“Always the bridesmaid, never the bride. Not unlike the movie 27 Dresses (yes, I’m about to compare TSLPuma to the moderately successful, extremely cheesy, cute romantic comedy staring Katherine Heigl... prepare yourself).”



“Finally, [Puma] was playing for himself and not for anyone else. He was the one in a beautiful white dress, ready to grab the over-sized check at the end of the aisle and have all his dreams come true.”

“There were plenty of back-and-forth games that felt like we were watching a tug-of-war match between two teams of sumo wrestlers who were simultaneously being attacked on all sides by swarms of killer bees -- the killer bees being cloaked banshees, marine drops and phoenix harassment while the massive sumo wrestler sized armies of each player fought tirelessly for map control.”


Say what you will about the NASL’s production values, over-hype-ness, scheduling snafus, audio problems, or choice of casters -- actually take a couple deep breathes first and try to remember the words “constructive criticism” before you say anything -- but there’s no denying that the live grand finals featured some of the greatest games in StarCraft II tournament history. Round after round we witnessed world class players battling through nail-bitingly close series. And at the end of the day isn’t that what’s most important? There were delays, schedule changes, and mics constantly cutting in and out, but while the games were actually being played, there were almost no significant problems. Nothing like the disaster at MLG Dallas where 90% of the tournament was completely unwatchable due issues with the stream. So even though some of the technical difficulties were comically amateurish, the game-play itself was world-class-ly professional.

The unlikely champion of it all turned out to be the previously unheard of TSLPuma. Word on the street is that he’s a popular practice partner for many of the top Korean pros. The kind of player who prepares others for those crucial tournament matches and contributes to their success. He’s helped friends and teammates achieve major tournament victories but has never won anything important of his own. Always the bridesmaid, never the bride. Not unlike the movie 27 Dresses (yes, I’m about to compare TSLPuma to the moderately successful, extremely cheesy, cute romantic comedy staring Katherine Heigl... prepare yourself).

In 27 Dresses, Jane (Katherine Heigl’s character) selflessly plans all of her closest friends’ weddings, even going as far as to be the maid of honor at two different wedding simultaneously. Weddings, like StarCraft tournaments, are a lot of work. There are countless details to consider and “what ifs” to plan for. You have to decide who’s going to say what and when, write up a seating chart, chose cake flavors and decorations, and plan a timeline of events. And even then, once things actually get started, it never goes strictly according to plan. Photo sessions run long, the DJ messes up during the sand ceremony, and the grand-parents forget how much sand they’re supposed to pour into the decorative glass vase. Similarly, in StarCraft you have to map out critical timing windows, plan a build order for each map, and prepare for whatever your opponent might throw at you. And again, once the game starts, you end up throwing most of what you had prepared right out the window because things just don’t happen exactly the way they’re supposed to.

For her whole life, Jane had put her own priorities aside and had helped her friends plan and prepare their dream weddings. She helped them perfect their build orders, timings windows, and flower arrangements the same way that I’m sure Puma helped out his practice partners. There’s plenty of enjoyment in seeing your friends get married or win GSL championships, but it’s not quite the same as doing it yourself. Both Jane and Puma were due for their own turn in the spotlight, a chance to be someone’s special someone.

Jane eventually found her other half in Kevin, a reporter who writes about weddings. Their relationship followed the typical cute-romantic-comedy trajectory where at first they seemed like a terrible match, then they fell in love, got into some ridiculous fight over a stupid misunderstanding, split up, and finally got back together and lived happily ever after. Awww.

Puma found his “Kevin” in the NASL. He quietly entered the open bracket where he fought his way to the 16th seed in the grand finals. Finally, he was playing for himself and not for anyone else. He was the one in a beautiful white dress, ready to grab the over-sized check at the end of the aisle and have all his dreams come true. But unlike Jane, who simply had to track down Kevin at some random wedding on a boat and profess her love to him (yeah, that was the brilliant climax of the movie), Puma had to face one of the best players in the world, oGsMC in an unforgettable best of seven series at the grand finals of the NASL grand finals (I know, it’s weird that they were calling the entire live event the “grand finals”).

The series gave the TSL3 finals a run for its money as far as “best final series in StarCraft II history” goes. There were plenty of back-and-forth games that felt like we were watching a tug-of-war match between two teams of sumo wrestlers who were simultaneously being attacked on all sides by swarms of killer bees -- the killer bees being cloaked banshees, marine drops and phoenix harassment while the massive sumo wrestler sized armies of each player fought tirelessly for map control. It was literally constant action and aggression for a full seven epic games.

One of my favorite moments of the series was during game two on Shattered Temple. Puma tried an eight marine drop at MC’s natural but was quickly met by an army of sentries and zealots. He immediately loaded back up the medivac, but rather than simply flying to safety behind the destructible rocks, he instead headed directly for MC’s gold base. It was a suicide mission, but it was enough to distract MC and pull his forces far enough away from his main that Puma’s real attack force was able to drop in and snipe the Twilight Council seconds before Charge had finished researching. It was a subtle yet brilliant tactic that ultimately won him the game. Amazing moments like this were peppered throughout the entire series. It was truly incredible and inspiring play by both players and an awesome end to a tournament that needed an awesome ending.

Congratulations Puma. I hope you enjoy the the $50,000 honeymoon.

Woody "soso" Favinger is the author of The soso column, published weekly(ish) on GosuGamers.net. To contact him, visit his website at www.eSportsGuy.com or follow him on twitter at twitter.com/wfavinger