Cool Things From 2019: For $150,000, INnoVation will be INnoVation
by Wax
2019 was a pretty good year for storylines, whether it was Classic's last ride, Serral and Reynor's rivalry, or Dark's ultimate redemption. And so, it feels a bit odd to pick an event that didn't really fit into any of the year's other arcs as one of my favorite moments: INnoVation's $150,000 championship run at the World Electronic Sports Games (WESG) finals.
Sure, you could technically include it in the ongoing "Serral vs Korea" conflict, but it felt more like a singular, self-contained episode. It didn't set-up any future payoff, largely due to INnoVation's irrelevance outside of WESG. His WESG victory was sandwiched by disappointing, group stage eliminations in both IEM Katowice and GSL Code S, and he ended up finishing the year far outside of BlizzCon contention at #17 in the WCS Korea rankings. Alongside soO miracle run at IEM Katowice, WESG ended up being one of the two inexplicable blips in a manic March that made little sense in the context of the entire year.
Then what made INnoVation's WESG run so great? It has something to do with LONG-term career arcs.
Most players earn reputations over the course of their careers. For INnoVation, he's accrued something more akin to a mythology. The infamously laconic Terran has given us precious little insight into psyche (he likes penguins???) over the last eight years, and so the StarCraft community has ended up building his identity for him. For the first few years of INnoVation's SC2 career, this identity was rather one-dimensional: He was an emotionless automaton of destruction, winning four major titles (and two Proleague titles) over a four year stretch continued excellence.
Then, in 2016, the legend of INnoVation took a more complex turn. He endured a catastrophic, year-long slump, where he qualified for zero Code S tournaments and a single SSL tournament (where he was eliminated without winning a single map), and put up a subdued 17-11 record in Proleague (0-2 in ace matches). If he had come out of this experience with some kind of lesson, or found any kind of meaning in this pseudo-sabbatical, it might have served to humanize him and make him more relatable. Instead, when INnoVation shrugged off his slump by defeating BlizzCon finalist Dark to win IEM Gyeonggi, he was adamant that it was all an utterly meaningless waste of time. There were no takeaways, lessons learned, except perhaps 'don't play League of Legends when you're a StarCraft II progamer.' With IEM Gyeonggi as the starting point, INnoVation resumed exactly where he left off on his path of destruction, winning four major titles to make 2017 the most successful year of his entire career.
For any other player, this two-year roller coaster may have come across as wildly unprofessional and disappointing behavior. Who the hell squanders that kind of talent for an entire year, when other players are desperate to win just one championship? But somehow, INnoVation largely eluded receiving such normal judgment, perhaps by virtue of being such an abnormal player. He may not have become any more likable, but he certainly become more interesting. With one on/off cycle, he had become more than just the implacable machine. Was he a lazy genius in the vein of TaeJa? Maybe in a post KeSPA-world, he had been forced to turn into a ruthless prize-money hunter like MC. Whether he was man or machine, one thing was clear: he was becoming one of StarCraft's biggest enigmas.
After his incredible 2017 campaign, 2018 turned out to be another down year for INnoVation, though his fall was not as drastic as in 2016. He at least qualified for every Code S tournament on the year, even though he was bounced in the Ro16 each time. Ultimately, he failed to qualify for the Global Finals, and it ended up being a largely forgettable season. One of the persistent dilemmas of the TL.net Power Rank at the time was figuring how much past credit we should give to INnoVation. No matter how poorly he was playing at a given time, it always seemed like I was trying to talk someone out of placing INnoVation at #10 for no other reason than 'he is INnoVation.' Sure, I understood the underlying sentiment and remembered what he had done in 2017, but really? Giving past credit for nearly year-old results?
After all that setup and explanation of context, I suppose I can get finally get to the point. This year's WESG finals were amazing and memorable because I just couldn't help but laugh. Both laugh at how unbelievable the result was, and laugh at myself for not seeing it coming. Here was INnoVation, coming off a real stinker of a year in 2018, coming off a similarly poor showing at IEM Katowice (group stage elimination), and coming IN to one of the biggest events of the year with absolutely no claim to be a championship contender other than 'he is INnoVation.' As many slumping veterans have shown us in the past, reputation is a really, really flimsy claim.
