Group A - Huge Guts

Mong Movie Pure Mini



Movie's storm face.

Group B - Dragon Spirit: The New Legend

Mind JangBi PianO free



New chin, same old TvP.

Group C - Cruel Winter

sSak hero Sea.KH Snow



PvT master Snow's chances get better with every Zerg eliminated.

Group D - Lake of Rage

HiyA Larva Last GuemChi



HiyA indicates the number of practice games he has played in the last six months.

Eight Protoss remain in this tournament. Stork's bold declaration that PvP is the biggest coinflip in BW still rings true today - as players have a far harder time mechanically distinguishing themselves in this wildly lethal match-up, wreaking potential havoc on those who would try and predict the groups' outcomes. Many of the remaining Terran players are lauded for their exceptional TvP, but the lack of Zerg in SSL10 means it's very likely that the racial chasm will only widen. That is not to say a Zerg won't ultimately win, but for now, get ready for a tonne of high-level PvT. (Eleven of them!)This is a familiar sight for those of us that watched Ro32 . An entertainer famous for his TvP finds himself in a favorable group of two inconsistent Protoss and, well, a consistent Protoss. In this case, we look to Movie to show us he'll never be irrelevant.Two years ago Movie had by far the best PvT in the amateur scene. Since his retirement from professional Starcraft his presence in the late stages of so many leagues allowed him to rival HiyA, Sea and Mong, players that come to mind when someone says "TvP" in the afreeca scene. Though, mostly due to inactivity, he's partially lost Omnitoss status in 2014 to newcomers Bisu and Snow and continues a long rivalry against the waning Shuttle, he also sports what may be the strongest PvP in this Ro16. Provided he can summon himself, this is his group to win, and his battle with Mong is the game to watch this group. Mong , who stylishly conquered the easiest group of the Ro32 (which he totally cheated to land in), surely houses the potential to crush this group as well. With only one strong match-up to prepare against Protoss of varying threat levels, his head-to-head histories and solid form of late make the Pig Terran a favorite. Mong would need to drop all the momentum he's built in December not to advance here, and they're likely to be entertaining sets as well. PvT lovers have a lot to look forward to this month, in other groups as well. Mini , who knocked down two Terran with characteristically dominant play to advance here, and then simply rolled over and died with an atrocious showing in the Ro32 of 41SL, is not favored by this much harder group. The miniboss spent the past year trading sets with the best in PvT and PvP, and even making a name for himself in PvZ, but not making any strong claim to a match-up due to inconsistency in high-level games. Like his draconic STX predecessor, Kal, Mini has proven wildly unpredictable for a Protoss, and depending on the day, you don't know if he's going to open up with everything and beat all odds or just self-destruct. His solid record against match-up masters like Shuttle and HiyA proves he CAN do it, but he'll be pressed for an answer to Movie and Mong. Pure , who, in rare enough form to defeat two Zergs and cruise on to the Ro16, is also coming off a 3-0 sponsored loss to Mong last month, is not as likely to advance as the rest. Still, Pure did bonk HiyA out of the LoveTV KOTH in December and take games off all the other Terran he fought. Since he's only been sponsored in two match-ups lately, the only question is whether Pure's PvP is up to snuff nowadays. We can safely predict that it isn't , but hey, it's PvP. Maybe Pure'll exhibit marginally better form than Movie on the 25th. And versus Mini, who can predict how that'll turn out?To win as Protoss, you have to have guts. To beat Protoss, however, you need that cognitive edge (or hydras), and Movie and Mong have that edge, along with plenty of guts to go around. Mini is likely to be a disruptive force and Pure's best match-up remains the mirror match, so this still could be a close group.andto advance.After advancing, PianO waited at length, restreaming the remaining Ro32 games, for Zergs. He was rewarded for his patience with doom. Two motivated Dragons clash overhead, along with a Dragon-slayer, leaving our musical demon forced into the opportunity he so desired to repair his "weak to Protoss" reputation. In this strong group of TvP, PianO is only barely disfavored. Armed with one of the best TvTs in the business, he is expected to secure that crucial win on the 18th against Mind. The question is: can he then pull a 1-1 against the Dragons and finally break the mould this tournament? With wins posted on less threatening figures of Jangbi and free earlier this year, it's up to