WCS Korea Season 1 - GSL

Code S Ro32 Group A
Recap: RorO and Bomber advance


Winner Interviews
Post-match Q&A sessions


Brackets and standings on Liquipedia

by Waxangel

Results via Live Report Thread by opterown.
+ Show Spoiler [Match Results] +

Roll Call
- RorO crushes Crazy and Bomber to reach the WCS KR Ro16.

With the total re-ordering of Korean StarCraft II announced on Wednesday, Blizzard VIPs such as Mike Morhaime and David Kim in attendance, and a record size audience present at GomTV's Gangnam studio, it was clear that the stakes had been upped as the GSL began its first HotS season under the WCS banner. At the same time, part of it still felt like just another day of Code S, with the defending champ ushering in a new season by going up against three other players qualified from the old GSL system, all playing together in the familiar old Code S format.

There were some worries about Samsung_RorO, the final WoL champion and first KeSPA champion in the GSL, before the tournament started. He came with the least amount of practice in the new HotS expansion pack. Even though it was just a showmatch, his one-sided beatdown at Flash's hands in a Proleague exhibition was further cause for concern. However, RorO showed that those concerns were unfounded and that he was no paper champion, emerging from the Ro32's Group A in first place.

As a Brood War veteran, there was a lot of familiarity to be found for RorO in his very first match: a BW-ified, mutalisk-centered Zerg vs. Zerg match against KT's Crazy. RorO took his first match in Brood War style, crushing Crazy in a single, massive mutalisk fight following a lengthy build up. RorO then finished his 2 – 0 series victory in a more SC2-esque manner, getting the better of Crazy in the early game ling-bane battles and turning that lead into a mid-game win.

His second series of the night proved to be much more difficult, as he went up against the mercurial and dangerous ST_Bomber. Bomber had come up to the winners match having taken down CreatorPrime 2 – 1, taking advantage of a failed oracle opener in one game and using an SCV-assisted, mass infantry timing to take the other.

The first game of the winners' match suggested it might be an easy series for RorO, as he swarmed all over Bomber with speedy, precise use of muta-ling-bane. However, Bomber put the pressure on in game two, opening with a cheesy reaper rush to transition into the mid-game in a good position. RorO used great muta-ling maneuvering to pull himself back towards even ground with Bomber, but was instantly ruined by one huge widow mine-on-baneling hit before a major fight. Bomber then tore through RorO's remaining forces, tying up the series 1 – 1.

The final game on Whirlwind was another exciting ZvT as has been the trend for the map, with the game progressing into a long, but action filled macro game. Bomber caused no end of trouble for RorO with his use of mines, drops, and even seeker missiles in the late game, but Roro withstood heavy losses and kept his economic base intact. That proved to be the key to his ultimate victory, as he was able to keep Bomber locked down in one corner of the map, starving him out of resources. Even though Bomber won one epic fight against BL-infestor-ultralisk, Roro had enough in the tank to simply remax, destroy Bomber, and clinch a Ro16 spot.

- Bomber defeats Creator twice to advance in second place.

Down in the losers match, Crazy was on the receiving end of another 2 – 0 beatdown, showing that being good enough to pass through the Up/Downs is an entirely different thing from being good enough to cut it in Code S. Creator used his favored two-base void ray all-in to take one map, and then throttled the life out of Crazy in game two with a brutal looking skytoss combination (more on this below).

That set up a rematch between Creator and Bomber for the final Ro16 spot in the group, with Bomber having won 2 – 1 earlier in the night. The rematch started out closely mirroring the first series, with Creator taking the first map by defending well against Bomber's SCV-pull timing. It was a funky game where Bomber had all the advantages to start, killing four probes with a reaper and discovering Creator's intent to go for a 6-gate bust with a well placed scan. Yet, Creator somehow still managed to transition into a macro game after deciding not to all-in after all, and then held easily against Bomber's attempt to break him before he could put together the invincible PvT deathball.

The second game saw Creator allow Bomber back into the series in a similar way as their first series. A failed oracle opener gave Bomber the opportunity to tie the series 1 - 1 before, and a failed immortal bust did the same for Bomber in the next meeting.

It all came down to one last set on Daybreak, with the winner extending his WCS KR life by a few more weeks, and the loser getting plenty of time to look into playing in America or Europe next season. As it turned out, the second meeting between Bomber and Creator would have the same result as the first, with Bomber taking a 2 - 1 victory to snatch the Ro16 spot right out of Creator's hands. He got off to a fantastic start, using a reaper to pick off five probes in the early going. Creator tried to go for a four-gate bust off two bases, but was thwarted by Bomber's well-prepared defense. After that, all Bomber had to do was use marines, marauders, and medivacs to pummel a highly disadvantaged opponent straight into the dirt. With Creator grasping at any strands of hope, it took several offensive command centers and manner mules to finally convince him to surrender the series.

While Bomber took the series and the second Ro16 spot, Creator still managed to get the final word in, typing "Terran imba!!!!!!" before typing GG and bowing out of the tournament.

Game of the Night: KT_Crazy vs. CreatorPrime on Daybreak

While neither Crazy nor Creator were able to reach the Ro16, they still played the most interesting, and perhaps the most meaningful game of the night. While everyone had heard about the dread "skytoss" combination in HotS PvZ, it had never been demonstrated in a widely seen, live tournament setting between top players. The brackets and results at MLG Dallas saw us witness mostly TvZ and TvP, and while PartinG did eviscerate Slivko at IEM with Skytoss, PartinG was probably winning that one no matter what he did.

Creator's destruction of Crazy with Skytoss was like the official announcement of a new age. From the beginning of the game, Creator knew that he wanted to play a half map game on Daybreak, and make incredibly powerful air units supported by a small number of expensive, highly efficient ground units. Basically, he decided he was going to play WoL ZvP, except he would reverse the races.

And just like WoL ZvP, his plan proved to be incredibly effective. The Tempest-Templar-Void Ray-Colossus army cut a path through the Zerg defenses like a hot knife through butter, and once Crazy had enough pure anti-air actually finish off the void rays, Creator just warped in blink stalkers to finish the game unopposed. We have to admit that Crazy wasn't exactly playing in a particularly creative or decisive manner, making him a perfect test dummy for Creator to make Skytoss look good against. Still, it was the game of the night that displayed the most marked change between WoL and HotS, and one that will surely start the ball rolling on a long ZvP debate.

Writers: Waxangel.
Graphics: Shiroiusagi
Editor: Waxangel.