Temporada 1 de Code S: vista previa de RO4 y finales

Temporada 1 de Code S: RO4 y vista previa de las finales

Marca de tiempo: 17 de mayo de 2023 3:01 a.m.
Nodo de origen: 2657727

Avance del día final: Cure, ByuN, Bunny, Maru

Hora de inicio: Jueves, 18 de mayo 9:30 am GMT (GMT + 00: 00)

After three weeks of online play, the GSL returns to its traditional home in the AfreecaTV studio to decide the Code S Season 1 championship. The Code S title will be contested under unique circumstances, with the semifinals and grand finals played on the same day—a first in GSL history. While the vaunted 'GSL preparation' factor will remain valid for the semifinals, the fans and players could be in for a very atypical grand finals experience.

Hablando de atípico, Code S tendrá una final four all-Terran por primera vez desde Código S Octubre de 2011. In that tournament, three-time GSL champion Mvp ceded the crown to MMA, thus affirming MMA's place as a truly elite player in the StarCraft II scene.

Nearly twelve years later, Maru stands in Mvp's shoes as the greatest GSL player ever, facing down three hungry contenders looking to win glory at his expense. Will Maru's follow in the footsteps of his predecessor? Or will he further his own legend with a record sixth Code S championship?

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Antes de la final, repasamos los caminos que llevaron a los cuatro semifinalistas hasta este punto y nos preguntamos qué significaría ganar un campeonato Code S para sus legados.

Curar: Culminación

por Mizenhauer

Como suele ser el caso con Cure, su ascenso a los cuatro finalistas evoca sentimientos ambivalentes.

In some ways, it's a surprise. Over the last couple of years, he developed a reputation as a serial underachiever in major events (save one gran valor atípico), and came into this season on the back of a deflating RO24 finish at IEM Katowice 2023. With this season's Code S roster including Korea's elite trio of Maru, herO and Dark, know-how-to-win players like GuMiho and DRG, and returning greats such as Stats, Classic and INnoVation, Cure had seemed to be on the outside looking in.

Por otro lado, se siente obvio verlo aquí. Es posible que Cure no sea el primer nombre que te venga a la mente cuando piensas en los mejores terran, pero su extraordinaria habilidad en bruto se muestra todas las semanas en las competencias en línea. Y, aunque sus decepcionantes carreras en torneos importantes ocupan un lugar destacado en nuestros recuerdos, los cuatro finalistas son en general familiar territory for him. If not for the weight of expectations, we'd say he's quietly pieced together an excellent career.

Cure estalló por primera vez en 2014, donde alcanzó el Semifinales de la temporada 3 de Code S (en el que perdió frente a INnoVation, que estaba cerca de su punto máximo, por una desgarradora puntuación de 3-4) y terminó segundo en Campos de batalla de Red Bull: Washington en el lapso de la semana. Sin embargo, Cure dio un gran paso atrás al año siguiente, comenzando un peculiar ciclo de altibajos. En 2015, siguió siendo un colaborador clave en Proleague para Jin Air Green Wings, pero no logró pasar la ronda inicial de SSL o GSL Code S.

El cambio de calendario y el lanzamiento de Legacy of the Void pareció dar nueva vida a su carrera, ya que alcanzó las semifinales de Code S una vez más en Temporada 1 de 2016. But, again, that success led directly into a downturn. In fact, from 2017-2019, Cure only managed to qualify for Code S in six out of nine seasons, recording an unimpressive 24-32 record when he did manage to compete. Alongside Jin Air teammate Trap, he was constantly on the receiving end of the dreaded backhanded compliment "good in practice" while failing to achieve much in major tournaments,

De cara al 2020, parecía que Cure estaba destinado a nunca tocar como lo hizo en el otoño de 2014 o 2016. La escena coreana simplemente lo había superado, dejándolo raspando y arañando los márgenes de Code S. Pero, si hay algo pro StarCraft II nos ha enseñado en sus casi 13 años de historia, es que nunca se puede descartar a alguien.

