[GSL] Code S Ro16 Preview // Code A Recap (S4)

Results from Live Report Thread by Shellshock1122
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Tyranny Stopped
– 8_Jaedong eliminated from the GSL by MVP.finale, 0 – 2

Jaedong's one season foray into the GSL came to an anti-climatic end in the first round of Code A, as he dropped two consecutive games to MVP's Finale to be eliminated entirely. The games were simple and clear cut, with no last hurrah for Jaedong. Finale prepared two consecutive immortal all-ins, and they both hit their marks.

The first game on Abyssal City saw Finale's immortal all-in succeed with no real complications, as force-fields cut Jaedong's forces into bit-sized pieces for Finale's hungry immortals and stalkers. The second game on Ohana involved a few more twists and turns, with Jaedong avoiding direct confrontation with Finale's army to back-stab instead. In an uncommon response, Finale chose to turn his force back, defend his bases, and take a third base of his own to play for a later game. The conclusion was the same, however, as Finale simply finished Jaedong off a few minutes later with an even bigger army as the Tyrant attempted to transition to hive tech.

– KeSPA and GomTV trade blows, with Gom coming out 3 – 2 on the first day

Besides Jaedong's loss to Finale, there were four more KeSPA vs GomTV matches on the day, and the overall result was 3 – 2 in GomTV's favor.

As expected, the WCS Asia-qualified SAMSUNG_RorO won for KeSPA, making short work of an outmatched ST_AcE. After defeating Seed and only narrowly losing to Creator and Squirtle in the WCS tournament, RorO lived up to his reputationas a strong ZvP player by tearing apart AcE in a quick 2 – 0 rout.

In a more surprising result, LG-IM_First (a semi-elephant himself) was defeated by Bbyong, a bit part player for CJ Entus. The two traded blows in the first two games, Bbyong taking the first set by punishing First's double-expansion, and First taking the second with an overpowering Protoss deathball. With both players facing banishment to Code B, Bbyong pulled out a 1/1/1 in the final game. Despite using a fairly straight-up version of the 1/1/1, Bbyong was able to narrowly overcome First in the key engagement to take the series.

For GomTV, ST_Hack and MVPVampire were able to provide victories as they went up against two extremely inexperienced KeSPA players in CJ_rare and SKT_sSak. Vampire's series against Ssak bordered on "so bad it's good" territory, with Ssak blowing a huge lead in the first game by bathing liberally in psi storms. The second game then saw Ssak use one of the worst 1/1/1's in recent memory, which Vampire cleaned up with laughable ease.

Hack also piled the on the pain, looking entirely untroubled as he turtle-meched to defeat Rare in a macro game on Entombed Valley. Hack even had the breathing room to spam nukes in Rare's territory, adding insult to injury. Seemingly content with having dominated Rare in a macro game, Hack went on to end the series quickly with a proxy-barracks bunker rush in the next game.

– No upsets as TSL_HyuN, SlayerS_Ryung, and SlayerS_Genius advance

There were no surprises in the Gom vs Gom matches as the favorites easily dispatched of their challengers from Code B. Hyun didn't seem troubled as he 2 – 0'd ex-SlayerS player Sleep in a ZvZ, and Ryung defeated TSL prospect RagnaroK by the same scoreline.

Genius seemed like he could have been in trouble against the MLG-experienced MVP.Dream, but he ended up sweeping his series just like the other two GSL veterans. Genius' post-game interview ended up being more interesting than his actual matches, as he revealed that he had previously been playing League of Legends with the intent of switching career paths. However, after consulting with FXO head coach Choya and SlayerS coach Cella, Genius decided to return to focusing on 100% on StarCraft II.


Game of the Night: Hack vs rare, Game One

Though this was a somewhat one-sided game, it was an entertaining demonstration of how unlimited resources turtle-mech can ruin a Zerg's day. By getting away with a very fast hidden third expansion, Hack was allowed the economic base to make theorycraft a reality as he built up a near perfect army composition of mech units supported by ravens with hunter-seekers. Rare could have played better – in particular the way he clumped his air units together was very painful – but it was still a good show of how turtle-mech can play out in a perfect world.

