Serral: The Harbinger - Road to BlizzCon 2018 (#9) Text by TL.net ESPORTS Graphics by 3StrakGames Photo: Carlton Beener (via Blizzard) The Harbinger by hexhaven



We’ve never had a year quite like this in StarCraft 2’s eight year history.



StarCraft II is a young game with an ephemeral affinity for winners. We know almost intrinsically how tough the competition is at the highest levels of play; players vie for the smallest edge over their opponents, dedicate their entire lives to perfecting their craft. The pursuit of success is an all-consuming path, and fortunes naturally wax and wane in an environment where the conditions of victory hinge on the most fickle minutia. Stars rise and fall. Players reach dizzying heights only to crash hard mere weeks or months later. The few who rise above the churning crucible of competition are showered with every accolade imaginable, even if their streak of dominance lasts only a brief moment longer than the norm.



It has always been an immutable part of the scene. Until now.



Joona “



Last year Serral was ranked #3 on the WCS Circuit. Among foreigners he was a recognized and respected entity, representative of the new breed of Zergs gaining prominence in LotV. Most of the respect Serral garnered came from his obvious potential though. His one true highlight of the year was reaching the grand finals in Jönköping, only to fall against the onslaught of



Following the dismal performance in Anaheim, Serral returned home and started training for the new season. An immediate change was noticeable during his first stop in the European WESG qualifier. He prophetically plowed through the competition, only losing one series against



Almost a full year later, Serral stands as the most feared foreigner Zerg in history. He has won four consecutive WCS Circuit titles, reached in the semifinals at the IEM World Championship, finished third at WESG and claimed the GSL vs the World title. He hasn’t lost a single offline match since Nation Wars V in April. He’s won 49 offline matches since January 1st, translating to an astounding 90% win rate. Out of the four players he’s lost against—Classic, We’ve never had a year quite like this in StarCraft 2’s eight year history.StarCraft II is a young game with an ephemeral affinity for winners. We know almost intrinsically how tough the competition is at the highest levels of play; players vie for the smallest edge over their opponents, dedicate their entire lives to perfecting their craft. The pursuit of success is an all-consuming path, and fortunes naturally wax and wane in an environment where the conditions of victory hinge on the most fickle minutia. Stars rise and fall. Players reach dizzying heights only to crash hard mere weeks or months later. The few who rise above the churning crucible of competition are showered with every accolade imaginable, even if their streak of dominance lasts only a brief moment longer than the norm.It has always been an immutable part of the scene. Until now.Joona “ Serral ” Sotala has earned a list of nicknames as long as your arm: the King, the Emperor, the Flying Finn, the Finnish Phenom, the Warchild. No matter what moniker you use, it seems glib to summarize his journey in a short preview. We’ve seen remarkable phenomena during these past eight years, and yet here we’re treading unknown waters. Serral’s transformation has been nigh unprecedented.Last year Serral was ranked #3 on the WCS Circuit. Among foreigners he was a recognized and respected entity, representative of the new breed of Zergs gaining prominence in LotV. Most of the respect Serral garnered came from his obvious potential though. His one true highlight of the year was reaching the grand finals in Jönköping, only to fall against the onslaught of Neeb . At that point Neeb was enjoying the zenith of his glory: the American Protoss would claim a total of three WCS titles over the course of the year. By comparison, Serral’s year was wholly lackluster. At the Global Finals the Finn’s only victory was against TRUE , a Zerg player famous for his aggressive, all-or-nothing style. He was still a knight-in-training preparing for the big clashes ahead.Following the dismal performance in Anaheim, Serral returned home and started training for the new season. An immediate change was noticeable during his first stop in the European WESG qualifier. He prophetically plowed through the competition, only losing one series against ShoWTimE . A clean 4-0 victory in the finals against Nerchio secured him both a spot at the WESG tournament proper, and more importantly his first major offline title. In retrospect his showing in Barcelona was a catalyst. Maybe whatever mental blocks had been holding him in place were finally unlocked; perhaps Serral have discovered the perfect congruence of mechanics and strategy to match his philosophy towards SC2. No matter the case, all the latent promise we had been salivating over for years was unleashed in a way no one expected.Almost a full year later, Serral stands as the most feared foreigner Zerg in history. He has won four consecutive WCS Circuit titles, reached in the semifinals at the IEM World Championship, finished third at WESG and claimed the GSL vs the World title. He hasn’t lost a single offline match since Nation Wars V in April. He’s won 49 offline matches since January 1st, translating to an astounding 90% win rate. Out of the four players he’s lost against— Scarlett Maru and soO —during that period, he’s gotten revenge against three. All throughout the year Serral has been praised for his uncanny scouting prowess, his mechanical skill, and his sheer speed. Besides these conspicuous factors, he possesses two crucial elements that elevate him far beyond the reach of his contemporaries: his unwillingness to quit and his ability to clutch games. They are two sides of the same coin, but the distinction must be made: one cannot exist without the other.



