by mizenhauer
- Mizenhauer


The time has come. Code S crowns its final champion of 2017. Stats and GuMiho were worthy winners, but neither has remained consistent enough to take a second title. Stats came close, but was ultimately eliminated in the semifinals. And so two of the most decorated players in the history of StarCraft II meet in the Grand Finals of its most storied tournament.



Back in 2013 sOs was the talk of the town. He was Woongjin Stars’ ace in Proleague, recording the fourth-most wins in the 2012-2013 season. In individual leagues he quickly made a solid case that he was the best Protoss in Korea. Alongside INnoVation and Soulkey, sOs epitomized excellence over the first half of the year. But while the former two owed their success to rock-solid mechanics, sOs was something else entirely. Where INnoVation was rigidly loyal to his builds, sOs was unpredictable; where Soulkey was the perfect portrait of reactive Zerg, sOs dictated the terms of engagement. A Protoss with an electric and bewitching playstyle, sOs stood at the vanguard of KeSPA’s takeover.

Yet when INnoVation swept sOs in the finals of the 2013 WCS Season 1 Final, it was clear idiosyncrasy wasn’t enough. He had made deep runs in two consecutive tournaments only to fall against mechanically superior players. sOs could outfox anyone in a battle of wits; unfortunately, his endless creativity seemed to have met its match. He seemed doomed to a career of near misses. He would be good, even great, but never great enough to rise above his contemporaries.

How time changes one’s prospects. While Soulkey eventually retired and INnoVation constructed a legacy out of unerring consistency, sOs channelled a gift uniquely his own - the ability to catch lightning in a bottle, over and over and over again. Who would have thought that the flashy Protoss, who suffered such humiliating fates back in 2013, would find himself in this position? Today, he is only six wins away from usurping Mvp’s throne and replacing him as the greatest ever.

sOs is far from the first challenger to strive for the spot. There has been a lively history of dreamers, ranging from the merely good to legends, who have tried and failed. NesTea never posed a serious threat after summer 2011; MC’s periods of glory were too scattered. MMA faded away too quickly to establish a dominant era. TaeJa made his claim by laying waste to weekend tournaments while neglecting to make the same impact in GSL. Life’s flashes of irresistible force were compelling but cyclical, and he pretty much shot himself in the foot. Rain’s rigorous gameplay can’t compensate for his relatively paltry trophy room; Zest’s awe-inspiring 2014 led to chronic instability with extremely high peaks, yet similarly extraordinary lows; Classic never won enough events in a row. Dark has yet to match his braggadocio; soO might qualify as a candidate if there wasn’t such an emphasis on sufficient hardware. Only INnoVation has a legitimate stake in the race with his mastery of Korean Starleagues, as well as weekend tournaments, and he may entertain serious discussion if he wins this event.

sOs’ case is frequently overlooked when the community debates the candidates for GOAT status. The obvious roadblock is exposure. sOs never stood head and shoulders above his race, let alone the scene, for any extended period of time. Players like Life, Zest, TaeJa and INnoVation stood in the limelight uninterrupted for years. Meanwhile our quirky hero has always fought to be noticed amidst his preternaturally gifted peers. When he first emerged as an intriguing SC2 prodigy PartinG, then-Liquid'HerO and Rain hogged most of the attention. sOs’ fruitful 2013 was accompanied with an asterisk as his standing came with a dearth of Protoss victories everywhere else; with the exception of Dear’s exemplary finish to the year, fans of Aiur had to content themselves with meager wins from the likes of Sora and First. Zest drowned out all other whispers during 2014. From that point forward, first billing has been juggled between Classic, herO, sOs, and a couple of other Protosses.

sOs is known for one thing above all else: raking in the dough. He has an uncanny knack for turning it on at the critical moment, a trait that has been instrumental to reach this point. Without it he wouldn’t be a two-time BlizzCon champion and IEM World Champion, accomplishments that have earned the moniker “The $100,000 Man”. The nickname also owes a debt to his fleeting nature. sOs shines bright for brief stretches, then dims for many months. It’s frustrating, even infuriating for fans who are unnerved by sOs’ relaxed attitude during these periods. They know to bunker down for periods of interminable waiting. They learn to let their expectations wane in increments, all so their joy can be reignited when sOs returns to prominence in a flash.

