EPT
Writers: Destructicon, lichter
Graphics: Meru
Editor: lichter
http://wiki.teamliquid.net/starcraft2/2014_Global_StarCraft_II_League_Season_3/Code_S
"Telecom titans triumph over rogue hurricane, greatest victory against nature since the trash landfill in the Pacific"
It took 5 sets but the evidence was clear:
Rain and Zest were far superior to the other two men in the group today. Only the winners' match lasted 3 full games; the rest were routine 2-0s. It'll be interesting to see whether the two protoss powerhouses show their class beyond the Ro16 as they certainly won't have as easy a time as tonight.![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/lichter/code_s/2014/season3/codesr32grpe.jpg)
Zest warped in more gateways and even though Hurricane now had colossus, he didn't have enough to hold.Zest's SKT T1 nemesis had a similarly easy time against his first opponent. On Catallena, Rain's first big attack just as Rogue was building swarm hosts paid dividends. With only zerglings on the map, the Jin Air zerg had no choice but to let it waltz right into his third. The banked resources and lack of units was punished as everything that rallied to defend was killed, and Rogue surrendered with nothing left but drones and units in eggs. Game 2 was not very different even though Rogue appeared more than prepared. He was set to take a decisive advantage when Rain let a group of lings into his main base during gateway pressure, but Rogue was unable to run riot with Rain's warpcycles ready. The SKT T1 Ace sat back on three bases as he accumulated colossus and blink stalkers, and Rogue once again chose swarmhosts and corruptors. He attempted to take a fourth, but Rain was ready to attack. Rogue tried to dissuade Rain's push with a roach ling counterattack at the third, but defensive stalkers were already present.
Rain's excellent use of terrain ensured he was never surrounded, and poor control on the corruptors allowed the colossus to survive. Rogue had what he wanted, but it still wasn't enough and he no choice but to fall to the losers' match.Finally, we had two players that were certain to be equals. Unfortunately, the series was short, and none of the games lasted more than 10 minutes. Game 1 looked like a certain build order loss for Rain when his 1 gate into blink was punished by Zest's 3gate. A magnificent surround with probes was able to eliminate all of Zest's attacking stalkers, and a warp in on the other side of the map was also doing damage. Things looked equal but Zest warped in another round of stalkers just as Rain was trying to move out, and Zest was able to take down the mothership core and a stalker for free. Left with 1 stalker against 4, Rain surrendered. Game 2 was even shorter. Both players opened with blink, with Rain being the first to attack. Focus fire on the mothership core easily shifted the tide in his favor for a quick win. It was more of the same on Merry Go Round, with Zest taking the initiative instead. An engagement at Rain's natural ramp looked even at face value, but Rain eeked out a slight HP advantage. Zest was forced to engage, and the difference in HP proved decisive as
Rain cleaned up all of his opponent's units. Rain once again triumphed over the former SKT killer, but Zest still looked good value to advance in second.In contrast to the winners' match, the losers' match was the longest of the day. Unfortunately, length does not promise quality. Both players looked out of sorts and uncertain, but Rogue still managed to scrape by with 2 hard fought wins. Overgrowth ticked in at a shade over 20 minutes, and it was a bloody battle throughout. The Jin Air zerg's composition of choice was roach hydra and eventually vipers, while Hurricane played conservatively with gateway units and colossus. It looked like Rogue was certain to take the game when he repeatedly destroyed Hurricane's forges, but the Samsung protoss held on to his three bases. Despite having his army whittled down Rogue's economy didn't look much better, but once he was able to secure the gold, his torrent of roaches and hydras was finally able to take a bruised victory. Following the trend of EffOrt and Soulkey, Rogue decided to use a speedling build to punish a potential nexus first. However Hurricane was prepared, and promptly cancelled his nexus upon seeing the pool and gas. The lings were unable to do damage, but it did give Rogue map control to delay Hurricane's economy. Rogue once again tried to use swarmhosts and corruptors, finding more success this time. Hurricane tried all that he could to draw Rogue out of position, but the Jin Air zerg held steadfastly against harassment while chipping away at the protoss. Hurricane eventually cracked, and
Rogue earned a spot in the final match.It would not last very long as Zest eliminated Rogue in a little under 20 minutes with gateway attacks after oracle. On Foxtrot Labs Zest used a sentry-heavy composition to perfection: his forcefields were on point and gave hs stalkers all day to take potshots at Rogue's hydras. The Jin Air zerg managed to surround more the sentries, but was forced to concede after losing too many probes. In Game 2 on Nimbus Zest hit even earlier with a 6 gateway timing, catching Rogue without zergling speed and still building his roach warren. Even with spines and queens to help,
Zest's clairvoyant timing proved impossible to stop.There were no doubts after the games;
Rain and Zest were better. It was the first time this season that two protoss advanced from a group, but few are currently better than the telecom aces. Rain now leads their rivalry 7-6, but he must still win a title to equal Zest's 2014. On tonight's testimony, it's going to be difficult to bet against him.Players in the Ro16 (10/16):
sOs, Stats, Rain, ZestEffOrt, Soulkey
Cure, INnoVation, Maru, RealityNext: Code S Group F
soO vs TrustDongRaeGu vs Stork
