Naniwa vs Polt
VODWhy was it good: There was large amount of tension surrounding the game due to Polt being the one to knock Naniwa down to the losers bracket, which caused him to sweep Jaedong and Dear. In the pre-game interview Naniwa even called out Polt about giving him a thumbs down when they faced off earlier. The game itself may not of been as exciting as some of the other matches but it was still a very tense game and a very tense series.
HerO vs Sage
VODWhy was it good: This was the final game in a best of three, HerO had not dropped a single match until this series. The game itself showed some impressive plays from both players, but it mainly showed how well HerO can perform under pressure much like his victory at Dreamhack over Violet where he lost the first two games and then went on a streak winning 4 games in a row to take the series.
Naniwa vs Huk
VODWhy was it good: Starting with the fantastic player introductions by Neil Kaplan who does the voice of Tychus Findlay. This was a rematch that was anticipated due to the fact that the last time these players met was at MLG Columbus in 2012, which ended with Huk defeating Naniwa 2-0. The match began with Huk performing a one base blink stalker all-in which was held by Naniwa in an impressive show of skill.
Why was it good: Catz provided us with an entertaining match due to his unorthodox build that managed to catch Dragon completely by surprise and make for a fantastic game.
The game began with a gasless expand from Dragon, Catz decided to use his unusual build involving building a hatchery at his opponents natural expansion. Dragon saw this and attempted to bunker the proxy hatchery. However an amazing timing from Catz where his zerglings and queen from the proxy all burst out at the same time, and with more lings coming in from the front Dragon was forced to abandon his natural. After the opening Catz was absurdly far ahead, with Dragon not even researching stimpacks until the seventeen minute mark. Dragon made a valiant attempt to hold on but Catz was just too far ahead.
Why was it good: It was the final game of a very tense series, and it was a very tense last game due to the game constantly staying neck and neck. With some amazing drop plays from Demuslim and some outstanding counterattacks from Sasquatch made it a game to remember.
The game began with some mistakes on Demuslim’s part that delayed his upgrades along with a few other mistakes that ended up costing him later on. Sasquatch showed some fantastic aggression with constant zergling run bys, forcing Demuslim to lift his third base multiple times. Demuslim was able to respond with some stellar drop plays, dropping in two to three places at once, and inflicting huge amounts of damage to Sasquatche’s economy and tech. Sasquatch attempted multiple times to break through Demuslim’s natural, but his fantastic widow mine placement allowed him to hold whatever pushes Sasquatch could throw at him.
When match transferred into the late game both players were nearly even, Sasquatch went for ultraist and Demuslim stuck with his bio ball with widow mines. These widow mines all hit the ultraist but it made the ultraist so weak that the bio army was able to crush them and allow Demuslim to take the game.
Why was it good: Incontrol was facing elimination by Illusion in game two of their series. Despite being absurdly behind in economy and army supply, Incontrol managed to triumph in one of the best comebacks I have seen in a long time.
The game began with Illusion putting on some early marine aggression in hopes of bunkering and sniping Incontrol’s expansion. Even though he did not take the expansion he did manage to take out the Mothership core as well as a stalker. Illusion then continued to utilize numerous drop plays which decimated a large amount of Incontrol’s workers. Afterwards Incontrol decided to follow the popular saying “when behind dark shrine”, Illusion then decided he wanted to end it and pushed forward with his large mech ball of siege tanks and hellbats.
Just as Illusion pushed into Incontrol’s natural he noticed there were five dark templars in his base destroying everything. This forced him to take all his SCV’s and attempt to simply break through Incontrol’s natural. However, at the same time Incontrol established a flank and managed to snipe Illusion’s tanks and then wipe up the rest of his army and take the game in a stunning comeback.
Why was it good: The opening match of the finals ended up being the most entertaining of the series, with some outstanding plays on both sides. Insane seeker missiles, relentless aggression, and an inability to truly tell who was ahead for a large portion of the game made for a nail biting opening to the grand finals.
This match began with standard hellion aggression from Polt and Hyun was able to respond with minimal losses. Then Polt decided to play aggressively and attack with a large ball of bio/widow mine. However Hyun managed to decisively hold the push and then push back against Polt but the large amount of widow mines forced him back. This proceeded back and forth until the late game when Polt transitioned into Ravens and Battlecruisers which caught Hyun off guard and forced him to back. Then in a clutch hold Polt managed to seeker missile all of Hyun’s infestors and then crushed Hyun’s forces which then allowed Polt to mass a large amount of battle cruisers, afterwards he pushed in and ended an intense game one.
Why was it the best: A game that had so many twists and turns, just when you would think someone was ahead the other player would manage a stunning hold, or some type of fantastic push that would put their opponent on the back foot. There never was a dull moment in this match, starting with a cannon rush and ending with an insane final battle.
The match began with HerO cannon rushing Hyun’s natural which managed to bring it down below one-hundred health before the cannons were destroyed. The game then transitioned into numerous pushes from both players, HerO would push in with a blink stalker push and Hyun would defend it with hydralisk/roach. Then Hyun would push with a maxed out army and HerO would hold it. Afterwards HerO then performed some insane blink micro, sniping two hatcheries and then blinking over Hyun’s army and able to bring the stalkers safely home.
Afterwards he decisively held a push and demolished Hyun’s larger army. HerO then pushed out to deliver the killing blow, but pushed too far without any zealots or sentries to force field and his large ball of units was demolished by zergling/ultraist. The game continued back and forth multiple times even after such a large loss by HerO, even in the final battle despite being down a huge amount of supply he nearly held on until Hyun was able to rem max and then push to take the game and the series 2:1.
