Clem's momentum could not be stopped at BGE Stara Zagora as the reigning EPT world champion claimed another trophy at the Bulgarian tournament. If Clem was slowed down, it was only slightly—this time recording a 12-4 overall map record (5-0 in matches) compared to 18-2 at the EPT World Championship (5-0 in matches).
As in the recent World Team League playoffs, Reynor was the only player who looked to be in the same league as Clem. Coming on the tail of his 3-3 'tie' against Clem in the WTL, Reynor pushed Clem to game five in the upper bracket finals and narrowly conceded a 2-3 loss (the two players actually tried to take a more casual approach by randoming on the first map, but ended up drawing their main races).
A grand finals rematch between the two European rivals was much anticipated, but a different contender ended up coming out of the lower bracket. Oliveira, another Terran player who played fantastically at the Esports World Cup, took down Reynor in a clean 3-0 sweep to earn a chance at the championship. Although Reynor's early/mid-game oriented style had recently proven to be effective against Clem, he could not find an answer for the Maru-esque defensive play of Oliveira.
The BO7 grand finals (which had Clem start with a one map upper bracket advantage) challenged Clem to overcome one of his age old problems: Terran vs Terran. The mirror match-up had tripped him up in many previous competitions, and he had conspicuously dodged Terran opponents during his Esports World Cup run. Clem had already defeated Oliveira 2-1 earlier in the tournament, but Oliveira's game one victory stoked concerns of another TvT collapse. However, such fears were quickly quelled. Clem composed himself and knocked out three convincing wins in a row, securing a 4-1 finals victory and the BGE Stara Zagora championship.
BGE Stara Zagora 2024 had come as an unexpected but welcome surprise to StarCraft II fans, with organizers Bellum Gens and Bulgarian StarCraft League making an abrupt first entry into the live SC2 tournament scene with the event. Asked whether he would return to defend the title at a potential future tournament, Clem echoed another famous Frenchman: "I will be there."
With both the WTL Playoffs and BGE Stara Zagora completed, the only major event remaining on the SC2 calendar is November's HomeStory Cup 26. With ESL hinting some kind of continuation, the StarCraft II community will continue to wait for official news about the future of the competitive scene.
Its kinda crazy that we had to wait like a decade for foreign terrans to be good and now clem and oliviera are like top 4 foreigners with huge tourney wins
also that ESL tweet kinda scares me, it's super open ended....
That Reynor comeback against Clem in game 2 was incredible, reminded me of those crazy WoL era. I think we dont need to nerf ghosts, but set all of Clem's units at 95% health in the lobby till we figure out what the hell is happening
Shoutout to Reynor for being the only one to make Clem look mortal lately. It's also interesting that out of both tournaments, Clem has only faced a single Terran despite the fact that ESWC was fully stacked with them. To me, TvT is still the only question mark regarding his absolute dominance.
Still, it's fantastic that he's breaking through in the biggest of stages now. He's been skilled enough to do it for a while and it's finally paying off. I only hope professional SC2 can be sustained long enough for him to keep the ball rolling.
On September 10 2024 08:56 vult wrote: Its kinda crazy that we had to wait like a decade for foreign terrans to be good and now clem and oliviera are like top 4 foreigners with huge tourney wins
also that ESL tweet kinda scares me, it's super open ended....
Well yeah, how many Korean Terrans playing 10 years ago still play? How many Korean Terran new blood is there? How many Koreans still practice 12 hours a day? Of course foreigners are going to catch up. Look at another esport for example, League of Legends is the main game in Korea now, what broodwar and SC2 (briefly) used to be. How many foreigns players from NA/EU are on the level of Koreans? Barely any. Chinese can sometimes compete but Korea still largely dominates. Now let's look at how the broodwar skill hierarchy used to go 15 years ago? Korean > Chinese > Western (with some exceptions ofc). This trend is still true in league of legends as well. Korea work culture, infrastructure and talent just supercedes anything the west can produce. Read boxers book. He hated practice. He practiced until his body literally couldn't take anymore. He credits his tenacity to why he was able to become the Emperor.
