2022 was a bittersweet year of Starcraft 2 for this viewer. Watching the reducing number of Korean players, the relative lack of fresh threats from other regions, no new balance patches, no guarantee of global tournaments next year, and the continued lack of balance (i.e. no protoss winning premiere trophies), I went into 2022 with trepidation that my favorite esport might be in its last year worth viewing. I was also concerned that the overall quality of gameplay was dropping. Are top players still playing at a top level, or is quality dipping to the level of lesser players as the best players leave the game? Would a Creator in 2022 have a chance against a Stats in 2019 or Zest 2016? Where are the players in Europe to put up a fight against Reynor, Serral, and Clem? Would a Ragnarok today be able to put up a fight against an Innovation from yesterday? And indeed, players like Creator and Ragnarok put up little fight against Rogue and Maru in 2022, who showed their true class.
As a result, I watched less Starcraft 2 than any year since 2014. Part of this is objective: there were fewer GSL participants, meaning shorter tournaments, and the non-Korean scene shifted from three to two total global tournaments. To be fair, the major and minor tournaments were healthy in terms of quantity and quality. But they didn't always have the financial backing to make them dogfights with a meaty bone for the winner. But as I sit here at the end of the year, I am more hopeful than at the beginning of the year.
Looking ahead to 2023, GSL has officially been renewed for another year, which is great. Kalaeris didn't provide the details, but at the end of IEM Katowice he said to stay tuned for details of Starcraft 2 in 2023, which I take to mean a non-Korean global tournament structure. Combine all this with the fact Blizzard surprised everyone with an inopportune balance patch (but a balance patch nonetheless) means Starcraft 2 is still alive for at least another year. Great. Undoubtedly we will lose more talent to the Korean military, and other players will drop off, but the level of competition should remain high (enough) with the current pool of players.
Before giving out player awards, something absolutely must be said of the world championships at IEM Katowice. Holy shit. Starcraft 2 has never seen anything like it. Oliveira wins. The 21st ranked player in the world runs through the best players in the world (save Serral who was on the other side of the bracket) to dominate—dominate—the greatest player ever, Maru, in the final. Oliveira had never made it to a premiere final before, let alone win one. He came from nowhere to shock everyone. And the humility, passion, and honest love for Starcraft 2 he played with was addicting. The fist pumps in the air winning maps and the tears upon winning, it was difficult not to get emotional, too. His victory becomes all the greater knowing Blizzard had closed the servers in China prior to the tournament, meaning all of his practice was done at less than optimal ping. In short, Oliveira would be the darkest of dark horses if it weren't for the huge smile and passion. Just play like Maru. Only he did it better, and enters the annals of SC2 and our hearts for it.
And now to player awards.
Breakout Player: Oliveira, Oliveira, Oliveira. His world championship run is something that Starcraft 2 has never seen. It was amazing. No luck involved. Like soO in 2020, he had a losing record in the group stage but somehow came through to the brackets to win it all. On the way, he reverse swept Reynor. He defeated the world's best protoss herO who was in excellent form. And he defeated the world's best terran and greatest player of all time, Maru. IN that final, he was consistently one step ahead, knowing exactly when to be aggressive and take risks. It was no fluke. Who knows what the future holds, but I don't think there was another player who came anywhere close to “breaking out” as much as Oliveira in 2022. Exploding out, might be more fitting.
Most Disappointing Player: I hate this category, but it's a necessary one. I considered Maxpax. His potential seems huge, yet his unwillingness to go to offline events hurts any chance of seeing the potential unleashed. But that's his personal choice, which I must respect, so no award. I considered Heromarine. His IEM Katowice run last year seemed to indicate the podium was possible. But no podium in 2022. That said, his year was still better than another renowned player, so no award for Heromarine. For 2022 I'm going with Showtime. For the fifth year in a row the failure to get to a premiere final, or regularly get to the semis, or be a legit threat for the podium, is disappointing. Showtime, I love you. You're better than your results. Years ago you beat Nerchio in a thrilling Dreamhack final. You can win premiere trophies. You can beat the world's best. I hope you can play 2023 like it's your last. Take risks. Take chances. Throw your conservative protoss playbook aside—sometimes. It's your backbone, I know, but mix in some risky, crazy builds. And most importantly, believe in yourself.
