sOs, Shine, YongHwa, Soulkey

by lichter

When sOs and Soulkey met in WCS Season 1 2013, it seemed like just another teamkill, just another bad set of games that was laced with with the poison of familiarity. It was sOs' first time getting past the Round of 32 and Soulkey's first time getting out of the Round of 8, but both players were recognized as elite players who had led Woongjin Stars to first place in SPL 2012-2013 regular season. It was inevitable that the two would become Code S regulars, but little did we know just how remarkable their journey would be. The brothers-in-arms would end up becoming two of the most successful players of Heart of the Swarm, but would take two drastically different paths.

While Soulkey's 2013 was marked by incredible consistency, reaching the round of eight or higher in all of his tournaments, sOs took a rollercoaster ride up and down the rankings. Where Soulkey had the uncanny ability to reach knockout rounds in his sleep, sOs seemed liable to snooze until he caught whiff of a big payday. Together they won 3 premier titles for Woongjin, took second place in Proleague, and established themselves as the best one-two punch in the world.

The two would separate from each other on December 13, 2013 in the wake of Woongjin Star's dissolution. Soulkey was acquired by SKT T1, sOs joined the newly formed Jin Air Green Wings, and their paths diverged permanently. Soulkey blended in among the many superstars on the SKT roster, quietly collecting paychecks while putting in tireless shifts in Proleague. Meanwhile, sOs started the year poorly with a dismal Proleague record, but then made the headlines by collecting another $100K payday in the IEM World Championship.

They have yet to face each other since a pre-season friendly in Proleague, and have not faced each other in an official match since their meeting in the 2013 WCS Season 1 semis. Now, the former teammates finally find themselves together in the same group. They almost seem destined to meet one another, and it should be an interesting chapter in their stories. It is the match that everyone anticipates tonight: Soulkey's Swarm Hosts against sOs' unpredictable play.

The SKT T1 ace has looked atypical of swarm host ZvPers, as his integration of roach hit squads often result in action all over the map as opposed to monotonous turtlefests. His final match in Code A against Ruin was voted one of the best games of the past month despite featuring a defensive swarmhost style, as he fought back from a huge deficit to take an unexpected victory. sOs, on the other hand, remains the great tinkerer of Protoss, although he has continued to favor Stargate play in PvZ. It is a surprising lack of variety -- or perhaps, a new found consistency? -- for the Jin Air Ace, but his success is difficult to argue against (8-2 in his last 10). On the one hand, this could end up being one of the best Bo3s this season; on the other hand, it could be the same trainwreck we saw the last time they met.

Of course, they will first have to dispose of their respective first opponents.

IM_YongHwa was once the reigning Code B-onjwa, a player known for his incredible skill and potential, but also one that somehow kept failing to qualify for GSL. His struggles seemed to have been resolved when he reached Code A in Season 5 of 2012, but Life would block his path to Code S. After 3 seasons in Code A, he finally made it there for OSL 2013, but the Round of 32 would be all he could accomplish for another 3 seasons. He finds himself once again at the same hurdle, but will this finally be his breakthrough? It has taken him 3 seasons each to advance from Code B, to Code A, to Code S, so it looks like it's just about time for YongHwa to make the Round of 16. Unfortunately for the IM Protoss, he has neither group luck nor momentum on his side.

He looked lucky to scrape through Code A, with two 2-1s against Super sandwiching a 0-2 loss to ParalyzE. While he has often performed well for his team in GSTL and online teamleagues, the bright lights of ProLeague seem to have sapped his strength as he has slowly slid down the IM pecking order after a 2-9 record in 3 rounds. The last time he impressed was with his quick advancement in Code A over Leenock and Flash back in January, but that's a long time ago in Blizzard time.

Samsung_Shine on the other hand continues to be the most confounding player in Code S. Though he was absent last season, this is his third season in the world's toughest tournament, which is odd when you consider that its as many time as Flash, the person he beat in the final match of their Code A group to get here. In Code A Qualifiers, he beat Hack and FanTaSy so he might actually be good in ZvT, and his early success in ProLeague, with a record of 5-1 and 2 wins vs Soulkey, seemed to suggest that he isn't half bad. But after a reverse of fortunes in Rounds 2 and 3 for a record of 1-4, we are once again left with more questions than answers. Is Shine bad, good, or somewhere in between? Honestly I have no idea, and I guess tonight might well decide it if he can advance ahead of sOs and Soulkey. As one of those players that exist solely to screw up our liquibets, this looks like as good a time as any for Shine to surprise us and prove that he's more than just an occasional favorite killer.

Predictions: It's difficult to look beyond the two ex-Woongjin bros for this one. Sure, Shine has his famous upset ability and YongHwa has the potential, but the former arguably used that up to eliminate Flash while the latter has struggled in top level tournaments. The two players they face both have the pedigree and star power to be favorites against just about anyone they face, and both players have also been in form in ProLeague. It'll be a tall order for the underdogs to snatch a win tonight, and I've never been wrong when picking either sOs or Soulkey to advance.

sOs > Shine
YongHwa < Soulkey
sOs > Soulkey
Shine > YongHwa
Soulkey > Shine

sOs and Soulkey advance.