Starcraft 2 news » WCS Global Finals - Day 2 Recap

From the opening game on King Sejong Station, Dark made it clear that he wasn't afraid to get a little crazy. Instead of transitioning into the standard Roach/Ravager midgame, the SKT Zerg put his faith in a Speedling/Baneling all-in. Elazer effortlessly scared off the initial attack but didn't count on a second wave of reinforcements. He carelessly left two Queens out on the map, which Dark quickly scouted and surrounded. From there it was all downhill. Elazer's Roach Warren was too late; by the time his Roaches began to spawn, Dark was already swarming his natural.

Elazer didn't take that defeat lying down. Recognizing that Frozen Temple was roughly similar to their previous map, he decided he would surprise Dark with a powerful attack of his own. Feinting a standard transition by walling off his natural with a Roach Warren and Evolution Chamber, the Polish contender pooled a massive pack of Zerglings in his main. Fortunately for Dark, one of his early Zerglings spotted the secret army as it left Elazer's natural. This gave him just enough time to halt Drone production and hold the push without notable losses. With an earlier third and an untouched economy, Dark took a huge lead and never relinquished it. Elazer gamely tried to catch up, but his followup Roach/Ravager force was ambushed as it lingered in the middle of the map. After losing his entire army Elazer was forced to concede the game.

Galactic Process proved a change in tempo as both players elected for the greediest possible opening in Hatchery -> Gas -> Spawning Pool. Their builds didn't diverge until Dark opted for faster Lair, while Elazer chose a Roach Warren and +1 Missile Attack. The Polish Zerg managed to spot the Spire and deflected the incoming Mutalisks with Hydralisks. Sadly that would be the last good news for him as Dark proceeded to put on a clinic in army positioning and management. A two pronged attack at Elazer's third and fourth succeeded beyond his wildest dreams as he eliminated both. Subsequent squads of Roaches put Elazer into disarray, giving Dark time to finish his Lurker Den. Elazer's counterattack petered out as it was immediately annihilated by Lurkers in hold position. The rest of the game was basically watching Elazer die in slow-motion. A final stab from Elazer with Burrowed Roaches was cleaned up in Dark’s natural, and Dark shortly crushed Elazer's remaining units in the middle of the map.

Frozen Temple started off with a bold move from the GSL champion, who proxied his Factory in the bottom left of the map. Stats opened with Stargate but sent his Oracle across the map to harass, allowing the Widow Mine drop to do damage. Stats didn't suffer much damage at first but he was forced to pull Probes for a long time as he had built Void Rays instead of another Oracle. ByuN followed with a deadly push of Marines, Turrets, and upgraded Cyclones, catching Stats as he expanded to the third. By the time Stats managed to drive ByuN away, he had lost his natural Nexus and most of his army. ByuN shortly returned to his opponent's third base with a larger infantry force, Stimpack finished, and more Cyclones. Stats feebly put up a fight before succumbing to the superior force.

Being a four-player map, ByuN forwent any tomfoolery and went for CC first, resulting in a quiet early game. The KT Protoss quickly researched Blink in order to delay the incoming Marine/Medivac push. Unfortunately ByuN picked off the first Observer, leaving Stats in the dark and unable to backstab the main. He proceeded to bully Stats on the other side of the map, getting good trades with his immaculate micro and positioning. Even with Immortals Stats had no good response, and things only got worse once ByuN brought Liberators and Widow Mines in the follow-up pushes. Gradually ByuN wore down his opponent and seeing a moment of weakness, destroyed Stats' third base for the checkmate.

Down 0-2, Stats needed to find his footing on New Gettysburg. For a short while it looked like the series was over: both players opened the same way as in Game 1, and once again ByuN got Widow Mines into both mineral lines. This time Stats was far more proactive (and had Phoenixes instead of Void Rays). He crushed ByuN's small army before it could establish the contain while achieving small victories around the map. From that point Stats focused on starving ByuN out. After beating back ByuN's army, he established a pseudo-contain while claiming his third and fourth bases. Constant Adept pokes from Warp Prisms whittled down ByuN's SCV count; by the time the Terran pushed out to Stats' fourth, he was down to a measly 26. With 3 Colossi, Dark Templar, and superior upgrades, Stats rolled over ByuN's army.

Surely Stats must have been pleased, as Apotheosis is a good map for traditional lategame Protoss. It's a shame he never got to that point. ByuN started the game with an immediate proxy Barracks near Stats' regular third, while the Protoss took the gold after his gateway. Stats played so greedily that he never bothered scouting ByuN with either a Probe or his initial Adepts. It must have come as a big surprise once ByuN marched with a small Marine contingent, two Siege Tanks, and a Medivac. ByuN's proxy 1/1/1 completely blindsided his opponent, who didn't even have his second and third Gateways done. ByuN destroyed the gold base and charged up the ramp in order to claim his spot in the Grand Final.

