by: TheOneAboveU

Long have we waited for high-level team league action to resume after the end of GTC Fall in October of 2020. As always, the period between seasons of the team event organized by the Chinese duo SCBOY has been one full of crazy rumors and murmurings about transfer, format changes, and new teams. What emerged from the long break is a competition both similar and wildly different from the one we’ve come to know and love over the last couple of years. One key change in particular will have a massive impact on how this tournament is going to feel going forward: the removal of the Chinese player quota. Welcome to the most international version of SCBoy’s team league yet: the World Team League 2021 Summer Season!

Catch the WTL 2021 Summer Season on the streams of Wardi and CreightonOlsen every Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 11:00 GMT (+00:00)!

Week 1 Line-ups

For the Greater Good: Chinese Player Quota Removed

Until now, teams participating in the China Team Championship/Gold Series Team Championship had to send out one player from the Chinese region (China, Taiwan, Hong Kong or Macau) per series. This gave the mostly Chinese audience a regional player to cheer for, as well providing regional players a chance to play meaningful matches against stronger players on a regular basis.

This system paid off, as the growth of the Chinese region players became a subplot that ran through all the seasons of CTC/GTC, and we eventually saw some of the regional underdogs score big upsets against world-class players in key matches. It made off-season maneuvering all the more interesting as well: Securing the services of an elite Chinese player like TIME could change the championship picture an instant (as KaiZi Gaming management can surely attest). I believe the system did exactly what it was designed to do and must be regarded as a success.

At the same time, it became the greatest hurdle for any new team interested in participating in the league. With the Fall Season of GTC ending and StarCraft II being put on legacy-status by Blizzard, SCBoy decided to make a sacrifice: the Chinese player quota would be suspended going forward in the interest of making it easier for teams from all over the world to participate. While this took away golden opportunities of improvement and employment for Chinese pros, it was the kind of great news the global StarCraft II community really needed to hear.

So far, it looks like it’s been a successful move for SCBoy, who have managed to get the interest of twelve of the best teams on the planet for their WTL Summer Season. Aside from the pivotal change of the Chinese player quota, which will take away some of the dynamic tactics seen hitherto in the league, the format remains mostly unchanged from previous editions—you can find a detailed overview on Liquipedia.

Summer Season Power Rank

Rank 12: Team LP
GTC 2020 Spring: 5th Place | GTC 2020 Fall: 6th Place

Terran: MYMY
Zerg: Wanted, QzDdb
Protoss: Jieshi, Alka, JoliwaLoves

Once upon a time Team LP had Patience and Impact on the roster, giving them the chaotic power to punch far above their weight class, pull off crazy upsets, and upend any predictions. However, the only chaos emerald left is Jieshi, one of the Chinese heroes of the GTC/CTC days. Jieshi improved steadily over the last few seasons, with his style strongly resembling long-time teammate Patience. He’s dangerous against any opponent who doesn’t scout him out properly, but is not exactly a player who can anchor a team. Alongside Jieshi are Wanted and QzDdb, who at least were a part of Team LP during the last campaigns (though they didn’t see too much action), as well as newer names like Protoss player JoliwaLoves, who made it into the DH Winter Masters Chinese regional in 2020. There’s no way of putting it nicely: Winning WTL would require a miracle of the grandest scale for this squad.

Rank 11: Invictus Gaming
GTC 2020 Spring: 6th Place | GTC 2020 Fall: 8th Place

Terran: XY, Coffee
Zerg: XiGua
Protoss: MacSed, Jim

Veterans of many campaigns, the players of Invictus Gaming have years of experience under their collective belt and are characterized by immense fighting spirit. Not once fielding a Korean player in the history of this tournament series, Invictus Gaming was always the bastion of China in the competition. It wasn’t exactly a recipe for success, but it made every victory all the more precious. With XY, MacSed and XiGua once more donning the black and ivory, the all-Chinese team fields some of the most illustrious players of the country. There lies their big advantage over Team LP, which can’t boast experienced competitors in such great numbers. As has always been the case, most matches will be uphill battles for Invictus Gaming, but they are used to that by now. To even aim for the playoffs will likely be an impossible task, so the team can fully concentrate on the usual goal: Take at least one upset and try to not end up in last place.

Rank 10: Team GP
GTC 2020 Spring: 7th Place | GTC 2020 Fall: 7th Place

Terran: NaTuRal, RyunG
Zerg: DRGLing, Gamja
Protoss: Prince, TAiLS, LunaSea, Dandy, Puzzle, ViViD

One thing is for sure: Team GP has the most options to build line-ups from, so we can look forward to them experimenting with a variety of entries throughout the season. What they have in quantity, they do, however, severely lack in terms of tried and true quality. Ryung, TAiLS and Puzzle all celebrated at least moderate successes in the past, but those days feel like ancient history by now. On the other hand, newer players like Prince, LunaSea and DRGLing have been lurking around the GSL, but haven’t yet shown the skill to become regulars. Team GP’s chief weapons will need to be surprise and preparation if they want to score some upsets. They won’t be a favorite in many matches—even Invictus Gaming could be a tough nut to crack, should the Chinese squad have a good day.

