EPTGSL 2013 Season 1 Code S
Ro32: Group C Recap
HuK, Bomber, Gumiho, Sniper
Ro32: Group D Preview
HyuN, BBoongBBoong, YoDa, Squirtle
Brackets and results at Liquipedia
Ro32: Group C Recap
Results from Live Report Thread by Yello.
+ Show Spoiler [Results] +
Sniper vs HuK
Sniper <Icarus> 
HuK
Sniper <Neo Planet S> HuK
Sniper <Whirlwind SE> HuK
Sniper wins 2-1!
Bomber vs GuMiho
Bomber <Whirlwind SE> GuMiho
Bomber <Cloud Kingdom> GuMiho
Bomber <> GuMiho
Bomber wins 2-0!
Winners' Match
Bomber <Cloud Kingdom> Sniper
Bomber <Whirlwind SE> Sniper
Bomber <> Sniper
Bomber wins 2-0!
Losers' Match
HuK <Cloud Kingdom> GuMiho
HuK <Whirlwind SE> GuMiho
HuK <> GuMiho
GuMiho wins 2-0!
Final Match
Sniper <Neo Planet S> GuMiho
Sniper <Daybreak> GuMiho
Sniper <Cloud Kingdom> GuMiho
GuMiho wins 2-1!
Bomber and GuMiho advance to Code S RO16!
Sniper <Icarus> HuKSniper <Neo Planet S> HuKSniper <Whirlwind SE> HuKSniper wins 2-1!Bomber vs GuMiho
Bomber <Whirlwind SE> GuMihoBomber <Cloud Kingdom> GuMihoBomber <> GuMihoBomber wins 2-0!Winners' Match
Bomber <Cloud Kingdom> SniperBomber <Whirlwind SE> SniperBomber <> SniperBomber wins 2-0!Losers' Match
HuK <Cloud Kingdom> GuMihoHuK <Whirlwind SE> GuMihoHuK <> GuMihoGuMiho wins 2-0!Final Match
Sniper <Neo Planet S> GuMihoSniper <Daybreak> GuMihoSniper <Cloud Kingdom> GuMihoGuMiho wins 2-1!Bomber and GuMiho advance to Code S RO16!Bombs Away!
-
ST_Bomber returns to the Code S Ro16 for the first time in over a year with a dominating performanceNo player in StarCraft has been as maddeningly inconsistent as
ST_Bomber. Countless times, he's looked absolutely brilliant for a week at a time, only to fall back into mediocrity. However, a dominating 4 - 0 performance in Group C of Code S, coming on the tail of the best international tournament run in his career, suggest that Bomber is finally back.Back? Newer StarCraft II fans might not even remember the Bomber of 2011, a terrifying force who seemed destined to supplant Mvp as the greatest Terran player in the world. It all came crashing down in Code S July, where he allowed a 2 - 0 lead on ByuN to slip away as he was eliminated in the quarter-finals, starting his long legacy of unfulfilled potential. With ByuN also in this Code S tournament, a symbolically important rematch may be in the works.
Bomber started off his night with an easy series win against long time rival
FXOGuMiho, a player he had a 2 - 7 GSL record against heading into the match. After using bio to pound Gumiho's mech composition into the ground in game one, Bomber finished the series 2 - 0 after Gumiho's early hellion-banshee-marine aggression backfired horrendously.The winners match against
MVP.Sniper, who had come off a victory against EG.HuK.RC, would prove to be much more difficult, but Bomber prevailed again with a 2 - 0 score. The first game on Cloud Kingdom saw Sniper drape the map in creep, stay on top of drops with a vigilant eye, and use ultra-ling-infestor tear apart several of Bomber's armies. While Sniper was able to put Bomber on the back foot, he wasn't able to cause any critical damage, and the Startale Terran used his excellent macro to keep cranking out army after army. It took just a few ill-advised engagements with ultralisks against marauders for the momentum to swing back into Bomber's favor, allowing him to streamroll Sniper with endless forces. Victory in the second game came more easily, as Bomber easily read and deflected a roach-baneling attack early on. Sniper recovered impressively well from the setback to prolong the game, but he just couldn't overcome the economic advantage Bomber had taken early and GG'd out to his endless armies.-
MVP.Sniper falls short, FXOGuMiho advances in his stead.The second Code S spot of the group was decided in a duel between Sniper and Gumiho, with both players entering the match having defeated HuK and having lost to Bomber. Gumiho took a come back from behind victory in game one, deflecting both a roach rush and a follow-up muta-ling-bane strike to force a macro game. The game ended up being reminiscent of Sniper's earlier one against Bomber, as his decision to stay on ultralisks for too long ended up caused his downfall when his Terran opponent finally put together a more marauder heavy composition. Sniper appeared to be following the same recipe for defeat in game two, but went greater spire tech eventually, creating a winning composition of brood lords, infestors and ultralisks. The third and final game saw Sniper go muta-ling heavy while Gumiho pushed and dropped constantly after establishing three bases. It was the game of the night truest to Gumiho's chaotic, multi-tasking oriented style, and Sniper just couldn't keep pace.
Unfortunately for MVP.Sniper, there won't be any more chances in WoL to earn respect and prove that his Season 5 championship was no fluke. The tiny, highly improbable chance of redemption that remains is to win the IPL6 international qualifier, head to Las Vegas, and win one more major against the best players in the world. Meanwhile, his heartbreak means elation for Gumiho, who finally gets out of the Ro32 for the first time in several seasons.
