Look, let us be honest—climbing to the top is one thing, staying there is entirely another. On the 17th at the special stage set up in the Lotteworld Ice Rink in Jamsil, Seoul, Kim Min-chul edged out Yu Young-jin with a set score of 4 to 3 to secure the championship at the 'Google Play ASL Season 22'. With this triumph, Kim Min-chul wrote a new page in esports history by setting the unprecedented record of five career titles in individual StarCraft 1 leagues.

ASL is an esports league played on StarCraft: Remastered, which is celebrating its 11th anniversary this year. Following the previous season, Google Play stepped up once again as the official sponsor. Naturally, this grand final drew massive attention from fans long before the first match kicked off, as Kim Min-chul chased a historic fifth championship while Yu Young-jin hunted for his very first ASL title.

What followed was a brutal, back-and-forth chess match between Terran and Zerg. Both competitors traded blows set by set, dragging the series all the way to a decisive seventh set. In the opening set, Yu Young-jin calmly weathered Kim Min-chul's early aggression to draw first blood, but Kim Min-chul struck right back in the second set, deploying Guardians to dismantle Yu Young-jin's mechanical army and level the score at 1-1.

The third set saw Yu Young-jin grab an early advantage through proxy barracks and bunker play, pressing the lead home with a formidable mix of tanks and vessels. Yet, Kim Min-chul refused to fold, utilizing a swarm of Mutalisks in the fourth set to crush Yu Young-jin's bio forces and reset the board. The fifth set highlighted Kim Min-chul's defensive masterclass, successfully shutting down Yu Young-jin's cheeky three-Starport Wraith strategy before launching a blistering counter-attack that brought the champion within touching distance of the trophy.

Of course, Yu Young-jin was not about to go down without a fight. In the sixth set, a well-timed timing attack combining bio troops, Siege Tanks, and Valkyries dragged the series into a nail-biting final seventh set. The ultimate showdown lived up to the hype: Yu Young-jin harassed multiple expansions using dropships alongside bio and Science Vessel forces, but Kim Min-chul answered with a devastating frontline of Ultralisks and Defilers, breaking the siege and turning the tide for good.

Reflecting on the grueling victory, Kim Min-chul noted, "Climbing up is tough, but falling down happens in the blink of an eye." Kim Min-chul added, "I will work hard to maintain my form and keep putting on great performances in front of even more fans next season."

Meanwhile, for those looking to catch the VODs and full match results of the ASL, you can head over to the official SOOP ASL broadcast channelto check out all the details.