Lucas "Colbi" Bigham will examine the StarCraft competition in Anaheim, California at BlizzCon 2008.
(Anaheim, CA) - Blizzard has invited some of the best StarCraft players in the world to fly to Anaheim to compete at the third BlizzCon StarCraft Invitational. Instead of there being four players from South Korea and four players from outside of South Korea, like in past years, the tournament organizers have opted to invite six Koreans, one American, and one European.
The field of professional gamers include a mix of veterans and younger talent. The favorite to win, Ji Soo "fOrGG_V_" Park is ranked 5th in the world according to KeSPa - the official ranking system of professional gaming. Yeong Moo "JangBi" Heo is 12th in the rankings and Yoon Yeol "NaDa" Lee is 15th. Out of all of the competitors, all are professional gamers except for Carlo "ClouD" Giannacco. Even though, he was able to finish in second place in the Spirit Tournament, he might be heading to South Korea very soon.
What are the chances?
Huge. His first opponent is XellOs who holds a respectable record versus terran. However, while TvT is statistically not Park's best matchup, he is coming fresh off some big victories over Flash and Canata.
Ji Soo "fOrGG_V_" Park
Ji Soo Park is considered to be among the new generation of professional gamers. At age 18, he was able to come in first place at the Arena MBCGame Starleague this year with a win over his teammate Jae Dong “Jaedong” Lee.
Along with Lee, he is statistically the strongest player on his team, Lecaf Oz. He is also the highest ranked player competing at this event.
A win at BlizzCon will bring him even more confidence to do better and achieve more back home.
What are the chances?
Very high. There is not much negatives things that can be said about Lee. Although, he might just have the toughest game of the tournament in his first round against JangBi. Expect Lee to make his case fighting through the loser's bracket.
Yoon Yeol "NaDa" Lee
Yoon Yeol Lee is one of the greatest players to ever touch the game of StarCraft. Along with Yo Hwan "BoxeR" Lim, he is a legend among terran users. At the age of 23, he is at a point in his life where most professional gamers are way past their prime. Lee is an exception to that notion because he is still managing to win.
With phenomenal mechanics, and lighting-fast hands he still remains one of the toughest forces to be reckoned with. At this event, he will be hoping to improve on his third place finish at BlizzCon 2005.
Yeong Moo "JangBi" Heo
What are the chances?
Good. He has a very tough opponent in NaDa in his first match, but luckily for Heo it is his best matchup. Expect the youngster to come out of the gates early with some big wins.
Yeong Moo Heo has lived in the shadow of Byung Goo "Stork" Song most of his career on Samsung KHAN. However, this year he has proven himself as one of the most dangerous players on his team. With wins over some of the biggest names in Korea, it is only a matter of time before Heo is able to capture a major title.
A win at BlizzCon might just be what he needs in order to become the new face of Samsung KHAN.
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