A Baptism of Fire

Thus far, LotV has proven to be a remarkable success when it comes to a revitalisation of the metagame. Producing an abundance of masterful games in a short period of time is certainly an achievement neither WoL nor HotS had. Furthermore, it also bears notice that the game bears little mark of the glaring imbalances that were present at the start of the earlier expansions—aside from adepts in PvT, an issue swiftly dealt with. The game has appeared to have constantly evolved at an unprecedented rate, displaying a great range of strategies that have either neutralized other dominant strategies or emerging as the favoured strategy for a race.

Still, the game is still undergoing the most critical trial SC2 has ever faced in its lifespan: Can it prove to be exciting enough, interesting enough, and strategic enough to sustain a healthy scene? That question will be answered in the upcoming months, as the metagame stabilizes and we can finally see what an 'average' game of LotV will be like. And it will be games like the ones in Group A that will form part of the answer. As the first group in the best tournament on Earth, featuring players ranging from rookies like Journey to hardened veterans like TaeJa and Zest, Group A will be a good litmus test for what LotV games will look like in the future.

Rogue is the player in Group A who historically represents the middling players in the SC2 milieu, which speaks to the achievements that some of the players in this group have attained. Known for his strong anti-mechanical play and anti-protoss strategies in the twilight of HotS, Rogue has, however, performed rather poorly in the new expansion, despite his reputation for unorthodox play and novelty. From a semi-finals finish at BlizzCon, Rogue has descended to being the only Korean to lose to a foreigner out of 8 Korean-foreigner matchups in CatZ's Kings of the Craft tournament, being eliminated 3-1 by Bly. He then displayed incredibly uninspiring play in a statistically zerg-favoured matchup against Super in Proleague, contributing to Jin Air's rout at the hands of the new Freecs. If he wishes to perform well enough to finish just top 3 in the group, his play will definitely have to improve, otherwise he will be vulnerable against the likes of rookies, like Journey.

Making his debut in Code S this season, Journey is an unknown quality. And unlike the royal roaders of years past, he has given us almost no reason to believe that he will perform well. In this recent LotV matches, he has lost to almost every notable player he's faced, and he is in Code S only due to a close 3-2 series over KeeN—another Terran who cannot be said to be of high calibre. However, hope for him is not entirely lost—he is playing against Rogue, and while his historical skill and reputation cannot match the Zerg's, his Proleague game against Losira, a strong macro Zerg, shows us what may prove to be his defining qualities. In that game, Journey's multitasking overtook Losira's, eventually overwhelming him in a grinding game that showcased massive potential for greatness. However, he cannot let his guard down against the volatile trickster that is Rogue, lest he fall out of this group and back into obscurity for the better half of a year.

TaeJa. A name that has invoked both fear and awe, not only in the hearts of the foreign community, but also in those of the very best in Korea. Although he is frequently derided for playing in 'weaker', 'easier', and foreigner-heavy tournaments, it should never be forgotten that TaeJa has one of the very best sets of winning records against the top echelon of Korean professionals. He is ahead in both series and maps against Life, INnoVation, and most importantly, against Zest, including a remarkable 3-0 annihilation at IEM Shenzhen in 2014. Still, he has not been relevant for over a year, and his series against Blaze, a mediocre Protoss, showed signs of weakness and moments of vacillation. This will certainly not be enough against the monster that is Zest, who defeated Maru 3-0 in a masterful display of protoss skill in Code A, a series far higher in quality than TaeJa's. We can only hope TaeJa is practicing enough to wind the clock back to 2014.

Without a doubt the favourite to advance in first place, and perhaps even win the entire tournament, Zest is probably the best Protoss in the world right now, tearing apart terrans in LotV, in what is supposed to be his weakest matchup. Not only has he swept Maru in Code A, he also completely crushed the Kung Fu Cup qualifiers, defeating the likes of Bomber, Cure, and GuMiho without dropping a single map, making PvT look imbalanced while other protosses look oddly mortal. However, he cannot afford to be complacent—anyone in this group, except perhaps Journey, has the potential to upset him with specially prepared builds, which may be Zest's weakness. He plays the best builds, refined to perfection, against each race on every map. What happens if his build is directly countered? We do not know. But we have known before, and we will know tomorrow whether he retains this critical weakness in what is currently appearing to be an invincible suit of armour.

Predictions

Zest advanced comfortably into Code S, and is the obvious favourite to seize the group. TaeJa and Rogue both had a rough time in LotV—while TaeJa advanced 3-2, it was over a weak and almost-anonymous protoss in Blaze. Rogue has performed abysmally, losing to foreigners in what is not even his worst matchup. Journey is a completely unknown quality, as I said, and we should look forward to seeing what he looks like. Still, we expect Zest to crush TaeJa and the group in swift fashion, and it should be between the experienced players Rogue and TaeJa to fight for their Code S lifeline.

