The dust has settled, the stage is set, and TSL3 has decided who should be the first of their two finalists that will be duking it out live in New York after a long and arduous journey through one of the hardest brackets in StarCraft 2 history.

Marcus 'ThorZaIN' Eklöf and Mihail 'Kas' Hayda was one of those matchups where the winner beforehand was far from clear. When looking at Thorzain, the "dark horse" or sorts of the tournament, it was unclear if the creativity and precise playstyles he had used to conquer his Zerg and Protoss opponents would be enough to do the trick against someone as practiced and experienced as Kas.

Kas had earned that reputation through more than 5000 ladder matches and in private conversations he has also discussed how comfortable he is when playing in an online format, which could explain why so many were uncertain if Thorzain still had the magic that could help him past this extremely talented opponent.

But when the dust had settled, it was clear who the better man was in this matchup, and any and all doubt about Thorzain's potential to take the entire tournament was finally laid to rest. The Ukrainian beast Kas has fallen 4-1 to the merciless onslaught that was Thorzain.

This has led to a massive influx in newfound appreciation for the Swedish Terran. With MouseSports' recent acquisition to their roster and his comments that the future is filled with more and more tournaments, it is rather apparent that no one will be looking at Thorzain and thinking that he is a pushover in any matchup anytime soon. As he begins to prepare for yet another TvP matchup where he has shown dominance in the face of extreme odds, many are hoping for Johan 'NaNiwa' Lucchesi to triumph over Dennis 'HasuObs' Schneider in the second semi-finals match of TSL3.

However if this tournament has taught us anything, never count anyone out even if the odds seem insurmountable. Naniwa and HasuObs will be fighting for their right to join Thorzain in New York for the live finals match in the not so distant future, so be sure to tune into the TSL3 livestream and enjoy yet another amazing match in what has been an absolutely amazing set of matches. See you there and congratulations to Thorzain as he prepares to make the trip to New York to face his final Protoss opponent of the TSL3.