Serral vs. Clem - IEM SC2 Katowice 2024 - Quarterfinals

[@nasigil5928]

The main difference between Serral and Solar from yesterday (who played a fantastic series against Clem) here is that Serral's offense is so much more thoughtful and purposeful. Solar was mostly just A-move his army into Clem then micro like crazy and rebuild 200 supply, rinse and repeat. Serral always try to attract Clem's main army to one side, then launch a surprise attack on two other location, then probably try to catch Clem's army off guard right in the middle with banelings and burrowed infestors. Every move has its purpose. Not only flawlessly skilled but also a masterful tactician.

[@geuros]

I'm glad you basically said that most that Zerg do is a-move rinse and repeat because using that Solar almost had Clem, the best TvZ player in the world. What Serral did was the same, just added a few broken fancy stuff like nydus in the main.

[@troy3423]

@@geuros Cope more. Serral didn't A move at all. He constantly has to worry about widow mines nuking his entire army. Watch the video again and watch how careful he is in areas that have widow mines. Funny how Terrans complain about zerg being OP but they have cheap units like widow mines which destroy entire armies in the blink of an eye. This isn't even mentioning ghosts and their endless snipes and evasiveness with cloak. Serral is, without a doubt, an amazing player.

[@evelic]

​​@@geuros dont forget mules that make terran pretty op in the late game. Without Serral, only terrans would dominate tournaments.

[@teddanville6996]

@@troy3423of course Terran has to have more powerful more op units with some what cheap cost. Because Terran eco is the weakest among 3 races. Left untouch then Terran eco is pretty good but with no static ground defense, no recall like protoss, no fast armies like Zerg, you can see how easy it is to run by and destroy the workers. Terran is built around being efficient with your armies, powerful but squishy armies. Point is spending time arguing about the strength of each race is meaningless.

[@nasigil5928]

@@geuros haha guess what, Clem is just as clueless when it comes to offensive strategy. He just want to overwhelm his opponent with godlike micro/macro, just like Solar. That's why they matched so evenly, Serral and Maru is on another level because they actually attack strategically, therefore Solar always got owned by Maru and Clem hasn't won much against Serral in last couple years. Sadly Maru's mechanical skills has regressed since his best years so he can't matchup well against Serral now, but he will easily kill every other Zerg in the world.

[@Miggysaurus13]

Watching StarCraft II top 8 is my Super Bowl

[@thewrongperson676]

I just love when Zerg manages to reach a point that it seems like they are an unstoppable swarm. The ending of that first game was beautiful.

[@lunix5438]

Clems reaction to the fungals was great.

[@nattharutbuanak7369]

Yep yep yep

[@henriksvensson126]

Tripping so hard it caused him to hallucinate.

[@EdgarFriendly17]

Shout out to Lowko and PiG for awesome work...

[@РобинзонКрузо-е3к]

Serral`s perfomance being so close to perfection you may start to worry for other contenders` motivation)

[@alexCh-ln2gw]

just wait for him to get old and age out ^_^ or wait for them to nerf banelings to do friendly fire/overlord supply reduced to 1 per overlord, drones costs 200 minerals each etc.

[@Anthony-pg3wv]

@@alexCh-ln2gwwhy? Why not appreciate that he’s been in the game for so damn long and is still constantly evaluating and improving his game. It won’t impact others motivation, if anything it should inspire them.

[@simuntigmo6220]

awww okay we'll wait @@alexCh-ln2gw

[@阿倉-o2y]

@@alexCh-ln2gw Serral is about to going to his military service, maybe IEM 2024 will be his last peak performance.

[@exnihilonihilfit6316]

@@阿倉-o2yThey have mandatory conscription in an allegedly top first world/developed country like Finland?! WOW!

[@evelic]

20:55 Serral plays so clean it's dirty. LOL.

[@Phi1618033]

PiG and Lowko calling a Serral vs Clem match is peak SC2.

[@Phi1618033]

@@ZlevelS Fine, peak 2024 SC2.

[@ExpertYouTubeCommentator]

my 2 fav casters!!

[@andrewm827]

Absolutely. Absolutely.

