StarCraft II All-Star Invitational

Live StarCraft is back in 2026, as Blizzard China commemorates the re-opening of the Chinese SC2 servers with a packed all-star event in Hangzhou. Eight of the current top players have been invited to compete in a single elimination tournament, while eight legends of the past will stoke our nostalgia in a series of showmatches.

A total of ¥350,000 CNY (~$50,000 USD) in prize money is on the line, which means this is potentially the most richly prized event of the year in the absence of another EWC. Now, let's get ready for the festivities by previewing both the main tournament and the showmatches.

Players, Format, and Schedule

The StarCraft II All-Star Invitational is played in an 8-player single elimination format over two days, with several showmatches between old-school legends interspersed between the main tournament.

• Saturday, Jan 17 6:30pm GMT (GMT+00:00): Round of 8
  
• Sunday, Jan 18 6:00pm GMT (GMT+00:00): Semifinals and Grand Finals

Showmatches:

• INnoVation vs soO: Rematch of 2015 IEM Gamescom finals
  
• sOs vs Scarlett: Rematch of 2019 IEM Pyeongchang finals
  
• DongRaeGu vs MMA: Rematch of the 2011 Blizzard Cup finals
  
• Rogue vs Oliveira: "Legendary showdown"

Streams: Check TL.net during tournament hours for community streamers

Main Tournament Preview

by Wax

Serral vs herO

The bracket draw has probably left many members of the SC2 community scratching their heads, and I imagine neither Serral nor herO were pleased at having drawn each other in their initial match. The two players are ranked #1 and #3 on Aligulac.com at the time of writing, giving us a showdown between top title contenders right off the bat.

The rundown for reigning world champion Serral is a familiar one: he's still the GOAT, the most feared player on the planet, and the automatic favorite to win All-Stars alongside every other tournament he enters. In fairness to the rest of the field, it's true that Serral isn't coming in at a 10/10 on the incredibly skewed Serral-dominance-scale. At September's Maestros of the Game, his sole major tournament appearance since EWC, he 'only' managed a second place finish after narrowly losing to rival Clem in the finals (4-3, 0-2 in the double-elim finals). As I've written time and time again in TL.net previews, it's a testament to how absurdly good Serral has been throughout his career that not winning a championship feels like a negative mark. In any case, the other players can still take some small consolation in the fact that Serral is looking slightly more vulnerable than usual. Just remember that the same assessment could have been made of Serral before he won EWC.

In herO's case, he continues to shine alongside Classic as one of the twin beacons of hope for Protoss. Going by results in online events, you'd wonder why Protoss is in need of hope—herO has been the most successful weekly cups player in the post-EWC period, and the herO/Classic duo have combined to win several mid-size online events as well. Alas, as it has been for several years, the problem for Protoss is winning in a fully-loaded international major. The drought has been ongoing since herO's win at DreamHack Atlanta 2022, and those who looked to herO to bookend the dark chapter in Protoss history were left sorely disappointed in 2025. He was felled in the RO8 of both DreamHack Dallas and EWC, even giving up a shocking 0-3 sweep to Solar in the latter. It's not enough to declare that herO has suddenly become an unclutch player—every top player gets upset in a high-profile match from time to time. However, the dearth of S-tier tournaments means that for many fans, that loss is the last impression they have of herO, leaving them to question his ability to dispel the Protoss curse in 2026.

The numbers suggest more disappointment for Protoss is coming in this quarterfinal match. Since 2025, the head-to-head match record favors Serral by 3 to 1, including Serral's 5-3 win in their most consequential clash in the finals of Master's Coliseum #8. The Aligulac's match predictor also favors Serral with a 70% chance of winning, reflecting that even when facing the top PvZ players in the world, Serral's ZvP has looked to be on another level. Of course, there's also the ever-present Serral-factor—part of being the most successful SC2 player of all time is consistently stepping up in big tournaments.

