WCS Korea Season II - Up/Downs

Up/Down Group A Preview
Ruin, DRG, Leenock, Maru, Bunny


Brackets and standings on Liquipedia

by kollin

With the explosive final between Innovation and Soulkey to decide the winner of Season 1 is looming on the horizon, it's not a surprise that the Up/Downs are being a little overlooked. However, there's plenty of big names and old Code S regulars still lurking in the Up/Down matches, and it's a guaranteed rough ride for anyone looking to get into the next season of the WCS Korea Premier League.

5. LG-IM_Ruin

The player sitting tidy at the bottom of our predictions for this group is the LG-IM benchwarmer Ruin. While he was bumped up from the fifth-string Protoss to the fourth-string Protoss after Seed departed to FXO, he's still been rather quiet on the results front. With his only relevant, recent match being an unbroadcasted 2-1 win against StarTale rookie Sparta in Code A, it's fairly difficult to predict his skill level at the moment. This does give him the shroud of unpredictability, which may be his biggest advantage. If Ruin wants to represent his team regularly in the GSTL, getting a Code S spot will be a big step in achieving that goal.

Ruin's biggest problem is everyone else in this group either has a lot more tournament prestige, or hellbats. Ruin's best shot at making it out the other side of this group is that there's a lack of his games to study, so there is the potential of a variety of all ins and timing attacks that could hit at any time. If he can use those to ruin (I'm so sorry) his opponents, there's a possibility of him getting into the WCS KR Season 2 Premier League. On the other hand, there's also the chance that there's a reason we've barely hard of him up to now, and he's not actually that good.

4. CJ_Bunny[Name]

Bunny might not be aware of it, but there's a player that mirrors nearly all his moves. This player also plays Terran and is also named Bunny, but hails from Denmark. If we think about it, the two are clearly twins. They both have the same name, they both appeared on the scene at around the same time, they both made it through the qualifiers for their respective regions at around the same time, and now they are both playing out their Up/Down groups at the same time. However, the following group will make a very important distinction between the two. Like all twins, there is the evil twin and the good twin. European Bunny is fitting into the mold of the evil twin, with his extremely high HPM (hellbats-per-minute) and chilling visage striking terror into his opponent's hearts.

This is Korean Bunny's chance to show he is the angel of the pair, opting for play that doesn't involve hellbat dropping non-stop. As he is one of the weaker players in the group, that would lessens his chances of advancing significantly, so he might have to sell his soul to the devil if he wishes to make his way into Code S. Even if he does I doubt it will be enough to overcome the hurdles that are DongRaeGu, Leenock and Maru and it looks like it will be bye bye Bunny for now.


3. MaruPrime (HellbatKingPrime)

Poor Maru, you were never the best Terran on Prime, never did that well in Code S, and now you don't even have the title of 'Best Young Player' anymore. While you do have some dazzling control at times, it's never been enough to make a serious splash in the Starcraft 2 world. The spiral into mediocrity doesn't seem to have stopped either, as recent losses to First and Bbyong highlight. Whereas a year ago it might have been possible to see you as an ace for Prime, now you look like the first one to be dropped should Prime want to tinker with their line-up. You are consistently making it into Code S though, which is one serious saving grace.

Now, about Maru's play. He likes to 8/8/8, bunker rush, and hellbat/mine/hellion drop a ton, and be an enormous pain in the bum for anyone he faces. He some of the highest HPM of all the eSF players, and maybe even Koreans in general (though 8th Team's Ty is probably #1). This is a huge advantage in a Bo1 series, especially if he mixes in the odd CC first with all the proxy reaper openers. It may not be enough though, as Leenock and DRG are both very capable veterans of the GSL, and have found ways to make it back to Code S countless times. While Maru shouldn't count himself down and out yet (I need to stress that hellbats are really, really good), the Prime Terran will have a tough time retaining his Code S spot.


2. FXOLeenock

Seeing Leenock in 2nd will surprise many of you, I'm sure. I hear some cries stick out amid the outrage 'But he won Dreamhack, surely that counts for something!'. It does count for something, certainly. However we do have to remember that to win Dreamhack, Leenock fought very limited Code S class opposition (if you were a HerO and Gumiho hater, you'd say he fought none), and if you look just inside Korea, he's been doing very average as of late. Furthermore, the whole reason that Leenock is in the Up/Downs is because he lost to Bbyong 0 - 2 in two straight macro games in Code A. Bbyong, to put it plain and simple, is not good at macro games, and has had trouble holding down a spot on CJ Entus' Proleague roster. It was a huge surprise that Leenock lost, considering the expectations placed on Leenock's shoulders after Dreamhack.

Leenock's opportunity to recover face from such an embarrassing loss is now, and you have to keep in mind that he is still the Leenocktopus, and any number of circumstances could have been afflicting him when he played Bbyong. Leenock's ability to change his style from heavy aggression to long term macro at the snap of a finger is paralleled only by Life, and that's what Leenock will have to use if he wants to get a spot in Code S. While Leenock is in danger of banishment to Code A if he doesn't get his form to together, he can and most likely will overcome his recent shakiness and advance forward in a solid second place.


1. MVP.DongRaeGu

Leenock isn't the only great WoL Zerg who has been doing poorly as of late. DongRaeGu has basically been in free-fall since the beginning of HotS. The only series he has won in HotS so far has been against MC, a player who hasn't been doing so hot in HotS either. Outside that, DRG has lost to MMA, YoDa, Flying, SuperNoVa, and Avenge, disappointing his team in the GSTL and disappointing himself as he fell from Code S.

So, how can we pick DongRaeGu to take the top spot in this group then? Call it a matter of faith. Sure, it's been a bumpy ride so far, but DongRaeGu has been one of the most consistently strong StarCraft II players in the world. He might have stretches where his play is poor and his game sense is off, but he always finds ways to bounce back before he falls into an extended slump. He's the most decorated and most successful player in this group by a huge margin, and he will find a way back to the Premier Division and start his recovery.

Writers: kollin.
Graphics: shiroiusagi.
Editor: Waxangel.