Battle Report: The Reckoning

GSL Open Season 1: Grand Finals
Fruitdealer vs HopeTorture

Preface:

The first GSL Open Season was hallmarked by the story of Fruitdealer, who overcame the difficulties that zerg players at the time had been having to make it to the finals. There he fought against HopeTorture, formerly InToTheRainbow, in a climactic best of seven to determine the first GSL champion of Starcraft 2. This series of battle reports will look back on the first true championship finals of Starcraft 2.

Previous Reports:
Set One: Delta Quadrant
Set Two: Lost Temple
Set Three: Kulas Ravine
Set Four: Desert Oasis

Rainbow and Fruitdealer prepare for what could be a decisive battle...

Set Five: Scrap Station

Fruitdealer spawns at the 12 o'clock position; Rainbow in the 2 o'clock. Rainbow stands on the cusp of a comeback, having reversed his position on Desert Oasis to take a last-minute win. With Fruitdealer needing just one more win to close out the championship, tensions are high. The map is scrap station, somewhere that Fruitdealer has already taken apart Terran players decisively. Rainbow opens with a risk, but one that he'll need if he wants to take out his terrifying opponent.

Rainbow sets up a proxy outside Fruitdealer's base.

Rainbow opens with a barracks proxied near to the third base of Fruitdealer. Getting a quick gas, it looks like it will be a reaper rush to try to eliminate the expansion of Rainbow's zerg rival. Fruitdealer obliviously walks in to the trap, going for a hatchery first.

With a reaper on the way, Fruitdealer's pool is only just starting.

Fruitdealer's overlord makes it to Rainbow's base and he can tell that something is wrong from the lack of a wall. Sending his scout across the large main base, Fruitdealer spots the gas and realises what is happening, with only moments to prepare himself. A drone spots the barracks just as the first reaper spawns and the reaper speed upgrade begins.

Fruitdealer defends with drones.

In the attack, Fruitdealer loses 3 of his workers, but thanks to superb micro-management, he doesn't lose any more. His natural finishes and spawning lings chase out the reapers. Using the momentum, the lings rush across the map, taking out a second proxy rax before it finishes.

The proxy is set upon by zerglings; Rainbow's attack is over.

With reapers assaulting his zerglings and no way to kill them until his zergling speed finishes, Fruitdealer turns around and sends his zerglings to counter-attack. Rainbow gives chase. Suddenly!

The reapers chase the zerglings, but they're waiting behind the LOS blockers.

With all of the reapers destroyed, Fruitdealer starts producing roaches for a big counter attack. Rainbow starts working on a bunker, but when the zerglings don't attack, he salvages it. He starts teching with a factory and additional production to wall himself in, pulling back his proxy barracks just in time to avoid an encounter with Fruitdealer's roach forces.

Reapers defend the attack paths from above.

With ling speed finishing up, Fruitdealer marches across the map with his roaches. His movement is caught by the reapers, and after a few seconds of nice micro by Rainbow, the roaches are forced to hold back and wait for reinforcements before pushing. Rainbow takes the time to build a bunker behind his wall and prepare.

But he is not prepared...

Fruitdealer snipes the barracks at the choke, stopping stimpack from researching. Pushing in with his roaches, Rainbow's marauders begin chopping them down. Fruitdealer focuses down the SCVs that Rainbow has pulled, tearing through the economy of his terran foe.

When the attack is over, only 10 SCVs remain.

Fruitdealer follows up by transitioning in to a Lair and a macro hatchery at his natural. Reapers swing in to harass, but there's a queen in position, and as they try to flee, zerglings block the path and eliminate them.

Oh Rainbow, don't you know that you can't harass Fruitdealer?

Back at home, Rainbow starts working on stimpack again. At the same time, he's teching to starport and grabbing an armoury. He finishes off his combo by taking the island expansion. It's a gamble, but one he needs to survive.

Rainbow's island expansion; his last hope to regain his momentum.

Hoping that his opponent is distracted by macro, Fruitdealer sprints a handful of lings in to the front of the terran base. Unfortunately, they smack in to the wall as Rainbow lifts a depot at the perfect time.

The makeshift wall is just enough to hold the attack.