However, when you look under the hood, I think this is a very close match-up. The head-to-head match score since 2025 may favor Serral 3 to 1, but the map score reveals a narrower edge of 14 to 10. Also, the content of their games tells us that herO is a very thorny opponent for Serral to handle. The overall pattern of their recent matches doesn't differ much from the standard ZvP of our day—Protoss' late-game might forces Zergs to play around early and mid-game offense, trying to kill the Protoss outright or at least gain an advantage that makes the late-game more playable. Serral is certainly excellent at this kind of aggressive play—you only need to look at his dominating 5-2 win over Classic in the EWC 2025 finals for evidence. However, the truly despair-inducing, invincible Serral only comes out when he can play his favored defensive macro style, which just hasn't been viable in the ZvP meta of the last year. It may seem like splitting hairs between invincible defense and nigh-invincible offense, but that small difference has given top Protoss players a fighting chance against what was once SC2's most oppressive match-up of Serral vs Protoss.

The main difference between Serral and other Zergs is that he has a far better chance of winning in the worst case scenarios where games go long. It can feel like you're just watching a slow death animation play out for Solar and Reynor when they go up against a fully assembled Tempest-Templar-Archon deathball, but Serral manages to make it a 50/50 proposition even when he's facing a late-game master like Classic.

Taking all that into account, I give Serral a moderate edge. There's naturally a lot of variance in match-ups where one side frequently goes all-in, and even though Serral plays with a weighted coin, victory isn't assured. I predict this will go down like their most recent meeting at Maestros of the Game, with Serral winning by a one map margin.

Prediction: Serral 3 - 2 herO

Cure vs Solar

The only two players who might be happy with the RO8 draw are Cure and Solar. Of course, everyone at the All-Star Invitational is one of the best players in the world—it's a copy paste of the EWC top eight, after all. However, within this stacked field, Solar and Cure seem to be the weakest, coming coming in at #8 and #12 on the Aligulac.com rankings.

Cure has suffered a worrying decline since placing third at the world championship, struggling in every type of competition ever since. Weekly cups have been rough, mid-tier online tournaments have been tough, and so have the rare offline events where he's previously been known to elevate his play. I was hoping it was just a case of a top player taking it easy during a relative down period for tournaments, with a rebound coming ahead of a potentially lucrative payday. However, his slump actually hit a new low in the lead-up to the All-Star Invitational, as he was shut out in three consecutive qualifiers for the Rongyi Cup (the next biggest tournament on the horizon after All-Star). Despite facing a relatively easy field, Cure somehow crashed and burned with losses to Shameless, Scarlett, and ShoWTimE.

As for Solar, it feels like he's returned to his normal place after punching above his weight class in 2025. He was excellent at the two biggest events in 2025, earning a runner-up finish at DreamHack Dallas and 4th place finish at EWC. However, his post-EWC results have been a mixed bag. He's looked strong in weekly cups, giving us some much-needed Zerg presence in competitions where Protoss and Terran dominate. On the other hand, he hasn't made much of an impact in larger events, falling out of the group stage in tournaments like RSL and Maestros of the Game.

The Aligulac prediction reflects the stark divergence in Solar and Cure's trajectories, with Solar being given a 73% chance of victory—the widest margin among the RO8 match-ups. However, the head-to-head record tells a totally different tale, with Cure going 8-3 in matches against Solar (15-13 in maps) since EWC. That feels more in line with what we saw during their 3rd place match at the world championship, where Cure administered a 4-0 beatdown where he defeated Solar in about every possible manner.

It's hard to pinpoint exactly why Cure plays better than expected against Solar. It may be due, in part, to other Zergs being slightly more inclined to play unpredictable strategies against Cure, whereas Solar leans toward the standard macro that Cure also favors in TvZ. But that's not enough to entirely explain why Cure is disproportionately more successful against Solar than his overall TvZ ability would indicate. Perhaps the pool of Zerg players is so thin at the top that we just need to consider it match-up by match-up at this point (SHIN playing Clem relatively well also comes to mind). The more boring answer is that it's just variance as usual. After all, Cure's map score lead against Solar is only 15-13 in the relevant period, and it easily could have been an unusually unlucky stretch of games for Solar.

In the end, I'm going to put the head-to-head record aside and favor Solar's superior all-around form.