Rank

#1

WCS Standings WCS Points

14090 2018 Season Stats*

64–18 (78.05%) vs. Terran

84–18 (82.35%) vs. Protoss

171–40 (81.04%) vs. Zerg *Via Aligulac.com. Matches between 2017-11-15 and 2018-10-16.



sisu. It’s all about tenacity, grit, guts, resilience, and stubbornly going up against impossible odds, knowing you’ll likely fail. In Serral’s case sisu is apparent in the way he approaches games. He clings onto survival, sometimes by pure force of will, knowing that as long as the game continues opportunities at victory will present themselves. This same intransigence characterizes his approach to matches as well. No matter the score line Serral plays every game as if it’s a Bo1. Fears and insecurities are reserved for the map at hand, neutralized lest they poison future games.



This year, the one tournament that encapsulated Serral’s sisu was GSL vs the World. The Zerg had dominated the WCS Circuit since Leipzig and proven his prowess against fellow players beyond any doubt. Serral had displayed utter command over his foes in ways reminiscent of legends like



Coming off three WCS titles, Serral expectedly slapped



Lastly he faced



It’s precisely that unwavering determination that works so perfectly as an example of sisu. First down 0-2 and later 2-3, a lesser player would’ve folded under the pressure, allowing doubt to blunt his perception and sensitivity to risk. We’ve seen the same situation time and again in grand finals. Once your enemy gets under your skin, it’s essentially over. Truth be told, the younger Serral would’ve folded. A clutch comeback like that, in Korea against a GSL champion, speaks volumes how much Serral has grown as a player in just a single year.



It wasn’t the first time a non-Korean won a title in the Mecca of SC2. Serral wasn’t technically the first non-Korean to win a title in Korea during that year. But the manner in which he did was truly something eyeraising. If doubts lingered over Serral’s chances against the top-tier competition Korea could offer, his successive victories at GSL vs the World quickly silenced any detractors.



With four WCS Circuit titles, a GSL weekender title, and two Top 4 finishes, it’s almost impossible to oversell Serral’s performance this year. The amount of WCS points he’s accrued over the year has almost broken the system. It’s still wise to remember that the Finn’s not immortal though. In Montreal he struggled against Scarlett,