Group A: MVPDongRaeGu, TSL_Polt, SKT_By.Rain, Liquid`TaeJa


MVPDongRaeGu
Live tournament results since July 1st: 26 - 23 (53%)

If we take a quick peek at the results of every player in this group since the start of July, we see that DongRaeGu is the only one not sporting a 60% win rate in live events. From his disastrous 0-3 loss to MC in the semifinals of last season's Code S, to his quick bombing out of WCS Korea, the summer couldn't end fast enough for the former GSL champion. With the fall slowly creeping in with the start of September, things have been getting back to normal for DRG. He qualified for the quarterfinals of the OSL by beating Jangbi and long-time rival MarineKing. In the first group of this season's Code S, he roared back with four straight victories after an early loss to Bomber, taking first place in his group and dismissing talk of a slump for the time being.

With Nestea finally looking like his time might be coming to an end with a quiet exit from the OSL and an embarrassing 0 - 4 score in his Code S group, DongRaeGu is now on a throne with no one standing beside him (Editor's note: Luckily for us, Stephano fans don't read GSL news). The two other Zerg champions besides himself, FruitDealer and Nestea seem unlikely to challenge for more titles, and DRG has the sole responsibility of carrying on the legacy of Zerg champions in the GSL. The other four Zergs still in this season are all good enough to win their first titles, but DongRaeGu will do his best to make sure he remains synonymous with the title of 'King of Zerg.'

Toughest Challenge in the Group: By.Rain If DongRaeGu has held onto anything during his slump, it would be his ZvT. While his ZvP might have slipped - with losses against Hero, MC, and Creator fairly recently - DongRaeGu's last three matches against top Terran players in Bomber, Polt and MarineKing have all resulted in wins. He did lose to Polt 0 - 2 in the finals of his WCG Korea qualifier group, but DRG showed Polt that the DRG that he beat in August was long gone when they faced each other more recently in Code S. Taeja has beaten DongRaeGu before in Code S two seasons ago, knocking him out in the Ro32, but ZvT is by far DRG's most confident match-up during this strange period in his career.

Should DRG play Rain, he will not only be forced to play a match-up he's had the toughest time with in the past few months, but he'll have to face the guy who beat him in the OSL as well. DongRaeGu was able to beat MarineKing and Jangbi, giving him a good enough score to get into the quarterfinals, but it was Rain who went 3-0 in the group and secured the top spot. That's not to say if DongRaeGu faces Rain that it'll be an automatic loss for the Zerg, but he'll have to play much better against the top KeSPA player (who's still rapidly improving) if he wants to stop his drought against Protoss.


TSL_Polt
Live tournament results since July 1st: 31 - 20 (61%)

If Polt had been picked by any other player in the Code S nominations, he could feel confident that he could win the series. In a smart move by DongRaeGu, knowing that Polt thrives on preparation and studying his opponent, he picked Polt first in the group and forced him to play just a few days after suffering a 0 - 2 loss. Not only will Polt have to play in his weakest match-up of TvZ, but he has to face off versus someone who picked him apart less than a week ago.

Since putting off streaming and playing in foreign tournaments, Polt has played much better in Korea. With a 61% offline win rate in Korea since rejecting invites to foreign events, he has made it into the Ro16 of Code S for the first time in over a year, and he dreams about making the finals stage once more. Polt's usually dominant TvP has been lackluster lately, and he's lost three straight series against Protoss. Instead, his TvT has become his strongest match-up, with four straight wins against Maru, Mvp and Gumiho, who are all excellent TvT players.

Out of the four players in the group, Polt has the least likely chance to advance, largely thanks to his first opponent. Even if he should get by DRG, By.Rain and Taeja are also extremely good players, both having better win rates than DongRaeGu in the summer months.

Toughest Challenge in the Group: DongRaeGu No surprises here. If Polt loses against DRG, he will need to win two consecutive matches against two tough opponents, By.Rain and Taeja. He might have even worse luck by winning the losers match and then having to play DRG for a third time in a week for a spot in the Ro8. The best chance for Polt is to vary up his builds and try for either some of his old school one base all-ins, or he could use his TvZ mech build that he experimented with months ago that didn't have the best results. Whatever he chooses, it's going to be difficult to beat DRG at his best match-up.


SKT_By.Rain
Live tournament results July 1st: 28 - 18 (61%)

I'm pretty sure I could convince people who never watched Brood War to think that Rain is actually Bisu. They've all heard of the legendary Protoss player. The ace of SKT, commander of legions of crazy fan girls, possessor of inspiring play, and the greatest Protoss player of the elephants. Rain pretty much watched Bisu for years, joined SKT, and then somehow took over his life when they made the switch to Starcraft 2. While Bisu is still struggling to pick up wins in his transition from Brood War to SC2, Rain has taken the helm of the SKT ship and become their captain. He is the player SKT looks to when they need to be bailed out in ace matches (okay, the player they should look to), and he is considered the best player KeSPA has to offer, doing well in WCS Korea, Code S and OSL. Bisu should files charges against him for identity theft.

