[GSL] Code A-48 Recap/Code S-16 Preview

Results from Live Report Thread by SeeKeR.
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Everything in its Right Place
– Favorites cruise as Code B players fail to score a single upset

It was an 8/8 Liquibet night for many, as the more established, more accomplished players also went eight for eight on the opening day of Code A. Eight players climbed their way out of the Code B preliminaries to get their shot in the GSL studio on Monday night, and in one fell swoop, all of their hopes were dashed.

Considering the caliber of opposition they faced, it was no surprise. HerO, Bomber, Jjakji, and MMA are players who could be in championship contention, while fOrGG, Gumiho, TheStC, and Puzzle are players that would fit right in in Code S. The Code B qualifiers are tough, and players like JookTo, HongUn, and Punisher should be commended for making their way through. But the there's two more tiers on above that, and it only gets harder each step of the way.

One group of Code B'rs are out, but the next wave can breath a sigh of relief. The Code S players in the second day of RO48 are a tad bit less formidable and Suhosin and YugiOh may have to give way to the newer challengers.

– Close calls

While there were some monumental mismatches such as HerO vs JookTo, MMA vs HongUn, and TheStC vs Punisher, a few of the challengers from Code B made their more famous opponents work hard to avoid banishment to Code B. Seal played a beautiful hive management game to defeat Puzzle on Cloud Kingdom, and the interim SlayerS ace had to use two two-base timing attacks to seal his victory. TheBest was able to gain an early advantage against fOrGG with a one-base all-in in game one, and seemed to be in a good position in the final game where he put together a deadly sky Terran composition. However, fOrGG countered TheBest with his own flying force, the FXO Terran's battle micro just didn't live up to his name.

– HongUn's final match

MMA saw it coming before the spectators. "He kept talking bout Diablo III in the pre-game chat." HongUn showed a similar aura of nonchalance in his games, going for two blatant void ray all-ins in a row. Though his micro was decent, it wasn't nearly good enough as MMA thwarted both all-ins easily for a fast 2 - 0 victory. "Antiga's not a good map for void rays, I think maybe he didn't prepare builds."

The reason for HongUn's disinterested play became quickly apparent, as he sent out the following tweet soon after the match "[My last GSL is over. Thank you everyone.] thx for cheer I stoped to SCII after the match."


Game of the Night: NSH_Freaky vs ST_Bomber, Game Two
– Infested Korean

Anyone who watched Freaky's recent GSTL appearances for NSH knew this was one special player. In an age where players are trying to become more efficient and more standardized, Freaky was a player who truly had a style. He showed an unhealthy love of infestors that seemed to go beyond a personality quirk, to something that was more like a pathological obsession.

Did it help him win? Oddly enough, that quickly became an inconsequential question. The kid entertained, and as long as he continued to do so, he winning was a secondary concern. From a fantastic ZvZ against Life that involved infestor nydus attacks to a hilarious game against Crank where infested terrans battled mass carriers, Freaky made all of his GSTL games fun to watch, whether he won or lost. Even in a game where he was mauled by HerO before he could get his infestor play going, he somehow played the part of the punching bag perfectly against the multi-tasking happy Protoss.

When NS HoSeo defeated StartaleQ with the two man tag-team of Sculp and Jjakji, it was was almost disappointing as we were robbed of an opportunity to see Freaky play. All hopes had to be put on his upcoming Code A match against Bomber....


There's not much to say, Watch the game!

Group A: LG-IMMvp, Liquid`TaeJa, LG-IMSeed, Empire|viOLet

Initial matches

LG-IMMvp vs. Liquid`TaeJa

It wasn't surprising at all to see Mvp go for a TvT with his first overall pick in the RO16 group selections. ZvT has tilted so far in Zerg's favor in Korea that even Zerg players are admitting there's something wrong. In TvP, it was more of Mvp's ice cold nerves getting him past his opponents last season than overall strength at the match-up skill.

However, it was at least a little bit strange to see him pick TaeJa from the available six Terran pool. Sure, no one wants to play MKP, despite his 'weak' TvT, so he's out. Take out Ryung, too, since he's a long time TvT specialist who gave Mvp a run for his money last season. But that still left Mvp four picks in SuperNoVa, TaeJa, Keen, and GhostKing, and it's hard to say that TaeJa is the worst TvT player out of the lot. If we take Mvp's word for it, he kind of just picked any Terran player without too much though behind it, and in this particular case, that seems plausible enough.

