Weekly Cup Competitions Week of June 8 - June 14The second week of June featured PTR competition mixed into our usual live-version StarCraft II, giving the community a look at how the game might play out in the future—if the patch ultimately goes through. Clem and Solar split top honors on the week, with both players winning two cups a piece.
*Partial brackets may be shown.
June 8: WardiTV Mondays #90
![[image loading]](/staff/Waxangel/misc/weeklies/wardimon090.png)
WardiTV Mondays was played in standard StarCraft II, and gave us the 'standard' result of Clem coming out on top. Still, it was one of Clem's more challenging days in the online cups, as he dropped maps to Nicoract and Zoun, and was pushed to a full five games by Classic in the finals (VOD).
Overall, the finals was your typical back-and-forth affair you expect between Clem and top-level Protosses, with the French Terran clinching game five thanks to some effective early-game harassment followed by a deadly mid-game push.
*****
June 8: Monday Night Weeklies #55 (PTR balance version)
![[image loading]](/staff/Waxangel/misc/weeklies/mnw55.png)
A special edition of Monday Night Weeklies was played on the PTR balance patch, and also featured an increased $1000 prize pool. Interestingly enough, we saw a reversal of the usual Protoss dominance in the cups, though it should be noted that Solar, Lambo, and Reynor all participating at once is a rarity in these types of competitions. At the end of the day, the top live-version player Clem came out on top in the PTR version as well, taking down players like Nicoract, SKillous, Reynor, and Lambo along the way (VOD).
The much discussed 'build diversity' was indeed increased, but at this stage of the patch, it was impossible to discern whether it was due to the economic changes or if it was simply players experimenting as they always do in a new balance patch. Clem's series against SKillous showed a much-changed TvP dynamic, with both players accelerating to late-game compositions. Meanwhile, Clem's bouts with Lambo had a retro feel, with the games centering around Muta-Ling-Bane vs Bio confrontations.
*****
June 9: PiGosaur Cup #85 (PTR balance version)
![[image loading]](/staff/Waxangel/misc/weeklies/pig085.png)
The PiGosaur Cup also got going under the PTR balance patch, with players continuing to show their own adaptations to the proposed changes. Solar ended up being the last player standing, taking down MaxPax and Byun in the last two rounds (VOD).
Solar's 3-0 over MaxPax was the most striking match, with the top Protoss unable to take any kind of initiative in one-sided losses. In contrast, Solar vs ByuN felt very much like their many clashes in the live-version, as the two players kept their 'bangers only' pact going and bashed their heads against each other in several entertaining macro games.
*****
June 10: 2026 Kung Fu Cup #11
![[image loading]](/staff/Waxangel/misc/weeklies/KFC2026_11.png)
We returned to live-version SC2 for the Kung Fu Cup, which saw Solar make a fantastic run to clinch a weekly double. After taking out ByuN and SHIN in the RO4 and RO8, Solar snapped his 10-match losing streak against Clem to secure the cup in the finals (VOD).
Solar's inability to handle Clem's early/mid-game pressure has often been at the root of his losses, but this time around his defenses held up well enough for him to take over with his strong macro play. A key element was that Clem's recent dalliances with 2-Rax Reaper openers didn't work out at all, with Solar shutting them down to take straight-forward wins.
