One Eternal Moment

by Soularion

This wasn't supposed to happen.

Serral's path at GSL vs. The World was clear: he'd prove himself against INnoVation, avenge years of foreigner slaughter against Dark, and take on Maru in the grand finals. It would be the greatest challenge Serral had ever faced, going up against the best player in the world in his worst match-up of ZvT. Just by reaching that point, he'd have been legitimized as a true world-class player and not 'just another foreigner.'

Of course, it would all end in defeat. Maybe it would even be an honorable death, earned at the end of a glorious battle, but it would be death nonetheless. Serral's strength—which had borne the immense burden of foreigner hope—would finally give out, and he'd be crushed by Maru, the titan of Korea.

Serral's first two games against INnoVation went better than anyone had dared to hope. INnoVation's second GG—coming after an intense game where Serral precisely picked the Terran's push apart with devilish counter-attacks and perfect engagements—left the foreign community relishing in a rare afterglow. Could Serral defy his fate, refusing to become another foreigner reduced to dust by the Korean machine? In that moment, it looked like Serral was the elite Korean Zerg—akin to Dark, akin to the soO of old—sent to punish some over-achieving foreign Terran for the unthinkable sin of daring to dream. Serral finished InnoVation off in a 3-0 sweep.

No ordinary foreigner could pick apart INnoVation in such a manner. Even Dark—famous for defeating and disrespecting foreigners (he dismissed Scarlett as mere refuse in the same tournament)—remembered his manners when it was his turn to face Serral. It proved to be a prudent choice, as Dark's 34-match winning streak versus foreigners ended with a 1-3 defeat to Serral. The Finn was bound for the finals.

Meanwhile, the Koreans had gone off script as well, as Stats won a stunning upset against Maru in the other semifinal. For a moment, foreigner fans might have been delighted. 'Not Maru? In Serral's best match-up? Bring it on!' And for newer fans, that might have been all. But for those who had followed Starcraft II since its beginning, that feeling of delight would have been followed by deep, ancestral dread.

Because, after all, the history of foreigner StarCraft is a history of broken dreams, where success merely ups the ante for inevitable failure.


Where to begin? For years, the most celebrated foreigner achievement was Jinro's back-to-back GSL semifinals. How easily we forgot that he went a combined 1-7 in the subsequent semifinals, including a 0-4 loss to a prime MC.

The brilliant-but-controversial NaNiwa made it all the way to the finals of MLG Providence 2011, only to lose 1-4 to a young Leenock in the finals. At the 2013 WCS Season 2 Finals, he defeated best-in-the-world INnoVation in a massive upset, but fell to Jaedong in the following round.
At the peak of her powers, Scarlett defeated reigning Starleague champion Maru in the 2013 WCS Season 2 Finals group stage, only to lose to Bomber 2-3 in the quarterfinals. Her MLG Anaheim 2014 run—where she defeated the likes of DongRaeGu and Life—ended with a loss to the unheralded Trap.

Even the hallowed Stephano—who rewarded the faithful by winning IPL and NASL—gave us disappointing moments as well. He entered the 2012 WCS World Championship with a reputation as both Korean-Killer and innovator of Brood Lord-Infestor, but was eliminated from the first group stage by HerO. His early forays in Korea were underwhelming, with a RO32 elimination in Code S and pedestrian 6-5 record for EG-TL in Proleague.

The list goes on and on. Snute beat the GSL and SSL champions back to back at IEM Shenzhen, only to get swept 0-3 by TY in the next round. Scarlett reached the semifinals of WCS America where she lost to Jaedong 2-3. SjoW eliminated Life in one of the greatest upsets of all time at DreamHack, but then lost to the unheralded StarDust in the following series.

There have been enough upsets—enough phenomenal, shining moments in foreigner history to piece together a patchwork quilt of hope. But it's not enough to hide the scars left from heartbreaking loss after heartbreaking loss.


So, you'd be forgiven for not believing in Serral.

Stats wasn't Maru, but he was still he was still the most consistently excellent player of Legacy of the Void, with eight grand finals worth of mind-games, cunning, and best-of-seven strategizing to draw from. Even after Serral became the first foreigner to ever win an offline best-of-five against INnoVation, even after he brought Dark to justice, and even after he won a best-of-one against Maru in an event match, Stats made him look like the rest of his peers by taking a 2-0 lead to begin the finals.

Unfazed, Serral rallied back in impressive fashion, dominating Stats to even the score up at 2-2. Another wild momentum swing came in game five, where Serral played one of his best games of the year—and lost to Stats anyway.

It was all too easy to envision the familiar ending. Serral, after showing so much skill and spirit, would finally reach the limit of his abilities. After putting Serral at match-point, Stats would capitalize on his scared, nervous opponent and close out the series with a series of daring moves. The Korean scene would wink, give us a wag of the finger, and say 'Whew! You almost had us there. Better luck next time.' Of course, there would be no 'next time.' That would be the end of Serral, The False Hope of 2018, who would be worth a few paragraphs in the annals of foreigner history.

But that didn't happen. In games six and seven, it was Stats who was on edge, looking like an underdog desperately trying to find a way to steal one more map against a terrifying opponent. On the other hand, Serral remained poised and calm until the end, ruthlessly taking advantage of his opponent's self-destruct sequence. With one final all-in, Serral kicked down the golden gates that had protected Korea for so long. This time, the story had real fairy tale ending: Serral hoisted the trophy, gave it a kiss, and lifted the curse.


Of course, Neeb deserves credit for being the first foreigner win a StarCraft II title on Korean soil in the 2016 KeSPA Cup. It was the former crown jewel of the revised WCS system, a milestone achievement for foreigners in StarCraft II, and a turning point that foreshadowed Serral's ascent in 2018. However, there's no denying that the quality of Neeb's triumph was different. His greatest moment of peril came against Pet, a player who hadn't reached Code S in years. While his semifinals match against Stats was fantastic, he ended up winning the championship with a victory against Trap, a player firmly mired in Korea's middle-class. Neeb also managed to dodge favorites such as Maru, TY and ByuN, which let him take advantage of his best-in-world Protoss vs Protoss.

In comparison, Serral faced elite players in all three matchups (INnoVation, Dark and Stats represent a top three Korean Terran, top two Korean Zerg, and the best Korean Protoss), and absolutely demolished two of them. It took Stats—who is arguably the best overall player of Legacy Of The Void's three-year run, who had just won a best-of-five over the consensus best player in the world, who came with a brilliant seven-game plan, who played one of the best games of his career in game five—to force a game seven that Serral still won in the end. For one tournament, Serral came closer to perfection than any of his peers or predecessors.

For the entirety of StarCraft's existence, fans of foreigners have patiently persevered, waiting for that one moment where a foreigner might stand on top of the world and definitively claim they are the best. Serral faced enormous odds—elite players from the present, and a daunting history of losing from the past—and conquered them all. Serral's form may not last, but the future is secure. This moment will last forever.

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