herO returns to the ranks of the elite after being absent from the top ten for two months. Aside from GSL Code S—in which he managed to advance into his first quarterfinals since 2017 Season 1—herO’s been very active online. While only achieving an average record in the two Chinese team competitions (SCBoy's China Team Championship and NetEase’s Esports X Tournament, herO did win the OlimoLeague April finals and smashed his opposition in several Afreeca BJ Destruction matches, racking up a pretty solid winrate over the month in both maps and matches.

While it's easy to attribute herO's resurgence to his penchant for cheese, it has to be pointed out that his Code S run was built on solid, all-around TvP play. And though it may be too much to say he's going to macro his way through the GSL playoffs, he’s certainly looking like more than a lucky Protoss feasting off the current meta.

After soaring up the rankings by carrying Terran-hope all the way to the finals of the GSL Super Tournament (defeating Dark, Stats, and PartinG along the way), GuMiho falls to ninth place in the Power Rank after narrowly missing out on a Code S playoff berth.

If GuMiho's Super Tournament run showed us how successful his unorthodox style can be if he gets a few lucky breaks (Dark's game five throw comes readily to mind), his Code S RO16 group showed how disastrously he can fail when things go wrong. Against PartinG, GuMiho lost to Dark Templars after expending two scans to kill an Observer (and failing at that), and then he lost his crucial decider match against soO when his proxy-Barracks were quickly scouted by an Overlord. Though GuMiho has a puncher's chance against any opponent, his ranking inevitably suffers when he fails to connect with those knockout blows.

It's been hard to tell what to make of soO ever since he won that career-affirming championship at IEM Katowice. He was eliminated from the Code S RO16 immediately after IEM, he was eliminated from the Super Tournament RO16 after that, and then he even struggled to get out of the RO32 in the latest season of Code S (2-1 victories over aLive and Creator).

His RO16 wasn't exactly pretty either, advancing in second place after a series of matches that mostly involved him going all-in or getting all-in'd by his opponent (wins vs Dear and GuMiho, loss vs PartinG). And still, here he is after stumbling and taking all those beatings, back in the Code S playoffs for the first time since since Season 1 of 2018. So, while the present version of soO is a departure from the dominant soO of yesteryear—or even from the soO of March this year that won IEM—that familiar resilience we've come to know and love is still beating in his heart.

There was a feeling that Trap's top four finish in the previous Code S season could be a mere one-off occurrence, especially after Maru destroyed him in a 4-0 semifinal sweep. That perception certainly wasn't helped when Trap failed to qualify at all for the subsequent Super Tournament.

Well, vindication was rightfully earned in Code S Season 2, as Trap freed himself from "hard-stuck in the RO16" status by reaching the playoffs once more. Yes, one could argue that he had a relatively soft path, only having to defeat Scarlett, herO, and SpeCial along the way. But Trap's own RO16 jinx was a more daunting obstacle than any single opponent, and overcoming it is where the significance of his achievement lies.

Now it's time to move onto greater challenges. Trap's run through the deadlier half of the Code S playoff bracket will tell us if he's elevated himself to being a true championship contender.

2019 is shaping up to be one of Stats’ less impressive years in domestic competition. Actually making the RO16 in GSL Code S may have been an improvement from the first season of the year, but it can hardly be considered a great success for the Shield of Aiur. Often hailed as the personification of consistency, Stats has been uncharacteristically frail this year in both online and offline competition, with his finals run at IEM Katowice being the only saving grace.

One player in particular has crossed paths with Stats on several occasions this last month: INnoVation. He was the one to eliminate Stats from Code S (where Stats made many uncharacteristic mistakes), and he also defeated him just a few days before in the Olimoleague May finals (Stats did manage to defeat him in a previous Olimoleague weekly). We're still giving Stats credit as one of the best Protoss players in the world—it's just that compared to the past, this years GSL results have been very underwhelming so far.

After dropping all the way to #10 in the previous power rank, everyone's favorite StarCraft-playing machine is back in the top half. 2019 seemed like it might be another lost year for INnoVation when he suffered his fourth consecutive Code S RO16 group-stage knockout in Season 1. However, he's finally forced himself back into the Code S playoff picture, something Terran fans have been eagerly anticipating since he won WESG back in March.

INnoVation smothered Stats twice and took Dark down to the wire in his RO16 group, looking much like the overwhelming macro Terran that won nine major titles. To quote Dark "I thought his 'physical' (mechanics) was dead, but it's still kicking."

Some small doubts nag at INnoVation’s championship chances, such as his loss against Dark in a full macro vs. macro battle, and the fact that Stats' army control wasn't exactly the best during their deciding match. INnoVation fans might look to his online results for more reason to be hopeful, as INnoVation has defeated the likes of GuMiho, Classic, Stats, and Trap by convincing scorelines. It seems fair to say that INnoVation is at least close to playing at his best level again, and he could get there over the course of the playoffs.

