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ESL Open Cup #166: Dark, MaxPax, ByuN win

Forum Index > SC2 General
24 CommentsPost a Reply
1 2 Next All
TL.net ESPORTS
Profile Joined July 2011
4 Posts
Last Edited: 2023-03-16 19:51:26
March 16 2023 16:00 GMT
#1
[image loading]
2022-23 ESL Pro Tour - Open Cups: Week #166 (March 12-13)

by Wax

On the face of it, Week #166's results were rather mundane: (Wiki)Dark took top honors in Korea, (Wiki)MaxPax triumphed in Europe, while (Wiki)ByuN was the champion in America. However, the process of getting there was anything but normal.

In Korea, (Wiki)Jieshi pulled off a pair of huge upsets by eliminating both herO and Classic—the players who had been the finalists in the last three cups. However, Jieshi couldn't capitalize any further as he was knocked out by GuMiho in the semis, and the Towel Terran was in turn defeated by Dark in the finals.

In Europe, (Wiki)Reynor was the player at the center of the storm, making it all the way to the finals by playing Random. While Reynor's off-race prowess with Protoss is well-known, his previous random runs had been torpedoed by his comparatively weaker Terran play. However, in week #166 he got over the hump by beating SKillous in a key TvP match (he cheesed him down with proxy Marauder-Mine) during the RO8, after which he defeated HeroMarine with a Z-P combo in the RO4. Unfortunately for Reynor, drawing T-P-P against MaxPax doomed him in the finals as he lost in a 0-3 sweep.

The Americas server cup saw things settle down with largely predictable results across the board. The main upset of note was Wayne (previously known as Rattata and Vanya) taking a 2-0 over GuMiho in the RO8, but the newly renamed Zerg was summarily taken out by ByuN in the semis. ByuN and Cure ended up clashing in the grand finals, and fittingly for a clash between two cup powerhouses, ByuN only won after a narrow 3-2 series.

Finally, Week #166 also marked the end of (Wiki)herO's ESL Open hot streak, where he failed to win a single cup after five cups in the last three weeks.


Korean Cup (partial bracket shown)

[image loading]


*****

European Cup (partial bracket shown)

[image loading]


*****

American Cup (partial bracket shown)

[image loading]

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TL+ Member
Magnath10
Profile Joined February 2020
Egypt34 Posts
March 16 2023 19:14 GMT
#2
was very interesting to see reynor get so unlucky with drawing zerg xD good to see maxpax back on top
tommey.liang
Profile Joined November 2020
United States363 Posts
March 16 2023 20:14 GMT
#3
Congrats to Dark, MaxPax and ByuN for winning this week's ESL Open Cups. Those cheeses Reynor did when he rolled Protoss vs. MaxPax were amusing and comedic.
FF, KH, Persona, Uncharted, Yakuza | Porter, Illenium, MitiS, Dabin, Seven Lions, Petit Biscuit | Diablo II, SC2 | Pho, sushi, tacos
oneill12
Profile Joined February 2012
Romania1222 Posts
March 17 2023 08:09 GMT
#4
niceu
BluemoonSC
Profile Blog Joined November 2010
SoCal8910 Posts
March 17 2023 17:40 GMT
#5
so is Reynor fully committing to Random this season?
LiquidDota Staff@BluemoonGG_
Blargh
Profile Joined September 2010
United States2103 Posts
March 22 2023 05:30 GMT
#6
Why does the Front page Featured Article say, "Open #166: Dark, MaxPax, Jieshi Win"?
OMITTING BYUN for Jieshi's good performance >
MJG
Profile Joined May 2018
United Kingdom1197 Posts
March 23 2023 12:35 GMT
#7
Random shouldn't be allowed in tournaments. Complete farce.
"You have to play for yourself, you have to play to get better; you can't play to make other people happy, that's not gonna ever sustain you." - NonY
CicadaSC
Profile Joined January 2018
United States1769 Posts
March 23 2023 12:44 GMT
#8
On March 23 2023 21:35 MJG wrote:
Random shouldn't be allowed in tournaments. Complete farce.

