Welcome to the GSL Group of Death! The GSL is famous for being the toughest tournament in the world, but there almost always seems to be that one group that sticks out as being unreasonably harsh. In the past, these groups came together by the players' design. Who can forget PartinG’s moxie when he taunted and manipulated his way to create a group containing Life, INnoVation, Flash and himself? Thanks to PartinG, player-picked groups are now a thing of the past. However, the seed-based random system can still yield some very deadly groups. Last season, we got to see Maru, Zest, Dear, and Soulkey fight it out. This season, we have Soulkey, Shine, INnoVation and Zest.
ForSKT_Soulkey, this group comes straight out of his worst nightmares. soO knocked Soulkey from his perch as the best Zerg in world, and these GSL group draws are not doing Soulkey any favors in his quest to reclaim his place. It's already bad enough that this is the second season in a row he's been put in the group of death, but this particular group seems to be custom tailored to kill Soulkey.
Shine, the "easy" player in the group, is Soulkey's greatest nemesis. With three losses to Shine in Brood War, one in WoL, and four in HotS, Soulkey has an incomprehensible 0-8 all-time record against the Samsung Zerg. soO vs. PartinG and Mvp vs. MKP may be the most famous one-sided relationships in SC2 history, but at least PartinG and MKP managed to steal a map or two. Soulkey hasn't just failed to draw blood – he hasn't even touched Shine.
To a lesser degree, Soulkey finds himself being countered by INnoVation and Zest as well. His record against INnoVation is 7-15 all time (although Soulkey won their most important meeting: the GSL finals), and is 1-4 against Zest.
MKP could never beat Mvp. Keen spent his entire early career losing Code S spots to Nada. Inca died fighting detection. Soulkey will have to do what they could not and overcome his demons if he wants any hope of getting out of this group.
For Samsung_Shine, this group comes straight out of his sweetest dreams. Sure Shine, is easily the weakest player in this group by "objective" standards, but f*** that. That's always been the case for Shine, ever since the Brood War days. Back in the 2009 EVER OSL, Shine was pitted against Bisu, he greatest PvZ player of all time. At that time, the only blemish on Bisu's record was that he had no OSL titles, but he seemed destined to overcome that obstacle as he was playing some of the greatest BW of his life. At best, Shine was thought to have an icicle's chance in hell. However, Shine would end up making hell freeze over. With two casual hydra busts, he eliminated Bisu from the tournament.
That win set the tone for Shine's entire career. He's always being thrown up against the best players and fan favorites of the day. And while his pedestrian record, frequent losses to mediocre players, and in-game play suggest he shouldn't stand a chance, Shine always seems to find a way to defy the odds. Shine seems to gain even more strength depending on how popular his opponent is, and his chance of victory seems to be directly correlated to the amount of heartbreak it would cause. Shine is the villain.
His run through this GSL was no different. He eliminated Flash in Code A. Then he took out sOs in Code S. Now he has been drawn into the group of death. However, he's not the one who's trapped in a group with three former champions. Soulkey, INnoVation, and Zest are the ones trapped in a group with Shine.
"And thus, INnoVation passed from the GSL. Women wept, men tore their beards, and all the peoples of the earth mourned his passing. But I said unto them "Despair not! For when the skies have been blotted out by oracles, our walls broken by blink stalkers, and the fields scoured by locusts, he shall return and bring deliverance to the Terran Kingdoms." - Major 24:30
Acer.INnoVationhas returned. After being blink-stalkered out of Code A last season, INnoVation was able to make a rapid recovery and is once again knocking on the door to the Ro8. Though he faces a rather intimidating welcoming party in the Ro16, you get the feeling that he wouldn't want it any other way. INnoVation's sole goal is the be the top player in the world, and you have to beat the best to be the best.
The first thing that comes to mind about INnoVation lately is his insane record in Acer TeamStory Cup. He has been gutting teams left and right, putting up an insane 28-4 record while looking like an NBA pro playing some division II college basketball for fun. Outside ATC, INnoVation has been killing it in other online tournaments as well. He won the NoDice and Dragon invitational, beating strong players such as HyuN, Revival, and Symbol along the way. On top of it all, he's reached the #1 rank on the Korean ladder again. When INnoVation is playing online, he's unbeatable.
However, INnoVation hasn't been quite as as good at live events. In the Code S Ro32, he looked outmatched by herO in PvT, and had to advance from second place in his group. Considering herO's poor form as of late, it wasn't the most convincing showing from INnoVation. At DreamHack Bucharest, he we eliminated from the semifinals by Life. If INnoVation can shake off the rust and bring out that dominant form he once had, he can easily ace this group. If not, he could end up with a surprisingly last place finish.
