A Quick Note - 100% of this article was written by people NOT named Mr. Bitter. Due to my absence this week, the rest of the staff really stepped up to get this done. Mad props to all you guys.

Greetings, folks. After weeks and weeks of hard-fought matches in the OSL, the time has finally come to crown a new OSL champion. We're down to the final two players in the OSL, SKT1's Fantasy, who demolished GGPlay in the semifinals with his revolutionary mech build, and Samsung KHAN's Stork, who defeated the PvP juggernaut Best in dazzling fashion to make it back to the OSL grand finals. Will Stork finally break the curse and get the gold or will we have a brand-new Royal Roader on our hands? Read on and check out the staff's predictions for the championship ahead in the OSL Update!







And.... here.... we..... go! The OSL has been on auto-pilot the last several months, providing some truly memorable matches with its unique map pool this season. After weeks and weeks of fierce competition, we have a familiar face and a Royal Roader left standing at the end of the tracks. Stork has been number two for so long it isn't even funny anymore. No doubt about it, he's playing some of the best StarCraft of his life right now, taking out the best players in the league without breaking a sweat. His phenomenal set against Best in the OSL finals showed why he is one of the premier players in the league. With Best out of the way, all that stands left in his path for glory is OSL's potential Royal Roader, Fantasy.

Fantasy has broken out of nowhere this season to make it to the top. In the semifinals against GGPlay, he revolutionized TvZ with a brand new mech build that is sure to spark discussion for months to come. His play through the OSL has been impeccable on all fronts. Now he has to face the toughest competition of his life to take the championship. I, for one, have been a fan of Stork's since day one. Fantasy has shown some Boxer-like play throughout the OSL and is a fantastic new face for the future of StarCraft, but this is Stork's time here and now. He's playing top-notch StarCraft, and he may never get a better chance at gold then here in the Incruit OSL finals. I'm praying for an exciting back-and-forth battle between these two players with Stork pulling out the victory and taking the Starleague championship that he's missed out on so many times in the past. Go Birdtoss!

Stork 3 > 2 Fantasy


Stork has changed. He no longer appears to be the timid player who falls back to a predictable and overly defensive style when under pressure. He has shown excellent game sense, taking calculated risks as he sees fit and producing a style of play that is not only fun to watch, but also devastating to his opponents.

It's all going to come down to Stork's mindset. If he has truly matured as a player and is no longer distracted by the prospect of losing, then he will win. The level of skill that he has displayed over the past few months shows that he is truly a player of the highest caliber, and should outclass the rather inexperienced Fantasy. Though Fantasy is admittedly talented and has a freshness about him that threatens a repeat of the Mind-Bisu MSL finals, he is still largely untested. Also, if Stork can pressure him the way he pressured Best, then Fantasy will not be able to bring his creative builds to bear.

I feel that this is Stork's time. He's been to the finals many, many times, and I think he now knows exactly what to do. This is his big chance to finally win an OSL title, and he better do it now, since Savior will be destroying everyone in 2009.

Stork 3 > 1 Fantasy


Well Stork, you are back. Again. Everyone is asking the same question: Is this the season? Most of us say a huge resounding YES. However, we said the exact same thing about when Stork lost to Flash in the GSI and lost to Jaedong in the EVER2007 OSL, followed by Flash in the Bacchus OSL. This just seems different though. What makes this different? I can't really put my finger on it, but I think that it is just something about Stork's mindset. He has said straight out that he underestimated Flash and Jaedong in those said finals and says that he will not do that again. I can't say whether that will actually be the case, but from what I've seen from Stork recently (5-1 in PL and 14-4 in the individual leagues) I just have to say that he will just take out the up and coming Fantasy. Fantasy essentially cheesed his was through GGPlay in the semis, but there is no way that is going to happen again.

