[Code S] Ro32 Group G Preview/E Recap (S4)

Results from Live Report Thread by Dodgin
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Squirtle Surfs Along on Victory Road
- ST_Squirtle defeats both MVP.Sniper and coL.Heart easily to move on to the Ro16.

With three individual league silvers medals in his pocket, Squirtle got off to a great start on his mission to escape from the Kong Line. Drawn into one of the softer groups of the tournament, Squirtle had no trouble dispatching his opponents and advancing in first place.

Squirtle started off the night against Sniper, the dark horse Zerg from team MVP. As Sniper went up to 3 hatch, Squirtle opened up with an unorthodox gate-first expansion build. Upon scouting Sniper’s 3rd hatch, Squirtle transitioned into a strong 5-gate timing attack. Despite scouting and delaying the proxy pylon, Sniper could never gather the critical mass of roaches and lings needed to hold off the attack, and was forced to GG out to the rush.

As the series moved on to Daybreak, Squirtle had another early attack prepared. After standard forge FE vs three hatch openings, Squirtle went for a strong 6 gate warp prism attack in Sniper's main, using force-fields to block off Sniper's ramp. Due to a number of factors - a macro hatch in Sniper's main, good counter-attacking by Sniper, and a few missed force-fields from Squirtle - Sniper managed to hold out against the attack and came out in much better condition. With his counter-attacking force of roaches and lings able to kill Squirtle's natural in the meantime, it didn't take long for Sniper to ride his advantage to a victory.

The deciding set took place on Entombed Valley, where Sniper decided he would control the pace of the game by going for a fake 3 hatch, cancelling it and going for a roach + slow ling bust that went totally unscouted until it was knocking at Squirtle’s front door. Though he was forced to sacrifice a number of probes, Squirtle held off the attack with good sim city, probe blocking, force fields and hastily built cannons. The situation normalized with Sniper taking the lead in drones while building a solid three base foundation as he went up to lair. However, Squirtle had tricks of his own, and hit back with DTs that killed a decent amount of Sniper's drones, demolished the hatchery at his third, and delayed his fourth base for a while. Behind all this, Squirtle was going up to three bases for a mass +2 blink stalker attack. Though Sniper had infestors out in time for the attack, Squirtle didn't hesitate to charge right in when he judged that Sniper just didn't have the numbers to hold. It was the correct decision for Squirtle as Sniper was overwhelmed and forced to concede.

- Squirtle gives Heart a taste of his own medicine in the winners match

Coming up to the winners match after cheesing NaNiwa three times in a row (more on that below), Heart had the tables immediately turned on him by NaNiwa's ex-StartaleQ teammate Squirtle.

They started off on Antiga where Heart did a marauder + reactor hellions timing attack, but a misplaced bunker meant that Squirtle was able to easily hold off the attack with his FE into 3 gates before robo strategy. Heart tried to expand behind his failed attack, but fell helplessly when Squirtle counter attacked with immortals and a slew of gateway units.

In the next game, Heart decided to go in the complete opposite direction of his previous games on the night, and went for three fast CC's against Squirtle’s standard gate-nexus build. Perhaps Squirtle felt something was amiss as no SCVs had come to attack him in the first 5 minutes, and he responded by pumping units from his three warp-gates and going for a bust on Heart. Heart was totally unprepared losing a massive amount of SCVs and being forced to lift his natural CC for a considerable length of time. Heart tried to play the game out from there, but it was effectively over. Squirtle simply contained Heart while teching up and taking a third, increasing his lead even further. Heart managed to gather one attack which was utterly crushed, and he made way for Squirtle on his path to redemption.

Heart By Heart
- coL.Heart pulls off an upset by defeating Mionix_NaNiwa and MVP.Sniper, backed by skillful cheesing.

Though we all expected it, but we couldn’t help but watch in fascination as Heart rolled into the booth and did what he does best: all-in. In fact, he did it so well, that by the end of the day, he had booked himself a ticket to the Ro16.

The first victim was NaNiwa. On the first map, Entombed Valley, NaNiwa went with a 2 zealot stalker expansion, while Heart did a 1/1/1 build that was centered around massing a very large amount of marines and hellions early. Then Heart gathered a force of SCVs, marines, and hellions and pushed towards NaNiwa, with just one medivac in tow. Instead of using his medivac to drop, he used it as a sacrificial decoy to draw NaNiwa’s stalkers out of position and distract his attention for just two crucial seconds while he walked up the ramp into the natural and killed off the vital sentries.

