EPT
StarCraft II's most coveted prize is returning to its spiritual home.
Dark defeated Italy's Reynor 4-1 in the grand final of the 2019 WCS Global Finals, restoring both Korea's and his own personal honor as the dominant force in StarCraft II.
The arduous trial of Dark and Korean StarCraft began one year ago at the 2018 Global Finals. Serral, the transcendent Zerg player from Finland, ended decades of Korean dominance in StarCraft and became the first so-called 'foreigner' to win the Global Championship. Along the way, he defeated virtually all of Korea's best (except Maru, through no fault for Serral's), including its most celebrated Zerg player in Dark.
In 2019, Korea waged war against Serral on battlefields all across the world, regaining shreds of its pride with triumphs at WESG, IEM Katowice, and even Finland's Assembly Summer. But Serral seemed to regain his strength at the perfect time, crushing all challengers at August's GSL. vs The World—the last major international before the Global Finals. He headed into the Global Finals as the heavy favorite to win, with odds barely favoring the field of 15 other players against him.
Meanwhile, Dark spent 2019 barely making any positive contribution to Korea's war effort—he was swept by Serral at WESG, and even shrunk in stature after losing to Poland's Elazer at GSL vs. The World. Domestically, he did reach an important career milestone by winning his first Code S title in Season 2. But the trophy that had once been his white whale had lost some of its luster, with Dark admitting it had only made him a 'little bit' happy in an interview before the Global Finals. As TL.net noted in its preview for Dark, the true value of the Code S trophy lay in its ability to grant the bearer 'best in the world' status—Dark, more than anyone, seemed to realize that power had been transferred to another trophy.
Entering the 2019 Global Finals as Korea's #1 seed, Dark got off to a shaky start in the round-of-sixteen. Despite advancing in first place from group A with victories over ShoWTimE and soO, both series were tight 3-2's. His series against ShoWTimE was particularly worrisome, as he was one Nydus-scout away from suffering an opening round upset.
The Dark of the playoffs looked totally different—this was the return of the 2016 Dark that dominated his opponents on his way to the WCS grand finals. Maru, the world's greatest Terran, was brutalized in a 3-0 quarterfinal sweep. Classic, a frequent nemesis of Dark's, suffered the same fate in the semis. And in the grand finals, Serral... did not await.
There would be no 100% scripted storybook triumph for Dark, as Serral had reached the end a different, long-term story arc. A year ago at WCS Montreal 2018, Serral had denied the ascendant Reynor a spot at the Global Finals. Reynor, then already capable of putting Serral on the ropes, had been on the verge of defeating Serral in the finals. But a throw of incalculable magnitude ensued for Reynor, gifting Serral his perfect, four-of-four Circuit Grand Slam on the year. At BlizzCon 2019, the debt was finally repaid: with Serral and Reynor tied 2-2 in the semifinals, Serral gave up a similarly staggering late-game lead to gift his young rival a spot in the grand finals (Ultralisks, as often is the case, proved to be the culprit).
Still, Reynor was more than a suitable stand-in for Dark's demons (even if Dark later expressed his disappointment in not being able to prove himself against Serral directly). High profile defeats to Serral, Rogue, and Elazer had singled out ZvZ as Dark's critical weakness—who better to take advantage of such a flaw than the infamous Serral-killer himself?
But in the grand finals, it became apparently that Dark's multiple vows to improve his ZvZ had not been made in vain. Mutalisks secured Dark his first win of the best-of-seven finals, with Dark ruthlessly snowballing his lead after a single well-timed strike before Reynor's defenses were set. Game two on Thunderbird saw Dark pull out an unorthodox strategy he had shown in the GSL, securing three bases with roaches and spine crawlers before transitioning into Nydus-Swarm Host. Reynor seemed well-prepared for the strategy, diligently shutting down Nydus Worms and sealing Dark into his three bases. But a transition into Lurker tech from Dark ended up being his key to victory, with a single undetected Nydus into the main allowing him to tear Reynor apart from the inside out.
