Code A Ro48: Day Two Recap
By: Fionn
Results from Live Report Thread by Shellshock1122.
+ Show Spoiler [Results] +
Bbyong vs. TAiLS
Bbyong <Cloud Kingdom> TAiLS
Bbyong <Abyssal City> TAiLS
Bbyong <Entombed Valley> TAiLS
Bbyong wins 2-0!
Seed vs. Center
Seed <Entombed Valley> Center
Seed <Whirlwind> Center
Seed <Abyssal City> Center
Center wins 2-0!
aLive vs. Flying
aLive <Cloud Kingdom> Flying
aLive <Antiga Shipyard> Flying
aLive <Bel'Shir Vestige> Flying
Flying wins 2-1!
mini vs. YongHwa
Mini <Cloud Kingdom> YongHwa
Mini <Antiga Shipyard> YongHwa
Mini <Abyssal City> YongHwa
YongHwa wins 2-0!
TaeJa vs. Dark
TaeJa <Abyssal City> Dark
TaeJa <Antiga Shipyard> Dark
TaeJa <Cloud Kingdom> Dark
TaeJa wins 2-0!
Squirtle vs. Miya
Squirtle <Antiga Shipyard> Miya
Squirtle <Daybreak> Miya
Squirtle <Entombed Valley> Miya
Squirtle wins 2-0!
Shine vs. JangBi
Shine <Abyssal City> JangBi
Shine <Daybreak> JangBi
Shine <Whirlwind> JangBi
Shine wins 2-1!
Heart vs. NesTea
Heart <Antiga Shipyard> NesTea
Heart <Bel'Shir Vestige> NesTea
Heart <Abyssal City> NesTea
NesTea wins 2-0!
Bbyong <Cloud Kingdom> TAiLS
Bbyong <Abyssal City> TAiLS
Bbyong wins 2-0!
Seed vs. Center
Seed <Entombed Valley> Center
Seed <Whirlwind> Center
Center wins 2-0!
aLive vs. Flying
aLive <Cloud Kingdom> Flying
aLive <Antiga Shipyard> Flying
aLive <Bel'Shir Vestige> Flying
Flying wins 2-1!
mini vs. YongHwa
Mini <Cloud Kingdom> YongHwa
Mini <Antiga Shipyard> YongHwa
YongHwa wins 2-0!
TaeJa vs. Dark
TaeJa <Abyssal City> Dark
TaeJa <Antiga Shipyard> Dark
TaeJa wins 2-0!
Squirtle vs. Miya
Squirtle <Antiga Shipyard> Miya
Squirtle <Daybreak> Miya
Squirtle wins 2-0!
Shine vs. JangBi
Shine <Abyssal City> JangBi
Shine <Daybreak> JangBi
Shine <Whirlwind> JangBi
Shine wins 2-1!
Heart vs. NesTea
Heart <Antiga Shipyard> NesTea
Heart <Bel'Shir Vestige> NesTea
NesTea wins 2-0!
In the ever changing landscape of Starcraft 2 and the GSL, the second night of the Ro48 for Code A saw the scene changing even more. In a world where it's always what have you done for me lately, let's take a look at whose stocks rose and whose are close to ruin.
⇧ LG-IM.YongHwa
Keep investing your esports bucks in Yonghwa, people. As the most hyped player to debut in Code A that wasn't a KeSPA player since Bomber all the way back in the middle of 2011, Yonghwa could have destroyed a lot of peoples' hopes and dreams last night. With Artosis predicting a Ro8 at least in next season's Code S, you can see why a lot of people were expecting to see either him crush mini, a middling KeSPA player, or have an epic crash and burn back to his home in Code B. Luckily for Artosis' movie that he is writing and directing about Yonghwa's rise to the Code S championship, Yonghwa didn't disappoint and took care of business against the STX Soul Protoss. Things won't get easier, having to face former Startale golden boy Squirtle in the second stage, and then Life, the season four champion, if he can make it to the final round of Code A. The plot is set up for Yonghwa to make Code S in a historic fashion, but he still has two tough opponents to go.
⇩ LG-IM.Seed
Run! Run as fast as you can! Sell on Seed for whatever you can get and run to Yonghwa as quickly as possible! Seed, who looked like he might stray away from the comparisons to jjakji, is now firmly in the conversation as most irrelevant GSL champion. It really shouldn't be this way, with him helping his team to IPTL title, doing well in WCS Korea, and having a career defining rivalry with Symbol, but he didn't make it to the BWC, and he's now entirely out of GSL and GSTL. It also doesn't help when Nestea says you lost your passion for the game after winning the championship. The debate of player of the year will rage on for the next two months, but the fight between jjakji and Seed with FruitDealer as the referee to see who truly is the most forgettable GSL champion might be just as exciting. Seed is a very good player, and Center had a strong debut, but going 0-2 against the least experienced player in the field is never a good sign.
Stay clear of Seed until we know for sure he has regained his passion.