KT_Zest is the latest and greatest Protoss champion to emerge. He followed a royal-road run in Code S with another victory in the GSL Global Championship, cementing his position as the top Protoss player in the world. He is amazing at playing standard macro games, but also has a great sense for when to throw in an all-in build. Best case comparison: Rain at his prime, without the predictability. Though Zest is tremendously skilled, his greatest asset might be something that lies outside gameplay itself. In both of his grand finals appearances, Zest was able to come back from serious disadvantages when he was just one game away from losing the series. While some players crumble under pressure, Zest seems to thrive. He's even gone so far as to say that it takes a loss to get him really going in a series.
While Zest has received a lot of attention for his skill, he might be most notable for ruining the lives of SKT. Since his first All-kill of SKT he has gone on to beat Soulkey 2-1, Soulkey (again) 1-0, Rain 4-2, soO 4-3, PartinG 2-0, soO 3-2, PartinG 4-3, and Dark 2-0, before Rain finally finally stopped his reign of terror by beating him in a Proleague best of one. Zest will have a chance to pile even more misery upon SKT as there's a good chance he'll face Soulkey.
If there was any player that could be called a favorite in this group, it would be Zest. He’s won the last two Korean majors. His PvZ is probably the best in the world and he has consistently shown himself to be a calm and composed player, even when down 0-3 in a series. If there is one point of concern for Zest, it's that his PvT has started to look like a liability lately, which could be trouble against INnoVation.
Overall Predictions:
No result from this group would be truly surprising. But I’m going with Shine to win because there's just no other way this could go. There's just too many fan-favorites in the group and too many tears just ready to come gushing out. As the champion of evil, it's basically Shine's destiny to win this group.
I can see Soulkey getting knocked out (although I still believe he'll advance, as he only has lost in the RO16 once...), but not INnoVation. He knows how important these matches are and I'm sure the best terran of 2013 can figure out a way to get through.
Still, Shine probably will advance first. Fuck that guy.
Hm. Looking at this, with current form in mind, i'd say Zest to advance first and Innovation to take second. Buuuuuut Shine. He always manages to knock my favourite players out. D: In any case - The Second Coming of INnoVation is nigh!
Shine's ultimate destiny is to be placed in a group with Jaedong, Stork and MKP, do nothing but 6 pools and somehow be the only one to advance out, causing everyone else in the group to retire in shame and bringing about the Age of Shine during which being a fan favorite causes you to insta-lose. All Hail Our Samsung Overlord.
i don't even understand the problem with shine, but any time i see people hating a player or dreading the idea of him advancing i kind of start rooting for that player by default. i don't understand how some people just want to see the best few players in the world stay the best forever and never have anyone else make a run at it...
Ah...an old reminder of the "D"eath group with Flash, Jaedong, Bisu, and Sea. I remember watching Hydra create that anomaly of a group, and reading the webcomic that followed soon after.
Oh well. I root for Soulkey and Bogus because I'm biased.
Nice preview, I did not realize Shine had such a hex on Soulkey. But I think SK will still find a way, along with Zest.
Inno I could see going 0-2 tbh: he's a machine but terran are in a much weaker position compared to his glory days, and he STILL can't defend against cheesy zerg cheese, a weakness SK and Shine will be all too happy to exploit. What is with elite macro terrans (Inno, Flash, MKP) playing the same triple-orbital openings and dying to roach/bane all-ins time after time without adapting?
Anyway I can easily see Shine taking one match in this group of champions, but two? That's too farfetched.
Code S Ro16 Group D continues the story of good old Soulkey, still looking to be the fan favourite after all these championships. Now the man with nothing to lose, trying like a foolto hide from the ghosts of his past. But fate has plans for Soulkey. He find himself heading down the Group of Death, revenge and, if he's lucky, maybe a little salvation.
Great predictions; everyone is going crazy in this thread.
Predictions: 1) Soulkey EMBARASSES Shine, makes all his little games look like a joke. 2) Then Zest takes everyone out, finishes first. 3) Then Shine takes out Innovation via cheese. 4) Finally, Soulkey v. Shine, and Shine figures out a way to cheese his way through. 5) All SKT fanboys weep, including me.
great article, i'd just suggest you fix the typos since there's an unusually large number of them for a tl article. i guess someone forgot to proofread and just slapped the publish button :D
EPT
Soulkey, 
Zest, 
INnoVation