With the 2-0 lead, Dark decided it was time to throw in his signature extreme-aggression. But if Reynor was shaken by his early deficit, it did not show, as he deflected a 12-pool, drone-militia all-in from Dark with ease to recover a point in the series.
Headed into game four on Disco Bloodbath, Dark opted for a mutalisk-based approach once more. While not dealing as much damage as in game one—and facing an unusual anti-building threat from Reynor's corruptors—Dark built enough of an advantage to transition into a powerful lurker-based force to take another game. After Dark had been relentlessly mocked by the Korean community due to a 2018 Serral interview that frankly (and correctly) assessed him as someone who could be easily defeated 'with like 10 lurkers', it was an oddly redemptive performance.
After three wins that had confirmed his mid-to-late game abilities in ZvZ, Dark closed out the series in more 'typical' fashion. Reynor—perhaps finally shaken by the long hours and weight of the moment—offered up a poor defense against Dark's probing speedlings and banelings. A successful hunt of 15 odd drones was enough for for Dark to pull the trigger on a nydus-roach attack, which was in turn enough to extract the final surrender from Reynor.
With the fourth and final GG in hand, Dark strode to center stage to lift the trophy that had eluded him three years ago. After lifting the trophy up high, Dark proceeded to give it that often awkward GSL kiss. And while it felt odd for a moment, the gesture was also quite fitting. The trophy is going back to Korea for a year—it might as well get used to Korean customs.
*****
The Future is Now
Even if Reynor is disappointed for losing the grand finals, one has to look at his entire WCS 2019 campaign and think it was an enormous success. In terms of inter-Circuit play, he was undeniably, unequivocally fantastic: He won two Circuit championships, defeated Serral in two Circuit finals, and then defeated Serral in the semifinals of the biggest tournament of the year.
But, perhaps more importantly (at least to the Korean-elitist portion of the TL.net readership), Reynor ended the year by dispelling much of the doubt surrounding his ability to perform in international events. It was frankly bizarre that Reynor was so poor at IEM Katowice, the first international major of the year, when he had reached the Code S Ro16 in 2018. This international jinx seemed to follow him throughout the year, with disappointing showings at HomeStory Cup, Assembly Summer, and GSL vs. The World.
But at the 2019 Global Finals, Reynor fully lived up to the expectations of being Serral's rival, defeating herO and Trap 3-2, defeating HeroMarine 3-0, and taking another notable victory against Serral. No, it's way too early to anoint him as Serral 2.0. But he's definitely on track to become one of the best foreign players of all time.
Classic: A realistically happy ending
The perfect ending for Classic's career would have been a BlizzCon trophy in his final tournament. But, given that we live in reality and not some ridiculous fan-fiction fever-dream (only Serral in 2018 got to do that), Classic got about as good a send-off as one could reasonably expect.
After earning one last return to the main stage at BlizzCon, he earned everyone's adulation and respect by defeating Rogue in the most stylish victory of the tournament. In game five, with everything on the line, Classic executed a blink-upgraded Dark Templar strategy that straddled the line between brilliance and insanity. We'd say it was insane if it came from Has, but we lean on the side of brilliance here because it came from as successful a player as Classic. Also, it was brilliant because it actually worked.
His other two winning strategies—a cannon rush and fake-stargate into proxy-adept all-in—learned more toward being your typical, filthy Protoss cheeses. But that's the mysterious, wonderful nature of cheese: it's something everyone will cheer for under specific circumstances. The general antipathy toward Zerg and sympathy for Classic's semi-forced retirement united everyone in thinking 'Sir, please cheese that Zerg to f***ing death.'