[@jaytok7]

bro u bout 10-12 years 2 late with your peak sc2 🤣

[@someguy7474]

@DjinnePassethey really don’t know anything about sc2 anymore tho the last few years of casting gsl it was obvious they weren’t even watching any tournaments outside the gsl itself

[@uhohDavinci]

jeeze, Clem is so fast, but Serral is just a literal Terminator, he just keeps coming, wave after wave, each a bit more damaging than the last until he breaks you.

[@deskdraws4722]

Bruh the way serral closed that first game is 🧑‍🍳👌

[@TheTiltedOne]

clinical. Respectfully he is a freak of nature. What a pleasure to watch

[@nickolassmaltz9546]

Some Nasty Moves for sure.

[@OHOHOHCOME]

It felt like he used every aspect of Zerg perfectly.

[@ahareally]

Those POV moments - i can not believe HOW precise they are at THAT level of speed. Even at 50% this blows my mind. Insane.

[@Miggysaurus13]

Game 1 is so amazing. The multitasking , the back and forth battle for creep control / killing creep tumors. Serrano mental gymnastics and Clem ability to keep up until Serral snowballed was something special.

[@vpr1422]

This Serral guy can pull a move or two

[@Mglunafh]

Sometimes all at the same time, and loves to play golf as well!

[@vpr1422]

@@Mglunafh I bet he can play golf at the same time as he is pulling moves

[@Pyriin]

Pig and Lowko casting IEM!!! Where is my popcorn and beer!!!

[@mistervanderveer]

Clinical and surgical display of Serral this tournament. I felt hesitant calling him the greatest of all time, but after this performance, I have little to no doubt. He is Starcraft 2's Flash.

[@Devillionaire]

The showdown we been waiting for…

[@kevinesco5221]

Serral is feeding on anger that kid is wonderful he recuperates from such scenario that no one can , its so impressive that 1 human being can MICRO MACRO manager every single bit on a screen is out of this world . am preparing to watch Serral playing with food snacks tea etc :D its like cool animated sifi movies for me

[@silverpro8356]

Damn CLEM really surprised me hes a force to be reckoned with.

[@fickitonetime]

2023 was clems year, he's only getting better so happy Serral was able to take a series off him.

[@irrationalpie2323]

Yeah, Serrao looked "weak" in the past months, but now he just proves again why he is the GOAT.

[@jamomoritz6763]

I mean, he almost got knocked out of the group stage.

[@louel9272]

After Clem vs Solar I was afraid for Serral going into this match, but damn, Serral showed why he is GOAT. I want him to win another championship here to finally rest this GOAT debate (yes there are some still who aren't convinced Serral is GOAT)

[@helloken]

Spoilers below: Serral has been the best player in the world almost constantly (maybe constantly) since 2018. A dominant run THIS long, capped off with winning an IEM Katowice dropping only a single map is a compelling argument. Anyone who doesn't think Serral is the GOAT of SC2 is just uninformed or in denial.

[@vivsavagex]

hes up there. the only reason i would hesitate to call him the for sure goat is that his rise occurred basically as sc2 declined. he never faced the kinda competition he would have in the peak era of sc2. hes still my fave after dark though. it seems like he never makes a bad call. his decision making is near flawless...clem on the other hand is a bit of a 1 trick pony with his god mode multitasking and non stop parade pushes. but other than that it seems like he rarely wins against the top players when it goes past mid game. but hes super young. if not with sc2 he will for sure be a legend in another RTS @@helloken

[@thesoundofsilence77]

@@vivsavagex What do you even mean by "he never faced peak era competition"? Serral's consistently had to play through the all-time greats like Maru, Rogue, Dark, Stats, Innovation, Trap, Solar, Zest, Cure, etc. since his rise. The mechanical level of players now is higher than it's ever been, just go back and watch games from 2013 or 2014 and it's like watching today's master rank players. Most of the great players from the WoL era couldn't hang with the insane skill level of today. He's undoubtedly the greatest

[@vivsavagex]

ok sorry dad@@thesoundofsilence77

[@vivsavagex]

running down a list of the handful of top guys doesnt take anything away from what i said. the game isnt composed of the handful of top talent...when theres more eyes, fame, and money to win on a game its just naturally going to be more fierce competition. compare even the tops 24s of the peak with now. its not even close... he has been pro since 2012 but didnt have any noteworthy wins until 2017 and didnt become top tier until about 2018. i guess you could say just continuing to get better at the game accounts for all of that but its def coincidental to when sc2 started its decline @@thesoundofsilence77​

[@evelic]

I had to come and re-watch some Serral games; it's a pleasure to watch the GOAT play.

