The Code S Ro32 has concluded, and the results were remarkable in just how un-remarkably the group stage played out. Nary an upset was to be had, with the favored two players advancing from nearly every group (Scarlett's defeat at the hands of Patience was the only upset of sorts).
Before we move on to the Ro16 group stage, however, we must commence with one of the GSL's most entertaining traditions: The Group Nominations. Once again, progamers will regale us with trash talk, ass-kissing, and villain speeches about their master plans as they attempt to land themselves in the easiest RO16 group possible (check out our recap of the previous season's Group Nominations to get some idea of how the whole convoluted affair works).
Tune in to AfreecaTV on Wednesday, May 16 9:30am GMT (GMT+00:00) for the Group Nominations.
On May 15 2018 06:55 pvsnp wrote: Patience is really the odd man out. Every single one of the other players is already a champion in their own right.
Technically, Patience is too since he won HSC, but all the other players have at least one more considerably impressive trophy to their name.
Patience's HSC title is comparable to soO's KeSPA cup title. They both won 4 series against Koreans along the way (Patience beat Zest twice, so he technically only beat 3 different Koreans).
On May 15 2018 06:55 pvsnp wrote: Patience is really the odd man out. Every single one of the other players is already a champion in their own right.
Technically, Patience is too since he won HSC, but all the other players have at least one more considerably impressive trophy to their name.
Patience's HSC title is comparable to soO's KeSPA cup title. They both won 4 series against Koreans along the way (Patience beat Zest twice, so he technically only beat 3 different Koreans).
I'm pretty sure Zest's biceps are sentient. That makes it 5, not including the rematch.
OP: Sick line-up. Any of them could get to finals, though I don't imagine Patience will unless he is on DH form right nowm
Group A. Maru > (1) Patience > (8) TY > (9) Rogue Group B. soO > (4) Zest > (7) GuMiho > (10) Trap Group C. Dark > (3) Dear > (6) INnoVation > (11) sOs Group D. Stats > (2) ByuN > (5) Solar > (12) Classic
And then as the top seed, Maru will probably switch out Rogue with Solar, so in the end, it will look like this
Group A. Maru > Patience > TY > Solar Group B. soO > Zest > GuMiho > Trap Group C. Dark > Dear > INnoVation > sOs Group D. Stats > ByuN > Rogue > Classic
Prediction 2: The Alternative
INnoVation will choose Classic instead of sOs
Group A. Maru > (1) Patience > (8) TY > (9) Rogue Group B. soO > (4) Zest > (7) GuMiho > (10) Trap Group C. Dark > (3) Dear > (6) INnoVation > (11) Classic Group D. Stats > (2) ByuN > (5) Solar > (12) sOs
And then as the top seed, Maru will probably switch out Rogue with Dear, so in the end, it will look like this
Group A. Maru > Patience > TY > Dear Group B. soO > Zest > GuMiho > Trap Group C. Dark > Rogue > INnoVation > Classic Group D. Stats > ByuN > Solar > sOs
On May 15 2018 08:38 almightytivi wrote: Yes, Zest did it. Barely.
Is ByuN one of the four horsemen? It's been so long since he's been good that I forgot... I remember Artosis saying the 4 horsement + Gumiho...
Sad days... and Scarlett and herO didn't make it...
ByuN is technically one of the Four Horsemen, yes, though he hasn't really lived up to the name. All three of the other Horsemen (Inno, Maru, TY) have won multiple trophies since they got the title in early 2017 and enjoyed a reign as the best player in the world, whereas ByuN peaked at Blizzcon 2016.
In hindsight, Gumiho would've been a better choice than ByuN for the fourth spot, but hindsight is 20/20. Though Gumiho isn't really on the level of Inno/Maru/TY either, so maybe the Four Horsemen should've been the Three Titans or something.
On May 15 2018 08:38 almightytivi wrote: Yes, Zest did it. Barely.
Is ByuN one of the four horsemen? It's been so long since he's been good that I forgot... I remember Artosis saying the 4 horsement + Gumiho...
Sad days... and Scarlett and herO didn't make it...
ByuN is technically one of the Four Horsemen, yes, though he hasn't really lived up to the name. All three of the other Horsemen (Inno, Maru, TY) have won multiple trophies since they got the title in early 2017 and enjoyed a reign as the best player in the world, whereas ByuN peaked at Blizzcon 2016.
