Sean “Probe” Kempen has won the OCE ESL Weekly #18 on Tuesday night, beating Varun “Demi” Immanuel 3-1 in the final on a Tuesday which also coincided with Starcraft II’s 10th year anniversary.
Facing an in-form Demi in the final, Probe looked to deny the Indian Zerg a fourth straight title ,and did so in four action-packed games.
It was Probe’s first win in the weekly tournament since May, with the Australian Protoss player’s fourth win in the weekly tournament bringing him within one of Terran player Sheldon “Seither” Barrow.
With only two ESL OCE tournaments remaining, it will come down to the wire to see if Seither can hold onto his crown moving into the next set of Dreamhack qualifiers, or if Probe will snatch it away in the dying seconds.
It was a win for Probe on a special couple of days for the scene, with Starcraft II celebrating its 10th anniversary since its release with Wings of Liberty on July 27, 2010.
Happy 10th bday SC2!
— Shaun Clark (@ApolloSC2) July 27, 2020
Thanks for dragging me deeper into esports and giving me the platform to get to where I am today! Heres a pic from 10yrs ago casting @IEM with @day9tv, the first ever SC2 live tournament! pic.twitter.com/CNkkMkIsM4
Starcraft celebrated with a small patch, adding a new in-game announcer as well as new campaign achievements and a massive update to the in-game map editor.
Many personalities from the Starcraft scene and beyond came out and posted their congratulations to a game which has helped birth Twitch and the esports scene within the western world.
Happy 10th birthday to @StarCraft 2 🥳
— Maynarde (@MaynardeSC2) July 27, 2020
It was the catalyst for an esports boom in the West, it helped launch Twitch, and to say it changed my life for the better is an incredible understatement
This legendary game is better now than it ever was, here's to 10 more years 💪🏻 pic.twitter.com/xwuGjKafku
With 10 years down, Starcraft II is still defining the RTS genre in the esports world, with its only competition coming in another Blizzard title, Warcraft III.
Lloyd “Light_VIP” Sanchez, Co-Founder of Australian based streaming and casting service the CranKy Ducklings, said he couldn’t imagine a life without Starcraft II and its very meaning has changed to him over the years.
“At first I was just a fan, watching and supporting content creators and tournaments,” he said.
“Then at some point I started noticing that there [are] parts of our scene that are missing or could use more spotlight, so I decided to get involved in the behind the scenes.”
With a ‘do it yourself’ attitude, Light_VIP started the CranKy Ducklings, an ever growing Starcraft II Community based in and around the OCE / SEA community.
“Over time it has become something that I love, something that I invest countless hours into. Today it’s more than just a hobby or a passion project,” Light_VIP said.
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Whilst celebrations have been had for the anniversary, the intense, 1v1 action does not stop with Dreamhack Fall scheduled to begin with qualifiers for the OCE / SEA region on August 8.
Light_VIP, who covers many tournaments within the OCE / SEA scene, says four players to watch out for are Varun “Demi” Immanuel, Tran “MeomaikA” Hong Phuc, Craig “Azure” MacKechnie & Lachlan “Oreo” Passenger.
“[MeomaikA is] one of the best performing players in the Grand Platypus Open in 2020 and one of the biggest masterminds of the scene. The viewers love seeing him, the players dread facing him in battle. It’s insane to think that while he is one of the best Zergs in all of South East Asia, he is still teamless,” Light said.
“[As for Demi,] the 15-time Grand Platypus Open Champion has finally started making a name for himself in the other events as well. Starting from ESL Open Cup Fueled by Dare #13 he has made it to the finals six weeks in a row, claiming three championships.”
The action starts on August 8, with open qualifiers for anyone within the ANZ / SEA scene.
More details on those qualifiers can be found at the ESL official site.
