Through the first year and a half, the GSL has entertained us in many ways. From memorable games, to laughable blunders, to amazing stories unfolding over weeks at a time, there is no lack of great memories from the GSL. With Genius vs DongRaeGu approaching in days, we thought 'what's a better way to prepare for the coronation of the eighth Code S champion than to look back at everything that came before, that allowed this moment to be?' So, sit back and relax, because we're about to go on a nostalgia time trip.

Friends, these are memories that will live forever. This is the GSL.

When the GSL started, John was only known as the part-time translator who helped Artosis with the winner interviews and took delight in making him read names such as the immortal 'Poopfeast420.' This all changed during the closing credits of the second season of the GSL, when he gave a passionate speech that took TeamLiquid by storm, making him one of the most popular Starcraft 2 personalities even with his limited exposure at that time in the GSL.

Here is a transcription of his speech from his very own fanclub by TeamLiquid member Mooose:



That wouldn't be his last speech of the year, though. After the gigantic October finals between MMA and MVP at Blizzcon, John once more took center stage to deliver another passionate speech from the heart, telling everyone in the crowd that was able to witness the amazing final that they should never forget what they saw that night and if anyone ever doubted e-sports, they should be pointed to the final between MMA and MVP to prove that it's something to be taken seriously.

John continues to work for GOM and deserves a thank you from everyone for his tireless work from translating group selections by himself to doing the dirty work that we don't see behind the scenes. Thank you, John.




Wait, BitByBit is one of the most memorable moments of the first year and a half of GSL? He was only around for less than three months and was absolutely slaughtered when people caught on to his all-inning with SCV's every game. How can this guy be one of the most memorable parts of the GSL?

In one hundred years, when the beta for Legacy of Void is finally released and Artosis' floating head in a jar is casting his future great grandson facing Nestea (who will live forever) in the GSL finals, and when Artosis IV pulls his SCV's off minerals and gas, puts them in front of his army, and goes all-in against Nestea, what do you think people are going to be thinking? They'll still be going, 'BITTTTTTT...BY...BBBBBBIIIIIIIIIIIIT!' without even thinking twice.

Do you remember SengKun? Squirrel? Sopia? Hansin? No, of course not, but you remember BitByBit and will continue to do so for the rest of your lives. In a short time, he was able to put his name in the dictionary of Starcraft 2 and cement it there for history. Even though BitByBit is now retired and doesn't play professionally anymore, he can take solace in the fact that whenever a Terran does a SCV all-in, we'll scream his name. We all have a bit of BitByBit in us, so why not let it out once and a while?




Going into the March tournament of Code S, SanZenith was a joke. Let's not beat around the bush here, friends. People made fun of San, thought he was a joke, and had no clue why this guy was in the GSL. The only reason he was able to cling onto his spot in Code S for another season was because he was paired against an equally made fun of player, LegalMind, and barely made it out of that match to get into the next season.

Who did the maligned Protoss have to play in his Code S group? Oh, no one except the Emperor himself, Boxer, one of the most solid Terrans at the time, Ensnare, and the former GSL champion and the God of Zerg, Nestea. No one was giving San a chance. There were polls asking if he would make it out of a game without losing in the first five minutes. Artosis, on air, said he would swallow a wiggly sword if somehow, someway, this loser, San, could get out of the group.

San not only made it out of the group, he beat every single person in his group. He took down Nestea, Boxer, and Ensnare, getting out first in his pool and making thousands upon thousands of jaws drop on the ground. Not only did he beat Nestea, he played amazing. The player that pylon blocked himself and looked like he was about to cry after losing was now gone. In his place was a new ManZenith, an embodiment of masculinity who would storm everything in sight and macro like a pro.

People don't realize the impact San had on the Starcraft scene. His abuse of the Khaydarin Amulet and expert use of storms made him, in my opinion, for a short while, the best Protoss in the world. Alongside ThorZaIN and MorroW, he has the honor of almost single-handedly getting a unit nerfed into oblivion. San's magical run led him to the semifinals before losing to MC in his weakest match-up, not being able to get into the late game and falling in a PvP duel. If it wasn't for MC, San probably would have won the March season. I don't think July would have been able to stop San, and he would have won the title.

Sadly, for San, after two straight semifinals, the amulet was taken out of the game. Without his talisman, he slowly started to fade and hasn't been able to make it back to Code S since. If you have seen recent games of San, you still see his excellent macro and his talent against Terran. He might not have been able to win a championship, but he proved to everyone that he was no joke after all.