[@OnigoroshiZero]

This should have been the finals, too bad for the missed chance. If Serral can completely shut down the current Clem, no one else has a chance in hell to win against him. I felt a little sad in the end, if this was the finals I would have loved to see Clem win, but not seeing Serral in the finals is not an option.

[@husman2368]

Clem wasn't playing like he did in the last tournament serral is playing crazy but anything is possible.

[@anthonylaine6111]

C'est exactement la final que je voulais en tant que français 🇨🇵💪😢😢😢

[@jamomoritz6763]

I don't think so. Heromarine can shut him down. Cure can. Maru could more than Clem in his IEM form. I am so glad, Heromarine is here. But cures TvT is killer. Both the best terrans out there currently.

[@marcelbenner993]

@@husman2368 It is the other way round. In Atlanta, Serral and some of the Koreans were sick... It was Serral who did not play like he did last tournament ;)

[@dohongan3780]

look at serral's face after each win, he comes here to revenge, absolutely!

[@link6913]

The start of game 1 was so well played by Clem I can't imagine any other zerg keeping so cool and defending so well after that and pulling out ahead.

[@roncho]

i was trying to find out where are Serral's 4 additional arms to play like that but i couldn't find them

[@Imgrrrr]

Just great to see Serral in top form. Amazing skills.

[@Sparta-vu3jj]

Serral you've single-handedly gotten Zerg nerft 16x in a row, there are barely any Zergs left in GM. Serral. it's your move. *Serrals move* I'm going to win again! Alright then vipers are next on the chopping block.

[@wojtek5207]

Nah Zerg v been nerfed only along with other races

[@anthonylaine6111]

Normal ! Faut bien que les terrans ( qui nous représente nous humain) soient la race dominante.. quitte a fausse le jeux...

[@bekasiblis9540]

they didnt only nerfed the zerg, they even reworked the skills!! infestor lost they free units, swarm host lost their autoattack, queen lost their instant healing power, etc!

[@pamsp]

The balance council: "What if we just removed the attack from all the zerg units?" Serral: Somehow wins just dragging widow mines to terrans and disruptors to protoss

[@kathorsees]

The last patch was ridiculous. Instead of a much-needed P buff, it nerfed Z in ZvT and gave T new cyclone, which is so good it's now viable in all matchups. It's insane.

[@theculturedgentleman3699]

SERRAL! Even with Zerg weak rn, you STILL prove why ur the GOAT! That first match was perfection! Magnificent micro, control, execution! So GOOD!

[@laodrofotic7713]

zerg weak? gtfo of here

[@theculturedgentleman3699]

@@laodrofotic7713 Cry me a river retard. Check the numbers. Zerg has the lowest win ratio rn

[@kathorsees]

​@@laodrofotic7713 IEM 2023 had TvT in the semis and in the finals. IEM 2024 had 10 Terrans, 8 Protoss and 6 Zergs. Z has been hit hard by the last patch - banes, infestors, broods, even lurkers were all nerfed. P is clearly broken and way too weak atm, but Z is having a hard time too.

[@spudastic]

@@kathorsees lao is right, all serral's performance is showing is that zerg needed a hot minute to adjust to the terran changes, meanwhile protoss is unmistakably awful

[@rocobrasaure]

@@kathorsees Yeah like ghost, raven and hellbat... And you forgot to say than Ultralisk, Viper, overlord, spire, evolution chamber and hydralisk were buffed...

[@emreyuksel4101]

THAT'S WHY HE IS THE GOAT!! THE GOAT!!!

[@phutureproof]

The only thing missing is someone doing the voice of the queens! great cast, great games ty

[@urazoktay7940]

Amazing series. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[@knightish]

Jeeeeesus. Team basilisk is apt for serral because I’m absolutely stunned.

