GSL Season 1 Code S Group A

GSL Season 1 2013

Coming into 2013, Wings of Liberty is winding down as an esports title in its own right. Coming in the middle of March is the expansion Heart of the Swarm, which will consign WOL to the record books.

When Starcraft 2 arrived with so much hype in late 2010 I wasn’t sure I could love any game as I had its predecessor. However over the past couple of years I have grown to love its gameplay, depth and follow its professional scene, just as much as I ever did with Broodwar.
Throughout the last couple of years there has been one tournament that I have followed without fail. It never had anything but the best of the best players and has been the peak to aim for for all professional SC2 players. Of course I am talking about the GSL.

From the early open seasons, where aggressive play was rampant and the small maps used meant that taking a third base was tantamount to suicide. We saw professional gamers let loose upon a new, blank canvas, attempting to figure out their own styles and strategies in this new landscape. Through 2011, it was at the GSL where we saw the popular strategies of the time formulated and performed. MVP and Nestea started their reigns of terror and GOMTvT became the norm. Moving into through the end of 2011 and into 2012 more champions were born in different forms. One time wonders such as Jjakji, and the start of the rise of ~~Infestors~~ Zerg, through Dong Rae Gu, Life and Sniper.

How can you call me Imba? Im far too cute!

2013 brings the final season of code S at the GSL with Wings of Liberty and I couldn’t be more excited. This season has the feeling of coming full circle for Wings of Liberty. Players who used to dominate have returned to the fore for one last crack at the mountain that is Code S. We have old champions who have fought their way back to relevance in Nestea and MC. As have players considered contenders back in 2011 such as Huk, Losira and Bomber. Alongside these returning titans there is also the new school, players with blinding mechanics such as Life and Creator. Or the incoming Kespa elephants: Innovation, Soulkey, Baby and Roro.

If that isn’t enough to whet your appetite for amazing Starcraft then there is always a certain Frenchman who has rolled into Seoul. Could we possibly have a non-Korean champion in the final season of Code S playing Wings of Liberty?

EG curse my *$@!

Group A – Creator, Byul, Symbol, Life

We start out this final WOL season of Code S with quite possibly the hardest groups ever seen in the history of the competition. Before the recent up and down matches and his switch to power-house team LG-Incredible Miracle, I would have said Byul was the weak link here. However given those two factors Byul has rapidly ascended in my estimation.
Each player is going to be amongst the favourites to take any tournament they enter and this group will provide an excellent testing ground for each of them in turn.

Creator Prime

Creator displaying his signature build

The original wonder-kid of Starcraft 2. Creator first got noticed on the scene way back in 2011 at the GSL Super Tournament at the young age of 14, we saw Creator come up against the monster that is MVP in round 1. No-one gave the young son of Aiur a chance; however he put in a performance that belied his tender years and almost taking down the top Terran of the time on a tense deciding game on Tal-Darim Altar. From then the fledgling talent went on to pioneer double forge play against Terran and continued building his reputation on his team Prime in team leagues. Contrary to his results in team competitions he struggled to find consistency in individual leagues, constantly failing to clinch his spot in Code S despite his obvious ability. Notably many players felt the need (and succeeded) to cheese against him in the volatile environment of the up and down matches. Throughout mid to early 2012, Despite his talents, a continuous failure to make it to code S (excepting one season, where Naniwa bounced him straight out again in the round of 32) was worrying, and it was uncertain that he would ever fulfil his promise.

He finally managed to live up to the expectation and took down his first huge tournament in the TSL4. However it was the quick follow up win at WCS Korea, up against the top competition in his home country, which really got the monkey off his back and had people calling him one of the all-round best players in the world, let alone just his race. Since then the hype train has died down slightly, mostly due to lack of games, but he still managed to make a round of 8 run in last season’s Code S (only getting stopped by eventual runner up Hyun), cementing his place in the first Code S of 2013.

