Life after military service? Perhaps it exists after all. TaeJa managed to survive Group F to advance in second place, becoming the only one of five post-military players to survive the RO24 this season. Group favorite Stats advanced in first place, while Hurricane and SpeCial were eliminated.
Group F and subsequent group selection ceremony.
The group selection ceremony was held directly after Group F, with Dark, Maru, Trap, and TY seeded as the top four players from GSL 2019. After two hours of group selections filled with negotiations, threats, and thinly veiled trash-talk, we ended up with the above groups.
Dark gave a textbook display of how to take advantage of the #1 seed's double-pick power, giving himself a relatively easy path to the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, RagnaroK introduced much chaos to the proceedings by dragging INnoVation into Group D, guaranteeing a group of death (his reasoning included wanting to do his friend PartinG a favor, but remained largely incomprehensible to the viewers).
GSL Code S will resume on Tuesday, May 05 9:30pm GMT (GMT+00:00) with Dark, TaeJa, Scarlett, and Dear competing in Group A of the round of sixteen.
Poll: Group of Death?
(Vote): Group A (Vote): Group B (Vote): Group C (Vote): Group D (Vote): There is no Group of Death
only one of five post-military players to survive the RO24 this season.
I knew Fantasy was one of them, but who were the other three?
Bomber, Armani DRG, ZouN and Taeja. Fanta is retired Edit Oh that right Top and Dream too, so I guess there's at least 6 of them, do we know if Zoun did his military in the end? Re edit: Zoun wasn't in the round of 24 anyway, my bad
only one of five post-military players to survive the RO24 this season.
I knew Fantasy was one of them, but who were the other three?
Bomber, Armani DRG, ZouN and Taeja. Fanta is retired Edit Oh that right Top and Dream too, so I guess there's at least 6 of them, do we know if Zoun did his military in the end?
I guessed based on the list of those players that you mentioned, only Fantasy and Taeja managed to break further to the post RO32/RO24 brackets, though that Fantasy did retired last year.
On April 30 2020 02:06 veniss wrote: I'm rooting for Scarlett, but man, it looks rough. The shortest amount of time to prepare, and she has to practice every matchup.
At least she should advance further than her RO8 achievement.
Feel like people are overestimating group B a lot here. I mean it has TY, who hasnt really achieved anything for quite a long time and while he seems to be getting to a good form, he still has a lot to prove to get back to the top. Then Solar, well lets call him a good player, nothing more than that. Stats does not seem to be the player he once was. His results have been mediocre and I really dont know what his current form might be. Finally the fanhype favorite Cure, who barely achieved anything offline in his entire career.
On the other hand group D has the GOAT of SC2 and arguably current best player, second contender for GOAT and the 2nd best Terran who is in such a great form he basically only loses to players such as Maru or Serral. Best protoss of this year in Zest. And yeah, Ragnarok, who is still kinda a decent player, but is obviously the odd one out.
Honestly I would not give anyone from Group B a chance to advance against those 3 beasts. Maybe TY, if he showed up, but that is a big if...
On April 30 2020 04:30 MarianoSC2 wrote: Feel like people are overestimating group B a lot here. I mean it has TY, who hasnt really achieved anything for quite a long time and while he seems to be getting to a good form, he still has a lot to prove to get back to the top. Then Solar, well lets call him a good player, nothing more than that. Stats does not seem to be the player he once was. His results have been mediocre and I really dont know what his current form might be. Finally the fanhype favorite Cure, who barely achieved anything offline in his entire career.
On the other hand group D has the GOAT of SC2 and arguably current best player, second contender for GOAT and the 2nd best Terran who is in such a great form he basically only loses to players such as Maru or Serral. Best protoss of this year in Zest. And yeah, Ragnarok, who is still kinda a decent player, but is obviously the odd one out.
Honestly I would not give anyone from Group B a chance to advance against those 3 beasts. Maybe TY, if he showed up, but that is a big if...
Group B is more of a group of death in the sense that there are 4 strong players who are so closely matched that predictions are difficult. Whereas Group D has the odd man out in Ragnarok and Zest is not favored against either Maru or Inno.
Even though D has more talent overall, B is harder to call.
