FILIPINO esports athlete Caviar "EnDerr" Acampado remained Southeast Asia's StarCraft II top dog after beating his regional rival Tran Hong "MeomaikA" Phuc of Vietnam, 3-2, in the winners' finals of the 30th Southeast Asian Games esports competition on Friday.
It was a close finish in the rubber match, as both players marched toward each other's bases. The Viet had a clear advantage with a much bigger army; however, EnDerr overcame the size difference with a tactical base rush to win.
"Ang advantage ko sa kanya is 'yung mobility ng army ko, and dun ko na-realize na pwede pala ako mag-back and mag-trade base," he explained in the postgame interview. "Naisip ko gawin 'yung na-practice ko and come what may na lang."
With the victory, EnDerr is now assured of a silver medal and will face Singapore's Thomas "Blysk" Kopankiewicz, who survived the losers' finals. Blysk swept Acampado's teammate, Justin "Nuks" Santos, then sustained momentum against MeomaikA, 3-1.
EnDerr had a chance to end the match early with a 2-1 series lead, but a surprise Zerg rush from his Vietnamese rival caught him off guard. The Pinoy yielded to MeomaikA in the crucial Game 4, which barely lasted five minutes.
Undeterred, the 2018 World Electronic Sports Games SEA champion bounced back in the decider. The grand finals of Starcraft II is scheduled on Tuesday morning at the Filoil Flying V Center in San Juan.
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