On September 10 2024 11:10 Kitai wrote: Shoutout to Reynor for being the only one to make Clem look mortal lately.
Yeah also interesting that his series vs Clem end up being closer than vs Oliveira. Just think it comes down to him being much more willing to take risks than say someone like Serral and it seems to be benefiting him vs certain opponents and hurting vs others.
Best example I can think of was his ZvZ series vs Solar at EWC. The game where he econ cheesed pretty hard but was somehow able to bait him into fresh spines at the 3rd. (He had a game buffer and eventually won the series 3-0, but choices like that make him more formidable in the bigger picture of strategy). Probably close to half the time in that situation his natural just gets pushed and he comes out even or behind, with outright losing being a possibility as well.
On September 10 2024 08:56 vult wrote: Its kinda crazy that we had to wait like a decade for foreign terrans to be good and now clem and oliviera are like top 4 foreigners with huge tourney wins
also that ESL tweet kinda scares me, it's super open ended....
Well yeah, how many Korean Terrans playing 10 years ago still play? How many Korean Terran new blood is there? How many Koreans still practice 12 hours a day? Of course foreigners are going to catch up. Look at another esport for example, League of Legends is the main game in Korea now, what broodwar and SC2 (briefly) used to be. How many foreigns players from NA/EU are on the level of Koreans? Barely any. Chinese can sometimes compete but Korea still largely dominates. Now let's look at how the broodwar skill hierarchy used to go 15 years ago? Korean > Chinese > Western (with some exceptions ofc). This trend is still true in league of legends as well. Korea work culture, infrastructure and talent just supercedes anything the west can produce. Read boxers book. He hated practice. He practiced until his body literally couldn't take anymore. He credits his tenacity to why he was able to become the Emperor.
His Their point was about foreign Terrans, relative to the foreign scene
I really loved the atmosphere of this tournament, even if I did not like the outcome in terms of results. I expecially liked the bulgarian caster and the fact that they mixed in the concert! I liked it a lot! Hope to see more in the future.
On September 10 2024 08:56 vult wrote: Its kinda crazy that we had to wait like a decade for foreign terrans to be good and now clem and oliviera are like top 4 foreigners with huge tourney wins
also that ESL tweet kinda scares me, it's super open ended....
Well yeah, how many Korean Terrans playing 10 years ago still play? How many Korean Terran new blood is there? How many Koreans still practice 12 hours a day? Of course foreigners are going to catch up. Look at another esport for example, League of Legends is the main game in Korea now, what broodwar and SC2 (briefly) used to be. How many foreigns players from NA/EU are on the level of Koreans? Barely any. Chinese can sometimes compete but Korea still largely dominates. Now let's look at how the broodwar skill hierarchy used to go 15 years ago? Korean > Chinese > Western (with some exceptions ofc). This trend is still true in league of legends as well. Korea work culture, infrastructure and talent just supercedes anything the west can produce. Read boxers book. He hated practice. He practiced until his body literally couldn't take anymore. He credits his tenacity to why he was able to become the Emperor.
Imagine someone being excited that finally foreign terrans are top-tier again, with the last one on Tournament winning level being probably Liquid|Bunny or something like that, and your reaction is an unprompted "hurrdurr korea best"-rant. ...awkward...
On September 10 2024 08:56 vult wrote: Its kinda crazy that we had to wait like a decade for foreign terrans to be good and now clem and oliviera are like top 4 foreigners with huge tourney wins
also that ESL tweet kinda scares me, it's super open ended....
Well yeah, how many Korean Terrans playing 10 years ago still play? How many Korean Terran new blood is there? How many Koreans still practice 12 hours a day? Of course foreigners are going to catch up. Look at another esport for example, League of Legends is the main game in Korea now, what broodwar and SC2 (briefly) used to be. How many foreigns players from NA/EU are on the level of Koreans? Barely any. Chinese can sometimes compete but Korea still largely dominates. Now let's look at how the broodwar skill hierarchy used to go 15 years ago? Korean > Chinese > Western (with some exceptions ofc). This trend is still true in league of legends as well. Korea work culture, infrastructure and talent just supercedes anything the west can produce. Read boxers book. He hated practice. He practiced until his body literally couldn't take anymore. He credits his tenacity to why he was able to become the Emperor.
