EPT![[image loading]](http://img.gomtv.net/imgdata/43201.jpg)
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It is a new year and a new GSL season, and with a totally different Code S format. Due to the new Bo3 format for the Ro32, it is hard making any sort of reliable predictions on who will advance from the upcoming round. There will be more games played in each round as well, so now players need the consistency as well as the skill to go all the way to the finals.
Many old names such as
MVPGenius and 
oGsNaDa are resurging, and with some completely new players like ST_Parting and SlayerS_Brown are entering the mix, so you can be sure that games in every group will be interesting. While the player who have already earned their elite status like IMMVP and SlayerS_MMA will undoubtedly do well, other players who have yet to find their pace will be challenged to stay in Code S.One thing that definitely won’t change no matter how much GOM changes the Code S format is the terran dominance in Code S. I’m sure
MVPDongRaeGu, oGsMC, and FXOLeenock will do their best to make sure that doesn’t happen, but with the rising oGs terran trio NaDa, SuperNoVa, and Fin (fOrGG) standing in their way along with the other three terran GSL champions, it’s a safe bet that we’ll see a terran again in the next GSL finals. ![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/images/players/590.jpg)
Let’s take a look at his opponents.
Lucky has been on a tear lately, almost sweeping his GSL Dec. Up-Down group in dominating fashion and beating multiple SlayerS terrans to secure second place in IPL 4. Professor Tea is three-time GSL champion. IdrA is one of the elite foreigners with a consistent history in past GSLs. All of that said MVP might drop a game in his group.
Leenock gave MVP a run for his money in the GSL Dec. Semi-Finals, but it was a much closer series than people would like to remember. Whereas MMA and MarineKing have versatile and explosive TvZ styles, MVP favors the style that zergs fear the most; the safe, boring, unrelenting macro style that crushes maxed zerg armies. MVP has gotten a bit complacent in his recent TvZ games, being a bit predictable as he tends to rely on his superb mechanics to get victories from macro-oriented builds, but it has worked for him in the past, and it’ll work again.
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/images/players/1979.jpg)
Jjakji is not an elite terran in my book just yet, even though he took the GSL Nov. championship. The reason why is because he hasn’t experienced the fall from grace that MMA and MVP had to go through. Only by experiencing the bitterness of defeat after making it to the top of their worlds and climbing their way back up to prominence did MMA and MVP gain their champion mindsets, and Jjakji has yet to complete this vital ritual in reaching the hallowed ground that both of his elite terran brethren have reached.
Jjakji shouldn’t have trouble in his Ro32 group, but he will definitely run into trouble in the Ro16 as he’ll almost certainly be matched up with a player that will be fully capable of standing toe-to-toe with him. He’ll continue to bring entertaining builds and execute intelligent gameplay in the meantime, but he needs more time and more experience against solid opponents to grow into a scary and dominating force.
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/images/players/207.jpg)
In my opinion, fOrGG (Fin is his official name) is the most well-rounded terran in the GSL at this time. He has great grasp on the game mechanics, superb understanding of all matchups, and is comfortable with diverse strategies. Whereas MMA and Jjakji can control games with their smart builds, fOrGG seemingly has the raw ability to impose his will with whatever, wherever, and whenever. Watching his run through GSL Nov. Code A and his ladder games on his stream, it is hard to deny that fOrGG will eventually become the player that all of the Korean pros will fear.
On the other hand though, while fOrGG has the intelligence and impeccable mechanics ingrained in him from his Brood War days, it remains to be seen how he will cope with the constantly fluctuating GSL tournament metagame. He has proved himself in a short period of time, but the GSL is a different beast compared to the ladder, and the GSL tournament system has demolished the pride of many other ladder monsters before.
Regardless of how fOrGG performs in his group (which I’m sure he’ll make it out of), it will be vital experience and training for a future championship run. If fOrGG continues on his rapid ascent and growth as a SC2 pro, he’ll easily surpass MVP’s stellar record. If you see fOrGG streaming, watch it. You won’t regret it.
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/images/players/600.jpg)
Let me preface this by saying I am an IdrA fan. But I don’t let my heart act as a blindfold. IdrA has jumped into waters which are a lot colder and more unforgiving than the last time he has left it, and with the high caliber of players in his group it looks unlikely that he’ll make it out.
Watching his ladder games on his stream or from his opponent’s streams (
Polt, Bomber, and fOrGG’s), he seems almost lost in the matchup he claims he is most comfortable in. His preferred muta-ling-bling ZvT style has undergone many changes since his return to Korea, so far has been full of holes that his opponents have exploited time and time again. IdrA is still in the process of adjusting to the Korean metagame, and it is safe to say he won’t be ready by the Ro32. Of course, I could be totally wrong in my assumptions as our information is limited, but that uncertainty doesn’t reassure me when I watch him make the same mistakes he has made since time immemorial. In a recent ladder games against Polt on Polt’s stream, he raged in game chat after throwing away several armies in a game he should have won if he played more intelligently. IdrA has to be on top of his game to survive in his group, and so far he has proved he doesn’t even have the mentality to do that.
I hope that he prove me wrong and gets out of his group, but faced ZvZ with two other great ZvZ players and ZvT with the MVP himself, IdrA has no chance to make it out. Hopefully he’ll make the best of the situation and use the experience to clear his head and give us some solid games in the future.
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/images/players/640.jpg)
If you want confidence in a player, look no farther than MC. MC plays a very aggressive style that complements his absolute faith in his abilities, but his faith sometimes transforms into over-confidence when he misreads his opponents and willingly walks straight into poor engagements where other protosses would have avoided.