Rank 9: Team eXoN
New entry to the league

Terran: SpeCial
Zerg: Cham
Protoss: Gerald, MaxPax, Nina

One of the newcomers to the league, Team eXoN brings about the return of an old acquaintance of the CTC/GTC in SpeCial, who has played in the competition for Ocean Gaming and, briefly, Chivo SC. Sadly, the Mexican Terran didn’t have too much success previously, seeming to treat the matches with less importance than the bigger individual events. If eXoN can put his sharp strategic mind to the task at hand, he’s surely going to be a strong ace player for them—otherwise he’s more like a paper tiger. There is also the case of MaxPax, who could absolutely prove to be a strong asset for his team in this competition. He’ll be utterly unpredictable for most of his opponents, but how committed is he going to be to the league? In the past, this question has often made a huge impact on the performances of teams and players, allowing focused underdogs like Alpha X to rise to the top of the pack. eXoN look like a team that could reach reasonably high peaks, but they’ll need to prove that they’re taking this competition as seriously as the top contenders.

Rank 8: Good Game Gaming
New entry to the league

Terran: Dream
Zerg: None
Protoss: Cyan, Patience

The new team out of China picked up three league veterans for their campaign in the former Brave Star Gaming duo of Dream and Cyan as well as Team LP’s former ace player Patience. This ranking does weigh previous participation and performances in this competition relatively heavily—for what other metrics really are there for performances as a team these days? In that regard, GGG does have great potential to score points this season, fielding one of the most successful players of the league historically. Dream earned himself the TL.net MVP award in GTC 2020 Spring and afterwards led his team into the finals with a spectacular series of matches. Of course, we’ve already mentioned the very dangerous Patience, though one can’t call him reliable. Cyan is one of the Chinese players who has grown most over the course of the GTC and CTC, and he could very well improve even further in the WTL. GGG aren’t title contenders, but they’re still a tough draw for any of the top tier teams.

Rank 7: Shopify Rebellion
New entry to the league

Terran: ByuN
Zerg: Lambo, Scarlett, TLO
Protoss: None

The last-minute challengers have chosen the biggest stages of all to begin their journey as a team and it’s going to be very exciting indeed to watch them. ByuN can be a force of nature, and he gives the Rebels a solid chance to beat anyone should they force an ace match. But the juicy part of these Rebels is their Zerg line-up. If you’d need to build up a Zerg department at a university, it’s probably going to include the trio of Lambo, Scarlett and TLO in top positions. Sure, TLO’s creativity has become a bit of a meme, but his experience as a team leader for Liquid during the old Acer TeamStory Cup tournaments will surely benefit Shopify now. Lambo is one of the leading Zerg theorists in the scene, and recently put his money where his mouth is by helping coach Reynor to the IEM World Championship. Together, the two Germans could help keep Scarlett motivated and give her a strategic edge. The Canadian has played many GTC seasons under Newbee and Brave Star Gaming with mixed individual results, waxing and waning in tune with her motivation to practice—but surely she’ll want to do well for her new team? A locked-in Scarlett, alongside the brains of Lambo and TLO, anchored by an elite Ace in ByuN: The Rebellion could be a force to be reckoned with in the WTL.

Rank 6: Team Liquid
New entry to the league

Terran: Clem, Kelazhur, uThermal
Zerg: None
Protoss: MaNa, Harstem

Team Liquid may not be the best team going into the WTL, but they’ve put together a vast amount of competitive experience, the ability to prepare for matches, and one of the greatest rising talents in the scene. Cunning and extremely experienced players like uThermal, MaNa and Harstem are always a danger, which should enable Clem to fulfil his role as the team’s ace—though it is a predictable move to send the young Frenchman out in this capacity. Lacking a Zerg player and a real heavy hitter besides the French Terran does hurt Liquid’s overall depth and ability to change things up, making them vulnerable to strategies targeting their trump card. Still, Team Liquid’s overall quality is very solid, enabling them to battle most of the teams on even footing, with their players having this ability to suddenly rise up to the occasion and perform above the expectations—the TSL5 results of uThermal and MaNa come to mind as an example. Liquid has a proud history in team competitions and this squad is worthy of continuing that.