Oddly enough, the let-down wasn't so bad when Classic was swept by Dark in the next round. The excuses had been baked into the tournament for months, and seemed rather valid upon review: ZvP was a broken match-up, and the format of the tournament hurt brainy, strategic players like Classic. The man did the best he could given the circumstances, and gave us some great entertainment in the process. From the perspective of the fans, there's nothing more they could have asked for.
Global Playoffs: Partial Match Recaps
Courtesy of Ziggy and sometimes Wax
Quarterfinal 1: Serral vs soO
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Game 1
Korean juggernaut soO finds himself in dire straits on Disco Bloodbath as his ploy to blindside reigning World Champion Serral with 2 Hatch Muta is foiled by a single Ling slipping past the defenses. soO buys himself sufficient time with Lurker aggression to secure a quick fourth, effectively running away with a slight eco advantage. Serral, despite having a leg up on his Korean adversary in terms of upgrades, finds himself having to fend off attacks on multiple fronts, as soO ccommits to a number of Nydus Worms. Failing to find a chink in Serral's armour, the Korean is caught off guard with a counter-Nydus in his main base. The Fin clears out soO's main, sniping the Hive and other crucial tech structures. Despite a much more basic Hydra / Lurker composition with no Viper support, soO deals critical economic damage, taking down Serral's fifth and third. Serral, falling behind in eco, pulls the trigger, pushing out across the map with superior 3/2 upgrades, as soO tries to hold on with no Vipers of his own. The Korean is forced to commit to defend his third, buckling under the deadly Blinding Cloud / Lurker composition.
Game 2
A passive early-game on Acropolis launches both players into textbook 3 base Roach on Roach action. Serral switches things up with a Spire, while soO commits to Nydus play. The Spire is cancelled, as the World Champion realises there's trouble brewing. As desperation mounts, soO tries to brute force his way through Serral's defences at the third, running headfirst into a wall. Although Serral maxes out with superior upgrades, soO manages to hold on for a surprisingly long time. Despite a much more complex army composition, Serral struggles to deal with soO's tactical maneuvres. Serral drives a wedge inbetween soO's expansions as the Korean taps out without taking the final fight.
Game 3
Game three puts both players' micro to the test as Ling / Bane aggression is all the rage on Ephemeron. With neither Serral nor soO yielding for nearly 8 minutes, the game progresses into standard Roach vs Roach with a sprinkling of Korean Nydus play. soO stays true to his aggressive tendencies as Serral once again focuses on quicker tech. For the first time in the series, soO adds Vipers to his own composition. Death by papercuts becomes the name of the game as soO crumbles under Serral's multi-pronged harrassment. As the Korean's 5k mineral bank gets depleted, soO desperately looks to pick a favourable fight. soO's botched army movement sees him give up a crucial defensive position as Serral clenches the 29 minute game and moves on to the semis with a 3:0.
Korean juggernaut soO finds himself in dire straits on Disco Bloodbath as his ploy to blindside reigning World Champion Serral with 2 Hatch Muta is foiled by a single Ling slipping past the defenses. soO buys himself sufficient time with Lurker aggression to secure a quick fourth, effectively running away with a slight eco advantage. Serral, despite having a leg up on his Korean adversary in terms of upgrades, finds himself having to fend off attacks on multiple fronts, as soO ccommits to a number of Nydus Worms. Failing to find a chink in Serral's armour, the Korean is caught off guard with a counter-Nydus in his main base. The Fin clears out soO's main, sniping the Hive and other crucial tech structures. Despite a much more basic Hydra / Lurker composition with no Viper support, soO deals critical economic damage, taking down Serral's fifth and third. Serral, falling behind in eco, pulls the trigger, pushing out across the map with superior 3/2 upgrades, as soO tries to hold on with no Vipers of his own. The Korean is forced to commit to defend his third, buckling under the deadly Blinding Cloud / Lurker composition.