The Super Tournament was supposed to be the Super Bowl of the GSL. $100,000 was going to be given to the winner, a prize amount that would make any nerd's mouth water. It was the sixty four best players in Korea with Code S battling Code A. An all out war where the best player standing at the end would get the gigantic cash prize in front of the thunderous crowd, putting himself in the history books as the first Super Tournament champion.

The finals were broadcasted in 3D and there was even a side tournament worth another $10,000. This tournament was supposed to stand out from the rest and be larger than life. The winner would get almost $70,000 more than the runner-up. In theory, the idea was pretty genius. The tournament had great sponsors, the concept was a call back to the Open Seasons that everyone loved, and it gave a chance for new stars to rise.

In reality, it didn't live up to expectations. There were a lot of surprises and upsets to keep things exciting, but perhaps too many. None of the Big 3 of MC, MVP and Nestea made the quarterfinals. The three legends that the fans came out in droves to see of Boxer, Nada, and July were all out before the round of eight. Most importantly, it marked the beginning of the GomTvT era, with six Terrans left standing in the quarterfinals. Alicia and Line, the only ones left standing for Protoss and Zerg were knocked out in the quarter-finals, and left four terrans in the semi-finals. At a time when people were already complaining about the overexposure to TvT, this was the straw that broke the camel's back.

The finals ended up being between two Terrans who had never even made a GSL quarterfinal before the Super Tournament: Polt from Prime and MMA from Slayers. The finals did have one of the bigger crowds and the production value was off the charts for the battle between the two new stars, but the games themselves were one-sided. MMA, the heavy fan favorite due to his connection to Boxer, his glory in GSTL, and conquest of America's MLG, played terribly and got stomped by the guy who people saw as MKP's sidekick before the tournament.

Polt won his gigantic cash prize, won the ID OptimusPrime, and got a loud applause from the crowd, but in the end, the tournament wasn't a big enough success to be brought back for the 2012 season. Was the money too big? Were the finals too disappointing? Do you think if the finals had been, let's say, Nada vs. Nestea, that maybe the Super Tournament could have been a big hit, and a regular fixture of GSLs seasons to come?

The Super Tournament is on this most memorable list because not only was it one of the most peculiar tournaments of the year, but also because we'll probably never see it again. The prize money was too top heavy for the winner and with sixty four players, the chances of getting a marquee final like Nestea vs. Nada or MVP vs. MC was next to none.

Goodbye, Super Tournament. Thanks for making Polt and MMA make their entrances by walking out from a Pokeball.




MarineKing has made three GSL finals. MarineKing has also lost three GSL finals. No one else in the world has even lost two GSL finals, but MarineKing has already one upped them by getting there three times and not being able to lift the trophy at the end of the journey. He was so close in his first final against Nestea when his ID was still Boxer. He got all the way to game seven, one win away from getting a title, but his all-in attempt was swatted away by the well-prepared Nestea and the series was over.

He would come back two seasons later to take on MVP in the January finals. MarineKing, for whatever reason, played unlike himself, trying strategies that didn't fit his style, and MVP ripped him apart in one of the worst finals in Starcraft 2 history. The King of Marines would try to get his revenge a short time later at the World Championship, but for the third time, he would fall, this time by a 2 - 4 score. He got closer to the Game Genie Terran that time, but it wasn't enough to overcome the best player in the world.

It's no secret that MarineKing is one of the most emotional players in the game, coming to the verge of tears when he loses a big match... and doing the same when he wins a big match. This has garnered him a lot of fans, dreaming that one day he can finally get his title and overcome the three times he has fallen on the grand stage. Even when MKP made the finals of Code A, he wasn't able to win, losing to Ganzi in another seven game series.

Maybe 2012 will be the year when MKP figures it all out, puts all the pieces together, and wins his first GSL championship. We saw him play some of his best games at MLG Winter Arena, where he took down a slew of difficult opponents to win the championship. It might be the spark he needs to win in the GSL as well.




It is no secret that MC through the first year plus of GSL action has been the best Protoss in the world. He crushed through the third Open Season, stomping underdogs Jinro and then Rain to pick up his first championship in dominating fashion. He would return only three months later to gain his second title against Brood War legend and fan favorite July. Again, for the second straight final, MC played flawlessly, taking the series in five games and cementing his legacy as the first Protoss to win two championships.

