Trap defeated Maru 4-1 to advance to the Code S Season 3 grand finals, avenging his painful 0-4 loss back in Code S Season 1. Trap is now set to face teammate Rogue in the September 28th grand finals, looking to become champion after finishing top four and runner-up in the previous Code S seasons of 2019.
Maru's game plan for the series centered around +1 attack & stim timings in the early game, with enough flexibility to transition into a longer macro-game after. This worked out perfectly in game one on Cobalt, with Maru's early attack dealing crippling damage after eluding Trap's miss-positioned defenders.
However, Trap would not repeat the same mistake again. Games two and three saw him stay on top of the early game threat, safely putting together deadly mid-game armies to smash through Maru's front line (once with double-robo Disruptors, another time with 'traditional' double-forge upgraded gateway troops).
With Maru down 1-2, it seemed like it might be time for one of his signature cheese builds. Instead, it was Trap who used deception for an easy win, catching Maru completely off guard with proxy-gate Adepts into fast Dark Templars.
With game five going to Thunderbird—the designated macro map of the season—viewers finally got to see an entertaining macro game between the two contenders. While Maru was able to battle Trap evenly for decent portion of the game, much of the action occurred on the Terran side of the map. Unable to keep the Protoss economy in check, and having barely enough breathing room to squeeze out high-tech units on his end, Maru was eventually forced to tap out against Trap's triple-splash composition of Disruptor-Templar-Colossus.
The Code S finals between Rogue and Trap will take place on Saturday, Sep 28 8:00am GMT (GMT+00:00), with both players looking to win their first Code S championship.
I want to criticize Maru for losing again to another teammate, but instead we should give him major props for once again being the one Terran who can push the race to the limit. This series aside, he really stepped up.
solid series, was interesting to see the high level of prep that clearly went into the games. Big fan of disruptors lategame, they're a really solid answer to the new ghost power it seems
Really solid play by Trap this whole series and looking unstoppable in standard PvT and also able to mix in some aggressive / cheeky builds. His micro wasn't the best we've ever seen, but his unit positioning and knowledge of when he could get away with expansions and how to harass was amazing.
I feel like this series really proves / shows just how much Maru benefits from his team helping with his build prep. Maru did basically the same safe, standard and predictable build every game even on drastically different sized maps. It probably doesn't help that Trap probably has helped Maru develop a lot of his other, more gimmicky strategies and so Maru wouldn't feel comfortable using them.
Biggest Maru fan here but gotta give it up for Trap. The lad's been on fire this year. Even if he wins GSL I feel like some will still treat him as an underdog or fluke, but the reality is he's positioned himself as arguably the preeminent Protoss right now.
Truth be told I wasn't totally convinced about his performance for the first three wins (that DT build worked out particularly lucky for him IMO), but the way he stood up to Maru in the final macro game was quite convincing. I also still can't get over a particular big engagement he won over Classic last season that showed his truly world-class micro.
Rogue's won BlizzCon while Trap is still chasing a level of respect he truly deserves, so I'mma rootin' for Trap to take his first GSL next Sat.
Usually we see Maru holding up the trophy while the camera pans to Rogue, Trap et al looking on from the Afreeca Studios crowd--this time it'll be the other way round.
On September 22 2019 11:09 StarcraftSquall wrote: At the risk of starting a hot debate: is Trap our best Protoss this year? 🤔
Terran and Zerg have their champions in Maru and Serral. Could Trap be the Protoss answer when we ask who is the best at their race? 👀
There's still a decent amount of SC2 to be played this year (well, the most important part anyway), so who knows? I think Stats, Classic, and Trap all have a good case at the moment.
On September 22 2019 11:09 StarcraftSquall wrote: At the risk of starting a hot debate: is Trap our best Protoss this year? 🤔
Terran and Zerg have their champions in Maru and Serral. Could Trap be the Protoss answer when we ask who is the best at their race? 👀
It's definitely a question worthy of debate. In my mind, Stats takes the title of best LotV protoss and best protoss of 2019, but Trap has been super impressive lately and I'd happily revisit that opinion after his finals match or after Blizzcon.
