by Fionn

Group G: Woongjin_Soulkey, MVP.Noblesse, LG-IM_NesTea, Liquid`TaeJa

After making a surprise final eight appearance last season, Woongjin_Soulkey will try to continue his momentum in the first Code S season of 2013. It's no secret that many considered the last season to be one of the flukiest due to the rushed format, reduced preparation time, and the large number of upsets that occurred through the group stages. Last season's top eight haven't done anything to silence the critics so far, with only MarineKingable to get past the Ro32 group stages in the new season. It's now up to Soulkey, and tomorrow Bogus, to try and save the credibility of 2012's Season Five.

Soulkey's biggest victory in his career so far was his major upset of Life last season in the Ro16, where he became known for his insane preparation and scouting of his opponent. The Woongjin player had Life analyzed perfectly, and defended beautifully against the aggressive genius to win four straight games and eliminate him from the tournament. While it didn't seem like such a big deal at the time, time would show that it was a huge achievement. During Life's reign of terror where he won Code S Season 4, MLG Dallas, the Blizzard Cup, and most recently Iron Squid II, Soulkey has been the only player to completely shut down Life in every aspect of the game and make the best player in the world look inferior. Unfortunately, Soulkey couldn't keep it up in the Ro8 against Innovation and got rolled over himself.

Soulkey's ZvZ is by far his best match-up—the only one where he has more than a 50% win-rate—and he'll be hoping for a date with the former king of ZvZ, Nestea, for the best chance at advancing. While his ZvT hasn't been excellent as of late, both Terran players in the group have gigantic question marks over their heads, and that might give Soulkey the edge in the group.

His first opponent will be MVP.Noblesse. If your memory is hazy on who he is, here's a list of the three notable things he has done in Wings of Liberty:

1) He beat his teammate DongRaeGu in Code A to make it into this tournament, pissing off many fans in the process (DRG got through the Up/Downs anyway).

2) Back in the middle of 2011, he made it into Code S only to be thrown into a group with three GSL champions in MC, Mvp and Polt. Not surprisingly, he did not make it out, losing to Polt twice and falling back into obscurity.

3) He lost to Maka in the 2011 Super Tournament when he got stuck in traffic and couldn't make it to the studio in time.

Now back in Code S for the first time in over a year, Noblesse is one of the biggest underdogs of the season. Even with his win against DongRaeGu in Code A, he still needs to prove that he isn't going to get bounced straight out of Code S the same way he was in 2011. His TvZ did look excellent against DRG, a good thing in a group with two Zergs who haven't had the best results against Terran lately. A TvT against Taeja, a player whose wrists might have entered the Mvp Zone, could also be good news for him when going into a long series.

Speaking of Liquid`TaeJa, what's up with him? We know that his wrists are not in good shape, and that he hasn't appeared in Proleague for about a month. Not playing in Proleague might just be a precautionary measure, as he wants to be as healthy as possible for his Code S matches. Even so, it's worrisome when you think about how other top Terran players like Flash and Mvp were pulled down by wrist injuries in the past (and in Mvp's case, it doesn't seem to be getting any better).

If Taeja is at 100%, playing like he did during the Summer of Taeja, crushing everyone in his wake, he is the easy favorite to take this group. Soulkey, Noblesse and Nestea are no pushovers, but a healthy Taeja should be good enough to get through these players with maybe one map loss and four victories. An injured Taeja, the one who lost to players he would usually beat at foreign tournaments and in GSL, is going to have trouble against three capable opponents. He's the biggest wild card of this season and could either make it all the way to finals, or he could go out without a single win and end up back in Code A with even more worries about his condition.

When talking physical condition, we have to talk about the oldest man still in the GSL, the three-time champion himself and former God of Zerg, LG-IM's NesTea. Falling to Code B and looking like it was time to shovel dirt on the legend, Nestea showed everyone why age doesn't really mean much when you're motivated and talented. Pulling himself out of Code B, Nestea rose up the ranks in a single season, making it back into Code S through the Up and Down groups and letting us dream that maybe, just maybe, Nestea has one more run in him to make another finals to close out Wings of Liberty.

If we're gauging his chances to win this season honestly, he doesn't have that good of a chance. He did get through Code B by the skin of his teeth, battled through Code A and topped his Up and Down group, but when looking at the competition that he will have to get through to even make his first semifinal in over a year, the task seems almost impossible. It would be easy to count out Nestea and say that he's simply too old and too figured out, and that he should switch to Heart of the Swarm Beta ASAP to try and master it before anyone else.

I'm pretty sure if anyone told Nestea that, he'd punch that person in the face. He doesn't care about age or who he should and shouldn't beat, and is more motivated to make his fourth final than possibly anyone in Code S. Some people care about money or fame, but Nestea is someone who has his eyes set on becoming an even bigger legend. He wants to stand on the finals stage, show the flawless play that inspired everyone in 2011, and take a fourth championship to tie his friend and rival, Mvp.

Yes, he's twice Life's age, and doesn't look to be anywhere near the level that once saw him go unbeaten in an entire season, but he's still one of the smartest and experienced players in the world. Mvp won Season 2 last year solely with his smarts and experience, so why can't Nestea do the same? He got 3rd place at Iron Squid, almost beating DongRaeGu and then sweeping MarineKing in the bronze series, so it's not like he can't stand on even footing with the other title contenders. When a player like Nestea is involved, it's okay to dream.

Predictions:

Noblesse > Soulkey
Nestea > Taeja
Nestea > Noblesse
Taeja > Soulkey
Taeja > Noblesse

Nestea and Taeja advance.