There’s still one more tournament he desires to win. It’s the biggest and most prestigious of the year, one that overshadows all victories grand and small that precede it. For the first time ever we are heading into BlizzCon to compete for not only one championship title, but two. Serral strives for the first honor, the title of world champion and the first foreigner to become the unequivocal best player in the world. Fifteen players will scramble to hunt the most dangerous game of all. The Finnish juggernaut has an enormous target on his back, and securing it will provide no small consolation to the lucky poacher. We will find out which title proves to be more lasting. There’s a world famous concept in Finland called simply. It’s all about tenacity, grit, guts, resilience, and stubbornly going up against impossible odds, knowing you’ll likely fail. In Serral’s caseis apparent in the way he approaches games. He clings onto survival, sometimes by pure force of will, knowing that as long as the game continues opportunities at victory will present themselves. This same intransigence characterizes his approach to matches as well. No matter the score line Serral plays every game as if it’s a Bo1. Fears and insecurities are reserved for the map at hand, neutralized lest they poison future games.This year, the one tournament that encapsulated Serral’swas GSL vs the World. The Zerg had dominated the WCS Circuit since Leipzig and proven his prowess against fellow players beyond any doubt. Serral had displayed utter command over his foes in ways reminiscent of legends like Stephano . Meanwhile his skill against Koreans remained a hotly debated loose end. He had failed to go all the way at the IEM World Championships or at WESG, enough to instigate doubt he was worthy of consideration alongside Maru and Dark . Hardcore fans shouted with glee as the new foreigner hope was expected to be their salvation. Skeptics scoffed at the very idea, expecting the slew of experienced Koreans to show Serral his place.Coming off three WCS titles, Serral expectedly slapped Kelazhur silly in a 3-0 sweep. Events took an interesting turn as the sweeps unexpectedly continued. Serral took down INnoVation with another 3-0 victory, relishing some sweet payback for the previous year’s GSL vs the World. In the semifinals Serral faced Dark, the famous slayer of foreigner dreams and ZvZ maestro. The two had played against each other at IEM Katowice 2017, where Dark had humiliated Serral in a painfully one-sided match. This time around the tables were turned. Dark looked like he needed help in the mirror matchup, with Serral advancing to the grand finals.Lastly he faced Stats , one of the most consistent Protoss players in Legacy of the Void, who had waded through the other side of the bracket to reach the finals. Stats had exorcised a few person demons by cleanly defeating Maru in the semifinals; he sought his second gold medal of 2018. It was a bout to remember. Both players teetered on the razor’s edge, bringing the series all the way to game seven. Stats took the first two maps with atypical early-game pressure only for Serral to adjust, tying the series 2-2 in longer macro. Stats won a grueling ordeal to stand one game from victory, but even when facing utter defeat Serral remained unfazed. With no wiggle room he switched his strategy to punishing midgame timings. Neither too hot nor too cold, this porridge was the ideal solution to bowl over Stats on the final two maps.It’s precisely that unwavering determination that works so perfectly as an example of. First down 0-2 and later 2-3, a lesser player would’ve folded under the pressure, allowing doubt to blunt his perception and sensitivity to risk. We’ve seen the same situation time and again in grand finals. Once your enemy gets under your skin, it’s essentially over. Truth be told, the younger Serral would’ve folded. A clutch comeback like that, in Korea against a GSL champion, speaks volumes how much Serral has grown as a player in just a single year.It wasn’t the first time a non-Korean won a title in the Mecca of SC2. Serral wasn’t technically the first non-Korean to win a title in Korea during that year. But the manner in which he did was truly something eyeraising. If doubts lingered over Serral’s chances against the top-tier competition Korea could offer, his successive victories at GSL vs the World quickly silenced any detractors.With four WCS Circuit titles, a GSL weekender title, and two Top 4 finishes, it’s almost impossible to oversell Serral’s performance this year. The amount of WCS points he’s accrued over the year has almost broken the system. It’s still wise to remember that the Finn’s not immortal though. In Montreal he struggled against Scarlett, Lambo and Reynor until finally securing his fourth WCS Circuit title. He can be defeated and the expectations resting on his shoulders are sky high. But his singular ability to claim victory from the jaws of defeat makes defeat seem less and less likely as Serral continues to improve.There’s still one more tournament he desires to win. It’s the biggest and most prestigious of the year, one that overshadows all victories grand and small that precede it. For the first time ever we are heading into BlizzCon to compete for not only one championship title, but two. Serral strives for the first honor, the title of world champion and the first foreigner to become the unequivocal best player in the world. Fifteen players will scramble to hunt the most dangerous game of all. The Finnish juggernaut has an enormous target on his back, and securing it will provide no small consolation to the lucky poacher. We will find out which title proves to be more lasting.















HolydaKing Profile Joined February 2010 20325 Posts #2 Nice read. Gogo Serral!!! I'll cheer for just him. Well and for Lambo I guess.

Tempest Profile Joined October 2015 United States 147 Posts Last Edited: 2018-10-18 19:36:49 #3 Editing my comment cause my computer is dumb. Everybody have a nice day. Quick, think of some pithy cliche and toss it here

kajtarp Profile Joined April 2011 Hungary 403 Posts #4 I dont want to be the bad guy here, but i'm afraid he won't even make it out of the group phase. Why so serious?

Dave4 Profile Joined August 2018 436 Posts Last Edited: 2018-10-18 20:13:31 #5 He has had an unprecedented year. If Maru hadn't also had an unprecedented year at exactly the same time (admittedly as some point out with the teamhouse advantage); in any other era, Serral would already have been the undisputed best player in the world for some time.



Frothing to see him in the finals. I feel like anything but a Maru v Serral finals will have us wondering "what if?"



There could be no more perfect end to the 2018 story than that - hopefully a 7 game thriller.

