EPT![[image loading]](/staff/Tadzio00/GOMbanvbackho.jpg)
BackHo photo provided by Never_GG
The GOMtv Classic's round of sixteen wound down in the midst of the holiday season, and tonight the quarterfinal matches begin. The map-pool has been altered yet again; this time to Medusa, Sin Chupung-Ryeong and Destination. While this does little to dampen fan-outrage over perceived P>T map-imbalance, it does mean we're more likely to see all three games played, and in my opinion, that's better for Terran.
Last week, Starcraft fans were shocked when one of the game's best players was eliminated by a traditionally mediocre player. Check out the most recent Battle Reports for full coverage on those games.
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/Daigomi/Banner__Gom_Classic_Results_.jpg)
Round of 16 - Day 4
pepe vs 
JangBi+ Show Spoiler [results] +
pepe < JangBi
pepe < JangBi
pepe < JangBi
Stork vs BackHo+ Show Spoiler [results] +
Stork < BackHo
Stork > BackHo
Stork < BackHo
Stork > BackHo
Stork < BackHo
Recommended Game
+ Show Spoiler +
![[image loading]](/staff/Tadzio00/Banner__GOM_Classic_Bracket_.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/Daigomi/Banner__GOM_Classic_This_wee.jpg)
Tonight's first match is between Skyhigh and Best. These two players last met in November of '07 with Best coming out on top. Since then, Skyhigh has grown to become a decent contributor to CJ Entus' Proleague line-up, and Best has settled into what appears to be his prime.
Best has been oscillating between second and eighth place on the TL PowerRank for the last seven months, and he's currently on an eight game winning streak, winning nine of his last ten. Not to mention: Bisu thinks he's the best thing since sliced bread. However, with the possible exception of his Proleague games versus Khan's Firebathero (a wonky game where FBH opened 2rax) and Sparkyz' Shine (on Neo Harmony, a map not in the GOMClassic), Best's PvT wasn't really tested in December.
Fortunately for Best, Skyhigh shouldn't prove to be much of a challenge. Although Skyhigh has shown some recent promise for CJ Entus in the Proleague, winning five of his last eight (including a game versus Kal), he's still a relatively untested player, and his TvP is most favorably portrayed as "inconsistent."
Last round, Skyhigh beat SoO due to an early rush in game one and SoO's poor arbiter play in game three. Neither happenstance is very likely to repeat itself against Best. If you're into superstitious prognostications: for every TvP Skyhigh wins, he loses the next. And for every TvP he loses, he wins the next. But he's currently coming off a win versus Jaehoon, so if the pattern holds, he'll lose to Best, 1-2.
This is actually a pretty good prediction if you're planning on placing any bets based on map-balance! Skyhigh's TvP is 2-0 on Sin Chupung-Ryeong (and the map itself is currently 5-0 in favor of Terran) and Medusa/Destination are notoriously P>T.
'Course, I may end up eating my words if Skyhigh pulls off a nice rush on Medusa or Destination (something he's shown he's capable of), and continues his solid play on Sin Chupung-Ryeong. We'll see soon enough!
The second match of the night is between Flash and Bisu, and many are whispering that this is the final before the final. With good reason: it's very likely that the winner of this match will carry the win's momentum straight into the $40,000 grand prize.
Both players are playing near the top of their game. With Flash posting a 12-3 record for the month of December, winning eight of his last ten TvP; and Bisu going 7-1 for the month of December, winning seven of his last ten PvT, It's almost too close to call.
Although they're both incredibly strong players and the match could go either way, Flash gets the slight edge with his 8-3 record vs Bisu. Bisu hasn't played a PvT since early November, and while the majority of the maps are Protoss favored, Sin Chupung-Ryeong has so far proven to grant an incredible advantage to Terrans. Also, Flash has shown time and time again he doesn't need a map to be balanced to pull off a win, so there shouldn't be any surprise if he does it again tonight.
With the map-pool set up the way it is, there's a strong chance that both matches will reach a third, tension-filled game. Don't miss out on watching these live!
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/Daigomi/Banner__GOM_Classic_Communit.jpg)
Although lilsusie was sick last week, Daniel Lee was able to fill her shoes and provide the community with some interviews. The first interview is with Jangbi, and the second with BackHo.
If you have any questions for the players in the upcoming matches, ask them on GOMtv's Community forums. Click on the Community button below for easy access to those forums.
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/Daigomi/Banner__GOM_Classic_Intervie.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/Daigomi/Banner__GOM_Classic_Question.jpg)
See you in the Live Report thread this tonight, 18:00 KST!