So, of course, INnoVation—or 'this f***ing guy,' as I find myself referring to him (with extreme fondness)—went on to defeat three-time consecutive Code S champion Maru in the semifinals. Again, INnoVation hadn't reached a single Code S playoffs the previous year while Maru won all three. Having defied all logic and common sense once, INnoVation then went on to do it again, defeating the reigning Global Champion Serral in the finals and stealing $110,000 from under his nose. HOW? Because 'he is INnoVation, I suppose, because I have no better answer. Damn, I guess I was wrong about those Power Ranks.
I'm reminded of the the footballing cliche "form is temporary, class is permanent" which has long been popular in the Korean StarCraft community. Typically, it applies to players who are losing their speed and mechanical edge, but still find ways to succeed through strategic thinking, veteran decision-making, and sheer determination (think MMA in 2014 or sOs in 2018). In INnoVation's case, he deserves his own aphorism: "form is permanent, but it shows up whenever it damn well pleases." The fact that he beat Serral at all was remarkable, but it was even more remarkable because it wasn't some kind of desperate scrap where he had to summon every ounce of resourcefulness. In the big picture, there wasn't all that much separating WESG champion INnoVation and 2013 WCS Season 1 champion INnoVation. Strategies: limited. Marine splits: optional. Macro: completely and utterly overwhelming.
Curiously, the fact that INnoVation spent the rest of year playing far below his WESG championship level makes that championship moment more meaningful. He was rather unmachine-like, since machines are supposed to be reliable. INnoVation in this stage of career—besides being an absolute legend of StarCraft—seems closer to a force of nature. Like a hurricane lurking off the coast, we don't know if he'll peter out without even making landfall, or if he'll sweep through the coast and wreck everything in his path. All we know is that every once in a while, we're due for a big one.
After 2019, I don't think we've come away with any better understanding of the mystery that is INnoVation. We don't know how much of his success is a matter of trying, caring, or just needing to see a lot of zeroes in a tournament's prize pool. But, at least, we came away with a reminder of how much richer the scene is for having him: the least interesting, and most interesting player in the world.
Rereading that 2016 INno interview just skyrocked to the best Christmas gift I got this year. Shit that Ogaming one is pretty good too:
Q: Can you sum up your career ? I started to play Brood War when I was 14, first for STX Soul, then for Acer, SK Telecom and finally for O'Gaming.
Q: How's your typical day going? I get up around 2pm, then I play one or two LoL games to warm up, then I train on Starcraft and dine around 23h. Sometimes I feel like I'm passing the time and wonder what I'm doing with my life. [Laughs].
On December 26 2019 11:39 Nakajin wrote: Rereading that 2016 INno interview just skyrocked to the best Christmas gift I got this year. Shit that Ogaming one is pretty good too:
Q: Can you sum up your career ? I started to play Brood War when I was 14, first for STX Soul, then for Acer, SK Telecom and finally for O'Gaming.
Q: How's your typical day going? I get up around 2pm, then I play one or two LoL games to warm up, then I train on Starcraft and dine around 23h. Sometimes I feel like I'm passing the time and wonder what I'm doing with my life. [Laughs].
Got that man is the biggest god damn troll
Dine at 23pm?I don't think that's good for health.
Not mentioned in the article was that INnoVation beat Serral in a meaningless IEM 2019 group stage Bo3 when Serral was already advancing and INnoVation was already eliminated. They were 1 hour long macro games where Serral was trying to win. INnoVation was the first person to break Serral’s offline winning streak through that Bo3 win, and followed it up shortly after by beating Serral again in a Bo7 finals at WESG. Another reason why INnoVation’s WESG win would be the moment of 2019 is because he was the first one to make Serral bleed at IEM, and followed it up at WESG to show it wasn’t a fluke that Serral could be beaten.
The single elimination die had many players' name on it, and while the face with Serral's name had the largest surface area, the die happened to land on Inno's name for one tournament. That's all there really is to it, just as Magnus doesn't win every chess tournament; though, thankfully he does win the majority of them, because unlike esports, chess players have the sophistication to steer clear of the single elimination format like the plague that it is. SE is like the pop/hip-hop music genres of the competition world—lots of drama, pomp, and brief adrenal secretions, but lacking in substance or brain.
