The Shield and Spear:
Dark vs Stats in the SSL 2017 Season 2 Finals

By: Mizenhauer

Back in 2023, I took some time to celebrate Dark vs Stats, one of the great, underappreciated rivalries of the early LotV era. In their 2016 SSL finals clash, Dark brought a Ling-Bane composition that was novel at the time, giving him the edge needed to topple stats and catapult himself to the top of the Zerg hierarchy. Today's nostalgic match features another chapter in this rivalry, as one year later, Dark and Stats would collide yet again in the finals of the SSL.

To preface this match, it should be noted that 'true' rivalries (as understood in other sports) have been surprisingly rare in Korean StarCraft II. The high degree of parity in the Korean scene meant that for the better part of its history, it was exceedingly difficult for the same two players to continuously clash with each other in the higher rounds of the playoffs. And, when such players did collide, the matches frequently failed to live up to the hype.

Hence, Dark vs Stats in 2016-17 stands out as a rivalry in both name and substance. During that time, both players were consistent enough to regularly make deep, championship-contender runs, while also being evenly matched so that each encounter warranted genuine excitement and anticipation.


Just to rattle off some of their more high profile clashes, Dark bested Stats in the aforementioned 2016 SSL Season 1 finals, after which Stats got his revenge in the WCS Korea Season 1 Cross Finals (a tournament that pitted the SSL and GSL champions against each other with ₩20m KRW for the winner), followed by Dark closing 2016 out by winning 2-1 in the group stages of BlizzCon 2016. Fittingly, they also split their pair of 2016 Proleague clashes 1-1.

The conflict continued into 2017 with Stats eliminating Dark in the semifinals of IEM Katowice 2017, followed by the two going 1-1 in a pair of BO3's in the SSL group stages.

That finally brings us to this article's feature match. In September of 2017, the two players were brought together for their fifth offline BO5+ match in two years (fourteenth offline match overall), this time contending for the SSL Season 2 championship. Both players were at the top of their games, making this a finals that couldn't be missed.

This was the peak stretch of Stats' of career, where reigned as the clear #1 Protoss in the world. He had recorded three consecutive finals appearances to start the year, placing runner-up at IEM Gyeonggi & Katowice while claiming his first Code S title in 2017's Season 1. Stats didn't take his foot off the gas, adding top four finishes in SSL Season 1, Code S Season 3, and GSL vs the World. Including the SSL Season 2 finals we're about to examine, he had reached the RO4 or higher in seven out of ten Premier events up to that point in 2017—a truly incredible accomplishment given the level of competition at the time

How did Stats pull off such a ridiculous run of results? Well, this was when Stats firmly established his reputation as a fantastic all-around player in the mold of Zest and Rain before him. Unlike other Protoss players who were more specialized, Stats could do it all. His Oracle harassment always seemed to find that extra bit of damage. His transitions into the midgame were clean and safe. He was superb at handling the Templar-Immortal-Zealot armies that were prevalent at the time. Of course, he could also hit the deadly timings that forced Zergs to play with constant anxiety. Not only that, but when the games went late, Stats was second to none. His unrivaled control of the golden armada, combined with Zealot runbys into his opponent's most vulnerable weak points, made him nearly impossible to defeat once he had his late-game macro machine up and running.

The key word there is nearly. If anyone could beat this version of Stats in the late game, it was Dark. Unlike Stats, you couldn't say Dark was the clear #1 Zerg at this time, as both Rogue and soO were giving him stiff competition. However, there was one aspect in which Dark transcended both of them—the late game. Of course, soO’s difficulties in the late game have been readily apparent throughout his career. As for Rogue, while he would usurp Dark as the late game king in years to come, at this time he lacked the patience and awareness that made Dark truly special.

Both calculating and decisive, Dark was excellent at identifying the path to victory in a given situation, whether it was forcing a direct confrontation between armies or waiting his opponent out in a battle of attrition. The skill that enabled Dark's powerful late-game was his unrivaled control of spellcasters. We've become jaded to top Zerg players like Serral and Rogue perfectly utilizing Infestors and Vipers in concert with their main armies, but Dark was the first player to truly show us the potential of this combined arms warfare. He rapidly became famous for his ability to win the cost-efficiency war as Zerg, often coming from behind and stealing games every other player would have lost.

However, while some might have expected Dark to lean into the late game in his upcoming finals clash against Stats, that was not necessarily going to be the case. SpoTV caster Valdez mentioned how Dark had said he had no interest in engaging in prolonged bouts with Stats, which could have been your usual mindgaming—or true deference to the late-game ability Stats was showing at the time.

Fortunately for Dark, the aggressive tendencies that had brought him to prominence in Heart of the Swarm hadn't gone anywhere. He frequently opted for various cheeses, and was equally eager to squash his opponents with Zerglings as he was with Roaches. Cheesing, while lacking in elegance, would definitely give Dark a chance to bypass Skytoss entirely. Dark was taking a big gamble in playing this way, but gambling had worked quite well for him thus far in his career (and, as we would find out, would work for many years after).