[@TCGdota]

Underrated comment

[@heakboy]

Spoiler... ... ... ... ... ... That last fungle before the GG at 52:09... Serral stop. He's already dead lmao.

[@Dropbare]

4:10 is that caster new? Serral never looks frustrated during a match. He's always all: :| about it.

[@jamomoritz6763]

Spoiler alert! Great last game. I really would have wished clem to win. He is a great guy. But there is no shame in losing against serral. He put up a good fight, even though 3-0. Last game was awesome. Great defence after big punshes by serral.

[@rocobrasaure]

Exact. I supported Clem in all Katowice (and in general) but i couldn't be mad because he lost against the God Emperor. I hope he will show us his GodSlayer talent in the World Championship this summer.

[@LasseLundster]

I'm bleeding for Clem, he deserves a premier so bad. But the better player won today. Really great casting, fantastic observing and sublime gameplay.

[@calebyoung9246]

Clem played so well in this match. This series was one of the best I have seen in SC2. On a side note, why are people saying Zerg or Terran are OP? By no means am I a good player and I play Protoss but that doesn't mean Zerg or Terran are OP. People need to get better instead of crying about something that isn't true.

[@benjamineidam]

Looks Like serral remembered successfully how to serral again, awesome!!!!

[@andywang1160]

Just went Clem thought he’s catching up to Serral………

[@codywotring8973]

"Here comes the swarm!" 12 hydras and like 6 banes is apparently a swarm. -_-

[@philistineau]

This was better than the grand final. Clem is an awesome player.

[@anthonylaine6111]

Je Me doutais bien que kato était pour Serral cette année.. on l'a trop remis en question c'est dernier temps ! Il va nous montrer qu'il n'a rien perdu ❤❤ Quelle dommage pour nous français 🇨🇵💪😥😥

[@AdmiralBison]

It was good game by Clem and he has the potential to win tournaments....as long as Serral is not the way.😋 Him and Max Pax may become champions if they remain consistent.

[@kimnasstrom1919]

I'm once again impressed by the 🐐. beating Clem 3-0 is no small feat 👊👏 great games and commentary! 👌🎉

[@Falorik]

Serral plays so good, it is really stunning

[@Krosis_]

That "GG GL" was beautiful

[@basilhss9656]

Amazing games, Serral was on fire that day.. I like how he started to continuously build the tech tree. He seems to always build the entire tech tree, including bloodlords, even if he is in a dominant position, just in case he might need them later. I wonder though how come in the last game on Alcyone how come he didn't build any Ultras even after he got all the upgrades. In my mind they work great with ling bane hydra. Maybe he forgot or they don't pair great with lurkers? They don't seem to require much extra micro either. I'm genuinely curious. Anyways, I really enjoyed his performance and how the tactics Clem pulled were similar to the ones he did in Atlanta but this time Serral was ready to counter them. Great matches from both.

[@foshizzle499]

Definitely not great at sc2 but I've watched a lot over the years. I feel ultras against good terrans are just wasted resources. They're clunky, drain the bank, and get melted by t1 units. The zerg ends up tanking their economy for little to show for it. It's better to use those resources for more ling/bane and continue to take smaller skirmishes. I've been waiting for zergs to do this because it seems so obvious. The casters go crazy and hype up when 12 ultras are in queue and then Maru snipes them in ten seconds lol.

[@basilhss9656]

@@foshizzle499 Ghosts aren't a T1 unit but I kinda see what you mean. I feel every zerg unit can have its moments, when the right opportunities present themselves. Serral was upgrading them to max afterall, just in case.. It's funny how he says all T3 zerg units are bad (lurkers, ultras, bloodlords) yet he dominates with all of them.

[@foshizzle499]

@@basilhss9656 you're right ghosts aren't, but marauders are lol. Against top terrans the zerg needs speed and mobility. If they fight head on, they just get over powered. Broodlords are slow, but they have incredible range. Lurkers are decently fast and can burrow. They have utility and can compliment the army. Ultras just... Take up space and die. They can't even attack when a bunch of lings are in front of them. The zerg essentially has to lead with them and a top level terran will have a field day picking them off. I just don't see them getting the value that they should for how expensive and time consuming they are to make. I honestly think if serral went hard into ultras when he had the lead, Maru would have taken back some of these games. And yeah seeing serral do this to the best terrans is awesome to see lol.

