Scarlett started 2018 with a memorable moment

In early February, Sasha “Scarlett” Hostyn won the first major championship of her career at IEM PyeongChang. This is a commendable achievement when Scarlett first appeared at the StarCraft 2 tournament nearly 6 years ago.

Scarlett entered the tournament as one of the most famous Starcraft 2 players as well as making fans most regretful. After debuting at the IPL4 tournament in April 2012, Scarlett won two runner-up places.

The one chosen by the Zerg

Korea has long been considered the king of StarCraft. Blizzard’s classic StarCraft is a hit around the world, but in Korea, it’s a cultural phenomenon. Proleague – a football-based league – was established in 2003, initiating the construction of an eSports facility to shape and develop professional eSports players.

When StarCraft 2 launched in 2010, the gaming world went wild with the return of the competitive RTS series. Not surprisingly, Korean pros continue to dominate the esport. At first, they were warmly welcomed by the Western esports community. But by 2013, StarCraft 2 gradually lost its position, and many fans wondered if Korea’s so strong contributed to the game’s decline?

Then Scarlett appeared. Canadian Zerg player quickly became the top player in North America after debuting in 2012. She quickly became one of the top StarCraft 2 players since 2013. “Overseas” region ( refers to areas that are not part of the Korean community) had had hopeful names before Scralett appeared, but none were enough to take on the Korean StarCraft empire. With no professional base to practice with, she became a top player just by playing StarCraft and climbing ranks.

More surprisingly, she revolted from North America, where StarCraft 2 esport couldn’t thrive. What is more special, Scarlett is a female player who is competing professionally with other male opponents. Scarlett’s background makes her an ardently supported player, more like a character straight out of a fairy tale than in real life.

However, she possesses the melancholy ability to give herself the opportunity to transform herself into legendary. She doesn’t use tricks to beat the best Korean players. Scarlett has the mentality and energy to go one-on-one with them in intense matches.

At the height of her career from 2013 to 2014, Scarlett achieved many remarkable achievements and most watched matches in StarCraft 2 history. She faced off against the best players in the world, sometimes winning and sometimes losing. . At every tournament she attends, fans have reason to hope Scarlett will step up to the highest podium.

Unfortunately, hope is what Scarlett gives fans. She won the great games and the big matches, but she couldn’t win the big tournaments yet.

In 2015, Scarlett took a break and entered a semi-professional phase. However, she later decided on the path of a full-time gamer. Then a year passed without any outstanding results. Slowly, silently, it seemed that the door for Scarlett was gradually closing.

In 2016, Blizzard implemented a “regional lock”, a way of banning Korean players from participating in the vast majority of non-Korean tournaments. Scarlett benefits from this loophole: she can live and train in Korea with the best players in the world, but still be able to travel and attend international tournaments. As one of the best “foreigners”, Scarlett is expected to explode in this environment. But on the contrary, she became “flooded”, unable to keep up with new generations of talent in the international arena. Her form has not changed – sometimes even slipped – compared to the peak of her career.

World Arena

Intel Extreme Masters PyeongChang – the StarCraft 2 tournament ahead of the Winter Olympics – features 18 players from around the world. In terms of sports, this is an opening esport for the International Olympic Council. In terms of StarCraft, this is a test to see if “foreign” has a chance to overthrow the Korean empire.

Scarlett became the representative of Canada. She overcame weak opponents in her bracket, defeating Mexico’s Cham and China’s TIME quickly. In the quarterfinals, Scarlett defeated Serral of Finland, a young star who had just won his first championship. After that, she also beat another young European talent, Elazer of Poland to win the ticket to the final. This is the best run Scarlett has had in years, and it looks like she’s going beyond everyone’s expectations. And the audience thought she would not be able to continue when her final opponent was determined.

From all the players in the world, Kim “sOs” Yoojin is considered one of the few players who can end Scarlett’s journey. sOs is the finished product of the Korean esport center. He has won 5 major championships in 9 finals and is the highest earning StarCraft 2 player of all time. His way of playing is ruthless and daring. He can come up with the ‘craziest’ tactics, unpredictable by the opponent to win. He is a player that outperforms when the rewards are greater, and is the only player to have won two of Blizzard’s WCS Global Finals, the most prestigious tournament in StarcCraft 2. In the world of StarCraft, sOs are more than just gamers; He is the one who ends the dreams of other pro players.

Scarlett crush sOs. The famous ‘Zerg rush’ was fully utilized by Scalet, as she repeatedly successfully deployed proactive strategies. In one game, it was a swarm of zerglings with Banelings sweeping the defenses. In another game, Overlord assisted in ambushes in the air from behind with swarms of zerglings. In another match, Ravager dropped the Corrosive Bile before the opposing defense could complete. sOs was unable to do anything against Scarlett. The final result was 4-1, sOs luckily got an honorable win. At an unexpected time, when her career was no longer at its peak, Scarlett had her own championship.

However, this victory went against the reasons that she was popular before. As of 2018, Scarlett mainly trained in Korea, so she is now recognized as a professional Korean player. Also, Scarlett is too late to win this historic moment, the moment that everyone who expected her to be able to do so many years before that: in October 2016, Alex “Neeb” Sunderhaft of America miraculously became the first “foreign” player to win the StarCraft 2 tournament right away. in Korea. The dream of overthrowing Korea was previously taken by another gamer.

However, this championship is also very valuable. Obviously, it marks big turning points in StarCraft: a “foreign” champion in Korea, and the fact that female gamers can win in sports dominated by men. But after only 5 years and 10 months, winning Scarlett marked a bigger dream: that hard work and patience will bring success.