GSL Season Three
Code A

Group A Preview
Ruin, hyvaa, INnoVation, Hurricane

Group K Preview
Leenock, Terminator, SuperNova, EffOrt

Brackets and standings on Liquipedia

by Darkhorse

The Summer of Starcraft refuses to slow down, as just days after IEM and Dreamhack Code A continues. With the schedule all over the place due to players having commitments in various tournaments around the world, this broadcast will include groups A and K, featuring players like Innovation, hyvaa, Leenock, and Supernova battling for four more coveted spots in Code S.

The afternoon group features a diverse set of contenders, including star players, up and comers, and unpredictable players. Innovation is certainly the headliner of the group, but expect strong challenges from Ruin, Hurricane, and hyvaa.

Acer.INnoVation returns from his trip to IEM Shenzhen disappointed, as his momentum was curtailed by the eventual finalist Solar. With a solid run in last season's Code S, and an unheard of level of team league dominance in Acer Teamstory Cup (37-6 overall record and four all kills!) Innovation looked to be getting back in the groove after a disappointing start to 2014. He even kicked off his IEM well, qualifying for the main event through the winner's side of the Asia Qualifier Bracket and winning his Ro16 group with victories over TRUE and Snute. However, his much vaunted TvZ reputation, as well as perhaps Innovation's pride, took a bit of a blow when he was swept cleanly by Solar in the Round of 8. Innovation certainly would have wanted to return to Korea IEM trophy and novelty check in hand, but as it stands, Innovation has something to prove here. Terrans haven't been struggling quite as much this season as they have over the previous two, and a player like Innovation simply must be in Code S.

Innovation continues to be one of the most fearsome Terrans in macro games. Once he gets comfortable on three bases or more, his multitasking, macro, and positioning are difficult to overcome. Unfortunately for Innovation, there is a chance that there won't be a lot of macro games to go around in this group. Facing him are two very aggressive players in hyvaa and Ruin as well as a bit of a mystery in Hurricane. If these players did their homework, they will know that in the past, Innovation has had some trouble with aggressive and tricky play, particularly in the TvP matchup (I'm looking at you, HerO and Duckdeok). Despite the fact that none of his opponents have neither his name recognition nor his achievements, I truly believe that Innovation is in a lot of danger of becoming another casualty of Code A in this group.

Innovation's opening opponent will be Samsung.Hurricane, better known as Tear by veteran viewers of Korean Starcraft II. Hurricane started 2014 off well, being picked up by Samsung and winning his debut in SPL, but he has since fallen off considerably. He finished the year a disappointing 2-6 in Proleague and hasn't had much of an impact at all in GSL. In Season 1 he was unceremoniously tossed out of Code A by Cure and Panic, and he failed to make it out of Code B in Season 2. This season he was able to overcome a loss to KT's Hitman by beating Gumiho and then defeating the KT Zerg in losers' final rematch to claim a spot in Code A.

Hurricane falls in the zone of so many Koreans players grinding it out in a scene that's notoriously short on opportunities for middle-tier players. He went 1-1 in June in SPL and appeared in the Code A qualifiers, but he has had no other offline matches in the past two months. This can be interpreted in two different ways. One could say that he is mysterious and there aren't a lot of replays available where he can be studied. This could give him an advantage in a preparation based league, and we've seen less heralded players shock the world with a well planned 3 game series. One could also say that he hasn't been good enough to get more play time in Proleague or GSL and therefore shouldn't be a contender in this group. No matter which way one spins it, the fact remains that Hurricane hasn't been overly impressive in 2014, despite being a newly anointed member of KeSPA. However, Code A has been known for its surprises, and a staggeringly new map pool makes even less accomplished players more dangerous propositions.

Wayi.Ruin was once considered one of those mysterious and dangerous players, but he made a name for himself in Code A with his infamous wall off on Daedalus Point. Early 2014 was an interesting time for Protosses in the GSL, as the map in question was the great ire of Aiur because of it's gigantic natural ramp. The map was so Zerg favored that it was a wonder that it made it into the GSL map pool. This caused some Protoss players to throw up their hands and take a loss on the map, but Ruin managed to pull off an offensive gateway/forge/pylon/cannon wall at the base of Sleep's main in order to win and claim his spot in Code S. That kind of ingenuity continues to pay off for Ruin as he was considered by many as IM's best Protoss. He finished the year with a fairly solid 4-3 record in SPL and has made Code S in each of the past two seasons. Even his Code A group in Season 2 was entertaining, as he managed to throw away seemingly certain victory over Soulkey in the winner's match by spending all his money writing an "S" in pylons, but still managed to advance through the final match of the group.

