Not only did Perth Heat put the pain of the past two ABL Championship Series behind them to win in Adelaide to reach a third straight decider with the added bonus that manager Andy Kyle is delighted about that they get to host it.
Even going into the last round of the regular season and the Heat were on the road for a second straight week and needing to do well against the top ranked Sydney Blue Sox or risk missing out on the finals altogether.
The Heat split those two games with the Blue Sox to end up finishing in third position but what that meant was a return to Adelaide to play the Giants in the semi finals which was the scene of losing Games 2 and 3 of the past two Championship Series.
However, the Heat put together two strong performances in the first two games to wrap up the series with the 2-1 and 5-3 victories with home runs from Alex Hall, Jhon Diaz and Angel Mateo.
There were also impressive starting pitching performances from Tucker Smith and Jong-Hae Won, and then two saving efforts from Warwick Saupold.
The added bonus of winning that battle with Adelaide was to not only get that hoodoo over with, but with the Canberra Cavalry upsetting the Blue Sox, it means the Heat will get the host the entire Championship Series this weekend at Empire Ballpark.
After three consecutive weeks on the road to Canberra, Sydney and Adelaide, obviously with a championship up for grabs the Heat would have dug deep to deal with it, but Kyle and his team are relieved to stay home and excited to play in front of the Perth fans.
"We're absolutely stoked to get to play at home," Kyle told 91.3 SportFM.
"We've been on the road for three weeks and it was looking like even if we got through that potentially we'd have to go back to Sydney away again with maybe that first game in Perth, if any at all.
"The opportunity to now play at home in front of our fans is awesome and I think we'll draw the biggest crowds that anyone has this year.
"Hopefully everyone will now get down there to support us and there's a real buzz at our ballpark when there's a lot of people in and they are getting into it. It's really exciting for the players to get to play in front of them."
Kyle was aware as anyone that the pain of the past two years was only naturally close to the surface as the Heat returned to Adelaide last weekend. Even after winning Game 1 knowing that had won the first match of each Championship Series in Perth didn’t necessarily quell the nerves.
However, Kyle did feel heartened by how well his team played during the regular season wining three straight games in Adelaide and then that if they just focused on the job at hand, they could get the job done.
"To be honest it was more about just staying focused on the task at hand. During the week we were just super focused on what we needed to do to win ball games so I think that was really important," Kyle said.
"It was just about what was in front of us, what was the plan and just sticking to that. We all know what's behind us and it's kind of obvious with the guys that have been here, so they knew what was in front of them and it was just about keeping to the task at hand to win baseball games."
To have overcome three straight weeks on the road and come through the other side in a Championship Series on home turf is something that has Kyle excited for what this weekend at Empire Ballpark has in store.
"Obviously we're excited and it was a big weekend. It's bittersweet going there to Adelaide with the monkey on our back from the last two years, but the guys were just exceptional to be honest," he said.
"Everyone knew what was on the line and they just came up with the goods, and executed when it mattered. We were super excited on Saturday night to get through and now it's about resetting and focusing on what's ahead."