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This was the matchup that most pundits predicted after the bracket was drawn, and both Dark and ByuN showed throughout the Global Finals that they were the two best players in the world. The SSL Season 1 Champion and the GSL Season 2 Champion were worthy finalists, and the last series of WCS 2016 would prove a worthy final.

On Galactic Process, ByuN displayed his uncanny ability to put on pressure while taking economic leaps behind it. His double gas, double Barracks opening forced Dark to reply conservatively as he stayed on two bases until his Ravagers were completed. Unfortunately for the Zerg, ByuN would use his map control to take an earlier third base and apply further pressure with Tank drops. By the mid-game, ByuN’s supply lead had ballooned to 30 even though he had hardly put a scratch on a Hatchery. Dark could not transition out of Zerglings, Banelings and Ravagers, which gave ByuN an opportunity to strike. Though Dark would repel ByuN’s initial attacks, the Terran machine was already rolling and Dark could not catch up. With one last attack at the fourth base ByuN claimed the first game of the Grand Final.

Realizing that ByuN had controlled Game 1, Dark changed his approach on New Gettysburg. With quick Zergling Speed, Dark maintained map control during the early game to allow him to expand at his own pace. In response, ByuN attempted a build straight out of Heart of the Swarm: Hellions and Cloaked Banshees. Unfortunately for the Terran, Dark scouted it immediately and repelled every single runby and Banshee with minimal losses. The Zerg then leap frogged in economy with a fourth base even before the Terran had landed his third. Despite that disadvantage ByuN would eventually amass a large enough force to threaten Dark’s outlying bases, and with a crucial snipe of the fourth base he would crawl closer. Dark hit back immediately by destroying the Terran army and cancelling the fourth before adding Corruptors and Vipers to handle the Liberators. His patience in finding the perfect engagement proved decisive as he routed the Terran army on the way to an even scoreline.

Frozen Temple was next, and this is where ByuN decided to wield his patented 3 Barracks Reaper build. Though Dark responded with a Roach Warren after recognizing it, ByuN was not goaded into sacrificing his initial Reapers. It was a stroke of luck or genius because as the Terran tickled the Hatchery, Dark was secretly amassing Zerglings, Roaches and Ravagers for an all-in. When the swarm revealed itself, ByuN used impressive micro with Reaper Grenades in order to delay the attack, allowing him enough time to fortify his natural. Though Dark would come knocking, no amount of Corrosive Biles would break the Terran, leading to a quick 2-1.

After three very different games, the Expert Esports Terran would not disappoint on Apotheosis. A fast armory was the first clue that something was afoot, but Dark’s scouting once again paid dividends. The threat of Hellbats appeared unlikely when a third Command Center was started, but ByuN had other plans. Dark was caught with his pants down by a big Hellion run-by, and in an instant 22 drones were barbecued. For most Zergs that would have been a leg in the grave, but Dark fought back with minimal units. Despite repelling a Marine, Hellbat and Medivac attack by sandwiching the drop in his main, Dark was wounded badly. ByuN reinforced with more units and Widow Mines, and one last extermination of the swarm won the map.

With his life on the line, Dark had to climb back on King Sejong Station and it would be one of the best games of the entire tournament. In a classic back-and-forth Terran vs Zerg, both Dark and ByuN matched wits for over 23 minutes of battle. From the mid game until the bell both players were constantly fighting all over the map. Over 10 different engagements ended even, with neither player gaining ground from the middle of the map. ByuN and Dark hammered each other with every last ounce of their strength and it looked as though neither player would ever find a way. Finally, however, Dark saw an opening. Dark cascaded into ByuN’s 7 o’clock base, forcing the Terran to micro all the way back to his natural. Though ByuN would smash the army, he’d leave half his SCVs to be massacred. Realizing that ByuN’s economy was in tatters, all Dark had to do was survive and whittle away the Terran army. With one last breath ByuN barreled into the middle base, but a hero Ultralisk would stand firm and seal the win for Dark.

After a setback in the last game, ByuN again resorted to Reapers on Frost. 3 Barracks Reaper was his flavor of choice, and Dark once again held, but this time with only Speedlings and Queens. However, the game mirrored Game 1: behind his pressure ByuN had taken his natural expansion and started stim and Medivacs. Though Dark expanded as soon as he was given the space, ByuN had taken a large economic lead from pinning the Zerg back for so long. Try as he might Dark could not catch up and it was just a matter of time until the Terran attacked. Limited to Zerglings, Banelings and Queens, Dark tried his best to defend his four bases, but the World’s Best Terran went into overdrive. His army postured at the front while two different drops pillaged Dark’s bases. When Dark defended one location, ByuN hit two others until every single base was in flames. Dark could only watch as his supply plummeted before typing the final “GG” of the year. ByuN ran onto the stage and leapt in celebration, and the WCS Global Final trophy was his.