Edition #83 of the ESL Open Cups featured Zest defending his title in Korea and adding another victory in America to his accolades, while HeRoMaRinE also kept his throne in Europe.
Players around the globe seem to have found the the cure against Cure's domination of the ESL Open Cups week after week, making it a second edition in a row without the Terran featuring in a finals—though three showings in the semis of Cup #83 in all regions are still very impressive. What is this cure, you might ask? Apparently it's Protoss. The DPG Terran fought his way through Classic, Spear and ByuN in the Korean edition before falling to his team mate Zest by the closest of margins, going down with a 2-3 after having taken a 2-1 lead. The DPG Protoss went through KeeN and PartinG to reach the top four of this tournament with very healthy participation. The other side of the bracket saw Solar rise through the ranks, though the KaiZi Zerg almost got incapacitated by a completely unknown Zerg opponent in an early round. Recovering after this close call, he took out Astrea and Trap, booking the ticket to the finals. Here, Zest defended his title skillfully, denying Solar revenge for his finals defeat in the previous week.
As Clem took a break from the usual ESL Open Cup grind on Monday, Cure took his usual place on the top side of the bracket, opposite of HeRoMaRinE in the bottom half, which balanced the bracket out a lot compared to when all three of the Terran monsters participate in the tournament. Going through Harstem as his only notable opposition, the Korean found himself up against MaxPax in the semis, who'd already defeated one invader in the form of GuMiho and one European rival in Elazer. In the event, Cure could not repeat his spectacular victory on the EU server as the Dane eliminated him with a 3-1 score, but the fact that he was able to make it into the top four three times in the last four EU cups alone is quite a feat in itself. Big Gabe had to fight a bit more for his ticket into the finals than on his flawless run last week, dropping maps against Bly, MaNa and Lambo, but nevertheless overcoming them all to receive MaxPax in the finals as a challenger. Channeling a bit of that clinical form of Cup #82, HeRoMaRinE annihilated his Protoss opponent with a 3-0 score, keeping his crown for another week.
Big Gabe did not go record chasing this week, staying away from the lure of the American ESL Open Cup and leaving the invasion in the hands of the Koreans. Zest started out in the top half of the tournament tree, almost falling to Has in the Round of 8. Surviving the Taiwanese player's onslaught, the DPG player clashed with former team mate SpeCial in the semis, putting up a solid showing to defeat the Mexican and secure the advancement to his second finals of the week. It almost looked like this one would become a rematch of the Korean semis, as Cure was on the way to once again clash with his team mate, taking down GuMiho and TriGGer to reach the top four. Facing Zoun in this match, who had eliminated Rex and PartinG along the way, the Terran once again took a 2-1 lead, but was unable to close the series out and prevent the Alpha X player to snatch victory away from him. Overcoming the online terror took its toll from Zoun, however, and Zest avenged his comrade with a clear 3-0 sweep in the finals, grabbing American gold for the fourth time this season and a KR-NA double victory for a fourth time overall.
Thanks to the partnership with Shopify, ESL Open Cup winners earn $250 in prize money and 10 ESL Pro Tour points. Players who finish second earn 5 ESL Pro Tour points and $150. A top 4 finish guarantees at least $100 as well as 2 ESL Pro Tour points, reaching the top 8 pays out $50. Edition #84 of the ESL Open Cups will take place on the 15th (Korea) and the 16th of August (Europe and America).