GSL Open Season 2: Grand Finals
BoxeR (Marineking) vs NesTea

Preface:

A scrappy rookie with a legendary name stands against a titan who hasn't dropped a single set all tournament. Can the power of destiny stand in the way of a god? This is GSL Open Season Two; this is BFoxeR vs NesTea!

Previous Reports:
Fruitdealer vs Rainbow
Set One: Delta Quadrant
Set Two: Lost Temple
Set Three: Kulas Ravine
Set Four: Desert Oasis
Set Five: Scrap Station
FoxeR vs NesTea
Set One: Shakuras Plateau
Set Two: Lost Temple
Set Three: Scrap Station

It started out one-sided, but Nestea made this in to a war.

Set Four: Jungle Basin

FoxeR spawns in the 11 o'clock position; NesTea spawns across the map in the 5 o'clock. Despite Foxer taking the first two games, Nestea made a comeback in game three. Jungle Basin represents the turning point; can Nestea keep up the momentum or will Foxer compose himself and finish off the zerg? Nestea begins with an extractor trick, setting up for his standard 14 hatch play. Foxer places one rax at his main ramp and sends a second SCV out in to the centre of the map, seemingly to scout.

But this is no scout.

Foxer drops a second barracks at the centre third base of Nestea, preparing for an aggressive play. Nestea, unaware, continues to make a hatchery followed up by a spawning pool. Nestea sends out a drone to scout the centre of the map for the SCV that left Foxer's base, but it takes a wrong turn and misses the barracks.

Could this left turn be fatal for Nestea?

Nestea knows that something is up, however, and he makes a bunch of zerglings and a queen. Foxer is posturing out on the map as he builds up marines, which gives Nestea a chance to poke at Foxer's ramp with the drone. Knowing what he's up against, he starts a spine in the main and pumps zerglings. By the time Foxer's marines come up the ramp, there's already plenty of lings in place to force him back. He sees the spine and retreats to Nestea's ramp.

Zerglings chase away the marines of Foxer.

Foxer isn't done with aggression. He puts down two bunkers to block the bottom of Nestea's ramp and starts a command centre back at home. An overlord sees the expansion immediately.

Foxer prepares for the long game as he contains Nestea.

As the bunkers finish, Foxer pushes his marines through and up Nestea's ramp. He has a lot now, and he's poking around, looking for an area of weakness. Nestea's been making loads of zerglings and as a result his drone count is fairly low. He starts zergling speed and gets a second queen to defend his natural. Throwing caution and his defensive position to the wind, Foxer pushes in to the natural expansion of Nestea.

Foxer begins the assault, but is it an overcommitment?

Zerglings rush in and complete the surround, crippling Foxer's forces, but he kites back, killing more lings than expected. Meanwhile, he's been pumping marines to the bunkers at the ramp and he prevents Nestea from escaping. The first wave of Foxer's attack goes down and Nestea starts working on his back door rocks to bust out. He manages to squeeze out a wave of drones to repair his economy.

A second marine push comes down the ramp in to the natural.

Nestea pulls drones and engages the second wave of Foxer's attack. The terran realises he's made a mistake and makes a break for the bunkers, but zergling speed finishes and Nestea kills all of the marines. There are only a couple left to hold the bunkers.

Nestea sweeps in; the attack is broken.

At home, Foxer transitions with more barracks, stimpack and combat shields. However, Nestea has no intention of allowing Foxer to enter a macro game. He throws down a baneling nest in his main and pushes out through the rocks with his speedling army. An SCV scout sees the felled rocks but is stopped before it sees the baneling nest. Lings push the front of Foxer but he has units in place behind his wall. The lings back up and all morph in to banelings.

How many banelings? SO many banelings.

An SCV scout sees the morphing banelings seconds before its death at the hands of Nestea and Foxer rushes to defend the wall. Stim finishes just as Nestea explodes up the ramp with his baneling army.

Nestea crushes the wall, but Foxer quickly re-walls with an engineering bay.

Despite Foxer's quick thinking, Nestea has too many banelings and pushes in, swarming in with speedlings in the wake of the attack. Foxer splits all of his marines apart, but Nestea has enough to trade one baneling for each marine.

Cost efficiency? I don't need cost efficiency, I'm Nestea.

Foxer's forces go down, taking most of the banelings with them, but the wall is down and Nestea keeps pouring in zerglings. The last of the banelings assault the mineral line in Foxer's main.

It's that part of the game where Foxer sacrifices all of his SCVs.

Nestea runs banelings in to the natural, but Foxer individually splits all of his SCVs. Nestea, not wanted to trade inefficiently, walks his banelings back up the ramp and lets his zerglings finish the job. Meanwhile, he's making more banelings in Foxer's base.

He may not be able to drop MULEs, but Nestea can still let his opponent know that it's over.

Marines from Foxer keep hammering out of the barracks. With some of the zerglings morphing in to banelings, he's able to make a dent in Nestea's forces and starts pushing them back. Knowing what he needs to do to survive, he lifts two barracks and goes to drop them at his ramp to complete the wall.

Foxer sets out on the road of an incredible comeback.

However, Nestea doesn't allow Foxer the breathing room he needs, bringing in another swathe of zerglings and obliterating the wall. Taking his third base and filling Foxer's main with his army, Nestea clinches the game to even up the score.

GG! Foxer 2-2 Nestea.

Another game goes to Nestea, leaving the first four games tied up 2-2. Where Fruitdealer vs Rainbow was one-sided, Nestea vs Foxer is looking to be much closer, with each of them able to deliver crippling blows to the other. Some sloppy indecision from Foxer allowed Nestea to take the battle on Jungle Basin, but the series is now essentially reduced to a best of three and everything is still to play for. The next map is Steppes of War. Can Foxer use the map's terran strength to crush Nestea, or will the zerg show yet another trick to take a crucial win? To Be Continued...