In hindsight, Gumiho would've been a better choice than ByuN for the fourth spot, but hindsight is 20/20. Though Gumiho isn't really on the level of Inno/Maru/TY either, so maybe the Four Horsemen should've been the Three Titans or something.
GuMiho isn't on the same level of INnoVation and TY? Look at the Korean WCS standings and say that again. (I'd mention aligulac but it has Serral at #2 when he's not a top 10 player)
On May 15 2018 08:38 almightytivi wrote: Yes, Zest did it. Barely.
Is ByuN one of the four horsemen? It's been so long since he's been good that I forgot... I Remember Artosis saying the 4 horsement + GuMiho...
Sad Days... and Scarlett and HerO didn't make it...
I'm inclined to say he still is, but I've felt his supposed decline in form and the general belief that he just plain sucks now has been pretty overblown. Sure he bombed out in Season 1 this year in two series to Trap, but when you consider his best results in notable tournaments of 2017, I'm not sure if it's enough to justify him dropping out of 4H:
IEM Season XI WC: Ro8, lost 1-3 to Stats, topped his 6 man Round Robin group
GSL S2 2017: Ro8, lost 1-3 to Maru, topped his Ro16 group
GSL S3 2017: Ro8, lost 2-3 to Inno, topped his Ro16 group
IEM Shanghai: Ro4, lost 1-3 to Rogue, beat Trust, Maru, soO
GSL VS The World: beat Serral 3-2, lost 1-3 to Inno
To me, this doesn't exactly seem like the massive slump some are purporting. ByuN actually finished ahead of Maru in the WCS points standings last year. Then again, the whole Four Horseman storyline, while extremely cool sounding, kind of depends on if you think ByuN is just straight up as good as Inno, Maru, and TY. Which is debatable.
On May 15 2018 08:38 almightytivi wrote: Yes, Zest did it. Barely.
Is ByuN one of the four horsemen? It's been so long since he's been good that I forgot... I remember Artosis saying the 4 horsement + Gumiho...
Sad days... and Scarlett and herO didn't make it...
ByuN is technically one of the Four Horsemen, yes, though he hasn't really lived up to the name. All three of the other Horsemen (Inno, Maru, TY) have won multiple trophies since they got the title in early 2017 and enjoyed a reign as the best player in the world, whereas ByuN peaked at Blizzcon 2016.
In hindsight, Gumiho would've been a better choice than ByuN for the fourth spot, but hindsight is 20/20. Though Gumiho isn't really on the level of Inno/Maru/TY either, so maybe the Four Horsemen should've been the Three Titans or something.
GuMiho isn't on the same level of INnoVation and TY? Look at the Korean WCS standings and say that again. (I'd mention aligulac but it has Serral at #2 when he's not a top 10 player)
Gumiho has one top 4 finish in the whole of LoTV. It's safe to say TY and Inno are better. WCS points after only 2-3 tournaments aren't as telling.
On May 15 2018 10:14 Fango wrote: Replace Patience with ByuL and you have a perfect top 16 korea (skill wise). Would have been perfectly balanced as well
If you rank all the players by their series win rates against Koreans in offline Bo3+ during LotV you get the top 16 players among the top 18. The only difference is that herO's (ranked 13) surprise loss in qualifier and Serral (ranked 12 and played only 20 such series, so hard to gauge) didn't try to qualify.
1. Innovation 2. Stats 3. Classic 4. soO 5. Rogue 6. Dark 7. TY 8. sOs 9. Byun 10. Solar 11. Maru 12. Serral 13. herO 14. Dear 15. Trap 16. Gumiho 17. Patience 18. Zest
btw, restricting to the offline and vs Korean only parameters, Innovation is best player of LotV with 64.6% win rate in games, and a whopping 70.5% win rate in Bo3+'s. Stats, however, is the "clutchest" player since his game win rate is only 57.7% while his Bo3+ series win rate is 67.4% (a 9.7% difference)!
EPT
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/Waxangel/GSL/2018/GSL_Code_S_Banner_v2.jpg)
Terran (5): ByuN, Gumiho, Maru, TY, INnoVation
Protoss (7): Classic, Patience, sOs, Trap, Zest, Stats, Dear
Zerg (4): Solar, Rogue, soO, Dark