In late 2019, following his departure from Jin Air Green Wings, Cure finally began to recapture the form that saw him reach two Code S semifinals in the long ago past. It remains a mystery to the public how leaving the last remaining KeSPA teamhouse improved Cure's fortunes—perhaps he just needed a change, ANY change at all. Whatever the reason, Cure set off on a serious career revival.

En primer Código S de 2020, derrotó a los poderosos Stats y TY en la fase de grupos para llegar a los playoffs de RO8, donde procedió a derribar a Dear en una barrida de 3-0. En su partido de semifinales contra INnoVation, se vengó de su derrota de seis años antes, cerrando la serie con un empuje de dos tanques base que castigó el codicioso 3 CC inicial de INnoVation. Y, aunque Cure fue barrido en la final por el virtuoso TY de TvT, fue un momento histórico para un jugador que había superado tantas dificultades.

This began a second act to Cure's career, where he became a regular fixture in major events. Before, you had to measure the time between semifinal appearances in months. For the new Cure, this time was sometimes reduced to weeks. He faced a different problem entirely: having the reputation of a silver surfer. For all his high finishes, he couldn't actually win the championship.

Pero en Temporada 3 de Code S de 2021, Cure hizo el avance definitivo. Aprovechando su TvP sin igual en ese momento, arrasó en los playoffs con una victoria por 3-1 contra PartinG en el RO8 y 4-1 contra Trap en el RO4. Su impulso lo llevó hasta la final, donde ganó un decisivo 4-2 sobre Zest. Al recibir el GG final, un suspiro fue la primera expresión que cruzó el rostro de Cure. Finalmente había alcanzado el cenit del StarCraft II coreano y podía llamarse campeón de Code S.

In another odd—if sadly predictable—twist, that championship led to another decline. Fortunately for Cure, that slump was much less drastic than those in the past. Following his Code S championship, he began to gradually fade, putting up mostly middling results in major tournaments (in a stark contrast to his continued online dominance). While he remained a 'top' player by some definitions, he was absolutely underachieving compared to the championship bar he had set for himself.

What are we to make, then, of the Cure we've seen since his discouraging RO24 exit at IEM Katowice? It goes without saying that he's been crushing people online—that's a given at this point. But with the first two rounds of Code S also moving online, Cure's domination has extended to Korea's premier competition. Through the RO16 and RO8, Cure has defeated Solar (2-0), herO (2-0), Classic (2-0), and even Maru (2-1).

Si este nivel de juego puede trasladarse a la etapa fuera de línea, entonces Cure seguramente volverá a estar en posición de ganar un campeonato de Code S. Él es 14-6 en partidos de TvT desde principios de abril, y Aligulac.com lo califica actualmente como el #3 jugador de TvT en el mundo. Si bien dijo que la suerte jugó un factor en su reciente victoria de Code S sobre Maru, aún debería haber impulsado su confianza de cara a esta final de todos los Terran.

If one rates Cure and ByuN solely as online kings, ByuN is probably the superior TvT player. However, considering Cure's momentum, and ByuN troubles in the deeper rounds of the GSL, Cure has to be considered the favorite in their semifinal clash. And, after that, the door would be wide open for Cure. Maru is looking as vulnerable as ever in TvT, and Cure already beat him last round. Bunny, while a wild card, is still the clear underdog among the semifinalists. It may not be long until Cure updates his resume to three-time Code S finalist and two-time champion.

Con un segundo título de Código S a su nombre, Cure ya no tendría que lidiar con la ignominia de que su único campeonato fuera tratado como un caso atípico. Se encontraría al nivel de gigantes del juego como Zest y Dark en términos de recuento de títulos de Code S. Es posible que Cure nunca gane tantos títulos como Maru ni llegue a tantas finales como Mvp, pero una victoria este jueves le aseguraría un lugar para siempre entre los mejores terran de todos los tiempos.