Imagine someone being excited that finally foreign terrans are top-tier again, with the last one on Tournament winning level being probably Liquid|Bunny or something like that, and your reaction is an unprompted "hurrdurr korea best"-rant. ...awkward...
uThermal was the last right? Before Clem ascended/Oliveira’s miracle run
It’s weird to think that both Heromarine and Special have played so long, are clearly good players to make Ro4s at WCs and I don’t think either of them has won a Premier event
On September 10 2024 08:56 vult wrote: Its kinda crazy that we had to wait like a decade for foreign terrans to be good and now clem and oliviera are like top 4 foreigners with huge tourney wins
also that ESL tweet kinda scares me, it's super open ended....
Well yeah, how many Korean Terrans playing 10 years ago still play? How many Korean Terran new blood is there? How many Koreans still practice 12 hours a day? Of course foreigners are going to catch up. Look at another esport for example, League of Legends is the main game in Korea now, what broodwar and SC2 (briefly) used to be. How many foreigns players from NA/EU are on the level of Koreans? Barely any. Chinese can sometimes compete but Korea still largely dominates. Now let's look at how the broodwar skill hierarchy used to go 15 years ago? Korean > Chinese > Western (with some exceptions ofc). This trend is still true in league of legends as well. Korea work culture, infrastructure and talent just supercedes anything the west can produce. Read boxers book. He hated practice. He practiced until his body literally couldn't take anymore. He credits his tenacity to why he was able to become the Emperor.
Imagine someone being excited that finally foreign terrans are top-tier again, with the last one on Tournament winning level being probably Liquid|Bunny or something like that, and your reaction is an unprompted "hurrdurr korea best"-rant. ...awkward...
uThermal was the last right? Before Clem ascended/Oliveira’s miracle run
It’s weird to think that both Heromarine and Special have played so long, are clearly good players to make Ro4s at WCs and I don’t think either of them has won a Premier event
Right, uThermal won a Premier event...though I can't remember which one. Special atleast reached the finals ones, but Heromarine actually never played in a Premier event final, which is still crazy to me.
On September 10 2024 08:56 vult wrote: Its kinda crazy that we had to wait like a decade for foreign terrans to be good and now clem and oliviera are like top 4 foreigners with huge tourney wins
also that ESL tweet kinda scares me, it's super open ended....
Well yeah, how many Korean Terrans playing 10 years ago still play? How many Korean Terran new blood is there? How many Koreans still practice 12 hours a day? Of course foreigners are going to catch up. Look at another esport for example, League of Legends is the main game in Korea now, what broodwar and SC2 (briefly) used to be. How many foreigns players from NA/EU are on the level of Koreans? Barely any. Chinese can sometimes compete but Korea still largely dominates. Now let's look at how the broodwar skill hierarchy used to go 15 years ago? Korean > Chinese > Western (with some exceptions ofc). This trend is still true in league of legends as well. Korea work culture, infrastructure and talent just supercedes anything the west can produce. Read boxers book. He hated practice. He practiced until his body literally couldn't take anymore. He credits his tenacity to why he was able to become the Emperor.
Imagine someone being excited that finally foreign terrans are top-tier again, with the last one on Tournament winning level being probably Liquid|Bunny or something like that, and your reaction is an unprompted "hurrdurr korea best"-rant. ...awkward...
uThermal was the last right? Before Clem ascended/Oliveira’s miracle run
It’s weird to think that both Heromarine and Special have played so long, are clearly good players to make Ro4s at WCs and I don’t think either of them has won a Premier event
I think foreigner terran has never been as well-rounded before Clem/Oliveira. Aside from uThermal, it was basically just Thorzain who's won a competitive Premier tournament aside from the early chaotic meta of the 1st year of WoL.
The funny thing is that Clem and Oliveira both have played since ~2013, so despite them being the "new" generation of top tier terrans, it's taken really them a decade to perfect their play.
