German Starcraft 2 pro Gabriel “HeroMarine” Segat has dropped to the lower bracket of the European Dreamhack SC2 Masters Valencia. In the first match of the knockout rounds, he delivered a thriller against Kevin “Harstem” de Koning (2:3).
The two opponents could hardly breathe in their best-of-five series and offered the fans action over the full distance. When Harstem had closed the bag after 24 minutes on the fifth map, he brought up both fists and rubbed his head.
“He’s a bit faster than me,” Harstem said of HeroMarine in the winning interview. “So my plan was never to lose control,” the underdog continued. It was the only upset of day one of the playoffs.
The other two Germans also lost their games in the upper bracket against two heavyweights of the scene. Julian “Lambo” Brosig lost to the Finn and World Champion Joona “Serral” Sotala (0:3), Tobias “ShoWTimE” Sieber lost to Vice World Champion Riccardo “Reynor” Romiti (0:3).
All three Germans remain in the tournament, but can no longer afford to lose in the lower bracket.