Code S RO16
Group C: Dark, Classic, Trap, TY

by Destructicon

- TL_Destructicon

Last week, four players fought their way into the GSL Code S quarterfinals. This week, it's time to complete the playoff bracket as Korea's best StarCraft II players fight it out in the two remaining round-of-sixteen groups. First up, we have Group C, where 2018's crownless kings must once again prove their mettle.


Group C has so much star power that it threatens collapse in on itself. It wouldn't be a surprise to see any of these players survive or be eliminated, and all the group outcomes seem equally possible.

We start out with a battle of this year’s silver surfers. While it isn’t entirely fair to label Classic as such, given his championships in the WCS, SSL and IEM, all those came during 2014-2015. Our most recent memory of Classic is as the hottest player of the 2018 "pre-season," who came up short against Rogue during the IEM Katowice grand finals. Similarly, Dark walking the road of the Kong is just something we’ve come to accept at this point. He already has two second place finishes this year, falling to Maru at WESG and Stats in the GSL Super Tournament. His prior SSL championship is taking on a similar nature as soO's KeSPA Cup Trophy: a championship we conveniently ignore so we can further the narrative of tragic failure.

While it seems like a whimsical joke of the fates that Classic and Dark's paths would meet, it's actually the result of cold hard logic. As the #3 seed during the Group Nominations, Dark used his draft pick to go directly after Classic. Dark has taken out Classic at key moments in big tournaments, eliminating him from both WESG 2017 Main Event and the GSL Super Tournament (Classic did defeat Dark in the WESG Asia final).

The choice still feels like a risk—a calculated one—but still a risk nonetheless. While PvZ is the match-up in which Classic has shown the most weakness, he has also displayed a capacity to improve and overcome his shortcomings. He has already asserted his dominance in PvT and PvP, and has won big GSL matches against the likes of Maru and sOs. With a wealth of games against Dark to study, not only his own but those of other Protoss players, Classic is well situated to exact revenge for this year’s hardship at the hands of the Swarm.

On the other side of the group, the pairing of TY and Trap have also had eerily similar experiences in 2018. Both reached the RO16 in Code S Season 1, both reached the RO8 of IEM Katowice, and both have left us feeling they're not reaching their potential. IEM was a wasted opportunity for both players, with Trap blowing a 2-0 lead against Serral, while TY let several in-game advantages slip in a loss to Rogue.

While you wouldn’t think of it at first, TY and Trap are a lot more stylistically similar than you'd expect. Both players are comfortable playing standard games, intelligently playing StarCraft the "right" way. Meanwhile, they're both highly calculated in their use of cheese, sneaking it into their strong, standard-play at the moment where it can have maximum impact. They may not be the first players that come to mind when you think "championship contender," but they're dangerous wild-cards that can't be slept on.

As they meet now, at the crossroads between relevance and obscurity, Trap has been surging in online competition, while finishing his first in his RO32 with a clean, strong performance. Meanwhile, TY hasn't given us many results to go on, besides his Code S RO32 performance. Yet, he was picked second-to-last during the Group Nominations, and we must believe his peers fear him for a reason.

Predictions

The RO32 had barely any upsets, but Groups A & B of the RO16 reminded us to keep an open mind. In any case, Group C was already really hard to predict to begin with. Dark and Classic have been fantastic all year, and their lack of championships doesn't take away from that. Furthermore, TY and Trap have enormous "I TOLD YOU SO" potential, with their middling results belying their true skill level. This seems like right place to go with an unconventional prediction.

Dark 1 – 2 Classic
Trap 2 – 1 TY
Trap 1 – 2 Classic
Dark 2 – 1 TY
Trap 2 – 1 Dark

Classic and Trap to advance.