Thought I'd write a post about this [strike]to rub it in more[/strike] because I just feel like I have to.
Game One: Triple Trail
Before I start, I proposed an idea to hPerks and Eguy and we eventually decided that we'd go down memory lane (to like two and a half months ago lol) and play the same exact maps we played in our Swiss Rounds match. The first choice was Triple Trail, and since Eguy was seeded higher for the playoffs, it counted as my pick.
This wasn't exactly the prettiest game ever. Eguy had the better beginning spawn, and absolutely steamrolled me through the entire game to win
121-73 (Eguy 1-0 Rozi).
Game Two: Promontory
This was my pick in the Swiss Rounds. We played a match before our real match in June but eventually restarted it completely due to awful lag, and the first time around, I wiped the floor with him. However, the next two games, the ones from our Swiss Rounds match and our playoffs match, he won within 10-15 points (both times). This time, I was screwed over by the starting spawns, and although I really picked up the pace throughout the rest of the match (could've done some stupid camping and win the game 60 something to 50 something but I despise the tactic), Eguy won this game
124-144 (Eguy 2-0 Rozi).
Game Three: Tilo
Also not the prettiest game ever to be played, and I feel bad not talking much about Eguy's wins, but a 50-point game rarely gives you anything to talk about. We both pulled off some pretty nice stunts (lots of super speeds and edge hits), but Eguy played a lot better than I did to the point where I close my game out of frustration and stormed off. He won the game
121-67 (Eguy 3-0 Rozi).
Game Four: Eye of the Storm
Things weren't looking great for me. The last user-chosen map Eguy and I played on in our Swiss Rounds match was eye of the Storm, and I had a little bit of hope going into this game since I beat him on this back in June. I took a break for a couple minutes to stop shaking out of nervousness, and apparently all of it paid off. This game was ridiculously close from beginning to end, both players taking the lead constantly, but I had my moment of glory as the clock ticked its last few seconds, and I won the fourth game
80-88 (Eguy 3-1 Rozi).
Game Five: Platinum Construction Co.
Platinum Construction Co, the famous map that prevented hPerks from sweeping the playoffs last year (narcissism dab). I've pretty much always been really comfortable on this map ever since PlatinumQuest came out, and it really shows here. Eguy only managed to grab his 3rd point (well, fourth since it was a yellow) by the time I was over 20, and things just couldn't improve for him at all throughout the whole game. I blew Eguy out of the water here, ending game five with a score of
143-188 (Eguy 3-2 Rozi).
Game Six: Vortex Effect
Eguy announced his one and only non-preset pick, which he claimed people weren't going to expect, and he wasn't wrong. I let out a very noticeable curse when I heard Eguy choose Vortex Effect since I have had bad memories of playing this map against basically anyone. That apparently wasn't the case here. The game was fairly close at the start, but I eventually took the lead and it slowly grew and grew as the clock went down, and the game finished
96-125 (Eguy 3-3 Rozi).
Game Seven: Vibrancy Grounds
This was the map the randomizer chose for us earlier in the tournament, so we decided to play it again. I was scared to death for this game. The result of our Swiss Rounds match on this map was 115-114 for Eguy, and the win came from a literal last-second red gem (which caused a giant rage and me almost throwing my phone at Eguy). So I had plenty reason to be nervous about the finale of this match, especially after my performance from the previous three games.
Talk about one of the best games of gem hunt I think we both have ever played. It was a winner-take-all situation, so both of us had to play our hearts out on this map. Eguy took the lead early and kept it for a long time despite the fact that I was always trailing behind by 5-10 points, and the first time I was on top through the entire game was when there was only one minute (exactly) in the game left. I was in an awful position for the next spawn, which happened to include a blue gem that changed the game, and all of the bad luck from earlier in the match finally flipped. I had an atrociously nasty quick-respawn that couldn't have put me in better position to take the lead. I ended up sacrificing two blues inside the last 20 seconds to pick up the rest of the spawns, and when the game was tied at 107, a quick-respawn that put me on the opposite corner of the map where the final spawn was. I collected a couple more points and completed the first-ever 3-0 comeback with a score of
108-113 (Eguy 3-4 Rozi).
Final Score: 4-3 (Rozi)
What a match. You couldn't have scripted this. I feel really bad for stealing Eguy's first serious chance to win a tournament right from his fingertips, and I gotta give it to him for being a fantastic opponent throughout the tournament.
We had our emotional moment shortly after the match ended. Eguy admitted to basically losing it after I briefly told a super sweet story about my meetup with MikeSan the same morning, and I'm certain that Eguy would've swept the match if I didn't say anything. Everyone in the voicechat was basically silent until the topic had moved on from the match.
Thanks for a great semifinal, Eguy.