Wayne “D22-soso” ChiangOpen in the 3D archive →

Sector 01 · Real-time strategy · 1996 – 1999

The first Brood War world champion

On April 28, 1999, playing Random, D22-soso won Battle.net Season 1, Blizzard’s first official Brood War world championship. It capped three years at the top of the online ladders, from Command & Conquer to StarCraft.

  1. Nautosoft
  2. Shin Ju Young
  3. Guillaume “Grrrr…” Patry
  4. Crexis (Chris Low)
Original bracket page
Wayne Chiang with his 1999 StarCraft trophies
The 1999 trophies.

The final

His path ran through Nautosoft, Shin Ju Young, and Guillaume “Grrrr…” Patry. The final against Crexis (Chris Low) went the distance on Showdown.

After losing a Terran cliff war, he rebuilt with infantry, Ghosts, and Siege Tanks and closed out Game 5 at 35:37 for the $2,500 title.

Archival interviews

Competition record

  1. 1996Command & Conquer · Case’s Ladder #1, 1v1 & Teams · Team Synergy
  2. 1997Warcraft II · Kali Top 3 1v1 · Team Ladder #1 with Clan C4L
  3. Apr 1998StarCraft · Case’s Ladder #1, 1v1 & Teams
  4. Apr 1998First StarCraft tournament win · Neutral Ground Mountain View
  5. Oct 1998First StarCraft tournament caster · PGL Season 3
  6. Feb 1999Battle.net vs Kali · #2 seed
  7. Apr 1999Brood War Season 1 World Champion · Random · $2,500
  8. May 1999PGL Season 4 · 2nd · $7,000
  9. Jun 1999USA vs Canada Showcase · MVP, 3–0
  10. Jul 1999Sports Seoul #5 · World Champions Invitational 3rd
  11. Sep 1999Battle.net World Championship Finals · 3rd

Primary sources