Game 2
A passive early-game on Acropolis launches both players into textbook 3 base Roach on Roach action. Serral switches things up with a Spire, while soO commits to Nydus play. The Spire is cancelled, as the World Champion realises there's trouble brewing. As desperation mounts, soO tries to brute force his way through Serral's defences at the third, running headfirst into a wall. Although Serral maxes out with superior upgrades, soO manages to hold on for a surprisingly long time. Despite a much more complex army composition, Serral struggles to deal with soO's tactical maneuvres. Serral drives a wedge inbetween soO's expansions as the Korean taps out without taking the final fight.
Game 3
Game three puts both players' micro to the test as Ling / Bane aggression is all the rage on Ephemeron. With neither Serral nor soO yielding for nearly 8 minutes, the game progresses into standard Roach vs Roach with a sprinkling of Korean Nydus play. soO stays true to his aggressive tendencies as Serral once again focuses on quicker tech. For the first time in the series, soO adds Vipers to his own composition. Death by papercuts becomes the name of the game as soO crumbles under Serral's multi-pronged harrassment. As the Korean's 5k mineral bank gets depleted, soO desperately looks to pick a favourable fight. soO's botched army movement sees him give up a crucial defensive position as Serral clenches the 29 minute game and moves on to the semis with a 3:0.
Quarterfinal 2: Reynor vs Trap
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Game 1
In a game of brawn vs brawn, Reynor proved to be far more muscly than Trap by overrunning his Immortal-Archon-Chargelot with even more Banelings, Roaches, and Ravagers.
Game 2
Trap didn't manage to kill Reynor before BL-Infestor came out and died, despite making it seem deceptively close. Trap pulled off a bizarre tactical recall on top Reynor's Brood Lords (thanks to his mothership getting abducted), which actually seemed like an effective move for about 5 seconds before all of his units died.
Game 3
Trap went for some Stats-style Oracle-Adept harass and then won with an immortal-sentry all-in against a roachless Reynor.
Game 4
Trap's trusted Stargate is the Korean's strategy of choice on Winter's Gate as Reynor invests in Pneumatised Carapace that could have possibly saved his life on Disco Bloodbath. The Italian Stallion manages to sneak an Overlord into Trap's base, however, spotting the Korean's Resonating Glaive follow-up and countering it with ease. Wary of the possible Soul Train-esque attack, Reynor invests in a sizeable Roach / Ling force before taking his fourth. A positioning blunder gives Reynor a seemingly perfect surround which quickly turns south for the Italian. Trap manages to maintain a healthy Archon / Immortal composition and turns the game around to tie up the series.
Game 5
If it ain't broke... Trap's Stargate into Immortal / Sentry on 3 bases gets pushed to the limit as Reynor maxes out on Roach / Swarm Host. The game of whack-a-mole sees Trap miss a number of crucial runbys, giving the Italian free reign of World of Sleepers. Trap's hail mary +2 timing fails to make up for two lost Nexi as Reynor secures a spot in the semi-finals.
In a game of brawn vs brawn, Reynor proved to be far more muscly than Trap by overrunning his Immortal-Archon-Chargelot with even more Banelings, Roaches, and Ravagers.
Game 2
Trap didn't manage to kill Reynor before BL-Infestor came out and died, despite making it seem deceptively close. Trap pulled off a bizarre tactical recall on top Reynor's Brood Lords (thanks to his mothership getting abducted), which actually seemed like an effective move for about 5 seconds before all of his units died.
Game 3
Trap went for some Stats-style Oracle-Adept harass and then won with an immortal-sentry all-in against a roachless Reynor.
Game 4
Trap's trusted Stargate is the Korean's strategy of choice on Winter's Gate as Reynor invests in Pneumatised Carapace that could have possibly saved his life on Disco Bloodbath. The Italian Stallion manages to sneak an Overlord into Trap's base, however, spotting the Korean's Resonating Glaive follow-up and countering it with ease. Wary of the possible Soul Train-esque attack, Reynor invests in a sizeable Roach / Ling force before taking his fourth. A positioning blunder gives Reynor a seemingly perfect surround which quickly turns south for the Italian. Trap manages to maintain a healthy Archon / Immortal composition and turns the game around to tie up the series.
