Dark and Classic prevailed on the first day of the round of eight, setting up another clash between the two frenemies. Now it's time to see who will be joining them in the Code S semifinals.
Rivalries are an interesting phenomenon in any esport, usually occurring whenever two players or teams, evenly matched and in their prime clash several times in high stakes situations. Rivalries, unfortunately, aren’t always very long lasting as one side's performance will inevitably dip due to the forces of time.
Dear’s form fell greatly after his two-championship run in 2013. Occasionally he’d manage to recapture some of his old mojo just long enough to make a top four run in Code S or SSL. However, he never came close to recovering the form from his absolute peak when he was briefly the best player in the world. Prior to 2018, Maru had a tumultuous career of his own, with a single SSL championship interrupting years of erratic form. When the two would occasionally cross paths, it evoked fond memories of the past. Yet, the games themselves could only disappoint in comparison to those rose-tinted expectations. The white-hot rivalry had cooled into a lump of slag.
However, recent circumstances offer a glimmer of hope, that against all odds, this old rivalry might roar back to life in 2019.
Dear has impressed so far in 2019, reaching the RO8 of both IEM and Code S with wins against top-tier opponents such as Dark, soO and TY. But we've seen those kind of performances from Dear in the past. What makes this rematch with Maru so intriguing is that Dear is in the midst of a ludicrous PvT winning streak, winning his last 10 matches with a perfect map score of 20-0. Some of his opponents were on the softer side, such as Brat_OK and FanTaSy. But his list of victims also includes players such as TY, Bunny, and even Maru himself. It's hard to point to one thing Dear is doing right in the match-up—one could even argue that his mechanics aren't as crisp as some of his peers. But he just seems to know what the right decision is in any given situation, whether it's to go for a basetrade, divert some of his units for a backdoor attack, make Phoenixes to counter Starport tricks, or just be conservative and let his opponent impale himself on the defenses. At this very moment, it's hard to argue that Dear isn't the best PvT player in the world. That's one condition fulfilled for this rivalry to live again.
It's less clear cut if Maru can live up to his side of the bargain. The ultra-dominant Maru of 2018 seems long gone. While he did crush his Code S RO32 group (wins against RagnaroK and herO), he then took second place in a RO16 group that he had hand-crafted to give himself the best chance of advancement. He suffered a shock defeat to Bunny in the winners' match, and was a Nydus away from being eliminated by Impact in the group decider match.
IEM Katowice was even worse for Maru, where he lost to Leenock, Trap, and Neeb during the RO24 group stage to miss out on the playoffs. While he got a more acceptable result at WESG with a third place finish, the process was far from convincing. He gave up a shocking upset to MeomaikA during the group stage, and was handily beaten by INnoVation in the semifinals. Though Maru won the third-place match against Scarlett, the 3-2 scoreline left us with more questions than answers about his level.
Thus, the case for Maru is based almost entirely on belief. We want to believe that he is not content to rest on his laurels, that he has been deeply shamed by his failures at IEM and WESG, and that he will defend his last remaining territory of GSL Code S with his all his strength. If all that happens to be the case, then we might see this rivalry restored to its former glory.
Prediction
I recall giving Dear the TL curse in one of last year's Code S previews, where I predicted he’d manage to get the better of his old rival and eliminate him from the Ro16. I’m far more confident in his abilities this year, and coupled with Maru’s particularly shaky form, I think Dear will get his revenge in Code S.
Maru 2 – 3 Dear
Quarterfinal #4: Trap vs TY
by Orlok
The championship picture in the GSL can seem repetitive at times, an outcome of the same people playing the same game for years. Despite this, the veterans of the GSL continue to toil toward achieving their dream of upending the established order and earning a championship opportunity.
Enter Trap, the old workhorse of the Jin Air squad. As one of the most star-crossed players in recent memory, Trap has been stuck with the image of being a perennial choker. You wouldn think that couldn't happen to a major championship winner (MLG Anaheim 2014), but Trap's reputation has been marred by years of Code S group stage eliminations ever since. Sometimes he can play like the best Protoss in Korea—his victory against Dark in the playoffs of last year's IEM Katowice comes readily to mind. But when it comes time to play that Code S RO16 decider match, nothing seems to go right. Trap is no ordinary mediocre—he's mediocre by the average of his wildly varying play.
Well, at long last, we’ve now arrived at a place where Trap has returned to the GSL Code S playoffs. While his road wasn’t as dominant or forceful compared to some other players players, he still got the job done. In particular, Trap's dismantling of INnoVation in the RO16 showed just how good he can be when he's hitting his stride. INnoVation, despite coming off a big win at WESG, looked like he was inside the palm of Trap's hand, and was every bit the inferior player in the series. Following that win with a tight victory against sOs, Trap reached the promise land. All eyes will be on Trap to see how far his newfound momentum can carry him.
