The Leaderless Swarm




Throughout SC2's history, it’s always been the case that one zerg inevitably shoulders the burdens of his race. There’s never been an era like the terran generation of WoL, or the protoss sextet of late HotS; even in the zerg infested heyday of 2012, theirs has always been a solitary race. From the beginning of WoL, when NesTea single-handedly held off the Terran legions, to the end of HotS, when ByuL took over the reigns, there’s a lineage stretching through the years. The question is thus: Who will assume the mantle now? Zergs have fallen rapidly so far this season in Code S; could Solar finally take his chance this season?

While likely the favourite to advance first, with a favourable metagame for his race and a weak first opponent to begin with, (Z)Solar has already displayed cracks in his once impeccable form. Winning the first ever LotV Premier Tournament in a masterful display, not only of his rapid adaptation to a new game, but also his sheer mental resilience, Solar has continued to bloom, reaching the SSL Winners’ Finals and sealing a spot in the top three. However, the short path in that competition so far (2-0 Soulkey, 3-0 ByuL, 3-2 RagnaroK) might have obscured his true form. Completely outplayed by TY, and punished heavily for his arrogance against INnoVation in Proleague, Solar's ZvT has looked strangely inadequate as of late. His first opponent comes into this group without the lofty reputation of INnoVation or TY, but after seeing another relatively unknown Terran, Bunny, played against the likes of Life and Soulkey, upsets in the volatile, sandbox-like environment of LotV are always possible.

To say that new blood can always overthrow the old guard is one thing, but (T)Speed takes novelty to the next level. Who is SpeeD? Well, Artosis wrote an article hailing him as the next Rookie of the Year. How so, you ask? To be perfectly honest, such an opinion cannot possibly be supported by unsightly facts such as his recorded matches on Aligulac. He entered Code S by defeating Reality 3-2, another middling terran who performed poorly on the day. He has only one matchup where he has won more than he has lost, but alas, TvZ is not it, and he is now against the monster of early Legacy zerg. He cannot even count on the other half of the group being inferior to advance in second place; thus, to advance and fulfil Artosis' fantasies, a miracle is needed. But StarCraft has never been generous with granting miracles, except to the very best.

Speaking of new blood, and veterans; (P)Creator is both. A brilliant player in the zerg infested wasteland of late WoL, Creator displayed explosive potential with both his skill and his advancement of the Protoss metagame, but then he strangely lost all of it in the second expansion, in spite of the fact that a more tech-oriented playstyle such as his should be aided by the addition of the Mothership Core and the other new tools. He disappeared for the entirety of HotS, albeit appearing once in a while to produce the occasional StarCraft miracle (such as beating Zest twice to carry the refuse heap known as Prime to victory against KT Rolster). Now, on a new, vastly superior team, he should have a chance to finally ignite the flame and advance. Or so fantasy commands. In reality, he is facing Classic, another Protoss with vastly more experience and more importantly, many more victories. His own play in Code A against Armani, an average Zerg, was uninspiring to say the least. He will need more than that to look even mildly competent.

(P)Classic is competing with Solar for the spot as the best player in this group, but in a Zerg-favoured metagame where he was utterly crushed by Dark 3-0 with powerful Lurker-Hydralisk-Zergling timings in the SSL, he does not appear to be able to stand up to the strongest Zergs at the moment. This is of course not taking into consideration Solar's astounding 87% winrate in the matchup, or the fact that he remains unbeaten in a Legacy ZvP series. Still, he should be fine, theoretically speaking—his PvP has always been competent, and should he avoid the meltdown that allowed Patience to reverse sweep him 3-2 in the SSL yesterday, he should dispatch of Creator with relative ease.

Predictions

This group is very easy to predict, theoretically speaking. Despite Solar's recent ZvT losses in Proleague, they are only 2 Bo1s, and against two of the best Terrans as well. SpeeD is certainly no TY, and he should not have a remote chance of taking a game off of Solar. While Classic's PvZ has looked weak as of late, his PvP has always been sharp and competent, and his PvT is immaculate. Assuming he defeats Creator, he can always rely on either of the aforementioned matchups to carry him through should he fall to Solar.

Solar > SpeeD
Creator < Classic
Solar > Classic
Creator > SpeeD
Classic > Creator

Solar and Classic to advance to the Round of 16.