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[Code S] Ro32 Group A Preview (S5)

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[Code S] Ro32 Group A Preview (S5)

Text byTL.net ESPORTS
Graphics byMeko
October 28th, 2012 21:23 GMT
  • GSL on Liquipedia
  • Code S: Ro32 Group A Preview

Code S: Ro32 Group A Preview


By: Fionn

Whew, we just crowned a champion! However, there's no time to rest, as the must rush to meet their goal of holding the semi-finals and above at IPL5 in Las Vegas.

[image loading]
Group A: (T)Liquid`TaeJa, (P)MVP.finale, (T)TSL_Polt, (P)ST_PartinG


What better way to start out the final Code S season of 2012 than with one of the groups of death? Yeah, back in the day we used to have only one group of death. Every group would be sprinkled with one or two really good players, a Code A player who somehow cheesed his way into Code S, and a player who could exploit the old system to miraculously stay alive in Code S for multiple seasons. Now with Mr. Chae giving sponsored seeds to KeSPA players instead of fan favorite foreigners, a new format that has weeded out the clingers, and a new generation of players including Life, Creator and Maru realizing their potential, we have a more than one group of death this season.

The man on top of this group is Liquid's own and their ace, (T)TaeJa. He was finally able to break his quarterfinal curse, but then fell right into an ass kicking from an even younger, fifteen-year-old prodigy. After getting over the Ro8 hump, Taeja found out that it wouldn't be so easy to make it to his first finals. Heading into the last season as the odds on favorite and immeasurable hype surrounding him, Taeja came up short. He got beat up by Life and watched his placing in the hierarchy of SC2 fall.

Which, in all honesty, is a good thing. Now instead of people expecting Taeja to win a championship, he can sneak into the background this season with everyone talking about Rain's quest to capture three major titles in a month's time, and Life's quest to become the first back-to-back GSL champion in history. Throw in six new KeSPA players to enjoy, people wanting Mvp to win his G5L trophy, and the storyline of Life vs. Rain to see who is truly the best, and Taeja is old news.

He's still one of the better players in the world, possibly the best Terran, and anything other than a quarterfinal appearance would be a disaster. But the difference now, is that the overwhelming pressure of being the favorite has subsided. Looking at the group in front of him, it's a tough one, but a group most expect him to get out of. One is a newbie to Code S and will face Taeja in the first set of the night, he beat another comfortably 2-0 last season, and the third doesn't get to use his soul push on him. Tajea, like the past few seasons, is the favorite in his Ro32 group and has the best chance of advancing.

The second of the four is the greenest of the group. Going into the Up/Down matches with no hype other than being the kid who eliminated Jaedong from the GSL, (P)MVP.finale stomped his way through his opponents and finished with a 4-0 record. Getting out of the Up/Downs with an unblemished record has been a good omen before for new players advancing to Code S, so finale will be hoping he's not the exception. He was in the easiest Up/Down group of this season, and he is going to have to step it up as he faces three players who have all at least made a Code S semifinal.

Since Genius decided that he did not want to be on MVP any longer after his lost to DRG in the first Code S finals of the season, MVP has been searching for a top Protoss replacement. Tails looked like he might be that player for a while, but couldn't keep his momentum going after qualifying for WCS Korea, and hasn't been able to leave his mark in the GSL. It's up to finale to try and fill the void that Genius left, and he can go a long way into securing that top Protoss spot on his team with a good result in the group. Also, there's an aspect of friendly competition with Vampire, the other unheralded Protoss from MVP who made a surprise qualification for Code S this season. Finale is obviously the underdog in the group and has the least chance to advance, but that sometimes gives the lesser known players less pressure on their shoulders, and they can pull off some big upsets.

(T)TSL_Polt came so close yet ended up so far from making a major impact last season. Tying up Rain on Antiga Shipyard in the winners match in the group of death, he was one map win away from killing Rain's momentum and qualifying for the quarterfinals. He faltered in the last set, ran into an angry Taeja in the last match of the night, and disappointingly fell back into the third stage of Code A. When getting there, he beat up poor Terminator without breaking a sweat, and he must start over once again to make it to his first quarterfinals in over a year.

