Quantic.NaNiwa, CreatorPrime, LG-IMNesTea, Quantic.TheStC


If you had told me after the Blizzard Cup that Quantic.NaNiwa would not only be in Code S, but actually be ranked in the top eight coming into the third season of 2012, I would have called you a delusional fan boy that needed to get his head checked. After the now infamous probe rush incident in the Blizzard Cup group stages, the words GSL and Naniwa didn't feel like they would be connected together for a long, long time. With the Korean community outraged at Naniwa and him not receiving a Code S seed that everyone thought he deserved after getting second at MLG Providence, it looked really bleak for Naniwa's future in Korea.

But, with some strong support from his new team Quantic and help from his new teammates on Startale, Naniwa turned his image around, apologized for his actions and did well enough in foreign tournaments to get a spot in the second Code S season of 2012. Being invited and getting the nice pay day that comes along with being in Code S would be good enough for some people, but Naniwa got past the first two group stage rounds in dominating fashion and made the quarterfinals in one of the biggest image turnarounds we've seen so far in Starcraft 2.

Now, in his second Code S run after getting eliminated by Mvp last time around, Naniwa can't relax. Hero showed us last night that making a deep run in Code S is nice, but if you don't bring your A-game every single night against the top players in the world, you very likely could be starting all the way back in Code A. With more experience in the booth, one of the best Korean teams in the world helping him practice and with a mindset that he's truly Code S quality, NaNiwa is no longer an underdog in this tournament.

As one of the strongest candidates to walk the royal road, we have Prime's best and youngest Protoss player CreatorPrime. From the outside, he looks like a strong competitor, but maybe not someone who can go far in his Code S tournament at the age of fifteen-years-old. That might be true for some of the new players coming into Code S, but not for Creator. Ever since he made his first big splash on the scene last year in the GSL Super Tournament by almost upsetting Mvp in the very first round, people have been keeping an eye on this kid.

A year later and finally in Code S, he's finally transitioning from the inexperienced ball of raw talent into one of the scariest Protoss players we have ever seen play this game. When looking at how good a new player is in Korea, sometimes you look at their ranking on the Korean Grandmaster ladder and try to see if they're up there. For Creator, being in the top five or even the top three isn't impressive to him. In the last month, Creator has been able to get three of his accounts, all at 70%+ winning percentage, into the top five of the Korean Grandmaster ladder.

Think about that for a second. Even some of the best players on the ladder like Parting, Polt, Alive, ForGG and MKP can only sustain a winning rate of somewhere around 60% to 65%. Creator has gone above and beyond and is making a mark that we've rarely seen on the Korean ladder. If he can take his results that he's recently had in the IPL Fight Club (beating Polt 5-3) and other online events and bring that into tonight's games, we might see a new star develop in front of our eyes. We've waited the year to see this kid mature and it's finally time to see how far he can really go in his Code S debut.

The underdog of this group -- like always it seems for him in Code S --- is Naniwa's new teammate Quantic.TheStC. With the disbanding of his old team oGs and proclaiming in one of his interviews that his family isn't in the best financial state, TheStC has found a solid foreign team in Quantic and will try to make his new sponsors happy by making a good impression in his first outing for the squad.

He might not be the most exciting player or be one of the revolutionizing players of his race, but TheStC is a player that you can never count against. Even last season when he was in a group with DongRaeGu, Jjakji, and Taeja, he was able to beat both champions in back-to-back fashion and get out of his Code S group in first place after coming in against overwhelming odds. He will once again after to face those odds to get out of this group and with being the only Terran in his group, he won't be able to rely on his incredibly strong TvT to help him out. Things look a bit grim with the leaving of an old team, having to acclimate to a new one, and going up against three strong opponents, but TheStC has a knack for turning the improbable into very possible.

The final man of this group is the only player to never leave Code S. He might fall at times and have to get through the Up and Downs or Code A, but at the start of every new season, LG-IMNesTea will be sitting in his place in the booth, chomping at the bit for a championship. Seeing teammate, friend and rival Mvp get his fourth title before him is going to drive him even more to get past this group and go for that elusive fourth crown that has been evading him for almost a year now.

In a group with three players who don't have as many Code S appearances combined as he does, Nestea will have the experience edge against all three. In terms of skill, still one of the best Zergs in the world, he might have trouble going up against Creator and maybe even TheStC. Facing Naniwa...well, that's a whole different story. We all know their history and how they've played against each other countless times in the past eight months. While Nestea might be the three-time GSL champion, outside the probe rush game in the Blizzard Cup, Naniwa has been getting the best of the veteran in foreign competitions.

Even if Naniwa was 100-0 against Nestea outside of Korea going into tonight's matches, it doesn't really mean anything when they play inside Nestea's house. Nestea has been in the GSL since the very beginning and has always played his best games in the GSL. While he might not put up the best performances in the foreign events or take a title in Europe or America, Nestea will always be a scary foe to face in the Mokdong Studios. Everyone will be crossing their fingers to see Naniwa and Naniwa to face off in this group, and I'm sure Nestea and Naniwa will both be confident walking into that match-up if it does so happen.

Overall outlook and prediction

This is one of the toughest groups to call. Naniwa had the best season of the four in last season's Code S, but players like Hero, Gumiho, and others have shown us that while it's hard to get far in Code S, but even harder to stay there. Nestea is by far the most experienced and with the extra rest between seasons, should have eyes set on a fourth title and tying Mvp in the championship count. He didn't show his best performance during the GSTL games, but you have to remember that at the end of the day, GSL is and will always be Nestea's main focus with everything else coming in at a distant second. TheStC is an underdog and will be hard pressed to take a match, but that's what we said last time and he ended up taking first in his group against DRG and Jjakji. Finally, Creator, the young boy that showed so much promise in last year's Super Tournament, has finally caught up to the rest of the world and is planning on passing everyone now that he has arrived in Code S.

Creator > Naniwa
Nestea > TheStC
Creator > Nestea
Naniwa > TheStC
Naniwa > Nestea

Creator and NaNiwa advance