| GSL Code S 2020 S1 | Ro8 | Day 1 | Rundown Posted: 20 May 2020 07:16 AM PDT We've finally reached the Playoffs, by far the best part of every GSL Code S Season, where prep and skill collide offline on sacred ground to provide us with the highest level of StarCraft in the world. The opening match between Dark and TY would have felt like a foregone conclusion - the nemesis state of their relationship and this Zerg's dominance over the past year were noteworthy already, the fact he never fails to reach at least Ro4 when making it this far was just the icing on the cake - however after we got confirmation Dark was injured from the man himself it certainly let in a tiny glimmer of hope for the player turned caster turned player TY, in addition to the very clear Terran dominance this Season. The second series was also intriguing, however in a much different light - Maru and PartinG had done their best to avoid each other since the once upon a time World Champion's return so we had no real data to study heading into today, aside from an ancient score going in favor of the Protoss player. Without a doubt, the mental side of a game like StarCraft can't ever be emphasized enough, however the difference between Maru then and the Terran now was an unbelievable amount of success, especially on his "home turf" i.e. the GSL Code S, meaning for PartinG to come out on top here the Protoss would have to dig all the way to 2012 and back to even have a chance for the upset.
Warning: Spoilers Ahead, Obviously
In a complete reversal of fortunes, TY monstered his way through to victory and the upset, putting his foot on the gas as he took the initiative in the series from start to finish and gave Dark virtually no chance to ever truly get going tonight. What followed was beyond a doubt the match of the Season, with PartinG and Maru going back and forth in an incredibly close series where the Protoss ultimately used his micro, decision making, trickery and ever present Star Sense to pull off the coup of the tournament. M1 | Dark [ 0 : 3 ] TY | ★★☆☆☆ | How The Turntables - Golden Wall | Betting on the strategy that never loses and setting the tone for the series, TY put down the two proxy Barracks in the perfect spot on the map and killed one Drone too many with his initial assault. From there the Terran had an extremely straightforward transition into Hellion drop play, which resulted in 14 more worker kills, allowing the final push with just a single Tank and not even two squads of Marines to finish off the crippled Zerg.
- Eternal Empire | Things calmed down a bit with both players taking their time as Dark opted to expand slightly slower and even got Overlord Speed only to find out TY had gone for a greedy and at that point unpunishable third CC. The decision from the Zerg to just get the upgrade lead from there in order to have an edge in the later game was solid, however the inconceivable push by the Terran using Marine Hellbat that looked incredibly bad actually arrived at a crucial timing before Banelings were up, taking out a stupid amount of Queens and the fourth Hatch as the cherry on top, in addition TY was transitioning to Mech back at home while covering it up brilliantly by spamming Stim Marines in his opponent's face over and over during the course of the game. The attempted drop play by Dark to come back was shut down cold, the decision to go Ling Bane was basically fatal already and even dealing with the relatively early Mech push well enough didn't feel like it would allow him enough room to breathe, considering the Terran was always even if not up on bases until the very end. The positioning of the Sensor Towers, the perfect setup of the defense and even unexpected but critical transition into Ghosts all made it so TY was miles ahead in this game and as Swarm Hosts were trying to do what little they could, it basically felt like the Terran put his foot on the gas and wiped out pretty much the entire map all at once, forcing the Zerg to try consolidating his efforts to one last huge lategame army, but at that point the ridiculous number of Orbitals and control over the map made things feel inevitable, so Dark just opted to tap out and head into the next map accordingly.
- Simulacrum | The failed proxy Barracks rush, largely due to how far away it was, should have given the upper hand to the Zerg but when the initial drop pressure followup killed off a pair of Queens and Overlords it felt like any momentum Dark had was stopped dead then and there. TY kept loading up Medivacs and pushing, crucially hitting before Banes again and just killing off Lings and Drones alike with Marines alone, further stifling his opponent's options. Although eventually Dark did technically clean up, by that point he'd lost far too many Queens over the course of the game, meaning his production was just ruined and as the third Hatch got killed off after a few more Marine waves the writing was on the wall here, even if the Zerg did do his best FanTaSy impression for a while, so as the victory scans started raining down and the upgrade plus supply leads became more and more insurmountable Dark was eliminated accordingly.
