[Code S] Ro32 Group H Recap (S4)

Results from Live Report Thread by opterown.
+ Show Spoiler [Results] +

Back to the Future
- MVP.DongRaeGu breaks out of his summer slump with straight victories against ST_Bomber and TSL_Polt to advance first out of Group H.

Watch out, Terrans. Take cover, Protoss. Get your hands off his throne, Zergs. After losing game after game this summer, MVP.DongRaeGu finally said enough was enough and put his foot down in his extremely difficult Code S group. He did lose the first game of the night against Bomber, not being able to withstand his incredible macro and bio positioning, but DRG didn't waver under the pressure. He stayed calm, played like the champion that we all know he is and can become again, and took the next two maps with an the overwhelming muta-ling style that brought him success in 2011.

Harking back to his incredible ZvT in the first Code S season of the year, DongRaeGu thwarted one of the only Terrans with a winning record against him. Getting beat by the TSL captain at MLG Spring Arena and recently in the finals of the WCG Korean qualifiers, his 2-0 victory over Polt was a statement to everyone that the old DongRaeGu is back. Once more, DongRaeGu relied heavily on his retro muta-ling style, abusing its mobility to swarm over his opponent. The DongRaeGu that got thrashed by Polt in the WCG Korean qualifiers was gone, and we got to see the real DRG put on a clinic against one of the best Terrans in the world.

Heading forward, we can't give him the crown already and proclaim him the season four champion, but he is definitely one of the heavy favorites alongside Taeja and Squirtle. Being put into a group with strong players might be bad news for most, but this group was exactly what DRG needed to get his groove back. Yeah, it might have been easier to be thrown into a group with a few inexperienced players or lesser competitors, but getting first in this group will be instrumental going into an even tougher round of sixteen.

Having the first pick in the Ro16 group selections, DRG has a lot of options on who he wants to face in the next round. Heart is the obvious choice, making the second group stage through cheeses and all-ins, but DongRaeGu isn't afraid to spice it up and choose a big name to take down right out of the gate.

The Return of the Marauder King
- TSL_Polt edges out FXOGuMiho in two highly contested series to make his first Code S Ro16 in over a year.

FXOGuMiho, when a player's intro is just a gigantic marauder behind him, maybe mass blue flame hellions aren't the best strategy. TSL_Polt, living up to his name of being the king of marauders, put on a great series of games against Gumiho and exited the group with two victories against the player who single-handedly won the GSTL for FXO.

The games were what you would expect from these two players with differing styles. Gumiho loved his hellions, vikings along with his hectic multitasking he is known for. Polt went marine-tank, using his genius positioning and understanding of the basics to find the perfect times to unleash his unbelievable micro. The first game of the night between the two went heavily in Gumiho's favor, the SlayerS Slayer using a brilliant hellion-marine timing to bowl over Polt's lack of army due to his choice to open with cloaked banshees. With a good sniping of Polt's first tank, decent defense at home against the banshee, and forcing his opponent to lift his natural CC, it was over before it even hit the mid game.

Polt took the next two games with what he is known best for: good positioning and world class micro. He was able to catch Gumiho's tanks unsieged, maneuvered his army into positions that gave him overwhelming victories, and didn't let Gumiho's insane multi-pronged attacks take him off his game. Gaining his passage to the winners match with an impressive TvT result, Polt turned his focus to getting out of the group first with a victory over DongRaeGu, a player he is 4-1 against in his last five games against him.

But then Polt found out that Slumping DRG got replaced by Old DRG, saw that the same builds he used to beat him last time weren't going to be good enough, and got beat quickly 2-0 to be sent into a do-or-die match for the second spot in the group.

Gumiho, with a 2-0 victory over Bomber in another great TvT series, came into the match against Polt with revenge on his mind. Taking the first map for the second straight series against the Master of Marauders, it felt like it could be all over Polt. His series victory over Gumiho was nice, but with three straight losses to DongRaeGu and then Gumiho, he would need to pull out another victory from a first map loss.

Polt before this summer was possibly the worst player in the GSL when dropping the first map. He had an undefeated record when taking the first game, but a miserable 1-11 win record when not winning the first map. He turned this around in Code A last season, losing the first map to both Maru and Shine, but coming back to win both those series and gaining his spot in Code S. Polt continued his new mantra of never say die, taking two games in a row against Gumiho for the second time in the group. It was more of the same for Polt, using his positioning, micro, and drop defense to take down the talented star of FXO.

After two of the best TvT series of the year and a place in the Ro16 for the first time in over a year, Polt will head into the next group stage trying to make it to the quarterfinals. Not having a good enough ranking to be one of the top four to choose their opponent, he will have to wait and see where he'll be picked. With how strong his TvT has been lately, and always confident in his TvP, his match-up against Zerg will be what he has to focus on if he wants to make it further this tournament.


So Now What?
- ST_Bomber and FXOGuMiho put on good showings, but can't make it out of a stacked Ro32 group and fall to Code A.

Bomber: He played well, being the only player to take a map off DRG the entire night, but it wasn't enough to even get third in the group. Bomber is a good player, and there is a strong possibility he'll be back in Code S next season, but with KeSPA pros converging on the GSL, it's going to be even more difficult to make it back. His Up/Down performance wasn't necessarily a fluke, but it wasn't the second coming of Bomber like a few people hoped for. Good player, but with only having to lose one Bo3 to be knocked out of the GSL entirely, he'll be hoping for a Vampire or Killer instead of a Flash or aLive.

Gumiho: Unlike Bomber, Gumiho can hold his head high. He went 4-4 on the night, lost two extremely close series, and was placed in possibly the hardest group in the Ro32. He is a player with quarterfinal and above talent, but Polt and DongRaeGu were the two best players on the night. Being placed in the second round of Code A, Gumiho doesn't have to be worried about being knocked out of GSL by a KeSPA player, and he should be someone no one wants to face in the second stage of this season's Code A. Don't worry, the towel will be back.

Recommended Series of the Night: Both Polt vs. Gumiho series are some of the best TvT you'll see this year, but honestly this entire group is a must watch. All four players in any other group with how they played on the night could have gotten first or second in the group.