Serral wins the 2025 Esports World Cup

by Wax

The greatest of all time became even greater at the 2025 Esports World Cup, as Serral reached the unmatched historic landmark of three lineal world championships and four titles in WC-tier events. During his world title run, the Finnish phenom showed the dominance that has become all but expected of him, going 5-0 in series and 17-4 in maps—capped with a one-sided 5-2 victory against Classic in the grand finals.



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Although the end result of Serral lifting the trophy was one we had seen time and time again, he had actually entered the 2025 world championship looking the most vulnerable he had been in years. The lasting image from the previous EWC was his 0-8 drubbing at the hands of Clem, and numerous tournaments in 2025 showed that his previously invincible ZvP could now be beaten by a patch-enhanced Protoss. Though the number of offline tournaments had been limited during the shortened 2025 season, it was conspicuous that Serral had failed to win a single one.

However, the rocky lead-in to EWC was just a setup for Serral to give what may have been the first "class is eternal" performance of his career. He rose to the occasion, crushed the competition, and looked just as good as during his many peaks over the last seven years.

Serral opened the tournament with a one-sided 2-0 against HeroMarine, and proceeded to set the tone for the rest of the event with a 3-0 over Classic in his next group stage bout. The veteran Protsos had emerged as a surprise title contender in the months leading up to EWC, conjuring images of world champions such as ByuN and Rogue as he appeared to peak at the perfect time. While winning Code S Season 2 was strong evidence of Classic's world title credentials, what may have been even more convincing was his victory over Serral in a marathon 3-2 series in the quarterfinals of DreamHack Dallas.

Unfortunately for Classic, he wasn't the only player peaking—or perhaps 're-peaking'—at the perfect time. Classic may have triumphed in the ultra-late game clashes at DreamHack, but Serral reasserted his own status as the greatest late-game Zerg player on his way to a convincing sweep.

Serral's world championship aspirations faced their greatest threat in the quarterfinals of the playoffs, with old rival Reynor pushing him to the brink of defeat in a five-game series. Serral barely took the match by a 3-2 score, powered by two comeback victories where he made incredible defensive stands.

After a reprieve in the semifinals—an avalanche 4-0 against Cure—Serral faced off against Classic once more in the grand finals. Despite his demoralizing loss to Serral in the group stage, Classic had bounced back with a superb run where he took down ShoWTimE 3-0 to clinch his playoff spot, and then authored the surprise of the tournament by sweeping defending champion Clem in the RO8. Following an overwhelming 4-1 victory against Solar in the semis, Classic seemed ready to take another shot at the ultimate PvZ test.

A best-of-nine between two virtuosos of macro-play portended a lengthy duel, but the question of late-game superiority ended up not mattering a single bit. Classic had been the best defensive Protoss of the condensed summer season, but he couldn't hold a candle to Serral's series plan of focusing on early and mid-game aggression. The overarching theme of the finals was Serral trying to kick down the front door, only to end up demolishing Classic's entire house in the process. Whether it was Roach-Ravager-Queen or the classic Hydralisk-Baneling, Serral wielded every Zerg composition with the force of a sledgehammer and the precision of a scalpel.

Classic did manage to take two maps—one in a fantastic comeback victory after surviving a devastating mid-game attack. But that win could only feel like a footnote in the wake of Serral's landslide 5-2 victory where he looked like the definitively superior player. The final game on Magannatha saw Serral deal the decisive blow in style, hitting with a clinical three-prong attack that shattered the Protoss defenses. After a doomed, last-ditch counterattack burned out, Classic officially signed off on Serral's world championship with four letters: "gg wp."

Nothing is truly a foregone conclusion in competitive StarCraft II, but Serral's post-match comments gave the end result an added air of inevitability. "This is what I came for, and this is what I got, so it's the best feeling in the world."

Despite his unparalleled success in StarCraft II and overflowing trophy case, Serral's biggest career landmarks still feel distinct. BlizzCon 2018 was a historic rebalancing of the world order. At IEM Katowice 2022, we saw the culmination of the rivalry between two friends. Katowice 2024 was a rebuke of all those who thought that the old king's glory had faded.

What, then, is the story of EWC 2025? Cynics would say the answer is easy: that of the final world champion. But to those who would take a less gloomy outlook, and take hope in StarCraft II's continued perseverance in the face of uncertainty, Serral's achievement could have a different lasting legacy: A challenge to all competitors going into the future.

Grand Finals Recap - Serral [5 - 2] Classic

Game 1 - Persephone (Serral win): Both players planned an aerial sneak attack to start the series, with Classic getting a fast second Stargate while Serral went for a quick Spire.

