On the 8th, in the Google Play ASL Season 22 Round of 16 Group B matches held at the FreecUP Studio in Daechi-dong, Seoul, Shin Sang-moon finished first and Lee Jae-dong took second in the group to advance to the quarterfinals.
In Match 1, Shin Sang-moon walled off his entrance, teched up, and prepared a Vulture drop along with Valkyries. Kim Kyung-mo also upgraded to a Lair and produced Hydralisks to prepare his defense. Although the Terran couldn't deal major damage with the Vultures, he safely secured his natural expansion Command Center to set up for the late game. He then added more Factories to transition into a Mech composition, while Kim Kyung-mo produced Mutalisks before quickly teching to Hive. Drones moving for expansion kept getting picked off by Vultures, slightly delaying his expansion, but by fast-teching to Hive, he completed preparations for Ultralisk production.
The Terran had no intention of attacking early. Running double Armories, he added expansions with fully upgraded Mech, preparing for a long game. While Ultralisks are generally not ideal against Mech, Zerg had secured a large number of Ultralisks at a fast timing. However, before the Ultralisk speed upgrade was completed, the Terran's Mech forces advanced and siege-positioned right in front of the Zerg expansion, gaining an advantage through favorable trades. Zerg quickly lost momentum, and Shin Sang-moon defeated Kim Kyung-mo to move on to the Winners' Match.
In Match 2, both Lee Jae-dong and Kim Myung-woon opened with fast Spawning Pools, but Kim Myung-woon got off to a more favorable start by mining gas earlier. Kim Myung-woon then won a massive victory in the Zergling fight, defeating Lee Jae-dong before Mutalisks even hit the field.
In the following Winners' Match, Shin Sang-moon took a greedy opening with a No-Barracks Double Command. He then prepared 2-Factory Mech, while Kim Myung-woon opted for standard play with Mutalisks. Shin Sang-moon quickly built double Armories for upgrade Terran, and Kim Myung-woon produced plenty of Drones to saturate his expansions while pumping out Mutalisks and Hydralisks. Seeing that the Terran had no intention of pushing out, Kim Myung-woon even produced Queens.
Kim Myung-woon lost the first engagement, but once his Queens accumulated energy, he effectively shut down the Terran's main Mech army alongside his Hydralisks. By using Queens' Broodlings to trade efficiently against Siege Tanks, Kim Myung-woon took Set 1. In Set 2 of the Winners' Match, Shin Sang-moon attempted a center BBS all-in. Kim Myung-woon, who went for a natural Hatchery, spotted it with a Drone scout, but the timing was not early enough. He tried to defend with Drones before Zerglings could spawn, but Shin Sang-moon won the fight to level the set score at 1-1.
In Set 3, Shin Sang-moon brought out his specialty, 2-Starport Wraith, inflicting heavy early damage. After the Wraiths, Shin Sang-moon prepared a main Bionic force using main-base resources rather than expanding to his natural right away. Kim Myung-woon focused on defense to prevent further Wraith damage while expanding with a Hatchery at 12 o'clock. Despite a delayed natural expansion, Shin Sang-moon massed Science Vessels, consistently winning engagements and shaking up the Zerg's main base with Dropships. Although Zerg fielded Lurkers and Defilers, he was forced entirely onto the defensive. Ultimately, Shin Sang-moon defeated Kim Myung-woon 2-1 to secure first place in the group and advance to the quarterfinals.
In the Losers' Match, both Lee Jae-dong and Kim Kyung-mo opened Pool-first into natural expansion. Under extremely low-resource conditions, both players engaged in heavy Zergling fights, but Lee Jae-dong, who had a slight edge, began mining gas at his natural expansion. The gas advantage widened the gap between the two, allowing Lee Jae-dong to take Set 1 comfortably, and he went on to easily win Set 2 as well to advance to the Decider Match.
In Set 1 of the final Decider Match, both Lee Jae-dong and Kim Myung-woon took their natural expansions and prepared Mutalisks. Because they spawned cross-map, the attacker was at a disadvantage. Lee Jae-dong made the first move, destroying Kim Myung-woon's 3 o'clock expansion. Then came Kim Myung-woon's turn to attack, leading to massive Mutalisk and Scourge air battles. Although trades were nearly even, Kim Myung-woon managed to destroy Lee Jae-dong's expansion. In the final Mutalisk battle, after another close trade, Lee Jae-dong ultimately emerged victorious.
In Set 2, Lee Jae-dong opened Pool-first, while Kim Myung-woon started with a 12 Hatchery. Kim Myung-woon gained an early advantage through his build order, but Lee Jae-dong took a fast third expansion to bait an attack. Lee Jae-dong successfully defended, laying the foundation to get his 5 o'clock expansion up and running. Having secured a massive lead, Lee Jae-dong defeated Kim Myung-woon 2-0 to take second place in the group.
