Azubu.SuperNova, Woongjin_sOs, STX_Dear, Samsung_JangBi

by stuchiu

With JangBi announcing his retirement, what was once one of the most exciting groups of the Ro32 has become an awkward three-man group. With how the matches line up, the player who gets the most benefit out of this is sOs, as he receives a walkover against JangBi and advances straight to the winners' match.

Woongjin_sOs was once the new rising star of Protoss, boasting a top four GSL finish, second place finish at the WCS Season finals, and the position of co-ace on one of the best teams in the world. However, as has been the case for many top players in the last few months, Maru really ruined his summer. sOs was knocked out of the Auction OSL in the Ro32 by the upstart Prime player, and his team's loss in the Proleague finals (sOs at least won his game) has left him seething in purgatory for months.

sOs beat some Code A players senseless with his trademark unpredictable builds to pass the time, and now his wait is over. He looks as strong as he did months ago, and he's ready to remind people that his powers of preparation ability to hone builds makes him one of the very best players in the world. Not having to face Jangbi will make it easier as sOs as he attempts to climb back to the top of the GSL. Not only does he get the walkover, but it particularly fits his personal style as it narrows down the number of opponents he must prepare for. Because of all these reasons, sOs seems to be the favorite to get out of this group.

This leaves us with Azubu.SuperNova against STX_Dear in the other match. Dear's in a similar position as his teammate Trap was yesterday, looking to audition his skills to other teams in preparation for STX's rumored demise. While another KeSPA team would be a natural transition for a strong Proleague player like Dear, maybe his teammate INnoVation's move to Acer will make him consider a foreign team as a possibility. In any case, you have to think every stage he advances in Code S will be that much more money he can demand.

Though Dear was a strong right hand man for INnoVation in STX's Proleague championship run, he's in for a very difficult fight against SuperNova. The veteran Terran might have been a Ro32 gatekeeper toward the end of WoL, but the reinvented SuperNoVa is different player altogether. SuperNoVa 2.0 isn't just different on the outside, playing in a new team uniform with a new face—he's straight up playing the best StarCraft 2 of his career. Last season he was just barely eliminated from the OSL Ro8 by Rain in a close 2 - 3 series, but defeated another elite player in Soulkey by a 2 - 1 score in the 5th~8th place matches. While he just barely missed out on a ticket to the WCS Season 2 Finals in a 2 - 3 loss to First in the 5th place match, it affirmed SuperNoVa's status as one of the best Terrans in the GSL.

Not only have his results been good, but he's doing it with his own unique style as always. In an age where MMMM reigns supreme in TvZ, Supernova is finding ways to make hellbat drops and mech play work. Hellbats have figured into his TvP as well, as SuperNova finds ways to be aggressive at timings no one expects with hellbats, hellions or mines. This uniqueness is Supernova’s greatest strength right now. No matter how much the other two players practice, they're not finding anyone who plays Terran like Supernova. This gives Supernova the edge against a standard-style Protoss like Dear, and at least puts him on even standing with another stylistic player in sOs.

Overall Predictions:

sOs > JangBi
Supernova > Dear
Supernova > sOs
Dear > JangBi
sOs > Dear

SuperNoVa and sOs advance

Progamer Pokedex: By Popular Request

by monk


Supernova is Vaporeon! Much like a newborn Eevee, oGs Terrans were each given a clean slate and an endless number of opportunities and choices in life. The fiery TheStC switched from team to team, but eventually burned out when he realized he had no moves. ForGG, on the other hand, chose to sprint across the globe to Europe where he currently wins battles by outright outspeeding the native residents of that continent. But Supernova, the most resilient of the bunch, chose to stay put and adapt to the surroundings around him.

Like Supernova, Vaporeon is perhaps the picture of resilience. As the most defensively oriented of the Eeveelutions, Vaporeon had always been an ideal example of the bulky water type, a Pokemon that had no real physical weaknesses. Of course, though there were perhaps better and more popular bulky waters in each generation, Vaporeon was always a consistent threat. Mirroring his in-game longevity, Vaporeon has certainly withstood the test of time.


Dear is Minun! See Plusle.


Jangbi is Bagon! Pokedex entries for Bagon:

I had this whole thing thought up of about how Jangbi was a dragon type who just wished he could fly. But now that he's retired...


sOs is Gengar! Armed with a plethora of disorienting maneuvers(confuse ray, hypnosis, hex, disable, haze), Gengar prefers to win with trickery instead of brute strength. But don't be fooled; should the opponent be immune to such tricks, Gengar is more than capable of beating his opponents straight up with a large variety of sniping coverage moves(thunderbolt, ice punch, giga drain, focus blast).

As the only fully evolved ghost type in Generation I, Gengar was so successful that many more (14 to be exact) eventually attempted to follow in his footsteps. And though they were acceptable copycats, none could really match the level of know-how and execution Gengar had developed over the course of many years. To this date, Gengar still remains the most successful and used ghost Pokemon in competitive play.