Written by: Nydra Code S Ro32 is two playdays away from its completion and the Protoss line-up keeps thinning out. Today's group saw Gumiho and Innovation maim the opposition, sending Rain and HyuN down to Code A.
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Table of Contents
1. The matches today
1.1. Match 1: Innovation vs Rain 1.2 Match 2: Gumiho vs HyuN 1.3. Winners match 1.4. Losers match 1.5. Final match 1.6. Group standings
2. Group H Preview: The God debuts in Code S
[Match 1] Rain vs Innovation The much hyped face-off between Innovaiton and Rain just partially covered the expectations as the games ended up being decided after the first few attacks. On Whirlwind, Innovation geared for an SCV timing before Storm is finished and brought along a healthy amount of Vikings to erase the Colossus of Rain but it was still not enough. A misrally on a portion of the reinforcements as well as failing to properly target the third of Rain cost Innovation everything he had without actually accomplishing something. 
Innovation chose Star Station as the second map and knowing that it’d be hard to go against a late-game Terran on this particular battlefield, Rain chose the way of the Blink all-in. A sneaky Reaper scouted Rain’s entire plan, however, and by the time the Stalkers were at Innovation’s door, there was a whole armada (with bunkers!) of Terran units waiting. All Innovation had to do is hold his position and crush Rain with a counter Marine/Tank offensive. The two players spawned on Daybreak for the final game, one that would end just as quickly. A shattering punch in the form of 6-gate Colossus timing (enhanced by perfect Forcefields and Time Warps) hit Innovation like a sledgehammer, not giving him any chance to retort. 
[Match 2] HyuN vs Gumiho If match one was somewhat unexciting considering the main culprits, the second one was flat out unclimactic. Obsessed with all sorts of Roach play, HyuN tried to bust Gumiho early in game one and go head-to-head with him in a proper macro game in game two. In both cases, failure came to the Zerg in the form of Marine/Tank composition which cleaned the entire swarm presence in one single motion. 
[Winners match] Rain vs Gumiho After making short work of one of the best Terrans in the entire Code S, Rain readied himself to teach another one the same lesson. Only it turned out, that Gumiho is way better at pulling SCVs and killing with them than Innovation. Gumiho opened Bel’Shir Vestige with a proxy Mine/Hellion, heavily harassing and keeping Rain down to one mining base. It would take about ten minutes for the Terran presence to be cleaned up and the game to stabilize but this only meant more bad news for Rain. A strong Marine/Marauder push with SCV support arrived at Rain’s gates and in the blink of an eye the Protoss was done for. Gumiho perfectly kited in and out to dodge all of Rain’s Storms and made his victory look too easy. Rain was on the receiving end of a similar bio push in game two as well, though the reason for his demise was a much sillier one. Not until the battle broke out did Rain realize that he’d forgotten to research Thermal Lance, essentially making all his Colossi useless. With a heavy face, Rain tapped out. 
[Losers match] HyuN vs Innovation The tempo of the game sharply picked up as Innovation faced HyuN in the losers match. Knowing this is a do or die for him, the KeSPA giant poured his entire TvZ soul into this match and the games he produced were downright incredible. In the course of two sets, HyuN found himself completely and utterly outclassed. A single attack was the only thing he was able to produce on Whirlwind before Innovation would go bonkers and start dropping everywhere, unloading Marines and Mines alike to splatter the clean-up Ling squads. Soon enough, the Terran was on five bases compared to the three of HyuN and the outcome of the match was obvious. 
Wanting to prove he can do all that without Medivacs as well, Innovation went in full aggression mode, constantly rallying Marines and Mines across Akilon Flats to choke HyuN do death. Every attempt to maneuver around the death field of Terran units ended disastrously for the Zerg and after Innovation pull SCVs from three bases, HyuN had to admit defeat. [Final match] Rain vs Innovation "It all ended as it began" would be an accurate way to describe the final match of Group F as although the winner was different, the feelings which the games were strikingly similar. Visually with low morale and disappointed from his previous games, Rain entered this series only to be completely dismantled by the STX Terran. A downright foolish Stalker attack into fortified Terran positions spelled Rain's end in game one and a very familiar bio pressure into huge SCV pull brought his utter defeat in game two. A series that, although well illustrating the competence and prowess of Innovation, brought little entertainment value, at least compared to Innovation's series against HyuN. 