exactly. or at least u should have to tell race. cant even do vetos or any openings correctly cuz of this. not that impressive.
Remember that we all come from a place of passion!!
Philippe
Profile Joined October 2020
351 Posts
Last Edited: 2023-03-23 13:16:44
March 23 2023 13:16 GMT
#9
On March 23 2023 21:44 CicadaSC wrote:
Show nested quote +
On March 23 2023 21:35 MJG wrote:
Random shouldn't be allowed in tournaments. Complete farce.

exactly. or at least u should have to tell race. cant even do vetos or any openings correctly cuz of this. not that impressive.


Is it problematic to the point it would disrupt Premier/Major events, is the end problem there. Open cups are not a true depiction of what it could potentially cause.

I have yet to see other active players strong enough to attempt a true random.
I'm just a cynical video game enjoyer who is probably unfazed by many business dealings many would find utterly distasteful, while not strictly illegal by the law as seen in a general sense in the world.
JJH777
Profile Joined January 2011
United States4408 Posts
March 23 2023 17:37 GMT
#10
I don't think true random is a problem at all. There's a reason no one has ever been particularly successful with it. Race picking within a single series is very problematic but thankfully seems to not be the route he's trying to go anymore.
Die4Ever
Profile Joined August 2010
United States17677 Posts
March 23 2023 18:00 GMT
#11
On March 23 2023 21:44 CicadaSC wrote:
Show nested quote +
On March 23 2023 21:35 MJG wrote:
Random shouldn't be allowed in tournaments. Complete farce.

exactly. or at least u should have to tell race. cant even do vetos or any openings correctly cuz of this. not that impressive.

I think it's impressive, but it is potentially problematic, maybe depending on maps it could be more of an issue. I'd be ok with tournaments requiring race-telling for random.

I think race picking for individual maps is the real problem but currently nobody is doing that
"Expert" mods4ever.com
QOGQOG
Profile Joined July 2019
834 Posts
March 24 2023 02:32 GMT
#12
On March 24 2023 03:00 Die4Ever wrote:
Show nested quote +
On March 23 2023 21:44 CicadaSC wrote:
On March 23 2023 21:35 MJG wrote:
Random shouldn't be allowed in tournaments. Complete farce.

exactly. or at least u should have to tell race. cant even do vetos or any openings correctly cuz of this. not that impressive.

I think it's impressive, but it is potentially problematic, maybe depending on maps it could be more of an issue. I'd be ok with tournaments requiring race-telling for random.

I think race picking for individual maps is the real problem but currently nobody is doing that

Yeah, that's been my only objection to Reynor off-racing in the past, where he'd pick between series or even maps. Playing random start to end may be a little cheesy, but I don't think it's an actual problem.
Charoisaur
Profile Joined August 2014
Germany15973 Posts
March 24 2023 20:06 GMT
#13
On March 24 2023 02:37 JJH777 wrote:
I don't think true random is a problem at all. There's a reason no one has ever been particularly successful with it. Race picking within a single series is very problematic but thankfully seems to not be the route he's trying to go anymore.

Agreed, there's no problem at all with random. If playing random would be an advantage we would have multiple random players but it's a huge disadvantage having to learn all 9 matchups
Many of the coolest moments in sc2 happen due to worker harassment
Amoyu7
Profile Joined March 2023
20 Posts
March 25 2023 23:17 GMT
#14
Why do people having problem with Reynor playing random? It's not like he gains any advantage for that. There's a reason 99% of pro players doesn't play random because it's just harder to master all 9 match ups.
BelethielQT
Profile Joined August 2022
90 Posts
March 26 2023 08:21 GMT
#15
On March 26 2023 08:17 Amoyu7 wrote:
Why do people having problem with Reynor playing random? It's not like he gains any advantage for that. There's a reason 99% of pro players doesn't play random because it's just harder to master all 9 match ups.


