It is always exciting before the end. Trickster, MarineKing, Violet, JYP and Taeja were all here to fight tooth and nail for the last two spots in Code S.
Code A rises
The group kicked off with Violet versus Trickster - the two Code S players that desperately wanted to go back up there. Trickster opened with blink into DTs but was forced to switch to Colossus play when he couldn't do any damage. However, mutas and infestors were there for Violet to hold and he lived till hive tech and finished the game with his brood lords.
The day started bad for a former Code S player and multiple grand finalist MarineKing. He scored a quick loss against Taeja with his opponent having much better arcs during all the many marine mirrors. His second loss came at the hands of Trickster who went for a cheesy proxy gateway and finished the game quickly with heavy stalker aggression.
The Code A guys continued to deliver heavy hits and climb the group standing. JYP played a perfect match against Violet as after his initial void ray/zealot rush got denied by lings, JYP unleashed his multitasking and used his warp prism to storm drop and zealot harass every single mineral line of Violet. In a very BroodWar-esque fashion, JYP won the set before Violet could even get a hive tech going.
JYP's second game was a bit less impressive as he went against Taeja in a game that grew into a standard TvP after the toss attempted some cute Immortal drops but was denied. Unfortunately for him, though, JYP was not strong enough to fight all those marauders...
I am dying to see more such plays
Return of the King
After being down 0-2, MarineKing had to make something happen if he wanted to dodge yet another season down in Code A. So he scored two victories in a row, the first being against Violet and won on the back of constant marine drops; and the second versus JYP after successfully defending the proxy void ray build and countering with unstoppable 1/1/1 attack.
By that time, however, most viewers were probably paying heavier attention to Taeja, who was currently with a 2-0 score. That was until he met Trickster on Crossfire. The protoss opened 11-gas into proxy void ray but sloppily lost his forward warp-in pylon and that triggered a counter by Taeja. However, the Slayers terran apparently got too overexcited and was sliced and diced by Trickster's FFs.
But Taeja was quick to redeem himself by pulling a victory against Violet on Fortress. Both played a very equal game until Violet failed a baneling trade and left Taeja with a bit more marines that was healthy for his swarm armies. Taeja surged in forward to kill the few brood lords and claim his Code S spot.
The last game of the regular cycle was between Trickster and JYP. The StarTale protoss needed this win in order to climb back to Code S but sadly it was not meant to be just yet. The blink mirror match transcended into a base trade but JYP's tech was on his side. Just as Trickster's stalkers entered the main, JYP's DTs popped out to force a GG out of his opponent. This led to yet another tiebreaker between Trickster, MarineKing and JYP.
MarineKing makes it to the tiebreakers
The tiebreakers
When Trickster used his blink stalkers to snipe thermal lance for JYP he probably did not imagine the event to turn out the way they did. His actions triggered an attack by JYP and even though his colossus were short-ranged, Trickster's army was uncomfortably divided which made JYP's job much easier. Trickster had to type GG and hope that his next match would bring him more successes.
It was now time for MarineKing to show his quality. His first match was against JYP and the terran played it perfectly. He opened 1-base marine/tank pressure into banshee harass and did not allow the toss to catch a breath. Constantly under terran fire, it was not until the 15th minute mark that JYP could get an expo up but just as he did so, another marine/tank push finished the set, sending JYP back to Code A.
The possibly last tiebreaker match was, logically, between MKP and Trickster. The toss opened with a blink rush and managed to sneak into MarineKing's main, only to find his stalker melting under marauder fire. Trickster tried to follow his unsuccessful attack with a DT tech but that also did not get him anywhere and few minute later there was no more terran-free terrain for him to blink on. It was all settled - Trickster would trade his Code S spot for MarineKing, who covered his face with his palms in delight at the end of day.
