It's only the first week of January and we're already braced for a lot of changes for 2016. Starcraft II Starleague will be no different as it debuts a new format for the year. Instead of the traditional group stage for the Ro16, the entire tournament will be held in a bracket format, with the Top 4 players competing in a round robin to decide the finalists. It's an unconventional format that has pros and cons—just as any format—and it will be interesting to see whether it ends up creating more or defusing the hype leading towards the tail end of the season.
Prepare to explain this thing at least 50 times per LR thread
What's certain is that the Korean SC2 scene just got even more unforgiving. With only two seasons announced so far and no room for error in SSL, only the most consistent players will rise to the top. Throw in the fact that LotV's still very raw and unpredictable and, well, who knows what's going to happen.
No Excuses
SKT T1 INnoVation
CJ RagnaroK
Legacy of the Void competitive record: INnoVation: 19-9 (11-3 in TvZ) RagnaroK: 45-36 (19-12 in ZvT)
After a humbling, KeSPA Jail-worthy showing in the Nation Wars final last Sunday, it’s going to be very interesting to see how INnoVation performs tonight. While he was certainly by far the best performing member of the Korean trident throughout the competition, his capitulation in the finals will still live long in the memory. There have been plenty of excuses banded around—that playing at 6am on no sleep is hardly ideal; that it was played online; that this upcoming SSL match may have been rated as far more important—but, fact is, he should have been expected to win. Six years down the line from the release of Wings of Liberty, we’ve become used to Koreans dominating online and offline, regardless of time or location. Even last year, we saw Cure emerge victorious in the IEM Katowice Qualifiers after a marathon 18 hour session across all three regions.
However, it is difficult to judge anyone’s strength in such a new game, and this will be his first televised game in TvZ against Korean opposition. Nation Wars suggested that he’s maintained his traditional strength against zerg, reverting to a bio-tank style in victories over Elazer and Nerchio in the semifinals, managing to overcome initial setbacks on both occasions. In those two matches, neither zerg opted for much harassment; Elazer gambling on an ineffective roach/ravager push, while Nerchio preferred to rush to hive, before botching the decisive engagements. It’s telling that the one win Nerchio picked off featured a roach rush, and perhaps the SKT terran’s weakness in the early game has remained. It remains to be seen how a stronger player might hit with sharper timings, or engage more effectively into a mass siege tank line.
For RagnaroK too, the new expansion seems to be a case of ‘same old story’. He’s forever been a player tipped to become a quality performer in Korea ever since his early days on TSL, endlessly promising without ever achieving, and a career spent lurking on the fringes of Code A / Code S has undoubtedly featured more setbacks than glory. His top six placement at MLG Anaheim threatened to be the moment from which he could kick on to solidify his spot in the Korean hierarchy, but it’s been 18 months since that one outlier. However, his run in the qualifier bracket (beating Leenock, Dream and Life) has given him a spot in the top sixteen of this first truncated season of the SSL—further than he’s ever been in the past. Get past INnoVation here, and a spot in the dual elimination bracket would be temptingly close.
Unfortunately for him, his ZvT results suggest that he’s still struggling to break out of his shell. He’s generally beaten everyone you’d expect, while losing to superior terrans (Sorry, ByuN, Reality). The one exception is Dream, but that terran’s mediocre TvZ on the whole (45% win rate in 2015 HotS) has been masked by those transcendent displays against Life. RagnaroK will certainly have to show us a higher level of play than we've previously seen to reach the top 8.
Predictions:
Frankly, this is all on INnoVation. Perform up to scratch and it’s pretty unlikely that he loses here. Experience another mind melt, though, and who knows what could happen, especially in a mere best of three. A quick pair of roach rushes / nydus plays could work wonders.
Can we stop using stupid workarounds and call SSL [SSL] in news now that Sonic Starleague is no more? I'm tired of guessing whether it will be called 3SL, S2SL or whatever else next time.
On January 06 2016 18:01 necrosexy wrote: please add 'loser semis' and 'loser finals' labels. i think that would help
It's a round robin though, that is not to say its a point system vs win win lose lose system.
Player 1 vs 2 vs 3 vs 4 etc or is it player 1 vs 2 vs winner 3 or 4 because to me that isn't round robin style so all will be revealed in ermm March? When we get that far in the bracket.
On January 06 2016 18:01 necrosexy wrote: please add 'loser semis' and 'loser finals' labels. i think that would help
It's a round robin though, that is not to say its a point system vs win win lose lose system.
Player 1 vs 2 vs 3 vs 4 etc or is it player 1 vs 2 vs winner 3 or 4 because to me that isn't round robin style so all will be revealed in ermm March? When we get that far in the bracket.
