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After a month of high-level play in the Code S tournament, the competitive field has narrowed to two players: Jung-Hoon "" Lee (known in earlier GSL tournaments as "Foxer" or "Boxer"--not to be confused with SlayerSBoxer) and Jong-Hyun "IMmvp" Jung, both Terran players who powered through the best the world has to offer to make it to the finals.
IMmvp's road to the finals hasn't been easy, and by taking out opponents like Chan-Min "TheBestfOu" Kim (Terran), Ki-Soo "TSL_Trickster" Seo (Protoss) and teammate (and season 2 GSL champion) (Zerg) he has demonstrated that he's capable of handling high-level players of any race. If he's going to take this best of seven series, it's going to be with his superior fundamentals and solid long-game play.
By contrast, MarineKing's road to the finals has been littered with high-level Terran opponents, including Kyu-Jong "TSL_Clide" Han, , and Starcraft legend Yoon-Yeol "oGsNaDa" Lee. Each of those players is a top-level Terran player in their own right--and MarineKing beat them all with his unconventional Marine-heavy strategies and incredible micro skills. What's more, he has proven he can pull off unorthodox wins from "base-trade" situations with incredible timing and patience, meaning he still has a shot even if IMmvp overwhelms him with a larger army.
Make no mistake--this Terran vs. Terran finals will be a match worth staying up for. The stream starts at 10pm Pacific Standard Time tonight (Friday, 1/28), though the actual game likely won't start until 10:30 or 11pm.
Just because you started Code S doesn't mean you'll always be Code S--especially when there is a legion of Code A players hungry for a shot at bigger prizes and better competition. That's why the Code S players who fell first in the Code S tournament were pitted against the better players in the Code A group for a chance to defend their status--or fall down to Code A themselves.
Most notably, we'll be seeing a handful of promising Protoss players representing in Code S, including HongUnPrime.WE, oGsInca, and BanBansZenith.WE, as well as ST_July, GSL Season 1 champ TSL_FruitDealer, and ZeNEXKyrix holding it down for the Zerg side. FOXLyn (Terran) will also be in Code S, where his battle-tested Terran vs. Terran strategies should serve him well.
Patrick Miller is a Staff Editor for PCWorld. Add him on or , or message him on Battle.Net (pattheflip.729) for a game.
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