At first, it seemed like neither player was all that successful. Classic's 4-Oracle + 1 Void Ray attack was fended off by Queens, while Serral lost all eight of his Mutalisks while picking off just two Templars. However, this ended up working in Serral's favor after the two players transitioned into ground-focused play.

As it turned out, Serral had another aggressive maneuver up his sleeve, massing a Roach-Ravager-Queen swarm for a near-max strike at around the 8:30 mark. While Classic had a decent number of Templars, he was probably thinking he could have used two more as the enemy forces crashed into his defenses. Classic couldn't hold out against the initial attack and flood of reinforcements coming down the Creep highway, forcing him to surrender the first GG of the series.

Game 2 - Incorporeal (Serral win): Classic had another tricky move up his sleeve in game two, opening with the standard Stargate but quickly adding a Twilight Council for a very fast Glaive upgrade.

However, Serral was on top of his scouting as usual, and his Overlord scout discovered the Twilight Council in short order. To make things even worse for Classic, Serral made a round of Speedlings to force a cancellation on the Nexus warping in at the Protoss third.

With his early game plans ruined, Classic decided to just cancel Glaives, start his Blink upgrade, and try to play a normal macro game from behind. Of course, Serral was more than happy to play macro from a leading position, freely teching up and establishing a sturdy economic foundation.

Classic had earned some come-from-behind wins against Serral in the past by going into turtle mode and assembling a Skytoss fleet, but his vaunted defenses failed him this time around. He lost a handful of precious Templars in an ill-advised move out onto the map, and minutes later, he found his main army completely out of position when Classic attacked his fourth base with a Hydra-Lurker-Ling force.

As is often the case, the loss of a single base cascaded into losses elsewhere, as Serral continued his strike combination with a Zergling run-by at the third and a Nydus-Lurker backdoor into the main. With Classic wobbling on his feet, Serral landed the KO-punch with a final head-on attack.

Game 3 - Ultralove (Classic win): Classic wasn't ready to give up on Glaive openers after the previous game, and this time he went for a more conventional version with a Twilight Council at a later timing. The other critical difference from game two was that he successfully hid his Twilight Council and extra Gateways at his natural, while Serral's sacrifice Overlord scout vainly delved deep into the Protoss main.

Although Serral hatched a number of safety Roaches, there was just enough element of surprise in Classic's 9-Adept attack to make it a huge success. This time, it was Serral's turn to play less than ideally on defense, and the modest Adept force racked up 21 Drone kills by shading between the three mineral lines.

After taking such catastrophic damage, Serral had no choice but to commit to a Roach-Ravager-Queen all-in. However, Classic was well aware of what Serral's response would be, and placed Batteries and Cannons at his third place in preparation. While the all-in was surprisingly successful given the circumstances, it inevitably petered out and Serral conceded his first loss of the series.

Game 4 - Pylon (Serral win): Serral changed up his early-game approach slightly on Pylon, forgoing Roaches and playing around Ling-Bane with fast +1 melee upgrades. Meanwhile, Classic tripled down on Glaive openers, once again playing the conventional-ish version.

Both players soon discovered each others' plans, with Serral's Overlord scout finding the Twilight Council while Classic's Oracle sighted the Evolution Chamber. This resulted in Classic's Adepts trying to look as menacing as possible while roaming around the edges of Creep. Serral didn't find this particularly intimidating, and thanks to a Zergling run-by into the Protoss third and a decent skirmish against Adepts in the field, he went into the mid-game in an advantageous position.

Serral opted to go for a mass Hydra-Bane composition for the first time in the series, which Classic soon confirmed during some Prism-Adept harassment. Thus, instead of making his way up to Tempests off of four bases, he stayed focused on making ground troops and adding static defenses to his expansions.

Busting through Protoss defenses with brute force Hydra-Bane was something Serral was unrivalled at during the PvZ meta of 2018/19, and Serral showed those skills were very much intact with his deadly attack. Serral fanned his troops out to strike Classic's fourth base in a wide arc, minimizing the damage from mass Storms. Despite Classic's entrenched position, Serral's forces broke through. Once the first line of defenders fell, it was all too easy for Serral to send reinforcements streaming in to end the game.

Game 5 - Ley Lines (Classic win): The most standard map in the pool seemed to bring out the most standard openers, with both players starting the game off with minimal shenanigans (Classic went for a light 6-Adept poke which he quickly recalled back). However, Serral revealed that he was looking to go on the offense with Lair tech, researching Tunneling Claws and massing Roach-Ravager for a big attack with +1 range.

