Road to BlizzCon 2019: Classic (#3 WCS Korea)

Into the Sunset

by Orlok and Wax

If nothing else, 2019 was a year full of captivating stories. soO actually managed to win something big. Koreans fought back against Serral. Reynor challenged for the Circuit throne. Maru one-upped the impossible and won a fourth consecutive Code S championship. And somehow, the amid all these grand tales, it feels like there's one that's resonated with fans on a deeper emotional level.


For Classic, the past two years have been a quiet rebuild. Once an all-around excellent player—if someone what generic—he's re-tailored his game to be more cerebral as it's become harder to compete in terms of straight-up mechanics.

Starting his StarCraft II career as a virtually unknown Terran player on STX Soul, Classic was hardly beloved at first. He switched to Protoss during the height of the Blink-Stalker terror in Heart of the Swarm—it will suffice to say that some fans were 'displeased' with his seemingly overnight success. After helping STX Soul to a Proleague title in 2013, strong campaigns in 2014 and 2015 resulted in GSL, SSL, and IEM championships. That kind of sustained success helped win over the masses, or at least assuaged their suspicions that he was an undeserving meta-abuser. Two years of championship purgatory followed after that, with Classic remaining a very good if not particularly exceptional player. He continued to be a Proleague workhorse for his new team SKT following the departure of PartinG and Rain, and in individual competition he achieved several top four finishes in various tournaments. But ultimately, he was became overshadowed by the more impactful players of early LotV such as INnoVation, Dark, and Stats.

One would think SKT's #1 Protoss option would have enjoyed a bit more of the limelight, but it’s hard to build a lasting following when your most notable trait is "good at StarCraft" but not "BEST at StarCraft." Also, the most memorable players have instantly definable traits that often go beyond winning or losing the game. sOs, despite being almost irrelevant in 2019, is still feared for having the craftiest and most demented strategic mind in StarCraft II, all thanks to legendary victories over Jaedong and herO in years prior. ByuN is just as well-known for wearing his emotions on his sleeve as he is for his superlative Reaper micro. On the opposite side of the coin, INnoVation's comically stoic demeanor has become just as defining a trait as his unparalleled macro.

Classic, on the other hand, didn't quite lean toward any extremes, whether it was as a public figure or in-game player. His play during his prime was technically and theoretically sound, possessing a strong baseline macro game and mixing in an almost scientifically calculated ratio of cheeses to keep opponents honest. Quietly, he's been one of the most consistent players in StarCraft II, trudging along and adapting to every patch without experiencing any of the massive slumps we sometimes see from other former champions. Classic's multiple titles and overall competitive resume place him as a top ten all-time Protoss player or so. Some of the most important moments of the KeSPA era belong to him—he won the championship-clinching map in not one, but TWO Proleague finals. Yet, as time has passed and tournaments have faded out of existence, his deeds have ended up becoming obscure historic details, only talked about by the most obsessive fans on StarCraft II community sites.



In 2019, all it took for us to love Classic was a sense of imminent loss and doom. We're all familiar with the wave of terror that washed over the StarCraft II community after the cancellation of the Heroes of the Storm esports circuit and the delayed announcement of WCS 2019. As we tuned in to watch the first few months of StarCraft II competition in 2019, Classic somehow arrived in the perfect place to absorb both our fears and our hopes. In February, it was announced he had been unable to secure permission to travel to IEM Katowice, a result of his old age and impending military service. That alone felt like a stinging injustice, with Classic losing his chance to avenge his runner-up finish at the previous year's tournament. But it also precluded his ability to participate at the WCS Global Finals, the single biggest competition of the entire year.

Instantly, Classic became a symbol for StarCraft II itself. He was the war-ravaged veteran, marching on nobly despite his advanced age (at 27, the fourth oldest Code S player after MC, DRG, and Bomber in 2019). And due to circumstances wholly outside of his control, he was in danger of having everything taken away from him

It's hard to tell if Classic's playstyle really changed much in 2019, or if we started paying a lot closer attention. Classic's run through the first season of Code S in 2019 saw him go up against Rogue in the quarterfinals and then Dark in the semis—two absolutely brutal match-ups considering Classic's PvZ form and his historic head-to-head record against the pair. In a time of such dire need, Classic looked to his one remaining bastion of hope: Protoss bulls***. Wracking his brain to its limit, Classic pulled out nearly twelve unique build orders over the course of twelve games, barely scratching out full set victories against both Rogue and Dark. Unfortunately, what awaited Classic in the finals was an even more difficult challenge: Maru attempting to win his fourth consecutive championship. Again, Classic looked to trickery to try and steal a victory. But this time around, neither proxied Stalker nor Tempest was enough to overcome the odds, as Maru brought an end to Classic's run in a 4-2 final.

Most Protoss players would have been condemned for making a finals run on the back of 'underhanded' tactics such as proxies and all-ins. But in Classic's case, both his play and circumstances were so extraordinary that the fans still had his back. The universe had conspired to ruin Classic, and Classic, bleeding out on his knees, still managed to slap the universe in the face.



Afterward, Classic went on to win Super Tournament 1, and also place top-four in Code S Season 2 and GSL vs. The World. None of those subsequent runs featured as extreme strategic approaches as Code S Season 1, but the image of Classic as the GSL's buildsmith par excellence has stuck. Likewise, even if Classic's last-minute approval for overseas travel has lightened the aura of tragedy, he remains the old soldier we can't help but feel a connection to. It's like he's become the MMA of 2014 and the sOs of 2015, combined into one person (the enemy, again, seems to be life).

After a year of talking about how Classic's career is coming to a close, we've finally arrived at the end. He's revving for one last ride, his chance to catch one last ray of glory. And, maybe, so are we.