Expect sOs to try his damnedest to disrupt InnoVation’s plans. He is also a master of planning over multiple games, although his forte lies in defying expectations rather than establishing them. with his unpredictability. sOs excels at tailoring builds to specific maps, abusing architecture and timings to blindside enemies. One only needs to watch his games on Derelict Watcher en route to his first BlizzCon victory, or his victories on Dash and Terminal during the second run, to witness his unconventional approach. A cannon rush here, a proxy oracle there—all his moves aim to disorient and distract the opponent. sOs knows how to control the pacing of a series better than anyone (except the other finalist), and it would be folly to forget that.

If sabotage and deception were the limits of his skillset, he would be a mere novelty act. sOs would be another entertaining player chained by the speed of his fingers. What separates sOs from other Protosses is his unnerving calm under pressure. Whether he's facing a 3-0 deficit in Proleague or match in which he is favored, he operates at an even keel. It’s hard to accentuate how important this trait is within the context of a match. All opponents, no matter how distinguished, are susceptible to fear and tilting; even the machine INnoVation fell apart after a lengthy pause at BlizzCon. They know that while sOs is terrifying in his own right, he has surely prepared for them specifically, and their vulnerability is as alluring to sOs as fresh blood is to the shark. It's his ability to embrace danger without blinking that sets him apart. Fearlessness makes sOs the most dreaded player in Korea.

No one would begrudge him if he was equally adamant about maintaining his advantages. sOs’ game versus TY on Catallena was emblematic of his strengths and weaknesses as a player.
Only sOs could throw TY into a tizzy with a few hallucinated stalkers, preying upon his opponent’s anxiety. On the flipside, somehow he found himself on the verge of throwing a won game. By now it is rote to assume his brand of bold risk-taking is synonymous with mercuriality. sOs oftentimes has a tenuous grasp on games, seeming in control one moment and completely lost another. Strange lapses of miscontrol are a hallmark. Units end up in the wrong places, timings go awry and everything crumbles. He seemingly loses focus and poof, a lead evaporates.
Such a glaring deficiency has been compensated in other ways. sOs, like all great players, has neutralized his sore spots with tenacity and alacrity. In the twilight of his glory and beset by wrist problems, Mvp dragged himself over the finish line with sheer will; Zest during his prime was at times predictable, yet nimbly dodged any situation where it would be the determining factor. Apropos of the profile up to this point, sOs doesn’t allow games to settle into a monotonous rhythm. He knows how to win ugly games so he forces them to be ugly.

The Season 1 and 3 quarterfinals were perfect demonstrations of his leaning towards chaos. They were not personifications of ‘good play’ by any stretch of the imagination. They showcased sloppy inefficient gameplay matched by sloppy, objectively questionable moves from both players. Should anyone have been surprised sOs came out on top in both scenarios? He thrives in situations where freestyle improvisation is king. Just as he can flawlessly execute the sort of timing that earned him his second BlizzCon, he can haul himself through the muck for thirty minutes and come out on the other side smiling.

sOs’ jocularity retreats into gloom when it comes to his performances at home. His proficiency with six digit prizes notwithstanding, his robust skillset has proved insufficient to conquer the last hurdle. The Korean Starleague looms over him like a advent of a thunderstorm. sOs has reached the semifinals of GSL five times—he has tripped and fallen on his face five times. He lost to Soulkey in 2013 and ByuL two years later: the first was closely contested, but a gap in readiness was evident against the CJ Entus Zerg. He got within reach of the promised land in 2016. He dismantled MyuNgSiK in the semifinals of the second season but looked equally helpless against ByuN and his tankivacs. sOs was far from being on soO’s level back in March, as his adept pressure was rebuffed at every turn. This season was a different story as he looked three steps ahead of Stats, particularly on Ascension to Aiur.

