Carl Stefan 'MorroW' Andersson came into IEM Cologne as a last minute replacement for Pavel 'BratOK' Kuznetsov when the Russian had visa issues. But despite the less than ideal preparation for Morrow he has managed to go all the way, defeating Gregory 'IdrA' Fields 3-1 in the grand final.

In one of the countless zerg-vs-terran encounters at this event,the Swede was able to do what no terran had done before: stop Idra. The American was undefeated going into finals match, having already defeated four world class terrans. But the 5th one proved to be his undoing thanks to some incredible play from Morrow.

The terran started off perfectly by winning on his opponent's map choice, Xel'Naga Caverns. In a hyper-tense match, the advantage went back and forth; first with Morrow's reapers, then with Idra's roaches and finally with Morrow's superior infantry force at the end. Going into Metalopolis it looked like we would see more of the same. Close spawns boosted the effectiveness of reapers but Idra did a perfect job of holding them off, despite losing an overlord very early on. Once his expansion was properly secure, he simply rolled over Morrow's much smaller army.

Blistering Sands was the 3rd map and it was another pendulum-like encounter. As the game wore on it seemed like Idra's famous macro would take charge but losing his ultralisk cavern really set the zerg back. Even with some excellent fungal growths, the medivac healing was just too strong and the marauders were too plentiful for the ultras to deal with, giving Morrow a crucial 2-1 lead.

The 4th map proved to be the end of the series and showcased Morrow's ability to switch things up. Idra went for a typical fast expansion into roaches but Morrow denied any scouting except for his first barracks. Idra was clearly expecting the typical reaper push and was taken by surprise to see a force of helions and marauders at his front door - not to mention a handful of SCV's. The all-in attack worked to perfection, closing the game out in dramatic and dominating fashion.

Third Place to Dimaga

The 3rd place game was yet another ZvT match. Dmytro 'DIMAGA' Filipchuk racked one up for the swam this time around, however, defeating Tomasz 'Tarson' Boroń in a long series. Despite the 3-1 score meaning no 5th map was required, there was a delay in the middle of map four when Tarson disconnected when he seemed to have a slight advantage. However, the lead had gone back and forth many many times in the 30 minute game and both players agreed to a rematch. It was Dimaga who maintained his concentration better in the break and he claimed 3rd place.

If you missed any of the matches this weekend, be sure to check out our coverage page.