Min-cheol Kim wins ASL 22… A record of 5 wins in total (comprehensive)

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Joo-hwan = Korea's top Zerg player Kim Min-cheol ascended to the throne of ASL Season 22.

Kim Min-cheol (Zerg) defeated Yoo Young-jin (Terran) with a set score of 4-3 in the finals of the 'StarCraft' e-sports competition 'ASL Season 22' held at the Lotte World Ice Rink in Songpa-gu, Seoul on the 17th.

Min-cheol Kim set a new record of winning the ASL 5 times in his career by winning that day.

It is also Zerg's 7th consecutive win, following Kim Min-cheol's season 16-19 win and Park Sang-hyun's 20-21 win.

The first set was played in ‘Knockout’. Young-Jin Yoo reliably blocked Min-Cheol Kim's juggling checks in the early stages of the game, secured a multi-player in the front yard, and quickly raised his technique.

At the 5th minute, Kim Min-cheol gathered the zerglings and attacked Yoo Young-jin's base. Yoo Young-jin went on the defensive with Vulture, but Kim Min-cheol targeted the missile turret while it was not up and burrowed it with a zergling and drew a Hydralisk to launch an all-out offensive.

Yoo Young-jin protected one Siege tank that he barely managed to draw with exquisite SCV control, placed Siege Mode on the hill to solidify the defense, and then drew Valkyrie to check Kim Min-cheol's multi-expansion.

Yoo Young-jin launched a counterattack using the standard Marine-Medic and Tank combination. Kim Min-cheol tried to find a chance to counterattack by destroying his troops with Mutalisk, but his main base was breached and he declared GG, conceding the first set.

Kim Min-cheol, who was caught off guard in the first set, pushed harder in the second set.

Yoo Young-jin blocked the main base and went on defense, but Kim Min-cheol, who had increased his multiplayer in the meantime, selected a large number of guardians and began to tighten them from a distance.

The set score is 1-1. Yoo Young-jin found Kim Min-cheol's base early in the third set and immediately attempted bunkering. Although he was not able to get a GG right away, he succeeded in inflicting considerable damage.

Yoo Young-jin gathered a large number of Marines and Medics and attacked the front yard of Yoo Young-jin's base. It seemed like the victory was solidified, but Kim Min-cheol's Mutalisk came out at the right time, and the front line fell into a stalemate again.

Yoo Young-jin, who had time for maintenance once, supplemented his troop combination with tanks and science vessels and challenged Kim Min-cheol again. Mincheol Kim faced off with a combination of Mutalisk and Lurker, but was unable to create any significant variables and declared GG.

Gaining confidence, Yoo Young-jin launched an aggressive rush in the fourth set, but was blocked by Kim Min-cheol's relaxed defense and lost the initiative.

Based on the central initiative, Kim Min-cheol repeatedly attacked the main base by eating away at Yoo Young-jin's troops with Mutalisk, and quickly received GG, bringing the set score back to 2-2.

In the 5th set that followed, the two players focused on multi-expansion rather than the early rush and promised to play in the second half.

Yoo Young-jin, who had gathered enough resources during the stalemate, raised three star ports at the same time without the opponent knowing around the 5th minute, drawing gasps from fans and commentators.

Yoo Young-jin quickly drew a race and competed for air supremacy with Kim Min-cheol's Mutalisk, trying to buy time to draw bionic troops.

However, the defeat was due to exposing the hand too quickly before the cloaking upgrade was completed. Kim Min-cheol brought a number of Overlords with Mutalisk and attacked Yoo Young-jin's base.

Kim Min-cheol pushed the front line toward Yoo Young-jin's base with Hydralisks and Lurkers at the forefront. Yoo Young-jin, who was late in responding to the build, gave up the main base and hit GG.

The decisive 7th set began with tension. Yoo Young-jin tried to bunker in the opponent's front yard again, giving the game a boost.

Kim Min-cheol noticed right away and defended himself with zerglings and drones, and after blocking the main base, he quickly raised the level to rare and hive.

Yoo Young-jin built a number of barracks and then gathered marines to push out Kim Min-cheol's Mutalisk check in bulk, expanding the front line to near the center.

Yoo Young-jin mobilized dropships before Kim Min-cheol's troops gathered and sent troops to the main camp at 7 o'clock and the multi at 1 o'clock simultaneously to carry out a diversionary operation.

Kim Min-cheol struggled to block Yoo Young-jin's successive waves of attacks, which were focused on multiplayer at 1 o'clock, and tried to find a chance to counterattack by juggling.

In a tense confrontation, Kim Min-cheol hit the 'jackpot' by hitting Yoo Young-jin's Science Vessel with a series of Plagues and finishing with a Mutalisk, and gathered momentum to pull out an Ultralisk and put pressure on Yoo Young-jin.

In 19 minutes, Yoo Young-jin went on an all-out offensive with the population reaching 200. Despite being outnumbered, Kim Min-cheol defended the 1 o'clock multi and the front yard with an Ultralisk, and defeated the dispersed troops individually.

With resources depleted, Yoo Young-jin's troop production slowed down noticeably, and Kim Min-cheol regained the initiative by pushing Yoo Young-jin's main force, which had taken control of the midfield, toward the opponent's main base.

Kim Min-cheol invaded Yoo Young-jin's base with a combination of zergling and ultralisk, and won the long match that lasted for about 20 minutes.