How much does the quality of the grand finals affect your…

Hmmm, very general question, I guess it depends somewhat on the event. For example, something like HomeStory Cup or the Husky-HD Invitational or the Tasteless LAN Party are much more about the sum of all the cool and fun experiences along the way than just the grand final. But for me generally that's also the case for most tournaments, including the most serious and prestigious ones. If Jaedong-Flash happens at the semi-final that's way more important for me at this tournament than the grand final. Just yesterday I heard a football fan who only cared about Argentina-Brazil at the World Cup. He'd like this to be the grand final, but realizes it's only possible at the semi-final with current brackets. So for him such (possible) semi will be the most important match. I usually remember battles of big names, or battles with known historical rivalry, or some story behind the match up; the other thing is battles of unusual quality - amazing strategies, length, something very exciting about the games. That's possible at any point during a tournament, not just the grand final. For example, I'll forever remember when qxc, wearing a bandana, all-killed Mvp's IM in GSTL, including beating Mvp himself in his prime. That was in the group stage, so what. It's a match with more significance in my memory than many GSL grand finals.

Long story short, I voted a 2. The quality of the grand final is not entirely insignificant, it does have importance, of course. But it's not the event for me. Generally, the way to the finals is more important and has bigger chance of leaving a lasting memory about the event. A dull grand final does not make the whole event dull for me.