Prediction: Solar 3 - 1 Cure

Classic vs Clem

Rivalries are a funny thing to talk about in a mature scene where the same players have played against each other dozens of times—it feels like half the potential match-ups between top players could qualify as rivalries at this point. However, the Clem vs Classic dynamic that has developed since the summer of 2025 feels like a truly fresh twist in an often stagnant scene, giving fans a new story to get behind.

It all began as a subplot to Classic's dramatic late-career resurgence in 2025, which famously culminated in a second place run at the world championship. Then-reigning world champion Clem was one of the stepping stones in Classic's rise, with the veteran Protoss defeating him twice in RSL Season 1 and then sweeping him 3-0 at EWC itself. However, the story has extended beyond the world championship cycle, with Classic continuing to get the better of Clem in a number of subsequent matches. While Clem has struck back a handful of times, most importantly in a Maestros of the Game playoff match that earned him a chance to play in front of a live French audience, Classic has largely gotten the better of the Liquid ace. With Serral playing in a limited number of tournaments and Reynor prone to periods of inactivity, it feels good to have a foil for Clem that we can actually see on a regular basis (shoutout to MaxPax).

It's funny how one-sided the Clem vs Classic match-up used to be before Classic's summer glow-up, with Clem leading 30 to 2 in matches before that line of demarcation. However, ever since Classic entered his second career peak, he's played the uno reverse card and gone 9 to 3 in matches against Clem with a very strong 30-19 map score in them.

This relationship wouldn't be quite as interesting if all of Classic's wins had come during one of the worst TvP metas—you know, the one that drove Clem to near madness and had him experimenting with mech TvP and playing off-race PvP for a few weeks. However, Classic has continued to look strong against Clem since the match-up has partially normalized since the October balance patch (I'll reserve judgment on its full ramifications until a later date), and has even reeled off a series of three consecutive series wins since December.

Recent Clem vs Classic bouts have followed the general post-patch Clem vs Protoss pattern. That is to say, the mid-game has become significantly more playable for Clem than in the previous patch, although players like herO and Classic still seem to hold the slight edge. The big post-patch difference is that in the late-game: Clem now has a massive advantage when he can reach his final army of mass Ghosts and Liberators. It's quietly become one of the most imbalanced in-game situations we've seen in StarCraft II—not that I've checked every single game to confirm, but I wouldn't be surprised if he has a 90%-ish win-rate in such scenarios. The reason why it isn't more talked about (or complained about) is that this game-state is difficult to achieve, and Clem can't just force it at will. It's a long way from Maru's turtle Terran at its disgusting peak—there are plenty of chances for Protoss to kill Clem before he gets set.

As you can infer from the above, Classic has a real knack for overwhelming Terrans in the mid-game. While herO can still be seen experimenting and trying to figure out how post-patch Templars figure into his gameplan (if they figure in at all), Classic really seems to have nailed down his army compositions and tech transitions.

The Aligulac.com prediction says Clem has a 62% chance of winning, but I think some recent irregularities in Classic's performances are skewing the numbers. Classic went through a somewhat inexplicable mini-slump around October-November of 2025, perhaps due to trouble adjusting to the new patch (losing to the TvP-challenged Ryung and GuMiho were low points). Whatever the reason for the dip, Classic has bounced back since late November, and I think his Aligulac rating just hasn't quite caught up to Classic's true level.

I see this match as close to a true 50/50—I'll even entertain jetlag excuses from Clem fans if he happens to lose by a 2-3 score. The smallest factors can make the difference in a match that's this close. However, I will be picking Clem to prevail by a narrow margin. Given how it's barely been a month since Classic's brief slump, there's still a smidgen of doubt about whether he's fully recovered to top form. That small amount of uncertainty tips the scales in Clem's favor.

Prediction: Clem 3 - 2 Classic

Reynor vs Maru

The RO8 concludes with the two biggest wild cards of the entire tournament, featuring two players who were considered the best in the world at previous points in their careers.

