• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EDT 20:56
CEST 02:56
KST 09:56
  • Home
  • Forum
  • Calendar
  • Streams
  • Liquipedia
  • Features
  • Store
  • EPT
  • TL+
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Smash
  • Heroes
  • Counter-Strike
  • Overwatch
  • Liquibet
  • Fantasy StarCraft
  • TLPD
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Blogs
Forum Sidebar
Events/Features
News
Featured News
RSL Season 1 - Final Week6[ASL19] Finals Recap: Standing Tall10HomeStory Cup 27 - Info & Preview18Classic wins Code S Season 2 (2025)16Code S RO4 & Finals Preview: herO, Rogue, Classic, GuMiho0
Community News
Firefly given lifetime ban by ESIC following match-fixing investigation17$25,000 Streamerzone StarCraft Pro Series announced7Weekly Cups (June 30 - July 6): Classic Doubles7[BSL20] Non-Korean Championship 4x BSL + 4x China10Flash Announces Hiatus From ASL76
StarCraft 2
General
The GOAT ranking of GOAT rankings RSL Revival patreon money discussion thread Weekly Cups (June 30 - July 6): Classic Doubles Server Blocker RSL Season 1 - Final Week
Tourneys
RSL: Revival, a new crowdfunded tournament series FEL Cracov 2025 (July 27) - $8000 live event $5,100+ SEL Season 2 Championship (SC: Evo) $25,000 Streamerzone StarCraft Pro Series announced Sparkling Tuna Cup - Weekly Open Tournament
Strategy
How did i lose this ZvP, whats the proper response Simple Questions Simple Answers
Custom Maps
External Content
Mutation # 481 Fear and Lava Mutation # 480 Moths to the Flame Mutation # 479 Worn Out Welcome Mutation # 478 Instant Karma
Brood War
General
BGH Auto Balance -> http://bghmmr.eu/ Flash Announces Hiatus From ASL BW General Discussion A cwal.gg Extension - Easily keep track of anyone Script to open stream directly using middle click
Tourneys
2025 ACS Season 2 Qualifier [Megathread] Daily Proleagues Small VOD Thread 2.0 Last Minute Live-Report Thread Resource!
Strategy
Simple Questions, Simple Answers I am doing this better than progamers do.
Other Games
General Games
Path of Exile Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread CCLP - Command & Conquer League Project The PlayStation 5 Nintendo Switch Thread
Dota 2
Official 'what is Dota anymore' discussion
League of Legends
Heroes of the Storm
Simple Questions, Simple Answers Heroes of the Storm 2.0
Hearthstone
Heroes of StarCraft mini-set
TL Mafia
TL Mafia Community Thread Vanilla Mini Mafia
Community
General
US Politics Mega-thread Russo-Ukrainian War Thread Things Aren’t Peaceful in Palestine The Accidental Video Game Porn Archive Stop Killing Games - European Citizens Initiative
Fan Clubs
SKT1 Classic Fan Club! Maru Fan Club
Media & Entertainment
Movie Discussion! [Manga] One Piece Anime Discussion Thread [\m/] Heavy Metal Thread
Sports
2024 - 2025 Football Thread Formula 1 Discussion NBA General Discussion TeamLiquid Health and Fitness Initiative For 2023 NHL Playoffs 2024
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
Computer Build, Upgrade & Buying Resource Thread
TL Community
The Automated Ban List
Blogs
Men Take Risks, Women Win Ga…
TrAiDoS
momentary artworks from des…
tankgirl
from making sc maps to makin…
Husyelt
StarCraft improvement
iopq
Trip to the Zoo
micronesia
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 679 users

Code S RO8 - Dark and PartinG advance to semis

Forum Index > SC2 General
19 CommentsPost a Reply
TL.net ESPORTS
Profile Joined July 2011
4 Posts
July 16 2021 22:07 GMT
#1

2021 Global StarCraft II League: Code S Season 2
Monday's one-sided sweeps gave way to a pair of explosive quarterfinal series on Thursday, as Dark and PartinG barely advanced past opponents and into the semifinals.