BaneRiders Profile Joined August 2013 Sweden 3567 Posts #6



Serral shall not disappoint anyone I think. Not even the gods can save his opponents now. 14090 WCS points. How many did the others get combined?Serral shall not disappoint anyone I think. Not even the gods can save his opponents now. Earth, Water, Air and Protoss!

Shuffleblade Profile Joined February 2012 Sweden 1834 Posts Last Edited: 2018-10-18 21:21:55 #7 On October 19 2018 04:53 kajtarp wrote:

I dont want to be the bad guy here, but i'm afraid he won't even make it out of the group phase.

Well most foreigners are in a pretty tough situation seeing as there's 2 koreans in every group and every korean is killer good(personal opinion). I would say Serral got one of if not the easiest group though(only looking at koreans).



Edit: Dave4, as "some point out", you mean as you point out.... -_-

Also even if every single GSL would have been won by a different players Serral still wouldn't be regarded as best in the world. Since GSL vs the world is far from enough to prove that, and to be honest thats the only tournament worth mentioning if we are discussing best player in the world. Doesn't matter if he wins 20 foreigner events in a row, still not best in the world. Well most foreigners are in a pretty tough situation seeing as there's 2 koreans in every group and every korean is killer good(personal opinion). I would say Serral got one of if not the easiest group though(only looking at koreans).Edit: Dave4, as "some point out", you mean as you point out.... -_-Also even if every single GSL would have been won by a different players Serral still wouldn't be regarded as best in the world. Since GSL vs the world is far from enough to prove that, and to be honest thats the only tournament worth mentioning if we are discussing best player in the world. Doesn't matter if he wins 20 foreigner events in a row, still not best in the world. Maru, Bomber, TY, Dear, Classic, DeParture and Rogue!

Zaros Profile Blog Joined September 2010 United Kingdom 3465 Posts #8 Serral should get out of his group but you never know, I would never doubt Zest and sOs can always do some bullshit.

TheDougler Profile Joined April 2010 Canada 8173 Posts #9 I'm rooting for him but I'm so so nervous. Never forget that somewhere out there in the world Lilbow is out there practicing for Diablo 4. Point being that we've learned the hard way to never bank on foreigners, especially at Blizzcon. I root for Euro Zergs, NA Protoss* and Korean Terrans. (Any North American who has beat a Korean Pro as Protoss counts as NA Toss)

Dave4 Profile Joined August 2018 436 Posts Last Edited: 2018-10-18 21:55:40 #10 On October 19 2018 06:18 Shuffleblade wrote:

Show nested quote +

On October 19 2018 04:53 kajtarp wrote:

I dont want to be the bad guy here, but i'm afraid he won't even make it out of the group phase.

Well most foreigners are in a pretty tough situation seeing as there's 2 koreans in every group and every korean is killer good(personal opinion). I would say Serral got one of if not the easiest group though(only looking at koreans).



Edit: Dave4, as "some point out", you mean as you point out.... -_-

Also even if every single GSL would have been won by a different players Serral still wouldn't be regarded as best in the world. Since GSL vs the world is far from enough to prove that, and to be honest thats the only tournament worth mentioning if we are discussing best player in the world. Doesn't matter if he wins 20 foreigner events in a row, still not best in the world. Well most foreigners are in a pretty tough situation seeing as there's 2 koreans in every group and every korean is killer good(personal opinion). I would say Serral got one of if not the easiest group though(only looking at koreans).Edit: Dave4, as "some point out", you mean as you point out.... -_-Also even if every single GSL would have been won by a different players Serral still wouldn't be regarded as best in the world. Since GSL vs the world is far from enough to prove that, and to be honest thats the only tournament worth mentioning if we are discussing best player in the world. Doesn't matter if he wins 20 foreigner events in a row, still not best in the world.

On the contrary, his achievements are remarkable in a game as volatile as Starcraft. soO is the only player with a winning record against him this entire year.



Although I understand that the Swedish may have trouble accepting a Finnish phenom. On the contrary, his achievements are remarkable in a game as volatile as Starcraft. soO is the only player with a winning record against him this entire year.Although I understand that the Swedish may have trouble accepting a Finnish phenom.

Karim1 Profile Joined July 2018 1 Post #11 SoS will crush him.

Cricketer12 Profile Blog Joined May 2012 United States 13103 Posts #12 Surprised to see this article already. Going to be really interesting to see how he does.... Solemn Strike FTW l SC2 Liquibet Season 17 Winner l I am beyond imagination, succumb to madness.