By this point, Maru fans should be wondering if they're frogs in boiling water, who might wake up one day to realize Maru's gradual decline has taken him past the point of no return. His DreamHack Dallas title run in mid 2025 staved off such worries for a while—one could excuse his poor GSL showings by assuming he simply lacked interest in the drastically contracted tournament, not because his ability had diminished. However, from what we've seen from him in the second half of 2025, both ability and interest seem to be a problem for Maru. He flopped out of the EWC RO8 in alarming fashion, losing to 1-3 to Cure—a player he previously treated like a punching bag. Then, he gave a handful of truly dreadful online performances in the post-EWC months—I usually avoid speculating on a player's mindset, but it was hard not to think he was mailing it in.

And, yet, Maru has shown just enough quality to keep fans holding out hope for another Dallas-esque rebound. RSL Season 3 didn't exactly reestablish him as the king of the Korean scene, but his narrow 4-2, 1-2 loss to herO in the two-leg finals at least suggested he was on a similar level with the likes of herO and Classic. It may not satisfy Maru fans for him to merely be in the top tier alongside his peers, when he long resided in a tier of his own. But optimists might see it as a foundation to rebuild from, and redeem himself after a stretch of underachievement since EWC 2024 (by the lofty standards he set before).

Reynor's stretch of underperformance has gone on for even longer than Maru's, with the former world champion recording few individual results of note since winning Gamers8 2023. Back then, that win seemed to crystalize the narrative of Reynor as an inconsistent top-tier player who could raise his game for big events. However, two EWC's and one IEM Katowice have passed since then without Reynor being able to crack the top four. Again, it's worth reminding everyone that we're judging these players on the basis of their incredible past accomplishments—other players might be delighted with consecutive top eight finishes at the world championship, but there's a different standard for Reynor.

While the end results haven't been dazzling, Reynor has put up tons of great isolated performances to keep viewers intrigued by his potential as a lurking title contender. One of his most curious traits is that he has a 13-25 match record against Clem since 2024 (arbitrarily setting that date as when his slump began). That may not seem that impressive on paper, but when you consider that Serral is 3-11 versus Clem in that period and Solar is 4-36, it's definitely a big point in Reynor's favor. In fact, he just played another close series against Clem at HeroMarine's XPERIONCraft LAN in Cologne, just barely losing 3-2, 0-2 in the double elim finals. He's also played well against Serral, narrowly falling 2-3 to him at EWC while 3-0'ing him at Maestros of the Game (Serral won the double-elim rematch).

It's rather quaint that Aligulac sees this match as being near even, with Reynor edging barely ahead 54% chance of winning. The head-to-head record since 2025 is similarly close, with Reynor leading 3-2 in matches and 11-0 in maps.

It's hard to project how this particular series will play out. Many of their previous matches centered on straight-up macro (like their EWC series), where the two seemed very evenly matched indeed. However, their most recent series in the RSL offline finals was a total cheesefest, with Reynor taking a 4-2 victory.

With it being so hard to get a read on either player's level, this prediction is extra hard to make. It's encouraging that Reynor has really ramped up his tournament participation in the last few months, but Maru remains a black box that plays in a very limited number of events. I'm going to cautiously pick Reynor to win here—while he hasn't been the most consistent player, he's never bottomed out like Maru did in the fall of 2025. That has to count for something, right?

Prediction: Reynor 3 - 2 Maru

Showmatches: Blasts from the Past (and Present)

by Mizenhauer

While the above eight of the best present-day players battle it out in what's likely to be one of the biggest games of the year, eight legends have gathered to celebrate the game's past. These players' effects on StarCraft II have been profound, and, while they aren’t in their prime, they offer a reminder of what once was and what might have been.

soO vs INnoVation

It's an understatement to say soO and INnoVation have met before—they've played 189 games against each other. INnoVation definitely holds the upper hand against his former T1 teammate, leading 115-74. With a map differential of 41, one could say INnoVation is far and away the best player at beating soO.

The first major clash between the two occurred in the 2014 Code S Season 3 finals, well after both players had established themselves as top players in HotS. soO went up 2-0 initially, benefiting from Roach rushes suggested by his teammate. However, things went downhill from there (after the match soO reflected on his conversation with Soulkey while preparing for the final, “I asked Soulkey what to do and he told me to Roach rush the first two games. I should have asked him what to do after that.”)

