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DH Last Chance: RO16 Group B Preview

Forum Index > SC2 General
11 CommentsPost a Reply

DH Last Chance: RO16 Group B Preview

Text byTL.net ESPORTS
January 13th, 2021 06:58 GMT

DreamHack Masters: Last Chance 2021

by Wax

Do I sense AfreecaTV getting a tad jealous here? Because DreamHack Masters is here to present us with a group of death that looks almost Code-S worthy. Open qualifiers across all servers allowed a slew of top GSL players to qualify, and a quirk of seeding has put four of them together in a particularly mortal combination. While it will be a shame to lose two of these players in the round of sixteen, the battle for survival should make for some thrilling StarCraft II.

DreamHack StarCraft 2 Masters: Last Chance 2021

RO16 Group B: Rogue, ByuN, Trap, PartinG

Start time: Wednesday, Jan 13 2:00pm GMT (GMT+00:00)

Alright, so maybe my predictions for Group A didn't end up being quite as accurate as I hoped. But hear me out: I think Group B is going to be a real skills showcase for Trap, the hope of Protoss players around the world. His 2020 campaign ended on a streak-shattering high note, as he won the championships at both NeXT Winter and GSL Super Tournament 2 to end a Protoss title drought that had lasted for over a year. Nevermind that he was cheesed out of TSL6 in the RO32 by RagnaroK in between those two events. Honestly, the timing of the year-end 'break' felt unfair, coming right as Trap built up the most momentum he ever had in his career.

Given the length of Protoss despair, I'm sure there are some fans who think Trap's pair of wins were merely a lucky break and that Protoss will soon plunge back into an era of darkness. As for me, I think that Trap's momentum will carry over into 2021. After all, he's been the best all-around Protoss player since 2019 (occasionally sharing the title with Stats during his peaks), proving that he's masterful at playing all-ins, macro-games, and everything in between. If there was some kind of mental block that hindered him in the later rounds of tournaments—some kind of late-onset silver surfer syndrome—breaking that long championship duck has surely helped improve his confidence as well. Look, I'm not predicting that Trap will win this tournament and revive the cries of "Protoss OP," but at the very least, I think he'll make the outlook for Protoss seem brighter than before.

While a Rogue vs Trap match-up isn't guaranteed, one thing I'm looking for Trap to do is wield the Golden Armada and take a hyper-late-game victory in a major tournament. For one, it would be great revenge for 2019. Second, it would give me some hope that Trap could finally take down the Serral-Reynor duo that have blocked his path in many events. Recent majors saw both Stats (DH Winter) and ShoWTimE (TSL6) take maps off Serral with the composition—Trap is hardly guaranteed to reach the late-game against Serral or Reynor, but it could be a small edge that takes him over the top against his tormentors.

While I'm most excited for Trap, I figure popular sentiment probably favors ByuN. That would be understandable and most deserved—ByuN made what was possibly the most anticipated comeback from military service to date, and unlike his peers, he massively over-delivered on expectations. Within three months of his return, ByuN defeated Maru to win the championship at ASUS ROG Online, and even played a game-of-the-year quality match against Serral along the way. ByuN and StarCraft II fans were reunited in bliss, as if nothing had changed since 2016.

Well, one thing did change, and unfortunately it was for the worse: the condition of ByuN's wrists. ByuN's wrist pain issue has been prone to flaring up in the AfreecaTV studio, be it due to stress, pressure, or simply the uncomfortable environment. It's hampered both of his GSL runs so far (one Code S and one Super Tournament), and it's a major concern for all those who hope he might win an offline title again. But, fortunately for ByuN in DH: Last Chance, wrist pain doesn't seem to afflict him in online play, or at least not to such a severe degree. He's been splendid in the three online majors he's played in so far, taking first place in ASUS ROG, top eight in NeXT Winter, and third place in TSL6.

Now, some fans might be worried about the end of ByuN's TSL6 run, where he was shellacked 3-0 by both Dark and Serral. I'd say it's not a big deal. It says less about the state of ByuN than it says about the current state of StarCraft II, where the 7~9 top players can all take a series off each other on any given day. Don't fret about ByuN, as he definitely has a fighting chance to win the championship.

