WCS Korea Season II - Up/Downs
Up/Down Group A Recap
Leenock and Maru advance
Up/Down Group B Preview
Golden, Trust, YoDa, Fantasy, Savage
Brackets and standings on Liquipedia
Up/Down: Group A Recap
Results from Live Report Thread by NovemberstOrm.
+ Show Spoiler [Overall Results] +
DongRaeGu <Atlas> Bunny
Maru <Bel'Shir Vestige> Ruin
DongRaeGu <Daybreak> Leenock
Ruin <Whirlwind> Bunny
Maru <Akilon Wastes> Leenock
Ruin <Red City> DongRaeGu
Bunny <Star Station> Leenock
Maru <Whirlwind> DongRaeGu
Ruin <Atlas> Leenock
Maru <Red City> Bunny
Leenock: 3-1
Maru: 3-1
Bunny: 2-2
Ruin: 1-3
DongRaeGu: 1-3
Leenock and Maru advance to Code S!
Maru <Bel'Shir Vestige> Ruin
DongRaeGu <Daybreak> Leenock
Ruin <Whirlwind> Bunny
Maru <Akilon Wastes> Leenock
Ruin <Red City> DongRaeGu
Bunny <Star Station> Leenock
Maru <Whirlwind> DongRaeGu
Ruin <Atlas> Leenock
Maru <Red City> Bunny
Leenock: 3-1
Maru: 3-1
Bunny: 2-2
Ruin: 1-3
DongRaeGu: 1-3
Leenock and Maru advance to Code S!
Leenock and Maru advance to the Starleague as DongRaeGu falls
In a fairly weak group, it was no surprise to see the DreamHack: Stockholm champion FXO.Leenock come through in first place to earn a spot in the Starleague (next season's Code S / Premier League). Although his ZvT has been looking shaky lately (that or he's attained a curse when facing CJ Entus Terrans) Leenock was still very good in ZvZ and ZvP as he defeated DongRaeGu and Ruin, alongside a with a 1 - 1 split against MaruPrime and CJ_Bunny to secure a 3 - 1 total score. His only loss was to Bunny, losing in a macro game after a failed mid-game roach-bane timing. The next season of Premier League will be Leenock's chance to prove that his run through Dreamhack wasn't a one-off thing, and that while his ZvT woes may not make him an OSL title contender right now, he is surely on his way back to the top.
Another youngster in MaruPrime qualified for yet another Code S, where he'll once more face the challenge of advancing past the Ro32 where he has often tripped and stumbled in the past. Whether or not he is at that skill level now is hard to tell, as the three players he had to beat to go through were Bunny, Ruin and DRG—none of which are close to the caliber of players Maru would expect to face in the Ro32.
Quick Hits on the Rest
MVP.DongRaeGu: The HotS woes for OSL runner-up MVP.DongRaeGu continued as he put in yet another lackluster performance, the faith his fans had in him proving to be insufficient to see him advance to the Starleague. Like two other second generation of champions in Starcraft 2, MMA and jjakji, DRG helped bring about the change of the guard in WoL, but has now faded into mediocrity. After ending WoL on a high note by placing 2nd in Iron Squid 2, DongRaeGu has been a wreck in in the new expansion. Despite his favorite unit, mutalisks, being buffed, his play has deteriorated further than anyone could ever have expected. Gone are the days of DRG out-multitasking his opponents with mutalisks and zerglings zipping all over the map, and in his place is but a husk that is incapable of dealing with the constant drop aggression most Terrans employ currently. It was all too noticeable as he went into this U&D group, and he crashed out 1-3, with his single victory being over LG-IM benchwarmer Ruin. If he keeps up this level of play, then there will certainly be dark days ahead for a player that was once considered the best Zerg in the world. While it may be a while away, every players' focus is on the WCS Grand Finals at Blizzcon and if DRG wants to remain one of the best, he definitely has to be there. It seems this season of Premier League however, will not help him towards that goal.
CJ_BunnyThe biggest story of the night was without a doubt Bunny emerging from his cocoon of obscurity, and actually showing himself in the booth as opposed to his Danish Twin, CW.Bunny. While he failed to advance from the group and gain himself a place in Code S, he showed some decent overall play to get a 2 - 2 record for a third place finish in the group. His TvZ looked especially strong as he took down Wings of Liberty legends Leenock and DRG, so perhaps he will start earning Proleague appearances as a TvZ sniper.
LG-IM_Ruin came out of nowhere, and promptly went back there as he went 1-3 in this group. While he did manage to beat Bunny, he also lost to an extraordinarily out of form DRG, who everyone in this group should have beaten. It seems for now he will stay as IM's 4th string Protoss, and will have to look for more opportunities if he wishes to move up and get more opportunities in the GSTL. At least he has the next season of Challenger League to look forward to.