Stork 3 > 1 fantasy







The Incruit OSL final is here, featuring Stork and fantasy, and it can only mean one thing: SILVER. That's right folks, the Pride of Auir, Song Byunggoo has yet another opportunity to add to his impressive collection of silver medals. And so he shall. In the opposing corner, representing the Terran Dominion, we have by.fantasy, the young Royal Road hopeful raised by the Kings of Terran themselves, SK Telecom T1. The young protege of iloveoov has proven me wrong time and time again, and no longer will I stand by and be embarrassed. I'm picking this impressive young man to walk the Royal Road in impressive fashion. Stork seems to have this complex of choking when the pressure is truly laid on, and with his MSL quarter-final matchup the day before, he's really going to be in the hot seat. Forget about the "Legend of the Fall", fantasy becomes reality on the dawn of November.

fantasy 3 > 1 Stork


Fantasy is Stork's antithesis. While Stork relies on rock-solid mechanics and has three Starleague finals under his belt, Fantasy's strength is unorthodox builds and this is his first OSL appearance. Stork's illustrious career includes 307 KeSPA-sanctioned games, while Fantasy has appeared in only 45. As KHAN's undisputed top dog, Stork plays in nobody's shadow. Fantasy, on the other hand, is merely the youngest member of SK Telecom T1's legendary Terran dynasty: Boxer, iloveoov, and the much-touted (but ultimately disappointing) Canata. Stork's strongest matchup is PvT - Fantasy's is TvP. Stork played through two Protosses to reach this OSL final, and Fantasy through a Terran and a Zerg.

All of these differences will work in Fantasy's favor at the Incruit OSL final. Because, unlike Bisu and BeSt, Fantasy has yet to fully reveal his preferred builds and playstyle in the matchup at hand (he's only played 19 TvPs in his career, and just six of those on the finals' map pool), Stork will have an extremely difficult time preparing for this match. While Fantasy can relax and enjoy his position as the underdog, Stork will have to contend with the immense pressure that comes with six second-place finishes in individual leagues: can he prove that he's not destined for failure in every championship match?

Fantasy's excellent TvP says no. It's not a coincidence that his coaches at SK Telecom T1 throw him in the Proleague lineup on maps where he can catch a Protoss opponent - TvP is simply Fantasy's forte. His vulture harass is ridiculous (see games against BackHo, BackHo again, and DaezanG) and he's extremely confident in his metal army control (see his semifinal series against GGPlay). Combining these skills with his signature creativity and newfound macro and mechanics, Fantasy most definitely has the raw talent to complete his Royal Road with a coronation and send Stork home with yet another second-place finish.

Fantasy 3 > 2 Stork



There you have it. The staff is 3:2 in favor of Stork to take the championship. Stay tuned to SC2GG for all the latest news on the StarCraft world and enjoy the OSL finals with Cholera and company live tonight!

I really want Stork to win, but I also want fantasy to do win.. chronic 2nd place finisher vs. potential royal roader! In the end though, it's Stork. He's just playing way better than everyone he's met so far, he's got the mechanics, the skill, the creativity (PvP at least), as well as incredibly intelligent play. He definitely deserves the win.

Stork 3:0 Fantasy

Stork is much experienced in finals.. and such a beast with +80% victory rate vs Terran.. but the odd is that his mind can be the worse enemy.. if he feels overconfident, or remembers how was he owned in the last finals.. he may find a disgusting defeat..

fantasy is the newcomer, and sure he must have been coached hard by iloveoov, and then trained v powerful teammater Protoss like BeSt

I see Stork winning this.. but if they get into the 5th match, fantasy will take all over it and bring the Golden Mouse to SKT1 Headquaters, finally..

I feel like anything can happen with Fantasy, he has shown a lot of creativity. But I don't feel like he is the one who can take down such a strong player on such a dominant stretch. He could pull off something crazy, but as long as Stork stays on his toes and forces Fantasy to play conventionally this OSL is his. Fantasy is by no means Flash or Jaedong. You can do this Stork.

Song Byung Goo FTW

I don't see how Stork can lose this. I think he will either take it 3-0 or 3-1. None of this 3-2 stuff. I think their will be one game where he will rape fantasy with dts. GO STORK!

you were wrong!

where can i find a vod for the last game, unfortunatly a had to go out during it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBgmeO4C1IY

Enjoy

10x

So where is the sc2gg commentated vids of the finals at?

Not out yet.
For some reason they're not being very speedy

Too bad. I went over 2 days without it being spoiled trying to hold out for the english VODs but I'm sure they're just busy.

If you guys are dying for a commentary, you can try out this newcomer named NukeTheStars.

Here is his account:
http://www.youtube.com/user/NukeTheStars

The commentating crew is doing their best to get the commentary out, but give this a try if your itching for english commentary of the finals now and give Nuke some feedback!

EDIT: The live commentary vods are also now up on the Violetak account, so head on over to check them out!