On April 30 2020 04:30 MarianoSC2 wrote: Feel like people are overestimating group B a lot here. I mean it has TY, who hasnt really achieved anything for quite a long time and while he seems to be getting to a good form, he still has a lot to prove to get back to the top. Then Solar, well lets call him a good player, nothing more than that. Stats does not seem to be the player he once was. His results have been mediocre and I really dont know what his current form might be. Finally the fanhype favorite Cure, who barely achieved anything offline in his entire career.
On the other hand group D has the GOAT of SC2 and arguably current best player, second contender for GOAT and the 2nd best Terran who is in such a great form he basically only loses to players such as Maru or Serral. Best protoss of this year in Zest. And yeah, Ragnarok, who is still kinda a decent player, but is obviously the odd one out.
Honestly I would not give anyone from Group B a chance to advance against those 3 beasts. Maybe TY, if he showed up, but that is a big if...
Group B is more of a group of death in the sense that there are 4 strong players who are so closely matched that predictions are difficult. Whereas Group D has the odd man out in Ragnarok and Zest is not favored against either Maru or Inno.
Even though D has more talent overall, B is harder to call.
Group B is the group of the historically more underrated pros
Oh boy, I just checked aligulac and apparently Zest vs Inno has happened 8 times so far in 2020, with Zest losing 7 of them. And his alternative is Maru in GSL with 2 weeks of prep time.
On April 30 2020 05:05 pvsnp wrote: Oh boy, I just checked aligulac and apparently Zest vs Inno has happened 8 times so far in 2020, with Zest losing 7 of them. And his alternative is Maru in GSL with 2 weeks of prep time.
Zest is in some trouble here.
Well, on the upside, you don't become the most successful Protoss in Code S history without being at least somewhat good at preparing.
If Scarlett recreates what she did to rogue vs Dark, I could that upset. I'm also not going to push TaeJa out either. He showed he could adapt vs Hurricane. I didn't catch the Stats games but he seemed to get into form vs Hurricane.
Group A will probably be the more fun group to watch. Group B/D is going to be a clinic.
On April 30 2020 04:30 MarianoSC2 wrote: Feel like people are overestimating group B a lot here. I mean it has TY, who hasnt really achieved anything for quite a long time and while he seems to be getting to a good form, he still has a lot to prove to get back to the top. Then Solar, well lets call him a good player, nothing more than that. Stats does not seem to be the player he once was. His results have been mediocre and I really dont know what his current form might be. Finally the fanhype favorite Cure, who barely achieved anything offline in his entire career.
On the other hand group D has the GOAT of SC2 and arguably current best player, second contender for GOAT and the 2nd best Terran who is in such a great form he basically only loses to players such as Maru or Serral. Best protoss of this year in Zest. And yeah, Ragnarok, who is still kinda a decent player, but is obviously the odd one out.
Honestly I would not give anyone from Group B a chance to advance against those 3 beasts. Maybe TY, if he showed up, but that is a big if...
Solar has like 5 or 6 premiers, including an SSL, say what you will about his current form but he's a champion
On April 30 2020 07:33 ZerOCoolSC2 wrote: If Scarlett recreates what she did to rogue vs Dark, I could that upset. I'm also not going to push TaeJa out either. He showed he could adapt vs Hurricane. I didn't catch the Stats games but he seemed to get into form vs Hurricane.
Group A will probably be the more fun group to watch. Group B/D is going to be a clinic.
How is she going to play Dark if Dear doesn't offrace as Zerg though?
2018 Code S, the #1 seed with the swap power was given an A grade by TL for his performance in the group selection, in spite of a swap that was inconsequential for his group. He then dropped four straight to Scarlett and the severely slumping Zest to bomb out of the GSL.
On April 30 2020 07:33 ZerOCoolSC2 wrote: If Scarlett recreates what she did to rogue vs Dark, I could that upset. I'm also not going to push TaeJa out either. He showed he could adapt vs Hurricane. I didn't catch the Stats games but he seemed to get into form vs Hurricane.
Group A will probably be the more fun group to watch. Group B/D is going to be a clinic.
How is she going to play Dark if Dear doesn't offrace as Zerg though?
It's Scarlett vs TaeJa and Dark vs Dear. If Scarlett beats TaeJa, she'd play vs Dark, right? This is why I think A is going to be more fun to watch.
On April 30 2020 07:33 ZerOCoolSC2 wrote: If Scarlett recreates what she did to rogue vs Dark, I could that upset. I'm also not going to push TaeJa out either. He showed he could adapt vs Hurricane. I didn't catch the Stats games but he seemed to get into form vs Hurricane.