On September 10 2024 08:56 vult wrote: Its kinda crazy that we had to wait like a decade for foreign terrans to be good and now clem and oliviera are like top 4 foreigners with huge tourney wins
also that ESL tweet kinda scares me, it's super open ended....
Well yeah, how many Korean Terrans playing 10 years ago still play? How many Korean Terran new blood is there? How many Koreans still practice 12 hours a day? Of course foreigners are going to catch up. Look at another esport for example, League of Legends is the main game in Korea now, what broodwar and SC2 (briefly) used to be. How many foreigns players from NA/EU are on the level of Koreans? Barely any. Chinese can sometimes compete but Korea still largely dominates. Now let's look at how the broodwar skill hierarchy used to go 15 years ago? Korean > Chinese > Western (with some exceptions ofc). This trend is still true in league of legends as well. Korea work culture, infrastructure and talent just supercedes anything the west can produce. Read boxers book. He hated practice. He practiced until his body literally couldn't take anymore. He credits his tenacity to why he was able to become the Emperor.
Imagine someone being excited that finally foreign terrans are top-tier again, with the last one on Tournament winning level being probably Liquid|Bunny or something like that, and your reaction is an unprompted "hurrdurr korea best"-rant. ...awkward...
uThermal was the last right? Before Clem ascended/Oliveira’s miracle run
It’s weird to think that both Heromarine and Special have played so long, are clearly good players to make Ro4s at WCs and I don’t think either of them has won a Premier event
I think foreigner terran has never been as well-rounded before Clem/Oliveira. Aside from uThermal, it was basically just Thorzain who's won a competitive Premier tournament aside from the early chaotic meta of the 1st year of WoL.
The funny thing is that Clem and Oliveira both have played since ~2013, so despite them being the "new" generation of top tier terrans, it's taken really them a decade to perfect their play.
After this tournament, 7+? pints of beer, and few recaps can finally saw that The Korean Hegemony was come to the end.
No more Korean elitists' whines and excuses, no more structural scene-induced plus-perks, no more tradition driven narrative against foreigners. Finally free! (only expecting Serral-funded aftermath).
StarCraft II is finally Free. It's Free! Damn! F*@£#ng free, free from Korean LOAD! We will forever *asturbate with it's afterglow, but when results matter, we can take it is.
(added some smilies so Wax & all. won't be so harsh with their jurisdictions. Anyhow, It's dead, and only Foreigners can keep it alive, clarifying my point).
On September 11 2024 22:22 MJG wrote: Celebrating the fact that Korea isn't producing any new talent is a strange thing to do.
Yes! Finally! A New, skill based hegemony can dance on some graves! On their own ground! It is all good!
There are no disagreements.
Defenseless Korean hegemony shall and earn to DIE! It is best scenario for the game. That it took so long to do, is the ODE for the hegemony. About a half of the life-span of the game against the wall.
When it goes down, how we could'n be happy! And It was Clem! The man of smile and good wibes!
I mean, you know, obviously, IT CANNOT BE a foreigner's fault if a Korean loses a game or a tournament.
On September 11 2024 22:22 MJG wrote: Celebrating the fact that Korea isn't producing any new talent is a strange thing to do.
It's honestly sad, they made the game exciting once.
Like, can you imagine no Korean player ever existed for BW/SC2.
But then again, it doesn't matter where great players came from, we just need constant, new injection of great players. Now the top Korean players average ~30 y.o. One of the main reasons that the competitions are just not as exciting anymore. Was hoping Europe will carry the slack, but there seems to be just 3 players - Clem (congrats again, very excited for this young player), Serral, and Reynor.
On September 13 2024 10:40 BonitiilloO wrote: replays?
They're coming soon - I imagine the organizers had to get their equipment home and pull the replays off of the observer PC first (first priority comes to teardown from the arena would be my guess)
Really enjoyed this one! Exciting games and great energy. Nice production and the outdoor venue was a breath of fresh air in two ways I suppose Thanks everyone involved!
EPT
Bellum Gens Elite: Stara Zagora 2024![[image loading]](/staff/Waxangel/misc/bgebracket_2.png)
