GOMTV Hot6ix Cup

Hot6ix Cup Finals
Semi Finals
MarineKing vs Zest
sOs vs sKyHigh

Grand Finals
MarineKing vs sOs

Brackets and standings on
Liquipedia

This time last year sOs was probably relaxing on a lounge chair on a beach in the Bahamas, soaking up the sun as he flipped through stacks of hundred dollar bills. On the other hand, Jaedong was stuck at home, grinding ladder games after the crownless moment when he cemented his year as a Kong.

At the start of the year, sOs was probably bored at his team house when he decided he wanted another $100,000, so he traveled to Katowice and proxy 2gated herO twice. herO on the other hand, failed with his own ill-fated proxy in the last game of the series, and his IEM 3-peat and a boatload of money sank in the winner-take-all tournament.

This year, sOs is probably buying his mom another expensive necklace for Christmas after he dominated the terrans of Hot6ix Cup. Though MarineKing finally awoke from his slumber, his legend as the finals loser continued even under the tutelage of Choya. He'll get a pat on a back and hope his momentum carries over to the SPOTV League qualifiers with the image of a zealot, stalker, and mothership core burnt into the back of his eyelids. Another dream crushed, another soul withered.



Of course it had to be one of the most atypical tournaments of the year where sOs destroyed another dream.

When the Hot6ix Cup was announced, it was supposed to be a collection of Korea's champions versus some players who survived the qualifying brackets. However, due to the fact that every single GSL finals of 2014 featured soO, only 4 players from those finals were seeded into 2014's iteration. GOM took this opportunity to ensure 2 favorites would reach the tournament, and a fan vote was held to the delight of Flash. It was obvious that he was going to win one of the coveted spots, so it became a close race between PartinG and Maru for second place. The Rascal Toss surged towards the end of the polling period to book his place, and the HSC X finals between Flash and PartinG a weekend earlier seemingly gave us a preview of what could happen at Hot6ix Cup.

Instead, both were eliminated in the group stages along with GSL winner Classic, IEM Champion herO, and the Kong of all Kongs, soO. In their place the all-but-dead MarineKing, the disappointment named Soulkey, bumbling savant Bbyong, irrelevant sKyHigh, and the outsider sOs reached the playoffs. It was supposed to be the "Last Big Match" of the year, yet the bracket looked like a hodgepodge of names drawn out of a hat.



And then, Rain forfeited his spot to travel to IEM San Jose (where he lost in the finals vs herO), giving Flash, PartinG, or TY another shot at the Ro8. PartinG appeared unlikely to take down the KT duo, but he emerged victorious somehow. We'll never know how because they decided not to stream it. Yes, I'm hinting at something here Mr Chae.

But what Flash nor TY could not achieve, MarineKing deftly accomplished. The quarter finals was once again filled with surprises: MarineKing over PartinG, sKyHigh over Bbyong, sOs over INnoVation. Only the year's most consistent player, Zest, was able to survive the "special tournament hex". But in a tournament as weird as this, assigning him the "favorite" seemed more like a curse than a compliment.

+ Show Spoiler [LOL these polls] +

Matched against the Kingslayer, the self dubbed King of Marines would have been granted an infinitesimal chance just 2 weeks prior. But after his 7-0 tear of protoss, anything seemed possible during this anomaly of a tournament. Lo and behold, it actually happened: MarineKing booted Zest out in the semis and denied him a Korean Cup 3-peat. However the series was far from impressive, as MarineKing prevailed by surviving a gateway all-in in game 1 and bum-rushing Zest with SCV pulls in games 3 and 5.



Zest did tie the series using one immortal all in and a standard game, but the Muscle Toss looked out of sorts as his all-ins appeared weak and his macro game looked frail. It was only apt that the self styled King defeated Zest for his first premier tournament final in 2 years and 8 months (MLG Winter Championship 2012 vs DRG).



Their 3-2 score was not echoed in the second semi-final: sOs steamrolled sKyHigh in three straight games to reach his first final since IEM WC 2014. The three games took a combined 40 minutes of work for the Jin Air protoss, and he hardly broke a sweat. Despite not getting much out of his three oracles in game 1, sOs defended an early push from sKyHigh that he leveraged into a superior army later on. Confident that his opponent was inferior, sOs then proxied a gateway on King Sejong Station. Though sKyHigh survived, his one base marine/tank all-in was obliterated by one of the most perfect engagements of the tournament.



Up 2 games to none, sOs finished his warm up with some DTs, and one of the most unanticipated runs of 2014 was over. sOs 1, dreams 0.

If you took a look at the pre-game polls posted above, it's pretty obvious that MarineKing was the fan favorite. As the tournament wore on, fans from 2010 and 2011 rejoiced as their micromaniacal hero slaughtered protoss after protoss like the old days. It finally looked like MarineKing had rediscovered his swagger: who cares about strategy when you can just attack and win? Whether he's finally turned a corner or Choya's influence, it's too early to tell, but a strong performance in Hot6ix Cup had his fans salivating at the prospect of a title. It was a dream that could have come true.

