Clément “Clem” Desplanches sets the bar way too high in his debut in the Esports World Cup after he decimated Serral in a 5-0 affair in the Grand Final stage of StarCraft II to complete his massive campaign on the big stage after he pulled off one of the most promising runs in the game. Team Liquid adds more to its points thanks to this historic victory by Clem.

Clem walked off the big stage of StarCraft II with $400,000 in prize money, while Serral, who was fresh off his mandatory military service with Finland, settled for second place in the competition to go along with $150,000 in prize money. So far, this has been quite a promising run in StarCraft II’s reputation of having one of the most intense games in the EWC. It cannot be denied that fans have enjoyed this promising set of performances now more than ever.

With StarCraft II concluded, there are now only five more games left in the Esports World Cup slate, headlined by Tekken 8, Rocket League, ESL R1, PUBG, and FC 24 to wrap up the festivities. For now, the StarCraft community hails its new best player after a sudden rise to the top of the big stage.

Clem Outplaying One of the StarCraft Legends

It cannot be denied that Serral is one of the household names in the StarCraft II competitive scene, and as one of the biggest legends in the game, it is easy to expect some promising performances from him in the game. Sure, he did enjoy some impressive runs in the early round, but his games against Clem were far from his signature performances, which surprised a lot of fans in the Grand Final.

Still, critics have to give credit to Clem for outplaying one of the best players in StarCraft II history. Clem deployed a lot of run-and-gun tactics with the use of Medevacs and Marines in most of his games, and he’s been quite faster in building a stable economy than Serral in all five games, which has led to his impressive advantage so far. When Clem took a 3-0 lead in just 11 minutes in Game 3, many spectators knew that the series was over.

The last two games have seen Clem deploying zone defense on the map, often pushing Serral’s Zerg multiple times. He went even as far as deploying multiple Ghosts in Game 4 despite Serral having a huge economic advantage, showing how he can choke off the field, and did the same in the final game to secure the championship.

Clem at the Top of the World

Clem has never cooled down for this year so far. He has won the ESL Masters, the IEM Katowice, and now the Esports World Cup. It is easy to say that a lot has happened in the past few months for Clem, and he has capped off the middle of the year with a promising victory in one of the biggest stages of StarCraft’s competitive scene.

So far, his big moments have become his strong suit. Clem’s focus on the bio/tank style has helped him improve into a position-less player in the game and has certainly made him one of the most promising stars to look out for. Now he has the world looking out for him, and he’s not done yet.