Things went almost perfectly for Serral, as his small, advance force of Roaches snuck through Classic's natural and caused havoc in the main. That distraction set up the main Roach-Ravager to strike a poorly guarded fourth base, taking it down for free. While Classic's main army was too strong to go for the kill, Serral was content to tech up to Hydra-Lurker while continuing to make Classic's life miserable with burrowed Roaches and runbys.

With Serral's initial attack and pressure having prevented him from taking a vital fourth base, Classic decided there was only one move he could make—gather his forces and attack the second Serral gave him the tiniest bit of breathing room.

While such attacks are often desperation moves that amount to nothing, Classic's game-saving dice roll came up as a natural twenty. His Stalker-Templar army hit just as the Lurker Den completed, and also while a substantial amount of Serral's supply was still being eaten up by low-value Roaches. Despite being surrounded from three sides, Classic ripped through Hydras, Banelings, and Roaches alike with seemingly limitless Storms to annihilate Serral's forces.

Serral was suddenly put in a crisis, as the remaining Protoss army tore down his fourth and fifth bases to even the economies. The timely arrival of Lurkers prevented Classic from even inflicting more damage, but the game had already been turned on its head.

With Serral's economy reeling, Classic went about adding Tempests to his army and finally retaking a fourth base. Serral eventually took the rebuilt fourth down with a series of clever run-bys, but it did not improve his situation as Classic also kept the Zerg expansion count in check with his Tempest-enhanced force.

As his late-game composition came together, Classic played out the mutual low-econ situation with methodical patience. He retook his fourth base once again, and continued to deny Serral additional expansions while being careful not to overextend himself. Serral started to lose the battle of attrition, and he eventually decided to try and take the Protoss force head-on instead of being slowly whittled down.

Unfortunately, Serral's Lurker-Hydra-Viper couldn't stand up to Classic's more complete force, and the battle ended in a bloodied retreat. From there, Classic did one final circuit of the map, erasing Serral's expansions once again and forcing his surrender.

Game 6 - Torches (Serral win): Torches had been the stage for aggressive strategies all tournament long, and this game was no different—although maybe not intentionally. Both players took their normal naturals, but quickly mined through their respective golden walls to take their third bases along the extremely short right-side path.

With the ground distance between the third bases being extremely short, both players went for aggressive follow-ups. Serral committed to a Roach-Ravager-Queen timing, while Classic had a similar idea with his transition to mass Blink-Stalkers.

Unfortunately for Classic, Serral's attack hit much faster. Classic's Blink upgrade wasn't even complete when the Zerg army struck his third base, and even with several Batteries being hastily built, he had no chance of holding his third.

With the terrain of Torches preventing Serral from pushing deeper, he settled back to consolidate his substantial lead. Classic couldn't even take a new third base against Serral's massive standing army, and once his Hail Mary Dark Shrine was scouted by an Overseer, he was put in full-on desperation mode. Ultimately, he settled on a two-base Stalker-Disruptor all-in to try and pull off another improbable comeback.

However, the odds were too far against Classic in this game, and Serral easily put down the last-ditch all-in to put himself on championship point.

Game 7 - Magannatha (Serral win): Serral pulled out the fast +1 melee start once more, while Classic went for a conventional Oracle start. The early/mid-game passed with the fewest complications thus far in the series, with the players building up to a straight-forward duel of offense versus defense: Classic's 4-base macro foundation against Serral's waves of Hydra-Bane.

Classic was slightly late to confirm Serral's intent, having already added two additional Stargates and Fleet Beacon before realizing he needed to commit fully to survival. In the end, this inefficiency probably wouldn't have mattered, as Serral's attack was utterly clinical.

Serral executed a nasty three-directional action, sending the bulk of his army by foot to Classic's fourth base while diverting a Zergling drop to the main and an Overlord laden with Banelings to the third. The maneuver worked perfectly, with the frontal attack nearly taking down the Nexus at the fourth while the drops dealt massive economic damage. A quick follow-up attack tore down the red-health Nexus, sending the situation spiraling out of control for Classic.

In the face of continued attacks from Serral, Classic did well to just stabilize and force Serral to take a moment to regroup. But the house of cards had already started crashing down, and it wasn't long until Serral looked to complete the demolition with the help of Lurkers.

Classic decided to go out on his shield. Ignoring the fresh wave of Zerg units tearing down his rebuilt expansions, he rallied his remaining army for a doomed counterattack. Serral came to meet the final march of the Protoss with his overwhelming horde. The final march of the Protoss met its end in a sea of spines, and Classic typed out the "gg wp" that stamped Serral as the 2025 world champion.

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