• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EDT 00:29
CEST 06:29
KST 13:29
  • 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
The Best Worst Final: sOs vs INnoVation11[ASL16] Ro8 Preview Pt1: Rematches10ZeroSpace - Xol Faction Reveal57WTL 2023 Winter - Code A Preview/Power Rank14[ASL16] Ro16 Preview Pt2: Even Scales4
Community News
2023 Code S Season 3 Ro16 Groups4New PTR Patch 5.0.1268ESL Open #193: herO, MaxPax, Clem win3ESL Masters Winter 2023 - Qualifiers + Schedule0Serral wins Master's Coliseum 648
StarCraft 2
General
New PTR Patch 5.0.12 Cara LaForge Talks Raising Day[9] & Tasteless... New Map Pool Has 9 Maps The Best Worst Final: sOs vs INnoVation 2023 Code S Season 3 Ro16 Groups
Tourneys
Tenacious Turtle Tussle (Americas/OCE/Asia) PIG STY FESTIVAL 4.0! (20-24 September) KSL Week 28 WardiTV 2023 Opens (Monthly) Sparkling Tuna Cup - Weekly Open Tournament
Strategy
[G] YAKS LOTV: Yet Another hotKey Setup - zerg Simple Questions Simple Answers Practice Partner Thread Season 1 - 2018
Custom Maps
StarLance | Extension Mod – Multiplayer LotV
External Content
Mutation # 387 Train of Pain Mutation # 386 Dance Dance Evolution Mutation # 385 Knock Knock Mutation # 384 Getting Along
Brood War
General
BGH auto balance -> http://bghmmr.com/ Little things you hate about Brood War? Restoration should be researched in TvZ [ASL16] Ro8 Preview Pt1: Rematches What would you like to see in the next ASL?
Tourneys
[ASL16] Ro16 Group D [ASL16] Ro8 Day 1 Small VOD Thread 2.0 KCM Team Tournament
Strategy
Why is ____ not used for (Matchup here)? Simple Questions, Simple Answers ZvP Retro Walls Hiding Defilers
Other Games
General Games
FF7 remake for PS4 announced Cyberpunk 2077 Age of Empires IV Tom Clancy's Division Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread
Dota 2
Official 'what is Dota anymore' discussion
League of Legends
[Summer Split] LoL Esports General Discussion
Heroes of the Storm
Heroes International Nations Cup - Berlin 2023 HotS: WP and Funny Moments
Hearthstone
Is Hearthstone Gambling?
TL Mafia
TL Mafia Community Thread TL Mafia: Generative Agents Showdown Everybody smurfs for TTT mafia Quarterly Mafia 1 - part 2 QM Part 2 Vote Thread
Community
General
Russo-Ukrainian War Thread US Politics Mega-thread Planets that can potentially support life... The Games Industry And ATVI Trading/Investing Thread
Fan Clubs
RotterdaM Fan Club The Stephano Fan Club Mvp Fan Club
Media & Entertainment
[Manga] One Piece [Manga] Berserk Anime Discussion Thread Movie Discussion!
Sports
2023 - 2024 Football Thread TeamLiquid Health and Fitness Initiative For 2023 2023 NFL/CFB Season Formula 1 Discussion NBA General Discussion
World Cup 2022
FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Thread
Tech Support
Cannot log into Liquipedia.net using tl.net accoun Spotify and SC II
TL Community
Gay StarCraft Players The Automated Ban List
Blogs
Baal's last 15 years, with …
WGT-Baal
Returning to Starcraft. Balance …
-_-
About parenting
Uldridge
EternaLEnVy Post DotA Tr…
EternaLEnVy
Darius the great Golden plates…
kfpnw
Three Volume VI
Mizenhauer
[Girl blog] These feelings do…
Garnet
ASL S16 English Commentarie…
namkraft
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 1728 users

Code S RO8 Preview - ByuN, Solar, Maru, GuMiho

Forum Index > SC2 General
4 CommentsPost a Reply

Code S RO8 Preview - ByuN, Solar, Maru, GuMiho

Text byTL.net ESPORTS
July 17th, 2023 21:39 GMT

2023 GSL Code S Season 1

RO8 Group A Preview: ByuN, Solar, Maru, GuMiho

Start time: Tuesday, Jul 18 9:30am GMT (GMT+00:00)

by Wax

The RO16 saw the GSL bid some unfortunate farewells, with playoff-caliber players like Bunny and RagnaroK bowing out early. Who will survive the even fiercer crucible of the RO8 and reach the final four?

