GSL 2013 Season 1 Code S

Code S: Semi-Final Recap
TaeJa vs. RorO


Brackets and results at Liquipedia

by: Waxangel




Samsung_RorO defeats Liquid`TaeJa to reach the first major final of his career.

With the Wings of Liberty door closing shut, the elephant finally entered the room. Samsung KHAN's RorO scored an impressive 4 –1 victory over Team Liquid's TaeJa to win the last GSL Code S semi-final of the WoL era, becoming the first KeSPA player to reach the finals of the most prestigious StarCraft II league in the world.

It was a momentous achievement for RorO, a five year pro-gamer who was often acknowledged as a skillful player, but had never been considered a championship contender in his original Brood War career. KeSPA's official switch to StarCraft II in mid-2012 turned out to be the chance of a lifetime for the Samsung Zerg, who quickly distinguished himself as one of the best 'elephants' – KeSPA players who made the belated transition to StarCraft II. After a swing and a miss in the previous season of Code S, where a costly nydus error saw RorO tumble down into Code A, he has now earned himself a chance to immortalize himself in WoL history,

However, for many StarCraft II fans, the biggest story of the night was not of RorO's personal triumph, but the confirmation of a second straight Zerg vs. Zerg Code S final after HyuN vs. Sniper in the previous season. With Azubu's Symbol having clinched the other final spot the night before, RorO's win also confirmed the third consecutive Zerg Code S champion in a period where no topic was hotter than that of Zerg imbalance. Though the imminent arrival of the Heart of the Swarm has calmed the unrest to some degree, the murky specter of imbalance will inevitably loom over the finals on March 9th.

After poor start, RorO takes four straight games.

The first match of the night saw TaeJa bring his best play and RorO his worst, and unsurprisingly it ended with Team Liquid's golden boy going up 1 – 0. A sneaky, delayed hellion drop on Cloud Kingdom caught RorO off guard in the early minutes, and while it was not a crucial factor in determining the outcome of the game, it set the tone for one where RorO didn't look entirely warmed up. After a military build up on both sides, TaeJa began to encroach on Zerg territory, triggering a disastrous defensive engagement from RorO with hive units not far off. TaeJa only had to fend off a vain backdoor attack from RorO before sweeping through his bases to take the first game.

Unfortunately for TaeJa, that victory ended up being the sole highlight of his night. RorO found his groove in game two on Whirlwind, rolling with a mobile, muta-ling-bane style of play. Initially, TaeJa seemed to be holding out reasonably well, despite having to scramble frantically to keep up with RorO's multi-prong attacks. However, continual prodding from RorO eventually paid off, and he caught TaeJa's army out of position to kill off his crucial third base. TaeJa played well to keep himself in the game after taking such a severe economic hit, but was effectively on a timer as RorO bought time with the threat of backdoor attacks and continued to build his economy and tech. A series of desperation attacks for TaeJa went better than expected, but he had no choice but to GG out in the end.

After a pair of protracted games to open the series, games three and four went by in a breeze as RorO pulled the rug out from beneath TaeJa's feet with consecutive early attacks. On Akilon Flats, a two base roach rush caused severe damage to TaeJa and forced him into a failed, all-in counter attack. RorO then followed with an old-fashioned baneling bust on Icarus, going up 3 – 1 in the blink of an eye.

It then turned out that RorO had saved his best for last, clinically dismantling TaeJa on Daybreak in a game that he said went as perfectly as it had in his dreams. From start to finish, RorO controlled the tempo of the game, and was almost entirely untroubled as he took his half of the map, built up, and crushed TaeJa to finish the series 4 – 1.

Writers: Waxangel.
Graphics: Meko.
Editor: Waxangel.