NaNiwa decided to sacrifice his natural nexus and hold inside his main while Heart chose to stay on one base and finish the game. He continued to build up his infrastructure to get tanks, more rax and upgrades for his infantry. As tanks popped out, Heart tried to rally them to NaNiwa's base to keep him contained, but NaNiwa busted out in timely fashion, just before Heart could dig himself in. After mopping up the containing force, NaNiwa looked like he could just take his natural and play a normal game against the one-base Terran, but he ended up pushing his advantage too far in a failed attack on Heart's main. Smelling blood, Heart pulled his SCVs for a final all-in fifteen minutes into the game, and this time NaNiwa had no answer.

One good turn deserved another, and NaNiwa repaid the favor by picking Antiga as the next map and immediately going for a 4-gate all-in. Heart was gearing up to go for another 1/1/1, but unfortunately his bunker was nowhere near in time to stop NaNiwa's super-fast attack. Heart GG'd out, and the series went to a third set.

Heart showed even more variety in game three, going for an old school reactor-techlab two barracks pressure build. NaNiwa did a 1 gate expand and went up to 3 gates, fending off the rush without much trouble. However, that was just the first move for both players, as Heart was gearing up for a full-blown one base MMM all-in, while NaNiwa was rushing up to DTs. In a weird sequence of events, Heart pushed out just as NaNiwa had enough DT's to hold off the attack, while also sending a handful to cripple Heart's economy back at home. Still, Heart managed to somehow transition into a belated "1/1/1," with a force of marines, marauders, banshees, and a raven (one with heroic auto-turrets), which somehow was enough overwhelm NaNiwa in a last ditch attack.

After falling to Squirtle in the winners' match, Heart got a chance to redeem himself in the final match of the night against MVP's Sniper. In a shocking turn of events, Heart decided to go for a very standard, macro style of play in his first two games against Sniper. On Cloud Kingdom, Heart went for three bases and pummeled Sniper with constant MM-Tank aggression, making Sniper’s decision to go for a muta-heavy mid game largely ineffectual as he was forced to spend most of his time defending. A few favorable engagements for the Terran saw Heart go up 30~40 supply, from which point he could simply rally troops in Sniper's direction until he received the surrender.

The second game on Daybreak followed a similar pattern where Sniper once more went for mutas against Heart's macro play without doing any damage, but things went much better for Sniper this time. When Heart moved out across the map with a large force, Sniper was able to clean up the attack very efficiently with muta-bane-ling, and was able to keep Heart stuck in his base while teching up to brood lords and infestors. Heart was still only prepared to fight a lair army when the brood lords hit, and he was easily overrun.

In the elimination game, Heart stayed true to himself and played the style that had gotten him so far. He did a proxy 11/12 rax and pulled some SCVs to do massive damage to Sniper’s economy by dropping him down to 8 drones. Sniper tried to do a slow ling counter into Heart’s natural, but was forced to withdraw as marines closed in. However, he mistakenly withdrew into a squad of marines, instantly losing half of his lings. Heart smelled blood once more, and pulled a large amount of SCVs and executed a game winning attack.

Naniwa Finishes Last

NaNiwa brought more of his gate-nexus play in the losers' match against Sniper, but what wasn't good enough against DongRaeGu turned out to be insufficient against MVP's other Zerg ace as well. NaNiwa tried to go for a fast 4 gate follow-up in the first game, but it was spotted and easily thwarted by speedlings and roaches. He tried to follow up with a +2 blink stalker all-in, but Sniper sniffed out the attack before it came, and was able to use a great burrowed ling trap combined with roaches to totally crush NaNiwa's force.

Things went a lot better for NaNiwa in game two, where a similar early pressure opening for NaNiwa allowed him to kill off Sniper's third base. NaNiwa seemed like he was in good position to secure his third and play a standard game, but instead decided he would go for a nexus cancel and all-in with +2 blink stalkers yet again. It was more of the same as burrow proved to be NaNiwa's bane yet again, leaving him unable to push into Sniper's burrowed roaches. Instead of backing off, NaNiwa attempted to force a terrible fight, which ended up in a costly defeat. NaNiwa belatedly tried to take a third, but by then Sniper had teched up to mass infestors. Channeling the spirit of NSH_Freaky, Sniper dumped infested Terrans on NaNiwa until he was forced to GG out.

Overall, NaNiwa placed below expectations tonight as his play seemed unfocused, and his execution was not as clean as we were used to seeing from him in recent GSLs. He will now have to climb back up from Code A, which is likely to be populated by dangerous KeSPA players this time around.

Group G: LG-IM_NesTea, ST_Life, mTw.SuperNova, EG.JYPRC


Seeded first in Group G, we have LG-IM_NesTea.

NesTea has had what you might call a rough period. His IEM Cologne run was decidedly mediocre and uninspiring. He failed to take any pressure off his teammates in IPL TAC3. And while he did qualify for the OSL, his play in the actual tournament has been nothing short of a disappointment.