Unlike Trap and ByuN, Rogue may never get a chance to be the hero. Despite that, the narrative around the two-time IEM Katowice champion is one of the more compelling ones in StarCraft II: he's either a world champion or simply not trying at all. But, in recent months, I've had to concede that his current reality is probably much more mundane and boring. Like many other progamers in the past, he's probably trying hard right now—yet still not playing at the level he wants to. [TL.net pushing a narrative and then disowning it? We'd never!]

Since winning Code S Season 2 back in August of 2020, Rogue has been stuck in that hazy very-good-but-not-great zone. Top four in Super Tournament 2 was his best subsequent performance; otherwise he's disappointed with several mid-table finishes. Obviously, a player with Rogue's resume can never be counted out, as he's shown he can go from zero to $200,000 on multiple occasions. However, for the 'mere' $12,500 first place prize on the line at DH: Last Chance, I wonder if we'll actually see Rogue unleash his black magic.

Finally, there's PartinG, who unfortunately has to play the underdog role in this group of death. He's come back down toward the middle of the GSL pack after a splendid top four run in Code S Season one, but his knowledge of cheeses, precise micro, and occasionally dominant macro PvT make him a persistently dangerous wildcard. Case in point: he swept both Cure and TY in the qualifiers to earn his Last Chance spot. In that vein, getting and winning a match against ByuN will be key for PartinG—PvT has been by far his strongest match-up in the current balance patch, and he'll have to lean on it if he wants to advance.

Predictions: Trap is the most consistently strong player in this group, and he's my favorite to advance here. That said, nothing is assured in this group, as ByuN, PartinG, and Rogue can play a championship-tier BO3 against anyone when things are clicking. In the end, I'm picking ByuN to advance alongside Trap, in a nod to his recent online performances.

ByuN > Rogue
Trap > PartinG
Trap > ByuN
Rogue > PartinG
ByuN > Rogue

Trap and ByuN advance.




Writer: Wax
Photos: DreamHack
Statistics: Liquipedia

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TL+ Member
Harris1st
Profile Blog Joined May 2010
Germany4076 Posts
January 13 2021 08:19 GMT
#2
Great write up! As Always

The hivemind has found a small error:

Now, some fans might be worried about the end of ByuN's TSL6 run, where he was shellacked 3-0 by both ByuN and Serral. I'd say it's not a big deal. It says less about the state of ByuN than it says about the current state of StarCraft II, where the 7~9 top players can all take a series off each other on any given day. Don't fret about ByuN, as he definitely has a fighting chance to win the championship.


Should be 3-0 by both Dark and Serral
TheDougler is the master of signature bets, he is the two-time Blizzcon SigBet Champ. Also, Serral let me down.
Edpayasugo
Profile Joined April 2013
United Kingdom1877 Posts
January 13 2021 08:38 GMT
#3
Cool group
FlaSh MMA INnoVation FanTaSy MKP TY Ryung | soO Dark Rogue | HuK PartinG Stork State
Waxangel
Profile Blog Joined September 2002
United States29640 Posts
January 13 2021 08:44 GMT
#4
On January 13 2021 17:19 Harris1st wrote:
Great write up! As Always

The hivemind has found a small error:

Show nested quote +
Now, some fans might be worried about the end of ByuN's TSL6 run, where he was shellacked 3-0 by both ByuN and Serral. I'd say it's not a big deal. It says less about the state of ByuN than it says about the current state of StarCraft II, where the 7~9 top players can all take a series off each other on any given day. Don't fret about ByuN, as he definitely has a fighting chance to win the championship.


Should be 3-0 by both Dark and Serral


hivemind node 2398903 thanks hivemind node 3487972
AdministratorHey HP can you redo everything youve ever done because i have a small complaint?
TL+ Member
WombaT
Profile Blog Joined May 2010
Northern Ireland15131 Posts
January 13 2021 09:46 GMT
#5
‘Mon the Trap! Good preview as ever
'You'll always be the cuddly marsupial of my heart, despite the inherent flaws of your ancestry' - Squat
TL+ Member
GoloSC2
Profile Joined August 2014
590 Posts
January 13 2021 09:51 GMT
#6
Another one:
[...]taking place in ASUS ROG, [...]


Personally I'm glad ByuN happened at ROG
"Code S > IEM > Super Tournament > Homestory Cup > Blizzcon/WESG > GSL vs The World > Invitational tournaments in China with Koreans > WCS events" - Rodya
Harris1st
Profile Blog Joined May 2010
Germany4076 Posts
Last Edited: 2021-01-13 10:54:06
January 13 2021 10:53 GMT
#7
On January 13 2021 18:51 GoloSC2 wrote:
Another one:
Show nested quote +
[...]taking place in ASUS ROG, [...]


