EPT
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The qualifiers for the Intel Extreme Masters in Gyeonggi, Korea, have finished. The event will happen from the 14th to 18th of December and start off WCS Korea for the 2017 season. In the last qualifier four additional players were able to secure tickets to the event, completing the 16-man line-up for the tournament.
A strong Zerg player triumphed in the first bracket of this last qualifier, as
soO was finally able to finish a run with success after having failed to do so in the first two qualifiers. The former SKT player did not get into the final series without mishaps, dropping maps to the unknown ChanKiM as well as Chinese Protoss 
Cyan, but in the end he played a solid series against Billowy and snatched himself a ticket to Gyeonggi.In the next bracket a similar story unfolded:
ByuL had tried his luck in both prior qualifiers and couldn’t make it through, but as it’s said, third time’s the charm. The zerg once again broke some foreign spirits on his way into the finals, defeating both State and 
MajOr, before also eliminating Sorry and his own former CJ team mate Bunny, who had already reached the deciding match on Day 2 of the qualifiers—just to be eliminated by Chinese Zerg iAsonu, the only foreigner to qualify for the event in Korea.Also the Terran race could gather some confidence on Day 3: After having been eliminated by
INnoVation in the first two qualifiers, jjakji finally was free of the cursed Machine and could march through his bracket uncontested. The former GSL champion defeated Creator, reigning HSC-champion Patience—for the second time during these qualifiers—Scarlett and finally aLive, another Terran who had been eliminated by INnoVation in a past qualifier. The Machine better be careful, because jjakji is certainly out for revenge in Gyeonggi.Finally craziness ensued in the last bracket as
Has cut his way through players such as Welmu and KeeN to meet none other than Maru in the final series. The Jin Air Terran, who has had no luck in prior qualifiers, was able to beat strong opponents in Rogue and TY to get a shot at claiming a spot in Gyeonggi. What unfolded in front of our eyes can be described as a typical Has-series: The first game ended in a draw with Protoss buildings all over the map, a small group of stalkers and dark templar roaming the battlefield, while Maru tried to figure out a way to win without detection. After a while Maru had to offer the draw, which Has enthusiastically accepted—just to win the equally weird re-game and gain the 1-0 advantage. While game 2 was a rather unspectacular win by Maru, game 3 topped even the weirdness of game 1 as Has built his base all over Vaani Research Station while a scared Maru sat in his base. Instead of using his advantage to knock out his opponent, the Protoss built more and more blink stalkers and infrastructure, sacrificed his army to Maru’s meat grinder and slowly died. That’s Has for you. Maru fans can be relieved though: The Terran will compete in Gyeonggi!
soO, ByuL, jjakji and Maru will join the other twelve players, who’ve already qualified or have been invited beforehand, to form the following line-up competing in Gyeonggi:Protoss:
StatsZestClassicherOTrustTerran:
ByuNINnoVationjjakjiMaruZerg:
DarkSolarLosiraLeenockiAsonusoOByuLWriter: TheOneAboveU
Editor: munch
