This is it. The Clash of Titans. The Rumble of Giants. The Group of Death. This perfectly crafted group of these top, well-known powerhouses from each of their respective races has us wanting, nay, expecting some of the best games of StarCraft we have seen this year. If each of these players show up in top form, those games will happen. It's hard for any tournament to rival a group like the one we had just the other week - Stats, ByuL, Maru, Zest - in quality, but this one might.
Like the previous group, we want to see all of them proceed to the Round of 8 but unfortunately, that will obviously not happen. It is really hard for me to say which two players I'd rather see leave the group and differentiate that from which two players I predict will most likely leave the group. It's a really hard choice and one I'd rather not make, but I'm sure you will agree it has to be this way.
So let's instead stay in the land of daydreams for a little while longer and talk about the games we wish to be most hyped for. Here's a little ranking of potential greatness each series can achieve.
This will be THE match of the night, should it occur; we all want to watch the MacroMachine™ Terran and He-Who-Always-Finds-A-Way duke it out in single combat. INnoVation seems to be getting back to his extraordinary best, and Life is struggling to keep his time under the sun at the top of his world, but has map advantages. By the way, these two have developed somewhat of a rivalry. Both players have risen to the top of their game for their respective race, but INnoVation seems to always be one step ahead. From the start of their progaming careers until now, INnoVation is up 6-5 in matches against Life. We hope to see both players pull out all the stops, mix it up with some macro, some surprise rushes, see some awesome plays, all in the name of besting the other to show who of them deserves a shot at the championship. Can Life even the score, or will INnoVation gain an even larger lead against his rival titan?
We all know how good Life is in basically all matchups, but where he statistically shines at is ZvZ. Life will not get to play ZvZ in this entire group, which means sOs has a chance. However, allow me to backtrack, as this sounds like I'm saying sOs is not a great player in his own right. sOs is #17 in world Aligulac rating after all for a reason: he's one of the best Protoss players in the world, which makes this match up a worthy watch. If INnoVation vs. Life is the clash of Terran and Zerg titans, this would be the Zerg and Protoss version. The problem with sOs is that he is not very consistent in his ability to defeat the top players of the other two races - he did recently all kill a strong CJ lineup, but has yet to follow it up - but the way he plays shows us that he has a very unique way of thinking about the game. This unorthodoxy gives him a better chance to beat better players than him than most could. Prepare for a most creative ZvP series which will certainly not disappoint.
With the aforementioned unorthodox way sOs looks at, thinks about, and plays StarCraft, sOs also has a chance to pull a fast one over INnoVation should this matchup occur. Also helping the case for sOs is that PvT is statistically his best matchup. INnoVation, however, consistently crushes sOs as of late. Fun fact however: sOs beat INnoVation in his first official StarCraft II match debut. And while that has little to do with recent results, it's nice memorabilia at least. What would be way better for sOs though is a win against a top class opponent who's looking in strong form.
Just a few weeks ago, we'd have probably put this match at the very top. But the fact is that neither player is at their absolute best right now. herO and Life have both been struggling against the very best of the best as of late, and will need to show better form in this group if they're to advance - and if they're to entertain us in their encounter.
One of these guys likes SCV pulls. The other is very good at holding SCV pulls. I'm expecting SCV pulls that may or may not work.
Predictions:
To put it laconically: We will be sorely disappointed if great games do not come about at all on this day. It's what we're expecting and hope for with every iota of passion in our little nerd hearts.
herO < INnoVation Life > sOs INnoVation > Life herO < sOs sOs < Life
This is beyond death, this is.... THE GROUP OF CHAMPIONS 19 Premier TOTAL 1st place, even in their worst form, they are contenders at any moment. Just 2-0 can be very disappointing, at the same time, these players are that great. This group will help us determine who goes to Blizzcon and who will struggle to get there,(INNO and $o$ needs this league). I am excited no matter how the games are played!
On July 30 2015 04:55 omcritzy wrote: This is beyond death, this is.... THE GROUP OF CHAMPIONS 19 Premier TOTAL 1st place, even in their worst form, they are contenders at any moment. Just 2-0 can be very disappointing, at the same time, these players are that great. This group will help us determine who goes to Blizzcon and who will struggle to get there,(INNO and $o$ needs this league). I am excited no matter how the games are played!
Yeah, it's sort of unfortunate that Life has cooled off a bit and that INnoVation and sOs aren't in top form. I predict Life and sOs will advance, however.
Life (a.k.a king of lings) = 3 times GSL champion, Blizzcon world champion, multiple other 1st places in premier tournament Innovation (a.k.a. the machine) = GSL champion, WCS global finals champion herO = IEM Prince, Kespa cup champion sOs = Blizzcon world champion, IEM World Champion, hot6ix champion
If by achievement, Life and sOs should go through If by current form, Life and Innovation should go through
Life looked shaky against Trap in Code A, especially when trying to handle the weirder stuff that Trap threw at him. He'll need to play significantly better tomorrow to beat sOs I think.
herO's real struggles lately have been against Zerg, and with the only Zerg in the group also having a bit of trouble in the match-up I think herO has a good chance of getting out of the group.
I cheer for sOs, but he is not in his best form ... herO neither ... he has maybe a chance to beat herO, but noone else :-( I agree with the predictions, except of herO INnoVation, where I have no idea ...
Both sOs and Life are known to be slighltly more agressive and cheesy than other top kr players, in contrast to INnoVation and herO - the macro gods with solid late game. Since this group is likely to be decided with BO decisions, the thing that worries me most is that with more macro oriented playstyle from Life which we've seen lately, he may be a little rusty in quick shaky games, in which he shined in the past. As we all know, Life's form isn't great and with sOs preparing some builds to crack him down early, there will be very little margin left for errors. And sOs can prepare, oh that's for sure. I hope Life will once again overcome the toughest obstacles with ease, dancing zerglings on opponent's ramp and laughing his ass off in the boot, but this group is so ridiculously hard, that even 0-4 in maps would not be a big suprise or upset.
Inno is going to be S2SL, GSL and Blizzcon champion in a row so no time to waste today quick 4-0 Don't care who is going to be 2nd let the scrubs fight in a mud fight
Innovation to go through. sOs/Life are least likely, imo, with herO being most likely. sOs and Life are looking less than amazing, but both are still perfectly capable of going through. Despite Innovation looking pretty bad 2-3 months ago, his performance in various qualifiers has been insane. Just look at this Aligulac page. It's insane. Rogue, TY, Zest, Life, Dark, Super, Dear, sOs, Rogue (again), Dark (again), Classic, Trap. Like, He's been annihilating people right and left. His losses came from Classic (1-2 in bo3), Dream (1-2 in bo3), and Maru (0-1 in bo1) which are like, all legit players.
Innovation is once again, looking top-tier. herO is looking alright, but his results are a little bit less impressive.
Man I'm frustrated with life's performance. I love the guy but jeez he needs to be more dynamic if your behind against a mech. Nydus, drop? Go everywhere as much as u can! At least try and make one huge drop or nydus in the t main or a mining base..
and it's not even about who's going to advance, it's more about who's going to be dropped out -- taking away any two players of this group is such a loss!
EPT
INnoVation vs. 
Life
sOs
.
I HAD TO 
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/8W14M0e.png)