It all started at the end of his run in the last season of Code S. It bears keeping in mind that his position prior to Season 3 was not unlike what it is now. NesTea was in a position where many doubted whether he was the kind of player who could truly challenge for another Code S title. However he put together a very strong season, getting to the quarter-finals, only to see it all start to fall apart after a rather controversial bunker ramp block by ByuN. If he had not gone to Cologne, and declined participation in the OSL, he would go into this season a strong candidate to win it all. Alas, what happened, happened, and hypotheticals are just that.

Be that as it may, it should not be forgotten that the GSL is NesTea’s league. He has never looked quite as good when he leaves his home ground. He is famous for his dislike of travelling, and fundamentally he has been much better in an environment where preparation and being able to figure out his opponents are key factors. On the other hand, the distance to the OGN studios should not be prohibitive, and his failures there are perplexing. But the in the end, NesTea is the only player to have an award named after himself in the GSL, one that represents consistency, no less.

Life is Life.

Life already seems destined to be a great starcraft player. At the tender age of fifteen, he has accomplished more than one could realistically expect. Of course, his latest and grandest endeavor was to land a second place in TSL4. His run in the tournament showcased a lot of who he is as a player.

Cliches dictates that a cheesy player should be coined as unpredictable or willing to take calculated risks. Life is a bit different; his style seems so chaotic that the latter part may need to be omitted. His behavior seems more instinctive than calculating, having a sixth sense when it comes to finding an opponent’s weakness.

Having garnered a reputation as an online wizard, a GSTL terror and a TSL finalist, this will be Life’s first step into Code S. It is always difficult to predict what will come of obviously gifted players when they are first thrown to the wolves. The pressure sometimes creates coal, other times diamonds.

On the seventh day of Code S GomTV gave to me, the old ‘gainst the new in ZvZ.

In the past, NesTea was the undisputed Master of ZvZ. He looked about as likely to lose as MC would a PvP, except that when it came down to it, NesTea won more.

Life is currently what NesTea used to be. Even his statistics sit around the sky high 80% mark that solidified NesTea’s reputation as the master of the mirror. The trend of the players is reflected in the microcosm of the matchup. One old, the other new. One falling, the other rising. One a protector of the establishment, the other breaking down the doors.

Stylistically, NesTea has always seemed to favor mutalisk play. Perhaps this is a clue to his decline in ZvZ prowess, as the infestor-based standard has made forcing mutas a shaky plan. What was undoubtedly one of NesTea’s prime strengths, however, was his ability to out-think his opponents. He would more often than not make more correct decisions; an excellent way to win games of Starcraft. As Wings of Liberty draws to a close, this advantage is slipping away.

Against Life, all bets are off in terms of who will be out-thinking whom. Despite his unpredictable nature in ZvT and ZvP, Life plays an uncannily safe, reactive style in Zerg vs Zerg. There, he seems to channel NesTea's old spirit, always staying one step of his opponent and knowing the correct move that comes next. It might be NesTea that benefits from a little unpredictability in this match.

Realistically, Life would beat NesTea a majority of the time outside the GSL. For him, this is pure opportunity; while it would be disappointing to not qualify for the round of sixteen, he is more than likely to make it back. For NesTea, this is the chance to redeem himself and to once again prove that he sets the standard for Code S.


Another Genius Falling?

EG.JYPRC has had a curious career since joining Evil Geniuses. While on TSL, he was used to living in the shadow of more famous team mates. Little may have changed since switching teams as far as that point, but what have changed are his GSL endeavours. No longer being relegated to bit parts in the GSTL, he was shown a lot of confidence in the SlayerS/EG line-up; his results being pivotal in propelling the joint-team to the finals. Furthermore, he has been able to carve a path for himself as well, breaking Into Code A, establishing himself as a strong player there and finally returning to Code S.

It was a fairly quiet run for JYP to get here, though that statement undersells the accomplishment. While a sudden rise to the top certainly grabs more headlines, showing a steady improvement both in gameplay and mental fortitude can be equally impressive. And there can be no doubt that JYP is a player who has improved his weak points, slowly and gradually, but still noticeably. His previous bout in Code S ended with two quick losses and a return to Code A. His second time around he should be stronger; the question is whether he will be able to reproduce his GSTL form in individual competition.

mTw.SuperNova, the variable star.

One more season of Code S and SuperNova will have his NesTea Award. One has to wonder just how badly SuperNova wants to make the round of eight and be done with it. At any rate, it will be a staple of every interview he does until the next season.

The good news is that SuperNova is quite adept at making it out of the first group stage. The easiest way to get to the Promised Land is to land a spot in the round of eight, which is well within his capabilities; he is clearly the second best player in this group terms of history and results.