BisuDagger Profile Blog Joined October 2009 Bisutopia 17620 Posts Last Edited: 2018-10-18 23:21:31 #13 Serral has the win percentages to rival Flash level dominance. If he closes out the year with a gold he will become Taeja as the new best player to not win a GSL. He really must compete in GSL next year while he has a hot hand. Moderator Ofiicial Afreeca Starleague Caster: http://afreeca.tv/ASL2ENG2

yubo56 Profile Joined May 2014 495 Posts #14 Wow TL going all out on the order and not even making an exception for the big guns.



The order has to end on Maru though right?? Nobody's going to read the last few articles if both Serral and Maru are out (ok not literally, but this is still a bold move it seems) Jung Yoon Jong fighting, even after retirement! Feel better soon.

Shuffleblade Profile Joined February 2012 Sweden 1834 Posts Last Edited: 2018-10-18 23:13:12 #15 On October 19 2018 06:52 Dave4 wrote:

Show nested quote +

On October 19 2018 06:18 Shuffleblade wrote:

On October 19 2018 04:53 kajtarp wrote:

I dont want to be the bad guy here, but i'm afraid he won't even make it out of the group phase.

Well most foreigners are in a pretty tough situation seeing as there's 2 koreans in every group and every korean is killer good(personal opinion). I would say Serral got one of if not the easiest group though(only looking at koreans).



Edit: Dave4, as "some point out", you mean as you point out.... -_-

Also even if every single GSL would have been won by a different players Serral still wouldn't be regarded as best in the world. Since GSL vs the world is far from enough to prove that, and to be honest thats the only tournament worth mentioning if we are discussing best player in the world. Doesn't matter if he wins 20 foreigner events in a row, still not best in the world. Well most foreigners are in a pretty tough situation seeing as there's 2 koreans in every group and every korean is killer good(personal opinion). I would say Serral got one of if not the easiest group though(only looking at koreans).Edit: Dave4, as "some point out", you mean as you point out.... -_-Also even if every single GSL would have been won by a different players Serral still wouldn't be regarded as best in the world. Since GSL vs the world is far from enough to prove that, and to be honest thats the only tournament worth mentioning if we are discussing best player in the world. Doesn't matter if he wins 20 foreigner events in a row, still not best in the world.

On the contrary, his achievements are remarkable in a game as volatile as Starcraft. soO is the only player with a winning record against him this entire year.



Although I understand that the Swedish may have trouble accepting a Finnish phenom. On the contrary, his achievements are remarkable in a game as volatile as Starcraft. soO is the only player with a winning record against him this entire year.Although I understand that the Swedish may have trouble accepting a Finnish phenom.

You're babbling.



On the contrary to what? Me saying foreigner tournament wins doesn't make the greatest player in the world? You believe that the winners of foreigner tournaments are whats important and that it is GSLs that doesn't matter? So your argument is that contrary to what I say you believe that the player that wins the most foreigner tournaments are the greatest player in the world? Or did not mean anything by the "On the contrary" and only used it because it sounds cool without knowing what it means?



Never said his achivements are not remarkable, they are amazing I agree with that. Something being amazingly awesometastic doesn't automaticall make him the best player in the world, nor does me saying what I said mean that I don't think he's awesome.



Interesting that the only thing you answered was meaningless babble followed by how my opinion is obviously colored because of my nationality... Please if you are going to reply try to put more effort into it than calling me out for being Swedish like there is something wrong with that. For the record Finland is basically Sweden, just as cool but weirder language, if anything I cheer for him harder because he is nordic. (Note that this absolutely irrelevent to the argument of if a player is the best in the world or not, my nationality is not a valid argument in any direction)



