Serral: Unmatched SC2 Dominance Continues

Dominance in StarCraft II is always challenging for any player, and this is why Joona Sotala, more known as Serral, is definitely one of the best to ever play the game. No one can deny the fact that the Finish star is considered the phenom of the game, but is he still the one that many fans adore and look up to over the years?

A lot of famous names have been seen in StarCraft over the years. From Flash, HeRoMaRiNe, NesTea, Reynor, Maru, Clem, and many more have established their legacies over the years, but no one has done better than Serra, who has been considered the best of them all. This is why he has become the standard – the one to look out for in every single game.

Humble Beginnings

Serral playing SCII image

Serral was already a fan of StarCraft before he even began to play the game at a professional level. Two years before SCII: Wings of Liberty was released, he was already playing the first iteration of StarCraft, specifically the Brood Wars. Of course, he didn’t play at a competitive level and had fun with it – until his brother convinced him to turn pro – later joining his first team in 2012. He received $200 in prize money with a 7th/8th finish in the WCS Finland Nationals, When the second StarCraft expansion, Heart of the Swarm, was released, Serral started gaining attention, especially as a popular user of the Zerg race, which was the focal point of the expansion.

He went on to join ENCE at that time and played in the 2013 DreamHack Open in Bucharest, which marked the beginning of his impressive career that would then change his track toward success and dominance in StarCraft. At the age of 18, Serral already earned $14,477, and he was poised to even earn more as he kept on winning massive tournaments, games, and so on.

Steps to Success

By 2018, Serral was already a dominant star in his own right. But what he achieved over the years was little compared to what he went on to win in the competitions that same year. Serral went on to capture a total of seven major tournaments, putting up a string of impressive performances in various games on top of another. He has done a great job of delivering promising wins, even beating some of the most known stars such as Kelazhur, HeRoMaRinE, Lambo, and MaNa in a single tournament.

The year-end WCS Global Finals was the biggest feat that he had in his career at that time, putting up a show that would prove to be an exciting watch for many fans back then. He was the first non-Korean player to ever win the tournament, and he defeated the likes of sOs, Zest, Dark, Rogue and Stats en route to securing his place in the history of the StarCraft franchise. From that point on, Serral was already the face of the game, and he was just getting started. It was a promising spark for the game as Serral continued his climb in the upper echelon of the game, which marked the dawn of a new era in StarCraft II.

Serral WCS Global Finals image

What Makes Serral the Best SC2 Player in the World?

Serral has always been praised for his success story and achievements. But one can underestimate the way he plays his games – which has led to all the biggest victories that he has seen in a long while. Over the years, the best players in StarCraft have always been lauded for the way they play in the game, and how that approach continues to shock everyone in the tournaments Serral plays in.

The brilliant word of StarCraft is definitely something that has tickled the thoughts of many players and fans around the world. No one can deny the fact that Serral has been the best of every Zerg player in the planet, and it goes to show that he can be the standard that everyone has been looking for over the years.

Serral vs Reynor image

For starters, Serral definitely plays everything by the book – although fans claim that it was also him who wrote the book. His fast-paced game has done a great help in keeping him ahead in most of the games that he has won over the years. According to Serral himself, the fundamentals is what made him a phenomenal star to look out for. For one – he never stops moving in the game, and he is seemingly doing everything everywhere all at once.

Behind the strategy, Serral often makes the best decisions in his games. He starts out fast, mostly doing some hits and runs with Zerglings to deliver some panic to his opponents while he also begins building his own base to a much bigger one and assembling a huge force to wipe out his opponents.

Usually, Serral thrives with the late-game tech available to him. He usually comes with impressive strategies – sacrificing his Overlord at the perfect time, spreading Zerglings all around the map to come up with burst attacks, and the macro management of each base is simply amazing. On top of that, you don’t like to see Serral play when he has the best of units available at his disposal. His ability to come up with fast strides on the defense is making him a hard opponent to predict at most times.

How Far Serral Can Go In the Years to Come?

Serral is known well for his unwavering dominance and complex gameplay. This says a lot about how the star can continue putting up impressive performances down the stretch. It also goes without saying that he is still expected to make waves in his career as he continues to be the best that the game’s fans can look up to on a regular basis. This is why he is still the man who would definitely be dominating the game for good.

Serral announced winner image

Zerg is no easy race to play, let alone in a competitive scene. This is why it is expected to see more of Serral in the coming games and tournaments in StarCraft II. Serral has already won multiple tournaments this year, such as the Master’s Coliseum 7 and the IEM Katowice 2024. This just proves that he is still expected to show up strong and ready for action coming into the big games that he will play in the long run.

Make sure to stay tuned on Serral and other StarCraft II updates by tuning into GambleSpot. You can make the most of your wagers by taking a read on our blogs and win big prizes in the next StarCraft major that Serral will play in!