[Code S] Ro8 Day 1 Preview - S1 2016 Text by TL.net ESPORTS Graphics by shiroiusagi GSL Code S Ro8 Day1 By: EatingBomber GSL Code S Season 1 2016 herO vs Cure



herO vs Cure Dream vs TY

Dream vs TY



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herO vs Cure

Make no mistake here: there can be little doubt that herO is heavily favoured over Cure. Consistency, peak performance, and overall success in SC2 - herO has had, by far, a much more impressive career. Entering this match, winning the GSL Preseason, boasting a sound 70% series winrate and 66% map winrate in LotV, herO may already have the semifinals in mind. And why shouldn't he exhibit such confidence? He has roundly beaten Cure every time they met offline; Cure has statistically weak TvP at barely 58% in LotV. Thus, Cure is the underdog, and it is his burden to cast that shadow aside and show us something more.



Stylistically, although they play different races, they aren't all too dissimilar. herO, too, relies heavily on his mechanics, and often comes into matches with set in stone strategies. This is where Cure can perhaps find his chance. herO can sometimes be exploited for being predictable and thrown off his game by unorthodox strategies; see for instance his first game against FanTaSy at Blizzcon, where the maverick Terran's counter-intuitive attacks and unique strategy threw him off and forced him into an awkward base trade which he lost despite initially having the upper hand. Still, herO has much more experience in the later stages of tournaments like this one and should feel comfortable and confident enough in his own skill.



To counter this disadvantage, Cure's best bet may be to utilize the X-factor inherent to every prepared tournament series. The same ability with which Mvp, despite being heavily cast as the underdog, defeated Squirtle in GSL Season 2 2012 and clawed his way back to the top against a fundamental imbalance in GSL Season 4 2012. Simply put, Cure needs to prepare unconventional or particularly tailored build orders and strategies to counter herO's specific style, as well as to anticipate how herO will play on certain maps or under certain conditions, and work to preempt his play. Not necessarily cheese - he needs to understand his opponent and his tendencies and play around these. But that is an aspect of play that Cure has not yet shown us, and only time will tell if he possesses that ability.



Predictions:



Cure has always struck me as a standard Terran, but that is the exact opponent herO would want to face. So unless Cure shows something entirely different, which he hasn't yet, herO will be heavily favored against him.



herO 3 - 0 Cure





Dream vs TY



TvT has evolved into a matchup with relatively similar builds, compositions, and styles used frequently in LotV. Previously, there was mech, and there was biomech, and there was pure bio; now, all Terrans must submit to the singular composition that is Marines-Tanks-Medivacs. While this sounds stale and stagnant and, to a certain extent, boring, in-game TvT is still extremely action-packed, in the sense of chaotic. Chaotic because doom drops are more present than ever, and because in an economy where 200 supply is easily reached, and where powerful artillery pieces can be semi-teleported to blow up half an opponent's army, instant death can occur at any point in time. Whether this represents a forwards or backwards evolution, we cannot yet say; but the fate of two Terrans will be determined in this highly mercurial, appropriately-named mirror matchup.



Dream is almost synonymous with impeccable control and infantry management, but that skill has not carried over into his TvT as much as it has affected his other two matchups. He has lost the matchup more often than he has won in his entire career, and he has only won 2 out of 7 sets in LotV thus far. Advancing into Code S off the back of a TvZ victory, into the Round of 16 off of a TvP and TvZ, and into the Round of 8 off his TvZ alone, he has had little opportunity to showcase any of his TvT skills. We simply do not know enough about Dream's TvT to make a value judgment about it, but we do know his opponent.



TY's TvT prowess is interesting - while, theoretically speaking, it is his best matchup both historically and in LotV, it is also often the same matchup he was knocked out through. See for instance his series against SuperNova in Code A 2014 and against MMA in the GSL 2015 Round of 8, whereby in the former his style was deconstructed and he was torn to shreds by SuperNova's multitasking and simply outplayed in the latter. He has displayed a certain intelligence about the matchup, and really, in all his other matchups - in the case of TvT, he has shown himself to be capable of abusing unique map features, such as King Sejong Station's positioning of the natural expansion, with early siege tank attacks. However, as of late, he seems to have lost a bit of his initial oomph, losing 4 Proleague matches in a row, including 2 TvTs to Maru and Bunny. There is little to comment on in terms of style, since that has been drastically compressed into one by LotV, but it will certainly be intriguing to see whether TY can impress his own signature onto the matchup.



Predictions



Dream's TvT is largely unknown, so this match is entirely up in the air. TY however has shown that he can play the matchup at a very high level, so we'll trust in what we've seen.



TY 3 - 1 Dream





