Best Games of the Month is back! Competitive StarCraft II never sleeps, not even after the Global Finals. Whether it was BlizzCon, HomeStory Cup, or a variety of online tournaments, there were plenty of great games worth sharing in November.
While the 2018 Global Finals was a momentous event in the history of StarCraft II, it came up conspicuously short in a certain area. You know, that thing that generations of Korean pro-gamers have promised to show us if we cheer for them. "Good games" were few and far in between at BlizzCon, but there were still a handful of must-watch matches.
In a rematch from BlizzCon 2017, TY and Rogue decide to kick it up a notch in game four of their semifinal clash. An initial proxy by TY was only used to disguise a very greedy 3 CC build, and he snowballed his lead considerably by taking out Rogue's fourth base. Even a novice could have told you that Rogue was as good as dead, with the rest of the game being merely a prolonged death animation. However, the 2017 BlizzCon champion was no ordinary player, and he busted out an unusual muta-ling-bane combo to try and force an unlikely comeback...
TaeJa's ghosts don't get surrounded, they let his opponents' armies surround them.
TaeJa vs Serral is a match few expected to ever see in the 2018 Best Games list. First off, it was doubtful that TaeJa would even come back to StarCraft II at all after finishing his two-year military service. After all, playing the game had caused him severe wrist issues over the years. And even if TaeJa returned, it seemed obvious that he'd need a considerable amount of practice before he could challenge championship-caliber players.
Of course, TaeJa ended up proving once more that conventional wisdom does not apply to him. In his return to live tournament play, he cut a swathe through the competition and earned a best-of-five match vs the reigning Global Champion. While TaeJa was clearly rusty from his stint in the military, he still managed to show us a glimpse of his peak form in one spectacular game on Blueshift.
It's safe to say that 2018 was a bit of an off year for INnoVation. While he was the best player in the world for the majority of 2017, this year has been a struggle. His domestic results can be described as mediocre at best for a player of his résumé. His run at the IEM World Championship in Katowice was a colossal failure. But NationWars and HomeStory Cup? That's where he shined.
Still, even going into HSC18 as the reigning champion, INnoVation was far removed from his status as THE progaming machine. This particular game, however, against the best Zerg in the world on Lost and Found, INnoVation decided it was time to once again live up to the moniker. Great speed, impeccable macro, they couldn't be entirely gone—he'd made a career out of those after all. And thus unfolded a wonderful game between two true macro engines.
Rogue: "You macro as if you have a hidden base somewhere."
WESG might not have the history or prestige of other tournament brands, but it's still hugely important to progamers for due to its massive prize pool. Players will go through great lengths to qualify for the event, sometimes even defying the laws of StarCraft. With Maru invited to the Main Event already and Dark thoroughly bashing everyone along his way in the first qualifier, the 2nd qualifier seemed a lot more open. Many great names entered into the fray, but very quickly two behemoths emerged. Rogue and INnoVation dispatched of the competition. ByuN, TY, Solar, Zest and Dear were all mere stepping stones in the lead-up to this game. Ling-bane-muta vs bio-mine tug of war? Check! 50+ supply comebacks? Check! Late game turtling? No sir! This is without a doubt one of the best tournament games played in all of 2018.
This game was technically played in October, but I think everyone will be okay with a little cheating to include the best game of the Global Finals group stage. For the past few months, the TvP meta has been very punishing. Most of the time, one player takes an early advantage—either through trickery or defense of said trickery—and snowballs the game to an advantage and victory in relatively short time. A true back and forth is a rarity, as even games where neither player snowballs early on generally just end with a single big fight. This game was a breath of fresh air (SpeCial's TvP matches at the Global Finals in general were) of entertainment in what appeared a cursed match-up. And it was not to be expected either, as Classic had built up a solid reputation as the best Protoss vs Terran in the world throughout the year. Instead of falling in line with the all-or-nothing TvP's of the past few months, the two players delivered a thrilling match that stood out above the fray.
The Has Award For Games so Weird They Warp Reality
Not quite what I expected when I heard "main army fight".
Dear is a bit of a special player. Sometimes, he looks like the best Protoss in Korea. Sometimes, he looks like a total fool. Sometimes, he even manages to appear like both in the same game. In this Kung Fu Cup, Dear certainly had one of his better days. But that doesn't mean he didn't play some weird games. The victim in this particular instance is INnoVation. He thought this would be his run-of-the-mill game where he just pushes on 2 bases and then wins or doesn't. However, Dear has sabotaged the mill and suddenly both players find themselves struggling with essentially neither economy, nor army.