Fruitdealer seizes the opportunity and attacks the barracks again. Rainbow expects him to leave and save the lings, but Fruitdealer calls the bluff and the barracks goes down, once again cancelling stimpack.

Fruitdealer capitalises on his advantage by taking a spire.

Rainbow begins working on a Thor to defend himself against any mutalisk attacks, timed beautifully as Fruitdealer starts working on his spire. Fruitdealer takes the gold expansion at the far corner of the map and sends lings to Rainbow's wall, sniping the SCV building a barracks and causing stimpack to be delayed even longer...

Rainbow's Thor has arrived. Overlords are advised to clear the area.

With a thor dropped and a handful of turrets, Rainbow is able to get a defence finished moments before the 9 mutalisks of Fruitdealer swing to the island in an attempt to take it out.

Mutalisks flee from the high-impact shots of the Thor.

Rainbow starts stimpack at his main base for a third time, having repelled the mutalisks from his zone of influence. Fruitdealer takes the opportunity to take another expansion at his third base and then go in to a massive amount of tech; banelings, roach speed and overlord speed and drops.

Fruitdealer's production tab tells the story as he goes for yet another big tech play.

Mutalisks delay Rainbow's third Command centre as he attempts to construct it in his base, and the zerg player manages to force a handful of stims as he finishes up an infestation pit. Rainbow eventually gets the third command centre on the ground, but he spreads himself too thin.

Banelings in overlords - Fruitdealer prepares for battle.

The Korean zerg mobilises his forces and prepares to drop banelings and zerglings at the island while attacking with his mutalisks. Rainbow catches wind of the attack just in time and moves in with his medivacs. his forces are on the way, but he has nothing in place to hold the initial attack.

Fruitdealer arrives on the island and guts the base.

Rainbow's army arrives, but most of the SCVs are already dead and the mutas are gone. He manages to re-establish the base, and as he tries to leave he narrowly avoids an ambush by Fruitdealer's mutalisks sniping all of the medivacs. However, he's now pinned down on the island by the zerg flyers.

Rainbow is ready to leave, but there's no safe way out.

With the majority of the terran army out of position, Fruitdealer begins rallying his forces towards Rainbow's natural expansion. Dropping banelings to draw fire, he busts in with an enormous army of roaches, zerglings, banelings and mutalisks.

Fruitdealer rolls over the siege line.

With the mutalisks attacking the front, Rainbow takes the chance to bring back his bio forces and try to defend. However, as soon as he leaves, the mutas swing back and besiege the now undefended island.

With the island under attack, Rainbow is finally peeling apart...

Rainbow manages to hold at his natural expansion with the help of his marines, but Fruitdealer shrugs it off. Back at his hatcheries, he has 40 banelings in production; ready for his next attack. Rainbow doesn't wait and takes the offensive.

Rainbow's final play - the doom drop.

Rainbow drops his entire army in the main base of Fruitdealer, sieging up against the flank of the Hive. In one swift move, the banelings of Fruitdealer roll in and crush the army. As the Terran desperately tries to evacuate, fungal growths shut down the medivacs and stop the retreat. Rainbnow attempts to attack the rich mineral expansion, but gets shut down by mutalisks.

Fruitdealer's counter-attack breaks ground at the terran siege line.

With a steady flow of units pounding down on his natural expansion and the majority of his forces eliminated, Rainbow loses a hold of his front line. As the mutalisks swing in to his main base to finish him, Rainbow GGs.

Fruitdealer 4-1 Rainbow. Championship to Fruitdealer.

Fruitdealer wins the first GSL Open Season! Taking out Rainbow 4-1 on maps that seemed to favour Terran at the time, Fruitdealer gave hope to zerg players everywhere. Players all over the world learnt that their race wasn't what made them win or lose - it was all about tactics, managing your economy and crushing your opponent decisively. Fruitdealer, now crowned the best Starcraft 2 player in the world, became an inspiration to players all over the world. His opponent, putting on an incredible showing, was simply not a match for his zerg rival, but he continued to play his best, utilising an impressive multi-tasking based style that would become standard practice for many terrans over the next year.

Next time, a scrappy rookie with a legendary name takes on an unbeatable titan with a perfect record and a pro-gaming history. Battle Report: BoxeR versus NesTea; coming soon...

Battle Report: The Reckoning

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