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Uncrowned King - Dark in the Code S Finals

Forum Index > SC2 General
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Uncrowned King - Dark in the Code S Finals

Text byTL.net ESPORTS
June 21st, 2019 20:46 GMT

The Uncrowned King
Dark in the Code S Season 2 Finals

by Wax

[image loading]
2019 Global StarCraft II League - Code S Season 2


On June 15th, 2019, (Wiki)Dark defeated (Wiki)Hurricane 4-1 in the Code S semifinals to earn the first Code S grand finals appearance of his career.

My reaction was to think, 'Wait, what? No, I don't mean that I was shocked that a Zerg beat a Protoss player in the current environment. It just took a moment or two for me to recall that, oh right, this sixteen-time consecutive Code S participant, eight-time major tournament finalist, BlizzCon runner-up, and SSL champion, never actually reached the Code S finals (apologies to the hardcore Dark fans for who have felt this black mark on their soul for every waking day of the last few years).

Since Legacy of the Void, Dark's Code S finishes are as follows. 2016: Ro16, Ro16 – 2017: Ro16, Ro16, Ro4 – 2018: Ro4, Ro16, Ro16 – 2019: Ro4, TBD. That's pretty good, but hardly great. Some of those finishes you can blame on bad luck, as Dark has frequently been tangled up in brutal groups-of-death in the Ro16. His three semifinal losses are understandable in hindsight: 3-4 to INnoVation (who went on to win), 2-4 to Maru (the start of his four-peat), and 3-4 to Classic last season. However, while context can help explain a situation, it's not an excuse. When you add it all together, the result is that this supposed 'best overall Zerg of LotV' has never been a true championship contender in Code S.

And still, I feel that Dark is completely deserving of his fearsome reputation. Some of that is due to his impressive non-Code S resume. While the aforementioned BlizzCon runner-up was his most visible accomplishment, his 1-2 record in three SSL finals might hold more sway with the Korean elitists (the intense level of competition in the SSL has slowed its erasure from fan-canon). He's also performed well in Korean 'weekenders', placing runner-up in a Super Tournament and two KeSPA cups.

But what speaks to me most, and I imagine this is true of much of the SC2 community, is simply the quality of Dark's play over the last 4 years. For the longest time, there was a StarCraft player archetype that I thought only Terrans could fulfill: the unbeatable, late-game juggernaut who possesses an equally powerful all-in threat. I mean players like iloveoov ('If close, bunker rush. If far, CC first' goes the old Brood War adage), Flash, INnoVation, Mvp, or Maru—all the B-word baiting titans of StarCraft when they were at the peak of their powers. The other factions' best players have always seemed different, achieving greatness by somehow 110% utilizing their lopsided talents. For example, (Wiki)sOs and his evil genius-like aptitude for formulating strategies, or (Wiki)soO and his overwhelming macro mechanics during the middle act of the game.

For me, Dark is the player who changed all that. Maybe we should have seen it coming when he made his 2012 broadcast debut by beating MC (still a championship-caliber player then) with Brood Lord-Infestor in the GSTL. It would have been easy to conflate him with a patchzerg then—but no, this guy was actually born to be a master of the Zerg late-game. We just had to wait until LotV to see it, when Zerg's Hive compositions became too complex and unwieldy for just any Zerg pro to use. Until (Wiki)Serral and (Wiki)Rogue came along, it seemed like only Dark had the precision to use every part of the Zerg swarm as a synergistic, cohesive whole. He was the exception that proved the rule: Zerg was doomed if they split the map, unless you were Dark.

Somewhere along his development curve, Dark also mastered the shadier Zerg arts, adding a bevy of Roach-Ravager all-ins, proxy-Hatches, Baneling busts, and other such pages to his playbook. This balanced him as a true dual threat player, with opponents forced to weigh every bit of greed against the risk of a deflating, fast defeat. (While a player like Flash seemed to use all-ins with almost scientific precision to maximize his win-rate, Dark's approach has always given off a more 'don't make me waste my time' vibe. Maybe that's just me.)

Dark may no longer be peerless in LotV Zerg excellence, but years of being the shining example of what Zerg can be at its best has earned him the undying faith of many. If the TL Power Rank defaults to putting Dark at a high spot in months with little or mixed information, then that bias has been mostly (if not fully) earned.

