Classic Wins 2025 GSL Code S Season 2

by Wax

The specter of finality loomed over the 2025 GSL Code S Season 2 finals, but for its champion, it was a moment of renewal well worth celebrating. Classic narrowly defeated Rogue 4-3 in the deciding series, winning a long-awaited second Code S title and reaching a new peak in his remarkable career second act.

Classic's first Code S win had come back in 2014's Season 2, when he was part of the KeSPA tidal wave sweeping over the StarCraft II scene. While Classic would go on to have a successful career and win several trophies in other events, it would take him eleven years to reclaim Korea's most prestigious prize. At times, the Code S title became either literally or figuratively unattainable—military service took Classic out of competition entirely for eighteen months in 2020-21, and the accompanying ring rust saw him languish in mediocrity after his return.

However, perseverance turned out to be Classic's greatest strength, as he patiently recovered his skills over time. He became a fringe contender during the 2023/24 cycle, setting foot in the top four of Code S once more. An advantageous patch in November of 2024 turned his patience into a deadly in-game weapon as well, with the meta rewarding his safe and cautious play. The summer of 2025 saw Classic achieve back-to-back top four finishes in Code S Season 1 and DreamHack Dallas, while playing the highest level of StarCraft II we'd seen since his comeback. The time was nigh for Classic to be called a champion again.



Classic presented all the credentials of a title contender in the early rounds of Code S Season 2, earning a direct RO8 seed in the qualifiers and then coming out of his RO8 group in first place. In the semifinals, he disposed of the tricky GuMiho in a one-sided 3-1 series. The rest of the season had been unusually upset-prone—with players like Cure, Maru, and Solar all going out early—but Classic remained immune to the variables and chaos of Code S.

The opposite semifinal provided one final surprise, with Rogue breaking his 20-match losing streak against herO to advance to the grand finals. Like Classic, Rogue was a military returnee, but was still deeply mired in the recovery phase of his comeback. Rogue's upset victory over herO was a windfall for Classic, giving him a much easier finals opponent on paper. However, in the semifinals against herO, the clever strategies and all-ins that had been integral to Rogue's legendary career had been on full display. If Rogue could maintain that level of resourcefulness for one more series, then Classic's championship was far from assured.

The first two games made it seem like Rogue had expended all his underdog energy in the previous match. His late-game play looked hapless in a crushing game one loss, and while he surprised Classic with an unusual map-specific opener in game two, that creativity led him nowhere and he fell to a 0-2 deficit.

However, Rogue found his verve in the following two games, tying the series with a Zergling-Baneling timing in game three, and then overwhelming Classic with a mid-game Hydralisk-Baneling army in game four.

The latter game briefly rang alarm bells, suggesting that there might be a way for Rogue to overpower Classic in straight-up games. Classic quickly put such worries to rest in game five, outlasting several waves of Hydra-Bane before purifying the Swarm with his ultimate late-game army.

Going up to match point, Classic decided to gamble on his only all-in of the series: a 7-Gate Zealot attack off of two bases. However, he paid the price for going against his style, as Rogue defended easily to tie the series back at 3-3.

With everything hinging on one final game, Classic reverted back to his orthodox style. Rogue decided to refrain from trickery, and made one final go at overpowering Classic with Hydra-Bane attacks in the mid-game. While Rogue was able to stress and bend Classic's defenses, ultimately they did not break. Rogue eventually ran out of steam, and the series looked all but decided after a particularly disastrous attack.

Despite having what seemed like a clear window to finish Rogue off, Classic decided to play things extra safe and stayed back while building up his ultimate Skytoss army. For Classic fans who just wanted him to get things over with, it must have been nerve-wracking to see him grant his opponent a second chance. But in Classic's mind, there may have been no difference between winning in fifteen minutes and winning in fifty—it was all equally assured. In the end, he didn't have to wait quite that long, as Rogue revealed his late-game foibles once more. Blundering away his Corruptors to Archons and Storm, Rogue acknowledged the inevitable outcome and surrendered.

With his second GSL trophy finally in hand, Classic gave a textbook winners' interview to go along with his textbook play. "The support of the fans has been a great source of strength to me during my time as a progamer. Fans are still cheering for me even now, and that energizes me and helps me work harder… …for as much as they've cheered me on, I'm glad I was able to repay them today."

The trophy was kissed, confetti fell, and another Code S season came to an end. SOOP's Kevin Seo gave his customary speech to thank the fans, but offered no hints as to the future of his company's longest running competition. As we enter another period of anxious waiting, StarCraft II fans must hope that things will work the way they did for Classic. Maybe, patience will be a virtue.