I quite enjoy when a Protoss makes Artosis salty. 😄
It’s a double standard - when Maru goes proxy crazy every other game it’s fine but a proxy DT rush that you know you can pull off makes you the lowest form of scum? It was brilliant strategy.
Hopefully Trap can finish this off - he’s been perhaps the most consistent Korean Pro all year and it would nice to see him get rewarded for all that effort.
Plus, a Terran and a Zerg have already won Code S this year. 🙃
On September 22 2019 11:09 StarcraftSquall wrote: At the risk of starting a hot debate: is Trap our best Protoss this year? 🤔
Terran and Zerg have their champions in Maru and Serral. Could Trap be the Protoss answer when we ask who is the best at their race? 👀
It's definitely a question worthy of debate. In my mind, Stats takes the title of best LotV protoss and best protoss of 2019, but Trap has been super impressive lately and I'd happily revisit that opinion after his finals match or after Blizzcon.
Stats is definitely the best LotV Protoss but im unsure how you could come up with a decent argument for him being best protoss of 2019. Obviously winning Assembly and 2nd at Katowice were really nice, but they're gems in what has otherwise been a pretty average year for Stats. Bombing out of Ro32 in GSL and not getting past Ro16 all year, plus a pretty mediocre Super Tournament appearance. When Stats has looked good, he's looked good, and while I still think his form is way up there, his lack of consistency through the year has to take him out of the running for me.
Trap now has reached 2/3 GSL Finals for the year and a Ro4 in the other one. That is pretty insane. He disappointed slightly in the weekenders but he did equal Stats' GSL vs The World run. Meanwhile you have Classic with a GSL Final, a Ro4 GSL, a Ro4 GSL vs the world and a Super Tournament win. I can see how someone could scrape Stats into the discussion but I'm shocked that anyone would actually put him first.
On September 22 2019 06:04 BisuDagger wrote: I want to criticize Maru for losing again to another teammate, but instead we should give him major props for once again being the one Terran who can push the race to the limit. This series aside, he really stepped up.
He’s been infuriatingly inconsistent of late, but yeah for sure.
Ragnarok he showed absolutely stellar play, here he was just a bit meh. Not terrible like vs Stats in GSLvstW but a bit short of ideas when Trap seemed to have plenty.
Was odd really, normally Maru brings a ton of stuff to these series, here it was like he was queuing ladder. Didn’t play horribly by any means but you have to bring something more than that.
This season wasn’t bad for Terran play really, decent contingent got through to Ro16 or further.
TY showed some pretty nifty stuff and he pushed Dark hard. Seems doing the casting has eased some mental block and he’s back in form too.
When Maru tries to play completely normal, it fails most of the time. It was so even when he was in his prime. It may sound naive, but I think that even SCV pull could be a solid option against what Trap was doing in this series.
On September 22 2019 21:09 DrunkenSCV wrote: When Maru tries to play completely normal, it fails most of the time. It was so even when he was in his prime. It may sound naive, but I think that even SCV pull could be a solid option against what Trap was doing in this series.
It’s hard to tell I guess. Put Inno doing one of his tank raven timings and that wrecks Trap when he was being really greedy. But that’s assuming Trap doesn’t adjust his builds to cover those holes
Regardless, not having such builds practiced to pull out in at least one series seems an oversight. Either a really crisp timing attack or a cheese, or something really in that domain. Just seemed Maru decided to play pretty standard and try to just outplay Trap and it didn’t come off for him this time.
Hindsight is remarkably accurate though, I mean Trap did beat Innovation and those timing attacks relatively recently in GSL, so perhaps Maru decided not to emulate builds that ultimately failed for Inno.
On September 22 2019 21:09 DrunkenSCV wrote: When Maru tries to play completely normal, it fails most of the time. It was so even when he was in his prime. It may sound naive, but I think that even SCV pull could be a solid option against what Trap was doing in this series.
trap went for a fast archon transition in his macro games which is normally the preferred counter to scv pull
On September 22 2019 21:38 Wombat_NI wrote: It’s hard to tell I guess. Put Inno doing one of his tank raven timings and that wrecks Trap when he was being really greedy. But that’s assuming Trap doesn’t adjust his builds to cover those holes
Regardless, not having such builds practiced to pull out in at least one series seems an oversight. Either a really crisp timing attack or a cheese, or something really in that domain. Just seemed Maru decided to play pretty standard and try to just outplay Trap and it didn’t come off for him this time.
