Rain, Stork, Ruin, Symbol

SKT_Rain: The clear favorite in Group C must be the SKT ace. He looked as strong as ever in the last season of Code S, finishing in the top four after losing a close semifinal series to eventual champion Zest. He's been tearing it up in Proleague, topping the Round 3 rankings with a 6-1 record while leading SKT to a first place finish. All-in-all, Rain is looking like the perennial title contender we expect him to be. Though Rain has complained publicly about PvT favoring Terran, that won't be an issue as he faces only Zerg and Protoss in this group. It would be a shock if he failed to advance to the Ro16.

Samsung_Stork: Among the Brood War greats, Stork was initially one of the worst at StarCraft 2. However, he's gone through a remarkable stretch of slow and steady growth, and he could very well overtake Flash and Jaedong if he keeps improving at this pace. Not only has Stork gone from benchwarmer to key player for Samsung Galaxy in Proleague, but he also won his first individual tournament at ESTV Cup Season 2. Though it wasn't an especially prestigious tournament, Stork more than proved his mettle by defeating players such as Life, Oz, Hack, and MarineKing on his way to the title. Stork has been having a fair amount of success as a PvP specialist in Proleague, so he should be happy with the race make-up of this group.

IM_Ruin: We know Ruin most for his disastrous ceremony against Soulkey in Code A, but that doesn't take away the fact that he showed considerable skills right up to that point. Not many Protoss players can say they defeated Soulkey in a Bo3, but Ruin was on the verge doing so before he committed his epic throw. Far from being punished, Ruin was actually rewarded by IM coach Hirai with more chances to show his skills in Proleague. He's made good on those opportunities so far, going 2-0 this round. As long as Ruin can resist the urge to waste thousands of minerals on making pylon art, then he could find himself reaching the Ro16.

Symbol: Group C is rounded out by the presently teamless Symbol. The ex-Azubu ace will surely be looking to use this season of Code S as an opportunity to audition himself to international teams, but one has to be skeptical about Symbol's chances of finding employment. If his resume of eight consecutive Code S appearances, multiple second place finishes in major tournaments, and great ace performances for two different GSTL teams hasn't convinced anyone to give Symbol a job yet, then you have to figure it will take nothing short of winning the Code S championship for him to earn a contract. Being teamless, Symbol hasn't had many chances to show us his skills as of late. However, he has a long legacy of success and consistency in Code S, and we have to respect his abilities even if we haven't seen him play much.

Predictions: It's hard to imagine Rain failing to advance here. It's a close race between Symbol, Stork, and Ruin for the other Ro16 spot, and it wouldn't be surprising to see any of the three advance. I'll go with Symbol's seniority and Code S experience to get him through.

Rain > Stork
Symbol > Ruin
Rain > Symbol
Stork > Ruin
Symbol > Stork

Rain and Symbol advance.