Reynor returned to his winning ways after a ten-month championship drought, running through an imposing playoff gauntlet of herO, Clem, and finally Serral to win the King of Battles 3 championship.
As the first major international event of the 2022/23 ESL Pro Tour, KoB3 picked up where the previous tour left off with Serral and Reynor meeting in a grand finals rematch from IEM Katowice. But if Serral came out as the World Champion after a closely contested, seven game finals in Poland, this time Reynor was able to gain a modicum of revenge with a crushing 4-0 sweep in King of Battles.
[VODs on Alpha X Youtube and Twitch (feat. Artosis for the RO4 and grand finals)]
The first grand finals game was the closest one, with the two Zergs gridlocked until Reynor was able to outmaneuver Serral in the late-game Lurker-Viper wars. Reynor picked up a much easier win in game two, securing a fast gold base on Pride of Altaris and swarming over Serral with his resource advantage.
Game three on Blackburn was a map Serral had a good chance of winning after he established firm mid-game control with Roaches and Mutalisks. However, a daring Tunneling Claws backdoor attack from Reynor allowed him to turn the game around, and he finished Serral off with Lurkers. Reynor then closed things out in clinical fashion on Glittering Ashes, smashing Serral's Muta-Roach composition with his own Corruptor-Roach army to finish the sweep.
Reynor had a much closer match in the semis, where he faced his other major regional rival in Clem. The first two matches in the series were reminiscent of their many classic clashes in the DHM: Europe region, with the two players battling it out almost non-stop. Ultimately, Reynor proved to be slightly better on the day, coming out with a 3-2 victory. Combined with his 3-0 sweep against herO in the quarterfinals (which featured a very herO-like game one where mass Oracles were almost enough to disorient Reynor and defeat him), Reynor finished King of Battles 3 with BO5+ victories against three of the top TvZ, PvZ, and ZvZ players in the world.
For his victory, Reynor won the first place prize of $4,050 and picked up 250 EPT points which puts him on top of the EPT Europe standings for now. While the prize is a modest payday compared to the IEM Katowice jackpot, such an impressive run surely places him as the favorite to win not only the upcoming DHM: Valencia Europe regional (May 18-June 5th), but perhaps also the in-person DHM Valencia Open tournament as well (July 1).
Not the greatest final the amazing Serral vs Reynor rivalry gave us but still an astonishing series by Reynor; very well played, he hadn't beaten Serral in a while.
On May 03 2022 17:45 rowel_89 wrote: Photo with QLASH logo seems BM to KaiZi , not good, i dont believe theres no at least neutral photos without any logo's on
Agreed. On the other hand, if there are no decent photos of Reynor in KaiZi gear, that's on them and they need to get working on their publishing materials asap.
It is interesting that this write up was written days after the conclusion of the tournament, while the conclusion of the WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP has yet to be frontpage news
On May 03 2022 21:47 Lazzarus wrote: It is interesting that this write up was written days after the conclusion of the tournament, while the conclusion of the WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP has yet to be frontpage news
On May 03 2022 21:47 Lazzarus wrote: It is interesting that this write up was written days after the conclusion of the tournament, while the conclusion of the WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP has yet to be frontpage news
I'm no writer but I assume writing a recap of the biggest tournament of the year vs one online tournament isn't quite the same effort needed
On May 03 2022 21:47 Lazzarus wrote: It is interesting that this write up was written days after the conclusion of the tournament, while the conclusion of the WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP has yet to be frontpage news
You are free to write one for the WORLD CHAMPIONSIP and post it. TL Admins will gladly put in on the frontpage if it's halfway decently written
On May 03 2022 21:47 Lazzarus wrote: It is interesting that this write up was written days after the conclusion of the tournament, while the conclusion of the WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP has yet to be frontpage news
You are free to write one for the WORLD CHAMPIONSIP and post it. TL Admins will gladly put in on the frontpage if it's halfway decently written
At the end of the day the situation also steals from the players, their accomplishments would be more impressive in a game where everyone has a fair shot.
I think he means the fact that zerg dominates every tournament so much that the only unpredictable part is which of the top 4 zergs is going to play the best zvz in this one.
On May 05 2022 22:48 dbRic1203 wrote: Guys, it s not the race Clearly the best Players in the world won the last big tournaments IEM Serral KoB Reynor + Show Spoiler +
GSL Rogue
It s just a coincidence they are all Zerg And Don t forget like once a year we get a Protoss finalist or a Terran winner as well, so it s fine
Next up (SPOILER ALERT) Dreamhack - Serral GSL - Dark Dreamhack - Reynor GSL - Rogue Katowice - Serral, Reynor or Rogue
On May 05 2022 22:48 dbRic1203 wrote: Guys, it s not the race Clearly the best Players in the world won the last big tournaments IEM Serral KoB Reynor + Show Spoiler +
GSL Rogue
It s just a coincidence they are all Zerg And Don t forget like once a year we get a Protoss finalist or a Terran winner as well, so it s fine
Next up (SPOILER ALERT) Dreamhack - Serral GSL - Dark Dreamhack - Reynor GSL - Rogue Katowice - Serral, Reynor or Rogue
What can you do, they are all just better
Protoss might win another Super Tournament, and Terran can win Asus RoG or something, but you better leave that HSC for Soo or Solar. Thats all, you gonna get.
Maru was definitely tired. Its obvious and you can see it in his face. As for Reynor, he has been and is always a better player than Serral. Great finals.
EPT
![[image loading]](/staff/Waxangel/misc/kob/kob3winnerbanner734.jpg)
![[image loading]](/staff/Waxangel/misc/kob/kob3bracket.png)
