EPT
by Malafice
Good news everyone! Thanks to your overwhelming support, the Weekly Online Tournament Roundup Thingie did not suffer the fate of Mizenhauer's GSL fanfics and dodged the cruel the axe of cancellation. We're only on our second installation, but we're already shifting paradigms and changing boundaries by including an offline tournament, namely the QLASH Invitational finals. Will the suits at TL.net tolerate such an affront to the established order? Check in next week to find out!
Top Prize Money Earners of the Week
- #1:
Dark - $892 - #2: Solar - $471
- #3: INnoVation - $300
- #4: Impact - $250
- #5: Reynor - $250
- #6: Namshar - $151
- Tie #7-8: Rogue and Cure - $150
- #9: RagnaroK - $133
- Tie #10-12: Dear, PtitDrogo, Zest - $100
Best Games of the Week:
- Impact vs Rogue - WardiTV Summer Championship
- Impact vs Dear - WardiTV Summer Championship
- Hellraiser vs DnS - QLASH Invitational
- Serral vs Nerchio - QLASH Invitational
- Serral vs Zanster - QLASH Invitational
OlimoLeague #134: The Cure for Your Korean StarCraft Addiction (Sept 18)
With the GSL Super Tournament just around the corner, many of the GSL’s heavy hitters didn’t come out to play this week. As a result, OlimoLeague bracket 134 looked like easy money for GSL S3 semifinalist
Zest (Zest is not competing in the GSL Super Tournament). However, Zest’s GSL demons came back to haunt him as he faced down Cure in the finals. Cure proxy-raxed him time and time again, each variation containing its own intricacies. It wasn’t even like Cure was doing some crazy all-ins with these proxies though, but the uncertainty created by his hidden buildings were enough to trigger Zest's PTSD. Unable to see through the darkness, Zest floundered about until he found himself defeated at the hands of yet another Terran. This is a worrying trend for Zest seeing as he got crushed by a similar style from Maru just a few weeks back. With more and more Terrans beginning to favor Maru’s proxy style, Zest will need to get in some serious proxy practice if he hopes to avoid an early exit against Terran players at BlizzCon.WardiTV Summer Championship - Korea Playoffs: Making an Impact; Every SC Player’s FanTaSy (Sept 17)
As an old Brood War fan I’m elated that
FanTaSy is back and competing again. However, FanTaSy looks to still be shaking off some rust, as his series against Rogue left much to be desired. FanTaSy’s lone win in the playoffs came from a proxy 4 rax that was poorly managed by Rogue. Upon seeing the exact same build a second game in a row, Rogue adapted appropriately and sent FanTaSy back to the drawing board. Game 3 saw FanTaSy forgetting stim and ultimately delaying his 2-1-1 attack out of all relevance. FanTaSy fans can only hope that his TvP is looking sharper when he faces Classic in the first round of the GSL Super Tournament. BW fanboyism aside,
Impact was the player that truly shined this week. He put on an absolute clinic in the finals as he held off powerful pushes from Dear and ripped him apart with overwhelming multi-pronged attacks. If that wasn’t enough, Impact also fought in what was likely my favorite game of the tournament in his match against Rogue. In Game 2 of Impact v Rogue, both players opted for the Scarlett-esque drone ling all in. Their armies passed like ships in the night, they ended up killing each other’s bases and then setting up camp in the other player’s main before transitioning into a relatively normal ZvZ. This game is definitely worth a watch if you find yourself in need of a good chuckle.In the Super Tournament, Impact should have had an easy road to at least the quarterfinals as he faces Solar again, and if his ZvP is still on fire, it is easily possible to see him getting past Trap or Stats before likely meeting Maru in the Semifinals. Regardless of their performances in the Super Tournament, however, both Impact and FanTaSy are already eliminated from BlizzCon contention.
QLASH SC2 Invitational: Some less-than witty remark about how they should’ve invited more non-Zergs (Sept 18-23)
In the final week of group stage matches, all
Hellraiser needed to do was win his series against the winless DnS to escape the group stages and prevent an all-Zerg playoffs. However, the selfless Hellraiser decided to sacrifice himself for the greater good, allowing his EU Protoss and Terran brethren to hold his body aloft and march through the streets, all the while chanting "Zerg imba." In all seriousness, kudos to
DnS for giving it his all despite being eliminated from playoff contention, and giving us a damn fun match in the process! As a Zerg player, I’m not usually one to enjoy, let alone, recommend a PvP to anyone, but man this series was good. Every game was closely contested as Hellraiser valiantly attempted to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat on numerous occasions. The final game even brought the fans some super sweet Disruptor vs Disruptor action, making for a truly climactic ending to QLASH group play. Ultimately, Hellraiser’s mass blink stalkers couldn't hold up against DnS' chargelot-archon-immortal army, and DnS secured his first and only series win of the QLASH Invitational.The Offline Playoffs
Alright, so this series was supposed to spotlight online competition, but it wouldn't make any sense to leave out the offline finals to QLASH's mostly-online Invitational.
At WCS Montreal, Serral’s ZvZ looked to possibly be the one chink in his otherwise impenetrable armor. He barely survived close series against Scarlett, Lambo, and Reynor, and with Hellraiser’s fall, an all ZvZ playoffs was guaranteed. The question remained, “could Serral do it again?” Well, in short: yes… easily. Serral broke free from his hatch gas pool openers and standard play, and crushed Nerchio. Serral showed he can stop the dreaded ling drone all-in he lost to at WCS, and he even showcased some nifty Viper play as well.
In the finals, Serral made quick work of Zanster in a 5-1 victory. Zanster did put up a hell of a fight in game two, and if you enjoyed the epic Serral vs Reynor late-game match from WCS Montreal, then you should check this one out as well. With Serral reasserting his ZvZ credentials and taking home another tournament victory, he is looking utterly unstoppable in the foreign scene. Watch out, Maru.
TMS;DW (Too Much StarCraft; Didn't Watch) - Other Notable Tournament Results
ONPOONG StarCraft 2 Masters Season 3
- Dark 5 > 3 Solar in the finals
OSC ONLINE Community Open #107
- Creator 3 > 0 Guru in the finals
ESL Go4SC2 Cup #813
- Namshar 3 > 1 Kas in the finals
ESL Go4SC2 Cup #814
- SKillous 2 > 0 Nerazim in the finals
WardiTV Summer Championship EU Playoffs
- Reynor 3 > 2 PtitDrogo in the finals
Proxy Tempest Sunday Heroes #38
- Bly 3 > 0 souL in the finals
OSC Melee #52
- Scarlett 3 > 0 Spear in the finals
OSC JEC Weekly #19
- Namshar 3 > 2 Guru in the finals
Blazing Series Invitational #9
- RagnaroK 3 > 0 Hurricane
Ballistix Brawl Season 4 Week 1
- Impact 3 > 0 Solar in the finals
Kung Fu Cup Weekly #18
- INnoVation 3 > 1 Rogue in the finals
OSC Masters Cup #115 Qualifier
- Reynor and Ziggy qualify in the finals
OSC Allstars #62 Qualifier
- KeeN and Nice qualify in the finals
