[Code S] RO16 - Group A Recap/Group B Preview

Results from Live Report Thread by SeeKeR.
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Youth in Revolt
– Mvp and viOLet fall, Seed and TaeJa advance from Group A

If Mvp had the easiest group RO16, then what does Mvp going to Code A after only winning a single game tell us about the quality of the Code S RO16? The night ended up being headlined not by the five time finalist, but his LG-IM teammate, Seed. It was the same Seed that only managed to defeat BBoongBBoong in a Ro32 exit last season, who came back with a bloody 8-gate vengeance to top his group.

– Seed takes no prisoners:

Protoss: Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless — like water. If your opponent knows you win macro games, beat him with timing attacks. If the Zerg flanks you, blink into their main and forcefield their ramp. If your opponent hive rushes, disregard tech and acquire +3 blink stalkers.

You don’t have to like Seed. He knocked out many fan favorites, and some people won't be happy with how he did it. However, whether the games were exciting or not doesn’t matter in the end. Seed won convincingly, and was the best player in his group.

In his very first game of the night against viOLet, SeeD salvaged a failed blink-stalker all-in by blinking up into viOLet's main and taking a warp prism full of sentries with him. By force-fielding off the ramp and and demolishing the Zerg main, Seed was able to turn a near defeat into a certain victory. After a hiccup in Game 2, Seed ended the series on Entombed Valley with his innovative, triple nexus into 200/200 +3 blink stalker build, overwhelming viOLet with the sheer efficiency and numbers of his units.

Seed's next victim opponent, Taeja, put up less of a fight. Game 1: Seed 4-gates, Taeja attacks a neutral depot as stalkers walk up his ramp. GG. Game 2: Seed attacks eight minutes after the game starts and forcefields Taeja into a corner. Seed pushes Taeja into his main and denies the natural for several minutes. Taeja falls irrevocably behind and, less than eight minutes later, Seed returns with colossus and forcefields Taeja into a corner... again.

– Royal Pain

Besides Seed kicking down front doors everywhere, the defining part of Group A was relentless harassment. Both TaeJa and Mvp had to face viOLet as the group played out, and both decided that exploiting mobility was the best way to defeat a Zerg. While viOLet had the skills to 2-0 MVP, he won't easily forget the single marauder that hopped between his bases racking up an impressive 23 kills. In another game, TaeJa caught viOLet being far too greedy, going up to sixty drones with just two roaches and some queens to defend. Staring with a two medivac drop in viOLet's main, TaeJa ran a harassment clinic on viOLet all game, until the Empire Zerg was forced to GG out.

Game of the Night: Mvp vs viOLet, Game One

The game that made a thousand Terrans cry. After comfortably outplaying viOLet for the first twenty minutes of the game, Mvp allowed his lead to slip away as viOLet's brood lord-infestor army refused to open itself up to any logical counters. Mvp was quickly made to rue his choice to pump Thors as a makeshift counter, as the behemoths barely dented the broodlords before being scratched to death by broodlings. Slowly, but surely, the brood lord force erased Mvp's presense from the map, until there was nothing left.


Special mention:

Though he wasn't in studio, Nestea's presence was definitely felt as GomTV showed a heartwarming video short about the life and trials of the three time champion. Check out the entire video or enjoy this great .GIF made by KiNGxXx!

Group B: ST_Squirtle, TSL_Symbol, MarineKingPrime, SK_MC

Initial matches

ST_Squirtle vs. TSL_Symbol

Symbol has been an absolute wrecking ball in recent months, singlehandedly accounting for a good chunk of Zerg-imba complaints. He's encountered and defeated almost every elite player in the world, and has kept the Zerg win-rate afloat in an ironically Terran dominated GSL.

As perhaps the second best Zerg player in the world, it's no surprise that the player Symbol resembles most is the best, DongRaeGu. When those two are playing at the top of their games, they look superior to their opponents in every aspect, whether it's micro, macro, game-reading, mind-games, or whatever other criteria one can think of. Even Code S opponents get utterly dismantled, looking like they belong in a different league. That kind of play makes his 9 - 0 GSTL record seem more obvious than impressive, and makes you wonder why he 'only' has a few top three finishes to his name.