More recommended games from November 2018
We highlighted the most notable games above, but there were plenty of other great matches played in November. As the end of the year is approaching, we'd like everyone to start sharing their favorite games of the year with us and make suggestions for the year-end-list that will surely come at some point™.
It's on there, but Rogue vs Serral should've been a spotlight game. It's rare to see a lategame ZvZ of that level and there were just so many cool tactical plays on both sides throughout. Top 10 game of the year fo sho
I was browsing older best games of the month articles and some of the VODs weren't working anymore, because the links directed to twitch VODs that are long gone now. As someone who likes to browse past articles sometimes, I have a humble request to link to videos that will last longer.
On December 11 2018 10:55 11cc wrote: I was browsing older best games of the month articles and some of the VODs weren't working anymore, because the links directed to twitch VODs that are long gone now. As someone who likes to browse past articles sometimes, I have a humble request to link to videos that will last longer.
VOD service happens solely at the will of the tournament broadcaster, so it's not something the people who compile this list can predict. You should point out specific examples if you want help finding missing VODs tho.
On December 11 2018 10:55 11cc wrote: I was browsing older best games of the month articles and some of the VODs weren't working anymore, because the links directed to twitch VODs that are long gone now. As someone who likes to browse past articles sometimes, I have a humble request to link to videos that will last longer.
VOD service happens solely at the will of the tournament broadcaster, so it's not something the people who compile this list can predict. You should point out specific examples if you want help finding missing VODs tho.
I think it would be inefficient to point out specific VODs, I can give you examples but it seems like the rule is that youtube videos stay and twitch videos expire.
On December 11 2018 05:09 Pandain wrote: Serral-Rogue was one of the best games of all time for me. Up there with the likes of Taeja-Innovation in terms of raw skill demonstrated.
Also I recommend Serral-Dark game 1 as well from their series at blizzcon.
I don't think its close, Taeja vs Inno was very exciting because they were trading blows and no one had a clear advantage. Serral never looked endangered in that game, it reminded me of Byul trying to break Innovation's mech, 40 minute games with lots of action but we know from the start how they will end.
On December 11 2018 05:09 Pandain wrote: Serral-Rogue was one of the best games of all time for me. Up there with the likes of Taeja-Innovation in terms of raw skill demonstrated.
Also I recommend Serral-Dark game 1 as well from their series at blizzcon.
I don't think its close, Taeja vs Inno was very exciting because they were trading blows and no one had a clear advantage. Serral never looked endangered in that game, it reminded me of Byul trying to break Innovation's mech, 40 minute games with lots of action but we know from the start how they will end.
Not really imo. Rogue looked pretty damn good with his nydus plays and it looked to have done some serious damage to Serral. Serral also traded better but since Rogue had the better econ almost all game, they were still pretty even.
On December 11 2018 05:09 Pandain wrote: Serral-Rogue was one of the best games of all time for me. Up there with the likes of Taeja-Innovation in terms of raw skill demonstrated.
Also I recommend Serral-Dark game 1 as well from their series at blizzcon.
I don't think its close, Taeja vs Inno was very exciting because they were trading blows and no one had a clear advantage. Serral never looked endangered in that game, it reminded me of Byul trying to break Innovation's mech, 40 minute games with lots of action but we know from the start how they will end.
Not really imo. Rogue looked pretty damn good with his nydus plays and it looked to have done some serious damage to Serral. Serral also traded better but since Rogue had the better econ almost all game, they were still pretty even.
Serral smashed Rogue lol. Outplayed at every step.
Serral was just better at every aspect of ZvZ in that game. Rogue had the better economy, but at no point did I ever feel Serral was actually under real threat of getting broken. It was a super high level game, but I didn't get the impression that they were truly at the same level. Because of that, it didn't excite me quite as much and I opted to give a spot to SpeCial vs Classic from October instead.
That's not a bad thing though, November in my eyes was one of the strongest months of the year overall in terms of games. Quite a few of the games that were recommended would probably be featured in other months.
On December 11 2018 08:22 sneakyfox wrote: Best article series on TL returns! Very happy that it is still made.
This is where I point out that Waxangel is sitting on Best Games of September and has been for over a month. Which is a shame because I'm rather fond of the September edition.
On December 11 2018 10:55 11cc wrote: I was browsing older best games of the month articles and some of the VODs weren't working anymore, because the links directed to twitch VODs that are long gone now. As someone who likes to browse past articles sometimes, I have a humble request to link to videos that will last longer.