⇧ Team SCV Life
Earlier this year, this team was on death's door and looked to be on it's way out of existence. Alive, the Code S semifinalist, had left for greener pastures at Fnatic and had won IPL4. The rest of the core members of the group like JYP, Clide and Killer also left, leaving a team that made the semifinals of the GSTL with almost no one. Polt, the star player who they had signed to make themselves a super team, was slumping and couldn't carry the load all by himself. They got embarrassed in the first GSTL without Alive and the rest of the core, Polt crumbling under the pressure and the rest of the teams in the league laughing at how weak they were.
The team stuck together around the much criticized Coach Lee, kept on fighting, and are now one of the best teams in the world. Hyun is raking in money weekly from IGN and in the quarterfinals of Code S, Symbol and Polt are mainstays in the premier GSL league and are qualified for tournaments all around the world, and now with tonight's results, Shine and Center make sure that Team SCV Life will at least have five players in the GSL next season. That might not seem like a lot compared to earlier seasons, but with the seven new KeSPA teams in the mix, having five players in the second stage or higher of Code A is a mighty accomplishment.
Shine was able to survive a sloppy series with the final Brood War champion, Samsung Khan's JangBi, taking a close 2-1 series and advancing to the second round of Code A for the third straight season. As the player who has been closest to advancing into Code S for two straight seasons, there is no question Shine has the talent to be just as good as his teammate's Symbol and Hyun, but he just needs a small break to finally make it into Code S. Even if he can't advance through the three stages of Code A, Shine has shown in the past two seasons that he will always be a factor in an Up/Down group, hopefully this time not coming in third place and barely missing out.
The big surprise is the debut of the Marauder Prince, Polt Jr., Center. Just like how you can see a lot of Mvp in Happy's play, or a lot of MarineKing's influence in Maru's play, Center played TvP scarily similar to Polt's. Using a bunch of marauders to shower through storms in game one and decimate Seed after an early game advantage, and then a straight up 5rax in game two on Whirlwind that Polt used against Parting in last week's Ro32 on the same map, you could watch the games against Seed without knowing the name of the Terran player and point out that it was more than likely Polt playing.
TSL's biggest disadvantage has always been that it's been a bunch of talented Zergs and Polt. Now with Center at least qualified for next season's Code A, TSL finally has a player not named Polt who can be used in confidence during GSTL who isn't Zerg. Now, if they can only find or produce a strong Protoss, TSL might be able to stand up with Startale. Still, from the brink of death almost six months ago to a second straight GSTL semifinal appearance and at least five players in GSL for the first season of 2013? Pretty spectacular turn of events. Can't buy into this team enough going into 2013 if they can find a big name sponsor.
⇩ FnaticRC
In the race to see which team would die off first in the GSL, Fnatic beat HoSeo by a couple of days (though NSH may follow them quickly if Brave can not pull off the mega upset against Flash on Thursday). Alive, who left TSL and joined Fnatic, has now fallen to the bottom of his career. He was on the verge of becoming one of, if not the best Terran in the world, with his semifinal in the first season of Code S this year and a major championship at IPL4. He moved to a team in much better shape, was quickly joined by Oz from FXO, and was the leader of a team with tons of e-sports experience. With Oz, Moon, Byul, and Rain, it seemed hard to fathom that there would be a point where everyone on Fnatic was out of the GSL.
Well, it happened. Fnatic dropped quickly from GSTL, Oz couldn't get through the Code A qualifiers, Rain - who was on the rise in terms of results - retired out of the blue, Byul is rumored to have left the team, and to top it all off, aLive, the crown jewel of the team, fell in the first round against Flying. Alive has spoken before in interviews that he has practiced less at Fnatic and that he could be doing more than he actually has been, but he is still a player you expect to see in GSL.
While Fnatic seems dead in Korea at the moment, you can't throw dirt on them like you might do on HoSeo or the dearly departed Slayers. Their team has one of the longest lasting legacies in e-sports, and they still have a chance to rebuild if Alive, Oz, and maybe a few new players can make it through the qualifiers at the start of next year. Things don't look good and there isn't a lot to be encouraged by except for Fnatic's history in other e-sport ventures, but after seeing what happened at TSL, there is always a chance at a revival.
⇨ Elephants
They went 2-2 for the night. JangBi and Mini lost, buy Flying was able to kill off Fnatic, and Bbyong derailed the Tails hype train before it could leave the station. They aren't dominating like many expected they would this late into their transition between the games, but it's not like they're doing too badly, either. Flying and Bbyong are two of the better players from the KeSPA side, so we'll see how they do in the later rounds against tougher opponents.
⇧ Wolfdor's new outfits
Wolf Potter and his best friend Lord Khaldormort.
Buy, buy, buy!
⇨ ST_Squirtle, LG-IM.NesTea, and Liquid`TaeJa
Squirtle beat Miya, the ZvT expert, after a ton of terrible performances the past two months. Wait and see.
Nestea beat Heart, the cheese specialist, after a ton of terrible performances the past two months. Wait and see.
Taeja beat Dark, the Slayers B-teamer turned SKT Zerg, after having straight losses in a row in the GSL and a disappointing MLG Dallas. Wait and see.
⇩ EG's plans on making an announcement of an announcement about signing Byul
Oops.
Writers: Fionn.
Graphics and Art: Meko.
Editors: Waxangel.