[@AdmiralBison]

51:14 I felt that pain of the fungal on Clem's forces.

[@aquaden8344]

I've never seen Clem with such a painful face.

[@aaronarmstrong406]

This is perfect. PiG and Lowko, my two favorite casters (watch them individually all the time)... Clem vs Serral... Unbelievable match. Rewatching this one for sure.

[@hurrjackal118]

When they cut to serral pov it makes playing 500apm look smooth almost

[@erickmorales4799]

Min 51:15 Clem la sintió hasta el fondo 😅😅

[@roncho]

la misma le aplican a maru esos infestosrs que aparecen de la nada

[@Beaukenihan]

I wish the sound didn’t glitch out like every 10-20 seconds, very distracting :(

[@Gromic2k]

it was even worse in the grand final. Very annoying

[@ahareally]

In many games Serral seems like he's dragging the game out to a point, where it's complex enough that even INSANELY fast multitaskers like Clem can't keep up with flawless responses to everything that's happening at the same time - and then Serral sets up a series of engagements or makes a brilliant move, which snowball(s) to an advantage, where everything falls apart for his opponent in a very short time.

[@TehCaster]

3:07 Clem ?

[@menyaZavootMuzzy]

Serral is such a beast.

[@kosherun]

Love Lowko commentary on this level!

[@danellbaptiste3084]

Haven’t seen this form serral in a little while… GOAT ZERG!!!

[@zen23ish]

The Baaause Serral! Love to see it. WP Clem.

[@ketiguevara7359]

'Life', why did you leave :'v?

[@michaelsshirt8046]

Great video and commentary. A small suggestion: in the most important moments, instead of just showing a player's reaction, why not show side-by-side the game and player's reaction ? I think in the key moments a lot of people prefer to see what's happening in the game, not player's face.

[@drakomiki1]

La reaccion de clem en la ultima partida con el fangol ea brutal 😅

[@dupaacct5956]

Couldnt ask for 2 better casters and Serral well he will not be denied this year.....clutch fungals.....not as many as vs Maru but the face on clem says it all.

[@mrnice00]

goat confirmed, best sc2 player of all time

[@tungnse]

What a match! Clem really gave Serral a hard time.

[@stephenmaher4690]

I want Serral's PoV from 13:40 to the end of that game

[@ThisIsTranquil]

*Clem so fast at microing* Serral: then defend multiple place at once

[@Chimpy_Mc_Gibbon]

Monstrous

[@sij2218]

Serral is GOD

[@drozdovblog]

Saying that Zerg is OP is either trolling or being delusional Clem was dominating Solar previous round, Maru beat both Reynor and Dark. I was watching Clem vs Solar and telling myself: Solar is doing mistakes and missing aspects Serral would never done. For example: Solar was almost not doing run-bys. Just few of those in games he actually won. Serral almost never took Clem's army upfront. He baited the main army and then he actually did the damage with zerglings or banelings somewhere else. Also, Solar was BASHING his head at wall called Clem. I was like: Serral would just back-off and find a better spot to engage. No, Solar was throwing wave after wave on the Terran turtle until the resources ran out. Serral is also able to hold-off Terran transition to late game composition for very long, most of the time closing the game actually when Terran are just starting the transition. Thus they cannot utilize the full potential of ghost-backboned armies. And last, but not least: Serral's incorporation of spellcasters, visibly infestors, but also much more vipers and his ability to multitask those and use them effectively is unparalleled. Zerg is not OP. Serral is.

[@arachnid4910]

Wrong

[@drozdovblog]

@@arachnid4910 Ok

[@arachnid4910]

@@drozdovblog try again

[@drozdovblog]

@@arachnid4910 no

[@bramvalkenburg5655]

Serral is great online but he seems to be way less vulnerable in offline tournaments though... I guess he won the tournament for a reason.

