EPT
![[image loading]](/staff/Waxangel/GSL/2021/st1/stbracket_3.png)
Protoss is firmly in control as Super Tournament #1 heads into its final day, with the trio of
Trap, Zoun, and Zest set to play in the semifinals. In an unlikely twist, only Terran player Dream has survived as a non-Protoss representative. While Dream took a narrow 3-2 victory over sOs in the previous round, he'll have to overcome even more frightening PvT players in order to win the championship.A combination of different factors go into Terran and Zerg's poor showing in the first GSL of the year. Title contenders Rogue and TY were upset in the qualifiers, with Rogue losing to sOs and SpeCial while TY lost to Zoun and Dream. It didn't help the Terran cause that Maru declined to participate at all, likely due to his ongoing health issues. In the main tournament itself, Dark drew a brutal first round match against Trap, the hottest player at the moment in Korean StarCraft.
Still, even considering the extenuating circumstances, there's no question that Protoss players have put in an all-around strong performance this tournament. Given the match-ups in the bracket, Trap looks to be the favorite to win his fourth major title in the span of three months, and further solidify his place as the hottest player in the StarCraft II scene. Trap's PvT is acclaimed to be the best in the world, and his PvP is not far behind it. Though the Protoss mirror has long been known as a high-variance match-up, Trap's consistently strong performances in the latter half of the 2021-21 season have defied such logic.
Zoun continues to demand the spotlight as a rising Protoss, having reached the RO16 of Code S and RO8 in King of Battles in the latter half of 2020. Zoun took one-sided victories over Armani and PartinG in the Super Tournament, with the BigBoy even offering praise in defeat. Now, Zoun is a PvP against Zest away from reaching his first major tournament finals. While Zest only had to play PvT so far this tournament (winning in sweeps against SpeCial and Bunny), his reputation as a cunning PvP has held up well over the years. Given his struggles against top Zergs over the last year, this is a golden opportunity for him to finally win another major title.
It remains to be seen if this period of Protoss power will merely be a historical blip like 2019's Super Tournament 1, or if it portends what the future holds in a balance patch-less StarCraft II.
Super Tournament #1 will conclude on Saturday, Jan 30 8:00am GMT (GMT+00:00).
