The final showdown of Code S Season 1 will one of stark contrasts, as first time Code S finalist Creator will go up against the three-time champion Rogue.
Creator was the first to book his ticket to the finals, taking down Trap in a convincing 3-1 victory in the semifinals. Early game build order battles were the key to Creator's success, as he got the better of Trap in the majority of the games. One could actually argue that Creator out-thought Trap in all four games—even in the one game he lost, he started with a build order advantage before losing due to some micro mistakes.
While Creator credited his preparation, he also admitted a considerable amount of luck was involved as well, joking it must have been karma for saving his country in a past life. Creator was somewhat apologetic to Trap for having rushed to book nearly every possible Protoss as a practice partner ahead of the series, mentioning Classic, Zoun, Zest, herO, Astrea, and MaxPax by name.
On the other side of the bracket, Rogue kept up his years-long torment of Dark with another BO5 victory in a major tournament, improving to 8-2 in such settings. Rogue had mentioned in the pre-match interview that while Dark was superior in skill, he was ahead in terms of 'using his head.' The ensuing series showed that it was a fairly accurate assessment, as Rogue took a 3-1 victory while largely preventing Dark from playing out any kind of comfortable macro ZvZ game.
This sets up one of the more lop-sided mismatches in GSL history, with even the players feeling fine with framing it as such. Rogue boldly predicted a one-sided victory for himself, while Creator very much downplayed his own abilities. Will the greatest Code S miracle run continue to its fairy tale end? Or will it only set up an equally harsh reality check?
Code S will conclude on Thursday, May 05 9:30am GMT (GMT+00:00) with the grand finals of Creator vs Rogue. The grand finals will depart from the usual GSL venue of the FreecUP studio to a larger stage in AfreecaTV's newly acquired Sangam Colosseum.
Match Recaps
[u]Semifinal Match #1: Trap [1 - 3] Creator
Game 1 - Golden Wall: Both players had cheese on their mind to start as they opened with dueling proxy-Gates. However, Creator went for a very aggressive version with 2 Gateways proxied close to Trap for fast Zealots, while Trap made his first Gate in his main and while proxying his second Gateway at a later timing.
Creator very nearly dealt game ending damage with his faster all-in, but a few critical micro mistakes saw him lose key units needlessly (the few backdoor Adepts from Trap probably forced the mistakes out of Creator). Trap ended up pulling off a successful defense, coming out with a small lead.
The biggest component of Trap's lead was his faster Robo tech, and he found a way to squeeze maximum benefit out of his one Immortal advantage. After some relentless Prism + 2 Immortal harassment, Trap went for a series of frontal attacks that finished Creator off.
Game 2 - Glittering Ashes: While both players opened with 2 Gates in their mains this time around, aggressive early game strategies still had a huge impact. Trap followed his 2 Gates with mass Adept production and a slightly faster Nexus, while Creator got a slower Nexus while going for Stalkers.
Trap tried to send his Adepts across the map for some early pressure, but was actually preempted by Creator who snuck his Stalkers around the map and managed to strike first. This forced Trap to recall his Adepts on defense, and even pull some Probes to help his Adepts overcome their disadvantage. While Trap managed to hold off the Stalkers, it came at the cost of critical early game Probes.
Noticing that Trap had gone for Adepts and Robotics behind it, Creator deftly responded by going for Stargate and Oracles. This caught Trap slightly off guard, and put him in a deeper economic hole by killing more Probes.
From there on out the game was a routine clean-up job for Creator who had taken a major lead in the Probe count. Soon his economy manifested in a far bigger main army, and he ran over Trap to force the GG.
Game 3 - Roughneck: Trap opened 1 Gate expansion with Robo tech while Creator opened with 2 Gateways in his main again. A proxy Pylon from Creator made it seem for a moment that he might try for an aggressive bust, but it was just for some proxy-Oracle harassment as he followed Trap into a macro game.