Best Foreign Terran – Clem or Heromarine, Heromarine or Clem, there really aren't any other contenders. The bottom line is, however, the premiere podium continues to elude Heromarine, while Clem is essentially the only person outside Korea who hits the podium over Serral and Reynor. Winner of two of the premiere, non-Korean events, it's gotta be Clem. Yes, Oliveira, by winning the world championship took home a trophy more prestigious than Clem and Heromarine's trophies combined, but he was not as consistent as either player throughout 2022, with Clem being the most successful of the pair. Am I the only one who thinks Clem has yet to reach his potential?
Best Foreign Protoss – Good competition this year for this award. Astrea, Neeb, and Maxpax all had good showings—at least in the context of Protoss, which is not saying as much as their zerg and terran peers. I loved Astrea's showing at Home Story Cup, but ultimately no player took home any premiere trophies. Overall it was Neeb who won his region's Dreamhack majors, both times over Astrea, and it was Neeb who looked the best in IEM Katowice, despite not getting out of the groups. While some people may be tempted to give No Award for this category given the relatively underwhelming amount of results, it's gotta go to somebody and Neeb was the best of the group. Maxpax, time to face your offline fears and show what you're made of. You're too good not to.
Best Foreign Zerg – Reynor won stacked Home Story Cup and King of Battles tournaments, but that's really the only competition Serral faced. Otherwise, the Finnish phenom was winner of two premiere events, and was in the thick of things in every tournament he entered. Serral was Serral, and that is the best.
Best Korean Terran – There is no competition. Maru is the clear winner here. Winner of a GSL and second place finisher in three premiere events, including the world championship, there isn't another Korean terran who came close. Nothing else to say.
Best Korean Protoss – Zest did take a premiere tournament victory in the year's first GSL Super Tournament before fading into the unfortunate sunset of the military, but there is no question here. It's herO. He hit the premiere podium twice and was relevant almost the entire year. Perhaps most imporantly, herO proved that protoss is not dead by winning the race's first GSL since dinosaurs roamed the Earth. Getting all the way to IEM Katowice semis, he was no fluke.
Best Korean Zerg – While Rogue shined early by winning a GSL, he went to the military immediately after, leaving a void. It was a void that Dark filled. While Solar and Ragnarok showed success, with Solar taking home a GSL Super Tournament trophy over Dark, Dark was the cream of the zerg crop throughout the year. He beat Maru in a nailbiting Dreamhack grand final, and finished second in two premiere events. He was consistently the biggest zerg threat from Korea, meaning there isn't a question here.
Player of the Year – This award came down to a three-horse race at IEM Katowice: Maru, herO, and Serral. (I suppose some consideration could have been given to Dark or Reynor, both threats for the trophy. If either had won, this would have been muddy.) Whichever of those three players won would also take home this award. A funny thing happened along the way. Oliveira. He threw a spanner in the works, which means we need to look backwards in the bracket. Serral made it to the quarters. herO made it to the semis. And Maru made it to the finals. Combine this with the fact that Maru was the top global points-getter in 2022 and reached the most premiere finals, Maru it is. Congrats!
Matches of the Year
Worth watching again, the following are honorable mentions for best match of 2022:
Clem vs Reynor – DH Winter European Grand Final
herO vs Dark - DH Valencia semi-final
Solar vs Dark - Super Tournament 2 - Grand Final
Creator vs Dark – IEM Katowice Round of 12
Oliveira vs Reynor – IEM Katowice Quarters
Zest vs Dark Super Tournament #1 Grand Final
Runner up: (tie)
herO vs Bunny - DH Atlanta Grand Final
Dark vs Maru - DH Valencia Grand Final
Match of the Year
Clem vs Reynor – DH Summer European Grand Final
I tend to favor Korea over Europe, which is unfair considering the world champions that have come from Europe the past couple of years, not to mention the fact competition across all regions is getting better. Korea is statistically still dominant, but certainly a handful of European players have cracked the global Starcraft 2 egg as legit threats to everything. (Oh yeah, and Oliveira!) One such progamer is certainly Reynor, and a progamer who is showing signs of someday being in the same conversation is Clem. In both the Summer and Winter European grand finals, the pair ended up the final two standing. And while this may seem boring, the games are anything but. Clem is one of only a handful of players who has a legit chance of beating Reynor when Reynor is on point, and on both occasions Reynor was on point. He dominated the upper bracket both times on his way to the finals. Clem had to make his way through the loser's bracket both times. The Summer final was the better of the two meetings. In the upper bracket final, Reynor had laid waste to Clem 3-0. This forced Clem to the lower bracket where he had to meet none other than the terran machine, Heromarine (who had finally shed his demons and beaten Serral). After a hard fought TvT that went the distance, Clem's reward was a rematch with Reynor. Reynor started the bo7 one-game ahead, and here is the rest.
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