SBENU SC2 Starleague 2015 Season 2

S2SL Grand Finals
Once Upon a Time
Dream vs Classic

Brackets and Results on Liquipedia
Starcraft II Starleague

Saturday, Jun 20 9:30am GMT (GMT+00:00)
by Destructicon

Despite being very different players—both in their personal styles and their approaches to the game—Dream and Classic are strikingly similar in every other way. It isn't just because they are on the same team; it isn't just because of their respective histories; and it isn't just because of their paths to the final. Yes, they share the same struggle—to gain acceptance and to shatter the perceptions others have built for them—but there is something even greater behind all this.







Half a year ago, very few knew Dream's story. Yet all it took was one barnstorming run and one series for the ages against Life to change his history. From a cautionary tale, Dream's journey has become a fairy tale full of ups and downs.

Once upon a time, in a tournament far away, he was another kid with potential that was never able to achieve great success. He humbly started his career on MVP's squad back in 2012. At first it was hard for him to get noticed, as he wasn't sent out very often in GSTL. He had his opportunities in Code A, where he occasionally showed flashes of brilliance that convinced MVP to send him to tournaments abroad. He appeared in MLG Spring Arena 2, where he finished in the Ro8 against everyone's expectations. While he remained just another blip on everyone's radar, he forced everyone to pay attention when he shockingly defeated Rain 2-0 in the first round of the last season of Code A 2012. One of the best protoss in the world was sent down to Code B, and the better player won. Though he would struggle to survive in the face of BL/infestor just like his peers, he again found success abroad. IEM Katowice should have been Dream's crowning moment as he surged to the finals, but his hopes were dashed by First. From then on until the end of Wings of Liberty, little was heard of the young terran.

His silence continued well into Heart of the Swarm. Even though he had much in common with mechanically gifted terrans, it was the likes INnoVation, TaeJa and Maru that stole the show. It appeared that we had seen the last of Dream, but keen observers knew that he was continuing his development as a player. While he failed in individual leagues, under the brightest lights, he gained experience and found success in other ways. Dream was instrumental to MVP's ATC run in 2013 in which he gained a strong 18-10 record. It included clutch performances in the playoffs, striking down players like Nerchio, Scarlett and MMA. But it was false hope. Dream labored in the blink era, and he found himself teamless until SKT T1 picked him up, hoping some of his great potential still laid dormant inside him.

Suddenly, the child grew into a man. He acquitted himself well in Proleague, and he currently owns a 10-6 record. A brand new tournament in Korea gave everyone an opportunity to break the cycle, and Dream tore through zergs with flair and function. He catapulted himself to biggest stage, but sadly there was no grand parade. Maru revealed that his opposite still had much to learn, and that a handicapped matchup made him vulnerable. It was an improbable run to the final for Dream, and many wrote him off as soon as he capitulated in that clumsy TvT. Many expected him to slide back to the mean as another one hit wonder.

It is a tale as old as time. For many, like TOP, like Symbol, like Squirtle, that would be it. That one finals appearance would be their only chance to conquer the world. When SSL Season 2 group selections rolled out, Dream's peers ridiculed him and laughed at his easy season 1 bracket. He was marked as one of the weakest players in the tournament. Yet here he is again, back in the finals after another impressive show of force. There are no more doubts about his quality, no more doubts about his overdue ascension. Now the question is whether he will become another MarineKing, another soO. In the history of Korean individual leagues, only one player has ever won a title after becoming the runner up first—INnoVation lost to SoulKey, then defeated the ultimate kong soO.* This is only Starcraft II Starleague's second season, but we could already be witnessing the birth of a legacy.



In terms of play style, clear influences from old MVP can still be seen in Dream. While on MVP, Dream was team mates with Keen—a tactical terran known for his midgame—, DRG and Sniper—two very strong mechanical and multi-tasking oriented zergs—, and TAILS, Super, and Billowy—some of the craftiest protoss to ever play the game. They had a strong influence on Dream early on, but Dream's brand of manic terran always had a glass ceiling. Yet SKT T1 saw a strong base that could be developed, and Dream became a planet caught between the tug of two stars. Dream was molded, crushed and reformed, and the result was a strange fusion of his MVP past and his SKT T1 future. His wild multitasking was given direction; his clever build orders were given purpose and refinement; his map awareness and positioning improved.

Take his series vs Life for example. Despite Life's best effort to batter Dream down again and again with his trademark counter-attack style, he was unable to do so. Dream had the map awareness to read into Life's movements, the mechanics to keep up with his zerg opponent and the tactical sense to know exactly how many units to allocate to both attack and defense, and how to most efficiently direct the flow of these units.

Strategically, he has quickly mastered every aggressive build known to terran, including WM drops, elevator and runby plays, banshees, and early stim timings. The mark of his growth, however, is his ability to shift gears from all out attack and impervious defense. His TvP is no different: in his series vs Classic early this season, he first opened with an aggressive 1/1/1, and upon realizing Classic was going for a blink pressure, he transitioned his build into defense. In game two he turned it right around by going 14 CC. Against herO he went for some of the most aggressive play possible: rax, gas expand into relentless, marine, hellion, medivac harass. His quick and well controlled aggression is often enough to kill most opponents, but Dream has shown he isn't a one trick pony. If things don't go his way he has no qualms about taking it late. He did just that against Zest in Proleague, following up his early game aggression with a bio, viking, ghost late game composition that struck with unrelenting force.

Watching his games, it almost feels like Dream is destined for greatness. He has looked terrifying against protoss and zerg, and his climb back to the finals shows both determination and a desire to succeed. But Dream has been in this position before, and it ended in tragedy each time. While no one doubts his strength, it takes more than ability to make a champion, a story he no doubt knows from soO. This series, in only S2SL's second season, will determine whether he continues to write his own tale or whether he becomes another footnote in the annals of history. He knows that he has no choice but to win.