2017 SSL Season 2: Finals

The series began on Newkirk Precinct, with Dark immediately attempting to set the tone with a Zergling-Queen drop off of 19 workers. However, the move backfired on Dark as Stats demonstrated his defensive prowess, taking minimal damage despite opening Nexus-first.





That left Stats ahead on both army and worker supply, and he finished the game soon thereafter with Adepts and Immortals.

After that underwhelming opening bout, the series moved on to Abyssal Reef for game two (VOD). The aquatic arena is probably the most fondly remembered map from the pool at the time—likely contributing to its recent return—but it did suffer from being somewhat one-note macro (besides from the occasional Pylon rush or committed Tank push). And, while Dark was certainly the kind of player who would try to subvert expectations with another aggressive strategy, this time he was content to take on Stats in a late-game duel as the map demanded.

As mentioned, Dark and Stats were both late game savants, so it’s no shock that after some token Oracle and Adept harass, both players started swallowing up the map. Stats continued to keep Dark from over-greeding with Oracle harassment (mass Oracle was actually a perfectly viable mid-game strategy against Zerg at this time) while getting a Fleet Beacon back at home. With the game nearing the ten minute mark, both players were established on five bases. For those in the audience looking forward to some action, they would have to wait, as Dark was unwilling to leave his fortress of Crawlers while Stats was perfectly comfortable massing Carriers on five bases.

The first legitimate engagement happened at the 17 minute mark as Dark pounced on Stats army. It was a great engagement typical of Dark, neuralling the Mothership, yoinking a few Carriers with Vipers, and laying down some Fungal Growths for good measure. At this point, Stats was still okay with disengaging with some minor losses, regrouping to try and take a better fight a minute later.





After trading off the last of his Zealots, Stats added several Archons to his army mix for a pitched engagement. While the Archons gave Stats a beefy front line, Dark's spellcaster use saw him prevail once more. Stats had enough left in the bank to remax once more, but now he was in deep trouble if he couldn't get something done in the next engagement.





Dark used this opportunity to jump on Stats’ outer bases with a boatload of corruptors and Ultralisks. He couldn't find direct, game ending damage—and may have overextended somewhat—but keeping Stats' expansion count in check was enough to keep him in the lead. Ultimately, it was the kind of inefficient trade that was better for Zerg, and Stats struggled to reassemble a proper late game force (hastily making Void Rays to try and combat the Corruptors). Dark kept piling on the pressure, with the key addition of five Vipers to counter the mass Void Rays that now made up the core of Stats' force. When it came time to fight once more, Dark easily cleared up the remnants of Stats’ fleet, prompting a GG from his rival.





The previous game had to make one wonder if Dark was really afraid of Stats in late-game ZvP, but he stayed true to his word as he returned to aggressive tactics in game three on Ascension to Aiur (VOD). Dark went for a Ling-Bane all-in with dropperlord Queen support, while Stats opened Stargate expansion into Glaive Adepts.

Stats struck with his Glaive Adepts first, and fortune seemed to favor Dark as the Ling-Bane swarm he was massing easily cleaned up the Protoss forces. It looked like Dark had found the perfect timing to counter attack, but thanks to fantastic defensive simcity, the timely arrival of Archons, and the might of Pylon overcharge, the Shield of Aiur repelled the attack with minimal damage taken. As in game one, Dark tried in vain to transition to Roaches and play the game out, but Stats' advantage was too large and he finished the game shortly with mass Gateway units.





After a brief interview with Solar and ByuN during the break, we headed to Odyssey for game four (VOD). Odyssey had the distinction of being the wackiest map in the pool, and Stats immediately showed us why by taking a fast expansion at a far-off gold base.

This tactic was 'normal' enough on Odyssey that Dark would have had a very good idea of what was up once he Overlord-scouted Stats' empty natural, and he slapped down a Baneling Nest and slammed the Z key like his life depended on it. Likewise, Stats would have known an all-in was a distinct possibility against his risky expansion, and he set about fortifying his gold base.

Here, Dark played the situation beautifully. He sent his forces to the gold base first, baiting out a Pylon Overcharge. Then, he immediately turned around and changed his target to Stats' main. Banelings easily tore down the single Pylon wall, and Ling-Bane flooded in. Stats was forced to recall to his main, but Dark still found the damage he needed with his forces taking down 15 Probes.





The game wasn't over by any means, with Dark being completely all-in and Stats having gold-mineral economy to rely on if he could just weather the storm. Dark changed his target once again to the gold base, but this time Stats made a strong defensive stand thanks to his micro against Banelings.

However, Dark had just enough in the tank for one more attack, as he once again changed his aim to Stats' main. Stats was forced to respond with not just another recall, but also by using two of his key Warp Gate cycles to reinforce his main. Dark responded by sending his reinforcing Zerglings straight to the undefended gold base, and they ravaged the naked Probe line to force the GG (Stats' perplexed look in the booth immediately after suggested none of his practice partners had played the two-prong game quite as well as Dark).