Hindsight is remarkably accurate though, I mean Trap did beat Innovation and those timing attacks relatively recently in GSL, so perhaps Maru decided not to emulate builds that ultimately failed for Inno.
I think apart from his exceptional mechanics, the greatest strength of Maru was his ability to make things, that are not supposed to work, work. Like when he beat Trap's phoenix play with mass widow mine drops. He was like a magician, who knows and sees more than any sc2 player. But now he's like completely out of mana. To me the worst moment of this series was when he didn't read DTs, having enough information to be at least suspicious about what Trap was up to. Like he wasn't even thinking what was going on in the game.
Trap performed much beyond my expectations rather I don't underestimate him or his preparation or efforts, but I was not sure how he'd answer to Maru's deadliest weapons. And he did answer with outstanding decisions, unit moves, nice arch/disruptor compositions, precise zealot amount in the right moment. Maru uses ravens just like no one does, but Trap was ready to avoid that by not letting Maru enters his natural (except the first match, the second match Trap was ready to meat him from two angles). This makes the loss of Dark less painful for me because I already know that either Rogue or Trap deserve to win this season. Rogue is definitely fan favorite, Trap will add some good balance as T Z P winners three seasons in 2019. Honestly Trap has no serious major title yet and it'd be nice for him to finally become major champion.
On September 22 2019 21:09 DrunkenSCV wrote: When Maru tries to play completely normal, it fails most of the time. It was so even when he was in his prime. It may sound naive, but I think that even SCV pull could be a solid option against what Trap was doing in this series.
trap went for a fast archon transition in his macro games which is normally the preferred counter to scv pull
Well, re-watching games 2 and 3 now, I have to agree that SCV pull was unlikely to work. I thought that Trap's phoenixes did not do much on Acropolis, but still his position was very solid. Uh... basically Trap played very safely for 10 minutes, then came to Maru and killed him. Hmmm... good builds.
On September 22 2019 11:09 StarcraftSquall wrote: At the risk of starting a hot debate: is Trap our best Protoss this year? 🤔
Terran and Zerg have their champions in Maru and Serral. Could Trap be the Protoss answer when we ask who is the best at their race? 👀
It's definitely a question worthy of debate. In my mind, Stats takes the title of best LotV protoss and best protoss of 2019, but Trap has been super impressive lately and I'd happily revisit that opinion after his finals match or after Blizzcon.
Stats is definitely the best LotV Protoss but im unsure how you could come up with a decent argument for him being best protoss of 2019. Obviously winning Assembly and 2nd at Katowice were really nice, but they're gems in what has otherwise been a pretty average year for Stats. Bombing out of Ro32 in GSL and not getting past Ro16 all year, plus a pretty mediocre Super Tournament appearance. When Stats has looked good, he's looked good, and while I still think his form is way up there, his lack of consistency through the year has to take him out of the running for me.
Trap now has reached 2/3 GSL Finals for the year and a Ro4 in the other one. That is pretty insane. He disappointed slightly in the weekenders but he did equal Stats' GSL vs The World run. Meanwhile you have Classic with a GSL Final, a Ro4 GSL, a Ro4 GSL vs the world and a Super Tournament win. I can see how someone could scrape Stats into the discussion but I'm shocked that anyone would actually put him first.
I actually forgot Classic won the super tournament, so I take it back. My argument for Stats was that he was the only one to actually win anything (not to mention he's the only protoss to knock Serral out of a tournament in 2019). But you're right, I think Classic takes the cake right now.
On September 22 2019 06:04 BisuDagger wrote: I want to criticize Maru for losing again to another teammate, but instead we should give him major props for once again being the one Terran who can push the race to the limit. This series aside, he really stepped up.
Teamkills are weird because we do't know what the team ordered players to do(I'm not saying they did, I'm saying we don't know)
Edit> Upon some reactions I will add the clarifications here too. I don't mean matchfixing per se, but, for example, hiding the best builds they have or a ban to prepare snipe builds.