Rogue > Journey
TaeJa < Zest
Rogue < Zest
Journey < TaeJa
Rogue > TaeJa

Zest and Rogue to advance to the Round of 16.

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Writers' Draft

There are few things people like to do more on the internet than laugh at other people. On TL, that translates to laughing at failures in FPL, laughing at ridiculous decisions in Power Ranks, or laughing at predictions gone horribly right or wrong. Therefore, we have decided to combine ALL of these into one bundle of joy for you all. We present to you: the first season of the GSL Writers Draft.

The rules are pretty simple for anyone who’s ever followed an American sport, or participated in a mock draft. There are 32 players in Code S, and 4 writers have signed up. Players will be chosen in turn until each writer ‘owns’ 8 players. Points are dished out for each individual player’s performance throughout Season 1, and each writer’s final score will be tallied up after the Season 1 Final to find out who deserves respect / ultimate humiliation (delete as applicable). The scoring system we have decided upon is this:

+ Show Spoiler +

We will try to tag on a small recap of the standings so far at the end of every Wednesday GSL preview for anyone interested in knowing which writer to mock that week. Time now to meet your contestants and their teams.

The Draft

The four writers participating will be Destructicon, Soularion, TheOneAboveU and hexhaven. Draft order has been assigned by random number generator, but purely coincidentally has put them in order of time served on the TL Writing team (complete fluke - honestly). Here are the 32 picks in order, with some comments from the relevant writer. Trash talk flowed as everyone's picks were ridiculed.

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Destructicon: 1. Zest. I think he looked absolutely godlike against Maru in Code A, and he has 2 terrans in his group making him a no brainer for the Ro16. If he has some lucky draws and gets more terrans he could even make the final or win the whole thing.

Soularion: 2. TY. I don't know what Destructicon was smoking, but the KT terran should be the clear #1, having incredible consistency and a style that allows him to easily shine. His group might be one of the harder ones in the Ro32, but considering his excellent TvP and the fact that he's routinely beat up Solar, I think he gets out of it without a problem. Should this streak of play continue a top four finish is very likely.

TheOneAboveU 3. herO. The Smiling Assassin may have shown some weakness in his achilles heel of a matchup in PvP so far, but looked more than solid against the other races. Not only that, he's also a proven champion in Korea with plenty of experience of coming out on top in nerve wrecking duels... something we can't say for TY.

hexhaven 4. soO."Why'd you pick soO so soon, hexhaven?" they keep asking me. Because I'm not an idiot. *cough*

H 5. Solar. A lot has changed since the launch of the latest expansion, but I firmly believe that Solar will be able to leverage his early success into a very good performance in 2016. He’s fared better against Zerg and Protoss compared to his match-ups against Terran, but there’s still time.

T 6. Classic. He has proven that he is one of the best protoss players on the planet, but moreover he's a two-time starleague champion with plenty of experience and the will to do everything necessary to go far in a tournament.

S 7. Soulkey. Due to his weak opposition (Bunny and Symbol, really?) combined with so-far-so-good online results, Soulkey's an easy favorite to get out of his Ro32 group, and has the skills to be a real contender in the Ro16 and onwards. Unlike soO, who'll get ballered on by his Ro32 group.

D 8. Rogue. Apart from Zest, who could give him a real run for his money, Rogue has a lot of potential. He's show last year that he's at least a RO8 player and if he has some good builds prepared he could even take out Zest.

D 9. Dark just looks better and better as time passes, he isn't adverse to pulling out the cheese when he needs too and the Legacy meta suits him. And he has a relatively easy group (E/N: Easy group? Really?)

S 10. MyuNgSiK. Easy group, easy life, plus impressive play and a star-studded team. Although his SSL failure is notable, that doesn't take away from his status as a premier up-and-comer, and an easy group just makes it all the better.

T 11. aLive. ChoooChooo, jump on to the nostalgia train! aLive once was the best terran player on earth, even if no ones remembers or acknowledges it, and it seems to me that aLive might want to reclaim this position and leave a mark in history this time. Picks don't have to be sexy to be good.

H 12. TaeJa. Keeping the dream alive! Nostalgia picks are valid, right? TaeJa will have very difficult opposition in Zest and Rogue, but here's betting on a last final hurrah.

H 13. Leenock. KT Rolster means that Leenock will finally realize his true potential. He's always been good, but with LotV he has the potential to be great again.

