GSL Season Three
Code A

Group I Preview
sOs, Reality, herO, Super

Group J Preview
Rogue, Bunny, Life, Stats

Brackets and standings on Liquipedia

by banjoetheredskin

Code A continues, and another terran tries to redistribute racial balance in Code S. However, the terran will certainly face a challenge against the protoss ace of three different Proleague teams. All four players have something to prove today, as Reality and Super have yet to convince at all in Code S with three combined appearances. herO and sOs, on the other hand, are both fantastic players outside of Code S, but haven't achieved their full potential in it.

The clear favorite in this group is the ever-entertaining Jin Air sOs, also known as $O$. Many considered it to be somewhat of a surprise when he won Blizzcon 2013, having lacked substantial results outside of WCS Season 1. After he won Blizzcon, however, people realized how powerful of a player he is when preparation is on his side. sOs has a gifted mind for strategies and builds that abuse the entire spectrum of protoss tactics, and he utilizes them fully at every opportunity to win. He is the Machiavellian Protoss, because the end$ ju$tify the mean$, which he demonstrated in vicious fashion in his dismantlement of group-mate CJ herO at the winner-take-all $100,000 IEM Katowice. Since then he and Maru have terrorized Proleague for Jin Air, and sOs is currently sitting third in the rankings with a 24-12 record. Despite his great success in the team league, sOs has struggled to convert it to excellence in GSL, making a disappointing exit in the Ro32 in Season 2 at the hands of Samsung's Shine. A slightly better performance in Season 1 ended in a 3-0 slaughter by eventual-champion Zest in the Ro8. If sOs wants to defend his spot in Code S he will need to outperform that precedent. We can expect him to, though, as his PvP record in Proleague has been nothing short of superb at 13-6.

sOs' first match is against Samsung Reality. Although sOs' PvT record is not as strong at 4-3 in Proleague, it does not reflect a struggle in the matchup. Similarly, Reality's TvP record in Proleague is a lackluster 2-4. However, losses to HerO, sOs, PartinG, and Hush are not necessarily indicative of a real problem. Yet outside of Proleague Reality's TvP is also very mediocre, maintaining a 50% winrate in the only matchup he'll be playing in his group. Unfortunately for Reality he is likely to face the same situation he did in Code A last season, where he went 1-4 in his TvP matches against IM.Ruin to drop back into the hell that is the qualifiers. All odds seem to be stacked against the Samsung terran, drawing a group filled with his obviously worst matchup. Nevertheless, in the past players have done well when they only had to prepare for one matchup. There's no reason to think that Reality couldn't do it with the help of his practice partners.

Next up is CJ herO. herO's recent GSL results resemble sOs', making a disappointing exit in the Ro16 last season 0-4 at the hands of soO and PartinG. In Season 1 he was comparatively much better, barely losing 3-2 to Rain in the Ro8, just 3 days after his crushing defeat at IEM Katowice. For approximately four months before that he was hailed as one of, if not the best protoss in the world, having torn through IEM Singapore and Sao Paulo and playing as CJ's ace in Proleague. He still has the latter title (even though their season is over now), ranking second in Proleague with a 26-18 record overall, and 12-7 in PvP. herO also will likely be playing only against protoss in the group, and that bodes well for him, although he does not look as convincing in the matchup as he did during his domination of the IEM circuit. Even if he had to play PvT, he has shown average results in Proleague at 6-7, but superb results outside it with wins over Polt, Flash, and INnoVation. Another concerning statistic working against herO is his PvP performance under pressure. While he looked fabulous in his IEM reign of terror, beating excellent protosses in San and MC to take both his titles, he seemed to do an about-face at and after the IEM Katowice finals against sOs. He lost in the ace match of the Round 2 Silver Challenger Match in Proleague against none other than his first opponent today, Super. Then in Round 3 he lost two PvP ace matches, dropping his record to 2-3 in such situations. Since then he has recovered some of his past form, performing better in all matchups and looking close to the herO that was carrying CJ at the beginning of Proleague.

Just recently, herO played two more ace matches in the Proleague playoffs, beating soO in the first series but then losing to Rain in the third, sending CJ home just a game shy of the finals. herO lost his game to Rain because he chose to cancel his robotics facility against a 3 gate blink allin, only to have his lack of detection scouted. Rain decided to proxy a dark shrine, which was ultimately herO's undoing as he took too much damage before getting an observer. A good example of many of herO's losses in PvP, it is not fair to say that herO played poorly, just that his opponent played better. Overall, herO still looks good but his hot streak has long since faded and his vulnerabilities have not been entirely overcome, leaving him still in jeopardy if he does not show up looking like the two-time Sick Nerd Baller.

herO's first opponent, MVP.Super, presents a less clear case. Super has been MVP's protoss ace in Proleague this season, going a respectable 14-12 overall, and 6-3 in PvP. However, in individual leagues he has shown contradictory results. Not only has he failed to make Code S the past 2 seasons, last season he went 2-4 in PvP against YongHwa to finish 3rd in his Code A group. A review of his most recent PvP Proleague games show he favors aggressive builds, and they worked out in his favor against both Trap and Oz. As for his PvT, he recently has wins over GuMiho, aLive, and Neige, with losses to Cure, Bbyong, and group-mate Reality. Super also employs an aggressive playstyle in this matchup, often favoring blink-based openings, but questionable decision-making has been his downfall more than once. If Super isn't careful, an apparent weakness in PvT could be more problematic than his questionable mirror matchup.

