GSL Season Three
Code S

Group D Preview
soO, DongRaeGu, TRUE, Flash

Brackets and standings on Liquipedia

by Trasko

The sheer amount of effort that goes into perfecting a StarCraft build is quite incredible. What differentiates a great StarCraft player from a good StarCraft player is often minuscule, yet key to victory: a split second decision, a perfectly executed timing, an incredible ability to read your opponent's next move. Failure is often caused by is real-life emotions along with your mindset going into the game. It's no coincidence Jaedong rarely showed emotion back in 2008-2009, around the time he was at his peak. In both his pre- and post-game interviews he insisted that as long as your mind was only focused on the game, you would achieve great things. Flash also showcased this sense of perfection at IEM Toronto. Not only did he bring out the ruler in order to set his keyboard, but he also perfectly executed his builds and reacted to what his opponents brought out.

What makes GSL and the WCS system so interesting is that both allocate long periods of time for their players to prepare. Some players excel at using these grace periods whilst others find it difficult. Naniwa was a great example of this. At the zenith of his career he would prepare a specific build for a weekend long tournament, stick with that build throughout the whole thing and dominate. He was also known for consistently being knocked out in the round of 32 in WCS EU; clearly this type of tournament structure was not his cup of tea.

By contrast, soO has proved he's more than capable of dealing with the GSL structure. He is the most successful zerg player in recent memory, being the only person to ever reach three consecutive GSL finals. That consistency is definitely no fluke but at the same time, folding under the sheer pressure so many times leaves an odd impression on soO’s legacy. After all, one would expect a bit more composure considering soO has been a professional since 2009. Despite remaining in top form soO won’t get a ticket to the quarterfinals by just showing up. He may be the only player in Group D with a realistic shot at Blizzcon, but 15th place is an awfully tenuous position at this time of the year. Such anxiety will only exacerbate how hard he’ll have to work to overcome Flash and TRUE. soO’s ubiquitous exposure may come back to bite him in the ass, as both aforementioned opponents are excellent at this preparation format. However, soO has SKT practice partners on his side and to be frank, we will likely see him move on to the next stage if he just continues to do what he does best.

It was no surprise DongRaeGu was the first player soO picked to be in his group. After dominantly defeating him in the round of 32, soO must be pretty confident that he’ll take the rematch as well. Although he has recovered from the harsh transition between Wings of Liberty and Heart of the Swarm, even sneaking in a couple of Ro8 finishes, DRG is nowhere close to his old prowess. Back in WoL DRG was a staple top zerg, winning 3 championships and 5 silver medals (and that’s only counting premier tournaments!). So far in HotS DRG has one major victory and two Ro16 appearances in six WCS seasons. It is unclear if his resurgence is imminent or likely at all, as he’s still looking rather shaky. Being a champion of the past is hard, especially from a time that seems rather bleak compared to today. Without a team to back him up, DRG will want to make this group count. Advancement to the next round could potentially be a selling point when advertising himself to future teams.

This will most likely be TRUE's last GSL. On August 25th, he announced his departure from Jin Air Green Wings and his desire to pursue his options overseas, perhaps participating in a different WCS region. This is, of course, presuming he finds a stable team that can support him. We've seen before how this type of transaction can play out. The pot will be further stirred as TRUE will be at Dreamhack Moscow in two weeks, giving the western scene a shot for the first time. Even though he made the semifinals last season, he will have a much more difficult run this time around. TRUE showed very impressive games against TY and Dear in the Ro32, yet Group D is one solely made up of past champions (or perpetual runner-ups in soO's case). Last season soO defeated TRUE in a relatively quick 4-1 series and if history repeats itself, TRUE might fall here as well. Being in the same pot as DRG, both of these two players have to put on their best game face and play like winners.

The round of 16 group selections proved to be a blessing for Flash. Innovation had a chance to create the ultimate group of death if he selected the KT terran, decided to go with Stats instead. Flash ended up the last player to be assigned and showed a sign of relief as he walked over to Group D, chuckling to himself as his chances of advancement significantly increased. Fast forward a week and he looks like the biggest threat in the group. Conquering IEM Toronto capped off an incredible month for Flash, one that has catapulted his reputation from meandering BW legend to (arguably) best terran competing today. This list we showed in the power rank earlier this week says it all.

+ Show Spoiler +

Over the weekend, Flash showed something close to perfection. If you remember Flash at his peak, you likely got nostalgic watching him dominate opponent and opponent. His macro and micro were spot on, and he only lost one series against MC. That series was quickly redeemed as he later swept MC in the deciding match of the group stage. Only facing zerg players tonight, Flash doesn’t need to worry about shenanigans like proxy stargates. With his newfound love of the Thor/Hellbat composition, Flash’s TvZ style has become very strong against opponents that take bad engagements. Combined with his incredible mechanics, he managed to reverse-sweep Snute at IEM by baiting early busts that didn’t straight-up kill him. If Flash keeps up this surge of dominance, it will only be a matter of time before he claims his first GSL championship. Additionally, Flash’s chances of attending Blizzcon have become somewhat realistic following his IEM victory. If he were to win this GSL, it would put him around rank 9-10 with the current standings. 7 days after he started his IEM run, there's still work to be done.

Overall Thoughts and Predictions:
Seeing as Flash is on top of his game at the moment, and that it would be rather funny to see soO be the runner up for a fourth time, this prediction is pretty easy. There's little to suggest DRG has the ability to take out these opponents as he still has a lot to improve on, especially in ZvZ. TRUE is good and perhaps even deserves the benefit of the doubt, but personally I don't think he's 'great' as of yet. As said earlier the difference between a good and a great StarCraft player is small, but it's always the small things that end up being the key to victory.

soO > DRG
TRUE < Flash
soO < Flash
DRG < TRUE
soO > TRUE

Flash and soO advance to the quarter finals.

Writers: Trasko.
Graphics: Meru.
Photo: GOMeXP.
Editor: CosmicSpiral.