[GSL] Code S S1 - RO32, End of Week One

Group D: FXO_z, ST_Curious, ST_Bomber, oGsInCa


Match One: Oz vs Curious

Game One – 1.5/5

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Bombs Away

There a was a brief window of time last year, around May or June, where people thought Bomber might be the best Terran player in the world. This was just before the Macro-Terran wave started to dominate the GSL, back when Mvp was still the only Terran player who had achieved success based on being greedy and making way more stuff than his opponent. Right as Mvp got knocked down to Code A (the only blemish on a sparkling resume), a much hyped Bomber managed to qualify for the first time, riding in on a giant wave of online notoriety.

As the two players rampaged through their respect sides of the bracket with ease, the comparisons became inevitable. Just like Mvp, Bomber strolled to victories where he made more stuff than his opponent, microed that stuff better, and just made himself look totally invincible on the whole. As if it were fated, the two players ended up facing each other in the finals, one of the first "old versus new" moments in Starcraft II's young history. Mvp did what he could to protect his pride, but Bomber looked like the better player on that day. He won 4-2, booked a spot in Code S, and became the figurehead of the new generation.

Now, Bomber is back in the same place, at the bottom rung of Code A, trying to prove himself. The latter two words have been all too familiar to Bomber over the last seven months.

On the tail of that Code A victory, we wanted him to prove that he could be a champion. You might say that's an absurd thing to expect from a player, but those who are blessed with incredible talent are inevitably cursed with incredible expectations. Bomber truly looked that good in his prime.

The first of his troubles seemed like a speed bump. He went out 0 – 2 to Nestea in the Super Tournament, but it was no great shame to lose to the greatest Zerg player in the world. However, his next two tournament eliminations were road blocks. Bomber was eliminated from DreamHack Summer 2010 by Moon, a Warcraft III legend but a Code S nobody. Not long after, he dropped from his very first Code S tournament after suffering a 2 – 3 loss to ZeNEXByun – a shock loss after he had gone up 2 – 0 in the series with some of the best TvT play ever seen in the GSL.

Tumultuous days followed. There was a three day stretch where he demolished everyone at MLG Raleigh to claim the championship. There was also an elimination from MLG Orlando at the hands of IdrA and SaSe, and early eliminations from the next two Code S tournaments. At the same time, the greedy, mass-production style of Terran became a staple of the race, capable of being emulated by every competent player.

With the advent of the new Code S system, Bomber was found himself busy proving that he belonged in Code S, much less proving that he was a title contender. Bomber was not a favorite against DongRaeGu or Gumiho in his Code S November group, and it showed in his quick 0 – 2 elimination. He dominated his Up-Down group to earn another shot at Code S, only falter once more.

For a player who carried so many hopes, time might be running out. Names like ForGG, Taeja and Happy have appeared to make Bomber's once transcendent mechanics look much more commonplace. Players who were once behind Bomber, such as Leenock, DongRaeGu, and MMA are now stars who headline the GSL. For a player who needed to make up lost ground, falling even more behind was a painful disappointment.