On September 22 2019 06:04 BisuDagger wrote: I want to criticize Maru for losing again to another teammate, but instead we should give him major props for once again being the one Terran who can push the race to the limit. This series aside, he really stepped up.
Teamkills are weird because we do't know what the team ordered players to do(I'm not saying they did, I'm saying we don't know)
You shouldn't suggest that a series was possibly thrown without a solid basis.
Considering both players are already qualified for the Global Finals, the only thing outside of money and prestige that anyone could possibly care about is avoiding ending up 4th in the Korean standings to not be put in a group with Serral which is more of a possibility for Maru than Trap since Maru is currently in 4th.
On September 22 2019 09:10 Nakajin wrote: Is Trap the best Korean player of the year?
If Zest got best korean over soO in 2014, then no (unless Trap wins this GSL I guess, but that isn't happening). Although it's not unlike TL to change their deciding factors for best player between years.
Btw if Classic is allowed to go blizzcon then we're very likely gonna get a Serral-Stats-Maru ro16 group at blizzcon. Aka the three best players of the last two years.
On the plus side that also means none of them could eliminate eachother in playoffs until the finals. No Maru Serral bracket rigging would be necessary this year.
On September 22 2019 09:10 Nakajin wrote: Is Trap the best Korean player of the year?
If Zest got best korean over soO in 2014, then no (unless Trap wins this GSL I guess, but that isn't happening). Although it's not unlike TL to change their deciding factors for best player between years.
That's not comparable. Zest that year won 3 Korean tournaments and made at worst top 8 in all the others, was a top player in Proleague and made the finals of IEM Toronto. Zest was as obvious as it gets for that choice at the time. No Korean this year has won more than 1 meaningful tournament. But Dark still trumps Trap in achievements if he doesn't win Code S.
Guys.. I just realized... if the standings stay as they are for Korea... Maru and Serral would be in the same group. BUT... Classic isn’t going to BlizzCon according to Artosis 😬 We missed AGAIN
On September 22 2019 06:04 BisuDagger wrote: I want to criticize Maru for losing again to another teammate, but instead we should give him major props for once again being the one Terran who can push the race to the limit. This series aside, he really stepped up.
Teamkills are weird because we do't know what the team ordered players to do(I'm not saying they did, I'm saying we don't know)
Yeah I'm sure the players would agree to match fix after -redacted- got erased from all time. honestly listen to yourself.
without solid basis, it wouldn't even cross my mind.
On September 22 2019 06:04 BisuDagger wrote: I want to criticize Maru for losing again to another teammate, but instead we should give him major props for once again being the one Terran who can push the race to the limit. This series aside, he really stepped up.
Teamkills are weird because we do't know what the team ordered players to do(I'm not saying they did, I'm saying we don't know)
Yeah I'm sure the players would agree to match fix after -redacted- got erased from all time. honestly listen to yourself.
without solid basis, it wouldn't even cross my mind.
Can’t remember where it came up, JAGW players don’t help each other if there’s a team kill and they just ladder (and presumably get in other practice partners)
Which makes a lot of sense in terms of team harmony.
According to Maru it was Rogue’s mid-series advice to not use mech against Rag and he switched to using bio and looked far better, some of the best play I’ve seen in ages.
Not sure what in Maru’s practice was working to make him think going mass Thors was better than his bio but the prompt definitely worked and he’d obviously kept his bio game in shape too.
On September 22 2019 06:04 BisuDagger wrote: I want to criticize Maru for losing again to another teammate, but instead we should give him major props for once again being the one Terran who can push the race to the limit. This series aside, he really stepped up.
Teamkills are weird because we do't know what the team ordered players to do(I'm not saying they did, I'm saying we don't know)
Yeah I'm sure the players would agree to match fix after -redacted- got erased from all time. honestly listen to yourself.
without solid basis, it wouldn't even cross my mind.
You're putting something in my hands I didn't write(and the other person either). They could have said to Maru he can save his top builds(and the same applied to Trap) etc. It doesn't have to be matchfixing right away, don't think so binary...
