GSL Season One
Code S

Group D Recap
Soulkey and Squirtle advance

Group E Preview
PartinG, MyungSiK, TRUE, Bbyong

Brackets and standings on Liquipedia

VODs on Twitch

by Waxangel

Code S veterans ousted the newcomers in Group D of the Ro32, as SKT_Soulkey and IM_Squirtle sent ST_Pet and CJ_Sora straight down to Code A.

Soulkey had a far easier time of it than Squirtle, advancing through the group in first place with four straight victories. The recently popular swarm host based style figured heavily into Soulkey's games as he slowly chipped both Sora and Squirtle to death. While Soulkey's methodical use of swarm hosts was his most notable trait on the night, he also mixed things up by gambling with a six-pool against Sora. Future opponents were reminded they would have to consider every possibility when facing Soulkey.


Squirtle also offered up a mixed bag of strategies. He seemed confident in playing macro games in his earlier matches, running over Pet on Alterzim Stronghold and void rays and colossi, and losing in a fairly close half-map split game against Soulkey on Habitation Station. Yet, when thrown into a rematch against Pet for the final ticket to the Ro16, Squirtle didn't hesitate to resort to consecutive all-ins. While Pet was able to hold off the first all-in, Squirtle took the next two games to win the series and claim the final Code S slot.

Observations

• The Sora hype train is in danger of derailing completely. What's hard to understand is that he performed great at a time when Protoss weren't the strongest race, but he's now falling behind when Protoss is doing better than ever. If we had to make an excuse for him, he did play some of his games with a nose bleed...
  
  
• Pet provided us with a nice break from the recent swarm host trend, going for roach-hydra-corruptor based compositions in his ZvP matches. However, seeing as he was eliminated, we might see Pet rethink his approach to ZvP the next time we see him.
  
  
• Soulkey showed his "Iron Wall" defense was still intact, holding off early attacks from Squirtle and Sora before safely transitioning into swarm hosts. After a handful of Proleague games where he got shanked in the early game, it was a good return to form from Soulkey.

Ro32 Group E: Each One, a Character

Countdown:

by lichter

SKT_PartinG - PartinG's immortal-sentry all-ins are legendary. Unlike the 1/1/1 or BL-Infestor, the Soul Train refuses to fade away, continuously tormenting Zergs no matter how the metagame shifts. It's no surprise that this most iconic of all-ins was perfected by one of SC2's most confident and finesseful players. Mr. Won won plenty of won with his signature build, but he's still looking to add to his coffers. As one of the few players to still routinely perform ceremonies -- his Sun Chips vs TY and Ruler Shotgun vs Flash perhaps the most memorable -- he has amassed plenty of followers.

KT_MyuNgSiK - Perhaps the most unfortunate recipient of the Artosis Curse, MyuNgSiK fell apart almost immediately after Artosis spoke his name. His run through the IEM Shanghai Korea Qualifiers using mostly Phoenix-Colossus earned him that hype, but his failure to make a splash in a live setting saw him become quickly forgotten. He has stayed out of the limelight since then, but reappeared using his favored composition in Code A. It was a weak group, but simply having some success in the studio may have given him the confidence he needs to reach his potential.

JinAir_TRUE - Known for using enough banelings to make even NesTea proud, TRUE's tendency to create wacky, entertaining games has given him a fanbase disproportionate to his success. His matches with FanTaSy have been game of the year contenders in both 2013 and 2014, and Korean fans are already calling Fantasy vs. TRUE one of StarCraft 2's classic rivalries. TRUE's friendly demeanor in the booth coupled with his flair in games has made him a fan favorite, but he's going to have to do more than just all-in if he wants to ever get out of the Round of 32.

CJ_Bbyong - Wielder of the Lousy Laser, Bbyong is unequalled at playing barely well enough to hang around in Code S. While our stomachs [Editor's note: actually just lichter's] still churn when trying to describe Bbyong as anything good, he has actually been one of the most consistent Original Kespa™ Terrans, even more than Flash or TY. Just like Mvp before him -- a comparison that I'm loathe to make -- he just always finds a way. I'd like to say it was unexpected to see Bbyong as one of this season's few Terran saviors, but if you think about it, it really isn't a surprise at all.

Only One, a Contender

Though every player in the group comes with a fair shot to advance, only one of them has so far proven that he has what it takes to win the title. While many would consider his 2013 a failure, PartinG still achieved a remarkable feat of consistency second only to Soulkey: he appeared in 3 Ro8's in Code S last year, and one Ro16 (okay, quite a bit behind Soulkey).

However, during 3 of those exits, he his opponents used him to mop the floor, dumping him out 0-3 and 1-3 in Bo5s, and 1-6 in groups. It seemed that each season, PartinG hit an unbreakable ceiling despite looking impressive the rounds before. Whether or not this is a sign of PartinG lacking the preparation in best of series is too soon to tell, but anyone who has watched PartinG grow over the years knows that he does not lack for ambition and aims only to win gold. His win at Red Bull New York was his first time on the podium since WCG 2012, and he has built some momentum off the back of his 8-4 record in Proleague. His PvP and PvT have looked powerful, despite blips against Zest and Stork recently. His only vulnerability is PvZ; take away the 14 wins he got from WCG and Stars War League 4 (against foreigners and NesTea), and it stands at 18-25. Hardly impressive for a contender, but probably good enough for today.

The three men standing in his way have not even come close to PartinG's accomplishments. MyuNgSiK's biggest showing was in qualifying for IEM Shanghai, where he was blessed by Artosis to be the next Protoss great. He would lose to TitaN 0-2 in the group stages to get knocked out of the tournament as soon as his plane landed. He has shown himself sparingly since then, with only 2 appearances in Proleague and 1 win against soO. His Code A run also felt unremarkable, beating the PvP dunce that is Trust (0-7) to finally make it to Code S.

TRUE on the other hand has so far flattered to deceive, always providing us with memorable games but always coming short in the Round of 32. He took first place in his Code A group by defeating Hydra and Dream, but neither player has been playing well as of late. His best accomplishment so far was his 4th place in TeSL that concluded last month, but with only San, Sen, and Has as Premier League players in that tournament, TRUE still has much to prove.

Finally, there is Bbyong, who advanced first ahead of Solar, Super, and FanTaSy in one of Code A's tougher groups. His games looked typical Bbyong: they weren't good, but his opponents all mysteriously played worse. For a Code S player, his IEM Sao Paulo performance should have been inexcusable as he was knocked out of the group stage by two foreigners (MajOr and ABomB). But we all just scoffed and muttered "That's so Bbyong" under a breaths and shrugged our shoulders. Yet somehow, he'll probably advance today.

Predictions: PartinG is without a doubt the frontrunner in this group. Though his PvZ has looked a pale imitation of its 2012 version, the only Zerg in this group has had trouble in the matchup as well. TRUE does have a formidable and entertaining brand of baneling heavy ZvT, so there's a good chance of him winning at least his initial match. MyuNgSiK, once the recipient of the Artosis Curse, has finally made it to Code S. But with few games -- that have mostly looked similar -- to go on, it's hard to really predict how he'll do.

PartinG > MyuNgSiK
TRUE > Bbyong <- likely GoTY candidate
PartinG > TRUE
MyuNgSiK > Bbyong
TRUE > MyuNgSiK

PartinG and TRUE advance.

Writers: lichter and Waxangel.
Graphics: GomTV, shiroiusagi.
Editor: Waxangel.