Up/Down Group B Preview
Group B features five players that are all somewhat difficult to pinpoint skillwise right now. Trust, Savage and Golden have been relatively quiet, not playing many televised games; not in team leagues nor individual leagues outside of Code A. FanTaSy is always an enigma – sometimes he looks posed to reclaim his title as a top terran alongside Flash and new contender Innovation, and sometimes he looks like he's... not. And then there's YoDa. Hyped up by Mvp long ago, and winning an IEM at the start of HotS, he looked completely helpless (but only after cruising through the first group stage with a dominant performance) as he fell out of the Code S Ro16 very recently. With the limited information available, your guess could prove just as good as ours. So as a little twist, we added the most likely unfortunate outcomes for at least one game per player
5. CJ_Trust
Season Two Starleague Players
Season One Top Eight (8)
Soulkey, INnoVation, sOs, Symbol, LosirA, RorO, Bomber, PartinG
Challenger League Bracket Stage Winners (12)
Flying, hyvaa, SuperNova, Life, Flash, Trap, RagnaroK, Squirtle, Shine, soO, Rain, Bbyong
Challenger League Group Stage Winners (12)
Leenock, Maru
Trust got into Code A last season, beat up Genius and fell unceremoniously to Yoda and proceeded to go 0-3 in the only 4-man Up&Down Group consisting of MKP, Stephano and Lure. So what can we expect from Trust months later? Hard to say. On one hand, he edged out Dream (known for his TvP prowess) 2-1 in Code A, but then lost to Creator 0 - 2 in the next round. If Trust has gone and gotten himself decent PvT, he has a decent shot at getting out of this group against a Fantasy who is always inconsistent and a Yoda who looks somewhat underwhelming. Being a relative unknown with no recorded Proleague games to analyse, expect Trust to be on the receiving end of at least one bust of some kind.Season One Top Eight (8)
Soulkey, INnoVation, sOs, Symbol, LosirA, RorO, Bomber, PartinG
Challenger League Bracket Stage Winners (12)
Flying, hyvaa, SuperNova, Life, Flash, Trap, RagnaroK, Squirtle, Shine, soO, Rain, Bbyong
Challenger League Group Stage Winners (12)
Leenock, Maru
One advantage for Trust going into this group will be his status as a relative unknown. Aside from his games played in WCS Korea, the only games to watch are games inside the team house or on ladder, where most players use barcodes anyway. Trust might have something going here, and he may come in to surprise everyone, as is the role of the underdog.
Will inevitably.... Get baneling busted at least once.
4. ST_Golden
Golden got into the Up&Downs by beating Noblesse 2-0 in the first round and only narrowly lost out to Crazy 1-2 in the next. Given the format of WCS and the fact that StarTale seems to have established its 4-man core of Curious, Bomber, Life and Avenge, Golden hasn't really been seen anywhere outside of his Code A matches. The fact that he took out Noblesse bodes relatively well for his ZvT, but a loss to Crazy and no recent ZvPs land him in the bottom half of this ranking.
With how few televised games Golden has played since joining StarTale, it's impossible to know if he has learned anything from Curious, Life, and the 30-or-so other Zergs in the ST Army. With two Code S regulars like Life and Curious available for practice, there are many things to be learned about ZvT and ZvP in particular. Will Golden show up with new tricks? That will be the deciding factor for him in a group where beating 2 Terrans could potentially be enough to secure a spot in next season's OSL.
Will inevitably.... miss a proxy of some kind due to sub-par scouting.
3. 8th_Savage
Being a regular fixture on Team 8's roster, Savage has received the most playing time in serious competition out of the bottom 3. While that means he's more exposed, that also means he's actually had tangible goals to work toward, compared to just 'get better' for the others. Considered a mini-TRUE by some, expect Savage to sport some decent dueling skills in ZvZ at the least, and a trick all-in or two from the actual TRUE; who took out Fantasy in last season's Code S.
Will inevitably.... attempt a massive ling runby but will die to a counterattack instead.
2. SKT_FanTaSy
Despite not always playing like his championship-winning self of Brood War, Fantasy is a Proleague regular and usually takes down at least one player while in Winners' League, and puts up a good fight (his exciting TvZ against Effort of Round 3 has been one of the highlights so far) against most players in standard Proleague format. Being a regular on one of Proleague's top teams should count for something in a group like this, and with two seemingly mediocre Zergs available in this group, solid play in one match-up might be enough to take him out of the group.
With the intense format of the Up and Downs, there is a lot of potential for clever one-off strategies and wonky all-ins. With hellbats, mines and turbovacs available for Fantasy to use, the multiple-time OSL finalist should be able to pull something clever off at least once. With the caliber of his teammates, there is sure to be one piece of advice to be shared that can help him in this group, but the question is if Fantasy will even bother going for unorthodox play over standard, which he has proven himself quite solid in playing.
Will inevitably.... go mass hellions thinking they're vultures and die when there are no spider mines available.
1. LG-IM_YoDa
Despite looking somewhat lackluster in the second round of Code S, Yoda is still arguably IM's strongest Terran and has still looked both better and more solid than everyone in this group so far in HotS. In some ways, this group will be his judge. A solid performance and a quick return to Code S will dispel any doubt in his ability, whereas lackluster performance and perhaps elimination will spell trouble for him as the competition in Korea only gets tougher. Will Mvp's blessing finally turn to a curse, turning a promising up-and-coming player into one spiraling into despair in the place of his once again championship-winning elder, or will the blessing give him confidence to return to the sacred ground of WCS Korea?
With nothing drastic having happened yet, there is no sensible spot in this group for Yoda but #1. But anything can happen, especially in the Up&Downs with a group like this, and Yoda will have to watch himself lest he find himself fighting for his life in next season's Challenger League instead of Premier, where he no doubt feels he belongs.
Will inevitably.... build a lot of hellbats.