Edit> I accept the fact my post should have been worder better
On September 22 2019 06:04 BisuDagger wrote: I want to criticize Maru for losing again to another teammate, but instead we should give him major props for once again being the one Terran who can push the race to the limit. This series aside, he really stepped up.
Teamkills are weird because we do't know what the team ordered players to do(I'm not saying they did, I'm saying we don't know)
Dude. You are kinda implying match fixing here. Careful now. Slippery slope
On September 22 2019 09:10 Nakajin wrote: Is Trap the best Korean player of the year?
If Zest got best korean over soO in 2014, then no (unless Trap wins this GSL I guess, but that isn't happening). Although it's not unlike TL to change their deciding factors for best player between years.
That's not comparable. Zest that year won 3 Korean tournaments and made at worst top 8 in all the others, was a top player in Proleague and made the finals of IEM Toronto. Zest was as obvious as it gets for that choice at the time. No Korean this year has won more than 1 meaningful tournament. But Dark still trumps Trap in achievements if he doesn't win Code S.
soO was better overall in Code S than anyone else, including Zest. The difference was he didn't actually win any tournaments. Same goes for Trap.
On September 22 2019 06:04 BisuDagger wrote: I want to criticize Maru for losing again to another teammate, but instead we should give him major props for once again being the one Terran who can push the race to the limit. This series aside, he really stepped up.
Teamkills are weird because we do't know what the team ordered players to do(I'm not saying they did, I'm saying we don't know)
Dude. You are kinda implying match fixing here. Careful now. Slippery slope
Teams have been doing wierd things like that since forever. For example the soO vs Classic finals were SKT apparently ordered them not to practice for eachother and to focus on proleague/other matches.
On September 22 2019 06:04 BisuDagger wrote: I want to criticize Maru for losing again to another teammate, but instead we should give him major props for once again being the one Terran who can push the race to the limit. This series aside, he really stepped up.
Teamkills are weird because we do't know what the team ordered players to do(I'm not saying they did, I'm saying we don't know)
Dude. You are kinda implying match fixing here. Careful now. Slippery slope
EDIT: You already anwsered this. Nevermind
Yeah, I added some more details to the original post so we will not have this kind of posting again
On September 22 2019 06:04 BisuDagger wrote: I want to criticize Maru for losing again to another teammate, but instead we should give him major props for once again being the one Terran who can push the race to the limit. This series aside, he really stepped up.
Teamkills are weird because we do't know what the team ordered players to do(I'm not saying they did, I'm saying we don't know)
Yeah I'm sure the players would agree to match fix after -redacted- got erased from all time. honestly listen to yourself.
without solid basis, it wouldn't even cross my mind.
You're putting something in my hands I didn't write(and the other person either). They could have said to Maru he can save his top builds(and the same applied to Trap) etc. It doesn't have to be matchfixing right away, don't think so binary...
Edit> I accept the fact my post should have been worder better
Fair enough mate, there was another guy the other day insinuating that maru "sort of" let SOS get the better of him. Guess I'm on edge about it. My bad.
On September 22 2019 06:04 BisuDagger wrote: I want to criticize Maru for losing again to another teammate, but instead we should give him major props for once again being the one Terran who can push the race to the limit. This series aside, he really stepped up.
Teamkills are weird because we do't know what the team ordered players to do(I'm not saying they did, I'm saying we don't know)
Yeah I'm sure the players would agree to match fix after -redacted- got erased from all time. honestly listen to yourself.
without solid basis, it wouldn't even cross my mind.
You're putting something in my hands I didn't write(and the other person either). They could have said to Maru he can save his top builds(and the same applied to Trap) etc. It doesn't have to be matchfixing right away, don't think so binary...
Edit> I accept the fact my post should have been worder better
Fair enough mate, there was another guy the other day insinuating that maru "sort of" let SOS get the better of him. Guess I'm on edge about it. My bad.
No worries, I should post after I wake up not when I open my eyes The post is worded poorly. (edit> I mean my post which started the discussion, I added an edit there)
On September 22 2019 06:04 BisuDagger wrote: I want to criticize Maru for losing again to another teammate, but instead we should give him major props for once again being the one Terran who can push the race to the limit. This series aside, he really stepped up.
