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The StarCraft II premier events are underway. The World Electronic Sports Games 2018 which is (somewhat confusing!) the designation for the tournament that just wrapped up, took place from March 11 to 17. Players from the Korean and WCS circuits, however, continue to barrel through GSL and WCS Winter.

WESG 2018, hosted in Chongqing, China by Alisports, saw an unexpected but well-deserved victory by Lee “INnoVation” Sin-Hyung, one of the most terrifying Terran players in the world. To date, the 25-year-old has earned almost $700,000 from tournament winnings alone and has consistently placed at the top of premier and minor tournaments throughout his career. He won first place in the 2018 HomeStory Cup XVII, and he dominated 2017 with first place finishes in GSL Seasons 1 and 3, and GSL vs.The World.

INnoVation’s victory came at a time seemingly dominated by Zerg opposition. INnoVation bested Joona “Serral” Sotala in the final match, winning 4 games to 3. Having just won the 2018 StarCraft II World Championship Series and finishing in the top eight of IEM Katowice 2019, Serral has proven himself to be one of the top Zerg players in the world. In fact, WESG 2018 looked to be dominated by Zerg players, with 22 out of the 48 spots going to Zerg players.

In game six, Serral defeated INnoVation with a patient macro-style play utilizing Zerg casters. He was able to set up a soft contain using infestors and broodlords while using a viper/corruptor ball to pick off INnoVation’s army. Facing a tied series, INnoVation secured a victory in the final match with a bio/tank army dominated by Marauders and backed by Thors, taking home the $150,000 first-place prize. You can watch the games here.

Coming in third was Cho “Maru” Seong-Ju, a fellow Terran player, after he defeated Sasha “Scarlett” Hostyn, the Canadian Zerg. After Scarlett took an early two-game lead, Maru went on to take three games in a row to secure a victory in the best-of-five.

Heading back to Seal, South Korea, GSL Code S Season 1 nears its end with the upcoming “Round of Eight” Tournament. The quarterfinal matches are taking place on March 27 and 30. You can watch all of the matches on the official GSL Twitch Page. Lee “Bunny” Jae Sung faces Park “Dark” Ryeongwoo, while Kim “Classic” Doh-woo will face Lee “Rogue” Byung-ryul. Maru will go on to face Baek “Dear” Dong Jun, a Protoss player currently playing for team Newbee alongside Scarlett, and Cho “Trap” Sung Ho will face Jeon “TY” Taeyang.

On the other side of the world, WCS Winter Europe finished up this week with a “Round of Eight” Round Robin, where each of the eight players face off against all other players. Riccardo “Reynor” Romiti, the 16-year-old Italian Zerg player came out on top winning six out of his seven matches. Reynor is one of the youngest professional StarCraft II players in the world.

Serral, Théo “PtitDrogo” Freydière, and Gabriel “HeroMarine” Segat took the next three spots each winning five out of their seven matches. Along with Mikołaj “Elazer” Ogonowski and Julian “Lambo” Brosig, these six players will go onto the King of the Hill playoffs.

On the other side of the pond, WCS Winter America concluded its “Round of Eight” Round Robin with both Scarlett and Alex “Neeb” Sunderhaft, the American Protoss player, winning six out of their seven matches. Scarlett, Neeb, and the remaining top six players including: Li “TIME” Peinan, Maru “MaSa” Kim, Pablo “Cham” Blanco, and Max “Astrea” Angel will go onto the King of the Hill playoffs. As always, you can watch all the games in real time or take a look at the replays on the official StarCraft Twitch Page.

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