The 'Garimto' Award for Player of the Tournament
To the player TeamLiquid.net believes was the overall highest achiever in this OSL. The contenders should be obvious.
Only three players recieved votes for this award, and to my surprise Yellow was not one of them. Where are all you zerg fanboys? Reach, Boxer, and Iloveoov were all nominees for this years award, and just like the playoffs, Iloveoov leveled the competition. Claiming his first OSL title, the machine blasted his way through the competition like a Korean rambo; sending NaDa back to kindergarten, Reach to the arms of his hundreds of mourning women, and Lim to the corner in tears. Can there be any doubt that this guy is owns the best defense in StarCraft?
I thought the best reason for a vote was written by VaderNL-
"I think this award should go to Iloveoov. Many already tipped him to be the winner of the previous OSL (which JulyZerg won) so he had something to prove this time around. Not only that but he kept making public promises on how he should win this tournament, putting an awful amount of extra pressure on himself by himself. He kept his promises though and made it all the way to the grand finals of the tournament where he met his teammate, mentor and good friend Lim Yo Hwan. This battle proved to be a battle beyond the game, straining both players to the maximum on the psychological battlefield. When the smoke cleared up there was one man left standing: Iloveoov. Even though he emerged victorious, a moment to definitely celebrate, he gave up his moment of glory to comfort his friend in need. A man truly worthy of the title 'player of the tournament'."
The 'Mumyung' Award for Worst Player
Who deserved to have been consigned to the rubbish heap during the Dual Tournament?
*Note- Many people said that they didn't like this award because all the players are good, and Mumyung aparently has his family visiting the site to complain. Therefore it has been slightly edited.
EDIT: Screw it, Mumyung sucks.
Despite the fact that people don't really like this award, there was a clear winner. After getting slam-dunked all round the OGN studio and being the only player to go 0-3 in his group Jju is our clear winner.
Locked -"jju simply because he went 0-3 and out of group... but this is really a bad award because none of them are bad players."
The 'Boxer' Creativity/Inspiration Award
Go with your gut feeling. Which player showed the greatest creativity or brightened the tournament with his flair and inspiration?
The Emporer is obviously deserving of his own award, Boxer would ninja kick anyone who took it away from his. Fortunately for his opposition Boxer was the hands-down winner. Can anyone doubt his skills? Every game he plays has the potential to be a classic, as he has proved time and again.
The 'Chojja' Missing in Action Award
Which 'name' failed to live up to his billing and left himself with something to prove?
This is another award that will have to be changed as Chojja has come roaring back to the OSL in impressive fashion. Today however, it was a close vote for the player with something left to prove.
Kingdom recieved the second most votes with his lack-luster performance in the group stage. The hope of protoss players anywhere, the Devil-toss was just not his usual self.
However, the player that left you wanting more was none other than Yellow. In an OSL in which many people thought he could go all the way, Yellow again fell face first against his old nemisis. And did he ever fall hard. However, Hong has shown his resiliancy in the past, and he undoubtedly will again.
Game of the Tournament
Which individual game was the most exciting or entertaining of the tournament? Or which game showed the highest skill?
This was easily the closest vote of the bunch, with second place ending up as a tie. Both the bio build TvT in game 4 of the finals and the deciding game between Reach and Yellow came in at second:
Boxer vs Iloveoov Game 4: Locked- "Game of the Tournament
theres a TON of choices, i have to say Boxer vs Oov game 4, just because it was in the finals, and boxer's micro was ridiculous =D"
Reach vs Yellow Game 5: Ack1027 - "This was a close call between the finals and Reach vs Yellow game 5. I think everyone was fucking pissing themselves when they saw the return of Hero Mudang Toss. It was nostalgic, and for protoss players everywhere, fucking amazing."
However, the best match of the OSL was Game 1 between the eventual champion Iloveoov and the Hero Toss, Reach.
MaTRiX[SiN]- "reach vs oov game #1, beating oov in a pure macro war is outstanding"
Simply said, and perfectly stated. The was smash-mouth StarCraft at its best. Reach delivered a macro body-blow to Oov that left the terran dumbfounded wondering "where did all those units coming from?" Although Reach was unable to claim victory, he served notice to both Iloveoov and the rest of the world that he is the top protoss on earth today.
The 'WTF!' Moment of the Tournament Award
Which single moment rocked the tournament more than any other?
No question about it. A tiny string of saliva drooped down from my lower lip before I remembered to pick my jaw up off the floor. After endless hype, speculation, bets, arguments, and the largest teamliquid poll results ever, Boxer dismantled Hong in under 30 minutes. The only thing larger than the hype to this matchup was the backlash it caused afterwards, with people predicting an end to the 2 hat zerg and a new era of terran cheese. Fortunately, I listed the terrans that can pull of this rush as well as Boxer on one hand, so zergs are still relatively safe.
Player Most Likely to Win the Next Starleague
To the player TeamLiquid.net believes will triumph next time out.
Appreantly Iloveoov's unstoppable roll is about to be stuck down by the OGN curse, or so you seem to think. Oov placed a measly second as people seems to think that repeating as champion will be too tough. Another prediction that caught me with surprise was GoRush garnering the third most votes. There is indeed considerable buzz about this guy (although SaferZerg is another one to watch if he makes it through the Dual League).
The winner of this final award? Your Hero, my Hero, Reach. After taking oov to the brink, Reach came back with a vengence by mutilating Yellow in game 5 of their series on an impossible map. This performance solidified him in the minds of all as the next two-time OSL champ.
Well, that's it for this season, but the next OSL will start up again in just a few short weeks.