More info: GSL Code S Season 2 on Liquipedia


Solar

While we usually use the GSL's official player order for the previews, it just feels right to frame this group as Solar's story. After last season's all-Terran final four, I can't help but see him as the determined anime protagonist going up against the sinister Terran clan.

Just imagine this scene after Solar took down Ryung in the RO16: ominous figures emerge from the shadows and cackle 'you've only defeated the weakest one among us, muahahaha.' Then, they send Cure to put Solar's face in the dirt, but spare his life because he's too weak to be worth killing. A determined Solar gets up and strikes down Ryung again (who's been given a second chance to prove himself by his brethren), but the other Terrans are long gone. Now, as Solar chases after these dangerous foes, he wonders what he must do to defeat them and save the world from their vile clutches.

Some of you may think this is extremely rosy framing for Solar, given his lengthy history of underperforming in GSL Code S. And, while I can't refute that point, who else can the non-Terrans turn to at this point in time? Solar was the highest placing GSL Zerg at the last two international majors, finishing in the top four of ESL Masters Summer and placing runner-up at HomeStory Cup 23. Not only that, but herO and Dark have both faltered at the wrong time, which basically makes Solar our anti-Terran hero by default.

Does he actually have what it takes to reach the RO4? Looking at his record against Korean Terrans since January 23 (current balance patch + ladder maps change date), he has a fairly pedestrian 60% match win-rate. A portion of that record is buoyed by wins against the weaker Terrans at the fringe of the Korean scene—I'd say he's a tad under 50% against the real, Code S quality Terrans.

While that doesn't sound encouraging heading into this group, it's worth noting that there aren't many players who straight-up crush Solar. Against ByuN, he's trailing slightly with a 7-8 match record since Jan 23. Vs GuMiho, he's ahead with a 7-4 match record. And, perhaps most surprisingly, he's an even 2-2 against Maru, even though Maru has has infamously dominated him over their long-term careers. Really, it's just Cure who's been killing Solar in the current map/balance meta (3-9 record)—against anyone else, I think Solar can use his solid macro play to grind his way to 50/50 odds of winning.

So, does that mean I'm actually going to pick him to advance? We'll…

ByuN

Unfortunately, one of the reasons I'm optimistic about Solar's chances is the same reason I'm pessimistic about ByuN. Yup, we're at the repetitive "ByuN's wrists" part of the GSL preview.

Wait, can I just copy paste ByuN's RO16 preview? Let's see what I wrote back then:

"...ByuN continues to be an excellent player online, and has a good chance of advancing if he can play at 100%. However, concerns with his non-gameplay issues are at a high point at the moment, and I just can't pick him to advance this time around."


In hindsight, I don't think it needs too much revision, even though I was dead wrong. Yes, he did play very well in the RO16, going through in first place (wins vs RagnaroK and NightMare) without any problems in terms of gameplay or wrist health. But, c'mon, that's just the RO16. We all know what's going to happen when he feels some real pressure in the later rounds. ByuN makes me recall "Bomber's Law," one of the older memes in TL.net lore.

Bomber's Law: Bomber will always disappoint.

Corollary to Bomber's Law: If Bomber does not disappoint, it will be in order to set up a bigger disappointment later.


Sadly, that's where I stand with offline-ByuN at the moment. It's encouraging every time he advances a round, but you spend every second worrying that it's all about to blow up in his face.

The only difference this time around is that ByuN recently started wearing wristbands on GuMiho's recommendation. ByuN himself was skeptical about the efficacy of this measure, but he seemed to have the mindset of 'hell, why not try everything?' If this somehow does end up being the difference between another ByuN collapse and a glorious victory, then I guess we'll have another reason to call GuMiho the 'GumiGod.'

