Cho “Maru” Seong-ju held off a late charge from Park “Dark” Young-woo to win his seventh GSL title in three tournaments.
Cho Sung-ju defeated Park “Dark” Young-woo in the Season 2 finals of the 2023 Global StarCraft 2 League (GSL) on Sunday at Freakup Studios in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, with a set score of 4-2.
In Game 1 on the Dragon Scales map, both teams were positioned facing each other to the northwest and southeast, exchanging troops to keep each other in check, with Park choosing Ultra Risk and Cho Sung-joo choosing Liberation Ship to continue his growth. After entering Park Ryeong-woo’s main camp, Cho Sung-joo cleared the main buildings and tried to expand to the right, but Park Ryeong-woo’s resistance forced him to retreat. While Park Ryeong-woo’s central zone deployments were hit and reduced in strength by Cho Sung-ju, Park Ryeong-woo was unable to solve his resource shortage, and Cho Sung-ju took advantage of the opportunity to use his Ghosts to overwhelm Park Ryeong-woo’s main army and take the first set point.
In the second game, which moved to the Ancient Thirsty map, Cho Sung-joo at 1:00 built an army based on fast growth and sent it towards Park Ryeong-woo at 7:00. However, Park Ryeong-woo failed to take a mutual risk and tried to defend with a Venomous Beetle, but the follow-up hits were relentless. Despite being blocked once by the venomous beast, Cho Sung-joo continued to send in his follow-up troops and finished the game to take a 2-0 lead.
In the third game, played on the NeoHumanity map, Cho Sung-joo sat at 11 while Park Ryeong-woo controlled the 5 and 6 forecourt sides of the map, and the wheeled troops cleared the entry of Cho’s marines to the 6 side. After reinforcing his forces, Park Ryeong-woo sent his wheels and arachnids towards Cho Sung-joo to attack, and while Cho Sung-joo was unable to stop them, Park Ryeong-woo brought more units to take the first retaliation point.
In Game 4 on the Altitude map, Park Ryeong-woo expanded to the 6 o’clock mark in the southwest and began to move diagonally, while Cho Sung-joo, who prioritized growth over expansion, tried to expand but was blocked by Park’s forces. Park Ryeong-woo sent a Wheel and a Scarab, but Cho Sung-joo defended with a Triple, sending his troops to the 6 o’clock position to try and poke holes, and after repeatedly breaking the Hatchery, Cho Sung-joo turned 스포츠토토 the Triple back to stop Park Ryeong-woo’s attack. Expanding to 12, Cho Sung-joo succeeded in reversing the resources, while Park Ryeong-woo added an Infestation to his army, looking to advance, dealing a blow to Cho Sung-joo’s 3-hour expansion. After Park Ryeong-woo sent a grub towards Cho Sung-joo’s main camp but failed to attack, his attack at 4:00 was also blocked by Cho Sung-joo’s ghost, and Cho Sung-joo, looking for a chance to dry up Park Ryeong-woo’s resources, launched a final attack to win the game and take the championship in one set.
In the fifth set, at 10 and 11, when the battle moved to the Babylon map, Cho Sung-joo, who had started to grow, checked Park Ryeong-woo’s rapid expansion and blocked his front yard, while Park Ryeong-woo attacked Cho Sung-joo’s front yard with a combination of Worms and Wheels, and Cho Sung-joo turned his forces around to reduce Park Ryeong-woo’s forces. With his tanks and liberators, Cho Sung-joo attacked toward the third square, but Park Ryeong-woo managed to block his opponent’s attempts in a similar setup to the last set, and took another point.
In the sixth set, played on the Gresvan map, Cho Sung-joo, who took out a Reaper shortly after the start of the game, went for the long game after seeing Park’s move and took out the Hatchling at 7. Park went on the offensive after building an army around Venomous Worms, but Cho Sung-joo was able to defend it and then play a Ghost to destroy Park’s 12th expansion. With his Ghosts set up, Park Ryeong-woo prepared for his Broodlords, but Cho Sung-joo attacked with his Ghosts, adding Thor in the meantime, dropping his Broodlords and dealing damage to Park Ryeong-woo. Park Ryeong-woo sent a massive force after the Ghosts, but Cho Sung-joo’s Ghosts pulled back at the right time to save the day, and with his resources depleted, Park Ryeong-woo defended the 6:00 mark and attacked the Terrans at 12:00, but Cho Sung-joo countered by focusing his growing forces, eventually sealing the win and celebrating.