I try to use Youtube VODs where I can. They just don't exist for every tournament, sadly. Another complaint we got in the past was that we heavily featured Korean VODs from CranK's channel instead of English VODs. So for that reason I try to use English VODs, but if those are uploaded to Youtube at all, there's often so much delay between the day it's played and the day it's uploaded that it's simply too much work for me to backtrack. I also don't want to link to a 3rd party on Youtube who uploaded without permission from the original creator of the content.
On December 11 2018 08:22 sneakyfox wrote: Best article series on TL returns! Very happy that it is still made.
This is where I point out that Waxangel is sitting on Best Games of September and has been for over a month. Which is a shame because I'm rather fond of the September edition.
Well in that case, it's time to harass Wax to the point of legal repercussions until he puts it up.
On December 11 2018 10:55 11cc wrote: I was browsing older best games of the month articles and some of the VODs weren't working anymore, because the links directed to twitch VODs that are long gone now. As someone who likes to browse past articles sometimes, I have a humble request to link to videos that will last longer.
If you are missing a link, find the tournament here and trying the vod links. https://www.sc2links.com/
On December 11 2018 09:17 Charoisaur wrote: Rogue vs Inno, Serral vs Inno and Special vs Classic are contenders for best game ever imo.
November has been crazy
Having watched Special vs Classic again, I'd agree. This could be the best game ever. Serral vs Inno was pretty good but not one of the best games ever and regarding Rogue vs Inno, Ill have to watch this one again.
On December 11 2018 05:09 Pandain wrote: Serral-Rogue was one of the best games of all time for me. Up there with the likes of Taeja-Innovation in terms of raw skill demonstrated.
Also I recommend Serral-Dark game 1 as well from their series at blizzcon.
I agree. Serral Rogue was the most insane display of skill I've seen in 5 years of watching the game.
Some of my favorite Maru games off the top of my head this year.
Maru vs TY game 7 (GSL S3) Maru vs Serral game 1 (WESG) Maru vs Rogue (can't remmeber which game was best... IEM Katowice) Maru vs Zest game 4 (GSL S2)
I also really enjoyed some of his more clean stompy games but I guess they wouldn't qualify for this list.
Serral vs Rogue game 4. Maybe it wasn't as close as one would want for a game of the (insert timeframe), but I think that may have been one of the highest level, most consistently skillful displays I've seen in 6 or so years of watching SC2.
Serral vs Dark game 1 was similar in terms of sheer ridiculousness of what Serral was doing (he sent runbys to the third like 3 separate times while staying on top of production, while microing muta vs corruptor on the defense), but Dark didn't last nearly as long as Rogue.
On December 11 2018 09:17 Charoisaur wrote: Rogue vs Inno, Serral vs Inno and Special vs Classic are contenders for best game ever imo.
November has been crazy
Special v Classic was a good game, but I wouldn't rate it as the best game ever. Can't say exactly why(gut feeling). It just doesn't hit me as much. But it was awesome, no argument there.
I wish my memory was better so I could say why/what game surpasses it, but... >< (well, hype-wise it's any Maru v Protoss game when Maru attacks from 3 different angles at the same time, so the spotters can't handle it while he can, but those are usually stomps )
Currently I'm thinking about some Stats game(v Serral at GSL v World?) when he was defending and attacking at 2 separate places, can't remember the map name nor tournament....
Sorry, my biggest nemesis, my memory, strikes again.
On December 12 2018 16:24 Argonauta wrote: Problem with maru is either he dominates or he gets dominated by sOs... few examples this year when he went neck and neck with his opponents.
His matches vs Dark from earlier in the year were incredible
On December 11 2018 09:17 Charoisaur wrote: Rogue vs Inno, Serral vs Inno and Special vs Classic are contenders for best game ever imo.
November has been crazy
Special v Classic was a good game, but I wouldn't rate it as the best game ever. Can't say exactly why(gut feeling). It just doesn't hit me as much. But it was awesome, no argument there.
I wish my memory was better so I could say why/what game surpasses it, but... >< (well, hype-wise it's any Maru v Protoss game when Maru attacks from 3 different angles at the same time, so the spotters can't handle it while he can, but those are usually stomps )
Currently I'm thinking about some Stats game(v Serral at GSL v World?) when he was defending and attacking at 2 separate places, can't remember the map name nor tournament....
Sorry, my biggest nemesis, my memory, strikes again.
I think you thinking about Stats vs. Serral game 5 on 16 bit, it was a awesome game and also one my faves this year
On December 11 2018 09:17 Charoisaur wrote: Rogue vs Inno, Serral vs Inno and Special vs Classic are contenders for best game ever imo.
