Boxer, aka Clare(SC1)/Foxer/Fauxer/Whatever name he soon chooses to be known by, was initially the subject of much confusion, as his name resembled Terran legend SlayerS_Boxer closely enough to encourage mistakes. Despite being a fearsome, top-ranked ladder player, Boxer was counted out of the tournament before it even began, as a quick glimpse of the brackets foretold of a fatal RO32 meeting with Fruitdealer, aka Cool.
But first, he would have to make his way past BabyWerra, in the RO64. In a series characterized by painful blunders and generally poor decision-making, this one was not one for the record books. During a pivotal moment in game 2—a game christened by Tasteless as “the worst game of the GSL”, Boxer shunned the safety of his expansion wall-off to attack-move his marauders into a cluster of lethargic banelings, before being annihilated by a surrounding pack of zerglings. BabyWerra, exhibiting equally sound decision-making, proceeded to capitalize on Boxer’s mistake by streaming zerglings in, single-file, and sending in slow groups of banelings to do marginal damage to Boxer’s army. Boxer would go on to win the series, in a tepid third game where BabyWerra was easily overrun, and in a last-ditch effort, set his roaches on “move” command in Boxer’s base, losing everything to SCVs set on the far superior “attack” command.
Enter Fruitdealer, aka Cool, in the RO32. Fruitdealer, fresh off of a showmatch slaying of SlayerS_Boxer at BlizzCon, looked poised to exhibit the same stellar play that fans had grown so fond of in GSL1. Boxer, meanwhile, was fresh off of an impressively mediocre win against an opponent Tasteless and Artosis struggled heroically not to deride in post-game commentary. But much to the dismay of his many fans, Fruitdealer’s dreams of a second GSL title would not come to fruition. Demonstrating a practiced knowledge of Fruitdealer’s early-game vulnerabilities, and an even more impressive response to it, Boxer dispatched him 2-0, in fast-paced games that were won by constant early-game aggression, helmed by a never-ending flood of marines. Wearing Fruitdealer down incrementally over several skirmishes, he would end up with vastly superior numbers and end both games easily.
Boxer kept up his same aggressive style in the RO16, where he faced BabyByeBye. He again won 2-0, in convincing fashion. He quickly capitalized on an imperfect force-field block on BabyByeBye’s ramp to win game 1, then caught his opponent off guard in game 2 by splitting his army and flanking him, utterly decimating his army and ensuring a win shortly thereafter. But the strength of Boxer’s bio-ball control had thus far not been fully tested—but it would be, in his next series…
RO8. This series is regarded by many as the best one yet, out of both GSLs. And for good reason. For one, we saw just how terrifying KyrixZenith is with banelings, sending endless waves of banelings to counter Boxer’s endless waves of marines. Secondly, we witnessed how well marines counter banelings (about 60% of the time, according to this series) and how unreal Boxer’s marine micro is, whether it be in the splitting of his forces, target prioritization, or the obscene amount of damage he is capable of inflicting with only a handful of them. This series, fought tooth and nail, was capped off by an amazing comeback by Boxer, and provided great insight into how Boxer handles playing against, essentially, a Zerg mirror of himself. More aggression.
Now entering into the grand finals against Nestea, Boxer comes armed with great timing, superb unit control, and a desire to end the game as soon as his first marine enters your base.
(Part 2: Nestea coming soon)