Group A will probably be the more fun group to watch. Group B/D is going to be a clinic.
How is she going to play Dark if Dear doesn't offrace as Zerg though?
It's Scarlett vs TaeJa and Dark vs Dear. If Scarlett beats TaeJa, she'd play vs Dark, right? This is why I think A is going to be more fun to watch.
No? Dark vs. TaeJa, Scarlett vs. Dear will be the matchups as per Liquipedia and the usual order for writing people in a group.
On April 30 2020 07:33 ZerOCoolSC2 wrote: If Scarlett recreates what she did to rogue vs Dark, I could that upset. I'm also not going to push TaeJa out either. He showed he could adapt vs Hurricane. I didn't catch the Stats games but he seemed to get into form vs Hurricane.
Group A will probably be the more fun group to watch. Group B/D is going to be a clinic.
How is she going to play Dark if Dear doesn't offrace as Zerg though?
It's Scarlett vs TaeJa and Dark vs Dear. If Scarlett beats TaeJa, she'd play vs Dark, right? This is why I think A is going to be more fun to watch.
No? Dark vs. TaeJa, Scarlett vs. Dear will be the matchups as per Liquipedia and the usual order for writing people in a group.
Huh. Figured it would be A vs D and B vs C. But either way, still stands. Scarlett can probably cheese Dear and meet Dark. TaeJa vs Dark will be interesting but I'm worried.
On April 30 2020 07:33 ZerOCoolSC2 wrote: If Scarlett recreates what she did to rogue vs Dark, I could that upset. I'm also not going to push TaeJa out either. He showed he could adapt vs Hurricane. I didn't catch the Stats games but he seemed to get into form vs Hurricane.
Group A will probably be the more fun group to watch. Group B/D is going to be a clinic.
How is she going to play Dark if Dear doesn't offrace as Zerg though?
It's Scarlett vs TaeJa and Dark vs Dear. If Scarlett beats TaeJa, she'd play vs Dark, right? This is why I think A is going to be more fun to watch.
No? Dark vs. TaeJa, Scarlett vs. Dear will be the matchups as per Liquipedia and the usual order for writing people in a group.
Huh. Figured it would be A vs D and B vs C. But either way, still stands. Scarlett can probably cheese Dear and meet Dark. TaeJa vs Dark will be interesting but I'm worried.
I think Dear is pretty underrated, he seems like a clear favorite to get out with Dark. Since Protoss has to get aggressive anyway, I'm not sure how vulnerable he is to cheese, though I guess his games vs TY show some lack of adaptability.
Innovation - SC2 GOAT, can beat literally anybody in a series even nowadays. Zest - Arguably the GOAT Protoss player, and probably the most dangerous Protoss in 2020 Maru - Most successful Terran of 2020 and knows how to exploit the race's strengths the best. Ragnarok - Not of the same pedigree as the other three but an extremely dangerous opponent nonetheless. Code S regular
A should be double DD B i'm fealing Solar / Stats. They are just a little more consistent than the others C is the hardest. I'm just not fealing soO while i should... Gonna go bunny Trap there D Should be Inno Maru but for the sake of salt i'll go with Zest and Ragnarok
D does have three of the best players but I still think it will be Maru and Inno, for me it is clear they are the favorites. Sure Zest has a shot but I can quite easily pick the players likely to advance.
Group B however, geez I have no idea, if I had to choose I would go Solar Cure but I know my faith in Cure is an aircastle.
Its always interesting to me how people define the group of death, is it simply the group with the strongest players or is it the most even group were anyone could die.
On April 30 2020 04:17 Argonauta wrote: How could Dark have the swap power if last year first GSL Maru wasnt allow to have it?
Maru had it last year bruh.
huh really? I remember a big drama about it
If there was any drama, it was about the top players having to qualify instead of getting seeded into the first round. This time the seeds came from Super Tournament, but Dark was the top seed in ro16 despite not winning ST. GSL has got a lot of tradition, but details vary each year.
On April 30 2020 14:39 FFW_Rude wrote: B i'm fealing Solar / Stats. They are just a little more consistent than the others
I don't think consistency is a word I'd use to describe Solar. Not as a positive anyway, I guess. Solar has 7 exits in the Ro32 in LotV and only 1 top 8. TY has made it to the Ro8 or further 9 times in the same time span.