Game 5
If it ain't broke... Trap's Stargate into Immortal / Sentry on 3 bases gets pushed to the limit as Reynor maxes out on Roach / Swarm Host. The game of whack-a-mole sees Trap miss a number of crucial runbys, giving the Italian free reign of World of Sleepers. Trap's hail mary +2 timing fails to make up for two lost Nexi as Reynor secures a spot in the semi-finals.
Quarterfinal 3: Rogue vs Classic
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Game 1
Classic fails to inflict any damage with his opening Stargate and gets walled in on Thunderbird as his Archon drop gets stopped in its tracks. GSL Code S champion Rogue closes the game out with Nydus Swarm Host paired with mass Roach / Ling, making a mockery of Classic's pedigree.
Game 2
Game two on Acropolis gets down and dirty as the former SKT Protoss proxies a Twilight Council to research Resonating Glaives, while faking a double Stargate Phoenix follow-up in the main base. Rogue doesn't take the bait, however, as a stray ling runs over the proxy location. Things quickly fall apart, however, as the Zerg isn't ready to take on the aggression and crumbles under pressure.
Game 3
Recognising the key to victory likely lies in ending the games in quick fashion, Classic chooses to follow up his Stargate opening with a Resonating Glaives all-in attack with the support of Immortals, Sentries, and a Warp Prism. The Mkers Protoss fails to find an opening, however, as Rogue's stellar defence sends Classic rearing in disbelief. Left with no choice but to double down on aggression, Classic throws down another Robo and starts pumping out mass Disruptors. Rogue doesn't seem fazed, as he packs his Overlords full of Banelings and starts carpet bombing the Protoss army, putting himself on match point.
Game 4
Triton and a cannon rush to end all cannon rushes. Down 1:2, Classic puts all his eggs into the cannon rush basket, with unassuming confidence sending just one Probe to do the dirty deeds. Rogue, despite being known to cancel his natural and tech into Ravagers under normal circumstances, chooses to defend with Spine Crawlers, Lings, and Queens, failing at the task as his two Hatcheries get disjointed. Classic follows up with a Robo in the main base of the Zerg (and, of course, a dozen Shield Batteries or so) and ties up the series.
Game 5
Feardragon's wildest fantasies come to life as Classic opens with a DT rush, following up with DT Blink (whatever it's called). Rogue fails to confirm his opponent's intentions, losing his Lair to 8 Dark Templar blinking into the main. The Jin Air Zerg is stuck on a basic Roach / Ling / Ravager composition for the remainder of the game, as Classic aims to close the series out with a +1 timing attack. Rogue crumbles under the onslaught of Archons and Immortals and taps out.
Classic fails to inflict any damage with his opening Stargate and gets walled in on Thunderbird as his Archon drop gets stopped in its tracks. GSL Code S champion Rogue closes the game out with Nydus Swarm Host paired with mass Roach / Ling, making a mockery of Classic's pedigree.
Game 2
Game two on Acropolis gets down and dirty as the former SKT Protoss proxies a Twilight Council to research Resonating Glaives, while faking a double Stargate Phoenix follow-up in the main base. Rogue doesn't take the bait, however, as a stray ling runs over the proxy location. Things quickly fall apart, however, as the Zerg isn't ready to take on the aggression and crumbles under pressure.
Game 3
Recognising the key to victory likely lies in ending the games in quick fashion, Classic chooses to follow up his Stargate opening with a Resonating Glaives all-in attack with the support of Immortals, Sentries, and a Warp Prism. The Mkers Protoss fails to find an opening, however, as Rogue's stellar defence sends Classic rearing in disbelief. Left with no choice but to double down on aggression, Classic throws down another Robo and starts pumping out mass Disruptors. Rogue doesn't seem fazed, as he packs his Overlords full of Banelings and starts carpet bombing the Protoss army, putting himself on match point.
