It seems superfluous to state that the conclusion of Code S round of 16 saw many upsets, particularly as, throughout Code S and WCS America and Europe, so-called upsets are now the norm. With the deluge of unforeseen results, it might actually be wise to draft your Fantasy players based on those who are statistically unlikely to advance. It is certainly an intriguing time in competitive StarCraft II, with a wave of new-generation players proving to be tenacious opponents indeed.

Regardless of the fact that 2014 has been a turbulent year for results, the outcome of Group B still left many in shock. When you looked at the players in the group, it would have seemed misinformed to bet against Code S winner Lee "Life" Seung Hyun and two-time Code S semifinalist Jung "Rain" Yoon Jong. It was, however, Kang "Solar" Min Soo and Jung "ParalyzE" Kyung Dos who took first and second place respectively.  

The first game between Solar and Rain is definitely one to watch.  The early game was dominated by Rain, who managed to delay Solar’s economy significantly by denying several hatcheries. The game looked to be won by the Protoss very early on. However, Solar proved to be much more resilient, and prolonged the game sufficiently to be able to build an army that became an insurmountable problem.

Group D was most certainly the group of death. Comprising Joo "Zest" Sung Wook, Kim "Soulkey" Min Chul, Lee "INnoVation" Shin Hyung and Lee "Shine" Young Han, the group was stacked beyond measure. Throughout all the chaos, it was somewhat reassuring that Zest and Soulkey topped their group as it was not improbable for them to do so. That being said, INnoVation’s relentless practicing and Shine’s disposition to cheese means that it would not be surprising for either of them to have advanced over Soulkey.

Shine is infamous for his cheese strategies, and throughout the day we saw him favor a heavy Roach all-in. His opponents seemed to be more than prepared for this, leaving him last in the group. As Zest had already zipped into the round of eight, this left Soulkey and INnoVation to fight for the last spot. They took the match into the third game, with all three were extremely back and forth. In the end, Soulkey emerged victorious, denying what would have been the first TvT in Code S this year.

Code S will continue on June the 11th at 18:00 KST (11:00 CEST) with the first day of the playoffs, which you can watch here.