Final standings 
Click on image for match details
Innovation chose Star Station as the second map and knowing that it’d be hard to go against a late-game Terran on this particular battlefield, Rain chose the way of the Blink all-in. A sneaky Reaper scouted Rain’s entire plan, however, and by the time the Stalkers were at Innovation’s door, there was a whole armada (with bunkers!) of Terran units waiting. All Innovation had to do is hold his position and crush Rain with a counter Marine/Tank offensive. The two players spawned on Daybreak for the final game, one that would end just as quickly. A shattering punch in the form of 6-gate Colossus timing (enhanced by perfect Forcefields and Time Warps) hit Innovation like a sledgehammer, not giving him any chance to retort. [Match 2] HyuN vs Gumiho If match one was somewhat unexciting considering the main culprits, the second one was flat out unclimactic. Obsessed with all sorts of Roach play, HyuN tried to bust Gumiho early in game one and go head-to-head with him in a proper macro game in game two. In both cases, failure came to the Zerg in the form of Marine/Tank composition which cleaned the entire swarm presence in one single motion. [Winners match] Rain vs Gumiho After making short work of one of the best Terrans in the entire Code S, Rain readied himself to teach another one the same lesson. Only it turned out, that Gumiho is way better at pulling SCVs and killing with them than Innovation. Gumiho opened Bel’Shir Vestige with a proxy Mine/Hellion, heavily harassing and keeping Rain down to one mining base. It would take about ten minutes for the Terran presence to be cleaned up and the game to stabilize but this only meant more bad news for Rain. A strong Marine/Marauder push with SCV support arrived at Rain’s gates and in the blink of an eye the Protoss was done for. Gumiho perfectly kited in and out to dodge all of Rain’s Storms and made his victory look too easy. Rain was on the receiving end of a similar bio push in game two as well, though the reason for his demise was a much sillier one. Not until the battle broke out did Rain realize that he’d forgotten to research Thermal Lance, essentially making all his Colossi useless. With a heavy face, Rain tapped out. [Losers match] HyuN vs Innovation The tempo of the game sharply picked up as Innovation faced HyuN in the losers match. Knowing this is a do or die for him, the KeSPA giant poured his entire TvZ soul into this match and the games he produced were downright incredible. In the course of two sets, HyuN found himself completely and utterly outclassed. A single attack was the only thing he was able to produce on Whirlwind before Innovation would go bonkers and start dropping everywhere, unloading Marines and Mines alike to splatter the clean-up Ling squads. Soon enough, the Terran was on five bases compared to the three of HyuN and the outcome of the match was obvious. Wanting to prove he can do all that without Medivacs as well, Innovation went in full aggression mode, constantly rallying Marines and Mines across Akilon Flats to choke HyuN do death. Every attempt to maneuver around the death field of Terran units ended disastrously for the Zerg and after Innovation pull SCVs from three bases, HyuN had to admit defeat. [Final match] Rain vs Innovation "It all ended as it began" would be an accurate way to describe the final match of Group F as although the winner was different, the feelings which the games were strikingly similar. Visually with low morale and disappointed from his previous games, Rain entered this series only to be completely dismantled by the STX Terran. A downright foolish Stalker attack into fortified Terran positions spelled Rain's end in game one and a very familiar bio pressure into huge SCV pull brought his utter defeat in game two. A series that, although well illustrating the competence and prowess of Innovation, brought little entertainment value, at least compared to Innovation's series against HyuN. Final standings Click on image for match details 
The God debuts in Code S: Ro32 Group H preview
KeSPA vs eSF, Round Nth: Maru vs Soulkey In all honesty, it's easier to get excited about the rivalry between the two organization than about Maru and Soulkey themselves. Not that I want to diminish how good both players are, it's just the race between the two groups, the different styles and methods of preparation and the elephant question at hand have been (and will be for a long time yet) a story with countless twists and turns. Fortunately for all, there are a couple of subplots to this particular story. First of all, as we already mentioned, Soulkey and Maru are sick good. While TvZ is not Maru's strongest match-up statistically speaking (especially considering the fact he hasn't won a TvZ on Korean soil since the start of the year), the ferocity with which this 15 year old plays is always a vista to behold with pleasure. Thus, facing Soulkey in his first Code S match is a sub-optimal agenda: The Woongjin Zerg has been taking games and series off of Taeja, MKP and Fantasy and definitely looks like the better trained player. But here's the ultimate twist: If Maru somehow wins this, he's likely to go against Flash in the winners round in a weird "present meets its past" sort of StarCraft prodigy mirror match. You shall not have other Gods before me: Flash vs Bboong Meet Flash, a player whom no introduction of any sort does enough justice. A Terran whose worst match-up is at 60% percent. A Terran who plays TvZ in such way that it constantly pushes a name like Life into six-game series before he is defeated. To summarize it up, Bboong is in real trouble, having to face not only Flash's surgical playstyle but his intimidating aura as well. Yet, there is a sliver of hope for the Azubu underdog. Flash's greatest strength lies in how he operates Marine/Mine compositions and Zergs have learned a lot since MLG Winter Championship (not that it helped Innovation's opponents in any way). Furthemore, Bboong actually has a good track record against many of the Code S Terran regulars and ZvT is where he's most comfortable at. It's still not the best scenario for him but it could've been much much worse. Predictions Soulkey > Maru Flash > Bboong Flash > Soulkey Bboong > Maru Soulkey > Maru Flash and Soulkey qualify Photos by: Team Liquid