They have a problem with reynor in general
tigera6
Profile Joined March 2021
3410 Posts
March 26 2023 08:45 GMT
#16
I dont have a problem with Reynor playing random in general, but he hasnt dominated SC2 like Flash did in BW yet to switch to Random imo. If Reynor was winning this last IEM and being a God in all the tournament he plays, then sure he should switch to off-race or random to spice it up. But Reynor hasnt done very well even with Zerg, so why he want to switch to other races, is it just for publicity?

And I also have a more of a problem when Reynor doing off-racing and random, lost the game, and his fanbase are making excuse for it, like he only lost because he was off-racing or doing random. I am sure Reynor doing his best whether what race he does, so he does not need any excuse.
Charoisaur
Profile Joined August 2014
Germany15973 Posts
March 26 2023 08:59 GMT
#17
On March 26 2023 17:45 tigera6 wrote:
I dont have a problem with Reynor playing random in general, but he hasnt dominated SC2 like Flash did in BW yet to switch to Random imo. If Reynor was winning this last IEM and being a God in all the tournament he plays, then sure he should switch to off-race or random to spice it up. But Reynor hasnt done very well even with Zerg, so why he want to switch to other races, is it just for publicity?

And I also have a more of a problem when Reynor doing off-racing and random, lost the game, and his fanbase are making excuse for it, like he only lost because he was off-racing or doing random. I am sure Reynor doing his best whether what race he does, so he does not need any excuse.

Is he not allowed to play random because he wants to?
Many of the coolest moments in sc2 happen due to worker harassment
tigera6
Profile Joined March 2021
3410 Posts
Last Edited: 2023-03-26 12:10:04
March 26 2023 09:42 GMT
#18
On March 26 2023 17:59 Charoisaur wrote:
Show nested quote +
On March 26 2023 17:45 tigera6 wrote:
I dont have a problem with Reynor playing random in general, but he hasnt dominated SC2 like Flash did in BW yet to switch to Random imo. If Reynor was winning this last IEM and being a God in all the tournament he plays, then sure he should switch to off-race or random to spice it up. But Reynor hasnt done very well even with Zerg, so why he want to switch to other races, is it just for publicity?

And I also have a more of a problem when Reynor doing off-racing and random, lost the game, and his fanbase are making excuse for it, like he only lost because he was off-racing or doing random. I am sure Reynor doing his best whether what race he does, so he does not need any excuse.

Is he not allowed to play random because he wants to?

Did I ever say he is allowed or not to do certain things? I am simply speaking my view and how I feel about the matter. If Serral was deciding to play Random suddenly, or Maru want to off-race Protoss tomorrow, I would say the same thing.
jimminy_kriket
Profile Blog Joined February 2007
Canada5509 Posts
March 27 2023 03:47 GMT
#19
On March 23 2023 21:35 MJG wrote:
Random shouldn't be allowed in tournaments. Complete farce.

I hope this isn't serious. It is so very entertaining to watch a progamer play random. They get dicked on hard when they don't hit their main race, and if they don't then congrats on them. They played their offrace so well it took down a player who only focuses on one. That's impressive as hell. If you think random is an advantage then you haven't played it.
life of lively to live to life of full life thx to shield battery
Philippe
Profile Joined October 2020
351 Posts
Last Edited: 2023-03-27 04:51:54
March 27 2023 04:46 GMT
#20
On March 27 2023 12:47 jimminy_kriket wrote:
Show nested quote +
On March 23 2023 21:35 MJG wrote:
Random shouldn't be allowed in tournaments. Complete farce.

I hope this isn't serious. It is so very entertaining to watch a progamer play random. They get dicked on hard when they don't hit their main race, and if they don't then congrats on them. They played their offrace so well it took down a player who only focuses on one. That's impressive as hell. If you think random is an advantage then you haven't played it.


For me that some players like Voltz are making this a worse thing that it really is is the funnier part of the non-controversy. If it was THAT problematic then ESL would have already ruled about it.
I'm just a cynical video game enjoyer who is probably unfazed by many business dealings many would find utterly distasteful, while not strictly illegal by the law as seen in a general sense in the world.
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