ByuN contra ByuN

por cera

Después de tres años de confusión, la retorcida saga de ByuN posmilitar ha llegado a su punto de inflexión más importante.

Back in 2020, ByuN returned to StarCraft II after completing his mandatory military service. While there was much rejoicing and cheering in the community, fans were cautious when it came to having real expectations. Up to that point, history had borne out that military service meant the end of one's time as a true title contender. Greats like TaeJa and MMA topped out as group stage players in Code S; Dream and DRG did better by making surprise runs to the playoffs. Even so, there remained a deep gap between reaching the playoffs and actually threatening the likes of Maru and Dark in the GSL, or Serral and Reynor out in the world.

ByuN fue el primer jugador en romper nuestras nociones de lo que podían lograr los jugadores ex-militares. Hubo rumores sobre su destreza en la escalera poco después de que lo dieron de baja, y pronto demostró que tales comentarios estaban más que justificados. Meses después de su regreso, en línea ASUS ROG 2020 tournament, ByuN ran through a terrifying line-up of Reynor, Stats, Serral, Solar, and Maru to win the championship. Granted, ASUS ROG wasn't quite an event of 'tier 1' status, but it definitely wasn't small enough to ignore. Given the sheer quality of the opponents ByuN defeated, it seemed inevitable that his success in ASUS ROG would translate to bigger events.

Por desgracia, tan pronto como ByuN nos dio motivos para esperar que pudiera hacer historia y convertirse en el primer retornado en ganar Código S, nos dio tantos motivos para dudar de que alguna vez pudiera recrear la magia de su carrera por el campeonato de 2016.

Wrist issues, long the bane of star Terran players, came for ByuN as well. Nearly every single one of his outings in the AfreecaTV studio was marred by an in-game pause due to wrist pain/numbness, and those pauses could only go on for so long due to the GSL rules. It seemed that ByuN's journey to a historic Code S championship might end before it even got started.

The story took a most unexpected turn in the middle of 2021, when we learned more about ByuN's wrist condition. In a entrevista posterior al partido, ByuN revealed that an examination showed nothing was physically wrong with his wrists, that he wasn't afflicted with the Terran curse that had brought down Mvp and TaeJa in the end. Instead, the pain was said to be mentally induced, which implied it might be overcome with a different kind of treatment.

That revelation made it tempting to boil down all of ByuN's problems to a binary equation: if ByuN is in a good place mentally, he plays well. If he's not, he plays poorly. But in reality, it was hard to disentangle the in-game and out-of-game factors in his play. It was telling that for a long time after ASUS ROG Online, he didn't come close to performing as well in online events—theoretically the setting where he should have felt most comfortable and played at his best. He spent a large stretch of 2021-2022 as a mid/high-tier player, cracking the playoffs of major tournaments but never going deeper than top eight. During that slump, herO returned from the military, made a recovery to full pre-military form, and pulled off the miracle Code S run that once seemed to be ByuN's destiny.

In the second half of 2022, ByuN's story took a turn for the better. His performance in smaller online cups—which had always been 'very good' at worst—jumped back into 'monstrous' territory. As has often been the case, this proved to be a predictor of success in bigger events as well. In Súper Torneo 2, ByuN aseguró el mejor resultado fuera de línea en su carrera posmilitar, derrotando a su némesis Maru para llegar a las semifinales (donde perdió ante Solar 1-3). Una semana después, obtuvo una victoria fuera de línea igualmente trascendental en InicioStory Cup, beating Serral 3-2 en route to a third place finish (losing to Astrea in the losers' final). The key detail here was that not only was ByuN playing at a championship-level, but that he didn't need to ask for those dreaded pauses. Perhaps the mental issues had never gone away fully, but at least he had gotten them under enough control to play normally in an offline setting.

After ByuN's IEM Katowice ended in the RO12 with a 1-3 loss to Serral (nothing interesting here, just Serral being Serral), everything still seemed to be in place for him to have a great Code S. He had conquered his mental issues for the most part, and he was playing at an extremely high level online. On top of that, Maru was faltering in TvT, and ByuN had taken a few series off of his once unbeatable foe in smaller competitions.