Edit: Just to be thourough, his win record is pretty irrelevant since the only time he has played against the best players in the world was one tournament. Very possible Neeb had a similar score last year, was he the best player in the world. Hardly. You're babbling.On the contrary to what? Me saying foreigner tournament wins doesn't make the greatest player in the world? You believe that the winners of foreigner tournaments are whats important and that it is GSLs that doesn't matter? So your argument is that contrary to what I say you believe that the player that wins the most foreigner tournaments are the greatest player in the world? Or did not mean anything by the "On the contrary" and only used it because it sounds cool without knowing what it means?Never said his achivements are not remarkable, they are amazing I agree with that. Something being amazingly awesometastic doesn't automaticall make him the best player in the world, nor does me saying what I said mean that I don't think he's awesome.Interesting that the only thing you answered was meaningless babble followed by how my opinion is obviously colored because of my nationality... Please if you are going to reply try to put more effort into it than calling me out for being Swedish like there is something wrong with that. For the record Finland is basically Sweden, just as cool but weirder language, if anything I cheer for him harder because he is nordic. (Note that this absolutely irrelevent to the argument of if a player is the best in the world or not, my nationality is not a valid argument in any direction)Edit: Just to be thourough, his win record is pretty irrelevant since the only time he has played against the best players in the world was one tournament. Very possible Neeb had a similar score last year, was he the best player in the world. Hardly. Maru, Bomber, TY, Dear, Classic, DeParture and Rogue!

Poopi Profile Blog Joined November 2010 France 9763 Posts Last Edited: 2018-10-18 23:17:37 #16

He won 3 of 4 WCS events (almost happened to Serral, Montreal was a fucking tough run full of tiebreakers) in 2017, still couldn't go past group stage.



I think Serral not qualifying past group stages would be the most disappointing result in LotV, he is hyped (with reason ) af.

I really really hope he'll be able to at least qualify so we can see him in bo5+. Remember Neeb. He won kespa cup but got bopped at blizzcon 2016.He won 3 of 4 WCS events (almost happened to Serral, Montreal was a fucking tough run full of tiebreakers) in 2017, still couldn't go past group stage.I think Serral not qualifying past group stages would be the most disappointing result in LotV, he is hyped (with reason) af.I really really hope he'll be able to at least qualify so we can see him in bo5+. In Starcraft 2, money is gained through consistency accross all patches, legacy is built through snowballing the good patches for tournament wins.

stardog Profile Joined August 2011 544 Posts #17 I don't envy Serral's position, none of the other foreigners have any hype going for them so once more all eyes are on him (and Maru, obviously). That's a lot of added pressure but like this article pointed out, he's been handling pressure very well so far so I don't think there's a legitimate reason for fearmongering.

yht9657 Profile Joined December 2016 1764 Posts #18 Serral's performance all year has been almost flawless, I don't see any possibility for him to lose to Zest who's terrible at PVZ, or sOs who's just mechanically inferior right now. The only real threat to him at Blizzcon should be Maru/TY/Stats, Classic can also be scary if prepared, and Dark if he shows enough respect.

Dave4 Profile Joined August 2018 436 Posts #19 On October 19 2018 08:03 Shuffleblade wrote:

Show nested quote +

On October 19 2018 06:52 Dave4 wrote:

On October 19 2018 06:18 Shuffleblade wrote:

On October 19 2018 04:53 kajtarp wrote:

I dont want to be the bad guy here, but i'm afraid he won't even make it out of the group phase.

Well most foreigners are in a pretty tough situation seeing as there's 2 koreans in every group and every korean is killer good(personal opinion). I would say Serral got one of if not the easiest group though(only looking at koreans).



Edit: Dave4, as "some point out", you mean as you point out.... -_-

Also even if every single GSL would have been won by a different players Serral still wouldn't be regarded as best in the world. Since GSL vs the world is far from enough to prove that, and to be honest thats the only tournament worth mentioning if we are discussing best player in the world. Doesn't matter if he wins 20 foreigner events in a row, still not best in the world. Well most foreigners are in a pretty tough situation seeing as there's 2 koreans in every group and every korean is killer good(personal opinion). I would say Serral got one of if not the easiest group though(only looking at koreans).Edit: Dave4, as "some point out", you mean as you point out.... -_-Also even if every single GSL would have been won by a different players Serral still wouldn't be regarded as best in the world. Since GSL vs the world is far from enough to prove that, and to be honest thats the only tournament worth mentioning if we are discussing best player in the world. Doesn't matter if he wins 20 foreigner events in a row, still not best in the world.

On the contrary, his achievements are remarkable in a game as volatile as Starcraft. soO is the only player with a winning record against him this entire year.



Although I understand that the Swedish may have trouble accepting a Finnish phenom. On the contrary, his achievements are remarkable in a game as volatile as Starcraft. soO is the only player with a winning record against him this entire year.Although I understand that the Swedish may have trouble accepting a Finnish phenom.

You're babbling.



