The heroes of GSL finally return home after spending quality time in Las Vegas. Some of them experienced a renewal of their faith in themselves while others' previously established supremacies were scalded unpleasantly and prematurely. But that's the best part of stepping into familiar Korean Code S waters, isn't it - none of that matters as the rumble on the greatest of stages resumes.
Group H: Parting, Polt, Oz, Fin on 11.04
Since his Code S run last season, many eyes are set on Parting to do his miracle. The StarTale protoss--relatively unknown till a few months back--began his 2012 by climbing to the top 8 of Code S, beating Nada, Puzzle and reigning champion Jjakji twice in the process. Unfortunately, he could not land on another smooth performance and the expectations for an IPL 4 glory dissipated into thin air as he finished second to last in his group, beating only Ganzi.
So what can we infer for Parting from those words. One, he is very good at owning terrans and although both Polt and ForGG are masters of the match-up as well, there is more than enough proof that Parting is of their stratus. Second, he has it in him to survive bad odds and his group now is by no means harder than the ones he was in the last season. The only thing Parting needs to avoid at all costs is a game against Oz. The FXO protoss is currently 22-8 in mirrors and is arguably the best PvP-er in Korea along with MC.
The terrans in the group leave this writer with mixed feelings. His ST championship and Code S August top four aside, Polt has not been having that much success in Korea, which is strange for a terran whose skills are weaved from highest quality thread. Was he not awarded a Code S seed, he would have been out of the GSL altogether. Meanwhile, ForGG's SC2 record has been quite unfitting for a BroodWar switch-over and if he fails to perform well tomorrow this would be his second time he takes a halt at the Ro32.
Group F: MMA, Squirtle, Leenock, Nada on 12.04
A group with one of the best terrans in the world, the new face of the zerg race, a BroodWar bonjwa and a protoss whose IPL 4 achievement makes them all look weak. However, one should keep in mind that Code S has never been Squirtle's territory. In fact, this is his first time there ever and StarTale's warrior has had much better time competing abroad or fighting for his team in team leagues. He is like the opposite of Supernova who flourishes on Korean soil but fails to blossom up to his reputation once he flies west.
Nada is a player you can never be sure to do extraordinally. His GSL history has a broad span, from spending time in Code A to top four Code S placements. He's as unpredictable as a lady during her time but, you know, in a good way if there is one. BroodWar fans have been waiting on the Genius Terran to do well ever since he switched over to StarCraft 2 but never did he win even a single gold.
So all in all, it turns out that Leenock and MMA are the most stable bets in the group. Some surprise, huh? All they need to do is forget their somewhat of an IPL 4 failure and they shall be fine.
Group H: Puzzle, Naniwa, Ryung, Mvp on 13.04
Another zergless group, this time made more interesting by the fact that the only foreigner in Code S resides here. Sadly, it is near impossible to manufacture strong beliefs in the Swedish ace having in mind the company he is in. Nani has a horrific PvT record in Korea, having lost all four of his televized matches and some of them have been against players whose record is below the 50%. A loss to Puzzle in the opening game will put him dangerously close to Code S elimination and knowing how the Korean approaches the match-up makes it even more probable scenario. On the other hand, Ryung has been on a long (looong) losing TvP streak lately and Mvp is in a sticky slump so maybe, just maybe, there's a sliver of hope for our foreigner.
Of course, this might be just the wishful thinking in me communicating aloud. After all, if HuK could do it, what's stopping Naniwa?
Group E: MC, Virus, InCa, NesTea on 14.04
This season's Code S might have welcomed a ton of newcomers but Group E is of the few exceptions to the tendency. We all know those four players upside down and we are well aware what to expect from them exactly.
MC shines bright as the double-letter sigil of guaranteed Code S excellency and walking out to the Ro16 should be zero of a problem. His opponents are a terran who is from the group of the GSL veterans with zero achievements; a protoss against whom a timely robo counters 75% of the builds he does; and the former supreme zerg overmind who is still waging an inner war of getting out of his slump. All three of them combined cannot shadow MC, who just this year has two first places and a Code S top eight.
Who will come second, though? Remembering how the last meeting between NesTea and Inca went brings out a chuckle in me. Which means that the Zerg Professor will most likely meet MC for the top spot and should he fall (or rather when he falls, excuse my strong convictions) he either faces a terran who, as aforementioned, is in possession of a mediocre and below scores in all match-ups or Inca, who... well you know how this goes.
That's 11:10 CET on Wednesday for you. Set your clocks. Code S is back!
