2026 GSL Code S Season 2

RO4 & Grand Finals Preview

Start time: Saturday, Jun 06 8:00am GMT (GMT+00:00)

herO, Rogue, Maru, and Cure head to the FreecUP studio for one final showdown, with the Code S Season 2 championship on the line.

Semfinals Match #1: herO vs Rogue

by: Mizenhauer

herO: The Archetype

herO is becoming undeniable in front of our eyes. Six months into 2026 and he's already won the three biggest tournaments of the year, on top of smaller hauls in a variety of online events. What’s even more staggering than the trophies themselves is the manner in which herO is bogarting them. The perfect amalgam of flow and discipline, herO is living in rarified air.

At moments it seems like he’s the optimized version of INnoVation—a player who finally pairs peerless micro with The Machine’s legendary macro mechanics. In other games he seems like a super powered Rain—a late game maestro who swallows up the map with authority. The strategies shift from game to game, but what never changes is the crushing sense of inevitability. Fully capable of pressuring his opponent on every front at every stage of the game., herO has evolved into a vice. His mind games are beguiling, his micro defies belief and his army never ends. You die now or you die later, and you don't even get to choose when (keep your eyes peeled for more Morton’s Forks!).

herO doesn’t just win because he manipulates Blink Stalkers like no one else alive—he wins because those Stalkers are backed by a hyper drive engine that’s already spitting out another base, his second Colossus and four more Gateways. He wins because his peerless micro and predatory senses mean he’s always on the offensive—even when he’s on his side of the map. herO isn’t just the best player in the world, he’s the most entertaining. When it comes to sports, that’s a rare combo indeed. The perfect player who enthralls with one hand and dominates with another. Fresh of a Code S and RSL title, he’s the definition of a champion.

The last time herO faced Rogue in the semifinals of Code S was one year ago. At the time herO was two wins away from reaching numerous career milestones, and was creeping closer to the level of all-time greats. He was unfortunately denied by the cunning Rogue, but it was only a temporary setback as herO continued to chase a more prominent place in history. One’s estimation of the modern day incarnation of Code S varies wildly from person to person, and the tournament obviously exists in a diminished state. However, having interviewed numerous Korean pros, I still believe they honor the tournament's legacy and give it their utmost effort, and you can be sure that herO still values making himself a greater part of its legacy.

With a win against Rogue in the semis and another in the finals, herO would become the third player to win back to back seasons of Code S (Nestea in 2011 May/July and Maru in 2018 Season 1/2 have done it previously). He would collect his fifth Korean Individual League title (Code S, OSL, SSL) and tie Rogue for the second most Code S titles with four. Most astonishingly, herO would become the first Protoss to win Code S twice in one year. That’s a truly remarkable achievement considering giants like MC, Rain, Zest and Stats have tread Code S’ halls. The idea of something so historic happening this weekend is scintillating.

It has to be said that those accomplishments alone won’t be enough to vault herO into the top 10 players of all time, but they make him a finalist for the best player of the past two years. More recently, herO has had the Korean scene in a chokehold for the past four weeks—a stretch in which he’s hardly been scratched in RSL and Code S (16-2 overall), while posting an astounding record of 61-8 in all competitions (88% and 73% respectively).

With only four players left in Code S, herO will be expected to put a bow on this incredible run of form. He’s the undisputed best player in Korea at the moment (if not the entire world) and he has a chance to drill that point home by going four-for-four in Liquipedia S-tier tournaments on the year. Getting past Rogue shouldn’t be too much of a feat and herO probably won’t find himself all that bothered if he runs into the slothful Maru we saw in the previous season of Code S. Neither would Cure pose much of a problem, who would enter the final as an even bigger underdog than Rogue in the semis. The next two matches should be a coronation, the capstone of one of the most decorated half year stretches of any player in StarCraft II history. StarCraft II's fundamental design may change by the time the next Code S comes around, so this might be your chance to see the last great performance of the 12-worker era.

