The final day of the GSL Super Tournament, and the last GSL event of 2018, is upon us, and before we get into the it, let me just say what an amazing finale this was. We’ve been covering the previous days of the event so far, so if you missed day one, day two, or day three, feel free to check them out before you read about the GSL finals.
The semifinals: sOs vs. Solar
sOs and Solar haven’t played each other this year. Neither of them have made it into the kind of tournaments that would allow it, so both of them planned to be careful. sOs in particular is known for playing very weird games, but Solar has been winning a lot on ladder. Of course, sOs did just win against Maru, and he does very well in marathon settings. Also, both of them are vying for a spot at Blizzcon. A lot is on the line for these players going into the semi-finals.
Solar took the first two games against sOs, and by the end of the second one sOs wasn’t looking happy. Although Solar losing in the finals would still mean sOs made it to Blizzcon, that would be a very hollow victory for him. But he’d need to win all three of the remaining games against Solar to move on — a seemingly impossible task. And yet, over the next three games, that’s what we watched happen. sOs turned things around, reverse sweeping the first of the semi-finals, and setting a trend for the final day of the GSL Super Tournament.
The semifinals: Dark vs. Classic
Dark was unstoppable in the round of eight. He looked to be unstoppable in the semi-finals as well, winning the first two games against Classic. But Classic turned that all around in the third game, winning against Dark’s swarm hosts with a solid counter and beginning a legendary turnaround. He took the next two games as well, winning against Dark 3-2, and securing his place in the finals against sOs.
I’m an unabashed fan of Dark. I’ll admit that at first I was hoping he’d move on to the finals. But Classic won me over with his spectacular gameplay. By the end of the fifth match, after watching Classic fight his way back from what looked like an impossible position, I was cheering hard for him. Plus, I mean, two reverse sweeps in a row? Who could ask for more?
The finals: sOs vs. Classic
sOs seemed relieved going into the finals. He’d finally achieved his goal of making it to Blizzcon after three years, and he was excited. sOs is the two-time champion of the WCS global finals. He’s won Blizzcon in 2013 and 2015, so getting to go back and compete for that title again is a very big deal for him.
In the interview before the final match, sOs said that the real finals had been the semi-finals for him. Classic echoed that statement, saying that Dark had been his real final, and that sOs just played a lot of weird Protoss builds, which was all he was worried about.
These two Protoss players are fairly evenly matched, at 4:5 favouring Classic in their 2018 matches. But as the finals began, this match did not look even. sOs dominated game one. He took game two with a cannon rush. And although game three was more even, when sOs won it too things were beginning to look very bad for Classic. A reverse sweep in a best of seven is extremely rare. The best anyone was hoping for was that we’d get a good showing out of the down-and-out Protoss player.
But Classic won all three of the next games, tying the match and taking us into a seventh game to decide who would be the winner of season two of the GSL Super Tournament. Then he won again and took the trophy in a third and final reverse sweep of the night! An absolutely insane end to a fantastic tournament. I highly recommend you give it a watch.
