2025 RSL Revival: Season 3

Playoffs Preview

by Wax



Start times:

Thursday, Nov 20 7:30am GMT (GMT+00:00)
Friday, Nov 21 7:30am GMT (GMT+00:00)
Saturday, Nov 22 7:30am GMT (GMT+00:00)
Sunday, Nov 23 7:30am GMT (GMT+00:00)

Our preview starts at the top of the bracket, where herO enters as one of the favorites to win it all. He's been the strongest and most consistent player in weekly cup competitions for the last few months, which is reflected in his #3 ranking on Aligulac.com—right behind Serral and Clem. By now, we should all be familiar with the dual-threat herO presents: the widest and most unpredictable arsenal of early game attacks, and mid-game macro that can snowball over the best of players. While he'll probably never clean up his occasional lapses in concentration and baffling engagement decisions, it hasn't prevented him from being extremely successful.

One potential issue for herO is that he has slightly underperformed in online events with higher stakes. He was eliminated from the RSL Season 1 playoffs with two straight losses, and he's looked less-than-amazing in some of the larger WardiTV events. Of course, this could just be the usual variance of tournament play—being the best overall player doesn't guarantee you'll win them all. But considering just how consistent herO is in weekly cup play, I have to wonder if he's having trouble scaling up.

herO's initial opponent will be Zoun, a figure who I've devoted a lot of attention in TL.net previews over the past year. And how could I not have? The Disruptor-loving Protoss had one of the fastest returns to form after military service, quickly resuming his position in the second tier of contenders alongside the likes of Solar and Cure. Now, Zoun stands at a crossroads—will he remain plateaued at his previous peak, or can he reach new heights in his second act like herO and Classic before him?

As usual, the signs are mixed for Zoun. His recent 4-2 win over Clem in the first leg of Stellar Fest's live finals shouldn't have come as a huge surprise (he lost 0-4 in the deciding second leg), as he's even taken series off Serral when playing at 100%. The question for Zoun is, as always, if he can play at that level consistently.

The Protoss list continues with Classic, who still holds the #1 Protoss-in-the-world spot. It's true that he's been going through a minor slump since EWC, losing his membership in the weekly cup gods club (MaxPax, herO, and Clem still hold their places). Still, the best Protoss of 2025 deserves the benefit of the doubt—surely Classic will elevate his game for RSL playoffs, the same way he did when he won the previous two seasons?

We arrive at our first non-Protoss player in Reynor, who comes in with a player profile that feels unusual for him. Given his tournament results in 2025—the highlights of which are top 8 finishes at DH Dallas and EWC—I can't really say the former world champion is an A1 title contender anymore. Even his performances in smaller tournaments are a mixed bag, and he's no longer a lock to make the final four of any event he competes in.

Yet, the high-end performances are as good as ever. His 3-0 over Serral at Maestros of the Game comes most readily to mind (although he lost the rematch 1-4), and quietly, he's been the most successful Zerg against Clem in 2025 with a 19-22 map record (compared to Serral's 18-24). Seeing that Reynor has been ramping up his activity in the last couple of weeks, I hope that he's ready to bring his best to the playoffs.

The bottom half of the bracket begins with Maru, who figures to be the biggest X-factor. In the RO16 preview, I pointed out how Maru has been disappointing in online competitions throughout 2025, perhaps even in a way that the "not trying" excuse couldn't make up for. Well, at least in his RO16 matches, Maru managed to quiet such concerns, topping his group with a convincing 2-0 against Reynor as the standout showing.

There's no doubt that the Maru from 2024, or the Maru who won DreamHack Dallas 2025, would be the #1 favorite to win this Serral-less event. But we haven't seen that Maru since Dallas, and in the case of online competitions, we haven't seen him since the COVID-19 pandemic when nearly all play was moved to Battle.net. It will be very interesting to see what version of Maru shows up for the RSL playoffs.

SHIN brings even more wild card energy to the RO8, and not just because of his penchant for proxy-Hatcheries and other quirky all-ins. Indeed, the RO16 was more of a showcase for SHIN's strong standard play, an aspect of his game that has been slowly improving for years. His 2-0 of ByuN in the RO8 decider match was particularly impressive—turtle-busting had often been seen as a critical weakness, but he eventually managed to wear ByuN down. Still, I think SHIN's early-game offense will end up being the key in the playoffs, especially against such a Protoss-heavy field.

The enigmatic MaxPax completes the trio of top Protosses in the playoffs, coming in with his reputation as an online monster to uphold. MaxPax's identity isn't the only mysterious thing about him—there's also the question of his ability to raise his game. Broadly speaking, he hasn't played up to expectations in tournaments the size of RSL, even crashing and burning in the RO16 of RSL Season 2. Yet, it's not really fair to call him a choker, not when he has wins like the LiuLi Cup Finals (consecutive BO5+ wins against Reynor, Serral, and Clem) under his belt. I'm going to look past last season's debacle and predict that MaxPax makes a deep run that reminds everyone that he needs to be taken seriously outside the weeklies.

Finally, lone NA representative trigger completes the bracket, representing a potent underdog threat. It's been great to follow Trigger's gradual growth since 2021, and at this point, it's no surprise to see him reach two RSL RO8's in a row. Neither was it surprising to see him get a win over ByuN in last season's playoffs, taking advantage of his best match-up of PvT. This season's Protoss-heavy bracket could be a blessing or a curse—he won't have many PvT opportunities, but perhaps the variance of current PvP could work in his favor.

Overall Outlook & Predictions

The first big point to touch upon is the randomness of PvP in a Protoss-packed bracket. The stereotype of the Protoss mirror as a coinflip hasn't always held true—some 18-24 months ago, you could have said MaxPax/herO vs lesser Protosses was one of the least variable match-ups in StarCraft II. However, the meta has shifted back to risky, aggression-heavy play, leaving the big three of Classic-herO-MaxPax susceptible to upsets against Zoun or Trigger. Ironically, I think the number of large maps in RSL's pool actually increases the chance of cheese, because in the right meta(or wrong, depending on your taste for cheese), bigger maps just mean more places to hide your proxy buildings.

The other pivotal element of the playoffs is how well the high-ceiling, inconsistent players perform. No outcome from Maru would surprise me, whether he destroys everyone on his way to the championship or looks horrendous in consecutive BO5 losses. While I think Reynor has a higher floor, his high-end outcome is similarly up in the air. To a lesser extent, Trigger and SHIN have the potential to complicate the bracket—winning it all isn't realistic, but taking one or two BO5 upsets definitely is.

Ultimately, Classic feels like the safest pick, even though he's not playing quite as well as when he won Seasons 1 & 2. Among the eight contenders, he's the only one who has regularly risen to the occasion in 2025, which should be a key advantage against players who all come with a certain level of inconsistency.

Prediction: Classic to win RSL Season 3