On April 30 2020 21:39 ScrappyRabbit wrote: The odds are against it, but I really hope Scarlett goes up against Dark just to see how obsessively he'll scout for cheese.
what viable early cheese can you obsessively scout for in zvz though? zvz meta is usually to blindly prepare for the possibility of ling bane attacks at any time, and early pools unfold before you scout with anything but the lead overlord
i mean yeah you still try to get lings in and count drones/spot tech, but that's what you normally do in any game
On April 30 2020 14:39 FFW_Rude wrote: B i'm fealing Solar / Stats. They are just a little more consistent than the others
I don't think consistency is a word I'd use to describe Solar. Not as a positive anyway, I guess. Solar has 7 exits in the Ro32 in LotV and only 1 top 8. TY has made it to the Ro8 or further 9 times in the same time span.
On April 30 2020 01:39 newageofpower wrote: Surprised Dark didn't pick up Bunny to make his life even easier.
Also, did Ragnorak actually think Dark was going to save him? LOL.
Yeah, I am totally shocked Bunny was not the swap and he preferred Dear. Stats to group D for RagnaroK also made way more sense.
WTF was RagnaroK thinking picking Innovation? This same thing happened in 2019 Season 2, Patience picked Innovation into group D with 7 other players still on the table, and Group D always gets the strongest un-picked player (Stats last time, Zest this time) creating a Group of Death. Patience went 0-2 (0-4) as karmic retribution, and Innovation advanced, sorry Stats. Zest is now in a similar boat, would be >50% to advance swapped into any other group, but this one is going to be rough for him.
On April 30 2020 01:39 newageofpower wrote: Surprised Dark didn't pick up Bunny to make his life even easier.
Also, did Ragnorak actually think Dark was going to save him? LOL.
Yeah, I am totally shocked Bunny was not the swap and he preferred Dear. Stats to group D for RagnaroK also made way more sense.
WTF was RagnaroK thinking picking Innovation? This same thing happened in 2019 Season 2, Patience picked Innovation into group D with 7 other players still on the table, and Group D always gets the strongest un-picked player (Stats last time, Zest this time) creating a Group of Death. Patience went 0-2 (0-4) as karmic retribution, and Innovation advanced, sorry Stats. Zest is now in a similar boat, would be >50% to advance swapped into any other group, but this one is going to be rough for him.
You know what I think it was? For one, the hope that Dark would swap him out last second for Stats (as he tried to plead his case, though probably too late for Dark to even consider it). And also the fact that INnoVation was so smug the entire time saying he'd be picked last and end up in group D anyway.
Also apparently before the event even started Dark promised Bunny to not put him in his group and promised Dear to add him to the group. And apparently tis the season to keep your promises.
On April 30 2020 21:39 ScrappyRabbit wrote: The odds are against it, but I really hope Scarlett goes up against Dark just to see how obsessively he'll scout for cheese.
what viable early cheese can you obsessively scout for in zvz though? zvz meta is usually to blindly prepare for the possibility of ling bane attacks at any time, and early pools unfold before you scout with anything but the lead overlord
i mean yeah you still try to get lings in and count drones/spot tech, but that's what you normally do in any game
That's kind of what cracks me up, just imagining something crazy like a pool first/fast drone scout all around the main/2nd drone scout looking for proxies, then overlord speed, just Dark saying "I DON'T CARE HOW INEFFICIENT THIS IS YOU CAN'T BEAT ME IN A MACRO GAME AND I DON'T TRUST YOU AT ALL."
LOL, this was a fun pick process to watch since Dark wielded his power like the mafia boss! I think it'll be hard for Scarlett this time since Dark is sure to practice his anti-cheese scouting strategies and may even go super safe builds. He should be confident enough in mid/late-game that he can just take an eco hit in the early game ZvZ. Rogue's builds were really greedy.
Really thought that Zest was a dark horse to go far this season. Group D is stacked and I think Innovation and Maru will advance, they are both just looking too strong at this moment. Ragnarok really wasn't thinking.
I dunno about group D as the group of death. Seems pretty clear that Inno and Maru will advance. Ragnarok is just not a top player and Zest's PvT won't get him through against those two top terrans.
EPT
![[image loading]](/staff/Waxangel/GSL/2020_21/codes1/ro16groups.jpg)
TaeJa managed to survive Group F to advance in second place, becoming the only one of five post-military players to survive the RO24 this season. Group favorite 
