(England) - London. Famous for so many things; Trafalgar square and its pigeons, Westminster and, of course, the linguistic disaster that is Estuary English. This weekend, however, it will become the centre of attention for the competitive gaming world as WSVG rolls into town. With a cool five grand at stake for the winner, the WC3 competition will be fierce but who will come out on top? GotFrag takes a look at the favorites.

Grubby

Any tournament he competes in will undoubtedly bring his name up in any article written about it. Recently, though, he hasn’t featured in too many finals melee articles. At Eurocup he was bested by fellow Dutch Orc player, RotterdaM before going out of last weekend’s KODE5 finals rather sooner than he would have hoped. The competition at this event is not as strong as that one but there will be no free wins for the out of form 4k man. Local favorite DeMusliM will pose a tough test on his home turf but one which a Grubby on top form would overcome in relative comfort.

The list of competitors on the Lanwar page is less than reliable but even assuming the majority of players do turn up then the Dutchman must surely fancy his chances here. SaSe, should he attend, will pose the biggest threat. The Swede has always been a noteworthy talent but would struggle to make most people’s list of great players. Still, with the advantage Nightelf players have over Orcs of a similar standard he is a definite contender for this tournament. Giacomo is another player who could trouble Grubby but is perhaps less likely to do so than SaSe. The Czech will suffer for the fact that he plays Undead if he comes up against Grubby at any stage and, skilled though he is, it is unlikely that he could upset an opponent of that caliber.

All-in-all, then, things look good for Mr Schenkhuizen. If he can re-find his form there is no reason he shouldn’t be traveling back to Holland with a ticket to the WSVG finals in his back pocket.

SaSe

With Grubby as the favorite, SaSe’s recent form against Orcs should stand him in good stead for WSVG London. Three of his last five WC3L games have been against Orc opposition and he won all of them. These were all quality opponents too. Farseer, Lyn and KiwiKaki have all fallen to the Swede in recent weeks. Grubby is arguably a better player than these three but SaSe’s ability to perform against Orc players is unquestionable and this could be the key to a finals appearance for him.

The downside for SaSe, as it is for many an elf player, is facing Undead opponents. This could be a problem with one of the other favorites, Giacomo, being a skilled exponent of the scourge. The two may be buddies in WC3L and NGL but in solo tournaments there is no helping one another out, especially with $5,000 and a finals spot up for grabs, and his Czech clan-mate will be a tall hurdle to surmount. All of this could easily be become immaterial if either player (or both) doesn’t attend or if they don’t meet at the event but either way, SaSe will need to lift his game to another level if he faces his team-mate.

Best of the Rest

The top tier talent at WSVG London is perhaps a little below the standard of other events but there a number of players who will be looking to upset the likes of Grubby and SaSe. Giacomo, a team-mate of SaSe at Mousesports is the most likely candidate, given his experience at the top level of play in WC3L and on LAN. As mentioned above, he does have the advantage over his team-mate in terms of racial balance but he has also beaten the Swede on LAN at last year’s Dreamhack. He will have his work cut out for him against Grubby, with Undead having a pretty big disadvantage against Orc players but Giacomo is the type of player who, if he is on form, can overcome those odds but perhaps not against such a skilled opponent.

The main hope for the home nation comes mainly in the form of Serious-gaming’s Human player, DemusliM. DemusliM has had notable achievements in the past but 2006 has really been the year that this youngster has come to the main stage. His form in NGL’s inaugural season was remarkable and he almost single-handedly carried them through it at some stages. At ESWC he was unlucky not to make the second stage despite some very impressive results, including ties with Nilknarf and Bjarke and a win over Firestrike. However, he has yet to build on these results as was shown in his defeat at the hands of ToD at the UK KODE5 qualifier. A win here would do wonders for his reputation but with SaSe, Giacomo and Grubby in his way it will be tough indeed.

Glaive is similar to DemusliM in the respect that he has the ability to beat some good players but has never really made a name for himself at the very top. His WC3L team, VerGe has had a rough season to say the least but this Swedish player remains a threat against anyone he plays. BoNd is another player who might cause a few upsets with the home crowd behind him, while Technoboy (if he attends, which seems unlikely) will be considered as a dark horse with nothing to lose.