On the contrary to what? Me saying foreigner tournament wins doesn't make the greatest player in the world? You believe that the winners of foreigner tournaments are whats important and that it is GSLs that doesn't matter? So your argument is that contrary to what I say you believe that the player that wins the most foreigner tournaments are the greatest player in the world? Or did not mean anything by the "On the contrary" and only used it because it sounds cool without knowing what it means?



Never said his achivements are not remarkable, they are amazing I agree with that. Something being amazingly awesometastic doesn't automaticall make him the best player in the world, nor does me saying what I said mean that I don't think he's awesome.



Interesting that the only thing you answered was meaningless babble followed by how my opinion is obviously colored because of my nationality... Please if you are going to reply try to put more effort into it than calling me out for being Swedish like there is something wrong with that. For the record Finland is basically Sweden, just as cool but weirder language, if anything I cheer for him harder because he is nordic. (Note that this absolutely irrelevent to the argument of if a player is the best in the world or not, my nationality is not a valid argument in any direction)



Edit: Just to be thourough, his win record is pretty irrelevant since the only time he has played against the best players in the world was one tournament. Very possible Neeb had a similar score last year, was he the best player in the world. Hardly. You're babbling.On the contrary to what? Me saying foreigner tournament wins doesn't make the greatest player in the world? You believe that the winners of foreigner tournaments are whats important and that it is GSLs that doesn't matter? So your argument is that contrary to what I say you believe that the player that wins the most foreigner tournaments are the greatest player in the world? Or did not mean anything by the "On the contrary" and only used it because it sounds cool without knowing what it means?Never said his achivements are not remarkable, they are amazing I agree with that. Something being amazingly awesometastic doesn't automaticall make him the best player in the world, nor does me saying what I said mean that I don't think he's awesome.Interesting that the only thing you answered was meaningless babble followed by how my opinion is obviously colored because of my nationality... Please if you are going to reply try to put more effort into it than calling me out for being Swedish like there is something wrong with that. For the record Finland is basically Sweden, just as cool but weirder language, if anything I cheer for him harder because he is nordic. (Note that this absolutely irrelevent to the argument of if a player is the best in the world or not, my nationality is not a valid argument in any direction)Edit: Just to be thourough, his win record is pretty irrelevant since the only time he has played against the best players in the world was one tournament. Very possible Neeb had a similar score last year, was he the best player in the world. Hardly.

You misjudge me sir, I mean no disrespect. It is much like us Australians have a rivalry with New Zealand, I would expect a similar nation wars rivalry between your countries.



Regarding my use of the phrase 'on the contrary', on the contrary to your beliefs I do in fact know its meaning and how to use it. I do however agree that it sounds cool and will take that as a compliment.



I was saying on the contrary to your entire argument that Serrals achievements are not worth mentioning in the 'best player's discussions - of course they are, they are regarded as premier tournaments for a reason. His GSL win in particular was against the world's best players and I don't buy the 'oh they don't care about it' argument with a prize pool like that, it's essentially the mini-Blizzcon.



I see that you've backtracked your stance a little bit, but I think you can open your mind a little further and see that these tournaments are filled with people who have given their careers and lives to this game, and discrediting the entire foreign scene and then passing off their achievements against both foreign and Korean competition as essentially meaningless could be construed as insulting.

You misjudge me sir, I mean no disrespect. It is much like us Australians have a rivalry with New Zealand, I would expect a similar nation wars rivalry between your countries.Regarding my use of the phrase 'on the contrary', on the contrary to your beliefs I do in fact know its meaning and how to use it. I do however agree that it sounds cool and will take that as a compliment.I was saying on the contrary to your entire argument that Serrals achievements are not worth mentioning in the 'best player's discussions - of course they are, they are regarded as premier tournaments for a reason. His GSL win in particular was against the world's best players and I don't buy the 'oh they don't care about it' argument with a prize pool like that, it's essentially the mini-Blizzcon.I see that you've backtracked your stance a little bit, but I think you can open your mind a little further and see that these tournaments are filled with people who have given their careers and lives to this game, and discrediting the entire foreign scene and then passing off their achievements against both foreign and Korean competition as essentially meaningless could be construed as insulting.

Psychonian Profile Joined March 2012 United States 2314 Posts #20 This has been truly something to watch. I hope to see Serral at the very least make it deep into Blizzcon. Trans Rights

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