We all know that no king rules forever. Even the best, fastest and brightest of competitors eventually slip up. After four consecutive seasons of winning GSL Code S, Maru has finally succumbed to the inevitable champion's fall.

While we all knew it was bound to happen eventually, Maru's collapse still came as a shock in the moment—especially the manner in which it happened. It was one of the most drastic ways to fall from grace—eliminated in the Code S RO32, with Patience of all players striking the first blow (INnoVation’s relentless TvT finished Maru off).

It's impossible to attribute the fall to just one factor—if we can deign to know any of the factors at all—but we can't help but speculate. Maru was hardly invincible in group stage matches even during his dominant 2018 stretch, with the underdogs often giving him a tough match or even stealing a map. Perhaps the difficulty of preparing for multiple opponents and a wide range of builds finally caught up to him.

Many would point out Protoss' recent dominance, although it's hard to say how much of that was relevant in Maru's loss against the always-tricky Patience. Finally, the passage of time is just a merciless force. The grind to stay at the top can wear anyone down, due to burn-out, complacency, physical injury, or the combination of all three.

This doesn’t mean we don’t expect Maru to make a recovery and become a challenger or champion again, and we’re giving him a lot of benefit of the doubt for his past performances. It might turn out that this forced break is just what he needs to recharge his batteries, gain some perspective, and come back stronger than ever.

After narrowly surrendering the WCS Winter/Europe championship to Reynor, Serral was made to suffer a month's stay with the Power Rank peasants in the lower half the standings. Then, at WCS Spring, Serral over-corrected for letting even a single WCS Circuit trophy slip from his grasp. Not only did he reclaim the WCS Circuit throne with a combined 17-3 record, but he also exacted his revenge on Reynor with a 3-0 semifinal sweep and recorded his first finals sweep by 4-0'ing SpeCial.

Restored to his rightful spot on top of the WCS Circuit, Serral also returns to his pre-WCS Winter spot of #3 on the Power Rank—the same place he landed after finishing second place at WESG and top eight in IEM Katowice. Until GSL vs. The World 2019 comes about and Serral faces top Korean competition again, this seems to be about the appropriate amount of past credit to extend to the reigning WCS Global Champion and TL.net's 2018 Player of the Year

Dark showed us why he's always been considered a top player in LotV by quickly recovering from prior setbacks and delivering some typically dominant performances in Code S. Back in April, Dark gave up a close 3-4 loss to Classic in the Code S semifinals and was ousted from the Super Tournament RO16 by GuMiho, casting momentary doubt on his capacity as a championship contender.

However, May saw Dark return with a vengeance in Code S. He seemed almost disdainful of having to his RO32 matches, quickly dispatching of DRG with ling-bane and then Nydusing his way past Cure in the winners match. After landing once again in a difficult RO16 group, Dark masterfully piloted his way past a fumbling Patience and out-dueled a resurgent INnoVation to book his ticket to the quarterfinals. Now, with one of the easier playoff brackets on paper (first facing herO, then Parting/Hurricane in the semis), Dark's road to the finals seems all but cemented.

Amid all the turmoil and upheaval at the top of the Korean scene this year, Dark has somehow emerged as one of the few players resembling a constant (the other is one rank ahead of him). If Dark can overcome a barrage of sinister builds from the most devious Protoss minds in Korea, it might finally be time that Dark is rewarded for all his consistency and wins a Code S championship.

When Maru was unexpectedly eliminated in the Code S RO32, the GSL throne was left vacant for the first time in over a year. Out of the many ambitious challengers attempting to seize Maru's old seat, Classic has looked the most worthy.

Classic has always ranked among SC2's more consistent players, but the run he's put together in potentially his final year as a progamer has been particularly impressive. Code S runner-up, Super Tournament champion, and now a Code S quarter-finalist again? There's not much more we could ask for from a 10+ year veteran of StarCraft (BW and SC2).

Classic may be the oldest player left competing in Code S, but his play is anything but dulled or slow. While he has had to lean on trickery and proxies in some of his big matches, one might argue that he was the trend-setter who established the standard for lesser players. And regardless, anyone who had to play Rogue-Dark-Maru in their GSL playoff run deserves some leeway for being a bit cheesy. While the late-game hasn't been Classic's forte, he's been solid enough to play a balanced game that leaves his opponents guessing.

In the current season of Code S, Classic played exactly like a top championship contender should, having little trouble in dispatching TRUE, Hurricane and Ragnarok to make it to the quarterfinals (Classic and Dark were the only two players to reach the playoffs with a 8-1 map record). In a season where Maru and TY were eliminated in the RO32 and SpeCial single-handedly knocked out sOs, it was almost reassuring to see a star player be so clinical in taking out the underdogs. Classic's loss to Maru in the Code S Season 1 finals only seems to have made him even stronger and more determined, and he's in prime position to capitalize on Maru’s elimination and grasp the grand prize.