The young Polish av3k displayed deep reserves of character here to overcome an on-form forever, winning in 3 maps. The Dutch player has been bootcamping extensively over the past few days and it has shown in his top performance this weekend where he has given onlookers glimpses of the form that saw him take 3rd at last year's ESWC. His win over Cypher earned him a spot in the top 4 and a minimum of $1,000 in prize money here but even more than that, proved once again he can compete with Europe's top players. He went on to face av3k and a home map victory on Galang put serious pressure on his Polish opponent to justify the high expectations placed on him. The result was 25-13 in favour of forever and featured some incredible rails from the Dutch player and some intense fights around the red armour.

The second map, Phrantic, saw av3k recover his composure, taking an early lead and moving 17-10 ahead around the half way mark. Forever worked his way back into the game however, pinning down av3k repeatadly with the lightning gun. Av3k appeared in serious trouble as his large lead was whittled down but again he showed us all just what he is capable of as he wrested back control and finished the map 21-15 ahead, forcing the tie to a third map.

Placebo Effect was to stage the tie-breaker and unlike the previous maps, it was a rather one-sided affair. Av3k moved into the lead early on and soon held a commanding 14-1 lead. Everything was on target for the Polish star and his rail gun in particular was astonishing to behold. Forever did his best but couldn't retain control and the map finished 22-5 to av3k. Forever will leave England with $1,000 and renewed belief in his ability while av3k will return to the lion's den in a highly anticipated rematch with Cooller.