Down 0-2 INnoVation wrested away control of the series, winning four straight games to deny his opponent victory. What became soO’s fourth consecutive finals defeat was a massive moment for INnoVation’s career. Having been reverse swept by Soulkey during his first Code S finals appearance in 2013, INnoVation’s victory over soO was his first title in the competition.




For years, that’s how the story went. INnoVation and soO continued to cross paths. Whether it was in Code S, weekenders or team leagues, they were simply too good not to run into each other eventually. And, while INnoVation continued to get the better of soO in the majority of their meetings (curiously enough, the official tournament graphics bill this as a rematch from their IEM Gamescom 2015 finals—not the most memorable tournament in the Western scene), soO eventually got revenge in what proved to be their last high stakes encounter at 2020's TeamLiquid Star League 5.

After defeating INnoVation in the Round of 32, soO rattled off wins against Special, Elazer and Trap to secure a place in the final. Needing seven wins to force a rematch with soO, INnoVation did just that—tearing through the loser’s bracket to once more face off against his foe.





In what would end up being the last BO 7 between the pair, soO finally got over the hump—defeating INnoVation in a rollercoaster series that went the distance. The final game in particular was a wild affair-—a fitting end to a series with as many twists and turns as an M. Night Shyamalan movie.

Whether this final resembles their match at TSL 5 or Code S remains to be seen, but with both players rusty beyond belief, I’m hoping it will devolve into a sloppy but entertaining bare knuckled brawl.

Prediction: soO 3 - 2 INnoVation

sOs vs Scarlett

Let’s just say that sOs and Scarlett go back a long way. Their first meeting of note came during the semifinals of 2013's Red Bull Battlegrounds New York, a match in which sOs fell behind early only to reverse sweep the Canadian Zerg in the end.

While Scarlett's gameplan of leaning on cheeses and off-beat builds seemed sound, Heart of the Swarm sOs was at the peak of his powers. The world champion was bloodied early on, but adapted to parry the rest of Scarlett's blows. Despite having a myriad number of builds thrown at him, sOs showed mastery of every stage of the game. He defended against cheese, won with timings of his own, and dominated a late game affair on Habitation Station.




After a long gap between offline matches, Scarlett and sOs finally met once more in the finals of 2018's IEM Pyeongchang—an event resembling but legally distinct from the Winter Olympics. Scarlett almost didn't play at the event at all, but a scheduling error on ESL's end allowed her to enter through a last-chance match against Cham.

Both players looked to be at the top of their games—sOs fulfilled his national duty and ripped through foreigners DnS, Kelazhur, and SpeCial to reach the finals with a perfect 9-0 map score. Meanwhile, Scarlett was almost as good, defeating Oliveira, Serral, and Elazer by 3-1 scorelines.

Sadly the final was terrible from start to finish (your mileage may vary). The tournament happened to occur during a short window where super-fast Zergling elevators all-ins were extremely potent, and Scarlett leveraged them to the max against sOs. The dirtiest player in the game ended up getting a taste of his own medicine, and tapped out in a 1-4 loss.



sOs never really had a chance at IEM Pyeongchang, but he seemed to be a good sport about it. Scarlett, meanwhile, had finally earned the crown jewel of her career. Personally, I still think the balance issue around the Zergling elevator was a debacle (the build was emergency nerfed soon after by moving Ventral Sacs to Lair tech), but Scarlett should be commended for being the only Zerg in attendance to actually realize how broken it was and taking full advantage. As one of the original foreigners who could keep up with Koreans, it was only fitting that she claimed her career-defining title against one of the best Korea had to offer.

As for this match in the present, I’m not sure what to make of this series. I’m pretty certain Scarlett is advantaged against a much diminished sOs, but the margin is difficult to tell.

Prediction:Scarlett 3 - 1 sOs

DongRaeGu vs MMA

The showmatches feature players from various eras, and DRG and MMA are here to rep Wings of Liberty. While they did continue to play during HotS (and even LotV for DRG), the majority of their success and fame came during SC2's original expansion. Both started playing in 2010 and quickly rose to become among the best players in the world, winning a combined 13 Liquipedia S-tier events (four for DRG and nine for MMA).