[@rayerazo402]

Serral lo maximo

[@sergeileshchinsky]

Amazing performance

[@burakozkan9959]

SERRAL IS ALL PLAYERS OF PRO!!!!!

[@thezzach]

holy cow!!

[@christianrodriguez683]

Serral is like an SC2 AI.. phenomenal gameplay

[@Jimmyni-kk4em]

Liberator is such a big unit.they should change the seige mode to like siege tank. Anything infront in a arc is in range the cuircle on ground is stupid

[@freedomisntfree7851]

Yeah I don't get Liberator's. Yeah I suppose they are good if you can somehow force your opponent into a choke point and make them stand there but seems so corner case. Any good opponent is either just going to run through them or not engage. Then wait for them to unsiege and shoot them down while they are transformed. Watching Liberator's and Siege tanks die over and over again while they are transforming is quite disheartening, but hey Terran is broken right?

[@heikg]

Honestly felt so bad for Clem, completely crushed

[@Wright1331]

DAMN!!

[@austinlaing9012]

if we want starcraft 3 we will have to fan promote like crazy

[@tehjefey]

Serral's his own archetype. Can't compare the guy to anyone else. Like forget trying to draw skill analogy of him to the likes of Lebron or Patrick Mahomes, or Tottenham's Hyun Ming Son. It just doesn't work. (Don't care that I'm using physical athletes. That's not relevant, I'm speaking about skill in their respective field). Serral is just good, can't even hate on him for being a bit gloaty.

[@spaceorbison]

51:17 omg HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[@remeokits]

Clem let surreal keep the third base in the first map, why is he playing around?

[@gabrieldubois93]

France vs legend that hurt me but it is necessary

[@onxiaftw]

He got dismantled

[@incubus6159]

Please do not put the pov or the cameras of the players, we miss the best plays

[@yurihung9244]

just a human AI, impeccable

[@lastshadow123]

terran and zerg giants are fighting while protoss cries in the corner xd

[@yuriitiunov8803]

Unstoppable Zerg swarm

[@BillPark-ey6ih]

6:49 what the fuck was that zergling micro?

[@jacoballey21]

amazing matchup but let's be real. we're all dissapointed that no Tosses made it into the 8. MaxPax pls...us Toss mains need u.

[@forsterjurgen]

Protoss needs a buff please its the only race I can play but 1 emp and I'm out D:

[@JM-rl6bq]

Does Maxpax not play in this tournament??

[@kylelochner5686]

protoss is so easy to play you're basically gm in diamond

[@flink85]

He has never played offline, no one knows what he even looks like :) @@JM-rl6bq

[@forsterjurgen]

@@kylelochner5686 try playing protoss against a good Terran or zerg player and tell me what options you have

[@WandersonLincoln]

No tank?

[@igit_7296]

The greatest Zerg vs the greatest Terran!

[@xdt422]

Is it me or are the colors a little off? Seems kinda washed out

[@d.c.s.1434]

Wooow serral

[@austinlaing9012]

I would cannon rush Serral, hope he reacts and macro behind it for a two base all in. No way I would play him in the late game. No way! Lol I have never matched up with him on the ladder, but I have matched with other pro players. As a terran player I would go mech. What would be truly amazing if Serral could play as a different race Terran or Protoss and still win.

[@gurkankaraali9608]

baneling's power should definitely be reduced. Micro controlling Terran and Protoss is more difficult than Zerg. Baneling is unleashed on the enemy with less control, it's not fair. That's why the two armies cannot fight each other properly. The game definitely needs an upgrade.

[@NHGeneral]

the tournament need to ban zerg from Serral to keep the other races alive.

[@giammaucapeokgaming752]

This Serral Is not bad i Guess 😯😯😯

[@kaelinvictus6039]

not too shabby for a golf player.

[@Zikuth]

​@@kaelinvictus6039😂😂😂

[@notunauthorized]

I could barely recognize pig and lowko on different mic setups but it was so satisfyibg getting inside of their mouth sounds

[@Deezo187]

Im a terran fanboy but that was a zerg masterclass wp Serral

[@d4slaimless]

At this camera angle Serral looks like infested terran.

[@hamidalikiani8543]

PIG we love you bro looool