Code S November Group C: HuK, Clide, Puzzle, July

The grande finale of Code S is here, nurtured by high hopes for bright protoss future and even brighter success of HuK. The foreigner's group seemed a bit easier but wouldn't that be just a surfacing ice block?



HuK threw in a very unorthodox build, going for a very aggressive high gas 2-base +1 blink rush and kept pummeling Clide's front long after stim was done for the Korean. HuK pulled off a stunning stalker micro but eventually had to run back when Clide secured a second bunker and reached medivac tech.

Coming from the defender's position, Clide entered the mid-game with a supply advantage and easily secured a third to come equal with HuK who had taken a third himself during his early-game attacks. The first few open battles went really well for Clide and every time HuK ran back with all his colossi dead. This tempo dragged on unchanged until a bad engage at the center ended up with the dead of all his medivacs and, consequently, his fourth. Now, although still with a supply advantage, Clide was kept at bay by HuK's storms and he couldn't launch any decisive tactical maneuver.

But CbtS is as vast as it is blue (in short - a lot) and after minutes of struggle Clide finally saw an opening in HuK position and surged west to destroy the two top left bases of the Canadian. The nexuses fell quickly but it was only then that Clide understood what trouble he was really in. While his economy was dying, HuK had initiated an attack at Clide's production facilities and most of them were essentially dead until the main force had the chance to return home. Although not mining anything, HuK had the vastly superior army and after some time of struggle Clide had to gg.


If only Starports could shoot lasers as well



July was lucky enough to get a lucky break-in, sneaking four speedlings into Puzzle's main, delaying his gas mining and killing a few probes but that didn't scald Puzzle's game too much and he soon put down some more gateways goinf for a 7-gate +1 blink timing attack.

All this was seen by July who immediately took the right decision and reacted with an infestation pit and a heavy roach play. Joke was on his this time though, as his infestors popped out just before pathogenic glands were done. This mistiming cost him more and more after each engagement and although he did not straight on die after the first attack (which was to be expected), the follow-up strike was so much stronger that it would've been with the stalkers all damaged from before that July just crumbled under all that pressure.


The stalker count is insurmountable



Puzzle opened with a sneaky 1-gate prism into 4-gate while HuK went for the more standard fast robo into twilight council. And maybe, just maybe the game could've gone into a later stage had the thing on the screenshot below not happened.

Everybody loves killing stalkers for free. Especially other stalkers.





There was nothing cute or funky or absurd in this game - just an overall solid TvZ from both players but predetermined by a couple of mistakes.

Clide opened standard marine/medic, bunkering up the 9 o'clock to delay July's third but ultimately the game entered a state of the standard TvZ with July teching to mutas and banelings and Clide continuing to pump out marines and medivacs, supported by some heavy steel in the form of tanks and a few thors.

Clide's first major blunder was losing a small drop to a flock of mutas which gave July just enough time of free reign over the SCV line. This delayed Clide's push out a bit more but eventually he did muster enough forces to move out towards July's fourth at the 12 o'clock.

Knowing that he cannot directly engage the monstrous terran push, July went straight for a counter attack, flooding his mutas and lings through the front door, devastating the mineral lines of Clide. By the time he managed to drag his ass back home, his base lied in ruins with near 40 dead SCVs to July's count. Clide desperately tried to recover from this blow but there was just not enough time. 3/3 ultralisks hit the field and July marched in for the killing blow.


Battering towards the GG



A very short game closed the Code S Ro32. Short and full of goofs which started seconds after July's 6 pool. Contrary to every logic, Puzzle did not pylon wall himself and instead pulled probes out of mining to defend his cannon-in-progress but July, probably of some unheard of eSports courtesy, returned the gesture and never issued even one attack-move command so most of his lings were either dead or in the red. After the rush was over, July was sitting on 12 drones to 16 probes of Puzzle - a scenario most unfortunate for the zerg.

Knowing that standard macro game is out of the question now, July threw down a nydus network while still on one base. Understandably, the worm was met by the probe resistance and, reluctantly, July gg-ed out of the game and of Code S.

Code S November Group C Standings
HuK	2	0	To Code S Ro16
Puzzle	2	1	To Code S Ro16
July	1	2	To Code A Ro32
Clide	0	2	To Code A Ro48

Remember the Group G report when I was excited about a protoss making a top spot?

Scratch that.

Group C had a constellation of players that many fans were eager to see in action. Some would say that the outcome was expected but such a statement is based mostly constructed of a) High hopes for HuK making it out; b) The fact that Clide never wins anything; and c) The previous history of July's GSL runs which would seem harder than Jesus' ascend towards Golgotha. But be that as it may, the results are here but not at all queer.

Every person west of the Korean border is probably exalted about HuK's performance. The Canadian protoss has always been a pro-gaming highlight but after his MLG run and breaking of a few records this is even more true. The question of can HuK beat his top 8 finish in August gets spicier by the second but his Ro16 group is not going to be easy. He has two zergs in his group to remind him of his relatively weaker PvZ plus MMA who is just ever so solid.

Puzzle will be getting the easier group of sC, MC and Ganzi and even as I write those words I realize how stacked Code S has gotten in order to consider those three as easy opponents.

Can that actually be the season of the rising protoss tide?