I hate LeBron, but I can't help but admire when he sinks a three as time expires to win a playoff game.
“the most nail-biting, wire-bending, absolutely-positively-cannot-miss-series in StarCraft history took place in the semi-finals of this season’s GSL Code S between IMNesTea and sCfOu.”
“Something as trivial as momentarily dying wasn’t enough to stop Jack though - killing Jack Bauer doesn’t make him dead, it only makes him angry.”
As a fan, you always hope that every game and every series will come down to the wire. That the Super Bowl will be decided on the final possession, that the finals of the World Cup will end in an epic shoot out, or that a critical series in a StarCraft tournament will go all the way to a climactic final game. You might try to convince yourself that you’d be happy with a blowout as long as your team wins, but in reality we all know that the legendary nail-biting victory is way cooler than a snooze-fest walkover. In that vain, the most nail-biting, wire-bending, absolutely-positively-cannot-miss-series in StarCraft history took place in the semi-finals of this season’s GSL Code S between IMNesTea and sCfOu.
The series in general was great, but the final game in the best of five series is what will be talked about in any “best game in StarCraft II history” conversation from now on. First there’s the context. NesTea had just fallen in game four, leaving the series tied 2-2 going into the deciding match on Crossfire. He was also the only remaining Zerg in the tournament and the last Zerg player to win a GSL - way back in season two. According to my twitter feed, he was the fan favorite and based on Jon the translators impassioned speech from season two, a very deserving competitor. So before the game even began there were the makings of a great story filled with heart-pounding suspense.
As the game got underway, it became clear that we were in for something special. NesTea’s relatively fast third base was immediately pressured by a marine/tank push from sC. Despite not scouting the impending the attack until the last possible second, NesTea managed to squeeze out just enough roaches to move in and defend. When the dust settled, amongst the acid covered marine corpses and tank wreckage stood one lonely roach and a hatchery with enough health left to barely survive a strong gust of wind. It was a moral victory, but not enough to keep the hatchery alive through sC’s inevitable follow up pressure.
Even though he lost that base and fell behind early, NesTea took advantage of all the usual Zerg mid-game tactics. He used burrowed banelings to evaporate several marine squads and mutalisks to counter attack and and mow down countless SCVs. It was enough to keep him in the game, but not enough to prevent sC from accumulating a deadly force of marines and tanks, backed by several thors. In the closing minutes, NesTea found himself hiding behind his natural’s hatchery as sC peppered his base with siege tank fire. The whole situation reminded me of Jack Bauer in season two of 24.
Still reeling from the murder of his wife, Jack was forced to come out of retirement to help thwart a nuclear terrorist threat in Los Angeles. At one point during his heroics, he got captured, tortured, and temporarily flat-lined. Something as trivial as momentarily dying wasn’t enough to stop Jack though - killing Jack Bauer doesn’t make him dead, it only makes him angry. He miraculously got his heart beating again, escaped, and ultimately gunned down dozens of terrorist in the LA Coliseum while continuing to suffer from multiple heart attacks. All of this took place during a single 24 hour period. Sounds impossible right? Well that’s exactly what I thought of NesTea’s situation in the final minutes of game five.
He might not have tragically lost his wife in an unbelievable act of betrayal, but he did get his third base denied very early by sC (okay, I’ll admit the hatchery-wife analogy is a bit of a stretch... but still). And even though it’d be impossible to confirm without a full medical workup, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was having multiple heart attacks when sC began shelling his natural with a cluster of siege tanks. Even Artosis lost hope toward the end, basically saying “NesTea might be able to win if he can just finish off these marines - oh wait, never mind, there are two more thors on the way huh?”
But in true Jack Bauer fashion, NesTea did the impossible. While huddling most of his forces just out of tank range, he flew his mutalisks around and eliminated all of sC’s mining capability. Then, he scraped together just enough minerals to reinforce his meager army as sC finished off his natural and began marching toward his main base. It was a legendary last stand. NesTea valiantly charged in with his forces, and despite nearly getting obliterated by siege tank fire, he overwhelmed the Terran army, finished off that last of the tanks, and forced the “gg”. The final engagement was so epic that it had Artosis yelling hysterically about his nerd chills, me staring at my computer screen speechless and the live crowd jumping and cheering so loudly that Tasteless claimed he could feel the the studio literally shaking from the excitement. NesTea jumped from his chair with his hands on his head disbelief. It was an incredible victory.
We always hope for the three point buzzer beater to clinch game seven, or the heroic game winning touchdown drive. But rarely do we get treated to something as spectacular as NesTea’s win in game five. I guess that’s what make it so special.
LINKS
NesTea vs sC GSL Code S Semi-Final: http://www.gomtv.net/2011gslsponsors3/vod/65246
Woody "soso" Favinger is the author of The soso column, published every Wednesday on GosuGamers.net. You can contact him via email at [email protected] or follow him on twitter at twitter.com/wfavinger