There is no doubt that Ruin has been flashy over the past several months, and while he has been able to make it into Code S, he hasn't had much success after advancement. He looked decent in his Round of 32 group last season, but lost to Rain in the winner's match and fell in a close series to Stork immediately thereafter. It is one thing to be young, entertaining, and promising, but Ruin is finding out that is quite another to be good and consistent. Ruin is seemingly right on the border of being considered a "Code S player" but at the moment he could be considered a bit of a fluke. Ruin's journey towards consistency has brought him here, and he must advance for it to continue. This will also be his first outing as Wayi Spider's newest recruit.

It should be an interesting affair in his first match of the evening as he faces hyvaa. It was so unfortunate when he retired last year after the disbandment of SouL. Luckily, hyvaa's retirement was, in the grand tradition of eSports retirements, rather short. He has since come back to the world of competitive Starcraft II and even signed with MVP to give him an opportunity to play in Proleague. While he didn't have much success in his short time in SPL (0-3 on the year) hyvaa is still a player that is loved (or perhaps hated) for his cheesy builds and victories over fan favorites. Who can forget hyvaa's series against Fantasy in last year's WCS Season 2, where hyvaa lost using one of the most poorly executed six pools of all time and still won the series?

hyvaa is an entertaining player to watch and is a player that many people root for and against, but it is tough to come up with an argument for why he would do well here. Prior to this season's Code A qualifier, hyvaa hadn't won a tournament match since March. In the qualifier, hyvaa managed to beat Departure and Avenge, but those two names aren't dangerous enough to get a ton of credit prior to playing in this Code A group. Of course, this is hyvaa after all and he could early pool greedy opponents and play greedy when his opponents are expecting cheese and somehow get out of this group, but overall I'd say his chances are slim.

Overall thoughts and Prediction:

Innovation has to be the favorite here, regardless of his disappointing loss at IEM. He has been on fire recently, and the names in this group aren't scary enough to knock him out, provided that Innovation plays safely. If he doesn't play safely and scout diligently, he may very well be knocked out. The other three could fall in any order, but I'll place my bet on the one that has 1) earned a winning record in SPL and 2) gotten into Code S this year. Sorry hyvaa and Hurricane.

Ruin > hyvaa
Innovation > Hurricane
Ruin < Innovation
hyvaa < Hurricane
Ruin > Hurricane

INnoVation and Ruin to advance.

by Soularion

Group K features a host of players who had immense success in the past, but have recently struggled to rise to the same heights. For EffOrt, it's been almost five years since his unbelievable triumph over Flash in Korean Air MSL 2010. It was the legendary final in Korean Air's Hangar, and his comeback from 0-2 down to win 3-2 will forever be the crowning achievement of his career. For Leenock, his championship run in MLG Providence 2011 was supposed to be a portent of a bright future, and though he'd earn a silver medal in GSL Nov 2011, his career in HoTS has seen him struggle to stay in Code S. And for SuperNova, his pride has always been his persistent tenure in Code S. Though he was cruelly denied a NesTea award in late 2012, he now has 4 successive Code S appearances to his name at a time when only a handful of Terrans even qualify. Oh, and there's Terminator too.

To be fair to Terminator, he qualified from one of the toughest Code B groups this season. Beating KeeN 4-2 to qualify is a sizable achievement in itself, and should give him a glimpse of hope against SuperNova. Aside from that, though, he hasn't had much success in 2014. This is his first time in Code A this year, previously having lost to Trend, Stats, Dream and RagnaroK. That's not the worst set of people to lose against, but when you combine that with a sub-50% vZ winrate, things aren't looking good for the Jin Air Protoss. However, with Avenge having gotten through with cheeky play in a group where he wasn't favored either, perhaps Terminator can do the same. He went 2-2 with Hydra earlier in the year and recently defeated soO in the IEM World Championships qualifier, so he has had some limited success in the matchup. Still, a win here would be the biggest result his career has had in a long time.