Against
MVPsC on Tal’Darim Altar in the GSL Nov. Code S Ro16, he walked straight into a disadvantageous engagement thinking he had the upgrade advantage, but MVPsC had actually been keeping up with MC in upgrades, and MC got slaughtered as he charged his stretched-out forces into sC’s waiting bio-ball. Against aTn.ClouD in the recent Homestory Cup 4 group stages, he almost threw away a victory in game 3 of the series on Daybreak by stubbornly charging his reinforcements down a choke towards ClouD’s bio army. I admit that it is a stretch to claim that MC is likely to underperform as he has been on a tear lately, but while his solid control and aggressive play has allowed him to walk over average opponents before, SuperNoVa (68.75% wins vs protoss) and fOrGG (4-0 vs protoss in the GSL) are anything but average against protoss. SuperNoVa and fOrGG will take care to avoid making mistakes, and I don’t think MC will advance far if he lets his confidence get the better of him.
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/images/players/2093.jpg)
This guy can never catch a break. He spent eternity in the barrens of Code A before finally sneaking into GSL Nov. Code S, only to be called out by his teammate MMA and getting knocked back down into Code A. He then got his shit together and showed amazing improvement going undefeated in his GSL Season 1 Up-Down group, but is now facing the TvZ master MMA yet again in his group.
YugiOh also has to deal with
FXOGuMiho’s strong TvZ (69.70% win rate versus zergs) and Liquid’Zenio’s ZvZ (72.73% win rate versus zergs). YugiOh has a solid chance against Zenio if he maintains the level of play he showed us versus STJuly and oGsLuvsic, but MMA and GuMiho are two terran juggernauts he won’t be able to take down. Count on YugiOh dropping back into Code A again, but since he’s been improving I’m fairly certain we’ll see him again soon. Group Predictions
Group A
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NSHoSeo_Jjakji and SlayerS_Boxer to advance. Jjakji shouldn’t have too much trouble in his group, so second place will most likely fall between SlayerS_GanZi and Boxer as Sen is fighting in his weakest matchup against accomplished TvZ players. Boxer has been almost literally on fire in his strongest matchup lately, so I’ll give the nod to Boxer if he goes up against his teammate GanZi. Boxer fighting!!!Group B
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Fin (fOrGG) and SuperNoVa to advance. The King of Kong tournament has shown that Leenock’s TvZ play is somewhat unstable currently, and oGsMC has great chances to take a series off of Leenock. If MC can reign in his aggression and play smart, he can challenge fOrGG and SuperNovA, but the statistics say otherwise. SuperNovA has been looking strong lately too, so I’m going to bet on him this time around. Group C
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Group D
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ST_Curious and ST_Bomber to advance. Curious couldn’t have asked for a better group, and FXOz and oGsInCa will be hard pressed to challenge Curious in PvZ. Bomber is the wild card in my opinion as he hasn’t proved he can be consistent in tournaments, but his 80.77% win rate versus protoss (!) speaks otherwise in a group with two other protosses. There’s a solid argument for picking Oz, but even with his strong run in the GSL Nov. season the odds are stacked too heavily against him since Curious has proven his superiority in the matchup and Bomber might be too much for him. Group E
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SlayerS_MMA and FXOGuMiho to advance. Both MMA and GuMiho are beastly versus zergs, and are very solid well-rounded players. It is not likely SlayerS_YugiOh and Liquid’Zenio will be able to take down such dominant TvZ players, so count on them getting knocked back into Code AGroup F
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MVPDongRaeGu and MVPsC to advance. If sC has recovered from his illness enough to practice, he should have very little trouble versus MVPGenius or EGJYP. If sC isn’t able to play at 100%, who will get second place in the group will be interesting to watch as both Genius and JYP aren’t sure bets. Genius has been resurging lately, tearing his way through the Up-Downs, but it remains to be seen if he carry his momentum into Code S. DongRaeGu showed us in the King of Kong tournament that he’s on form currently, so he shouldn’t have trouble in this group. Group G
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MarineKingPrime and TSLaLive to advance. This is another group in which anything can happen, as SlayerS_Brown hasn’t had much time in the limelight, and both aLive and IMHappy have fairly mediocre results in TvT. Brown has been the new SlayerS player to watch, slaying
IMLosira and SlayerS_Ryung with solid macro-oriented play, but both MarineKing and aLive have faced down more accomplished protosses before. I think aLive is going to make it out over Happy, as even though Happy has looked very strong in the past two GSL seasons, he hasn’t proved that he has found his tempo in TvT. So I’m going to err on the side of caution and go with the more experienced aLive. Group H
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oGsNaDa and ST_Parting to advance. This is the group that’s hardest to call, and probably the most volatile group. There’s very little information about Parting, but apparently he’s pretty good as he took down Jjakji in the Korean SC2 League Daily #17 this past December. Parting also looked good in the GSL Nov. Code A, but he’ll be facing players that are currently stronger than the players he beat his Code A run. SlayerS_Puzzle has always been somewhat inconsistent, despite his creative play, and it’s hard to tell which side of Puzzle will show up to play in the group. The old Code S veterans NaDa and MVPKeenhave gotten their acts together and crushed through Code A back into Code S, and both are strong against protosses. All of that said, nobody in the group has an substantial advantage over each other. NaDa and Parting had to go through tougher opponents to get here, so I’m inclined to pick them to get out of the Ro32. 