Teamkills are weird because we do't know what the team ordered players to do(I'm not saying they did, I'm saying we don't know)
Dude. You are kinda implying match fixing here. Careful now. Slippery slope
Teams have been doing wierd things like that since forever. For example the soO vs Classic finals were SKT apparently ordered them not to practice for eachother and to focus on proleague/other matches.
That does makes some sense for a team though, SC2 has always felt more individually focused, especially in foreign land but Proleague was the bigger deal for the bean counters and whatnot, plus had that long running prestige. If SKT have a guaranteed StarLeague winner wearing their colours and sponsors, then why not focus on the stuff you haven’t won?
That said I don’t think it’s a great move in terms of the morale of your employees to lessen their chances of the prestige of being a StarLeague champion with all the prestige and accomplishment that entails. If it were me I’d feel extremely jaded that I wasn’t allowed to practice fully for one final series: From soO’s revealing interviews it does seem that did happen with him and SKT in terms of a breakdown in relations although I don’t recall him listing that finals as a reason.
With JAGW their policy of not having their players prep each other when there’s a team kill I think that’s eminently sensible though. It could get very cliquey if people favoured certain players and helped them out more than you, or that perception existed.
On September 22 2019 18:25 blooblooblahblah wrote:
On September 22 2019 13:59 Kitai wrote:
On September 22 2019 11:09 StarcraftSquall wrote: At the risk of starting a hot debate: is Trap our best Protoss this year? 🤔
Terran and Zerg have their champions in Maru and Serral. Could Trap be the Protoss answer when we ask who is the best at their race? 👀
It's definitely a question worthy of debate. In my mind, Stats takes the title of best LotV protoss and best protoss of 2019, but Trap has been super impressive lately and I'd happily revisit that opinion after his finals match or after Blizzcon.
Stats is definitely the best LotV Protoss but im unsure how you could come up with a decent argument for him being best protoss of 2019. Obviously winning Assembly and 2nd at Katowice were really nice, but they're gems in what has otherwise been a pretty average year for Stats. Bombing out of Ro32 in GSL and not getting past Ro16 all year, plus a pretty mediocre Super Tournament appearance. When Stats has looked good, he's looked good, and while I still think his form is way up there, his lack of consistency through the year has to take him out of the running for me.
Trap now has reached 2/3 GSL Finals for the year and a Ro4 in the other one. That is pretty insane. He disappointed slightly in the weekenders but he did equal Stats' GSL vs The World run. Meanwhile you have Classic with a GSL Final, a Ro4 GSL, a Ro4 GSL vs the world and a Super Tournament win. I can see how someone could scrape Stats into the discussion but I'm shocked that anyone would actually put him first.
I actually forgot Classic won the super tournament, so I take it back. My argument for Stats was that he was the only one to actually win anything (not to mention he's the only protoss to knock Serral out of a tournament in 2019). But you're right, I think Classic takes the cake right now.
Stats still bombed out of every GSL so I still don't see how a tournament win puts him as the best Protoss of the year, or even 2nd best.
On September 29 2019 02:41 Nakajin wrote: Trap is now 3-16 in his last 4 grand final, I think we can safely say he ain't no protag
edit: oups wrong thread
Well, is Dark a protagonist? Is soO? Their record in even worse, yet they are top players and revered as such. Trap in 2019 was top tier despite not winning a single title, he will hopefully have other opportunities to shine.
On September 29 2019 02:41 Nakajin wrote: Trap is now 3-16 in his last 4 grand final, I think we can safely say he ain't no protag
edit: oups wrong thread
Well, is Dark a protagonist? Is soO? Their record in even worse, yet they are top players and revered as such. Trap in 2019 was top tier despite not winning a single title, he will hopefully have other opportunities to shine.
Dark at least lost most of his finals narrowly 4-3 and soO always lost 4-2. Trap usually gets stomped hard if he makes the finals
EPT
![[image loading]](/staff/Waxangel/GSL/2019/codes3/roguetrapfinal.jpg)
Trap defeated ![[image loading]](/staff/Waxangel/GSL/2019/codes3/gslbracket5.png)
The post is worded poorly. (edit> I mean my post which started the discussion, I added an edit there)