Round robin is everyone vs everyone, that bracket is not round robin, it's double elimination. So either the bracket has to change or it's not a round robin.
That writeup about ByuN and soO was marvelous. Also yet again the terrans seem to be almost extinct in the Korean leagues! Feels like 2014 all over again.
On January 06 2016 18:01 necrosexy wrote: please add 'loser semis' and 'loser finals' labels. i think that would help
It's a round robin though, that is not to say its a point system vs win win lose lose system.
Player 1 vs 2 vs 3 vs 4 etc or is it player 1 vs 2 vs winner 3 or 4 because to me that isn't round robin style so all will be revealed in ermm March? When we get that far in the bracket.
Round robin is everyone vs everyone, that bracket is not round robin, it's double elimination. So either the bracket has to change or it's not a round robin.
On January 06 2016 19:16 herMan wrote: That writeup about ByuN and soO was marvelous. Also yet again the terrans seem to be almost extinct in the Korean leagues! Feels like 2014 all over again.
Just in SSL. There's a a lot of Terrans in Code A. They just had a bad day/map pool/bracket luck in the SSL qualifiers.
On January 06 2016 19:16 herMan wrote: That writeup about ByuN and soO was marvelous. Also yet again the terrans seem to be almost extinct in the Korean leagues! Feels like 2014 all over again.
Just in SSL. There's a a lot of Terrans in Code A. They just had a bad day/map pool/bracket luck in the SSL qualifiers.
well tbf most of the terrans that qualified for code A only had to win 1 bo3 ... that's doable. :p
as for SSL is it now that top 4 players get into a group stage and top players go to the grand final?
On January 06 2016 19:16 herMan wrote: That writeup about ByuN and soO was marvelous. Also yet again the terrans seem to be almost extinct in the Korean leagues! Feels like 2014 all over again.
Just in SSL. There's a a lot of Terrans in Code A. They just had a bad day/map pool/bracket luck in the SSL qualifiers.
well tbf most of the terrans that qualified for code A only had to win 1 bo3 ... that's doable. :p
Well Code A also has way more participants than SSL so that makes sense.
Finaly we have some weekly Korean Stracraft again. So excited. But really disappointing that they use Bo3 instead of Bo5, especially since they only broadcast 2 matches per day.
I hate the new format. Better than no korean sc2, but quite disappointing nonetheless.
On January 06 2016 22:12 fLyiNgDroNe wrote: umm... can anyone briefly explain/post a link to the meaning of kespa jail? hard to understand this article without knowing this
Kespa jail refers mostly to Kespa being very strict about their rules (like dqing players for pausing the wrong way or similar incidents) In the case of Byun it is mostly used because we really didn't see him at all in the last year or so (offline that is). People then made the joke of him surely being in "Kespa Jail".
On January 06 2016 22:57 Ansibled wrote: I really don't understand why Ro16 isn't Bo5.
Yeah bo3 will be over in like 20 minutes if we are unlucky. Last year i thought SSL will overthrow GSL quite easily, i guess that's not going to happen now with this format, etc -.-
Not even gonna lie, this year proleague (infos PLSSSSS) will be by far the most exciting sc2 tournament if they don't have bad surprises too.
I wonder why people think this format is better for the scene and game?
It reminds me of the challenger round changing from groups to the single player best of 5 format.
All terrible decisions.I honestly can't remember the last time someone with power made a good decision about the sc2 scene.
In group stage you get to play more people, which means you are tested better, the better player comes out on top. In a single player bracket you might get matched with a someone who's play style is just awkward for you, but then that is it.
Idk, am I the only one that thinks groups stages are a better test of a player instead of this?
Edit: and PS... Why would anyone play for only 30 min of games :D ? Am I right?
yes i love this format. always thought more emphasis should be put on the semifinalists. this even beats my idea to have the semis bo7 like the finals.
On January 07 2016 00:44 mishimaBeef wrote: yes i love this format. always thought more emphasis should be put on the semifinalists. this even beats my idea to have the semis bo7 like the finals.
On January 07 2016 00:29 ShambhalaWar wrote: I wonder why people think this format is better for the scene and game?
It reminds me of the challenger round changing from groups to the single player best of 5 format.
All terrible decisions.I honestly can't remember the last time someone with power made a good decision about the sc2 scene.
In group stage you get to play more people, which means you are tested better, the better player comes out on top. In a single player bracket you might get matched with a someone who's play style is just awkward for you, but then that is it.
Idk, am I the only one that thinks groups stages are a better test of a player instead of this?
Edit: and PS... Why would anyone play for only 30 min of games :D ? Am I right?
