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Settling the Score - Stats - Road to BlizzCon 2019

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Settling the Score - Stats - Road to BlizzCon 2019

Text byTL.net ESPORTS
October 19th, 2019 03:41 GMT

Road to BlizzCon 2019: Stats (#8 WCS Korea)

Settling the Score

by Wax

In our preview for Dark, we mentioned how Dark brought an outsize amount of attention to his 'rivalry' with Serral, making it all the more delightful for the foreign community on the multiple occasions when he got crushed. Stats is about as close as you're going to get to Dark's diametric opposite without his ID being "Light." He's always been a 'good manner' player in public, speaking respectfully and diplomatically about any future opponent. He doesn't have a gaudy streak of wins against foreigners or a foreigner-killer narrative—in the pre-Serral era, he was often the Korean player giving the foreign community their feel-good upset of a major tournament ([1], [2], [3]). Dark is the #1 seed from Korea, while Stats is lowest seeded Korean player at this Global Finals. Oh, and unlike Dark, Stats has actually won an offline best-of-five against the awakened Serral.

More info: 2019 World Championship Series Global Finals

That point is particularly important in this year's WCS Global Finals, where all of the group stage matches will be played as best-of-fives, and where Stats has drawn Serral as his very first opponent in the Ro16 group of death (Serral, Stats, Maru, TIME). It's the most cursed draw any player could have received, but Stats may be the one with the best chance of surviving it.

Since Serral's BlizzCon championship in 2018, only four players have managed to beat him in an offline BO5+: Reynor, INnoVation, soO, and Stats. Reynor, despite being the only Circuit player who can beat Serral with any regularity, has been surprisingly poor in mixed Circuit+Korea events. While both INnoVation (WESG) and soO (IEM Katowice) beat Serral on their way to $100,000+ first-place prizes earlier in the year, they seem to have checked out ever since (INnoVation didn't even make the Global Finals). One can imagine that Stats looks at his $10,000 check from ASUS ROG Summer and sighs, wondering where his $100,000 reward for beating Serral is. But if it's kept him hungry up until his upcoming fifth clash with Serral, then maybe it was all for the best.

*****

Stats' first ever match against Serral came at GSL vs. The World 2018, the landmark tournament that forced even the staunchest GSL elitists to realize "oh s***, this Serral kid is for real." After Serral bulldozed INnoVation and Dark with surprising ease in the earlier rounds, he was set to take on Stats in the final, Protoss leg of this GSL triathlon. Stats, who had won Super Tournament 1 and finished runner-up in Code S earlier that year, proved to be a much sterner test.



The series isn't necessarily instructive for the upcoming Global Finals match, given the current state of the PvZ match-up. But the 2018 meta gave us some entertainment that seems to be missing now, with Serral and Zergs preferring a swarming style where waves of Hydralisks and Banelings looked to overwhelm Protoss from all angles. While Stats got totally swamped in a couple of games, this style of play also produced the fantastic game five (TL.net's fourth best game of 2018, where Stats' defense was able to match and ultimate surpass Serral's fierce offense.

Stats also picked up two more wins through some evergreen, Protoss mainstays: a boatload of Chargelots and Archons attacking before the Zerg defenses were completely set, and map-specific cannon rush Serral did not have the answer for.

With the series tied 3-3, everything came to a rather poetic end on Dreamcatcher. Serral, playing against his reputation for standard play, cut Drones for a mid-game all-in attack with Roaches, Ravagers and Queens. Stats, often called the 'Shield of Aiur,' would have been Korea's #1 pick to sniff out and halt this attack. Only, Korea's Aegis ended up cracking under the pressure, ushering in the age of Serral.

What ensued was one of the most hyped pre-BlizzCon build-ups ever. Circuit fans were excited that they actually had a player who was among the title favorites, while Korean fans wondered who might restore the GSL's honor. Maru seemed to be the obvious candidate, mirroring Serral with an unprecedented Code S sweep on the year. But by the time of the finals, it was Stats who had once more earned the privilege—or bore the cross—of defending his country's pride.



Yet, even with the double stakes of getting vengeance for himself and his country, the rematch ended in another loss for Stats. Again, the series had a few period-specific quirks. Swarm Hosts played a part, but without the current-edition Nydus Worms, Serral opted to use them as a somewhat clumsy, immobile artillery. Stats brought out two-Stargate Phoenixes as his 'surprise' build for the series, using them to mixed effect (interestingly, both Trap and herO tried to pull this strat out in recent matches against Rogue…).