Headed into his grand final match against (Wiki)Trap, the full-on Dark apologist in me wants to say that he'll take this long overdue Code S title with ease. After years of unusually difficult Code S opponent draws, Dark finally got lucky with a cakewalk bracket in the playoffs (though not quite a 'group of death', he still had to play in the hardest Ro16 group yet again). The Dark apologist also says that jinxes and curses are just ex post facto narratives we peddle to make StarCraft more interesting, trying to attach some rhyme or reason to coincidence. This time, Dark is the better player, and the better player usually wins.

And still, there's a lingering feeling of doubt that Dark's history of Code S underachievement isn't just a slightly aberrational sequence of events. Sometimes he lets down that blustery, confident exterior and admits that he suffers from the self-doubt and fear of any normal, human competitor. After defeating the completely outmatched Hurricane, Dark said he was more stressed than he had been in his entire career while preparing for that match. The doubter in me says that when you strip both Dark and Trap's reputations away, this Code S finals is between two first-time finalists who have never competed in this specific environment. The doubter wants to remind everyone that the head-to-head record is in Trap's favor at 6-2 in BO5+ matches. The doubter concludes by saying that to claim Dark and Trap are on even footing is being too kind to Dark.

My attempt to reconcile such thoughts leads me to believe this match is closer than I initially thought. I attach a lot of meaning to a player's body of work, and in that regard Dark is in a totally different class from Trap. But I also fall back on the (admittedly boring) position of "I don't trust you until you prove it to me" for many of my predictions, and in this case, neither player has proven anything at this stage of Code S.

Whatever the result, this season will end by fulfilling its tagline of "Renaissance." The Renaissance marked the end of the so-called "Dark Ages." Will Trap end Dark's run in this season of Code S, or will Dark end his personal Code S title drought?


Prediction: Dark 4 - 3 Trap


Also Read:
Do I Have your Attention Now? - Trap in the Code S Finals






Credits and acknowledgements

Writer: Wax
Images: Helena Kristiansson via Blizzard, AfreecaTV
Facebook Twitter Reddit
TL+ Member
pvsnp
Profile Joined January 2017
7676 Posts
Last Edited: 2019-06-21 21:28:01
June 21 2019 21:25 GMT
#2
Dark is way overdue for a GSL trophy, hope he takes it tonight. But the games will probably be short and ugly, as per the current meta.
Denominator of the Universe
TL+ Member
Toua
Profile Joined February 2017
Denmark318 Posts
June 21 2019 21:42 GMT
#3
Dark got this
Stats, Dark, Maru <3
SlammerIV
Profile Joined December 2013
United States526 Posts
June 21 2019 21:51 GMT
#4
Should be a good match, I think the TL prediction is fair.
Xain0n
Profile Joined November 2018
Italy3945 Posts
June 21 2019 22:06 GMT
#5
Dark deserves a Code S title before the End of Times comes, that's for sure. I won't be displeased if he grabs it tomorrow, but I think Trap should take this one.
BisuDagger
Profile Blog Joined October 2009
Bisutopia18575 Posts
June 21 2019 22:14 GMT
#6
Dark really is the best GSL storyline in the past few years. I really lost faith in his scariness as a player with his losses to Serral. I assumed his aggressive style would be the weak point in Serral's armor. But Dark has come roaring back in 2019 and I'm a believer in him. Also, go SKT!
ModeratorOfiicial Afreeca Starleague Caster: http://afreeca.tv/ASL2ENG2
Fango
Profile Joined July 2016
United Kingdom8435 Posts
June 21 2019 22:23 GMT
#7
On the subject of the prediction, Dark is 4-9 in bo7s, but more importantly 1-7 in game 7s.

I don't have faith in him winning if it's a close series
Zest, sOs, PartinG, Dark, and Maru are the real champs. ROOT_herO is overrated. Snute, Serral, and Scarlett are the foreigner GOATs
ZigguratOfUr
Profile Blog Joined April 2012
Iraq16954 Posts
June 21 2019 23:02 GMT
#8
On June 22 2019 07:23 Fango wrote:
On the subject of the prediction, Dark is 4-9 in bo7s, but more importantly 1-7 in game 7s.

I don't have faith in him winning if it's a close series


Same.