The two players looked like they were headed for a longer bout as they both took their third bases without much action, but Creator took a hard left turn by halting his tech at Chargelots and Blink-Stalkers, cutting Probes at 55, and massing troops for a big mid-game attack.
Trap was completely unaware as to his opponent's intent, and didn't even have a Shield Battery ready when Creator's army came knocking. It didn't matter that Trap had a handful of Archons and Immortals when he was fighting with a 30 army supply deficit, and he had to surrender again after being overrun.
Game 4 - Hardwire: This game played out somewhat like a reversal of game two, with Creator going 2-Gate Adepts while Trap went 2-Gate Stalkers in the early-game. Only this time, it was Creator's Adepts that found an early opening (blasting down a hastily built Pylon in Trap's wall), forcing Trap to hastily return his Stalkers on defense. Creator's four Adepts were a nightmare for Trap to deal with, and they picked off Probes and Sentries while also getting full scouting done.
Both players had opted to follow-up with Stargate from there, with Creator making Oracles while Trap made a handful of Phoenixes. While Trap did inflict more Probe damage over the long-term course of the game, it was never really enough to overcome his early disadvantage. Crucially, Creator had the breathing room to add a Forge for attack upgrades, while Trap had to omit upgrades to match Trap in unit count.
Once Creator reached 2/0 vs 0/0 in upgrades (an enormous gap in PvP), he went in for the kill. Trap had belatedly added some Disruptors as a desperation move, but Creator was able to dodge the limited number of shots and jump in to pick them off. Meanwhile, the rest of his army mopped the floor with Trap's defenders, forcing a third and final GG from Trap.
Semifinal Match #2: Dark [1 - 3] Rogue
Game 1 - Hardwire: After 3-Hatch starts from both players, Rogue was the first to get aggressive with an early flood of Lings. This forced Dark to cancel his third Hatchery, but it wasn't clear at this point who was ahead given the Drone production sacrificed by Rogue. The follow-up plays from Rogue were what really turned it into a big lead. He took full advantage of the fact that Dark was going straight to Mutalisks off two bases without Roaches, and used additional Ling-Bane, and then Roaches to force multiple cancels on Dark's third base. Even after his Mutalisks came out, Dark had trouble exerting pressure due to the constant threat of backdoors.
While Dark eventually did manage to establish some control with his Mutas and double-expand to try and catch-up, Rogue had been left alone to do whatever he wanted on his side of the map. Having established a strong economy, he opted to counter Dark by going for a mass Corruptor + mixed ground units composition.
The deciding moment of the game was when Dark went in to fight Rogue's Corruptor-ball with his own Muta-ball. It was a brutally one-sided fight in Rogue's favor as he had nearly as many Corruptors as Dark had mutas. Perhaps Dark had misjudged the Corruptor count due to the stacking, or maybe he was overestimating how much supporting fire his Queens could give from the ground. That, or he knew he was in a horrible position anyway and just wanted to YOLO a fight. In any case, Rogue crushed Dark in both the air and on the ground, forcing the GG.
Game 2 - Blackburn: Dark and Rogue started with standard 3 base play again, though there weren't any drastic early game decisions made this time around. Rogue seemed to have the slight edge in the early game Ling-Bane wars (well, guess caster soO said so, so that's good enough for me) as the two players went up to Lair and prepared their next move.
Dark looked to go for Roaches into Spire, but was found out by some scouting Zerglings he let slip by. Rogue responded by adding a Hydralisk Den and massing a powerful Hydra-Roach army for a 2/1 upgrade timing attack.
Dark halted Mutalisk production and belatedly tried to mass Roaches and Banelings, but he couldn't really muster them in sufficient numbers to present a credible defense. Roach-Hydra ran rampant over Dark, forcing out another GG.