The most portentous moment of the series came in the closing game six, where we got a glimpse of PvZ's future. Even though Serral did not rely heavily on Infestors, the Finnish Phenom deployed a Brood Lord-Viper-Corruptor-mass Spore Crawler comp that felt conceptually similar to today's late game armies.

Eight months and one major design patch later, the two players would finally face again in the group stage of HomeStory Cup 19. While Stats got his first win on the books with a clean 2-0 victory (fending off a Roach-Ravager all-in in game one and holding off Nydus-Swarm Host tactics in game two), it ultimately felt like a footnote when Serral ended up going on to win the entire tournament while Stats finished in the top six after losing to soO.

No, Stats' true revenge would come later, almost a year to the date from his loss to Serral at GSL vs. The World 2018.

Serral's success inspired the return of Finland's Assembly Summer as a full-fledged major tournament on the WCS Circuit, breaking its lengthy spell as a smaller, local LAN. Though not initially invited, Stats earned a belated invitation to Serral's homecoming party when SpeCial forfeited at the last minute. In retrospect, one can see why Stats wasn't invited in the initial round—no one likes a party-crasher.



Stats' 3-2 victory over Serral in the semifinals sucked the air out of the Helsinki arena, but it breathed new life into the rivalry and into the Global Finals race.

While one must be cautious not to look too deeply into a months old series, Stats' game two loss seems like it's still resonating months later. Having not faced Serral in a late-game situation since the post-BlizzCon design patch, Stats laid down the challenge on Acropolis. Serral accepted, and what ensued was a sad, shield-your-kids'-eyes, late-game beatdown from Zerg that perfectly encapsulated what's wrong with StarCraft II. I imagine Serral's more regular victims on the WCS Circuit were watching that match and thinking "I knew this was gonna happen, and I feel stupid for thinking Stats was going to make a difference."

However, the loss gave Stats the important realization that he couldn't dare to take games late against a Zerg of Serral's caliber. He pivoted into a 1 Phoenix-3 Oracle opener for the next three games, and committed hard to getting enough economic damage done to set up a finishing blow. Stats' Oracle micro had been noticeably sloppy in his prior series against Serral from 2018, but this time around he was able to do significant damage three games in a row, allowing him to complete a reverse sweep.

In retrospect, Stats' game two against Serral is paralleled by other, come-to-Jesus moments experienced by top players in Korea. A month later in Code S, Maru would admit that he had practiced a lot of late-game mech TvZ, but instantly NOPED out of that plan after a particularly brutal loss to Solar on Thunderbird. Not surprisingly, the brainy Classic was the player who opted out of late-game PvZ the earliest, having learned his lesson during a Code S match against Rogue in March.

On Serral's end, he may have had his own learning moment at Assembly as well. He blew a lead against TIME by trying to close a game out with his initial Hive-tech army, instead of playing for a slower, more methodical victory over time. But Serral might feel enticed when he sees Dark and Rogue continue to pick up 'free' wins with their early-mid game shenanigans in the GSL, and one has to wonder how he will balance out his mix of strategies at the Global Finals.

The 1 Phoenix-3 Oracle build and its variants have long since been 'figured out,' even if Stats still pulls it out every now and then. But it won't unlock Serral's Queen-Spore defenses as easily as it did before, and the pressure is on Stats to craft new openers that will gain him significant early game advantages (cannon-rushes seem to be becoming a regular feature in his series, much like a Maru proxy-rax). This kind of situation may not make for the most entertaining StarCraft II in terms of in-game action, but it will be an intriguing strategic battle to watch unfold.

It might seem a bit odd to focus so much on this one match-up for Stats when he's coming into the tournament as the #8 seed for good reason. He was extremely inconsistent on the year, suffering Ro32 elimination in the Code S of the year, finishing runner-up at IEM Katowice immediately after, and then losing in the Ro16 of both proceeding Code S tournaments. But what else are we to do when the conversation around international StarCraft II has become so Serral-centric? Everyone knows the road to the title goes through Serral. The main reason fans and progamers alike rate Stats so highly in spite of his poor Code S showings is precisely because he's the last Protoss player to beat Serral in a meaningful BO5.