Por supuesto, una historia con tantos giros nos daría un giro final. Fiel a su buena forma, ByuN se abrió camino a través de un duro grupo RO8 en el segundo lugar, derribando a Solar y Dark en series consecutivas de 2-0. Sin embargo, se reveló que una brillante victoria sobre un Hive-tech Solar con marines casi puros no era una demostración de confianza, sino una medida de último recurso debido a la debilidad. En su entrevista posterior al partido, ByuN dijo que había comenzado a sentir dolor en la muñeca y se había apresurado a terminar el juego porque no estaba seguro de poder tomarlo tarde.

That's a somber note to enter the final day of Code S on, even if one can never be 100% certain about ByuN's circumstances. It's definitely possible that I'm reading too deeply into that single interview from 2021 about psychosomatic issues with his wrist. But even if we ignore that, it's clear that for SOME reason, consistency and big-match performance have been huge problems for ByuN since his return to StarCraft II.

It's too late for ByuN to become the first military returnee to win a Code S championship. However, over these last three years, the saga of ByuN vs. ByuN has become just as compelling as that of StarCraft II vs. the Ministry of National Defense. If ByuN were to become the second post-military player to win a Code S championship, it wouldn't be anywhere near as historic as herO's championship run. But ByuN beating ByuN to win his second Code S championship might be the greater personal accomplishment. I hope ByuN can lift the trophy, and tell us what he's had to overcome.

Conejito: Validación final

por Mizenhauer

Quizás sea ingenuo, pero ¿hay algo más humano que perseguir los sueños a expensas de todo lo demás? Empujarse más allá de los límites comunes en busca de la gloria. Soportar el fracaso y la decepción en nombre de algo más grande. Para finalmente llegar a ese momento que valida cada sacrificio y hace realidad el sueño. Para Bunny, quien comenzó su carrera en la programación hace más de una década, se encuentra al borde del precipicio de ese momento de gloria. Solo dos partidos se encuentran entre él y la validación final. Solo dos partidos hasta que Bunny finalmente pueda llamarse a sí mismo Campeón de Code S.

Bunny es, por mucho, el jugador con menos logros en la Ronda de 4. Si bien Maru, Cure y ByuN ya ganaron Code S, Bunny, que hizo la transición a StarCraft II desde BW en 2013, necesitó tres años para llegar a la Ronda de Code S. 16. Después de eso, le tomó otros tres años alcanzar el RO8 en 2019. De hecho, de 2013 a 2019, el récord de Bunny en la competencia individual más prestigiosa de Corea fue un peatón 36-47. Sin embargo, Bunny nunca se desvió de su rumbo. Y, a pesar de los resultados más mediocres en 2020, finalmente comenzó a ver que su paciencia valió la pena en 2021.

After reaching the RO8 in 2021's Temporada 1 de Code S, Bunny registró el mejor resultado de su carrera en Temporada 2 al llegar hasta la Ronda de 4. Combinado con otro resultado entre los cuatro primeros en el DreamHack Masters Fall en línea, parecía que su carrera finalmente iba en la dirección correcta.

Sería una expresión suave decir que Bunny's 2022 fue un espectáculo de terror y un cuento de hadas a partes iguales. Continuó su ascenso para comenzar el año, logrando un fantástico top 8 en IEM Katowice. But in a case of comically bad reverse-karma, he was 'rewarded' with a pair of setbacks completely outside of the game. Ahead of Temporada 1 de Code S, se rompió la muñeca en un extraño accidente. Obligado a jugar sus partidos RO20 después de que su muñeca apenas se había curado, no fue una sorpresa ver a Bunny ser eliminado antes de tiempo.

