Now that we are nearing the end of our tournament coverage, only four players remain to battle it out for the prize purse. BabyKnight will face HeRoMaRinE in the consolation match for 3/4th place before Snute takes on Sting for the top spot.
ESET UK Masters Grand Final coverage
Photo: MadCatz
Semi-Finals
Snute was able to successfully avenge his teams and made sure that at least one Team Liquid member would reach the Grand Final. Hot off his victory against TLO, BabyKnight was able to take the first map on Cloud Kingdom. A well timed Gateway+Voidray push in game two was able to kill the zergs' 3rd base and narrowly missed out on the 4th base with only 40hp left on it before he was forced to Mass Recall. Having barely survived this aggression, Snute went full throttle on the aggression, busting down the defences at the natural before blink tech was complete. Snute took the next too maps with some fantastic reads, perfectly denying BabyKnight's DTs and 6Gate +1 Attack timings and advances to face Sting in the Grand Final.
Despite strong results from Europeans in the early rounds, Sting showed us why you should never count the Koreans out in his Semi-Final match against HeRoMaRinE. Coming into this event there was little very hype surrounding the 15 year old German terran but he has left a lasting impression on fans with fantastic results against strong opposition in this event. Unfortunately for him the fairytale ending was not meant to be in his series against the IEM Singapore champion. After losing the first 2 matches, HeRoMaRinE needed a miracle to kic kstart the reverse 3-0 and almost made it happen with double proxy reapers. Sting responded with proxy helions and as both players decimated each others economies, forcing both of them to float to the gold bases on Neo Planet S, HeRoMaRinE appeared to have the slight advantage. Playing for the draw in this absurd game, Sting was able to muster the minerals for one widow mine and with a one successful bait of his opponents marines in the mines range, he was able to put the final nail in the coffin of the young Germans' tournament hopes.
3/4th Place Consolation Match
Favouring a Zealot Heavy army coupled with Storm, BabyKnight was able to take the first map in a hard-fought game on Entombed Valley. At times it looked like HeRoMaRinE would win it with some fantastic EMPs but the Danish protoss was able to hold on and win the war of attrition. A failed one base blink all-in put BabyKnight too far behind in game two to be able to fend off the terran push on his natural, evening up the series. HeRoMaRinE appeared to outclass his opponent in the last two games with his Bionic + Hellbat composition. Off of two bases BabyKnight was never able to get a sufficient amount of his own desired composition including Phoenixes and Storm to hold off HeRoMaRinE, who showed his the fantastic control in engagements that we have seen from him throughout the tournament.
