EPT
by Malafice
Hello and welcome to what we hope will be TL.net's newest regular feature, the yet-to-be-named online tournament roundup! The aim of this piece is to keep fans up to date with StarCraft II's robust online tournament scene, highlighting exciting games that might otherwise have gone missed and scouting out which players might break out in live events. Please leave your feedback on what you liked, what you want to see more of, and anything else you'd be interested in going forward.
Top Prize Money Earners of the Week
- #1:
Trap - $325 - #2: Rail - $216
- #3: Bly - $175
- #4: Solar - $160
- #5: Rogue - $150
- #6: Guru - $140
- Tie #7~8: GuMiho, and souL - $100
Best Online Games of the Week
- Rogue vs GuMiho - OlimoLeague 133
- Trap vs soO - Kung Fu Cup 17
- Trap vs Demi - Kung Fu Cup 17
- Bly vs Clem - QLASH Invitational - EU Group B
OlimoLeague 133: The GuMi-Stomp (Sept 11)
While everyone was busy lauding Serral’s unprecedented 4th straight WCS title or getting caught in the hype of the upcoming GSL finals, the OlimoLeague delivered another week of can’t-miss games. Every match-up from the Ro8 forward could’ve easily been from a GSL Ro16, and with the GSL Super Tournament #2 on the horizon, fan favorite
GuMiho showed he's not going to give up his #8 WCS Korea spot without a bloody fight.GuMiho claimed yet another online cup victory, with his mech TvZ looking rock solid in his takedowns of both Impact and then
Rogue in the finals. He easily staved off what was admittedly a sloppy Ravager all-in from Impact, and opted for multiple Hellbat timing attacks in his games against Rogue. He also smacked down Korea's #9 player Trap along the way, seemingly telling him 'You want my BlizzCon spot? Then get that weak s*** outta here.'The finals between GuMiho and Rogue went the distance and is certainly worth a watch if you find yourself in GSL withdrawal this week. Throughout the tournament, the Jin Air Zerg showcased his mass Ling-Bane straight into Ultras strat that he seemed to favor heavily in Code S Season 2 and GSL vs the World. When Rogue was able to set up his economy safely, he looked as dominant as ever. However, he seemed susceptible to early Hellion harass as both Cure and GuMiho barbecued critical amounts of Drones in their respective matches against the IEM and Blizzard world champion.
Kung Fu Cup 17: Trap's BlizzCon Credentials (Sept 13)
Rogue and GuMiho met again in the Kung Fu Cup Ro8. This time, Rogue bopped GuMiho 2:0 thus avenging his prior defeat. That being said, the real story of this tournament was definitely Trap. At #9 in the WCS Korea rankings and looking to get in a solid warm-up before the upcoming Super Tournament, Trap PvZed his way straight to the finals. While his matches against soO and Demi were far from clean, they made for some of the most exciting SC2 all week. Both of Trap’s games against soO were late-game nail-biters that left me hungry for more. Fortunately, Trap fed the fans and I more sick PvZ the very next game he played! My literal notes for game 1 of his series against Demi are “lot of f***ing lurkers vs Mothership army.”Both of Trap’s series on the way to the finals highlight all that is good in StarCraft and definitely make my must watch list this week. Trap met Rogue in the finals where he ultimately bested him 3-2, which is becoming a less shocking result with every passing tournament. Rogue's play has felt flat ever since he won the IEM World Championship, and his failure to win crucial BO5 series in both offline and online tournaments has been the norm. While we have seen glimpses of his championship form, he seems to be missing the edge that carried him to so much success in the past. Look for him to try and regain some momentum in the Super Tournament as he looks ahead to BlizzCon. Trap, on the other hand, showed some surprising results this tournament and will definitely be a player to look out for in the Super Tournament, especially if he can draw PvZ's.
QLASH SC2 Invitational: Group Stage: Bly is eliminated from the tournament, but not from our hearts (Sept 13)
Group B concluded with just one match having playoff implications, as Nerchio faced Reynor in a winner-take-all match for a playoff spot. While everyone was eyeing that juicy match,
Bly and Clem snuck in some delicious appetizer games just before. Bly hit Clem with four games worth of builds so perplexing, I'm not sure that even Bly himself knew what he was doing. There were full health Thors getting killed in Medivacs by Mutas, those same mutas dying moments later, and even a Swarm Host flank—and that was all just in game 2! Definitely check that series out.Finally, the main course, the most anticipated match of the day,
Reynor vs Nerchio took place. With the final Group B playoff spot on the line, this series between Zerg prodigy, Reynor, and Blizzcon qualifier, Nerchio, was shaping up to be quite explosive… and it was, except all of the explosions came in the form of Reynor’s Hatcheries and Roaches getting blown up by +1 Lings and large Mutalisk flocks. Nerchio proved he is still a force to be reckoned with at BlizzCon this year as he secured his spot in the QLASH top 4. Unfortunately for Reynor, he will have to wait until next year to show his offline strength in WCS again, despite what was an exceptional 2018 season. With 3 of the 4 QLASH finalists being locked in as Zerg, we can only hope that Hellraiser can break free from the tyranny of the European Zergs in Group A and claim the final spot in the name of Aiur and my sanity.TMS;DW (Too Much StarCraft; Didn't Watch) - Other Notable Tournament Results
I am but one man in an enormous world of online StarCraft II, and at least for now, I'm the only one working on the online tournament round up. I quite simply cannot watch every game every week. I apologize in advance if I miss any results or cool games.
JEC Weekly 18
- Solar 3-1 Guru in the finals.
Go4SC2 Europe #811
- Rail 3 - 2 Guru in the finals.
WardiTV Summer Championship (Korea Group A)
- Solar advances 1st
- KeeN advances 2nd
- Cyan, Nice, and MacSed eliminated
WardiTV Summer Championship (Korea Group B)
- Rogue advances 1st
- Zest advances 2nd
- Bunny, Creator and SortOf eliminated
WardiTV Summer Championship (Korea Group D)
- Dear advances 1st
- Impact advances 2nd
- aLive and Demi eliminated
WardiTV Summer Championship (Europe Group C)
- Reynor advances 1st
- MaNa advances 2nd
- Clem, Zanster, and Gerald eliminated
WardiTV Summer Championship (Europe Group D)
- Kas advances 1st
- Hellraiser advances 2nd
- Elazer, souL, and FeaR eliminated
OSC Masters Cup 114
- Bly 3-1 Guru in the finals.
Ting Open Online Cups: Cup #4
- souL 3-2 Rail in the finals.
OSC All stars #61
- Solar 3-2 Creator in the finals.
