GGL WB Finals

[s]event[/s]

The Global Gaming League winner bracket finals have come and gone today. The finals were between the Canadian Protoss gamer, oG)Pride, and the only non-Korean progamer left, Assem.

With only six players left, Assem, Pride, Pj, Breakdown, Fisheye, and Artosis, then event went into over drive as the $ 4000 becomes a certain possibilty amongst the competitors. Tonight however there was a winner, like the saying goes, "there can be only one".

Both competidors, Assem and Pride, had to overcome overcome some really tough competition to get where they did. GGL was as some said before the event, 'stacked' with many foreign gamers who all had an equal chance of winning the entire tournament.

As a last minute kind of effort, the GGL StarCraft organizer got the finals shoutcasted by WGTour's very own Micro-Lzuruha. But, a lot of people missed the update because it was announced almost prior to the match.

The winner bracket finals were not very long though as some may have wished for. All in all the finals were around an hour long. The finals were meant to be a best of three series. The first game of the series was about 45 minutes long. The second, no longer than 10 minutes.

Assem > oG)Pride @ Lost Temple 1-0 Assem > oG)Pride @ Xeno Sky 2-0

The progamer Assem defeated Pride in two games and proved without a doubt that pro-gaming experience is no small thing. Assem now has a chance at the top prize of $1,700 USD, or even if he lost he would still get $1,000 USD. Pride will go down to the loser's bracket and wait for his next opponent.

Watching the game it is also very obvious that Assem has come a long way from when he used to be a stratetgy forum regular at Battle.net almost 8 years ago and used to newbie bash at StratForumRegs Battle.net channel. "Those were the days" says Physician who used to be one of those newbie Assem victims.

We have already uploaded the replays to our replay section, but feel free to get them at GGL.com. Here is a short interview of Pride just after his games with Assem sharing some of his thoughts and feelings about the event and his matches versus him.

Interview of Pride

I am GpaiS, news editor at GG.net and I was wondering if I may have a chat with you about your games versus Assem tonight?
- Sure

Well first off, how did you feel about making it as far as you did?
- Well, I was very lucky in that I got two forfeits and played an old clan mate who's style I am very good against. All in all, I felt very fortunate to make it this far, and I still have the loser's bracket!

Throughout the whole GGL event, who was your toughest opponent, Assem no?
- Yes, thus far it has definitely been Assem, his style is very solid and he is a very smart player, not making many mistakes.

In your games versus Assem how did you feel?
- At the start of game 1 I felt very nervous and until his initial tank drop I stayed that way, but once his tanks dropped I knew the game was just like any other and that I had a chance. The second game I felt fine, I just lost though =(.

The first game many say you could have won 20 - 25 minutes into it, what happened?
- Well, it is true that the game was mine. The prospect of harassment though kept me chained to my exps since I had forgotten a forge and it didn’t make once or twice. Also, he had good defense and I was hesitant to recall onto his ledge. Really, I was at a loss as to how to finish it. Usually I finish with arbs but he pretty much made them useless with his SVs

After that game did you feel you still had a chance to defeat him in the next two games?
- Yes. I had worked out good builds for all 3 maps. If I had won game 2 I am 100% certain I would have won 2-1.

How long did you practice for this match?
- I practiced a good 8-9~ hours which is a good amount for a 3 game series in my opinion. I would like to have practiced a bit more but I didn't feel the need to. I mean, how much PvT practice on LT did I really need?

Who was your partner(s) for practicing all those long hours?
- A few Koreans, no one anyone would have probably heard of.

When you got into the second game, what happened? Why was it short lived?
- Well, I had seen his rep from the previous GGL series and he had done 1 fac ---> exp and I banked on this for my build. I went DT drop with hidden DT tech tree. He went 2 fac vults. It was over based on build alone.

Coming into the series what did you expect of Assem and yourself?
- I expected it to be a close series, although I am not as highly regarded in the community as say, Testie or Mondragon, I feel my PvT especially is up to Assem's level, I think I proved that in game 1.

Now that the series is over do you wish that you could have changed something a little? If yes what would it be?
- I would like to have done a less risky build in game 2. Game 1 was too memorable to want to change. I think the fans will enjoy that replay an awful lot. But yeah, 2 gate goon into obs would have been a nice opening on Xeno.

Going into the losers bracket with the possbility of facing Pj, Artosis, Breakdown, or Fisheye, who do you 'fear' most?
- I don't fear playing any of those boys. I am making money playing a game I love, I am excited to play my next opponent as silly as that sounds. To answer your question though, I would least like to play Pj.

Why may I ask?
- He's largely considered the best non-Korean in the world. Also, he lags and lag is not helps Z more in ZvP.

If you reach Assem once again in the Grand Finals, what will you change?
- I will play a lot less gimmicky than I did in, say, game 2. I know I can beat him now, it is just a matter of putting the pieces together into one or two good games. I really felt good in game 1 when I was pressuring his wall, I was doing really well for the majority of that game until the pace slowed.

Myself and GosuGamers wishes you the best of luck in you next matches and in your future. Thanks for spending time with me and my boring questions as well.
- They weren't boring at all, your interview skills are quite excellent!

Well thanks, that made me blush... Goodnight, sir
- Night, big hi to all at gg.net reading this :)

Links
GGL.com - GGL Homepage
GGL.com - Replays
GGL.com - Brackets