Unfortunately, the series was a wash. Where other protoss had failed, sOs not only succeeded but made MarineKing look like a fool. In game 1, zealot stalker mothership core pressure did more damage than expected, and a large gateway all in summarily executed the MVP terran. A brutal forcefield at the ramp corralled SCVs into a blood bath as marines helplessly watched in dismay.



Game 2 was slightly better from MarineKing, though he did again take damage from sOs' three unit harass. The Jin Air protoss attempted to consolidate his win with DTs, but MarineKing's newly acquired paranoia (a.k.a. Choya's coaching) clued him into building blind turrets. sOs was finally able to turn his advantage into a win when he was able to corner a terran harass unit unawares, giving him the confidence to move across the map and take the decisive battle.



At this point any casual observer of Starcraft was just waiting for MarineKing to break. His inability to win finals coupled with his tendency to show emotion earned him a reputation as a player with a weak mentality, and it seemed like the inevitable after going 2-nil down in pitiful games. sOs however, is not known for his mercy. He added an insult or three on Merry Go Round, where he combined his early pressure with an oracle. Instead of aiming for SCVs, sOs decided to camp MarineKing production, and every single marine that was built was soon after disintegrated. The valiant (or hardheaded) terran attempted to hold with missile turrets and mines, but a voidray follow up from his proxied stargate eventually cut MarineKing's bases in half. It was a delightfully executed cheese; something that only sOs' unpredictable genius could create.



But when all hope was lost, MarineKing finally gained one back. sOs decided to change things up with a nexus first, and MarineKing was finally able to settle into the type of mid-game that had crushed every protoss before him. sOs tried to hide a twilight council and dark shrine, but MarineKing's preparedness once again foiled those plans. The MVP terran pushed out as sOs attempted to take a third base, but a decisive assault straight into the natural hit just before sOs could amass enough units to defend. At the very least, MarineKing would not be swept. But could 2 years in the depths of his career have finally given MarineKing the wherewithal to mount a comeback?

Alas, it was not to be, and his dream was crushed by cannons. After opening with a normal oracle, sOs transitioned into phoenix-colossus. Realizing that he was on a clock on horizontal positions Nimbus, MarineKing powered out as much bio and vikings as he could. He pulled his SCVs for a peasant rebellion that had not failed him before, but a scan of the plains between the protoss third and main revealed a terrible secret:



MarineKing's SCVs were already at the front when he realized that sOs was more than prepared, but he had no choice but to attack. His bio stimmed into the cannons and attempted to break the wall, but the hail of colossus fire and phoenixes overhead proved insurmountable. After a dazzling light show, nothing terran remained. sOs had won, and MarineKing was once again broken.



In a tournament of surprises, the winner ended up being everyone's favorite surprise. The Jin Air protoss has made a habit out of winning things out of nowhere playing distinctly odd styles. He even found the time to overcome his once handicapped PvT—beating TY, INnoVation, sKyHigh and MarineKing—in a period when terrans seemed to have the upper hand. His solution was tragically simple: chronoboost your first units and attack. He did it again and again, and his opponents capitulated with a whimper. Another title for sOs, another player's ambitions crushed by his heel.

For MarineKing, the tournament was both a positive sign and a disappointment. After years in the doldrums of qualifiers, the original GSL Kong has finally shown some life. His TvP looked powerful and precise when he was allowed to get going, and the multitasking that marked his early days still looked formidable after 4 years in the business. SPOTV League will be his next challenge, and hopefully he's learned his lesson after another difficult finals loss.

I guess we won't see any more CC-firsts after this.

sOs, Destroyer of Dreams

It's become a routine for sOs to deny someone greatness. He did it against Jaedong in the most unlikely BlizzCon grand finals. He did it again versus herO to rebuff a 3rd successive IEM title and $100,000. And he's done it now against MarineKing to revoke a resurrection and a change of identity. Each time, he did it with cheese, strange builds, and cringe worthy series. It doesn't matter how long he's been dormant or what the metagame expects, the Heartbreak Protoss knows exactly when to win his money in the most outrageous way possible.

And yet, despite having the very DNA of a villain—the unabashed love of cheese, the death of fan favorites, the perplexing play—sOs is impossible to hate. His success at the highest level coupled with his entertaining brand of Starcraft allows him to ascend to the hallowed role of the Anti-Hero—the Tony Montana, the Raoul Duke, the Frank Castle. He plays the game like no one else will, like no one else can, but his unscrupulous nature belies a strategic genius. He changes the way we view what is standard and what is acceptable every time he decides to win a tournament. Our respect for the man only grows as his hit list of our favorite players gets longer.

It's become sOs' identity to tear down our favorites' dreams. And yet, somehow, we love to watch him do it.

Writers: lichter.
Graphics: shiroiusagi.
Photos: GomTV, google and ThisIsGame.
Editor: lichter.