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WCS Winter Americas and WCS Winter Europe wrapped up last weekend with Alex “Neeb” Sunderhaft and Riccardo “Reynor” Romiti winning their respective brackets.

Neeb, the 21-year-old American Protoss player beat out Sasha “Scarlett” Hostyn, the Canadian Zerg, in the final best-of-seven round winning 4 games to 2. Neeb has been seen as one of the most skilled StarCraft II players in the WCS circuit and is arguable one of the best Protoss players in the country, as his WCS Winter victory would confirm. Neeb has been active in e-sports since 2013 playing Hear of the Swarm. In 2016 he took first place in the KeSPA Cup, and he would go on to win three WCS tournaments in 2017.

Let Protoss rejoice! Protoss players have been struggling given the latest state of balance. According to Aligulac, only one out of the top 10 StarCraft II players are Protoss. As of the most recent standings, Neeb rates #13 in the world. Protoss players have also been struggling in the StarCraft II Premier scene, with major Terran and Zerg victories in major recent tournaments. Protoss also so the lowest representation going into WCS Winter Americas out of all 3 races, with only 9 out of the total 32 players.

Neeb was able to maintain consistent economic pressure through the final round. He showcased classic stargate openings against Zerg with constant Phoenix and Oracle harass to slow down production. In the final game, he opted for a Glaive/Adept timing shutting down Scarlett’s third and securing a macro lead. He followed up with a gateway army flanked with Immortals and Archons. Players take heed: When ahead, get more ahead. You can watch the final round here.

On the other side of the pond, the 16-year-old Italian Zerg swept through Europe defeating some of the top players in the world. Reynor is one of the youngest professional StarCraft II players currently active (Clément “Clem” Desplanches has him beat by a mere three months).

Reynor started playing StarCraft II from an extremely young age and achieved Master rank when he was only 11-years-old. Throughout 2018 and 2019, he swept through minor and monthly tournaments, taking home 17 separate first- and second-place titles. According to Aligulac, he is currently #9 in the world. Winning WCS Winter Europe is his first premier event victory.

This was no small feat, as Reynor had to take on Joona “Serral” Sotala in the final best-of-seven. We’ve boasted about how amazing Serral has been playing, currently listed as the #1 player in the world and the first ever foreigner to win the WCS Global Finals last year. Reynor took the series 4 games to 3.

Serral was able to tie-up the series in the sixth game with a classic Roach/Ravager/Hydra push. In the final game, Serral opted for a quick third base into Roaches while containing Reynor on two bases. Reynor quickly broke out with a Zergling flood, chasing Serral’s units back to the natural. After Reynor broke through Serral’s wall, Serral was forced to pull the boys, losing all of his Queens in the process. Reynor cut drone production and continued to pressure Serral’s natural, forcing the GG against the world champion. You can watch the final round here.

Congratulations to Neeb and Reynor!

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