Code S' group of death, one of the most stacked groups in the competition's history, was played out on Saturday. Unsurprisingly, but still impressively, INnoVation confirmed his status as the current best player in the world by advancing out of the group in first place. soO gave him little trouble, as a simple hellbat push bopped the Zerg in their first game and a strong midgame timing on Newkirk sealed the series.
Classic, who had convincingly beaten Dark 2-0, gave him a better run for his money, almost breaking him on Cactus Valley with a powerful 2/2 timing attack that was only barely held. Classic struck back with the currently popular 7gate adept all-in to tie up the series, but INnoVation clinched his spot on Daybreak with a tank push.
soO, who looked outdone in his first series, came back impressively to take second place in the group. Once again he proved the better ZvZer in his series against Dark, with both games revolving around sharp roach timings. Classic again put up a strong fight, taking the first game with a big three base timing attack on Whirlwind. soO however strung together one important hold after another against Classic's very pressure-oriented playstyle and eventually managed to break through the Protoss defenses on Echo. Their deciding match on Cactus Valley was decided by soO's teching to lurkers and destroying Classic's economy, then holding on against a last ditch all-in.
Classic looked awesome, really well prepared but execution let him down a bit in the series against INnoVation and soO. Still would have warranted a top 8 spot against almost any other opposition ;(
Classic's games were so sick. But alas, it was not meant to be. I really thought he had Innovation on Cactus Valley. But Inno's macro was just too good. Classic couldn't even break the entrance.
All in all, insane games today. This season is shaping up to be amazing.
I just wanna point out that soO scouting classic attempting to take a hidden expo really sealed the deal. Classic probably stays in the game had that not been scouted, And i can only guess that soO knew to do that so quickly because they were team mates for so long and classic probably tends to take hidden expos when he gets behind. Well done.
Classic was really impressive, sad we won't see him in the quarterfinals. But I had a blast watching the games - the FreecUp Studio was fired up today.
According to soO's interview, the SKT coaching staff had emphasized scouting for hidden bases - apparently it's a habit drilled into him from the SKT days.
Classic was really good, but lacked in getting more splash. Too focused on winning soon. Dark showed the experimental play that he has been using on his stream. It's either too greedy or sub-optimal. I think Dark needs more help with fine-tuning his play. soO, on the other hand, played as expected. He isn't the best at the game, but he sure can adapt tactics and strategy in order to win.
On February 11 2017 22:21 Wallenberg wrote: I had my alarm set on 05:37 and by then Dark just had lost 2 games in 7-8 mins?! I missed the games how was them?
Inno is such a monster. Inno vs TY could be interesting :D
Classic beat him down hard. First game he faked an immortal all-in and took a third, then went with a delayed version. Second game he hit a three base timing with archons, sentries, immortals and huge adept numbers. His forcefields were perfect and he split his units really well against banelings. Just really great by Classic.
EPT
INnoVation confirmed his status as the current best player in the world by advancing out of the group in first place. 
soO gave him little trouble, as a simple hellbat push bopped the Zerg in their first game and a strong midgame timing on Newkirk sealed the series. 
Classic, who had convincingly beaten 