On December 26 2019 16:20 fgonzo wrote: To put it honestly, Innovation embarrassed the shit out of Serral... just like Maru did the year prior.
Innovation barely managed to eke out a win against Serral in that tournament. Serral was the better player in that tournament, but Inno's top10 level skill allowed him a small window of opportunity, and he managed to squeeze through it, despite suffering a couple rib fractures in the process with 3 map losses in the grand final. It was hardly an embarrassment for Serral.
On December 26 2019 16:20 fgonzo wrote: To put it honestly, Innovation embarrassed the shit out of Serral... just like Maru did the year prior.
Innovation barely managed to eke out a win against Serral in that tournament. Serral was the better player in that tournament, but Inno's top10 level skill allowed him a small window of opportunity, and he managed to squeeze through it, despite suffering a couple rib fractures in the process with 3 map losses in the grand final. It was hardly an embarrassment for Serral.
It was one of the better finals of the year, or at least a pretty decent one where both players played pretty well.
Great write up as ever folks, had a good chuckle with the new ‘form is permanent...’ aphorism.
INnoVation also took an upper bracket series against Serral at HomeStory Cup XX. INnoVation is the Terran rival of Serral that we thought Maru would be, until fate showed us Maru and Serral will never meet in tournament.
On December 27 2019 00:18 Howard_Kao wrote: If I need to say a player who is not reynor and serral and have the potential to wrack the shxt out of anyone, it's innovation
Oneimpressive thing is that commentator F91 said at the beginning of final: "Inno, once the dragon(boss), is now the dragonslayer(challenger) " F91 was a bw pro. 2010 He was close to retire. This year he met Bogus, the rising star, at KR vs CN Starcraft Masters, a show match hold at Shanghai EXPO. 2019 F91 is a commentator. INNO is into his last phase of pro career. So was the fans, many of they are getting old, become old boys. Maybe that's why most fans were cheering for Inno.
Same think happened in the recent HSC when he beat Serral 3-1 I was shocked. I was like "Maybe Inno can win this" and Reynor destroyed him and Serral took his revenge.
Inno sometimes looks like he is unstoppable and sometime looks like meh like " I don't really want to play today"
On December 26 2019 16:20 fgonzo wrote: To put it honestly, Innovation embarrassed the shit out of Serral... just like Maru did the year prior.
Innovation barely managed to eke out a win against Serral in that tournament. Serral was the better player in that tournament, but Inno's top10 level skill allowed him a small window of opportunity, and he managed to squeeze through it, despite suffering a couple rib fractures in the process with 3 map losses in the grand final. It was hardly an embarrassment for Serral.
Innovation was the best player in that tournament*
On December 26 2019 16:20 fgonzo wrote: To put it honestly, Innovation embarrassed the shit out of Serral... just like Maru did the year prior.
Innovation barely managed to eke out a win against Serral in that tournament. Serral was the better player in that tournament, but Inno's top10 level skill allowed him a small window of opportunity, and he managed to squeeze through it, despite suffering a couple rib fractures in the process with 3 map losses in the grand final. It was hardly an embarrassment for Serral.
fgonzo is obviously a troll but I'm not really sure why you'd think Serral was the stronger player in the tournament. In general, he is stronger, but in this one tournament, I don't think so. Innovation went 23-5 while Serral went 20-9, dropping a series to Neeb along the way. Serral had a tougher groupstage but an easier bracket imo.
On December 26 2019 16:20 fgonzo wrote: To put it honestly, Innovation embarrassed the shit out of Serral... just like Maru did the year prior.
Innovation barely managed to eke out a win against Serral in that tournament. Serral was the better player in that tournament, but Inno's top10 level skill allowed him a small window of opportunity, and he managed to squeeze through it, despite suffering a couple rib fractures in the process with 3 map losses in the grand final. It was hardly an embarrassment for Serral.
fgonzo is obviously a troll but I'm not really sure why you'd think Serral was the stronger player in the tournament. In general, he is stronger, but in this one tournament, I don't think so. Innovation went 23-5 while Serral went 20-9, dropping a series to Neeb along the way. Serral had a tougher groupstage but an easier bracket imo.