GuMiho

Speaking of GuMiho, it's very clear that he's the god of chaos in the StarCraft II pantheon. You just never know what to expect from a GuMiho game, whether it's his choice in strategies or his level of play.

A month ago, you wouldn't have pegged GuMiho as one of the Terran 'oppressors' as he was delivering largely middling results since his Code S return (though he did make a great run to the Code S semis in Season 2 of 2022). However, ever since he went on an incredible run to the ESL Masters finals, getting BO5 wins against Cure, Maru, and Solar along the way, he's forced everyone to reevaluate his level. Not only that, but the latter two are players in this very group.

GuMiho's 3-0 against Solar at ESL Masters was quite the shock to me, since he won two of those games in fairly straight-forward macro games. GuMiho's mechanics and micro have been a weakness since his return from the military, and I'd expect 'average' level GuMiho to get crushed by average Solar in standard games. I feel like what happened at ESL Masters was GuMiho having a personal 99th percentile best day, and I'm pretty doubtful that he can recreate that performance at will. Still, with the GSL RO8 being a BO3 format, he might be able to cheese/strategize his way to a victory.

I actually think GuMiho's 3-2 upset against Maru is more replicable. Back in Sweden, GuMiho leaned on a mass-Viking/mech style, which really seemed to disorient the ONSYDE ace. It's such an unorthodox style that I don't know if Maru can really prepare for it with a few days of practice. Not only that, but GuMiho can mind-game around the expectation that he'll be playing two-Starport openers and try to apply some unexpected twists.

Maru

GuMiho, Solar, and even ByuN got better results than Maru at ESL Masters Summer, but we all know that he's still the final boss in GSL Code S. The G6L winner and reigning champion made RO16 advancement look like a mere formality, dispatching TY and Classic by 2-0 scores.

While it's never a good idea to bet against Maru in the GSL, all three of his potential match-ups in the group have complications. As mentioned above, Solar finally started to hit back against Maru in 2023, going an even 2-2 in matches on the year. One of his wins even came in the relatively high stakes Gamers8 qualifier (although Maru did choose to play weird strategies in that series), so you can't even say it was due to Maru taking it easy in smaller events.

There's also the TvT factor. Maru's match against TY in the RO16 wasn't the toughest TvT test in the world (even if TY proved himself good enough to beat Bunny), especially compared to potential matches against ByuN and GuMiho. Both of those Terrans managed to steal high-profile BO5 series off of Maru in the last year (ByuN in Super Tournament 2, GuMiho at ESL Masters), and are a big part of the reason we don't consider Maru's TvT to be utterly invincible anymore.

In the end, I'm really only pointing out Maru's minor weaknesses to keep things interesting—we all know he's the obvious favorite to advance in first place. After all, last season's final four preview ended by basically saying it was inevitable that Maru was going to win the championship. Until Dark or herO get back into top form, I'm afraid most Maru previews are going to follow a similar pattern.

Predictions

Solar > ByuN
Maru > GuMiho
Maru > Solar
ByuN > GuMiho
Solar > ByuN

Maru and Solar to advance



Credits and acknowledgements

Writer: Wax
Images: AfreecaTV
Records and Statistics: Aligulac.com and Liquipedia