T 14. DongRaeGu. I was serious on the nostalgia-thing, you see. Dear would have been the smarter choice at this point (and he was high up on my list), but I feel like the One True Dong still has a couple of good matches in him. The guy was always good for surprises, so I followed my heart on this one.

S 15. Dear. You guys are stupid if you think DongRaeGu and TaeJa are better than Dear, who looks like a god in PvP engagements and proved last year with a Ro4 GSL finish that he's not nearly as washed up as everyone thinks.

D 16. Curious. His recent results show that Curious has adapted well to the Legacy meta. His ZvT is just as ferocious as ever, and he has two terrans and old man Stork in his group.

D 17. Dream. His form isn't quite as good as last year, but he has potential to upset the group favorite herO. He's proven in the past he is capable of it, and Seed + Leenock should also be pretty managable.

S 18. Forte. He's duelled evenly with Solar and Soulkey, showed superiority over Leenock and Losira, and will promptly dispose of Curious so he can go back to schooling kids in Code A.

T 19. DeParture. I wanted to pick Forte at this point, but Soularion beat me to it - so with DeParture we go! This guy has some serious development behind him and it's been a blast to follow his progress in the last few months. I hope he can translate this into good individual results, for his determination should be rewarded!

H 20. Stork. I just know that 2016 will finally be the year that the Elephants will be in the room.

H 21. Losira. I'll be honest, I was really hoping to go with aLive. Not as a first or second pick, so my plans were ruined. Losira needs only to defeat aLive to piss off TheOneAboveU, and I'll be satisfied. Will he advance out of the group? Just behind Dark.

T 22. Bunny. Tough choice between picking Bunny and Super, but I went for the terran youngster in the end. He's good enough to get into Code S without even playing, and as an unknown quantity he has the potential to surprise.

S 23. Super. Solid overall player with solid results, he should have a great shot to take down the inexperienced DeParture and underwhelming Trap.

D 24. Bbyong. Legacy is the perfect setting for Bbyong to unleash his special brand of crazy. While Dark will be a fearsome opponent, he isn't above being cheesed out and the other opponents in his group might not even know what hit them.

D 25. Trap. While at first glance it looks like Trap is stuck in a group with better players, we all know he has huge upset potential if he comes prepared and several constellations align. He is also a strong believer in the wheel of cheese and none of the players in his group are particularly strong against it.

S 26. SpeeD. Solar lost to Reality in Olimoleague, a week later SpeeD beats Reality. Time to either become a meme or a god.

T 27. Cure. I think Cure's group is kind of weird and since he's overall a very solid terran he was the best choice at this point in my eyes. He may not have fulfilled the expectations in him in the past, but Legacy of the Void is a game playing right into his hands regarding playstyle.

H 28. Symbol. Anything better than 0-4 will be a dream come true for me. And for Symbol.

H 29. HerO. No risk, no reward. The best part about HerO's return to form will be watching the reactions of the other writers. [Olli's note: -___- ]

T 30. Journey. Another player whose progress we got to follow over the last years and months to a point where he actually is in Code S, plays in Proleague and can compete with the best. It took some time, but he never gave up along the way, which says much about his character. T1 terrans always deliver at some point in some form.

S 31. Seed. If players could win based on interviews alone, Seed would make the finals easily. As it stands, 'cheesed Bomber out' is a more impressive resume than 'played a series where everyone lost—himself, his opponent, and everyone watching'. Oh well. Considering they're both trash, Destructicon and Creator should find something in common!

D 32. Creator. Well, not exactly what I was hoping for as a last player.

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That gives us our teams of:

Destructicon: Zest, Rogue, Dark, Curious, Dream, Bbyong, Trap, Creator
Soularion: TY, Soulkey, MyuNgSiK, Dear, Forte, Super, SpeeD, Seed
TheOneAboveU: herO, Classic, aLive, DongRaeGu, DeParture, Bunny, Cure, Journey
hexhaven: soO, Solar, TaeJa, Leenock, Stork, Losira, Symbol, HerO


Poll time

Now that you’ve seen how things have played out, we want your opinion. Who has the best team? Who has the worst team? Which player was picked too high? Which player was picked too low? Which writer had the most blatant biases? Vote below and argue in the comments, and we'll use them when we look at the final standings after 23 April.

Best team:
+ Show Spoiler +

Worst team:
+ Show Spoiler +

As the TL Writing Staff, we often try to spice things up a little to keep things interesting, which is why we're trying something new for this first season in 2016 (alongside our regular content). We hope that you’ll enjoy following the results with us through the season.