Last night's Code A matches consisted of a lot of interesting stories. While the heavy favorites, Dear and SKT_Rain were expected to advance out as first from their groups, it was impossible to say for sure since they had both shown past forms of slumping. First off, from Group C we had SKT_Dark, who had been performing impressively as of late in both Proleague and GSL, MVP_Billowy, who is still remembered for his all-kill against KT in the Proleague playoffs, and RagnaroK who had actually made it into Code S before. From Group D we had Proleague regular Jin Air_Cure, unpredictable CJ_Hydra, and the ever so mysterious Axiom_Impact.
The night started off with Dear showing everyone that it was time to put all doubt and worries to rest. He easily swooped back into Code S after dismantling both RagnaroK and Dark with 2-0 victories. Dear's performance last night may have proved that he may indeed have returned to championship contender mode, but only time will tell for sure.
After clawing his way to the final match by taking down RagnaroK after losing to Dark in the first match, Billowy unfortunately found no luck again as he fell down to Dark in the final match. Although things seemed hopeful for the MVP Protoss after he took a game on Deadwing with impressive sky toss plays, the SKT Zerg shut down all remaining hope with a very quick and easy victory on Overgrowth to take a 2-1 victory and advanced out as second.
Over on Group D, things were just as easy for Rain as he advanced out as first with a 2-0 score over both Impact and Cure. Although things seemed very dicey for Rain in both of his games against Impact, his superior micro and decision making skills shone through in the end and showed everyone why he is a contender for the best Protoss player in the world.
After rather easily taking down Hydra in the losers’ match, Impact found a chance at redemption to try to advance into Code S. Unfortunately for him, Cure decided his only loss of the night would be to Rain as he swiftly took down Impact in the final match without showing any signs of weakness. After an impressive hold against Impact’s all-in in game two, Cure forced Impact to GG out with the realization that he had nothing left to do but surrender. With Cure advancing to Code S for the first time ever, it may be time to start seriously considering Cure as another player to watch out for in the Jin Air roster along with Maru, sOs, TRUE, and Rogue.
Hot6ix Code S Season 3 Players
Seeded from Season 1 (8): Classic, ParalyzE, Zest, Maru, soO, TRUE, Solar, Soulkey
Code A Winners (8/24): Avenge, PartinG, DongRaeGu, MyuNgSiK, Dear, Dark, Rain, Cure