EPT
![[image loading]](/staff/Waxangel/GSL/2026/ro16groupabresults.png)
Even with the majority of the matches moved to an online setting, GSL Code S's opening week proved that the competition still puts a unique premium on preparation and composure.
To wit, the season opened with Rogue taking first place in the RO12's Group A, with the former champion stating that he had taken care to prepare builds that exploited his opponents' tendencies. Rogue's cunning manifested as a proxy-Hatch opener in his initial win against Percival, a deadly Roach-Ravager-Hydra timing against Zoun in the winners' match, and in his overall selection of aggressive builds through his two 2-0 wins.
Group A also gave us a minor surprise as the slumping Zoun took second place, taking out Solar in two series. Zoun's defenses were stout enough to nullify Solar's "prevent late game or die trying" approach to ZvP, earning him his RO8 berth.
While Percival's rise has been the biggest story in the online tournament scene over the last few months, his momentum didn't carry over at all to the virtual GSL stage. After losing to Rogue's aggressive tactics in his initial series, Percival took another early-game hit in the losers' match when he went down 0-1 to Solar's Roach-Ravager timing. Percival did finally get a chance to play some actual StarCraft II in game two, getting into a neck-and-neck late-game brawl on Winter Madness. However, his Ghost preservation skills proved to be somewhat lacking, and Solar eventually showed the upstart the door.
Group B's outcome ended up being more predictable, with the Terran duo of ByuN and Cure advancing over Trigger and Bunny. First place ByuN began with an aggressive approach similar to Rogue, getting a quick 2-0 over Bunny with proxy-Reaper builds that punished his opponent's greed. ByuN then locked in his RO8 ticket with a more conventional win over Trigger, winning key mid-game battles and snowballing to victory.
The race for second place in Group B was rather heated, with Cure doing just barely enough to cross the finish line (4-4 total map record). The Team Liquid Terran's night started poorly with an 0-2 loss to Trigger, where he failed to achieve anything with his early/mid-game pushes. However, Cure earned a chance at a rematch after defeating Bunny 2-1 in the elimination match, and he proceeded to take a slower, more economy-oriented approach in his second bout with Trigger. This adjustment was just enough to earn Cure a 2-1 victory, as he earned his passage to the RO8 by outlasting Trigger in a late-game duel in game three.
Code S will resume next week with the second group stage (round of 8):
Group A: Classic, Cure, Maru, Rogue
Group B: SHIN, Zoun, herO, ByuN