Rank 5: Alpha X
GTC 2020 Spring: 4th Place | GTC 2020 Fall: 2nd Place

Terran: None
Zerg: RagnaroK
Protoss: Astrea, Nice, Zoun

This placement might be a surprise to fans who are paying attention to the SCBoy team league for the first time, but Alpha X are one of the big dogs of this competition. They are like Batman: give them some preparation time and they’ll be able to challenge anyone. Debuting in GTC 2020 Spring, Alpha X quickly made a name for themselves by focusing a lot of time and energy on their performances in the league, challenging the favorites on more than one occasion through cunning strategies as well as sheer audacity. As far as this league goes, they’ve earned their wings and should be regarded as a strong contender. Astrea stood out as the best Protoss in the 2020 Spring Season, while Zoun and RagnaroK joined forces with Nice in a wonderful team effort to reach the Grand Finals in the Fall edition. Combining the strong points of both of their past seasons, Alpha X should be in a good position to stake a claim for their third consecutive playoff entry—as long as the Golden Dragons’ focus remains steady.

Rank 4: Team NV
New entry to the league

Terran: Maru, Bunny, HHs, Percival
Zerg: DongRaeGu
Protoss: Creator, sOs, NightMare

Team ‘totally not Jin Air Green Wings’ NV enters its debut season as a strong contender for the playoffs, fielding one of the strongest aces in the league with Maru. Bunny has also been very solid during his stints at teams involved in the league, most notably KaiZi Gaming. Former Jin Air players sOs and Creator have had their matches in the competition, but the resulting records are nothing to really brag about in the case of the former Prime player, and not especially meaningful in the case of the master of chaos, who seemingly wasn’t volunteering to play a lot of games. The recent addition of DongRaeGu was an important one, giving the team a reasonably strong Zerg option on top of an already solid foundation. They might have hoped for a more reliable Protoss on the roster, but overall Team NV should be able to stay in the upper echelon of WTL competition with the team that they’ve assembled.

Rank 3: KaiZi Gaming
GTC 2020 Spring: 3rd Place | GTC 2020 Fall: 1st Place

Terran: INnoVation, TIME
Zerg: Solar, Xiaose
Protoss: None

The defending champions march into battle slightly weaker than in the previous season, having lost a significant advantage in the abolished Chinese player-rule—for TIME was the ultimate weapon in the regional quota slot. While the young Terran is still an incredible asset for his team, he no longer provides a built-in advantage, which enabled KaiZi to dominate the Regular Season in the last edition. However, retaining Solar and INnoVation helps make up for that: the two most consistent players in the tournament’s history still are a powerhouse duo, for which one struggles to find more than one or two pairings of equal strength—the only examples are provided by teams ranked above KaiZi for that very reason. A title defense is definitely in the realm of possibilities, but the battles at the top are going to be even more brutal than in the last seasons.

Rank 2: Afreeca Freecs
New entry to the league

Terran: TY
Zerg: Armani
Protoss: Trap, Stats

With Stats and TY due to start their military service in the coming summer, the upcoming WTL season will be the last campaign for the Afreeca Freecs in their current form. Depending on their ability to sign some reinforcements to fill the holes left behind, this might be the last time we see Afreeca Freecs as real title contenders. While the ‘grizzled old veterans going for one last ride’ kind of trope fits perfectly for the Freecs, they certainly won’t go into this one as underdogs. Of course, it’s not just about the two outbound players: Armani has really been finding his stride in the past year and developed into an all-around solid Zerg player, while Trap briefly looked like the best player in the world before a disastrous IEM Katowice performance. Afreeca Freecs can field a truly fearsome quartet of players, and they have a good shot at claiming the WTL title.

Rank 1: Dragon Phoenix Gaming
GTC 2020 Spring: 1st Place | GTC 2020 Fall: 3rd Place

Terran: Cure
Zerg: Dark, Rogue, F91
Protoss: Zest

Only one team has more star power and brute force than the Afreeca Freecs: Having won their debut season in Spring 2020, Dragon Phoenix Gaming finished in a disappointing third place in the Fall edition. In response, they reinforced their already powerful Korean line-up of Dark and Cure, battle-hardened over the course of two seasons, with two more giants in Rogue and Zest, profiting massively from the abolishment of the Chinese player-rule by being able to field one more of these championship-caliber players every week. Those two are no strangers to the league, Rogue having been the ace of Jin Air Green Wings during their title run in 2019 and Zest playing for Ocean Gaming back then. DPG is an absolute behemoth and should be regarded as the favorite to take it all at the end of the season, having already underlined that status by taking out defending champions KaiZi Gaming with a score of 6-0 in a showmatch before the start of the season. This is the team to beat, no matter how you look at it.

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Source: https://tl.net/forum/starcraft-2/571150-wtl-2021-summer-power-rank-and-week-1-matches