Dark could smash Trap, but if we get a good series I expect Trap to come out on top.
Gemini_19
Profile Joined June 2010
United States1197 Posts
June 22 2019 00:00 GMT
#9
Literally reversing my prediction eh? You weren't kidding about covering all the bases lol
@GGemini19 GM Protoss | http://www.twitch.tv/geminisc2 | I <333 HerO & Trap | Check out my Build of the Week series on /r/allthingsprotoss, TL, or Spawning Tool
Gosucrew
Profile Joined April 2011
United States76 Posts
Last Edited: 2019-06-22 00:36:59
June 22 2019 00:31 GMT
#10
Really great write up. Well done. We are so excited for him and we know it will be quite the fight tonight.

If anyone is interested we have made some montages on his run this season: 2019 GSL Season 2 - Dark Recap Montages
yubo56
Profile Joined May 2014
570 Posts
June 22 2019 00:36 GMT
#11
On June 22 2019 07:14 BisuDagger wrote:
Also, go SKT!

The only real storyline here!

Also, omg, I'm so glad somebody linked vintage Dark 2016 lategame ZvT, I feel like you can already see so much of what makes modern ZvT so scary (nydus, ultralisk counterattacks, tons of spellcasting amidst it all), what a great game to watch from a completely different era.

Long time Dark fan, but I'm still scarred by some of Dark's high profile losses to Trap in 2016/17. I'm chickening and not giving a prediction...

Ehh, actually. Dark 4-0 Trap, let's do this
Jung Yoon Jong fighting, even after retirement! Feel better soon.
[F_]aths
Profile Blog Joined February 2010
Germany3947 Posts
June 22 2019 01:50 GMT
#12
While I am not a Dark fan, I know that he will be the champion.

The games versus Hurricane/Tear show that he eats Protoss for breakfast.
You don't choose to play zerg. The zerg choose you.
Seeker *
Profile Blog Joined April 2005
Where dat snitch at?35610 Posts
June 22 2019 01:59 GMT
#13
It's about damn time for Dark to win a GSL already. Come on Dark! Let's go SKT! Please don't blow this...
ModeratorI've been managing Liquibets for 11 years! Bonjwa fo sho >.<
TL+ Member
FBTsingLoong
Profile Joined April 2018
China410 Posts
Last Edited: 2019-06-22 03:57:36
June 22 2019 02:13 GMT
#14
all the B-word baiting titans of StarCraft



What does "the B-word" mean?Bonjwa?
TyInnoMaruByunAlive,TIMBA
TheOneAboveU
Profile Blog Joined February 2011
Germany3340 Posts
June 22 2019 06:42 GMT
#15
Oh boy, I'm so nervous. Let's go Dark!
Moderatoralias TripleM | @TL_TripleM | Big Dark Energy!
Htime
Profile Joined March 2019
58 Posts
June 22 2019 06:49 GMT
#16
I'm expecting a very competitive Final. Like everyone, I see Dark as the favorite, but not by such a large margin as one might expect. The money line has been ~71/29 for Dark since it was posted, but has moved to 66/34 in the last hours before the match. I'm very surprised Dark is a 2:1 betting favorite. Even Aligulac has 69%/31% for Dark, and that feels way too high.
Trap's narrow victories vs top 10 players Classic and Inno are more informative than Dark's destruction of players another tier below in herO and Hurricane. The heart says Dark, but I'd be betting Trap.
ShAd_1337
Profile Joined January 2016
Germany1028 Posts
June 22 2019 07:08 GMT
#17
THIS IS IT !!!!
THIS IS IT !!!!
IT'S HAPPENING
I like Dark
BerserkSword
Profile Joined December 2018
United States2123 Posts
June 22 2019 07:15 GMT
#18
As much as I want Zerg to win a code S in lotv I'm rooting for trap
TL+ Member
Morbidius
Profile Joined November 2010
Brazil3429 Posts
June 22 2019 07:18 GMT
#19
Anyone else wants Life to be the last Zerg to ever win a code S? The king should be on the throne forever.
Has foreign StarCraft hit rock bottom?
Pangpootata
Profile Blog Joined January 2011
1838 Posts
June 22 2019 07:47 GMT
#20
On June 22 2019 10:50 [F_]aths wrote:
While I am not a Dark fan, I know that he will be the champion.

The games versus Hurricane/Tear show that he eats Protoss for breakfast.


On the contrary, I think it shows that Hurricane gets eaten by Zergs for breakfast.
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