The thing is, no other Protoss has even won a single championship. The Protoss race has been in shambles ever since GSL March when three of the final four players in the tournament were from Aiur. Alongside MC, only one other Protoss has even made a GSL final before this season, and that was his former teammate Inca who delivered the worst finals performance in history, going for the same Dark Templar strategy four games in a row and getting stopped all four times by Incredible Miracle's Nestea. After losing to Nestea, Inca was never the same, falling down to Code A and then to Code B where he would stay until recently making it back up to Code S in surprising fashion.

Even MC hasn't been able to keep up the dominance he had in the early stages of 2011. He never made it back to a final after beating July and even fell out of GSL entirely when he lost in the first round in Code A. If it wasn't for the automatic Code S seed that was given away at MLG Orlando, MC would have had a long road ahead of him to ever getting back to the finals stage.

The Protoss race is showing signs of life again, and after a long period of being the race that complained the most about balance, is even becoming the one on the receiving end of such complaints. However, in the midst of this Protoss revival, we can't forget the man once who carried the banner all by himself, making sure Sad Zealots around the world could occasionally lift their heads proudly.




When Jinro went to Korea, he wasn't expected to do much by the community. People knew he was a good player and all, but he failed to qualify for the GSL in his first time trying and he wasn't a big name like Idra or Ret, players who dominated the foreigner Brood War scene. If someone had come to you at the start of the first Open Season of the GSL and asked you to make a bet on who would be the first foreigner to make a semifinals, Jinro wouldn't have been many people's first, second, third, fourth, or maybe even tenth choice.

But Jinro, in the third season, did qualify. He was the underdog against ZeNexDrug and many people hoped he could at least win one set against the Korean. And that's exactly what Jinro did, he won a game against Drug...and followed it up with another win, passing through the first round with a strong debut in the GSL.

Then he played Moon, the Warcraft 3 legend, and was a huge underdog to get out of the second round, but he continued winning. He didn't drop a game against Moon and made it to the round of sixteen, shocking Koreans and foreigners alike, getting past two tough opponents to get that far in his first ever season of the GSL after not even qualifying in the last tournament.

Next up was Polt from Prime, and for the third time, Jinro was the underdog. Did that matter to him? Nope. He swept Polt in two games, in decisive fashion, and rolled his way to the quarterfinals, making it farther than any foreigner before him. No, it wasn't Idra, Ret, or TLO who got to the quarterfinals first, it was Jinro, the player that many expected to fall in the first round. In what felt like a blink of the eye, Jinro was suddenly becoming one of the most popular players in the scene, with even the Korean fans backing the Swedish Terran who had made stunning upset after stunning upset.

Jinro's quarterfinals were against Choya, who was also on a streak of upset victories, having taken down MVP in the round of sixteen. It would go five games, a hard struggle between the two underdogs of the GSL, but in the end, Jinro would prevail and do something that no one has ever matched in GSL history: reach the semi-finals as a non-Korean player. He would lose to the eventual champion MC in the semifinals, but Jinro surpassed all expectations, rocketing from relative unknown to the #1 foreigner in the span of only a few weeks.

What was called a fluke by some was backed up with more proof the following tournament. In the first ever Code S season, Jinro would fight his way all the way back to the round of sixteen, trying to get back to another quarterfinal. It looked very dire for the Foreigner Hope, already down a game and having to win two games against the champion MC to advance. Jinro had already been decimated by the top Protoss the last time they faced in the semifinals and he wasn't given much of a chance in the second meeting. Things looked even worse when Jinro opted to go mech (yes, you read that right) against a Protoss.

It looked crazy, but, somehow, someway, it worked. Jinro won the first game against MC. What was going on? This couldn't actually happen, right? Well, it did. Jinro won the second game as well against his friend, using his patented mech style to shock the world. MC was shocked, slumping in his booth, having no idea what happened. Tastosis had no clue what happened. The audience didn't believe what they just saw.

After his historic upset of MC, it gave way to the biggest quarterfinal in GSL history for the foreigners. It would be a battle between the two foreign behemoths: Idra from Evil Geniuses and Jinro from Team Liquid. The winner would move on and take on the ever popular MarineKing in the semifinals. The community was split on who they wanted to win between the Gracken and the Gorilla, not knowing who would come out on top in the end.