-
EG.HuK.RC drops out in fourth placeFew gave HuK any chance of going through to the Ro16 when the groups were announced, and his 1 - 4 elimination didn't come as a surprise. With some viewers expecting HuK to have a respectable showing, and others expecting him to be completely destroyed by his Code S opponents, his actual performances fell somewhere strangely in between. His very first game saw him lose to Sniper's well-planned offensive spine crawler rush, and he looked well on his way to a 0 - 2 defeat in game two after Sniper read his 8-gate all-in and prepared accordingly. Despite some poor execution from HuK, Sniper made enough poor decisions on defense for HuK's +1 zealots to power through, winning him a game. When HuK went for the same strategy in game three, Sniper played far better, snuffing the attack with ease and taking the series.
HuK's series against Gumiho wasn't particularly instructive. Gumiho took the first game by forcing a cancel on HuK's fast nexus with a marauder rush, and then bunkering up to stop HuK's 4-gate counter attack. The second game saw Gumiho deliver some cheese of his own, taking a massive lead with a marine-SCV rush and finishing the game with MMM.
Ro32: Group D Preview
Tonight’s GSL Group will be special. While GSL groups are always marked by their extremely competitive nature and cut throat competition, 3 of the 4 players competing tonight will not only be fighting for their lives in Code S, but will also be fighting for jobs.
The first applicant up is last GSL’s runner-up,
HyuN. Once the rising star of TSL, he has since fallen on hard times. First he lost in an upset to SortOf in the NASL quarter-finals. Then, upon his return to Korea, TSL disbanded leaving him bereft of a team or a home. Even worse, he was ousted from his throne as the King of IPL Fight Club by Leenock, costing him his weekly salary. With neither a home nor steady source of income to count on, Hyun now has to search for a team while competing in Code S and waiting for his next invite to IPL Fight Club (we all know it’s bound to happen). In the meantime, Hyun will face off against the opponent of his choosing (by finalist's right), BBoongBBoong. After spending a long time as Prime’s plucky 5th member in the band, BboongBboong decided it was time to try and look for new opportunities. Joining new team MJ, BboongBboong got off to a great start in his new home by destroying three strong Terran players in Jjakji, Dream and Yoda on his way to Code S. Unfortunately, things weren't just meant to be for team MJ, as they folded faster than a 2-7 offsuit. With no team to call his own and lacking the star power of the other applicants of this group, B4 will be much more desperate for the win than his GSL finalist, jobless counterparts Hyun and Squirtle.
The third member vying for a job offer is
Squirtle. Squirtle left Startale shortly after Parting, presumably in hopes of also hitting paydirt. While Parting was able to sign with SKT1, Squirtle hasn’t been able to find a team just yet. There could be many reasons for this, from disagreements between Squirtle and prospective employers on his worth, to his lack of soul. Whatever the case, Squirtle will be looking to win here and prove that he still has what it takes to go all the way and compete for a championship. The first challenge in his way will be the happily employed Yoda.The odd man out,
YoDa is the only player here that isn’t playing for a job. LG-IM might be concerned for their future, but for now, YoDa is the only player in this group who's in a secure spot. Despite that Yoda will still be giving his all to take this group. The biggest difference between Yoda and the three other players is that win or lose, Yoda won’t have to worry about how his results will affect his chances of being signed on by a team. Thus while Yoda has less to play for, he can also play with a clear mind and no nerves.Yoda is an interesting player looking at his career as a whole. He started off as an aggressive 1 base Terran player with unorthodox builds that included ghost rushing and bunker capacity rushing. He was often used in the GSTL to snipe out a player with one of his strange builds. Now, he has become everything that Happy was promised to be. He is an extraordinarily solid macro style Terran and was once praised by MVP as the strongest IM player in practice. While Yoda hasn’t been able to live up to that kind of acclaim yet, his growth in the last few months is very clear. His macro seems to have gone up to another level and his overall builds and movements are very clean. So while he isn’t fighting for a job like the other three, Yoda is probably the most dangerous man in this group.
Overall Scores and Predictions
This will be a difficult group for the two zergs, Hyun and Bboongbboong as both players will have to be practicing all three matchups. But Hyun will probably be the favorite between the two as Hyun’s ZvZ has always been very strong, despite a few recent hiccups. On top of that, his ZvP and ZvT are both a match for either Squirtle or Yoda.
For second place, it’s a three way fight between Bboongbboong, Squirtle and Yoda. A lot of what happens will depend on luck and preparation. Bboongbboong has very strong ZvT, but weak ZvP. Squirtle is an intelligent player who can come up with strong builds, but his form hasn’t been the same since his GSL finals appearance last year. Yoda is strong all around, but if he has a weakness, it would be his ZvT. Overall I’m predicting Yoda here as he won’t have as much pressure compared to the teamless Bboongbboong and Squirtle. On top of that, Bboongbboong has to deal with the infestor nerf and Squirtle has already shown a lot of his one-time aggressive builds in the Up & Down matches, while Yoda was only using standard builds in IEM Katowice.
Overall, Hyun is the favorite here, but if the cards play out right, I wouldn’t be that surprised if any of the 4 made it out.
Hyun > Bboongbboong
Yoda > Squirtle
Hyun > Yoda
Squirtle > Bbboongbboong
Yoda > Squirtle
Hyun and Yoda advance
