2020 GSL Code S Season 2 Ro8 Preview

We have seen quite a few upsets up until this point and in the final 8 we wont be seeing the likes of Dark, Maru, or Zest when realistically they were some of the favorites to win the whole thing. We covered the Round of 24 and skipped the Round of 16 once we saw the volatility of the elected groups and it would seem as though we made the right choice not predicting the Round of 8. If you are new to the GSL make sure to check out our tournament page/ Ro24 preview for Season 2 here!

Round of 16 Review

Group A

Unfortunately for the Foreign fans, SpeCial and Scarlett both found themselves in the same group with DongRaeGu and TY. With many people expecting TY to sweep the group and considering any of the other 3 players for the second place advancement we were all caught off guard by DongRaeGu’s dominance over SpeCial and then TY to make it out first in the group. All the players were able to put up a decent fight but SpeCial and TY’s final match of the day made for some emotional games as the pair are known to be quite good friends.

Group B

The hardest groups were arguably this one and Group D, as we went in thinking they had 3 or 4 of the strongest players in each. This group saw Dark lose to INnoVation twice to get knocked out while the Protoss player PartinG dominated the likes of Bunny and INnoVation to make it out of the group first. Bunny was the biggest underdog and saw himself get knocked out first but the biggest surprise was PartinG make it out first instead of second or failing in the last match of the day.

Group C

Group C was an interesting beast, we expected to see Maru make it out with either Solar or Trap following. Instead we saw Maru lose to both Trap and Solar while Dream smashed each of them. The biggest question from that point was who would take second as Solar sent Maru to the losers match and Trap sent him packing. Trap and Solar’s series was a very good one with Solar losing 1-2 making Trap our second player to advance from the group.

Group D

Stats, Rogue, Zest, and Cure all fought for the remaining spots in the Round of 8 and it was brutal. Cure failed to win a single map which makes him the only one in this stage of the tournament to do so while Stats topped the group with a powerful showing over Rogue in the winners match. Zest fought hard against Rogue falling 1-2 and was able to beat Cure 2-0, before falling to Rogue 0-2. It was arguably the most exciting day as far as names are considered and it showed exactly why.

Quarterfinals Preview

Starting July 29th 3:30 am MST we will get to witness the Round of 8, and July 31st at 9pm MST we will see all of our Semifinalists. The way things are set up it will be interesting to see if DongRaeGu, Dream, and PartinG can hold on to their form as they are up against all 3 players still considered favorites to win.

DongRaeGu vs INnoVation

DongRaeGu will face off against INnoVation to kick things off and in a Best of 5 format I am expecting INnoVation to come out on top with a 3-1. DongRaeGu’s return to the GSL has been a great one but I’m not convinced he’s ready to take on a war horse like INnoVation.

Dream vs Rogue

Dream is next in line after PartinG to be considered the Dark Horse to win it all. All he has to do is beat Rogue, a heavily decorated Zerg player that really has been up and down lately and honestly, I think that he could fall here to the likes of Dream. Dream did however, have probably the easiest road to the playoffs of any player currently here so it looks more reasonable that Rogue wins here 3-1

TY vs PartinG 

This is a very difficult one to call seeing as TY got second in a relatively easy group and PartinG topped his much more difficult group. That in itself is a bit misleading as TY really is a much better player overall currently, but I honestly expect PartinG to take this series 3-2, it will be the match of the Quarterfinals to watch and it is on the earliest time slot for some of us who stay up all night to watch the GSL.

Trap vs Stats

A year ago I would have told you that Stats wins this series 3-0 every time. However we have seen Trap improve leaps and bounds while Stats has kind of faltered a bit since his achievements in 2018/19. A PVP may do very little aside from helping us fall asleep in the late hours but this one has a little extra spice to it. I still think Stats should win it 3-1 but if Trap plays like he has been that number could very well be flipped.

Favorites Moving Forward

Of the favorites listed in the original tournament preview only two remain in Rogue and TY while PartinG and Stats remain from our Runner Ups selection. I still maintain that Rogue and TY are the most likely to land in the Finals with Rogue coming out on top but the addition of INnoVation, we very well could see a PartinG/INnoVation or Stats/INnoVation Finals.

Rogue

I think even though Rogue fell to Stats in the Round of 16 he is the strongest contestant overall and until we see more from Dream or DongRaeGu it’s looking like a fairly simple bracket for him to top with his biggest roadblock being INnoVation at first glance.

TY

TY has the harder half of the bracket compared to Rogue, but of all 4 players in that half he is the most likely to come out on top and even more so is the most likely to beat Rogue in a Bo7. The veteran Terran player is still holding off his retirement and there’s got to be something to that.

Stats

While it is probable that the semifinal match will be between TY and Stats with TY taking it, that probability is barely higher than that of Stats taking it instead. Stats is another player who often finds himself in the Finals if not winning them, and I’d expect that to be almost as likely as TY winning the whole thing.

Runner Ups

INnoVation

One of the 4 Horses of Terran who has seemed to be taking a break from practice in recent memory, a player to be feared and respected of course but also one that hasn’t really done anything of note the past year or so. He should win his match against DongRaeGu but I don’t think he will be able to upset Rogue  in the Semifinals.

PartinG

PartinG was once World Champion but has aged and drank quite a bit since then. Lately he has been catching the attention of everyone as he consistently makes it to where no one thought he should have. This could be another one of those tournaments but until he makes it to the Finals, he’s just another underdog. I hope he wins the whole thing because of his personality, but that really isn’t enough to win it all now is it?