GSL Season One
Code A

Group B Recap
SuperNova falls

Group C Preview
soO, Panic, Ruin, sOs

Brackets and standings on Liquipedia

VODs on Twitch

by Christelle

The pattern of Protoss domination continued in Code S, with KT_Zest and IM_Trap joining herO and Rain in the Ro16. Unfortunately for fans of old school players, they did this at the cost of SuperNova and Leenock.



Observations

Zest: Before the group started, Zest was paradoxically called both the newcomer and the favorite. He ended up being quite the favorite indeed. Zest only showed weakness once, going against a well-executed Oracle-timing from PvP. Other than that, he quite frankly crushed both Trap and Leenock in their respective games. His Phoenix play was on the level of any top Protoss, and it was hard to tell that this was his first ever Code S appearance. Expect to see much more from Zest as the tournament continues.

Trap: While Trap was undone in his worst match-up of PvP, he didn't have much trouble taking care of SuperNoVa and Leenock in macro games. For a player whose legacy-to-date has been as someone who gets sloppy in the late game, this turned out to be a surprisingly good day for Trap.

Leenock: Despite Leenock's sloppy play in the early games, he very nearly pulled off some impressive comeback against both Trap and Zest. Maybe some lessons with new teammate San are due?

SuperNova: The former AZUBU ace never ceased to be determined in his mech-play, and despite the demoralizing look of his record in the group (0-4), SuperNova’s performance was far from poor. His mechanics allowed him to saturate Thor-production deep into the late game with Leenock, and a variety of openings ranging from 11-proxy-rax to CC-firsts were being utilized throughout the non-mirror-matches, even if none of them carried him all the way. Close, but no cigar for SuperNova. Then again, he is practically without a team.

Ro32 Group C: soO, Panic, Ruin, sOs

Countdown:

by lichter

The Not-So-Cautionary Tale

Everyone wants to make it big. Everyone wants to to be able to say when they retire "progaming was the best thing I ever did." But not everyone gets to be a star. Some players stick around forever, trawling the dredges of early exits, consolation prizes, and one-off memorable games, hoping for that one lucky break, a payoff that vindicates their decision to turn pro. Most never have that good day, but once in a while we get a Lucky One: a Seed, a TOP, or a Losira.

Then there's JinAir_sOs, who flashes in the pan so often we aren't sure if he's already done or still a bit rare. After his initial rise in 2013's Season 1 Finals with innovative/ridiculous builds, cannon rushes on Bel'shir Vestige, and unapologetically cheesy style, he fell in the Ro32 of Season 2. With his unorthodox play was suddenly ineffective, and many expected him to go the way of Genius or Seed and never again make a mark on the latter stages of the biggest tournaments. And then, Blizzcon happened. sOs was triumphant against all expectations, hoisting a trophy that no one thought he would challenge for. For a man with his incredible talents, it should have been a watershed moment when he proved that he wasn't going to be just another Lucky One.

So where is sOs now? It's just impossible to tell with him. But with another precipitous fall in Round 1 of Proleague, it seems we're no closer to finding out who he really is. With a 2-6 record and 0-2 in Ace Matches, he has let down his team and his fans alike. His play seems tentative and overly cautious, weighed down by the shadow of his trophy. If this is going to become a pattern with him, then he's out in the round of 32 this season – after which, we might another bouneback.

Another Lucky One?

One man who should be watching these cautionary tales is SKT_soO. Some may have already forgotten that he was last season's runner up behind Dear. Though initially lumped with hyvaa as a cheesy Zerg, the SKT man played out of his mind in Season 3, dropping PartinG 3-1 and Soulkey 3-0 to reach the final. It went against his prevailing winrates at the time which barely touched 50%, suggesting that he had simply hit a vein of good luck. His fall in the proceeding Season 3 Final Ro16 only seemed to confirm this. A 0-3 drubbing at the hands of Maru in the Hot6ix Cup continued to cement our impression of him as another one tournament wonder.

While he continues to contribute to the SK Telecom cause in Proleague, with wins against Solar, Trap and Super, there are still questions about his legitimacy as a challenger in individual leagues. His 48% winrate in ZvP does not fill one with confidence in a Protoss heavy season, and his recent wins have looked more fortunate than formidable.

Is he to follow the fate of his Zerg brethren Losira, often impressive in games, but never able to replicate his one successful season? Or has soO seen enough of these misfires to avoid becoming just another Lucky One?

Choose Your Own Adventure

Joining sOs and soO in Group C are two Code S newcomers, ST_Panic and IM_Ruin. They have waited all their lives for this moment, for an opportunity to choose their own path and aspire to greatness. But will either of them achieve it?

Between the two players, Panic showed a bit more promise in Code A, beating both Hurricane and Cure while narrowly losing to RorO. His play was typical Protoss, relying on early game defense and late game deathballs to steamroll to victory. His play might lack personality, but does not lack effectiveness.

Between the two of them though, Ruin seems the most comparable to the Jin Air Protoss, mostly due to his now infamous Daedalus Point offensive wall off. While Ruin has shown glimmers of potential in the few times we've seen him in Challenger League, this is the first time he has ever made it past the first round. That he'd finally get into Code S on the back of a crazy build on a bad map just screams sOs. I guess following in sOs' erratic footsteps is still preferable to the many other paths that pros have taken.

Predictions: With little other than their Code A games to go on, predicting how Panic and Ruin will do is as difficult as guessing what sOs will win next, since we know he's bound to strike gold after a few duds. Is this going to be one of those duds? soO has gone back to his SKT Zerg shell after grabbing his silver medal, doing well in Proleague while struggling in individual leagues. His wins have looked forgettable however solid, and though that was good enough last season, history suggests it won't be again.

soO > Panic
Ruin > sOs
soO < Ruin
Panic < sOs
soO < sOs

Ruin and sOs advance.

Writers: Christelle and Lichter.
Graphics: GomTV, shiroiusagi.
Editor: Waxangel.