Game 3 - Berlingrad: Dark opened with a Pool-first expand to apply some early pressure, while Rogue opened with a regular Hatch-first build. Dark's didn't really achieve much with his early attacks, and he ended up chasing Rogue into the mid-game at a slight disadvantage. Most importantly, Rogue had a slightly faster Lair and upgrades, and he decided to stop Droning at 40 and mass Roaches and Banelings for a big 1/1 attack. But despite being on 0/1, not having Roach speed, and having Droned more than Rogue, Dark was still able to fend off the attack with good positioning and use of Ravagers.
While Dark looked to consolidate his Drone advantage, Rogue tried to find some way to regain some ground with Nydus Worms and Burrowed Roaches. However, Dark was barely bothered by such efforts, and proceeded to calmly finish Rogue off with a larger Roach-Ravager army.
Game 4 - Glittering Ashes: Game four saw the two players get off on relatively even footing with their 3 Hatch starts, though Dark got a minor edge by picking off a Queen during the Ling-Bane knife fighting. Both players continued to build up, delaying their Lairs slightly to focus on Roach production at around 46 Drones.
Dark decided to be the first one to get aggressive, marching his Roaches across the map and rallying additional Zerglings in order to morph them into Banelings. However he made an error by poking forward with his Roaches before his Banelings were done, not knowing Rogue was also focusing on unit production AND had the defenders advantage. Dark's Roaches were flanked and enveloped by Rogue's Speedling-Roach combo, and he lost a considerable number of Roaches before Banelings could come to the rescue. However, by then the damage had already been done, and Rogue had a critical lead in Roach count.
Rogue kept his foot on the gas and continued to pummel Dark with Roach-Ravager until he was forced to surrender the series.
I am okay with either one winning the trophy. Either Rogue become the first Zerg player to gain four Code S titles tying with Maru's achievements or Creator takes his first championship title in the span of ten years, thus ending the Rogue's offline winning streak in the final and becomes the first Protoss player to do so since Stats in 2018.
My whole family is pumped for this one. I'm super hype to see Creator make it to a GSL finals, and I've been so excited at his performance in this tournament that my wife and kids have caught the fever, too. Next week is going to be our first StarCraft viewing party with all five of us in years, and we are super pumped to watch him upset Rogue and take the trophy home.
On April 29 2022 17:21 swarminfestor wrote: I am okay with either one winning the trophy. Either Rogue become the first Zerg player to gain four Code S titles tying with Maru's achievements or Creator takes his first championship title in the span of ten years, thus ending the Rogue's offline winning streak in the final and becomes the first Protoss player to do so since Stats in 2018.
I am very happy for creator. But i think the finals will be really one sided. I just hope that i am wrong and that we get a really good story and nice games.
On April 29 2022 17:27 Poopi wrote: Impressive run from Creator and Rogue, well deserved finals spot! As a Maru fan though, Rogue winning would mean he could get the G5L before Maru…
Maru need that, like a fire under his ass, so that he can give his all for the G5L. His game play between GSL and KoB3 are like day and night. I was absolutely shocked at how good he can look just playing straight up, without any trickery or cheese, yet he threw games and match in GSL for doing weird stuff.
On April 29 2022 17:27 Poopi wrote: Impressive run from Creator and Rogue, well deserved finals spot! As a Maru fan though, Rogue winning would mean he could get the G5L before Maru…
Maru need that, like a fire under his ass, so that he can give his all for the G5L. His game play between GSL and KoB3 are like day and night. I was absolutely shocked at how good he can look just playing straight up, without any trickery or cheese, yet he threw games and match in GSL for doing weird stuff.
Clearly the problem is that Maru lacks motivation.
On February 28 2019 23:40 FrostedMiniWheats wrote: Poor Creator
yeah i wonder how he's feeling... after confessing yesterday that his peers don't believe in him and keep telling him he's not good, it must be devastating to be 1-8 with the only map won being against a foreigner. at least he made it to ro24 which is more than some of his team mates managed to do
I really hope Creator has a full and happy life outside of Starcraft, because his Starcraft career looks depressing (wasn't watching in 2011-2012 at least he had success early on)
On June 27 2019 22:50 sneakyfox wrote: Ultras in ZvZ? Don't see that every day.