Overall Thoughts and Predictions

As much as I would like to not count Reality out entirely, it's hard to imagine a scenario in which he would have enough to advance. None of the protosses in this group look vulnerable enough in PvT to give him good odds. After Reality, Super doesn't have a lot of strong results to suggest that he is in any more likely of a position to do well in this group than herO or sOs. Both have been looking very good in Proleague and it's hard to bet against that even if it is an individual league, as the preparation skills and practice definitely overlap enough for justification.

sOs > Reality
herO > Super
sOs > herO
Reality < Super
Super < herO

sOs and herO advance to Code S.

by Trasko

StarCraft 2 tends to provide us with not only exciting moments but also a allows the opportunity for a plethora of premium champions. There has yet not been one single player whom has dominated the scene for an extended period of time and perhaps this is one of the trivial reasons as to why StarCraft 2 is still considered one of the most exciting yet difficult e-sports in the world. One does not simply just blindly practice in order to become the best, no. It requires something more; something extra that not every player has. There have been players with multiple championship titles; players who stand out among the rest yet what we eventually see is that they're still not invulnerable on the battlefield. Life is among one of the great players whom have looked unstoppable at times but even though he carries the reputation of being the youngest Triple Crown Champion, he too has his downfalls.

Life's last victory was at the 2014 DreamHack Open: Bucharest with an impressive run defeating players like Leenock, StarDust, INnoVation and Impact on his road to not only the trophy but also the excellent Champagne ceremony. Since this incredible run, Life has suffered from tournament backlash, only making it to the round of 16 in GSL along with a 9-12th place finish at MLG Anaheim and IEM Shenzhen losing to both Scarlett and Jim respectively. There's no doubt that Scarlett and Jim are formidable opponents yet one could expect more from a player with 7 premiere championship trophies. Code A however brings in new opponents and the only player from this group that Life has ever faced in a televised tournament is Rogue. With a player of each race in the group, Life will have to show that he's better than the Life we saw during MLG and IEM.

In the midst of the SPL semi-finals preparation, Rogue unfortunately comes into this match with a lot of pressure. A qualification to the most prestigious StarCraft 2 league in the world or full focus on Proleague, a commitment that's of uttermost importance to KeSPA players. Lucky for JinAir, they do have an average sized roster and so perhaps they will let Rouge practice for this Code A match. Rogue showed a lot of potential at the IEM World Championship back in March with an insane qualifier run and after a solid round of 32 placement in last seasons GSL, he aims to be put back in Code S. Having a positive record of 15-12 all around in Proleague and a great team to back him up, Rogue will want to redeem the 0-2 losses against Life. Rogue will have quite a bit to prove as statistics show he has a negative record against two of the three players and is generally considered rather inconsistent in his play.

Bunny is rarely seen outside of Proleague and after multiple previous failed attempts at qualifying for Code S he finally found some luck in season 3. Code B is considered by many to be tougher than Code A, yet if you're placed in a group of this Caliber one could argue the opposite. Terran players have it tough no matter where you are located in the world and so Bunny has an uphill battle going into this series. Bunny's recent performance in the SPL Playoffs showed us he's very good at preparing specific builds, but how will do in a best of three against more than one opponent? With CJ Entus losing (spoilers), Bunny will have more time to practice and prepare for this match (be it only two days) so for his sake he best be prepared.

Last but not least we have Stats, one of the three formidable KT Rolster Protoss. Stats started out as a B-teamer on KT during his BroodWar days and in 2010 became one of KT's key players, even claiming second most wins during round 4 in the 09-10 Proleague. Stats has however not had as great success in StarCraft 2 as his Proleague record this season has only been satisfactory at best coming in at 55%. Stats greatest previous GSL run has been the round of 32 in Code S but other than that he's been stuck at the bottom of Challenger league, desperately trying to make it out. With a little luck and some help from ex-champion and teammate Zest, Stats could make a run for everyone's money.

So who will realistically have a shot at making it out of this group. based on statistics and facts? Despite having an overall winrate of 57% since his Dreamhack victory, Life comes in as the favourite to get out in first place. He may not have had a splendid run in Proleague but his 7 championship titles speak for themselves. When Life wants to win, he does so with a cold style and what would stop him here? Life's Achille's Heel could potentially be the over preparation from the more routined Proleague players as they know he's a prime target and a favourite to take the group. Rogue's killer run at the IEM qualifiers may have had been 4 months ago, but he's still not someone to count out. He was considered one of the favourites at that tournament yet it seems as though Life was his Kryptonite. With CJ Entus recent heartbreaking fall out, Bunny will either mourn with his teammates or quickly move on and prepare for this match. If anything he'll be in good shape as the preparation for the SPL Playoffs would've been sincere and tough. Stats comes in as perhaps the player who will have to try his luck next time. He still hasProleague to think about and with a group of this caliber he will struggle to make it far.

Rogue > Bunny
Life > Stats
Rogue < Life
Bunny > Stats
Rogue > Bunny

Life and Rogue advance to Code S.

Writers: banjoetheredskin, Trasko
Graphics: GOM eXP.
Editor: Zealously.