Code S RO16 – Group A Results (S1 2024)

Code S Season 1 began with a predictable result in Group A of the RO16, as Maru advanced in first place while SHIN passed through to the RO8 as the runner-up. However, the process leading to that result was anything but expected, as Maru narrowly slipped by both soO and SHIN with 2-1 victories.

soO proved that his mid-game macro is still quite formidable, managing to steal a map off of Maru with Hydra-Ling-Bane. As for SHIN, he actually came close to winning the group over Maru, gaining a substantial lead in game three of the winners’ match. However, Maru’s legendary survival instincts kicked in, allowing him to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Still, SHIN’s good play was rewarded in the end as he took down soO 2-0 in the decider match to book his RO8 ticket.

Unfortunately, last place in the group went to DRG, whose poor defense led to him getting shutout in the ZvZ bonanza. Overall, the three-Zerg group produced rather stereotypical Zerg mirrors, with all of them resolving in the early-mid/game.

Code S will resume on Thursday, Mar 07 9:30am GMT (GMT+00:00) with Dark, Stats, Classic, and Bunny playing in Group B of the RO16.

Recommended Games

Maru vs SHIN – Game 3 (VOD): Well… maybe Zergs players should avoid this game.

While we’ve seen many ‘impossible’ late-game comebacks from Maru in his career, this is a worthy entry into his list of greatest hits. Even with the ‘Maru-factor’ in mind, he looked 90% dead at several points in the game, but somehow came out on top due to his unyielding tenacity.

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Match Recaps

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Initial Match #1: Maru 2 – 1 soO

Game 1 – Hard Lead (Maru win): Defense was the theme of the day for Maru, who gave us a typical attritional win right off the bat. soO’s early Roach-Ravager poke set him up in a good position to play his mid-game macro style, prompting Maru to play defensively after some cursory Marine-Medivac harassment.

After that point, you’d say the Zerg had the lead for the majority of the game if you blanked out the player nameplates. However, knowing the players involved, you got the feeling soO just wasn’t going to have enough to break Maru’s defense. Indeed, soO’s attacks slowly but surely ran out of steam, and Maru won another one of his familiar victories by attrition.

Game 2 – Side Delta (soO win): soO got off to a solid start once more, holding off Maru’s committed Hellion-Cyclone-Liberator aggression in the early going. However, this time around, soO actually did find a chance to kill Maru before the game went too long.

Maru was willing to fight in the field this time around, battling soO’s Hydra-Ling-Bane with Bio-Mine. This played into soO’s strengths as he was able to win a handful of battles and then flood Maru with reinforcements to extract the GG.

Game 3 – Oceanborn (Maru win): The series ended anticlimactically in game three, as soO was caught unprepared for a Hellbat + Stimmed Marines attack and GG’d out.

Initial Match #2: SHIN 2 – 0 DongRaeGu

Game 1 – Hecate (SHIN win): SHIN brought out a 15-Hatch (Hatch before Overlord) opener against DRG’s orthodox Hatch-first start, and followed up with a Speedling flood off of a low Drone count. However, DRG had Speedlings on his mind as well, and the two players ended up engaging in some fierce early-game skirmishing before settling into a somewhat even situation. SHIN transitioned into Roaches while DRG decided to go all-in with Zergling-Ravager, which resulted in SHIN making a close defensive hold to take the game.

Game 2 – Goldenaura (SHIN): SHIN brought out a 15-Hatch strategy again, and engaged in some mind-gaming by going for a slightly later Speedling attack than in game one. This attack seemed doomed after DRG scouted the hatching Zerglings, but a botched defensive wall from DRG gave SHIN the easy win anyway.

Winners’ Match: Maru 2 – 1 SHIN

Game 1 – Alcyone (Maru win): Maru opened Hellion-Banshee into a greedy version of mech with a very fast fourth Command Center (he later said he went Mech against SHIN because his bio play against soO hadn’t gone well). Maru benefited from getting in some solid damage with Hellion-Banshee, and he put himself in a very strong mid-game position where he could constantly pressure SHIN.

SHIN played quite well on defense, holding off several waves of Terran attacks by matching Maru’s tech-switches accordingly. However, he simply didn’t have an answer for the growing Ghost count, and he eventually tapped out against a mass Tank-Ghost force.

Game 2 – Solaris (SHIN win): Faking bio early on, Maru attempted to catch SHIN off guard with Hellion-Cyclone pressure. However, SHIN handled this aggression with aplomb, giving himself a solid lead headed into the mid-game.

SHIN snowballed his advantage nicely and pummeled Maru with attacks, but the situation started to look a bit dicey when he failed to finish Maru off on a few occasions. However, Maru was never able to get into full turtle stance, and was eventually worn down by SHIN’s attacks.

Game 3 – Side Delta (Maru win): Maru went back to his game one plan, opening Hellion-Banshee into greedy mech. However, this time, his Hellion-Banshee failed to keep SHIN at bay, opening himself up for a near-deadly Viper timing from SHIN before his defenses were totally set. Having dealt serious damage, SHIN set about trying to close things out as he had in game two.

However, this time around, Maru activated his defensive cheat code. Despite seeming like he was on the verge of losing for over half of the game, Maru somehow hung on by a thread and kept the hope of victory alive. SHIN was partially at fault for Maru’s survival—he said later in his post-match interview that his concentration slipped when he realized he might actually win.

In the end, after much bloody combat, Maru pulled off another miracle and outlasted SHIN to take the victory.

Losers’ Match: soO 2 – 0 DRG

Game 1 – Solaris (soO win): DRG took a page out of SHIN’s book to start, going for a 15-Hatch open against soO’s regular Hatch-first. DRG followed-up into a fast Lair off of two bases, but we never got to see what he had in store as he was forced to quickly GG out against soO’s surprise Ling-Bane all-in.

Game 2 – Site Delta (soO win): The two players entered the first ‘normal’ mutual 3-Hatch ZvZ of the night, but the game still reached a speedy end. DRG’s defense failed him yet again as he was caught flat-footed against soO’s Roach timing on 32 Drones, and he exited the group in last place.

Decider Match: SHIN 2 – 0 soO

Game 1 – Oceanborn (SHIN win): soO went for a fast speed-Roach attack off of two bases, whereas SHIN played a more conventional macro opener. SHIN caught whiff of soO’s plan in time, and took the game after executing a great defense.

Game 2 – Head Lead (SHIN win): Both players opened up with conventional 3-base builds, but it wasn’t long until SHIN brought the aggression with some fast Roaches. soO seemed to pull ahead after handing the attack with ease, but an off-tempo Speedling runby from SHIN evened up the situation.

Both Zergs looked to be headed to our first mid-game Roach war of the night, but SHIN managed to slip in a Spire while also holding off soO’s Roach attack. SHIN used his surprise Mutas to gain an advantage, and then found a window to overrun soO with his ground army.

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• Source: https://tl.net/forum/starcraft-2/621906-code-s-ro16-group-a-results-s1-2024