Rogue: The Auteur

So what chance does Rogue really have against a bulldozer who has won RSL and Code S in the past four weeks? A cynic would probably say close to none. A realist would point to the fact that herO is nine spots higher in the Aligulac.com rankings. The average fan who watches a couple of VODs or streams a week might not even have seen Rogue play in a single high-profile match, as opposed to herO's regular scheduled skills showcases. Rogue has been a remarkably solid player since his return from the military—topping out with a finals appearance in Code S a year ago—but he has failed to re-ascend into the ranks of true title contenders. Big names like herO (21-2), Clem (12-3), and Maru (4-2) are a combined 37-7 against Rogue since the start of 2025—numbers that do little to inspire confidence.

Fortunately for Rogue and his devotees, the former Jin Air Zerg is one of the brainiest players to grace StarCraft II. It’s difficult to express my admiration for Rogue’s series planning and it’s no shock that his origin story is rooted in Proleague. More than a decade ago, Rogue first made his claim to fame as a Proleague regular—a competition whose schedule allowed Rogue to morph from week to week and devise some of the zaniest builds you’ll ever see. As Rogue swelled in skill, he applied those same talents to finals of Code S, as well as the IEM and WCS Global FInals. While he remains quite a distance away from the unstoppable menace he was at his peak, his intellect remains as sharp as ever. If one wants evidence of this they need look no further than the semifinals of Code S just one year ago.

When Rogue and herO ran into one another in Season 2 of Code S 2025, the situation was nearly the exact same as it is now. herO was fresh off winning Code S Season 1 and was a significant favorite heading into the match. In fact, most people were overlooking the affair entirely—instead holding out for a proper final between the consensus best two players in Korea at that moment (herO and Classic). What came next, however, could only be described as madness (the word I used at the time was scummy). After losing an unspectacular game one, Rogue rattled off a Roach all-in, a Speedling all-in on Torches that started with a proxy gold base and, finally, a four base Zergling flood that sent him to the finals with a 3-1 victory. Rogue never allowed herO to dictate the pace as Protoss so often does, instead finding three different ways to strike when herO was at his weakest. The Roaches caught him before he had enough Zealots, while the Speedling all-in undermined the weakest point in his defenses. The barrage of Zergings and Banelings kept herO down on bases, tech and army supply, and punished herO for spreading his forces too thin on defense.

So what’s to stop Rogue from doing all that again? herO is the best player in the world at the moment, but Rogue took herO to a full five games in Maestros of the Game, so he’s clearly competitive with his opponent. Aligulac paints herO as the heavy favorite with an 88% chance of advancing, but the numbers often lie when Rogue is involved.

Speaking of numbers, Aligulac gives Rogue a 60% chance of defeating Cure and, while in might be too much to ask against Maru (who supposedly wins 73% of the time), it’s not hard to imagine either Cure or Maru dying to Roach-Ravager timings four times in seven games. Rogue’s former teammates have some of the mightiest mechanics in history, but both Terrans have an unfortunate penchant for dying to timings while greedily powering up to their preferred stage of the game.

This writer certainly doesn’t advocate locking Rogue into your Liquibets but, if you’re looking for a dark horse, he’s your choice. Where Maru, Cure and herO lean towards the conventional, Rogue is far and away the most likely contestant to come up with an unexpected plan. It’ll be a lot to ask, but if Rogue’s fingers can keep up with his mind long enough for him to win seven games, then he just might collect the first Code S title since his comeback.

Prediction: herO 3 - 2 Rogue

Semifinals Match #2: Maru vs Cure

by Wax

The slow dismantling of Maru's aura has been in progress for several years, with last season's shocking end at the hands of SHIN removing a boulder-sized brick from the foundation. Now, for the second season in a row, Maru must protect his reputation against an opponent he would have not even spared a passing thought for in the past.

During Maru's magnificent peak in 2018-2023, his invincible TvT played a key part in creating that feeling of grandeur. Even though it existed simultaneously with the peak of Serral's ZvP, it could be argued that Maru's TvT was the single most imbalanced match-up in all of StarCraft II. While all other Terrans were insignificant when facing Maru, a few were made to look even more pitiful. One such Terran was Cure, who had the misfortune of experiencing his own career peak while Maru was still dominating the Korean scene. The two had several high-profile clashes deep into the playoffs of major tournaments—including Code S and IEM semifinals, alongside one Code S grand finals—all in which Maru prevailed as expected. However, it wasn't just the stakes of the matches that marked Cure as Maru's most infamous victim—it was the manner of the losses.

