• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EDT 08:44
CEST 14:44
KST 21:44
  • Home
  • Forum
  • Calendar
  • Streams
  • Liquipedia
  • Features
  • Store
  • EPT
  • TL+
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Smash
  • Heroes
  • Counter-Strike
  • Overwatch
  • Liquibet
  • Fantasy StarCraft
  • TLPD
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Blogs
Forum Sidebar
Events/Features
News
Featured News
RSL Season 1 - Final Week6[ASL19] Finals Recap: Standing Tall12HomeStory Cup 27 - Info & Preview18Classic wins Code S Season 2 (2025)16Code S RO4 & Finals Preview: herO, Rogue, Classic, GuMiho0
Community News
Weekly Cups (July 7-13): Classic continues to roll2Team TLMC #5 - Submission extension1Firefly given lifetime ban by ESIC following match-fixing investigation17$25,000 Streamerzone StarCraft Pro Series announced7Weekly Cups (June 30 - July 6): Classic Doubles7
StarCraft 2
General
RSL Revival patreon money discussion thread Weekly Cups (July 7-13): Classic continues to roll Esports World Cup 2025 - Final Player Roster TL Team Map Contest #5: Presented by Monster Energy Team TLMC #5 - Submission extension
Tourneys
RSL: Revival, a new crowdfunded tournament series $5,100+ SEL Season 2 Championship (SC: Evo) WardiTV Mondays Sparkling Tuna Cup - Weekly Open Tournament FEL Cracov 2025 (July 27) - $8000 live event
Strategy
How did i lose this ZvP, whats the proper response Simple Questions Simple Answers
Custom Maps
External Content
Mutation # 482 Wheel of Misfortune Mutation # 481 Fear and Lava Mutation # 480 Moths to the Flame Mutation # 479 Worn Out Welcome
Brood War
General
Flash Announces Hiatus From ASL BW General Discussion A cwal.gg Extension - Easily keep track of anyone [Guide] MyStarcraft [ASL19] Finals Recap: Standing Tall
Tourneys
[BSL20] Non-Korean Championship 4x BSL + 4x China [Megathread] Daily Proleagues 2025 ACS Season 2 Qualifier Small VOD Thread 2.0
Strategy
Simple Questions, Simple Answers I am doing this better than progamers do.
Other Games
General Games
Nintendo Switch Thread Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread Path of Exile CCLP - Command & Conquer League Project The PlayStation 5
Dota 2
Official 'what is Dota anymore' discussion
League of Legends
Heroes of the Storm
Simple Questions, Simple Answers Heroes of the Storm 2.0
Hearthstone
Heroes of StarCraft mini-set
TL Mafia
TL Mafia Community Thread Vanilla Mini Mafia
Community
General
US Politics Mega-thread The Accidental Video Game Porn Archive Russo-Ukrainian War Thread Porn and Stuff Summer Games Done Quick 2025!
Fan Clubs
SKT1 Classic Fan Club! Maru Fan Club
Media & Entertainment
Movie Discussion! [Manga] One Piece Anime Discussion Thread [\m/] Heavy Metal Thread
Sports
2024 - 2025 Football Thread Formula 1 Discussion NBA General Discussion TeamLiquid Health and Fitness Initiative For 2023 NHL Playoffs 2024
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
Computer Build, Upgrade & Buying Resource Thread
TL Community
The Automated Ban List
Blogs
Men Take Risks, Women Win Ga…
TrAiDoS
momentary artworks from des…
tankgirl
from making sc maps to makin…
Husyelt
StarCraft improvement
iopq
Trip to the Zoo
micronesia
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 583 users

First GSL Finals (GSL August)

Blogs > RunningInSquares
Post a Reply
RunningInSquares
Profile Blog Joined July 2009
United States215 Posts
October 22 2011 13:55 GMT
#1
While I'll be talking about my trip to the finals of GSL August, I first have to mention what an insane GSL Final it was today. I assume everyone here knows what happened, but just in case, check the VODs. The games were amazing. The only downside of this event for me was that it was held in the states. I came all the way to Korea and the GSL runs away from me T___T. Oh and in advance, I'm just linking to pictures for this post. There are a lot of them and (despite the fact that I'm in Korea) my internet connection is really slow which makes resizing them on imgur a pain in the butt.