Three semifinals appearances in the last four GSLs is an impressive endnote to his resume. Any other player might be satisfied at finding this level of consistency. But not sOs. When the book finally closed on HotS sOs had earned five premier events, but he’d never reached the finals of a GSL. Like a certain Terran of note he had become the king of weekenders; in the same vein, the phrase was employed as a compliment and a putdown. Just as TaeJa is bemoaned for lack of success in Korea, sOs hungers for this missing accomplishment to round out his oeuvre.

When sOs takes the stage and stares down INnoVation, it will be the first leg of a two part journey. The first (and hardest) part will guarantee him a ticket to BlizzCon if he succeeds; from there, he will be daring the unthinkable. It’s a simple formula but it has taken 5 years to culminate in this moment.

sOs quickly established himself as a top 5 Protoss during the opening months of his SC2 career and despite oscillating form, he’s held that position over most of the the past four years. His unique playstyle has made him resilient to the sweeping balance changes and tectonic shifts in the landscape of the Korean scene. His story parallels INnoVation’s journey, who also boasts longevity and professional recognition. Both are already in the conversation for greatest of all time. The outcome of this series, and what happens at BlizzCon, will probably see one of them coronated as the greatest of all time.

But sOs hasn’t reached this point by looking ahead. In fact, when he enters the booth, it hardly seems like the world exists beyond that series. The crowd cheers, the announcer's shout and the lights sweep across the stage. sOs emerges as champion and smiles like it was nothing.



We’ve seen this movie before.

Four years ago, INnoVation was the undisputed king of Terran in Korea. Whether it was Proleague or individual competition, he was practically unstoppable. The man who was yet to be a machine showed no regard for the pedigree of his opponents, chewing them up and spitting them out with bland disinterest. But even a million flawlessly executed parade pushes couldn’t wipe away the tarnish that was his baffling loss to Soulkey in the GSL finals. Both fans and detractors were shocked that INnoVation showed so little foresight, so much hesitation when facing Soulkey’s last feeble card. From that point INnoVation was described as a fundamentally flawed player. He continued to garner the respect accorded to any top player, but for years any praise was carefully couched in apologetic terms.

INnoVation paid no mind to the criticism, the insults and mockery. It was on June 9th that he first usurped the crown and supplanted Mvp as king of Korean StarCraft in a declaration of dominance. He beat the legend himself in the semifinals before sweeping the finals 4-0. His opponent that day was a mercurial Woongjin Stars Protoss, acclaimed for his quickness of mind and idiosyncratic builds.

More than four years later and once more sOs bars INnoVation’s way. It’s fitting that the two-time world champion is the only man who can deny history in the making. Beyond words like serendipity is the undeniable fact that sOs is possibly INnoVation’s sole remaining rival for the keys to Mvp’s decaying kingdom.

StarCraft 2 is a game where players are often chasing rather than forging their own path. The profession rewards youth and drive over planning and long term thinking. Time is compressed to an insane degree compared to traditional sports. Barely 18 years covers the combination of Brood War and SC2: everything is figuratively draped in the shadows of the past. The dual threats of inevitable military service and new games encroaching on their turf bestow urgency on every moment. Trophies lifted, ace match victories, a reverse all-kill, these are moments that shine against the bleak reality of the profession. They are what the fans and players live for.

But it’s impossible to encapsulate an entire career in a single moment, let alone ride one to financial security. This vicious business is littered with one-time champions, cursory heroes who faded away before their names stuck, popular mascots who never struck it rich. Even the notable names have little to fall back upon after their glory days are finished. Dear once caught lightning in a bottle; Maru, ByuN and Zest reached similarly ascendant heights. Where are they now? What place does the future hold for them? There are no fan conventions for the likes of MarineKing, no stock options to assuage NesTea’s growing anxiety.