WHERE D!
Lambo v Reynor game 1 on Thunderbird. It's over. NarutO is broadcasting the series.
Spoiler: the Ultras won
What was the build, mass zergling with muta or without? Straight into hive? Or was Lambo rushing hive vs mutalisks of Reynor?
I only caught the end of the game. Lambo used nydus and then attacked with ultra/viper/mass queen. Reynor had ling-lurker. Don't think there were any spires, but not sure.
Lambo apparently went melee upgrades all the way.
Ok thanks.
hahahaha Clem actually won a game vs Creator
It's good to know that there are some new guys comming up for Creator to choke against
On March 01 2020 01:52 sudete wrote: I really miss when tournaments were more interesting and there was great potential for dramatic underdog storylines. May not always reflect who the best is but it was just incredibly fun to have stories like duckdeok, pigbaby, sting, stardust, the random lot of gsl winners (especially seed and jjakji) among others. Never mind the insane MLG tournaments with massive open brackets or the oddities of up&down matches in gsl - I would be happy just to have one good story in one big tournament. miss the feeling of wide-eyed wonder so much.
It's an old game with old players.
At least it's not Brood War. I'm watching ASL and Tastosis are still raving about Flash. Imagine 12 years of Serral.
It'll probably be more than that considering Flash has wrist issues while serral doesn't.
He also doesn't have military.
Still I'm somewhat hype of when we'll wonder if korean up and comer Creator can challenge him after coming back from the military
On April 22 2020 16:46 dbRic1203 wrote: Are there going to be EPT points on this event?
Yes. We will have details up today about that.
But but but muh invites
Can we all agree Creator really need this? Just let him get invited, he's like one of those make a wish kid.
On March 22 2021 05:35 Nakajin wrote: You know it's a one sided day when Maru-Creator is the closest matchup
On March 22 2021 20:15 Nakajin wrote: So, in the end Creator is still the last up-and-commer standing 8 years in a row.
On March 22 2021 20:53 Nakajin wrote: At this point I just hope Creator has a happy personal life, I hope he get up of bed every morning happy with himself, because damn did his professional life has suck.
On November 22 2021 21:26 Nakajin wrote: I almost punched my keyboard on the behalf of Creator, this looked infuriating lol
On November 28 2021 01:59 Nakajin wrote: Is there no end to Creator suffering?
Prove me, and all the others a*hole wrong Creator gogogo!
what a series from Creator! i couldnt believe he was destroying Trap the way he did. now, vs Rogue in the final thats another story. i hope he can make it but lets be honest, it will more difficult winning the final than his gsl run until now
anyway.... lets go Creator!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
This finals will be Creator attempting all inns and rogue actively scouting and just holding everything, like all other top zergs do in ZVP, I believe Trap and now probably Creator if it is not a fluke is very much on rogues level, but because the matchup is so imbalanced with zergs at this Tier, I cannot see a victory for Creator here unless rogue starts dong all inns and stupid mutas witches that got him killed once vs creator already. I guess our biggest hope is for Rogue to mess up massively.
It is getting pretty boring watching The top tier Zergs in both regions almost always destroy their competition like they are not even close to their level, Terran and Protoss easily have players that match serral rogue dark reynor in skill yet Zerg taking down championships is extremely consistent.
Zerg have been getting away with this for far to long, this is a esport time to take the steps to make this a fair competition.
Time for popular opinion among "bigger" personalities in SC2 to stop attempting to dictate what is acceptable balance in this game, the influence on blizzard is clear as day and it needs to stop, we ne ed a new David Kim but one who truly understands the game and has a good vision, HOTS cough nothanks.