Moreover, for once, the dream-match is actually guaranteed. As of now, Stats and Serral are perfectly tied in at 2-2 in matches and 10-10 in games. Should Stats win once at the Global Finals, he'll take the lead in this rivalry. And if it so happens that they meet again later in the tournament, and Stats wins once more... Well, it would be a fitting for the player who began the age of Serral to bring it to an end.




Road to BlizzCon 2019

WCS Circuit
Serral - Reynor - Neeb - SpeCial - TIME - HeroMarine - Elazer - ShoWTimE

WCS Korea
Dark - Trap - Classic - Maru - soO - Rogue - herO - Stats



Credits and acknowledgements

Writer: Wax
Images: Jussi Jääskeläinen
Facebook Twitter Reddit
TL+ Member
ZigguratOfUr
Profile Blog Joined April 2012
Iraq16955 Posts
October 19 2019 03:53 GMT
#2
On paper it looks like a magnificent match-up. In practice Stats might cannon rush Serral.
yht9657
Profile Joined December 2016
1810 Posts
October 19 2019 03:59 GMT
#3
At this rate we won't need a Serral write-up when he's got more than all the other 15 players combined.
Waxangel
Profile Blog Joined September 2002
United States33377 Posts
October 19 2019 04:07 GMT
#4
On October 19 2019 12:53 ZigguratOfUr wrote:
On paper it looks like a magnificent match-up. In practice Stats might cannon rush Serral.


On paper it looks terrible, but the result will be funny to talk about either way
AdministratorHey HP can you redo everything youve ever done because i have a small complaint?
genghiswolve
Profile Joined January 2016
Germany101 Posts
October 19 2019 04:08 GMT
#5
"However, the loss gave Serral the important realization that he couldn't dare to take games late against a Zerg of Serral's caliber."

First Serral should be Stats

Very nice writing, but a bit too Serral centric, IMO
Anc13nt
Profile Blog Joined October 2017
1557 Posts
October 19 2019 04:17 GMT
#6
Every Bo5+ series between Stats and Serral has been really good. Really looking forward to Blizzcon.
RealityTheGreat
Profile Joined January 2018
China564 Posts
Last Edited: 2019-10-19 09:29:40
October 19 2019 04:44 GMT
#7
STATS BOYS
[image loading]
I will protect Stats' smile!
Betrayed, forgotten, abandoned.
alosteros
Profile Joined July 2019
3 Posts
October 19 2019 05:01 GMT
#8
stats fighting
win for protoss
UnLarva
Profile Joined March 2019
458 Posts
Last Edited: 2019-10-19 05:43:57
October 19 2019 05:38 GMT
#9
I red title first as "Setting the Chore" wondering what's it all about. After reading the article, I asked by whom until noticing a need to make an upgrade to my reading comprehensions.

Certain Serral-centricity is unavoidable at the top end player introductions, but I think that Stats may me the biggest bottle neck and "chore" to surpass for Serral on the road in Blizzcon. I mean, seriously.

Luckily losing to Stats would hurt lot less a dedicated Serral -fanboi, than other options there in the group as he is very likeable guy and The real rivalry on the Global level (contra Reynor in Foreign scene).

Good luck!
Part-time Serralogist
HeroSandro
Profile Joined July 2019
530 Posts
Last Edited: 2019-10-19 06:11:37
October 19 2019 06:11 GMT
#10
Serral and Stats are maybe two of my favourite players. Usually not a fan of protoss players, but Stats is just awesome
Ronin2011
Profile Joined November 2012
Greece30 Posts
October 19 2019 07:21 GMT
#11
On October 19 2019 12:53 ZigguratOfUr wrote:
On paper it looks like a magnificent match-up. In practice Stats might cannon rush Serral.


How many of the games Stats won, were cannon rushes? Asking for a friend.
The time of Reckoning has come!
RatzBarcode
Profile Joined December 2013
United States98 Posts
October 19 2019 09:59 GMT
#12
They have really good games because the stakes are abnormally high most times (they're not meeting in GSL ro32s). they've faced each other a lot in finals.

that having been said, their series are usually back and forth and not sloppy.