Serral played Mana, Dark, Scarlett and Inno. Inno played Rail, Lambo, Maru and Serral. If anything, they both ended up on the better side of the bracket for them. But I'd say Serral's opponents were stronger overall and the bracket in general worked out extremely favorably for Inno. If you switched Serral and Inno around in the bracket I don't think Inno gets past Dark.
On December 26 2019 16:20 fgonzo wrote: To put it honestly, Innovation embarrassed the shit out of Serral... just like Maru did the year prior.
Innovation barely managed to eke out a win against Serral in that tournament. Serral was the better player in that tournament, but Inno's top10 level skill allowed him a small window of opportunity, and he managed to squeeze through it, despite suffering a couple rib fractures in the process with 3 map losses in the grand final. It was hardly an embarrassment for Serral.
fgonzo is obviously a troll but I'm not really sure why you'd think Serral was the stronger player in the tournament. In general, he is stronger, but in this one tournament, I don't think so. Innovation went 23-5 while Serral went 20-9, dropping a series to Neeb along the way. Serral had a tougher groupstage but an easier bracket imo.
Serral played Mana, Dark, Scarlett and Inno. Inno played Rail, Lambo, Maru and Serral. If anything, they both ended up on the better side of the bracket for them. But I'd say Serral's opponents were stronger overall and the bracket in general worked out extremely favorably for Inno. If you switched Serral and Inno around in the bracket I don't think Inno gets past Dark.
In that scenario we would have gotten a Maru Dark finals. That would've been nice.
On December 26 2019 16:20 fgonzo wrote: To put it honestly, Innovation embarrassed the shit out of Serral... just like Maru did the year prior.
Innovation barely managed to eke out a win against Serral in that tournament. Serral was the better player in that tournament, but Inno's top10 level skill allowed him a small window of opportunity, and he managed to squeeze through it, despite suffering a couple rib fractures in the process with 3 map losses in the grand final. It was hardly an embarrassment for Serral.
fgonzo is obviously a troll but I'm not really sure why you'd think Serral was the stronger player in the tournament. In general, he is stronger, but in this one tournament, I don't think so. Innovation went 23-5 while Serral went 20-9, dropping a series to Neeb along the way. Serral had a tougher groupstage but an easier bracket imo.
Serral played Mana, Dark, Scarlett and Inno. Inno played Rail, Lambo, Maru and Serral. If anything, they both ended up on the better side of the bracket for them. But I'd say Serral's opponents were stronger overall and the bracket in general worked out extremely favorably for Inno. If you switched Serral and Inno around in the bracket I don't think Inno gets past Dark.
In that scenario we would have gotten a Maru Dark finals. That would've been nice.
Thinking Maru would have beaten Serral...it's more likely that Maru would have tried hard not to advance past Neeb if he had to face Serral next.
So, I basically created an account to say this, 'cause the opinion isn't going to be very popular, especially among Serral and Maru worshippers. I watched the whole of IEM Katowice, and I saw Serral crack mentally during the series with Innovation. Of course soO had to do his part, but it was Inno who won the battle of minds for him. This is something Maru couldn't do. There is something that happened between WESG/IEM in Serral's psyche that made him question himself for the first time after winning WCS2018. Innovation is the invisible reason for the fact that soO, Stats, and Dark won the major international events of 2019. Otherwise, it would have been a straight second sweep.
On January 07 2020 02:11 ZigguratOfMesomerica wrote: So, I basically created an account to say this, 'cause the opinion isn't going to be very popular, especially among Serral and Maru worshippers. I watched the whole of IEM Katowice, and I saw Serral crack mentally during the series with Innovation. Of course soO had to do his part, but it was Inno who won the battle of minds for him. This is something Maru couldn't do. There is something that happened between WESG/IEM in Serral's psyche that made him question himself for the first time after winning WCS2018. Innovation is the invisible reason for the fact that soO, Stats, and Dark won the major international events of 2019. Otherwise, it would have been a straight second sweep.