Maru wasn't manhandling Cure from start to finish—Cure was actually one of the few Terrans who could compete evenly with Maru for most of the game. However, Maru held the ultimate trump card in his late-game play, where his understanding of army compositions and tech transitions outstripped everyone else by a tactically jumped lightyear. It didn't matter whether Maru went into the late-game leading or playing from behind—after a certain point, he became utterly unbeatable. It wasn't just Maru's late-game play in itself that doomed his opponents—forcing them to play against such a hard-enrage timer gave Maru a significant mental edge. Cure's 2-4 finals loss loss to Maru in 2023 Code S Season 1 was the ultimate demonstration of how a player can self-destruct when playing against such inevitability, as he threw away significant leads due to the pressure of needing to close the game before it was too late.

Headed into this semifinal match, it's obvious that much has changed for both Maru and TvT. Maru himself has clearly been in slow decline, with vintage performances growing ever rarer amidst a sea of listless outings. TvT has changed to work against him, with the increased importance of early-game skirmishing between Marine-Tank-Raven armies making it harder to survive until the late-game. The venerable Aligulac.com may still rank Maru as the #1 TvT player in the world by a slim margin, but this is one of the occasions where the numbers haven't caught up to reality. In fact, the key inflection point in Maru's TvT career already occurred nearly a year ago at EWC, when Cure eliminated him with a decisive 3-1 victory in the quarterfinals. While Maru's TvT had been slipping even before then, that was the moment when his reign of TvT terror 'officially' came to an end.

While it may be difficult to believe considering the scars Cure bears from previous battles with Maru, he now faces him as an equal. They have had only one clash since their fateful EWC meeting, with Cure defeating Maru 2-1 in a group stage match in the previous Code S season. That match revealed both Maru's weakness and his remaining strength: Cure thoroughly outplayed Maru in the early-game battles between Marine-Tank-Raven armies, but Maru stole a map where he came back from an early deficit to win with a late-game Raven army. In essence, the late-game win condition for Maru still exists, but it's never been harder to achieve it.

Aligulac.com gives Maru a significant advantage with a 67% chance of winning, but I couldn't disagree more. Not only do I see the individual match-up as close to 50/50 in a vacuum, but I also give the edge to Cure in a GSL environment. Unfortunately, the greatest GSL player ever has simply not lived up to that reputation for several seasons running, showing none of the GSL-clutch factor we've seen in the past. On the other hand, Cure might be the player who has punched above his weight class the most when playing in major tournaments, and GSL Code S has been no exception.

Prediction: Cure 3 - 2 Maru

Finals Possibilities

by Wax

herO vs Maru: In last season's preview, I said this hypothetical match-up was basically even, with the slight edge going to Maru due to his history of success in the GSL. However, it's hard to give Maru that benefit of the doubt after his crushing loss to SHIN in the semis. On the other hand, herO has racked up even more impressive PvT results since the last GSL (recently taking down Clem in the RSL finals), so I'll pick him to win this time around.

herO vs Cure: herO has had Cure's number for quite some time now, and he added another big win to the record by defeating him in last season's semifinals. As expected, Cure leaned on aggressive tactics to try and pull off the upset, but herO's defenses were simply too resolute. I still think that a cheesy approach could win Cure the series if everything goes right (last semis saw him win a map with a perfect proxy despite herO's DOUBLE Probe scout), but the most likely outcome is clearly a herO victory.

Rogue vs Maru: It's unfair to Rogue, but ZvP is the main reason his comeback has felt unsatisfying so far. It's just that Serral is the only top Zerg to have overcome the most difficult match-up in the pro scene, while Rogue and Reynor are the only Zergs we think have the potential to reach Serral's level. But putting ZvP aside, Rogue has actually made quite the comeback in ZvT, and he's even picked up wins against the likes of Clem and Maru in smaller events. He'll definitely be the underdog here, but he has a puncher's chance of pulling off the upset. Given these two players' proclivities, you can't rule out a ridiculous cheesefest.

Rogue vs Cure: Again, Rogue has been a very credible ZvT competitor since his comeback, and his record against Cure is close to 50/50 since EWC 2025. This one is a toss-up, but I'll take Rogue and his clutch-factor to prevail here.