His secret weapon for this group, especially against Parting and finale, might be his new banshee/hellions build that he has used twice in recent competition. First pulling it out against Creator in the GSTL, he left the WCS Korean champion - and possibly the best PvT defender - bewildered and wide-eyed, rolling over him and taking an important victory for TSL. He then used it again in the IPTL against GSL champion Seed and succeeded for a second time against a player known for his solidity. That bodes well for Polt as he goes up against PartinG in his first match, with the Soul Protoss having been in a PvT funk lately. However, Parting is still an excellent PvT player when he's on his game, and he will be be a tough test Polt's new build. Against Taeja, if the two do meet again, Polt will need to bring all all-around better game if he hopes to beat the strongest TvT player currently in the scene.

Finally, we have the King of Soul. Gaining attention from his immortal/sentry all-in against Zerg, (P)ST_PartinG has become possibly the first player to actually get positive attention for doing an all-in again and again against a single race (PuMa has been crying himself to sleep, we hear). What would usually make people whine and call imbalance, has turned into a storyline with people wondering who will be the first Zerg to actually stop the push. Sadly for those fans, Parting will need to rely on his exceptional PvT and strong PvP in this group.

Coming off an all-kill of LG-IM, what looked to be a three man race between Taeja, Polt and Parting has turned into the majority of people thinking it'll be Taeja and Parting getting out of the group. His PvZ, that used to be the reason why people thought he could never become a GSL champion, has now become his calling card. With all three match-ups rolling for Parting, he is aiming for a championship under the bright lights of Las Vegas.


Overall thoughts and prediction:

(T)TaeJa is the favorite. (P)PartinG and (T)Polt's inconsistency coupled with (P)finale's inexperience make Taeja the easy choice to win the group. He gets the rookie in his first match of the night, and then he gets a winner match against a player who will probably just come off an absolute war with the best PvT player going up against one of the best TvP players. In the round of eight and higher, he might not be a lock to get to the finals, but he's been a monster in the Ro32 for the past three seasons.

It then comes down to who will come in second. Recent results show that Parting should be maybe the favorite to even take the whole group, but his PvT wasn't as stellar as expected in the Up/Down groups. He dropped games to Keen and Byun, and he needed help from his friend Keen to get out of the group without going through tiebreaks. Polt has better TvP than either Keen and Byun, and he has a new build that's already been able to take down Seed and Creator, two of the best Protoss in the world.

It more than likely will come down to Polt and Parting facing off twice. They faced off in the second season of the year in the Ro32, and Parting was able to take it in a close 2-1 series. This time around, both have new builds and tactics up their sleeves, so it's a whole new ball game. Will it be Polt's smarts that help him get out of the group, or will Parting's soul just be too much to handle?

Taeja > finale
Parting > Polt
TaeJa > PartinG
Polt > finale
Polt > Parting

Taeja and Polt advance.






Writers: Porcelina.
Graphics and Art: Meko and shiroiusagi.
Editors: Waxangel.
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TL+ Member
Goldenfighter
Profile Joined August 2011
United States45 Posts
October 28 2012 21:27 GMT
#2
Polt and Taeja Hwaiting
FruitDealer | Hero | Nada | Polt | Effort
[F_]aths
Profile Blog Joined February 2010
Germany3947 Posts
October 28 2012 21:29 GMT
#3
Polt should make it out of the group.
You don't choose to play zerg. The zerg choose you.
Dirtysocks
Profile Joined August 2011
Czech Republic68 Posts
October 28 2012 21:30 GMT
#4
GOGO PartinG!!!
KaRath_
Profile Blog Joined March 2011
Australia245 Posts
Last Edited: 2012-10-28 21:32:27
October 28 2012 21:32 GMT
#5
Hoping for Taeja... dunno who the second would be, wouldn't be surprised if it was finale hahaha XD

