EPTGSL Ro.16 Predictions
Just a few weeks ago, we at Teamliquid revived a fan favorite. Power rankings have long been a lightning rod for discussion. After all, nothing beats fans going at it over who is best; except for uniting those warring fans against the Team Liquid writers, of course. And so, with Power Rankings having already made their return, it only seemed fair that we give the other fan favorite its time in the spotlight, predictions. We know, you can scarcely believe it. So instead of wasting words on hype, we’ll just right into it. Without further ado, here they are, predictions for the 2017 GSL Season 3 Round of 16.
Group A
The opening match between
GuMiho and INnoVation is perhaps the toughest one to call in Group A. INnoVation has been on fire as of late, but the two elite Terrans have played seven times since May 9, with GuMiho winning the last six, including a 3-2 in Master’s Coliseum just a few days ago. INnoVation may be the objectively better player, but look for GuMiho’s success to continue as he moves on to the winner’s match. The next match is far less competitive. 
Solar has been fumbling lately and should be easy picking for aLive, who quietly finished fifth in SSL Premier Season 1 despite forfeiting away a likely victory to Patience (who only went 3-5 in matches he did play). aLive will not be able to build on that victory, however, as GuMiho’s superior class will shine through, making the defending champion the first quarterfinalist. Solar will suffer another defeat at INnoVation’s hand, setting up a third TvT to end the group. Again, INnoVation will favored on paper, but aLive defeated him in the Super Tournament and IEM Katowice and will repeat that feat, eliminating INnoVation from the tournament and temporarily silencing the cries of bonjwa.GuMiho 2-1 INnoVation
aLive 2-0 Solar
GuMiho 2-1 aLive
INnoVation 2-0 Solar
aLive 2-0 INnoVation
GuMiho and aLive advance!Group B
Protoss make their Round of 16 debut with Group B.
herO has some of the best PvT in the world, with an 8-3 mark in matches since the beginning of July. He’ll make easy work of ByuN on his way to the winner’s match. sOs was one of the biggest surprises of the Round of 32, topping his group despite being viewed as completely out of form. That positive result should be difficult to duplicate against Bunny, who looked very solid against Dear in his own Round 32 group. herO will glide through his second consecutive PvT while ByuN will dispatch sOs in the loser’s match, setting up another TvT decider match. The two Terran haven’t played one another since April and, while ByuN is the bigger name, Bunny has looked imperious in SSL Challenge. Figure him to keep the momentum going, knocking the 2016 Blizzcon champ out of the event.herO 2-1 ByuN
Bunny 2-0 sOs
herO 2-1 Bunny
ByuN 2-0 sOs
Bunny 2-1 ByuN
herO and Bunny advance!Group C
The second of three groups featuring three of one race, Group C starts with a ZvZ between
soO and Dark. soO owns a 13-4 record in the maps (6-1 in matches) between former teammates, so expect him to add to that gaudy total. Rogue meanwhile is in incredible form. He should keep things rolling against Classic. The winner’s match between soO and Rogue features the most prolific ZvZ’er of all time against the best ZvZ player of 2016, Rogue. Rogue holds the advantage in lifetime matches, but soO beat him last time around and should do so again, sending him to a third straight quarterfinal. Dark and Classic avoided each other in the Round of 16 during Season 1, but they’ll have no choice but to do battle with their tournament lives on the line this time around. Dark has exceptional ZvP and holds a 4-1 series record against Classic in 2017, a margin he will widen to four. Having defeated his former teammate, Dark will find himself in murkier waters. Dark’s weakness has always been his ZvZ, something Rogue will exploit. Expect a bloodbath as Rogue becomes the second Zerg to reach the Round of 8.soO 2-0 Dark
Rogue 2-0 Classic
soO 2-1 Rogue
Dark 2-0 Classic
Rogue 2-0 Dark
soO and Rogue advance!Group D
The last group of the Round of 16 kicks off with the heavily favored
Stats taking on Hurricane. Stats has looked shaky over the past month or so, posting a 15-11 record in matches since the start of July. Despite his struggles, he should easily take care of the inferior Protoss. TY will do the same against Patience. The winner’s match will be a more balanced matchup. Stats has struggled with INnoVation as of late, but should have no such troubles against TY, who is recovering from an abominable showing in the GSL vs The World finals. Patience will regain his footing with a win over Hurricane before meeting TY for the second time. Patience has made strides as of late in PvT (winning six of his last seven matches), but has struggled since April against players not named jjakji (he is 4-0 in matches against him, but 16-23 in games against all other Terrans). He will revert to old form and fall to TY for the second time on the day, adding another disappointing result to a year that has failed to follow up on the promise of 2016, while also sending TY on to the next stage.Stats 2-0 Hurricane
TY 2-0 Patience
Stats 2-1 TY
Patience 2-1 Hurricane
TY 2-1 Patience
Stats and TY advance!As always, we at Teamliquid cannot wait for our predictions to be put under the microscope and dissected. Please reply to let us know why we were wrong or why you know better. With the Round of 16 starting on August 16, there’s plenty of time to figure out definitively who should beat who.