With the series all tied up at 2-2, the two finalists headed to Whirlwind for a pivotal game five (VOD). The game took a relatively normal shape to start, but Dark had another unusual strategy up his sleeve. After rushing out +1 melee upgrade for Zergling pressure, Dark quickly teched up to Infestation Pit for fast Swarm Hosts.

The strategy made sense in theory, with Zerglings pinning Stats back in the early/mid-game before Swarm Hosts made their surprise appearance. However, Dark just wasn't counting on how damn solid Stats would be. The Chintoss took the Zergling pressure in stride, parrying the attacks while effortlessly multi-tasking his own 2-Archon drop harass on the other side of the map. As it turned out, Dark wouldn't achieve any map control at all, and his Zergling pressure petered out while he was forced to constantly divert forces to chase away the pesky Archons.

That meant that Stats actually got to go on the offensive first, marching forward with Zealot-Archon while Dark's Swarm Hosts hadn't even crossed the halfway mark on the map. Dark was forced to use his first wave of Locusts on defense—typically a death knell for any fast Swarm Host strategy. In fact, the Swarm Hosts weren't even able to delay Dark's demise as the Archons quickly burned through the Locusts and forced the GG.





With Stats on championship point, the series headed to another four player map in Frost (VOD). As in the previous game, Dark seemed to take a more conventional approach to start, but he soon bared his teeth with another aggressive strategy.

Going Roach for the first time in the series, Dark quickly teched up to Lair for what initially seemed like a fast burrow-Roach strategy. Stats' Oracles and Adepts quickly uncovered this ploy, and Stats was content to stay holed up in two bases and gear up for mass Chargelot-Archon off of two bases.

Both players belatedly took their third bases, and here, Stats made a crucial misread of the situation. He seemed to believe that they would be slowly transitioning into a macro game, but Dark had actually switched to Hydralisk tech and was preparing for a mass Roach-Hydra timing. Dark's swarm streamed across the map, surprising Stats at his warping natural. Caught off guard, Stats made the error of trying to stand and fight with his Chargelot-Archon force, only to see his army get shredded by Hydralisks firing at will from behind a wall of Roaches. Dark continued his march into Stats' natural, forcing the GG and a winner-take-all game seven.





The final game took place on Overgrowth (VOD), which demanded another fast-paced game due to its small size and exposed third bases.

Playing to the map, Stats Pylon blocked Dark’s natural, forcing his Zerg foe to take a very distant third (I knew this was going to happen at the time!). This allowed a pair of Adepts to harangue Dark as he tried to secure his natural/third, giving Stats a moderate advantage as he set himself up on three bases.

Dark accepted the less-than-ideal start and worked his way up his patented Ling-Bane-Hydra composition, while Stats looked to play mass Zealot-Archon (with later Templar support). Stats kept the snowball slowly rolling, hitting with a 4-Archon + Zealots timing. While Baneling and Hydralisk reinforcements allowed him to defend his third, he was helpless to prevent Stats from razing the Hatchery at the fourth base and pulling back.

With the majority of Dark’s army pinned at the Zerg third, Stats kept up the aggression with a warp-in into the Zerg main. Dark hastily split his forces on defense, which opened a window for Stats to send another Prism into Dark's natural and warp-in even more Zealots. All the while, Stats sent his main army to stage outside of Dark's third, preparing to land the haymaker in his 1-2-3 combo. Down 30+ supply, Dark needed to make something happen. He decided to preempt Stats, loading Banelings into Overlords for a massive Hydralisk + Baneling drop attack on Stats' main army.





Stats was having none of it. Excellent army splits completely negated the Baneling drops, while Storms turned Hydralisks into bloody puddles on the ground. To anyone watching it was obvious that there would be no coming back from this, and it seemed Dark knew as well as his hands momentarily left his keyboard. Reduced to 80 supply worth of Zerg going up nearly double that of Protoss, Dark stewed for a moment before admitting defeat. He had gotten the better of Stats in SSL 2016 to win his first major championship, but this time his nemesis had gotten the better of him.

For the second time that year, Stats removed his headset with a massive smile on his face. He had already broken his second place curse earlier in the year by winning Code S Season 1, but this second title made sure his legacy was fully secured. After years of toiling in the shadows of superstars like Zest and Flash on KT Rolster, he had finally won equal—or even greater—glory of his own. He was undeniably the best Protoss in the world, and the one who had defined greatness in the first two years of Legacy of the Void.

As for Dark, he left the booth tailed by the "what if's?" that always follow the second place player. In particular, his defensive approach had to be second-guessed, especially after his masterful late game play on Abyssal Reef. Then again, how much questioning was justified for a player who came within one map of winning a championship? Had his execution been just slightly better on one of his all-ins, then we could very well have been praising him for his audacity.





Fortunately for Dark, he would vindicate himself and his aggressive approach to SC2 many times over in later years. As for Stat, he would continue his great play into 2018, creating what may very well have been the best three year peak before Serral and Maru came along. But at this moment, with the crowd applauding, and a trophy waiting for him on stage, the future and the past didn’t matter. Stats was a champion—just as he had always been destined to be.

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