WCS Korea Season 3
GSL Code S

Ro32 - Group F Recap
DRG and INnoVation advance


Brackets and standings on Liquipedia

DongRaeGu and INnoVation advance to the Ro16

by lichter

DRG's back. Probably. Most likely. Receiving the NesTea Award for ten consecutive Code S appearances seemed to invigorate the veteran Zerg as he topped his Ro32 group, even defeating Innovation's seemingly invincible TvZ in straight-up, macro games (the fact that he also defeated GuMiho 2 - 0 is almost a footnote in comparison). It was the kind of achievement that could be called a landmark for both Zergs around the world and DongRaeGu himself, who finally looked like he was back in his old championship shape.

Meanwhile, INnoVation still advanced to the Ro16 by flattening herO[jOin] by a combined score of 4 - 0, despite suffering a blow to his pride by losing in his vaunted TvZ. Overall, the gap between the top and bottom 2 players looked wider than in any other group thus far.


The first series of the day began on new map Frost, with herO[jOin] and INnoVation spawning on cross positions. herO opted for a quick 3-bases and defended it with a chargelot archon based army. He was able to keep Innovation cautious with some clever hallucinated colossus play, but it clued the terran to his build, prompting him to go for ghosts instead of vikings. An SCV pull soon after on 2.5 bases proved to be enough as the Acer Terran overwhelmed herO's third and eventually forced a gg. Game 2 followed a different pattern with herO choosing a forge+robo build instead, but it was still another one sided affair as Innovation simply walked across the map with a well macro'd army, ran up with stim, and trapped all of herO's units in a corner of the natural. It looked like a dominant return for Innovation after a disappointing WCS Season 2 Finals, and he awaited the winner of the next match confident of advancement.

The next set featured two of the longest tenured players in Code S: DRG with his newly received NesTea Award, and GuMiho who was one Code S away from the same achievement. Game 1 on Akilon Wastes was quite a treat, with GuMiho deciding to use mech. The first bit of action occurred when a bizarre 20 hellion attack caught DRG's roaches out of position, frying 26 drones. The damage was actually not what most expected with the number of hellions rolling in, but a cool but ultimately useless hellion-into-hellbat transformation allowed a lot of drones to escape. GuMiho's passivity allowed DRG to take an easy 4 bases and spread his creep all the way to GuMi's pocket third, but GuMi was still able to max out on 4 bases. There was action all over the map, but DRG's use of blinding cloud was consistently good and his transition into Swarm Host+Infestor proved to be too efficient for GuMiho to break. DRG ended up using most of Zerg's arsenal as we saw everything but BroodLords.

Game 2 had a completely different build from GuMiho as he opted for Bio instead. GuMi repeatedly tried to apply pressure, but DRG was on top of his defense, relying on roaches, lings and hydras in the mid game. A near max roach hydra push caught GuMi loitering between bases, letting DRG to take a good concave between the natural and the third which fell soon after. The Towel Terran tried his best to do damage on 2 bases, but his income ran out and so did his chances of winning.

After a very strong first series from DRG, his fans had reason to be cautiously optimistic about his chances against INnoVation's seemingly unbeatable TvZ. Their faith was rewarded as the MVP Zerg triumphed 2-1 in macro games, displaying his sublime mechanics and improved decision making that had been lacking since the dawn of HoTS. Innovation was excellent as usual, and did not deviate from his macro oriented 4M rally push, constantly attacking DRG for almost 30 minutes straight on Whirlwind. The crucial factor in all three games turned out to be Innovation's fourth base, which DRG was able to constantly deny in his wins, and was unable to stop in his loss. All three games featured an extremely high level of TvZ play, with never-ending action, runbys, counterattacks and engagements all over the place. With little exaggeration, it was the finest bo3 TvZ series we've seen in months.

DRG's remarkable efficiency with his muta ling bane composition allowed him to outlast Innovation's 3 bases, and it was DRG's best performance of 2013. He advances to the Ro16 reminding us that he still has a champion inside him, and that he can get far this season if he continues this form.

After such an incredible series, the loser's match turned out to be generic PvT late game romp for herO[jOin] . The first game on Whirlwind featured a 2-pronged marine hellion attack in the early game, but GuMiho was unable to do much damage aside from taking out a few sentries. The rest of the game was just a wait until the eventual SCV pull, but herO's no-range colossus into a quick storm demolished GuMi's push, and it was a slow death from there. herO turned aggressor in the second game with his 3gate pressure forcing the natural CC to lift. A contain until the 10 minute mark gave him a big advantage that he would never relinquish despite ineffective blink stalker pressure. An uncontested 4th base and higher supply the entire game told the tale of GuMi's defeat.

The final set of the evening saw a rematch of the first, but it ended up being just as quick as their first meeting, as INnoVation took little time in dispatching herO and securing his advancement. It was an odd game from herO in Game 1 on Derelict Watcher, in which he went for a 2-base blink non-range colossus all in. His army was conspicuously tiny and with an early SCV pull to repair bunkers and a good flank at the ramp, the attack was demolished. A more typical PvT followed but the result was the same: an SCV pull and a huge army bludgeoned herO and that was it.

The two most impressive players advanced from Group F, but Innovation should feel a little surprised that he didn't make it out in first place. He played extremely well but DRG's ZvT looked remarkable on the day, and his fans will have something to cheer for as team MVP's future is unclear.

Writers: lichter.
Graphics: wo1fwood.
Editor: Waxangel.