Unfortunately for Trap, reaching the playoffs only means he's going to face ever more difficult opponents. Standing in front of Trap and his feel-good run is TY, a player for whom reaching the RO8 has become a baseline expectation. TY is the prodigy who lived up to his potential, using his blazing speed to win championships (albeit, a little late) and become one of the top players in StarCraft II. His run at the start of 2017, where he won WESG and IEM back to back, is one of the all-time great competitive peaks. However, a lot of time has passed since then, and we're getting the nagging feeling he should have won again by now. He came tantalizingly close in the previous GSL Code S tournament, but he was painfully eliminated by Maru in game seven of the grand finals. That might be cause for encouragement—if Maru has slid since 2018, then who can stand between TY and his next trophy?
TY enters this series running red hot. He looked every bit the dominant force we expected him to be in the group stages, smashing the likes of GuMiho and Rogue along the way. It was a welcome change from his lukewarm performances in the earlier parts of the year, especially at IEM Katowice where he was thoroughly beaten by Solar in the RO12. However, TY's TvP is relatively unproven this year, and INnoVation's RO16 elimination showed us that playing amazing in two out of three match-ups doesn't guarantee anything in the remaining one. The stars may be aligning for TY to go all the way, as long as he can pass this serious TvP test.
Predictions
This match is actually quite difficult to do an outright prediction due to the fact that both Trap and TY look on point. TY showed nothing but brilliant performances throughout his run so far. Trap might not have duplicated such prowess, but his overall level of play and especially his series against INnoVation showed his PvT is certainly not something to mess with. This should be a close match, as long as it's clutch-Trap and not cursed-Trap who shows up. May the best race man win.
On March 29 2019 18:08 TeamLiquid ESPORTS wrote: TY is the prodigy who lived up to his potential, using his blazing speed to win championships (albeit, a little late) and become one of the top players in StarCraft II. His run at the start of 2017, where he won WESG and IEM back to back, is one of the all-time great competitive peaks. However, a lot of time has passed since then, and we're getting the nagging feeling he should have won again by now.
Thanks goes out to Orlok for not mindlessly repeating the tired trope about TY being a failed talent, while still giving a sober view of his situation the last couple of years
On March 29 2019 18:08 TeamLiquid ESPORTS wrote: TY is the prodigy who lived up to his potential, using his blazing speed to win championships (albeit, a little late) and become one of the top players in StarCraft II. His run at the start of 2017, where he won WESG and IEM back to back, is one of the all-time great competitive peaks. However, a lot of time has passed since then, and we're getting the nagging feeling he should have won again by now.
Thanks goes out to Orlok for not mindlessly repeating the tired trope about TY being a failed talent, while still giving a sober view of his situation the last couple of years
I feel like he's the Terran Dark in that his good games are SO good that he's become mostly immune to results-based criticism (as long as he doesn't get killed in the RO32 or something)
Thus, the case for Maru is based entirely almost entirely on belief. We want to believe that he is not content to rest on his laurels, that he has been deeply shamed by his failures at IEM and WESG, and that he will defend his last remaining territory of GSL Code S with his all his strength. If all that happens to be the case, then we might see this rivalry restored to its former glory.
On March 29 2019 18:08 TeamLiquid ESPORTS wrote: TY is the prodigy who lived up to his potential, using his blazing speed to win championships (albeit, a little late) and become one of the top players in StarCraft II. His run at the start of 2017, where he won WESG and IEM back to back, is one of the all-time great competitive peaks. However, a lot of time has passed since then, and we're getting the nagging feeling he should have won again by now.
Thanks goes out to Orlok for not mindlessly repeating the tired trope about TY being a failed talent, while still giving a sober view of his situation the last couple of years
Well you should thank Wax for his magic in editing more than me, but thanks very much
On March 29 2019 18:12 Waxangel wrote: I can't believe Maru is currently favored in both liquibet and actual real-money betting sites. 20-0 is 20-0.
while i agree with the analysis, i also still slightly favor Maru (but 3:2 Dear is not a bad guess at all)
its the same like with Serral. They are meassured by the 2018 standard and might fell short of it. but they are both still worldclass players. And Maru's main issue comes with TvT. But yeah.. with 20-0 you have a strong point.
On March 29 2019 18:08 TeamLiquid ESPORTS wrote: TY is the prodigy who lived up to his potential, using his blazing speed to win championships (albeit, a little late) and become one of the top players in StarCraft II. His run at the start of 2017, where he won WESG and IEM back to back, is one of the all-time great competitive peaks. However, a lot of time has passed since then, and we're getting the nagging feeling he should have won again by now.
