PartinG Takes Down sOs to Claim Red Bull Battle Grounds New York Title

Eight of the world’s best “StarCraft II” players met this weekend at Red Bull Battle Grounds New York in a high-stakes tournament. When it was all said and done, a recent world champion stood supreme—but not the most recent one.

Last year’s WCS winner Won “PartinG” Lee Sak defeated reigning champ Kim “sOs” Yoo Jin 4-1 on Sunday evening at the Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan, capping off an extremely successful Red Bull Battle Grounds New York for the Korean. He also had a relatively easy time in his semi-final match with Jang “MC” Min Chul, taking the all-Protoss battle 3-1.

The other semi-final featured a lot more drama, provided by lone North American (and lone female) player Sasha “Scarlett” Hostyn. Having already won over the fans in attendance with her Saturday victory over Choi “Bomber” Ji Sung, Scarlett won the first two semi-final games against sOs and nearly winning Game 3 after 17 minutes of play. The world champ showed his mettle by rallying all the way back to win three straight, barely escaping to make the final.

The event sold out all 2,300 seats it had set aside at the Hammerstein Ballroom, and estimates suggest a peak total of 75,000 people were watching livestreams of the action (including some right here on Gamesided) simultaneously over the weekend. PartinG took $20,000 for his tournament win, with sOs taking home $10,000, Scarlett earning $6,000, and MC walking away with $4,000.