November has been crazy
Special v Classic was a good game, but I wouldn't rate it as the best game ever. Can't say exactly why(gut feeling). It just doesn't hit me as much. But it was awesome, no argument there.
I wish my memory was better so I could say why/what game surpasses it, but... >< (well, hype-wise it's any Maru v Protoss game when Maru attacks from 3 different angles at the same time, so the spotters can't handle it while he can, but those are usually stomps )
Currently I'm thinking about some Stats game(v Serral at GSL v World?) when he was defending and attacking at 2 separate places, can't remember the map name nor tournament....
Sorry, my biggest nemesis, my memory, strikes again.
Yeah I rewatched the games and somehow the games weren't quite as good as I remembered. The hype probably did its part. Except for Rogue vs Inno - I still stand by my statement that it's a contender for best game ever. Just imagine that game in a finals casted by Tastosis... I think then we'd all agree on it.
On December 12 2018 16:24 Argonauta wrote: Problem with maru is either he dominates or he gets dominated by sOs... few examples this year when he went neck and neck with his opponents.
His matches vs Dark from earlier in the year were incredible
Also vs soO at GSL vs the world, the game vs Classic on Acid plant and some of his games vs Rogue were awesome. Not to forget the BC game against TY and him styling on Serral with mass nukes
If I'd make a top 10 list for the year it would be like: 1. Rogue vs Inno 2. Serral vs Stats 3. Special vs Classic 4. Inno vs Serral 5. Maru vs soO GSL vs the world game 1 6. Maru vs Dark GSL ro4 g1 7. Dark vs Trap IEM Katowice game 2 8. Maru vs Classic GSL ro4 Acid plant 9. Maru vs Rogue IEM Katowice game 1 10. Maru vs TY Special mention: Maru vs Serral game 3
Lol. This is so shitty, Everyone knows that rouge vs serral was the best game of november, well maybe of all time. And its only on "recommended". That just shows how biased TL is.
On December 13 2018 04:38 Krootie wrote: Lol. This is so shitty, Everyone knows that rouge vs serral was the best game of november, well maybe of all time. And its only on "recommended". That just shows how biased TL is.
Yeah, it's biased. Toward my views of how I enjoy games, because I'm the only person actually working on this. And my views certainly don't represent TL. And my views are that Rogue vs Serral is not my favorite ZvZ of the year, not the best game of November, and certainly not close to the title of "best game of all time". Sorry if my views offend you, but it's really all this article series has to offer.
On December 13 2018 04:38 Krootie wrote: Lol. This is so shitty, Everyone knows that rouge vs serral was the best game of november, well maybe of all time. And its only on "recommended". That just shows how biased TL is.
Biased towards whom or what?
Also it's just a few (awesome) guys from the community making a list, they don't even represent TL.
On December 13 2018 04:38 Krootie wrote: Lol. This is so shitty, Everyone knows that rouge vs serral was the best game of november, well maybe of all time. And its only on "recommended". That just shows how biased TL is.
Biased towards whom or what?
Also it's just a few (awesome) guys from the community making a list, they don't even represent TL.
Yeah even if you disagree with the list this is the work of some awesome guys taking time out of their months to give us (in their opinion) the best games of the month. Awesome service for the community and I love reading these and watching the games I missed.
On December 13 2018 04:38 Krootie wrote: Lol. This is so shitty, Everyone knows that rouge vs serral was the best game of november, well maybe of all time. And its only on "recommended". That just shows how biased TL is.
On December 13 2018 04:38 Krootie wrote: Lol. This is so shitty, Everyone knows that rouge vs serral was the best game of november, well maybe of all time. And its only on "recommended". That just shows how biased TL is.
On December 12 2018 16:24 Argonauta wrote: Problem with maru is either he dominates or he gets dominated by sOs... few examples this year when he went neck and neck with his opponents.
His matches vs Dark from earlier in the year were incredible
I was also really fond of his iem match against sOs. He had the upper hand against sOs for most of the year.
Serral vs Inno is weird... because Inno could only win 2 games by proxy rax all in I don't think it is best game or probably I just got overwhelmed by how good Serral vs Taeja is
On December 14 2018 12:34 YamiRi wrote: Serral vs Inno is weird... because Inno could only win 2 games by proxy rax all in I don't think it is best game or probably I just got overwhelmed by how good Serral vs Taeja is
You are talking like they put the entire series up for evaluation, the only game on the list from the finals is the first game
EPT
Rogue vs 
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