My first trip to a GSL finals game at the end of GSL August. The finals actually took place in September, so this post isn't much more than a month old now. I had no idea what to expect as I had always seen large crowds in videos from the GSL, but was now skeptical of how many people actually showed up given the poor showing every day at the GOM Studio. It turns out the reason so few people turn out each night is because the matches run nightly. It's not special like BroodWar. So when a big Starcraft 2 event happens on a weekend when everyone is free, that's when all the fans come out to watch. Apparently, only casters or the crazy people with no lives (me) go every night.

This GSL final in particular was a special event, being the year anniversary of the GSL. In celebration, there was an "All-Stars Tournament" in which ten of the most popular players were invited to play in two teams of five for the amusement of the fans. Additionally, before that, there was a signing event where the ten players were lined up in the entry hall and signed cheerfuls or other objects brought in by fans.

I showed up with a friend from school who had expressed an interest in going to the GSL with me. We met up with another friend that I had been going to games regularly with (the guy that didn't make the bracket in the Code A prelims) at the subway stop and then walked to the venue. Because we were concerned about making sure we got good seats, we arrived about two hours early which turned out to be very unecessary. We got there and were met with a very small queue. After sticking it out for about an hour and a half, things started to get interesting as the lines were organized in a very confusing way. The people running the event first switched our line with another line (switched to opposite sides of a divider). They then proceeded to line everyone up in rows of four after combining the lines. About 15 minutes before everything began, a staffer went through the lines picking out foreigners and asking them to come with him to the front of the queue. While I was totally fine being treated as a local fan (it helped that I was so far up in the line anyway), I had no complaints about being given special treatment simply for being a foreigner. Racial discrimination.....ftw?

They took us into the entrance to the venue where we saw a long table in front of us. Eventually, players began to fill in. Since I was now the first person in line, I took a quick shot. Missing from the picture are BoxeR and MMA.
http://i.imgur.com/HYCZB.jpg?0.4855603554751724

I got to see all the players and kind of talked to them briefly before being told not to. I got to finally meet Jinro and tell him that I missed him at the Code A prelims. I had never really seen much of Jinro for some reason, but he always seemed kind of harsh for some reason. In the quick few seconds I got to meet him, I could already tell he was a really nice guy. I hope I get to see more of him in the GSL in coming seasons. I felt really bad for FruitDealer since nobody was really going for him. I of course got to finally get an autograph (just had time for one, so I got one for a friend) from BoxeR who was pretty cool as well. And finally, I got to meet NesTea who was also being skipped over for some reason.

After that, we were shown into the main auditorium where all the seats were. Being foreigners and getting preferential treatment, we were given a section in the front/right of the room. I sat in the third row, so all that was in front of me was family members/friends of players and some select media. To our left sat team IM. NesTea actually sat right across from me and my friend during the actual finals. He was (of course) sitting next to two pretty ladies. The first thing that we noticed when entering the auditorium however was the huge screen up on stage. Not only was it completely massive, but it was probably the most highly defined picture I have ever seen from a projected image. My picture of it is below. You've seen how poorly my camera takes pictures (okay okay, some of that is me), but look at this picture, If it's that clear on my crappy little camera, just imagine how good it was in real life.
http://i.imgur.com/PTHxg.jpg

Eventually, the teams for the all-star tournament were brought out and some friendly banter took place before the matches.
Team 1 had NesTea, MMA, July, MC, and Jinro
http://i.imgur.com/ZuuAR.jpg
Team 2 had FruitDealer, LosirA, MarineKing, HuK, and BoxeR
http://i.imgur.com/G3T1e.jpg
For additional amusement, here is a picture I took of MarineKing being told something by BoxeR.
http://i.imgur.com/riGLW.jpg

