Samsung Galaxy KHAN's Kang "Solar" Min Soo took down SK Telecom T1 Park "Dark" Ryung Woo 4-3 to win the StarCraft II StarLeague 2016 (SSL) Season 2 title. Solar's victory shut down Dark's bid for a twopeat and cemented his status as the best Zerg player in the world.
The narratives were rampant before the grand finals began between the two combatants. Dark was the winner of the first season of the SSL and was widely considered the best Zerg player in the world with Solar arguably the second best. Both were the only Zerg players to even make it to the round of 16. They were on opposite sides of the bracket and managed to navigate through the various races and killers to end up in the finals. In addition, both players were already guaranteed a spot in the World Championship Series Playoffs and Finals at BlizzCon; Dark via the SSL Season 1 victory and Solar through points. This was a battle of pride and supremacy to determine the best Zerg player in StarCraft II.
Zerg against Zerg is a chess match. Hoarding resources for upgrades, fast expansions, macro buildings for bigger pushes, all-in or timing attacks, and all the various compositions of aggressive units are all pieces available for the player to deploy on the field. Strategy A counters Strategy B counters Strategy C, which in turn counters Strategy A.
The chess match between Dark and Solar began in the map choices. Solar's top picks were Dark's least preferred ones and vice versa. When the games started, Dark was the aggressor for the majority of the set. Whether he used timing pushes or went all-in, he rarely played on the defensive. As for Solar, he utilized unique strategies and greedier builds for his victories. His play was nothing close to standard, whether he holed himself up in his base to tech up to mutalisks or used a macro hatchery for larger number of zerglings in his attacks.
The excitement of the games was worth the hype. Solar's creativity in strategy from game to game threw off Dark's aggressive tactics. He switched from defensive play to greedy with his tech choices and really differentiated himself from his opponent. As for Dark, his composition choices and angles of attack (on the field or through buildings like nydus networks) were things of beauty. Dark's unit choices throughout the set were very ground-focused, utilizing zerglings and speedlings, banelings, hydralisks, ravagers and roaches.
Solar waited until the very last game to switch up his strategy from defensive to all-out aggression with a zergling attack that was not scouted. His risk paid off as he kept the pressure on Dark's defenses and destroyed his economy and all of his queens.