Weekend Double Feature: 2v2 and StarCraft Evo Complete

by Wax

The competitive SC2 scene will be taken over by non-standard game modes this weekend, with 2v2 teamplay and the StarCraft: Evolution Complete both hosting high-end events. In 2v2, uThermal's 2v2 tour will finally come to a close with the playoffs, while in SC: Evo (SC2 vs BW), the season championship will kick off with the RO24 group stage.

uThermal 2v2 Tour: Main Event Playoffs

Start times: August 16-17 15:00 GMT (+00:00)

After a group stage held under a wacky partner-swapping round-robin format, uThermal's $15,000 2v2 Tour will conclude in a more conventional manner with a fixed-teams playoffs.

The final playoff pairings were determined by individual performances in the group stage, with players from each of the two groups being matched with an equivalently ranked partner (#1 Group A + #1 Group B, #2 Group A + #2 Group B, and so forth). The one big caveat was that same-race pairings were to be avoided if possible, although it's not quite clear how consistently this rule was applied.



In any case, the unintended result is the continuation of a story arc that was interrupted by the unusual group stage format. The powerhouse duo of Spirit-MaxPax, who previously won three of the five monthly tournaments on the uThermal 2v2 Circuit, have defeated the tournament's own rules and reunited with each other in the playoffs. It's pretty likely the duo would have entered the tournament as partners if it had been held under a conventional format, and they're clearly the heavy favorites to win it all when you take their past success into account.

Still, there's still plenty of unexplored territory in competitive 2v2, and there could be some surprises in store. The contestants have had a week to plan for the grand finale, and if any of the teams were inclined to activate tryhard mode and prepare as if this were a major 1v1 event, that could make a huge difference in the playoffs.

StarCraft Evolution League: Season 2 Championship - Opening Week (RO24)

Start times: August 16-17 12:00 GMT (+00:00)

The other non-standard competitive format that will be getting a big tournament this weekend is the StarCraft: Evolution Complete mod. Also known just as "SC2 vs BW," the mod has shown itself to have quite a bit of staying power since its release in the spring of 2024. Content creators have continued to crank out videos (mostly in the Korean scene), while the StarCraft Evolution League (SEL) has given the mod a proper competitive circuit. After several months of cup play, the 2025 SEL now comes to a close with the Season Championship where there's $6,000+ in prize money on the line.





As you can see, there's a wide range of familiar faces in the SEL. We have top-end players who we just saw weeks ago at EWC (Classic, Cure, Rogue, SHIN, ByuN), and we also have blasts from the past who have jumped back into StarCraft competition through an unexpected pathway (TaeJa, TheStC, TOP/Kiwian).

For the most part, current skill level in 'standard' StarCraft II has been the biggest predictor of success in SC: Evo. Thus, Dark reigned as the mode's best player before his military service, and even after his departure, cups have typically been won by the best orthodox SC2 player who happens to compete. However, there's still room for non-pros to go on underdog runs, as we've seen TOP and threepoint both win cups over current pro players. However, given how deep the line-up of current pros is in the SEL Championship, I have to think one of them will end up winning the championship.

One would have to favor Classic when going by the 'best current SC2 player wins' axiom, but I'm going to go out on a limb and pick Cure to win it all. From my limited viewing experience, Cure seems to be a quick study who intuitively understands what works and what's particularly abusive, which should give him a leg up in a mod that has frequent balance patches and map changes.

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