Game 4
Triton and a cannon rush to end all cannon rushes. Down 1:2, Classic puts all his eggs into the cannon rush basket, with unassuming confidence sending just one Probe to do the dirty deeds. Rogue, despite being known to cancel his natural and tech into Ravagers under normal circumstances, chooses to defend with Spine Crawlers, Lings, and Queens, failing at the task as his two Hatcheries get disjointed. Classic follows up with a Robo in the main base of the Zerg (and, of course, a dozen Shield Batteries or so) and ties up the series.
Game 5
Feardragon's wildest fantasies come to life as Classic opens with a DT rush, following up with DT Blink (whatever it's called). Rogue fails to confirm his opponent's intentions, losing his Lair to 8 Dark Templar blinking into the main. The Jin Air Zerg is stuck on a basic Roach / Ling / Ravager composition for the remainder of the game, as Classic aims to close the series out with a +1 timing attack. Rogue crumbles under the onslaught of Archons and Immortals and taps out.
Quarterfinal 4: Maru vs Dark
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Game 1
The final bout of the quarterfinals commences on Acropolis, as Maru opts for a standard Hellion opening with a Bio follow-up. The Jin Air Green Wings Terran keeps getting bounced as Dark gobbles up his half of the map with relative ease. Failing to find an opening, Maru is forced into a late game situation with Liberators and Ghosts. Dark, recognising the anti-Broodlord / Infestor nature of the Terran composition, stays on mass Hydra / Ling / Bane with Viper support and rolls over Maru's entrenched fourth.
Game 2
Maru sticks to his guns with a Hellion / Cloak Banshee opening on Disco Bloodbath. Sensing an impending 2 Medivac / 2 Tank follow-up, Dark puts down a fourth as bait whilst quickly teching into Mutalisks. Maru takes the bait, commits onto the morphing base as his army gets collapsed upon by Lings, Banes, and flying shrimp. The Mutalisks chase the Terran back to his main, forcing a lift on the third, and putting the Korean Zerg on match point.
Game 3
With hints of spooky voodoo and hoodoo, Dark predicts Maru's BC rush on Winter's Gate and counters with a Roach / Ling / Ravager all-in to close out the series. While the initial attack doesn't end the game, Maru invokes the spirit of former teammate MarineKingPrime as he lands his third CC and attempts to morph it into an Orbital AS the Zerg army is pounding away at the entrance, no doubt regretting his actions as the CC is shot down in flames. A textbook max-out into Nydus seals the deal and Dark moves on to the semi-finals.
The final bout of the quarterfinals commences on Acropolis, as Maru opts for a standard Hellion opening with a Bio follow-up. The Jin Air Green Wings Terran keeps getting bounced as Dark gobbles up his half of the map with relative ease. Failing to find an opening, Maru is forced into a late game situation with Liberators and Ghosts. Dark, recognising the anti-Broodlord / Infestor nature of the Terran composition, stays on mass Hydra / Ling / Bane with Viper support and rolls over Maru's entrenched fourth.
Game 2
Maru sticks to his guns with a Hellion / Cloak Banshee opening on Disco Bloodbath. Sensing an impending 2 Medivac / 2 Tank follow-up, Dark puts down a fourth as bait whilst quickly teching into Mutalisks. Maru takes the bait, commits onto the morphing base as his army gets collapsed upon by Lings, Banes, and flying shrimp. The Mutalisks chase the Terran back to his main, forcing a lift on the third, and putting the Korean Zerg on match point.
Game 3
With hints of spooky voodoo and hoodoo, Dark predicts Maru's BC rush on Winter's Gate and counters with a Roach / Ling / Ravager all-in to close out the series. While the initial attack doesn't end the game, Maru invokes the spirit of former teammate MarineKingPrime as he lands his third CC and attempts to morph it into an Orbital AS the Zerg army is pounding away at the entrance, no doubt regretting his actions as the CC is shot down in flames. A textbook max-out into Nydus seals the deal and Dark moves on to the semi-finals.
