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[S2SL] SSL Premier - Week 4 Preview

Forum Index > SC2 General
7 CommentsPost a Reply

[S2SL] SSL Premier - Week 4 Preview

Text byTeamLiquid ESPORTS
Graphics byv1
April 9th, 2017 23:18 GMT

SSL Premier Week 4
Five Conclusions
INnoVation vs Solar
Zest vs Patience
Maru vs aLive
sOs vs ByuL
Stats vs Dark
Brackets and standings on Liquipedia

SSL Premier Week 4



As Week 4 dawns on us, the race for the playoff spots sees no signs of stopping. Players are starting to get a feel for the format, and predictions for the eventual winners and losers are starting to form.


Five Conclusions



  1. Two weeks ago, aLive forfeited his match in lieu of Ting Season 3. Despite the 4-0 battering he took from GuMiho there, his trip to the US seems to have rejuvenated him somehow, as he both defeated Dark and reached the finals in the GSL Super Tournament. Despite his current 1-2 standing, including a painful 2-5 map score, his run through the GSL Super Tournament cemented our impressions from Katowice of a player returning to heights we haven’t seen in years. Signing with mYi, taking down Dark, and reaching the weekender grand finals might just be the edge he needs to start climbing the ranks again.

  2. INnoVation’s match against Maru showed exactly why he's been considered the absolute best Terran player for 2017 so far. It's notable that so many of INnoVation's 'lowlights' have come during cheese scenarios; either from others (SoulKey's infamous triplet of roach rushes; Maru's similar mental disintegration routine in the OSL) or from himself (that thor rush at BlizzCon 2014), and INnoVation to deal with some extremely weird situations so casually proved that his lead in this race is entirely warranted.

  3. Zest’s third loss in a row was a sad day for Protoss players everywhere. His reputation has reached such incredible heights that the weight of the expectation on his shoulders feel almost inhumane. Normally, a player going 0-3 over the first three weeks would be considered just part of the brutal competition, but with Zest, it’s automatically a sign in his fans' eyes that he’s slumping yet again. Zest is a divisive figure in that he’s not allowed to perform below the most stellar level, ever. Of course, despite his slow start, there’s still six more weeks to go; but for now, he's firmly rooted to the bottom of the table.

  4. Patience has only really played two matches, and yet he’s third. He lost against Dark 0-2 (predictable) but then went 2-0 against ByuL (less predictable). Because of aLive’s forfeit, the results so far are ever so slightly skewed in Patience’s favour, but since there are still six weeks to go, the standings will even out eventually. For now, Patience will enjoy an extra edge over the competition, but if he wants to make it to the Post Season, it will still require a great deal of skill and prowess, not luck.

  5. Maybe it's the very much telegraphed schedule of one match a week, maybe it's the welcome return to the glorious Nexon Arena, maybe we're just trying to mend our broken hearts; but there's more than a tinge of the Proleague feel to the SSL so far. We've seen a few tailored builds and awkward scenarios already, and it's only going to get more intense when we move into the second half of the campaign.


INnoVation vs Solar



Going into Week 4, (T)INnoVation stands on the very top of the score board, and by a comfortable margin. He hasn’t dropped a single map in the last three weeks, taking down Zest, Dark and Maru, all Titans of their respective races. Even though he was taken out by aLive in the GSL Super Tournament, it seems like INno’s finally found his niche in the pennant race. He’s clearly vying for the top spot, and it seems unlikely that even the recently redeemed (Z)Solar will be able to stop the Terran. The two last met online in January, where INnoVation defeated Solar 2-0. All hope is not lost for the Zerg, however. He’s managed to shape up again, both in SSL and elsewhere—his inventive take on ZvT led to some superb matches this weekend against Maru and aLive. Solar is currently second in the pennant race, having won all three previous matches 2-1. Granted, they were all ZvP, so it remains to be seen what surprises the often volatile Premier division throws at him. What’s worse, INnoVation, as always, has one of the most frightening TvZ win rates of the year, making Solar the clear underdog.


Zest vs Patience



(P)Zest has the unenviable position of holding the last spot in the pennant race. Going 2-6 in maps so far, the Protoss can not be satisfied with the results. Talking about Zest’s slumps seems cliche at this point, but he has a whole lot of work ahead of him to climb out of this. What’s worse, he’s going up against (P)Patience, a player who’s been able to surprise pretty much everyone when it comes to PvP. Patience holds the edge with a 5-1 record in recent offline series against Zest, stretching from last year's SSL S2 Playoffs, to 2 wins at HomeStory Cup, to March's wins at IEM Katowice and in the VSL. Even though Zest has started to show an uptick in form online, the prognosis isn’t stellar—Patience has just had his number recently. He's sitting pretty in third place in the race, and he very would much like to stay on top of the heap.