Im fine with the SSL format. More difference between the GSL and SSL format now. They should just make the Ro16 Bo5 and semifinals Bo7.
What I really dislike is the Code A format. It's really boring to have just one Bo5. Old Code A format with Up and Down groups was cool and much more interessting to follow. It was also better for the players as they had more opportunities and exposure. I hope we get that back some day.
On January 07 2016 00:29 ShambhalaWar wrote: I wonder why people think this format is better for the scene and game?
It reminds me of the challenger round changing from groups to the single player best of 5 format.
All terrible decisions.I honestly can't remember the last time someone with power made a good decision about the sc2 scene.
In group stage you get to play more people, which means you are tested better, the better player comes out on top. In a single player bracket you might get matched with a someone who's play style is just awkward for you, but then that is it.
Idk, am I the only one that thinks groups stages are a better test of a player instead of this?
Edit: and PS... Why would anyone play for only 30 min of games :D ? Am I right?
Im fine with the SSL format. More difference between the GSL and SSL format now. They should just make the Ro16 Bo5 and semifinals Bo7.
What I really dislike is the Code A format. It's really boring to have just one Bo5. Old Code A format with Up and Down groups was cool and much more interessting to follow. It was also better for the players as they had more opportunities and exposure. I hope we get that back some day.
I'm kind of torn, because it gives us a chance to see how players cope with series play. Especially with players who never crack the top 8, it's cool to see how they have planning ability in a Bo5 (good example is Blaze's 3-2 win over Trap in S2 last year).
On the other hand, I would be a big fan of reverting Code A to tournament format. It would give us more competition for the mid tier in Korea, which is something that we desperately need. A system where losers in Code A go into a sister competition with a much reduced prize pool, and Code S seeds for the next season for the top 4, say, would be great
On January 07 2016 00:29 ShambhalaWar wrote: I wonder why people think this format is better for the scene and game?
It reminds me of the challenger round changing from groups to the single player best of 5 format.
All terrible decisions.I honestly can't remember the last time someone with power made a good decision about the sc2 scene.
In group stage you get to play more people, which means you are tested better, the better player comes out on top. In a single player bracket you might get matched with a someone who's play style is just awkward for you, but then that is it.
Idk, am I the only one that thinks groups stages are a better test of a player instead of this?
Edit: and PS... Why would anyone play for only 30 min of games :D ? Am I right?
Im fine with the SSL format. More difference between the GSL and SSL format now. They should just make the Ro16 Bo5 and semifinals Bo7.
What I really dislike is the Code A format. It's really boring to have just one Bo5. Old Code A format with Up and Down groups was cool and much more interessting to follow. It was also better for the players as they had more opportunities and exposure. I hope we get that back some day.
Up and Down groups always felt incredibly volatile. You usually ended up with matches involving one player who is already eliminated and one who absolutely needed the win.
On January 07 2016 00:29 ShambhalaWar wrote: I wonder why people think this format is better for the scene and game?
It reminds me of the challenger round changing from groups to the single player best of 5 format.
All terrible decisions.I honestly can't remember the last time someone with power made a good decision about the sc2 scene.
In group stage you get to play more people, which means you are tested better, the better player comes out on top. In a single player bracket you might get matched with a someone who's play style is just awkward for you, but then that is it.
Idk, am I the only one that thinks groups stages are a better test of a player instead of this?
Edit: and PS... Why would anyone play for only 30 min of games :D ? Am I right?
Im fine with the SSL format. More difference between the GSL and SSL format now. They should just make the Ro16 Bo5 and semifinals Bo7.
What I really dislike is the Code A format. It's really boring to have just one Bo5. Old Code A format with Up and Down groups was cool and much more interessting to follow. It was also better for the players as they had more opportunities and exposure. I hope we get that back some day.
Up and Down groups always felt incredibly volatile. You usually ended up with matches involving one player who is already eliminated and one who absolutely needed the win.
The system could obviously be tweaked but like crazymunchkin said, a competition/tournament for lesser known or inexperienced players would be very good for the scene. They would have the opportunity to earn experience and some money while also having something to practice for instead of not having any tournaments for a few months.
EPT![[image loading]](/staff/lichter/SSL/2016/brkt.jpg)
INnoVation 2 - 0 
RagnaroK![[image loading]](/staff/lichter/SSL/2016/soobyun01.jpg)
![[image loading]](/staff/lichter/SSL/2016/soobyun02.jpg)
![[image loading]](/staff/lichter/SSL/2016/soobyun03.jpg)
so all will be revealed in ermm March? When we get that far in the bracket.
why SSL whyyyyyyyyyyy