Like he had so many times before, Jinro did what he did best in the past two tournaments: win. Idra didn't play particularly well and Jinro was able to throw his opponent off his game, gaining advantages from his stellar play and being able to close the series in only four games, making it to the semifinals for the second straight tournament. Also for the second time, he would lose in the semifinals against MarineKing and be knocked out of the tournament. Since that loss, Jinro hasn't been able to make it to that point again, and he's currently in Code B trying to fight his way through the qualifiers to get himself back in Code A.

Since his back-to-back semifinals appearances, no foreigner has ever gotten back to the semifinals, and only one has even made it to the quarterfinals. It has been a year now since Jinro made his last semifinal run, but the memories still linger. It's that memory that gives the foreign community hope every season, that someone will travel to Korea, and somehow repeat Jinro's incredible feat.




In 2010 and 2011, Nestea and MVP won six GSL titles, over $500,000 in cash and made Incredible Miracle the premiere team in Korea. From the second season onward, they've appeared in seven finals and have a record of 6-1 in those appearances. Together they became the wrecking crew of GOM Studios, putting fear in the hearts of everyone they faced, and have been favorites in nearly every match they played.

Nestea revolutionized the Zerg race, winning three championships and even had a perfect season along the way, not losing a single set in the entirety of GSL July. There were many players who tried to take the title of best Zerg from his grasp, but he still refuses to let go. While Leenock, DongRaeGu and others have tried, he has been the only member of the swarm to win a championship since picking up his first one over a year ago against MarineKing.

Older than most, the former Brood War captain has looked mortal at times, especially lately when he fell out of Code S for the first time and had to win a match in Code A to get back where he belonged. But when it looks most dire for Nestea, he becomes a phoenix, rising from the ashes and looks better than ever. He beat his friend, teammate and rival MVP for the first time in GSL history in the 2012 January Code S tournament, getting first in his group and making another round of sixteen. There might be players climbing the mountain to knock Nestea off his perch, but he won't be taken out without a fight.

On the other side of this golden coin, MVP has been even more dominant, routinely beating his friend Nestea in GSL tournaments. He reached one more final than his rival, only to lose to another rival in MMA at Blizzcon and was stopped from earning a fourth title. Even without the four titles and the one bad mark in finals against MMA, it's obvious that Mvp is the best player in the history of the GSL.

In 2012, MVP aims to add even more hardware to his trophy case, wanting to win at least two out of the five GSL championships. The GSL dominator shouldn't be bet against, and revenge is on his mind as he looks to take down the ace of Slayers, MMA. With two championships himself, the Slayers Terran has shown he can stand toe-to-toe with MVP, and has already beat him twice in important series. For the first time since MVP won his first title, it finally feels like another player has his number. Can MVP get the monkey off his back and finally take down MMA in the GSL to gain his fourth championship, or will this rivalry continue to slowly go more in favor of MMA?

Incredible Miracle had, well, an incredible first year. Their two best players were the two best players throughout the first year and a half of GSL, finishing the 2011 season as #1 and #2 in GSL points. It might look like people are catching up to the unbeatable duo, but do you really think MVP and Nestea will relinquish their thrones that easily?




If you are just getting into Starcraft 2 and look at SlayerS now, I'm sure you must think, 'Wow, these guys are amazing! I bet they've been awesome forever!' To tell you the truth, dear newbie to the world of eSports, you would be dead wrong. When Slayers was first created, there was a lot of hype. Boxer was creating a team, freaking Boxer, the legend of all legends, the Emperor himself, and he was going to hand pick his own disciples to take over Starcraft 2!

It sounded great and all, but the first time we ever saw Slayers was in the first season of the GSTL. They were matched up against ZeNex, considered one of the weaker teams, and it was a good opportunity to see how good these kids Boxer picked would do on the main stage. The excitement was overflowing, with Boxer putting himself out first to take on the first ZeNex player HyeJun. This was going to be awesome!

But then he lost.

Oh, uhm, okay. Let's see who else Slayers has up to next? SlayersSoul (Ryung) must be good, right?

He lost badly.

Alright, okay, let's see, who is this Alicia guy? He is going to finally win a game for Slayers, right?

He lost badly.

Things looked really bad. Slayers looked greener than the grass on a WindowsXP desktop, and they were getting massacred by a relative unknown in the scene. They were down 3-0 and were only one loss away from getting embarrassingly all-killed.