[image loading]


Dark's quarterfinal match against Rogue got off to an extremely strange and equally exhilarating start, with Dark's 12-pool Spine Crawler all-in resulting in draw. Neither player even agreed to a draw as is customary in such cases—StarCraft II's automatic stalemate detection kicked in and declared the game to be a tie. Then, Dark pulled out the exact same strategy in the rematch, this time narrowly winning after some hectic early game combat. While fan-favorite games tend to be ones that extend beyond fifteen minutes, the initial pair of the games from this series (the tie and the rematch) were some of the most entertaining 'fast' games to be had in StarCraft II.

Not to be outdone, Rogue brought out his own extreme early-game all-ins in the next two games, taking both Blackburn and Lightshade rather easily to go up 2-1 in the series. Things finally settled down once the two players headed to macro-map Romanticide for game four, with both of them establishing three bases for more standard play. Dark's Muta-Line-Baneling composition ended up prevailing against Rogue's ground-based army, as Dark's torrential attacks gradually wore Rogue down before a Lurker-based defense could become fully entrenched.

The two players reversed roles once again for the final showdown on Oblivion, with Rogue going for fast Mutalisks against Dark's Lair-less Roach-Baneling-Zerg aggression. This game was full of twists and turns, with Dark going for multiple busts but not quite succeeding at finishing Rogue off. At the same time, Rogue couldn't use his Mutalisks to gain a serious advantage, as he had to play in constant fear of damaging backdoor attacks from Dark. In the end, Dark's Spores and Queens were enough to establish a superior economy, which he used to overrun Rogue after a protracted game.

After the series, Dark said he was happier than if he had won a championship, referencing the many times Rogue had eliminated him in major tournaments. Along those lines, Dark seemed to think that the hardest part of the playoffs might be over, with Rogue having been the biggest threat to his championship aspirations.

The last quarterfinal match saw Zoun come close to pulling off a dramatic reverse-sweep against PartinG, but he ultimately threw away his chance at victory with a questionable engagement on the final map.

PartinG took the first two maps of Oblivion and Blackburn due to his cunning, exploiting the trend of 1-Gate-Stargate builds on maps with high-ground expansions. On Oblivion, he showed his opponent the 'standard' Stargate before cancelling it and going for a hidden Dark Templar drop, which forced a quick GG out of Zoun who had been preparing for a Phoenix war. Zoun then tried to go Stargate expand again on Blackburn, but ended up giving up another fast GG—this time to PartinG's proxy-Void Rays + 3-Gate Stalkers + Batteries.

In a move that was either born of sheer stubbornness or a multi-layered mind-game, Zoun went for Stargate expand yet again in game three on Oxide, which PartinG responded to by going for the same Void Ray + Stalker all-in. However, this time around, Zoun made an Oracle as the first unit out of his Stargate, killing off the enemy Probe that was supposed to start laying down a field of Shield Batteries. This, combined with some better micro from Zoun on the whole, allowed him stave off the attack and recover a point.

Game four on Romanticide seemed like it might deliver the first standard game of the series, but PartinG had another trick up his sleeve in the form of a hidden Dark Shrine. However, Zoun wasn't duped this time, sensing something was awry and setting up his defenses in time. A mostly standard game did play on out from that point, with Zoun having the advantage due to his less risky start. There weren't any further twists—Zoun was able to assemble a powerful army with more Immortals and Archons, which he used to end the game and tie the series.

PartinG's proxy tactics were growing less and less effective with every game of the series, and in game five, they almost backfired on him in a fatal way. His attempt to go for a hidden Dark Shrine was discovered extremely early, with Zoun able to pick off a Pylon and two Probes as a bonus. The game seemed like it was headed toward a similar ending as in game four, where Zoun would calmly snowball his early-game advantage into a more powerful mid-game army. PartinG himself later admitted he had almost given up once his proxy failed.

