EPT
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GSL legends
Maru and Rogue cruised through to the RO8, easily dismissing the upstart Protoss duo of NightMare and Trigger in Group B of the RO12.While Maru took first place with a perfect 4-0 map record, he did have to survive a perilous moment against Rogue in the winner's match. Rogue almost recreated a sour moment from the past by punishing Maru's greedy opener with a Roach-Ravager timing, but Maru managed to pull off a comeback victory this time around.
Rogue may not have gotten the morale boost of beating Maru, but he still advanced comfortably in second place with 2-0 wins against both NightMare and Trigger. In the post-match interview, Rogue said his hands don't move quite like they did in his prime, but it may be something he could overcome with more practice.
Code S Season 1 will resume on Wednesday, May 14 9:30am GMT (GMT+00:00) with Group A of the RO8.
Match Recaps
Initial Match #1: Maru [2-0] Trigger - (VOD)
Game 1 - Ley Lines (Maru win): Maru assuaged worries about his recent form in game one, winning a one-sided bout against Trigger. His initial Marine-Mine drop scored a cancellation against Trigger's warping third Nexus, after which he forced a second cancel with a follow-up Marine-Tank push. Trigger didn't have much of a chance playing from so far behind and he GG'd out to the next push.
Game 2 - Ultralove (Maru win): Trigger fell once again to Maru's early offense in game two, this time in the form of a Marine-Tank-Banshee variation of 1/1/1. While Maru failed to destroy the enemy third, he dealt enough Probe damage to take a commanding lead. Maru didn't see any point in dragging things out and finished Trigger with an SCV-pull all-in.
Initial Match #2: Rogue [2-0] NightMare - (VOD)
Game 1 - Tokamak (Rogue win): NightMare went for some mild trickery to start, opening with a Void Ray and going Glaive Adepts behind it. However, Rogue's cautious play prevented him from taking any damage at all, and he comfortably macro'd up while NightMare awkwardly transitioned to Stalkers and Templars. However, he wouldn't get to complete that transition, as Rogue struck with a lethal Roach-Ravager attack before Storm was complete.
Game 2 - Magannatha (Rogue win): NightMare opened Void Ray once more, but this time he went into more standard Stalker-Templar play. Rogue was more than content to take on NightMare in a standard macro game, and took a comfortable lead thanks to effective Zergling harassment + good defense against NightMare's Adept/Oracle pokes.
Unlike many recent ZvP's, Rogue actually got to play from ahead in the tech race, and pummelled NightMare into submission with a Lurker-Corruptor-Hydralisk composition before a proper Protoss deathball could come together.
Winners' Match: Maru [2-0] Rogue - (VOD)
Game 1 - Ley Lines (Maru win): Match one initially looked like it would be a repeat of the 2021 Season 1 finals, with Rogue's Roach-Ravager timing hitting hard against Maru's greedy, double-ebay strategy. However, unlike in the past, Rogue couldn't deal quite enough damage to fully seal the deal, giving Maru enough time for his upgrade advantage to kick in. After a few close calls, Maru eventually completed the turnaround with his superior army.
Game 2 - Tokamak (Maru win): The two players played a more standard TvZ in game two, with Rogue rushing up to Lurkers while Maru went for the usual bio composition. Unfortunately for Rogue, he spread his initial batch of Lurkers out a little too thin, and Maru capitalized by charging in with his infantry. Rogue lost his core Lurker force in divided chunks, and he was forced to concede his second GG
Elimination Match: Trigger [2-0] NightMare - (VOD)
Game 1 - Ley Lines (Trigger win): No NA Protoss bizarreness was involved in this match, as the two players built up to three base Blink after some token early game aggression. NightMare quickly went up to Robo tech to hit a Stalker-Immortal timing, which briefly threatened Trigger as he went for Charge and +1 attack. However, Trigger pulled off a narrow defensive stand where his third base survived on red HP, and he counterattacked with his remaining army to take the win.
Game 2 - Tokamak (Trigger win): Game two began with heavy early-game skirmishing, but the two players still ended up going into a 3-base vs 3-base game on very even terms. After a brief build up of Zealot-Stalker armies, two nearly identical forces clashed for a decisive fight toward the center of the map. NightMare made the daring move of Blinking forward to snipe Trigger's Prism, which seemed to be advantageous initially. However, as it turned out, Trigger had an expansion that was close enough to effectively reinforce with, and NightMare had exposed his Stalkers for minimal gain. Trigger won the engagement by a comfortable margin and marched forward to take the 2-0.
Decider Match: Rogue [2-0] Trigger - (VOD)
Game 1 - Persephone (Rogue win): Game one began looking like it would be your usual macro ramp-up on both sides, but Rogue seized the advantage by getting some run-bys and pick-offs with his Zerglings. This segued beautifully into his surprise Mutalisk tech, as Trigger had been occupied putting out fires set by the Zerglings. The Mutalisks ended up dealing devastating Probe damage, and while the game was still technically 'playable,' Trigger opted to save his energy for game two and GG'd out.
Game 2 - Pylon (Rogue win): Game two began with some classic Rogue cheese, as he went for a Queen-walk to punish Trigger's slightly greedy third base. While the game stabilized into a somewhat normal macro game from there, Rogue did gain the benefit of getting slightly ahead of Protoss on the tech curve. Hydralisks and Lurkers struck Trigger's key fourth base before he was ready, forcing a disastrous defensive engagement with mostly ground troops. Rogue crushed Trigger's forces and razed the fourth base, setting himself up to snowball to victory.