Match Recaps

Semifinal #1: herO [3-1] Rogue - (VOD)

Game 1 - Magannatha (herO win): Rogue looked to get into herO's head right off the bat, quickly proxying his third Hatchery in the Protoss natural. However, herO calmly responded by taking down the proxy-Hatch with a Zealot and Probes, and then counterattacking with two Zealots and one Adept. Rogue's Spawning Pool had been delayed due to his fast proxy Hatchery, and herO's handful of Gateway units dealt enough damage to give him the lead.

herO followed up with some effective Void Ray + Oracle harassment, which served to set up a deadly +1 Chargelot timing. Rogue was caught totally off guard by the attack and quickly GG'd out.

Game 2 - Tokamak (Rogue win): Game two began in more standard fashion, with Rogue going 3-Hatch against herO's Stargate expansion. herO went for some aggressive early Oracle + Adept harassment, sacrificing Adepts to maximize Drone kills.

However, it turned out a strong army was actually what herO needed, as Rogue's plan was to go for a mass Roach + Queen drop timing. Even worse, herO had gone for the +1 Chargelot follow-up again, which was countered by Rogue's mass Roaches. After a futile effort to defend, herO had to GG out against the superior Zerg forces.

Game 3 - Torches (Rogue win): Rogue opened with a map-specific cheese for Torches, opening with a fast expansion at his opponent's "frontdoor" base (behind the gold mineral wall). herO's Probe scout told him something was awry, and he sent it to check various locations for possible hidden bases (Zerg's third, 9:00 gold base).

However, the base closest to him was the last location herO chose to scout, which gave Rogue all the time he needed to complete the Hatchery, mine through the mineral wall, and start an all-in with Queens, Slowlings, and even a handful of Drones. This scrappy army was just enough to overpower herO's 1-Gate production, and Rogue took the win at just after 4-minute mark.

Game 4 - Pylon (Rogue win): The two players went back to conventional openers in game four, with herO Oracle expanding against Rogue's 3-Hatch. herO looked to get aggressive with Oracle-Adept harass, but this time, reckless shades from herO made it a waste of units.

Unfortunately for herO, he could hardly afford to waste them, as Rogue was going for a big Ling-Bane attack off of 50-ish Drones. Rogue inflicted devastating damage on the unprepared herO, and his follow-up attack of Hydras finished the game.


Semifinal #2: Classic [3-1] GuMiho - (VOD)

Game 1 - Pylon (Classic win): GuMiho opened up by proxying a single Barracks out on the map, but a speedy Probe scout forced a quick cancel. GuMiho pivoted into trying to play a normal macro game from there, with Classic being more than happy to play out a standard game as well.

The game quickly unravelled for GuMiho once Classic came knocking with a strong mid-game army with Storm, as he took heavy damage at his third base while his counterdrops were easily mopped up by defending Templars. It wasn't long before Classic's army was strong enough to go for the killing blow, collecting the GG from GuMiho after blanketing his forces with Storms.

Game 2 - Tokamak (Classic win): While the previous game's macro play might have been unplanned, GuMiho committed to playing straight-up in game two by going 3-CC behind some early Cyclone harassment. Once again, this all seemed to suit Classic fine, as he teched up to Storm while freely taking expansions on his half of the map.

GuMiho did a better job at not dying this time around, with his cautious, defensive play allowing him to secure four bases. However, he wasn't able to threaten Classic at all, and he eventually had to make an offensive move.

GuMiho finally moved out with a maxed out 2/2 bio army with a heavy ratio of Marauders. Seeing that he had vastly more expansions, Classic decided he would basetrade first and take care of the army later. While the situation played out a bit more precariously than Classic would have hoped, it ultimately went according to plan. He was left with one base against GuMiho's zero, and his Templars gave him a huge advantage against GuMiho's Ghost-less army.

Classic made what should have been an easy closeout unnecessarily complicated, as he lost a huge number of Zealots while going for a premature kill shot on GuMiho's main (friendly fire Storms contributed heavily). However, Classic had enough Templars left as a backstop for his error, and GuMiho GG'd out after his last-ditch attack failed.

Game 3 - Tokamak (GuMiho win): GuMiho got off to his best start in the series, with his early Cyclone-Marine-Medivac force applying heavy pressure against Classic's fast-Storm opener. GuMiho managed to exploit the short window where Storms aren't quite as effective because there's not as much Terran army to hit, and used this early pressure to set up his third base from a strong position.