However, PartinG would end up being bailed out by his opponent's impatience. As the two players massed mid-game armies of Zealot-Archon-Immortal, Zoun decided to take an incredibly unwise fight. Despite having won the previous game due to having more Archons, this time Zoun charged headlong into PartinG's army despite seeing that he was clearly outnumbered on the Archon front. The fight ended in complete disaster for Zoun, allowing PartinG to survive a near reverse-sweep and book his ticket to the semifinals.

After the matches, an emotional PartinG talked about the intense practice regimen he had been putting himself through, and revealed his intent to get a notable result before beginning his military service.

Code S will resume on Monday, Jul 19 9:30am GMT (GMT+00:00) with semifinal match #1: Bunny vs Trap.
Facebook Twitter Reddit
TL+ Member
Die4Ever
Profile Joined August 2010
United States17671 Posts
July 16 2021 22:47 GMT
#2
"Neither player even agreed to a draw as is customary in such cases—StarCraft II's automatic stalemate detection kicked in and declared the game to be a tie."
honestly that might've been the first time I've seen that happen in a pro game? can't think of any other games
"Expert" mods4ever.com
Poopi
Profile Blog Joined November 2010
France12792 Posts
July 16 2021 22:58 GMT
#3
On July 17 2021 07:47 Die4Ever wrote:
"Neither player even agreed to a draw as is customary in such cases—StarCraft II's automatic stalemate detection kicked in and declared the game to be a tie."
honestly that might've been the first time I've seen that happen in a pro game? can't think of any other games

Polt managed to get a draw against Strange in a game he was probably losing:
WriterMaru
tommey.liang
Profile Joined November 2020
United States362 Posts
July 17 2021 00:01 GMT
#4
Really enjoyed how both of these series were so close.
FF, KH, Persona, Uncharted, Yakuza | Porter, Illenium, MitiS, Dabin, Seven Lions, Petit Biscuit | Diablo II, SC2 | Pho, sushi, tacos
Garbo1
Profile Joined July 2020
49 Posts
July 17 2021 03:46 GMT
#5
Great, nail-biting series.

Tastosis are failing in their analysis a bit, talking Trap up as the biggest threat even as Parting beat Trap in the round of 16. Trap is too orthodox and will be beaten through strategy and preparation. Tasteless thinks Bunny/Dark as the least likely finalists, but I think it's the most likely.

Bunny's preparation is god like at the moment. Bunny beats Trap. Dark is overall much more skilled and consistent than Parting, in a beat of 7, Dark beats Parting.

Bunny/Dark is much harder to predict. On paper, Bunny's preparation should mean he wins. But finals day nerves might factor in.
Terra1
Profile Joined June 2018
Philippines312 Posts
July 17 2021 04:05 GMT
#6
Really nail-biting series for both. I'm glad both Dark and PartinG made to the semis.

Trap has a better chance of beating Bunny as most of the offline matches he lost to a Terran as of late has been none other than Maru. While Trap lost to Bunny in some of the GSL tournaments, he beat Bunny in a recent ST. My only concerns are that Trap is really predictable here, like Stats AND Bunny has the Terran who beat Trap a couple of times (MARU). If he can take notes from Maru, then Bunny can also take the series win. But since Trap has made it to a couple of finals, including GSL, I'll give him an edge here.

Parting vs Dark is gonna hard to determine. He barely lost a 3-2 to Dark in the previous season's qualifiers and I'm pretty sure he's gonna prepare a lot here, especially those crazy builds he's gonna do. Still gonna support PartinG the big boy here.
Garbo1
Profile Joined July 2020
49 Posts
July 17 2021 05:27 GMT
#7
On July 17 2021 13:05 Terra1 wrote:

