shield]
Race: Protoss
Team: SK Telecom 1 (Recently transferred, originally MBCHero)

Strength: During Savior’s reign, Bisu rose up to become the anti-Savior and dethrone the Zerg Maestro. Each time the players met, Bisu fortified his place in the annals of StarCraft fame. While Bisu’s Dark Templar/Corsair strategy is not entirely new, his technique and skill at its implementation are flawless.

Weakness: While his dominance over Zerg is almost assured, the same cannot be said about his Terran play. Combine the experience of his ex-teammates, and suddenly Bisu is in desperate need of some new tricks.

Stake: He can’t afford to pull a Savior and fade away. Bisu is still heavily favored, but even fans are starting to see a potential slump entering the Protoss warlord.

Name: Bo-Sung Yom
Alias: Sea[Shield]
Race: Terran
Team: MBC Hero

Strengths: Sea’s Terran is a force to be reckoned with. His offensive plays keep pressure on opponents while maintaining a solid staging point. Additionally, he uses dropships to manuever easily across maps that may hamper tank setups, allowing him to stage attacks and setup pushes more efficiently.

Weakness: Sea hasn’t exactly been playing at a stellar level. He’s lost a few games people expect him to win, clearly not playing up to par. His macro/micro balance seems rather tilted also, sometimes focusing too much on one over the other, costing him time and resources.

Stake: Sea can definitely show some power here. An exit out of the group means a chance at a title for him.

Name: Joon-Young Kim
Alias: GGPlay
Race: Zerg
Team: Hanbit Stars

Strength: GGPlay surprised the world winning the Daum OSL title in a superb set of games. He use of Zerg casters and tactical setups is top notch, dishing out large amounts of damage in short periods of time. On defense, GGPlay doesn’t show any hints of breaking even under some very tense situations.

Weakness: GGPlay hasn’t shown any sign of dominance since his title. He plays at an above average level, but still lacks any solid legacy among the top players.

Stake: GGPlay needs to show he won’t be a victim of the OSL curse and pick up another title.

Name: Jae-Ho Lee
Alias: Light [aLive]
Race: Terran
Team: MBC Hero

Strength: Light’s multitasking ability is pretty good, pushing an offense while producing more units to bulk it up at the same time. He’s shown some good plays as of late, and shouldn’t be underestimated. Spectators claim Light is a rising Terran star, and isn’t afraid to prove it.

Weakness: Light’s “rising” status seems to be rather slow to say the least. He shows potential, but can’t seem to rise to it at the moment. His titles come from strictly team ProLeague events, meaning he could have some trouble here at the solo event.

Stake: Light needs to rise faster. Making it out of the group and taking a top tier finish could boost on his status.