The CSL began with a simple idea in mind - weekly, collegiate team-based competition between players of all skill levels, leading up to a final showdown between the best of the best. Since 2009, the number of teams participating has grown rapidly, from 26 in its first season of Brood War, to an astonishing 144 after the release of SC2. How would things change with the advent of a new game and a level playing field? How many teams would have the stamina and the fortitude to survive an excruciating season of over 17 weeks of divisional play, let alone a 32-team single elimination bracket amongst the best of the best?

Through the past few weeks of playoffs, we've seen a fair share of surprises and upsets, amidst stable play and supreme dominance. Soon, we will arrive at the showdown between Red and Blue, the CSL Grand Finals, the ultimate trial for any team seeking the grail of victory...

But before then, there is one last challenge to be met.

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Legend Slayers

In the Blue Conference, we have Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute versus the University of British Columbia. As relative newcomers to the SC2 scene, their history is not as grand as those competing in the Red Conference, but considering their list of accomplishments thus far their accomplishments are no less impressive, and have the potential to mark the beginning of a long SC2 dynasty in the SC2.

As part of Guardian Division RPI frequently found themselves pitted against famous, historied teams of the CSL. Although early on in the season it looked like they were struggling, they soon made a statement by defeating University of Minnesota Twin Cities, a team with a decent record and good potential for playoffs. As divisions went on, they easily defeated the University of Victoria and the University of Southern California, two schools who have found themselves fallen from grace in Season 4. They narrowly edged out victories against veterans Georgia Tech and Western Ontario. In the end, through determination and force of will, RPI broke through to playoffs - as the top seed, no less.

They took out Stanford in the Ro32 - a team that had performed well to make it to playoffs, but not quite well enough to proceed. Even so, the last two matches came to a head between team aces, RPI's tGensulitor vs. Stanford's SituatioN, with tGensulitor taking the final two matches. The next week was against Toronto - a CSL veteran with the might of BW giant Iefnaij behind them - and still they won. And, in the Ro8, they faced CSL Season 3 champions UCSD in a heated series that went down to the ACE match before RPI could cinch the victory, 3:2.

RPI's tGensulitor mindgames the TSL1 champion with a fake FE into 3-rax all-in.

On the other side of the bracket we have the University of British Columbia. Though not a CSL participant in earlier seasons, some of UBC's individual members have been making a name for themselves in the SC2 community - most notably, NOVAstalife. A member of Spectre Division, UBC had tested the mettle of its fellow teams during divisional play and found them... wanting. Their two losses during the regular season were to UOITDurham and Western Washington University, but don't let these losses fool you - they lost the former due to submission forfeits, and the latter from playing their B-team. Even with these two losses, they easily defeated their fellow Spectres at Texas Arlington, Hawaii, and Grant McEwan and took the first place seed for playoffs.

Like RPI, UBC found itself pitted against stronger and stronger teams in playoffs. Though they burned through UCDavis easily in the Ro32, they ran into CSL veterans in the next two rounds. These legends proved themselves to be tough challenges - Rutgers and Irvine were teams that had consistently made playoffs, and they had both had large teams with significant depth to them. Though they dropped a 1v1 and the 2v2 in each match, UBC was able to come out ahead, riding along the crest of the wave of victory they had established for themselves and narrowly avoiding defeat.

If UBC's NOVAStalife loses a game, don't worry; he'll just win the ACE match later.

Was it so unlikely for these two teams to be where they are now? The fact remains that both of these teams have made it to the top of their conference, taking out CSL giants left and right along the way. Look at last week's bracket - it could have just as easily been a repeat of previous seasons, with the eternal rivals UCSD and UCI facing each other once again in a fated showdown of the ages. Instead, fate intervened. RPI and tGensulitor intervened. UBC and NOVAStalife intervened. This CSL season, a new legend will be made, atop the bodies of the old.

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PREDICTIONS SPECULATIONS

An immediate glance at the rosters and lineups will tell us that UBC's team has a depth advantage on RPI FOUR Grandmasters on UBC versus RPI's one. Set 1 will definitely be a challenge - RPI's JackBauer will have a tough time coming out of Set 1 with a victory, especially from the elegant chess-match that is TvT, and then ESPECIALLY against NOVAStalife. Set 2 will be one of the more exciting matches to watch, as we'll see RPI's tGensulitor against the second of UBC's Grandmasters, ValiditySAGA. As RPI's hero and ace, tGensulitor has the best chance of taking sets off of any of UBC's strongest players.

The four Grandmasters of UBC's team. Kind of scary, if you ask me.

One key issue that UBC seems to have overlooked is the lack of a dedicated 2v2 team. Although MnMPeto has consistently played on their 2v2 team this season, the past few weeks have shown that the 2v2 seems to be a weak point in UBC's lineup, and so they've decided to swap him out for an untested team of Saikou and tQWannabe. In the meantime, RPI's 2v2 team of jimdaman and Tezzar will be sure to have great cohesion, as they've been playing together all season. What does gameplan UBC have in store with this new team, and will RPI be strong enough to stop them?

Is this the secret to RPI's 2v2 team?

Sets 4 and 5 will be challenging matches for RPI to win. VPStreet faces off against the third of UBC's Grandmasters, coLFireZerg, while Elvishpie has the privilege to face the UBC's fourth and final Grandmaster, tQWannabe. Should the score still favor RPI after these two sets, they still have a chance between jimdaman and Saikou, though as a ZvZ there are bound to be things that are unexpected. The ACE match, of course, remains to be anyone's guess, though RPI has their work cut out for them - while it's fairly likely tGensulitor will be picked for the RPI ace, he has to prepare for at least four different opponents.

Tune in this Sunday, May 1st on the CSL Justin.tv stream to watch!