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The Up/Down's Grand Finale

- MVP.finale goes 4 - 0 to make it into Code S for his first time

Looking at this group beforehand, there was always going to be a good chance that a Protoss would sweep through it by using heavy two base play versus Terran and flipping well in the PvPs. With all the Terran players looking good, but not all so solid, it looked like the stage should be set for the player famous for such tactics.

However, it wasn't MC who dominated the group. Instead, finale swept through with a 4 - 0 record, being brutal and effective in his play. In short order, he dispatched of his Terran opponents in Happy, Sparta and Heart. Against both LG-IM_Happy and coL.Heart he was as ruthless and hyper aggressive as MC circa 2012, while against ST_Sparta he simply defended slightly better than the destroyer of Nestea could harass and drop. At 3 - 0, he was all out of Terran to take care of and would need to win one PvP to make it to the Promised Land. The MVP Protoss took the first and best option, taking out Terminator (aka Sang) in a game where he looked superior in just every measurable way.

Sometimes a player comes into Up and Downs and completely outclasses the group. Sometimes the player has a little bit of luck and is just a little better when it counts the most. For finale, the story was one of careful preparation and taking every single opening afforded to him by unwary opponents. While he might not have gained a lot of new fans, what he proved was that he had killer instinct and a willingness to exploit any weakness he could find. For someone who has struggled to see much success at all in the GSL, this in itself is promising; quite a few players owe a lot of their success to such traits. Coupled with what is at least standard-level play in the Protoss late game, it is not a bad place to fine oneself in. The combination of being able to instill some good honest fear of your aggression, being solid throughout and knowing your own strengths counts for a lot.

For a Protoss player whose presence was nigh impossible to tell apart from teammate MVP.Vampire, it seems a rather interesting change. Given how the group played out, one could almost have sworn that the player in question was MC in 2011. The similarities in game play and group logic were certainly striking. However, unless opponents continue to provide him gifts in the form of being greedy in the face of all-ins, it is also true that his play could fall in line with how MC has performed at his most mediocre. Up and Downs rarely give us the full picture, even though this group painted quite a colorful scene.

It remains a bit of a mystery whether finale is the kind of player who is an unknown quantity because he is hard to pin down due to lack of data or because he does not quite have the presence needed to leave a huge impression. But sometimes that type of player is simply interesting to follow. It might be too much to expect any greatness coming into Code S, but the group stage will definitely give us more insight into where finale belongs.

How to kill elite Protoss players without anyone noticing
- LG-IM_Happy loses his first game but wins the next three to renew his Code S season tickets.

There has always been something slightly curious about Happy. Be it the story of the origins of his nickname, his rather sudden rise to fame as the understudy of the greatest player in all of SC2 or his almost unnoticeable decline into mediocrity. Common is that they are all superficially interesting but fail to grab hold of your attention; revealing perhaps a bit of the essence of what Happy represents to the average GSL spectator. You know he is there, he has to be something right because repeatedly being in Code S means more than it ever has, but yet nothing really stands out.

As it happens, another chapter in this particular book seems to be writing itself before our very eyes. Last season, Happy was the only player who looked capable of taking anything off By.Rain before another, more famous IM Terran finally ended the KeSPA royal road aspirations in the semi-finals. At the time, it was an impressive result taken by itself and uplifting for a player who has struggled to regain form after showing strength in the mid to late stages of 2011, but also easily forgotten once Happy failed to make further progress and Rain added accolades to his growing resume. As fate would have it, this Up and Down group culminated in Happy’s defeat of another Protoss luminary; an impressive feat that will probably also be forgotten given a little time.

Incidentally, history did repeat itself twofold for Happy. As he did in last season’s Up and Downs, he started out with a defeat to Protoss but went on to sweep the rest of his games. And just like his loss to Creator back then looked uninspired and like the Happy that fell out of Code S with little hope of return, his loss to finale was likewise ominous. However, whatever it is that inspires IM players to make comebacks, Happy showed once again that he too is a beneficiary. He was able to scout out Terminator’s four-gate play just in time to pull scvs to defend his bunker off two bases. It was not an easy defense, but Happy’s production just barely outlasted the zealot/stalker bust on his two bases. He then went up against Sparta, Happy’s early aggression put him far ahead as the Startale player failed to defend the medivac drop play.

Finally, the game against MC featured large swings in momentum. Happy stayed aggressive early on, taking out the Protoss second base. However, MC was likewise able to penetrate Happy’s defenses on the counterattack, breaking the three bunkers guarding the natural with heavy immortal play. Happy looked to be very far behind, but was ahead on upgrades and in tech. He dedicated heavily to two base play, and while MC was finally able reach colossus tech in time for the attack, his decision to branch out to three bases while doing so left him light on units. In a stylistically Mvp’esque fashion, Happy pulled scvs to buffer the damage output and completely broke the Protoss.

As with finale, this group showcased a lot more of the scrappy side of the player advancing. Happy looked caught off guard in his defeat, scrappy and resilient in his wins versus Protoss and like a clearly superior player to Sparta. For a player who has relied heavily on his historically excellent TvZ in the past, getting through this group composition is a good sign. He might not look like the player he did when making his deeper run in Code S, but he looks like a much better player than the one who fell out.

The Code A bound

MC: It must have been a very frustrating night for MC. After defeating both Sparta and Heart to start out 2-0, going 2-2 and not making Code S must be a blow. While his interview after taking third place might have indicated some changes in swagger and personality in victory, he must have felt this group was his to lose. However, this will not be the first disappointment, and he has always bounced back in impressive manner before. MC still seems to struggle with the usual flaws in his play, but when on form he is a prominent figure in Code S.

Heart, Terminator and Sparta: All three turned out to be bit part players in this group, going 1-3 each. For Heart, it was a painful reminder that his success last season and in WCG does not afford him status among Korea’s elite. For Sang, we saw yet again that his play versus Terran is suspect indeed. Finally, Sparta looked simply out of his league. They will all have new chances to improve again in Code A, but their group play showed that when they come to play not quite at their best, surviving the first round will be a real challenge.