GSL Season Two
Code S Ro16

Ro16 Group A Preview
PartinG, Classic, soO, herO

Brackets and standings on Liquipedia

PartinG, Classic, soO, herO

by stuchiu

For the second season in a row, the GSL Ro16 will host a cruel SKT team-kill. Unlike last season where SKT was the victim of an unlucky draw, this time around it the friendly-fire was practically unavoidable: a grand total of seven SKT players made it to the Ro16. Group A will see PartinG, Classic, and soO compete for the right to not have to give awkward congratulations to their teammates after getting eliminated reach the quarterfinals, while CJ's herO butts in as a tactless interloper in a family feud.

The first match of the night features SKT_Classic, who was the victim in the Season 1 SKT team-kill. Grouped up with teammates Rain and PartinG, Classic had to bow out early while his teammates moved on to the quarterfinals.

Reaching the Ro16 was a great result for Classic in his very first Code S season, but many Proleague fans will tell you that he could have gone even further, and that he was was just unlucky to have to go up against PvP masters in Rain and PartinG. After all, Classic is quietly becoming one of Proleague's best players after being picked up from the wreckage of STX Soul by SKT. His skill has increased by leaps and bounds, and he's been an excellent fourth man for SKT with an 11-5 record (3-0 in the playoffs) this season.

Classic has reached the Ro16 once more, and he has another chance to prove that he's not just good, but great. The last time Classic challenged for the right to reach the quarterfinals, you could see that there was line drawn in the sand. PartinG and Rain sent him a message: "You're a crucial part of our team and we love you as a teammate, but you're not on our level yet." Now it's time for Classic to prove that he can make the next step.

Classic's first opponent will be SKT_PartinG, who finished in the Ro8 last season. While Classic will be thinking hard about how he can beat his far more accomplished opponents and get out of the group, PartinG should only be fretting about one thing: What will he do if he runs into soO again? Ever since the start of HotS, Parting has had serious problems when facing soO, with a 2-8 record against him in maps and a 0-3 record in series. In fact, soO was the player who eliminated PartinG from the last two Code S tournaments, and their relationship is quickly becoming the HotS equivalent of Mvp vs MKP or Nada vs Keen.

The Soul Toss has playing very well as of late, arguably better than when he lost to soO in the past. He looked excellent in his second-place run in the GSL Global Tournament, and followed it up by mangling ByuL and SuperNova to get out of his Code S Ro32 group. Yet, soO always seems to be able to force PartinG to play at his worst, and it would hardly be surprising to see soO stomp him again. Luckily for Parting, even if (when?) he loses to soO he will still get to play a bunch of PvPs, a match-up in which he's consistently been a top player.

While Classic and PartinG have plenty of reason to worry, SKT_soO must have been smiling ear to ear after he heard the group announcement (well, besides that team-kill part). Unless he's going up against Zest, soO just doesn't lose ZvP. It makes sense, as he’s now played in two GSLs where he's had to face the Protoss Hope du jour in the finals. Even though soO did lose to Zest in the finals last season, he made it a close, seven game affair. Sure, Classic, PartinG, and herO is one of the scariest ZvP packages you could draw in a single group, but soO has shown he's completely fine playing against players at their level. Add to that the fact that PartinG is his personal punching bag, and you have a recipe for soO's 3rd consecutive Ro8 appearance.

Finally, CJ's herO rounds out the group. For a while, herO was the only CJ player who was living up to to his considerable pre-season hype, winning two consecutive IEMs while carrying his team in Proleague. However, the last few months have been a nightmare for herO. After being on track to claiming the title of best Protoss in the world, he was rudely kicked to the curb by sOs at the IEM World Championship. Playing for a $100,000 grand prize, herO was proxy-gated out of the finals and hasn't been the same since.

After losing that finals, he returned to the GSL to only get beaten by Rain 3-2 in the Ro8. In Proleague, his status as CJ's super-ace disappeared as he went a mediocre 6-6 in Round 3, with a disappointing 2-3 record in the playoffs. herO will find no reprieve in the Code S Ro16, as he faces two strong PvP players and one of the best ZvP'ers in the world. The old herO would have been considered a favorite to advance here, getting to play his best match-ups of PvP and PvZ. However, current herO does not inspire confidence. If herO can't shake off the slump he's been in since losing to sOs, then he's going to get eaten alive.

Overall Predictions: soO will probably get out in first place, as his ZvP has been excellent as of late. Classic, PartinG, and herO can all play great PvZ on their best days, but none of them has shown the same kind of consistent excellence in PvZ as soO has shown in ZvP. All three have their weaknesses: Classic is weak in early game ZvP. Parting is weak to against soO specifically. herO has just been very sloppy all-around in recent games, especially against Leenock and Soulkey.

The second place spot should be decided in a three-way PvP coin toss between between Classic, Parting and herO. However, it will be a weighted coin toss in this case, with PartinG having shown the best recent PvP form while Classic has shown the worst.

PartinG > Classic
soO > herO
soO > PartinG
herO > Classic
PartinG > herO

soO and PartinG advance.

Writers: stuchiu.
Graphics: GOM eXP.
Editor: Waxangel.