EPT
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Ending a five weeks long win streak by Zerg players,
Stats claimed the crown in the 43rd edition of the ESL Open Cup Korea. In Europe, HeroMarine returned to the top after his longest dry spell in the weekly tournament so far, while Solar secured his second victory in a row in the American edition of the competition.Solar had overtaken Stats in the gold medal ranking of the Korean cup with his seventh victory last week, forcing the Protoss players hand on Monday to counter the threat to his supremacy. The show of force worked perfectly for the Afreeca Freecs player, as he eliminated his Zerg rival in the semi-finals with a clean 3-0 sweep, going on to repeat this result in the finals against
SpeCial. The Mexican beast had overcome Bunny and narrowly defeated RagnaroK to secure his appearance in the ultimate series, but could not find any angle around the Shield of Aiur. Notably, Dark was eliminated in the quarterfinals by the Alpha X Zerg, the first of two eliminations for the reigning World Champion on that particular Monday.Between Cups #37 and #42 HeroMarine could only reach the finals of the ESL Open Cup Europe a single time and failed to grab the title at this opportunity, resulting in his longest dry spell in this tournament series. On Monday, Big Gabe finally ended this unacceptable status quo, retaking his seat at the top of the food chain—though he certainly was helped greatly by the approaching DreamHack Masters Winter Playoffs, which prompted many top players to sit this edition out and conserve some energy for the big stage. Still, the German Terran went through a line of respectable opponents in
Harstem, Vanya and Elazer to reclaim his throne, sweeping the Zerg players cleanly. Still, Elazer will appreciate the five points he gets for second place, as the race for the #7 spot in Europe (top seven qualify for IEM Kawowice) could end up being very tight. Big Gabe is now approaching his 20th gold medal in the ESL Open Cups, needing only one more win to reach this next milestone.As always, the ESL Open Cup America proved to be a wild affair, both in terms of line-up and results. Solar was able to repeat his victory from last week, finally equalizing
PartinG's count of eight gold medals in the tournament. The Protoss did try to deny Solar this success, but faced an early exit at the hands of Mexican Zerg Cham before he could come face to face with his countryman. Solar himself once more had to dispose of his fellow Korean Armani in this tournament, advancing into the semis after a close 2-1 victory. The other side of the bracket offered up some more huge surprises, namely in the form of SKillous, who defeated Dark 2-0. The latter showed some experimental play in the later phase of the first game against the Russian's air-heavy composition, incorporating the Infestor's Shroud ability into his play, though obviously things didn't look quite refined yet. The Protoss went on to take down Bly, who himself scored big by eliminating SpeCial, but faced an unconquerable foe in Solar, who secured his back-to-back win with a solid 3-1.ESL Open Cup winners earn $200 in prize money and 10 ESL Pro Tour points. Players who finish second earn 5 ESL Pro Tour points and $100. A top 4 finish guarantees at least $50. Week #44 of ESL Open Cups is set to take place on November 9th.
by TheOneAboveU
European Server Cup #43 (Click for full bracket)
Americas Server Cup #43 (Click for full bracket)
