Clem doubles, Creator wins KR

The ESL Open celebrated its 200th week with some unexpected results that bucked against its ‘business-as-usual’ trend.

The Korean server cup saw Creator win his first cup since Week #176 (May 2023), going on a PvT rampage where he beat GuMiho, ByuN, and Cure in consecutive series. The latest Code S champion Solar was right back in action in the cup, but was shown the door by herO in the RO8.

The European server cup went to Clem, who defeated surprise finalist Krystianer 3-0 in the deciding series. Krystianer reached that lofty position by scoring a huge 2-1 upset against MaxPax in the RO8, breaking the mysterious Dane’s 39-match unbeaten streak in PvP. The Polish Protoss continued his underdog run with a 2-0 over Lambo in the semis, but couldn’t overcome the ESL Cup monster Clem in the finals.

Clem went on to achieve a weekly double, winning the American server cup with a run that included wins over Gerald, MaxPax, Creator, and ByuN.

Or make that a triple? Clem also won one of the non-ESL weeklies in Kung Fu Cup Winter #6, defeating EU rival MaxPax 3-1 in the finals. The KSL was also played on the week (seemingly having returned to a weekly schedule), with tournament #33 being won by herO.

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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Kung Fu Cup Winter #6 (partial bracket shown)

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Korean StarCraft League #33 (Partial bracket shown)