Facebook Twitter Reddit
TL+ Member
Argonauta
Profile Joined July 2016
Spain4555 Posts
July 17 2023 21:55 GMT
#2
Hoping to see if any of the three can put a fight against Maru honestly.
Rogue | Maru | Scarlett | Trap
TL+ Member
SHODAN
Profile Joined November 2011
United Kingdom1032 Posts
July 17 2023 22:02 GMT
#3
gogo gumigod
Poopi
Profile Blog Joined November 2010
France12046 Posts
July 18 2023 07:12 GMT
#4
I hope to see Maru dominate, but all three opponents can beat him so it might be a difficult group for him?
Other than that, I can see any qualify, but it depends on ByuN wrists.
WriterMaru
KarlaHamm
Profile Joined July 2023
1 Post
July 24 2023 11:15 GMT
#5
--- Nuked ---
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
Next event in 3h 31m
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
SortOf 65
Forgg! 62
StarCraft: Brood War
Britney 13629
Hyuk 508
Bale 373
Jumperer 367
Larva 133
Snow 77
Free 61
Dewaltoss 60
Sexy 51
Dota 2
monkeys_forever1954
League of Legends
JimRising 974
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
Stewie2K1964
m0e_tv597
Super Smash Bros
hungrybox882
ChuDatz6
Other Games
summit1g13347
shahzam1582
C9.Mang01025
Liquid`RaSZi773
Maynarde258
Fuzer 47
febbydoto37
Organizations
Other Games
gamesdonequick786
StarCraft 2
Esl_sc2265
ESL.tv265
StarCraft: Brood War
StarcraftVOD2
StarCraft 2
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
[ Show 17 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• Hupsaiya 128
• practicex 37
• Migwel
• aXEnki
• intothetv
• Gussbus
• Kozan
• Poblha
• IndyKCrew
• LaughNgamez Trovo
• Laughngamez YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
• sscaitournament1
• STPLYoutube
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• BSLYoutube
League of Legends
• Stunt460
Other Games
• Scarra2110
Upcoming Events
Replay Cast
3h 31m
PiG Sty Festival
5h 31m
Maru vs NightMare
herO vs HeRoMaRinE
WardiTV European League
11h 31m
Sniper's StarCraft League
12h 31m
SpeCial vs Nice
DIMAGA vs Kas
Korean StarCraft League
22h 31m
PiG Sty Festival
1d 5h
Dark vs Spirit
ByuN vs MaxPax
WardiTV European League
1d 8h
BSL
1d 11h
WardiTV European League
1d 11h
Tenacious Turtle Tussle
1d 19h
[ Show More ]
PiG Sty Festival
2 days
Serral vs Bunny
Wardi Open
2 days
BSL
2 days
BSL
2 days
ESL Open Cup
3 days
Afreeca Starleague
3 days
Sharp vs Mini
ESL Open Cup
3 days
ESL Open Cup
3 days
Afreeca Starleague
4 days
EffOrt vs Action
WardiTV Korean Royale
4 days
Creator vs Solar
Creator vs DongRaeGu
Maru vs ByuN
Maru vs Classic
ByuN vs Scarlett
DongRaeGu vs NightMare
Solar vs NightMare
Scarlett vs Classic
WardiTV Korean Royale
5 days
GuMiho vs Ryung
GuMiho vs Stats
herO vs RagnaroK
herO vs Dark
RagnaroK vs Cure
Stats vs Astrea
Ryung vs Astrea
Cure vs Dark
WardiTV Korean Royale
6 days
Classic vs ByuN
Scarlett vs Solar
Dark vs RagnaroK
Cure vs Ryung
GuMiho vs Astrea
Maru vs DongRaeGu
Creator vs NightMare
herO vs Stats
PassionCraft
6 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

Tournament of Legends International Season 4
Master's Coliseum 6
Calamity Stars - Qualifier #2
IESF WEC 2023

Ongoing

FS Mania
BSL 25x25
ASL Season 16
CSL 10: 2023 Fall
GSL2023 S2
WardiTV Korean Royale S2
PiG Sty Festival 4.0
Raven Court Inhouse League
ESL Challenger League S46 NA
ESL Challenger League S46 AP
ESL Pro League Season 18
CCT Online Finals #3

Upcoming

Copa Latinoamericana Season 2
Bombastic 25th Anniversary LAN
ESL Winter
ESL Winter: Asia
ESL Winter: Americas
ESL Winter: Europe
2023 GSL S3: Code S
WTL 2023 Winter
Lion Lad's By Release
Low Elo Heroes
Calamity Stars
Calamity Stars - Qualifier #3
CS:GO Asia Championships 2023
FiReLEAGUE Global Finals
Thunderpick World Championship
Roobet Cup 2023
IEM Sydney 2023
BLAST Premier Fall AME Showdown
BLAST Premier Fall EU Showdown
ESL Challenger League S46 EU
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 © 2023 TLnet. All Rights Reserved.