by Wax
Week #205 of the ESL Open Cups was sandwiched between the IEM Katowice qualifiers and ESL Masters Winter (Atlanta), leading to some minor quirks in the usually predictable competition.
Korean server participation was very low at just ten players, likely due to some players being exhausted after the grueling IEM Katowice qualifier week (players who competed in the final IEM qualifier would have only had a 6~8 hour break until the weekly open). Unsurprisingly, the finals was contested between two players who had locked in their qualification early, ending with


The European server cup featured the usual contingent of regulars, but also saw




In the non-ESL Cups,

ESL Open: Korean Cup (partial bracket shown)
![[image loading]](/staff/Waxangel/EPT/OpenCup/week205KR.png)
*****
ESL Open: European Cup (partial bracket shown)
![[image loading]](/staff/Waxangel/EPT/OpenCup/week205EU.png)
*****
ESL Open: American Cup (partial bracket shown)
![[image loading]](/staff/Waxangel/EPT/OpenCup/week205NA.png)
*****
Korean StarCraft League #38 (Partial bracket shown)
![[image loading]](/staff/Waxangel/EPT/OpenCup/KSL38_2023.png)