Trap has a better chance of beating Bunny as most of the offline matches he lost to a Terran as of late has been none other than Maru. While Trap lost to Bunny in some of the GSL tournaments, he beat Bunny in a recent ST. My only concerns are that Trap is really predictable here, like Stats AND Bunny has the Terran who beat Trap a couple of times (MARU). If he can take notes from Maru, then Bunny can also take the series win. But since Trap has made it to a couple of finals, including GSL, I'll give him an edge


Bunny has Maru on his team, and his prep game has been immaculate this season. No way he loses to Trap this time unless he just decides to give up on prepping for some reason.
dbrinker
Profile Joined May 2016
30 Posts
Last Edited: 2021-07-17 05:49:44
July 17 2021 05:48 GMT
#8
On July 17 2021 12:46 Garbo1 wrote:
Great, nail-biting series.

Tastosis are failing in their analysis a bit, talking Trap up as the biggest threat even as Parting beat Trap in the round of 16. Trap is too orthodox and will be beaten through strategy and preparation. Tasteless thinks Bunny/Dark as the least likely finalists, but I think it's the most likely.

Bunny's preparation is god like at the moment. Bunny beats Trap. Dark is overall much more skilled and consistent than Parting, in a beat of 7, Dark beats Parting.

Bunny/Dark is much harder to predict. On paper, Bunny's preparation should mean he wins. But finals day nerves might factor in.

trap will be the favorite against bunny for sure. i very much disagree with you and think he will pick bunny apart 4-1 or 4-0.

I also think dark beats parting. no idea about trap vs dark
Kitai
Profile Joined June 2012
United States873 Posts
July 17 2021 05:56 GMT
#9
Head says Trap > Bunny and Dark > PartinG. Heart is ambivalent about Trap/Bunny, but hopes for PartinG > Dark.
"You know, I don't care if soO got 100 second places in a row. Anyone who doesn't think that he's going to win blizzcon watching this series is a fool" - Artosis, Blizzcon 2014 soO vs TaeJa
Crocolisk Dundee
Profile Blog Joined October 2015
870 Posts
July 17 2021 08:38 GMT
#10
Championship heart
1. Bunny
2. PartinG
3. Trap
4. Dark

Championship head
1. Trap
2. Dark
3. PartinG
4. Bunny
Stopped watching ESL content in 2022 when the company was acquired by Savvy Gaming Group. Also object to sponsorships by the U.S. Air Force. Thanks for the lively discussions about sportswashing. StarCraft II is not for me anymore.
Poopi
Profile Blog Joined November 2010
France12792 Posts
July 17 2021 10:16 GMT
#11
On July 17 2021 14:27 Garbo1 wrote:
Show nested quote +
On July 17 2021 13:05 Terra1 wrote:

Trap has a better chance of beating Bunny as most of the offline matches he lost to a Terran as of late has been none other than Maru. While Trap lost to Bunny in some of the GSL tournaments, he beat Bunny in a recent ST. My only concerns are that Trap is really predictable here, like Stats AND Bunny has the Terran who beat Trap a couple of times (MARU). If he can take notes from Maru, then Bunny can also take the series win. But since Trap has made it to a couple of finals, including GSL, I'll give him an edge


Bunny has Maru on his team, and his prep game has been immaculate this season. No way he loses to Trap this time unless he just decides to give up on prepping for some reason.

Preparation helps but it’s no magic, beating Trap in bo7 during GSL would be a huge upset for Bunny
WriterMaru
Garbo1
Profile Joined July 2020
49 Posts
July 17 2021 15:38 GMT
#12
We'll see. Trap is nowhere near unbeatable in his current form. His builds are stale and he relies on good reactive play, and even then he's not shown that he's 100% on top of it this season. I'm certain Bunny is going to out prep him.
[PkF] Wire
Profile Joined March 2013
France24193 Posts
Last Edited: 2021-07-17 18:39:00
July 17 2021 18:38 GMT
#13
On July 17 2021 19:16 Poopi wrote:
Show nested quote +
On July 17 2021 14:27 Garbo1 wrote:
On July 17 2021 13:05 Terra1 wrote:

Trap has a better chance of beating Bunny as most of the offline matches he lost to a Terran as of late has been none other than Maru. While Trap lost to Bunny in some of the GSL tournaments, he beat Bunny in a recent ST. My only concerns are that Trap is really predictable here, like Stats AND Bunny has the Terran who beat Trap a couple of times (MARU). If he can take notes from Maru, then Bunny can also take the series win. But since Trap has made it to a couple of finals, including GSL, I'll give him an edge


Bunny has Maru on his team, and his prep game has been immaculate this season. No way he loses to Trap this time unless he just decides to give up on prepping for some reason.