speculation. The choke is just as possible as the victory.What can be said about free? The Battle God's gameplay isn't so Pretty these days but he's still a cut above other Protoss with rock solid mid-late micro, Dragon-esque gamesense, and general adherence to standard play. Jangbi is not "other Protoss" however, he's a transcendent destroyer and God of Clutch Storms ... on the rebound. Free has a chance against anyone here, especially if his recent rate of improvement continues. No one in this group is likely to be as hard to beat as an in-form HiyA was.Free weathered the brutal Tyson to join the fun here, but JangBi weathered an in-form PvP specialist Shuttle. Jangbi is prepared to crush anyone at the mirror and the last time he was on OGN, he was disassembling FanTaSy. This hard group is a lucky break for Jangbi, and he proved in the Ro32 that he's not happy with only two OSL golds. Wait, if this is a StarLeague on OGN, does that mean this is enough of an OSL for Jangbi to grab that OSL Golden Mouse? Oh glory, that would be awesome. Though it'd be just as nice if Killer had survived his own hard group to make a run for the SSL Golden Shoe. Plenty of Protoss to go around. BUT NONE OF THEM ARE JANGBI. Mind rounds out the group as a Terran we can actually expect to take down the Dragons. Known for his TvP for the better half of this decade, Mind proved worthy by disassembling rival Shuttle in the opening match of Ro32 Group H and advanced first from the group of death. His TvP last year has not been unstoppable, but he's still kept it above 60%. If Mind has a weakness coming into play here, it's his TvT, but it's difficult to even call it a weakness since his 40% record against PianO isn't even that bad. With isolated wins posted over all the Terran titans, he needs only summon a little consistency to be the final nail in PianO's coffin.Rommel and Almighty braved the group of death only to end up in the new one, but they're likely to have an easier time advancing against the fleet admiral (who is weak to Protoss), and the Battle God (who is not as likely to pull a Jangbi as Jangbi) than against Shuttle and Modesty previously. Still, this is going to be the closest group of the four. Be sure to watch as someone else's favorite player goes down in flames.andto advance.From the safety of our mountain camp, staring through the blinding ice, we can make out the shape of our hero . The storm advances through him and all around him, blowing on his back, but he has long since mastered the Snow ; flashes of lightning above, though they set his loyal war-hound aquiver, serve only to illuminate the beckoning shape of a too-familiar adversary, the stalwart guardian of the mountain, sSak. sSak 's TvZ is not the stuff of nightmares, but he has an unmatched record against by.hero, stretching back to the SSL8 3rd-place match in Spring 2013. Although hero's ZvT is better today than it has ever been, and sSak has just gone 3-3 against a bunch of dead Zergs , it remains unlikely that hero will be able to take the game played against him. As for sSak's TvP, in which he is more confident than in his TvZ: he's been going roughly even with all the Protoss he's run into, save a long, embarassing record against Sky. sSak's got nothing recorded on Sea.KH, who he's not likely to implode versus, and he's got nothing against Snow, who is the most likely candidate to advance.I mentioned previously that hero is favored over any Protoss in SSL10, and this group is no exception. Coming off a brilliant denial on a springloaded Zeus, hero should be able to defeat Snow or KH without much difficulty. But his terrible history against Terran, in particular sSak, may be enough to knock him out of this group entirely if he can't guarantee wins over both Protoss. herosomething of a ZvT, one that's sufficient to take a third of his games against the top Terran and steal a Bo5 from an unprepared PianO (which makes him the only amateur Zerg to have a winning record on the Cutemaster). This is an critical opportunity to break his ZvP sniper mould. With Zerg on the verge of extinction in SSL10, hero must rise to the challenge and prove he has no such weakness to Terran. It's time to bust out the hero sandwich. Snow, this year's rising hope for Protoss, continues to build momentum with each win. As one of the few Protoss still capable of providing a check to the TvP lords, Snow has more recently plowed through Kwanro and run circles around GuemChi in a ten-minute horrorgate scrap , granting him a total of three match-ups currently worthy of fear. Hovering around 250-300 APM, Snow is not likely to drop a mirror to a budding amateur such as KH. In fact, no one in this group is. KH's return to competition has consisted of edging out victories over absurdly weak groups , and it is