ESL Open #209: Cure, MaxPax, Clem win

After two consecutive weeks of holiday overlap, the ESL Open Cups returned to a relatively ‘normal’ state in week #208 with most of the cup regulars participating.

The Korean server cup went to Cure, who went on a TvP rampage by defeating Firefly, Classic, NightMare, and herO on his way to the weekly title.

The European server cup saw MaxPax avenge his WTL playoffs losses to Clem, defeating the Liquid ace 3-0 in the finals. The EU Cup also featured a rare appearance from Reynor playing his main race of Zerg, but he suffered a 1-2 upset loss against MaNa in the RO8 (MaNa lost to MaxPax in the next round).

Reynor continued to play in main-race mode in the American server cup, and made it all the way to the finals with wins over Cure and Dark. However, in a WTL playoffs repeat, Clem’s TvZ proved to be too strong to in the end, and the French Terran took a 3-2 victory in the finals. The NA cup was also notable for PartinG’s 2-0 upset over ByuN in the RO8, pointing to a fast recovery for the Big Boy after his recent return from military service.

In non-ESL Cups, herO won KSL #41 (played on January 6th) with a 3-2 victory over Dark.

ESL Open: Korean Cup (partial bracket shown)

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ESL Open: European Cup (partial bracket shown)

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ESL Open: American Cup (partial bracket shown)

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Korean StarCraft League #41 (Partial bracket shown)