EDIT: Also, excellent write-up. I keep forgetting my manners, damn it
I wasted my nights, you turned out the lights, now I'm paralysed, still stuck in that time...
ACrow
Profile Joined October 2011
Germany6583 Posts
October 28 2012 21:32 GMT
#6
Such a close group - and a great write-up doing it justice.
Thanks ~
Get off my lawn, young punks
PhoenixVoid
Profile Blog Joined December 2011
Canada32740 Posts
October 28 2012 21:35 GMT
#7
Hoping for Polt and TaeJa, but my head says TaeJa and PartinG. As long as Polt has his TvP well practiced, he has a good chance of progressing.
I'm afraid of demented knife-wielding escaped lunatic libertarian zombie mutants
Negius
Profile Blog Joined November 2011
Netherlands290 Posts
October 28 2012 21:35 GMT
#8
Great group to kick the season off! Go TaeJa and Polt!
[Terran] mvp | maru | innovation | mma [Protoss] mc | squirtle [Zerg] nestea | soo
caradoc
Profile Blog Joined January 2011
Canada3022 Posts
Last Edited: 2012-10-28 21:38:42
October 28 2012 21:36 GMT
#9
Yeah, season five! I'm so so excited for this season. The lineup is just incredible, and this is the first season really, where there's a sizable force of Kespa pros.

And here's to hoping HerO and Taeja leave behind some weeping, broken, lost wraiths where men used to be in the first groups round.
Salvation a la mode and a cup of tea...
DinosaurJones
Profile Joined February 2012
United States1000 Posts
October 28 2012 21:36 GMT
#10
I want Polt Parting AND TaeJa to advance ;_;

...I know I have a Liquid tag, but if I'm honest, I want Polt and Parting to make it through. I'm sorry TaeJa ._.
oneill12
Profile Joined February 2012
Romania1222 Posts
October 28 2012 21:37 GMT
#11
GO TAEJA!!!
ShinigamiFlameHaze
Profile Joined October 2012
United States33 Posts
October 28 2012 21:39 GMT
#12
Taeja and Polt are my predictions to advance.
Live Life Love Laugh
LockeTazeline
Profile Blog Joined June 2012
2390 Posts
October 28 2012 21:39 GMT
#13
Great writeup, but I think (hope...) Parting's got this. Either way, this is enough to make me look forward to a Monday.
bropedo
Profile Joined April 2012
United States89 Posts
October 28 2012 21:41 GMT
#14
finale/parting
Gogo Terran: MKP ByuN || Toss: Parting Rain || Zerg: Life HyuN
Shinespark
Profile Joined June 2011
Chile843 Posts
October 28 2012 21:41 GMT
#15
The whole GSL code S in 1 month? Great idea Gom!
No, really.
"I, for one, welcome our new Korean overlords."
Corsica
Profile Joined February 2011
Ukraine1854 Posts
Last Edited: 2012-10-28 21:48:11
October 28 2012 21:47 GMT
#16
TL bias ftw!

Parting and Taeja. I cant see Taeja>parting especially after that allkill
Zenbrez
Profile Joined June 2012
Canada5973 Posts
October 28 2012 21:48 GMT
#17
On October 29 2012 06:41 Shinespark wrote:
The whole GSL code S in 1 month? Great idea Gom!
No, really.

Happens when scheduling gets reworked as often as it did this year.
Refer to my post.
Koesader
Profile Joined April 2012
Netherlands424 Posts
October 28 2012 21:54 GMT
#18
He's got a soul but he's not a soldier (yet)
PartinG & TaeJa Fighting !!~
Liquid'TaeJa - Grubby - MVPMarineKing - Liquid'Ret - AxCranK - RedBull.Bomber ~~~ Are You Ready For Bombing?
AgentChaos
Profile Joined July 2011
United Kingdom4569 Posts
October 28 2012 22:01 GMT
#19
parting and taeja thatll be my guess. parting seems to be in form lately and taeja usually doesnt fail this earlier into the tournament
IM & EG supporter
Aber
Profile Joined March 2012
Sweden332 Posts
Last Edited: 2012-10-28 22:05:57
October 28 2012 22:05 GMT
#20
Gogo TaeJa, im dead tired and got work tonight so wont be able to sit up and watch but he got this.

Liquid hwaiting!!
Trying is the first step towards failure
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