EPT
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The race for the most ESL Open Cup Korea wins heated up this week, as
Solar made up ground with a direct win over current leader Stats. In Europe, Lambo claimed his very first gold medal after achieving four second place finishes this year. The American edition saw Zest enter the finals for a third time in a row, winning the title this time around.Stats had furthered his lead in the gold medal rankings for the Korean ESL Open Cup in the previous week and looked to pretty much seal the deal on the leadership race on Monday, but his rival Solar denied him the opportunity, personally taking down the Shield of Aiur with a commanding 3-0 performance in the finals. The occasion also marked the first time that Rogue hadn't reached the ultimate series after a streak of four weeks, as the Zerg was taken down early by former teammate Creator in a very surprising result. Creator could not capitalize on the success, though, as Solar took him down with ease. The KaiZi Zerg also had to get through DongRaeGu and Zest to challenge Stats in the finals, so overall he put together quite the impressive run. With his eighth gold medal claimed, Solar trails the Afreeca Protoss by one shiny disk, having the opportunity to equalize the count in the coming week.Overall, 2020 has not been Lambo's finest year in terms of being at the top of competition, but towards the end things seem to be looking up: a strong, though unrewarding, performance against
Cure in TSL6, some high-profile casting gigs showcasing his great knowledge of the game and personality, the "German Taxi" push he coined being all over the headlines at the moment, and on Monday he was able to secure his very first gold medal in the ESL Open Cup Europe—that's the kind of upwards trend everyone wants to see. Cup #49 was a bit of an exception when it comes to the EU editions, as Clem and ShoWTimE didn't participate and HeRoMaRinE was taken out before even reaching the semi-finals by souL. As pretty much always happens when the Polish Terran takes out one of his peers early on and goes all the way to the ultimate series, his appearance in the finals was a one-sided affair. This time, Lambo was the one to capitalize on the situation, putting together a solid run with wins over SKillous and Bly before closing things out with a very strong 3-0 over souL.Three finals in a row, with victories in two? That's where we are with Zest, who is delivering some pretty solid performances toward the end of the year. Though he struggled a bit against
Cham on Monday, dropping a map against the Mexican Zerg, he stabilized in the matches afterwards and showed some clinical performances against Armani and Zoun to secure his second gold medal on the American server. As pretty much every week, one non-Korean result stood out and deserves to be highlighted, with the honors going to Gerald this time. The Polish 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 #50 of ESL Open Cups is set to take place on December 21st.
by TheOneAboveU
European Server Cup #49 (Click for full bracket)
Americas Server Cup #49 (Click for full bracket)