Having already beaten DongRaeGu in OSL and showing strong PvZ overall, he can have confidence if the two meet up for a second time. He did get through the first round of this tournament with a loss to Happy coupled with two series victories over last season's semifinalist Byun, but the two Terrans he will face this round should prove to be a much tougher test. Byun's TvP might have been hailed last season, but after watching him in two straight Code S seasons, you can see that when a game goes above two bases, he has a lot of trouble going up against Protoss. His hellion drops and two base all-ins might have caught off players last season, but he became too predictable this season and got bounced out by Rain.

Polt and Taeja are two of the strongest TvP players in the world, and Rain will not get the luxury of playing against a Terran player with a lack of ideas in the match-up. Both Polt and Taeja have a variety of builds, and they have both shown that they can beat Protoss in the late-game if need be with their extraordinary micro.

Toughest Challenge in the Group: Taeja Like mentioned, Polt and Taeja are both strong TvP, but Polt has three straight losses to Protoss, while Taeja is pretty much killing everyone recently, Rain is going to have to worry about the Liquid ace the most. Having already lost to Happy this season in TvP, Rain will need to step it up if he has any hope of dethroning Taeja from his TvP pedestal. Taeja can be greedy at times, which led to his only loss of the season against Mana in the first round, so that is an area Rain could exploit if he doesn't feel comfortable going into the later parts of the game against Taeja. The thing is, Rain has beaten MarineKing and Byun in the late game, and is not afraid of going 20-30 minutes facing Terran, so he might be up to the challenge taking on Taeja with both players on multiple bases and 200/200 supply.


Liquid`TaeJa
Live tournament results since July 1st: 75-29 (72%)

61% might be pretty good for Polt and Rain, but it's nothing compared to Taeja's astonishing 72% win rate since the start of July. Picking up titles at Assembly and MLG Arena, Taeja is on a war path that we haven't seen since DRG in the early parts of 2012, winning or getting a top finish at nearly every tournament he attended. With two quarterfinal losses in the past two seasons, Taeja has his eyes set on a semifinals appearance or higher this season. Getting called best player in the world and having popular support might be nice, but it will all be for naught if he can't get out of this group.

This is the group of death for the Ro16, with all four players being insanely good, but Taeja is supposed to get out of this group. Truth be told, anything other than a championship, and he'll more than likely be called a bust and overrated. Tough, I know, but with how well he's played lately, people are expecting a championship from him. The same thing happened with MarineKing a few seasons ago when he won MLG Arena and the MLG Championship, coming into Code S with heavy momentum. He dropped out in the Ro16, and the talk of him being the best in the world faded, with Taeja taking his spot only a few short weeks later.

Starcraft 2 fans are always in the now. Taeja can have as many foreign titles as he likes, but until he can get over the hump and at least make a GSL finals, there will always be talk of him being overrated. It's not fair that he has these expectations on him after such an amazing summer, but with his skills and how he's played lately, that's the reality he faces.

Toughest Challenge in the Group: Polt This was a difficult choice between Polt and DRG, but I finally decided to say Polt will be Taeja's biggest hurdle. Polt and Taeja play the exactly same TvT style, resulting in great games when they play, but Polt has bested Taeja both times they've faced in live competitions. They met during Code S October last year, where Polt eliminated Taeja from Code S with a comeback TvT victory. They also went up against each other at Assembly Winter earlier this year, where Taeja lost 1-2 and Polt went on to win the entire tournament.

Polt has four straight TvT series victories, showcasing that he is on top of his game in the match-up. He also requested Taeja to be in his group during the selection process, asking Rain to pick Taeja for the final choice in the group. Taeja did beat Polt 3-2 in the final round of the international qualifier for IPL5, but both players had already qualified for the main final in Las Vegas and the match didn't have much meaning. Even as his weakest match-up, Taeja still sports a 62% win clip against Terran and has the possibility of 2-0'ing everyone in this group if he's playing his absolute best.


Predictions:

DongRaeGu > Polt
Taeja > Rain
Taeja > DRG
Polt > Rain
DRG > Polt

Taeja and DRG advance