The final round of Code A begins today. The winners receive direct seeds into the next season of Code S, while the losers will be sent to the Up-Down matches for another chance.

The first day includes many of the players who participated in MLG Winter Arena in New York and flew back to Korea barely 24 hours ago. The fatigue of extended travel and jet lag will have affected their condition adversely, adding a new factor to take into consideration.

TheStC is one win away from making his dream from the Beta come true and finally reaching the main GSL tournament after almost two years. After being known as one of the best Terrans during the beta phase of the game, TheStC had to go into the military for a little while before coming back and starting his road to back to being one of the better Terrans in the world. Every season it feels like it'll be finally his season, the one where he finally qualifies for Code A and works his way into Code S. He hasn't been this close to being in Code S since MLG Orlando when he and MC battled in the semifinals to find out who would be the oGs player receiving the automatic berth.

When the dust settled, TheStC had lost, but he proved through his run in the Open Bracket and knockout rounds that he should never taken lightly. It's never been more evident than in this season of Code A, where TheStC had the best run of anyone in the tournament, knocking out former GSL Code S finalist Losira entirely out of the league and then, against former MSL champion and teammate Fin, proving that his mech play was more powerful than his opponent's and rolling through. With those two names down, who is going to doubt that he isn't ready to make his Code S debut next season?

Well, maybe Curious has to say something about that, as he is coming off a decent round of sixteen effort in his second season in Code S. He was able to get out of the opening round by defeating his slumping teammate Bomber in the final series of the group, but he wasn't able to make a dent in his RO16 group consisting of Alive, Gumiho and MVP. Ever since his undefeated run through Code A back in October, I've been waiting for Curious to have his breakout season and solidify himself as a top four Zerg, but it just hasn't happened yet. While he can show marvelous play in the realm of Code A, his work on the main stage still needs a bit of work.

If the last month's of results are any indication, Curious should be the underdog going into this series. There would be no surprises if the Startale Zerg could turn on his Code A magic once again and make a third straight Code S appearance, but honestly, it's damn well time TheStC made it in. It's been far too long for a player far too good to never have made it, so I don't think anyone can stop him on his way to the top.

Prediction: TheStC 2 – 0 Curious

IMmvp vs. MvPSniper

Let us pray, dear readers. For young Sniper, a young boy of only seventeen just turned, must walk into the booth and confront the very face of wrath. He shall do combat against the most terrifying thing known to man: an angry Mvp. The three-time GSL champion has been humiliated, placing poorly at the MLG Winter Arena and getting knocked out of the GSL by the player he mocked during the group selections. Mvp should be enraged, and there will be no mercy tonight.

MVP might not be in his best condition, but it doesn't really matter. It's MVP and even with his wrists taped up like a mummy, he was still able to make two GSL finals back-to-back in a row and be the best player in the world. Yeah, he's had a few off weeks, but what player never had one before? Before making those back-to-back trips to the Code S finals, he had to drop down all the way to Code A and lose to Bomber in the finals of that tournament before turning back into the player who destroyed everyone. So cut him a break, and know that he's going to be back.

Sniper is a fine player and his wins versus a heavily slumping Clide along with foreigner Sen shouldn't be looked down upon, but neither of those players really stack up compared to MVP. Even if the he comes into the booth dead tired from jet lag and both his wrists are killing him, he should be the heavy favorite going into this series. Sniper is a new player on the scene and a win here would be one of the bigger upsets in GSL history, so if there was ever a player more aptly named, this is his chance to truly snipe a Code S seed.

...But it's a pissed off MVP. Do you really want to mess with that?

Prediction: MvP 2 – 0 Sniper




Leenock had two of the hottest runs in recent Starcraft II memory, blazing through MLG Providence to win the title while coming very close to winning the November Code S title as well. His remarkable performances throughout the tourneys overshadowed one thing, however: his ZvP was not adequately tested.

Beating NaNiwa in one MLG finals doesn't prove enough, and we all know that NaNiwa was tilted that entire series from losing a very winnable game (although, Leenock did well to rush him over and over after that). Leenock has lost to NaNiwa, Oz, MC x 2, and most recently finale in ZvP, making it look like a real liability.

We've seen very little of Seed's PvZ on the other hand, except for an impressive Code A series against Monster, where he looked solid at both two-base rushing and playing a macro-game then managing a deathball. However, Monster is no Code S player, so we don't know how Seed will do against a stronger player like Leenock.

X factors include jetlag for Leenock, and the inclusion of Crossfire in the map pool. Those seem to cancel each other out pretty neatly, so I'd say this match is close to a 50/50. However, Seed also had advantage of 100% devotion to preparing for this match in the past week, so we'll give him the edge.

Prediction: Seed 2 – 1 Leenock




These two faced off very recently in the GSTL, where Oz took down Avenge on the way to an FXO victory. That game was a death-ball fight on Cloud Kingdom, where Oz showed superior positioning and micro to win the max-out battle by a landslide.

That's a minor trend I've noticed in Avenge's few PvP games: he plays a long macro game, then loses the max-out fight terribly. Those things are dreadfully complex with so many things going on, and being good at them seems to be a special skill in itself. Otherwise, he seems like your run of the mill, safe and sound PvP player, and I'd give him the usual coin-flipper's chance against Oz.

Oz's PvP record lately has been pretty awesome, though he did lose to HuK a few days ago. FXO has actually deployed him in the rare role of PvP sniper, so perhaps that seems to be an indication of the huge amount of confidence in his abilities (however, considering that coach Choya thinks it's a good idea to include himself in the line-up from time to time...).

Prediction: Oz 2 – 1 Avenge