A year ago, Classic was a champion. He conquered his teammate soO and rose to prominence as an intelligent and versatile protoss. Yet it was the most powerful age for Aiur, and he failed to stake his claim for the protoss throne. From a gilded tale of great change and perseverance, Classic's odyssey has cycled back to the start where he is once again a man with something to prove.

Once upon a time, in a game far, far away, Classic was a humble terran on the now defunct STX Soul. The transition to SC2 did him few favors, and though he did get sent out in Proleague often, it was hard for him to get noticed. He struggled to find his groove in four rounds of Proleague until he realized that protoss suited his style far more. Where stars and established names balked at the proposition of a race change, Classic took the chance to change his identity completely. Expectations were low, but Classic slowly began to find his footing. Fans began to appreciate his improvement in the playoffs of Proleague 2013, where he went 4-1 against FanTaSy, Puzzle, CrazyHydra and Flying. He was instrumental in STX's swansong, and it proved a worthy audition as SKT T1 recruited him in the aftermath of the 2013 team shuffle.

His mediocrity continued well into his tenure with SKT T1. Even though he had much in common with technically gifted protoss, players like Zest, Rain and herO stole the show. It could be that Classic was simply not given the room to shine on a team full of champions, or that other protoss were simply flashier and more exciting than he was. Yet he continued to study his peers, and in 2014 GSL Season 2, Classic found his formula. After narrowly making it out of a group with Life, Rogue and Hydra, Classic clinched his spot in the Ro8 with a strong showing against PartinG and soO. He slayed his teammate ParalyzE in the quarter finals and slugged it out with Maru for a place in the finals. There, he met his friend soO and handed him his third silver in a row. The forgotten man on SKT T1's bench became their newest champion.

Yet his reign would come to an unceremonious end. The blink era ended, and a great shift occurred in Korea. Classic did not stand up to scrutiny, and he was eliminated in last place from his Ro32 group. Almost overnight, doubt was cast upon the quality of his title and quality of his play. His title was stained by the infamous "blink era", and he was written off as another one hit wonder. He showed some life in KeSPA Cup and at Blizzcon by reaching respective semi finals, but many attributed his mild success to favorably weak brackets.

It is a tale as old as time. For many, like Seed, like RorO, like Sniper, that would be it. That one moment would be their only taste of gold. When the S2SL groups were announced, few fans looked at Classic as a candidate to advance, let alone reach the finals. He was marked as one of the weakest players in the tournament. Yet here he is in the finals, after another tour de force. Doubts remain about his quality and doubts remain about the significance of his title. Yet there is no question that Classic is a champion, and he has proven he has the mettle the conquer the world. In the history of Korean individual leagues, only one player has ever won his second title a year after his last—Life first won in October 2012 and again in March 2015. This is only Starcraft II Starleague's second season, but we could already be witnessing the game's greatest redemption.



Along the Macro-Cheese spectrum of protoss, Classic leans slightly towards macro. He has a strong sense for the late game, but it's his ability to mix in cheeses in all matchups that makes him dangerous. Both economic and aggressive responses are part of his repertoire, and he doesn't blindly go all in either; he first scouts his opponent before deciding whether to follow up with greed, pressure, or an early attack. It's that reactivity that makes him a little different from others of his race, and his past as a terran gives him a little more insight into the matchup. His series against Maru in his Code S winning run was one of the best displays of matchup understanding in 2014.

Lately, Classic has shown a tendency to use blink pressure. He opens standard, but follows up with a twilight and more gateways. In many ways it's similar to Zest's preferred blink-colossus build from mid 2014, where he uses his mobility to put pressure on the terran while keeping himself safe from drops. It's a fragile backbone that relies on scouting and positioning, but Classic has so far found success with it. He has always been more of a colossus player which makes his midgame slightly predictable, though he does still know when to get storm when things go late. He's also a protoss that's willing to gamble with a stargate, and he has even displayed a penchant for phoenixes when the map is suitable.







Final Thoughts

There is more than just a title on the line for each player. For Dream, a loss would make him the 2nd kong on SKT T1, and the second one to be christened by Classic. He may have the ability to copy the strengths of his adversaries, but he has yet to be able to replicate their success. A gold medal would make him only the second player to ever win a title after coming second in his first final, repeating INnoVation's feat. For Classic, a defeat will be followed by the echoes that have always haunted him: that his first title was a fluke, that it was gifted to him by cursed kong. Only crushing victory in this final will dispel the doubts regarding his skill and the circumstances in which he won.

Prediction

Dream has made the S2SL his own. Barring his weakness in the mirror, very few players play with as much panache and power as Dream. He is capable of adapting to his enemies and his willingness to play any style that works makes him a dangerous foe even in longer series. Classic must maximize his intelligent series planning and take some risks in order to pull his opponent off balance, but judging from his interview he seems far too conservative to try anything drastic in the final. One of the most overlooked traits that make a champion is a sense of desperation, and it could be what makes the difference in the season 2 finale.

Destructicon: Dream 4-2 Classic
The_Templar: Dream 3-4 Classic
Soularion: Dream 0-4 Classic
thecrazymunchkin: Dream 4-1 Classic
lichter: Dream 4-3 Classic
DarkLordOlli: Dream 4 - 2 Classic

* Mvp and MC were both runners up, but won titles before their silvers.

Writers: Destructicon, lichter.
Graphics: shiroiusagi.
Editors: lichter.
Photos: Helena Kristiansson, SPOTV Games
Stats: Aligulac