Week #75 of the ESL Open Cups saw Zoun triumphing in a surprising final match-up in the Korean edition, while Elazer locked down his first ever victory in Europe. Disappointed with an early exit from the EU tournament, ShoWTimE secured the first ever German triumph in the North American server cup.
After showing continued improvement in GSL events, it wasn't a surprise to see Zoun win his first ESL Open Cup of the current season on Sunday. After relatively easier draws against military returner KeeN and Rex earlier on, the difficulty ramped up for Zoun in the semi-finals as he faced PartinG (who had already overcome Has earlier). Zoun almost allowed the big boy to steal a reverse sweep, but he took control of the series back in time to reach the finals. On the other side of the bracket, a surprise challenger emerged: underdog Percival fought his way through Nice as well as Solar, narrowly avoiding a semifinal reverse sweep like Zoun. The finalists battled on equal ground in this decisive PvT series, one map going this way, the next going that way until Alpha X's Protoss player was able to claim victory in the final game.
Europe's Weekly had a few surprises to show the viewers with shocking early exits from ShoWTimE (who lost 1-2 to PAPI), DreamHack Masters NA champion Neeb (who was defeated by Lilbow), and DreamHack Masters EU champion Clem (who got knocked out by MaxPax). This left the field ripe to be harvested by HeRoMaRinE, who plowed through the bracket without dropping a map, taking out Lambo and MaxPax in the process. Profiting off the power vacuum was also Elazer, who defeated Harstem, Zest—once again playing the European edition after being close to winning the triple in the previous week—and souL to reach the finals. Once there, he put on a strong showing against Big Gabe, who could merely decide a single map in his favor before falling to the Zerg's onslaught. This was the first ESL Open Cup EU victory of the Polish player in the history of the tournament series, with his special practice paying off.
Speaking of historical first times, ShoWTimE locked down the maiden victory of a German player in the American edition of the ESL Open Cup, doing so during his first ever participation in that region. A wrathful ShoWTimE took down Future, MaxPax and Has (who had defeated goblin and Solar beforehand) to reach the finals. Here, Scarlett made a bit of a surprising appearance. The Canadian Zerg had eliminated grizzled veterans ForGG and PartinG as well as Nice to secure her own ticket to the finals. The German dominated the series despite the early morning hours, winning it with a 3-1 score—luckily, die Mauer does not require much sleep. On another note, Taiwan really had a strong showing this week: three players made it into the top eight of the Korean tournament, two players into the top four of the American event.
Thanks to the partnership with Shopify, ESL Open Cup winners earn $250 in prize money and 10 ESL Pro Tour points. Players who finish second earn 5 ESL Pro Tour points and $150. A top 4 finish guarantees at least $100 as well as 2 ESL Pro Tour points, reaching the top 8 pays out $50. Edition #76 of the ESL Open Cups will take place on the 20th (Korea) and the 21st of June (Europe and America).
by TheOneAboveU
European Server Cup #75 (Click for full bracket)
Americas Server Cup #75 (Click for full bracket)