He seems to have taken the transition to being on a foreign team well. He did well at IEM Cologne, he won the Campus Party in Berlin then returned to Korea, taking out Creator twice in his Up and Down group to qualify for Code S. Based on recent results, SuperNova looks in good shape to start out his Code S season like he quite often does – there have been a few seasons where the mTw player has looked like a legitimate contender for a title in the group play stages.

On the eighth day of Code S we will get to see, if SuperNova beat JYP.

Let’s start out with stating the obvious. There is an elephant in the room. JYP is famous for having an atrocious record in PvT. This is slightly different from having an atrocious PvT; he can clearly play the matchup fairly well, but has had a tendency to either make critical mistakes or to get the short end of the build order stick in the GSL. He did make it through Code A last season beating ThorZaIN and Hack, which is promising, but is also against opposition inferior to what he will face here.

The elephant in the room is joined by a 800 pound gorilla in the room. Put bluntly, SuperNoVa’s TvP is strong. Possibly not as celebrated as that of TaeJa, jjakji or Polt, but make no mistake, it has always been a strong point. His style, like most notable TvP players, is identifiably his own. He often deploys Bio/mech openings, he has powerful cheeses and has an excellent late game. Perhaps most impressive is his ability to sniff out possible timings; he will attack at times no other Terran would, seemingly out of the blue but to great effect.

Unfortunately for JYP, he seems weak to most things SuperNoVa masters. His early game has often times look suspect and he often looks prone to mistakes in the late game. However, there have been several glimpses of a new and improved JYPvT as of late. Ironically, JYP might also be the type of player SuperNoVa might fall to. It is difficult not to remember how ‘NoVa defeated Creator twice but lost to Vampire in baffling fashion two weeks ago. The EG player has a very fine line to walk; he must try to ensure that no cheese really gets to him but he has not shown the type of PvT where he is able to recover from falling behind economically either.

SuperNova > JYP

The Rest of the Group.

I expect to see SuperNoVa and Life battle it out for the first place in the group. As much as SuperNoVa has shown fantastic TvZ in the past, his performance in this particular matchup has looked less impressive as of late. He has shown a clear preference for mech, mirroring Mvp in Cologne and again against YugiOh in U/D. His adaptation of the style has looked decidedly shaky on both occasions, winning more by out-muscling his opponents rather than being in control. Life will present a much tougher type of opposition; his ZvT looks great in general and he has a fantastic eye for exploiting Terran immobility. If SuperNoVa indeed goes mech, I suspect the games will largely come down to how greedy he is and how much Life will punish weak points in the opening. Stylistically, I cannot think of many Zergs against whom I would rather want to avoid mech. With Bio, it will come down to whether SuperNoVa can rediscover his form that let him defeat a DRG in his prime. However, TvZ has never been the Terran’s strong point apart from isolated incidents of brilliance while Life looks to crush that type of opposition.

SuperNova < Life

Meanwhile, NesTea vs. JYP seems fairly clear cut. NesTea, like in his ZvZ, seems very dependent on mutalisk play. He has not shown much of the style of Zerg that goes into infestors as soon as possible with the intent to mass up on brood lords. He almost exclusively goes for early pressure, either trying to end it there and then or with dedicated midgame attacks. On the other hand, JYP has quietly been one of the better PvZ players in Korea for a while. While he does mix in all-ins, he likes three base plays. As such, it seems reasonable to expect that the matchup will largely be decided on whether he can establish a safe third. Early stargate play seems likely, especially if he wants to deter NesTea from opting for heavy mutalisk usage.

NesTea < JYP

If all these things come true, a re-match of SuperNova vs. JYP would be on the cards. Once again, I have a very hard time seeing JYP win if he has not had some hitherto unseen leaps of improvement in PvT.

NesTea < Life
SuperNova > JYP
SuperNova < Life
NesTea < JYP
SuperNova > JYP

Life and Supernova advance.

Did you know...

1. JYP knocked out Life in the round of 48 of Season 1 Code A.
   
2. NesTea is 4-1 over SuperNoVa in GSL games. All of them occurred in Code S Season 2.
   
3. SuperNoVa has the best Elo on Antiga Shipyard in Korea. Life has the third highest.
   
4. NesTea has a 100% win rate on Daybreak in both ZvZ and ZvP. Against Terran he is 4-4.
   
5. Life is 15-5 on Ohana, having the best Elo on that map. However he is only 4-3 in ZvP.
   
6. JYP is not in the top 25 in terms of Elo on any map featured in GSL Season 4.
   
7. JYP has won twelve out of his last sixteen games across all GSL competitions.
   
8. Between 03.31.12 and 6.12.12, Life went 25-1 in ZvZ.
   
9. Even though Life is ranked third in terms of Elo on Cloud Kingdom, his last ten games have ended with seven losses.
   
10. If SuperNoVa secures a Code S spot for next season, he will get the prestigious NesTea Award.

Edit: It is entirely possible that I have learned something today.