WCS Korea Season II

Ro8 - Day Two Preview
First vs. Bomber
Rain vs. SuperNoVa

Brackets and standings on Liquipedia

VODs on Twitch

We already know there will be a Terran player in the finals, with Maru and INnoVation going toe to toe in one semi-final matchup. It's time to find out which two players will be facing off on the other side.


Last week brought plentiful bounty for fans of TvZ. This week it's TvP that gets the spotlight as we have a blockbuster double header lined up. Onto the matches!

Quarter-Final Three: First vs. Bomber

by PigsCanFly

ST_Bomber’s reward for beating INnoVation is not having to face Soulkey. Given that Soulkey is the best Zerg in the world and the second best player overall, and that TvZ is by far Bomber’s weakest HotS matchup as well, it is probably an adequate reward for the excellent showing he put up against INnoVation despite the match being essentially a dead rubber. Unfortunately for Bomber, he did not draw another Terran opponent who he could probably swat aside, based on his thrashing of INnoVation and his 17 - 3 TvT record in HotS. Instead, he gets to face this season’s scariest dark horse, LG-IM_First.

While TvP is Bomber's strongest matchup in a historical sense, it was more in the early stages of his career where he was especially famous for the match-up. Although Bomber’s TvP record in HotS is not very impressive, a closer look at the calibre of opponents has been facing shows that there have been no pushovers, with his losses coming against the likes of Creator, sOs and MC (who destroyed Bomber at the first HotS MLG with yet-to-be-figured-out oracle builds). Having also defeated First in the GSTL earlier this month and having reached successive GSL Ro8s for the first time in his long career, Bomber should go into this match with much confidence.

While First is a Starleague Royal Roader he is no stranger to the scene, having been active since around the start of 2012. Like Bomber, one thing has followed him for much of his career – hype. Along with his teammates Yonghwa and Yoda, First was seen as the next generation of all conquering players that IM would produce, and the heirs to the likes of Mvp and Nestea. In making it to the Ro8, First has already made it further than both of his teammates have ever gone. However, despite a much shorter career, First has produced almost as many results as Bomber with his victory at IEM Katowice and second place finishes at last year’s MLG Summer and this year’s IEM World Championships matching Bomber’s 1st place at MLG Raleigh in 2011, 3rd place Dreamhack Summer 2011 and 1st place in Code A (back when it still was a trophy May 2011).

Bomber’s results and podium finishes were all clustered around a 6 month period in the middle of 2011, back when the Bomber hype train was still running full steam. That period was also when he last reached the Ro8. Similarly, First’s results and quick rise since the start of this year mirror those of Bomber’s 3 years ago. Just like Bomber, First needs to show that he can make it to the next level – semi-finals of the GSL. While Bomber’s rise was eventually overshadowed by Mvp's total dominion of Terran, First has a real chance to make a run at the title of best Protoss in the World. Making it to the semi-finals would put him right into contention alongside the likes of Parting, Rain and sOs especially put alongside his strong results in the GSTL.

First is in a similar position to where Bomber was in 2011 – a young, hyped, hotshot player who is threatening to take the scene by storm. Bomber will be eager to put First in his place and show him that the new Bomber, who is less hyped, more consistent and less choke-y has learned something from his years in exile. First on the other hand, will be eager to show that he is better than Bomber was at this stage of his career and to remind Bomber fans that while Bomber can improve, one ignores Bomber’s Law at one’s own peril.

Prediction: Bomber 3 - 2 First

Quarter-Final Four: Rain vs. SuperNoVa

by monk

Once upon a time, oGs served as a home for wayward Terrans looking to find their way in Wings of Liberty - Supernova, ForGG, TheStC, and even Nada were once part of this all-star team. Together, these Terrans grew together, learned together, and left a lasting impression on the WoL scene, one of their accomplishments being the pioneering of the standard hellion banshee opening in TvZ. But as oGs closed down, unable to adapt with the changing of the the times, the poor orphans of the oGs house were scattered round the world. TheStC found Quantic and then coL, hoping each time he might find a team that might last. ForGG looked toward Millenium, and began to rake in cash in European tournaments and cups, bringing us ever closer to ForGGegdon. Together, they explored the world, searching for easy treasure.

But SuperNova, the one with by far the most success in Korea, stayed steadfast to his roots. While he had a brief stint on mTw, Supernova decided he would not settle for less when it came to finding a new team. He stayed teamless for months while he held out for an impressive offer, eventually joining up with the mysterious, potentially shady, but definitely wealthy AZUBU. Instead of abandoning his home soil, Supernova trained hard in Korea for the most prestigious league in the world: GSL WCS KR. But as the seasons passed and an expansion was released, hope for Supernova grew more dire. Past WoL champions such as DRG and Creator had failed to adapt, and with the threat of KeSPa looming ever closer, it would not have surprised most to see Supernova fall to the wayside as well.

But this season was one of redemption, both for eSF players and for Supernova himself. Supernova qualified for Premier League yet again, despite facing a gauntlet of players against whom maybe would have considered him an underdog. Three of these players were of the Protoss persuasion: Squirtle, Parting, and Trap. In each of these games, he showed off his own brand of TvP: not quite the standard but close enough that you would confuse him with most any other Korean Terran on the planet. He may have some of his own builds, he'll sometimes proxy a few buildings, and he's even shown hellbat play post-patch. But more often than not, he's shown well-executed standard play with a slightly aggressive twist. In a variety of matchups, but especially against Protoss, Supernova persevered though his challenges, but Rain will by far be Supernova's biggest hurdle yet.

If Supernova is an emblem of the old age, then SKT_Rain is the herald of the new. His entrance into the scene signaled the beginning of the KeSPa invasion. It's been almost a year since Rain's first OSL win and since then, Rain has never fallen out of contention for the title of "World's best Protoss" (I hear he has this on a mug). Nevertheless, recent events have forced us re-evaluate Rain's role in the grand scheme of things. For the second Proleague season in a row, Rain failed to clinch the ace match for his team; for the second season in a row, he was just barely not good enough to carry his team to the holy land.

Since his first glorious OSL title, Rain's story seems to be of one who just barely misses his mark each time. This all dates back to the last WCS Grand Finals, in which Rain took a sure-win game and missed a force field, turning it into a sure-loss against Creator in a deciding semifinal game. Then in the battle for most wins this season of Proleague, Flash, Innovation, and Rain were neck and neck until the end of round five, when Flash shot ahead and Rain stumbled hard into third place. Finally, his recent failures for his team in Proleague as the ace for his team (going 0-3 in the playoffs) harked back to the last season of Hybrid Proleague, where he let a chance at the finals slip by in an ace match against CJherO.

Of course, this can all be readily be explained by Rain's style. His predictably standard defensive play may be enough to hold off the vast majority of players, but once he hits the top 1%, his extremely unflashy play becomes insufficient. To put it simply, Rain may be an immovable object, but when he meets an unstoppable force, he'll, more often than not, fold.

That being said, PvT is still Rain's strong suit, a matchup that he flaunted in the round of 16 against Bomber and Keen. Even though Rain always gets the worse end of the build orders due to his religious commitment to safety, he'll invariably manage a way to outplay his opponents, gaining tiny snowballing advantages at every turn. His only recent significant loss was to Innovation in the playoffs, in a game where he showed he was willing to employ the very rare all-in, given the right situation. Supernova has to ask himself if he's Innovation or comparable to him; if not, he'll be in trouble tonight.

Prediction: Rain 3 - 1 Supernova