Soon the matches were underway and after the FruitDealer vs Jinro game in which we saw some pretty close competition, it became apparent that the rest of the matches were going to be really casual. We saw MC offracing as Zerg vs LosirA offracing as Terran. After that, MarineKing offracing as Protoss beat MMA who was playing Terran. Eventually, we got to probably the most interesting match of the day which was BoxeR vs July in which BoxeR won a very tight game with a limited amount of units and no production/mining at the end. And the final match consisted of HuK vs NesTea in what was a very awkward showing of NesTea playing casually and HuK actually trying kind of hard. Between and during the games, the players were engaging in little shenanigans such as July stealing Mr. Chae's drink (people not present actually only saw Mr. Chae taking the drink and didn't realize that July had stolen it, leading to some funny comments about Mr. Chae denying July food until he goes back and wins against BoxeR ^__^).

July was joking around in chat a lot and this was probably the biggest laugh from BoxeR he got.
BoxeR's post victory piggy-back ride.
Also, we got to see the birth of possibly the newest couple in SC2 progaming? Aside from when they were playing, that was probably the furthest apart they were all afternoon.

After the matches completed, there was a brief awards ceremony for the "MVP" of the first year of the GSL, which of course went to the fan favorite MarineKing. As a reward, he got a big sign and some prizes which some of the other players on his team seemed to be considering stealing.

But eventually, the real show began. Of course you know I'm talking about the introductory K-pop concert!!!!! Some band I had never heard of (because it does not include Sunny from Girls Generation) performed. Right before the performance, a ton of media people sat in all the empty seats around us and took pictures during the show, then left as soon as it ended. Not staying for Starcraft? Where are your priorities, paparazzi?

After that was all done with, it had been about a 5-6 hour day and the finals were just beginning. There were some brief pre-game interviews but everyone seemed to want to get on with the show, so they dove right in.

During all games as you may have noticed before, the main screen showed the game while the ones on the right showed the players and their headshots during the game.
MVP
TOP

After some excellent games which I'm sure you've all seen time and time again by now, MVP emerged as the victor. He went out on stage and collected his money before doing the trophy kiss moment of victory.
Exiting the booth.
Getting his check.
And of course, the all important pose.

Going to a GSL finals was really something else. It was way bigger and had much more passionate fans than any esports event I had been to before (although it would soon be surpassed by the OSL finals a couple weeks after). I am really sad that I only have one more I will be able to attend during my time here (hopefully I will come back to live and work here after I graduate though). I am definitely going to the next one because this was a cool event.

And wow, sorry about bombarding you with such a huge post. I couldn't help it though, I was watching Starcraft from about 1pm to 10pm that day. There was a lot of stuff. Coming up are two BroodWar posts, so that will be something to get excited about again, right? Until later, have a good weekend and watch those VODs of the GSL October finals if you haven't!

*****
mizU
Profile Blog Joined April 2010
United States12125 Posts
October 22 2011 14:12 GMT
#2
I saw you at the finals viewing party but I didn't say hi T.T

