Blizzard Entertainment<\/p>\n
The Global StarCraft II League (GSL) Season 1 for 2017 is coming to a climax this weekend, and it\u2019s been an incredible journey so far. We\u2019ve seen surprise upsets like the fall of \u2018ByuN\u2019 Hyun Woo and Lee \u2018INnoVation\u2019 Shin Hyung, potent aggressive styles from players like Park \u2018Dark\u2019 Ryung Woo and Kim \u2018sOs\u2019 Yoo Jin, and uncanny mechanical skill from players like Jun \u2018TY\u2019 Tae Yang and Kim \u2018Ryung\u2019 Dong Won. But now that the semifinals are over and we\u2019re left with two remaining players, all focus shifts to the clash between Eo \u2018soO\u2019 Yoon Su and Kim \u2018Stats\u2019 Dae Yeob. Neither of these players have won a GSL finals before, so we\u2019re going to see a new champion of the Korean scene regardless of how this final match pans out.<\/p>\n
soO<\/p>\n
soO has a curse to lift. He has a history of making it to the GSL finals only to be knocked out and settle for second place. More specifically, it\u2019s mostly been Protoss players who have bested him to take the championship from his hands. This weekend he finds himself in this spot once again with the greatest Protoss player in the world standing in his way. Fortunately, soO seems more ready this season than ever before.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve seen soO\u2019s absolute best games this season, and he seems ready to bring his new patient mindset to his clash against Stats. In his semifinal match against sOs, he was prepared for all the aggressive, cheesy plays that his opponent is known for. Each time sOs tried something sneaky or unconventional, soO punished him hard. Then once the game settled into a more traditional style, soO would take his established builds and expert reactions to victory. Stats isn\u2019t known for being an overly aggressive Protoss, however, so soO will need to have a very polished mid to late game if he wants to defeat such an exceptional player.<\/p>\n
Stats<\/p>\n
Throughout both GSL and Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) Katowice, Stats has easily proven to be the best Protoss player in the world. His builds are streamlined, his transitions are flawless, and he reads the battle effortlessly. It\u2019s little wonder he has the most World Championship Series (WCS) points in Korea by a huge margin. While his huge lead in WCS points almost guarantees him a spot in the WCS Global Finals this year, he\u2019s hungry for a GSL championship. He\u2019s never gotten this far in the GSL before, and he recently finished second place at both IEM Katowice and IEM Gyeonggi. While he\u2019s doing very well this year so far, this may be the event at which he can finally declare himself as the best.<\/p>\n
Stats is incredible when it comes to compounding his advantage. In his set against Ryung, we saw Stats take early losses and overcommit to unfavorable fights multiple times before ultimately winning the game. This was immediately apparent in their first game together as Ryung took a very fast early lead with great Widow Mine hits and Liberator harassment. But after recovering, Stats won small victories consistently and crawled his way back into an advantageous position. He doesn\u2019t slip up easily, so soO\u2019s gameplay must be its sharpest to beat this Protoss powerhouse.<\/p>\n
The GSL Finals take place this Sunday at 3:00 a.m. PDT.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Blizzard Entertainment The Global StarCraft II League (GSL) Season 1 for 2017 is coming to a climax this weekend, and it\u2019s been an incredible journey so far. We\u2019ve seen surprise upsets like the fall of \u2018ByuN\u2019 Hyun Woo and Lee \u2018INnoVation\u2019 Shin Hyung, potent aggressive styles from players like Park \u2018Dark\u2019 Ryung Woo and Kim … <\/p>\n