2025 GSL Code S Season 2

RO12 Group B Preview: GuMiho, Bunny, SHIN, ByuN

Start time: Thursday, May 29 9:30am GMT (GMT+00:00)

by Wax

Round-of-12 action continues with an extremely unpredictable Group B, with GuMiho, Bunny, SHIN, and ByuN all having a realistic shot of making it to the next round.



It's been a while since we've had a Code S group where there's so little separating the participants and the result is so hard to call. None of these four are what you'd call an A1 title contender, but they're all very good players who can play up to a championship level in a given match.

SHIN is the Group B player who's had the most recent success, taking down Clem on the way to a top four finish at DreamHack Dallas. SHIN certainly deserves a ton of credit for pulling off the upset through a combination of aggressive play and an unfamiliar ZvT style, but it didn't necessarily change my overall appraisal of him as a player. Instead, the results of Dallas—and yesterday's GSL Group A—are actually pushing me to believe that the scene is in a much greater state of parity than I imagined, and there are many potential SHIN's and Classic's at any given tournament. Finally, my narrative that everyone is locking in for EWC is coming to fruition!

The competition in Group B projects to be especially tight due to the proliferation of TvT's. Maru's long run of dominance may have distracted everyone from this, but for the other top Terrans, TvT feels like a coin-flip when they meet. While build order rock-paper-scissors plays a part, it's also because their skill level is virtually indistinguishable. Really, can anyone confidently say who is the best TvT player among Cure, GuMiho, or ByuN.

On paper, Bunny doesn't appear to be in this TvT tier, with his rating on Aligulac.com flagging several hundred points behind. However, that rating is being dragged down by poor off-season results, and we're learning in real time that the off-season may not have been as important as initially believed. Even though it was a long time ago, we know a focused Bunny can play at a finalist level, and right now, I'm feeling quite optimistic about players performing up to their full potential.

Predictions

While I don't think SHIN had a major level up in ZvT, I do have to respect his showing at DreamHack Dallas and pick him to advance in first place. However, I think there's a decent chance he could be eliminated, further demonstrating how competitive the scene is right now.

Among the Terrans, I'll go with ByuN to advance alongside SHIN. He's simply way more consistent than GuMiho or Bunny, which is enough to break a tie.

GuMiho 2 - 1 Bunny
SHIN 2 - 0 ByuN
SHIN 2 - 1 GuMiho
ByuN 2 - 1 Bunny
ByuN 2 - 1 GuMiho

SHIN and ByuN to advance