On September 7, the 2026 Google Play ASL Season 22 Round of 16 Group A matches took place at the FreecUP Studio in Seoul. As a result, defending champion Park Sang-hyeon advanced to the quarterfinals in first place, and Yoo Young-jin secured second place to advance.
In the match between last season's champion Park Sang-hyeon and Kim Yoon-joong on Aeolos, Park opened with a back-yard Hatchery, while Kim went for a Gateway double. After defending against initial Zealots, Park produced a large number of Zerglings to breach into Protoss's back yard and disrupt his opponent. Destroying the Gateway with his Zergling swarm, Park secured an easy victory in just 5 minutes to head to the winners' match.
In Game 2, Yoo Young-jin took advantage of the map's back-yard feature by opening with a center Barracks, preparing a cheese rush with Vultures even if his opponent did not immediately go for a Nexus. However, the distance was quite far, and Do Jae-wook steadily produced Dragoons from a back-yard 2-Gateway build, cleanly fending off Yoo's attack. Game 2 also ended quickly in a victory for Do.
In Set 1 of the winners' match, Park Sang-hyeon once again produced a large mass of Zerglings on an off-beat timing, successfully breaching and rattling Do Jae-wook's main base. Maintaining momentum without giving Do time to recover, Park took the set with Mutalisks to go up 1-0. In Set 2, both players opened safely by taking their natural expansions.
For Do Jae-wook, there were no major early mishaps; in fact, a Dark Templar that slipped into Zerg's main base achieved significant results by killing multiple Drones. However, Park Sang-hyeon quickly replenished his Drones and, seeing his opponent prepare a Dark Archon, opted for a Hydra drop instead of Mutalisks. Sneaking into the 6 o'clock expansion, he destroyed Do's Nexus. His second drop launched a Hydra-Lurker assault on the natural expansion, which Do managed to defend well.
Despite taking damage, Do Jae-wook preserved his main army and steadily cycled forces to recover. He used his main army to destroy Zerg's expansion while simultaneously inflicting massive damage with a Dark Templar drop to tie the set 1-1. In the deciding Set 3, Park Sang-hyeon gambled on a 5-Drone opener. With Do's scouting delayed, he failed to detect the strategy, allowing Park to overwhelm him with Zerglings and secure his place in the quarterfinals as Group A's first-place finisher.
In the elimination match, Yoo Young-jin went for a fast Dropship after expanding to his natural, inflicting heavy damage with four Vultures. Kim Yoon-joong did not play for the long game. After deflecting the Vultures, he tried to break through with a Shuttle and Dragoons, but Yoo defended effectively with building placement and a Bunker to take a comfortable win. Set 2 became a long game. With both sides building up greedy economies, Kim focused on Gateway-heavy armies to force trades, but the Terran held firm, leading to a 200-max battle. Terran successfully expanded to four bases and pushed forward slowly.
Kim Yoon-joong continually rotated ground forces while preparing Carriers from three Stargates. Utilizing Carriers alongside his army, he repelled Yoo Young-jin's mech forces and bought time to accumulate a fleet. Moreover, despite considerable time passing, Yoo's mech upgrades remained stuck at 1/1; his transition into Wraiths failed to deliver, allowing Kim, who had amassed a large fleet of Carriers, to secure the win. In Set 3 on Octagon with diagonal spawns, both players took standard expansions and set up for a macro game.
Kim Yoon-joong went for a triple Nexus into Reavers, while Yoo Young-jin built an Armory after expanding, adding up to six Factories and constructing a triple Command Center. Spotting Kim's Carrier transition, Yoo kept close tabs using Scans. Gathering his army, he steadily pushed forward to end the game before the Carrier fleet could materialize, advancing to the final match.
In Set 1 of the final match between Do Jae-wook and Yoo Young-jin, Do opened with a proxy Gateway and Zealot poke, while Yoo started with a Barracks double. Do secured his third base smoothly and built up infrastructure for heavy production. Yoo calmly expanded to five Factories before adding a third Command Center, but Do overcommitted with a Shuttle drop and an attempt to break into the main base, suffering heavy losses that handed Yoo the victory.
In Set 2, both players prepared for standard macro play. However, Yoo Young-jin harassed Do Jae-wook with Vulture raids while slowly expanding. Do attempted trade efficiency plays as Yoo took his third Command Center, but failed to achieve his desired results. Nevertheless, Do avoided direct center fights and disrupted his opponent with maneuvering. Suffering no economic damage, Yoo firmly held the center map and pushed forward. Although Terran had the resource advantage, Do held on remarkably with ferocious combat execution. After an intense brawl lasting over 10 minutes, Do ran out of resources and steam, allowing Yoo to claim victory and advance to the quarterfinals as the second seed from Group A.