Moving onto the group itself, the natural advantage that is immediately obvious for Creator is the fact he only has to practice one match up, compared to his opponents who have to prepare for two. On the face of it Creator will need all the advantages he can get. Last season’s Protoss v Zerg numbers don’t make good reading…

Last Code S season Protoss had a 39% win rate against Zerg

This gets even worse when you take into account the maps that are being removed from the pool for the upcoming season. On the maps that will be present, Protoss had a dismal 31% record (and this gets even worse if you remove Daybreak, the one map with a favourable win rate for Protoss, at 67%). On top of this, PvZ has also been Creators worst match up (at a still respectable 56%) over the course of his career; coupled with a very tough loss against top Zerg Hyun in last season’s competition, it looks like an all Zerg group is a tough ask for him.

However all hope for Aiur is not lost. Creator also took down two top level Zergs in last season’s competition, in Curious and Dong Rae Gu. He has managed a 5-5 record in his last 10 games (which includes his 1-3 loss to Hyun) against the swarm and he has had plenty of downtime to practice the new maps coming in for the next season. Another positive for the Prime player is that he is going up against arguably the weakest player in the group in his first match. If he can get some favourable maps for his first set against Byul he can get on a roll quickly and take him down, then he gives himself two chances in best of three sets to escape the group. While I wouldn’t say that Creator is favoured against either Symbol or Life, it is a gamble I would back Creator to pull through, with his solid and safe macro style.

One final point to make on Creator is from the map pool. There are both positives and negatives to take from this for the young Protoss star. First, destructible rocks being added to the third bases on Whirlwind should help level the playing field slightly; on what was a death trap for Protoss players last season (Protoss held a lamentable 0-4 record on Whirlwind last season against Zerg). Second, all the maps in the coming season, with the exception of Whirlwind, are two player maps. This would seem to suit Creator, as scouting should be easier and will allow him to react and take advantage of his safe, macro style. On the other hand you could argue that given the guaranteed spawn points, we might see more cheese; something Creator hasn’t always been the strongest against in the past. Thirdly, Entombed Valley has been removed from the pool. This has been the go to map for Protoss against Zerg in recent months, as it offers the opportunity for multiple styles against Zerg. Both 2 base all-ins, as well as fast third bases were possible on this map.

LG-IM Byul

One of the few players with the opportunity to walk the royal road this season, Byul is something of a dark horse in this stacked group. Until his recent up and down performance and his switch to team LG Incredible Miracle; Byul’s only real achievements have come in team league competition, where his previous team Fnatic sent him out in almost every one of their GSTL matches. Famously he managed to secure a four kill against his new employers (taking down top stars YongHwa, Seed, Happy and NesTea). After that performance, which was only his second TV appearance, expectations understandably rose for the young Zerg player. However further results did not immediately follow, with Byul unable to pick up another win in the GOM TV studios. Many wrote him off, thinking him simply another ‘patch Zerg’ who enjoyed a brief moment of glory, taking advantage of Zergs current strength in the game. That was until last season’s code A saw him qualify for the up and down matches.

In those matches we saw the beginnings of a potentially brilliant partnership between Byul and LG IM. In one match in particular, against Byun Prime, we saw Byul expertly dismantling the Terran on Antiga Shipyard, a map known to favour T against Z. Not only that, he was clearly displaying a strategy shown in a previous match by his new team mate NesTea. Faster than usual Lair into massive creep spread (from a queen that walked there!)

Queen says no third for you!

all over the Terran third base. This delayed Byun’s build up enough to allow Byul to control the whole map and take 5 bases. Drops were shut down by overlord coverage and mutas and it was simply a beautiful game to watch. Byul went on to qualify for Code S with a score of 4-1. It showcased the massive potential of the partnership between player and team. With the coaching of one of the world’s most notoriously smart Zergs in NesTea, combined with Byuls raw mechanics, we could be witnessing the start of a very dangerous combination indeed.

