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United States33578 Posts
Schedule: January 30-31 start time is 12:00 GMT (+00:00) // February 1 is 13:00 GMT (+00:00)
- January 30:
RO24 Groups A & B (6 player round-robin)
- January 31:
RO24 Groups C & D (6 player round-robin)
- February 1:
Playoffs - RO8 is single elim, RO4+ is double elim
Streams: TakeTV (main English stream) + check TL.net sidebar for additional community streams and non-English streams when tournament is live
Players and Initial Groups:
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Lets go a few more hours left at work then I can follow it via streams and not updating wiki
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Gl, hf everyone. Wish I could watch some but this weekend is busy as hell :/
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First group going pretty much as you'd expect.
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Finally home, damn snow and winter :D
Perfect booting up stream and having Serral up 1-0, will be a nice friday night!
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Good times already. Didn't watch a weekender since EWC.
Happy to see that Lambo made it through.
Edit: Also always enjoyable to watch Serral plow through protosses on end, including the double cannon rush hold against Mana. "That was nicely done by me", highest praise I ever heard him say about his play, haha.
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Single Elim first match is really weird. Not a fan of that.
For 6 man groups I'd rather see the first place get a bye and let the 2nd-3rd's fight it out in the first round. Even if a round has to be played before the broadcast even goes live that's fine, but sacrificing tournament integrity for that decision is questionable.
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On January 31 2026 14:50 Agh wrote: Single Elim first match is really weird. Not a fan of that.
For 6 man groups I'd rather see the first place get a bye and let the 2nd-3rd's fight it out in the first round. Even if a round has to be played before the broadcast even goes live that's fine, but sacrificing tournament integrity for that decision is questionable.
I think the same. Let 3 ppl go trough the group, or make it at least a double elimination from the start 
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Clem's offrace protoss must be a special source of frustration for protoss mains like Harstem and Krystianer, as when they lose to HeroMarine only to watch Clem 2-0 him with protoss minutes later.
Serral and Clem both 10-0, not surprising. But I had not been aware of how in-form HeroMarine is.
Edit: Now Serral AND Lambo AND Elazer casting, prepare for wisdom being imparted upon us.
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What the hell was that +2 Stalker all-in on 2 base that Trigger just did.
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Trigger winning against reynor but losing against skillous is making this group already very interesting.
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On February 01 2026 01:42 Antithesis wrote: Clem's offrace protoss must be a special source of frustration for protoss mains like Harstem and Krystianer, as when they lose to HeroMarine only to watch Clem 2-0 him with protoss minutes later.
Serral and Clem both 10-0, not surprising. But I had not been aware of how in-form HeroMarine is.
Edit: Now Serral AND Lambo AND Elazer casting, prepare for wisdom being imparted upon us. I dont think clems protoss in pvt is His offrace anymore, He clearly Mains it in that mu.
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Showtime looking good so far.
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Reynor losing 0-2 to trigger's two blink stalker all-ins and having to play catch up to get second place makes for a good storyline and an exciting group.
On February 01 2026 03:22 darklycid wrote:Show nested quote +On February 01 2026 01:42 Antithesis wrote: Clem's offrace protoss must be a special source of frustration for protoss mains like Harstem and Krystianer, as when they lose to HeroMarine only to watch Clem 2-0 him with protoss minutes later.
Serral and Clem both 10-0, not surprising. But I had not been aware of how in-form HeroMarine is.
Edit: Now Serral AND Lambo AND Elazer casting, prepare for wisdom being imparted upon us. I dont think clems protoss in pvt is His offrace anymore, He clearly Mains it in that mu. True. Still not his primary race, though.
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On February 01 2026 05:41 Antithesis wrote:Reynor losing 0-2 to trigger's two blink stalker all-ins and having to play catch up to get second place makes for a good storyline and an exciting group. Show nested quote +On February 01 2026 03:22 darklycid wrote:On February 01 2026 01:42 Antithesis wrote: Clem's offrace protoss must be a special source of frustration for protoss mains like Harstem and Krystianer, as when they lose to HeroMarine only to watch Clem 2-0 him with protoss minutes later.
Serral and Clem both 10-0, not surprising. But I had not been aware of how in-form HeroMarine is.
Edit: Now Serral AND Lambo AND Elazer casting, prepare for wisdom being imparted upon us. I dont think clems protoss in pvt is His offrace anymore, He clearly Mains it in that mu. True. Still not his primary race, though. Yea i Just dont think its Frustrating to See someone Like clem getting really good at your Main Race If He practises it Like His primary Race. Edit: also its the mu where clems TvP experience plays a big Role of clems pvz and PvP were also at the lvl of His pvt while He retains His tvx Power then i'd get it.
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Neat. Three-way tie and more SC2 with HSC casting on this beautiful Saturday evening.
