It seems like only humans can win ZOTAC cups recently, but this 3-2 series brought us one of the most entertaining games of the week. Starting out on Echo Isles, game one was pretty straightforward. An early expansion from Hawk put him far enough ahead of his opponent that he was able to win with his first real attack. Game two also seemed to be heading Hawk’s way, until an excellent comeback tied the game up at 1-1.
Game three was the game of the series, and definitely a replay worth watching. From the 12 minute mark, the game became one of almost non-stop action. Failed tower pushes, split second staff saves and even a firelord ultimate weren’t able to end the game. It took a level six panda from Nicker to finally claim victory for the nightelves. Next up, Secret Valley was almost a carbon copy of game one. Hawk’s expansion was much, much faster than his opponent’s. Nicker tried to compensate by creeping hard, but even a Ward Drum and a Legion Doom Horn couldn’t make up for his inferior army.
After such an exciting, back-and-forth series it was almost inevitable that the final game would be a letdown. Dull it was, but a dominant performance from Hawk who really showed off the power of late game human. He took his expansion unmolested, held off some harassment and countered with some tank aggression of his own. This was mostly just a distraction, however, as he teched up to knights and gryphons, crushing Nicker’s much weaker force. Even a level six warden wasn’t enough to stop the onslaught, and Hawk was able to take his second ZOTAC cup in a row.
ZOTAC WarCraft 3 Cup #252 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Grand Final | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Nicker | 2-3 | Hawk | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Replays: game one, game two, game three, game four, game five | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