Thanks goes out to Orlok for not mindlessly repeating the tired trope about TY being a failed talent, while still giving a sober view of his situation the last couple of years
I feel like he's the Terran Dark in that his good games are SO good that he's become mostly immune to results-based criticism (as long as he doesn't get killed in the RO32 or something)
Can stand behind this. TY and Dark are my two favorite players for a good reason! They're also both build geniuses.
I'm just sad that they're the sorts of players that will never surprise me when winning games, but will always surprise me when winning series/tournaments. They seem to both have just enough weaknesses that they can't consistently dominate: TY's play always feels a bit shaky since it's so much about control and rhythm, from tailored openings to tons of harassment to technical lategames, while Dark seems to be a bit too comfortable/committal with midgame armies that he doesn't get to show off his (actually pretty good) lategame much. They're a heartbreaking pair to cheer for
On March 29 2019 18:08 TeamLiquid ESPORTS wrote: TY is the prodigy who lived up to his potential, using his blazing speed to win championships (albeit, a little late) and become one of the top players in StarCraft II. His run at the start of 2017, where he won WESG and IEM back to back, is one of the all-time great competitive peaks. However, a lot of time has passed since then, and we're getting the nagging feeling he should have won again by now.
Thanks goes out to Orlok for not mindlessly repeating the tired trope about TY being a failed talent, while still giving a sober view of his situation the last couple of years
I feel like he's the Terran Dark in that his good games are SO good that he's become mostly immune to results-based criticism (as long as he doesn't get killed in the RO32 or something)
Yeah, I agree with you there, but still seems that some consider him a permanent disappointment who just can't win (ignoring the times he's won, ofc). I think this is on display in the TL preview for the last GSL finals as well
On March 29 2019 18:08 TeamLiquid ESPORTS wrote: TY is the prodigy who lived up to his potential, using his blazing speed to win championships (albeit, a little late) and become one of the top players in StarCraft II. His run at the start of 2017, where he won WESG and IEM back to back, is one of the all-time great competitive peaks. However, a lot of time has passed since then, and we're getting the nagging feeling he should have won again by now.
Thanks goes out to Orlok for not mindlessly repeating the tired trope about TY being a failed talent, while still giving a sober view of his situation the last couple of years
Well you should thank Wax for his magic in editing more than me, but thanks very much
On March 29 2019 18:12 Waxangel wrote: I can't believe Maru is currently favored in both liquibet and actual real-money betting sites. 20-0 is 20-0.
20-0 or 40-0 doesn't matter, GSL is Maru's playground, I'll question myself if it's worth to live if Maru doesn't win in a dominating fashion. Also I bet on him .. :D
On March 29 2019 18:08 TeamLiquid ESPORTS wrote: TY is the prodigy who lived up to his potential, using his blazing speed to win championships (albeit, a little late) and become one of the top players in StarCraft II. His run at the start of 2017, where he won WESG and IEM back to back, is one of the all-time great competitive peaks. However, a lot of time has passed since then, and we're getting the nagging feeling he should have won again by now.
Thanks goes out to Orlok for not mindlessly repeating the tired trope about TY being a failed talent, while still giving a sober view of his situation the last couple of years
I feel like he's the Terran Dark in that his good games are SO good that he's become mostly immune to results-based criticism (as long as he doesn't get killed in the RO32 or something)
They seem to both have just enough weaknesses that they can't consistently dominate: TY's play always feels a bit shaky since it's so much about control and rhythm, from tailored openings to tons of harassment to technical lategames
TY chokes a lot in big/playoff matches. That's the main reason he doesn't win tournaments.
The fact he's almost unbeaten by any tournament's group stage for the last 3-4 years shows how solid his all-round play is (the only group stage he failed in all of LotV was GSL S1 of 2018).
On March 29 2019 18:08 TeamLiquid ESPORTS wrote: TY is the prodigy who lived up to his potential, using his blazing speed to win championships (albeit, a little late) and become one of the top players in StarCraft II. His run at the start of 2017, where he won WESG and IEM back to back, is one of the all-time great competitive peaks. However, a lot of time has passed since then, and we're getting the nagging feeling he should have won again by now.
Thanks goes out to Orlok for not mindlessly repeating the tired trope about TY being a failed talent, while still giving a sober view of his situation the last couple of years
I feel like he's the Terran Dark in that his good games are SO good that he's become mostly immune to results-based criticism (as long as he doesn't get killed in the RO32 or something)
They seem to both have just enough weaknesses that they can't consistently dominate: TY's play always feels a bit shaky since it's so much about control and rhythm, from tailored openings to tons of harassment to technical lategames
TY chokes a lot in big/playoff matches. That's the main reason he doesn't win tournaments.
