The week started off with standard Code S practice: eliminating favorites with Battle Royale-like cruelty. Here's how it worked out.
Group E: Mvp, DongRaeGu, Bbyong, Creator
A day doesn't go by without Artosis and Tasteless telling each other, for the thousandth time, that Code S is now harder than ever. Indeed, the system seems to be working: it's been purified, concentrated. The demands of GLS are becoming more strident as the number of worthy competitors grows, and the more people competing for same spot, the more likely the performance of a day or of an instant can you set you back for the next two months or more. This time it was Mvp's turn.
Mvp is no stranger to demotion. He fell out of Code S when it was much tougher to fall out but also climbed back in when Code A was more its own hipsterish, B-level tournament than the extension of Code S that it is today. As the competition changed, so did the competitors. Players once stuck doing Korean weeklies have grown and found their skills are more than a match for the titans of yesteryear. Now more than ever it is important to play up to your potential in every single game. Mvp didn't, but DongRaeGu did.
DRG was once known as a terran killer, but these distinctions have gone out of use. Having claimed both Code S and MLG, he has the credentials for more laurels, but he is still often stoppable (if the right player gets in his way), so much so that a DRG win can always be put to doubt.
Doubt no longer: DRG sped through his group with a swift 4 - 0, claimed a spot in the round of 16, and generated not little hype for himself in the process. It's also worth noting that Creator's performance, though shaky, still marks him as one of the top Protoss players currently active. Though, let's be honest, the current state of PvZ, added to a PvP matchup that continues to echo the problems of the past, makes judging the best Protoss players difficult. Many have had their day, but only MC has proven himself to be a safe bet.
Last but not least: Bbyong of CJ Entus. Having fought his way through Heart, Genius and IM's First, Bbyong definitely deserved his spot but apparently couldn't muster the wins to keep it. Well, Mvp fell out - should we be surprised another terran joined him in the fall?
Group E
DongRaeGu4-0To Code S Ro16
Creator4-2To Code S Ro16
Mvp2-5To Code A Ro32
Bbyong1-4To Code A Ro48
DongRaeGu 2-0 Creator
Mvp 2-1 Bbyong
DongRaeGu 2-0 Mvp
Creator 2-0 Bbyong
Creator 2-0 Mvp
Group F: MarineKing, sOs, Seed, Sniper
It's not out of place to mention that, with Mvp gone, MKP might have come onto a golden opportunity to win GSL. Of his traditional rivals, only DRG advanced. This isn't to say MarineKing is immune to anyone else: Code S is after all the ground he has not yet come to conquer, and if anybody in the round of 32 had a reasonable chance to beat MarineKing, you can bet everybody in the round of 16 will be more than able to do the same.
If Group E had Mvp, Group F had Seed. That two very strong players were defeated in such a timely fashion does say something about how difficult Code S is, but it says more about the people who knocked them out. We should take the warning and assume Sniper isn't the same player he used to be a year ago. Of course, like Creator, he grew into a better player and caught up with everybody else.
One of four Code A seeds, sOs, formerly the progamer known as sHy, made his way, like Bbyong, into Code S, but couldn't advance any further. He's no Rain, at least it doesn't look like it so far, but fighting through Code A these days means more than beating whoever was coughed out of Code B. Very often it entails beating old Code S regulars, or players who - like Mvp and Seed - must get back into the Grand Old Tournament.
Group F
MarineKing4-2To Code S Ro16
Sniper5-3To Code S Ro16
sOs3-5To Code A Ro32
Seed2-4To Code A Ro48
MarineKing 2-1 sOs
Sniper 2-1 Seed
MarineKing 2-1 Sniper
Seed 1-2 sOs
Sniper 2-0 sOs
Code S Ro16 thus far
Parting
Polt
Curious
Soulkey
DongRaeGu
Creator Symbol
Hack
Yoda
Hyun
MarineKing
Sniper
Group E: Mvp, DongRaeGu, Bbyong, Creator
A day doesn't go by without Artosis and Tasteless telling each other, for the thousandth time, that Code S is now harder than ever. Indeed, the system seems to be working: it's been purified, concentrated. The demands of GLS are becoming more strident as the number of worthy competitors grows, and the more people competing for same spot, the more likely the performance of a day or of an instant can you set you back for the next two months or more. This time it was Mvp's turn.
Mvp is no stranger to demotion. He fell out of Code S when it was much tougher to fall out but also climbed back in when Code A was more its own hipsterish, B-level tournament than the extension of Code S that it is today. As the competition changed, so did the competitors. Players once stuck doing Korean weeklies have grown and found their skills are more than a match for the titans of yesteryear. Now more than ever it is important to play up to your potential in every single game. Mvp didn't, but DongRaeGu did.
DRG was once known as a terran killer, but these distinctions have gone out of use. Having claimed both Code S and MLG, he has the credentials for more laurels, but he is still often stoppable (if the right player gets in his way), so much so that a DRG win can always be put to doubt.
Doubt no longer: DRG sped through his group with a swift 4 - 0, claimed a spot in the round of 16, and generated not little hype for himself in the process. It's also worth noting that Creator's performance, though shaky, still marks him as one of the top Protoss players currently active. Though, let's be honest, the current state of PvZ, added to a PvP matchup that continues to echo the problems of the past, makes judging the best Protoss players difficult. Many have had their day, but only MC has proven himself to be a safe bet.
Last but not least: Bbyong of CJ Entus. Having fought his way through Heart, Genius and IM's First, Bbyong definitely deserved his spot but apparently couldn't muster the wins to keep it. Well, Mvp fell out - should we be surprised another terran joined him in the fall?
Group E
DongRaeGu4-0To Code S Ro16
Creator4-2To Code S Ro16
Mvp2-5To Code A Ro32
Bbyong1-4To Code A Ro48
DongRaeGu 2-0 Creator
Mvp 2-1 Bbyong
DongRaeGu 2-0 Mvp
Creator 2-0 Bbyong
Creator 2-0 Mvp
Group F: MarineKing, sOs, Seed, Sniper
It's not out of place to mention that, with Mvp gone, MKP might have come onto a golden opportunity to win GSL. Of his traditional rivals, only DRG advanced. This isn't to say MarineKing is immune to anyone else: Code S is after all the ground he has not yet come to conquer, and if anybody in the round of 32 had a reasonable chance to beat MarineKing, you can bet everybody in the round of 16 will be more than able to do the same.
If Group E had Mvp, Group F had Seed. That two very strong players were defeated in such a timely fashion does say something about how difficult Code S is, but it says more about the people who knocked them out. We should take the warning and assume Sniper isn't the same player he used to be a year ago. Of course, like Creator, he grew into a better player and caught up with everybody else.
One of four Code A seeds, sOs, formerly the progamer known as sHy, made his way, like Bbyong, into Code S, but couldn't advance any further. He's no Rain, at least it doesn't look like it so far, but fighting through Code A these days means more than beating whoever was coughed out of Code B. Very often it entails beating old Code S regulars, or players who - like Mvp and Seed - must get back into the Grand Old Tournament.
Group F
MarineKing4-2To Code S Ro16
Sniper5-3To Code S Ro16
sOs3-5To Code A Ro32
Seed2-4To Code A Ro48
MarineKing 2-1 sOs
Sniper 2-1 Seed
MarineKing 2-1 Sniper
Seed 1-2 sOs
Sniper 2-0 sOs
Code S Ro16 thus far
Parting
Polt
Curious
Soulkey
DongRaeGu
Creator Symbol
Hack
Yoda
Hyun
MarineKing
Sniper