All that being said, it may be too early for this young player in this group. Not only does he face one of the best Protoss in the world, he also has two terrifying Zerg opponents in Symbol and Life. Looking at his overall record in the GSL his best match up has been against Protoss (60% win rate), and in the up & downs he managed a 3-0 record against the sons of Aiur. That bodes well for his first match against Creator. However, against Zerg his GSL record is very different; with a disappointing 33% win rate all that he can boast. Much of this can be apportioned to a lack of games played, as his international record of 69% paints a very different picture. Never-the-less Byul comes into this group as a definite under-dog against the other Zergs present.

Whilst maps won’t have too much of an impact on his mirror match. Against Protoss, Byul will be hoping for the ‘Toss graveyards of Whirlwind (hopefully with the changes this should be slightly less Z favoured though), or Bel’Shir Vestige in his first best of three (I’m not confident predicting how the new maps will play out ZvP yet). If he can get one, or even two, of those maps he could sneak an upset against Creator and then with two more best of three’s, Byul may be able to slip his way into the round of 16. After all, the creator of the universe now has his back.

Symbol

Something of an enigma, Symbol has had a very topsy turvy start to his SC2 career. Emerging from the Zerg heavy team TSL (unfortunately recently disbanded), Symbol first had made a few forgettable trips to Code A before he finally broke out, to finish second, at the first Iron Squid tournament. During early spring of 2012, MarineKing was right at the apex of his powers, having come off back to back wins at MLG events. When the community saw little known Symbol matched against MarineKing in the quarter finals, few would have given him much of a shot. A short 3-0 later, Symbol was garnering attention; especially given his 3-1 dismantling of NesTea in the semi-finals. Despite a loss to MMA in the finals, Symbol had shown the world his true skill level and things would only improve from there.

Mere weeks later he finished second at MLG Spring Arena 2, and followed that up with arguably his greatest achievement in SC2 to date, a reverse all kill of LG IM in the GSTL, earning him the nickname the ‘Nephalem Zerg’ (his victory co-incided with the release of Diablo 3) for defeating all 5 players sent out by Incredible Miracle.

Nephalem Zerg rising

It seemed like the rise of Symbol was inevitable, crushing through season 2 of Code A he started out season 3 of Code S as one of the biggest favourites to take the whole tournament.
Things were all going to plan until game three of his quarter finals against LG IM Seed. Up 2-0, Symbol started to show-boat by ‘dancing’ his scouting overseer in Seeds base. While it is tough to tell if exactly what followed was more Symbol choking, or Seed summoning up hidden reserves. The fact is that Symbol suffered one of the biggest melt-downs seen in the GSL booth, allowing Seed to take the next 3 maps and bounce him out of the biggest SC2 tournament in the world.
From then on the invincible aura surrounding Symbol has diminished and there is the feeling that while clearly Code S standard, he suffered some sort of mental block that day, which he has never quite recovered from. Symbol comes into this season of Code S with much less hype, but maybe that is exactly what he needs to get back to his best. It should be noted that his team has recently disbanded and this can affect players differently. Some will play above their potential trying to attract the interest of new teams, while others will suffer from the disruption to practice time, or under-perform from the same pressure to impress potential new teams.

Symbols first match is up against probably the hottest player on the planet in Startale Life. Even ignoring the difficulties this presents, Symbols ZvZ is statistically his worst match up (at 50% in the GSL), which makes him a definitely second favourite to the royal roader Life. Especially considering it was Life who beat Symbol in last season’s Code S to dump him out at the round of 16 stage. In the more recent past his ZvZ has again looked fragile, picking up a win against Shine in the up and downs, but also losing to Dong Rae Gu, Losira and Jaedong. That being said, mirror matches are always volatile, so it wouldn’t be too big a surprise to see him upset Life, especially if he has some sneaky strategies planned on the new maps (he is a Zerg willing to use nydus worms in interesting ways against fellow Zergs). His record against Protoss makes better reading. With a 57% win rate in the GSL, Symbol is equally adept at early roach aggression, as well as a more popular passive macro play into Broodlord + Infestor. Given the current Zerg dominance in the GSL against ‘Toss opponents, Symbol would go into any match against Creator at least with an even shot, if not favoured depending on the maps, to take down the Prime player.