M2 | Maru [ 2 : 3 ] PartinG | ★★★★★ | The Crownless Again Shall Be King - Nightshade | A calm enough opener from both sides quickly turned sideways as a Cloaked Banshee hit PartinG's mineral line just as the Protoss himself was assaulting the enemy base with some classic Blink Stalker shenanigans. Probes may have died in the dozens back at home, however PartinG certainly made his opponent pay for it, crushing every Tank and Bunker on the map in addition to sniping even more workers himself, forcing Maru to lift his CC at one point. By far the MVP of this game ended up being a crucial Observer on the Terran ramp that never got deleted, making it so PartinG was basically playing with map hacks the entire time, diving in and out perfectly to gain an inconceivable amount of value, eventually suffocating Maru inside his own base with three CCs helplessly sitting there.
- Simulacrum | In a classic case tribute to the spirit of Goofy, the Protoss then tried doing the exact same thing, only to find his opponent more than ready for it. Maru was postured a lot more defensively, saved all his Tanks and even kept Banshees back to help out with the hold, in addition to killing off the crucial Observer and getting Medivacs, this time there was no toppling him over. It wasn't like PartinG could actually do anything at that point so he kept trying to smash through regardless, but even as he was picking off minor stuff here and there it was clear the counter push would come out soon enough and wreck the helpless Protoss with a ridiculous army supply and quality difference.
- Ever Dream | The three Barracks play at home coupled with PartinG's repeated reliance on the same strategy made this game into a glorified build order win, at one point Maru literally walked into the Protoss base before his own attack could even get going and started killing off everything left and right. While it's true PartinG didn't immediately die and Colossi did eventually arrive, the Terran's macro prowess when unbothered is the stuff of nightmares, nearly doubling his opponent's army supply as he moved out soon enough for the knockout punch, which no amount of clutch micro from the Protoss was ever going to be enough to stop at that point, so as he lost both his third Nexus and Robo Bay it was clearly time to tap out and move on.
- Eternal Empire | When we saw Maru's SCV not only put down the ridiculously forward proxy Barracks but then get away with murder even after technically being spotted and still getting to set up the Bunker on top of the expansion, this one felt like it was already over. Instead, cool as a cucumber PartinG just put down a few Shield Batteries and defended perfectly, giving himself the worker lead by the end of the chaos and going into his at that point beyond predictable Blink play. While a crucial scout from Maru basically showed him as much, the decision to go for a relatively fast third CC made it so the Terran had to then be defensively postured accordingly, bracing for impact as this would surely be a repeat of the previous games. Again, instead, PartinG played off that assumption brilliantly just using a small number of Blink Stalkers to pick off a meaningful amount of units on the opposite side of the map, fueling the fear and allowing himself a smooth transition into Robo Bay, third Nexus and a Forge to go with them. With the econ lead, the Protoss went even further over the top by double expanding like he was playing Zerg, so when Maru pushed across the map and took out one of those bases at the cost of a significant chunk of army, the Terran was eventually forced to turn back or risk losing all his forces, after which PartinG basically double expanded again while pressuring his opponent without overextending. From there the Warp Prism that sneaked into the main, the DT play and continued expansion by the madman put Maru in a deeper hole than he could micro his way out of, which the Terran eventually tried only to find no remorse as he got run over by the Protoss completely.
- Zen | There would be no calm before the storm here as PartinG put down an early Gate at home only for Maru to go double Barracks Reaper himself, initiating the control war from the start. While he did have the upper hand at first thanks to picking off an Adept, pretty soon after the Terran found himself in another hole after his opponent deflected the pressure using the coveted Blink Stalkers defensively and as the Protoss moved out while Maru braced for impact, the immediate transition before an attack that wasn't happening even would hit should have sent the sickest chills through every nerd watching. PartinG simply went into his Robo Bay and third Nexus without ever committing to a doomed push, setting himself up perfectly for the long game while the Terran was trapped at home hunkering down for an assault that would never come. When he eventually realized he'd been duped, Maru loaded up a few Medivacs and sent them across the map, only to get caught and obliterated by the Protoss army thanks to the proactive movements on the map by PartinG and lets be real a little help from the infamous Star Sense intangible. Up a base and leading in supply, the Protoss decided it was time to attempt a backdoor maneuver with his Colossi Stalker force and as he got on top of the production it felt like he'd done it, however not long after the Terran arrived and cleaned him up pretty fast, only to realize his opponent was taking the entire map again while doing so. The base race that initiated as a result was some high adrenaline nonsense but as the players started trading killing blows on expansions Maru quickly realized it was a race he couldn't win so he tried to go back, only to watch as his CCs turned to dust, leaving him with a single Orbital against four Nexi too many and an equal army supply from his opponent. PartinG took a deep breath and double expanded as if to prove he gives no fucks, then built up his forces and after delaying long enough he finally unleashed his power on top of the last Terran army, annihilating it pretty comfortably to secure his spot in the Ro4 for first time in over 5 years.