On April 30 2022 16:16 Drahkn wrote: This finals will be Creator attempting all inns and rogue actively scouting and just holding everything, like all other top zergs do in ZVP, I believe Trap and now probably Creator if it is not a fluke is very much on rogues level, but because the matchup is so imbalanced with zergs at this Tier, I cannot see a victory for Creator here unless rogue starts dong all inns and stupid mutas witches that got him killed once vs creator already. I guess our biggest hope is for Rogue to mess up massively.
It is getting pretty boring watching The top tier Zergs in both regions almost always destroy their competition like they are not even close to their level, Terran and Protoss easily have players that match serral rogue dark reynor in skill yet Zerg taking down championships is extremely consistent.
Zerg have been getting away with this for far to long, this is a esport time to take the steps to make this a fair competition.
Time for popular opinion among "bigger" personalities in SC2 to stop attempting to dictate what is acceptable balance in this game, the influence on blizzard is clear as day and it needs to stop, we ne ed a new David Kim but one who truly understands the game and has a good vision, HOTS cough nothanks.
This. This is way too true. I'm willing to bet Maru or Trap would utterly dominate everyone more than they do now if they switched to Zerg.
The latest patch had like no significant nerfs to Zerg. However there were game changing nerfs to Protoss and especially Terran. Rogue is gonna win again and it won't even be close.
Either one winning the GSL would be great. Rogue getting a 4th would be hype, and he really deserves more golds for being as good as he is - if he can get more golds to match his skill, it would help cement his dominance in the last 2 years (achievement wise), and also bring him closer to rivaling Maru or eventually surpassing him as the GOAT perhaps. (And also putting Rogue more clearly ahead of Innovation who I think is at #3).
Creator winning would be SO HYPE. I actually love love watching PvZ, and the new patch with making Queen walks harder has made it even more enjoyable.
I think Creator has some things going for him. He is a planner, same as Rogue, and that potentially could make the series come down more to mindgames and planning than other opponents. Sometimes, a planner can't use the full depth of his smartness unless against another planner, and then some big brain stuff really happens.
Also, I think everyone including Dark will be rooting for Creator and helping him practice. Just like how he had everyone on his side vs Trap, I think Rogue will have a hard time finding practice partners. Everyone is going to want Creator to win and upset Rogue.
Also, this time Creator has a full week to prepare. When he first fought Rogue, it wasn't a stomp actually, if he made 1-2 moves/scouts better it would have been pretty even (like being ready for Mutas). He got out of his group on Thursday and fought Rogue on Monday, so only 4 days. ALSO I think having fought Rogue now, he might be able to better prepare for the finals. Rogue can prepare more too of course, but I think in situations like this, it will help the underdog "catch up" more than it will help the better player stay ahead.
Also Creator is just super on fire in general. Rogue did lose to Trap in group stage. I don't expect Creator PvZ to be as good as Trap, but I think it could come close to it in the GFs, and that might just be enough for him to win!
I expect Creator will pull out his absolute best, cleanest, most ruthless play. I'm really hoping and expecting a close 4-3 series! Please let it be an amazing finals to remember! "Let our last stand burn a memory so bright we will be known throughout eternity!"
Also so excited that it's going to be at a big venue. I'm actually surprised - if they kept it at the normal studio, I feel they probably wouldn't even be able to fill it up? Or maybe having it at a big venue will make people want to come? I hope COVID won't affect the numbers too much, I would LOVE to see a huge audience again watching and cheering, and for us to see a proper GSL finals! The only thing is yeah, it would probably have been nicer if it was on the weekend? But oh well.
And of course if Creator loses - I expect he will still be a favorite to make Ro4 again next season, or at least the Ro6.
This has the makings of being true worst GSL final since Nestea vs Inca. Maybe Creator will try some DT rushes too, just to make the parallels completely obvious.
EPT
![[image loading]](/staff/Waxangel/GSL/2022/codes1/ro6bracket3.png)
Creator will go up against the three-time champion 
!