here, among sSak and the specialists, that the SSL3 and SRT3 champion of old will taste bitter defeat. Snow's record against hero leaves much to be desired, but if everything progresses predictably, he won't need to worry about it.Because of the present counter triangle between players and KH's perceived weakness (though as far as unproven amateurs go he's pretty darn strong), Group C is the most likely to reach three-way tiebreakers. Sea.KH shouldn't take more than a random win. Snow vs sSak will be interesting: sSak modestly advanced from one of the harder groups by just playing standard and pushing out, while Hokuto no Protoss Snow only sees in sSak the arrogance of a future frostbite victim. If the hero of Zerg has one advantage over the Terran guardian before him, it's that he knows from experience that he can defeat the Snow andto advance.hero's group is hard, but Larva 's is nearly impossible. A healthy, practiced fishiking and the hot-handed machine Last are forcing Larva to prove his ZvT is legitimately coming into form. He's not likely to advance without that.Larva's mutalisk control is coming into its own as the hardworking BJ struggles on the path to domination. Taking a Bo5 from an stylish PianO last month with standard mid-late play and beating ex-KHAN Terran Sharp twice for this Ro16 spot, Larva at long last looks like a threat in his historically worst match-up. Larva peaked at #2 on the recently reset Fish Ladder where he held onto top ten in the final ladder season of 2014. Unfortunately, Larva experienced stage nerves and displayed weak unit control against the likes of Pure and Mind, and no amount of online practice with the likes of PianO can fix that. If he wants to stand a chance against the two Terran monsters in this group, he'll need to make like they're Sharp and micro like Modesty, despite his discomfort onstage. That TV experience will be something the rest of this group has over him.The final boss of his clan Ever and former king of Fish, Last returns to OnGameNet Brood War in prime form. Last vs NsP's HoGiL, the Bo1 Super ACE match that closed out the third Hope ClanLeague Finals , was the spirit of 2014's TvZ made manifest, in which a berserk HoGiL macroed up mass muta, lurkers, ultraling, guardians, and the kitchen sink until his side of the map was bare, but still ultimately lost out to the resilient mech of Last, who'd survived the absurd pressure and split the map.Although he's proven himself to be several tiers above the masses in all three match-ups (taking the Fish summer season last year), Last's apparent inability to subjugate the Afreeca lords has given him diminished presence on Fish and on the Ro16 stage, leaving him as an afterthought to take this tournament. Hovering comfortably at 400 APM, Last has a lot of advantages to flex. With minimal data on his post-retirement capacity to take critical LAN games, however, Last will likely have more trouble against HiyA than his other opponents. That will be the game to watch, however, since both Terran are verifiably awesome at the mirror. Expect Last's games to go long, as he's been observed to play towards the center of the field and favor the long game, where his input efficiency matters most. GuemChi is the weakest of the strong players in this group. The Chisel is odd because he represents a limbo of competitive play, being able to capitalize strongly on the mistakes of weak players but rarely setting the pace against those stronger than him. Being so solid, it's clear that his performance is more dependent on the form his opponents take than his own, to take nothing away from whatever he may prepare. He'll be watching and waiting for those Terran to screw up and cede to him their precious points. If that doesn't happen, he's as good as gone, and it's hard to expect otherwise. HiyA is HiyA and Last has proven himself better in TvP this year than any other match-up. HiyA is basically here to sink three boats and advance, and there's little more to say. Leaving three mastered match-ups and a solid showing in 2014, the strongest amateur year, HiyA kicked 2015 off with convincing wins against free and Lazy, showing why he's favored over the remainder of this group. With signature mineplay and honed gamesense, Magikarp's easy path through this group can only be threatened by Last, a ex-pro TvT specialist. HiyA holds the best winrate in 2014's TvT, so it will likely be a sight to see. If you like TvT, that is. But why wouldn't you? It's brilliant!This is very likely to be the end of Larva's competitive run, which bodes poorly for this already-half-Toss Ro16. If he can just summon the spirit of his fanbase and triumph here, the odds are he'll have an easier time in the Ro8.andto advance.BigFan, N.geNuity, prech, Stratos & Mirabel_Hydekjwcj