The commentators are sure it’s the craziest and at the same time most surprising tournament march that Starcraft 2 has ever seen: Li “Oliveira” Peinan was the first Chinese player to win the world title of the e-sports classic.
“Some friends have already advised me after my eight-year career without any major titles that I should just give up,” said Oliveira in the winner’s interview. “But look at me now!” he added with a grin. Oliveira, previously known as TIME, is just 22 years old.
“Oliveira! Oliveira! Oliveira!” Shouts echoed through the audience in front of the stage just before the 22-year-old held up the coveted trophy. “I’m scared of waking up tomorrow and then it was all just a dream,” he reveals before thanking his family in tears.
In the group stage, the Chinese entered the playoffs just above third place – from there he played his way into the hearts of the audience. Round after round he was considered the underdog. He knocked out German Gabriel “HeroMarine” Segat (3-1), then ex-world champion Riccardo “Reynor” Romiti (3-2), then Kim “herO” Joon-ho. Always with a smile on his face, as if he couldn’t believe it himself.
Nevertheless, the experts agreed before the final: The multiple GSL winner Cho “Maru” Seong-ju would get his long overdue world championship title.
Starcraft underdog clearly wins
Maru had also promptly won the first card, but then a sensational twist happened. Oliveira took point by punk. During the breaks, Maru sat more and more helplessly in front of his keyboard. The underdog not only surprisingly won the best-of-seven series in the final, but clearly (4:1).
“As you can see, you don’t have to be a GSL champion to win the title. I’m just a normal guy,” said Oliveira after his triumph.