Semifinal 1: Serral vs Reynor
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Game 1
Serral takes an advantage in the ling-bane portion of the game, sneaking two banelings past Reynor's defenses and killing a handful of drones. Without any further complications, this is enough to snowball into a victory for Serral a few minutes later, with his roach-ravager pouring out of nydus worms to overwhelm Reynor on multiple fronts.
Game 2
Serral tries to catch Reynor off guard with speedlings and banes off less than 30 drones, but Reynor is smart enough to sniff this out and defend conservatively with roaches while building a steady economic lead. Serral belatedly transitions to roaches as well, but having done no damage with his early gambit, is doomed to lose.
Game 3
Both players actually get to build up strong three base economies before killing each other this time around. Reynor opts for muta-ling-bane, while Serral goes for the more conventional ground based army. Reynor is abuse to use the mobility of his composition before Serral's defenses are completely set, dealing significant economic damage while securing more expansions on his side of the map. By the time Serral has the kind of Hydra-Roach-Infestor force he needs to move out, the economic advantage is just overwhelming for Reynor. Despite a few cool fights (fungals are good against banes!) from Serral, he's just overrun in the end.
Game 4
Once more, we see Reynor's muta-ling-bane style against Serral's ground-based composition. This time, Reynor doesn't get a significant mid-game advantage, and we get to see how muta-ling-bane REALLY struggles against 200/200 armies of hydra-lurker-roach-viper-infestor. Reynor tries a belated transition to ultras, but it's too late against Serral's sizable lurker force.
Game 5
Serral turns the tables against Reynor here, going for muta-ling-bane against Reynor's ground-bound troops. Not surprisingly, Serral proves to be awesome at this style, taking out gazillions of drones with baneling run-bys and muta attacks. Unfortunately, he's not quite as good at consolidating the lead. Remember how his hydra-lurker-roach-viper-infestor closed out Reynor last game? Well, Reynor uses that comp to claw his way back from behind. It turns out parasitic bomb wrecks mutas, while lurkers really, really shred ultras. There's more to this game than just unit counters—even Serral admitted his throw via Twitter. Best to just watch it!
Serral takes an advantage in the ling-bane portion of the game, sneaking two banelings past Reynor's defenses and killing a handful of drones. Without any further complications, this is enough to snowball into a victory for Serral a few minutes later, with his roach-ravager pouring out of nydus worms to overwhelm Reynor on multiple fronts.
Game 2
Serral tries to catch Reynor off guard with speedlings and banes off less than 30 drones, but Reynor is smart enough to sniff this out and defend conservatively with roaches while building a steady economic lead. Serral belatedly transitions to roaches as well, but having done no damage with his early gambit, is doomed to lose.
Game 3
Both players actually get to build up strong three base economies before killing each other this time around. Reynor opts for muta-ling-bane, while Serral goes for the more conventional ground based army. Reynor is abuse to use the mobility of his composition before Serral's defenses are completely set, dealing significant economic damage while securing more expansions on his side of the map. By the time Serral has the kind of Hydra-Roach-Infestor force he needs to move out, the economic advantage is just overwhelming for Reynor. Despite a few cool fights (fungals are good against banes!) from Serral, he's just overrun in the end.
Game 4
Once more, we see Reynor's muta-ling-bane style against Serral's ground-based composition. This time, Reynor doesn't get a significant mid-game advantage, and we get to see how muta-ling-bane REALLY struggles against 200/200 armies of hydra-lurker-roach-viper-infestor. Reynor tries a belated transition to ultras, but it's too late against Serral's sizable lurker force.
