 3:30 PM on 05.24.2012 |
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What better way to spend your Memorial Day weekend than with some StarCraft II? Red Bull, who is no stranger to eSports, is hosting a 16-player tournament with some incredibly strong players competing for $41,000 in prizes. Violet and Stephano will be there, hot off their first and third place finishes (respectively) at MLG Spring Arena 2. The HuK vs. MC rivalry will be revisited, and I can only hope HuK performs better than he has in recent tournaments.
What has me even more excited is the quality of casters that will be commentating on the matches. Husky, Day[9], djWHEAT, and Rob Simpson is nothing short of an all-star lineup when it comes to personality and casting. Friday is reserved for fans to meet and greet the participants, and if you're in the area you can still buy your tickets over on the official site. I'm very jealous of all of those attending, as Husky is the sole reason I got into competitive StarCraft II in the first place.
You'll be able to stream the event free of charge from the site linked above or on Day[9]'s website. Day[9] and djWHEAT have weighed in with predictions of the event:
Day[9]:
Among the interesting stories developing around the Red Bull Battlegrounds tournament is the continuing rivalry between MC and HuK, who have repeatedly faced off in competition and are very closely matched. Then there is Ret, a fascinating player who has been an inconsistent performer. I’m looking forward to seeing whether he can overcome that tendency in this competition. Finally, there is viOLet who has been destroying everything he touches. Will his run continue at Red Bull Battlegrounds?
I want to point out that the players invited to Red Bull Battlegrounds were specifically selected because they had interesting storylines going in: they are rising eSports stars, falling stars, winners of recent tournaments, partners in epic rivalries, players with unusual play styles. Every single one of them represents the epitome of great play and great eSports entertainment.
djWHEAT:
I'm really looking forward to this event and I'm very excited to be a part of it. I personally am going to be keeping an eye on empire viOlet in this competition. He won his first major event almost 6 months ago, and he continues to show amazing consistency in his gameplay and results. Regardless of the outcome, it's going to be very difficult to pick a winner from this solid pool of 16 internationally recognized players. I expect upsets, come backs, some great player insight, and an amazing crowd to cheer their favorite players on!
Personally, I think Stefano will have a great weekend in Austin. He looked really strong at MLG Spring Arena 2, but his ZvZ (Zerg vs. Zerg) just didn't cut it. If he gets paired up with Violet again, his fuel for vengeance may kick in and give him the boost he needs. Regardless, the caliber of players present at this tournament ensure that there will be some fantastic games!
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