Classic was forced to play macro from slightly behind, but the previous games suggested he'd quickly overtake GuMiho if given enough time. However, he wouldn't get the chance, as he was sucked into another basetrade as the two main armies missed each other while traversing the map.

This time, Classic didn't have the expansion or army advantage, and the basetrade quickly swung GuMiho's way as he gutted the Protoss expansions and floated his own buildings across the map. GuMiho was able to basetrade in the truest sense, with his evacuated SCVs and buildings quickly establishing a new home in Classic's old main.

Meanwhile, Classic was forced to try and build back up from almost zero. Classic made an earnest attempt to play the game out, but he had started his rebuild with too big of a disadvantage to have a chance of winning.

Game 4 - Magannatha (Classic win): GuMiho once again decided to go for macro play, going up to three bases after some cursory Marine-Medivac pressure. Of course, Classic went for more defensive macro play as well, although he changed up his plan slightly by swapping out fast Templars for Colossus instead.

GuMiho was in a decent position up until the mid-game, with his army movements and the threat of drops slowing down Classic's economic growth. However, he committed the tragic error of idling a group of loaded Medivacs in sight of an Observer, allowing Classic's Stalkers to walk up and pick several of them off.

From there, Classic's economic snowball really got going, and the game quickly went spiraling out of control for GuMiho. A key fifth base proved to be impossible for GuMiho to take, and he was eventually battered down by an unending deluge of Protoss units.

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Grand Finals: Classic [4-3] Rogue - (VOD)

Game 1 - Persephone (Classic win): Both players went for macro openers to start, with Classic getting slightly ahead thanks to effective Oracle harassment. Rogue rushed up to Hive tech off of Ling-Bane, while Classic was content to remain passive and build up off of four bases.

Trying to create a distraction as he teched to Ultralisks, Rogue sent a number of Overlords across the left side of the map for a big Zergling drop. However, Classic's sixth sense told him something was off, and he sent his Oracles to spot the Overlords just in time. The Zergling drop (and accompanying Baneling backdoor) ended up being a total failure, and Classic decided to pull the trigger on a counterattack.

Weirdly enough, this somehow ended up working in Rogue's favor as the failed drop had still bought him enough time to hatch his Ultralisks. Classic's mainly Stalker-Templar army was massacred by Ultra-Ling-Bane on Creep, and Rogue took a surprise lead in the game.

Rogue kept up the pressure, pelting Classic with drops and backdoors while delaying his fifth base. However, Classic stayed calm under fire, trusting in the tier-3 deathball that was slowly coming together. Indeed, while Rogue was keeping Classic pinned back and building up a decent bank, it was unclear how he was going to deal with 140 supply of Immortal-Tempest-Archon-Templar.

As it turned out, Rogue didn't seem to have a great idea either, as he tried to take Classic's army on with a mostly Ultralisk-Infestor composition. The Ultralisks were almost instantly melted by the Immortals, while Neuraling a handful of Archons and Tempests did little to turn the tide. Classic ended up absolutely crushing Rogue in the decisive battle, forcing the GG.

Game 2 - Torches (Classic win): Rogue went for a mindgame based on his earlier Torches game against herO, once again mining through the gold mineral wall early on. However, this time he sent a Drone out to build a hidden Hatchery at a different location, taking the 9:00 gold base instead. While Classic noticed something was amiss, he checked the possible hidden Hatchery locations in the perfectly wrong order. Classic's scouting Probe was actually SO confused in its movements that Rogue somehow got away with taking his third Hatchery at the 3:00 gold base as well.

The game seemed to be going fantastically for the double-golden Rogue, and the situation looked to get better when he held off Classic's Glaive-Adept harassment with Ling-Bane. However, it turned out the situation wasn't all that bad for Classic, as Rogue had stayed on a low Drone count and hadn't teched up much. This let Classic stay put on two bases and gather a Sentry-Immortal-Adept force without falling behind.

Ultimately, Rogue hadn't been able to convert his early economic boost into anything meaningful, and was left trying to defend his far-apart bases with a low-tech army. Rogue's motley Ling-Ravager force couldn't deal with Classic once he pushed out, and he surrendered the GG.

Game 3 - Incorporeal (Rogue win): The game began with normal Oracle-expansion vs 3-Hatch starts, but a terrible lapse in concentration from Classic saw him lose his first two Oracles while attempting rudimentary harassment.

