A long, cold winter. A quiet, still time, punctuated only by balance whining, the partying of HomeStory Cup XII and the faint but growing sound of battle in distant Korea. An impatient, anxious, uncalm before the storm.
That time has passed. The winter is far from over, but the wait is. Now, in 2016, the newest iteration of StarCraft 2 will face its first — and greatest — test. Just as DreamHack gave us the first premier tournament of Legacy of the Void, so too shall it give us the first showing in 2016: the Open in Leipzig.
It's a big moment for StarCraft 2 in the foreign scene. First, it will be the first major test of the foreign meta. While Code A and the SSL have already kicked off in Korea, we have yet to see the world's best non-Koreans go head to head in a high-stakes tournament this year.
It is in Leipzig that we will see if the foreigners will diverge from their Korean competitors, and who will look more dangerous. For a time, maybe, inspiration will run both ways. HuK only recently said that Koreans might be behind the curve in the metagame. The lack of Terran players in the tournament may prove challenging, but that means they will no doubt be bringing their best builds.
It all remains to be seen. Without a doubt, Legacy of the Void has sparked a rapid change in the way the game is played. Leipzig is one of the first steps in discovering whether Blizzard's bet on fast-paced, micro-intensive and unforgiving gameplay will pay off in the competitive scene. Already, we have seen some of the best games of StarCraft to be played (TY vs. Patience this week was a masterpiece) and now we will see if the trend can continue.
Leipzig will also give us the first glimpse at the odds of another bet, the one Blizzard has made on fostering a more independent foreign scene, with greater emphasis on national and regional rivalries. Of the 36 prominent players signed up for the open bracket in Leipzig, only two — Hydra and viOLet — are Korean. The first stages of the tournament are populated with a wide variety of little-known or inexperienced foreigners.
No doubt reinforced by the success of the WCS Season 3 finals last year, the Blizzard strategy, is a bold one. Rather than the regular, GSL-style tournament season of the past, the WCS Circuit brings us even further back, to early Wings of Liberty, when the foreign scene was dominated by weekend events such as IEM, DreamHack and MLG. Instead of weekly matches, fans will look toward the bigger, more consequential tournaments throughout the year.
Blizzard may already be patting themselves on the back for this strategy, looking to France's stunning victory in NationWars III as evidence that the foreign scene can be just as vibrant as the Korean one. MarineLorD, who all-killed four teams in that tournament — including Korea in the finals, beating INnoVation twice — will be present in Leipzig, one of the few Terran players among those gathering there.
MarineLorD will be joined by a host of other players from dozens of different countries. Some new, some old, each player has taken advantage of the revamped system and looks to bring glory to their country and to their region. PtitDrogo, Dayshi and FireCake round out the now absurdly strong French lineup. The Poles are looking more dangerous than ever, with Tefel, MaNa, Elazer and a resurgent Nerchio attending. The Finnish players, Serral and Welmu, have been joined by ZhuGeLiang. Shura (formerly Scarlett), who has seen a rapid return to prominence in Legacy, will once again be joined by HuK. Along with Neeb and State, who is coming from Korea, they will fight to make a North American the champion.
All in all, it makes for a potent cocktail of national, regional and personal rivalries. With the slate wiped clean, Leipzig carries with it the enormous gift of helping to solidify the currently uncertain hierarchy and the storylines that will shape this year of StarCraft. With that uncertainty comes great opportunity, and each player will be looking towards the empty throne.
So what are we certain to see in Leipzig? Hundreds of games, for one, thanks to the uniqueness of the Open format. Many of those will be PvZ, and Adepts will no doubt be a mainstay. We will see dozens of players, known and unknown, battle it out over three days of competition. We will see representatives of Germany, Sweden, Canada and a swarm of other countries.
Each of those players brings a unique history, carrying with them a small (or large) piece of what has made StarCraft 2 great up to this point. Different histories, different styles and different plans, they will no doubt show the diversity of the foreign scene.
Sometimes, there is little to connect the disparate competitors, but tomorrow, they will all have something in common.
They will be looking for the ultimate prize: the first championship of 2016.
Christian Paas-Lang is an eSports journalist from Toronto ushering in the New Year of StarCraft 2. Let's see some Adepts and Ultras! You can follow him on Twitter.
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