It's not about how you start, it's how you finish and damn this was one hell of a way to close the show. - Map of the Night - simply has to be G5 between PartinG and Maru for me, considering the gravity of it and mind games going in, the Protoss adjusted after doing the same build three games in a row and it was glorious; G4 was also incredibly impressive handling of a difficult situation, where PartinG showed immaculate resolve and decision making and I do feel like we have to note without his masterclass control over the Blink Stalkers in G1 it becomes impossible for him to mindfuck Maru into overly defending during the course of this series, which the Terran did pull off brilliantly in G2 and went over the top in G3, only to then fall into PartinG's trap during the closing games. If you couldn't tell already, the second match is worth watching from start to finish, so I suggest you do yourself a favor and get to it.
Finally, here are some of my closing thoughts on each player: - TY has seemingly pulled off the impossible and this time there's going to be no Maru standing in his way to the coveted Code S title; instead, however, he'll have to deal with a renewed PartinG who has caused him almost as much trouble as Dark, and even then he might have to answer to INnoVation in the Final itself, so it certainly doesn't get any easier from here, but if TY can come as prepared as he did today and show such incredible initiative again nothing's truly impossible for the world's most skilled caster and I'm sure we can all agree by far biggest Terran brain in the scene, wonderful to see him back at this level.
- Dark was torn apart tonight, it was unbelievable to watch how handily the Zerg Champion was dealt with in what's surely a matchup he's never looked this vulnerable in. It might come off as sounding more than a little biased, but I can't help pointing to the injury intangible being incredibly relevant when you take into account how defensively postured the Zerg was here, basically making it look like Dark didn't trust himself to pull off a more micro intense scenario involving early game play. Tin foil hat theories aside, it's also completely possible the Zerg just had an off day and I'm sure either way we'll see him back soon enough, it was just someone else's turn this time, although I still can't help but mourn his lost Ro4+ streak in Playoffs, it would have felt a little less disappointing had he scored at least, but you just can't fall behind every game when facing the elite Terran players and expect to win anyway, that's just not how games against Inno/TY/Maru are ever going to go.
- PartinG has not only rolled back the years, he may very well be better than he's ever been and that's saying a lot. Being written off by the majority of pundits and fans alike was predictable enough considering last time he made the Ro8 the worst player left in the tournament took him out without everyone's favorite
screamer streamer even taking a map, but that was almost a year ago and things have changed - for the better, if you're someone who's been waiting around to see PartinG truly get back to the top. This isn't results based analysis, if you think so just watch the games for yourself - starting from the Ro16 and including his incredible performance in the Ro8 tonight, you can tell the man's decision making has just hit another level; the micro was always there but finally it seems like PartinG trusts himself enough to go into deep waters, which should be a terrifying prospect for any and all of his opponents moving forward. - Maru only beat RagnaroK to make it to the Playoffs and that's possibly the best argument we have to press the "fuck, lets go back" button on the Ro24 change. Don't get me wrong, it takes two to tango and if we're giving PartinG all this credit it's only because he overcame an incredible opponent, I just want to see more games from the best players, not less. In any case, history kind of repeated itself tonight when you think about it, seems like no amount of success and growth can make you immune to a vulnerability against certain archetypes of opponent, but lets be real this is how people were supposed to stop Maru all along, do him in before he ramps up into the Final - where he's never lost - or else & aside from showing no respect to his opponent in G1, you can't even really point to major fuckups the Terran did tonight, PartinG just straight up outplayed him and it was amazing to watch, the infamous G5L trophy will remain in Tasteless' cellar for at least one more Season.
As always, if you think differently let everyone know why in the comments below. Catch you on Saturday May 23rd for the clash between Cure and Dear, where I fully expect all hell to break loose, only to then watch INnoVation get his shot at revenge on Trap for desert, make sure you don't miss it. Thanks as always for reading & see you when I see you! (: -M P.S. Ro24 Rundowns: Groups A | B | C | D | E | F Ro16 Rundowns: Groups A | B | C | D submitted by /u/d1MnZz [link] [comments] |
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