Entonces, en medio de Temporada 2 de Code S, Bunny found himself trapped in Spanish quarantine after contracting COVID at DreamHack: Valencia. However, this time, even such a dire pitfall couldn't stop Bunny. Despite being unable to practice properly for around 10 days, he returned to Korea to finish his RO10 group with a 3-1 record and advance to the RO6 playoffs. There, he scored a shocking 3-1 upset against Maru, earning his first ever semifinal berth in Code S. While he lost to eventual champion herO in the semis, it signaled that those two extreme setbacks hadn't derailed him from his previous path.

At Maestros de DreamHack: Atlanta, Bunny tuvo un comienzo lento al ir 1-2 en un grupo que contenía a Serral, Cure y Lambo. Sin embargo, Bunny se incendió en la parte de eliminación del evento. Después de noquear a Trigger, Clem y NightMare con un puntaje combinado de 9-1, Bunny logró lo que probablemente fue la mayor victoria de su vida. Derrotó al favorito del torneo Serral 3-1 en las semifinales, avanzando a la gran final de un evento de primer nivel por primera vez en su carrera. Y, aunque terminó en una decepcionante derrota por 3-4 ante herO (con Bunny perdiendo una ventaja de 3-1), no había duda de que Bunny finalmente había demostrado ser capaz de competir con los mejores del mundo.

Nada nunca ha sido fácil para Bunny, y casi parecía predestinado que las cosas saldrían terriblemente mal para comenzar 2023. Ingresó a IEM Katowice 2023 como una elección durmiente para profundizar en los playoffs, pero terminó en el último lugar en su grupo RO24. Cuando la escena de StarCraft II coreana paralizada recibió un salvavidas inesperado con el evento Gamers400,000 de $ 8, Bunny de alguna manera se perdió la calificación en lo que parecía una preliminar extremadamente indulgente.

Y aun así, habiendo enfrentado aún más pruebas que deben haberlo tentado a pensar 'f*** it, I quit', Bunny rallied once more. He qualified for this season of Code S without dropping a match, and proceeded to make short work of Classic and INnoVation in the group stages. Placed in a RO8 'group of death', Bunny defied the odds to take first place in his group with wins over Solar and Dark.

Still the underdog, still fighting uphill, Bunny might feel right at home in the semifinals. His opening match against Maru will be an incredible test, but Bunny has taken down the G5L winner in similarly high pressure environments before. With Maru looking the most frail he's been since 2019, there's no reason to doubt that Bunny could shock him again.

Si supera el primer obstáculo, Bunny se enfrentaría a Cure o ByuN, quienes son dignos adversarios y campeones por derecho propio. Pero, para aquellos que apostaron en contra de Bunny en la fase de grupos, tal vez quieran reconsiderar dudar de él nuevamente. A diferencia de Maru, Cure y ByuN, que han participado en una variedad de competencias en los últimos meses, Bunny ha minimizado su presencia en torneos menores y se ha reservado para eventos importantes. Si sigue jugando de la misma manera que lo ha hecho durante todo el torneo, sus posibilidades de ser el último hombre en pie el jueves por la noche son tan buenas como las de cualquier otro terran.

Ganar el Código S sería una validación no solo por los años que pasó como miembro del equipo B para CJ Entus, sino por todas las luchas que ha tenido que soportar durante casi una década. Para aquellos que marginarían tal victoria sobre la base de que Code S ya no tiene el prestigio que alguna vez tuvo, Bunny no lo haría. Después de una década de perseguir su sueño y perseverar a través de las dificultades que lo acompañaron, Bunny finalmente tiene la oportunidad de cumplir con sus años de esfuerzo incansable. Un título de Code S está a solo siete victorias de distancia. Y, con él, un lugar en la historia. Después de diez años persiguiendo la grandeza a expensas de todo lo demás, este es su momento. Duda de él bajo tu propio riesgo. El tiempo de Bunny es ahora.

Maru: ¿Qué obtienes el hombre que lo tiene todo?

por cera

After three years of writing about Maru's G5L chase, I'm at a bit of a loss for words now that he's finally achieved it. What ARE the stakes for a player who has—almost literally—done it all in Code S? Go for championships six, seven, and eight? Try to win a title without a map loss? Win a championship with his allegedly amazing off-race Protoss? Whatever arbitrary goal Maru may set for himself, or we may set for him as a fandom, it will never come remotely close to feeling as urgent as the G5L once was.