This puts Symbol at a curious contrast with Squirtle, a player whose in-game performances aren't as dominant, but is considered a similarly elite player nonetheless. If you showed people Squirtle's games with his ID hidden, and asked people how far they thought he went in the GSL, I get the feeling many wouldn't be able to guess he was a runner-up.

Nonetheless, Squirtle wins a TON of games, which is all that really matters in Starcraft. If DRG is the imperfect analogy for Symbol, you can see shades of '12 Mvp or MC in Squirtle. You don't always understand how Mvp or MC win championships, but since they do, we accept that they must be really f***ing good. Similarly, I don't think many of us really understand how Squirtle went 32 - 17 at IPL4 or how he racked up a fourteen game winning streak in Code S, but since he did, we accept that he must be one hell of a player.

MarineKingPrime vs. SK_MC

For countless seasons, MKP has been chasing a GSL championship. It really looked like his time had come during Season Two, as he rode in on the momentum from winning two consecutive MLG championships. Then, out of nowhere, he showed us another one of his bizarre collapses (often seen when he comes out as the last runner for Prime), dropping two lackluster games to TaeJa and getting eliminated. Though his championship at MLG Columbus rid him of the "Kong" jinx, his career will always have a big, missing piece if he fails to win a GSL championship.

On the other hand, there doesn't appear to be a sense of much urgency for MC to win his third GSL championship. Fans seem content that he's already won two, so there's not much external pressure for him to hurry up and win a third. And unlike Mvp, who said he felt like he really needed to win a championship in 2012, you don't get the feeling that MC is killing himself for not doing better in the GSL in 2012. Well, I suppose winning a lot of dollars and euros can do that to you.

Whatever MC's motivations are, he's still a huge threat to win it all. Though he's not as consistent as some of his peers, MC typically follows up a bad tournament performance by hauling in the prize money elsewhere. No one has more "can beat anyone on a given day" potential than MC, and you can see how much his colleagues respect him from his third to last pick in the RO16 group selection.

MarineKing should be a massive favorite in this match if he plays anywhere near his best. He's the best TvP player in the world, and he only really loses when his opponents play perfectly, or if they find a way to kill him early. Though MC's made a lot a lot of progress since the days where all-ins were disproportionately his strongest weapon, he's still better off going for the latter option. Perfect drop defense, perfect tech transition timings, perfect battle selection, and perfect positioning... Not to say that MC couldn't do all of that, but a preparing a perfect DT all-in would be a lot easier.


Winners' match and onward

The initial matches are sure to be awesome, but it's the potential revenge matches in the winners' match and beyond that are the best part of this group.

PartinG has failed to avenge himself against MKP on multiple occasions, but Squirtle hasn't yet had the chance to redeem himself for his failure against MKP at the past StartaleQ vs Prime GSTL final. Much like MC vs MKP, that would be another match-up where MKP is heavily favored against the his Protoss opponent in straight up macro games. However, Squirtle has a plethora timing attacks at his disposal, including the famous 'Squirtle' colossus rush, and it would probably end up being closer than expected.

The single hottest match could be Symbol vs MarineKing. Not content with feuding with the #1 Zerg player in the world in DRG, MKP has started cultivating a rivalry with Symbol as well. MKP defeated Symbol at MLG Anaheim, only to have the favor repaid a few weeks later in Code S. Additionally, with ZvT being one of the biggest topics in Starcraft II at the moment, a match between two of the best players for each race will be sure to attract a lot of eyeballs (hi David!), thought it's unlikely to answer any questions.

Call me a hater, but the MC involved matches don't have as much back story behind them. There's still a baseline level of excitement I have for any MC match, as I wonder 'which fan favorite will the savvy veteran crush this time around?' If he were not so popular himself, MC would be the ultimate spoiler for any tournament. MC is a bandwagon derailer extraordinaire, and anyone riding high on Squirtle or Symbol should beware.

Prediction

Symbol > Squirtle
MKP > MC
Symbol > MKP
Squirtle > MC
MKP > Squirtle

Symbol and MKP advance.