Game 5
Serral turns the tables against Reynor here, going for muta-ling-bane against Reynor's ground-bound troops. Not surprisingly, Serral proves to be awesome at this style, taking out gazillions of drones with baneling run-bys and muta attacks. Unfortunately, he's not quite as good at consolidating the lead. Remember how his hydra-lurker-roach-viper-infestor closed out Reynor last game? Well, Reynor uses that comp to claw his way back from behind. It turns out parasitic bomb wrecks mutas, while lurkers really, really shred ultras. There's more to this game than just unit counters—even Serral admitted his throw via Twitter. Best to just watch it!
Semifinal 2: Classic vs Dark
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Game 1
A bold attempt to trip Dark up with a brash Cannon rush on Acropolis backfires, as Classic's investment only yields three Drones' worth of direct damage. Dark's Roach / Queen Nydus runs into unexpected trouble, however, as Classic's double Stargate Phoenix holds the aggression and launches a counter attack. The game turns into a real slobber-knocker as both players trade blows. Classic, having his third razed by a Roach counter for the second time, launches a desperate offensive to snatch the game away from Dark. The Stargate-based army fails to break through Dark's Hydra / Infestor / Viper composition, putting the Protoss at an 0:1 deficit in the series.
Game 2
Classic's Stargate into Orange Discus all-in on Thunderbird catches Dark unawares as Drone deaths reach double digits. Fully aware of the potential Nydus counter, Classic switches into double Immortal production with Chargelot support. Dark, however, skips the mid-game Roach ramp and techs up straight into Swarm Hosts, reciprocating with some damage of his own.
Indecisiveness abound, Classic lets Dark abuse Zerg mobility and doesn't capitalise on having a stronger army. Botched army control sees Dark clump up under psi-storm, however, as Swarm Host counter-attacks remain the only thing keeping Classic back. Pulling the trigger upon losing his third, Classic fails to break through the Zerg's defence, putting Dark on match point.
Game 3
Game three on Disco Bloodbath turns bloody as Classic's Resonating Glaive all-in gets stopped in its tracks. While building placement and Phoenix-based vision denial did keep Dark guessing, a safe investment into both Roaches and Banelings allow the Zerg to counter the two base aggression with relative ease. Sensing weakness, Dark rallies across the map and rolls over the Protoss army, completely unfazed by Disruptor shots.
A bold attempt to trip Dark up with a brash Cannon rush on Acropolis backfires, as Classic's investment only yields three Drones' worth of direct damage. Dark's Roach / Queen Nydus runs into unexpected trouble, however, as Classic's double Stargate Phoenix holds the aggression and launches a counter attack. The game turns into a real slobber-knocker as both players trade blows. Classic, having his third razed by a Roach counter for the second time, launches a desperate offensive to snatch the game away from Dark. The Stargate-based army fails to break through Dark's Hydra / Infestor / Viper composition, putting the Protoss at an 0:1 deficit in the series.
Game 2
Classic's Stargate into Orange Discus all-in on Thunderbird catches Dark unawares as Drone deaths reach double digits. Fully aware of the potential Nydus counter, Classic switches into double Immortal production with Chargelot support. Dark, however, skips the mid-game Roach ramp and techs up straight into Swarm Hosts, reciprocating with some damage of his own.
Indecisiveness abound, Classic lets Dark abuse Zerg mobility and doesn't capitalise on having a stronger army. Botched army control sees Dark clump up under psi-storm, however, as Swarm Host counter-attacks remain the only thing keeping Classic back. Pulling the trigger upon losing his third, Classic fails to break through the Zerg's defence, putting Dark on match point.
Game 3
Game three on Disco Bloodbath turns bloody as Classic's Resonating Glaive all-in gets stopped in its tracks. While building placement and Phoenix-based vision denial did keep Dark guessing, a safe investment into both Roaches and Banelings allow the Zerg to counter the two base aggression with relative ease. Sensing weakness, Dark rallies across the map and rolls over the Protoss army, completely unfazed by Disruptor shots.