Personally I'm glad ByuN happened at ROG


I think everyone visiting TL.net knows that Byun won ASUS Rog, so there is no need to mention it ^^
TheDougler is the master of signature bets, he is the two-time Blizzcon SigBet Champ. Also, Serral let me down.
Durnuu
Profile Joined September 2013
11756 Posts
January 13 2021 11:02 GMT
#8
On January 13 2021 19:53 Harris1st wrote:
Show nested quote +
On January 13 2021 18:51 GoloSC2 wrote:
Another one:
[...]taking place in ASUS ROG, [...]


Personally I'm glad ByuN happened at ROG


I think everyone visiting TL.net knows that Byun won ASUS Rog, so there is no need to mention it ^^

I actually find it funny his win got a featured article while Dark's win at TL's own tournament didn't get featured
https://i.imgur.com/2wCUbam.jpg "Durn is a trash player meching cunt" - Luolis 2018 | Never forget the time Aeromi consistently ignored me in LR threads because I asked about Chile
WombaT
Profile Blog Joined May 2010
Northern Ireland15131 Posts
January 13 2021 12:58 GMT
#9
On January 13 2021 20:02 Durnuu wrote:
Show nested quote +
On January 13 2021 19:53 Harris1st wrote:
On January 13 2021 18:51 GoloSC2 wrote:
Another one:
[...]taking place in ASUS ROG, [...]


Personally I'm glad ByuN happened at ROG


I think everyone visiting TL.net knows that Byun won ASUS Rog, so there is no need to mention it ^^

I actually find it funny his win got a featured article while Dark's win at TL's own tournament didn't get featured

The latter is up in featured now though? Unless I hallucinated reading the write-up, which is quite possible.
'You'll always be the cuddly marsupial of my heart, despite the inherent flaws of your ancestry' - Squat
TL+ Member
AzAlexZ
Profile Joined September 2016
2374 Posts
January 13 2021 13:36 GMT
#10
On January 13 2021 20:02 Durnuu wrote:
Show nested quote +
On January 13 2021 19:53 Harris1st wrote:
On January 13 2021 18:51 GoloSC2 wrote:
Another one:
[...]taking place in ASUS ROG, [...]


Personally I'm glad ByuN happened at ROG


I think everyone visiting TL.net knows that Byun won ASUS Rog, so there is no need to mention it ^^

I actually find it funny his win got a featured article while Dark's win at TL's own tournament didn't get featured

uhhhh you're kidding right?
Faker is the GOAT!
Waxangel
Profile Blog Joined September 2002
United States29640 Posts
January 13 2021 16:26 GMT
#11
On January 13 2021 22:36 AzAlexZ wrote:
Show nested quote +
On January 13 2021 20:02 Durnuu wrote:
On January 13 2021 19:53 Harris1st wrote:
On January 13 2021 18:51 GoloSC2 wrote:
Another one:
[...]taking place in ASUS ROG, [...]


Personally I'm glad ByuN happened at ROG


I think everyone visiting TL.net knows that Byun won ASUS Rog, so there is no need to mention it ^^

I actually find it funny his win got a featured article while Dark's win at TL's own tournament didn't get featured

uhhhh you're kidding right?


to be fair it was pretty late
AdministratorHey HP can you redo everything youve ever done because i have a small complaint?
TL+ Member
Durnuu
Profile Joined September 2013
11756 Posts
January 13 2021 19:12 GMT
#12
On January 13 2021 22:36 AzAlexZ wrote:
Show nested quote +
On January 13 2021 20:02 Durnuu wrote:
On January 13 2021 19:53 Harris1st wrote:
On January 13 2021 18:51 GoloSC2 wrote:
Another one:
[...]taking place in ASUS ROG, [...]


Personally I'm glad ByuN happened at ROG


I think everyone visiting TL.net knows that Byun won ASUS Rog, so there is no need to mention it ^^

I actually find it funny his win got a featured article while Dark's win at TL's own tournament didn't get featured

uhhhh you're kidding right?

I was talking about this
https://i.imgur.com/2wCUbam.jpg "Durn is a trash player meching cunt" - Luolis 2018 | Never forget the time Aeromi consistently ignored me in LR threads because I asked about Chile
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