To be very frank, and perhaps at the risk of de-hyping this upcoming day of games, Code S hasn't felt like Maru's #1 goal for a while. Prior to winning the G5L, Maru himself joked during a GSL video package that he'd rather win IEM Katowice over his fifth Code S title. While that was played for laughs at the time, I always felt there was more than a grain of truth to it, if not quite a whole Gwangalli beach.

After all, winning four Code S titles in a row in 2018-2019 had long-since established Maru as the greatest GSL player ever, putting his domestic legacy beyond reproach. The G5L was the gold-encrusted peacock feather in Maru's cap, the artisanally grown $500 Japanese cherry on top of his ice cream sundae. Don't get me wrong—the G5L chase was extremely diversión seguir, y algo por lo que los fanáticos de GSL se preocupaban profundamente. Sin embargo, finalmente se sintió como la trama B de la historia principal del Maru-verse: la búsqueda continua de un Campeonato Mundial.

Still, even with everything taking a backseat to winning a world title, some points of interest can be found in Maru's journey to Code S championship number six. I already brought up jokes that are more serious than they seem—well, there's another one Maru is cracking these days. With runner-up finishes in 2022 Code S Season 2, DreamHack Valencia, TSL9, and IEM Katowice 2023, Maru is becoming a bit of a Kong Now, this is abjectly ridiculous given that he won the G5L in the midst of that 'losing streak,' and considering that he has won 10+ premier tournaments in his career. But what matters is that these runner-up finishes are clearly on Maru's mind and he keeps bringing them up. He took severe mental damage from Oliveira in the IEM Katowice finals, and from his interviews, it feels like he's still on the way to recovery.

La mala mentalidad ha paralizado a muchos jugadores que de otro modo tenían calidad de campeonato. ¡Hay un par de ejemplos en estos últimos cuatro! Maru está muy lejos de caer a esas profundidades, pero cualquier debilidad mental sigue siendo una debilidad. Ganar el Código S #6, de una manera extremadamente convincente y dominante si es posible, contribuiría en gran medida a eliminar esas dudas sobre uno mismo.

Esta final four también es una oportunidad para que Maru restaure su aura de dominio en TvT. El 5.0.11 parche de equilibrio and the subsequent decline of the mass-Raven meta was a huge blow to Maru, taking away his ace in the hole. Previously, he had a magical ability to turn around games that would have been 100% lost for any other player by turtling up and massing his favorite spellcaster. While that late-game state is still achievable for Maru, he's definitely become more vulnerable to losing in the early-mid/game.

To some extent, Maru has no choice but to follow the meta—he can't force late-game turtling through sheer willpower. But he podemos get back to his roots as the ultimate Marine-Medivac player, who combined lightning fast handspeed with equally speedy decision-making to rip opponents to shreds. With a week of dedicated TvT practice, there's a chance that Maru shows up on Thursday and destroys his opponents in every phase of the game, making me feel silly for saying his TvT was ever diminished.

Finally, there's just the sheer absurdity of winning six Code S championships. Sure, I downplayed the importance of Code S to Maru at the start, but that's partially because I was taking Maru's greatness for granted. Most players don't even have six championships in their entire careers, much less in the oldest and most prestigious tournament in Korea. Go reread the previews for the other three players in the semifinals—winning Code S is the struggle of a toda la vida for most pros. It's a testament to Maru's greatness that he can make winning Code S seem almost boring.

Here's how I'll sum up my feelings on Maru going into the final day: I won't be on the edge of my seat waiting to see if Maru can win championship #6, but I'll definitely be shaking my head in utter awe when he does.

Predicciones

ByuN 3 - 2 cura
Marú 3 - 1 Bunny

Marú 4 - 2 ByuN


Sello de tiempo:

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