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If reynor survives. The bottom bracket is stacked
Whereas the top bracket looks like a cakewalk for zoun
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Lmao liquipedia shows Skillous advancing now
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Quite the difference with lower and upper bracket, but it lets us have a real kicker to start of a lazy sunday
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On February 01 2026 01:42 Antithesis wrote: Clem's offrace protoss must be a special source of frustration for protoss mains like Harstem and Krystianer, as when they lose to HeroMarine only to watch Clem 2-0 him with protoss minutes later.
Serral and Clem both 10-0, not surprising. But I had not been aware of how in-form HeroMarine is.
Edit: Now Serral AND Lambo AND Elazer casting, prepare for wisdom being imparted upon us. Heromarine has been good forever, he just self griefs by not adjusting hotkeys. As much as he plays it would only be a growing pain of about a week.
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Solid Games by Mr. Sieber.
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United States33578 Posts
Kinda disappointed Clem dodged Protoss for two rounds... I was getting the feeling he was one or two frustrating losses away from crashing out and playing PvP again.
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Glad to see Reynor finally getting on the board and not getting 3-0ed by Serral!
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Zoun vs. HeroMarine is the closest series so far (in the semifinals).
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Even though expected Clem to win the series vs Serral games were pretty lackluster.
Watching the inevitable Liberator/ghost ball in every matchup fatigues my interest
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On February 02 2026 01:32 Agh wrote: Even though expected Clem to win the series vs Serral games were pretty lackluster.
Watching the inevitable Liberator/ghost ball in every matchup fatigues my interest Ghost +25 hp one of the worst changes I can remember
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On February 02 2026 01:32 Agh wrote: Even though expected Clem to win the series vs Serral games were pretty lackluster.
Watching the inevitable Liberator/ghost ball in every matchup fatigues my interest
That’s the current death all and instant win
Zerg and toss has close to no real answer to that. Problem is Terran is still strong as hell during the mid game. So it’s hard to get a real lead into the late game
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United States33578 Posts
Big Gabe is too good to be wasting his time hosting tournaments
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On February 02 2026 04:09 darklycid wrote: Serral washed? I would guess he has not been practicin that much. He does not do weeklies, so there is very little for him to play. GG Gabe!!
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It's hard to blame Serral for not practicing against this kind of battlemech. It's very rare now. He looked strong vs Reynor and okay against Clem who seems to have the most consistent form out of the favorites.
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Interesting development in playoffs
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Wow, that's an unexpected turn. Well played by Gabe. I was sure we would get the normal story of Serral beating everyone in the lower bracket before meeting Clem again in the finals and losing in the extended series.
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On February 02 2026 04:10 HeroSandro wrote:I would guess he has not been practicin that much. He does not do weeklies, so there is very little for him to play. GG Gabe!! Thats a terrible excuse, he hasnt played weekly tournament since forever. But its true he seems out of touch when being under high pressure and constant fighting.
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On February 02 2026 04:25 tigera6 wrote:Show nested quote +On February 02 2026 04:10 HeroSandro wrote:On February 02 2026 04:09 darklycid wrote: Serral washed? I would guess he has not been practicin that much. He does not do weeklies, so there is very little for him to play. GG Gabe!! Thats a terrible excuse, he hasnt played weekly tournament since forever. But its true he seems out of touch when being under high pressure and constant fighting. What i’m saying is that there is not much for him to play at the moment. Would not be surprised if he has not been practicing. He has always played the big tournaments, now we have precious few if any of those left.
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He's top1 gm at the moment I think it's safe to say he plays the game once in a while.
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United States33578 Posts
On February 02 2026 04:39 HeroSandro wrote:Show nested quote +On February 02 2026 04:25 tigera6 wrote:On February 02 2026 04:10 HeroSandro wrote:On February 02 2026 04:09 darklycid wrote: Serral washed? I would guess he has not been practicin that much. He does not do weeklies, so there is very little for him to play. GG Gabe!! Thats a terrible excuse, he hasnt played weekly tournament since forever. But its true he seems out of touch when being under high pressure and constant fighting. What i’m saying is that there is not much for him to play at the moment. Would not be surprised if he has not been practicing. He has always played the big tournaments, now we have precious few if any of those left.
As long as we're speculating, I think it's within normal variance for a good player to finish RO8-RO4 two tournaments in a row without there being 'special' circumstances. For example, it's happened to players such as Serral (2020), Serral (2021), and Serral (2023)
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Clem's looking super strong so far!
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On February 02 2026 05:14 Waxangel wrote:Show nested quote +On February 02 2026 04:39 HeroSandro wrote:On February 02 2026 04:25 tigera6 wrote:On February 02 2026 04:10 HeroSandro wrote:On February 02 2026 04:09 darklycid wrote: Serral washed? I would guess he has not been practicin that much. He does not do weeklies, so there is very little for him to play. GG Gabe!! Thats a terrible excuse, he hasnt played weekly tournament since forever. But its true he seems out of touch when being under high pressure and constant fighting. What i’m saying is that there is not much for him to play at the moment. Would not be surprised if he has not been practicing. He has always played the big tournaments, now we have precious few if any of those left. As long as we're speculating, I think it's within normal variance for a good player to finish RO8-RO4 two tournaments in a row without there being 'special' circumstances. For example, it's happened to players such as Serral (2020), Serral (2021), and Serral (2023)  with 3-0 losses in both tournaments though? I don't remember that from him
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I want Showtime to win HSC finally but it would feel more right if he lost this one but won one of the previous ones.