Maru vs aLive



These two didn’t get to meet over the weekend, making this both a test of skill and a crucial match for the two Terrans. They’re tied in the pennant race, but the hype seems to be on (T)aLive’s side for the time being. His top form in the Super Tournament spells difficult times ahead for (T)Maru, and the Jin Air superstar sorely needs to step up his game if he wants to avoid relegation to the Challenge division. For aLive, maybe 2017 will be his second breakout year. His 1-2 standing isn’t promising just yet, but as they say, revolutions are built on hope.


sOs vs ByuL



(P)sOs stands almost perfectly in the middle of the pack, just barely below Stats. His current sixth place is a precarious one, because it will mean having to go through an extra set of matches to make it to the next SSL Premier—finishing even one spot higher means that the player will qualify for the second season automatically. Of course, making it to fourth is possibly even more important—bringing with it a spot in the Post Season, with a chance to claim the SSL title. Speaking of fourth place, sOs first has to go through (Z)ByuL, whose 2017 just seems to be improving and improving. The two met in the Super Tournament qualifiers, and ByuL was the winner, taking down sOs 2-0. The two also met in the SSL qualifiers, where it was sOs who walked away as the winner. And, third time’s the charm, the two met in the IEM qualifiers, where ByuL had the upper hand. In short, this might just be too close to call.


Stats vs Dark



Even a few weeks ago this would’ve been considered one of the highlights of the entire tournament. (P)Stats still enjoys his position as the best Protoss player in the world, but (Z)Dark’s fortunes in 2017 have been lacking. The fates are fickle, and while the Zerg player reigned unchallenged as the best of his race last year, his recent lack of results has had many fans scratching their heads. What on Earth has happened? Sure, there are certain circumstances that should be mentioned—he played pretty well in his loss to Stats at IEM Katowice, he ran into a resurgent aLive this weekend at the Super Tournament, while the whole concept of the ex-SKT teamkill GSL group probably allows us to treat those results with a slight pinch of salt. Of course, the scene often has the memory of a goldfish, and Dark should still be considered among the very top of the Zerg race. Nevertheless, going up against the most recent GSL champion is never an easy task.


Predictions

INnoVation 2 - 1 Solar
Zest 1 - 2 Patience
Maru 1 - 2 aLive
sOs 1 - 2 ByuL
Stats 2 - 0 Dark




Credits:
Writers: hexhaven.
Editors: munch.
Graphics: v1.
Stats: Aligulac

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TL+ Member
starkiller123
Profile Joined January 2016
United States1474 Posts
April 10 2017 00:28 GMT
#2
Will be interesting to see if Solar uses hydras and lurkers against INoVation too, i feel like its not very good but he did pretty well with it
Argonauta
Profile Joined July 2016
Spain1148 Posts
April 10 2017 00:54 GMT
#3
Maru vs aLive, couldnt have that match in the supertournamnet. Excited about it and about Dark obvious win vs Stats, dont know why that prediction honestly.
Rogue | Maru | Scarlett | Trap
Fango
Profile Joined July 2016
United Kingdom4435 Posts
April 10 2017 01:09 GMT
#4
I see a lot of 2-0s happening
GOATs -> Zest, Inno, Life, Maru, SoO, sOs. ROOT_herO is overrated
pvsnp
Profile Joined January 2017
5488 Posts
Last Edited: 2017-04-10 02:00:17
April 10 2017 01:53 GMT
#5
Hey we get a preview this week! Nice!
I was afraid that the lack of preview last week meant that we wouldn't get any more at all.

aLive is crazy good at the moment, especially his TvT which might just be the best in the world. So he should have no trouble cleaning up Maru 2-0. Its his TvP and TvZ that are holding him back; he put up solid but not spectacular performances in both at the Super Tournament so I wouldn't quite consider him to be a top Terran at this point. As it stands though, he is definitely close to edging out Maru and ByuN. If he can keep up his current form and seize a trophy then he will most certainly be in contention for the Terran throne.
He is the Prince that was Promised, and his is the Song of Ice and Fire.
TL+ Member
Cricketer12
Profile Blog Joined May 2012
United States12428 Posts
April 10 2017 06:56 GMT
#6
Only prediction i disagree with is stats dark and that choice is probably gonna bite me in the ass
"What do the cars run on here, racism?" l SC2 Liquibet Season 17 Winner
AlexGPunkt
Profile Joined January 2016
Germany255 Posts
April 10 2017 08:47 GMT
#7
I LBed before the supetournament: Innovation, Zest, Maru, Byul, Stats for the win
killerm12
Profile Joined November 2014
Slovakia598 Posts
April 10 2017 09:33 GMT
#8
ENG cast for today:

Byun | Neeb | Ryung | Solar | ShoWTimE | uThermal | Nerchio | TY | soO | MMA | Crank
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