The esports summer season is the sport's most important and its most hectic. The most prestigious event of all kicks off tomorrow in San Jose with the best WC3 players in the world fighting for a $12,000 first prize and the title of World Champion.

With that in mind, it's an amazing fact that Moon has never managed to win the ESWC but this week he aims to set the record straight. The question is, who can stop him? SK takes you through the preliminary group stage to see just who (no pun intended), if anyone, can stand in the way of the great one.

Group A:

SoJu
FiX
DowaQ
Hasuelf
Paulyan

For a while now, Dowaq has been steadily making a name for himself in the WC3 scene and with such a weak-ish group, this could be a chance for him to really make a name for himself. Soju in particular will be difficult for the Swede to overcome and will likely finish in first place but with Hasuelf and FiX on a similar or lower level to Dowaq, expect him to come through in second place. As for the Korean himself, he is in a rich vein of form right now and he will definitely be relishing the chance to become the first back-to-back ESWC champion - a feat which is definitely within his grasp.

Zechs picks: SoJu and DowaQ.
ManUtd picks: SoJu and DowaQ

Group B:

TH000
HoT
Zeus[19]
Cypress
ShrieK

The return of the old-timer is little surprise to most, with Croatia hardly being famous for its gaming talent. Unfortunately for Zeus, it seems unlikely that he will pass the group stage. With Th000 and HoT ahead of him in the pecking order, and arguably Shriek too, the legendary nightelf will struggle to qualify for stage two. Th000, though rather sporadic online, always performs on LAN and it wouldn't be a surprise to anyone if he left this group undefeated. Second place is a little more difficult to call, but i think the experience and skill level of Hot will overcome the home advantage of the unfortunate Shriek.

Zechs picks: Th000 and HoT
ManUtd picks: Th000 and HoT

Group C:

Lyn
HasuObs
XyLigan
CK
Coup

Although Xyligan is capable of an upset if he turned up, his absence makes Lyn an even bigger favourite than he already was. With CK and Coup being mostly unknown the safe money would be on Hasu to finish second in the most straight forward group. With Xylian at the event, this group would have been much more interesting but sadly it seems that will not be the case.

Zechs picks: Lyn and HasuObs
ManUtd picks: Lyn and HasuObs

Group D:

Grubby
Happy
Miou
Guesswho
Dark Scorpion

Although Happy won’t actually be at ESWC, his absence only affects the second qualifying spot in Group D. Despite losing in his last WC3L outing, Grubby will be motivated and prepared for ESWC, enough to take first place ahead of Miou in this group. The former champion has his critics but he is not a player you can easily count out of any tournament. Miou should tie up second place with little hassle and will even give Grubby a close game. Guesswho and Dark Scorpion will surely enjoy the sights of San Jose for slightly longer than most of the competitors.

Zechs picks:Grubby and Miou
ManUtd picks: Grubby and Miou

Group E:

ToD
SaSe
Paladyn
Dave
Lanwilliam

Unless Paladyn can complain his way to victory, this group also looks pretty straight forward. It’s less a question of “who will qualify” and more a question of “what order will they do it in?” Tod and Sase should go through, but first and second place could go either way and might come down to the map. Both players will fancy their chances to go a long way in the tournament and stage one should hold no real obstacles for either. Tod especially is the proverbial sleeping giant of WC3 recently. Whether he's been practicing and saving new strategies or just been playing lots of DoTA will make or break his tournament.

Zechs picks: SaSe and ToD
ManUtd picks: ToD and SaSe

Group F:

WhO
Wolf
SonKiE
Bonecracker
Firestrike

This is another group where the race for second is more exciting than first. Who should take this group at a canter. Sonkie’s home advantage could make the difference but Wolf and Firestrike are both decent players, capable of upsetting the American if he isn’t absolutely on top of his game. With this being the first WC3 tournament on American soil in quite a while there is really no telling how big of a difference home advantage will make but let's not forget that Sonkie is also a very accomplished player. While it is unlikely he will be in the running for a top finish he should at least make it to the second stage.

Zechs picks: Who and SonKiE
ManUtd picks: Who and SonKiE

Group G:

Sky
ReiGn
RotterdaM
Darkdancer

This group is a little more interesting. You would expect Sky to qualify, but Rotterdam has a good chance of upsetting the Korean, Reign and stealing second place. In fact, with the Dutchman’s unusual strategies he even has an outside chance of toppling the favourite. Keep an eye on this group and don’t be too surprised if you lose a few betting credits before it’s over. SK's Korean star has a very trick group ahead of him here and one which I'm not sure he can overcome. Given the racial advantage Rotterdam has, Reign's chances might come down to having to beat Sky, and that's not an enviable task.

Zechs picks: Sky and RotterdaM
ManUtd picks: Sky and ReiGn

Group H:

Moon
TeD
DeMusliM
YanE

Though it pains me to say it, this is another easily predictable group. Though Demuslim has come on leaps and bounds in the past year, he still isn’t at the level of Ted, let alone Moon. Yane is a similar case and the pair must be disappointed at having to face two of the tournament favourites in the very first stage. As for Moon, well, dare you bet against the fifth race after the year he’s had so far? Two tournament wins already in the summer season mean Moon is unsurprisingly one of the favourites for this tournament. If he can master his famously weak mirror match up it seems inevitable that there will be slightly less room in his trophy cabinet by the end of the week.

Zechs picks: Moon and TeD.
ManUtd picks: TeD and Moon