Trickster finds himself trapped
GSL August: Up-and-downs Group C
Taeja3-1Climbs to Code S
MarineKing4-2Climbs to Code S
JYP3-3Stays in Code A
Trickster2-4Drops to Code A
Violet1-3Drops to Code A
Code A rises
The group kicked off with Violet versus Trickster - the two Code S players that desperately wanted to go back up there. Trickster opened with blink into DTs but was forced to switch to Colossus play when he couldn't do any damage. However, mutas and infestors were there for Violet to hold and he lived till hive tech and finished the game with his brood lords.
The day started bad for a former Code S player and multiple grand finalist MarineKing. He scored a quick loss against Taeja with his opponent having much better arcs during all the many marine mirrors. His second loss came at the hands of Trickster who went for a cheesy proxy gateway and finished the game quickly with heavy stalker aggression.
The Code A guys continued to deliver heavy hits and climb the group standing. JYP played a perfect match against Violet as after his initial void ray/zealot rush got denied by lings, JYP unleashed his multitasking and used his warp prism to storm drop and zealot harass every single mineral line of Violet. In a very BroodWar-esque fashion, JYP won the set before Violet could even get a hive tech going.
JYP's second game was a bit less impressive as he went against Taeja in a game that grew into a standard TvP after the toss attempted some cute Immortal drops but was denied. Unfortunately for him, though, JYP was not strong enough to fight all those marauders...
I am dying to see more such plays
Return of the King
After being down 0-2, MarineKing had to make something happen if he wanted to dodge yet another season down in Code A. So he scored two victories in a row, the first being against Violet and won on the back of constant marine drops; and the second versus JYP after successfully defending the proxy void ray build and countering with unstoppable 1/1/1 attack.
By that time, however, most viewers were probably paying heavier attention to Taeja, who was currently with a 2-0 score. That was until he met Trickster on Crossfire. The protoss opened 11-gas into proxy void ray but sloppily lost his forward warp-in pylon and that triggered a counter by Taeja. However, the Slayers terran apparently got too overexcited and was sliced and diced by Trickster's FFs.
But Taeja was quick to redeem himself by pulling a victory against Violet on Fortress. Both played a very equal game until Violet failed a baneling trade and left Taeja with a bit more marines that was healthy for his swarm armies. Taeja surged in forward to kill the few brood lords and claim his Code S spot.
The last game of the regular cycle was between Trickster and JYP. The StarTale protoss needed this win in order to climb back to Code S but sadly it was not meant to be just yet. The blink mirror match transcended into a base trade but JYP's tech was on his side. Just as Trickster's stalkers entered the main, JYP's DTs popped out to force a GG out of his opponent. This led to yet another tiebreaker between Trickster, MarineKing and JYP.
MarineKing makes it to the tiebreakers
The tiebreakers
When Trickster used his blink stalkers to snipe thermal lance for JYP he probably did not imagine the event to turn out the way they did. His actions triggered an attack by JYP and even though his colossus were short-ranged, Trickster's army was uncomfortably divided which made JYP's job much easier. Trickster had to type GG and hope that his next match would bring him more successes.
It was now time for MarineKing to show his quality. His first match was against JYP and the terran played it perfectly. He opened 1-base marine/tank pressure into banshee harass and did not allow the toss to catch a breath. Constantly under terran fire, it was not until the 15th minute mark that JYP could get an expo up but just as he did so, another marine/tank push finished the set, sending JYP back to Code A.
The possibly last tiebreaker match was, logically, between MKP and Trickster. The toss opened with a blink rush and managed to sneak into MarineKing's main, only to find his stalker melting under marauder fire. Trickster tried to follow his unsuccessful attack with a DT tech but that also did not get him anywhere and few minute later there was no more terran-free terrain for him to blink on. It was all settled - Trickster would trade his Code S spot for MarineKing, who covered his face with his palms in delight at the end of day.
Trickster finds himself trapped
GSL August: Up-and-downs Group C
Taeja3-1Climbs to Code S
MarineKing4-2Climbs to Code S
JYP3-3Stays in Code A
Trickster2-4Drops to Code A
Violet1-3Drops to Code A
