by Zealously

Group B features five players that are all somewhat difficult to pinpoint skillwise right now. Trust, Savage and Golden have been relatively quiet, not playing many televised games; not in team leagues nor individual leagues outside of Code A. FanTaSy is always an enigma – sometimes he looks posed to reclaim his title as a top terran alongside Flash and new contender Innovation, and sometimes he looks like he's... not. And then there's YoDa. Hyped up by Mvp long ago, and winning an IEM at the start of HotS, he looked completely helpless (but only after cruising through the first group stage with a dominant performance) as he fell out of the Code S Ro16 very recently. With the limited information available, your guess could prove just as good as ours. So as a little twist, we added the most likely unfortunate outcomes for at least one game per player

5. CJ_Trust

Trust got into Code A last season, beat up Genius and fell unceremoniously to Yoda and proceeded to go 0-3 in the only 4-man Up&Down Group consisting of MKP, Stephano and Lure. So what can we expect from Trust months later? Hard to say. On one hand, he edged out Dream (known for his TvP prowess) 2-1 in Code A, but then lost to Creator 0 - 2 in the next round. If Trust has gone and gotten himself decent PvT, he has a decent shot at getting out of this group against a Fantasy who is always inconsistent and a Yoda who looks somewhat underwhelming. Being a relative unknown with no recorded Proleague games to analyse, expect Trust to be on the receiving end of at least one bust of some kind.

One advantage for Trust going into this group will be his status as a relative unknown. Aside from his games played in WCS Korea, the only games to watch are games inside the team house or on ladder, where most players use barcodes anyway. Trust might have something going here, and he may come in to surprise everyone, as is the role of the underdog.

Will inevitably.... Get baneling busted at least once.


4. ST_Golden

Golden got into the Up&Downs by beating Noblesse 2-0 in the first round and only narrowly lost out to Crazy 1-2 in the next. Given the format of WCS and the fact that StarTale seems to have established its 4-man core of Curious, Bomber, Life and Avenge, Golden hasn't really been seen anywhere outside of his Code A matches. The fact that he took out Noblesse bodes relatively well for his ZvT, but a loss to Crazy and no recent ZvPs land him in the bottom half of this ranking.

With how few televised games Golden has played since joining StarTale, it's impossible to know if he has learned anything from Curious, Life, and the 30-or-so other Zergs in the ST Army. With two Code S regulars like Life and Curious available for practice, there are many things to be learned about ZvT and ZvP in particular. Will Golden show up with new tricks? That will be the deciding factor for him in a group where beating 2 Terrans could potentially be enough to secure a spot in next season's OSL.

Will inevitably.... miss a proxy of some kind due to sub-par scouting.


3. 8th_Savage

Being a regular fixture on Team 8's roster, Savage has received the most playing time in serious competition out of the bottom 3. While that means he's more exposed, that also means he's actually had tangible goals to work toward, compared to just 'get better' for the others. Considered a mini-TRUE by some, expect Savage to sport some decent dueling skills in ZvZ at the least, and a trick all-in or two from the actual TRUE; who took out Fantasy in last season's Code S.

Will inevitably.... attempt a massive ling runby but will die to a counterattack instead.


2. SKT_FanTaSy

Despite not always playing like his championship-winning self of Brood War, Fantasy is a Proleague regular and usually takes down at least one player while in Winners' League, and puts up a good fight (his exciting TvZ against Effort of Round 3 has been one of the highlights so far) against most players in standard Proleague format. Being a regular on one of Proleague's top teams should count for something in a group like this, and with two seemingly mediocre Zergs available in this group, solid play in one match-up might be enough to take him out of the group.

With the intense format of the Up and Downs, there is a lot of potential for clever one-off strategies and wonky all-ins. With hellbats, mines and turbovacs available for Fantasy to use, the multiple-time OSL finalist should be able to pull something clever off at least once. With the caliber of his teammates, there is sure to be one piece of advice to be shared that can help him in this group, but the question is if Fantasy will even bother going for unorthodox play over standard, which he has proven himself quite solid in playing.

Will inevitably.... go mass hellions thinking they're vultures and die when there are no spider mines available.


1. LG-IM_YoDa

Despite looking somewhat lackluster in the second round of Code S, Yoda is still arguably IM's strongest Terran and has still looked both better and more solid than everyone in this group so far in HotS. In some ways, this group will be his judge. A solid performance and a quick return to Code S will dispel any doubt in his ability, whereas lackluster performance and perhaps elimination will spell trouble for him as the competition in Korea only gets tougher. Will Mvp's blessing finally turn to a curse, turning a promising up-and-coming player into one spiraling into despair in the place of his once again championship-winning elder, or will the blessing give him confidence to return to the sacred ground of WCS Korea?

With nothing drastic having happened yet, there is no sensible spot in this group for Yoda but #1. But anything can happen, especially in the Up&Downs with a group like this, and Yoda will have to watch himself lest he find himself fighting for his life in next season's Challenger League instead of Premier, where he no doubt feels he belongs.

Will inevitably.... build a lot of hellbats.