The two players were involved in one of the spiciest rivalries of 2011, starting in GSTL conflicts between MVP and SlayerS, expanding to their multiple bouts at MLG's, and culminating with one of the most memorable finals of all time at the 2011 Blizzard Cup.

To say the match lived up to the billing would be an understatement. In a period where the GSL finals curse meme was at its peak, the two offered fans the kind of StarCraft II spectacle they had been desiring for so long. In one of the greatest battles in the history of StarCraft II, DRG leapt out to a 3-0 commanding lead only to be reverse swept by the SlayerS Terran. And, while I’m sure DRG wouldn't have wanted to hear it at the time given he lost, he played just as large of a role in making the series as exciting as it was as MMA. MMA shone the brightest that day, but it would be criminal not to celebrate DRG’s brilliance, as well.




DRG and MMA’s careers took them in different directions, but both were enormously successful in their own right. MMA went on to be one of the most prolific players of the first five years of StarCraft II before retiring in early 2016. DRG, whose initial peak stretched from 2011-2012, kept at it for a while longer, and even achieved some dramatic 'old man's still got it' victories as the underdog.





Unlike most military returnees, who fail to reach the heights they had prior to their service, DRG actually figured out how to play high level StarCraft after more than half a decade. In fact, he finished in the top eight of Code S six times from 2020 to 2022—once more demonstrating that class really is eternal.

Unfortunately, I think this series is likely to be the most one-sided. DRG is only four years removed from his second peak and MMA hasn’t played in a decade (outside of a showmatch against MC in 2023). I can’t fathom a situation where he manages to keep up with a player who was top six in Korea not that long ago.

Prediction: DRG 3 - 0 MMA

Rogue vs Oliveira

At first glance, the connection between Rogue and Oliveira seems tenuous, as they've never played a single offline match in their careers. While the official billing for the other showmatches is as rematches of a memorable past duel, this one is simply being called a "Legendary showdown."

Well, I think I can spin a better story.

As improbable, unlikely, and virtually impossible as Oliveira’s once in a lifetime run at IEM Katowice 2023 was, there's something missing.

sOs will always go down in history as the king of BlizzCon, but Rogue is the name most synonymous with the IEM World Championships. He won the event in 2018 and 2020, becoming the first and only player with more than one such championship in the process. His lone disappointing finish came in 2019 when he flamed in the initial group stage, but Rogue got back on track in 2020, winning the aforementioned event before reaching quarterfinals in 2021 and the semifinals in 2022. Rogue may rule Katowice because of his pair of titles, but almost equally impressive is the fact that Rogue’s overall record in the competition was an absolutely astounding 26-7 (79% win-rate).





Rogue proved that he was still a championship quality player by winning Season of 1 GSL in May of 2022, but after dropping out of Code S in the opening round a mere month later Rogue abruptly retired—forfeiting his invitation to the IEM World Championships in the process.

What follows is all baseless speculation, but it’s hard not to wonder what would have happened had Rogue been able to attend the 2023 IEM WC. He began his military service in the summer of 2022, so he was only a few months removed from high level StarCraft II when IEM Katowice rolled around in February. Had he continued playing, it's quite possible Rogue could have done what no one else could—stop Oliveira from winning the 2023 IEM WC.

To play contrarian to myself, a part of me also believes nobody in the world had a chance against Oliveira on that miraculous day. After barely squeaking into the bracket portion of the event, Oliveira defeated a top three Zerg (Reynor), the best Protoss in the world (herO) and the second greatest player of all time (Maru) consecutively. It was absurd then and it’s absurd now. Oliveira’s victory, and the manner in which he achieved it, is singular in StarCraft history. Rogue's success at IEM Katowice exists in the 'normal' realm of StarCraft II dominance, but what Oliveira achieved was simply magical.





Alas, this match could easily end up being rather one-sided. Rogue reached the finals of Code S in 2025 largely on the back of his ZvP, but he hasn’t shown much outside of that particular event as of late. Fortunately for him, Oliveria has been retired for nearly a year. There’s no denying Rogue’s struggles to consistently reach the latter portions of tournaments in recent years, but it would take another IEM-esque miracle for Oliveira to win.

Prediction: Rogue 3 - 0 Oliveira

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