Oh if you want Sunny stuff.. Go to SPAO in 명동~~
I just bought some pretty awesome stuff~~
if happy ever afters did exist <3 @watamizu_
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
Wardi Open
11:00
#44
WardiTV1019
OGKoka 843
CranKy Ducklings154
Rex130
Liquipedia
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
OGKoka 843
Harstem 336
Rex 130
StarCraft: Brood War
Horang2 8513
Rush 4322
Sea 2744
Zeus 1745
Leta 1306
Larva 671
EffOrt 528
Stork 426
JulyZerg 375
PianO 371
[ Show more ]
firebathero 307
Pusan 190
Mind 149
ToSsGirL 95
Sharp 77
soO 47
Barracks 36
Movie 35
sSak 33
sorry 31
Shinee 30
Shine 29
Terrorterran 24
Icarus 15
IntoTheRainbow 11
SilentControl 8
Bale 6
Dota 2
qojqva3450
XcaliburYe648
syndereN163
League of Legends
Dendi1072
Counter-Strike
x6flipin786
flusha614
Super Smash Bros
Mew2King123
Heroes of the Storm
Khaldor207
Other Games
singsing2055
B2W.Neo1239
hiko586
crisheroes392
Happy349
Fuzer 289
Lowko186
SortOf170
ArmadaUGS65
QueenE21
Organizations
Other Games
gamesdonequick4911
StarCraft 2
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
sctven
[ Show 12 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• intothetv
• Kozan
• IndyKCrew
• LaughNgamezSOOP
• Migwel
• sooper7s
StarCraft: Brood War
• BSLYoutube
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
Dota 2
• C_a_k_e 593
League of Legends
• Nemesis4189
Upcoming Events
RotterdaM Event
3h 16m
Replay Cast
21h 16m
WardiTV European League
1d 3h
ShoWTimE vs sebesdes
Percival vs NightPhoenix
Shameless vs Nicoract
Krystianer vs Scarlett
ByuN vs uThermal
Harstem vs HeRoMaRinE
PiGosaur Monday
1d 11h
uThermal 2v2 Circuit
2 days
Replay Cast
2 days
The PondCast
2 days
Replay Cast
3 days
Epic.LAN
3 days
CranKy Ducklings
4 days
[ Show More ]
Epic.LAN
4 days
BSL20 Non-Korean Champi…
5 days
Bonyth vs Sziky
Dewalt vs Hawk
Hawk vs QiaoGege
Sziky vs Dewalt
Mihu vs Bonyth
Zhanhun vs QiaoGege
QiaoGege vs Fengzi
Sparkling Tuna Cup
5 days
Online Event
6 days
BSL20 Non-Korean Champi…
6 days
Bonyth vs Zhanhun
Dewalt vs Mihu
Hawk vs Sziky
Sziky vs QiaoGege
Mihu vs Hawk
Zhanhun vs Dewalt
Fengzi vs Bonyth
Liquipedia Results

Completed

2025 ACS Season 2: Qualifier
RSL Revival: Season 1
Murky Cup #2

Ongoing

JPL Season 2
BSL 2v2 Season 3
Copa Latinoamericana 4
Jiahua Invitational
BSL20 Non-Korean Championship
Championship of Russia 2025
BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025
ESL Impact League Season 7
IEM Dallas 2025
PGL Astana 2025
Asian Champions League '25
BLAST Rivals Spring 2025
MESA Nomadic Masters

Upcoming

CSL Xiamen Invitational
CSL Xiamen Invitational: ShowMatche
2025 ACS Season 2
CSLPRO Last Chance 2025
CSLPRO Chat StarLAN 3
BSL Season 21
K-Championship
RSL Revival: Season 2
SEL Season 2 Championship
uThermal 2v2 Main Event
FEL Cracov 2025
Esports World Cup 2025
Underdog Cup #2
StarSeries Fall 2025
FISSURE Playground #2
BLAST Open Fall 2025
BLAST Open Fall Qual
Esports World Cup 2025
BLAST Bounty Fall 2025
BLAST Bounty Fall Qual
IEM Cologne 2025
FISSURE Playground #1
TLPD

1. ByuN
2. TY
3. Dark
4. Solar
5. Stats
6. Nerchio
7. sOs
8. soO
9. INnoVation
10. Elazer
1. Rain
2. Flash
3. EffOrt
4. Last
5. Bisu
6. Soulkey
7. Mini
8. Sharp
Sidebar Settings...

Advertising | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use | Contact Us

Original banner artwork: Jim Warren
The contents of this webpage are copyright © 2025 TLnet. All Rights Reserved.