It speaks to the quality of this Code S RO16 field that even with the #1 pick, Mvp hasn't been able to glean that much of an advantage. TaeJa made it to last season's RO8 mainly on the strength of his TvT, defeating Jjakji, MarineKing, and TheStC for three of his four series wins. The only real blemish on TaeJa's recent TvT record is his 5 – 1 loss to MKP in the IPL Fight Club series of showmatches, but hey, it was just that – a showmatch. Overall, TaeJa has shown he's a player who can beat absolutely anyone on a given day (unless it's a Protoss).

Now that I'm done hedging sufficiently on TaeJa's side, I'm going to do the smart thing and predict a Mvp victory in the end. At some point I'm going to get sick and tired of mentioning it, but after his championship run last season, Mvp has earned immunity to all doubt. We should really just codify it as an official esports rule. Something like "The Mvp Rule: When you beat three of the best players at a match-up in a row, which happens to be your own worst match-up as well, and end up winning a GSL championship, then no one can give you s*** for a year."


LG-IMSeed vs. Empire|viOLet

The main concern I had for everyone's favorite American Zerg (no, not that one) as he made his Code S debut was how he would fair against Korean Protoss players. For all his beast-like qualities in ZvT and ZvZ, good Protosses have often given viOLet trouble in tournaments. Starting with HomeStoryCup IV where he was 3 - 0'd by MC, viOLet was bounced from several tournaments in 2012 by Protoss players, including the IEM WC, Lone Star Cup, Redbull Battlegrounds, and MLG Spring Championship.*

In the RO16, viOLet acquitted himself very nicely against FnaticRC's Oz – a falling stock, but a respectable Code S litmus test nonetheless. He managed a hive army with top class care and precision in the first game, and looked comfortable as he battered down Oz with waves of three base roaches in the second. Still, the lasting image I have in my mind of viOLet's 2012 ZvP is him getting endlessly destroyed by various two base timings from SK_MC, so I'm waiting to see how he deals with S-class cheese.

Luckily for viOLet, Seed is less known for his all-ins than MC, but he is still unique in his own way. Alongside the forge-FE that has been the standard in PvZ for some time now, Seed loves to mix in gate-first builds to confuse his opponents. Seed knows how to play the mind-games after this opening, whether it's going for early pressure or expanding into an all-in, but he's often at his best just transitioning into a standard 3-base PvZ game after his unorthodox opener. It's hard to tell how much of an advantage he gains from playing a rare style that's difficult to practice for – since a lot of the advantages seem more subtle than explicit – but I doubt he's complaining about his record.

I feel that Seed should two-immortal timing after forge FE at least once in this series just to see how viOLet deals with it. He probably will, too, since Protoss players nowadays have some pact where they have to use that build at least once every series. Besides that, the other point of interest is if viOLet will want to bring any all-ins this time around. viOLet has some of the best luck/skill at making his all-in builds work in important games, and while that's generally not as relevant in ZvP as it is in ZvT, viOLet is just the player to make it a factor.

*This example was not rigorously examined for statistical consistency. The better reasoning may be "I think viOlet has looked better in ZvT and ZvZ than ZvP."


Winners' match and onward

What can everyone look forward to after their first series? Well, for Mvp, he's Mvp - he's going to end up getting out of this group, someway, some how. Well, one caveat. Mvp didn't look so hot as he crumbled against Genius' attacks in the RO32. Of course, Mvp will defeat whatever Protoss players he meets once we're in the single elimination rounds, but I think it's not unlikely that he'll drop some weak games against Seed while we're still in the group stages.

TaeJa would have to consider Seed a decent opponent, even though Liquid's Terran ace has really, really sucked at staying alive vs various one-two base timings against Protoss. In all other aspects he's a pretty strong all-around TvP player, and he looked great as he defeated AcE in the RO32. It used to be the case that he preferred TvZ vastly over TvP, but after the queen patch he seems to have similar preferences. TaeJa ended up taking viOLet when given a choice between Seed, viOLet, MC, and Nestea, a pick that makes sense from a viewer's standpoint as well. TaeJa had some of THE best TvZ on the planet before the patch, enough that he should feel alright taking on even a strong player like viOLet in the new TvZ environment.

viOLet and Seed might be thinking of each other as the easier opponents in this group. Both Terrans they might face are difficult in their own way: TaeJa is a mechanics monster, while Mvp is Mvp. viOLet's situation looks to be a bit better though, as many of his famous victories and upsets in big tournaments have come against Terran opponents. Seed seems to do fine against Terran players online, but high level Terrans have held him back thus far in the GSL.

Prediction

Mvp > TaeJa
Seed > viOLet
Seed > Mvp
TaeJa > viOLet
Mvp > TaeJa

Seed and Mvp advance.