Going into this group, the result in his first match against Life shouldn’t be given too much significance (unless he wins!). His best chance at advancing is definitely to concentrate on the pair of Creator and Byul (both of who don’t have the best vZ record in the GSL, as well as having a lack of experience in the GSL booth at Code S level).

Life

That sort of win rate graph isn’t uncommon for Life, even with a bloody nose!

Life enters this season of Code S as the last GSL champion (from the Blizzard cup) and should be sky high on confidence, given how superb his second half of 2012 was. Like many young champions, Life first rose to prominence on the back of his team league performances. Despite a reputation for being a gosu ladder player, Life had had little success in GSL individual leagues, with just one short trip to Code A to his name by May 2012. Most people’s first look at Life was when he was part of the declining team Zenex, where he managed an impressive all kill of Team Liquid in GSTL at the end of May.

While an impressive debut in team league action. The fact that many of the kills were against foreign players took some of the lustre from the victory. Soon after, in my opinion, was the big turning point for Life. Zenex merged with team Startale in August and Life benefitted immediately from the more rigorous practice regimen (and higher quality practice partners). In that month we went on an absolute tear. First he placed second in the highly prestigious TSL4 (losing out to Creator) and followed that up with a blistering royal road (the first, and so far only one in Wings of Liberty) run. Ending up with him winning season 4 of Code S with a masterful 14-2 map score (88% win rate) before the finals (and 18-5 after). In the whole season it was only the master MVP, in the finals that really offered Life any sort of challenge.

One of the most dominating single season performances in Code S

Life’s domination was far from over however; soon another first came rolling in with his win at the MLG fall championship. With another come-back win over fellow top Zerg rival Leenock. He then lulled everyone into a false sense of security with a middling (17th-24th) finish at IPL5, before winning the final GSL competition of the year in the Blizzard cup, against a field full of championship level players.

Looking at Life’s overall record in the GSL, his vs Zerg match-up is actually his weakest statistically; however his win rate at the match-up is still an impressive 67%. Life has only faced Symbol once in the GSL, taking him down 2-0 in the round of 16 in Code S season 5. Even despite his favourable head to head advantage, he should definitely be considered a favourite against a first opponent struggling more with the mirror match. Likewise he should also be favoured against LG IM Byul, but notably Life does have a famous loss against Creator in the finals of the TSL4. Unfortunately for Creator if there is a player in the world that simply doesn’t care about previous scores or reputation, it is Life. Still the youngest winner of a major Korean SC2 tournament, he is brash and confident in his play style and I can’t see anyone in this group being able to stand up to him, especially given Protoss’s struggles against the swarm in recent months.

Group

The first group to play on the new maps (of which there are 3 that are entirely new, and 2 updated maps. The biggest change to the map pool since 2011 for the GSL - see the following thread on team liquid for details on the new maps - http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=393653). It will be fascinating to see how much players have prepared special builds for the new maps, or whether the players will opt for more regular play. Overall it is tough to look past Life as the clear favourite to advance first out of this group. Especially given how much more stable ZvZ has become in the Zerg saturated tournament scene of late 2012. That being said there is always a chance for an upset in the mirror match up or a blind counter build taking him down. Creator and Symbol start out on a fairly similar level, but I have to go for Creator in that match up since I can’t predict the lone Protoss to exit at this stage. It will take something quite special for Byul to make it through, but no-one can be discounted from what is without a doubt one of the best 4 man groups seen in SC2 so far. I hope you are as excited as me

Prediction

Creator > Byul

Life > Symbol

Life > Creator

Byul > Symbol

Creator > Byul

GG
Furtle

GSL Season 1 Code S Group A

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