Preparation helps but it’s no magic, beating Trap in bo7 during GSL would be a huge upset for Bunny

I still see Trap as a favorite, but I tend to agree with Garbo that Bunny has had pristine prep so far (while playing really well overall) and that that could prove a huge asset especially against Trap. I think this is a far more open match than what meets the eye.
Freeborn
Profile Joined July 2010
Germany421 Posts
July 17 2021 19:52 GMT
#14
Ok guys, Trap is literally the hardest opponent for bunny to beat.

Trap is so good if he is at his best, that I think that bunny needs to be extremely lucky or sneaky to beat Trap in more than one or two games.

Dark vs parting clearly favors dark, but if parting can come up with one or two sneaky wins he can probably win the rest in makro games too. He just seems to not trust his own makro games enough.

PvP finals Trap vs Parting! Let's gooooo!

Any combination will be great though at this point, they all deserve it.
Garbo1
Profile Joined July 2020
49 Posts
July 17 2021 20:56 GMT
#15
I don't know if I have a bias against Trap, I just don't see the skill that you guys are championing.

The guy may have been having a bad day but he still lost 4 out of 5 series' in his group at iem. Lost to Astrea man. Lost to Astrea.
buzz_bender
Profile Joined August 2019
445 Posts
Last Edited: 2021-07-18 03:11:11
July 18 2021 03:07 GMT
#16
On July 18 2021 05:56 Garbo1 wrote:
I don't know if I have a bias against Trap, I just don't see the skill that you guys are championing.

The guy may have been having a bad day but he still lost 4 out of 5 series' in his group at iem. Lost to Astrea man. Lost to Astrea.


You're underselling Trap though. He's the undisputed best Protoss at the moment. He had a horrible day in IEM, but for any tournament outside of IEM (before and after), he's been in ridiculously good form.

The thing about Trap is that he's not "flashy". He is just solid all round, excels at basic macro and micro, and I think has tremendous game sense at this point in time. He reads the game really well, and it's hard to surprise him. If you look at his wins against all the top opponents, like Maru/Reynor etc, there's nothing flashy, but he just has this sense of knowing when to go on the offensive, when to pull back, and has the killer instinct to go for the blow with just the right army composition. His army positioning is top-notch (an underrated and un"flashy" skill) as I think army positioning is so so so important for Protoss.

Having said all of that, this is the GSL where prep is paramount and anything can happen. That's why winning GSL is held in such high esteem, and such a hard tournament to win. It is also why we tend to see crazy games, with crazy strats, and sometimes clown fiestas.
JJH777
Profile Joined January 2011
United States4401 Posts
July 18 2021 03:12 GMT
#17
On July 18 2021 05:56 Garbo1 wrote:
I don't know if I have a bias against Trap, I just don't see the skill that you guys are championing.

The guy may have been having a bad day but he still lost 4 out of 5 series' in his group at iem. Lost to Astrea man. Lost to Astrea.