Rogue responded by going for a similar Ling-Bane timing as the one he had used against herO (it's unclear whether this was his original intent, or it was a response to Classic losing his key Oracles), which dealt massive damage against Classic's weakened defenses. The Ling-Bane attack was unable to kill Classic directly, but Rogue soon added enough Hydralisks to finish the job.

Game 4 - Pylon (Rogue win): Classic made up for his poor play in the previous game with a much better early-game, this time doing a solid amount of damage with his early Oracle-Adept harass. However, he gave back that advantage because of a different mistake, as he left his wall open and allowed Rogue to claw back some of the advantage with a Zergling runby.

Both players decided to build-up for a clash in the mid-game, with Rogue making mass Hydra-Bane while Classic built up a standard ground force of Gateway units + Templars. Rogue got the better of Classic on the initial Protoss move-out, sacrificing an expendable expansion while hitting with backdoor Banelings at the enemy's key fourth base.

Capitalizing on some mispositioning from Classic, Rogue followed up with a direct assault on the fourth base with his main army. He easily razed the poorly protected Nexus, and decided to keep pressing forward into Protoss territory. In a throwback to 2019, Classic found himself without the Storms needed to handle the Hydra-Bane onslaught and GG'd out.

Game 5 - Ley Lines (Classic win): The two finalists seemed content to keep their openers normal for the time being, with the game yet again starting with the Oracles vs 3-Hatch framework.

Rogue soon revealed his hand to be another Ling-Bane timing, already having gone 2-0 with the strategy that night. However, Classic got into the mid-game in a solid position this time, and had advance warning of the attack thanks to a fortuitously placed Probe. This allowed him to evacuate his Probes and get in some key defensive warp-ins, which made a huge difference as he survived the attack without taking serious damage.

Classic continued with his usual macro build-up, while Rogue briefly contemplated Hive tech before deciding to commit to mass Hydra-Bane once more. Despite having wasted resources on a failed Ling-Bane timing, Rogue still managed to gather enough Hydra-Bane for at least one semi-threatening attack. However, Classic weathered that brief moment of danger just fine, putting him well on his way to assembling an unstoppable deathball.

Rogue did a surprisingly good job at not dying despite having a weaker composition, but eventually, he was forced to take a doomed fight where his entire army disintegrated in seconds against Storm.

Game 6 - Tokamak (Rogue win): Classic decided it was finally time to try something other than an Oracle opener, instead going for Robo tech and a 7-Gate Zealot all-in. To further sell the deception, Classic even took a fake third base and created a hallucinated Oracle.

Rogue had leaned toward skipping Roaches throughout the night, but unfortunately for Classic, this time a Roach Warren went down with time to spare. Once Rogue saw the fake Nexus being cancelled, he slammed down on the R key. Queens and Roaches were more than enough to handle an all-in that was essentially 1 Immortal + all Zealots, and Classic GG'd out after his attack was shut down.

Game 7 - Magannatha (Classic win): The two players agreed to decide the championship in a straight-up game, and they went into a passive build up with minimal aggression besides some token Baneling drops.

Once again, Rogue went full 2019 and planned to overwhelm his opponent in the mid-game with Hydra-Bane, while Classic took the contemporary approach of patiently gathering an unstoppable deathball.

Rogue slammed Classic with several waves of Hydra-Bane, which succeeded in slowing the Protoss expansions and forcing Classic to play cautiously. However, he failed to deal any serious damage to the Protoss army, which only got stronger as it swapped out Zealots and Stalkers for more Archons, Immortals, and Templars.

Classic eventually got to a point where he was able to easily rebuff one of Rogue's attacks, and even spare some supply for a Zealot backdoor at one of the Zerg expansions. Rogue took such heavy casualties in his failed attack that it seemed like Classic could easily win by counterattacking, but instead he chose to play his lead extremely passively. He gave Rogue plenty of time to rebuild his forces, and even tech-up and transition to a late-game army.

While it briefly seemed like Classic had needlessly given Rogue a lifeline, it turned out he was correct to disregard Rogue as a late-game threat. Even though Rogue did a decent job of going after Classic's expansions, he himself failed to obtain the resources to keep trading against a late-game Protoss army.

Whatever small chance Rogue had of winning a protracted game evaporated when he committed a huge error by sending his Corruptors to pick off a stray Oracle. The Protoss army was actually nearby, and the clumped up Corruptors were incinerated by Archons and Storm. Rogue tried to play things out for about thirty seconds longer, but he realized the situation was hopeless and GG'd out without a final battle.