| Published: December 20, 2011
-By Reece Flexner
Protoss players Huk, Alicia, Killer, and Tassadar have all failed to make it out of their Up-And-Down groups so far this week, continuing a long tradition of poor Protoss performance in group-style Up-And-Down matches.
The first set of Up-And-Down groups, instituted in July, consisted of three sets of five players, with the top two advancing to Code S. Terrans took all six of the Code S spots that month while the other two races went 2-15 combined against Terrans, setting the tone for the TvT fests to come.
Zerg managed to do a little bit better the next season, pushing two of five players through, but Protoss players seemed doomed to languish in Code A. By the start of Code S October, Protoss players were 0-8 in getting through the Up-And-Down pools.
In next season's UpAndDown matches, GomTV decided to gerrymander the groups a little bit, arranging them to have two groups of three Protoss players, rather than three groups of two, all but insuring that at least one Protoss would make it through. It worked. Two Protoss players managed to score in the the top two, and the number of Protoss players in the GSL finally stabilized.
The new system of Up-And-Downs increased the number of groups to five, and the number of players in each group to six. The talent of the players forced to go through the Up-And-Downs climbed as well, meaning that it will be harder than ever for players to make it through. Group A of the Up-And-Downs seemed to have been the best bet, with two solid Protoss players in a group of just five, thanks to some players dropping out. But Huk and Alicia were not up to the challenge, and ended up going 1-5 against the rest of the group.
Hopefully this is not a sign of things to come. There are already five Protoss players qualified for the first season of 2012, so the number of players is not going to go down from the all-time low of this past season. And perhaps one of the five Protoss players left in the Up-And-Downs can make it through, which would increase the number of Protosses participating in Code S for the first time since March.
All rights go to Lish.
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