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PvT really is a Special matchup right now :D
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Congratulations to Clem! Was actually surprised to learn that this is his first HSC trophy.
This was fun and amazing as per usual. Thanks to TakeTV and glad that we still have these precious few events.
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United States33578 Posts
Congrats to Clem, and glad to hear we already have the next two HSC's basically confirmed
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Congratulations Clem!
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Nice run by Showtime, interesting performances lately from Serral.
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Really good games throughout the whole event to be fair, really enjoyed it. Can't wait for the next one!
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France12911 Posts
Congratulations Clem! What’s up with Serral though, did he stop practicing since there are no more « big » tournaments?
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On February 02 2026 18:47 Poopi wrote: Congratulations Clem! What’s up with Serral though, did he stop practicing since there are no more « big » tournaments?
Doubt it. Even serral will have weaker periods.
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On February 02 2026 18:47 Poopi wrote: Congratulations Clem! What’s up with Serral though, did he stop practicing since there are no more « big » tournaments?
Bit of both. Lack of practice
But also his losses to hero and heromarine was against uncommon strategy that isn’t the meta. Sharp toss timing and battle mech
His loss to Clem isn’t that surprising either since he always had trouble with him
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On February 02 2026 23:28 TeamMamba wrote:Show nested quote +On February 02 2026 18:47 Poopi wrote: Congratulations Clem! What’s up with Serral though, did he stop practicing since there are no more « big » tournaments? Bit of both. Lack of practice But also his losses to hero and heromarine was against uncommon strategy that isn’t the meta. Sharp toss timing and battle mech His loss to Clem isn’t that surprising either since he always had trouble with him Usually he still gives Clem a hell of a fight though (except at EWC). This series was a complete stomp. Also he usually is THE best at adapting quickly to new/uncommon strategies. With recent news though I was expecting some top players to stop practicing and moving on, so this doesn't really surprise me.
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On February 02 2026 23:28 TeamMamba wrote:Show nested quote +On February 02 2026 18:47 Poopi wrote: Congratulations Clem! What’s up with Serral though, did he stop practicing since there are no more « big » tournaments? Bit of both. Lack of practice But also his losses to hero and heromarine was against uncommon strategy that isn’t the meta. Sharp toss timing and battle mech His loss to Clem isn’t that surprising either since he always had trouble with him
LP says H2H between Serral and Heromarine is 22W - 4L (84.62%) IMO the loss to hero can be explained. Games vs Clem are always nailbiters, often with Clem having the upper hand but losing to HeroMarine is veeeeery unusual. No offense to Gabe.
Haven't seen most of the games this HSC. Any must watch recommendations?
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Hero and Clem have been grinding out weekly tournaments for ages now, while Serral never partakes. Those weeklies are usually stacked too. It's not surprising that constantly playing against the best players, even for low stakes, keeps you sharp.
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Bisutopia19316 Posts
Clem is such a beast. GG and thanks for the event!
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On February 03 2026 00:21 Athenau wrote: Hero and Clem have been grinding out weekly tournaments for ages now, while Serral never partakes. Those weeklies are usually stacked too. It's not surprising that constantly playing against the best players, even for low stakes, keeps you sharp.
Absolutely true. But so far, like you said, Serral never partakes and still crushes at tournaments. He did it for 8 years straight. So what changed? The tournaments changed, the incentives changed for him to stay sharp, practice regularly and much.
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On February 03 2026 17:07 Harris1st wrote:Show nested quote +On February 03 2026 00:21 Athenau wrote: Hero and Clem have been grinding out weekly tournaments for ages now, while Serral never partakes. Those weeklies are usually stacked too. It's not surprising that constantly playing against the best players, even for low stakes, keeps you sharp. Absolutely true. But so far, like you said, Serral never partakes and still crushes at tournaments. He did it for 8 years straight. So what changed? The tournaments changed, the incentives changed for him to stay sharp, practice regularly and much. Was a little unfortunate he had to run into hero first at the China tournament, but it was very obvious even then he was out of practice. Just the little signature inhuman things like pinching off the 1-2 lings that are targeted by mines while still advancing and those being the only units lost were completely absent.
I get the feeling we won't be seeing him unless he gets the itch again and wants to play in RSL. Don't really blame him, game isn't necessarily a ton of fun to play at the moment.
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How was the fundraiser for this event?
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On February 05 2026 06:20 LaughNgamezYT wrote: How was the fundraiser for this event?
Last I saw was 14k of 20k before the grand final / about 2 hours before stream went off
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