Code S RO16 Group A - Maru and ByuN advance

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April 25 2023 21:38 GMT

2023 Global StarCraft II League: Season 1

The new season of Code S opened with the Terran duo of Maru and ByuN advancing from Group A of the Round-of-16, beating out the underdogs DongRaeGu and NightMare. The move to a semi-online format could be felt throughout the broadcast, but the GSL still delivered the thrilling, high-level StarCraft II action it is known for. In particular, ByuN and DongRaeGu played a game that's already a candidate for best of the tournament (VOD), with ByuN snatching victory from the jaws of defeat to the advance from the group in second place.

Group A began with Maru taking a routine 2-0 over the heavily outmatched NightMare. Maru got out to early leads with clinical harassment, and followed up with deadly infantry pushes to cement his victories.

Likewise, ByuN took a 2-0 in his initial match against DongRaeGu. Game one saw ByuN go for 2-Barracks Reaper harass into a fast Marine-Medivac attack, and he picked up an easy win against the unprepared DRG. The veteran Zerg tried to go on the offensive in game two with a proxy-Hatchery Roach-Ravager all-in, but ByuN was able to defend and win with another 2-Barracks opener.

The winners' match saw the frenemies ByuN and Maru face off once more, with Maru coming in with the momentum advantage after having won their last five matches. He proceeded to make it six wins in a row, although ByuN put up a respectable fight. Game one went ByuN's way, as he exploited cracks in Maru's defense with early/mid-game Reapers and drops. He refused to let Maru work any comeback magic, and closed the game out with Marine-Tank.

Maru couldn't turn game one around, but he was still able to reverse the best-of-three. Game two saw Maru get ahead of ByuN early on, greeding out a faster third Command Center as well as significantly faster upgrades. This allowed him to hit a Marine-Tank timing with both 1/1 and Combat Shields well ahead of ByuN, which was enough to end the game. Maru finished the job with his signature proxy 2-Barracks play in game three, gunning down ByuN early with Reapers.

Down in the losers' match, DongRaeGu narrowly beat out NightMare 2-1 to temporarily keep himself in the running for an RO16 spot. NightMare drew first blood, overpowering DRG with a herO-style Oracle + Stalker push in game one. He very nearly had the 2-0 in game two, but just couldn't squeeze out Disruptors fast enough to stop DRG's Roach-Ravager-Bane attack. DRG then won the final showdown on Babylon, enveloping NightMare's Stalker-Disruptor from multiple sides with Hydra-Bane.

ByuN looked like he was headed toward another clean 2-0 against DRG in the decider match, with his 2-Rax Reaper into Marine push strategy netting him an easy victory to start. However, ByuN paid the price for playing a more conventional macro game against DRG in game two, allowing DRG utilize his overwhelming macro and win with waves of Ling-Bane.

ByuN went back to a 2-Barracks Reaper opener in the final game, but DRG seemed to have become more accustomed to the strategy at this point (the large battlefield of Neo Humanity may also have aided him). He held off ByuN's aggression without significant losses, putting himself in an advantageous position with a solid economic lead. ByuN was forced into going all-in off two bases, and his chances seemed bleak.

However, DongRaeGu could never make the decisive defensive hold he needed to stabilize, giving ByuN the opportunity to reload and attack multiple times. ByuN eventually had to float his main CC to his third base, but he was able to continue attacking and keep DRG on the ropes. The game turned into a scrappy, low-econ brawl, with ByuN barely eking out the victory at around the 20-minute mark.

Code S will continue on Thursday, Apr 27 9:30am GMT (GMT+00:00), with featuring herO, KeeN, Cure, and Solar playing in Group B.