State of Play
SC2 in 2023 should not have happened at the scale it did. But thanks to crowdfunding and unexpected injections of cash, the competitive scene declined but did not die. We lost one of the seasonal premiere non-Korean tournaments and GSL was reduced in size (number of participants). Viewership dropped overall. Up and coming RTS games Zerospace and Stormgate started to distract viewers' attentions. And there was not a rotation of talent. Perennial names remained at the top while zero new names emerged as contenders.
But the SC2 scene stayed alive. It has only half a foot in the grave. On and offline tournaments continued to be organized—most importantly at the premiere level. Some decent prize pools and one giant one were awarded (at least outside Korea). People continued to attend live events and watch online. And perhaps surprise of all surprises, the game got a balance patch. It helped, at least a little. The community seems split on the health of the game, but one thing for sure is that, if two years ago someone would have said that in 2023-2024 things are as they are, most people would be satisfied. At least I hope so.
In 2023 the shadow of balance loomed ever larger, to the point it's affecting people's enjoyment, and consequently viewership. I understand balance is a perpetual problem in any RTS game. But if the balance swings in different directions—sometimes race X, sometimes race Y, etc., then it's easier to swallow. Where we stand today in SC2 is that balance has overall favored zerg for years and years. 2023 did not change that. The overwhelming majority of premiere tournaments continued to be won by zerg. There is something about the race that is conducive to weekend tournament play. And it's not just Serral. The past four years have seen five different zergs taking home more than 50% of the premiere trophies. That number should be around 33%... I understand SC2 designers have to balance the game across all skill levels, but for whatever reason that leaves zerg to sit uncontested at the top of the heap at the premiere tournament level. (And to be clear, this isn't a Serral rant. He's not the only zerg winning.)
It gets boring watching the same old, same old. Those five zerg players have won more premiere tournaments than the top ten Terrans and Protoss in that time, combined. I understand balance at the lower tiers of SC2 is a different story, but the professional level is out of whack. 2023 found me at my lowest level of interest in the game because of it. Watching Serral go 20-1 at Katowice was boring. He's the greatest, he's the greatest. Maybe. Maybe even likely. But whatever he is, he is smart. He figured out what makes zerg the best race, and exploits it. And so too do Dark, Shin, Reynor, et al. And before them it was Rogue, Life, soO, and others. I undertand it's too late now. The writing is on the wall for SC2 in terms of being a professionally competitive game. It's not possible to implement a giant fix that would alleviate the imbalance. But I don't think I'm the only one bored of being correct expecting zerg to win every premiere. It used to be: who will win? Now it's: can anyone beat zerg? I hope the designers of the next great RTS do not include a swarm faction, and instead let skill, trickery, knowledge, and decisiveness be the deciders of games.
But enough whining. On to the best players of the year, followed by matches of the year.
Players of the Year
Unlike previous years in which I chose a best player per race per region, Korean and non-Korean, this year I think the competitive player base has shrunk to the point global awards can be given. No need to distinguish Korea. Without further ado, they are:
Zerg of the Year
The winner of this category is obvious, but I would like to call out the year Dark had. He won a handful of the biggest majors, finished second at a couple premieres, and did well at the premiere of premieres in Katowice, including taking the only map off Serral. But it was Serral in 2023, no question. He won six premiere titles, which is insane in any year. More gushing in a moment.
Terran of the Year
In my eyes there were three contenders for this title: Maru, Clem, and Cure. Cure had some amazing second place finishes, including GSL and Gamers8, not to mention made it to the quarterfinals of IEM Katowice. Clem won DH Atlanta and placed high in many big tournaments. But Maru clearly had the best year. He won two GSLs (not as prestigious as it used to be, but still), disappeared for a bit, then came back to take second place at IEM Katowice by dominating everyone except Serral (and Byun, to be fair).
Protoss of the Year
As is sadly the case, there is not the competition for this award as their should be. There are really only three competitors for this trophy. MaxPax had his personal best coming in second to Serral at European Masters, but didn't do much elsewhere, largely because he refuses to do offline. (C'mon Maxxie, man up.) Astrea has a headlock on the NA region, but saw minimal success elsewhere. This left it up to herO to run with the Protoss baton. Unfortunately, this did not mean any gold medals. A couple key second place finishes and a great run at IEM Katowice (including a banger against Reynor), but that's it. Without Zest, Stats, Classic, Parting, and others to help carry the Protoss baton, my heart continues to break.
Player of the Year
As I said, this is boring. There is no contest. He won almost everything. Serral. Serral. Serral. Serral. It wasn't whether he might win, rather it was: can he be beaten? It happened only a few times, literally. The rest of the time we were talking about how he dropped only one map the entire tournament, or maybe two, so dominate was Serral. Over the past year I've been pulling together a Top 10 Greatest SC2 players of all time. My line for Serral is: so good he's boring—the compliment of compliments.
Match of the Year
As always, here are a few honorable mentions:
MaxPax vs Maru - PiG Sty Festival 3.0 Final
MaxPax vs Clem - PiG Sty Festival 3.0 Semi - Final
herO vs Maru - Wardi Korean Royale Grand Final
heo vs Maru - PigSty Festival 4.0 - Quarterfinals (bo7)
Serral vs. Clem - Pig Sty Festival 4.0 Quarter Final (b07)
Hero vs Reynor - Master's Coliseum Semis (bo7)
Best Match
Clem vs Serral - DH Atlanta Semifinals
The reason this is the best match of the year is because human limits were tested. It was Ender's Game in real life. To set this one up, Serral was on his way to yet another trophy. He had been the best all year and was marching his way through the tournament without disruption. But a falling star hit Clem. He methodically weathered Serral's relentless, unending, implacable, swarming, swarming, and swarming, map after map. Map 2 in particular saw Clem's sanity stretched to the max. Jut watch it. It's the reason SC2 is monumentally great.
Conclusion
2023 was an ok year. There were good matches. The SC2 scene did not die. And there was still energy in the air. Just not as much as there used to be. And let's be frank. If this were Wings of Liberty or Heart of the Swarm, measures would have been implemented by Blizzard to rein in zergs winning at the premiere level. The game depends on balance to thrive, and as we see now, it's starting to lose its lust for life. But as everyone knows, once Legacy of the Void hit shelves Blizzard shifted the game's developers, designers, etc. in other directions. It was a “finished” game from their perspective. I disagree. If the same amount of effort from developers and designers were available today, I think the tournament scene would look different. Alas, it does not...
But all good things must come to an end. I don't know if I will continue SC2 commentary in 2024. Everything about the game is declining, and other RTSs are rising—RTSs which may or may not be more balanced. Something less predictable is needed than zerg winning...
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