EPTGSL Season One
Code S
Fight For the Vacant Throne
Ro16 Group B:
Life, YoDa, TY, Soulkey
Brackets and standings on Liquipedia
Fight For the Vacant Throne
by Destructicon
If you are a fan of terrans and zergs, then rejoice! Group B has plenty of them with the small, but optimistic, chance of an all TvZ night. Given that all these players have their own take on the game, the games should turn out wildly different. We might have a rematch for a shot at the vacant zerg throne.
With his victory at IEM Taipei,
Life obtained his 9th premier tournament and is now tied with 
Mvp in number of vtrophies. Life's form currently looks frightening. He managed to reverse a 3-1 deficit to defeat Maru at IEM; he is one of only 4 players still in the NSSL and GSL; he holds a comfortable 5-4 record in Proleague, including 2 victories in ace matches; being a newly christened KT member, he will be doubly determined to prove his worth. Looking at this group Life should feel secure as he gets to play both his current and historically best matchups. However, Life must not become complacent, as ForGG showed he was still mortal at Dreamhack Winter. For his possible opponents, the biggest lesson that can be drawn is that Life is vulnerable when he can't establish the tempo. Maru and Stats both showed that Life can be beaten, and convincingly at that, if he can't employ his precise midgame attacks.It is intriguing that Life's first opponent is
YoDa, who was once considered to be Mvp's successor. Indeed, after Mvp praised YoDa's skills in the practice house, he went on to win the 2013 IEM World Championship. Since then, YoDa's career has been a veritable roller coaster ride. After leaving IM he struggled for the better part of HoTS, failing to find easy spoils after initially switching WCS EU. For a short time things started to look bright: YoDa found a team in TCM and placed 2nd at 2014 WCS EU Season 3. Shortly afterwards, YoDa was forced to move back to Korea after the WCS 2015 changes were announced. While many dreaded a return to the crucible, YoDa found Korea a place strong in the Force. He quickly found a home on PRIME and racked up a decent 4-4 record in Proleague. YoDa had little trouble establishing his credentials in individual leagues, tearing through 
MyuNgSiK, PenguiN, HerO to qualify for GSL. San and MarineKing proved more valiant enemies, but YoDa also bested them to reach the RO16. A close analysis of his recent victories shows overwhelming success in TvT, but passable results versus zerg. If YoDa wants to advance he'll need to be more than adequate in the matchup. For Life in particular he'll need to work on getting him off his game. He is more than capable of this if he pushes his multitasking and drop capabilities, or he could play it like WWI with his very slow mech turtle style.YoDa's stock seems to be on the rise while
TY's took a recent dip. Getting off to a brilliant start by qualifying for both GSL and NSSL, TY has since faltered in the latter; one of the standout performers of Proleague last year, he has accrued a disappointing 2-4 record so far this round. In his recent showings, TY's strengths and weaknesses have been on full display. In the first round of Code S, meticulously chosen builds granted him leads big enough to ride to the RO16. However, during the NSSL Ro16 we saw what happens when he fails to secure a early lead and it isn't pretty. TY must ensure that he can arrange favorable situations in all his games for while his TvT still seems fairly reliable, his TvZ looks far more shaky. In particular, his style can be boom or bust against Life and Soulkey. Both can be hampered and cut down by an aggressive opponent yet they possess remarkable adaptability and tenacity in bad situations. Should TY fail to capitalize on any early advantages, he could find himself the victim of his own schemes.In a rather odd twist of fate, the last man to enter the group was
Soulkey, the former king of zerg who usurped the throne from Life. A lot has changed for Soulkey since he was the de facto inspiration for the race. After hitting his peak in early-mid 2013, the former ace of Woongjin Stars was forced to find a new home after his team disbanded. While at the time joining SKT1 was an appetizing offer, the move failed to maintain his idiosyncratic success. Soulkey's form dipped until, slowly but surely, he relinquished the honor to soO. However, with all that silver weighing soO down, it seems like Soulkey is starting to regain his old power. He has had a great run at IEM, only losing to TRUE and the eventual finalists Life and Maru. His ZvT has traditionally been very strong and it look close to his old form at the moment. His victims since the beginning of the year include GuMiho, Ryung, KeeN, MarineKing, Polt and jjakji. Overall Soulkey looks better than he has been in years, but he must get out of the group to be a worthy contender for "best zerg".Thoughts and Predictions:
Barring some catastrophic meltdown, Life should advance from this group in first place. His recent form and momentum just look way too good, neither terran is particularly well-equipped to tackle him, and Life beat Soulkey effortlessly at IEM. Second place will likely go to Soulkey. His most recent results are more solid than YoDa and TY's, while his ZvT is more than sufficient to make up for a loss to Life. Sadly, I don't see either YoDa or TY getting past the two zerg juggernauts. They are not TvZ specialists and their opponents rank among the top 3 in ZvT prowess.
Life > YoDa
TY < Soulkey
Life > Soulkey
YoDa < TY
Soulkey > TY
Life and Soulkey to advance.