Enter a man named Jjob. He was another unknown in Starcraft 2, but he had a Brood War past as pro player on Boxer's former team SKT1, playing with the ID '1988.' He had only played five games in total in Brood War, losing three of them, and those were all in 2008, three years earlier. It looked grim, but Jjob played well, much better than his teammates before him, finally putting an end to the reign of terror HyeJun was casting over Slayers.

Amusingly enough, Jjob would then take on future SlayerS recruit Puzzle, gaining another win for his team and getting them closer to a tie score. In his third game, he faced future GSL semifinalist Byun, and for the third time, put the team on his back and took another victory. Amazingly, this Jjob character was turning out to be pretty damn good, only a win away from achieving the elusive reverse all-kill.

Sadly, in the end, he lost to ZeNexNuke (later known as Hack) and wasn't able to complete the comeback. However, this Jjob guy had made a name for himself that night. Slayers didn't look particulary good except for him, but you could see the potential in the players that Boxer had chosen to be on his team.

Fast forward to a year later: Jjob, that unknown who had a three kill on that night so long ago, is now known as MMA, one of the most popular and most skilled players in the world. He has won MLG Columbus, IEM Kiev, and two GSL championships, putting him in the select company of players who have won tournaments on three different continents. He is now the captain of SlayerS, who have won two GSTL championships in the meanwhile. MMA came in as the closer in the finals of both those tournaments, and took the wings off DongRaeGu and MVP.

SlayerS is now the most popular Korean team in the world. They now routinely send three or more players to the top sixteen of Code S, and are one of the three favorites with Incredible Miracle and MvP to take any team tournament they enter.

Similar to what occurred in Brood War with iloveoov, MMA is Boxer's anointed one, the anchor and heart of the team. When Slayers are down and need someone to save them, you expect MMA to come through. Even when it looks like the world is against him and there is no way he can come back, he won't stop fighting. To the bitter end, MMA will carry on the legacy that Boxer bestowed upon him, and fight to the very end.

In 2012, the goal is clear for MMA: it's time to surpass MVP. In the last two GSL series they've played, MMA has a record of 7-1 against him, winning the October finals and Blizzard Cup in the process. He now needs only one more to tie MVP and Nestea, making a case to be known as the best player in the history of Starcraft II. With Jessica, his teammates, and Boxer behind him, pushing him towards his goal, who can doubt him?




We end the memories where it all began. The first season of the GSL. Can you remember it? The awkward match transitions. The terrible games. The highly awkward but hilarious interviews that Artosis had with the unsuspecting winners? The cheese. The first season, when you look at it now, isn't the prettiest piece of work. There were a lot of problems with it and the games weren't of the highest caliber, but that doesn't mean it wasn't awesome.

The hero of the first season was a man they called Cool, the Fruit Dealer. When every Zerg was getting trounced in tournaments, this savior gave them hope. From the round of sixty four, he kept on winning, entrancing the fans with his celebrations and entertaining play style. When it looked like Zerg was the cursed race of Starcraft II, FruitDealer stood tall for the swarm, getting to the finals and going up against HopeTorture from Startale.

I could explain to you why FruitDealer was such an amazing story and how his run is still one of the best in GSL history, but if you've read this far, I'm sure your eyes are getting tired of reading walls of text. So sit back, relax, and watch this video to remind you of how great the Dealer of Fruit was in his short, vivid prime.



After that final, FruitDealer never made it back to another final or even a semifinal. He slowly become less interested in Starcraft, leaving TSL in 2011 due to a more strict practice regimen and joining the more relaxed Startale. He fell to Code A. He hung on for a while, but his play didn't improve and he was finally fell from the GSL altogether. Since then, he hasn't been back, not even showing up to the most recent Code A qualifier to try to get back in.

Even though he never made it back to a final, he will always be a player we remember. Who can blame him for falling behind? He had already experienced a full career of progaming with Brood War, and there was only so much gas left in his tank. He gave us everything he had that first season, and that was all we needed to see. He showed us that Starcraft II could be exciting, dramatic, and above all, incredibly fun.





Thank you for looking back with us at the 2010 and 2011 seasons of the GSL. 2012 has started out even better than before with its new format, and the quality can only get better from here. On behalf of the GSL team at TeamLiquid, we thank everyone at GOM for putting on the best show in Starcraft II and hope that we will share many more amazing memories in the future.