“it was like he was storming the beaches of Normandy on D-Day, except instead of just taking high caliber machine gun fire, his troops were being mowed down by futuristic galactic warships.”
Another GSL Finals, another second place finish.
“John Elway lost three Super Bowls before he finally won two of them in back to back years, retiring after being named Super Bowl MVP in the final game of his career.”
After pulling a miraculous comeback against oGsMC in the round of four, MarineKingPrime was poised to complete the fairytale tournament run when he faced IMMvp in the finals; the same player who spanked him 0-4 in the finals of the GSL just a couple months earlier. Fill in the typical story lines of revenge and redemption, a lovable underdog desperately looking for that coveted championship victory. It was going to be amazing.
The series started eerily similar to semi-finals. MarineKing tried an ill-advised thor rush that got demolished by a couple of siege tanks, handing him his first loss. When Mvp won convincingly in game two, I started to worry that we were in for another 4-0 sweep. To see MarineKing come so close yet again only be be trounced in the finals was not the story I wanted to watch.
Luckily, he managed to snag his first win with a ridiculous comeback in game three, during which his prototypical marine heavy play proved to be just enough to beat back the battle cruisers of Mvp. I’d like to see the body count for MarineKing’s army in that game, it was like he was storming the beaches of Normandy on D-Day, except instead of just taking high caliber machine gun fire, his troops were being mowed down by futuristic galactic warships. I can’t wait for Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg to make a miniseries out of it. Then in game four, MarineKing stole a second win with a marine/scv rush, reminiscent of something we’d see on Steppes of War. It caught Mvp a little off guard, tied up the series and stole the momentum.
Was this really happening? Back to back come-from-behind victories against former GSL champions? Was MarineKing finally going to get that elusive GSL trophy. I started scrambling to think of movie analogies. Maybe some combination of the redemption of Rocky II with the “achieving your dreams”-ness of virtually any Disney movie. It was too perfect not to happen. This story had to be written.
Unfortunately it was no Disney movie, and MarineKing’s incredible journey came to a heartbreaking end. In game five, a single siege tank, with a handful of hit points left, proved to be just enough to give Mvp a 3-2 lead. Then in game six, a tank push from Mvp left MarineKing pinned at his natural expansion. It was an excruciating game to watch. When you have a million billion enemy tanks sieged within spitting distance of your natural it sort of feels like the only way out might be to throw your keyboard through your computer screen and hope for a re-game due to a hardware malfunction (how can you possibly continue the game? There’s a freaking keyboard sticking out of your monitor). MarineKing instead opted for the slow, painful, crushing death from tanks inching closer and closer. And just like that it was over. Another GSL finals, another second place finish.
Queue the tears from MarineKing and the champagne bath for Mvp. The champagne was a nice touch by the way, we need more celebratory rituals after matches, and champagne practically screams “I just won something important”. I guess for players who are under the drinking age we can use Coke instead. That way when they’re being doused by a two-liter, Tastless can thank Coke for being an official sponsor of the GSL. You can’t ask for better product placement than that.
On a more serious note, it’s okay that MarineKing lost. Not every story can end with happiness and sunshine. You need the rain in order to have a rainbow and the clouds to in order to appreciate the sun (wow, that wasn’t nearly as cheesy in my head... but it’s still true). Sure, MarineKing has been rained on more than most, having fallen short on three separate occasions to win a GSL title; but that’s why we love him. John Elway lost three Super Bowls before he finally won two of them in back to back years, retiring after being named Super Bowl MVP in the final game of his career. That story isn’t nearly as inspiring if he didn’t spend fifteen years and three championship losses before finally reaching the pinnacle of his sport.
MarineKing’s story is only just beginning. In a few short seasons, he’s gone from the goofy kid who stole Boxer’s ID, to the world renowned king of marines. He’s a phenomenal player, I’m sure his chance will come again. And when it does, he’ll want it more than ever. Or at the very least, I’ll want it for him more than ever.
Links:
MKP vs Mvp GSL World Championship Final: http://www.gomtv.net/2011championship/vod/64516
Woody "soso" Favinger is the author of The soso column, published every Wednesday on GosuGamers.net. You can contact him via email at [email protected] or follow him on twitter at twitter.com/wfavinger
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