If I didn't already dislike you I would be less inclined to reconsider the merits of your opinion.
On January 07 2020 02:11 ZigguratOfMesomerica wrote: So, I basically created an account to say this, 'cause the opinion isn't going to be very popular, especially among Serral and Maru worshippers. I watched the whole of IEM Katowice, and I saw Serral crack mentally during the series with Innovation. Of course soO had to do his part, but it was Inno who won the battle of minds for him. This is something Maru couldn't do. There is something that happened between WESG/IEM in Serral's psyche that made him question himself for the first time after winning WCS2018. Innovation is the invisible reason for the fact that soO, Stats, and Dark won the major international events of 2019. Otherwise, it would have been a straight second sweep.
If I didn't already dislike you I would be less inclined to reconsider the merits of your opinion.
On January 07 2020 02:15 ZigguratOfMesomerica wrote:
On January 07 2020 02:11 ZigguratOfMesomerica wrote: So, I basically created an account to say this, 'cause the opinion isn't going to be very popular, especially among Serral and Maru worshippers. I watched the whole of IEM Katowice, and I saw Serral crack mentally during the series with Innovation. Of course soO had to do his part, but it was Inno who won the battle of minds for him. This is something Maru couldn't do. There is something that happened between WESG/IEM in Serral's psyche that made him question himself for the first time after winning WCS2018. Innovation is the invisible reason for the fact that soO, Stats, and Dark won the major international events of 2019. Otherwise, it would have been a straight second sweep.
If I didn't already dislike you I would be less inclined to reconsider the merits of your opinion.
On January 07 2020 02:17 ZigguratOfMesomerica wrote:
On January 07 2020 02:15 ZigguratOfMesomerica wrote:
On January 07 2020 02:11 ZigguratOfMesomerica wrote: So, I basically created an account to say this, 'cause the opinion isn't going to be very popular, especially among Serral and Maru worshippers. I watched the whole of IEM Katowice, and I saw Serral crack mentally during the series with Innovation. Of course soO had to do his part, but it was Inno who won the battle of minds for him. This is something Maru couldn't do. There is something that happened between WESG/IEM in Serral's psyche that made him question himself for the first time after winning WCS2018. Innovation is the invisible reason for the fact that soO, Stats, and Dark won the major international events of 2019. Otherwise, it would have been a straight second sweep.
If I didn't already dislike you I would be less inclined to reconsider the merits of your opinion.
On January 07 2020 02:17 ZigguratOfMesomerica wrote:
On January 07 2020 02:15 ZigguratOfMesomerica wrote:
On January 07 2020 02:11 ZigguratOfMesomerica wrote: So, I basically created an account to say this, 'cause the opinion isn't going to be very popular, especially among Serral and Maru worshippers. I watched the whole of IEM Katowice, and I saw Serral crack mentally during the series with Innovation. Of course soO had to do his part, but it was Inno who won the battle of minds for him. This is something Maru couldn't do. There is something that happened between WESG/IEM in Serral's psyche that made him question himself for the first time after winning WCS2018. Innovation is the invisible reason for the fact that soO, Stats, and Dark won the major international events of 2019. Otherwise, it would have been a straight second sweep.
If I didn't already dislike you I would be less inclined to reconsider the merits of your opinion.
On January 07 2020 02:17 ZigguratOfMesomerica wrote:
On January 07 2020 02:15 ZigguratOfMesomerica wrote:
On January 07 2020 02:11 ZigguratOfMesomerica wrote: So, I basically created an account to say this, 'cause the opinion isn't going to be very popular, especially among Serral and Maru worshippers. I watched the whole of IEM Katowice, and I saw Serral crack mentally during the series with Innovation. Of course soO had to do his part, but it was Inno who won the battle of minds for him. This is something Maru couldn't do. There is something that happened between WESG/IEM in Serral's psyche that made him question himself for the first time after winning WCS2018. Innovation is the invisible reason for the fact that soO, Stats, and Dark won the major international events of 2019. Otherwise, it would have been a straight second sweep.
If I didn't already dislike you I would be less inclined to reconsider the merits of your opinion.