Clem Wins PiG Sty Festival #6

by Wax

The long, unofficial off-season came to a close at PiG Sty Festival #6, which concluded with Clem delivering a message to the rest of the competitive SC2 scene: the road to the 2025 world championship goes through him.

The Team Liquid ace gave a masterful performance in the all-online event, which culminated in him taking playoff victories against both Serral and herO—the two other title favorites—to claim the $2,400 first place prize.



Clem's 4-3 win against Serral in the semifinals was payback for his previous loss to the Finnish Phenom in the finals of PiG Sty #5, and also saw him improve to a 4-1 series score against his rival during the off-season period (matches after EWC 2024).

Against herO, Clem dealt a double dose of damage, defeating him 4-1 in the initial round of the double-elimination playoffs, followed by a 5-3 victory in a grand finals rematch. Although Clem had struggled against herO in other competitions during the month of April, he showed his world championship class by elevating his game when the stakes were raised. Overall, Clem put up a 5-0 match record and 18-8 map score during PiG Sty Festival #6—definitely not his most dominant tournament run, but one with enough quality wins to place him as the favorite headed into the EWC 2025 cycle.

For those looking for a scouting report ahead of a busy summer, PiG Sty Festival #6 didn't provide much information outside affirming Clem, Serral, and herO's status as top-tier players. The tournament results went mostly chalk, with only MaNa standing out as a potential dark horse for EWC qualification. Reynor was notable for making his comeback from a short sabbatical, but was not yet in form to make a serious impact.

Unfortunately, the star of the biggest upset of PiG Sty #6 is unlikely to have any bearing on the competitive scene going forward. Dark earned a 4-3 victory against Serral in the upper-bracket semis, where he showed off signature plays such as his deadly all-in attacks and late-game Nydus-Lurker use. However, it's probably one of the last times that we will see such plays from Dark, as his non-participation in the upcoming GSL Code S suggests his military service will begin shortly.

In any case, PiG Sty Festival #6 was a fine ending to an off-season where the StarCraft II community showed its resilience in the absence of its traditional patrons. A streamer provided the organization, fans provided the funding, and players responded with great games—a formula we saw repeated over and over again. If the community is willing to pick up where they left off once the EWC 2025 cycle is over, there is a future for competitive SC2 going forward—in some shape or form.

Finals Recap: Clem 5 - 3 herO

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Game 1 - Sandwyrm (Clem win): herO started the series with an economic gamble, taking his third base at the exposed gold-mineral position. However, the risk didn't pay off, as Clem struck with a game-winning Tank-push before herO could get his mass production online.

Game 2 - Killswitch (Clem win): The two players began with a relatively quiet build up, but the game was plunged into chaos when herO's mass Zealot warp-in got mixed up with a frontal push + drop combo from Clem. herO ended up getting the worse end of the multi-front skirmishes, and decided to commit to a big frontal attack before the situation could get any worse. However, herO failed to deal the damage needed to even the game up, and Clem closed the game out with his economy and army advantage.

Game 3 - Tokamak (herO win): The two players took turns prodding at each other to start, with Clem going for some Marine-Mine drop pressure while herO responded with Blink Stalker harassment. Perhaps feeling that herO had come out ahead in the exchange, Clem cut SCV production to commit to an aggressive push. However, a great Zealot backdoor and timely Psi Storms totally negated Clem's plans and put him in a deeper hole. herO played a solid defensive/control game from there on out, absorbing a bit of damage from Clem but ultimately winning with his stronger economy.

Game 4 - Torches (Clem win): Clem opened with proxy 2-Barracks Marauders, which herO responded to by simply cancelling his natural. The two players awkwardly built up from their one base starts, with herO seeming to pull ahead after surprising Clem with late DT's. However, Clem still had a strong enough standing army to launch a deadly SCV-pull all-in, which was enough to squeeze a GG out of herO.

Game 5 - Ley Lines (herO win): The two players engaged in a straightforward attack vs defense game, with Clem committing to a heavy 2-base pressure while herO tried to hold the line. Clem's troop movements and multi-tasking came close to overstressing the Protoss defenses, but ultimately herO was solid enough to take the game.

Game 6 - Last Fantasy (Clem win): herO pulled out an unusual opener on the 3-player map, going Stargate and hiding Phoenixes until he had seven of them. While herO didn't get to blind-counter a Terran drop as he might have hoped (Clem was playing a more passive opener), he did surprise Clem with his Phoenixes and nabbed 13 SCV kills. Once again, Clem decided an SCV-pull all-in was the right move, and once again it turned out he was correct. A huge friendly-fire Widow Mine shot almost lost Clem the game, but in the end, he had just enough troops left over to force the GG.

Game 7 - Persephone (herO win): herO's lust for gold came out once more, as he rushed to take a fast fourth base at the center-right rich mineral base. 3-base Clem cut his SCV production and tech to try and shut down this pivotal expansion, but even with the help of the nearby Healing Shrine, he just wasn't able to break through herO's defenses. herO's gold base economy kicked in shortly after, allowing him to overwhelm Clem with waves of Gateway units.

Game 8 - Magannatha (Clem win): After an uneventful early game build up, herO went for his final gambit in the form of 2-Stargate Phoenixes. herO's Phoenix-Colossus-Zealot composition allowed him to take control of the map initially, but Clem was patient and responded by massing Vikings to support his bio.

In the pivotal battle of the game, herO grossly underestimated either the power or number of Clem's Vikings and committed to a disastrous engagement. The majority of his Phoenixes fell from the sky, rendering his Colossus helpless. While herO managed to avert an immediate defeat, he just didn't have enough time to transition into another composition and was inevitably forced to surrender the championship-sealing map to Clem.

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