3 Men Into the Water,
1 Man Comes Out

by munch

Imagine if you made a film based on a storyline from this year in Starcraft. You could go for SBENU—the old team going on one last mission. Or maybe the Koreans left fighting in WCS—the last surviving defenders, desperately holding down the fort from wave after wave of indigenous attackers. But considering this group, you could do well to look for inspiration from a little Spielberg film released in 1975.

A great white shark has menaced the Starcraft scene throughout the year. While he’s been unable to show much success onscreen against his fellow kin (or against the alien horde), he’s casually munched through terrans left right and centre. He typically prefers the ambush, surprising his prey with sudden attacks from the depths of the fog of war, and has proved equally proficient in the matchup whether stalking a single target or indulging himself at the feeding frenzies that are weekend tournaments. His cocky habit of announcing himself prior to actually getting results, with his telltale fin PartinG the surface, has backfired on occasion, with several example of opponents escaping his grasp due to overconfidence. Will he manage to come out on top this time?



Desperate to rid themselves of this predatory menace, the human race has turned to three heroes. Leading the pack is the gruff old-timer Quint. He’s been a fixture of the community since time immemorial, with plenty of old campaigns showing that he was not a Flash in the pan. Yet times have changed and although his reputation still lingers, he still hasn't delivered on his enormous promise. While it’s possible that the money on offer was the initial clincher which tempted him out of an easier, safer job in more familiar surroundings, in recent times he seems more obsessed with landing the big prize that’s eluded him. His stubborn nature often gets him into trouble, and he’s too reliant on the old methods that brought him victory in the past. His preference for sitting back and waiting for his opponent to exhaust himself pays dividends at times, but any unexpected aggression swings the balance of the game away from him. That unwillingness to change and adapt to the job at hand may end up being his downfall.



Next up we have Hooper. The scientist has struggled to bring INnoVation to the hunt, and his methods have been farcically obsolete in recent times. Early aggression is a key weakness for him, and we’ve seen him panic time and time again when an unexpected shock hits him before he’s ready (such as his recent embarrassment in Taiwan, which left him sending out an sOs distress signal). He’s shown himself to be a survivor. While he’ll occasionally have the odd bone-headed compulsion to try a silly option, he’s always bounced back to relevancy and avoided becoming another statistic in the Starcraft graveyard. Notably he’s been known to clash with Quint, and their inevitable fight should prove to be a welcome addition to the main narrative arc. He’s been impulsive at times, with a habit of going on the offensive extremely early if he feels he’s on top; however, that cockiness has hurt him before.



Finally, stepping into the limelight after all this time is Chief Brody. He’s already clashed with the shark a few times this year and although he was ultimately unsuccessful, he’s gathered his efforts for one more try. While he’s quieter and less celebrated than the two terran titans he’s been grouped with tonight, that lack of results belies his tough, individualistic nature. It may seem like he’s been caught in the firing line between three combatants with bigger roles to play, but he’s certainly shown recently that he’s no DuMi(ho).



Predictions

It’s hard to write off PartinG in a wholly PvT group; he’s made mincemeat of every high-quality terran in Korea with a 46-4 series record during 2015. While he lost to sKyHigh in the previous round, he also beat him convincingly in the revenge match, so we can't write off a year’s worth of results.

Who should accompany him out of the group? INnoVation beat Flash very convincingly in the Round of 32, showing blatant edges in positioning and engagements which eventually snowballed into a dominant beatdown. Meanwhile GuMiho has a 6-1 record in TvT this year in Proleague, with his sole loss coming a couple weeks ago in a Proleague ace match to INnoVation. For his part, Flash can't find his footing in the mirror matchup, demonstrated by beating an off-colour Maru in Proleague before losing to MMA the following week. Despite a solid 64% win rate this year, he's actually 5-9 in TvT in the past four months, and looks likely to drop out of the group in last place.

INnoVation is the safe pick to advance but as is his wont, he’s collapsed under pressure multiple times this year, so I fancy the GuMiBear to pick up the decider match. So in revisionist cinema history, the shark eats Quint and Hooper, before swimming off into the sunset and leaving Brody alive for the sequel.

PartinG > GuMiho
Flash < INnoVation
PartinG > INnoVation
GuMiho > Flash
INnoVation < GuMiho

PartinG and GuMiho to advance to the Round of 8.