Terminator's Biggest Challenge: With EffOrt and SuNo both having pretty bad vP, Terminator's biggest challenge is the resurgent Leenock. He's not exactly known for his vP either, but a good run at DH Valencia suggests that he's finally found his groove.

That second wind makes Leenock one of the more interesting players in the group. His breakout performance at DreamHack has been a long time coming, as he had struggled to replicate his late 2011 form during the BL Infestor era and after the release of HoTS. In 2014, he's made deep runs in various 'small' tournaments (almost beating Life and MMA in the drag invitational), had great success in the ATC as a member of Yoe Flash Wolves, and placed 3rd/4th at Valencia. He hasn't exactly been a slouch in Code S either, as he placed 3rd in his Ro32 in Seasons 1 and 2 with victories over Trap and herO. He's had the misfortune of falling into the more difficult GSL groups, so he's luck has to break even some time.

Leenock's Biggest Challenge: SuperNova. Despite going 2-0 against him earlier in the year, SuperNova's mech-focused style still poses a big danger to Leenock. If he comes in prepared, nothing should challenge him. However, if he slips up, SuperNova will be the first one to capitalize on it.

That veteranship will stand SuperNova in good stead, as neither the pressure nor the mind games should faze him. He's been one of the few Terrans in Code S this year, and though he has yet to find a team, he has continued to surprise us with his unorthodoxy. He's going to mech it happen with his arsenal of imaginary imaginative builds, which makes it difficult to cheer against him. Last season, he was eliminated in a Ro16 group final rematch against Samsung breakout star Solar, and he'll be desperate to make it at least that far if he wants to put himself in the shop window. After narrowingly missing his NesTea award last time, he's now been searching for a better way to show his expertise in the GSL. This isn't the final step for SuperNova, rather it's just another step in the long road to redemption.

SuperNova's Biggest Challenge: EffOrt. EffOrt's ZvT is incredibly deadly, especially against meching players. SuperNova loves his mech dearly, and so he should have something especially prepared for the CJ Zerg. If his plans play out like he schemes, SuperNova will have a good chance to be the next Terran in Code S. But if he plans to play a standard mech game, EffOrt should be licking his lips in anticipation.

EffOrt had a rough transition to SC2. Alright, maybe not as rough as Bisu, but the fact that his best result is still a top 8 in one of the easiest IEMs to date hardly sounds impressive. He only had to beat Happy, KingKong and DRG to get there, and his failures in both GSL and SPL (sans that one heroic playoff performance) suggest that he isn't in a very good place right now. That isn't due to a lack of trying, however, as EffOrt's ZvT continues to be his lone bright spot and arguably some of the best in Proleague. It's his ZvP that has constantly proved to be his downfall, and while he did come close to beating PartinG in the SPL Playoffs, he's yet to beat a Protoss in an offline setting in 2014. Terminator shouldn't be as fearsome as some of the other players he's faced, but his track record does not fill one with confidence. If EffOrt hopes to get that 2010 feeling back, he'll have to start here.

EffOrt's Biggest Challenge: Terminator. The Jin Air toss is certainly going to have some cheeky tactics up his sleeve, and EffOrt has to be ready for them. CJ Entus showed that they're masters of preparation, so EffOrt should be more than ready. Yet, even fans of him have to have a bad feeling about this potential match.

Overall thoughts and prediction:

Leenock, SuperNova and EffOrt are locked in a deadly battle for the first place here. It's not clear who will move on, and it largely depends on the brackets. If things play out as I expect, Leenock should get the better of EffOrt in the winners' match, and the CJ Zerg and SuperNova should meet again to determine the second Code S spot. Personally, I think that SuperNova with his unorthodox yet successful style will be able to out-think EffOrt in their rematch, although anything is on the table. Unfortunately for Terminator, he'll likely bomb out in last place. Then again, the same would've been said for Avenge earlier in the season, and he had an arguably much bigger challenge to overcome.

Leenock > Terminator
SuperNova < EffOrt
Leenock > EffOrt
Terminator < SuperNova
EffOrt < SuperNova

Leenock and SuperNova to advance.

Writers: Darkhorse, Soularion
Graphics: GOM eXP.
Editor: lichter.