You know he's won like 6 premiers in the last ~8 months right? Lots of good players have lost to Astrea.
TanksALot
Profile Joined December 2002
United States153 Posts
July 18 2021 16:00 GMT
#18
Best day of GSL all year
Big up
egrimm
Profile Joined September 2011
Poland1199 Posts
July 18 2021 20:00 GMT
#19
Crazy good games, I am hyped for this Ro4
sOs TY PartinG
Garbo1
Profile Joined July 2020
49 Posts
July 19 2021 16:06 GMT
#20
Jesus I was proved wrong so hard
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
Next event in 9h 4m
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
Nina 198
RuFF_SC2 157
NeuroSwarm 135
StarCraft: Brood War
NaDa 108
Dota 2
monkeys_forever220
League of Legends
JimRising 811
Heroes of the Storm
Khaldor242
Other Games
summit1g13559
ViBE230
Livibee77
Trikslyr71
ROOTCatZ44
Organizations
Other Games
gamesdonequick53117
BasetradeTV28
StarCraft 2
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
sctven
[ Show 19 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• davetesta75
• Hupsaiya 39
• musti20045 39
• HeavenSC 32
• OhrlRock 1
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• sooper7s
• intothetv
• Kozan
• IndyKCrew
• LaughNgamezSOOP
• Migwel
StarCraft: Brood War
• Pr0nogo 5
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
• BSLYoutube
Dota 2
• masondota22435
League of Legends
• Doublelift5192
• Jankos2813
Upcoming Events
Sparkling Tuna Cup
9h 4m
RSL Revival
9h 4m
Classic vs Clem
FEL
14h 4m
Elazer vs Spirit
Gerald vs MaNa
BSL20 Non-Korean Champi…
17h 4m
Bonyth vs Dewalt
QiaoGege vs Dewalt
Hawk vs Bonyth
Sziky vs Fengzi
Mihu vs Zhanhun
QiaoGege vs Zhanhun
Fengzi vs Mihu
Wardi Open
1d 10h
Replay Cast
2 days
WardiTV European League
2 days
PiGosaur Monday
2 days
uThermal 2v2 Circuit
3 days
Replay Cast
3 days
[ Show More ]
The PondCast
4 days
Replay Cast
4 days
Epic.LAN
5 days
CranKy Ducklings
6 days
Epic.LAN
6 days
BSL20 Non-Korean Champi…
6 days
Bonyth vs Sziky
Dewalt vs Hawk
Hawk vs QiaoGege
Sziky vs Dewalt
Mihu vs Bonyth
Zhanhun vs QiaoGege
QiaoGege vs Fengzi
Liquipedia Results

Completed

KCM Race Survival 2025 Season 2
HSC XXVII
NC Random Cup

Ongoing

JPL Season 2
BSL 2v2 Season 3
Acropolis #3
CSL 17: 2025 SUMMER
Copa Latinoamericana 4
Jiahua Invitational
2025 ACS Season 2: Qualifier
CSLPRO Last Chance 2025
Championship of Russia 2025
RSL Revival: Season 1
Murky Cup #2
BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025
ESL Impact League Season 7
IEM Dallas 2025
PGL Astana 2025
Asian Champions League '25
BLAST Rivals Spring 2025
MESA Nomadic Masters

Upcoming

CSL Xiamen Invitational
CSL Xiamen Invitational: ShowMatche
2025 ACS Season 2
CSLPRO Chat StarLAN 3
BSL Season 21
K-Championship
uThermal 2v2 Main Event
SEL Season 2 Championship
FEL Cracov 2025
Esports World Cup 2025
Underdog Cup #2
StarSeries Fall 2025
FISSURE Playground #2
BLAST Open Fall 2025
BLAST Open Fall Qual
Esports World Cup 2025
BLAST Bounty Fall 2025
BLAST Bounty Fall Qual
IEM Cologne 2025
FISSURE Playground #1
TLPD

1. ByuN
2. TY
3. Dark
4. Solar
5. Stats
6. Nerchio
7. sOs
8. soO
9. INnoVation
10. Elazer
1. Rain
2. Flash
3. EffOrt
4. Last
5. Bisu
6. Soulkey
7. Mini
8. Sharp
Sidebar Settings...

Advertising | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use | Contact Us

Original banner artwork: Jim Warren
The contents of this webpage are copyright © 2025 TLnet. All Rights Reserved.