It's definitely gonna be hard to get another chance to win GSL as good as the last one he had, up 3-2 and ahead after the early game in both game 6 and 7.
Proxy 2-rax against Protoss won KT Proleague the year after!
I hope for some good SC2 tomorrow, hard to pick a winner for either match.
wasn't that with a weaker mothership core though? at least in the context of defending 2rax proxy, nexus cannon is better than pylon cannon cause pylons are easier to kill
Proxy 2-rax against Protoss won KT Proleague the year after!
I hope for some good SC2 tomorrow, hard to pick a winner for either match.
wasn't that with a weaker mothership core though? at least in the context of defending 2rax proxy, nexus cannon is better than pylon cannon cause pylons are easier to kill
mothership core can't help if you forget to build it at the right nexus
Proxy 2-rax against Protoss won KT Proleague the year after!
I hope for some good SC2 tomorrow, hard to pick a winner for either match.
wasn't that with a weaker mothership core though? at least in the context of defending 2rax proxy, nexus cannon is better than pylon cannon cause pylons are easier to kill
Proxy 2-rax against Protoss won KT Proleague the year after!
I hope for some good SC2 tomorrow, hard to pick a winner for either match.
wasn't that with a weaker mothership core though? at least in the context of defending 2rax proxy, nexus cannon is better than pylon cannon cause pylons are easier to kill
On March 29 2019 18:08 TeamLiquid ESPORTS wrote: TY is the prodigy who lived up to his potential, using his blazing speed to win championships (albeit, a little late) and become one of the top players in StarCraft II. His run at the start of 2017, where he won WESG and IEM back to back, is one of the all-time great competitive peaks. However, a lot of time has passed since then, and we're getting the nagging feeling he should have won again by now.
Thanks goes out to Orlok for not mindlessly repeating the tired trope about TY being a failed talent, while still giving a sober view of his situation the last couple of years
I feel like he's the Terran Dark in that his good games are SO good that he's become mostly immune to results-based criticism (as long as he doesn't get killed in the RO32 or something)
They seem to both have just enough weaknesses that they can't consistently dominate: TY's play always feels a bit shaky since it's so much about control and rhythm, from tailored openings to tons of harassment to technical lategames
TY chokes a lot in big/playoff matches. That's the main reason he doesn't win tournaments.
It's definitely gonna be hard to get another chance to win GSL as good as the last one he had, up 3-2 and ahead after the early game in both game 6 and 7.
Not to mention the game 7 vs Zest the season before. Or the multiple 2-0 into loss during the playoffs of 2017. Or the second factory in the 2016 final (although in that one he was favoured to lose anyway I guess).
lol Maru with the 2rax proxy while down 2-1, I don't remember that ever working when the mothership core was a thing
Maru used to 2rax vs protoss a lot during HotS. It probably won him his OSL in 2013. PartinG even called him out on it at one point (that he always 2 rax'd when losing in a series).
On March 29 2019 18:08 TeamLiquid ESPORTS wrote: TY is the prodigy who lived up to his potential, using his blazing speed to win championships (albeit, a little late) and become one of the top players in StarCraft II. His run at the start of 2017, where he won WESG and IEM back to back, is one of the all-time great competitive peaks. However, a lot of time has passed since then, and we're getting the nagging feeling he should have won again by now.
Thanks goes out to Orlok for not mindlessly repeating the tired trope about TY being a failed talent, while still giving a sober view of his situation the last couple of years
I feel like he's the Terran Dark in that his good games are SO good that he's become mostly immune to results-based criticism (as long as he doesn't get killed in the RO32 or something)
They seem to both have just enough weaknesses that they can't consistently dominate: TY's play always feels a bit shaky since it's so much about control and rhythm, from tailored openings to tons of harassment to technical lategames
TY chokes a lot in big/playoff matches. That's the main reason he doesn't win tournaments.
It's definitely gonna be hard to get another chance to win GSL as good as the last one he had, up 3-2 and ahead after the early game in both game 6 and 7.
Not to mention the game 7 vs Zest the season before. Or the multiple 2-0 into loss during the playoffs of 2017. Or the second factory in the 2016 final (although in that one he was favoured to lose anyway I guess).
Being a TY fan is hard.
It is. But putting all losses into one category is just silly. This goes for every player. If one player had won pretty much everything in LotV or even HotS, we wouldn't be having all these.silly Bonjwa topics.
TY's losses are very different too. The reverse sweeps of 2017 are one thing, and tbh the worst loss he suffered was the Ro4 blizzcon against rogue, because he surely would have beaten soO. Losing to Dear in 2016 was something else though - not a mental blockade for TY. Etc
He really *should* have beaten Maru last season. it's not like he really *should have beaten Zest in 2016, and so on