Even though Stats is the 8 seed, I gotta see him as the 3rd or 4th biggest threat to win this thing. Serral obv, Dark even though he probably loses to Serral if they meet, maybe motivated last tournament Classic? I want to say Maru is going to be booted by serral and stats
onPHYRE
Profile Joined October 2010
Bulgaria918 Posts
October 19 2019 12:14 GMT
#13
On October 19 2019 18:59 RatzBarcode wrote:
They have really good games because the stakes are abnormally high most times (they're not meeting in GSL ro32s). they've faced each other a lot in finals.

that having been said, their series are usually back and forth and not sloppy.

Even though Stats is the 8 seed, I gotta see him as the 3rd or 4th biggest threat to win this thing. Serral obv, Dark even though he probably loses to Serral if they meet, maybe motivated last tournament Classic? I want to say Maru is going to be booted by serral and stats


I disagree strongly that meeting in finals/higher stakes produce better games. In fact GSL finals are famous for producing lackluster series. Obviously if the stakes are super low you are less likely to get players best effort - but my point stands.

I do agree with the last paragraph however. Stats is certainly one of the players I could see winning the whole thing despite being an 8 seed.
Livin' this life like it was written.
Akio
Profile Blog Joined January 2019
Finland1838 Posts
October 19 2019 15:14 GMT
#14
Nice write up. I want Stats to go far but being as he's stuck in the group of death I'm a little worried. With that being said though, I think there is a good chance he wins the whole group.
Mine gas, build tanks.
sneakyfox
Profile Joined January 2017
8216 Posts
October 20 2019 20:30 GMT
#15
On October 19 2019 12:41 TL.net ESPORTS wrote:
But what else are we to do when the conversation around international StarCraft II has become so Serral-centric? Everyone knows the road to the title goes through Serral.


Well, TL.net content is certainly part of shaping that conversation so you can also make some choices in that regard. I don't think that you are forced to make Serral the angle of all articles (e.g. soO's preview manages to do very well without it), although he is of course relevance since he is Stats's opening match. But there are many other great players in the tournament, and the other two big favourites, Dark and Rogue, are as good if not better in some of the matchups.

Nevertheless, thanks for the article! And come on Statsuuuuu!!


[image loading]
"I saw what sneakyfox wrote on TL.net and it made me furious" - PartinG
WombaT
Profile Blog Joined May 2010
Northern Ireland25231 Posts
October 20 2019 20:42 GMT
#16
Great write up, as have been all these previews.
was already pumped for Blizzcon obviously but these are priming me even more.

Good work folks
'You'll always be the cuddly marsupial of my heart, despite the inherent flaws of your ancestry' - Squat
Argonauta
Profile Joined July 2016
Spain4937 Posts
October 21 2019 10:11 GMT
#17
39 times the word Serral appears in the article whereas the word Stats appears 38 times. Wohoooo
Rogue | Maru | Scarlett | Trap
TL+ Member
Waxangel
Profile Blog Joined September 2002
United States33377 Posts
October 21 2019 10:18 GMT
#18
On October 21 2019 19:11 Argonauta wrote:
39 times the word Serral appears in the article whereas the word Stats appears 38 times. Wohoooo


what about pronouns!
AdministratorHey HP can you redo everything youve ever done because i have a small complaint?
Argonauta
Profile Joined July 2016
Spain4937 Posts
October 21 2019 10:32 GMT
#19
On October 21 2019 19:18 Waxangel wrote:
Show nested quote +
On October 21 2019 19:11 Argonauta wrote:
39 times the word Serral appears in the article whereas the word Stats appears 38 times. Wohoooo


what about pronouns!


Nice comeback! but it is still revealing. Anyway it was a good read Wax
Rogue | Maru | Scarlett | Trap
TL+ Member
midhigh
Profile Joined July 2018
49 Posts
Last Edited: 2019-10-22 10:57:57
October 22 2019 10:56 GMT
#20
To be honest this is one of the most disappointing writing from all. Stats is one of the nicest, likable and a really humble person in SC2 history, and happens to be one of the very best. And you can only focus on Serral. Dark brought it to himself with his trash talk, Maru brought it on himself by letting us down every f***n' time, and I get it, basically Stats brought it on himself by getting beaten by Serral in the biggest game(s) of last year. But this article should have been about Stats despite the fact Serral is his first opponent. Even when he finally manages to beat Serral, and winning a big tournament, this article makes it look like an irrelevant one, since "that strategy has been solved".

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