June 27th

English subs will probably be found here.

Players: Hong Jinho, Kim Kyungran, Lee Junseok, Choi Jungmoon, Lee Sangmin, Lim Yohwan, Yoo Junghyun, Lim Yoonsun, Jang Dongmin, Oh Hyunmin, Kim Kyunghoon, Kim Yoohyun, Choi Yeonseung

Game Analysis (spoilers from seasons 1-3):

If I were to sort players into categories, it'd be the following:

1) brainy people: Hong Jinho, Oh Hyunmin, Choi Jungmoon

2) "scary" players/alliance leaders: Kim Kyungran, Jang Dongmin

3) "mastermind" players who will be devising strategies for alliances: Lee Sangmin, Kim Yoohyun

4) potential dark horses: Lee Junseok, Yoo Junghyun, Lim Yoonsun, Choi Yeonseung

5) what-are-they-even-doing-here players: Kim Kyunghoon, Lim Yohwan

Of course, I'm not saying they only belong to that category. It's just where their role fits the best. Jang Dongmin fits in all three categories, for example.

Anyway, there are several things I've noted about this season:

1) There are only 3 girls. What will probably happen is that they'll decide to keep them safe for the first couple of rounds, for their image and stuff.

2) If the game ends up breaking into large alliances, we'll be seeing Kim Kyungran vs. Jang Dongmin alliance. They're the two big, powerful figures that everyone else respects. In some sense it reminds me of the Jimmy Cha vs. Kim Gura alliances from season 1. They probably won't be as hostile as season 2 was, but it'll be interesting to watch.

3) The most likely targets will be the brainy people. Everyone knows they're smart, so they'll want them out as soon as possible. And from what I can see, the most likely targets early on will be Hong Jinho and Oh Hyunmin.

4) There will be a lot of small alliances from previous seasons forming. Hyunmin-Dongmin alliance will probably form right at the start. And this time around, I think that's a good way to go, since all the other players are so strong, and the two of them are among the top targets. Another likely alliance is Kyungran-Sangmin. They've always worked well together, so I think they'll just do it again. Also, we have the comrades, Yohwan/Yoonsun. Yoonsun still helped Yohwan in the finals of season 2 even though he was the one who eliminated her. I personally would like to see Yoohyun-Jinho alliance to counter Hyunmin-Dongmin.

5) I have no idea why they invited Lim Yohwan and Kim Kyunghoon back. Lim Yohwan is a good gamer, but he wasn't that great in Genius games. And Kyunghoon is smart, but he doesn't do well under pressure, like at all. Maybe they'll prove me wrong, but as of right now, I consider them the weakest players.

6) After last season's mind-blowing games, I feel like they're going to re-shift the games from intellectual back to social a little bit. Season 3 had some really intense games, but most of them were about using your brain to solve them. I think that they'll go back from that a little bit and give us more games that revolve around manipulation and such - like Kong's Dilenma or the Layoff game. Those would benefit Lee Sangmin a lot, since he's the best player in those games.

7) Likely winners: Hyunmin will probably win if no one targets him early on. Lee Sangmin will win if no one stops his scheming, either. Yoohyun could also win, since there's no pretty girl to distract him this time around. And I strangely have a feeling that Hong Jinho will end up second. Just because the title has the word "final" in it. But I'm rooting for Kyungran!