Yet, if one were to watch one of INnoVation’s games from his WCS 2017 campaign—his finals versus Stats in Gyeonggi, his triumph over TY at GSL vs the World, his semifinal victory over Dark less than a week ago—they would be hard pressed to ignore his greatness. In a scene where reaching the Ro16 of GSL alone is a godsend, INnoVation has entered a surreal realm where only championships matter. He began his SC2 career as a typhoon, the peerless sort of force that was allergic to mediocrity. Since then he’s won four Starleagues, two IEMs and most recently GSL vs The World. He’s been the best player in the world for more than half a year. INnoVation is a hair’s breadth away from being considered the greatest to ever play StarCraft 2.

The discourse around anointing the GOAT usually involves a lot of posturing, fettering for facts and disbelief that anyone could disagree with the final conclusion. It’s an abode for fans who love hypotheticals and speculation, the type of activity that rewards reflection and data without providing a general framework from which to evaluate them. No surprise that GOAT discussions often end in rage or peter out in pat conclusions. There’s too much to calculate, compare and contrast...unless of course someone truly separates himself from the pack. Just this year he's won SSL and GSL vs The World. Before that, he emerged atop challenging fields at IEM Gamescom and Gyeonggi, GSL Season 3 in 2014 and ‘15 and, way back when, the WCS Season Finals in which he defeated sOs. On top of all that, he managed second place finishes in GSL and Dreamhack Bucharest in 2013, with two additional Starleague semifinals since making the switch to StarCraft 2. When all said and done, where does that rank? What would a third GSL title do to enhance INnoVation’s legacy?

Let’s shed the whole machine identity for a moment. After all, it was always fiction. What started as a humorous observation became a meme, and the meme became a narrative that swallowed up all the possible ways we could talk about him. But if INnoVation is not an amalgam of unfailing mechanics seeking a Blade Runner-esque redemption arc, what is he?

INnoVation is nearly impossible to prepare for. Once upon a time, critiques insightfully pointed out his stubbornness with build orders; while it proved far easier to dissect his gameplay than to counter it, he was largely predictable with his choices. Today his catalog is far more robust and combined with the fact that he just seems to have more than every other Terran, situations look hopeless before the games start. Ever since his mortifying loss to Soulkey, INnoVation has developed into one of the best series planners in SC2 history. INnoVation has posted an astounding 28-6 record in his last seven Bo7 finals. This streak, dating back to his victory against soO in 2014 GSL Season 3, is highlighted by an even more mind-boggling 24-3 record through games 2-6. Be it against soO or the 4-3 win over Dark that brought him here, INnoVation has a sense for dictating the pace, tempo and direction of a series that cannot be taught. The prodigy who crumbled in his first GSL finals is not the one who will take the stage in search of his third Code S championship.

The self-assuredness required to pull off this feat is commonly mistaken for apathy. INnoVation is not emotionless (despite our most boorish wishes!). Just because he doesn’t cry when he loses or spout water like some CJ branded whale when he wins does not mean he lacks feelings. He is a stoic in the ancient sense of the word: in control of his emotions as much as he controls the game. His current attitude is a far cry from his travails during 2013-2014. One could make a compelling case that he was too emotional back then, too easily thrown off by slight disturbances in his plans, and his withdrawn nature exacerbated his condition. I recall one of his worst moments occurring at BlizzCon 2014, when an absurdly long pause shattered his composure and handed the match to TaeJa. Since then he has failed and succeeded with more grace and serenity. He keeps his head high, resuming the match as dialed in as ever.

INnoVation will take the stage on September 16th as the prohibitive favorite. There are those who contend that INnoVation has never challenged for the title of best StarCraft 2 player ever. He has less GSL titles than Mvp, less GSL finals appearances then soO, less premier event titles than Taeja and less BlizzCon victories than sOs. He can’t surpass them in one fell swoop this Saturday. Frankly, I doubt he will concern himself with such wistful thinking. INnoVation’s career has been built deliberately. Brick by brick, one victory after another. It’s about the foundation as much as it is the heights. INnoVation will approach the finals like every other game in his career. He’ll leave it to the fans to label him the best ever. For him, it’s just another match that needs to be won.