There have been many intriguing stories in this season of Code S, from the death of Zerg, the fall of champions, Liquid's Korean duo, and of course, the one foreign hope. But even amidst these sparkling narratives about a new generation of Code S players, there's one very old school story that's been impossible to miss. And how could you, when Mvp's bloody footsteps can be traced all the way back to last season's Code A?

If the newcomers' tales are about finding new life, then Mvp's has been about fighting off death. His struggles with his real life wrist injury are mirrored in his games. Every round has been a struggle, and every round he has been made to look weak. Sniper defeated him once in Code A, Ryung embarrassed him in the RO32, HerO was simply better in the RO16, and Leenock almost became his executioner. Yet, each reminder of his mortality allowed Mvp to find his spark, some inner strength that has yet to be lost to injury and time. Two weeks ago, it culminated in a majestic, two-game, blast-to-the-past TvZ showing against Leenock that allowed him to live yet another day.

It's hard to say there is “more on the line” for one player than another, but you could make that argument for Mvp. NaNiwa has earned a Code S seed for the next season, shut up countless doubters, and proved that he was more than deserving of GomTV's forgiveness and faith. NaNiwa could fall here in the Ro8, and he would probably still be a bigger winner than the eventual runner-up. Meanwhile, Mvp cursed himself long ago by winning three GSL championships, so that every single tournament is a test, so that the only way for him to win is in the most literal sense, by being the final and sole winner of a tournament.


Overall outlook and prediction:

For fans of NaNiwa and foreigners, it's tough to know what to make of this match-up. The young Swede put up some of his best results against Koreans in PvZ, while actually professing to be more comfortable in PvT. Although NaNiwa looked strong as he defeated Terran players Ryung and Virus in this GSL run, it was wins over the likes of Nestea, Leenock, and DongRaeGu that catapulted him to front of the foreigner class. Obviously, it's not NaNiwa's fault, but the simple fact is we haven't seen much of his Korean level PvT. Regarding that match-up, we just might have to take his word for it. Alright, NaNi. You say it's your best, and we've seen you be good – let's see if you can be great.

As chance would have it, Mvp is another player who cannot be judged by just facts, with faith playing a significant role. First, you have to decide if you believe he can pull through his injury and play to the best of his abilities. Against Leenock, he reached deep inside himself and pulled out an overpowering TvZ performance against one of the best ZvT players in the world, showing a quality of play some thought he was no longer capable of. If the 'old Mvp' truly lurks within, then NaNiwa may face the toughest challenge of his career.

May face. The other matter of faith is if you believe that Mvp TvP's was ever on the level of his almost invincible TvT and TvZ. Similar to NaNiwa, it's not Mvp's fault that the Protoss race conspired to collective failure during his period of dominance, leaving him almost completely untested in TvP in important situations. But it makes one wonder if his solid, but ultimately inadequate level of play against HerO will be the best he can bring against NaNiwa, and if there are no hidden depths to reach for as in his match against Leenock. In that case, we may see more upsets yet.


Mvp 3 – 2 NaNiwa

What's that line about never doubting the heart of a champion?






Strictly speaking, there's always been a 'best Protoss player in the world.' Even if everyone is terrible, someone is bound to be the least terrible, and thus by definition, 'the best.' That's not to say Protoss players have all been terrible for the last year. MC has been a very capable stand-in for most of that period, winning his fair share of foreign tournaments, but he can't help but look a bit weaker than his Terran and Zerg counter-parts. Luckily for Protoss fans, there happen to be five Protoss players left in this GSL, and with all of them having a good shot at winning the GSL championship, we may very well see a Protoss player who we can all stand behind when we say he's the best in the world. Two of them go head to head tonight.

+ Show Spoiler [Tangent] +

PartinG might actually have been the lack-of-a-better-choice best Protoss for the last few weeks, just because of MC's fairly average performances. His PvT is the best in the world, he looks a little bit better each and every time we see him, and no one doubts that he deserves to be in the round of eight – but he hasn't shown us an inch more than that. He definitely gets a big boost in perceived skill because he ends up drawing PvT all the damn time, because people stopped taking PvP into account as a match-up (unless they want to bash HuK or NaNiwa), and because Zerg players are busy staving off extinction. The point is, we can't be all optimistic about him turning into a championship caliber player, when the less glorious alternative is right in front of us.

If things don't go well for PartinG, then he might start looking remarkably like Oz. Not that being like Oz is a bad thing at all – Oz is a threat to make the top four in any tournament, and can hang with anyone in the world. However, there's a looming feeling that he's plateaued somehow at that weird tier where players like sC, Losira, and Genius once resided, the one just short of a championship.

It's time for both players to try and make the next big leap. It's not just this match, or the semi-final match they should be looking forward to. Everyone already knows they can play that level. A championship should be their true goal.



Overall outlook and prediction:

Ah, PvP. As with most other Protoss mirror duels in this GSL, it's hard to say either player has an advantage. Both PartinG and Oz have fantastic small army micro, both are great at putting together late game compositions, and both have a good sense of positioning when it comes down to game deciding battles. If everything plays out standard, and both players decide to go for orthodox PvP, if will probably end up being a very even, let's-just-coinflip PvP duel.

The difference might be Oz's willingness to go for more drastic measures from time to time, such as his double gas rush against Squirtle last week. So far, PartinG has had a tendency to play it relatively safe in his GSL PvP games, and that might not be the best approach against a more desperate opponent.

Oz 3 – 1 PartinG