EPTGroup A
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/LPhdA.jpg)
This is a group filled with players who are similar yet different in nature. They all have BW background: be it a 2v2 specialist like NesTea, a B-teamer like Tester, or famous multi-time OSL winner like July. All three of them are relatively veterans in scene and are mid-to-late 20's in age which is old for a game where there is a plethora of teenage talent looking to make their mark. Last but not the least, they have had varying degree of success in SC2.
Nestea has been a dominant zerg who has won two GSLs and has shown exceptionally strong play all three match-ups. July, on the other hand, has been doing well making it to the finals of a GSL but as many would agree, he is still to show his true potential in SC2. Trickster or Tester has pretty much fallen from grace going from being one of the most dominant Koreans in beta to just another Code S player who is good but nothing exceptional.
My predictions for this group are:
NesTea : 
Rain (forfeit) July : 
TesteR Winners:
NesTea : July Losers:
TesteR : Rain 2nd/3rd spot
July : TesteRI am confident that NesTea is definitely advance through the group since his ZvZ is much better than July. The big question mark is Tester is at a level where can definitely take games off July. We can safely assume that NesTea will beat either one of those. Thus, July and Tester are fated to meet twice due to the nature of this group. July is 16-15 in his ZvP while Tester is 6-2 in his PvZ (1-0 against July). In my opinion, they are equally likely to take games off each other and thus assuming they split 1-1, the order of their victories might end up deciding who makes it through. However, having a guaranteed Code S spot for August does relieve some pressure off these two.
(Note: I do realize that this group doesn't follow the theme of movie 'Old School' but the title is a rather accurate representation ^_^)
Group C
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/3DukH.jpg)
The spotlight of this group lies in Top vs FruitDealer. This has been a grudge match which has been almost an year in its making. Rewind to GSL1 where Top stole defeat from jaws of victory or FruitDealer stole victory from the jaws of defeat on game 5 in Kulas Ravine in the semi-finals (depending on how you look at it). It was an easy win which turned into a loss when the glitched Ultras make quick work on a lot of thors and ended up stopping a TvT finals.
Fast-forward to current GSL. Top has clawed his way back after dropping out of GSL early on after his good showing in GSL1. He had a hard climb where he egged on through Code A to win it and then performed consistently well in Code S. However, he has been under the shadows of other upcoming Terrans like MMA and Bomber and he did not get a lot of credit for defeating Nestea in GSTL despite some excellent play. On the other hand, FruitDealer seems like a player in decline. He has barely held onto his Code S spot and has not made any strong showing since his victory in GSL 1. He has been a longish slump and he recently announced that he might retire if he drops out of Code S.
Thus, this game is one of the more anticipated ones for me where FruitDealer will try and show once again that his victory in GSL 1 was not a one-off thing and Top being out of blood for his loss and also in a stint to gain respect from a lot of naysayers out here. The story of this group is of the V's where both players seek their respective V's: be it vengeance or victory.
My predictions for the group:
oGsTOP > FruitDealerGenius > Virus Winners
oGsTOP > GeniusLosers
FruitDealer > Virus 2nd/3rd spot
FruitDealer > GeniusTop is on a wave based on his recent performances while all three other are lackluster in their performances. I consider Virus one of the weaker players in Code S and he is most likely to fall out of the group. It is a toss up between FD and Genius and I think it is not the best match-up for either one of them. Thus, it will probably depend on who performs better that night. I would give the game to FD since I would like him to advance.
